SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 395 



middle, uiid so thin as to liavc the mat not more than three-qnarters of an 

 inch in thickness when finished. The stitches slionld not he more tlian three- 

 fourtlis of an inch in width. Tlie tying string should be wound on a reel, and 

 there should be one of them for each stationary string. Take a little of the 

 straw with the left hand and work the reel with the right first over the straw 

 and then under the stationary string, bringing it back between tlie two strings, 

 pulling tightly and pressing the straw, so as to have a flat stitch. In this way 

 the work is continued until the mat is finished. 



A CHEAP GREENHOUSE. 



The cheapest plan of erecting a greenhouse, says the Germantown Tele- 

 graph, is to dig out a pit in a side hill where the upper end will be just above 

 ground and the lower end two or three feet above ground, where the door must 

 be, with two or tlirce steps down for an entrance. Wall up, roof the wall, 

 and cover the whole with sash, as in hot-beds, the sash having more fall, say 

 three feet in a width of ten, the house being fifteen by ten. Erect in this the 

 stand of shelves, and when it is time take up the summer flowers, bulbs, 

 etc., and store them here. The glass should be covered with thick straw mats, 

 which can be removed even when the weather is coldest in clear weather, for 

 an hour or two at mid-day, to get the warmth and influence of the sun. At 

 such times, ventilation also should be attended to by slightly opening a sash or 

 two. No fire is needed. Nearly all readily flowering plants will bloom, and 

 there will scarcely be a week during the winter that a bouquet may not be 

 gathered, if the house is properly managed. The summer is the time to make 

 it and have it ready for fall. 



VEGETABLES. 



WINTER SUPPLY OF VEGETABLES. 



It is very convenient to go out into the garden and gather a good variety of 

 vegetables, so that some new one may appear at nearly every dinner in the 

 week, but this can not be done very much longer, no matter how great the 

 supply. They must be gathered and housed in the best possible manner. 

 They can be buried in pits, but it is with great difficulty that the pits can be 

 opened during the frozen months. An out-of-door cellar is a great conveni- 

 ence upon every farm. It may be built at slight expense in a sandy soil, and 

 in it vegetables may be kept without the unpleasant odors that always accom- 

 pany them if stored in a cellar beneath the house. 



But as we find things upon the majority of farms the roots, etc., must bo 

 stored in the cellar beneath the house, and it is of the highest importance that 

 the ventilation should be good. In every house at least one chimney should 

 reach the bottom of the cellar, and every cellar should have windows on two 



