or six quarts of water. Strain off the water through a hair sieve,
and when it is cool enough to put your hands in it, wash the dress
without soap. The starch imparted to the water by the potatoes will
cleanse it, and also make it stiff enough without other starch even
after passing through the rinsing water. If there is green in the
calico, dissolve a piece of alum half as large as an egg, in a pailful
of water to rinse it. If there are grease spots upon a dress, a thread
should be run around them before it is washed, so that those places
may receive special care, else they will be as distinct as ever, after
being ironed. If washing does not remove them, use chloric ether, or
new spirits of turpentine. Some very nice managers use beef's gall
in washing calicoes to prevent their being faded. It is good for the
purpose, but the odor is unpleasant, and will be perceptible when the
dress is worn, unless it is used sparingly. A table-spoonful of the
gall, to a pailful of suds is enough. Put what you do not use into a
bottle, with a large table-spoonful of salt, and cork it tight. It is
very useful in removing grease from woollens, and cleaning the collars
of coats.
=To wash Mourning Calicoes, Muslins, and Lawns.=
Wash them in perfectly clean water; and if the color comes out, soak
them until the water is clear, even if it should require two or three
days, changing the water twice a day. A black calico that parts with
much of the dye in washing, will have rusty streaks in it, and look
like an old thing, if it is dried without being soaked. But in the way
directed, a dress of good quality can be done up many times without
losing its beauty, as experience amply proves. Such dresses should not
be sprinkled over night, before being ironed.
=To Wash, Starch, and Iron Muslins, Laces, etc.=
Soiled muslins should be looked over and mended before being washed.
Embroidered articles should be basted in exact shape upon a piece of
flannel or other soft cloth. The muslin will be less liable to be
frayed or torn by the weight of the needlework. Common laces should be
folded evenly together into many thicknesses, and then basted through
and through around the edges, with a fine needle and thread. Soak
these various articles in warm water with Castile or olive soap in it.
After a few hours, or the next day, squeeze them dry (never rub or
wring them); put on more soap, pour on hot water, and let them stand
another day. Then squeeze them dry, and examine them. If they are not
white, lay them loosely into a broad dish or platter, with warm suds
in it, and set them in the sun a day or two; or, put them into a large
white glass bottle, with a wide mouth, fill it with warm suds and set
it in the sun. Turn the muslins over now and then, and also turn the
bottle round, so as to give every side the benefit of the sun. This
is a very good way where there is no grass-plot which can be used for
bleaching. There can be no better way of whitening muslins than to dip
the articles in soap suds, spread them on clean grass and let them lie
two or three days and nights, wetting them once or twice a day with
suds. When you take them from the grass rinse them twice in a plenty of
water, the last time with blueing in it. Squeeze them dry as possible,
then dip all in fine starch, except those articles which should be
very stiff, and they should be dried before being starched. Sort them,
dip those which need most stiffness first, then add hot water enough
to make the starch thinner for the next, and lastly still more, for
dipping those which need very little stiffness. Hang them all out of
doors to dry, unless the weather is cold enough to freeze. When dry,
sprinkle them very wet, or squeeze them in cold water, pull them out
a little, and lay them two or three double in a sheet--a linen one if
they are to be ironed in an hour or two; a cotton one if they are not
to be done till the next day--this, because they keep damp much longer
in cotton than in linen. To wash elegant, expensive laces, sew a piece
of white flannel closely around a common junk bottle, and wind the lace
round and round perfectly smooth, and with a fine needle and thread,
baste it enough to keep it in place. If the lace is pointed, pass the
needle and thread through each point; put the bottle into a jar or deep
pitcher filled with warm suds. Change the water once a day for two or
three days; then put the bottle into the boiler with the finest white
clothes on washing day; as soon as it is taken from the boiler, and
cooled a little, rinse it again and again in a plenty of cold water,
then wrap a soft, dry towel around it to press out the water, and set
it in the sun. When the lace has become entirely dry, take out all the
threads, unwind it, and wear it without starching.
Our grandmothers would have thought an elegant lace nearly spoilt by
being washed in any other way than this, and a very nice way it is.
