176. _Composition for Washing in Sea-water._--Mix a strong solution of potash with an equal weight of pipe-clay, and work them to a paste, one pound of which will soften four gallons of sea-water.
177. _To bleach a Faded Dress._--Wash the dress in hot suds, boil it and rinse it, then dry it in the sun. Should it not be rendered perfectly white, lay the dress in the sun for several days.
178. _To preserve the Color of a Print Dress._--Rip the skirt from the body, and wash them in cold rain water in which a handful of common salt has been thrown. Do not expose it to the sun to dry, but roll it tightly in a coarse cloth until dry enough to iron.
179. _To wash White Lace._--A quarter of a cake of white wax, six lumps of sugar, and a dessert-spoonful of made starch, to be mixed with a quart of soft water. Tack the lace very slightly in a thin cloth dipped in cold water, then let it lie in a strong lather for one day. Change the water, and leave it in a second lather all night. Put the above materials into a saucepan, boil the lace in it for ten minutes, then throw it into cold water, and when nearly dry iron it.
180. _Washing Kid Gloves._--Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel, folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean: if colored, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will soon be gratified to see that her old gloves look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, shapely, and elastic. Dark, and especially black mourning gloves, should be of the very best and high-priced.
181. _To iron Shirt Fronts and Dresses._--Shirt-fronts are most conveniently ironed upon a deal board about 12 inches long and 8 wide, covered with fine flannel; to be placed between the back and front of the shirt, after the back is ironed. The skirts of dresses also may be ironed in a similar manner, using a board as long as the skirt, 26 inches wide at one end, and 12 inches at the other. The board should be covered with a blanket, and rest upon a thin block of wood at each end, to keep it from creasing the skirt beneath it.