100.Polished Tea Urns preferable to varnished ones.—Polished tea urns may be kept boiling with a much less expense of spirits of wine, than such as are varnished; and the cleaner and brighter the dishes, and covers for dishes, which are used for bringing food to table, and for keeping it hot, the more effectually will they answer that purpose.101.Japanned Candlesticks and Tea-Trays, and Paper work.—To remove grease from these, let the water be just warm enough to melt it; then wipe them with a cloth, and if they look smeared, sprinkle a little flour on them, and wipe it clean off. Wax candles should not be burned in the candlesticks, as the wax cannot be taken off without injuring the varnish.Paper work is liable to break if let fall, or if boiling water be poured on it.102.To clean Lamps.—Bronzed lamps should be wiped carefully; if oil be frequently spilled over them, it will cause the bronzing to be rubbed off sooner than it would disappear by wear. Brass lamps are best cleaned with crocus or rotten-stone and sweet oil. Lackered lamps may be washed with soap and water, but should not be touched with acid or very strong ley, else the lacker will soon come off. When lamps are foul inside, wash them with potash and water, rinse them well, set them before the fire, and be sure they are dry before oil is again put into them.Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell, if, before using, the cottons be dipped in hot vinegar, and dried.To clean ground-glass shades, wash the insides carefully with weak soap and water, lukewarm, rub them very lightly and dry with a soft cloth.103.To make economical Wicks for Lamps.—When using a lamp with a flat wick, if you take a piece of clean cotton stocking, it will answer the purpose as well as the cotton wicks which are sold in the shops.104.Wax Candles.—Should they get dirty and yellow, wet them with a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of wine.105.Blowing out a Candle.—There is one small fact in domestic economy which is not generally known; but which is useful, as saving time, trouble, and temper. If a candle be blown out holding it above you, the wick will not smoulder down, and may therefore be easily lighted again; but if blown upon downwards, the contrary is the case.106.Plain Hints about Candles.—Candles improve by keeping a few months. Those made in winter are the best. The most economical, as well as the most convenient plan, is to purchase them by the box, keeping them always in a cool, dry place. If wax candles become discolored or soiled, they may be restored by rubbing them over with a clean flannel slightly dipped in spirits of wine. Candles are sometimes difficult to light. They will ignite instantly, if, when preparing them forthe evening, you dip the top in spirits of wine, shortly before they are wanted. Light them always with a match, and do not hold them to the fire, as that will cause the tops to melt and drip. Always hold the match to the side of the wick, and not over the top. If you find the candles too small for the candlesticks, always wrap a small piece of white paper round the bottom end, not allowing the paper to appear above the socket. Cut the wicks to a convenient length for lighting (nearly close); for if the wick is too long at the top, it will be very difficult to ignite, and will also bend down, and set the candle to running. Glass receivers, for the droppings of candles, are very convenient, as well as ornamental. The pieces of candles that are left each evening should be placed in a tin box kept for that purpose, and used for bed lights.107.To make an improved Candle.—Make the wicks about half the usual size, and wet them with spirits of turpentine; dry them, before dipping, in the sunshine, or in some favorable place, and the candles will be more durable, emit a steadier and clearer blaze, and be in every way superior to those made in the ordinary way.108.Quicksilver.—Tallow will take up quicksilver. Vinegar kills it.109.To give any Close-grained Wood the appearance of Mahogany.—The surface of the wood must first be planed smooth, and then rubbed with weak aquafortis; after which it is to be finished with the following varnish:—To three pints of spirit of wine is to be added four ounces and a half of dragon's blood and an ounce of soda, which have been previously ground together; after standing some time, that the dragon's blood may dissolve, the varnish is to be strained, and laid on the wood with a soft brush. This process is to be repeated, and then the wood possesses the perfect appearance of mahogany. When the polish diminishes in brilliancy, it may be speedily restored by rubbing the article with linseed oil.110.To Darken Mahogany.—Drop a nodule of lime in a basin of water, and wash the mahogany with it.111.To make Imitation Rosewood.—Brush the wood over with a strong decoction of logwood, while hot; repeat this processthree or four times; put a quantity of iron-filings amongst vinegar; then with a flat open brush, made with a piece of cane, bruised at the end, or split with a knife, apply the solution of iron-filings and vinegar to the wood in such a manner as to produce the fibres of the wood required. After it is dry, the wood must be polished with turpentine and bees'-wax.112.Imitation of Ebony.—Pale-colored woods are stained in imitation of ebony by washing them with, or steeping them in a strong decoction of logwood or galls, allowing them to dry, and then washing them over with a solution of the sulphate or acetate of iron. When dry, they are washed with clean water, and the process repeated, if required. They are, lastly, polished or varnished.113.Cheap Coloring for Rooms.—Boil any quantity of potatoes, bruise them, and pour on them boiling water until a pretty thick mixture is obtained, which is to be passed through a sieve; then mix whiting with boiling water, and add it to the potato mixture. To color it, add either of the ochres, lampblack, &c.114.Cheap Paint.—Tar mixed with yellow ochre makes an excellent green paint, for coarse wood-work, iron fencing, &c.115.Weather-proof Composition.—Mix a quantity of sand with double the quantity of wood ashes, well sifted, and three times as muchslakedlime; grind these with linseed oil, and use the composition as paint; the first coat thin, the second thick; and in a short time it will become so hard as to resist weather and time.Or, slake lime in tar, and into it dip sheets of the thickest brown paper, to be laid on in the manner of slating.116.Artificial Marble.—Soak in a solution of alum a quantity of plaster of Paris. Bake it in an oven, and grind it to a powder. When wanted, mix it with water to about the consistency of plaster. It sets into an exceedingly hard composition, and takes a high polish. It may be mixed with various colored minerals or ochres to represent the various marbles, and is a valuable receipt.117.To give Wooden Stairs the Appearance of Stone.—Paint the stairs, step, by step, with white paint, mixed with strong drying oil. Strew it thick with silver sand.It ought to be thoroughly dry next morning, when the loose sand is to be swept off. The painting and sanding is to be repeated, and when dry, the surface is to be done over with pipe-clay, whiting, and water; which may be boiled in an old saucepan, and laid on with a bit of flannel, not too thick, otherwise it will be apt to scale off.A penny cake of pipe-clay, which must be scraped, is the common proportion to half a lump of whiting.The pipe-clay and whiting is generally applied once a week, but that might be done only as occasion requires.118.Lime for Cottage Walls, &c.—Take a stone or two of unslaked white lime, and dissolve it in a pail of cold water. This, of course, is whitewash. The more lime used, the thicker it will be; but the consistence of cream is generally advisable. In another vessel dissolve some green vitriol in hot water. Add it, when dissolved, to the whitewash, and a buff is produced. The more vitriol used, the darker it will be. Stir it well up, and use it in the same way as whitewash, having first carefully got off all the old dirt from the walls. Two or three coats are usually given. For a border at top and base, use more vitriol, to make it darker than the walls. If you have stencil-plates, you can use it with them. This is cheap, does not rub off like ochre, and is pure and wholesome, besides being disinfecting.119.A White for Inside Painting, which dries in about four hours, and leaves no smell.—Take one gallon of spirits of turpentine, and two pounds of frankincense; let them simmer over a clear fire till dissolved, then strain and bottle it. Add one quart of this mixture to a gallon of bleached linseed oil, shake them well together, and bottle them likewise. Grind any quantity of white-lead very fine with spirits of turpentine, then add a sufficient quantity of the last mixture to it, till you find it fit for laying on. If it grows thick in working, it must be thinned with spirit of turpentine; it gives a flat, or dead white.120.A Green Paint for Garden Stands, Trellisses, &c.—Take mineral green, and white lead ground in turpentine; mix up the quantity you wish with a small quantity of turpentine-varnish;this serves for the first coat; for the second, put as much varnish in your mixture as will produce a good gloss; if you desire a brighter green, add a small quantity of Prussian blue, which will much improve the beauty of the color.121.Cheap and beautiful Green.—The cost of this paint is less than one-fourth of oil color, and the beauty far superior. Take four pounds of Roman vitriol, and pour on it a tea-kettleful of boiling water; when dissolved, add two pounds of pearl-ash, and stir the mixture well with a stick until the effervescence cease; then add a quarter of a pound of pulverized arsenic, and stir the whole together. Lay it on with a paint brush, and if the wall has not been painted before, at least two, or even three coats, will be requisite. If a pea-green is required, put in less, and if an apple-green, more, of the yellow arsenic.122.To Destroy the Smell of Fresh Paint.—Mix chloride of lime with water, with which damp some hay, and strew it upon the floor.123.To take the Smell of Paint from Rooms.—Let three or four broad tubs, each containing about eight gallons of water, and one ounce of vitriolic acid, be placed in the new painted room near the wainscot; this water will absorb and retain the effluvia from the paint in three days, but the water should be renewed each day during that time.124.To remove Unpleasant Odors.—The unpleasant smell of new paint is best removed by time and atmospheric ventilation; but tubs of water placed in the apartment, will act more rapidly; with this inconvenience, however, that the gloss of the paint will be destroyed. Unpleasant smells from water-closets, or all articles of furniture connected with them, may be modified by the application of lime-water, to which may be added the soap-suds that have been used in washing, which neutralize the pungently offensive salts; a little quick-lime put into a night-chair will destroy all disagreeable effluvia. Aromatic pastiles of the following composition may be burned with great success: take of camphor, flowers of benzoin, powdered charcoal, powdered cascarilla bark, powdered Turkey myrrh, and powdered nitre, each equal quantities; beat them with syrup sufficient to form a mass, and divide into pastiles of a conical shape. Theymay be mixed up with spirit of turpentine (the rectified oil) or anything that is inflammable. Syrup does best, as it is most adhesive.125.To prevent disagreeable Smells from Privies, Night Chairs, &c.—Milk of lime (water in which lime has been slaked, and which is whitened by the fine particles of that substance) must be mixed with a ley of ashes, or soapy water that has been used in washing, then thrown into the sink of the privy; it will destroy the offensive smell. By these means, for the value of a few pence, any collection of filth whatever may be neutralized.For the night-chair of sick persons, put within the vessel half a pound of quicklime, half an ounce of powdered sal-ammoniac, and water one pint: this will prevent any disagreeable odor.126.Remarks.—Quicklime, or even lime just slaked, answers the purpose without any addition. It is the only thing used in camps, particularly in hot countries, to keep the ditches from creating contagion.127.To clean Books or Prints.—Ink spots may be removed by oxalic acid dissolved in water, and carefully applied with a hair pencil. To remove oil or grease, warm the spot, lay over it blotting paper, and upon it the heated blade of a knife, when the blotting-paper will absorb the grease; then apply spirits of turpentine, with a hair pencil, and restore the whiteness of the paper with spirits of wine.128.To preserve Books.—A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mouldiness and damp. Russian leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never moulds; and merchants suffer large bales of this article to lie in the London Docks in the most careless manner, knowing that it cannot sustain any injury from damp.129.To clean Oil Paintings.—Clean the picture well with a sponge, dipped in warm beer; after it has become perfectly dry, wash it with a solution of the finest gum-dragon, dissolved in pure water. Never use blue starch, which tarnishes and eats out the coloring; nor white of eggs, which casts a thick varnish over pictures, and only mends bad ones by concealing the faults of the coloring.130.To Light a Coal Fire.—A considerable saving of time and trouble might often be effected, if housemaids would attend to the following rules in lighting a fire:—Clear the grate well from ashes and cinders; then lay at the bottom of it a few lumps offresh coal, about the size of ducks' eggs, so as not wholly to obstruct the air passing between the bars on which they are placed. This done, put a small quantity of waste paper or shavings next upon the coal; then a few sticks or pieces of split wood placed carefully above it, so that they may not project between the bars; then a layer of the cinders you have before taken from the grate; and next a few lumps of coal on the top. Take care tocompletethis process before applying the light, which may easily be done afterwards by means of a lucifer match, and you will seldom fail to have a good fire in a few minutes.Nothing is easier than to light a fire in the way here recommended, but the coals and cinders must be laid in place by hand, and not thrown in anyhow with the shovel. If the kindling wood be green or damp, it should be dried over night, as a more miserable task cannot be attempted than to light a fire with damp materials.131.Another Way.—To light a fire from one already kindled, put three or four pieces of charcoal between the bars of the grate; then lay a few pieces of fresh coal upon the bottom of the grate in which the second fire is to be made, and place upon them, crosswise, the lighted pieces of charcoal; cover them with pieces of fresh coal, and blow them with the hand-bellows, when the charcoal will set fire to the fresh coal, and a brisk fire will be made in a few minutes. On the contrary, if we light a fire with wood, some time must elapse before it can safely be blown.132.Economy in Fuel.—A saving of nearly one-third of the coal consumed may be made by the following easy means:—Let the coal ashes, which are usually thrown into the dust bin, be preserved in a corner of the coal hole, and make your servants add to them from your coal heap an equal part of the small coal or slack, which is too small to be retained in the grate, and pour a small quantity of water upon the mixture. When you make up your fire, place a few round coals in front, and throw some of this mixture behind; it saves the trouble of sifting your ashes, gives a warm and pleasant fire, and a very small part only will remain unburnt.133.Fire Balls.—Mix one bushel of small coal, or saw-dust, or both, with two bushels of sand, and one bushel and a half of clay; make the mixture into balls with water, and pile them in a dry place, to harden them. A fire cannot be lighted with these balls; but when it burns strong, put them on above the top bar, and they will keep up a strong heat.134.To prevent the ill effects of Charcoal.—Set over the burning charcoal a vessel of boiling water, the steam of which will prevent danger from the fumes.135.Method of sweeping Chimneys without employing Children, and the danger attending the old Method pointed out.—Procure a rope for the purpose, twice the length of the height of the chimney; to the middle of it tie a bush (broom furze, or any other), of sufficient size to fill the chimney; put one end of the rope down the chimney (if there be any windings in it, tie a bullet or round stone to the end of the rope), and introduce the wood end of the bush after the rope has descended into the chamber; then let a person pull it down. The bush, by the elasticity of its twigs, brushes the sides of the chimney as it descends, and carries the soot with it. If necessary, the person at the top, who has hold of the other end of the rope, draws the bush up again; but, in this case, the person below must turn the bush, to send the wood end foremost, before he calls to the person at top to pull it up.Many people, who are silent to the calls of humanity, are yet attentive to the voice of interest: chimneys cleansed in this way never need a tenth part of the repairs required where they are swept by children, who being obliged to work themselves up by pressing with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other, often force out the bricks which divide the chimneys. This is one of the causes why, in many houses, a fire in one apartment always fills the adjoining ones with smoke, and sometimes even the neighboring house. Nay, some houses have even been burnt by this means; for a foul chimney, taking fire, has been frequently known to communicate, by these apertures, to empty apartments, or to apartments filled with timber, where, of course, it was not thought necessary to make any examination, after extinguishing the fire in the chimney where it began.136.To revive a dull Fire.—Powdered nitre, strewed on the fire, is the best bellows that can be used.137.Fires, Stoves, &c.—It is wasteful to wet small coal, though it is commonly thought to make a fire last longer: in truth, it wastes the heat, and for a time makes a bad fire.A close stove intended to warm an apartment should not have a polished surface, else it will keep in the heat; whereas, if of rough and unpolished cast iron, the heat will be dispersed through the room.Long, shallow grates, are uneconomical, as the body of the coal in them is not soon heated, and requires to be oftener replenished to keep up the fire.A good fire should be bright without being too hot: the best and quickest mode of making up a neglected fire is to stir out the ashes, and with the tongs fill up the spaces between the bars with cinders or half-burnt coals: this method will soon produce a glowing fire. If coke can be mixed with coals, the fire will require extra attention: coke, however, makes too much dust for fires in the best rooms.138.Water.—Hard water by boiling may be brought nearly to the state of soft. A piece of chalk put into spring water will soften it.Rain, or the softest water, is better adapted than any other for washing and cleaning; but it must be filtered for drinking in large towns, as it becomes impure from the roofs and plaster of houses. The best water has the greatest number of air bubbles when poured into a glass. Hard water will become thick and foul sooner than soft water.139.To purify Water for drinking.