Having once tried it, you will prefer to wash your laces yourself,
rather than pay a French laundress for doing them not half as well.
When you iron muslins, pull them gently into shape, fold and lay them
on a plate, and cover them with a bowl, to keep the edges from getting
too dry. Have clean irons, and rub each one before using it with a bit
of wax or spermaceti tied up in a piece of cotton, and wipe it on a
clean rag. This is to prevent the starch from sticking to the iron. Lay
the muslin upon the ironing board, the wrong side up, and always move
the iron in the direction of the threads. The article will be out of
shape, and look badly, if ironed diagonally. Bobbinet laces, if ironed
at all, should be ironed diagonally, as in this way only can the mesh
retain its shape. Dip them in stiff starch, and after drying them, dip
them again, then pin them out upon a bed. They will dry soon, and will
need only to be folded even, and a warm iron set upon them to press the
folds flat. Whether pressed or not they will look like new bobbinet,
and this is a very convenient way when a lady is so situated that she
cannot iron her own kerchiefs, or get them done to her liking by others.
To iron lace or edging, carefully pull into shape the points or
scollops, and pearling; lay it the wrong side up with the wrought edge
from you, pass the iron along the edge nearest you, and then, beginning
at the right hand end, move it out from you. Do this the whole length
or a yard at a time, then adjust every part even, and pass the iron
over it again and again until it is dry. Lay every piece, as you finish
it, upon a waiter or dish, so that you will not have occasion to handle
it again till you lay it in its place.
Needlework should be ironed upon clean flannel, and be long enough
under the iron to dry it, as it will look ill if laid away damp.
Wrought collars, so much worn as to be easily torn by being washed, if
they are not badly soiled, may be squeezed out of cold water, rolled in
a dry cloth for a few minutes, and then ironed. The same may be done
with plain muslins that are only tumbled. Sometimes it is convenient to
be able to produce a clean collar in a few minutes.
It is convenient to have a board expressly for ironing caps, collars,
cuffs, laces, and other small articles. It should be about two feet
long, a foot and a half wide, covered on one side with four or five
thicknesses of cotton cloth sewed on tight and perfectly smooth, and
covered with white flannel.
=To make fine Starch.=
There is a great difference in the quality of starch. It is but labor
lost to make use of that which is not good. There is so much difference
in the quantity of _gluten_ in this article, that no precise measure
can be given. Those who are least experienced will soon learn the
proportion needed for any given number of articles.
A small sauce-pan or porringer should be kept for boiling starch, and
used for nothing else. Boil the water in the porringer, wet the starch
smooth in a little cold water, and pour it in slowly, stirring steadily
till it has become of equal thickness. Leave it to boil moderately
eight or ten minutes. If starch is pure, and well made, it need not be
strained. The leg of a fine cotton stocking makes a very good strainer.
=To make Flour Starch.=
Wet white flour smooth in cold water, and pour it into boiling water,
just like the fine starch. Some people do not boil it; others think
dresses retain the stiffness longer if it is boiled. It should be so
made as to have no lumps in it, and if it is not, it should be strained
through a fine colander. Allow a table-spoonful of flour, and nearly
three pints of water for a dress. If there are several dresses and
skirts to be dipped, divide the starch into two or three parcels,
because the first article put into it will take too large a proportion
of the stiffness, and leave what remains too thin for the rest. Reserve
those which need least stiffness to be starched last.
=To Whiten or Bleach.=
The best time in the year is the month of May. The dew at that period
has a peculiar efficacy for bleaching. In the country, where clean
grass plots are accessible, it is a good way to take all the white
clothes of the week's wash, from the first rinsing water, or from the
boiling suds, and lay them on the grass. After two or three nights take
them up before they are dry in the morning, rinse them well, and put
them on the line. Their improved appearance will pay for the trouble.
In August, clothes should never be more than one day and night upon the
grass, lest they become mildewed. In the winter, they will whiten fast,
in sunny weather, upon clean snow; and leaving them on the line in the
frost over night, after being washed makes them white.
