Originally published in The Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review (J. Limbird) vol.1 #27 (20 Nov 1819).
Formerly, the Hindoo washerman did not use soap, and the common clothes of the natives he washes without this article. He makes a wash with the urine of cows, or the ashes of the plantain tree, or of the argemone mexicana. He does not rub the cloth between his hands, like the English washerwoman, but, after it has been steeped in the wash, and boiled, he beats the cloth on a board, which is generally placed by the side of a pool, and dips the cloth in the water as he beats it. This method is very hurtful to European clothes, but it is very difficult to persuade the natives to adopt the English method. The Hindoo washermen know nothing of ironing, clear starching, or calendering; they beat the clothes of the natives, after they are washed and dried, with a wooden mallet. It is the work of the men to wash the clothes, but the wives sometimes assist their husbands.