—Filter river water through a sponge, more or less compressed, instead of stone or sand, by which the water is not only rendered more clear, but wholesome; for sand is insensibly dissolved by the water, so that in four or five years it will have lost a fifth part of its weight. Powder of charcoal should be added to the sponge when the water is foul, or fetid. Those who examine the large quantity of terrene matter on the inside of tea-kettles will be convinced all water should be boiled before drunk.140. Or, take a large flower-pot, and put either a piece of sponge or some cleanly-washed moss over the hole at the bottom.Fill the pot three-quarters with a mixture of equal parts of clean sharp sand, and charcoal in pieces the size of peas. On this lay a piece of linen or woollen cloth, large enough to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour the water to be filtered into the basin formed by the cloth, and it will come out pure through the sponge or moss at the bottom.141.To purify River, or Muddy Water.—Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stirring it about in a puncheon of water from the river, all the impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become quite clear.142.To purify muddy Water of Rivers or Pits.—Make a number of holes in the bottom of a deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and above this some clean sand; sink this tub in the river or pit, so that only a few inches of the tub will be above the surface of the water; the river or pit water will filter through the sand, and rise clear through it to the level of the water on the outside, and will be pure and limpid.143.Method of making putrid Water sweet in a Night's Time.—Four large spoonfuls of unslaked lime put into a puncheon of ninety gallons of putrid water, at sea, will, in one night, make it as clear and sweet as the best spring water just drawn: but unless the water is afterwards ventilated sufficiently to carbonize the lime, it will be a lime water. Three ounces of pure unslaked lime should saturate ninety gallons of water.144.Lead Cisterns.—Lead Cisternsare unsafe to hold water for culinary purposes: if the water has stood in them several days undisturbed, a small white coating may be observed at the upper edge of the water: on any addition of water, this coating is washed off, and if there be the slightest acidity in the vessel, this coating will be dissolved in the water, and thus a poison be conveyed into the stomach. To prevent this, the insides of lead cisterns should be occasionally examined and cleared out.145.To prevent the freezing of Water in Pipes in the Winter Time.—By tying up the ball-cock with straw or flannel duringthe frost, the freezing of pipes will often be prevented; in fact, it will always be prevented where the main pipe is higher than the cistern or other reservoir, and the pipe is laid in a regular inclination from one to the other, for then no water can remain in the pipe; or if the main is lower than the cistern, and the pipe regularly inclines, upon the supply's ceasing, the pipe will immediately exhaust itself. When water is in the pipes, if each cock be left a little dripping, the circulation of the water will prevent its freezing in the pipes.146.To preserve Water and Meat from Putrefaction in long Voyages.—The crews of two Russian ships, which sailed round the world, were extremely healthy. During the whole three years of their voyage only two men died of the crew of the Neva, and the Naveshda did not lose a single man. It is known that their fresh water was preserved in charred casks, but it is not so generally known that they used the same precaution for preserving their salted provisions. The beef they carried out with them tasted as pleasantly upon their return, as it did three years before, when first salted.147.To make Sea-water fit for washing Linen.—Soda put into sea-water renders it turbid; the lime and magnesia fall to the bottom. Therefore, to make sea-water fit for washing linen, put in soda enough as not only to effect a precipitation of these earths, but to render the water sufficiently alkaline.148.Steam.—When the steam from a tea-kettle appears cloudy, it should be taken from the fire, as the water is then fast boiling away; the steam when the water first boils being quite transparent, so as scarcely to be seen near the mouth of the spout. The top of the kettle should be kept bright, as a polished surface keeps in the heat.149.To clean a Carriage.—Wash the body and wheels with a mop, brush, and plenty of water. Then blacken and clean all the straps and leather, first cleaning the brass or other ornaments as those on harness. Next brush the inside lining, clean the glasses, and clean and trim the lamps. Stains may be removed from panels by rubbing them with sweet oil on baize. The wheels should be occasionally greased or oiled, and the linchpins examined.150.For Coach Wheels.—Melt over a slow fire one pound of lard, and half a pound of black lead in powder, stirring them well; remove the mixture from the fire, and stir till cold.151.Harness Makers' Jet.—Take one drachm of indigo, a quarter of an ounce of isinglass, half an ounce of soft soap, four ounces of glue, one pennyworth of logwood raspings, and one quart of vinegar; boil the whole together over a slow fire, till reduced to one pint. A small quantity is then to be taken up on a piece of clean sponge, and thinly applied to harness, boots, &c., taking care that they are previously well cleaned.N.B.—A small quantity of sulphate of iron (green vitriol) would perhaps greatly improve this.152.To clean Harness.—Having washed off the wet dirt, sponge the harness clean, and hang it up to dry. Next, brush it with a dry, hard brush, and clean the brass ornaments.For this purpose, mix a quarter of a pint of turpentine, with two ounces of rotten-stone, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal, and a quarter of a pint of droppings of sweet oil; apply this paste with leather, and polish it off with powdered charcoal.Or, clean the brass ornaments with the following mixture, which is used in the Royal Mews: dissolve one ounce of oxalic acid in a pint of water, to which add a pint of naphtha. To give the brass-work a fine color, powder some sal-ammoniac, moisten it with water, and rub it upon the ornaments; then heat them over charcoal, and polish with dried bran and whiting.Or, wash the brass-work with a strong solution of roche alum, and polish it with tripoli.To restore the color of harness, clean it, and brush over it the following mixture:—boil half a pound of logwood chips in three quarts of soft water, to which add three ounces of galls bruised and one ounce of alum.153.Oiling Old Leather.—A practice is common of wetting harness, &c., before it is to be oiled, under the idea that it soaks in the oil better for wetting. No two things are less capable of union than oil and water. The leather appears soft after the above practice, but a dry day will soon show how hard the leather becomes when the water it has imbibed has evaporated, and how rotten the heart of the leather is, although the outsideappears yet oily. If leather be dry and then oiled, the quantity of oil consumed will tell whether the leather has absorbed the oil or not. If it have, it will last for years, if it be oiled thoroughly every spring. The most durable stuff to nail up garden trees, is leather soaked in oil, and then drained before use. Old shoes and harness will thus be of use when no longer of service to the body.154.General Washing.—Counterpanes, blankets, bed-hangings, &c., should be washed in summer, as they will then dry quickly, and be of good color.By putting linen and cotton stockings to soak the night before they are to be washed, much soap and labor will be saved.If clothes remain long dirty, they will not only require more soap and labor, but be much injured in washing.155.Washing Preparation.—Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound ofquick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda; and enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels. Put the dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes. Then pour them into a jar to settle.Another method of making this preparation is—Instead of preparing each of the articles by themselves, dissolve over night half a pound of soda in one gallon of boiling water, pour it on the lime, and let it settle; cut up the soap, and pour the clear water from the lime and soda upon it. In the morning it will be a dissolved mass, fit for use. In this way the twenty minutes' boiling of the lime and soda is dispensed with.In either of these processes white or common yellow soap may be used. But the lime should be white and quick. If it does not bubble and hiss when the water is poured on it, it is unfit for use.This preparation contains nothing injurious to the linen. It has been proved by trial that if the directions are rightly followed, it is less destructive than the old method.156.How to proceed after having made the Preparation.—Set aside the flannels and colored things, as theymust notbe washedin this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are boiling.The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak.In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes. A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper to prevent the clothes from burning.Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an hour. Then rinse them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be beautifully white.The same water will do forthreelots. Wash the finer things first.After having been used for the clothes, the mixture may be employed for cleaning silver, brass, or any other kind of metal; which should afterwards be dried and polished with leather. The liquid may also be used for scouring floors, or cleaning paint.157.To make Starch.—Dissolve as much starch as will be required in a very small quantity of cold water; then pour boiling water on it till it is of the right consistency, and let it boil once or twice.Inmixing starch, put a lump of sugar in it to prevent it from sticking to the iron. Stirring the starch for a minute with a sperm candle improves it when it is wanted for shirt bosoms or collars.158.Gum Arabic Starch.—Get two ounces of fine white gum arabic, and pound it to powder. Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a pint or more of boiling water, (according to the degree of strength you desire,) and then having covered it, let it set all night. In the morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for use. A table-spoonful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, will give to lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness to which nothing else can restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for thin white muslin and bobbinet.159.To keep Muslins of a good Color.—Never wash muslins or any kind of white cotton goods, with linen; for the latter deposits or discharges a gum and coloring matter every time it is washed, which discolors and dyes the cotton.Wash them by themselves.160.To wash Flannels.—Flannels should be washed in soft water, soap, and much blue. The water should be as hot as the hands will bear; wring them as dry as possible, shake them and hang them out; but do not rinse them after the lather.161.To make Flannels not shrink.—The first time of washing put them into a pail of boiling water, and let them lie till cold.162.To scour Flannels.—Slice half a pound of yellow soap, and dissolve it in boiling water, so as to make it of the thickness of oil; cover the flannels with warm water, add a lump of pearlash, and about one-third of the soap-solution; beat them till no head rises on the water; then pour it off, and proceed as before with hotter water, without pearlash.163.To wash Woollens.—Use soft water; and, in order to make a lather, put half a pound of soap into a gallon of water, (or as much more in proportion as is necessary,) and boil it until the soap is dissolved; wash through two waters, (unless one is found sufficient,) as warm as can be borne, adding, as you go on, what quantity of the soap-water is needed; wring them out each time; then throw them into a rinsing-tub, and fill, to covering, with boiling water. Let them remain until cool enough to admit of handling, then proceed to rinse well, and wring them.N. B.—Observe, the rinsing-water must behard water—this is the secret. This method will do for any kinds of woollens; but for large and strong, such as blankets, or carpets, &c., perhaps wringing would be better omitted, and in all cases, care should be taken to spread out the articles straight and smooth.164.Drying Clothes.—If the weather be favorable, the drying may be best finished in the open air; but if the weather be damp or doubtful, the article should be, without delay, spread before a fire, or hung in an apartment where there is a strong current of air. A dry cloth should be placed on the line hedge,or horse, and the woollen article spread upon it. The more quickly the drying can be accomplished the better. For this reason, settled dry weather should be chosen for this kind of work; if windy, all the better.165.Family Washing.—[The following method, though not generally known, is much practiced in many families.] Melt together half a pound each of washing soda and of soap cuttings, mix well with sixteen gallons of water, pour it lukewarm over the dirty linen, and leave to soak for twenty-four hours. Drain this water from the clothes, and put them into a boiler, with a second supply of the same preparation cold, and let them boil for rather a longer time than if they had been previously washed. They will then require to be washed out in clean, warm water, looking carefully over them that the parts requiring it may be rubbed; afterwards rinse in the usual way. This direction applies to all white and brown-holland articles. Bobbinet, and lace, retain their color best, if onlyscalded, notboiled. This mode of washing has been adopted for many years in a family of seven persons; the linen is of an excellent color, with only half the assistance formerly required, and the quantity of soap used is much lessened.N. B. The refuse water is a good manure for fruit trees.166.Substitutes for Soap.—Put any quantity of pearl-ash or soda into a large jar, cover it lightly, and in a few days it will become liquid; then mix with it an equal quantity of newly-slaked lime, and double its quantity of soft water: boil it half an hour, add as much more hot water, and pour off the liquor.Two ounces of pearl-ash, used with a pound and a half of soap, will effect a considerable saving.For coarse purposes, soft soap is a saving of nearly one-half. The most economical plan of keeping hard soap, is to cut it into pieces of about a pound each, and keep it moderately dry.A little pipe-clay dissolved in the water, or rubbed with the soap on the clothes, will give the dirtiest linen the appearance of having been bleached; it will also clean them with about half the labor, and a saving of full one-fourth of the soap. Pipe-clay will also render hard water nearly as soft as rain-water.Carpets, moreen curtains, or other woollen goods, may be cleaned with the coarse pulp of potatoes, used as a kind of soap.167.Horse-chestnut Soap.—It is not generally known that the horse-chestnut contains a soapy juice, not only useful in bleaching, but in washing linens and stuffs. The nuts must be peeled and ground, and the meal of twenty of them will be sufficient to mix with ten quarts of hot water, with which the clothes may be washed without soap; the clothes should then be rinsed in spring-water. The same meal being steeped in hot water, and mixed with an equal quantity of bran, will make a nutritious food for poultry.168.To wash a Cotton Counterpane.—Slice a pound of mottled soap, dissolve it in a pailful of boiling water, and add a small lump of pearl-ash; next, put the counterpane into warm water, with a bowl of the soap-solution, beat it and turn it, wash it in a second liquor, and rinse it in cold water; then put three tea-spoonfuls of liquid blue into a thin liquor, stir together, and put in the counterpane; beat it a few minutes, and dry it in the air.169.To wash Silk Stockings, White and Black.—Cut in thin bits some white soap, and boil it in soft water; pour a little of it among cold, soft water, and wash the stockings, first upon the inner side; repeat the washing with fresh suds and water, till they are washed quite clean; turn the outside, the last time of washing, and if the feet be very dirty, rub a little of the boiled soap upon them, but not upon the legs. If to be colored, mix the dye with a little clean suds, and dip in the white stockings; draw them out smooth, and lay them upon a sheet on a bed, with the window open, and when almost dry, lay them upon a piece of flannel, and with another bit rolled up, rub them hard and quick one way till they are dry.170.To wash Thread Stockings and Gloves.—Fine thread-stockings and gloves should be well soaped, put into a lather of cold water, and boiled; they should then be put into a fresh, cold lather, and be boiled again; when, on taking them out, they will require little more than rinsing.171.To wash Cotton Stockings.—Lay them in cold water at night; next day boil them in a copper with some soda and soap; stir them well about, and they will become quite clean without any rubbing; rinse them well in cold water, and bleach them;when nearly dry, draw them smooth, folding them straight over the instep. Place them under a heavy weight, or iron them.172.To wash Cotton Bed-furniture, and printed Calicoes in general.—1. Get rid of as much dirt as possible, by brushing and shaking.2. Do not let the dirty things lie about in a damp wash-house, or in any way become damp before they are fairly wetted.3. On no account use a particle of soda, pearl-ash, or any thing of the kind.4. Allow plenty of water, and plenty of room in the tub.5. Use soft water, no hotter than would be pleasant for washing the hands.6. Rub with soap in the ordinary way. Mottled soap is preferable to yellow. If a general wash is about, the liquor in which flannels have been washed the second time, does very well for the first washing of colored things; or that in which muslins have been washed a second time, provided no soda or anything else of the kind was used.7. When the first washing is completed, have ready another tub with water of the same degree of warmth, into which put each piece immediately on wringing it out of the first liquor.8. Repeat the process of washing in the second liquor, carefully observing that every part is clean.9. On wringing out of the second liquor, immediately plunge each piece into coldspringwater for rinsing.10. On wringing each piece out of the rinsing water, immediately hang it out, and let it dry as quickly as possible.11. In hanging up, put any thick double parts next the line, letting the thinner part hang down and blow about. When these are dry, the positions may be changed, and the thick parts hung downwards.12. If, through unfavorable weather, or any other circumstance, the drying cannot proceed at once, the things had better remain all night in the rinsing water, than be laid about damp. If they are half-dry out-of-doors, when taken in for the night let them be hung or spread in a room, and again hung out early next day. If there is no chance of favorable drying abroad, they should be quickly dried before a fire, or round a stove.13. If starching is required, a sufficient quantity of made starch may be stirred into the rinsing water.173.How to wash Printed Dresses.—A very cool lather of white soap, of the best quality, should be used, as the inferior soaps contain rosin, and other pernicious ingredients most destructive to colors. Soda, pearl-ash, vinegar, alum, salt, washing-powder, &c., although they may not injure some colors, should never be used; for they will most certainly destroy others. Printed dresses should not be washed with household or body linen, or put into scalding water. It is desirable to wash colors with a light hand, so as not to subject them to hard rubbing, and to rinse with plenty of clean cold water, and to dry in the open air. Claret, chocolate, purple, lilac, red, pink, and black, are the most permanent; the cloth for these colors being prepared in a peculiar manner, and which process has the effect of better fixing them to it. Blue, green, drab, ruby, crimson, buff, dahlia, orange, and cinnamon, as they do not admit of the cloth being so prepared, of course require more careful treatment, or some of the surface color may possibly on the first washing scale off and tinge the white, especially if not well rinsed; but by a little discretion the most delicate colors may be effectually preserved.174.To wash Chintz, so as to preserve its Gloss and Beauty.