=To wash Thibet Cloths, Bombazines, Mouslin de Laines, and Plaids.=
If you wish to make over a dress before it is badly worn or soiled, rip
it, and sponge it in warm water with Castile soap in it. Sponge a piece
at a time, on the side which is to be out, and iron it on the other
side, until perfectly dry. The irons should be quite hot but not so as
to change the color. If it is hung upon the bars or laid away, damp, it
will curl and look old.
Thibet cloths of good quality last so long that they are worth being
done up twice. After doing good service, till parts of the waist and
sleeves are worn out the dress should be ripped and washed (sponging
will not answer), and if it is of a color that fades at all, wash with
it any new pieces that you may have to use in making it over. Wash it
just as you would a nice flannel, with Castile or olive soap, and then
rinse it in two clear warm waters. Remember not to wring it either time
as it is almost impossible to iron out the wrinkles. Squeeze out the
suds a little before you rinse it. Let it drip as it hangs upon the
clothes line, for twenty minutes or half an hour; and before the upper
edge begins to dry, and while the lower edge is still wet, turn the
lower edge up over the line, and the dry edge down, and let it hang a
few minutes, then fold each piece, and lay them in a pile with a damp
cloth round them. Have a steady good fire, and several irons, and press
them upon the wrong side until dry.
Bombazines if not badly soiled, can be sponged, in the same way as the
Thibet cloths. If they are to be made up the same side out as before,
sponge that side, and iron on the other. If they need to be washed,
it is usually best that they should be made up the inside out, and of
course should be ironed on what has been the right side. Wash them just
like Thibet cloth. The black bombazines, and other similar fabrics worn
in mourning, all wash well, and can be done repeatedly, and each time
look so well as to reward the trouble.
Wash de laines and plaids in the same way. It is safe to use the
genuine olive soap for those of the most beautiful colors; they will
remain unchanged.
=To wash Shawls.=
Almost all kinds of shawls bear washing; and they should be done as
the Thibet cloths and de laines, except that when there is much white
in them, or they are composed chiefly of delicate colors, there should
be a very little blueing in the last rinsing water, and after being
fifteen minutes on the clothes line, they should be laid perfectly
smooth into a sheet, which should then be folded up (not _rolled_,
because that will make wrinkles), and as soon as the water is absorbed,
so that the shawl remains only very damp, iron it on the wrong side,
until it is dry, then fold it, making the creases as when it was new.
=To wash Colored, Plaid, Black, and Raw Silks and Ribbons.=
For a single dress, pare four or five good-sized potatoes, slice them
thin and lay them in a quart of cold water for a few hours; then, if
the silk is much soiled, sponge both sides freely, rubbing the soiled
places with most care. Sponge one piece at a time, and iron it dry upon
the side that is to be the inside, moving the iron up and down, or
straight across--never diagonally. Have the irons quite hot, yet not
so as to scorch, or change the color. If they are too cool, they will
draw up or crimp the silk in very minute gathers, and it will be nearly
impossible to make such places smooth again. The effect of the starch
from the potatoes is to cleanse the silk, and also give it a little
stiffness, and even plaid silks of the most delicate colors are made to
look new in this way. If a silk is not much soiled, sponge it only on
what is to be the outside, and iron it on the other. A good black silk
may be made to look "amaist as weel's the new," again and again by this
process, and those who have never tried it, would be surprised at the
renovating effect.
Good ribbons, black, white, or colored, are made fresh and handsome in
precisely the same way. To iron them, set the iron across one end, on
the wrong side, and while you press it hard, draw the whole length of
the ribbon under it with the other hand.
Raw silks should be washed in potato water, as directed for calicoes
that are liable to fade; and after being rinsed once, and hung without
wringing upon the line, long enough for the water to drip off, they
should be rolled for fifteen minutes in a sheet, and then ironed dry,
on the wrong side.
=To renovate black Veils and Lace.=
Make a very weak solution of gum arabic, so that it will barely be
distinguishable from pure water; lay the veil or lace upon an ironing,
or other smooth board, and apply the gum-water with a sponge. See that
the article to be sponged lies straight and even; and when you have wet
it perfectly smooth, let it remain untouched till the next day. This
is the way that ladies who embroider their own veils give them their
finish. If the gum water is too thick, there will be danger of tearing
the lace in taking it off.
