WORK IN DOORS AND OUT.
Home Comforts—Household Receipts—Wise Economy—Fuel—Things to Know—Cleanliness—Accidents—Agriculture—Gardening—Etc., Etc.
HOUSEHOLD MAXIMS.
1836. A short needle makes the most expedition in plain sewing.
1837. When you are particular in wishing to have precisely what you want from a butcher's, go and purchase it yourself.
1838. One flannel petticoat will wear nearly as long as two, if turned behind-part before, when the front begins to wear thin.
1839. People in general are not aware how very essential to the health of their inmates is the free admission of light into their houses.
1840. A leather strap, with a buckle to fasten, is much more commodious than a cord for a box in general use for short distances; cording and uncording is a disagreeable job.
1841. There is not any real economy in purchasing cheap cottons for gentlemen's night shirts. The cloth cuts in holes, and soon becomes bad colored in washing.
1842. Sitting to sew by candle-light by a table with a dark cloth on it is injurious to the eye-sight. When no other remedy presents itself, put a sheet of white paper before you.
1843. People very commonly complain of indigestion: how it be wondered at, when they seem by their habit of swallowing their food wholesale, to forget for what purpose they are provided with teeth.
1844. Eat slowly and you will not over-eat.
1845. Keeping the feet warm will prevent headaches.
1846. Late at breakfast—hurried for dinner—cross at tea.
1847. Between husband and wife little attentions beget much love.
1848. Always lay your table neatly, whether you have company or not.
1849. Put your balls or reels of cotton into little bags, leaving the ends out.
1850. Whatever you may choose to give away, always be sure to keep your temper.
1851. Feather beds should be opened every third year, the ticking well dusted, soaped and waxed, the feathers dressed and returned.
1852. Bed-rooms heated are pernicious to health.
1853. Beds, instead of being made up as soon as people rise out of them, ought to be turned down, and exposed to the fresh air from the open windows through the day.
1854. Feather beds, especially in youth and in warm weather, enervate the system, destroying its vigor and health. Neither should beds be too hard. Sleeping with the head under the clothes is pernicious; so, also, confined air caused by curtains.
1855. The floor is the unhealthiest part of a room, from the tendency of impure air to descend.
1856. Charcoal, when burning, should have an uncovered vessel of boiling water over it, the vapor of which will counteract the deleterious fumes.
1857. Powdered charcoal will remove smells, impurities, &c., from old glass vessels, after the grosser parts have been scoured off with sand and potash.
1858. A perfume for linen, &c., is made of rose leaves dried in the shade, mixed with powdered cloves, scraped mace, and put in little bags.
1859. Persons of defective sight, when threading a needle, should hold it over something white, by which the sight will be assisted.
1860. In mending sheets and shirts, put the pieces sufficiently large, or in the first washing the thin parts give way, and the work is all undone.
1861. Reading by candle-light, place the candle behind you, that the rays may pass over your shoulder on to the book. This will relieve the eyes.
1862. A wire fire-guard, for each fire-place in a house, costs little, and greatly diminishes the risk to life and property. Fix them before going to bed.
1863. In winter, get the work forward by daylight, to prevent running about at night with candles. Thus you escape grease spots and risks of fire.
1864. Matches, out of the reach of children, should be kept in every bedroom. They are cheap enough.
1865. Apple and suet dumplings are lighter when boiled in a net than a cloth. Scum the pot well.
1866. When chamber towels get thin in the middle, cut them in two, sew the selvages together, and hem the sides.
1867. When you dry salt for the table, do not place it in the salt-cells until it is cold, otherwise it will harden into a lump.
1868. Never put away plate, knives and forks, &c., uncleaned, or sad inconvenience will arise when the articles are wanted.
1869. After washing, overlook linen, and stitch on buttons, hooks and eyes, &c.; for this purpose, keep a "housewife's friend," full of miscellaneous threads, cottons, buttons, hooks, &c.
1870. For ventilation, open your windows both at top and bottom. The fresh air rushes in one way, while the foul makes its exit the other. This is letting in your friend and expelling your enemy.
1871. Never allow your servants to put wiped knives on your table; for, generally speaking, you may see that they have been wiped with a dirty cloth.
1872. There is not any thing gained in economy by having very young and inexperienced servants at low wages.
1873. Dirty windows speak to the passer-by of the negligence of the inmates.
1874. Carpets.—If the corner of a carpet gets loose and prevents the door opening, or trips every one up that enters the room, nail it down at once. A dog's-eared carpet marks the sloven as well as the dog's-eared book.
1875. Cravats or stocks should not be worn so tight as to compress the many large blood-vessels of the neck, which connect with the brain.
1876. Impure air of theatres, ball-rooms, and other crowded and badly-ventilated buildings and sleeping-rooms, is poison to the lungs.
1877. Eye-sight is best preserved by a moderate light—too little, strains—too much, dazzles and injures. Bathing in cold water is of service.
1878. Consumption.—Remedies.—Vigorous, daily, but not violent, exercise, and free exposure to the air, are important. As the great difficulty in medicine is in reaching the seat of this disease, frequently inhaling certain fumes may be a means of healing the lungs. Sitting and sleeping in a room through which the fumes of resin, turpentine, or other similar gums are moderately diffused, may be of service.
1879. Small Pox is prevented by vaccination, if well done. Never neglect vaccination.
1880. Water is purified by—1, filtration through gravel, sand, or soft porous stone and charcoal. Or, 2, it may be sweetened and improved by charcoal, coarsely pulverized and thrown into a vessel of water. 3, by boiling and distillation. Water is greatly improved in wells or pumps that are frequently used.
1881. Distilled Water, after being exposed to the air, is the most salubrious of all drinks, and its daily use is of the greatest importance in dyspepsia and similar diseases.
1882. Wet Clothes should not be worn near a fire, or so as to occasion sudden heat. Keep in motion till dry can be had, then change at once, and give the feet a long heating.
1883. Black Silks wash in warm small beer and milk.
HOUSEHOLD RECEIPTS FOR MANY THINGS.
1884. To Extract Grease from Clothes.—Scrape off all the grease that you can with a knife; then lay over the spot a thick brown paper, and press it with a warm iron; if the grease comes through the paper, take another piece, and so on until it does not soil the paper.
1885. If not all out, wrap a bit of cloth or flannel round the finger, dip it in spirits of wine, and rub the grease spot; this will take it out. Be careful not to have the iron too hot. Try it on white paper; if it scorches this, it is too hot.
1886. To Extract Paint from Woolen.—Rub the spot with a piece of flannel saturated with turpentine, or spirit of wine.
1887. To Preserve Hats.—Brush them always with a soft brush. Keep them in a hat box if not in constant use, as air and dust soon turn them brown. Have a stick for each hat.
1888.—Hats when wet should be handled lightly, wiped dry with a cloth or silk handkerchief, and brushed. If the fur sticks, dampen it with a sponge dipped in vinegar, and brush it dry.
1889. When heated by exercise avoid drinking cold water. Rinse the mouth with cold water before drinking.
1890. To Procure Sleep.—On going to bed take a warm or cold bath.
1891. Another Way.—Rub the body well with rough towels or the flesh-brush for a quarter of an hour.
1892. To Relieve Headache in Bed.—Wash the head in cold water, and lay aside the night-cap, but see that the feet are kept warm.
1893. The air bath is very healthful. Children especially should resort to this method of enjoying the salubrious influence of the atmosphere.
1894. Dr. Franklin's plan was to rise at day-break, and pass half an hour in his chamber undressed, reading or writing.
1895. Close Closets that have become infested with moths should be well rubbed with a strong decoction of tobacco, and repeatedly sprinkled with spirits of camphor.
1896. The Sting of a Nettle may be cured by rubbing the part with rosemary, mint, or sage leaves.
1897. Charcoal Fumes.—The usual remedies for persons overcome with the fumes of charcoal in a close apartment are, to throw cold water on the head and to bleed immediately; also apply mustard or hartshorne to the soles of the feet.
1898. An Ever-Dirty Hearth, and a grate always choked with cinders and ashes, are infallible evidences of bad house-keeping.
1899. Effects of Charcoal, in stopping putrefaction, are now well ascertained; fish or meat may be restored by boiling charcoal with them.
1900. Moths—to get rid of them.—Procure shavings of cedar-wood, and enclose in muslin bags, which should be distributed freely among the clothes.
1901. Second.—Sprinkle pimento (allspice) berries among the clothes. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of the musk plant.
1902. To Destroy the Eggs.—When deposited in woolen cloth, &c., use a solution of acetate of potash in spirits of rosemary, fifteen grains to the pint.
1903. To Drive away Moths from clothes, wrap up some yellow or turpentine soap in paper; or place an open bottle containing spirits of turpentine in the wardrobe.
1904. Cold Green Tea, very strong, and sweetened with sugar, when set about in saucers, attracts flies and destroys them.
1905. For Keeping a Door open, place a large brick, covered neatly with a piece of carpeting, against the door.
1906. A Stair-Carpet should never be swept down with a long broom, but always with a short-handled brush, and a dust pan held closely under each step of the stairs.
1907. A Hat should be brushed every day with a hat-brush, and twice a-day in dusty weather.
1908. Rings that have stones in them should always be taken off the finger when the hands are washed, else they become discolored.
