Starch Polish, for shirt bosoms, collars and caffs. 1 ounce spermaceti, 1 ounce white wax. Melt together and mold in thin cakes; drop into the starch a piece the size of a dollar.

Starch Gloss

Put in boiling starch, to 1 quart, 1 dessert spoonful of white sugar and ½ teaspoonful of butter. This stiffens the articles and gives a glossy finish. Mutton tallow, or very pure lard may be used in place of the butter. Starch will not polish unless there is something added to it. A small table-spoonful of kerosene stirred into a quart of starch, after removing 30 it from the stove, is used by many, or a little dissolved gum arabic is useful to be added to a quart of boiled starch made in the usual manner, gives a beautiful luster to the clothes and prevents the iron sticking.

Chinese Method Of Glossing

For three shirts take 3 teaspoonfuls of starch, dissolve in 2 tablespoonfuls of cold water, pour on 1 pint of boiling water, add a piece of Polish or a bit of spermaceti; cook five minutes. Then take 6 teaspoonfuls dry starch, mixed with ½ a large teacup of cold water. Stir this into the hot starch and use at once. Hot starch stiffens much better than cool. Have the articles dry, starch bosoms, cuffs and collars thoroughly, rubbing the starch in well, and roll up tight as possible. Iron without sprinkling, stretch and smooth the bosom in shape very carefully, adjust on the bosom-board, lay a clean cloth over it and with a good hot iron rub carefully over the cloth • until the bosom is damp, not wet, remove this and iron until almost dry, and begin to press down for the final polish. It will be improved by wiping off with a damp cloth and then using a polishing iron with as much strength as possible to bring out the final gloss." Wipe off just enough to remove the polish left by the common iron. To iron a collar lay it flatly down, and if it is a standing collar, iron the wrong side first, quickly, to drive out the moisture, then polish the right side with the polishing iron. To curve a collar, commence in the middle and give it a quick stroke toward one end and then to the other, hold it a moment in position and it will stay so. Turn-over collars are polished flat and turned afterward; do not iron the band too close to the outside. Iron cuffs the same as standing' collars. Lift any plaits in bosoms with a knife.

Polished white skirts are a luxury, and shams and other articles repay the trouble of polishing in their increased beauty and in remaining fresh for a longer period of time. It cannot he done without a polishing iron or irons. They cost about fifty cents a piece. Always use the starch as hot as possible.

Boiled Starch To Use

There are two ways of using this. One is to make a boiled starch thick as jelly. Dissolve the starch in a little cold water, say 2 tablespoonfuls, pour over this boiling water enough to make it the right consistency, let boil five minutes: blue the starch slightly, if liked, use any of the polishes given, then take part of the thick starch into a dish, and thin the remainder with boiling water. Wring the articles out of the thin starch first, and then proceed to rub the starch into the collars, cuffs and bosoms, lay down on a cloth and rub as much starch as can be contained first into one side and then the other. Wipe off the superfluous starch with a clean cloth, stretch carefully in shape and dry. Instead of sprinkling, roll in a damp cloth wrung out of warm water, laying in first a collar and rolling over, then a pair of cuffs, etc. Do not let them get very damp. Iron as before directed.

Second

Starch in moderately thick starch made as above. Let dry and starch with a thin cold starch, made with lukewarm water in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful to 1 pint of water, roll up and iron in fifteen minutes or longer. Wipe off each article with a damp cloth to remove any surplus starch. Remember that boiled starch should be used hot, and that cold starch should always be made with tepid water, the starch dissolves better. Some housekeepers make cold starch out of soap-suds made of white soap, claiming that it will not stick. Soft water, where clear can be obtained, is better for starch. A little kerosene put in cold starch is also recommended to prevent sticking.

A bowl of clear water and clean old linen cloth are useful to remove any specks or soiling the linen may acquire while being ironed. Iron dry and then put all starched articles where the direct heat of the stove or sun may fall upon them. They are stiffer for drying quickly. Pin the band of the first collar together in front. Coil the others around and put inside. This will shape them. Arrange cuffs in the same manner.