TO WASH CHINTZ.—Many ladies will be glad to know how chintz may be washed so as to preserve its gloss and beauty. The following are the directions:—Take two pounds of rice, and boil it in two gallons of water till soft; when done, pour the whole into a tub: let it stand till about the warmth you in general use for coloured linens; then put the chintz in, and use the rice instead of soap; wash it in this till the dirt appears to be out; then boil the same quantity as above, but strain the rice from the water, and mix it in warm clear water. Wash in this till quite clean; afterwards rinse it in the water you have boiled the rice in, and this will answer the end of starch, and no dew will affect it, as it will be stiff as long as you wear it. If a gown, it must be taken to pieces; and when dried, be careful to hang it as smooth as possible; after it is dry, rub it with a sleek stone, but use no iron. TO PRESERVE THE COLOUR OF DRESSES.—The colours of merinos, mousselines-de-laine, gingham, chintzes, printed lawns, &c., may be preserved by using water that is only milk-warm; making a lather with white soap, _before_ you put in the dress, instead of rubbing it on the material; and stirring into a first and second tub of water a large table-spoonful of ox-gall. The gall can be obtained from the butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in every house. No coloured articles should be allowed to remain long in the water. They must be washed fast, and then rinsed through two cold waters. Into each rinsing water, stir a tea-spoonful of vinegar, which will help to brighten the colours; and after rinsing, hang them out immediately. When _ironing-dry_, (or still a little damp), bring them in; have irons ready heated, and iron them at once, as it injures the colours to allow them to remain damp too long, or to sprinkle and roll them up in a covering for ironing next day. If they cannot be conveniently ironed immediately, let them hang till they are _quite_ dry; and then damp and fold them on the _following day_, a quarter of an hour before ironing. The best way is not to do coloured dresses on the day of the general wash, but to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be undertaken in clear bright weather. If allowed to freeze, the colours will be irreparably injured. We need scarcely say that no coloured articles should ever be boiled or scalded. If you get from a shop a slip for testing the durability of colours, give it a fair trial by washing it as above; afterwards pinning it to the edge of a towel, and hanging it to dry. Some colours, (especially pinks and light greens), though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon as a warm iron is applied to them; the pink turning purplish, and the green bluish. No coloured article should be smoothed with a _hot_ iron.—A. F. H.