1909. Reading in Bed at night should be avoided, as besides the danger of an accident, it never fails to injure the eyes.
1910. In Escaping from a Fire, creep or crawl along the room with your face close to the ground. Children should be early taught how to press out a spark when it happens to reach any part of their dress, and also that running into the air will cause it to blaze immediately. (See [page 204.])
1911. Bronzed Chandeliers, Lamps, &c., should be merely dusted with a feather brush, or with a soft cloth, as washing them will take off the bronzing.
1912. Iron Wipers.—Old soft towels, or pieces of old sheets or tablecloths, make excellent iron wipers.
1913. To Clean Looking-Glasses.—First wash the glass all over with lukewarm soap-suds and a sponge. When dry, rub it bright with a buckskin and a little prepared chalk, finely powdered.
1914. Flowers and Shrubs should be excluded from a bed-chamber.
1915. Water of every kind, except rain water, will speedily cover the inside of a tea-kettle with an unpleasant crust; this may easily be guarded against by placing a clean oyster-shell in the tea-kettle, which will always keep it in good order, by attracting the particles of earth or of stone.
1916. Paper Fire-Screens should be coated with transparent varnish; otherwise they will soon become soiled and discolored.
1917. The best Lamp-Oil is that which is clear and nearly colorless, like water.
1918. Oil-Grease may be removed from a hearth by covering it immediately with thick hot ashes, or with burning coals.
1919. Candles improve by keeping a few months.
1920. Glass Vessels, and other utensils, may be purified and cleaned by rinsing them out with powdered charcoal.
1921. Family Clocks ought only to be oiled with the very purest oil, purified by a quart of lime-water to a gallon of oil, in which it has been well shaken, and suffered to stand for three or four days, when it may be drawn off.
1922. To Heat a Bed at a moment's notice, throw a little salt into the warming-pan, and suffer it to burn for a minute previous to use. (See page [17].)
1923. To Destroy Flies in a room, take half a teaspoonful of black pepper in powder, one teaspoonful of brown sugar, and one tablespoonful of cream, mix them well together, and place them in the room on a plate, where the flies are troublesome.
1924. Feet, to Keep Warm in a Carriage or Cold Room.—Use a stone or glass bottle filled with boiling water and wrapped in flannel.
1925. To Prevent Cold Feet at Night.—Rub the ankles and feet with the hand as hard as can be borne for five or ten minutes before retiring. This will be found an effectual remedy.
1926. Another Way.—Frequent washing, and rubbing them thoroughly dry, with a linen cloth, or flannel, is useful.
1927. To Warm Beds.—Take all the black or blazing coals out of the pan, and scatter a little salt over the remainder. This will prevent the smell of sulphur.
1928. To Explore Unventilated Places.—Light sheets of brown paper and throw into the well or cavern. Or, fix a long pipe to a pair of bellows, and blow into the place for some time.
1929. To Destroy Crickets.—Put Scotch snuff upon the holes where they come out.
1930. To Brush Clothes.—Have a wooden horse to put the clothes on, and a small cane to beat the dust out of them; also a board or table long enough for them to be put their whole length while brushing them.
1931. Have two brushes, one hard and the other soft. Use the hard brush for the great coats; the soft for the fine cloth garments. These should never be brushed with too hard a brush, as this will take off the nap.
1932. The Cane for the Clothes should not be too large. A small hand-whip is the best to beat with. Be careful not to strike the buttons.
1933. If the coat be wet and spotted with mud, let it be quite dry before brushing it. Then rub off the mud with the hands; put the coat at its full length on the board, and brush the cloth the same way the nap goes, which is toward the skirt of the coat.
1934. Chimneys, Smoky, to Cure.—A northern aspect often produces a smoky chimney.
1935. Stacks of Chimneys are less apt to smoke than single ones.
1936. Straight Funnels seldom draw well.
1937. Large Fire-Places are apt to smoke. When they do so, the lower aperture should be diminished.
1938. If the chimney smokes only when the fire is first lighted, lay any inflammable substance, as shavings, on the top of the grate; the rapid combustion of which will warm the air of the chimney, and give it a tendency upward before any smoke is produced.
1939. A chimney so incorrigible as to require the constant admission of fresh air, should have a pipe introduced, one of whose apertures is under the grate, and the other in the open air. Or openings may be made for ventilation near the top of the apartment.
1940. To prevent unpleasant odor in Clothes laid up for a time, place recently-made charcoal between the folds of the garments. Even when the odor has taken place, the charcoal will absorb it.
1941. To Purify Stagnant Water.—One part of chalk and two of alum will speedily purify stagnant water, and four parts of animal carbon and one of alum are sufficient to purify a thousand parts of muddy river water.
1942. To Prevent the Smoking of a Lamp.—Soak the wick in strong vinegar, and well dry it before you use it.
1943. To Clean Cane Chairs.—Sponge them, until soaked, with soap and hot water.
1944. Clean White Vails.—Put the vail in a solution of white soap, and let it simmer a quarter of an hour; squeeze it in some warm water and soap till quite clean. Rinse it from soap, and then in clean cold water, in which is a drop of liquid blue; then pour boiling water on a teaspoonful of starch, run the vail through this, and clear it well by clapping it. Afterward pin it out, keeping the edges straight and even.
1945. Restoring Color to Silk.—When the color has been taken from silk by acids, it may be restored by applying to the spot a little hartshorne, or sal-volatile.
1946. Clean White Ostrich Feathers.—Four ounces of white soap, cut small, dissolved in four pints of water, rather hot, in a large basin; make the solution into a lather, by beating it with birch-rods, or wires.
1947. Introduce the feathers, and rub well with the hands for five or six minutes. After this soaping, wash in clean water, as hot as the hand can bear. Shake until dry.
1948. Cure for a Burn.—Wheat flour and cold water mixed to the consistency of soft paste, is an almost instantaneous cure for a burn, whether large or small. Renew before the first gets so dry as to stick.
1949. Slippery Elm bark powdered makes an excellent healing poultice for burns, sores, &c., boiled with milk and about one-third bread.
1950. Cod-Liver Oil.—This is a nauseating medicine, but the following receipt is said to remedy the bad taste.
1951. To a pint of cod-liver oil add an ounce of fine salt; shake them well together, till they amalgamate.
1952. To Dress Squirrel and other Skins.—Take a handful of common salt, and half the quantity of alum; boil it in half a gallon of water till dissolved. When cold, the skins may be put in to steep, and allowed to remain for a fortnight, occasionally turning them; they may then be taken out, stretched on a board (skin side outward) till dry; they will then be found perfectly soft and pliable.
1953. Another Method.—Stretch the fresh skin on a board, and dress it with water in which salt and alum have been dissolved—applying the solution with a brush. This does not injure the glossiness of the fur, which is apt to be affected when the skin is immersed.
1954. To Clean Furs.—Strip the fur articles of their stuffing and binding, and lay them as much as possible in a flat position.
1955. They must then be subjected to a very brisk brushing, with a stiff clothes-brush; after this, any moth-eaten parts must be cut out, and be neatly replaced by new bits of fur to match.
1956. Sable, Chinchilla, Squirrel, Fitch, &c., should be treated as follows: Warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, taking care that it does not burn, to prevent which it must be actively stirred.
1957. When well warmed, rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand. Repeat this two or three times; then shake the fur, and give it another sharp brushing until free from dust.
1958. White Furs, Ermine, &c., may be cleaned as follows: Lay the fur on the table, and rub it well with bran made moist with warm water; rub until quite dry, and afterward with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, and the dry with a piece of book-muslin.
1959. The Light Furs, in addition to the above, should be well rubbed with magnesia, or a piece of book-muslin, after the bran process.
1960. Stretching Furs.—Furs are usually much improved by stretching, which may be managed as follows: To a pint of soft water add three ounces of salt, dissolve; with this solution sponge the inside of the skin (taking care not to wet the fur), until it becomes thoroughly saturated; then lay it carefully on a board with the fur side downward, in its natural disposition; then stretch, as much as it will bear, to the required shape, and fasten with small tacks. The drying may be quickened by placing the skin a little distance from the fire or stove.
1961. To Preserve Furs from Moths.—Warm water, one pint; corrosive sublimate, twelve grains. If washed with this, and afterward dried, furs are safe from moth. Care should be taken to label the liquid "poison."
1962. To Keep away Flies.—No fly will enter a room in which a wreath of walnut leaves has been hung up. The experiment is worth trying.
1963. Washing.—The most important department of domestic economy naturally includes the washhouse, into which philosophy has found its way for the application of many useful principles, and much useful practice. (See [p. 262.])
1964. To Clean Morocco Shoes.—Dissolve gum arabic in water, and mix with it a little white sugar. If it is to be kept any time, put in a little spirits of wine. Brush the shoes with it.
1965. Cheap Door-Mats.—Cut old broadcloth or any woolen articles into long strips from one to two inches broad. Braid three of these together, and sew the braid round in gradually increasing circles till large enough.
WISE ECONOMY.
1966. If you have a strip of land, do not throw away soap-suds. Both ashes and soap-suds are good manure for bushes and young plants.
