NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



215 



in soap suds and moistened from time to time, with 

 clean soft water. A little whiting and soap, 

 used together, is a good composition for cleaning 

 the ivory handles of knives. We may refer, at 

 some other time, to the mode of dyeing other col- 

 ors on ivory. — Scientific American. 



FIRE-PLACES. 



In the construction of these there is, especially 

 in cities, a great want of judgment. Thete are 

 several points to be considered: neatness, or beau- 

 ty, economy and comfort. In building a house, un- 

 doubtedly the first consideration should be comfort, 

 the second economy, whether we build for our- 

 selves or rent to others. We regret to say that 

 there seems to be an utter -disregard of these in 

 nearly all the houses in the city, and too many in 

 the country pattern after our city fashionables. — 

 Small fire-places are all the rage; a little square, 

 deep, low, narrow hole in the wall, hemmed in on 

 all sides with iron casements, is all that is left to 

 be called a fire-place: the result is, 1st, — the heat 

 is thrown into the room in a straight line agreeing 

 to the width of the opening, and those only who 

 sit immediately in front of the 8 by 10 opening get 

 the benefit of the fire on one side, while those who 

 sit right and left might as well be in some other 

 place. 2nd — an insufficient quantity of heat to 

 warm the room is thrown out. One-half or two- 

 thirds passing up the chimney, to the disadvantage 

 of comfort and economy. 



The next question is, how should they be built ? 

 Answer: — high, wide, and deep, so as to admit of 

 filling in with a circular back wall, presenting a 

 large opening and surfice from which to reflect the 

 heat to all paits of the room, and at the same time 

 secure the draft. — Scientific American. 



state is completely formed. This next passes into 

 the hands of the filer, who by means of a pattern 

 made of hard steel, files it to its perfect shape, and 

 it is passed into the hands of the hafter to be hafted 

 or handled in ivory, horn, bone or some of the hard- 

 er kinds of wood. This being accomplished, the 

 knife is taken by the finisher, who gives the neces- 

 sary polish, completing the process. In this man- 

 ner every article, whether table-knife, pocket-knife, 

 or pen-knife, passes by all these various steps and 

 processes to its completion, through no less tlian six- 

 teen hands, or altogether, one hurulred and forty- 

 four separate stages of loorhmanship. 



In the manufacture of razors, the best and finest 

 qualities of steel are selected, and like the knife, 

 it passes through nearly the same number of hands, 

 being completed by a process of grinding, by which 

 the concavity of the sides is perfected and a fine 

 edge produced. The best scissors are also made by 

 a similar process, every pair passing through six- 

 teen or seventeen hands, including about sixty op- 

 erations, before they are ready for use In Europe, 

 and we believe also in this country, common scis- 

 sors, pocket knives, &c., are cast, and riveted, in- 

 cluding blades, handles, &c., and sold at exceed- 

 ly low prices. In England many are manufactured 

 and sold as low as six shillings sterling, or $1,50 

 per gross, and exported in vast quantities to all 

 parts of the world. — Farmer and Mechanic. 



Cables' Pepartmcnt. 



MANUFACTURE OF CUTLERY. 



The improvements which have been made dur- 

 ing the few past years in the manufacture of cut- 

 lery in this country are peculiarly manifest, and 

 can not but be highly gratifying to every friend of 

 improvement in the arts and manufactures in the 

 Union. The facilities for manufacturing the finest 

 and most beautiful cutlery have been increased, and 

 the manufacturers exhibit a skill and ingenuity in 

 many of the most delicate specimens of their arts 

 that would be highly creditable to the older and 

 more experienced establishments in Europe. The 

 manufacture of razors, knives, &c., is quite a curi- 

 osity to one who has never witnessed the operation. 

 The rapidity with which the various articles are 

 produced from the raw materials as they pass through 

 the hands of the various workmen, is truly aston- 

 ishing. In the manufacture of the common table 

 knife, in the workshops of Sheffield, (Eng.,) the 

 whole process of drawing the steel from the bar, 

 hammering it into form, welding the blade to the 

 tang, hardening, tempering, hafting, finishing and 

 polishing is altogether but the labor of a few min- 

 utes, althouoh the various processes through which 

 the knife passes is multitudinous. The steel bar 

 forming the material for the blade is heated in the 

 forge, and with a few strokes of the hammer re- 

 duced into the desired shape. A bar of iron is next 

 heated, from which the tang is formed to fit into 

 the handle, and welded on to the steel blade. All 

 this is performed in five or six minutes by the most 

 simple tools imaginable, and the blade in its rough 



TO PRESERVE FRUIT. 



Twenty-nine years ago, Betty Winal, then re- 

 siding at Tarlton, bottled a quantity of white cur- 

 rants in their green slate, being then in the 33d 

 year of her age. Having kept them some time in 

 a state of preservation, William, (her husband,) 

 and she agreed that they should be kept while they 

 both lived, and that they should be made into pies 

 at the funeral of the one who should die first. The 

 wife departed this life on the 2d of this month, and 

 was interred at St. Peter's Church, Preston, on the 

 5th — the family having removed to Dawson Street, 

 Preston. Their mutual pledge was fulfilled, and 

 the pies made of these currants were served out, af- 

 ter returning from church, every attendant taking 

 a slice. Though the currants had kept twenty- 

 nine years, they were as fresh as if just taken from 

 the trees. Any other fruit may be preserved in the 

 same way by expelling the air and sealing over the 

 cork air-tight. 



Remarks. — We preserved gooseberries last sea- 

 son, as follows. The berries were picked while 

 rather green, put into bottles, filling them full, then 

 the bottles were filled to the top with water, and 

 set in^ a kettle of cold water, over a fire, and al- 

 lowecJ'to remain till the water in the kettle boiled; 

 then the bottles were taken out, corked tightly and 

 set in the cellar. We used these gooseberries re- 

 cently, and they could not be distinguished from 

 fresh ones. One person who partook of them sup- 

 posed that they were fresh from the market. It 

 is said that various kinds of fruit may be kept in 

 this manner for years. It is a very cheap and con- 

 venient way. — Ed. N. E. Fakm.'^r. 



