236 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



domestic JOcpartmcnt. 



Reward of Industry. — Everj'- parent, and every 

 individual who has the care of children, should be 

 particular to teach them the habits of industry and 

 economy, and the principles and importance of these 

 cardinal viitues. This duty falls to the lot of the 

 mother more especially. 



In requiring children to work a part of the time, 

 two important objects are to be accomplished — to 

 accustom children to habits of industry, that they 

 may practise in that line with f)leasure, or from cus- 

 tom : and learn how work should be done, or the 

 philosophy of labor ; for children are great reasoners, 

 or philosophers, and they should be encouraged to 

 study cause and effect, the principles of action and 

 the result ; and they will ask thousands of questions 

 to gain information, and the parent often finds it 

 difficult to answer all the questions of the little in- 

 quirer. 



In requiring children to work a part of the time, 

 it should not be urged solely as a matter of duty, to 

 aid the parent, to whom they are under great obli- 

 gation, though this is a consideration of some im- 

 portance ; and the effect on their future welfare is also 

 important, aiid should be kept in view ; but the child 

 should receive that encouragement which puts the 

 whole world in motion — man, beast, bird, fish, 

 insect — a reward for industry. In every region, and 

 in every gradation in the animal kingdom, there is 

 labor, and the motive is the compensation which 

 labor brings. 



The farmer tills the soil, the mechanic plies his 

 tools, the sailor tugs at the oar and encounters the 

 dread storms and countless dangers of the deep, the 

 student labors at his books, the philosopher is en- 

 grossed in his investigations, and men of every pro- 

 fession ply themselves to labor in their art, trade, 

 or science, and all for compensation ; and the whole 

 animal creation are acting on the same principle ; and 

 shall we ask the child to work for nothing, or only 

 that which he already has, and which he knows that 

 he has had from his birth up, by the affection and 

 indulgence of fond parents. 



Give children some reward for their labor. Let 

 them have a compensation that they may plainly see 

 that something is accumulating from their industry 

 that they can call theu- own. This will cheer them on 

 their way, and make their labor light and pleasant. 



Currants and their Products. — No small fruit 

 is more sure of a market than currants, as the man- 

 ufacturers of currant jelly, in the large cities, arc al- 

 ways ready purchasers, while the increased con- 

 sumption of currant jelly will insure a continuance 

 of demand. Currant jelly, well made, will always 

 find a ready market in New York, and the other 

 large cities, at from fifty cents to one dollar per 

 quart, while currant wine, of good quality, sells 

 readily at one dollar per gallon. 



Currant Jelly. — Place the currants in a stone or 

 glass jar, and suspend this jar in a vessel of boiling 

 •water until the currants are in a condition to yield 



their juice readily; then place them, while hot, in 

 a bag, and press out the juice ; add pure, double- 

 refined loaf sugar, and then boil until it jellies : this 

 point is ascertained by dropping a portion on a cold 

 plate, and if it will hold fast with the plate upside 

 down, it is done, and should be removed from the 

 fire. Should any scum arise, it may be skimmed off. 

 Put the jelly, while hot, into jars, and cover tightly. 

 Our experiment last year resulted thus: Twenty- 

 seven quarts of currants gave twenty-nine pints 

 of juice, and with twenty-nine pounds of double- 

 refined sugar, gave eighteen and a half quarts of very 

 superior currant jelly. Those who suppose that 

 currant jelly can be made with common brown sugar, 

 or even with inferior loaf sugai-, will find themselves 

 without a market, as an inferior article cannot be 

 sold. 



Currant Wme. — To each quart of the juice of 

 currants, expressed cold, add three potinds of fine 

 loaf sugar, and as much water as will make one 

 gallon ; fill the cask with this mixture, and permit 

 it to work ; rack it, &c., in the same manner as 

 cider ; the addition of brandy or extra alcohol, in 

 any form, alters and injures the flavor ; and if the 

 sugar used be thoroughly refined, the natural alco- 

 hol formed during its fermentation, wQl be found to 

 be fully sufficient for its preservation. 



The white Dutch currant makes of course a paler 

 wine than the red, and of very superior flavor. The 

 black currant requires one third less water, and 

 produces a wine slightly resembling port. It also 

 makes a syrup excellent for sore throat. 



Bojjs' ?Bi;partinent. 



Books. — Books may be likened to a vast reser- 

 voir, and the reading of them to a conduit, which 

 leads out a stream of knowledge to refresh and in- 

 vigorate the mind. Reading, to him who is in search 

 of knowledge, is a cloud by day and a pillar of fire 

 by night, to guide him along an uncertain, dark, and 

 rugged way. It gives a constant and vigorous im- 

 pulse to the mind, and is as necessary to its health- 

 ful action as food is to the body. By means of 

 reading, the treasures of history, the wonders of 

 astronomy and chemistry, the beauties of poetry and 

 eloquence, are opened to our view, to enrich our 

 minds, to exalt and purify our hearts. The expe- 

 rience of ages is placed within our reach, and Ave 

 have only to cultivate our memories to retain its 

 treasures. It is true, much of this advantage and 

 improvement is predicated on the judicious selection 

 of books. If this be neglected, they may be the in- 

 struments to minister to a diseased imagination and 

 a depraved taste, and aftbrd as little benefit to the 

 reader as deadly poison would to him who used it 

 instead of healthful aliment. — Common School Ad- 

 vocate, 



Little Kindnesses. — Small acts of kindness, — 

 how pleasant and desirable do they make life ! 

 Every dark object is made light by them, and every 

 tear of sorrow is brushed away. 'VMien the heart is 

 sad, and despondency sits at the entrance of the 

 soul, a little kindness drives despair away, and makes 

 the path cheerful and pleasant. Who will refuse a 

 kind act r It costs the giver nothing, but it is in- 

 valuable to the sad and sorrowing. It raises from 

 misery and degradation, and throws around the soul 

 those hallowed joys that were lost in Paradise. — 

 Selected. 



