Buckeye cookery

. the tea-kettle and allowing them to stand until cool. Have the water in the tub as warm as the hand will bear, but not too hot. (Dirty clothes should never be put into very hot clear water, as it ‘‘sets”’ the dirt. Hot soap-suds, however, has the opposite effect, the water expanding the fiber of the fabric, while the alkali of the soap softens and removes the dirt.) Wash first one boiler full, taking the cleanest and finest through two suds, then place in a boiler of cold water, with soap enough to make a good suds. A handful of borax to about tcn gallons of water helps to whiten the clothes and is used ‘by many, especially by the Germans, who are famous for their snowy, linen. (440) ad ‘THE LAUNDRY. 4141 This saves in soap nearly half. For laces, cambrics, etc., an extra quantity Os» the powder is used, and for crinolines (requiring to be hae stiff), a strong solution is necessary. Borax, being a neutral salt, does not in the slightest degree injure the texture of the linen. Its effect is to soften the hardest water. Another way to whiten clothes is to throw a handful of tansy into the boiler in which clothes are boiling. It will make the water green, but will whiten the clothes. Let them boil, with cover off boiler, not more than five or ten mir- utes, as too long boiling ‘“‘ yellows” the clothes. (Some advocate strongly no boiling.) Remove to a tub, pour over them cold w ater slightly blued, and turn all garments, pillow-slips, stockings, etc., wrong-side out. (If there are more to boil, take out part of the boiling aa add cold water, and fill nob too full with clothes. Repeat until all are boiled. The removal of part of the suds, and filling up with cold water, prevents the suds from “ yellowing”’ the clothes.) Wash vigorously in this water (this is called ‘“sudsing”’\, wringing very dry by hand, or better with the wringer, as the clear appear- ance of the clothes depends largely on thorough wringing. Rinse in another — tub of soft water, washing with the hands, not simply lifting them out of the water and then wringing, as is practiced by some, because all suds must be rinsed out to make them clearand white. Wring and shake out well and put into water pretty well blued, putting in one article after another until the first boilerful is allin. Stir up occasionally, as the blue sometimes settles te the bottom, and thus spots the clothes. (This time well-water may be used if soft water is difficult to obtain.) Wring out again and for the last time, placing the clothes which are to be starched in one basket, and the rest, which may be hung out immediately, in another. While the first lot of clothes is boiling, prepare the second, take out first, put second in boiler, and ‘“suds’”’ and rinse first. In this way the first is finished and hung out while the later lots are still under way. Have the starch (see recipes) ready as hot as the hand can bear, dip the articles and parts of articles which need to be very stiff, first ‘“clapping”’ the starch well in with the hands, especially ip shirt-bosoms, wristbands, and collars, and then thin the starch for other artiv cles which require less stiffening. When starched, hang out on the line te ury, first wiping the line with a cloth to remove all dirt and stains. Shake out each article until it is free from wrinkles, and fasten securely on the line © {with the old-fashioned split clothes-pins), being careful to hang sheets and table-linen so that the selvage edges will be even. The line should be stretched in the airiest place in the yard, or in winter a large attic is a better place for the purpose. (Freezing injures starch, and for that reason it 18 better in winter to hang clothes out unstarched until dry, then taking in, starching and drying indoors.) When dry, remove from line to clothes- _ basket, place clothes-pins as removed in a basket kept for the purpose, take