Page 4 Advertisements Column 1

Manawatu Herald, 31 May 1898, Page 4

STARCHING AND IRONING. How Swiss and German Laundresses Do Their Beautiful, Glossy Llnon. Foreign laundresses generally use tbo best rico starch for all articles that require bard starching and excessive gloss. This is first mixed with a little cold water to the consistency of thiok cream. Then boiling water is added while the stirring is continued steadily. For stiffer purposes mix a quarter of a pound of rice starch as before, then add tho necessary quantity of boiling water, previously mixed with a teaspoonful of pounded borax, a lump of Bugnr nnd a piece of pure white wax as largo as a nut. Stir quickly the same way all tho time tho boiling water is being added. If necessary, starch the fronts, etc., two or three times. Thoy will look all the botter. Starch all the parts that require it, wring them out hard and clap well in the hand, af tor which roll each thing separatoly in a clean dry cloth tightly for a couple of hours. When ready for the ironing, spread the artiole out on the board, rub the starched part with a coarse, clean cloth, then with an ordinary iron proceed with the operation. It is important that tho board should not be too thickly covered. The surface on which tho shirts, etc, nro ironed ought not to bo too soft. The best thing is a piece of thin blanket, tightly stretched, covered with linen. Collars and cuffs are ironed first on the wrong side with a very hot iron, then on the right side. They should then bo put aside, though still limp, while others are being treated in the same way. By this time the iron will have cooled sufficiently to finish the things off. Lay them flat on the board, rub them quickly with a slightly moistened cloth and iron at once heavily and rapidly, leaning principally on the tip of the iron and going as evenly as posBiblo backward and forward over the surface to insure the same amount of gloss all over. Mark the hems or seams by pressing the side of the iron against them. Tho final polish for cuffs and collars consists in pulling them from under the hot clean iron, curving them, as it is done, so that they roll easily. In this state stand them in a large tumbler and leavo them there till quito cold. They will then be beautifully stiff nnd glossy. The iron should be wiped with a waxed cloth. ''Occasional** Furnishings. The needful furniture may all be in n room, but no one knows so woll as the housekeeper with artistio yearnings how much ono or two of the small pieoes now bo fashionable would add to her arrangeDAINTT BITS OF FUENITUBB. ment. As for the home loving girl, to whom tho decoration of her room is a genuine delight, she is tempted time upon time to spend half her monthly dress allowance on a charming sheraton desk, a heart shaped toilet mirror, a ohippendale table or similar beguiling affair. What could be more convenient, for inBtanoe, as well as decorative, than the little "onvolopo" folding card table and the Bilk upholstered musio seat, with its useful drawer, shown in the out? Of the musio seats, by tho way, thero are various shapes. In a more elaborate one, in place of the drawer, all tho space underneath the seat is inclosed and contains a kind of movable rack divided into compartments, which pulls out on the principle of a revolving desk. Tho ladies' rosewood writing desk xecalls so exactly a once favorite shape that it seems it could not be improved upon. Quaint and extremely comfortable (a quality by no means always to be counted on in those odd bits of furniture) looks the little old fashioned "settee" of striped velvet. A china cabinet or curio table, fitted with plate glass and lined with plash, becomes quite a necessity in this day when every feminine body who would be "somebody" is "making a collection" — it may be of after dinner coffee cups, of souvenir Bpoons, of beautiful specimens of china and glass, of foreign ourios — all of whloh need a safe resting place. To these cabinets there is no end of variety, but a most popular and really oommodlous style is ihe ohippendale here illustrated. Heat, Gas and Book Bindings. "Low book shelves," said a furniture dealer, who is a lover of books as well, to a New York Times writer, "have an origin in reason besides the caprice of fashion. Heat is injurious to the binding of choice books, drying out tho natural oil of the leather and making them warp and get out of shape. Most rooms are very warm in the upper parts, and these five and six foot book* cases are a necessity rather than a notion. "Cold is as hard on books as overheating, and an atmosphere that is too damp or too dry also injures them. The sun pouring in direotly on the shelves fades the bindings. "An open fire is another necessity in a library. Books require good air like a human being, and gas ought never to be used where valuablo books are kept. Candles are hard on tho eyes, though, and therefore should be avoided. Oil or electricity are all better than gas, which acts as readily on bindings as it does on silver. In lieu of tarnishing, however, it effects their elasticity and pliable qualities." Cocoanut Pie. A pound cocoanut, grated; a half pound powdered sugar, a quart milk, unskimmed; 6 eggs beaten to a froth, a teaspoonful nutmeg, 2 teaspoonfuls vanilla or rose water. Boil the milk, take if from the fire, and whip in gradually the beaten eggs. When nearly cold, season. Add the cocoauut, and pour into paste shells. Do not boil the eggs and milk together. Bake SO minutes.