—Take two pounds of rice and boil it in two gallons of water, till soft; when done, pour the whole into a tub; let it stand till about the warmth you in general use for colored linens; put the chintz in, and use the rice instead of soap; wash it in this, till the dirt appears to be out; then boil the same quantity as above, but strain the rice from the water, and mix it in warm water. Wash it in this till quite clean; afterwards rinse it in the water the rice was boiled in; this will answer the end of starch, and no dew will affect it, as it will be stiff while it is worn. If a gown, it must be taken to pieces, and when dried, hang it as smooth as possible; after dry, rub it with a sleek stone, but use no iron.175.To protect Children from Burning.—Add one ounce of alum to the last water used in rinsing children's dresses, and they will be rendered uninflammable, or so slightly combustible that they would take fire slowly, if at all, and would not flame.176.Composition for Washing in Sea-water.—Mix a strong solution of potash with an equal weight of pipe-clay, and workthem to a paste, one pound of which will soften four gallons of sea-water.177.To bleach a Faded Dress.—Wash the dress in hot suds, boil it and rinse it, then dry it in the sun. Should it not be rendered perfectly white, lay the dress in the sun for several days.178.To preserve the Color of a Print Dress.—Rip the skirt from the body, and wash them in cold rain water in which a handful of common salt has been thrown. Do not expose it to the sun to dry, but roll it tightly in a coarse cloth until dry enough to iron.179.To wash White Lace.—A quarter of a cake of white wax, six lumps of sugar, and a dessert-spoonful of made starch, to be mixed with a quart of soft water. Tack the lace very slightly in a thin cloth dipped in cold water, then let it lie in a strong lather for one day. Change the water, and leave it in a second lather all night. Put the above materials into a saucepan, boil the lace in it for ten minutes, then throw it into cold water, and when nearly dry iron it.180.Washing Kid Gloves.—Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel, folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean: if colored, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will soon be gratified to see that her old gloves look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, shapely, and elastic. Dark, and especially black mourning gloves, should be of the very best and high-priced.181.To iron Shirt Fronts and Dresses.—Shirt-fronts are most conveniently ironed upon a deal board about 12 inches long and 8 wide, covered with fine flannel; to be placed between the back and front of the shirt, after the back is ironed. The skirts of dresses also may be ironed in a similar manner, using aboard as long as the skirt, 26 inches wide at one end, and 12 inches at the other. The board should be covered with a blanket, and rest upon a thin block of wood at each end, to keep it from creasing the skirt beneath it.182.To clean Hair Brushes and Combs.—Sub-carbonate of soda orpotashsometimes called salt of tartar or salt of wormwood, is to be dissolved in boiling water—two heaped tea-spoonfuls will be sufficient for half a pint; into this mixture dip the hairs of the brush, and draw the comb through many times. The brush and comb, with the help of this solution, will quickly cleanse each other; dry quickly and they will be as white as new. Observe two things: the potass must be kept in a stopper bottle, or it will soon become liquid; when liquid it is not injured for use, but if left in paper would be wasted; also the mahogany or satin-wood back of the brush must be kept out of the solution, as it is apt to discolor wood.183.To clean Sponge.—Put into two pints of hot water about three cents worth of Salts of lemon, and steep the sponge in it. After it is clean, rinse it in clean water.Or, immerse it in cold buttermilk, and let it soak a few hours. Then rinse it in pure water.184.To clean Ermine and Minivar.—Take a piece of soft flannel, dip it in common flour, and rub the fur with it, being careful to rub it against the grain. Shake it well and rub again with the flannel till all the flour is out of it.185.To clean Swansdown.—White swansdown may be washed in soap and water; after washing, shake it out, and when the down is somewhat raised, shake it before a clear fire to dry.186.To clean Leather Cases.—To clean hat cases, writing-desks, &c., dissolve in warm water a small quantity of oxalic acid, and wash the articles with a sponge wet in the solution. When dry they will look almost equal to new.187.To take Stains out of Linen.—Stains caused by Acidscan be removed by wetting the part, and laying on it some salt of wormwood; then rub it without diluting it with more water.Or, let the cloth imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted match, at a due distance. The spots will be removed by the sulphureous gas.Or, tie up in the stained part some pearlash; then scrape some soap into cold soft water to make a lather, and boil the linen till the stain disappears.188.Stains of Wine, Fruit, &c., after they have been long in the Linen.—Rub the part on each side with yellow soap; then lay on a mixture of starch in cold water very thick; rub it well in, and expose the linen to the sun and air till the stain comes out. If not removed in three or four days, rub that off and renew the process. When dry it may be sprinkled with a little water.Recent Stains of Fruitmay be removed by holding the linen tightly stretched over a tub and pouring hot water over the part. This must be done before any soap has been applied to it.Obs.As soon as a stain is made on table-linen, &c., rub on it common table salt before it has time to dry; the salt will keep it damp till the cloth is washed, when the stain will disappear; or wash the stain lightly when the cloth is removed.189.To restore Scorched Linen.—Peel and slice two onions, and extract the juice by squeezing or pounding. Cut up half an ounce of white soap and two ounces of fullers' earth; mix with them the onion juice and half a pint of vinegar. Boil this composition well, and spread it, when cool, over the scorched part of the linen, leaving it to dry thereon. Then wash out the linen.190.To restore Linen that has long been Stained.—Rub the stains on each side with wet brown soap; mix some starch to a thick paste, with cold water, and spread it over the soaped places; then expose the linen to the air. If the stains do not disappear in three or four days, rub off the mixture, and repeat the process with fresh soap and starch. Then dry it, wet it with cold water, and wash it.191.Grease or Wax Spots.—Grease-spots should be rubbed with strong pearlash and water. Spots of wax or oil paint should be rubbed with turpentine, and washed with soap andwater: or, wax, if moistened repeatedly with spirits of wine, may be brushed off. Or, dissolve six ounces of alum in half a pint of water, warm it, wash the stained part with it, and leave it to dry.Or, in a quart of warm water, dissolve a little white soap, and one ounce of pearlash; to which add two spoonsful of ox-gall, and a little essence of lavender or bergamot: mix the whole, strain it, and keep it in a bottle. In using it, put a small quantity on the spot, brush, and wash it with warm water, so as entirely to remove the liquor applied, which might injure the cloth if allowed to remain.192.Other Stains.—Many other Stainsmay be taken out by dipping the linen in sour buttermilk, and drying it in a hot sun. Then wash it in cold water, and dry it, two or three times a-day.193.Ironmoulds.—Ironmoulds should be wetted, then laid on a hot water-plate, and a little essential salt of lemons put on the part. If the linen becomes dry, wet it, and renew the process, observing that the plate is kept boiling hot. Much of the powder sold under the name of salt of lemons is a spurious preparation; and therefore it is necessary to dip the linen in a good deal of water, and wash it as soon as the stain is removed, to prevent the part from being worn into holes by the acid.Ink spotscan be removed in the same way.194.To take Mildew out of Linen.—Take soap, and rub it well; then scrape some fine chalk, and rub that also in the linen; lay it on the grass; as it dries wet it a little, and it will come out at twice doing.195.Or, mix soft soap with starch powdered, half as much salt and the juice of a lemon; lay it on the part on both sides with a painter's brush. Let it lie on the grass day and night till the stain comes out.196.To discharge all Stains which are not Metallic.—Mix two tea-spoonfuls of water with one of spirit of salt; let the stain lie in it for one or two minutes; then rinse the article in cold water. This will be found particularly useful in removing stains from white doilys.197.Prepared Ox-gall for taking out Spots.—Boil together one pint of ox-gall and two ounces of powdered alum; to which add two ounces of common salt; let the liquor settle, add a few drops of essence of lemon, pour it off into a bottle, and cork tightly.198.Salt of Lemons.—Mix one ounce of salt of sorrel in very fine powder, with an equal quantity of cream of tartar; this is thesaltsold in the shops; but, as it is only recommended for removing ironmoulds or ink spots, it will be better to use only the salt of sorrel.199.To bleach Linen.—Mix common bleaching powder, in the proportion of one pound to a gallon of water; stir it occasionally for three days, let it settle, and pour it off clear. Then make a ley of one pound of soda to a gallon of boiling soft water, in which soak the linen for twelve hours, and boil it half an hour; next, soak it in the bleaching liquor, made as above; and lastly, wash it in the usual manner.Discolored linen or muslin may be restored, by putting a portion of bleaching liquor into the tub wherein the articles are soaking.
100.Polished Tea Urns preferable to varnished ones.—Polished tea urns may be kept boiling with a much less expense of spirits of wine, than such as are varnished; and the cleaner and brighter the dishes, and covers for dishes, which are used for bringing food to table, and for keeping it hot, the more effectually will they answer that purpose.101.Japanned Candlesticks and Tea-Trays, and Paper work.—To remove grease from these, let the water be just warm enough to melt it; then wipe them with a cloth, and if they look smeared, sprinkle a little flour on them, and wipe it clean off. Wax candles should not be burned in the candlesticks, as the wax cannot be taken off without injuring the varnish.Paper work is liable to break if let fall, or if boiling water be poured on it.102.To clean Lamps.—Bronzed lamps should be wiped carefully; if oil be frequently spilled over them, it will cause the bronzing to be rubbed off sooner than it would disappear by wear. Brass lamps are best cleaned with crocus or rotten-stone and sweet oil. Lackered lamps may be washed with soap and water, but should not be touched with acid or very strong ley, else the lacker will soon come off. When lamps are foul inside, wash them with potash and water, rinse them well, set them before the fire, and be sure they are dry before oil is again put into them.Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell, if, before using, the cottons be dipped in hot vinegar, and dried.To clean ground-glass shades, wash the insides carefully with weak soap and water, lukewarm, rub them very lightly and dry with a soft cloth.103.To make economical Wicks for Lamps.—When using a lamp with a flat wick, if you take a piece of clean cotton stocking, it will answer the purpose as well as the cotton wicks which are sold in the shops.104.Wax Candles.—Should they get dirty and yellow, wet them with a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of wine.105.Blowing out a Candle.—There is one small fact in domestic economy which is not generally known; but which is useful, as saving time, trouble, and temper. If a candle be blown out holding it above you, the wick will not smoulder down, and may therefore be easily lighted again; but if blown upon downwards, the contrary is the case.106.Plain Hints about Candles.—Candles improve by keeping a few months. Those made in winter are the best. The most economical, as well as the most convenient plan, is to purchase them by the box, keeping them always in a cool, dry place. If wax candles become discolored or soiled, they may be restored by rubbing them over with a clean flannel slightly dipped in spirits of wine. Candles are sometimes difficult to light. They will ignite instantly, if, when preparing them forthe evening, you dip the top in spirits of wine, shortly before they are wanted. Light them always with a match, and do not hold them to the fire, as that will cause the tops to melt and drip. Always hold the match to the side of the wick, and not over the top. If you find the candles too small for the candlesticks, always wrap a small piece of white paper round the bottom end, not allowing the paper to appear above the socket. Cut the wicks to a convenient length for lighting (nearly close); for if the wick is too long at the top, it will be very difficult to ignite, and will also bend down, and set the candle to running. Glass receivers, for the droppings of candles, are very convenient, as well as ornamental. The pieces of candles that are left each evening should be placed in a tin box kept for that purpose, and used for bed lights.107.To make an improved Candle.—Make the wicks about half the usual size, and wet them with spirits of turpentine; dry them, before dipping, in the sunshine, or in some favorable place, and the candles will be more durable, emit a steadier and clearer blaze, and be in every way superior to those made in the ordinary way.108.Quicksilver.—Tallow will take up quicksilver. Vinegar kills it.109.To give any Close-grained Wood the appearance of Mahogany.—The surface of the wood must first be planed smooth, and then rubbed with weak aquafortis; after which it is to be finished with the following varnish:—To three pints of spirit of wine is to be added four ounces and a half of dragon's blood and an ounce of soda, which have been previously ground together; after standing some time, that the dragon's blood may dissolve, the varnish is to be strained, and laid on the wood with a soft brush. This process is to be repeated, and then the wood possesses the perfect appearance of mahogany. When the polish diminishes in brilliancy, it may be speedily restored by rubbing the article with linseed oil.110.To Darken Mahogany.—Drop a nodule of lime in a basin of water, and wash the mahogany with it.111.To make Imitation Rosewood.—Brush the wood over with a strong decoction of logwood, while hot; repeat this processthree or four times; put a quantity of iron-filings amongst vinegar; then with a flat open brush, made with a piece of cane, bruised at the end, or split with a knife, apply the solution of iron-filings and vinegar to the wood in such a manner as to produce the fibres of the wood required. After it is dry, the wood must be polished with turpentine and bees'-wax.112.Imitation of Ebony.—Pale-colored woods are stained in imitation of ebony by washing them with, or steeping them in a strong decoction of logwood or galls, allowing them to dry, and then washing them over with a solution of the sulphate or acetate of iron. When dry, they are washed with clean water, and the process repeated, if required. They are, lastly, polished or varnished.113.Cheap Coloring for Rooms.—Boil any quantity of potatoes, bruise them, and pour on them boiling water until a pretty thick mixture is obtained, which is to be passed through a sieve; then mix whiting with boiling water, and add it to the potato mixture. To color it, add either of the ochres, lampblack, &c.114.Cheap Paint.—Tar mixed with yellow ochre makes an excellent green paint, for coarse wood-work, iron fencing, &c.115.Weather-proof Composition.—Mix a quantity of sand with double the quantity of wood ashes, well sifted, and three times as muchslakedlime; grind these with linseed oil, and use the composition as paint; the first coat thin, the second thick; and in a short time it will become so hard as to resist weather and time.Or, slake lime in tar, and into it dip sheets of the thickest brown paper, to be laid on in the manner of slating.116.Artificial Marble.—Soak in a solution of alum a quantity of plaster of Paris. Bake it in an oven, and grind it to a powder. When wanted, mix it with water to about the consistency of plaster. It sets into an exceedingly hard composition, and takes a high polish. It may be mixed with various colored minerals or ochres to represent the various marbles, and is a valuable receipt.117.To give Wooden Stairs the Appearance of Stone.—Paint the stairs, step, by step, with white paint, mixed with strong drying oil. Strew it thick with silver sand.It ought to be thoroughly dry next morning, when the loose sand is to be swept off. The painting and sanding is to be repeated, and when dry, the surface is to be done over with pipe-clay, whiting, and water; which may be boiled in an old saucepan, and laid on with a bit of flannel, not too thick, otherwise it will be apt to scale off.A penny cake of pipe-clay, which must be scraped, is the common proportion to half a lump of whiting.The pipe-clay and whiting is generally applied once a week, but that might be done only as occasion requires.118.Lime for Cottage Walls, &c.—Take a stone or two of unslaked white lime, and dissolve it in a pail of cold water. This, of course, is whitewash. The more lime used, the thicker it will be; but the consistence of cream is generally advisable. In another vessel dissolve some green vitriol in hot water. Add it, when dissolved, to the whitewash, and a buff is produced. The more vitriol used, the darker it will be. Stir it well up, and use it in the same way as whitewash, having first carefully got off all the old dirt from the walls. Two or three coats are usually given. For a border at top and base, use more vitriol, to make it darker than the walls. If you have stencil-plates, you can use it with them. This is cheap, does not rub off like ochre, and is pure and wholesome, besides being disinfecting.119.A White for Inside Painting, which dries in about four hours, and leaves no smell.—Take one gallon of spirits of turpentine, and two pounds of frankincense; let them simmer over a clear fire till dissolved, then strain and bottle it. Add one quart of this mixture to a gallon of bleached linseed oil, shake them well together, and bottle them likewise. Grind any quantity of white-lead very fine with spirits of turpentine, then add a sufficient quantity of the last mixture to it, till you find it fit for laying on. If it grows thick in working, it must be thinned with spirit of turpentine; it gives a flat, or dead white.120.A Green Paint for Garden Stands, Trellisses, &c.—Take mineral green, and white lead ground in turpentine; mix up the quantity you wish with a small quantity of turpentine-varnish;this serves for the first coat; for the second, put as much varnish in your mixture as will produce a good gloss; if you desire a brighter green, add a small quantity of Prussian blue, which will much improve the beauty of the color.121.Cheap and beautiful Green.—The cost of this paint is less than one-fourth of oil color, and the beauty far superior. Take four pounds of Roman vitriol, and pour on it a tea-kettleful of boiling water; when dissolved, add two pounds of pearl-ash, and stir the mixture well with a stick until the effervescence cease; then add a quarter of a pound of pulverized arsenic, and stir the whole together. Lay it on with a paint brush, and if the wall has not been painted before, at least two, or even three coats, will be requisite. If a pea-green is required, put in less, and if an apple-green, more, of the yellow arsenic.122.To Destroy the Smell of Fresh Paint.