34 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



the other fifth m:iy contain the eggs of the 

 last year's female, of which we have counted 

 over three hundred in one follicle. Now is 

 particularJ!/ the time to "headotf" these in- 

 sects, for when the foliage appears on the 

 trees, it will be too late, for they will be hid- 

 den. Now is also the time to look out for the 

 "Codling moth" [Ccmponqisa ^mniiuUa). 

 These may be found in houses, or in places 

 that contained apples during the winter. 

 Those that breed within doors will appear 

 prematurely, and should never be permitted 

 to go abroad. Take our word for it, now is 

 TUB TIME if not too late or early. 



EXCERPTS. 



THE GROUND-HOG. 



As usual, the ground-hog the jn-esent sea- 

 son, comes in for his share of laudation, as a 

 truthful prognosticator, "laying" Vennorand 

 Wiggins entirely " in the shade," and even de- 

 fying " Old Probabilities." " Old Arctomys," 

 seems just now to have the best of it, and 

 doubtless always will have the best of it. He 

 is a cute old prophet, never says much, by 

 way of prophesying, lays down his ipse dixit, 

 and lets time and season work out' the 

 problem, and geuerally comes out as near as 

 the best of them. But, when we reflect upon 

 it, he really is not much of a prophet after 

 all. His luck consists mainly in basing his 

 prophesies upon premises that cannot well fail 

 entirely. It does not re(iuire much foresight 

 to predict that we shall have six weeks of 

 wintry weather after Candlesmas. Take any 

 ten, fifteen or twenty years together, and it 

 will be found that the spring seldom opens 

 before the middle of March, or St. Patrick's 

 day, and this always occurs about six weeks 

 after Candlesmas. We alwavs expect rough 

 weather about St. Patrick's day, not because 

 it is the anniversary of the birth of Ireland's 

 patron saint, but because, ii comes near the 

 vernal equinox, an event that is nearly always 

 accompanied by a greater or a lesser storm. 

 Equinoctial " blows " are always looked for 

 in March and September, and they are looked 

 f(jr because they so fre(iuently occur about the 

 middle of these mouths, and that too, witliout 

 regard to St. Patrick or the ground-hog. 

 And then too, his coming out of his winter 

 lair on the '2d of Pebruary is subject to difier- 

 ent constructions by ditl'ereut people ; one 

 party contending that the sun must shine all 

 day to make it a bad ground-hog day, and 

 that the heavens must be clouded all day to 

 make it a good one ; another party contend- 

 ing that suthcient sunshine to cast a shadow 

 —if but for a moment— or only cloud enough 

 to obscure a shadow, are all sufficient. And 

 still another party asserts that six weeks of 

 rough or fine weatlier, commencing on the 1st 

 of March, and ending in the middle of April, 

 is a bona fide verification of the prophecy, 

 without regard to the character of the weather 

 in February. Thus the ground-hog is generally 

 jubilant,! having the weather-lawyers on his 

 side, Vennor, Wiggins, Grouud-hog. Make 

 your choice. 



To give relief to a burn apply the white of 

 an egg. The yolk of the egg may he eaten or 

 placed on the shirt bosom, according to the 

 taste of the person. If the burn should occur 

 on a lady, she may omit the last instruction. 



Purchase small trees with plenty of roots 

 rather than large ones with few roots, for 

 spring setting. 



Solder for Nickel. — The following has 

 proved a good formula, for making a solder for 

 nickel : For fine or high grade nickel, three 

 parts yellow brass, one part coin silver. For 

 low grade nickel, fifteen parts yellow brass, 

 five parts coin silver, four parts zinc (pure or 

 plate zinc). Melt the brass and silver with 

 borax for a flux, and add the zinc in small 

 pieces, stir with an iron rod, pour in a slab 

 mold, and cool slowly, when it can be rolled 

 thin for cutting. 



Cement for Leather Belts.— Accord- 

 ing to the Enylish Mechanic, the most valuable 

 cement for leather belts is thus produced : 

 Common glue and American isinglass, equal 

 parts, adding water to cover the whole ; after 

 soaking this mixture ten hours, it is to be 

 brought to a boiling heat, and pure tannin 

 added till the whole becomes ropy ; apply 

 warm — buffing off the grain of the leather 

 where it is to be cemented, rubbing the joints 

 solidly together, and allowing a few hours for 

 drying. 



Treatment of Distemper. — It will be 

 interesting to lovers of the canine species to 

 hear of a simple remedy for distemj)er. At 

 the quarterly meeting of the Scottish Me- 

 tropolitan Veteran Medical Society, Mr. 

