in a warm place ; shake it well several times a day, then add a piece of
camphor as large as a hen’s egg ; shake it well, and in a few hours shake
it again and add one ounce of lampblack. If the alcohol is good, it will
all be dissolved in two days ; then shake and use. If the materials were
of the proper kind, the polish correctly prepared, it will dry in about five
minutes, giving a gloss equal to patent leather. Using aniline dyes instead
of the lampblack, you can have it any desired color, and it can be used on
wood or hard paper.
TO SOFTEN WATER.
Add half a pound of the best quick-lime dissolved in water to
every hundred gallons. Smaller proportions may be more conveniently
managed, and if allowed to stand a short time the lime will have united
with the carbonate of lime, and been deposited at the bottom of the
receptacle. Another way is to put a gallon of lye into a barrelful of
water, or two or three shovelfuls of wood-ashes, let stand over night ; it
will be clear and soft.
WASHING FLUID.
One gallon of water and four pounds of ordinary washing soda, and a
quarter of a pound of soda. Heat the water to boiling hot, put in the
soda, boil about five minutes, then pour it over two pounds of unslaked
lime, let it bubble and foam until it settles, turn it off and bottle it for
use. This is the article that is used in the Chinese laundries for whiten-
ing their linen, and is called “Javelle water;” a tablespoonful put into a
suds of three gallons, and a little, say a quarter of a cupful, in the boiler
when boiling the clothes, makes them very white and clear. Must be
well rinsed afterwards. This preparation will remove tea stains and
almost all ordinary stains of fruit, grass, etc. This fluid brightens the
colors of colored clothes, does not rot them, but should not be left long in
any water ; the boiling, sudsing, rinsing and bluing, should be done in
quick succession, until the clothes are ready to hang on the line.
HARD SOAP. (Washing.)
Six pounds of washing soda and three of unslaked lime. Pour on four
gallons of boiling water, let it stand until perfectly clear, then drain off,
and put in six pounds of clean fat. Boil it until it begins to harden, about
two hours, stirring most of the time. While boiling, thin it with two gal-
lons of cold water, which you have previously poured on the alkaline
MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
537
mixture, after draining off the four gallons. This must be settled clear
before it is drawn off. Add it when there is danger of boiling over. Try
the thickness by cooling a little on a plate. Put in a handful of salt just
before taking from the fire. Wet a tub to prevent sticking; turn in the
soap and let it stand until solid. Cut into bars, put on a board and let
it dry. This makes about forty pounds of soap. It can be fiavored just as
you turn it out.
SOAP FOR WASHING WITHOUT RUBBING.
A SOAP to clean clothes without rubbing : Take two pounds of sal soda,
two pounds of common bar soap and ten quarts of water. Cut the soap in
thin slices and boil together two hours ; strain, and it will be fit for use.
Put the clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pailful of
water in which you boil them add a pound of soap. They will need no
rubbing, but merely rinsing.
TO MAKE SOFT SOAP WITHOUT COOKING.
Page 358
Presented as published in 1887. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
in a warm place ; shake it well several times a day, then add a piece of camphor as large as a hen’s egg ; shake it well, and in a few hours shake it again and add one ounce of lampblack. If the alcohol is good, it will all be dissolved in two days ; then shake and use. If the materials were of the proper kind, the polish correctly prepared, it will dry in about five minutes, giving a gloss equal to patent leather. Using aniline dyes instead of the lampblack, you can have it any desired color, and it can be used on wood or hard paper.
TO SOFTEN WATER.
Add half a pound of the best quick-lime dissolved in water to every hundred gallons. Smaller proportions may be more conveniently managed, and if allowed to stand a short time the lime will have united with the carbonate of lime, and been deposited at the bottom of the receptacle. Another way is to put a gallon of lye into a barrelful of water, or two or three shovelfuls of wood-ashes, let stand over night ; it will be clear and soft.
WASHING FLUID.
One gallon of water and four pounds of ordinary washing soda, and a quarter of a pound of soda. Heat the water to boiling hot, put in the soda, boil about five minutes, then pour it over two pounds of unslaked lime, let it bubble and foam until it settles, turn it off and bottle it for use. This is the article that is used in the Chinese laundries for whitening their linen, and is called “Javelle water;” a tablespoonful put into a suds of three gallons, and a little, say a quarter of a cupful, in the boiler when boiling the clothes, makes them very white and clear. Must be well rinsed afterwards. This preparation will remove tea stains and almost all ordinary stains of fruit, grass, etc. This fluid brightens the colors of colored clothes, does not rot them, but should not be left long in any water ; the boiling, sudsing, rinsing and bluing, should be done in quick succession, until the clothes are ready to hang on the line.
HARD SOAP. (Washing.)
Six pounds of washing soda and three of unslaked lime. Pour on four gallons of boiling water, let it stand until perfectly clear, then drain off, and put in six pounds of clean fat. Boil it until it begins to harden, about two hours, stirring most of the time. While boiling, thin it with two gallons of cold water, which you have previously poured on the alkaline
mixture, after draining off the four gallons. This must be settled clear before it is drawn off. Add it when there is danger of boiling over. Try the thickness by cooling a little on a plate. Put in a handful of salt just before taking from the fire. Wet a tub to prevent sticking; turn in the soap and let it stand until solid. Cut into bars, put on a board and let it dry. This makes about forty pounds of soap. It can be fiavored just as you turn it out.
SOAP FOR WASHING WITHOUT RUBBING.
A SOAP to clean clothes without rubbing : Take two pounds of sal soda, two pounds of common bar soap and ten quarts of water. Cut the soap in thin slices and boil together two hours ; strain, and it will be fit for use. Put the clothes in soak the night before you wash, and to every pailful of water in which you boil them add a pound of soap. They will need no rubbing, but merely rinsing.
TO MAKE SOFT SOAP WITHOUT COOKING.