Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (39)

Thus laces and fine muslins are dealt with first. If to be boiled they must be tied up in a clean coarse muslin bag, but usually they will hardly require this treatment, but simple washing will suffice. In this case pass them into a hot soak mixture as already described and work them with the hands without rubbing, till clean. Then rinse, first in warm water, then in cold; fold; roll up in a clean towel, and put aside ready for starching.

Go over the body linen in soak and pay special attention to stains and extra dirty spots. Wring the articles as free as possible from the dirty water, beginning always with the finest, and put into another tub containing a warm soak; here wash again, and then pass through a tub of clean cold water to remove adhering suds. Next fill the copper with clean cold water and add the same quantities of soap and washing powder as before; wring the goods out of the cold washwater, put them into the copper, bring to boiling, and let boil for 10-15 minutes. Pass successive lots into the copper in the same way, replenishing the water, soap, and washing powder as needed. Each lot as taken from the boiler should be rinsed first through hot and then through cold water, well wrung, dipped, an article at a time, in water containing some blue, wrung out, shaken, folded, and put on one side. The bluewater will need additions of blue occasionally.

When all the body linen has gone through the copper, the table and bed linen may follow in the same way; but after the second rinsing on leaving the copper these articles can at once be hung out to dry. The kitchen linen will come last and be washed in the suds of the previous batches.

Drying should always be at least partially effected in the sun if possible. When available, nothing is better than exposing linen on a clean lawn. Failing this it must be hung on wires or ropes provided for the purpose. Galvanised wire lasts longer and is cleaner than rope. Both require rubbing clean with a damp cloth before use. After sunning, the drying must always be completed before a good fire, especially in the case of body linen. Table and bed linen should be taken in while still damp, and folded and mangled before drying by the fire. Body linen is not mangled, but ironed or starched.

Ironing may be done without starching, or with. Calicoes are generally ironed on the right side, as they thus keep clean for a longer time. In ironing a frock, first do the waist, then the sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the skirt rolled while ironing the other parts, and set a chair to hold the sleeves while ironing the skirt, unless a skirt-board be used. Silk should be ironed on the wrong side, when quite damp, with an iron which is not very hot, as light colours are apt to change and fade. In ironing velvet, turn up the face of the iron, and after damping the wrong side of the velvet, draw it over the face of the iron, holding it straight; always iron lace and needlework on the wrong side, and put them away as soon as they are dry.

Starching is applied chiefly to shirts, cuffs, and collars, and in a rougher way to print dresses and white petticoats. A good cold-water starch is prepared as follows. Mix in a basin 3 tablespoonfuls of laundry starch and sufficient cold water to make a paste; then add 1 teaspoonful of white soap shredded and dissolved in warm water and 1 teaspoonful powdered borax, mixed in ½ teacupful of boiling water; stir well together till it froths. To starch collars, &c., wring them from bluewater a few at a time, well rub them in the starch, and wring hard, stirring up the starch for each fresh lot; rub them a few at a time, fold, and pass through a close mangle or wring hard in a towel. Iron immediately.

Boiled starch for shirts, &c., is made in the following manner. (_a_) Into a _warm_ basin put 4 tablespoonfuls of starch; rub down with warm water to a thickish paste; add 1 in. cut off the end of a bedroom composite candle, a piece of spermaceti as large as a pea, and 4 drops turpentine. Slowly pour in boiling water, with vigorous stirring till the starch turns transparent without losing its thickness. Take the shirts in a damp state, and first dip the fronts and collars, squeezing them tightly, and then the cuffs; be expeditious, as the starch should be used quite hot. Rub moderately, hang up to dry; when quite dry, damp with cold water, fold with the two sides of the front in contact, and roll up for a day before ironing, wrapping in a damp cloth if the weather is dry.

(_b_) A liquid starch gloss which is well recommended consists of 5 oz. glycerine and 2 oz. each spermaceti, gum senegal (cheap gum arabic) and borax in 49 oz. water, mixed and boiled together; 2 or 3 teaspoonfuls of this are added to ¼ lb. boiled starch.

Ironing starched goods requires more care. For cold-starched cuffs and collars it is well to have a table with a thick flannel and a clean cotton or linen cloth tightly stretched upon it. Lay the collar evenly on the table, and run a moderately hot iron lightly along the wrong side first; turn it, and do the same on the right side. Repeat this once or twice rather quickly until it begins to feel a little dry. Then press heavily and evenly on the right side, pulling out button-holes, and ironing them straight. A fine polish is put on by using the edge of the iron, and rubbing with it from the top of the collar to the band, leaning heavily. Curl the collar, and put aside to harden. Cuffs are ironed in the same way; if reversible, with a band in the middle, the band is ironed thoroughly and finished first.

Hot-starched cuffs and collars are ironed in the same way but with a hotter iron.

When ironing a shirt, lay the back of the sleeve smoothly on the table; iron each side smoothly. Iron the wrist-band smoothly, wrong side first, and then right side. Next iron the shoulder-strap, then the neck-band or collar, doing the latter extremely carefully, and polishing it nicely. Now double the back of the shirt, and iron it on both sides. Spread the shirt out, and iron all the front except the breast. Lay a board covered with flannel under the breast, and iron very nicely, polishing highly at the last. Hang up to dry well, fold neatly, and put away.

