The Washington times., 1895-04-07
CLASSES IN WASHING.

Soap and Soda Lessons at the Edinburgh
School Of Domestic Economy.
A full laundry course in the Edinburgh
School of Domestic Economy consists of
forty lessons-four courses of ten lessons
each--each lesson being two hours long;
though many pupils coming in for special
lessons, such as fine ironing, the washing of
flannels. etc.
The work is taught in two ways, viz,
by demonstration and by practice. In q
demonstration lesson the teacher does
the work, explaining and instructing as
she goes on. The pupils come in with their
notebooks in hand, as to a lecture in Greek
history or a demonstration in physics.
Another day comes the practice lesson"
in which the pupils do the work, the teacher
overseeing, enforcing the instructions pre-
viously gwen, and lending hand where
necessary.
There is a soap lesson to convert crude
hard soap into convenient soft soap, such
as our foTemothers used. "a soap mixture"
is prepared by ehredding fine one pound of
soap into three quarts OF hot water. This
is boiled and stirred until the mixture is
thick and smooth. The caution is given that
itmust be watched while boiling, as it rises
like milk
There is lesson in sorting family
wash" The clothes must be sorted and
laid in cold water the evening before. The
linen and cotton are separated into three
classes: Body linen, bed and table linen,
collars, cuffs, and muslins; each class is
put to soak in its own special tub.
fsFhu nd a q a
found in ordinary houses and cottages, such
as teachers in board schools and county
council lectures will have to use.
The clothes are wrung from the cold water,
soiled parts slightly rubbed with soap, put
back into the tub and then covered with
warm water in which soap mixture has
been dissolved in the proportion OF one pint
OF mixture to Que gallon OF water. 1t is
always brought to a fine Iather before
being poured over the clothes.
Rub the clothes vel" /" says the teacher,
illustrating as she talks, but don't put the
cloth against the bare hand; rub it back
upon itself"
To boil, the clothes are laid in the boiler
and covered with cold water, to which has
been added one pound OF soap and one-half
pound OF soda to every four gallons of
water. The soap and soda must be pre-
viously dissolved in sufficient hot water.
The teacher explains that undissolved soda
must not be put in the boiler with the
clothes. as contact with it will rot the fabrics.
The water is then brought slowly to the
boiling point and boiled slowly for about
fifteen minutes. The clothes are then lifted
out into tub and covered with water
from the boiler. IF you wish your
clothes TO look white" says the teacher,
land especially if il be winter and they
cannot be bleached on the grass, let them
lie in the water for some hours"
] was partially interested in the washing
of A little heap or white silk handkerchiefs
and neckties. The pupil prepared lather
in a large white bowl allowing one pint
OF soap mixture to a gallon of tepid water.
In this She washed the silk articles gently,
one by one, squeezing but not rubbing
or wringing. When cleaned she rinsed
them in cold water to which a little methy-
lated spirits of wine had been added in the
proportion of two teaspoonfuls to quart
of water This is done to retain the
gloss. The water being again squeezed
from them, they are rolled each in a linen
cloth, and after lying a short time are
ironed on the wrong side with hot iron
and with a linen cloth between the iron and
the silk. They come out fresh and CLASSY
and white as though just from the shop
or silk MERGERS. A colored silk kerchief
was laid in salted water before being
washed.
The directions given for the washing of
blankets had foreign Sound to the Amer
ican ear, viz That they be trampled with
the bare feet instead OF being rubbed with
the hands. But it is really a more COM
nonsense way to do them, for wet blankets
are heavy things to handle. The tramp
ling of clothes is an ancient fashion of
washing still retained in some parts of
Scotland, notably, in the remoter high
lands, where women take their tubs out of
doors and wash by the stream and in the
stream, as among the Greeks in Homer's
dayTtrampling the clothes with their bare
feet.
In the washing of fiannels tepid water is
used, frothed into Iather with the soap
mixture IN the proportion of one pint to
gallon of water.
''Flannels," says the teacher, ''should
be neither soaked nor rubbed hard, but
gently manipulated, thenput lightly through
the wringer and washed in a weaker
lather. After this they should be rinsed
in two or more tepid waters until free
from soap; then tightly wrung, shaken,
spread on a cotton cloth and rolled up
tightly. After lying for few moments
they are shaken again, and dried as
quickly as possible
FRANK POPE HUMPHREY.