U2 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 



seed receplai-Ies are made into blottins: paper, and 

 the inner part of the stalk into a fine writing paper 

 the woody portions are consumed as fuel, and from 

 the resultini; ash valuable potash is obtained. Large 

 plantations of them in swampy places area protec- 

 tion against intermittent fever. — Harper's Touna 

 FeopU. " 



Growing Flowers in the Shade. 

 This question is put to me every spring, says Peter 

 Henderson, the celebrated florist, by scores of city 

 people whose little patch which they wish to devote 

 to flowers is so walled up by neighboring houses 

 that the direct rays of the sun never touch it. But 

 few plants will develope their flowers there, and 

 none will do it as well as if it were lighted up by 

 sunshine a part of the day. Fuchsias, pansies, 

 forget-me-nots, violets, lobelias, lilies of the valley, 

 phloxes, and other hferbaceous plants whose native 

 habitat is shady wood, will do best, but even these 

 languish if denied all direct sunlight. The best 

 etfect in such situations is produced by ornamental 

 leaved plants, the beauty of which is not dependent 

 upon their flowers. Among these may be ranked the 

 gold and silver varigated-leaved geraniums, achry- 

 anthus, alternantheras, begonias, caladiums, cen- 

 tauress, coleuses, etc., which, if planted so as to 

 bring the various shades in contrast, produce a 

 pleasing effect, which continues during the entire 

 summer months, and is not surpassed by any dis- 

 play of flowers. 



Ticlt's 

 manure. 



Use for Coffee Grounds. 



Magazine recommends cotfee grounds as 

 A lady from San Francisco lately received 

 some plants from Mexico, and with the plants came 

 the advice to fertilize them with waste coflee and 

 coffee grounds. This was done, and the results 

 were so satisfactory that the same treatment was 

 tried on roses, and the effect was a healthy and 

 vigorous growth, and more and better flowers and of 

 richer colors. — Western Rural. 



Domestic Economy. 



Rag Carpets. 



A lady of large experience, in making these car- 

 pets, says that her way of collecting materials for 

 them is as follows : When a garraentis laid aside for 

 good, my practice is to rip it to pieces, wash thor- 

 oughly, and cut, sew, and wind it into balls. I have 

 a tight barrel, with a paper spread over the bottom, 

 and a sprinkling of fine tobacco scattered over it. I 

 put my balls in the barrel, and every spring cut the 

 rags at my leisure. The children can sew and wind 

 them just as well as any one. I sprinkle fine to- 

 bacco over the balls, and tuck an old sheet over 

 them, cover the barrel up tight, and it is all right 

 till I get ready to add another contribution. In this 

 way I get my rags ready and keep the house clear 

 from an accumulation of old, dirty garments, that 

 are a nuisance any way. 



In making a carpet I allow a pound and a quarter 

 of rags to fill a yard of cloth ; for a room twenty-five 

 feet square I calculate to have about thirty-five or 

 thirty-six pounds of rags. If there are any odds or 

 ends left over, they are woven into a rug, that can be 

 spread before stoves or doors. I never expend time 

 or labor coloring my rags. The last carpet I made 

 had rags enough for seventy-eight yards, and I never 

 felt the labor at all ; it was done at odd jobs, and I 

 was astonished to find I had such a quantity finished. 

 Allow three knots and a half of warp to the yard. 

 The labor of reeling and coloring the warp is the 

 hardest part of the work for me. I know ever so 

 many people who color and pass a whole season over 

 a carpet ; but when it is done, it is only a rag-carpet. 

 The prettiest one I ever saw was just brown and 

 blue, narrow stripes of each, and shaded from dark 

 to light ; a little black was woven in to give the 

 dark contrast. One reason why we enjoy rag carpets 

 is this: We are not afraid to use them, and when 

 one is worn out we can make another just as good. 

 Sweeping carpets wears them out faster than using 

 them, by half. A stiff broom should never be used 

 on carpets; picking up shreds and bits is the best 

 way, and brush the dust off with a soft brush.— 

 '[Vestern Rural. 



Scrape the Feet. 

 Evei-y careful housekeeper, with an eye to first 

 causes, is much interested in the way feet— or 

 rather feet-coverings— come in from out of doors. 

 If boys did not have muddy boots, the cares of the 

 house would be much lessened. But the boys are 

 not the only ones that "bring in the dirt." Men 

 folk are often very forgetful of the amount of work 

 they may make by not attending to the simple mat- 

 ter of cleaning their boots and shoes. Every door 

 step should be" provided with a foot scraper, and a 

 brush or broom, and every one, young or old, as he 

 comes in, should take the time "to use them belo e 

 appearing<OQ the carpet or clean floor. If a regular 

 scraper— one made for the purpose— is not at hand, 



one can make one from a bit of hoop-iron, which is 

 to be placed on a step or edge of the poreh in a con- 

 venient place. It is well to provide a "mud-mat." 

 which is simply strips an Inch or so square — fence 

 pickets will answer— screwed to three or four cross 

 pieces, an inch apart ; or a more elaborate one can 

 be made be by stringing the slats upon fence wires. 

