284 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Elomestic department. 



Domestic Education. — The time is coming when 

 domestic duties arc expected to be pevibrmcd upon 

 Bcicntiiic principles ; and we are bound to employ 

 every ineans in our power to make ourselves ac- 

 quainted with the sciences pertaining to our domes- 

 tic affairs. A knowledge of chemistry and dietetics, 

 ill a cook, is invaluable to a family. Information 

 regarding the laws of health, and life, and mental 

 philosojihy, is absolutely necessary to the proper 

 rearing of children. The suffering I have seen and 

 experienced for want of knowledge, and the almost 

 incredible advantage gained by the application of a 

 few practical ideas, makes me very desirous for oth- 

 ers, as well as myself, that we should have " more 

 light." 



I think, however, it is not proper that we should 

 always bo in jievi'orma ice of the sober duties of life. 

 Nature does not bestow all her care on the sturdy 

 oak and mountain jjinc, but adorns the landscape 

 with an endless variety of fanciful colors and forms, 

 enlivens the whole with music, and the frolicsome play 

 of animated beings. Nor did she fail to implant in 

 the human mind faculties harmonizing with the 

 beauty, melody, and gayety of external nature, which 

 find a legitimate sphero of action in ornamental hor- 

 ticulture, vocal and instrumental music, &c. — Gen- 

 esee Farmer. 



New Mode of presekving Butter. — Tliere can- 

 not be a doubt that the cause why butter is difficult 

 to preserve good, is, that some material or ingredient 

 of the milk combines so intimately with the buttery 

 particles, that it is very difhcult to separate. It has 

 been said that Mr. E. II. Merryraan, of Springfield, 

 Illinois, has discovered that this substance is casein, 

 or the cheesy matter, and that he has contrived a 

 mode of separating it by mechanical means, and thus 

 preserves butter a long time if it be exposed to the 

 atmosphere. The Scientific American, remarking 

 upon this subject, says that this separation of casein 

 is done, by the Tartars of the Crimea, by melting the 

 butter over a slow fire and removing the scum as it 

 rises. The butter is kept in a melted state there by 

 means of a water bath at one hundred and eighty 

 degrees, until the caseous matter subsides to the 

 bottom. This is a slow and tedious method, and if 

 Mr. Merryman's method is successful, it must be a 

 very great improvement. — Maine Farmer. 



Improved Method of preserving Milk, patent- 

 ed by F. II. F. Louis. — The milk is to be mixed 

 with well-clarified raw sugar, four ounces to the 

 gallon. It is then to be evaporated with agitation. 

 When nearly solid, it must be pressed into cakes of 

 suitable size. Steam may be used for the evapora- 

 tion ; or, if time is no object, spontaneous evaporation 

 in very shallow pans, with the fluid not more than 

 one tenth of an inch in depth, or a drying chamber 

 may be used, the temperature not to exceed 122-^ 

 Fahr. The cakes remain sweet and fresh for a long 

 time, and are soluble in warm Avater. Another pro- 

 cess is, to heat the sweetened milk nearly to the 

 boiling point, and before it becomes cold, to curdle it 

 by rennet or a weak acid. The curd is separated 

 from the whey, and by strong pressure after washing 

 in cold water, it is obtained free from adhering water. 

 The whey is to be evaporated to dryness. The curd, 

 placed over a slow fire, is continually stirred, and the 

 dried whey added very gradually, with a small por- 

 tion of bi-carbonate of soda. After a while, the ingre- 

 dients melt and unite. A small quantity of finely 



pulverized gum dragon, hastens the solidification. 

 Cream may be preserved by the same methods. — 

 Chemical Gazette. 



Peeling Potatoes. — Paycn, the great French 

 chemist, informs us that starch is not found in the 

 epidermis, or in the tissues immediately subjacent, 

 but that nitrogenized matters principally reside in 

 these parts of the tuber. Hence a loss of the most 

 nutritious portion of the vegetable is incurred by the 

 common practice of peeling off the rind and parts 

 underneath, before the boiling commences. It shoidd 

 also be remembered that cold Viater dissolves, while 

 boiling coagulates, albumen. If potatoes, therefore, 

 are thrown into cold water, and gradually heated, 

 much of their nitrogenized principles will be ex- 

 tracted before the water reaches ebullition, while if 

 it be made to boil before they arc introduced, the 

 coagulation will cause these matters to be retained 

 within the tissue of the vegetable. 



Bogs' department. 



Counsels for the Young. — Never be cast down 

 by trifles. If a spider break his thread twenty times, 

 twenty times will he mend it again. Make up your 

 minds to do a thing, and you will do it. Fear not, 

 if a trouble comes upon you ; keep up your spirits, 

 though the day be a dark one. 



If the sun is going down, look up to the stars ; if 

 the earth is dark, keep your eye on Heaven. With 

 God's presence, and God's promises, a man or a child 

 may be cheerful. 



Mind what you run after. Never be content wdth 

 a bubble that will burst, or firewood that will end 

 in smoke and darkness. Get that which you can 

 keep, and which is worth keei>ing. 



Fight hard against a hasty temper. Anger wiU 

 come, but resist it strongly. A spark may set a 

 house on fire. A fit of passion may give you cause 

 to mourn all the days of your life. Never revenge 

 an injury. 



If you have an enemy, act kindly to him, and 

 make him your friend. You may not win him over 

 at once, but try again. Let one kindness be fol- 

 lowed by another, till you have compassed your end. 

 By little and little, great things are completed ; and 

 so repeated kindness will soften the heart of stone. 



Whatever you do, do it willingly. A boy that is 

 whipped to school never learns his lessons well. A 

 man that is compelled to work, cares not how badly 

 it is performed. He that pulls off his coat cheerfully, 

 strips up his sleeves in earnest, and sings while he 

 works, is the man for me. 



Evil thoughts are worse enemies than lions and 

 tigers ; for we can keep out of the way of wild beasts, 

 but bad thoughts win their way every Avhere. The 

 cup that is full will hold no more ; keep your heads 

 and hearts full of good thoughts, that bad thought-s 

 may find no room to enter. — Am. Cabinet. 



Emblematic Properties of Flowers. — The fair 

 lily is an image of holy innocence ; the purpled rose 

 is a figure of heartfelt love ; faith is represented in 

 the blue passion-flower ; hope beams forth from the 

 evergreen ; peace from the olive branch ; immortal- 

 ity from the immortelle ; the cares of life are repre- 

 sented by the rosemary; the victorj^ of the spirit by 

 the palm ; modesty by the blue fragrant violet ; 

 compassion by the peony ; friendship by the ivy ; 

 tenderness by the myrtle ; affectionate reminiscence 

 by the forget-me-not ; German honesty and fidelity 