 Baird mentioned the case of a collie dog, in 

 the last stage of the disease, and which its 

 owner had determined to destroy. Shortly 

 after being treated with doses of strong cofl'ee 

 and a little sweet milk, the animal, however, 

 so far recovered as to be able to stand and 

 walk. The chairman of the meeting said the 

 case seemed almost unique. — London Lancet. 



NoN-PoisoNOUS New Green Color. — 

 According to Ad. Cai-not, a non-poisonous 

 and permanent new green color may be pre- 

 pared as follows : A solution of bichromate 

 of potash is mixed with a sutficient amount of 

 pliosphate of soda; sodium acetate and 

 sodium thiosulphate are added, and the slight- 

 ly acidified mixture is boiled down, for an 

 hour. Fine green precipitate is thrown down, 

 which is not volatUe and perfectly fast against 

 air, light, dilute acids, soap, etc. It may be 

 used for painting, calico printing, etc. For 

 dyeing, the material to be dyed is treated 

 with a mixture of bichromate, phosphate, and 

 acetate of soda, and is then boiled in a slightly 

 acidulated bath of thiosulphate of soda. 



Raw starch, applied with a little water, as 

 a paste, will generally remove all stains irom 

 bed-ticking. 



To clean metal jjlates, keyholes, etc., of 

 doors, also stair-rods, use sapolio; or, if brass, 

 rotteustone. 



To clean and polish tortoise-shell use a drop 

 or two of sweet oil, and rub it in thoroughly 

 with the ball of the thumb. 



Silver in constant use is kept nice and 

 bright by washing it every day in warm soap- 

 suds and drying it with old linen. 



Burns and scalds are immediately relieved 

 by an application of dry soda covered with a 

 wet cloth, moist enough to dissolve it. 



To clean irons use a lump of beeswax tied 



in a rag; rub the irons with it when hot, and 

 tlien scour with a paper or cloth, sprinkling 

 with salt. 



To remove spots from fiu-niture, take four 

 ounces of vinegar, two ounces of sweet oil, 

 one ounce of turpentine. Mix and apply 

 with a flannel cloth. 



Spirits of ammonia, dilluted with water, 

 if applied with sponge or flannel to discolored 

 spots of the carpets or garments, will often 

 restore the color. 



Soot, falling on the carpet from open chim- 

 neys or carelessly handled stove-pipes, if 

 thickly covered with salt, can be bruslied up 

 without injury to the carpet. 



One pound of green copperas dissolved in 

 one quart of boiling water, will destroy foul 

 smell. Powdered borax scattered in their 

 haunts will disperse cockroaches. 



A starch that will make linen look as good 

 as new, is made of one quart of corn starch, 

 three ounces of gum arable and two ounces 

 of loaf sugar. 



To clean oilcloth, wash with warm milk. 

 Once in six months scour with hot soapsuds ; 

 dry thoroughly and apply a coat of varnish. 

 They will last as long again. 



When carpets are well cleaned sprinkle 

 with salt and fold. When laid, strew with 

 slightly moistened bran before sweeping. 

 This with salt will freshen up wonderfully. 



To give glass great brilliancy, wash with 

 damp sponge dipped in spirits, then dust 

 with powdered blue or whiting (tied in a 

 muslin bag), and polish with a chamois 

 skin. 



A PASTE made of whiting and benzoin will 

 clean marble ; and One made of whitmg and 

 chloride of soda, spread and left to dry (in the 

 sun if possible) on the marble, will remove 

 spots. 



Silk handkerchiefs washed in clear water 

 with pure white castile soap look like new. 

 Do not iron, but snap between the fingers 

 until almost dry, and then jiress under a 

 weight. 



To cure eai'ache, take a piuch of black 

 pepper, put it on a piece of cotton batting 

 dipped in sweet oil, and place it in the ear, 

 and tie a bandage around the head, and it 

 will give almost instant relief. 



To clean oil or grease spots from carpets, 

 use fullers' earth and water, siiread thickly, 

 cover with paper, and let it remain two days; 

 brush off, and if not removed, make another 

 application. If haste is required, use benzine. 



Gilded frames of mirrors and pictures are 

 beautifully cleaned by applying the white of 

 eggs with a camel's hair brush. To prevent 

 flies settling upon them, wash in garhc or 

 onion water. Do not fear the odor, as it 

 soon dies away, and brightens the gilt. 



China of any color, excepting white, may 

 be easily and quickly mended with siiellac. 

 Place a little shellac on the broken pieces, 

 and keeping them close together, hold them 

 to a lighted candle. Wlien the shellac is 

 melted sufliciently, If^t it cool and harden, and 

 it forms a strong cement. 



Hot alum-water is the best insect-destroy- 

 er known. Put the alum into hot water and 

 let it boil till it is all dissolved ; then apply 



