THE LADIES' PAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 72

THE LADIES' PAGE.

By Emmelin-e.

The werii w«t sad — the garden was a •wild, And a.an, Qte Serstf t, sig&ed, till woman tailed. — CAMPSBLL.

EmnKline -will be pl«a»ed t« receive l«tt*r« from eorr«spond«bU «n aiy matter 6f interest ta them, aad i« reply through tie »«dits* of this p*£e, the 3io» de $lume only of the correspondents to be puUtiaked. £«tter« te be ad&ressed " Emmelia*," ostre of the Editor.

ANSWEES TO COERE-SPONDENTS. 3". A. W. wa.ntg to know th» best way to wash a black silk blouse. To wash silk stuffs one cannot do better than e-miploy a soap 6&ntaining a, certain amount of ox gall, a, •product that is not surpassed ,if indeed $ has an equal, for the purpose. . In making ibis soap the- following directipns mil be found, of advantage: Heat lib cocoanut oil to lOOdeg Pahr. in a copper saucepan. While jstirring vigorously add 41b Caustic soda lye of SOdeg Be. In & separate vessel heaf Jib of whit© Venice turpemtine, and .stir this in the soap in the copper pan. Cover the vessel well, and let it stand midly warmed for four tours, when the temperature can be again" raised until the mass is quite hot and flows clear, then add ttb of ox gall to it. Now pulverise some good, perfectly dry grain soap, and stir in as much of it as will make the contents" of the pan so hard that it will give little to the pressure of the fingers. From lib to 21b is all the grain soup required for the above quantity of gal! soap. When cooled, cut out the soap and shape into bars. This is an indispensable adjunct in washing, as it will not injure the. most delicate colour To wash the article, make a lather of the soap and rinse in warm water. A simpler but efficient method that is often used for black silk is to sponge it with tea and press on a thick towel. Sweetie asks for a recipe or hints for making Bulgarian rock. Can any of my readers oblige? I have so far failed to obtain particulars, al Ithat I could learn being that the making of it involves so much trouble that few amateurs caxe to undertake it. Bulgarian rock is made by some Dunedin confectioners, but their success appears to vary, and naturally the more successful do not care about enlightening their tiade rivals as to their methods.