1967. Woolen Clothes should be washed in very hot suds, and not rinsed. Lukewarm water shrinks them.
1968. Do not let coffee and tea stand in tin.
1969. Scald your wooden-ware often, and keep your tin-ware dry.
1970. Preserve the backs of old letters to write upon.
1971. If you have children who are learning to write, buy coarse white paper by the quantity, and keep it locked up, ready to be made into writing-books. It does not cost half so much as it does to buy them at the stationer's.
1972. See that nothing is thrown away which might have served to nourish your own family or a poorer one.
1973. As far as possible, have bits of bread eaten up before they become hard; spread those that are not eaten, and let them dry, to be pounded for puddings, or soaked for brewis.
1974. Brewis is made of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good while in hot milk, mashed up, and eaten with salt.
1975. Above all, do not let crusts accumulate in such quantities that they cannot be used. With proper care, there is no need of losing a particle of bread.
1976. All the mending in the house should be done once a week, if possible.
1977. Never put out sewing. If it be not possible to do it in your own family, hire some one into the house, and work with them.
1978. Do not let knives be dropped into hot dish-water. It is a good plan to have a large tin pot to wash them in, just high enough to wash the blades without wetting the handles.
1979. It is better to accomplish perfectly a very small amount of work, than to half do ten times as much.
1980. Charcoal Powder will be found a very good thing to give knives a first-rate polish.
1981. A Bonnet and trimmings may be worn a much longer time, if the dust be brushed well off after walking.
1982. Much knowledge may be obtained by the good housewife observing how things are managed in well-regulated families.
1983. Apples intended for dumplings should not have the core taken out of them, as the pips impart a delicious flavor to the dumpling.
1984. A Rice Pudding is most excellent without either eggs or sugar, if baked gently; it keeps better without eggs.
1985. "Wilful waste makes woful want." Do not cook a fresh joint whilst any of the last remains uneaten—hash it up, and with gravy and a little management eke out another day's dinner.
1986. A warming-pan full of coals, or a shovel of coals, held over varnished furniture, will take out white spots. Care should be taken not to hold the coals near enough to scorch; and the place should be rubbed with a flannel while warm.
1987. Sal-volatile or hartshorne will restore colors taken out by acid. It may be dropped upon any garment without doing harm.
1988. New Iron should be very gradually heated at first. After it has become inured to the heat, it is not so likely to crack.
1989. The shanks of mutton make a good stock for nearly any kind of gravy—and they are very cheap—a dozen may be had for a penny, enough to make a quart of delicious soup.
1990. Thick curtains, closely drawn around the bed, are very injurious, because they not only confine the effluvia thrown off from our bodies whilst in bed, but interrupt the current of pure air.
1991. Regularity in the payment of accounts is essential to housekeeping. All tradesmen's bills should be paid weekly, for then any errors can be detected whilst the transactions are fresh in the memory.
1992. Linen Rags should be carefully saved, for they are extremely useful in sickness. If they have become dirty and worn by cleaning silver, &c., wash them and scrape them into lint.
1993. If you are troubled to get soft water for washing, fill a tub or barrel half full of wood ashes, and fill it up with water, so that you may have ley whenever you may want it. A gallon of strong ley put into a great kettle of hard water, will make it as soft as rain water.
1994. "Morning's Milk," says an eminent German philosopher, "commonly yields some hundredths more cream than the evening's at the same temperature. That milked at noon furnishes the least; it would therefore be of advantage, in making butter and cheese, to employ the morning's milk, and to keep the evening's for domestic use."
1995. Scouring Drops for Removing Grease.—There are several preparations of this name; one of the best is made as follows: Camphene, or spirits of turpentine, three ounces; essence of lemon, one ounce; mix.
1996. Sweeping Carpets.—Persons who are accustomed to use tea-leaves for sweeping their carpets, and find that they leave stains, will do well to employ fresh cut grass instead. It is better than tea-leaves for preventing dust, and gives the carpets a very bright, fresh look.
1997. Economy of Fuel.—There is no part of domestic economy which everybody professes to understand better than the management of a fire, and yet there is no branch in the household arrangements where there is a greater proportional and unnecessary waste, than arises from ignorance and mismanagement in this article.
1998. It is an old adage that we must stir no man's fire until we have known him seven years; but we might find it equally prudent if we were careful as to the stirring of our own.
1999. Anybody, indeed, can take up a poker and toss the coals about; but that is not stirring a fire!
2000. If the consumer, instead of ordering a large supply of coal at once, will at first content himself with a sample, he may, with very little trouble, ascertain who will deal fairly with him; and, if he wisely pays ready money, he will be independent of his coal merchant; a situation which few families, even in genteel life, can boast of.
2001. Indeed, we cannot too often repeat the truth, that to deal for ready money only, in all the departments of domestic arrangement, is the truest economy.
2002. Ready money will always command the best and cheapest of every article of consumption, if expended with judgment; and the dealer, who intends to act fairly, will always prefer it.
2003. Trust not him who seems more anxious to give credit than to receive cash.
2004. The former hopes to secure custom by having a hold upon you in his books; and continues always to make up for his advance, either by an advance price, or an inferior article; whilst the latter knows that your custom can only be secured by fair dealing.
2005. There is, likewise, another consideration, as far as economy is concerned, which is, not only to buy with ready money, but to buy at proper seasons; for there is with every article a cheap season and a dear one.
2006. The master of a family who fills his coal cellar in the middle of the summer, rather than the beginning of the winter, will save one-fourth which it would otherwise cost him; and will be enabled to see December's snows falling without feeling his enjoyment of his fireside lessened by the consideration that the cheerful blaze is supplied at twice the rate that it need have done, if he had exercised more foresight.
2007. We must now call to the recollection of our readers that chimneys often smoke, and that coal is often wasted by throwing too much fuel at once upon a fire.
2008. To prove this observation, it is only necessary to remove the superfluous coal from the top of the grate, when the smoking instantly ceases.
2009. As to the waste, that evidently proceeds from the frequent, intemperate and injudicious use of the poker, which not only throws a great portion of the small coals among the cinders, but often extinguishes the fire it was intended to foster.
2010. Economy in Carpets.—In buying a carpet, as in every thing else, those of the best quality are cheapest in the end. As it is extremely desirable that they should look as clean as possible, avoid buying carpet that has any white in it. Even a very small portion of white interspersed through the pattern will in a short time give a dirty appearance to the whole; and certainly no carpet can be worse for use than one with a white ground.
2011. A carpet in which all the colors are light, never has a clean, bright effect, from the want of dark tints to contrast and set off the light ones.
2012. For a similar reason, carpets whose colors are all of what artists call middle tint (neither dark nor light), cannot fail to look dull and dingy, even when quite new.
2013. The caprices of fashion at times bring these ill-colored carpets into vogue; but in apartments where elegance is desirable, they always have a bad effect.
2014. For a carpet to be really beautiful and in good taste, there should be, as in a picture, a judicious disposal of light and shadow, with a gradation of very bright and of very dark tints; some almost white, and others almost or quite black.
2015. Red Carpets.—The most truly chaste, rich and elegant carpets, are those where the pattern is formed by one color only, but arranged in every variety of shade. For instance, we have seen a Brussels carpet entirely red; the pattern formed by shades or tints, varying from the deepest crimson (almost a black), to the palest pink (almost a white).
2016. Green Carpets.—Also one of green only, shaded from the darkest bottle-green, in some parts of the figure, to the lightest pea-green in others.
2017. Brown Carpets.—Another, in which there was no color but brown, in all its various gradation, some of the shades being nearly black, others of a light buff. All these carpets had much the look of rich cut velvet.
2018. The Curtains, Sofas, &c., of course, were of corresponding colors, and the effect of the whole was noble and elegant.
2019. Carpets of many gaudy colors are much less in demand than formerly. Two colors only, with the dark and light shade of each, will make a very handsome carpet.
2020. A very light blue ground, with the figure of shaded crimson or purple, looks extremely well; so does a salmon-color or buff ground, with a deep green figure; or a light yellow ground, with a shaded blue figure.
2021. Rugs.—If you cannot obtain a hearth-rug that exactly corresponds with the carpet, get one entirely different; for a decided contrast looks better than a bad match.
2022. We have seen very handsome hearth-rugs with a rich, black, velvet-looking ground, and the figure of shaded blue, or of various tints of yellow and orange.
2023. A carpet decidedly light-colored throughout, has a good effect on the floor, or continues long to look clean.
THINGS TO KNOW.
2024. Why do candles and lamps "spirt," when rain is at hand?
2025. Because the air is filled with vapor, and the humidity penetrates the wick, where (being formed into steam) it expands suddenly, and produces a little explosion.
2026. Why does a drop of water sometimes roll along a piece of hot iron without leaving the least trace?
2027. Because (when the iron is very hot indeed) the bottom of the drop is turned into vapor, which buoys the drop up, without allowing it to touch the iron.
2028. Why does a laundress put a little saliva on a flat-iron, to know if it be hot enough?
2029. Because, when the saliva sticks to the box, and is evaporated, she knows it is not sufficiently hot: but when it runs along the iron, it is.
2030. Why is the flat-iron hotter, if the saliva runs along it, than if it adheres till it is evaporated?
2031. Because, when the saliva runs along the iron, the heat is sufficient to convert the bottom of the drop into vapor; but if the saliva will not roll, the iron is not sufficiently hot to convert the bottom of the drop into vapor.
