Starch
To make good flour starch, mix flour gradually with cold water, so that it may be freed from lumps. Stir in cold water till it will pour easily; then stir it into a pot of boiling water, and let it boil five or six minutes, stirring it frequently. A tallow or spermaceti candle, stirred round in the starch several times, will make it smoother; strain it through a thick cloth.
Starch made in this manner will answer for both cotton and linen very well. Some people do not boil their starch, but merely turn boiling water on the mixed flour and water, but it does not make clothes look nice. Poland starch is made in the same manner as wheat starch. When rice is boiled in a pot without being tied up in a bag, the water in which it is boiled is as good as Poland starch for clear-starching muslins, if boiled to a thick consistency after it is turned off from the boiled rice, and then strained. Muslins, to look clear, should be starched and clapped dry while the starch is hot, then folded in a very damp cloth, and suffered to remain in it till they become quite damp, before ironing them. If muslins are sprinkled, they are apt to look spotted. Garments that are not worn, when laid by, should not be starched, as it rots them when not exposed to the air.
To Clean Woollen and Silk Shawls.--Pare and grate raw, mealy potatoes, and put to each pint of the potato-pulp a couple of quarts of cold water. Let it stand five hours, then strain the water through a sieve, and rub as much of the potato-pulp through as possible; let the strained water stand to settle again; when very clear, turn the water off from the dregs carefully. Put a clean, white, cotton sheet on a perfectly clear table; lay on the shawl which you wish to clean, and pin it down tight. Dip a sponge, that has never been used, into the potato water, and rub the shawl with it till clean; then rinse the shawl in clear water, with a teacup of salt to a pailful of the water. Spread it on a clean, level place, where it will dry quick; if hung up to dry, the colors are apt to run, and make the shawl streaked. Fold it up while damp, let it remain half an hour, and then put it in a mangler; if you have not one, wrap it in a clean, white cloth, and put it under a weight and let it remain till dry. If there are any grease spots on the shawl, they should be extracted before the shawl is washed. MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES.
Directions for Carpets. - Carpets should be taken up and shaken thoroughly, if in constant use, as often as three or four times in a year, as the dirt that collects underneath them wears them out very fast. Straw, kept under carpets, will make them wear much longer, as the dirt will sift through and keep it from grinding out. Carpets should be taken up as often as once a year, even if not much used, as there is danger of moths getting into them. If there is any appearance of moths in carpets when they are taken up, sprinkle tobacco or black pepper on the floor before the carpets are put down, and let it remain after they are laid down. When the dust is well shaken out of carpets, if there are any grease spots on them, grate on potter's clay very thick, cover them with a brown paper, and set on a warm iron. It will be necessary to repeat this process several times, to get out all the grease. If the carpets are so much soiled as to require cleaning all over, after the dirt has been shaken out, spread them on a clean floor, and rub on them, with a new broom, pared and grated raw potatoes. Let the carpets remain till perfectly dry, before walking on them.