^32 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRIL 36. 18 .7. 



SCRAPS FOR THE FCOJiOMlCAIi. 



The other day, I heanl a mechanic say, 'I have 

 a wife and two children ; we live in a very small 

 house ; but to save my life, I cannot spend less 

 than twelve hundred a year.' Another re|ilieGl, 

 ' You are not economical ; I spend hut eight hun- 

 dred.' I thoufjht to myself — ' Neither of you pick 

 up your twine and paper.' A third one who was 

 present, was silent; hut after they were gone, he 

 (inid, ' 1 keej) liouse, and comfortably too, with a 

 wile aiul children, for si.x hundred a year ; but 1 

 suppose they wouUI have thought me mean, if I 

 had told them so.' I did not think liim mean ; 

 it merely occurred to me that his wife and chil- 

 dren were in the habit cf picking up pa|)er and 

 twine. 



I'Icotiomy is generally despised as a l«w virtue, 



tending to make j.eople ungenerous and selfish 



This is true of avarice; but it is not so of econo- 

 my. The man who is economical, is iaying up 

 for himself the permanent power of being useful 

 «nd generous. He who thoughtlessly giv.'saway 

 ten dollars, when he owes a hundred more than 

 he can pay, deserves iiu praise — he obeys a sud- 

 den impulse, more like instinct than reason ; it 

 would be real charity to check this feeliig ; be- 

 cause the good he does may be doubtful, while 

 the injury he does his fajnily and creditors is cer- 

 tain. True economy is a careful treasurer in the 

 service of benevolence ; and wiicre they are uni- 

 ted, respectability, prosperity and peace will fol- 

 low. 



Bread is now so henvy an article of expense, 

 that all waste siiouhl be guarded against ; and 

 Ijaviug it cut in the room will tend much to pre- 

 vent it. — Since the scarcity in 1795, and 1800, that 

 custom has been much a<lopte<l. It should not 

 be cut until a day old. Earthen pans and covers 

 keep it best. 



As far as it is possible, have bits of bread eaten 

 up before they become hard. Spread those that 

 are not eaten, and let them dry, to be pounded for 

 pudilings, or soaked for brewis. Brewis is made 

 of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good 

 while in hot milk,ma-hed up, and salted and but- 

 tered like toast. Above all, do not let cru.sts ac- 

 cumulate in such quantities, (hat they cannot be 

 used. With proper care, there is no need of los- 

 ing a particle of bread, even in the liottest weath- 

 er. 



Make your own bread and cake. Some people 

 thiid< it is just as cheap to buy of llie baker and 

 confectioner; l)ut it is not half as cheap. True, 

 it is more convenient ; ami therefore the rich are 

 justifiable in employing them ; but those who are 

 under the necessity of being economical, should 

 make convenience a secondary object. In the 

 first place, confectioners make their cake richer 

 than people of moderate income can afford to 

 iTiake it ; in the nest place, your domestic oryour- 

 aelf, may just as well employ your own time as 

 to pay them for theirs. 



Rags sbpuld never be thrown away because 

 they are dirty. Mop-rags, lanip-rags, &c. should 

 be washed, dried and put in the rag-bag. There 

 is no need of expending soap upon them ; boil 

 them out in dirty suds, after you have done wash- 

 ing. 



Linen rags should be carefully saved ; for they 

 are extremely useful in sickness. If they have 

 become dirty and worn by cleaning silver, &c., 

 wash them and scrape them into lint. 



Alter ol(| coats, pa taloons, &c. have been cut 



up for boys, and are no longer capable of being 

 converted into garments, cut them into strips, ami 

 employ the leisure moments of children or do- 

 mestics, in sewing and braiding them for door- 

 mats. 



If you are troubled to get soft water for v/asli- 

 ing, fill a tub or barrel half full of ashes, and fill 

 it u|) with water, so that you may have lye when- 

 ever you want it. A gallon of strong lye put in- 

 to a great kettle of water will make it as soft as 

 rain water. Some people use pearlash or potash ; 

 but this costs something, and is very apt to injure 

 the texture of the cloth. 