The following curious recipe is recommended for restoring linen which has been scorched at the fire in drying. “It is almost needless to premise that if the tissue of linen is so much burnt that no strength is left, it is useless to apply the following composition; for nothing could prevent a hole from being formed, although the composition by no means tends to injure the fabric. But if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads not actually consumed, then the application of this composition, followed by 2 or 3 good washings, will restore the linen to its original colour; the marks of the scorching will be imperceptible, and the place will seem as white and perfect as any other part of the linen. Mix well together 2 oz. fullers’ earth reduced to powder; 1 oz. hen’s dung; ½ oz. cake soap, scraped; and the juice of 2 large onions, obtained by the onions being cut up, beaten in a mortar, and pressed. Boil this mass in ½ pint strong vinegar, stirring it from time to time, until it forms a thick liquid compound. Spread this composition thickly over the entire surface of the scorched part, and let it remain on 24 hours. If the scorching was light, this will prove sufficient, with the assistance of two subsequent washings, to take out the stain. If, however, the scorching was strong, a second coating of the composition should be put on after removing the first; and this should also remain on for 24 hours. If, after the linen has been washed twice or thrice, the stain has not wholly disappeared, the composition may be used again, in proportion to the intensity of the discoloration remaining, when a complete cure will seldom fail to be effected. It has scarcely ever happened that a third application was found necessary. The remainder of the composition should be kept for use in a gallipot tied over with bladder.”

Having dealt with the general operations, it will be well to add a few notes on special processes for certain classes of goods.

Bed Ticks.--Apply starch by rubbing it in thick with a wet cloth, then put the tick in the sun. When dry, rub it with the hands. If necessary, repeat the process, and the soiled part will be as clean as new.

Black Goods.--After washing, rinse in water containing salt, to fix the colour.

Chintzes.--As coloured dresses, adding a little ammonia to the water.

Coloured Dresses.--As flannels, omitting the washing powder. Wash quickly in _warm_ water, wring hard, wash again, rinse in cold water and hang to dry.

Crape Scarfs.--If the fabric be good, these can be washed as frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been employed among other colours in the patterns. In cleaning them, make a strong lather of boiling water, suffer it to cool; when cold, or nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately in cold hard water in which a little salt has been thrown (to preserve the colours); rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the open air; pin it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not in any part be folded together. The more rapidly it dries the clearer it will be.

Flannels.--The great difficulty in washing flannels, blankets, and all woollen goods without causing excessive shrinkage is due to the nature of the fibres, which, under the conditions of rubbing and heat, become matted together in a kind of felt, reducing the dimensions of the article and adding to its thickness. The following recipes for washing such goods, are all destined to prevent this felting process.

(_a_) The water should be only warm, not boiling, and soda silicate or caustic ammonia is preferable to soap as a detergent. Flannels well soaped and shrunk when first fulled always remain softer and shrink less ultimately than those not so treated. The felting power of wool varies considerably, and it should be selected accordingly for fabrics intended to be frequently washed. Flannels should not be rubbed or beaten in washing, merely rinsed, and soiled spots soaped and brushed with a soft brush. It is important not to press the material until thoroughly dry.

(_b_) Buy the flannel in the piece, put it into a tub, and cover it with boiling water, turning it about with a stick to allow the air to escape from between the folds. Leave it in the water until the next day, when take out and hang on a line to drain and dry. It must not be wrung or pressed, but allowed to get rid of the water in its own way. When made up into trousers or jackets, it will never shrink any more; but in the case of shirts, there may be a slight shrinking in the course of time, though not to nearly the usual extent. Flannel should be washed in lukewarm water, and without soda, when, if it has been properly shrunk before being made up, it will last very well.

(_c_) The great principle is, not to have the water any hotter than a _lady’s_ hand can comfortably bear. Cut up, overnight, some pieces of yellow or mottled soap, into a large saucepan of cold water; next morning allow this to heat gradually, until all melted. Have two tubs of the hot water ready, into which pour some of the melted soap, and whisk it with the hand to make a thoroughly good lather. The first tub must be more than double the strength of the second, which latter should have plenty of blue in. In the first tub wash the white flannels, without rubbing _any_ soap on, excepting on stains of perspiration, &c. Directly after they have been done through the first tub, do them in the same way through the second, shake well, and hang out immediately. Coloured flannels can follow in the same way. Stockings should always have a third wash. The small pieces of soap left in the bedroom soap-dishes come in nicely for melting down.

(_d_) Flannel should be soaked in cold hard water before making, and hung up to drain and dry without any squeezing or handling in the water. After this it will not shrink in washing. Fill a tub with spring water, place the flannel in it, and take out as soon as it sinks to the bottom. It does not lose the appearance of new flannel when dry.

(_e_) To prevent shrinking in washing, soak the flannel for a night in cold water when dirty, and the next morning wash with curd soap in very lukewarm water. Do not wring, but press the water out and hang to dry.

(_f_) White Flannel. Use pipeclay, which should be mixed to proper consistency in a pipkin; stand on the fire till warm, stir with wax candle for 5 minutes, add a modicum of soap and a dash of Prussian blue, and stand by to cool, and always use cold, laid on with a sponge, and dry in shady breeze. For grease spots, lay over them pure clay, size the thickness of a crown piece, then place in the sun, and the clay will absorb all the grease without fail. When trousers are dry, rub them to loosen the clay, which brush off, and you will have cleaner looking trousers than by washing, and they will be fit to wear two or three times without pipeclaying. The same for flannel jackets.

