THE GENESEE FARMER. 



125 



J^Sie^' Sep^Hhje^f. 



USEFUL HINTS. 



RURAL LIFE. 



The following article, which we find in the JVew 

 England Cultivator, over the signature of "A Farm- 

 er's Wife," Ave commend to the perusal of the lady 

 readers of the Farmer, as the evil it complains of is 

 becommg too common to be passed by unnoticed : 



"It may by many be deemed irrelevant for ladies 

 to write and speak on the subject of agriculture ; 

 but when we consider that the happiness of a laro-e 

 share of American ladies depends ujjon the progress 

 of agricultural knowledge, and the comforts of rural 

 homes, all should be willing to concede them a voice 

 m diffusing a healthy sentiment on the subject. 



"We, who have passed the meridian of human 

 hfe, know that the mothers, wi\-es and daughters of 

 the rural population were formerly healthier, and 

 more capaljle of enduring faligue and toil, than the 

 present generation. The cause of this deterioration 

 ot heiiltli and physical vigor must be attributed to 

 the ettorts of the rural class to copv the manners and 

 customs of the city. 



" I do not wish to lose sight of the fact that the 

 present age furnishes more facilities for improvement 

 than any preceding. What is to be lamented, is that 

 the facilities of the present time, instead of bein"- 

 unpro\ed for the practical and useful, are made sub''- 

 servient to the ornamental and fashionable. 



"It is to be deplored that so many mothers are 

 mere slaves to hard labor, allowing their daughters to 

 imitate the fanciful and fashionable, and discard the 

 practical purposes of hfe. When we see the mother 

 a slave to the kitchen, and the daughters pridino- 

 themselves on their lily-white hands, their graceful 

 iancmg, and other mere accomplishments, and dis- 

 lajiung to refer to the practical of rural life, either in 

 >r out of doors, we think they are slaves to a false 

 education and a vitiated taste, which are pavino- the 

 way for future regrets." 



Asparagus Seed for Coffee.— Liebig says that 

 isparagus contains, in common with tea and coffee a 

 mnciple which he calls "taurine," and which he con- 

 aders essential to the health of those who do not take 

 trong exercise. Taking the hint from Baron Liebio 

 I writer in the London Gardeners Chronicle was led 

 test asparagus as a substitute for coffee. He says- 

 The young shoots I first prepared were not agree- 

 sble, having an alkaline taste. I then tried the ripe 

 eeds; these roasted and ground make a full flavored 

 otfee, not easily distinguishable from fine Mocha 

 _he seeds are easily freed from the berries by dryinrr 

 hem m a cool oven, and then rubbing them on a 

 leve. 



In good soils, asparagus yields seeds abundantly 

 nd if they are chai-ged with " taurine," and identical 

 ath the seeds of the coffee plant, asparao-us coffee 

 lay be grown in the United States at less than half 

 16 cost per pound of the article now so larg-ely im- 

 orted. ° "^ 



If a small boy is a lad, will a large boy make a ladder? 



Thunder Storms.— The safest situation duriu"- a 

 thunder storm is in the cellar; for when a ])erson is 

 below the surface of the earth, the lightning must 

 strike it before it can reach him, and will probably be 

 expended upon it. Dr. Fra.nklix advises persons 

 apprehensive of lightning to sit in the middle of a 

 room, not under a metal lustre, or aiiv other conductor, 

 and to place their feet upon auother'chair. It will be 

 still safer, he adds, to lay two or three beds or mat- 

 tresses in the middle of the room, and to place the 

 chau-s upon them. A hammock suspended with silk 

 cords would be an improvement on this apparatus. 

 Persons out of doors should avoid trees, &c. 



The distance of a thunder storm and its consequent 

 danger can easily be estimated. As light travels at 

 the rate of 192,000 miles in a second of time, its 

 effects may be considered as instantaneous within any 

 moderate distance. Sound is transmitted at the rate 

 of 1,142 feet in a second. By observing, therefore, 

 the time which mtervenes between the flash of light- 

 ning and the thunder which accompanies it, a veiy 

 near calculation may be made of its distance. 



Fires in Chimneys.— A V hen a chimney or flue is 

 on fire, throw into the fire-place haudfuls of flour of 

 sulphur, which mil destroy the flame. Or apply a 

 wet blanket, or old carpet, to the throat of the chim- 

 ney, or over the front of the fire-place. A chimney- 

 board, or reg-ister-flap, will answer the same purpose 

 by stopping the draught of air from below. 



Beware of lights near combustibles ; of children 

 near fires and lights ; and do not trust them with 

 candles. Do not leave clothes to dry by the fire uu- 

 watched, either day or night; do not leave the poker 

 in the fire; see that all be safe before you retire to rest. 



EcoNoirsr in Expenditure. — Economy should be 

 the first point in all families, whatever be their cir 

 cumstances. A prudent housekeeper will regulate 

 the ordinary expenses of a family, according t^o the 

 annual sum allowed for housekeepnig. By thfs means, 

 the provision will be uniformly good, and it will not 

 be requesite to practice meanness on many occasions, 

 for the sake of meeting extra expense on one. The 

 best check upon outrunning an income is to pay bills 

 weekly, for you may then retrench in time. This 

 practice is likewise a salutary check upon the correct- 

 ness of the accounts themselves. 



Cheerfulness. — Does it not seem singular that 

 cheerfulness is placed among the requisites' for good 

 house-keeping? But it is of far more importance 

 than_ you -would, at first view, imagine. What mat- 

 ters it to a brother or husband, if the house be ever 

 so neat, or the meals punctually or well prepared, if 

 the mistress of it is fretful and fault-finding— ever dis- 

 contented and complaining. The ovlside of ^uch a 

 house is ever the most attractive to him, and any and 

 every excuse will be made for absenting himself; an(^ 

 the plea of business or engagements will be made to 

 her who is doomed to pass her hours needlessly in 

 solitude. 



The valuable communication from Mrs. C. P. T. 

 of Oakland, Rice Lake, 0. W., was received too late 

 for this number, but will appear in our next. 



