108 



NEW ENGLAND FAR]MER. 



Feb. 



fancy woods, an inlaid table, or a writing-desk 

 in a bourdoir afford a pretty relief to rooms 

 furnished with plain woods. 



Faience, a clay material with raised figures, 

 is being introduced for medallions, ornaments 

 in furniture, vases, nnd jardinieres. The de- 

 signs are antique, the colors deep and strong, 

 somewhat resembling majolica. A valuable 

 piece shown us is a large vase from the French 

 Exposition. It is tan-colored, with raised 

 flowers in natural hues. The price is $200. 



Parlor suits of solid black walnut, uphol- 

 stered with wool reps, are the best choice for 

 people of moderate means. These are made 

 up in as good style as the most expensive ma- 

 terial, but in less elaborate design. Plush is 

 being used again by economical families who 

 have sitting-room and parlor in one. It wears 

 well, and is not expen?ive. A handsome suit 

 of drab reps has a wide stripe of scarlet plush 

 in the centre of each piece. The narrow 

 frames of mantle-mirrors are covered with 

 scarlet plush edged with gilt and ebony. 



religion, points to a tappy meeting in another 

 and better world. 



Spices and Aromatic Herbs. — Speaking 

 of the spices employed as seasoning for pies, 

 gelatine. &c., an author writes : — 



The best way to have these spices good is 

 to prepare them oneself. The following are 

 the proportions in ordinary cookery : Place 

 in a paper bag quarter of an ounce of thyme, 

 quarter ounce of bay leaf, eighth ounce of mar- 

 joram, eighth ounce rosemary ; put the bag 

 into the hot screen till the herbs are dry ; mix 

 them in a mortar with a half ounce of nutmegs, 

 half ounce of cloves, quarter ounce of pepper ; 

 pound the whole and press through a hair 

 seive. Keep these spices in a dry, well-corked 

 bottle. These spices are used either alo-ne or 

 with salt added ; the proportion for mixing 

 with salt is one ounce of the mixture to four 

 ounces of line salt. One ounce of the spiced 

 salt is sufficient to season three pounds of 

 gelatine forcemeat. 



LOSS OP CHILDREN. 



Those who have never passed through this 

 fiery furnace, which tries the inmost heart, 

 cannot sympathise with bereaved parents 

 whose hearts bleed over their children dead. 

 To describe the anguish which rends their 

 hearts as they gaze upon the loved forms on 

 whom their fondest hopes and aspirations had 

 rested so firmly, now cold and lifeless in their 

 coffin home, would require a pen dipped in the 

 very essence of the sublimest sorrow itself. 

 None but the parents can feel it, and none but 

 those who have mourned like them, can sym- 

 pathize with those who mourn the death of 

 their children. The loss no power on earth 

 can bring them back, and place them again be- 

 neath their parents' loving gaze and fond care. 

 From earth they have taken their final depart- 

 ure, never, never to return. The little chairs 

 then occupied, the little plate and knife and 

 fork they used, will be to them of service no 

 more — but merely lonely momentoes of their 

 existence. The patter of their little feet upon 

 the floor, and the music of their sweet, sweet 

 voices, will greet the parents ear never again 

 on earth. All will be a recurrence of all that 

 is dreary and dismal. But hope, plumed by 



Cleaning Woolen Clothing. — A simple 

 apparatus, much used in Paris, for removing 

 grease and dirt from woolen clothes, or scour- 

 ing them, consists in a cubical wooden box, 

 rotating on an axis passed diagonally through 

 the opposite corners. The box is perfectly 

 tight, and has an aperture at one side, through 

 which the clothes are introduced, and havings 

 valve door, which can be closed air-tight. The 

 clothing is placed in the box, with a quantity 

 of benzine, petroleum, ether or other sub- 

 stances, and after closing the mouth the box 

 is rotated rapidly, about twenty or thirty times 

 in a minute. After a sufficient time, the cloth- 

 ing is removed, the operator squeezing out 

 the liquid as the pieces are brought out. Af- 

 ter the remaining benzine or other substance 

 has evaporated the articles are well brushed. 

 A box two and a half feet deep will take in 

 twelve overcoats, or twenty-five pairs of panta- 

 loons. The same apparatus may be used as a 

 washing machine. Another method, though a 

 dangerous one, consists in passing the vapor 

 of distilled benzine and other substances 

 against the cloth, brushing this thoroughly 

 during the operation. 