(_g_) In order to keep flannel from shrinking and felting as much as possible, dissolve 1 oz. potash in a bucketful of rain-water, and steep the fabric in it for 12 hours. Next heat the water with the cloth in it, wash it out without rubbing, simply drawing it through several times. Then place the flannel in another bath consisting of 1 spoonful wheat flour to 1 pint water, and wash in like manner. Then rinse in lukewarm rain-water. Flannel washed in this manner becomes very clean, and will scarcely shrink or felt.

(_h_) It must strictly be observed that the heat does not rise beyond 100° F., and the fabric to be washed must be immersed in a bath of boiled soap, to which 1¼ dr. sal ammoniac per pint of fluid have been added; ¼ hour’s immersion in a well-covered vessel will have dissolved the fat and dirt sufficiently, and a beating or rubbing will no longer be necessary in order to wash the fabric clean. Very dirty spots are rubbed in with soap, and brushed with a soft brush. If one washing is not to satisfaction, repeat the process in a weaker soap bath, observing the same cautionary rules, and conclude with rinsing in cold water. It is also important not to smooth the fabric in a half-moist condition; because in this case, the condition of felting is complied with in this operation; while smoothing of the sharply dried substance is performed without being accompanied by the evil effects of shrinkage. The addition of sal ammoniac is to be left out with sensitive colours.

(_i_) Scotch methods for Shawls.--Scrape or cut up 1 lb. soap, and boil in a small quantity of water. When sufficiently cool, beat to a jelly with the hand, at the same time mixing with it 3 tablespoonfuls spirits of turpentine, and 1 of spirits of hartshorn. Wash the shawl thoroughly in this, then well rinse in cold water, and, when all the soap is out, in salt and water. This last need only be done when the shawl contains delicate colours. Then fold the shawl between two sheets, being careful not to let two folds of the shawl come together. Mangle, and afterwards iron with a very cool iron.

(_j_) To wash red or scarlet flannel when soiled, mix a handful of flour in a quart of cold water, and boil 10 minutes. Add this to some warm suds, and wash the flannel gently, rinsing rather than rubbing; rinse in 3 or 4 warm waters, and the brightest scarlet will never lose its colour. Soft soap or olive soap should be used for woollen goods in preference to bar soap.

(_k_) After rinsing, a wringing machine dries them better than any other method. The drying must be done _rapidly_, and the articles should be shaken and pulled during the drying.

Lace.--(_a_) Washing Black Lace.--Mix bullocks’ gall with sufficient hot water to make it as warm as you can bear your hand in, and pass the lace through it. It must be squeezed, not rubbed; and it will be well to perfume the gall with a little musk. Rinse through 2 cold waters, tinging the last with a little blue. After drying, put it into some stiffening made by pouring boiling water on a very small piece of glue; squeeze out, stretch, and clap it. Afterwards, pin out on a linen cloth to dry, laying it very straight and even, and taking care to open and pin the edge very nicely. When dry, iron on the wrong side, having laid a linen cloth over the ironing blanket.

(_b_) Cleaning White Lace.--Boil gently for 15 minutes in a solution of white soap; put it into a basin holding warm water and soap, and keep gently squeezing it (do not rub it) till it is clean, and then rinse it from the soap. Then take a vessel of cold water, into which put a drop or two of liquid blue; rinse in it. Have ready some very clear gum arabic water, or some thin rice-water. Pass through it. Then stretch out even, and pin to dry on a linen cloth, making the edge as straight as possible; open out all the scallops, and fasten each with a pin. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin smoothly over it, and iron on the wrong side.

(_c_) Ditto.--Cover an ordinary wine bottle with fine flannel, stitching it firmly round the bottle. Tack one end of the lace to the flannel, then roll it very smoothly round the bottle, and tack down the other end, then cover with a piece of very fine flannel or muslin. Now rub it gently with a strong soap liquor, and, if the lace is very much discoloured or dirty, fill the bottle with hot water, and place it in a kettle or saucepan of suds and boil it for a few minutes, then place the bottle under a tap of running water to rinse out the soap. Make some strong starch, and melt in it a piece of white wax and a little loaf sugar. Plunge the bottle 2 or 3 times into this and squeeze out the superfluous starch with the hands; then dip the bottle in cold water, remove the outer covering from the lace, fill the bottle with hot water, and stand it in the sun to dry the lace. When nearly dry take it very carefully off the bottle, and pick it out with the fingers. Then lay it in a cool place to dry thoroughly.

(_d_) Ditto.--Take a black bottle covered with clean linen or muslin, and wind the blond round it (securing the ends with a needle and thread), not leaving the edge outward, but covering it as you proceed. Set the bottle upright in a strong cold lather of white soap and very clear soft water, and place it in the sun, having gently with your hand rubbed the suds up and down on the lace. Keep it in the sun every day for a week, changing the lather daily, and always rubbing it slightly when you renew the suds. At the end of the week, take the blond off the bottle, and (without rinsing) pin it backward and forward on a large pillow covered with a clean tight case. Every scallop must have a separate pin; or more, if the scallops are not very small. The plain edge must be pinned down also, so as to make it straight and even. The pins should be of the smallest size. When quite dry, take it off, but do not starch, iron, or press it. Lay it in long loose folds, and put it away in a pasteboard box.

(_e_) Thread Lace.--As in (_d_).