=To renovate Velvet.=
Wet a clean sponge in warm soap suds, squeeze it very dry in a cloth,
and wipe the velvet with it. Then pass the velvet over the edge of a
hot iron, turned down side-ways--the wrong side of it next to the iron.
Another very good way is to hold the velvet in the steam of boiling
water, and then pass it over the edge of an iron.
=To wash English Blankets.=
If care is taken to keep them clean, they will seldom need to be
washed. New ones ought not to need washing for several years. Those
which are not in constant use, should be kept where they will not be
exposed to moths or dust, in a closet, pinned close in a cloth, or
under a mattress. A chamber-maid or a domestic who does the general
house-work, should keep a large apron to be worn only while she makes
beds. Blankets, counterpanes, and even bed-ticks sometimes have to be
washed in consequence of negligence on this point.
If there are soiled spots on a blanket, baste a thread around them,
or else wash those places before it is put into the tub. Then put a
handful of soft soap into the water, and begin to rub at one end of
the blanket, using more soap, and slipping it along as fast as it is
washed, from one end to the other; and as it is not possible to rub the
whole width of a large blanket at once,--after it is washed along one
side, taking it up to the middle, wash along the other side, just as in
washing sheets. It takes two persons to wring a blanket or counterpane
well. Have ready a large tub of as hot water as you can bear your
hands in and put them as soon as they are washed into it; rinse them
in this, and still in another warm water; and after wringing them dry
as possible, have the person who assists you take one end, and taking
the other yourself, open and snap them several times. This will take
out the wrinkles, so that if the day is fair with a good breeze, the
blankets will look almost as smooth as if they were pressed. If there
are several to be washed, cover the rinsing tubs, so as to keep the
water warm, and have some hot water ready to add, when that in the tubs
becomes cool.
=To wash white Counterpanes and Calico Quilts.=
Wash them in the same way as blankets only with hard soap, and rinse
them in cold water. If convenient, it is the best way to take them to a
pump; and pump upon them and pour off the water again and again, till
it is clear; then wring them and hang them on the line. In this way one
wringing is saved, which is well, for it is some of the hardest work
that is done. The heaviest kind of counterpanes, especially if they are
large, should be rinsed at a pump, and taken in the tub to the clothes
line, and put upon it without wringing.
=To wash the Tick of a Featherbed, or Pillow.=
Have it washed very thoroughly and rinsed in a plenty of water. When it
is entirely dry, melt together bar soap and beeswax in the proportion
of two parts soap, and one of wax. Mix it well, and then, having laid
the tick, inside out, upon a large table or ironing board, spread the
soap and wax on it with a knife, as thinly as possible. Even a thick
tick, when it is washed, does not hold the feathers as securely as
before, and the use of this mixture is to remedy the defect.
The odor of the soap soon passes away.
=To wash Worsted Table-covers.=
Wash them in quite warm water with olive soap. If this is not to be
had, soft soap, if it is of the best kind, is better than common bar
soap. This last, always has rosin in it, and sometimes there is so much
as to make woollens washed with it feel _gummy_; and no pains-taking
will entirely remove the bad effect. If there are grease spots, they
should be first taken out with chloric ether or spirits of turpentine.
Make a suds, wash the cloth very thoroughly in it, and then in another;
then rinse it twice in warm water. Do not wring it when you put it from
one water into another, but drain it, and very gently press the water
out. Hang it a short time upon the line, until the water has almost
ceased dripping from the lower edge; then reverse it, putting the lower
edge up on the line. Have the irons hot, and the ironing-board ready,
and make up your mind to iron patiently a long time. A medium-sized
broadcloth table cover, such as used to be in fashion, required to
be ironed two hours and a half. A less time is necessary for the
thinner fabrics; but whatever the texture is, if it has wool in it,
it must be pressed until it is dry, else it will not look well. Faded
table-covers, having one color only, mingled with white, may be dyed
with advantage. I have seen one that was originally green and white,
that after being in constant use many years, was sent to a dye-house,
and came back transformed into a maroon and white cloth, and was as
good as when it was new.
