THE LAUNDRY

To Clean Colored Fabrics. [EARLY all colored fabrics stain the suds used to clean them,

and that without losing their own brightness in any way.

No article of a different color must be plunged into a rinse or wash so stained, but must have fresh ones; and no colored article must be rinsed in blued suds. Scarlet is particularly pi-one to color a wash.

Different colors are improved by different substances being used in the wash or rinse; sugar of lead has the credit of fixing all colors -when first cleaned, and may be used to those likely to run. To l)righten colors, mix some ox-gall ; but, of course, the quantity must be regulated by the quantity of suds in the Avasli and rinse. For "buff and cream-colored alpaca or cashmere, mix in the wash and rinse some friar's balsam. For black materials, some ammonia. For violet, ammonia or a small quantity of soda in the rinsing water. There are some violets and raauves that fade in soda. For green, vinegar in the rinse, in the proportion to two tablespoonfuls to a quai-t of rinse. For blue, to one dress, a good handful of common salt in the rinse. For brown and grey, ox-gall. Fot white, blue the wash with laundry blue.

Dresses, mantles, shawls, opera cloaks, underskirts, articles ■embroidered with silk, self-colored or chintz-colored damask cur- tains, moreen and other woollen curtaining, may all be cleaned as specified so far. Blankets should be cleaned in the same way. Pull them out well, whilst wet, at both sides and both ends, between

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two personSo When half dry, it is a good plan to take them off the line, and pull them again; when quite dry just give them a little more pulling out. This keeps them open and soft. Blankets are not blued so much as flannels, presently described. Never use soda to them, and never rinse them in plain water, or rub on soap. The dyers and cleaners have a mode of pressing articles which gives to many of them, such as damask and moreen curtaining and paisley shawls, a superior appearance to anything that can be achieved at home; but some of them will press articles at a ^xed price for persons cleaning them at home.

Muslin Dresses,

Even of the most delicate colors, can be cleaned in ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, without losing their color. Melt half a pound of soap in a gallon of water, empty it in a washing tub; place near two large tubs of clean water, and stir into one a quart of bran. Put the muslin in the soap, turn it over and knead it for a few minutes; squeeze it out well, but do not wring it, lest it get torn; rinse it about quickly in the bran for a couple of minutes. Rinse again well for a couple of minutes in clean water. Squeeze out dry and hang it between two lines. A clear, diy day should be chosen to wash muslin dresses; half a dozen may be done this way in half an hour. The last rinse may be prepared the same way as the rinses for woollen fabrics. A colored pattern on a white ground must not be blued. The bran may here be dispensed with.

When the dress is dry, make the starch; for a colored muslin white starch, and unboiled, but made with boiling water, is best. Stir the starch with the end of a wax candle. Dip the dress. Hang it again to dry. When dry, rinse it quickly and thoroughly in clear water. Hang it to dry again. Sprinkle and roll it up; after- wards iron it with a very hot iron. Hot irons keep the starch stiff. This rinsing after starching is called clear-starching; none of the stiffness, but much of the unsightliness of the starch is removed in this way.

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All kinds of white muslins, lace cui-tains, cravats, etc., may be washed in a thick ley of soap as described, well rinsed, blued, and starched, like the muslin dresses above named. Use blue starch to white. Book muslin should be very slightly blued as blue-looking muslin is very unbecoming to the complexion; a slight creamy tinge is pi-eferablo.

Morning cambric dresses may be washed the same way as musli^ dresses; but they do not generally clean so readily, and, perhaps, may nee^ rubbing a little in places that are soiled.

The advantage of thus cleaning dresses instead of washing them is, first, if colored, the process is so rapid that there is not time for the colors to run. Secondly, the fabric is not rubbed, and there- fore not strained and worn out. Thirdly, the process saves nearly all labor, and is so quickly done, that any lady may manage it for herself in the absence of a laundry-maid.

Many ladies make a strong solution of sugar of lead; stir it well when dissolved, and let the dress, muslin or cotton, soak a couple of hours to set the colors before washing it the first time. It does not need to be repeated. Those using sugar of lead should be care- ful not to do so if they have any scratches, abrasions, or wounds about their hands.

Chintz may be cleaned the same way as muslin and print dresses.

