Frontier Friday: The ABCs of Laundry

ABC's of Washing Clothes

The tub should be a third full of water, not hot but very warm. Stir in enough soap to make a weak suds, and put in the nicest clothes. Rub hankerchiefs, nightcaps, and other fine articles between the hands, using a little soap. Never rub them on the washboard. As fast as they are washed, wring and shake them open, and put them into a old pillowcase or white bag, else they will liable to be torn by the weight of the larger articles when taken out of the boiling kettle. Use a washboard for the large articles and for those which are not easily made clean. Make sure to rub both sides of the garment.

Grass Stain Removal - old stains can be tested with denatured alcohol and then rub the spot gently. Should this fail to work, try glycerine. For new grass stains, rub stains with lard and wash as usual, depending on the nature of the fabric. (My Mother used Fels Naptha Soap for grass stains and I still have a bar in my laundry cabinet)

Frontier Fridays: How to Make Your Own Oil Cloth

How to Make an Oil Cloth

To procure an oil cloth as cheaply as possible, buy cheap tow cloth and fit it to the size and shape of the kitchen. Then have it stretched and nailed to the south side of the barn, and with a brush, cover it with a coat of thin white paste. When this is dry, put on a coat of yellow paint and let it dry for a fortnight. It is safest to first try the paint and see if it dries well, as some paints will never dry. Then put on a second coat, and at the end of another fortnight, a third coat. Then let it hang two weeks, and it will last, uninjured for many years. The longer the paint is left to dry the better. If varnished it will last much longer.

Frontier Fridays: Good and Bad Mushrooms

How to Tell Good Mushrooms from Bad Mushrooms

Test 1 - Sprinkle a little salt on the spongy part or gills of the sample to be tested. If the gills turn yellow, they are poisonous, if they turn black, they are wholesome. Allow the sale time to act before you decide on the question.

Test 2 - False mushrooms have a warty cap, or else fragments of membranes, adhering to the upper surface; they grow in tufts or clusters in woods around the stumps of trees, and so forth, whereas true mushrooms generally grow in open spots such as clearings or pastures.

Test 3 - False mushrooms have an astringent, styptic, and disagreeable taste. When cut, they turn blue; they are moist on the surface and generally of a rose or orange color.

Test 4 - The gills of the true mushroom are a pinky red, changing to a liverish shade; the flesh is white the stem is white, solid and cylindrical.

Hey, get out there and hunt your own mushrooms! Take a friend, find the best spot for hunting in your area, pitch a tent and get back to nature! Just be sure not to eat them before you know they are safe!