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MECHANICAL. 



-a stocking or thin cloth — each in separate 

 vessels. The whiting may now be stirred 

 well ; if too thick, add more hot water 

 and strain through a sieve into a good 

 sized pot Add some of the blue and red 

 alternately until you get the shade re- 

 quired. When your color is determined 

 pour in the glue, and after mixing well 

 apply the wash hot to the wall. Should 

 the second coat not be put on until the 

 next day, heat the mixture, as the glue 

 will not mix with the other ingredients 

 unless pretty warm. 



WAX, for Canning Fruits. — Resin, 

 one pound; lard, tallow, and beeswax, 

 each one ounce. Melt, and stir well 

 together. 



MECHANICS, Farmers should be. — On 

 every farm there should be a shop-room, 

 with work-benches and a kit of tools, 

 comprising all such as may be required 

 for any ordinary repairs of buildings or 

 wooden farm implements, and every 

 farmer should have skill to use them. 

 Having them, many repairs and necessary 

 jobs can be done, in less time than would 

 be required to carry the job to a regular 

 mechanic, and often in a better manner; 

 while no more time will be lost, and some 

 money will be saved. With a soldering 

 copper, rosin, and solder, with a few 

 minutes' practice, much inconvenience 

 and expense can be saved by repairing 

 tin-ware, water-pipes, etc., in odd mo- 

 ments and on rainy days. 



BUILDINGS and GROUNDS, Choosing 

 a Location for. — In choosing a location, 

 one of the first considerations is that of 

 access to and egress from a city, and if 

 daily intercourse is contemplated, it be- 

 comes a question of speciaj interest. The 

 time, trouble, and expense of travel on 

 bad roads are a severe tax upon coun- 

 try pleasures. A drive of half an hour 

 on a hard road, during a fine summer 

 evening, is a recreative pleasure which 

 may be not appreciated when an hour and 

 a half are spent on the same distance dur- 

 ing a stormy winter morning. A good 

 road in dry weather may become very 

 indifferent after rains, and be impassable 

 for three-fourths of the year. 



In these days of railroads and steam- 

 boats it is difficult to indicate what might 

 be considered a convenient distance from 

 a city. Upon a well managed railroad 

 a distance of twenty miles may be more 



accessible than two miles upon a com- 

 mon road. Proximity to a railroad sta- 

 tion will always secure a certainty of con- 

 venient transit, even allowing the dis- 

 tance to be within an easy carriage drive. 

 This facility should not be overlooked 

 when it can be secured. 



Healthiness of locality is of paramount 

 importance. Low, flat lands are gen- 

 erally damp and cold, and should never 

 be selected for the habitation either of 

 man or beast, if there is any choice in 

 the matter. Valleys, or even slight de- 

 pressions, are equally unsuitable. The 

 air after sunset is always dense in such 

 places, dews are heavier and more fre- 

 quent; and, as a consequence, frosts are 

 more prevalent than on elevations. Fogs 

 are most frequent on low lands. The 

 extremes of temperature are also greater, 

 especially if surrounded by forests, which 

 prevent the free circulation and equaliz- 

 ing influence of winds. Wide and long 

 valleys between uniform hills are fre- 

 quently subjected to sweeping blasts. 

 Even the vicinity of such localities ought 

 to be avoided. A person may drain, 

 cultivate, plant, and otherwise improve 

 his own property, and still be subjected 

 to the injurious influences of unimproved 

 lands over which he has no control. 



An elevated situation is generally 

 healthy. The extent of prospect it se- 

 cures is also an advantage; yet it is not 

 well to place too great a value on 

 distant views. For permanent residence 

 the exposure of elevations is a disadvant- 

 age. Though cool, airy, and agreeable 

 in summer, they may be bleak, chilly, and 

 exceedingly uncomfortable during winter. 

 The tender and delicate varieties of flowers 

 and shrubbery, as well as fruits and culi- 

 nary products, are less likely to flourish 

 when fully exposed to cold and unbroken 

 winds. 



BUILDING SITE, Selecting a.— This 

 is too commonly settled by selecting the 

 highest point of the ground, but not al- 

 ways wisely. A modern house set up on 

 a sharp knoll has an isolated appearance 

 which is not readily altered or improved 

 by trees, and it is with difficulty ap- 

 proached by roads, if the grounds slope 

 suddenly from it. 



A somewhat level plateau, partially 

 surrounded by higher ground, forms a 

 good position for a dwelling house. The 