2032. Why do wet feet or clothes give us "cold"?
2033. Because the evaporation absorbs the heat so abundantly from the surface of our body, that its temperature is lowered below its natural standard; in consequence of which health is injured. [This also explains why it is dangerous to sleep in a damp bed.]
2034. Why is the health injured when the temperature of the body is reduced below its natural standard?
2035. Because the balance of the circulation is destroyed, blood is driven away from the external surface by the chill, and thrown upon the internal organs, which are oppressed by this increased load of blood.
2036. Why do not sailors get cold, who are frequently wet all day with sea-water?
2037. Because the salt of the sea retards evaporation; and (as the heat of their bodies is drawn off gradually) the sensation of cold is prevented. Also, the salt of the sea acts as a stimulant, and keeps the blood circulating in the skin.
2038. What is the cause of snow?
2039. When the air is nearly saturated with vapor, and condensed by a current of air below freezing-point, some of the vapor is condensed, and frozen into snow. A few years ago, some fishermen (who wintered at Nova Zembla), after they had been shut up in a hut for several days, opened the window; and the cold external air rushing in, instantly condensed the air of the hut, and its vapor fell on the floor in a shower of snow.
2040. What is the cause of sleet?
2041. When flakes of snow (in their descent) pass through a bed of air above freezing point, they partially melt, and fall to the earth as half-melted snow.
2042. What is hail?
2043. Rain which has passed in its descent through some cold bed of air, and has been frozen into drops of ice.
2044. What is rain?
2045. The vapor of the clouds or air condensed, and precipitated to the earth.
2046. Why are rain-drops sometimes much larger than at other times?
2047. When the rain-cloud is floating near the earth, the drops are larger, because such a cloud is much more dense than one more elevated. The size of the rain-drop is also increased according to the rapidity with which the vapors are condensed.
2048. Why does the Bible say that God "giveth snow like wool"?
2049. Because snow (being a very bad conductor of heat) protects vegetables and seeds from the frost and cold.
2050. How does the non-conducting power of snow protect vegetables from the frost and cold?
2051. It prevents the heat of the earth from being drawn off by the cold air which rests upon it.
2052. Why are woolens and furs used for clothing in cold weather?
2053. Because they are very bad conductors of heat, and therefore prevent the warmth of the body from being drawn off by the cold air.
2054. Do not woolens and furs actually impart heat to the body?
2055. No; they merely prevent the heat of the body from escaping.
2056. Where would the heat escape to, if the body were not wrapped in wool or fur?
2057. The heat of the body would fly off into the air: for the cold air, coming in contact with our body, would gradually draw away its heat, till it was as cold as the air itself.
2058. What then is the principal use of clothing in winter time?
2059. To prevent the animal heat from escaping too freely; and to protect the body from the external air (or wind), which would carry away its heat too rapidly.
2060. Why are March winds dry?
2061. Because they generally blow from the east or north-east, and therefore sweep over the continent of America.
2062. What is the use of March winds?
2063. They dry the soil (which is saturated by the floods of February), break up the heavy clods, and fit the land for the seeds which are committed to it.
2064. Why is it said that "March comes in like a lion?"
2065. Because it comes in with blustering east winds, so essential to dry the soil, which would otherwise rot the seed committed to it.
2066. Why does "March go out like a lamb?"
2067. Because the water, evaporated by the high winds, falls again in showers to fertilize the earth, and breaks the violence of the winds.
2068. Why is it said that "March flowers make no summer bowers?"
2069. Because, if the spring be very mild, vegetation gets too forward, and is pinched by the nightly frosts, so as to produce neither fruits nor flowers.
2070. Why is it said that "April showers bring May flowers?"
2071. Because April showers supply the principal nourishment on which the seeds depend for their development.
2072. Why does a polished metal teapot make better tea than a black earthen one?
2073. As polished metal is a very bad radiator of heat, it keeps the water hot much longer; and the hotter the water is, the better it draws the tea.
2074. Why will not a dull black teapot make good tea?
2075. Because the heat of the water flies off so quickly, through the dull black surface of the teapot, that the water is very rapidly cooled, and cannot "draw" the tea.
2076. Do not pensioners, and aged cottagers, generally prefer the black earthen teapot to the bright metal one?
2077. Yes, because they set it on the hob to "draw;" in which case, the little black teapot will make the best tea.
2078. Why will a black teapot make a better tea than a bright metal one, if it is set on the hob to draw?
2079. Because the black teapot will absorb heat plentifully from the fire, and keep the water hot; whereas a bright metal teapot (set upon the hob) would throw off the heat by reflection.
2080. Then sometimes a black earthen teapot is the best, and sometimes a bright metal one?
2081. Yes; when the teapot is set on the hob to "draw," the black earth is the best, because it absorbs heat; but when the teapot is not set on the hob the bright metal is the best, because it radiates heat very slowly, and therefore keeps the water hot.
2082. Why does a saucepan which has been used boil in a shorter time than a new one?
2083. Because the bottom and back are covered with soot, and the black soot rapidly absorbs the heat of the glowing coals.
2084. Why should the front and lid of a saucepan be clean and bright?
2085. As they do not come in contact with the fire, they cannot absorb heat, and (being bright) they will not suffer the heat to escape by radiation.
2086. Why should not the bottom and back of a kettle be cleaned and polished?
2087. Because they come in contact with the fire, and (while they are covered with black soot) absorb heat freely from the burning coals.
2088. Why are dinner-covers made of bright tin or silver?
2089. Because light-colored and highly-polished metal is a very bad radiator of heat; and, therefore, bright tin or silver will not allow the heat of the cooked food to escape through the cover by radiation.
2090. Why should a meat-cover be very brightly polished?
2091. If the cover be dull or scratched, it will absorb heat from the food; and instead of keeping it hot, it will make it cold.
2092. Why should a silver meat-cover be plain, and not chased?
2093. Because, if the cover be chased, it will absorb heat from the food; and instead of making it hot, will make it cold.
2094. What is the smoke of a candle?
2095. Solid particles of carbon, separated from the wick and tallow, but not consumed.
2096. Why are some particles consumed and not others?
2097. The combustion of the carbon depends upon its combining with the oxygen of the air. Now, as the outer surface of the flame prevents the access of air to the interior parts, much of the carbon of those parts passes off in smoke.
2098. Why do lamps smoke?
2099. Either because the wick is cut unevenly, or else because it is turned up too high.
2100. Why does a lamp smoke, when the wick is cut unevenly?
2101. Because the points of the jagged edge (being very easily separated from the wick) load the flame with more carbon than it can consume; and as the heat of the flame is greatly diminished by these little bits of wicks, it is unable to consume even the usual quantity of smoke. The same applies when the wick is turned up too high.
2102. Why does a lamp-glass diminish the smoke of a wick?
2103. Because it increases the supply of oxygen to the flame, by producing a draught; and it concentrates and reflects the heat of the flame; in consequence of which the combustion of the carbon is more perfect, and very little escapes unconsumed.
2104. Hints about Making Butter (See [page 287]).—Milk should never be set for butter in a dark, damp cellar—as in the case with butter-makers in this section—as the cream is thereby moulded before it has had time to rise, which gives the butter a mouldy taste.
2105. The milk is allowed to stand too long before being skimmed, which gives it a cheesy taste.
2106. The cream is kept too long before it is churned, after it is skimmed, which gives it the taste of the other two; and also a sour taste.
2107. The butter should never be washed in water, because it takes away that beautiful aroma so essential in good butter.
2108. It should never be taken in a person's warm hands, as the heat melts a certain portion of the globules, which gives it an oily taste, and makes it become rancid very soon.
2109. The milk should be set in good clean tin or earthen pans, in a dry, open, airy and shady place, above ground, if possible, although a cellar may be so built, and ventilated, as to answer the purpose.
2110. It should never be set over twenty-four hours in warm weather; and for a dairy of three cows or over, the cream should be churned every morning, and never be kept over forty-eight hours, in warm weather; in cold weather it may be kept longer.
CLEANLINESS.
2111. The want of cleanliness is a fault which admits of no excuse. Where water can be had for nothing, it is surely in the power of every person to be clean.
2112. The discharge from our bodies, by perspiration, renders frequent changes of apparel necessary.
2113. Change of apparel greatly promotes the secretion from the skin, so necessary to health.
2114. When that matter which ought to be carried off by perspiration is either retained in the body, or reabsorbed by dirty clothes, it is apt to occasion fevers and other diseases.
2115. Most diseases of the skin proceed from want of cleanliness. These indeed may be caught by infection, but they will seldom continue long where cleanliness prevails.
2116. To the same cause must we impute the various kinds of vermin that infest the human body, houses, &c. These may generally be banished by cleanliness alone.
2117. Perhaps the intention of Nature, in permitting such vermin to annoy mankind, is to induce them to the practice of this virtue.
2118. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers is the want of cleanliness.
2119. These fevers commonly begin among the inhabitants of close, dirty houses, who breathe bad air, take little exercise, use unwholesome food, and wear dirty clothes. There the infection is generally hatched, which spreads far and wide to the destruction of many. Hence cleanliness may be considered as an object of the public attention.
2120. It is not sufficient that I be clean myself, while the want of it in my neighbor affects my health as well as his own.