Laces of all kinds can, with a little care, be rendered equal to new. Make a strong solution of soap, as described for woollen materials. The laces may all be put in at once. Squeeze them in and out. They generally, become free from dirt by once passing through. They may then be thoroughly rinsed, blued, and starched; but if at all discolored and bad looking, must first be boiled. Soap each article thoroughly all over; fill a basin or jar with water as blue as possible, and lumps of soda and soap; put the lace in the basin; put the basin in a saucepan of water just large enough to hold above by the rim (like a glue-pot), and put the saucepan lid on the basin. Boil two or three hours, taking care the water

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doP3 not boil out of the saucepan and let it burn; if need be, ieplenish it; turn out the lace in the basin; rinse it well; blue it with the finest blue that can be procured, but not much; get a bottle of the best drawing gum in solution from an artists' colorman (common liquid gum will not do); put a teaspoonful of this to a pint of water; stir it well; stiffen the laces in it; squeeze them dry; lay them on a clean dry towel; fold them up till most of the moisture is absorbed. While still dry, pin out each piece of lace by each point, stretching it equal to new, but not straining any part, on a cushion which has first been covered with a clean cloth. The right side of the lace should be up. Leave it till quite dry, which will probably not be till the next day. If it is Cluny lace with raised spots, take a pin and raise all the spots as it lies on the cushion. Remove all the pins, and pick out every part and corner of the lace with the fingers. If raised, raise it by draw- ing it over the thumb-nail. Brussels lace and Honiton lace look better ironed whilst a little damp, instead of being pinned out in this way. Arrange these, also, with the finger, both before and after ironing. Crochet may be pinned out, or left to dry, pulled out with the fingers only, or pulled out whilst still damp and ironed. It is, also, a matter of fancy whether it is starched or not.

To Bleach Lace, Etc. After washing and boiling let it lie all day in excessively strong blue-water; lay it out all night on the grass to dry. Boil again with soap, without soda or blueing; rinse well. It must not, how- ever, be forgotten that too much soda turns linen, etc., yellow.

To Stttfex Li:n'en-, Such as cuffs that require to be very firm, boil the starch after mixing it cold. Into a pint of starch drop a bit of white wax half the size of a small hazle-nut and a teaspoonful of brandy. The spirit is to retain the stiffness and increase it, the wax to save the starch from sticking to the iron. AVhen an iron sticks to starch, soap the bottom of the iron.

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To Clean Cloth. A contemporary recommends the following plan: Moisten a sponge with pure water, press it in a clean towel till it becomes neany dry; then sponge, one place after the other, the cloth; all the dust will enter the sponge; wash the sponge afterwards with water. This method of cleaning wears cloth out less than brushing. Many spots also disappear with pure water.

To Clean Black Silk. Take entirely to pieces the dress, jacket, etc., and well shake each piece; then spread over a table and over it spread a newspaper, or sheet of clean paper, and on it lay a breadth of the silk. Brush it well both sides with a fine soft brush — a hat-brush would very well answer the purpose. Shake it again; fold together in half, and place it on one side of the table. In the same manner shake, brush, and shake again, each piece of silk. Remove the paper, and place on the table a clean sheet. On the paper again place a breadth of the silk, and into a clean quart basin pour a half pint of cold water adding a half pint of good sweetened gin, which is better for the purpose than unsweetened, as the sugar stiffens the silk. These are the proportions for any quantity required. Have ready a piece of black crape, or black merino, about a half yard square; dip it well into the liquid, and thoroughly wash over the best side of the silk. Be careful that it be well cleaned, and, if possible, wash it from edge to edge, and wet it well all over. Then fold over the silk in half; then again, till the folds are the width of those of new silk. Place it in a clean towel, and clean each piece of the silk in the same manner, laying one piece On the other; and remembering by a mark which is the last piece done, as that must be the last ironed. Let the silk be folded in the towel till a large iron is well heated; but be careful that it is not too hot; try it first on paper, or a piece of old dampened silk. Use two irons. Open the towel when the iron is ready, and place the piece of silk that was first cleaned on an old table-cloth or sheet folded thick; iron the wro

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side quickly, from edge to edge, until dry. Fold the silk over lightly to the width of new silk, and place it on one end of the table till all are done. This simple process stiffens, cleans, and makes the silk look new. .

