Current Literature. — Nineteenth Century, vol. 41, pp. 224, 232;
Cosmopolitan, vol. 18, p. 271 ; Review of Reviews, vol. 12, p. 541 ;
Eclectic, vol. 125, p. 800; Temple Bar, vol. 109, p. 375; Westminster
Review, vol. 147, p. 698; All the Year Round, vol. 13, p. 248, vol. 73,
p. 13 ; St. James, vol. 11, p. 89; Leisure Hour, vol. 10, p. 727 ; Popu-
lar Science Monthly, vol. 46, p. 649.
Facts.
I. Equipment for Laundry (for class of eight). — 12
small fibre or wooden tubs, 1 large fibre or wooden tub, 8
small rubbing boards, 1 wringer on large tub, 2 small
wringers, 1 fibre or tin pail, 1 tin dipper, 1 clothes basket,
1 clothes stick, 1 medium sized copper-bottom boiler, 6 long
u 289
290 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE
benches for the tubs, 8 small skirt boards (3i to 4 ft. long),
8 covers for kitchen table (blankets and unbleached muslin),
2 clothes horses, 1 fringe brush, 3 soft brushes for flannel,
3 whisk brooms for sprinkling; flat irons, 4 seven pound
irons, 8 four pound irons, 8 five pound irons, 4 three pound
irons, 8 Troy polishers ; 10 yds. cheese cloth, 3 roller hand
towels, holders, wax, paper, old cloth, toilet pins, safety
pins, tape ; 1 granite soap cooker, 1 granite starch cooker,
1 teakettle, 1 dishpan, 3 large bowls (2 qt., 4 qt., 6 qt.),
8 small bowls (1 pt.), 2 tin measuring cups (for thirds and
fourths), 6 tablespoons, 6 teaspoons, drying closet inside or
posts, line and clothes pins for outside ; laundry stove ; if
tubs are stationary, have not less than nine with hot and
cold water connections ; stools should be supplied for short
girls either for washing or ironing.
II. Study of Materials. — Water, the chemist tells us,
is a combination of hydrogen two parts and oxygen one
part. We know it as the transparent, almost tasteless, liquid
which falls from the clouds and is collected in lakes, rivers,
cisterns, and wells for us. Sometimes we find it soft, as rain
or river water, but if it has flowed over limestone it is hard
water. When water falls as rain, it catches some of the air
and the gases, especially carbon dioxide. This gas has the
property of combining with lime and forming a soluble salt
which in the water makes it hard. We know by the feeling
of the water if it is soft or hard, also when we use soap in it.
Soft water lathers at once, but hard water does not until all
the lime in it has combined with the soap to form that curd
or lime soap that you see on top of the water. The simplest
way to soften water is by boiling, then the lime and gas
separate, the gas goes off and the lime falls to the bottom.
A familiar example is the lime or fur in the teakettle. Our
grandmothers used Avood ashes to soften hard water ; to-day
we use the active principle of the ashes — lye or sal-soda — for
THE LAUNDRY 201
the same purpose. These strong alkalies must be used with
the greatest caution or the clothes will be injured. The
milder alkalies, ammonia and borax, may be used without
fear of harm but they are expensive. For best results we
need soft water in the laundry, so hard water must be
softened in some way.
Page 140
Presented as published in 1900. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Current Literature. — Nineteenth Century, vol. 41, pp. 224, 232; Cosmopolitan, vol. 18, p. 271 ; Review of Reviews, vol. 12, p. 541 ; Eclectic, vol. 125, p. 800; Temple Bar, vol. 109, p. 375; Westminster Review, vol. 147, p. 698; All the Year Round, vol. 13, p. 248, vol. 73, p. 13 ; St. James, vol. 11, p. 89; Leisure Hour, vol. 10, p. 727 ; Popular Science Monthly, vol. 46, p. 649.
Facts.
I. Equipment for Laundry (for class of eight). — 12 small fibre or wooden tubs, 1 large fibre or wooden tub, 8 small rubbing boards, 1 wringer on large tub, 2 small wringers, 1 fibre or tin pail, 1 tin dipper, 1 clothes basket, 1 clothes stick, 1 medium sized copper-bottom boiler, 6 long
benches for the tubs, 8 small skirt boards (3i to 4 ft. long), 8 covers for kitchen table (blankets and unbleached muslin),
2 clothes horses, 1 fringe brush, 3 soft brushes for flannel,
3 whisk brooms for sprinkling; flat irons, 4 seven pound irons, 8 four pound irons, 8 five pound irons, 4 three pound irons, 8 Troy polishers ; 10 yds. cheese cloth, 3 roller hand towels, holders, wax, paper, old cloth, toilet pins, safety pins, tape ; 1 granite soap cooker, 1 granite starch cooker, 1 teakettle, 1 dishpan, 3 large bowls (2 qt., 4 qt., 6 qt.), 8 small bowls (1 pt.), 2 tin measuring cups (for thirds and fourths), 6 tablespoons, 6 teaspoons, drying closet inside or posts, line and clothes pins for outside ; laundry stove ; if tubs are stationary, have not less than nine with hot and cold water connections ; stools should be supplied for short girls either for washing or ironing.
II. Study of Materials. — Water, the chemist tells us, is a combination of hydrogen two parts and oxygen one part. We know it as the transparent, almost tasteless, liquid which falls from the clouds and is collected in lakes, rivers, cisterns, and wells for us. Sometimes we find it soft, as rain or river water, but if it has flowed over limestone it is hard water. When water falls as rain, it catches some of the air and the gases, especially carbon dioxide. This gas has the property of combining with lime and forming a soluble salt which in the water makes it hard. We know by the feeling of the water if it is soft or hard, also when we use soap in it. Soft water lathers at once, but hard water does not until all the lime in it has combined with the soap to form that curd or lime soap that you see on top of the water. The simplest way to soften water is by boiling, then the lime and gas separate, the gas goes off and the lime falls to the bottom. A familiar example is the lime or fur in the teakettle. Our grandmothers used Avood ashes to soften hard water ; to-day we use the active principle of the ashes — lye or sal-soda — for
the same purpose. These strong alkalies must be used with the greatest caution or the clothes will be injured. The milder alkalies, ammonia and borax, may be used without fear of harm but they are expensive. For best results we need soft water in the laundry, so hard water must be softened in some way.