189G. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



lof) 



.■ i:i(;>Kiii- by a Quick Process. 

 Viuegar ii:o.y be luude iu a very short 

 tiiuo by a sort of fiheriug process that 

 cau bn ban(ilf?d by auy persou of ordi- 

 nary iugeuuity. A large burrel has a 

 perforated shelf titted iu a few iuches 

 below the top. From the holes fall euds 

 of pack thread, which are kuotted at 

 the upper end so that they may not be 

 drawn entirely through. Glass tubes are 

 fixed in the shelf as air vents. The lower 

 edge of the barrel is filled with holes 

 placed about six inches above the bot- 

 tom, and a siphon carries off the liquid 

 that accumulates below this point. Di- 

 luted alcoholic liquor, slightly sweeten- 

 ed with honey or with extract of malt, 

 is slowly dripped through the holes iu 

 the shelf and runs through beechwood 

 ehaviugs that have previously been steep- 

 ed in good vinegar. The liquor, which 

 should be kept at a temperature of 75 to 

 85 degrees F. , filters down through the 

 threads and over the shavings to the 

 bottom of the barrel, whence it runs 

 over through the siphon. After awhile 

 the temperature iu the barrel rises to 

 about 100 degrees F., the chemical ac- 

 tion going on meanwhile. It is neces- 

 sary to pour the liquor again and again 

 through the generator before it is satis- 

 factory. From three or four to half a 

 dozen filterings are usually suflScient, 

 though more are sometimes required, 

 depending a good deal on the quality of 

 the materials and the temperature at 

 starting. — New York Ledger. 



8ho Was Not Engaged. 



Mrs. B. had changed girls, and was 

 undergoing the usual catechism at the 

 hands of her kitchen's future ruler. 

 After a succestr/lon of damsels from "the 

 ould dart" her husband had strenuously 

 insisted that she try "an intelligent and 

 cleanly American girl. " He had found 

 such a one and was sure she would 

 prove a trea.sure. The lady of the house 

 even thought he might not be mistaken, 

 so trim and neat was the newcomer. 



"Yes. I'm a splendid washer," that 

 person said, "and I can iron shirts to 

 beat a Chinaman — I always did up fa- 

 ther's at home. I always had time, for, 

 you see, I know how to manage. Flat 

 things, sheet.s, tablecloths, napkins, I 

 fold and lay around in the chairs ; they 

 come out beautifully smooth wheu you 



nave sar (ju t!iem a day or two. And 

 that reminds me to ask, where had you 

 rather I put them, here in your chair or 

 your husband's?" 



It took Mrs. B. sometime minutes to 

 recover ."Speech, but finally she managed 

 to say that on the whole she feared she 

 would not suit a domestic so progressive. 

 — New York Journal. 



How Crockett Uved. 



S. R. Crockett, the Scotch writer, has 

 been telling how he used to raise the 

 heat v/heu a hard up student iu Edin- 

 burgh. He lodged wnth a friend over a 

 great coal station, and he used to go out 

 in the evening and pick up the coals 

 which the carts had dropped iu the 

 streets. "Sometimes, " he says, "I grew 

 so bold as to chuck a lump of coal at a 

 driver, who invariably looked for the 

 biggest lump on his load to hit back 

 with, which was M'hat I wanted. Thus 

 the exercise warmed me at the time and 

 the coai warmed me afterward. And 

 occasionally we got a large enough stock 

 to sell to our companions, and buy a 

 book or two. But I wish, here and now, 

 solemnly to state that 1 never, never 

 conde.scended to lift a lump off a cart, 

 at least hardly — well, unless it was 

 manifestly inconveniencing the safety of 

 the load or overburdening the safety of 

 the horse, you know !" 



A Gibraltar Legend. 



One of the stock of ancient legends 

 relating to the Rock of Gibraltar, from 

 which the passing griffs were formerly 

 regaled, relates how a young Scotch 

 subaltern was on guard duty with a 

 brother officer, when the latter in visit- 

 ing the sentries fell over a precipice and 

 was killed. When the survivor was re- 

 lieved from duty, he made the custom- 

 ary written report in the usual form, 

 "Nothing extraordinary." And this 

 brought the brigade major down upon 

 him iu a rage. "Whati When your 

 brother oflicer on duty with you h is 

 fallen dov.n a precipice 400 feet high 

 and been killed, you report nothing ex- 

 traordinary !" "Wcel. sir," replied the 

 Scot calmly, "I dinna think there's 

 onythiug extraornery in it, ava. If he 

 had fa'cu doon four hunder' feet ard 

 uot been killed — woel, I should hae ca'd 

 that extruornerv. " 