2121. If dirty people cannot be removed as a common nuisance, they ought at least to be avoided as infectious. All who regard their health, should keep at a distance, even from their habitations.
2122. In places where great numbers of people are collected, cleanliness becomes of the utmost importance.
2123. It is well known, that infectious diseases are caused by tainted air. Every thing, therefore, which tends to pollute the air, or spread the infection, ought with the utmost care to be avoided.
2124. For this reason, in great towns, no filth of any kind should be permitted to lie upon the streets. We are sorry to say, that the importance of general cleanliness does by no means seem to be sufficiently understood.
2125. It were well if the lower classes of the inhabitants of the United States would imitate the Dutch, in the cleanliness of their streets, houses, &c.
2126. Water, indeed, is easily obtained in Holland; but the situation of most towns in the United States is more favorable to cleanliness.
2127. Nothing can be more agreeable to the senses, more to the honor of the inhabitants, or conducive to their health, than a clean town; nor does any thing impress a stranger sooner with a disrespectful idea of any people than its opposite.
2128. It is remarkable, that, in most eastern countries, cleanliness makes a great part of their religion. The Mahometan, as well as the Jewish religion, enjoins various bathings, washings, and purifications.
2129. No doubt these were designed to represent inward purity; but they are at the same time calculated for the preservation of health.
2130. However whimsical these washings may appear to some, few things would appear more to prevent diseases than a proper attention to many of them.
2131. Were every person, for example, after handling a dead body, visiting the sick, &c., to wash and to change his clothes before he went into company, or sat down to meat, he would run less hazard either of catching the infection himself, or communicating it to others.
2132. Frequent washing not only removes the filth which adheres to the skin, but likewise promotes the perspiration, braces the body, and enlivens the spirits.
2133. Even washing the feet tends greatly to preserve health. The sweat and dirt with which these parts are frequently covered, cannot fail to obstruct their perspiration. This piece of cleanliness would often prevent colds and fevers.
2134. Were people to bathe their feet and hands in warm water at night, after being exposed to cold or wet through the day, they would seldom experience any of the fatal effects which often proceed from these causes.
2135. In places where great numbers of sick people are kept, cleanliness ought most religiously to be observed. The very smell in such places is often sufficient to make one sick. It is easy to imagine what effect that is likely to have upon the disease.
2136. A person in health has a greater chance to become sick, than a sick person has to get well, in an hospital or infirmary where cleanliness is neglected.
2137. The brutes themselves set us an example of cleanliness. Most of them seem uneasy, and thrive ill, if they be not kept clean.
2138. A horse that is kept thoroughly clean, will thrive better on a smaller quantity of food, than with a greater, where cleanliness is neglected.
2139. Even our own feelings are sufficient proof of the necessity of cleanliness. How refreshed, how cheerful and agreeable does one feel on being shaved, washed and dressed; especially when these have been long neglected.
2140. Most people esteem cleanliness; and even those who do not practice it themselves, often admire it in others.
2141. Superior cleanliness sooner attracts our regard than even finery itself, and often gains esteem where the other fails.
2142. A clean, fresh, and well-ordered house exercises over its inmates a moral no less than a physical influence, and has a direct tendency to make the members of a family sober, peaceable, and considerate of the feelings and happiness of each other; nor is it difficult to trace a connection between habitual feeling of this sort and the formation of habits of respect for property, for the laws in general, and even for those higher duties and obligations the observance of which no laws can enforce.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS.
2143. The following regulations should be engraved on the memories of all:—
2144. As most sudden deaths come by water, particular caution is therefore necessary in its vicinity.
2145. Stand not near a tree, or any leaden spout, iron gate, or palisade, in time of lightning.
2146. Lay loaded guns in safe places, and never imitate firing a gun in jest.
2147. Never sleep near charcoal; if drowsy at any work where charcoal fires are used, take the fresh air.
2148. Carefully rope trees before they are cut down, that when they fall they may do no injury.
2149. When benumbed with cold, beware of sleeping out of doors; rub yourself, if you have it in your power, with snow, and do not hastily approach the fire.
2150. Beware of damps.
2151. Air vaults, by letting them remain open some time before you enter, or scattering powdered lime in them.
2152. Where a lighted candle will not burn, animal life can not exist; it will be an excellent caution, therefore, before entering damp and confined places, to try this simple experiment.
2153. Never leave saddle or draught horses, while in use, by themselves, nor go immediately behind a led horse as he is apt to kick.
2154. Ride not on foot-ways.
2155. Be wary of children, whether they are up or in bed; and particularly when they are near the fire, an element with which they are very apt to amuse themselves.
2156. Leave nothing poisonous open or accessible; and never omit to write the word "Poison" in large letters upon it, wherever it may be placed.
2157. In walking the streets, keep out of the line of the cellars; and never look one way and walk another.
2158. Never throw pieces of orange-peel, or broken glass bottles, into the streets.
2159. Never meddle with gunpowder by candle-light.
2160. In trimming a lamp with naphtha, never fill it. Leave space for the spirit to expand with warmth.
2161. Never quit a room, leaving the poker in the fire.
2162. When the brass rod of the stair-carpet becomes loose, fasten it immediately.
2163. In opening effervescing drinks, such as soda-water, hold the cork in your hand.
2164. Quit your house with care on a frosty morning.
2165. Have your horses' shoes roughed directly there are indications of frost.
2166. Keep lucifer matches in their cases, and never let them be strewed about.
ADDITIONAL DOMESTIC HINTS.
2167. Easy method of Breaking Glass to any required Figure.—Make a small notch by means of a file on the edge of a piece of glass, then make the end of a tobacco-pipe, or of a rod of iron of the same size, red hot in the fire, apply the hot iron to the notch, and draw it slowly along the surface of the glass in any direction you please: a crack will follow the direction of the iron.
2168. Cleansing of Furniture.—The cleaning of furniture forms an important part of domestic economy, not only in regard to neatness, but also in point of expense.
2169. The readiest mode indeed consists in good manual rubbing, or the "essence of elbows," as it is whimsically termed; but our finest cabinet-work requires something more, where brilliancy of polish is of importance.
2170. China and Glass Ware.—For the best way of cleaning, see page [31].
2171. Much of the red now used in China is actually produced by the anotto extracted from the cuttings of scarlet cloth, which have long formed an article of exportation to Canton.
2172. It ought to be taken for granted that all china or glassware is well tempered; yet a little careful attention may not be misplaced, even on that point.
2173. Ornamental china or glassware are not exposed to the action of hot water in common domestic use.
2174. It will be proper never to apply water to them beyond a tepid temperature.
2175. An ingenious and simple mode of annealing glass has been some time in use by chemists. It consists in immersing the vessel in cold water, gradually heated to the boiling point, and suffered to remain till cold, when it will be fit for use.
2176. Soap and labor may be saved by dissolving alum and chalk in bran-water, in which the linen ought to be boiled, then well rinsed out, and exposed to the usual process of bleaching.
2177. Soap may be disused, or nearly so, in the getting up of muslins and chintzes, which should always be treated agreeably to the oriental manner; that is to wash them in plain water, and then boil them in congee or rice-water: after which they ought not to be submitted to the operation of the smoothing iron, but rubbed smooth with a polished stone.
2178. The economy which must result from these processes renders their consideration important to every private family, in addition to which we must state that the improvements in philosophy extend to the laundry as well as to the wash-house.
AGRICULTURE—MORE HINTS.
(SEE PAGES [198] AND [264].)
2179. Small Farms.—Never have more land in culture than can be well cultivated.
2180. Be a Farmer, not a mere earth-scraper, lazily scratching up sufficient earth to destroy the face of the soil, and throw seed away, or you will always have to scratch hard for a living. But make your farm a source of pride, and it will surely become a source of profit. Make the object to be not to have many, but rich acres.
2181. Turnip Fly may be expelled by the use of fish-oil, one or two gallons to the acre.
2182. Bone Dust.—An English proverb says, "One ton of bone-dust saves the importation of ten tons of grain."
2183. Corn.—Sprinkling with salt and water will check the weevil. Of all the grains, corn is the most valuable, taking into view quantity and price. Soaking the seed in a solution of saltpetre keeps off the worm, and largely increases the crop.
2184. Rye is more thrifty on soil of a dry, sandy, or gravely texture, if well manured, and winters best when sown early.
2185. Lime, as manure for wheat, is of great importance Use about three bushels to the acre.
2186. Fields.—As a general rule, with but few exceptions, square large fields are more advantageous than small irregular ones, requiring less fence, and being more easily watered, manured, plowed, and harvested.
2187. Musty Grain is made sweet by putting it in boiling water, (double the quantity of grain), letting it cool in the water, and then drying it well. Skim the water.
2188. A Single Weed may draw out the nourishment that would have given fullness to half-a-dozen ears. To be free from taxes is far less important than to be free from weeds.
2189. Fences.—Around each post hill the earth, to carry off the water, and char the end a few inches above the surface. Cedar fences last about 15 years, which should lead owners to inquire where the fences are to come from hereafter.
2190. Manure.—Every farmer can double the quantity of his domestic or yard manure, with scarcely any additional expense. At least fifty per cent. of the nutritive properties of yard manure are lost by drenching of rains, excessive fermentation, and injurious application to soil.