(_f_) Ditto.--When it has been tacked to the bottle, take some of the best sweet oil and saturate the lace thoroughly. Have ready in a wash-kettle, a strong cold lather of clear water and white Castile soap. Fill the bottle with cold water, to prevent its bursting, cork it well and stand it upright in the suds, with a string round the neck secured to the ears or handle of the kettle, to prevent its shifting about and breaking while over the fire. Let it boil in the suds for an hour or more, till the lace is clean and white all through. Drain off the suds and dry it on the bottle in the sun. When dry, remove the lace from the bottle and roll it round a white ribbon-block; or lay it in long folds, place it within a sheet of smooth white paper, and press it in a large book for a few days.

(_g_) Starching Lace.--Use a very thin boiled starch or the liquor in which rice has been boiled. Dip the lace in the starch, and squeeze out. Clap between the folds of a towel to partially dry it. Lay wrong side up on the table, slightly picked out, and place a piece of muslin over. Rub a cool iron over several times, till a little dry. Take up, and with the fingers pick it out to show the pattern and the edge. Iron again. Pick out once more, carefully draw to each side, and give a final ironing. The iron must be very cool, or the lace will be stiff; moving it about in the hands, and drawing it out tends to make it flexible.

Loose Colours.--As black.

Silk Goods.--(_a_) Silk scarfs and stockings are best washed in tepid water, with white soap dissolved in it, then rinsed quite free from soap, wrung dry in a towel, and ironed dry on the wrong side with a muslin cloth between the iron and the silk.

(_b_) Heat some rain or soft water, and while on the fire cut into it slices of good yellow soap, to make a lather; put the stockings in while the lather is warm, but not scalding, and wash in two such waters (a wineglassful of gin in the first water is an improvement); rinse well in lukewarm water, having ready a second rinsing water, in which is mixed a little blue (not the common kind, but such as is used for muslins and laces), or rose pink, which can be procured at a chemist’s, and is used in the same way as the blue, by tying it up in a piece of flannel and squeezing it into the water. After rinsing, put the stockings between towels and let them get almost dry; place on a small sheet, lay out quite flat, as they are when first purchased, tack to the sheet with a needle and thread, turn the sheet over them, and mangle. If it is not convenient to mangle them, the next best plan is to put 4 or 6 stockings one upon the other between muslin, lay them on a stone doorstep, and beat them with the rolling pin. They must not be mangled or beaten in towels, as the pattern of the towels would be impressed on them. If the stockings have lace fronts they will more particularly require the tacking mentioned above to make them look nice. No soda or washing powder of any kind must be put to them. They must be done quickly.

Stains, Removing.--The great difficulty in eradicating stains is to do so without damaging the often delicate tints of the fabric. Following is a synopsis of the best plans in use, arranged according to the nature of the substance causing the stain.

Acids.--Nearly all acids produce a red discoloration on goods dyed black or blue with vegetable dyes. If the acid is strong, the fabric will probably be locally destroyed as well as stained. The best treatment for all acids is the _immediate_ application of a strong alkali, either ammonia, potash, or soda, but ammonia is the most satisfactory. When once the stain is old nothing will efface it. Nitric acid stains are the most troublesome, as the acid bleaches away the original colour. Repeated moistening with a very strong solution of potash permanganate (Condy’s fluid may be used as a weak substitute) followed by rinsing with water, is said to be effective.

Anilines.--(_a_) Wash out in alcohol containing some acetic acid, unless the colours of the fabric would be damaged by acetic acid, in which case use alcohol alone. (_b_) Try a solution of sodium sulphite.

Coffee, Chocolate, &c.--Apply a mixture of glycerine and egg-yolk; wash out with warm water, while still damp iron on the reverse side with a moderately hot iron.

Dust.--White and cotton coloured goods only require beating and brushing. For old dry stains on coloured silk and woollen goods, apply alcohol mixed with yolk of egg, let dry, and scrape off; wipe away remaining traces of the egg by means of a linen rag dipped in warm water.

Fruits, Red Wine, Vegetable Dyes.--The greater part may be removed without leaving a stain, if the spot be rinsed in cold water in which a few drops of aqua ammoniæ have been placed, _before the spot has dried_. Wine stains on white materials may be removed by rinsing with cold water, applying locally a weak solution of chloride of lime or dilute chlorine water, or eau de javelle (potash or soda hypochlorite), and again rinsing in an abundance of water. Some fruit stains yield only to soaping with the hand, followed by fumigation with sulphurous acid (fumes of burning sulphur); but the latter process is inadmissible with certain coloured stuffs. If delicate colours are injured by soapy or alkaline matters, the dye must be renewed by applying colourless vinegar of moderate strength. For coloured cotton and woollen materials, the stain is washed with hot soapy water (to which more or less chlorine water has been added, according to the fastness of the dyes), rinsed in water containing a little ammonia, dipped in a solution of soda hyposulphite and then in a solution of tartaric acid, and finally washed in hot water. For silk and satin goods the same programme must be followed but with very dilute solutions. Another plan is to treat with salts of sorrel (hydrogen potassium oxalate) or with solution of soda hypochlorite. The latter especially must be carefully removed when the object is attained. Another well-tried plan, when space is available, is to spread the stained fabrics on the ground in the open air, smear the spots with soap, and sprinkle ground potash or common salt upon them. Water is added and replaced when lost by evaporation. After 2 or 3 hours’ exposure the whole fabric may be washed, and will usually be found freed from its stains.