=To wash Carpets.=
According to the experience of many persons, the Kidderminster carpets,
and others of like fabric, are as well washed at a fulling-mill as
at a dye-house, or by a professed carpet-cleanser. They are washed
whole, and if the colors are good, they are returned with a good degree
of their original beauty; and I have never known one to be torn or
injured in any way. The charge for washing a large carpet, does not
exceed a dollar and a quarter, and for medium-sized and small ones,
proportionately less. After a carpet has been in hard service, if it is
worth being made over, or thoroughly repaired, it is also worth being
washed; and a person who has spent two or three days in mending an old,
unwashed carpet, will appreciate the assertion.
_The directions for removing oil and grease from carpets not having
been inserted in the appropriate place, they are given here._
When oil is spilled on a carpet, put on a plenty of white flour, and
do it as quickly as possible, in order to prevent it from spreading. If
the oil is near a seam, but does not reach it, rip the seam in order
to stop it. Put flour on the floor under the oil spot. The next day
take up all the flour from the carpet and floor, with a dust-pan and
a very stiff clothes broom, and put on fresh flour, and a plenty of
it. It will not be necessary to do it a third time. To take out grease
spots, rub them with a bit of white flannel, dipped in new spirits of
turpentine; and if they again become visible, rub the spots again, on
both sides of the carpet, when it is taken up and shaken. If there are
oil or grease spots on the floor, they should be covered with thick
paper before the carpet is again laid down. Scouring will not entirely
remove them.
GENERAL INDEX.
Page
Ants, 217
Arrow-root Gruel, 207
Articles, Various, to keep, 225
Apple Island, 91
" Snow, 91
" Sauce, common family, 116
" " Boiled cider, 114
" Tea, 209
Apples, Steamed, Sweet, 113
" Baked, 114
" " Sour, 114
" Coddled, 115
" Dried, or Peaches, stewed, 116
Ashes, Sawdust, &c., use to be made of, 224
Asparagus, 175
" and Eggs, 175
Barley Water, 207
Bass, Baked, 161
Beef, to roast, 126
" to use remnants of, 188
" " " " boiled, 189
" Steak, 126
" " to heat over, 189
" " Stuffed, 127
" " Tomato, 127
" Alamode, in a plain way, 128
" " more rich, 128
" Stewed Brisket of, 129
" Corned, to boil, 130
" Smoked Frizzled, 138
" " to shave, 139
" Tea, 205
Beans and Pork, baked, 187
" Shelled, 174
" String, 174
Beer, English Ginger, 214
" Maple, 214
" Spring, 214
" Spruce and Boneset, 215
Beets, boiled, 117
Biscuit, raised, 33
" Butter-milk, 33
" Cream, 33
" Cream of Tartar, 34
" Fried, 61
Blanc-mange, Arrow-root, 92
" Calf's Foot, 92
" Gelatine, 93
" Isinglass, 92
" Moss, 93
Bleach, to, or Whiten, 241
Bread, good family, 26
" made without a Sponge, 28
" " with milk, 29
" " " water, 28
" Diet, 50
" Rice, 29
" Third, 29
" Graham, 30
" " one loaf, 30
" Boston Brown, 30
" Steamed " , 31
" Indian Loaf, 31
" Rye, 32
" to make stale fresh, 32
" dough, various convenient uses of, 32
" uses for pieces of, 194
Brawn, 189
Brine, a good, for keeping butter, 202
Broth, Lamb, 150
" Mutton, 150
" Veal, 150
Bruiss, 194
Butter, Drawn, 124
" to keep sweet a year, 203
Cabbage, 178