2191. Plow deep.—Let a farmer examine the extent and depth to which the roots of grain, in a loose and favorable soil, will spread, and he will cease to wonder at the failure of a crop where the subsoil has never been stirred by the plow.
2192. Green vegetables, when put under the soil and submitted to the process of decomposition, are efficacious in restoring exhausted soils.
2193. Fertilizing.—Buckwheat and clover are striking instances of this power in green crops to fertilize soils, and both have been extensively used for this purpose.
2194. Agriculture is worthy the most liberal patronage of our governments, state and national; it ought to be enlightened by a better (and thorough) education of the agricultural class.
2195. Three Pillars of the State.—Agriculture, manufactures, commerce, stand together; but they stand together like pillars in a cluster, the largest in the centre, and that largest is agriculture.
2196. The Civilizer.—Let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Man, without the cultivation of the earth, is in all countries a savage. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.
2197. Independence of Farmers.—We live in a country of small farms; a country, in which men cultivate with their own hands, their own fee-simple acres; drawing not only their subsistence, but also their spirit of independence, and manly freedom from the ground they plow.
2198. The Glory of Agriculture.—"The task of working improvements on the earth is much more delightful than all the vain glory which can be acquired by ravaging it with the most uninterrupted career of conquests."—Washington.
CATTLE.
(SEE PAGE [289].)
2199.—Treat Domestic Animals kindly and tenderly.—Domestic animals of all kinds from a horse down to a chicken, should be treated with gentleness and mildness; men or boys who are rash and bad-tempered, ought not to be permitted to have charge of them or to interfere with their management. Animals that are kept in constant fear of suffering never thrive well, and they often become vicious and intractable by unkind and cruel treatment.
2200. Keep Stock in good condition.—An animal may be kept short of food in the latter part of the fall or first of winter, at a small saving of food but at a loss in the condition of the animal.
2201. Stables and Food.—Provide comfortable sheds and stables. Remember that a want of comfort is always a waste of flesh. Give a sufficiency of food and drink, with great regularity. A meal ten minutes later than the usual time, causes the animal to fret, and fretting lessens flesh.
2202. Drink and Litter.—Most animals will drink several times a day, and should therefore have it as often as they want it. They should have plenty of clean litter as often as needed. With such management, there will be an almost incredible saving of food.
Tight Stables should always be ventilated. The breath and manure from animals always causes impure air.
2203. Oxen.—Being well-mated, oxen are more easily trained; and the more easily to effect this, much self-denial on the part of the driver, much coolness of temper, more training by motion and less by voice, may be highly advantageous to man and beast.
2204. To Select.—Adopt the practice of selecting best lambs every year, for stock. In a few years you have first-rate sheep. The same course will produce the same effects in every kind of animal.
2205. Hogs.—Food.—If pumpkins, roots, apples, or any of them be fed to fattening hogs with corn, the advantage will be salutary. Most of the food for swine should be cooked. Swine fatten much faster on fermented, than on unfermented food. Salt, charcoal, and once in a while sulphur, are excellent for hogs under all circumstances.
Good Medicine.—When your hogs get sick, you know not of what, give them ears of corn, first dipped in tar, and then rolled in sulphur.
2206. Bees.—(See [p. 176]).—Every farmer should keep bees; a few swarms to furnish honey for his own use, if no more. They toil with unremitting industry, asking but a full sweep of the wing, and no monopoly. Every man, in either town or country, can keep bees to advantage.
2207. Care of Bees in Winter.—A cold, dry, dark room, is the best winter-quarters for bees. They will consume less honey than if left on their summer stands, and will not be weakened by the loss of thousands, which, tempted out by the premature warmth, are caught by the cold winds, fall to the ground, and never rise again.
2208. "Never kill a bee."—The smoke of the fungus maximus, or common puff ball, when dried so as to hold fire, has a stupefying effect on the bees, and renders them as harmless as brimstone does, without any of its deadly effects.
2209. Mignonette, Sweet.—Is especially mentioned as easily cultivated by drills in a garden, and is one of the finest and richest flowers in the world from which the honey-bee can extract its food.
2210. Horses.—See [page 199].
2211. To cure Scratches on a Horse.—Wash the legs with warm strong soap-suds, and then with beef brine. Two applications will cure the worst case.
2212. Bite of a Spider.—Catnip bruised and applied to the wound, is said to be a cure for the bite of a spider.
2213. To preserve a Granary from Insects and Weasels.—Make the floor of Lombardy poplars.
2214. To prevent the Creaking of a Door.—Rub a bit of soap on the hinges.
2215. Sulphur is valuable in preserving grapes, plants, &c., from insects.
2216. Salt is really necessary to horses, cattle, and sheep, and they should be supplied with it at regular stated intervals throughout all seasons of the year.
2217. Manure, on a wet soil, produces but half its effect; and gypsum, that grand stimulant of dry soils, on a wet one is useless.
2218. Hen-House should be warm in winter, well-ventilated, white-washed, and kept clean. For the floor, use slaked lime, fine gravel or ashes, or burnt oyster shells. (See [page 200].)
2219. A single dozen fowls, properly attended, will furnish a family with more than 2,000 eggs in a year, and 100 full-grown chickens for fall and winter stores.
2220. Expense.—The expense of feeding the dozen fowls will not amount to 18 bushels of Indian corn. They may be kept in cities as well as in the country, and will do as well shut up the year round as to run at large, with proper care.
2221. A Fact.—Eggs the nearest to roundness produce females, and those pointed at one end always produce males.
2222. For Fattening.—Boiled Indian, wheat and barley, is better than oats, rye, or buckwheat. One-third is gained by boiling.
2223. Eggs, little boiled or poached, in small quantity, convey much nourishment; the yolk only should be eaten by invalids.
2224. Salt for Poultry.—Salt is good for water-fowls, but death to land fowls and birds.
2225. Salt for Pigeons.—Pigeons are fond of salt, and it keeps them in health. Lay a large heap of clay near the house, and let the salt-brine that may be done with in the family be poured upon it.
2226. To Fatten Fowls in a short time.—Mix together ground rice well scalded with milk, and add some coarse sugar. Feed them with this in the day-time, but not too much at once; let it be pretty thick.
2227. Pork cured.—Soon as cool enough to cut, and before it freezes, pack a clean cask full, with plenty of salt on all sides of each piece. Fill up with water, taking care, by means of a large stone, to keep the pork under the pickle, and covered from flies, in a cellar. Never boil pickle.
2228. Pork Feeding.—It is a well-ascertained fact, that more meat will be made on half the weight of corn, if ground and made into mush instead of being fed whole.
2229. In Smoking Hams, &c., be careful not to have the fire too high, or the smoke-house top tight. It is best done in an upper story, to which the smoke is conveyed in tubes, from oak or maple chips in the cellar. (See [p. 324].)
2230. Hollow Horn.—Where supposed to exist, feed half-peck potatoes twice a week, and treat your cattle kindly in food and shelter.
2231. Sheep must be fed well, kept dry, have salt often, and pure air, and be grazed in hilly stony pastures.
2232. Cows.—Those who wish their cows to give large messes of milk in the winter season, should give them warm drink. The extra trouble will be more than repaid in the increased quantity of milk. (See [pp. 285-6].)
2233. Wild Onion may be destroyed by cultivating corn, plowing and leaving the field in its plowed state all winter.
2234. Remember.—The great rule in relation to animals holds perfect in its application to vegetables; breed only from the best animals; defects and imperfections have always a tendency to propagate themselves, and are always, in a greater or less degree, transmitted.
2235. Wheat shoots strongest when there is an interval between the time of plowing and sowing, but barley is most vegetative when sown immediately after the plow.
2236. Grease Wheels.—Fifty parts, by weight, of pulverized black lead, 50 of lard, 50 of soap, and 5 of quicksilver. Rub the lard and mercury first together, then the lead and soap. If well mixed, it is invaluable.
2237. Plants, when drooping, are revived by a few grains of camphor.
2238. Flowers beginning to fade, can be restored by putting the stems in scalding water.
2239. Bacon Hams in Summer.—Pack in a barrel, in clean dry ashes or charcoal; head up the barrel and put it where it is dry, and as cool as possible.
2240. Timber cut in the spring and exposed to the weather with the bark on, decays much sooner than that cut in the fall.
2241. In Feeding with corn, 60 lbs. ground goes as far as 100 lbs. in the kernel.
2242. Apples.—Experiments show apples to be equal to potatoes to improve hogs, and decidedly profitable for fattening cattle.
2243. Pears are greatly improved by grafting on the mountain ash.
2244. Rats and other vermin are kept away from grain by a sprinkling of garlic when packing the sheaves.
2245. Wet Land.—Money skillfully expended in drying land, by draining or otherwise, will be returned with ample interest.
2246. Grass.—Sweet and nutritious grass gives a richness and flavor to milk, attainable from no other source.
2247. Curing Fodder.—Bundles may be so placed around centre-poles as to form a hollow-stack, having a foundation of brush, sticks, &c., admitting a circulation of air that will thoroughly cure fodder in the shade.
2248. Turnips of small size have double the nutritious matter that large ones have.
2249. Ruta Baga is the only root that increases in nutritious qualities as it increases in size.
2250. In transplanting trees, the hole should not be proportioned to the extent of the roots as they are, but to their extent as they may be and should be.