—Mix chloride of lime with water, with which damp some hay, and strew it upon the floor.123.To take the Smell of Paint from Rooms.—Let three or four broad tubs, each containing about eight gallons of water, and one ounce of vitriolic acid, be placed in the new painted room near the wainscot; this water will absorb and retain the effluvia from the paint in three days, but the water should be renewed each day during that time.124.To remove Unpleasant Odors.—The unpleasant smell of new paint is best removed by time and atmospheric ventilation; but tubs of water placed in the apartment, will act more rapidly; with this inconvenience, however, that the gloss of the paint will be destroyed. Unpleasant smells from water-closets, or all articles of furniture connected with them, may be modified by the application of lime-water, to which may be added the soap-suds that have been used in washing, which neutralize the pungently offensive salts; a little quick-lime put into a night-chair will destroy all disagreeable effluvia. Aromatic pastiles of the following composition may be burned with great success: take of camphor, flowers of benzoin, powdered charcoal, powdered cascarilla bark, powdered Turkey myrrh, and powdered nitre, each equal quantities; beat them with syrup sufficient to form a mass, and divide into pastiles of a conical shape. Theymay be mixed up with spirit of turpentine (the rectified oil) or anything that is inflammable. Syrup does best, as it is most adhesive.125.To prevent disagreeable Smells from Privies, Night Chairs, &c.—Milk of lime (water in which lime has been slaked, and which is whitened by the fine particles of that substance) must be mixed with a ley of ashes, or soapy water that has been used in washing, then thrown into the sink of the privy; it will destroy the offensive smell. By these means, for the value of a few pence, any collection of filth whatever may be neutralized.For the night-chair of sick persons, put within the vessel half a pound of quicklime, half an ounce of powdered sal-ammoniac, and water one pint: this will prevent any disagreeable odor.126.Remarks.—Quicklime, or even lime just slaked, answers the purpose without any addition. It is the only thing used in camps, particularly in hot countries, to keep the ditches from creating contagion.127.To clean Books or Prints.—Ink spots may be removed by oxalic acid dissolved in water, and carefully applied with a hair pencil. To remove oil or grease, warm the spot, lay over it blotting paper, and upon it the heated blade of a knife, when the blotting-paper will absorb the grease; then apply spirits of turpentine, with a hair pencil, and restore the whiteness of the paper with spirits of wine.128.To preserve Books.—A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mouldiness and damp. Russian leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never moulds; and merchants suffer large bales of this article to lie in the London Docks in the most careless manner, knowing that it cannot sustain any injury from damp.129.To clean Oil Paintings.—Clean the picture well with a sponge, dipped in warm beer; after it has become perfectly dry, wash it with a solution of the finest gum-dragon, dissolved in pure water. Never use blue starch, which tarnishes and eats out the coloring; nor white of eggs, which casts a thick varnish over pictures, and only mends bad ones by concealing the faults of the coloring.130.To Light a Coal Fire.—A considerable saving of time and trouble might often be effected, if housemaids would attend to the following rules in lighting a fire:—Clear the grate well from ashes and cinders; then lay at the bottom of it a few lumps offresh coal, about the size of ducks' eggs, so as not wholly to obstruct the air passing between the bars on which they are placed. This done, put a small quantity of waste paper or shavings next upon the coal; then a few sticks or pieces of split wood placed carefully above it, so that they may not project between the bars; then a layer of the cinders you have before taken from the grate; and next a few lumps of coal on the top. Take care tocompletethis process before applying the light, which may easily be done afterwards by means of a lucifer match, and you will seldom fail to have a good fire in a few minutes.Nothing is easier than to light a fire in the way here recommended, but the coals and cinders must be laid in place by hand, and not thrown in anyhow with the shovel. If the kindling wood be green or damp, it should be dried over night, as a more miserable task cannot be attempted than to light a fire with damp materials.131.Another Way.—To light a fire from one already kindled, put three or four pieces of charcoal between the bars of the grate; then lay a few pieces of fresh coal upon the bottom of the grate in which the second fire is to be made, and place upon them, crosswise, the lighted pieces of charcoal; cover them with pieces of fresh coal, and blow them with the hand-bellows, when the charcoal will set fire to the fresh coal, and a brisk fire will be made in a few minutes. On the contrary, if we light a fire with wood, some time must elapse before it can safely be blown.132.Economy in Fuel.—A saving of nearly one-third of the coal consumed may be made by the following easy means:—Let the coal ashes, which are usually thrown into the dust bin, be preserved in a corner of the coal hole, and make your servants add to them from your coal heap an equal part of the small coal or slack, which is too small to be retained in the grate, and pour a small quantity of water upon the mixture. When you make up your fire, place a few round coals in front, and throw some of this mixture behind; it saves the trouble of sifting your ashes, gives a warm and pleasant fire, and a very small part only will remain unburnt.133.Fire Balls.—Mix one bushel of small coal, or saw-dust, or both, with two bushels of sand, and one bushel and a half of clay; make the mixture into balls with water, and pile them in a dry place, to harden them. A fire cannot be lighted with these balls; but when it burns strong, put them on above the top bar, and they will keep up a strong heat.134.To prevent the ill effects of Charcoal.—Set over the burning charcoal a vessel of boiling water, the steam of which will prevent danger from the fumes.135.Method of sweeping Chimneys without employing Children, and the danger attending the old Method pointed out.—Procure a rope for the purpose, twice the length of the height of the chimney; to the middle of it tie a bush (broom furze, or any other), of sufficient size to fill the chimney; put one end of the rope down the chimney (if there be any windings in it, tie a bullet or round stone to the end of the rope), and introduce the wood end of the bush after the rope has descended into the chamber; then let a person pull it down. The bush, by the elasticity of its twigs, brushes the sides of the chimney as it descends, and carries the soot with it. If necessary, the person at the top, who has hold of the other end of the rope, draws the bush up again; but, in this case, the person below must turn the bush, to send the wood end foremost, before he calls to the person at top to pull it up.Many people, who are silent to the calls of humanity, are yet attentive to the voice of interest: chimneys cleansed in this way never need a tenth part of the repairs required where they are swept by children, who being obliged to work themselves up by pressing with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other, often force out the bricks which divide the chimneys. This is one of the causes why, in many houses, a fire in one apartment always fills the adjoining ones with smoke, and sometimes even the neighboring house. Nay, some houses have even been burnt by this means; for a foul chimney, taking fire, has been frequently known to communicate, by these apertures, to empty apartments, or to apartments filled with timber, where, of course, it was not thought necessary to make any examination, after extinguishing the fire in the chimney where it began.136.To revive a dull Fire.—Powdered nitre, strewed on the fire, is the best bellows that can be used.137.Fires, Stoves, &c.—It is wasteful to wet small coal, though it is commonly thought to make a fire last longer: in truth, it wastes the heat, and for a time makes a bad fire.A close stove intended to warm an apartment should not have a polished surface, else it will keep in the heat; whereas, if of rough and unpolished cast iron, the heat will be dispersed through the room.Long, shallow grates, are uneconomical, as the body of the coal in them is not soon heated, and requires to be oftener replenished to keep up the fire.A good fire should be bright without being too hot: the best and quickest mode of making up a neglected fire is to stir out the ashes, and with the tongs fill up the spaces between the bars with cinders or half-burnt coals: this method will soon produce a glowing fire. If coke can be mixed with coals, the fire will require extra attention: coke, however, makes too much dust for fires in the best rooms.138.Water.—Hard water by boiling may be brought nearly to the state of soft. A piece of chalk put into spring water will soften it.Rain, or the softest water, is better adapted than any other for washing and cleaning; but it must be filtered for drinking in large towns, as it becomes impure from the roofs and plaster of houses. The best water has the greatest number of air bubbles when poured into a glass. Hard water will become thick and foul sooner than soft water.139.To purify Water for drinking.—Filter river water through a sponge, more or less compressed, instead of stone or sand, by which the water is not only rendered more clear, but wholesome; for sand is insensibly dissolved by the water, so that in four or five years it will have lost a fifth part of its weight. Powder of charcoal should be added to the sponge when the water is foul, or fetid. Those who examine the large quantity of terrene matter on the inside of tea-kettles will be convinced all water should be boiled before drunk.140. Or, take a large flower-pot, and put either a piece of sponge or some cleanly-washed moss over the hole at the bottom.Fill the pot three-quarters with a mixture of equal parts of clean sharp sand, and charcoal in pieces the size of peas. On this lay a piece of linen or woollen cloth, large enough to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour the water to be filtered into the basin formed by the cloth, and it will come out pure through the sponge or moss at the bottom.141.To purify River, or Muddy Water.—Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stirring it about in a puncheon of water from the river, all the impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become quite clear.142.To purify muddy Water of Rivers or Pits.—Make a number of holes in the bottom of a deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and above this some clean sand; sink this tub in the river or pit, so that only a few inches of the tub will be above the surface of the water; the river or pit water will filter through the sand, and rise clear through it to the level of the water on the outside, and will be pure and limpid.143.Method of making putrid Water sweet in a Night's Time.—Four large spoonfuls of unslaked lime put into a puncheon of ninety gallons of putrid water, at sea, will, in one night, make it as clear and sweet as the best spring water just drawn: but unless the water is afterwards ventilated sufficiently to carbonize the lime, it will be a lime water. Three ounces of pure unslaked lime should saturate ninety gallons of water.144.Lead Cisterns.—Lead Cisternsare unsafe to hold water for culinary purposes: if the water has stood in them several days undisturbed, a small white coating may be observed at the upper edge of the water: on any addition of water, this coating is washed off, and if there be the slightest acidity in the vessel, this coating will be dissolved in the water, and thus a poison be conveyed into the stomach. To prevent this, the insides of lead cisterns should be occasionally examined and cleared out.145.To prevent the freezing of Water in Pipes in the Winter Time.—By tying up the ball-cock with straw or flannel duringthe frost, the freezing of pipes will often be prevented; in fact, it will always be prevented where the main pipe is higher than the cistern or other reservoir, and the pipe is laid in a regular inclination from one to the other, for then no water can remain in the pipe; or if the main is lower than the cistern, and the pipe regularly inclines, upon the supply's ceasing, the pipe will immediately exhaust itself. When water is in the pipes, if each cock be left a little dripping, the circulation of the water will prevent its freezing in the pipes.146.To preserve Water and Meat from Putrefaction in long Voyages.—The crews of two Russian ships, which sailed round the world, were extremely healthy. During the whole three years of their voyage only two men died of the crew of the Neva, and the Naveshda did not lose a single man. It is known that their fresh water was preserved in charred casks, but it is not so generally known that they used the same precaution for preserving their salted provisions. The beef they carried out with them tasted as pleasantly upon their return, as it did three years before, when first salted.147.To make Sea-water fit for washing Linen.—Soda put into sea-water renders it turbid; the lime and magnesia fall to the bottom. Therefore, to make sea-water fit for washing linen, put in soda enough as not only to effect a precipitation of these earths, but to render the water sufficiently alkaline.148.Steam.—When the steam from a tea-kettle appears cloudy, it should be taken from the fire, as the water is then fast boiling away; the steam when the water first boils being quite transparent, so as scarcely to be seen near the mouth of the spout. The top of the kettle should be kept bright, as a polished surface keeps in the heat.149.To clean a Carriage.—Wash the body and wheels with a mop, brush, and plenty of water. Then blacken and clean all the straps and leather, first cleaning the brass or other ornaments as those on harness. Next brush the inside lining, clean the glasses, and clean and trim the lamps. Stains may be removed from panels by rubbing them with sweet oil on baize. The wheels should be occasionally greased or oiled, and the linchpins examined.150.For Coach Wheels.—Melt over a slow fire one pound of lard, and half a pound of black lead in powder, stirring them well; remove the mixture from the fire, and stir till cold.151.Harness Makers' Jet.—Take one drachm of indigo, a quarter of an ounce of isinglass, half an ounce of soft soap, four ounces of glue, one pennyworth of logwood raspings, and one quart of vinegar; boil the whole together over a slow fire, till reduced to one pint. A small quantity is then to be taken up on a piece of clean sponge, and thinly applied to harness, boots, &c., taking care that they are previously well cleaned.N.B.—A small quantity of sulphate of iron (green vitriol) would perhaps greatly improve this.152.To clean Harness.—Having washed off the wet dirt, sponge the harness clean, and hang it up to dry. Next, brush it with a dry, hard brush, and clean the brass ornaments.For this purpose, mix a quarter of a pint of turpentine, with two ounces of rotten-stone, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal, and a quarter of a pint of droppings of sweet oil; apply this paste with leather, and polish it off with powdered charcoal.Or, clean the brass ornaments with the following mixture, which is used in the Royal Mews: dissolve one ounce of oxalic acid in a pint of water, to which add a pint of naphtha. To give the brass-work a fine color, powder some sal-ammoniac, moisten it with water, and rub it upon the ornaments; then heat them over charcoal, and polish with dried bran and whiting.Or, wash the brass-work with a strong solution of roche alum, and polish it with tripoli.To restore the color of harness, clean it, and brush over it the following mixture:—boil half a pound of logwood chips in three quarts of soft water, to which add three ounces of galls bruised and one ounce of alum.153.Oiling Old Leather.—A practice is common of wetting harness, &c., before it is to be oiled, under the idea that it soaks in the oil better for wetting. No two things are less capable of union than oil and water. The leather appears soft after the above practice, but a dry day will soon show how hard the leather becomes when the water it has imbibed has evaporated, and how rotten the heart of the leather is, although the outsideappears yet oily. If leather be dry and then oiled, the quantity of oil consumed will tell whether the leather has absorbed the oil or not. If it have, it will last for years, if it be oiled thoroughly every spring. The most durable stuff to nail up garden trees, is leather soaked in oil, and then drained before use. Old shoes and harness will thus be of use when no longer of service to the body.154.General Washing.—Counterpanes, blankets, bed-hangings, &c., should be washed in summer, as they will then dry quickly, and be of good color.By putting linen and cotton stockings to soak the night before they are to be washed, much soap and labor will be saved.If clothes remain long dirty, they will not only require more soap and labor, but be much injured in washing.155.Washing Preparation.—Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound ofquick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda; and enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels. Put the dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes. Then pour them into a jar to settle.Another method of making this preparation is—Instead of preparing each of the articles by themselves, dissolve over night half a pound of soda in one gallon of boiling water, pour it on the lime, and let it settle; cut up the soap, and pour the clear water from the lime and soda upon it. In the morning it will be a dissolved mass, fit for use. In this way the twenty minutes' boiling of the lime and soda is dispensed with.In either of these processes white or common yellow soap may be used. But the lime should be white and quick. If it does not bubble and hiss when the water is poured on it, it is unfit for use.This preparation contains nothing injurious to the linen. It has been proved by trial that if the directions are rightly followed, it is less destructive than the old method.156.How to proceed after having made the Preparation.—Set aside the flannels and colored things, as theymust notbe washedin this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are boiling.The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak.In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes. A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper to prevent the clothes from burning.Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an hour. Then rinse them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be beautifully white.The same water will do forthreelots. Wash the finer things first.After having been used for the clothes, the mixture may be employed for cleaning silver, brass, or any other kind of metal; which should afterwards be dried and polished with leather. The liquid may also be used for scouring floors, or cleaning paint.157.To make Starch.—Dissolve as much starch as will be required in a very small quantity of cold water; then pour boiling water on it till it is of the right consistency, and let it boil once or twice.Inmixing starch, put a lump of sugar in it to prevent it from sticking to the iron. Stirring the starch for a minute with a sperm candle improves it when it is wanted for shirt bosoms or collars.158.Gum Arabic Starch.—Get two ounces of fine white gum arabic, and pound it to powder. Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a pint or more of boiling water, (according to the degree of strength you desire,) and then having covered it, let it set all night. In the morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for use. A table-spoonful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, will give to lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness to which nothing else can restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for thin white muslin and bobbinet.159.To keep Muslins of a good Color.—Never wash muslins or any kind of white cotton goods, with linen; for the latter deposits or discharges a gum and coloring matter every time it is washed, which discolors and dyes the cotton.Wash them by themselves.160.To wash Flannels.—Flannels should be washed in soft water, soap, and much blue. The water should be as hot as the hands will bear; wring them as dry as possible, shake them and hang them out; but do not rinse them after the lather.161.To make Flannels not shrink.—The first time of washing put them into a pail of boiling water, and let them lie till cold.162.To scour Flannels.—Slice half a pound of yellow soap, and dissolve it in boiling water, so as to make it of the thickness of oil; cover the flannels with warm water, add a lump of pearlash, and about one-third of the soap-solution; beat them till no head rises on the water; then pour it off, and proceed as before with hotter water, without pearlash.163.To wash Woollens.—Use soft water; and, in order to make a lather, put half a pound of soap into a gallon of water, (or as much more in proportion as is necessary,) and boil it until the soap is dissolved; wash through two waters, (unless one is found sufficient,) as warm as can be borne, adding, as you go on, what quantity of the soap-water is needed; wring them out each time; then throw them into a rinsing-tub, and fill, to covering, with boiling water. Let them remain until cool enough to admit of handling, then proceed to rinse well, and wring them.N. B.—Observe, the rinsing-water must behard water—this is the secret. This method will do for any kinds of woollens; but for large and strong, such as blankets, or carpets, &c., perhaps wringing would be better omitted, and in all cases, care should be taken to spread out the articles straight and smooth.164.Drying Clothes.—If the weather be favorable, the drying may be best finished in the open air; but if the weather be damp or doubtful, the article should be, without delay, spread before a fire, or hung in an apartment where there is a strong current of air. A dry cloth should be placed on the line hedge,or horse, and the woollen article spread upon it. The more quickly the drying can be accomplished the better. For this reason, settled dry weather should be chosen for this kind of work; if windy, all the better.165.Family Washing.—[The following method, though not generally known, is much practiced in many families.] Melt together half a pound each of washing soda and of soap cuttings, mix well with sixteen gallons of water, pour it lukewarm over the dirty linen, and leave to soak for twenty-four hours. Drain this water from the clothes, and put them into a boiler, with a second supply of the same preparation cold, and let them boil for rather a longer time than if they had been previously washed. They will then require to be washed out in clean, warm water, looking carefully over them that the parts requiring it may be rubbed; afterwards rinse in the usual way. This direction applies to all white and brown-holland articles. Bobbinet, and lace, retain their color best, if onlyscalded, notboiled. This mode of washing has been adopted for many years in a family of seven persons; the linen is of an excellent color, with only half the assistance formerly required, and the quantity of soap used is much lessened.N. B. The refuse water is a good manure for fruit trees.166.Substitutes for Soap.—Put any quantity of pearl-ash or soda into a large jar, cover it lightly, and in a few days it will become liquid; then mix with it an equal quantity of newly-slaked lime, and double its quantity of soft water: boil it half an hour, add as much more hot water, and pour off the liquor.Two ounces of pearl-ash, used with a pound and a half of soap, will effect a considerable saving.For coarse purposes, soft soap is a saving of nearly one-half. The most economical plan of keeping hard soap, is to cut it into pieces of about a pound each, and keep it moderately dry.A little pipe-clay dissolved in the water, or rubbed with the soap on the clothes, will give the dirtiest linen the appearance of having been bleached; it will also clean them with about half the labor, and a saving of full one-fourth of the soap. Pipe-clay will also render hard water nearly as soft as rain-water.Carpets, moreen curtains, or other woollen goods, may be cleaned with the coarse pulp of potatoes, used as a kind of soap.167.Horse-chestnut Soap.—It is not generally known that the horse-chestnut contains a soapy juice, not only useful in bleaching, but in washing linens and stuffs. The nuts must be peeled and ground, and the meal of twenty of them will be sufficient to mix with ten quarts of hot water, with which the clothes may be washed without soap; the clothes should then be rinsed in spring-water. The same meal being steeped in hot water, and mixed with an equal quantity of bran, will make a nutritious food for poultry.168.To wash a Cotton Counterpane.—Slice a pound of mottled soap, dissolve it in a pailful of boiling water, and add a small lump of pearl-ash; next, put the counterpane into warm water, with a bowl of the soap-solution, beat it and turn it, wash it in a second liquor, and rinse it in cold water; then put three tea-spoonfuls of liquid blue into a thin liquor, stir together, and put in the counterpane; beat it a few minutes, and dry it in the air.169.To wash Silk Stockings, White and Black.—Cut in thin bits some white soap, and boil it in soft water; pour a little of it among cold, soft water, and wash the stockings, first upon the inner side; repeat the washing with fresh suds and water, till they are washed quite clean; turn the outside, the last time of washing, and if the feet be very dirty, rub a little of the boiled soap upon them, but not upon the legs. If to be colored, mix the dye with a little clean suds, and dip in the white stockings; draw them out smooth, and lay them upon a sheet on a bed, with the window open, and when almost dry, lay them upon a piece of flannel, and with another bit rolled up, rub them hard and quick one way till they are dry.170.To wash Thread Stockings and Gloves.—Fine thread-stockings and gloves should be well soaped, put into a lather of cold water, and boiled; they should then be put into a fresh, cold lather, and be boiled again; when, on taking them out, they will require little more than rinsing.171.To wash Cotton Stockings.—Lay them in cold water at night; next day boil them in a copper with some soda and soap; stir them well about, and they will become quite clean without any rubbing; rinse them well in cold water, and bleach them;when nearly dry, draw them smooth, folding them straight over the instep. Place them under a heavy weight, or iron them.172.To wash Cotton Bed-furniture, and printed Calicoes in general.—1. Get rid of as much dirt as possible, by brushing and shaking.2. Do not let the dirty things lie about in a damp wash-house, or in any way become damp before they are fairly wetted.3. On no account use a particle of soda, pearl-ash, or any thing of the kind.4. Allow plenty of water, and plenty of room in the tub.5. Use soft water, no hotter than would be pleasant for washing the hands.6. Rub with soap in the ordinary way. Mottled soap is preferable to yellow. If a general wash is about, the liquor in which flannels have been washed the second time, does very well for the first washing of colored things; or that in which muslins have been washed a second time, provided no soda or anything else of the kind was used.7. When the first washing is completed, have ready another tub with water of the same degree of warmth, into which put each piece immediately on wringing it out of the first liquor.8. Repeat the process of washing in the second liquor, carefully observing that every part is clean.9. On wringing out of the second liquor, immediately plunge each piece into coldspringwater for rinsing.10. On wringing each piece out of the rinsing water, immediately hang it out, and let it dry as quickly as possible.11. In hanging up, put any thick double parts next the line, letting the thinner part hang down and blow about. When these are dry, the positions may be changed, and the thick parts hung downwards.12. If, through unfavorable weather, or any other circumstance, the drying cannot proceed at once, the things had better remain all night in the rinsing water, than be laid about damp. If they are half-dry out-of-doors, when taken in for the night let them be hung or spread in a room, and again hung out early next day. If there is no chance of favorable drying abroad, they should be quickly dried before a fire, or round a stove.13. If starching is required, a sufficient quantity of made starch may be stirred into the rinsing water.173.How to wash Printed Dresses.—A very cool lather of white soap, of the best quality, should be used, as the inferior soaps contain rosin, and other pernicious ingredients most destructive to colors. Soda, pearl-ash, vinegar, alum, salt, washing-powder, &c., although they may not injure some colors, should never be used; for they will most certainly destroy others. Printed dresses should not be washed with household or body linen, or put into scalding water. It is desirable to wash colors with a light hand, so as not to subject them to hard rubbing, and to rinse with plenty of clean cold water, and to dry in the open air. Claret, chocolate, purple, lilac, red, pink, and black, are the most permanent; the cloth for these colors being prepared in a peculiar manner, and which process has the effect of better fixing them to it. Blue, green, drab, ruby, crimson, buff, dahlia, orange, and cinnamon, as they do not admit of the cloth being so prepared, of course require more careful treatment, or some of the surface color may possibly on the first washing scale off and tinge the white, especially if not well rinsed; but by a little discretion the most delicate colors may be effectually preserved.174.To wash Chintz, so as to preserve its Gloss and Beauty.—Take two pounds of rice and boil it in two gallons of water, till soft; when done, pour the whole into a tub; let it stand till about the warmth you in general use for colored linens; put the chintz in, and use the rice instead of soap; wash it in this, till the dirt appears to be out; then boil the same quantity as above, but strain the rice from the water, and mix it in warm water. Wash it in this till quite clean; afterwards rinse it in the water the rice was boiled in; this will answer the end of starch, and no dew will affect it, as it will be stiff while it is worn. If a gown, it must be taken to pieces, and when dried, hang it as smooth as possible; after dry, rub it with a sleek stone, but use no iron.175.To protect Children from Burning.—Add one ounce of alum to the last water used in rinsing children's dresses, and they will be rendered uninflammable, or so slightly combustible that they would take fire slowly, if at all, and would not flame.176.Composition for Washing in Sea-water.—Mix a strong solution of potash with an equal weight of pipe-clay, and workthem to a paste, one pound of which will soften four gallons of sea-water.177.To bleach a Faded Dress.—Wash the dress in hot suds, boil it and rinse it, then dry it in the sun. Should it not be rendered perfectly white, lay the dress in the sun for several days.178.To preserve the Color of a Print Dress.—Rip the skirt from the body, and wash them in cold rain water in which a handful of common salt has been thrown. Do not expose it to the sun to dry, but roll it tightly in a coarse cloth until dry enough to iron.179.To wash White Lace.—A quarter of a cake of white wax, six lumps of sugar, and a dessert-spoonful of made starch, to be mixed with a quart of soft water. Tack the lace very slightly in a thin cloth dipped in cold water, then let it lie in a strong lather for one day. Change the water, and leave it in a second lather all night. Put the above materials into a saucepan, boil the lace in it for ten minutes, then throw it into cold water, and when nearly dry iron it.180.Washing Kid Gloves.—Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel, folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean: if colored, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will soon be gratified to see that her old gloves look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, shapely, and elastic. Dark, and especially black mourning gloves, should be of the very best and high-priced.181.To iron Shirt Fronts and Dresses.—Shirt-fronts are most conveniently ironed upon a deal board about 12 inches long and 8 wide, covered with fine flannel; to be placed between the back and front of the shirt, after the back is ironed. The skirts of dresses also may be ironed in a similar manner, using aboard as long as the skirt, 26 inches wide at one end, and 12 inches at the other. The board should be covered with a blanket, and rest upon a thin block of wood at each end, to keep it from creasing the skirt beneath it.182.To clean Hair Brushes and Combs.—Sub-carbonate of soda orpotashsometimes called salt of tartar or salt of wormwood, is to be dissolved in boiling water—two heaped tea-spoonfuls will be sufficient for half a pint; into this mixture dip the hairs of the brush, and draw the comb through many times. The brush and comb, with the help of this solution, will quickly cleanse each other; dry quickly and they will be as white as new. Observe two things: the potass must be kept in a stopper bottle, or it will soon become liquid; when liquid it is not injured for use, but if left in paper would be wasted; also the mahogany or satin-wood back of the brush must be kept out of the solution, as it is apt to discolor wood.183.To clean Sponge.—Put into two pints of hot water about three cents worth of Salts of lemon, and steep the sponge in it. After it is clean, rinse it in clean water.Or, immerse it in cold buttermilk, and let it soak a few hours. Then rinse it in pure water.184.To clean Ermine and Minivar.—Take a piece of soft flannel, dip it in common flour, and rub the fur with it, being careful to rub it against the grain. Shake it well and rub again with the flannel till all the flour is out of it.185.To clean Swansdown.—White swansdown may be washed in soap and water; after washing, shake it out, and when the down is somewhat raised, shake it before a clear fire to dry.186.To clean Leather Cases.—To clean hat cases, writing-desks, &c., dissolve in warm water a small quantity of oxalic acid, and wash the articles with a sponge wet in the solution. When dry they will look almost equal to new.187.To take Stains out of Linen.—Stains caused by Acidscan be removed by wetting the part, and laying on it some salt of wormwood; then rub it without diluting it with more water.Or, let the cloth imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted match, at a due distance. The spots will be removed by the sulphureous gas.Or, tie up in the stained part some pearlash; then scrape some soap into cold soft water to make a lather, and boil the linen till the stain disappears.188.Stains of Wine, Fruit, &c., after they have been long in the Linen.—Rub the part on each side with yellow soap; then lay on a mixture of starch in cold water very thick; rub it well in, and expose the linen to the sun and air till the stain comes out. If not removed in three or four days, rub that off and renew the process. When dry it may be sprinkled with a little water.Recent Stains of Fruitmay be removed by holding the linen tightly stretched over a tub and pouring hot water over the part. This must be done before any soap has been applied to it.Obs.As soon as a stain is made on table-linen, &c., rub on it common table salt before it has time to dry; the salt will keep it damp till the cloth is washed, when the stain will disappear; or wash the stain lightly when the cloth is removed.189.To restore Scorched Linen.—Peel and slice two onions, and extract the juice by squeezing or pounding. Cut up half an ounce of white soap and two ounces of fullers' earth; mix with them the onion juice and half a pint of vinegar. Boil this composition well, and spread it, when cool, over the scorched part of the linen, leaving it to dry thereon. Then wash out the linen.190.To restore Linen that has long been Stained.—Rub the stains on each side with wet brown soap; mix some starch to a thick paste, with cold water, and spread it over the soaped places; then expose the linen to the air. If the stains do not disappear in three or four days, rub off the mixture, and repeat the process with fresh soap and starch. Then dry it, wet it with cold water, and wash it.191.Grease or Wax Spots.—Grease-spots should be rubbed with strong pearlash and water. Spots of wax or oil paint should be rubbed with turpentine, and washed with soap andwater: or, wax, if moistened repeatedly with spirits of wine, may be brushed off. Or, dissolve six ounces of alum in half a pint of water, warm it, wash the stained part with it, and leave it to dry.Or, in a quart of warm water, dissolve a little white soap, and one ounce of pearlash; to which add two spoonsful of ox-gall, and a little essence of lavender or bergamot: mix the whole, strain it, and keep it in a bottle. In using it, put a small quantity on the spot, brush, and wash it with warm water, so as entirely to remove the liquor applied, which might injure the cloth if allowed to remain.192.Other Stains.—Many other Stainsmay be taken out by dipping the linen in sour buttermilk, and drying it in a hot sun. Then wash it in cold water, and dry it, two or three times a-day.193.Ironmoulds.—Ironmoulds should be wetted, then laid on a hot water-plate, and a little essential salt of lemons put on the part. If the linen becomes dry, wet it, and renew the process, observing that the plate is kept boiling hot. Much of the powder sold under the name of salt of lemons is a spurious preparation; and therefore it is necessary to dip the linen in a good deal of water, and wash it as soon as the stain is removed, to prevent the part from being worn into holes by the acid.Ink spotscan be removed in the same way.194.To take Mildew out of Linen.—Take soap, and rub it well; then scrape some fine chalk, and rub that also in the linen; lay it on the grass; as it dries wet it a little, and it will come out at twice doing.195.Or, mix soft soap with starch powdered, half as much salt and the juice of a lemon; lay it on the part on both sides with a painter's brush. Let it lie on the grass day and night till the stain comes out.196.To discharge all Stains which are not Metallic.—Mix two tea-spoonfuls of water with one of spirit of salt; let the stain lie in it for one or two minutes; then rinse the article in cold water. This will be found particularly useful in removing stains from white doilys.197.Prepared Ox-gall for taking out Spots.—Boil together one pint of ox-gall and two ounces of powdered alum; to which add two ounces of common salt; let the liquor settle, add a few drops of essence of lemon, pour it off into a bottle, and cork tightly.198.Salt of Lemons.—Mix one ounce of salt of sorrel in very fine powder, with an equal quantity of cream of tartar; this is thesaltsold in the shops; but, as it is only recommended for removing ironmoulds or ink spots, it will be better to use only the salt of sorrel.199.To bleach Linen.—Mix common bleaching powder, in the proportion of one pound to a gallon of water; stir it occasionally for three days, let it settle, and pour it off clear. Then make a ley of one pound of soda to a gallon of boiling soft water, in which soak the linen for twelve hours, and boil it half an hour; next, soak it in the bleaching liquor, made as above; and lastly, wash it in the usual manner.Discolored linen or muslin may be restored, by putting a portion of bleaching liquor into the tub wherein the articles are soaking.