Grass.--White goods need only be washed in boiling water. Coloured goods, whether cotton, woollen, silk, or satin, are damped with a solution of tin chloride and immediately washed out in abundance of water.

Grease.--(_a_) Simple washing in soap and water. (_b_) Stains from oil colours will yield to a mixture of soap and caustic potash. (_c_) Chalk, fullers’ earth, or steatite (French chalk) diffused through a little water to form a thin paste, spread upon the spot, allowed to dry, and then brushed out. (_d_) Ox-gall and yolk of egg. The ox-gall should be purified, to prevent its greenish tint from degrading the brilliancy of dyes or the purity of whites. Thus prepared it is most effective, especially for woollens. It is diffused through its own bulk of water, applied to the spots, and rubbed well in with the hands till the stains disappear, after which the stuff is washed with soft water. (_e_) Volatile oil of turpentine will take out _recent_ stains, for which purpose it ought to be previously purified by distillation over quicklime. Wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in oil of turpentine, cover with filter paper (blotting-paper) and pass a hot iron over several times; finally wash out in warm soapy water. (_f_) Benzine or essence of petroleum is commonly used for removing grease spots; but these liquids present the inconvenience of leaving, in most cases, a brownish ring. To prevent this, the garments, &c., should be laid out flat, _in daylight_, upon a cake of plaster of Paris, or upon some folds of blotting-paper, moistened with sulphuric ether, otherwise known as rectified ether, and rubbed gently with a soft brush or clean linen rag. This process, if necessary, may be repeated. It neither injures the colour nor the material, and evaporates completely on exposure to the air. Another remedy is to scatter powdered gypsum or lycopodium on the moist surface, brushing the powder away when dry. (_g_) Equal parts strong ammonia water, ether, and alcohol form a valuable cleaning compound. Pass a piece of blotting-paper under the grease spot, moisten a sponge, first with water to render it “greedy,” then with the mixture, and rub with it the spot. In a moment it is dissolved, saponified, and absorbed by the sponge and blotter.

Gelatine, Glue, Blood, Sugar.--Wash in clean warm water.

Green nuts, Tanning Juices.--Wash white goods in weak eau de javelle or chlorine water. For coloured goods, first damp, and then touch the spot with more or less dilute chlorine water, afterwards rinsing in clean water.

Ink, Ironmould.--For ink stains, dilute hydrochloric acid, which must subsequently be carefully washed out, will mostly be found effectual. For the same purpose oxalic acid or salts of sorrel (hydrogen potassium oxalate) may also be employed, and that most economically, in fine powder to be sprinkled over the stains and moistened with boiling water. The action of these solvents may be hastened by gentle rubbing, or still better by placing the stained portion of the fabric in contact with metallic tin. If there is much ironmould to be removed, dyers’ tin salt (stannous chloride) will perform the same work at less expense than the oxalic acid compounds. Another solvent for such stains consists of a mixture of 2 parts argol with 1 of powdered alum. On coloured cotton and woollen goods let a drop from a burning tallow candle fall on the stain, and then wash out in a concentrated solution of pyrophosphate of soda. On fast dyes, lime chloride or tartaric acid may be used. On fine silk or satin goods damp with strong vinegar and leave covered for some time with beechwood ashes, washing finally in strong soapy water. Some iron stains submit to a washing in a solution of yellow prussiate of potash with addition of sulphuric acid; the blue colour thus produced is removed by rinsing in a solution of potash carbonate. One of the simplest and most efficacious removers of ink stains is milk, applied _instantly_.

Lime and other Alkalis.--If white goods, wash out in clean water. For coloured cottons or woollens, silk or satin, wet the stuff, and apply successive drops of dilute citric acid; when the stain has disappeared, wash thoroughly in clean water.

Mildew.--(_a_) Dip the spot into a strained weak solution of lime chloride (2 teaspoonfuls to 1 qt. water) for a moment and expose to the sun for a few minutes; repeat till gone, and then rinse thoroughly in clean water. (_b_) Soak in water for an hour and then sun. (_c_) Moisten with lemon juice and lay in the sun. (_d_) Moisten with lemon juice, cover with a paste of soft-soap and chalk, and sun for ½ hour; repeat till gone.

Milk, Soup.--For white goods, wash thoroughly in soapy or lye water; for coloured cottons and woollens, wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in pure turpentine-oil or benzine, remove excess with blotting-paper, and wash out in warm soapy water. For silks and satins use purest benzine ether.

Nitrate of Silver.--(_a_) Dip in a neutral solution of copper chloride and touch the spot with a crystal of soda hyposulphite dipped in ammonia. (_b_) Damp with solution of potash hypermanganate and dip into solution of potash bisulphite. (_c_) Moisten with solution of mercury bichloride (a deadly poison). (_d_) Moisten repeatedly with very weak solution of potassium cyanide and rinse thoroughly in clean water.

Oil, Paint, Varnish.--(_a_) New stains will submit to carbon bisulphide, or spirits of turpentine. (_b_) Cover old stains with butter or olive oil, and when softened apply first spirits of turpentine and then benzine. (_c_) For white goods, and coloured cottons and woollens, damp the patch, and pass a sponge dipped in turpentine-oil or benzine repeatedly over the stain, then lay on a sheet of blotting-paper and pass a hot iron over; finally wash out in warm soapy water. (_d_) For silks and satins spread on a thin paste of ether and magnesia carbonate; when the ether has volatilised, brush away the magnesia, or rub with crumb of bread.