To Clean Black Merino, or any Woollen Stuff. Purchase at a drug store two cents worth of carbonate of ammonia. Place it in a clean quart basin, and pour upon it a pint of boiling water; cover it over with a clean plate, and let it stand till cold. Then proceed the same as directed for cleaning black silks. Gentlemen's clothes can thus be cleaned without taking to pieces, or ironing, unless quite convenient. Vests and coat collars are thus easily renovated, the color is revived, grease spots and white seams removed.

To Renovate Crape. Brush the crape well with a soft brush, and hold tightly over a wide-mouthed jug of boiling water, gradually stretching it over the jug. If a strip of crape, it is very easily held tightly over the water, letting the portion done fall over the jug until all is com- pleted. The crape will become firm and fit for use, every mark and fold being removed. White or colored crape may be washed and pinned over a newspaper, or towel, on the outside of a bed, until dry. Crape that has been exposed to rain or damp — veils especially — may be saved from spoiling by being stretched tightly on the outside of the bed with pins, until dry; and no crajDC should be left to dry without having been pulled into proper shape. If black crape, lace, or net, is faded or turned brown, it may be dipped into water, colored with the blue-bag, adding a lump of loaf sugar to stiffen, and pinned to a newspaper on a bed.

Washing Clothes. If pipe clay is dissolved in the water, the linen is thoroughly cleaned with half the labor and a saving of one-fourth of soap; and the clothes will be improved in color equally as if bleached. The pipe clay softens the hardest water.

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Washing Chintzes. These should always be washed in dry weather, but if it is very cold, it is better to diy them by the fire than risk spoilinjy the colors from freezing in the open aii*. It is better, if possible, lo defer their washing till the weather is suitable.

To Remove Spots of Wax. Place a piece of soft soap on each spot and warm it slightly before the fire, or in the sun (if hot). Wash the spot afterward with. soft water, and it will disappear.

Another Recipe. Cover the spot with spirits of wine or turpentine, and rub the place gently with a soft rag. Continue the same process until the spot disappears.

To Clean Carpets.

When the carpet is well beaten and free from dust, lay it tightly down, and scrub it with soap, dissolved in soft water mixed with bullock's gall — about four gallons of water to a pint of gall. This will restore the colors of the carpet to their original brightness, and make it look almost like new. The brush employed should be of soft character, with long bristles.

For Bleaching Cotton Cloth. One pound chloride of lime, dissolved and strained; put in two or three pails of water; thoroughly wet the cloth and leave it over night; then rinse well in two waters. This will also take out mil- dew, and is equally good for brown cotton or white that has become yellow from any cause, and will not injure the fabric.

To Clean Light Kid Gloves. Magnesia, moist bread, and India rubber, are all of them good t(? clean light kid gloves. They should be rubbed on the gloves thor- oughly. If so much soiled that they cannot be cleaned, sew up the tops of the gloves, and rub them over with a sponge dipped in i

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decoction of saffron and water. The gloves will be yellow or brown, according to the strength of the decoction.

To Clean White Silk Lace.

The lace is stretched over small clean slips of wood to keep it evenly spread out, laid over night in warm milk, to which a little soap has been added, rinsed in fresh water, laid for the same length of time in warm soap-lye, and finally rinsed without any friction. Linen lace is best cleaned by covering the outside of a large glass bottle smoothly with stout linen or white flannel, upon which the lace is sewn in a number of coils, and over the whole some coarse open tissue is secured. The bottle thus dressed is allowed to soak for a time in lukewarm soft water, and the outside wrapping is then rubbed with soap and a piece of flannel. After this the bottle is laid to steep for some hours in clean soft water. It is then rolled between dry towels, dipped in rice water, and rolled again. Finally the damp lace is unfastened from the bottle and ironed between linen cloths.

Stakch Polish.

White wax, one ounce; spermaceti, two ounces; melt them together with a gentle heat. When you have prepai'ed a suflicient amount of starch, in the usual way, for a dozen pieces — put into it a piece of the polish the size of a large pea; more or less, according to large or small washings. Or, thick gum solution (made by pouring boiling water upon gum arable), one tablespoonful to a pint of starch, gives clothes a beautiful gloss.