100.Polished Tea Urns preferable to varnished ones.—Polished tea urns may be kept boiling with a much less expense of spirits of wine, than such as are varnished; and the cleaner and brighter the dishes, and covers for dishes, which are used for bringing food to table, and for keeping it hot, the more effectually will they answer that purpose.
101.Japanned Candlesticks and Tea-Trays, and Paper work.—To remove grease from these, let the water be just warm enough to melt it; then wipe them with a cloth, and if they look smeared, sprinkle a little flour on them, and wipe it clean off. Wax candles should not be burned in the candlesticks, as the wax cannot be taken off without injuring the varnish.Paper work is liable to break if let fall, or if boiling water be poured on it.
102.To clean Lamps.—Bronzed lamps should be wiped carefully; if oil be frequently spilled over them, it will cause the bronzing to be rubbed off sooner than it would disappear by wear. Brass lamps are best cleaned with crocus or rotten-stone and sweet oil. Lackered lamps may be washed with soap and water, but should not be touched with acid or very strong ley, else the lacker will soon come off. When lamps are foul inside, wash them with potash and water, rinse them well, set them before the fire, and be sure they are dry before oil is again put into them.
Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell, if, before using, the cottons be dipped in hot vinegar, and dried.
To clean ground-glass shades, wash the insides carefully with weak soap and water, lukewarm, rub them very lightly and dry with a soft cloth.
103.To make economical Wicks for Lamps.—When using a lamp with a flat wick, if you take a piece of clean cotton stocking, it will answer the purpose as well as the cotton wicks which are sold in the shops.
104.Wax Candles.—Should they get dirty and yellow, wet them with a piece of flannel dipped in spirits of wine.
105.Blowing out a Candle.—There is one small fact in domestic economy which is not generally known; but which is useful, as saving time, trouble, and temper. If a candle be blown out holding it above you, the wick will not smoulder down, and may therefore be easily lighted again; but if blown upon downwards, the contrary is the case.
106.Plain Hints about Candles.—Candles improve by keeping a few months. Those made in winter are the best. The most economical, as well as the most convenient plan, is to purchase them by the box, keeping them always in a cool, dry place. If wax candles become discolored or soiled, they may be restored by rubbing them over with a clean flannel slightly dipped in spirits of wine. Candles are sometimes difficult to light. They will ignite instantly, if, when preparing them forthe evening, you dip the top in spirits of wine, shortly before they are wanted. Light them always with a match, and do not hold them to the fire, as that will cause the tops to melt and drip. Always hold the match to the side of the wick, and not over the top. If you find the candles too small for the candlesticks, always wrap a small piece of white paper round the bottom end, not allowing the paper to appear above the socket. Cut the wicks to a convenient length for lighting (nearly close); for if the wick is too long at the top, it will be very difficult to ignite, and will also bend down, and set the candle to running. Glass receivers, for the droppings of candles, are very convenient, as well as ornamental. The pieces of candles that are left each evening should be placed in a tin box kept for that purpose, and used for bed lights.
107.To make an improved Candle.—Make the wicks about half the usual size, and wet them with spirits of turpentine; dry them, before dipping, in the sunshine, or in some favorable place, and the candles will be more durable, emit a steadier and clearer blaze, and be in every way superior to those made in the ordinary way.
108.Quicksilver.—Tallow will take up quicksilver. Vinegar kills it.
109.To give any Close-grained Wood the appearance of Mahogany.—The surface of the wood must first be planed smooth, and then rubbed with weak aquafortis; after which it is to be finished with the following varnish:—To three pints of spirit of wine is to be added four ounces and a half of dragon's blood and an ounce of soda, which have been previously ground together; after standing some time, that the dragon's blood may dissolve, the varnish is to be strained, and laid on the wood with a soft brush. This process is to be repeated, and then the wood possesses the perfect appearance of mahogany. When the polish diminishes in brilliancy, it may be speedily restored by rubbing the article with linseed oil.
110.To Darken Mahogany.—Drop a nodule of lime in a basin of water, and wash the mahogany with it.
111.To make Imitation Rosewood.—Brush the wood over with a strong decoction of logwood, while hot; repeat this processthree or four times; put a quantity of iron-filings amongst vinegar; then with a flat open brush, made with a piece of cane, bruised at the end, or split with a knife, apply the solution of iron-filings and vinegar to the wood in such a manner as to produce the fibres of the wood required. After it is dry, the wood must be polished with turpentine and bees'-wax.
112.Imitation of Ebony.—Pale-colored woods are stained in imitation of ebony by washing them with, or steeping them in a strong decoction of logwood or galls, allowing them to dry, and then washing them over with a solution of the sulphate or acetate of iron. When dry, they are washed with clean water, and the process repeated, if required. They are, lastly, polished or varnished.
113.Cheap Coloring for Rooms.—Boil any quantity of potatoes, bruise them, and pour on them boiling water until a pretty thick mixture is obtained, which is to be passed through a sieve; then mix whiting with boiling water, and add it to the potato mixture. To color it, add either of the ochres, lampblack, &c.
114.Cheap Paint.—Tar mixed with yellow ochre makes an excellent green paint, for coarse wood-work, iron fencing, &c.
115.Weather-proof Composition.—Mix a quantity of sand with double the quantity of wood ashes, well sifted, and three times as muchslakedlime; grind these with linseed oil, and use the composition as paint; the first coat thin, the second thick; and in a short time it will become so hard as to resist weather and time.
Or, slake lime in tar, and into it dip sheets of the thickest brown paper, to be laid on in the manner of slating.
116.Artificial Marble.—Soak in a solution of alum a quantity of plaster of Paris. Bake it in an oven, and grind it to a powder. When wanted, mix it with water to about the consistency of plaster. It sets into an exceedingly hard composition, and takes a high polish. It may be mixed with various colored minerals or ochres to represent the various marbles, and is a valuable receipt.
117.To give Wooden Stairs the Appearance of Stone.—Paint the stairs, step, by step, with white paint, mixed with strong drying oil. Strew it thick with silver sand.
It ought to be thoroughly dry next morning, when the loose sand is to be swept off. The painting and sanding is to be repeated, and when dry, the surface is to be done over with pipe-clay, whiting, and water; which may be boiled in an old saucepan, and laid on with a bit of flannel, not too thick, otherwise it will be apt to scale off.
A penny cake of pipe-clay, which must be scraped, is the common proportion to half a lump of whiting.
The pipe-clay and whiting is generally applied once a week, but that might be done only as occasion requires.
118.Lime for Cottage Walls, &c.—Take a stone or two of unslaked white lime, and dissolve it in a pail of cold water. This, of course, is whitewash. The more lime used, the thicker it will be; but the consistence of cream is generally advisable. In another vessel dissolve some green vitriol in hot water. Add it, when dissolved, to the whitewash, and a buff is produced. The more vitriol used, the darker it will be. Stir it well up, and use it in the same way as whitewash, having first carefully got off all the old dirt from the walls. Two or three coats are usually given. For a border at top and base, use more vitriol, to make it darker than the walls. If you have stencil-plates, you can use it with them. This is cheap, does not rub off like ochre, and is pure and wholesome, besides being disinfecting.
119.A White for Inside Painting, which dries in about four hours, and leaves no smell.—Take one gallon of spirits of turpentine, and two pounds of frankincense; let them simmer over a clear fire till dissolved, then strain and bottle it. Add one quart of this mixture to a gallon of bleached linseed oil, shake them well together, and bottle them likewise. Grind any quantity of white-lead very fine with spirits of turpentine, then add a sufficient quantity of the last mixture to it, till you find it fit for laying on. If it grows thick in working, it must be thinned with spirit of turpentine; it gives a flat, or dead white.
120.A Green Paint for Garden Stands, Trellisses, &c.—Take mineral green, and white lead ground in turpentine; mix up the quantity you wish with a small quantity of turpentine-varnish;this serves for the first coat; for the second, put as much varnish in your mixture as will produce a good gloss; if you desire a brighter green, add a small quantity of Prussian blue, which will much improve the beauty of the color.
121.Cheap and beautiful Green.—The cost of this paint is less than one-fourth of oil color, and the beauty far superior. Take four pounds of Roman vitriol, and pour on it a tea-kettleful of boiling water; when dissolved, add two pounds of pearl-ash, and stir the mixture well with a stick until the effervescence cease; then add a quarter of a pound of pulverized arsenic, and stir the whole together. Lay it on with a paint brush, and if the wall has not been painted before, at least two, or even three coats, will be requisite. If a pea-green is required, put in less, and if an apple-green, more, of the yellow arsenic.
122.To Destroy the Smell of Fresh Paint.—Mix chloride of lime with water, with which damp some hay, and strew it upon the floor.
123.To take the Smell of Paint from Rooms.—Let three or four broad tubs, each containing about eight gallons of water, and one ounce of vitriolic acid, be placed in the new painted room near the wainscot; this water will absorb and retain the effluvia from the paint in three days, but the water should be renewed each day during that time.
124.To remove Unpleasant Odors.—The unpleasant smell of new paint is best removed by time and atmospheric ventilation; but tubs of water placed in the apartment, will act more rapidly; with this inconvenience, however, that the gloss of the paint will be destroyed. Unpleasant smells from water-closets, or all articles of furniture connected with them, may be modified by the application of lime-water, to which may be added the soap-suds that have been used in washing, which neutralize the pungently offensive salts; a little quick-lime put into a night-chair will destroy all disagreeable effluvia. Aromatic pastiles of the following composition may be burned with great success: take of camphor, flowers of benzoin, powdered charcoal, powdered cascarilla bark, powdered Turkey myrrh, and powdered nitre, each equal quantities; beat them with syrup sufficient to form a mass, and divide into pastiles of a conical shape. Theymay be mixed up with spirit of turpentine (the rectified oil) or anything that is inflammable. Syrup does best, as it is most adhesive.
125.To prevent disagreeable Smells from Privies, Night Chairs, &c.—Milk of lime (water in which lime has been slaked, and which is whitened by the fine particles of that substance) must be mixed with a ley of ashes, or soapy water that has been used in washing, then thrown into the sink of the privy; it will destroy the offensive smell. By these means, for the value of a few pence, any collection of filth whatever may be neutralized.
For the night-chair of sick persons, put within the vessel half a pound of quicklime, half an ounce of powdered sal-ammoniac, and water one pint: this will prevent any disagreeable odor.
126.Remarks.—Quicklime, or even lime just slaked, answers the purpose without any addition. It is the only thing used in camps, particularly in hot countries, to keep the ditches from creating contagion.
127.To clean Books or Prints.—Ink spots may be removed by oxalic acid dissolved in water, and carefully applied with a hair pencil. To remove oil or grease, warm the spot, lay over it blotting paper, and upon it the heated blade of a knife, when the blotting-paper will absorb the grease; then apply spirits of turpentine, with a hair pencil, and restore the whiteness of the paper with spirits of wine.