Cake, Barnard, 49
" Bread, 48
" Berwick (Sponge), 51
" Bridgeport, 49
" Brooklyn (Sponge), 51
" Commencement, 47
" Composition, 49
" Cream, 54
" Federal, 52
" Gold, 52
" Howard, 48
" Harrison, 54
" Jelly (or Washington Pie), 53
" Lemon, 54
" Loaf, 47
" Lyman (Sponge), 51
" Mount Pleasant, 49
" Measure (Sponge), 51
" Plumb, Maine, 46
" " one loaf, plainer, 46
" Pound, 54
" Provence, 49
" Queen's, 52
" Rice, 54
" Snow or Bride's, 52
" Silver, 53
" Superior, 49
" Tunbridge, 49
" Washington, 46
" Wedding, 45
" White Mountain, 53
Carrots, 176
Cauliflowers, 179
Candle, 209
Calcutta Curry, 146
Calf's Head, 134
" Foot Broth, 207
" Head and Feet, to cleanse, 217
Catsup, Tomato, 170
Cement, to make a Permanent, 221
Charlotte Russe, 93
Chicken Broth, 206
" Panada, 206
" Pie, 144
" Salad, 143
" Tea, 206
Chickens, to roast, 142
" boil, 143
" broil, 143
" Fricassee, 143
Chocolate, to make, 185
Cider, to boil, 215
Clams, 161
Cookies, 56
Cockroaches and Beetles, to kill, 217
Cocoanut Drops, 57
Cocoa, 186
" Ground, 186
Coffee, to roast, 184
" make, 185
" milk, 185
" Crust, 210
Cologne Water, 215
Corn Cake, 40, 41
" Oysters, 180
" Soup, 179
" Boiled, 179
" and Beans (Succotash), 179
Crackers, Litchfield, 34
Cracked Wheat, 191
Crumb Cakes, 193
Cream, Syrup of, 186
" to raise a thick, 186
" Ice, 97
" Imperial, 98
" Snow, 98
" Cakes, 55
Crullers, 60
" Cream of Tartar, 60
Crust Coffee, 210
Cucumbers, 176
Currant Shrub, 213
" Wine, 213
Custards, Almond, 94
" Boiled, 95, 96
" Baked, 96
" Wine, 99
Draught, refreshing in a fever, 210
Drop Cakes, 37
" " Rye, 38
Doughnuts, raised, 61
Dumplings, Apple, Boiled, 87
" " Baked, 88
" " Steamed, 87
" Blackberry, 88
Ducks, to roast, 144
" boil, 144
Earthen ware, to prevent being broken, 221
Egg Plant, 179
Eggs, to keep, 217
" pickled, 182
" boiled, 151
" dropped, 152
" fried, 151
" poached, 151
" to beat the whites of, 43
Farina, 90
Fat and Drippings, care of, 195
Feathers, to remove the bad odor from, 219
Figs, Tomato, 168
Fish, Cod, to boil, 154
" " Sounds and Tongues, 154
" " or Blackfish, baked, 155
" " to fry, 155
" " Chowder, 155, 156
" " Salt, to boil, 156
" " Salt, minced, 157
" " Balls, 157
Flat-irons, to remove Starch or Rust from, 221
Floating Island, 92
Flummery, Ground Rice, 89
" Potato Starch, 89
Food for a young Infant, 210
" for an Infant at successive periods, 211
" for a Child just weaned, 211
Froth, Stained, 99
Fruit, to Preserve, in water, 112
" Jumbles, 57
" Ices, 97
" stains, to take out, 220
Fritters or Pancakes, 40
" Snow, 40
Frosting, 44, 46
Frying Cakes, on, 59
Furniture, to remove spots from, 222
Gingerbread, hard sugar, 57
" soft sugar, 57
" soft, without eggs, 58
" Molasses, hard, 59
" Molasses, soft, 58
Ginger Crackers, 58
" Snaps, 58
Glass ware, to prevent being broken, 221
Goose, to roast, 145
Gravel walks, to destroy grass in, 224
Grease, to take out, 220
" to remove, from carpets, 246
Greens, to boil, 178
Griddle Cakes, white flour raised, 38
" " Butter-milk or Sour milk, 38
" " without an egg, 39
" " Indian Meal, 39
" " Rice, 39
" " Rice, ground, 39
" " Buckwheat, 39
Gruel, flour, 211
" Arrow-root, 207
" Oatmeal, 208
" Ground Rice, 208
" Indian Meal, 208
Ham or Shoulder, to boil or bake, 137
" to fry, 138
" to boil, 138
" Pickle for one, 164