Perspiration.--Wash in a solution of soda hyposulphite, and then bleach if the goods are white.

Stearine, Wax.--Remove with a knife; place a piece of wet linen beneath, cover the stain with several layers of blotting-paper, and pass a hot iron over. Any remaining trace can be removed by a sponge dipped in benzine.

Tar, Pitch, Resin.--For coloured cottons and woollens the stuff is damped, and fat is applied to the stain, on which soap is well rubbed. The soap is allowed to act for a few minutes, and is washed out alternately with oil of turpentine and hot water. If this has not succeeded, the yellow of egg mixed with some oil of turpentine is applied, and when this has dried it is scratched away, and thorough washing out in hot water ensues. The last method is the washing of the stuff in water mixed with a little muriatic acid, and thorough rinsing out in pure river water. For silk and satin, the stuff is wetted, and a sponge dipped in a solution of ether and chloroform is rubbed over the stain. If the stain is no longer noticeable, white clay is strewn over it, over which blotting-paper is placed, and the stain is extracted by passing a hot smoothing iron over. If this process has not been successful, the yellow of egg mixed with chloroform is used in the same manner.

Unknown origin.--(_a_) For white goods, and coloured cotton goods, a small quantity of soap is dissolved in lukewarm water, and for each pint is added a coffee spoonful of ammonia. The stain is wiped with a sponge steeped in this fluid, and the material is finally washed out in water. (_b_) For coloured woollen stuffs, dissolve 20 parts ox-gall, 40 of borax, 500 of spirit, and 200 of ammonia, adding 30 of glycerine and the yellow of two eggs. The stuff is washed in this boiling solution. It is subsequently rinsed in clean warm water, and dried in the air, but not in the sun. (_c_) For silk and satin, dissolve 40 parts borax and 10 of soap in 70 of diluted spirit and 30 of ether, adding 10 of magnesia carbonate and the yellow of two eggs. The mixture is applied to the stain, and the stuff is washed in lukewarm water, rinsed in cold water, and dried at a moderate warmth, being subsequently ironed with a moderately hot iron.

Urine.--Wash in alcohol or very weak solution of citric acid.

Vinegar, Wine, Acid Fruits.--For white goods, wash out in clean water, to which ammonia has been added. For coloured cotton and woollen materials, silk, and satin, diluted ammonia is spread over the satin, and when it has disappeared a thorough washing in water ensues.

Wine, Beer, Punch.--Wash in soapy and then clean hot water.

_Tobacco Pipes._--A very simple and effective plan. Cut ½ in. from the end of an ordinary cork, and fit it tightly into the bowl of the pipe. Then with a knife cut a hole through the cork wide enough to admit the nozzle of a water tap with a little pressure, turn on the water gently until the flow through the stem is sufficiently strong, and let it run until the pipe is clean.

_Violin._--(_a_) Use soap and water, but avoid its running through the “_f_” holes. Clean the interior with _dry_ rice.

(_b_) Moisten the solid parts with salad oil, then mix same oil and spirits of wine together in a basin, trying its strength first on a part of the neck or scroll, then with a piece of white linen rag, dipped in the oil and spirit, rub the soiled parts, keep shifting the rag as it gets dirty: it will take several days to do, but keep the parts well soaked, where dirty, with oil after every rubbing; but by no means scrape it.

(_c_) Ordinary paraffin oil. _Slightly_ saturate a rag of soft silk, and proceed to wash your violin therewith. The effect is almost magical; the paraffin dissolves the crust of dirt and resin and cleans the varnish without injuring.

(_d_) For the outside, a strongish solution of washing-soda, applied with piece of flannel. If you find the soda remove the varnish (as it does with some oil-varnishes), use soap-and-water, and then paraffin. When clean, rub with linseed-oil; spirits of wine removes the old resin at once, but sometimes takes the varnish with it. For the inside, get a handful of rice, steep in solution of sugar and water 5 minutes, strain off, and nearly dry the rice till just sticky. Put in at sound-holes and shake till tired. This will pick up all dirt, then turn out.

_Violin Bows._--(_a_) Take a small piece of flannel, wet it (cold process), well rub it with best yellow soap, double it, holding the hair gently between the finger and thumb, rub gently till clean, using plenty of soap; rinse flannel, wipe off, then wipe dry with a piece of calico or linen; in an hour afterwards it will be ready for the resin. (_b_) A solution of borax-and-water.

_Wall-papers._--To remove oil stains or marks where people have rested their heads, from wall-papers, mix pipeclay with water to the consistency of cream, lay it on the spot and allow it to remain till the following day, when it may be easily removed with a penknife or brush.