128.To preserve Books.—A few drops of any perfumed oil will secure libraries from the consuming effects of mouldiness and damp. Russian leather which is perfumed with the tar of the birch-tree, never moulds; and merchants suffer large bales of this article to lie in the London Docks in the most careless manner, knowing that it cannot sustain any injury from damp.
129.To clean Oil Paintings.—Clean the picture well with a sponge, dipped in warm beer; after it has become perfectly dry, wash it with a solution of the finest gum-dragon, dissolved in pure water. Never use blue starch, which tarnishes and eats out the coloring; nor white of eggs, which casts a thick varnish over pictures, and only mends bad ones by concealing the faults of the coloring.
130.To Light a Coal Fire.—A considerable saving of time and trouble might often be effected, if housemaids would attend to the following rules in lighting a fire:—Clear the grate well from ashes and cinders; then lay at the bottom of it a few lumps offresh coal, about the size of ducks' eggs, so as not wholly to obstruct the air passing between the bars on which they are placed. This done, put a small quantity of waste paper or shavings next upon the coal; then a few sticks or pieces of split wood placed carefully above it, so that they may not project between the bars; then a layer of the cinders you have before taken from the grate; and next a few lumps of coal on the top. Take care tocompletethis process before applying the light, which may easily be done afterwards by means of a lucifer match, and you will seldom fail to have a good fire in a few minutes.
Nothing is easier than to light a fire in the way here recommended, but the coals and cinders must be laid in place by hand, and not thrown in anyhow with the shovel. If the kindling wood be green or damp, it should be dried over night, as a more miserable task cannot be attempted than to light a fire with damp materials.
131.Another Way.—To light a fire from one already kindled, put three or four pieces of charcoal between the bars of the grate; then lay a few pieces of fresh coal upon the bottom of the grate in which the second fire is to be made, and place upon them, crosswise, the lighted pieces of charcoal; cover them with pieces of fresh coal, and blow them with the hand-bellows, when the charcoal will set fire to the fresh coal, and a brisk fire will be made in a few minutes. On the contrary, if we light a fire with wood, some time must elapse before it can safely be blown.
132.Economy in Fuel.—A saving of nearly one-third of the coal consumed may be made by the following easy means:—Let the coal ashes, which are usually thrown into the dust bin, be preserved in a corner of the coal hole, and make your servants add to them from your coal heap an equal part of the small coal or slack, which is too small to be retained in the grate, and pour a small quantity of water upon the mixture. When you make up your fire, place a few round coals in front, and throw some of this mixture behind; it saves the trouble of sifting your ashes, gives a warm and pleasant fire, and a very small part only will remain unburnt.
133.Fire Balls.—Mix one bushel of small coal, or saw-dust, or both, with two bushels of sand, and one bushel and a half of clay; make the mixture into balls with water, and pile them in a dry place, to harden them. A fire cannot be lighted with these balls; but when it burns strong, put them on above the top bar, and they will keep up a strong heat.
134.To prevent the ill effects of Charcoal.—Set over the burning charcoal a vessel of boiling water, the steam of which will prevent danger from the fumes.
135.Method of sweeping Chimneys without employing Children, and the danger attending the old Method pointed out.—Procure a rope for the purpose, twice the length of the height of the chimney; to the middle of it tie a bush (broom furze, or any other), of sufficient size to fill the chimney; put one end of the rope down the chimney (if there be any windings in it, tie a bullet or round stone to the end of the rope), and introduce the wood end of the bush after the rope has descended into the chamber; then let a person pull it down. The bush, by the elasticity of its twigs, brushes the sides of the chimney as it descends, and carries the soot with it. If necessary, the person at the top, who has hold of the other end of the rope, draws the bush up again; but, in this case, the person below must turn the bush, to send the wood end foremost, before he calls to the person at top to pull it up.
Many people, who are silent to the calls of humanity, are yet attentive to the voice of interest: chimneys cleansed in this way never need a tenth part of the repairs required where they are swept by children, who being obliged to work themselves up by pressing with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other, often force out the bricks which divide the chimneys. This is one of the causes why, in many houses, a fire in one apartment always fills the adjoining ones with smoke, and sometimes even the neighboring house. Nay, some houses have even been burnt by this means; for a foul chimney, taking fire, has been frequently known to communicate, by these apertures, to empty apartments, or to apartments filled with timber, where, of course, it was not thought necessary to make any examination, after extinguishing the fire in the chimney where it began.
136.To revive a dull Fire.—Powdered nitre, strewed on the fire, is the best bellows that can be used.
137.Fires, Stoves, &c.—It is wasteful to wet small coal, though it is commonly thought to make a fire last longer: in truth, it wastes the heat, and for a time makes a bad fire.
A close stove intended to warm an apartment should not have a polished surface, else it will keep in the heat; whereas, if of rough and unpolished cast iron, the heat will be dispersed through the room.
Long, shallow grates, are uneconomical, as the body of the coal in them is not soon heated, and requires to be oftener replenished to keep up the fire.
A good fire should be bright without being too hot: the best and quickest mode of making up a neglected fire is to stir out the ashes, and with the tongs fill up the spaces between the bars with cinders or half-burnt coals: this method will soon produce a glowing fire. If coke can be mixed with coals, the fire will require extra attention: coke, however, makes too much dust for fires in the best rooms.
138.Water.—Hard water by boiling may be brought nearly to the state of soft. A piece of chalk put into spring water will soften it.
Rain, or the softest water, is better adapted than any other for washing and cleaning; but it must be filtered for drinking in large towns, as it becomes impure from the roofs and plaster of houses. The best water has the greatest number of air bubbles when poured into a glass. Hard water will become thick and foul sooner than soft water.
139.To purify Water for drinking.—Filter river water through a sponge, more or less compressed, instead of stone or sand, by which the water is not only rendered more clear, but wholesome; for sand is insensibly dissolved by the water, so that in four or five years it will have lost a fifth part of its weight. Powder of charcoal should be added to the sponge when the water is foul, or fetid. Those who examine the large quantity of terrene matter on the inside of tea-kettles will be convinced all water should be boiled before drunk.
140. Or, take a large flower-pot, and put either a piece of sponge or some cleanly-washed moss over the hole at the bottom.Fill the pot three-quarters with a mixture of equal parts of clean sharp sand, and charcoal in pieces the size of peas. On this lay a piece of linen or woollen cloth, large enough to hang over the sides of the pot. Pour the water to be filtered into the basin formed by the cloth, and it will come out pure through the sponge or moss at the bottom.
141.To purify River, or Muddy Water.—Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stirring it about in a puncheon of water from the river, all the impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become quite clear.
142.To purify muddy Water of Rivers or Pits.—Make a number of holes in the bottom of a deep tub; lay some clean gravel thereon, and above this some clean sand; sink this tub in the river or pit, so that only a few inches of the tub will be above the surface of the water; the river or pit water will filter through the sand, and rise clear through it to the level of the water on the outside, and will be pure and limpid.
143.Method of making putrid Water sweet in a Night's Time.—Four large spoonfuls of unslaked lime put into a puncheon of ninety gallons of putrid water, at sea, will, in one night, make it as clear and sweet as the best spring water just drawn: but unless the water is afterwards ventilated sufficiently to carbonize the lime, it will be a lime water. Three ounces of pure unslaked lime should saturate ninety gallons of water.
144.Lead Cisterns.—Lead Cisternsare unsafe to hold water for culinary purposes: if the water has stood in them several days undisturbed, a small white coating may be observed at the upper edge of the water: on any addition of water, this coating is washed off, and if there be the slightest acidity in the vessel, this coating will be dissolved in the water, and thus a poison be conveyed into the stomach. To prevent this, the insides of lead cisterns should be occasionally examined and cleared out.
145.To prevent the freezing of Water in Pipes in the Winter Time.—By tying up the ball-cock with straw or flannel duringthe frost, the freezing of pipes will often be prevented; in fact, it will always be prevented where the main pipe is higher than the cistern or other reservoir, and the pipe is laid in a regular inclination from one to the other, for then no water can remain in the pipe; or if the main is lower than the cistern, and the pipe regularly inclines, upon the supply's ceasing, the pipe will immediately exhaust itself. When water is in the pipes, if each cock be left a little dripping, the circulation of the water will prevent its freezing in the pipes.
146.To preserve Water and Meat from Putrefaction in long Voyages.—The crews of two Russian ships, which sailed round the world, were extremely healthy. During the whole three years of their voyage only two men died of the crew of the Neva, and the Naveshda did not lose a single man. It is known that their fresh water was preserved in charred casks, but it is not so generally known that they used the same precaution for preserving their salted provisions. The beef they carried out with them tasted as pleasantly upon their return, as it did three years before, when first salted.
147.To make Sea-water fit for washing Linen.—Soda put into sea-water renders it turbid; the lime and magnesia fall to the bottom. Therefore, to make sea-water fit for washing linen, put in soda enough as not only to effect a precipitation of these earths, but to render the water sufficiently alkaline.
148.Steam.—When the steam from a tea-kettle appears cloudy, it should be taken from the fire, as the water is then fast boiling away; the steam when the water first boils being quite transparent, so as scarcely to be seen near the mouth of the spout. The top of the kettle should be kept bright, as a polished surface keeps in the heat.
149.To clean a Carriage.—Wash the body and wheels with a mop, brush, and plenty of water. Then blacken and clean all the straps and leather, first cleaning the brass or other ornaments as those on harness. Next brush the inside lining, clean the glasses, and clean and trim the lamps. Stains may be removed from panels by rubbing them with sweet oil on baize. The wheels should be occasionally greased or oiled, and the linchpins examined.
150.For Coach Wheels.—Melt over a slow fire one pound of lard, and half a pound of black lead in powder, stirring them well; remove the mixture from the fire, and stir till cold.
151.Harness Makers' Jet.—Take one drachm of indigo, a quarter of an ounce of isinglass, half an ounce of soft soap, four ounces of glue, one pennyworth of logwood raspings, and one quart of vinegar; boil the whole together over a slow fire, till reduced to one pint. A small quantity is then to be taken up on a piece of clean sponge, and thinly applied to harness, boots, &c., taking care that they are previously well cleaned.
N.B.—A small quantity of sulphate of iron (green vitriol) would perhaps greatly improve this.
152.To clean Harness.—Having washed off the wet dirt, sponge the harness clean, and hang it up to dry. Next, brush it with a dry, hard brush, and clean the brass ornaments.
For this purpose, mix a quarter of a pint of turpentine, with two ounces of rotten-stone, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal, and a quarter of a pint of droppings of sweet oil; apply this paste with leather, and polish it off with powdered charcoal.
Or, clean the brass ornaments with the following mixture, which is used in the Royal Mews: dissolve one ounce of oxalic acid in a pint of water, to which add a pint of naphtha. To give the brass-work a fine color, powder some sal-ammoniac, moisten it with water, and rub it upon the ornaments; then heat them over charcoal, and polish with dried bran and whiting.
Or, wash the brass-work with a strong solution of roche alum, and polish it with tripoli.
To restore the color of harness, clean it, and brush over it the following mixture:—boil half a pound of logwood chips in three quarts of soft water, to which add three ounces of galls bruised and one ounce of alum.
153.Oiling Old Leather.—A practice is common of wetting harness, &c., before it is to be oiled, under the idea that it soaks in the oil better for wetting. No two things are less capable of union than oil and water. The leather appears soft after the above practice, but a dry day will soon show how hard the leather becomes when the water it has imbibed has evaporated, and how rotten the heart of the leather is, although the outsideappears yet oily. If leather be dry and then oiled, the quantity of oil consumed will tell whether the leather has absorbed the oil or not. If it have, it will last for years, if it be oiled thoroughly every spring. The most durable stuff to nail up garden trees, is leather soaked in oil, and then drained before use. Old shoes and harness will thus be of use when no longer of service to the body.
154.General Washing.—Counterpanes, blankets, bed-hangings, &c., should be washed in summer, as they will then dry quickly, and be of good color.
By putting linen and cotton stockings to soak the night before they are to be washed, much soap and labor will be saved.
If clothes remain long dirty, they will not only require more soap and labor, but be much injured in washing.
155.Washing Preparation.—Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound ofquick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda; and enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels. Put the dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes. Then pour them into a jar to settle.
Another method of making this preparation is—Instead of preparing each of the articles by themselves, dissolve over night half a pound of soda in one gallon of boiling water, pour it on the lime, and let it settle; cut up the soap, and pour the clear water from the lime and soda upon it. In the morning it will be a dissolved mass, fit for use. In this way the twenty minutes' boiling of the lime and soda is dispensed with.
In either of these processes white or common yellow soap may be used. But the lime should be white and quick. If it does not bubble and hiss when the water is poured on it, it is unfit for use.
This preparation contains nothing injurious to the linen. It has been proved by trial that if the directions are rightly followed, it is less destructive than the old method.
156.How to proceed after having made the Preparation.—Set aside the flannels and colored things, as theymust notbe washedin this way. They may be washed in the usual way while the others are boiling.
The night before, the collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should be rubbed well with soap and set to soak.
In the morning pour ten gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings, put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole boil before putting in the clothes. A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper to prevent the clothes from burning.
Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an hour. Then rinse them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be beautifully white.
The same water will do forthreelots. Wash the finer things first.
After having been used for the clothes, the mixture may be employed for cleaning silver, brass, or any other kind of metal; which should afterwards be dried and polished with leather. The liquid may also be used for scouring floors, or cleaning paint.
157.To make Starch.—Dissolve as much starch as will be required in a very small quantity of cold water; then pour boiling water on it till it is of the right consistency, and let it boil once or twice.
Inmixing starch, put a lump of sugar in it to prevent it from sticking to the iron. Stirring the starch for a minute with a sperm candle improves it when it is wanted for shirt bosoms or collars.
158.Gum Arabic Starch.—Get two ounces of fine white gum arabic, and pound it to powder. Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a pint or more of boiling water, (according to the degree of strength you desire,) and then having covered it, let it set all night. In the morning, pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for use. A table-spoonful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the usual manner, will give to lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness to which nothing else can restore them after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for thin white muslin and bobbinet.
159.To keep Muslins of a good Color.—Never wash muslins or any kind of white cotton goods, with linen; for the latter deposits or discharges a gum and coloring matter every time it is washed, which discolors and dyes the cotton.Wash them by themselves.
160.To wash Flannels.—Flannels should be washed in soft water, soap, and much blue. The water should be as hot as the hands will bear; wring them as dry as possible, shake them and hang them out; but do not rinse them after the lather.
161.To make Flannels not shrink.—The first time of washing put them into a pail of boiling water, and let them lie till cold.
162.To scour Flannels.—Slice half a pound of yellow soap, and dissolve it in boiling water, so as to make it of the thickness of oil; cover the flannels with warm water, add a lump of pearlash, and about one-third of the soap-solution; beat them till no head rises on the water; then pour it off, and proceed as before with hotter water, without pearlash.
163.To wash Woollens.—Use soft water; and, in order to make a lather, put half a pound of soap into a gallon of water, (or as much more in proportion as is necessary,) and boil it until the soap is dissolved; wash through two waters, (unless one is found sufficient,) as warm as can be borne, adding, as you go on, what quantity of the soap-water is needed; wring them out each time; then throw them into a rinsing-tub, and fill, to covering, with boiling water. Let them remain until cool enough to admit of handling, then proceed to rinse well, and wring them.
