THE WARDROBE

Bonnets, cloaks, hats, shawls, scarfs, and the like, will last clean and fresh much longer if the dust is carefully removed from them by brushing and shaking after returning from a ride or walk.

A teaspoon of powdered borax dissolved in a quart of tepid water is good for cleaning old black dresses of silk, cashmere or alpaca.

Butter will remove tar spots. Soap and water will after- ward take out the grease stain.

Black shoes may be bronzed by a strong solution of aniline red in alcohol.

Four parts borax and three parts Epsom salts, mixed with three or four parts warm water to one part of the combined substances, is said to form an excellent fireproof wash for clothes. It should be used immediately after preparation.

When a silk hat get wet shake off the water, rub the way the nap lies with a clean linen cloth or silk handkerchief, and hang some distance from the fire to dry, a few hours after brush with a soft brush.

To take mildew from kid gloves dry the gloves perfectly, stretch, rub the spots well with a rather stiff brush, and then with a small quantity of egg albumen or flour paste. This will not injure them, nor leave an}* unpleasant smell.

To clean dirty coat collars apply benzine, and after an hour or more, when the grease has become softened, rub it, or re- move with soap-suds.

The Wardrobe.

Spots in cloth or calico, produced by an acid, may be re- moved by touching the spot with spirits of hartshorn. Spots produced by an alkali may be removed by moistening them with vinegar or tartaric acid.

Two ounces of common tobacco boiled in a gallon of water is used by the Chatham street dealers for renovating old clothes. The stuff is rubbed on with a stiff brush. The goods are nicely cleansed, and, strange to add, no tobacco smell remains.

To renovate black silk take the water potatoes have been boiled in, take a sponge, rub the silk carefully on wrong side on a clean table; let silk remain on table until dry. It will look like new.

To clean velvet invert a hot flatiron, place over it a single thickness of wet cotton cloth, lay on this the velvet, wrong side next the wet cloth, rub gently with a dry cloth until the pile is well raised; take off the iron, lay on a table, and brush it with a soft brush or cloth.

To clean ribbons dissolve white soap in boiling water; when cool enough to bear the hand, pass the ribbons through it, rubbing gently, so as not to injure the texture; rinse through lukewarm water, and pin on a board to dry.

To Restore Velvet. — When velvet gets crushed from pres- sure, hold the parts over a basin of hot water, with the lining of the dress next the water. The pile will soon rise and assume its original beauty.

To Press Satin. — All satin goods should be pressed on the right side. To press and clean black silk, shake out all the dust, clean well with a flannel cloth, rubbing it up and down over the silk ; this takes out all the dust that may be left ; take some good lager beer and sponge the silk both on the wrong and right side, sponging across the width of the silk, and not down the length, and with a moderately warm iron, press what is intended for the wrong side. After sponging, it is better to wait a few minutes before pressing, as the irons will not be so apt to stick.

The Wardrobe.

To Take Out Mildew.— Wet the cloth, and rub on soap and chalk mixed together, and lay in the sun; or lay the cloth in buttermilk for a short time, take out, and put in the hot sun: or put lemon juice on, and treat in the same way.

To Clean Alpaca. — Put goods in a boiler half full of cold rain water and let boil three minutes. Have read}' a pail of indigo water ( very dark with indigo), place goods in it, after wringing out of boiling water; let remain half an hour, wring out, and iron while damp.

To Clean Black Lace. — Take the lace and wipe off all the dust carefully, with a cambric handkerchief; then pin it on a board, inserting a pin at each projecting point of lace. Spot it all over with table beer, and do not remove the pins until it is perfectly dry. It will look quite fresh and new.

To Clean Straw Hats. — Rub the soiled straw with a cut lemon, and wash off the juice with water. Stiffen with gum water.

