To set green or blue, mauve or purple, soak the articles for at least ten minutes in alum water before washing them. Use an ounce of alum to a gallon of water. To set brown or tan color, soak for ten minutes in a solution made of a cupful of vinegar in a pail of water. Black goods and black-and-white goods need to be soaked in strong salt water, or to have a cupful of turpentine put into the wash water. Yellows, buffs, and tans are made much brighter by having a cupful of strong, strained coffee put in the rinsing water.
When ironing fine pieces, instead of sprinkling afresh, take a piece of muslin, wring it out in cold water, and lay on the ironing board under the article; press with a warm iron; remove the wet piece and iron.
When making starch for light clothes use Wool Soap in the water. This will give the clothes a glossy appearance and the irons will not stick.
Badly scorched linen may be improved by using the following solution: Boil together well a pint of vinegar, an ounce of Wool Soap, four ounces of fuller's earth, and the juice of two onions. Spread this solution over the scorched spots on the linen and let it dry. Afterward wash the garment and the scorch will disappear.
To keep the clothes-line from twisting, hold the ball of rope in one hand and wind with the other until a twist appears; then change ball to the other hand and the twist will disappear. Keep doing this, changing the rope from one hand to the other until the line is all wound up.
About House Plants
To make ferns grow better, place some thin pieces of raw beef close to the inside of the pot, between the pot and the soil.
Old-fashioned portulaca makes a pretty low-growing green for a fern dish.
To prevent plants from dropping their buds, give extra good drainage and systematic but moderate watering.
An infallible wash for destroying the scaly insects that infest house plants is made as follows: Place half a bar of Swift's Pride Laundry Soap in a deep saucer and pour kerosene around it. Let this stand for about a week until the soap has absorbed the oil. Then make a strong lather of this soap and with it wash the plants. After which spray them with clear water until clean.