Washhstg Fluid. Dissolve in a gallon of hot Avater one pound of concentrated lye, one-half ounce salts of tartar, one-half ounce liquid ammonia; when cool, bottle for use. Soak the clothes over night; wring out and add a cup of the fluid to a boiler of water; put in the clothes and boil one hour; rub them as much as is necessary, and rinse well in two waters, with a little bluing in the last. But little rubbing is necessary, and this method will certainly save clothes, tinje, and

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labor. Lace curtains may be washed in the same way. Starch them and press out all that is possible in a towel; pin sheets on the carpet; spread out the curtains carefully, shaping every scallop on the sheets; pin them in place and leave them until dry.

Gem Washing Fluid. One pound salsoda, one ounce borax, one ounce salts of tartar, one ounce ammonia, three quarts of rain water. Put the rain water over the fire, then put in the salsoda, borax, and salts of tartar. Do not put in the ammonia until it gets cold. Put one cup into the- boiler Avhen you boil your clothes.

Hard Soap. It is a simple matter to make hard soap, which is not only agi'ee- able to use, but which has the great m ri' of cleanliness. To seven pounds of tallow use three pounds of rosin, two pounds of potash, and six gallons of water; boil for three hourc, or, better still, for five; turn from a kettle into a wash-tub; let it stand all night. In the morning cut into bars, and lay them on a table or board in the sun to harden for two or three days. This quantity will last a family of four persons a year, if used for ordinary household purposes.

Soft Soap.

Take six gallons of soft or rain water, add three pounds of best- hard soap (cut fine), one pound salsoda, four tablespoonfuls of hartshorn; boil the whole till perfectly dissolved; pour into vessels, and when cold it is fit for use. This makes fifty pounds of fine jelly soap.

How TO Wash Flannels.

There are many conflicting theories in regard to the proper way to wash flannels, but I am convinced, fi-om careful observation, that the true way is to wash them in water in which you can comfort- ably bear your hand. Make suds before putting the flannels in, and do not rub soap on the flannel. I make it a rule to have only one piece of flannel put in the tub at a time. Wash in two suds if

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much soiled; then rinse thoroughly in clean, weak suds, wring and hang up; but do not take flannels out of warm water and hano- out in a freezing air, as that certainly tends to shrink them. It is better to dry them in the house, unless the sun shines. In washing worsted goods, such as men's pantaloons, pursue the same course; only do not wring them, but hang them up and let them drain; while a little damp, bring in and press smoothly with as hot an iron as you can use without scorching the goods. The reason for not wringing them is to prevent wrinkles.

How TO Keep Black Gloves from Crocking.

Black cotton gloves will not crock the hands if scalded in salt and water before wearing. The salt prevents fading. When almost dry, one should put them on, in order to stretch them and keep them in good shape.

Some one may wish to know how to wash a linen duster in sucli a way that it will not look faded. All old colored linen should be washed in lukewarm water. If thex-e are any grease spots, use a little hard soap, or, better still, remove them with benzine. Rinse thoroughly in water in which a third of a cup of salt has been dis- solved; the last water must be very blue, and a small handful of starch put in. Hang in a shady place; and, as soon as the duster is dry, take it down, so that the wind will not blow the starch out. If dampened with warm water, it will soon be ready to iron.

To Remove Scorches.

Spi-ead over the cloth a paste made of the juice pressed from two onions, one-fourth ounce white soap, two ounces fuller's earth, and one-half pint vinegar. Mix, boil well, and cook before using.

Washing Towels.

Towels with handsome, bright borders should never be boiled, or allowed to lie in very hot water; they should not be used till they are so much soiled that they need vigorous rubbing to make them clean. It is better economy to use more towels than

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to wear out a few in a short time. A gentle rubbing in two suds, and then conscientious rinsing in warm water and then in cold, ought to be all that is required.

How TO DO UP Shirt Bosoms.

" Take two ounces of fine white gum arabic powder; put it in a pitcher and pour on a pint or more of boiling water, according to the degree of strength you desire, and then, having covered it, let it stand all night. In the morning pour it carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork, and keep it for use. A tablespoonful of gum water stirred in a pint of starch, made in the usual manner, will give to lawn, either white or printed, a look of newness, when nothing else can restore them after they have been washed."

If your flat-irons are rough and smoky, lay »■ little fine salt on a flat surface and rub them well; it will preven* *hem from sticking to anything starched, and make them smooth.