290 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Domestic Department. 



Swing Shelves for Cellars. — This very essen- 

 tial convenience should be the occupant of every 

 cellar, csi)ocially the farmer's. They are very con- 

 venient for settin;!; milk, cakes, pies, bread, &c. ; and 

 ■when properly made there can be nothing better. If 

 made with M'ooden arms, they arc sometimes visited 

 by mice. This being the case with one in my cellar, 

 I contrived almost every way to keep them off, but 

 did not succeed until I hung the shelf on wire, 

 which I lind answers a very good purpose, and I 

 think there can be no cheaper nor better way. 



To make a double shelf, twelve feet long, with 

 four cross bars, it requires about ten yards of wire, 

 eight for the upper, and two for the lower shelf. 

 The reason why the upper shelf requires more than 

 the lower is, because it is hung farther from the 

 point of fastening, and it requires two strands in- 

 stead of one, as the whole weight of the two shelves 

 comes upon the upper wires ; four strands eighteen 

 inches long is all that is required for the lower one. 

 A shelf made after the above plan will require some 

 bracing, in order to keep it steady ; this should be 

 done with wire, as wooden braces would be worse 

 than wooden arms. The wire I used was No. 12. — 

 liural New- Yorker. 



To MAKE Tomato Preserves. — Wash your to- 

 matoes, then pare them ; and for every pound of 

 tomatoes, take half a pound of refined loaf sugar ; 

 dissolve the sugar in a sufficient quantity of water to 

 make it into sirup, in a preserving kettle over a slow 

 fire ; when your sugar is dissolved, put your toma- 

 toes and the third of a lemon, sliced, into the skup, 

 and boil slowly, until the tomatoes are cooked ; then 

 take the tomatoes carefully out of the sirup, and 

 cool them on a dish ; continue to boil the sirup 

 slowly, until the tomatoes are cooled ; then strain 

 your sirup through a hair sieve, and put the sirup 

 and tomatoes back into the kettle, and boil them 

 very slowly, for half an hour ; then, if the sirup is 

 boiled to the consistence of molasses, your preserves 

 may be put into jars as soon as cooled. 



A GOOD Ct'p of Tea. — M. Soyer recommends 

 that before pouring any water in, the teapot, with 

 the tea in it, shall be placed in the oven until hot, or 

 heated, and the pot then fiUed with boiling water. 

 The result, he says, will be, in about a minute, a 

 most delicious cup of tea, much superior to that 

 drawn in the ordinary way. 



||outl)'0 Department. 



The best IIecommenuatiox. — A youth seeking 

 employment in New York, on inquiring at a certain 

 store if they wished a clerk, was told they did not. 

 On mentioning the recommendations he had, the 

 merchant desired to see them. In turning over his 

 carpet bag to find his letters, a book rolled out on 

 the floor. " \Vhat is that ?" said the merchant. "It 

 is the Bible, sir," was the reply. " And what are 

 you going to do with that book in New York?" said 

 the merchant. The lad looked seriously into the 

 merchant's face, and replied, " I promised my mother 

 I would read it every day, and I shall do it," and 



burst into tears. The merchant immediately en- 

 gaged his services, and in due time he became a part- 

 ner in the tirm, one of the most respectable in the 

 city. 



i^ealtlj Department. 



Tub Bath — Hints for the Season. — There is 

 a great deal of good sense in the following sugges- 

 tions of some letter writer in the Mobile Tribune; 

 suggestions, too, whicli are good for any latitude : — 



To the young we earnestly say. As you are now 

 throwing aside your winter clothing, bathe ; if you 

 would avoid colds, the sure precursors of all sick- 

 ness, bathe ; and if you would enjoy your youth, 

 blitheness of limb, and cheer of spirits, bathe fre- 

 quently. The ancients knew its efficacy, and prac- 

 tised it throughout, as the wisest of the moderns do. 

 The theory of Beau Brummel has grown into a prov- 

 erb — " There is no perfume like that of fresh 

 linen ; no cosmetic like pure water, and plenty of 

 it." But what boy has not felt the invigoration of a 

 swim, or what man fatigued, of a free ablution r 

 Bathe then, if you would be healthy. 



But while bathing is so important to the young, it 

 is no less so to the mature. Of all the thousand ills 

 that flesh is heir to, none can exceed these three 

 common curses — dyspepsia, rheumatism, and gout. 

 Though when these are once seated they are deemed 

 immovable, the most experienced physicians assure 

 us they can be prevented, as they are clearly trace- 

 able to the stopping up of the pores of the skin. 



Then, if you would preserve your digestion, and 

 enjoy the good things of this life, bathe. If you 

 would avoid rheumatism, and indulge in that joyous 

 exercise which brings health, and every other com- 

 fort, bathe. And lest you be bedridden, and tor- 

 tured everlastingly with gout, bathe, and bathe 

 freely. 



With the best of motives, we again affirm, if there 

 be a cheap luxury in the world, it is a hot, cold, or 

 shower bath. 



i!llecl)amcs' Department, ^rts, $Ct. 



The Using of Paint. — It is not an uncommon 

 thing for some paints, especially when exposed to 

 the atmosphere, to rub off like whitewash, after they 

 had been put on for about six or eight months. We 

 have known white paint to do this, although both 

 the oil and wliite lead were said to be good. In 

 respect to white paint, wliich is most extensively 

 used, there are three things which may be the cause 

 of its inferiority and rubbing off. These are bad oil, 

 bad lead, and too much turpentine. The best lin- 

 seed oil only should be used, and it should be boiled, 

 but not too long, nor at too great a heat. Lbiseed 

 oil is frequently adulterated with sunflower oil, 

 which is very inferior to that of linseed. 



Sometimes white lead is sold which is very inferior 

 to others, but painters know how to judge between 

 the good and bad. The best can easily be ascertained 

 by painters, from the quantity of oil required to give 

 it proper consistency. In mixing paints, there should 

 be no turpentine at all used for outside work, (at 

 most the smallest possible quantity,) because the tujr- 

 pentine makes a soap of the oil ; consequently, it soon 

 will rub off, or be washed away by storms, &c. Tlie 

 only benefit of boiling linseed oil is to drive away 

 its moisture and ammonia, so that the gluten of tha 

 oil will form a beautiful skin of varnish when dry. 