 One with muddy boots is very apt to stamp and 

 rub them on the steps or floor of the porch ; a mud- 

 mat will clean them more effeetivelv, and save the 

 porch hard wear. A very excellent mat may be 

 made by boring holes in a board, and drawing corn- 

 husks through the holes. Careful persons chano-e 

 their foot-gear when they enter the house to remaTn 

 any length of time, a custom conducive not only to 

 neatness, but so greatly to comfort, that is to be 

 commended. — Agricnlturixt. 



Do Not Neglect Your Wells. 



Friend, you have a mud hole at your well ? Go 

 for it at once. Do not eat or sleep till it is removed. 

 Take a hoe and drag out the mud and filth, and 

 then fill the hole with dry soil or sand. After doin," 

 this, shut out the pigs and poultry from the welU 

 and keep them out. If the curb is broken or rotted 

 down, replace with a new one. After doing this, 

 scrape away the grass and surface soil aroulid the 

 well, and replace with a layer of sand and gravel. 

 If, from the character of the land, your well ever fills 

 with water, cut a ditch six feet deep all around it, 

 at the distance of a few yards, and have an outlet 

 from this to take off the water. The water in the 

 well will not, after this, rise higher than the bottom 

 of the ditch. If your water is muddy and impure, 

 throw in a peck of lime to purify it. If animalcula; 

 appear in the water, throw in a half gallon of salt to 

 make them settle to the bottom. And it is worth 

 while to take some pains to fix up some conveniences 

 at your well. A bench to set the bucket on while it 

 is being filled, and a handy and easy way to get the 

 water, and a smooth, dry path from the well to the 

 kitchen— these things will make so much easier the 

 task of your wives and daughters. Farmers, lo not 

 neglect your wells a single day longer, but see that 

 all about them is neat and tidy, and determine to 

 keep it so. — Maryland Farmer. 



Protection Against Mosquitoes. 

 Quassia is used in medicine as a powerful tonic 

 and the chips are sold by chemists from sixpence to 

 a shilling a pound. The tree is indigenous to the 

 West Indies and to South America. A young friend 

 of mine, severely bitten by mosquitoes, and "unwill- 

 ing to be seen so disfigured, sent for quassia chips, 

 and had boiling water poured upon them. At night, 

 after washing, she dipped her hands into the qualsia 

 water, and left it to dry on her face. This was a 

 perfect protection, and continued to be so whenever 

 applied. At the approach of winter, when flies and 

 gnats get into houses, and sometimes bite venomous- 

 ly, a grandchild of mine, eighteen months old, was 

 thus attacked. I gave the nurse some of my weak 

 solution of quassia to be left to dry on his face, and 

 he was not bitten again. It is inno'cuous to children, 

 and it may be a protection also against bed insects, 

 which I have not had the opportunity of trying. 

 When the solution of the quassia is strong it is well 

 known to be an active fly poison, and is mixed with 

 sugar to attract flies, but this is not strong enough 

 to kill at once. — Seientiflc American. 



Farm Life. 



A writer in Scribuer's Magazine asserts that the 

 farmer, having the most sane and natural occupa- 

 tion, ought to find life pleasant. He alone, strictly 

 speaking, has a home. How can a man take root 

 and thrive without land ? He writes his history upon 

 his field. How many ties, how many resources he 

 has: his friendship with his cattle, his team, his 

 dog, his trees ; the satisfaction in his growing crops, 

 in his improved fields ; his intimacy which Nature! 

 with bird and beast, and with the quickening ele' 

 mental forces ; his co-operations with the clouds, 

 sun, seasons, beat, wind, rain and frost. Nothing 

 will take the various social distempers with the city 



and artificial life breed, out of a man, like farming 



like direct and loving contact with the soil . It draws 

 out the poison. It humbles him, teaches him pa- 

 tience and reverence, and restores the proper tone to 

 his system. Cling to the farm, make much of it, 

 put yourself into it, bestow your heart and your 

 brain upon it, so that it shall savor of you and radi- 

 ate your virtue after your day's work is done. 



the pomace or juice comes in contact sweet and 

 clean. Strain the juice through a filter, as follows r 

 On the top put a layer of clean straw, below fine 

 gravel, or coarse s.ind washed clean of dirt, and be- 

 neath flannel cloth. Such a filter will take out all 

 particles of pomace, etc., which cause decay. Hav- 

 ing the"applejuice'pure, put It in a kettle and brin» 

 It to a boil, skimming off all scum which rises during 

 the process. While the.cider is still hot or warm 

 can or bottle it as you would fruit to preserve it. 

