MISCELLANEOUS. 539 



for out-door use ought, to look well, be painted with bright colors, as red or 

 blue — tlie foliage gives the contrast with its green ; but for house use paint them 

 over with plain, cheap varnish, then with a bit of pad, or piece of broadcloth 

 upon a thin, small bit of board, apply common bronze powder all over; or, to 

 make them nicer, paint the bodies, some red and some blue, then bronze the 

 rim, wliich gives them a gold-like appearance, contrasting prettily with the 

 painted body. The bronze on a varnish will not stand the rains and exposure 

 out of doors. 



Cracked Hands, To Cure.— A laboring man who had been troubled 

 with cracked hands, and tried many other remedies without success, was finally 

 told to put common copal varnish into the cracks wliich, in 48 hours, entirely 

 cured them. Others came, but the same remedy always cured. He had givea 

 it to others with the same success before making it public. He bought a 

 10-cent bottte, kept it corked, and applied when needed with a bit of sliver from 

 the fire wood. It is simple and efficient. Most all painters and paint dealers 

 keep it. 



CARROTS.— Their Value as Pood for Man and Domestic 

 Animals. — A writer, with whom tlie author agrees — except that he thinks pars- 

 nips preferable to carrots for horses — says: "The carrot is one of the most health- 

 ful and nutritious of our garden roots, and deserves to be much more extensively 

 used for culinary purposes, and we urge our readers to give some of the early 

 table sorts a trial. As an agricultural root, the carrot is not surpassed for feed- 

 ing horses and milch cows, and every farmer should plant a few for this pur- 

 pose. The carrot succeeds best on light, sandy loam, made rich by manuring 

 the previous year. In freshly manured land, the roots often grow awkward 

 and ill shaped. It is better to sow as early in the spring as the ground can be 

 made ready, but if planting is necessarily delayed until late in the season, soak 

 the seed 24 hours in tepid water, dry by mixing in sifted ashes or plaster, and 

 sow on freshly prepared soil. " 



Bemarks. — In drills would be best, the author thinks, as explained in the 

 item referred to. 



Pickled Carrots for Table Use.— A recent writer in the Rural New 

 Yorker says, under this head: " Wash and scrape, boil until tender, cut into 

 quarters of convenient length, and cover with vinegar. It is the best way to 

 prepare carrots for the table." 



Remarks. — If the vinegar is properly spiced, this plan makes them very 

 palatable. 



Beans Should Always be Cooked in Soft "Water.— A. C. Ar- 

 nold, of Stamford, Conn., says: "I notice those who tell how to cook beans 

 omit to say that soft water must always be used in beans, otherwise some of 

 them will remain hard— a fact that I learned in the army." 



Remarks.— It is undoubtedly better to use soft water for cooking generally, 

 "when it can be done. The same man sends the next item also, through the 

 Blade, and as it is a thing needed in every household that ever cooks apples, I 