_Watches._--A correspondent of the _Watchmaker and Metal-worker_ tells how he cleans watches with benzine. The method may be useful for other fine work. He says: I immerse the parts in benzine and dry in boxwood sawdust. This gives the gilding a fresh, new look, which I have not been able to get by any other process. The movement must be entirely taken down. The dial screws may be screwed down tightly and left, but all parts united with screws must be separated, so that there will be no places where the benzine can remain and not be at once absorbed by the sawdust. I have a large alcohol cup, which I fill about half full of benzine, taking down my movement and putting the larger pieces in the fluid. The scape wheel, balance, and delicate parts I treat separately, that they may not be injured by contact with the heavier pieces. I then take the pieces one at a time, and tumble them into the sawdust. In a few seconds they will be dry, when I pick them out and lay in a tray, using brass tweezers, which do not scratch. I treat all the parts in this way except the mainspring, when a slight use of the brush and clean chamois will remove all dust. Of course, the holes must be cleaned with a pointed peg; and I wipe out the oil sinks with chamois over the end of a blunt peg, but it is not often necessary to clean the pinions with a peg; they will come out of the sawdust bright and clean. The mainspring must not be put in benzine unless you want it to break soon after. The fluid seems to remove the fine oily surface which a spring gets after working for a time, and which is very desirable to retain; so I clean my springs by wiping with soft tissue paper. If they are gummy, I put on a little fresh oil to soften, and wipe off, being careful not to straighten out the springs.

=Vermin, Destroying.=--Before proceeding to classify the various kinds of noxious creatures whose presence is objectionable to man, and giving hints for their destruction or removal, it will be well to put forward a word of caution _against_ using any substance which will _poison the vermin_ in situations where their bodies can putrefy unseen and produce unpleasant and injurious odours. Wherever poisons are mentioned in the following recipes their use is intended exclusively away from the dwelling, and there are many sound reasons why poisons should be avoided on all occasions.

_Insects._--As this word is commonly used in the household it embraces a considerable number of small creatures outside the class known as insects to naturalists, and may be regarded as including all winged and creeping vermin.

Before descending to special remedies against different insects a few lines may be devoted to that universal insecticide the so-called “Persian insect powder.” This is of two kinds, one produced in the Transcaucasian region and another in Dalmatia. The first is the produce of _Pyrethrum roseum_ and _P. carneum_, and the last of _P. cinerariæfolium_ [_Chrysanthemum turreanum_], all common wild flowers in their special districts. The useful part of the plants is their flowers, which are gathered when half developed, in dry weather, dried in the shade under cover, ground to powder, and stored in air-tight vessels. The plants can be cultivated in warm climates. The Dalmatian gives the stronger powder, or perhaps the powder sold there is less adulterated. Experiments have conclusively proved that while these powders are perfectly harmless to human beings and domestic animals, they are distinctly poisonous to all insects having open mouth parts, such as bees, wasps, ants, mosquitoes, flies, fleas, bugs, dragon-flies, spiders, carpet-beetles, &c.

Ants.--(_a_) White ants will eat the whole timber work of a house without noise. They bore close to the surface of the wood, but without destroying it, so that there is no visible indication of what they are doing. They will even bore through the boards of a floor and up the legs of a table, leaving the latter a mere shell. The principal woods used in this country which are said to resist the white ant are cedar, greenheart, ebony, and lignum vitæ, and the heartwood of jarrah. Pitch pine is sometimes attacked. White ants will not attack new teak, but will bore through teak to get at yellow pine. Arsenic seems to prevent the attack of these insects, and is sometimes used for this purpose in the concrete, mortar, paint, and plaster of buildings. Arsenic is also mixed with aloes, soap, &c., to form a wash to exterminate these insects. Creosoting is an effectual preservative against white ants, but on account of its smell is only adapted for out-door work, and can hardly be applied to very dense tropical timbers. A cheap source of arsenic for this purpose is the lime arsenite residue from aniline dyeworks.

(_b_) Black Ants.--Scatter a few leaves of green wormwood about their haunts. (_c_) To clear them from pantries, chalk the shelves upon which the provisions are put, so that the ants cannot move about; or apply moistened fly-paper and lay about the pantry; or apply quassia tincture, and soak crumbs of bread with it, and lay it about the pantry. (_d_) Leave a vessel, such as a butter-crock, containing at the bottom a few stewed prunes, or a little water in which prunes have been stewed, uncovered in the places frequented by the ants; it will attract them, and thousands will drown in it. (_e_) Boil pieces of string in beer and sugar, and lay them in the ants’ way; collect once in 24 hours, when they will be found covered with ants, and drop into boiling water. (_f_) Pour benzoline down the holes. (_g_) Pour boiling water down the holes. (_h_) Rooms on a ground floor may be cleared by carefully pouring some strong oil of vitriol down each hole. This will be fatal to the living insects and all their eggs, but will destroy flooring, plaster, and bricks wherever it touches.

(_i_) Red Ants.--Grease a plate with lard, and set it where the insects abound. They prefer lard to anything else, and will forsake sugar for it. Place a few sticks around the plate for the ants to climb up on. Occasionally turn the plate bottom up over the fire, and the ants will fall in with the melting lard. Reset the plate, and in a short time you will catch them all.

Blackbeetles.--(_a_) Keep a hedgehog. (_b_) Set a deep dish or earthen pan, containing a little sugared beer by way of attraction; it will entrap the insects in vast numbers, if a few pieces of wood are inclined against the sides to serve as ladders. They will tumble in when they reach the edge, and the glazed sides will prevent their getting out. (_c_) Immediately before bedtime, strew the floor of those parts of the house most infested with the vermin with the green peel, cut not very thin, from the cucumber. (_d_) A mixture of Persian insect powder and powdered wormseed, thrown about where they frequent. (_e_) Use powdered borax, about ½ lb. to each room. It requires perseverance and care in its use. It should be scattered about freely wherever they congregate, and particularly in cracks and crevices where they can hide from it. It may be blown or forced by the blade of a knife into narrow cracks. The effect of the borax is to cause them to emigrate. It may kill a few, which will be found afterwards in a dried withered up condition lying about on the floor. They may be swept up without injury to carpets or furniture.