2251. Toads are the very best protection of cabbages against lice.
2252. Peach Trees are protected from hard winters by covering the roots a foot deep with straw, in January, after the ground has become thoroughly frozen, which keeps the frost in the ground, and so prevents the sap from starting until the Spring is fairly opened.
2253. Save your Fire Wood.—Mr. Madison, in his Notes of Agriculture, says, "Of all the errors in our rural economy, none perhaps is to be so much regretted, because none so difficult to be repaired, as the excessive and injudicious destruction of fire-wood."
2254. Sorrel may be killed out by lime, while ashes have no effect on it.
2255. Shumac or Sumac, a poisonous shrub or plant, which grows wild in abundance, and frequently where nothing else will, is used for dyeing in England, at the rate of thirteen thousand tons per annum. It might be made a source of profit to our farmers.
GARDENING
(SEE PAGE [291].)
2256. Kitchen Garden.—This is one of the most important parts of general domestic economy, whenever the situation of a house will permit a family to avail themselves of its assistance, in aid of butcher's bills.
2257. It is, indeed, much to be regretted that small plots of ground, in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis more especially, are too often frittered away into shrubberies and baby gardens, when they might more usefully be employed in raising vegetables for the family, during the week-day residence in town, than wasting their sweetness on the smoky air in all the pride of lilac, hollyhock, and bachelors' buttons, to be merely smelled to, by the whole immigrating household on the day of rest.
2258. With a little care and attention, a kitchen-garden, though small, might be rendered not only useful, but in fact, as ornamental as a modern grass carpet; and the same expense incurred to make the ground a labyrinth of sweets, might suffice to render it agreeable to the palate, as well as to the olfactory nerves, and that even without offending the most delicate optics.
2259. It is only in accordance with our plan to give the hint, and to record such novel points as may facilitate the proposed arrangement.
2260. It is one objection to the adoption of a kitchen garden in front of the dwelling, or in sight of the family apartments, that its very nature makes it rather an eye-sore than otherwise at all seasons.
2261. This, however, is an objection that may be readily got over by a little attention to neatness and good order, whilst the plants themselves, if judiciously attended to, and the borders sown or planted with ranunculus, polyanthus, mignionette, &c., in succession, will really be ornamental.
2262. But then, in cutting the plants for use, the business must be done neatly, all useless leaves cleared from the ground, the roots no longer wanted taken up, and the ravages of insects to be guarded against by sedulous extirpation. It will also be found a great improvement, where space will admit of it, to surround the beds with neat espaliers, with fruit trees, or even gooseberry and currant bushes trained along them, instead of these being suffered to grow in a state of ragged wildness.
DRYING HERBS.
2263. Fresh herbs are preferable to dried ones, but as they cannot always be obtained, it is most important to dry herbs at the proper seasons:—
2264. Basil is in a fit state for drying about the middle of August.
2265. Burret in June, July, and August.
2266. Chervil in May, June, and July.
2267. Elder Flowers in May, June, and July.
2268. Fennel in May, June, and July.
2269. Knotted Marjoram during July.
2270. Lemon Thyme end of July, and through August.
2271. Mint end of June and July.
2272. Orange Flowers May, June, and July.
2273. Orange Thyme (a delicious herb), June and July.
2274. Parsley May, June, and July.
2275. Sage, August and September.
2276. Summer Savory, end of July and August.
2277. Tarragon, June, July, and August.
2278. Thyme, end of July and August.
2279. Winter Savory, end of July and August.
2280. These herbs always at hand will be a great aid to the cook.
2281. Herbs should be gathered on a dry day; they should be immediately well cleansed, and dried by the heat of a stove, or Dutch oven.
2282. The leaves should then be picked off, pounded and sifted, and put away for use.
PROPERTIES AND USES OF VEGETABLES.
2283. Parsley is very cooling and softening.
2284. Catnip is a warm herb, of a diaphoretic or sweating nature.
2285. Pennyroyal is much the same, only more powerful. It retains a very powerful pungent oil.
2286. Spearmint is pungent and hot, but of an astringent nature.
2287. Calamint is much the same, but not so strong.
2288. Hoarhound is very strengthening to the lungs, and is somewhat of a pectoral. It is excellent in a cough, or stopage in the stomach.
2289. Everlasting, or Indian Posey, is a very balsamic herb—healing and cooling, and excellent in salves or ointment.
2290. Johnswort is much the same.
2291. Pea Balm is a cooling and sweating herb, and is good in fevers and inflammations.
2292. Chamomile is a great restorative to the lungs, and promotes perspiration. It is good in salves and ointments to take away swellings.
2293. Mayweed is of a pectoral nature, and is good for a pain in the side.
2294. Garden Coltsfoot is a great restorative to the lungs, and is good in syrups for coughs.
2295. Melilot is good in salves and ointments for swellings and inflammations. It is mollifying and cooling.
2296. Sage is the greatest restorative to human nature of any herb that grows.
2297. Bloodroot is a very powerful emetic or purge: steeped in spirits, it will serve for an emetic; and boiled in fair water it serves as a purge.
2298. Mandrake root is an excellent physic, dried and pounded.
2299. Cumfrey and Spikenard are so well known that they need no describing.
2300. Elecampane is good in coughs, yet it is an astringent.
2301. Cranesbill is an astringent, and excellent in cankers.
2302. Whiteroot is of a physical nature, and is good to remove wind pent in the stomach, or part of the bowels.
2303. Sassafras root is good for the blood.
2304. So also are Sarsaparilla, Horse Radish, Burdock roots, Elder roots.
2305. Hop roots, and Wild Coltsfoot are good as pectorals.
2306. White and Yellow Pond Lily roots, the same.
2307. Winter's Bark.—This is the product of one of the largest trees on Terra del Fuego. It is good in dropsy and scurvy.
2308. Wild Jenton is a strong cathartic, when boiled.
VEGETABLES TO CULTIVATE.
2309. Artichoke.—Sow early in the Spring, in rows three inches apart, or plant suckers.
2310. Asparagus.—Sow in April, in good rich soil.
2311. Beans. English Dwarfs.—Plant as early in the Spring as the ground will work.
2312. Kidney Dwarfs.—Plant from end of April to about 20th August.
2313. Pole or Running.—Plant beginning of May, and at intervals through the season.
2314. Beets.—Sow in drills, from early in the Spring till the middle of Summer. Leave the plants 6 to 8 inches apart in the drills.
2315. Borecole is an excellent green. Sow in Fall, either broadcast or in drills, as for Winter Spinach.
2316. Brussels Sprouts are cultivated for the small heads, which are attached to the stem. Sow in the middle of Spring, and treat as Winter Cabbage.
2317. Brocoli produces heads like cauliflower. Sow in seed bed about the middle of Spring. Transplant in rich ground when 8 or 12 inches high, and treat as Winter Cabbage.
2318. Cabbage.—For early cabbage, sow in Autumn, in seed beds. Protect during Winter; transplant early in the Spring. For late Cabbage, sow in seed bed, middle of Spring. Transplant early in Summer.
2319. Cardoon is much used for salads, soups, and stews. Treated much like Celery.
2320. Cauliflower.—Sow, for early, in seed beds, in Autumn; protect from frost, in cold frames, and transplant in rich ground after frost ceases. For late, manage as Brocoli.
2321. Carrots should be sown early in the Spring, in deep-dug and well-manured ground, in drills twelve or eighteen inches apart.
2322. Celery should be sown early in the Spring, in light rich moist soil. Transplant in trenches, highly manured, when about six inches high. Blanch by earthing up as they advance in growth.
2323. Chervil.—A small salad. Sow early in the Spring, and after heat of Summer.
2324. Cress.—Used as a salad. Sow very thick, in shallow drills, at intervals through the season.
2325. Corn Salad.—Used as a salad during the Winter and Spring. Sow thick, in drills, about 1st of September, and cover with straw on the approach of cold.
2326. Cucumbers should be planted first week in May, in hills four feet apart; prepare the ground by incorporating a shovelful of rotten dung in each hill.
2327. Endive.—Sow last of Spring to middle of Summer, in shallow drills.
2328. Egg-Plant.—Sow in hot-beds early in the Spring; transplant in rich warm ground late in the Spring, about 30 inches apart. Egg-plant seed will not vegetate freely without a substantial heat.
2329. Lettuce should be sown in seed bed, in the middle of September; protect the plants through the Winter, and early in the Spring transplant in rich ground; or sow in hot-beds, in March, and at intervals throughout the season.
2330. Melon.—Plant in hills, in light sandy earth, about the first week in May.
2331. Mushroom Spawn should be planted in hot-beds of dung, covered with earth.
2332. Mustard.—Sown like Cress, and used for a salad.
2333. Nasturtium.—Sow in May. The flowers and young leaves are used as a salad; the seed-pods, with foot-stalk, are gathered whilst green, and pickled as a substitute for capers.
2334. Okra, or Gombo, is one of the best of vegetables. Plant in May. The seed should be sown thick, as it is liable to rot in the ground. Very rich ground is required.
