412 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



FIEE-PROOF PAINT. 



Take six quarts of finely sifted slacked lime, one quart 

 rock salt, and one gallon of water. Boil all together, and 

 stir well ; when boiled take off the scum and dirt that rises, 

 add one pound alum and eight ounces copperas, finely pul- 

 verized, and mix in slowly, while stirring, twelve ounces 

 powdered potash, and finally add four pounds wood ashes, 

 well sifted. This becomes quite hard after it has been ap- 

 plied with a brush, and will do for wood or iron. 



THE HOESE AND ITS ADJUNCTS. 



Among the very first j^urchases that should be made by 

 the settler are a horse and a wagon. They are so nearly a 

 necessity of Floi-ida life that they ought to be secured, even 

 if some other desirable things must be sacrificed in order 

 to obtain them. 



To undertake to make a grove, or raise vegetables or 

 fruit of any sort, without a horse, is like trying to raise a 

 heavy load with one's hands tied. And of little less im- 

 portance is the wagon. Without it, how can the family pro- 

 visions be brought from the neighboring tow^ns, a distance, 

 most likely, of several miles? 



Without a horse and Avagon, the settler is compelled to 

 wait upon the comings and goings of a neighborly neigh- 

 bor, if such there be, or else all the family food must be 

 carried in a basket on one's arm. We have seen that tried, 

 and it Avas a terrible strain on a strong man to walk through 

 the summer sun and yielding sand for four miles, two of 

 them the return trip, with a heavy basket on his arm. 



No, the horse and w^agon must be bought, if within the 

 bounds of possibility, even if the house has to be a little 

 smaller or rougher, or the outside improvements less exten- 

 sive in consequence ; neither the property nor the family 

 can be proj^erly cared for if these two adjuncts are missing. 