Bugs.--The following are paste poisons:--(_a_) 1 oz. mercurial ointment, ¼ oz. corrosive sublimate, ¼ oz. Venetian red. (_b_) Soft soap and cayenne pepper. (_c_) Soft soap and corrosive sublimate. (_d_) Soft soap and strong snuff. The following are washes for furniture or floors:--(_a_) A small quantity (6_d._ worth) salts of wormwood, dissolved in a bucket of hot writer. (_b_) Solution of pyroligneous acid, arsenite of potash, decoction of oak bark, and garlic. (_c_) 2 dr. corrosive sublimate, 8 oz. spirits of wine rubbed in mortar till dissolved, then add ½ pint spirits of turpentine. (_d_) 1 lb. each sal ammoniac, and corrosive sublimate, 8 gal. hot water. (_e_) 1½ oz. camphor, 8 oz. each spirits of turpentine and spirits of wine. (_f_) Weak solution of zinc chloride. (_g_) Benzine. (_h_) Equal parts spirits of turpentine and kerosene. Application:--(_a_) The room must be thoroughly cleared; take the bed and bedclothes into the open air, and beat them thoroughly; take the bedstead to pieces, and after a thorough purification with hot water, plug every hole and crevice with one of the pastes given above; stop all cracks, &c., in the floor and walls with the paste also. (_b_) Empty the room; scrape off all paper and burn immediately on the spot in charcoal brazier; fill all cracks in plaster, paint, and wormwood with a poison paste; scent the floor with a wash; burn all old scraps of carpet.

Crickets.--(_a_) Half fill some jampots with water and set at night. (_b_) A covered box with perforated lid containing a little salt or oatmeal.

Earwigs.--Place lengths of hollow bean-stalk or other tube where the insects collect, and each morning empty them into boiling water by blowing sharply through.

Fleas.--In Beds.--(_a_) Sprinkle chamomile flowers in the bed. (_b_) Use young leaves of wild myrtle in the same way. (_c_) Strew fresh mint under the beds. (_d_) Have walnut leaves about the person. (_e_) Place a piece of new flannel in the bed, and there seek the vermin. (_f_) Sprinkle the bed or night dress with a little solution of camphor in spirits of wine. (_g_) Sponge your person with camphor water-¼ oz. camphor, ½ oz. tincture of myrrh in 1 qt. water, shake well before use.

In Rooms.--(_a_) Slice a strong onion and rub the bottom edge of the trousers. The favourite point of attack is at the ankles and the legs up to the knee; they do not jump so much from above. (_b_) Make a strong decoction of laurel leaves by filling a large copper with the leaves, adding as much water as possible, and boil for 4 or 5 hours. Then take the leaves away, and deluge the floors with the boiling hot liquor. The liquor will but very slightly discolour the ceilings, which can be whitened again.

On Animals.--(_a_) Oil of pennyroyal will certainly drive them off; but a cheaper method, where the herb flourishes, is to dip dogs and cats into a decoction of it once a week. Mow the herb and scatter it in the beds of pigs once a month. Where the herb cannot be got, the oil may be procured. In this case, saturate strings with it and tie them around the necks of dogs and cats, pour a little on the back and about the ears of hogs, which you can do while they are feeding, without touching them. By repeating these applications every 12 or 15 days, the fleas will leave the animals. Strings saturated with the oil of pennyroyal, and tied around the neck and tail of horses, will drive off lice; the strings should be saturated once a day. (_b_) Equal parts ox-gall, oil of camphor, oil of pennyroyal, extract of gentian, spirits of wine; wash.

Flies.--In Rooms.--(_a_) A castor-oil plant growing in the room kills many and drives away the rest. (_b_) A bunch of walnut leaves keeps them out. (_c_) A large, handsome Japanese lily (_Lilium auratum_) behaves like the castor-oil plant. (_d_) Soak blotting-paper in a solution of sugar of lead, and sweeten with molasses. (_e_) Mix treacle, moist sugar, or honey with 1/12 of orpiment. (_f_) Boil ¼ oz. of quassia chips in 1 pint water for 10 minutes; strain; add 4 oz. molasses. (_g_) Spread laurel oil on picture frames, curtains, &c. (_h_) When going to bed, blow some Persian or Dalmatian insect powder into the air of the room and close it for the night; burn the dust swept from the room in the morning.

On Animals.--(_a_) Procure a bunch of smartweed, and bruise it to cause the juice to exude. Rub the animal thoroughly with the bunch of bruised weed, especially on the legs, neck, and ears. Neither flies nor other insects will trouble him for 24 hours. The process should be repeated every day. A very convenient way of using it, is to make a strong infusion by boiling the weed a few minutes in water. When cold it can be conveniently applied with a sponge or brush. Smartweed is found growing in every section of the country in the United States, usually on wet ground near highways. (_b_) Scatter lime chloride on a board in the stable or pen.

Harvest Bugs.--Smear the legs all over with (_a_) Decoction of colocynth; (_b_) strong vinegar; (_c_) paraffin; (_d_) thick soap lather; (_e_) tincture of iodine; (_f_) benzine; (_g_) tar ointment (_h_) 1 oz. insect powder (Dalmatian) macerated in 1 oz. weak spirit, and then diluted with 2½ oz. water.