N. B.—Observe, the rinsing-water must behard water—this is the secret. This method will do for any kinds of woollens; but for large and strong, such as blankets, or carpets, &c., perhaps wringing would be better omitted, and in all cases, care should be taken to spread out the articles straight and smooth.
164.Drying Clothes.—If the weather be favorable, the drying may be best finished in the open air; but if the weather be damp or doubtful, the article should be, without delay, spread before a fire, or hung in an apartment where there is a strong current of air. A dry cloth should be placed on the line hedge,or horse, and the woollen article spread upon it. The more quickly the drying can be accomplished the better. For this reason, settled dry weather should be chosen for this kind of work; if windy, all the better.
165.Family Washing.—[The following method, though not generally known, is much practiced in many families.] Melt together half a pound each of washing soda and of soap cuttings, mix well with sixteen gallons of water, pour it lukewarm over the dirty linen, and leave to soak for twenty-four hours. Drain this water from the clothes, and put them into a boiler, with a second supply of the same preparation cold, and let them boil for rather a longer time than if they had been previously washed. They will then require to be washed out in clean, warm water, looking carefully over them that the parts requiring it may be rubbed; afterwards rinse in the usual way. This direction applies to all white and brown-holland articles. Bobbinet, and lace, retain their color best, if onlyscalded, notboiled. This mode of washing has been adopted for many years in a family of seven persons; the linen is of an excellent color, with only half the assistance formerly required, and the quantity of soap used is much lessened.
N. B. The refuse water is a good manure for fruit trees.
166.Substitutes for Soap.—Put any quantity of pearl-ash or soda into a large jar, cover it lightly, and in a few days it will become liquid; then mix with it an equal quantity of newly-slaked lime, and double its quantity of soft water: boil it half an hour, add as much more hot water, and pour off the liquor.
Two ounces of pearl-ash, used with a pound and a half of soap, will effect a considerable saving.
For coarse purposes, soft soap is a saving of nearly one-half. The most economical plan of keeping hard soap, is to cut it into pieces of about a pound each, and keep it moderately dry.
A little pipe-clay dissolved in the water, or rubbed with the soap on the clothes, will give the dirtiest linen the appearance of having been bleached; it will also clean them with about half the labor, and a saving of full one-fourth of the soap. Pipe-clay will also render hard water nearly as soft as rain-water.
Carpets, moreen curtains, or other woollen goods, may be cleaned with the coarse pulp of potatoes, used as a kind of soap.
167.Horse-chestnut Soap.—It is not generally known that the horse-chestnut contains a soapy juice, not only useful in bleaching, but in washing linens and stuffs. The nuts must be peeled and ground, and the meal of twenty of them will be sufficient to mix with ten quarts of hot water, with which the clothes may be washed without soap; the clothes should then be rinsed in spring-water. The same meal being steeped in hot water, and mixed with an equal quantity of bran, will make a nutritious food for poultry.
168.To wash a Cotton Counterpane.—Slice a pound of mottled soap, dissolve it in a pailful of boiling water, and add a small lump of pearl-ash; next, put the counterpane into warm water, with a bowl of the soap-solution, beat it and turn it, wash it in a second liquor, and rinse it in cold water; then put three tea-spoonfuls of liquid blue into a thin liquor, stir together, and put in the counterpane; beat it a few minutes, and dry it in the air.
169.To wash Silk Stockings, White and Black.—Cut in thin bits some white soap, and boil it in soft water; pour a little of it among cold, soft water, and wash the stockings, first upon the inner side; repeat the washing with fresh suds and water, till they are washed quite clean; turn the outside, the last time of washing, and if the feet be very dirty, rub a little of the boiled soap upon them, but not upon the legs. If to be colored, mix the dye with a little clean suds, and dip in the white stockings; draw them out smooth, and lay them upon a sheet on a bed, with the window open, and when almost dry, lay them upon a piece of flannel, and with another bit rolled up, rub them hard and quick one way till they are dry.
170.To wash Thread Stockings and Gloves.—Fine thread-stockings and gloves should be well soaped, put into a lather of cold water, and boiled; they should then be put into a fresh, cold lather, and be boiled again; when, on taking them out, they will require little more than rinsing.
171.To wash Cotton Stockings.—Lay them in cold water at night; next day boil them in a copper with some soda and soap; stir them well about, and they will become quite clean without any rubbing; rinse them well in cold water, and bleach them;when nearly dry, draw them smooth, folding them straight over the instep. Place them under a heavy weight, or iron them.
172.To wash Cotton Bed-furniture, and printed Calicoes in general.—1. Get rid of as much dirt as possible, by brushing and shaking.
2. Do not let the dirty things lie about in a damp wash-house, or in any way become damp before they are fairly wetted.
3. On no account use a particle of soda, pearl-ash, or any thing of the kind.
4. Allow plenty of water, and plenty of room in the tub.
5. Use soft water, no hotter than would be pleasant for washing the hands.
6. Rub with soap in the ordinary way. Mottled soap is preferable to yellow. If a general wash is about, the liquor in which flannels have been washed the second time, does very well for the first washing of colored things; or that in which muslins have been washed a second time, provided no soda or anything else of the kind was used.
7. When the first washing is completed, have ready another tub with water of the same degree of warmth, into which put each piece immediately on wringing it out of the first liquor.
8. Repeat the process of washing in the second liquor, carefully observing that every part is clean.
9. On wringing out of the second liquor, immediately plunge each piece into coldspringwater for rinsing.
10. On wringing each piece out of the rinsing water, immediately hang it out, and let it dry as quickly as possible.
11. In hanging up, put any thick double parts next the line, letting the thinner part hang down and blow about. When these are dry, the positions may be changed, and the thick parts hung downwards.
12. If, through unfavorable weather, or any other circumstance, the drying cannot proceed at once, the things had better remain all night in the rinsing water, than be laid about damp. If they are half-dry out-of-doors, when taken in for the night let them be hung or spread in a room, and again hung out early next day. If there is no chance of favorable drying abroad, they should be quickly dried before a fire, or round a stove.
13. If starching is required, a sufficient quantity of made starch may be stirred into the rinsing water.
173.How to wash Printed Dresses.—A very cool lather of white soap, of the best quality, should be used, as the inferior soaps contain rosin, and other pernicious ingredients most destructive to colors. Soda, pearl-ash, vinegar, alum, salt, washing-powder, &c., although they may not injure some colors, should never be used; for they will most certainly destroy others. Printed dresses should not be washed with household or body linen, or put into scalding water. It is desirable to wash colors with a light hand, so as not to subject them to hard rubbing, and to rinse with plenty of clean cold water, and to dry in the open air. Claret, chocolate, purple, lilac, red, pink, and black, are the most permanent; the cloth for these colors being prepared in a peculiar manner, and which process has the effect of better fixing them to it. Blue, green, drab, ruby, crimson, buff, dahlia, orange, and cinnamon, as they do not admit of the cloth being so prepared, of course require more careful treatment, or some of the surface color may possibly on the first washing scale off and tinge the white, especially if not well rinsed; but by a little discretion the most delicate colors may be effectually preserved.
174.To wash Chintz, so as to preserve its Gloss and Beauty.—Take two pounds of rice and boil it in two gallons of water, till soft; when done, pour the whole into a tub; let it stand till about the warmth you in general use for colored linens; put the chintz in, and use the rice instead of soap; wash it in this, till the dirt appears to be out; then boil the same quantity as above, but strain the rice from the water, and mix it in warm water. Wash it in this till quite clean; afterwards rinse it in the water the rice was boiled in; this will answer the end of starch, and no dew will affect it, as it will be stiff while it is worn. If a gown, it must be taken to pieces, and when dried, hang it as smooth as possible; after dry, rub it with a sleek stone, but use no iron.
175.To protect Children from Burning.—Add one ounce of alum to the last water used in rinsing children's dresses, and they will be rendered uninflammable, or so slightly combustible that they would take fire slowly, if at all, and would not flame.
176.Composition for Washing in Sea-water.—Mix a strong solution of potash with an equal weight of pipe-clay, and workthem to a paste, one pound of which will soften four gallons of sea-water.
177.To bleach a Faded Dress.—Wash the dress in hot suds, boil it and rinse it, then dry it in the sun. Should it not be rendered perfectly white, lay the dress in the sun for several days.
178.To preserve the Color of a Print Dress.—Rip the skirt from the body, and wash them in cold rain water in which a handful of common salt has been thrown. Do not expose it to the sun to dry, but roll it tightly in a coarse cloth until dry enough to iron.
179.To wash White Lace.—A quarter of a cake of white wax, six lumps of sugar, and a dessert-spoonful of made starch, to be mixed with a quart of soft water. Tack the lace very slightly in a thin cloth dipped in cold water, then let it lie in a strong lather for one day. Change the water, and leave it in a second lather all night. Put the above materials into a saucepan, boil the lace in it for ten minutes, then throw it into cold water, and when nearly dry iron it.
180.Washing Kid Gloves.—Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel, folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean: if colored, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will soon be gratified to see that her old gloves look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, shapely, and elastic. Dark, and especially black mourning gloves, should be of the very best and high-priced.
181.To iron Shirt Fronts and Dresses.—Shirt-fronts are most conveniently ironed upon a deal board about 12 inches long and 8 wide, covered with fine flannel; to be placed between the back and front of the shirt, after the back is ironed. The skirts of dresses also may be ironed in a similar manner, using aboard as long as the skirt, 26 inches wide at one end, and 12 inches at the other. The board should be covered with a blanket, and rest upon a thin block of wood at each end, to keep it from creasing the skirt beneath it.
182.To clean Hair Brushes and Combs.—Sub-carbonate of soda orpotashsometimes called salt of tartar or salt of wormwood, is to be dissolved in boiling water—two heaped tea-spoonfuls will be sufficient for half a pint; into this mixture dip the hairs of the brush, and draw the comb through many times. The brush and comb, with the help of this solution, will quickly cleanse each other; dry quickly and they will be as white as new. Observe two things: the potass must be kept in a stopper bottle, or it will soon become liquid; when liquid it is not injured for use, but if left in paper would be wasted; also the mahogany or satin-wood back of the brush must be kept out of the solution, as it is apt to discolor wood.
183.To clean Sponge.—Put into two pints of hot water about three cents worth of Salts of lemon, and steep the sponge in it. After it is clean, rinse it in clean water.
Or, immerse it in cold buttermilk, and let it soak a few hours. Then rinse it in pure water.
184.To clean Ermine and Minivar.—Take a piece of soft flannel, dip it in common flour, and rub the fur with it, being careful to rub it against the grain. Shake it well and rub again with the flannel till all the flour is out of it.
185.To clean Swansdown.—White swansdown may be washed in soap and water; after washing, shake it out, and when the down is somewhat raised, shake it before a clear fire to dry.
186.To clean Leather Cases.—To clean hat cases, writing-desks, &c., dissolve in warm water a small quantity of oxalic acid, and wash the articles with a sponge wet in the solution. When dry they will look almost equal to new.
187.To take Stains out of Linen.—Stains caused by Acidscan be removed by wetting the part, and laying on it some salt of wormwood; then rub it without diluting it with more water.
Or, let the cloth imbibe a little water without dipping, and hold the part over a lighted match, at a due distance. The spots will be removed by the sulphureous gas.
Or, tie up in the stained part some pearlash; then scrape some soap into cold soft water to make a lather, and boil the linen till the stain disappears.
188.Stains of Wine, Fruit, &c., after they have been long in the Linen.—Rub the part on each side with yellow soap; then lay on a mixture of starch in cold water very thick; rub it well in, and expose the linen to the sun and air till the stain comes out. If not removed in three or four days, rub that off and renew the process. When dry it may be sprinkled with a little water.
Recent Stains of Fruitmay be removed by holding the linen tightly stretched over a tub and pouring hot water over the part. This must be done before any soap has been applied to it.
Obs.As soon as a stain is made on table-linen, &c., rub on it common table salt before it has time to dry; the salt will keep it damp till the cloth is washed, when the stain will disappear; or wash the stain lightly when the cloth is removed.
189.To restore Scorched Linen.—Peel and slice two onions, and extract the juice by squeezing or pounding. Cut up half an ounce of white soap and two ounces of fullers' earth; mix with them the onion juice and half a pint of vinegar. Boil this composition well, and spread it, when cool, over the scorched part of the linen, leaving it to dry thereon. Then wash out the linen.
190.To restore Linen that has long been Stained.—Rub the stains on each side with wet brown soap; mix some starch to a thick paste, with cold water, and spread it over the soaped places; then expose the linen to the air. If the stains do not disappear in three or four days, rub off the mixture, and repeat the process with fresh soap and starch. Then dry it, wet it with cold water, and wash it.
191.Grease or Wax Spots.—Grease-spots should be rubbed with strong pearlash and water. Spots of wax or oil paint should be rubbed with turpentine, and washed with soap andwater: or, wax, if moistened repeatedly with spirits of wine, may be brushed off. Or, dissolve six ounces of alum in half a pint of water, warm it, wash the stained part with it, and leave it to dry.
Or, in a quart of warm water, dissolve a little white soap, and one ounce of pearlash; to which add two spoonsful of ox-gall, and a little essence of lavender or bergamot: mix the whole, strain it, and keep it in a bottle. In using it, put a small quantity on the spot, brush, and wash it with warm water, so as entirely to remove the liquor applied, which might injure the cloth if allowed to remain.
192.Other Stains.—Many other Stainsmay be taken out by dipping the linen in sour buttermilk, and drying it in a hot sun. Then wash it in cold water, and dry it, two or three times a-day.
193.Ironmoulds.—Ironmoulds should be wetted, then laid on a hot water-plate, and a little essential salt of lemons put on the part. If the linen becomes dry, wet it, and renew the process, observing that the plate is kept boiling hot. Much of the powder sold under the name of salt of lemons is a spurious preparation; and therefore it is necessary to dip the linen in a good deal of water, and wash it as soon as the stain is removed, to prevent the part from being worn into holes by the acid.Ink spotscan be removed in the same way.
194.To take Mildew out of Linen.—Take soap, and rub it well; then scrape some fine chalk, and rub that also in the linen; lay it on the grass; as it dries wet it a little, and it will come out at twice doing.
195.Or, mix soft soap with starch powdered, half as much salt and the juice of a lemon; lay it on the part on both sides with a painter's brush. Let it lie on the grass day and night till the stain comes out.
196.To discharge all Stains which are not Metallic.—Mix two tea-spoonfuls of water with one of spirit of salt; let the stain lie in it for one or two minutes; then rinse the article in cold water. This will be found particularly useful in removing stains from white doilys.
197.Prepared Ox-gall for taking out Spots.—Boil together one pint of ox-gall and two ounces of powdered alum; to which add two ounces of common salt; let the liquor settle, add a few drops of essence of lemon, pour it off into a bottle, and cork tightly.
198.Salt of Lemons.—Mix one ounce of salt of sorrel in very fine powder, with an equal quantity of cream of tartar; this is thesaltsold in the shops; but, as it is only recommended for removing ironmoulds or ink spots, it will be better to use only the salt of sorrel.
199.To bleach Linen.—Mix common bleaching powder, in the proportion of one pound to a gallon of water; stir it occasionally for three days, let it settle, and pour it off clear. Then make a ley of one pound of soda to a gallon of boiling soft water, in which soak the linen for twelve hours, and boil it half an hour; next, soak it in the bleaching liquor, made as above; and lastly, wash it in the usual manner.
Discolored linen or muslin may be restored, by putting a portion of bleaching liquor into the tub wherein the articles are soaking.