2335. Onions should be sown in drills, early in the Spring, in rich ground, thin, to stand two or three inches apart.
2336. Parsley should be sown early in the Spring. Soak in warm water before sowing.
2337. Parsnip.—Sow in drills 18 inches apart, in good and deep-dug ground, early in the Spring.
2338. Peas.—The best soil for Peas is a light loam. The early sorts require rich ground. Sow in drills as early in the Spring as the ground will work.
2339. Pepper.—Sow late in Spring, in drills, on a warm border; or in a frame or hot-bed, in March; set out plants eighteen inches apart.
2340. Pumpkin.—The Mammoth Pumpkin has been grown to the enormous weight of 225 pounds. Plant early in May, in rich soil, in hills, eight to ten feet apart each way.
2341. Radish.—The early kinds should be sown as soon as the ground can be worked, in a sheltered situation.
2342. Rhubarb should be sown in Autumn or early in the Spring; when in the latter, transplant in the ensuing Spring to desired situation. The stems are used for tarts, and are fit for use before green fruit can be obtained, being a very desirable substitute.
2343. Salsify, or Vegetable Oyster, should be sown during April. The roots boiled, made into cakes with paste, and fried like oysters, much resembles them.
2344. Spinach should be sown as soon as the ground can be worked. The soil cannot be too rich for Spinach.
2345. Squash.—Cultivate same as Cucumber.
2346. Tomato.—Sow in hills three feet apart, on a warm border, early in the Spring. As the plants advance in growth, give them support.
2347. Turnip.—For summer use, sow early in the Spring. For main crop, sow close of Summer. The Ruta Baga requires more time to mature, and should be sown at midsummer.
2348. Aromatic and Sweet Herbs.—Anise, Brazil, (sweet), Caraway, Coriander, *Fennel, *Lavender, Marygold, Pot, Marjorum, (sweet), *Sage, Summer Savory, *Winter Savory, *Thyme, *Mint, *Rosemary, Dill.
2349. Those marked with a * are perennial, and when once obtained, may be preserved for years. The others are annual.
FRUIT TREES AND FRUIT.
2350. Fruits, in a ripe and perfect state, are beneficial to health, if not eaten to excess.
2351. Stunted trees never become vigorous, nor when too long crowded in nurseries.
2352. In Grafting, 25 well placed are better than 100 grafts placed at random, and ten placed injudiciously will change the whole top of a tree in a few years, when 200 grafts may be so scattered as not materially to change the top of the tree or its fruit. Graft only on such as are sound and vigorous.
2353. Haggling off limbs and branches and leaving stumps on the trees, which rot off and let the water into the trunk, soon destroys the tree; therefore, always cut or saw off smooth, when the wound will heal and the bark grow over.
2354. Sound, vigorous trees, and no other, should be set out, as they take no more trouble or space than the worthless ones.
2355. Budding should only be done with fresh buds, on very small stocks of vigorous growth. Begin after sap starts, until 1st June. Later will do. Make incision like a T; raise the corners and insert the bud with as little of the wood as possible, and bandage, not too tight, for three weeks.
2356. Scions may be cut in February or March, before or at the time the buds begin to swell; or take grafts size of a pipe-stem, from bearing branches, not from side shoots nor the rank growth of the top. Put in earth one-third their length, keep from frost, and occasionally sprinkle, to prevent shriveling, but not so wet as to sprout them.
2357. Composition.—Resin 8 oz., beeswax, 3 oz.; melt up with lard, and work it like shoemaker's wax; for wounds made in pruning or grafting.
2358. Split the stock, drive in a wedge six or eight inches long, open the split so as to admit the graft freely; sharpen end of graft and insert, matching the wood of graft and wood of the stock; remove the wedge carefully, and cover smooth over with composition, tight, to exclude air, and the sap will force its way to the graft.
2359. Seed.—Select from healthy trees, sound, ripe and fair fruit, and place in sand, in a cellar or other cool, damp place, until time to plant. If kept too dry, they seldom vegetate. Let the soil be good, well worked, not too wet; cover up and press the ground moderately over. Plant in Fall, before the ground is frozen, or in Spring, soon as the ground can be worked.
2360. Soil.—Low, wet or marshy ground is not suitable. Soil appropriate for crops of grain, is also adapted to the cultivation of fruit trees, shrubs or vines. Occasional digging, mellowing the ground, keeping down underbrush and weeds, and manuring, are beneficial.
2361. Cleanliness is essential. Destroy all caterpillars, noxious worms and insects, and prune off all affected parts. Scrape off all rough, ragged bark and moss, and wash well with soap-suds or cover with a coat of limewash. Remove all suckers from the roots, side branches and excrescences.
2362. Grubs, which occasion disease, may be prevented by coating the roots and lower trunk, about July 1, with tar, train oil, or whitewash, and sprinkling a little lime, ashes, or soap-suds, on the ground around the tree. When seriously affected, dig the earth from the roots near the surface, and search thoroughly in the bark for the grub; cleanse off the gum, &c., wash with ley or soap-suds, or rub dry ashes over them, and close up with good fresh earth. Doing this as occasion requires, will ensure health and vigor.
2363. Slugs and Snails are great enemies to every kind of garden-plant, whether flower or vegetable; they wander in the night to feed, and return at daylight to their haunts; the shortest and surest direction is, "Rise early, catch them, and kill them."—(See [p. 281].)
2364. Another way.—Lay cabbage leaves about the ground, especially on the beds which they frequent. Every morning examine these leaves, and you will find a great many taking refuge beneath.
2365. Caterpillars and Aphides.—A garden syringe or engine, with a cap on the pipe full of very minute holes, will wash away these disagreeable visitors very quickly. You must bring the pipe close to the plant, and pump hard, so as to have considerable force on, and the plant, however badly infested, will soon be cleared without receiving any injury.—(See [p. 277].)
2366. Rake the Earth.—Every time that you use the syringe or garden-engine, you must immediately rake the earth under the trees, and kill the insects you have dislodged, or many will recover and climb up the stems of the plants.
2367. Grubs on Orchard Trees.—Make a bonfire with dry sticks and weeds on the windward side of the orchard, so that the smoke may blow among the trees; you will destroy thousands; for the grubs have such an objection to smoke, that very little of it makes them roll themselves up and fall off; they must be swept up afterward.
2368. Wasps destroy a good deal of fruit, but every pair of wasps killed in spring saves the trouble and annoyance of a swarm in autumn.
2369. Butterflies and Moths, however pretty, are the worst enemies one can have in a garden; a single insect of this kind may deposit eggs enough to overrun a tree with caterpillars, therefore they should be destroyed at any cost of trouble.
2370. The only moth that you must spare, is the common black and red one; the grubs of this feed exclusively on grounsel, and are therefore a valuable ally of the gardener.
2371. Earwigs are very destructive insects; their favorite food is the petals of roses, pinks, dahlias, and other flowers.
2372. To kill Earwigs.—They may be caught by driving stakes into the ground, and placing on each an inverted flower-pot; the earwigs will climb up and take refuge under it, when they may be taken out and killed.—(See [p. 279].)
2373. Or very deep holes may be made in the ground with a crowbar, into these they will fall, and may be destroyed by boiling water.
2374. Toads are among the best friends the gardener has; for they live almost exclusively on the most destructive kinds of vermin.
2375. The Rose Slug.—A new and sure mode to destroy these insects, either when as a fly laying its eggs, or as a slug, is the following:—
2376. Whale Oil Soap, dissolved at the rate of two pounds to fifteen gallons of water.
2377. Mode of Preparation.—Take whatever quantity of soap you wish to prepare, and dissolve it in boiling water, about one quart to a pound; in this way strain it through a fine wire or hair sieve, which takes out the dirt, prevents its stopping the valves of the engine, or the nose of the syringe; then add cold water to make it the proper strength.
2378. How to use it.—Apply it to the rose-bush with a hand engine or syringe, with as much force as practicable, and be sure that every part of the leaves is well saturated with the liquid. What falls to the ground in application, will do good in destroying the worms and enriching the soil, and from its trifling cost, it can be used with profusion.
2379. The cost.—A hogshead of 136 gallons costs forty-five cents—not quite four mills per gallon. Early in the morning, or in the evening, is the proper time to apply it to the plants.
2380. Mildew on the Gooseberry, Peach, Grape-vine, &c., is checked and entirely destroyed by a weak dressing of the solution.
2381. The Canker Worm.—Laying soap oil on the trunk and branches of the tree, at the consistency of thick paint, destroys the brown, scaly insect on the bark, and gives the tree a smooth, glossy, and healthy appearance.
2382. To free Plants from Leaf-Lice.—Mix one ounce of flowers of sulphur with one bushel of sawdust; scatter this over the plants infected with these insects, and they will soon be freed, though a second application may possibly be necessary.
2383. Keeping Fruits.—The three best of eight different modes fairly tried, are, 1, covering in pure dry sand; 2, in dry fern; 3, in a deal box buried in the earth. In all cases to be kept cool.
2384. Sunflower yields 140 bushels per acre, and each bushel one gallon of good oil. Its leaves furnish provender; its seeds, food for poultry and hogs. It thrives on poor soils.
2385. To prepare a cheap Hortus Siccus.—All the small plants should be expanded under water, in a plate, on a piece of writing-paper. In this state they will assume their natural form and position. Then withdraw the paper with the plant gently from the water, and place them between sheets of blotting-paper, and press them with a book or flat board. When dry, it may be placed on writing-paper.