 Bottles may be .made tight by corking and .sealing 

 the same by dipping the corks in a composition of 

 rcsm and tallow melted. The main thing in the 

 preservation is to keep it from the air perfectly .J 



The juice of grapes and other fruits may be pre- 

 served in the same way. It is essential in all these 

 that the product be kept in a cool place, of near 

 even temperature. Unfermented wine, or juice of 

 the grape, is made and preserved in this way, and is 

 better and more healthful than wine made in 

 other v/ny.— Country Gentleman. 



any 



Keeping Cider Sweet. 



As apples are likely to be plentiful this fall, a con- 

 siderable quantity will be made into cider, and the 

 inquiry will frequently be made : " How can I pre- 

 serve my cider sweet?" If the following directions 

 are followed, cider may be preserved sweet for an 

 indefinite period : 



First, take only well-ripened, sound apples, and 

 crush and extract the juice. Let the pomace lie a few 

 hours before piessing. Have everything with which 



Food for Fat People. 



There are three classes of food, the oils, sweets, 

 and starches,'' the special office of which , is to sup- 

 port the animal heat and produce fat, having little 

 or no influence in promoting strength of muscle or 

 endurance. If the fat, therefore, would use less fat 

 and more of lean meats, flsh and fowl, less of fine 

 flour and more of the whole product of the grains— 

 except the hulls— less of the sweets, particularly in 

 warm weather, and more of the fruit acids in a mild 

 form, as in apple, sleep] less, be less indolent and 

 labor more in the open air, the fat would disappear 

 to a certain extent at least, with no loss of real health . 



In food we have almost a perfect control in this 

 matter, far better than we can have in the use of 

 drugs. If we have too much fat and too little mus- 

 cle, we have simply to use less of the fat-forming 

 elements, and more of the muscle food, such as lean 

 meats, fi»h and fowl, and the darker portions of 

 grains, ect., with peas and beans Medical Journal. 



Petroleum for Rustic Work. 



Here is room for great improvement. We see on 

 every hand hondsome rustic work falling to decay 

 and becoming distorted by age. It is commonly 

 made of a kind of wood which does not last long. 

 Soak it thoroughly with crude petroleum when new, 

 and it will remain unchanged indefinitely. A rustic 

 summer-house on a shaded part of our grounds 

 would have been unusually exposed to dampness 

 and decay had it not been prevented, a dozen years 

 ago, by petroleum. The peculiar brown color im- 

 parted by a mixture of the heavy oil remains un- 

 changed ; and a lattice-work of pine lath, a fourth 

 of an inch thick, fully exposed to dampness and 

 weather, is as sound and unworn as ever. The oil 

 is now so cheap that there is no excuse for omitting 

 its application, and it may be rapidly and easily 

 brushed over the surface and sunk into the pores 

 with a whitewash brush. Apply it heavily. 



How to Cook Green Corn. 



The following seasonable advice is given by a 

 lady : The kernels of sweet corn somewhat resemble 

 the semi-transparency of pearls. Many persons think 

 green corn will cause sickness if nof well cooked ; it 

 really requires but little cooking. When the milk in 

 the kernels is "set," it is sufficiently done, longer 

 cooking toughens it. The ears should be put in a 

 pot where the water is already boiling, and in from 

 7 to 10 minutes it is ready to serve. I took some 

 corn to a friend's house and saw her put it on a 

 great quantity of cold water and then set it on the 

 stove to cook for dinner. In about forty minutes it 

 was served, toughened and most of its sweetness left 

 in the water. — Yillaue Record. 



dark 



Dusting Caps. 



I have lately made one, and chose plain 



calico, using an oval piece twenty-two inches long 

 and eighteen inches wide ; this was bound with gray 

 plaid, and another strip half an inch wide was pnt 

 on an inch from the edge. Under this last I ran 

 rubber cord, and finished with a knot of ribbon in 

 front. I wear it while doing all my morning work, for 

 it not only protects my hair from every particle of 

 dust, but hides its semi-roughness from all early and 

 inopportune callers. Besides this, it is very easily 

 drawn down over my temples while standing in a 

 sudden draught of air, for I have learned that neu- 

 ralgic nerves are very sensitive. 



How to Find Buyers. 

 The farmer who always takes particular pains to 

 put up his produce in neat attractive packages, and 

 never mixes the second with the first quality, will 

 have but little time to find good men ready to buy 

 all his products and pay him a fair price; but he who 

 mixes three qualities together, and tries to sell them 

 as first quality, will alw.ays be troubled to find 

 buyers, and usually have to sell at low prices. 



