Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-05-16

dissolved in boiling water, and added to
the washing water, will soften it, and is
particularly good when linen articles are
to be cleansed.
In preparing clothes for the wash it is
well to remember that any articles wetted
by water or perspiration should be dried
before being thrown into the general re.
ceptacle for soiled clothing, particularly
during summer weather, as there is always
the danger that such articles will become
widowed. Before any garment is wetted
it should be thoroughly examined TO see if
there are any spots or status which need
special treatment. All stains made by
acids should be treated with some alkaline
preparations while almost all fruit stains
will readily yield to boiling water, which
should be poured through them to prevent
the stain spreading, as it might do if they
were dipped into the water. Grass stain
is particularly obstinate to remove. 1t
will sometimes disappear by dipping the
spot in molasses, and letting it lie few
moments. Rinse the molasses out in clear
water and the stain will disappear with it.
more effectual method however, is to
dip the spot in a solution of tin chloride,
and Immediately wash it out in an album
dance of clear water Many stains which
are too firmly set 10 yield TO the treatment
with boiling water will come out by dipping
the spot in warm chlorine water. Fruit,
wine, mildew, or ink stains on delicate
fabrics can be dipped in clear cold water,
and then in a mixture made by one table
spoonful lemon juice, one Tablespoonful OK
alic acid, and one-half pint rain water,
shaken together. Grease spots can usually
be taken out by covering the spot with
French chalk scraped on, covered with
brown paper, and warm hat-iron set on
it to cool. Grease on cloth can be rubbed
well with fuller's earth, or yet with ben
zine, or, again, with purified OK gall mixed
with yolk of egg When nothing else can
be obtained, common wheat -four can be
made into paste with cold water, and
when dry rubbed on to a grease spot.
Blood stains can be saturated in kerosene
oil, and washed out in warm water. Mil
dew will readily disappear in dilute So
luton of chloride of lime
In selecting soaps and washing fluids
some regard must be paid to the texture of
the goods to be treated Care must be ex-
ercised in sorting the goods, for in an in
telligent treatment Of different fabrics
large part of the art of washing consists.
Fine laces, for example, must be treated
by themselves Very fine lace may be
cleansed and whitened by folding it smooth
ly. and sewing it into clean linen bag.
1t is then immersed for twelve hours in
pure olive oil little fine soap is shaved
into water, and the lace put into this and
boiled for fifteen minutes. 1t must be well
rinsed, dipped in starch water, and then
taken from the bag and stretched aud
pinned to dry. Laces are sometimes
whitened by putting them in a bowl of
soapy water, and setting them in the sun.
Delicate colors in embroidered handker-
chiefs can be set by soaking for ten minutes
previous to washing in a pail of tepid
water, in which dessertspoonful of tur-
pentine has been well stirred. Very fine
muslins should be soaked in tepid water in
which borax ha1 been dissolved, one table
spoonful of boraX to gallon of water be-
ing sufficient. After half an hour they
can be rubbed gently in soapsuds made of
fine white curd soap, and boiling water
then poured over them and left to cool.
They should be well rinsed and squeezed
rather than wrung out. All delicate and
fancy hosiery should be soaked in salt and
water before wearing, and stains of leather
on stockings can be taken out by dipping
them into chlorine water before putting
them into soapsuds. Black hosiery is
dipped in water in which is a little OK
gall Draperies. or curtains of art needle
work on muslin, should first be ell shaken
to get out the dust, and then soaked in
cold water TO remove the worst of the dirt;
they are then washed in tepid water with
good white soap, rinsed through cold water
with little salt in it, and dried quickly in
the shade. They should be folded before
getting quite dry, and ironed lightly with
not too hot iron.
In washing all body linen, napery and
bed linen, the practice of soaking them for
some hours in water in which borax has
been dissolved is a good one. Nor should
clothing, in my opinion, be boiled beyond
fifteen or twenty minutes at the most.
None but the best soaps ought to be used in
any kind of washing; and after clothing
has been rubbed in the first water, and put
loosely into the boiler with plenty of water
to scald 1t in, it should not require rubbing
again in the sudsing water. In washing
woolens the water should be of warm tenn
perature without being absolutely hot, and
plenty of ammonia ought to be added to
each tub. Very little if any soap is ever
needful if the woolens are thoroughly
in water thus prepared nor will
the wooden full, as it does if soap is rubbed
on each article, and then the piece rubbed
on board. If soap is used at all in clean
ing woolens, it is best dissolved and put
into Vie water with the ammonia before
the articles are put in. Woolens should
not be boiled, nor is it essential that they
be scalded. They are best cleansed by
PNN'Ah6 ehSHh IhiNuku repeated waters.
Silk underwear should be washed through
several cool waters in which soap and bo-
-ax have been dissolved. All silk wear
should be squeezed by the hand rather than
rubbed, although especially soiled spots
must be rubbed with little soap
For starchiug very fine articles, there is !
nothing better than fine rice starch. If |
articles are required particularly stiff, the
tarch from wheat is undoubtedly the best.
Bluing is so often the refuge of the care
ess washerwoman, one usually feels like |
liscarding its use altogether; yet in doing
Up many articles a bit of indigo tied in a
inen bag is quite needful. 1t gives Just
he right whiteness to the goods being
insed.
The most refined looking gentlemen
eem partial TO a dead white on their linen.
which is obtained by emitting the CLOSES
rom the starch in which the shirt bosoms,
ollars and cuffs are stiffened. And in
ding up any garment requiring starching,
are should be taken that it is not made too
tiff, as nothing can be more disagreeable
0 wear than skirts that rattle with stiff