To Remove Grease from Silk, Cotton, Linen and Worsted Goods. — Rub magnesia freely on both sides of silk or worsted goods and hang away. Benzine, ether, or soap will take out spots from silk, but remember the goods must not be rubbed. Oil of turpentine or benzine will remove spots of paint, var- nish, or pitch from white or colored cotton or woolen goods. After using it they should be washed in soap-suds Spots from sperm candles, stearine, and the like, should be softened with ninety-five per cent, alcohol, then sponged off with a weak alcohol and a small quantity of ammonia added to it. Hold- ing white cotton or linen over the fumes of burning sulphur, and wetting in warm chlorine water, will take out wine or fruit stains. The sooner the remedy is applied after any of these spots or stains are discovered, the more effectual the res- toration. From white linen or cotton by soap-suds or weak lye, and from calicoes with warm soap-suds. From woolens by soap-suds or ammonia. On silks use either^yolk of egg with water, magnesia, ether, benzine, ammonia, or French chalk.

The Wardrobe.

For Cleaning- Kid Gloves, Silk, Etc. — One gallon deodor- ized benzine, half ounce chloroform, half ounce ether, one ounce alcohol, one ounce oil wintergreen. This preparation cleans kid gloves, ostrich feathers, silk, alpaca, cashmere, broadcloth, carpets, straw goods, &c, without the least injury.

To Dress Old Silk or Satin. — Lay your goods out smooth on a clean table; have all stitches picked out; then with the water in which potatoes have been boiled in for dinner, sponge goods well, and let lie on table till dry. It will look like new silk. Cashmere can be made to look like new by spouging in the same way, only use ammonia water.

Black for Woolens. — One ounce blue vitriol, one ounce extract of logwood to two pounds goods; color in iron. Dis- solve the extract over night in warm water; pulverize the vit- riol, put into boiling water sufficient to cover the goods; wash the goods well, rinse in warm water, then simmer a few min- use in the vitriol water; take out, wash thoroughly in clear water, then dip in the boiling logwood dye till the color is good, stirring often and lifting up so it will get the air; dry, then wash in a suds and rinse. In renovating black alpaca that has become rusty, dissolve the logwood only, as nothing- is needed to set the color. Wash the goods well in suds, rinse, dip in logwood dye, boil a few minutes, stirring and lifting to air. When dry, wash again in suds and rinse in water in which a little gum arabic has been dissolved, and press on the wrong side while damp. Dyed in this way the color will not rub off more than from new goods, and looks as good as new. When extract of logwood is used, it is only needful to boil enough to dissolve before putting in the goods.

To Color Woolen Fine Claret. — Boil thirteen pounds of goods two hours with seven pounds of camwood, one-tenth pound logwood, and one-fourth pound copperas to darken.

To Color Woolen Russian-Brown. — For thirteen pounds goods, boil two ppunds fustic and four pounds camwood an hour, and if too light color add one-tenth pound each copperas and alum, to darken.

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Coloring. — In coloring always use plenty of water, never crowd the goods, taking care that they float in the liquid. In rinsing always use plenty of clear water, and in preparing goods for coloring, clean off all dirt and grease spots. To test color of dye, pour it from a dish held high, and look through it at the light. A pound of extract of logwood is equal to four pounds of logwood chips. Fustic should be boiled in a sack of open texture; the other ingredients are put into the water. All black goods should be washed in soap-suds after coloring.

To Color Woolen Bottle-Green. — Boil ten pounds woolen with one-tenth pound chrome, and one-fifth pound alum; take out, put in a vessel of clean water three pounds fustic and one and a half pounds logwood, and boil another hour.

To Color Purple. — For every pound of yarn or cloth take two ounces Cudbear, rinse the cloth well in soap-suds, then dissolve the Cudbear in hot suds (not quite boiling), and soak the cloth till of the required color. The color is brightened by rinsing in alum water.

Dove and Slate Colors, all shades, are made by boiling in an iron vessel a tea-cup of black tea with a tea-spoon of cop- peras and sufficient water. Dilute this till you get the shade wanted.

The Laundry.