The first young leaves of the common cur- 

 rant-bush, gathered as soon as they put out and 

 dried on tin, can hardly be distinguished from 

 green tea. 



If you have a greater quantity of cheese in the 

 house than is likely to be goon used, cover them 

 carefully with paper, fastened on with flour paste, 

 so as to exclude the air. In this way they may 

 be kept free from insects for yeais. They should 

 be kept in a dry, cool place. 



If ycu have a large family, it is well to keep 

 white rags separate from colored ones, and cot- 

 ton separate from woollen ; they bring a higher 

 price. Paper brings a cent a poiiml, and if you 

 have plenty of room, it is wmII to save it. 'A i>pu- 

 ny saved is a penny got.' 



^^ hen molasses is used in cooking, it is a pro- 

 digious improvement to boil and skim it before 

 you use it. It takes out the uiipltasant raw taste, 

 and uKikes it almost as good as sugar. Where 

 mt'lasses is used much for cooking, it is well to 

 prepare one or two gallons in this way at a time. 



GEOLOGY. 



There is nothing which promises greateradvan- 

 tage to the people of this country, than the results 

 of the various geological surveys, now making in 

 many of the States. If this science be properly 

 cultivated, our internal resources will be multi- 

 plied, and as these increase, our national strength 

 will be advanced. The study of Geology will 

 unfold treasures, which our good forefathers nev- 

 er dreame<}^ of finding. It is a science of so re- 

 cent date, that it would be too much to expect 

 from a number of our subscribers, were we, to 

 supi)Ose them acquainted, with its nature and 

 uses. Therefore, we will as briefly as possible, 

 enumerate the facts on which it is grounded. 



It is self-eviilent that the exterior surface of the 

 earth' has umlergoue many changes ; these liave 

 been effected, by either fire or water, in some in- 

 stances both. This has led scientific men to sup- 

 pose that the interior of the earth contains either 

 water or fire in a liquid slate, but the evidences 

 in favor of each, are so equally poised, that in the 

 present imperfect state of the science, it is impos- 

 sible to detei mine the question. The advocates 

 of fire are called Plutoiiiaus, of water, Neptuuians. 

 There have been other theories than these ad- 

 vanced, but they are too whimsical to be defen- 

 ded. 



Whichever of these theories be correct, it is 

 admitted by all philosophers, that the surface of 

 the earth is nothing more than a crust or shell 

 composed of many layers or strata. These strata 

 are divided into six classc.=, and these are subdi- 

 vided into twentyone orders. 



To give a better idea of this, if a man could 

 suppose an orange covered xvith six coats of paint, 

 but the paint having 21 different shades, he would 



have a correct idea of the outward covering, or. 

 crust of the earth. Had we space, l)y carrying out 

 the figure, we could account for hill and dale, vol- 

 cano and sea. 



The uses of Geology then, are to teach the na- 

 ture of these coverings and ascertain their value, 

 in contributing to the wants, defence, or comfort 

 of mankind. Not only this, but by being versed 

 in Geology, we can account for many agricultu- 

 ral phenomena, and thus avert the consequences 

 if disadvantageous, or cause them to bj repeated, 

 if to our benefit, (.'eology is a study in which 

 every land owner is particularly interested ; thro' 

 its means, we can correctly estimate the value of 

 land, by knowing bow much matter it contains, 



which can be converted into a source of profit. 



The expense of studying Geology is trifling, and 

 if we were to spend our hour a day on it, for 3 

 years, and make ohserv.tiions in the mean liine, 

 it would be of incalculable benefit to the commu- 

 nity, and a source of rational nmusement, and 

 more probably of wealtli to ourselves. — Concord 

 {.Vs.) Gazelle. 



Check upon Counterfeiters It instated in 



the New York Ajnerican, that a French chemist 

 has lately discovered a pecular composition for 

 paper, which is likely to set at defiance, if used 

 for notes or bills, the efforts of the countotfeiter, 

 in changing the contents or denomination. This 

 has been the most profitable branch of business to 

 the counterfeiter, of late years, as by means of 

 some cliemical agent adapted to the purpose, the 

 denomination of the note has been expunged, and 

 the blank filled with a larger sum. But the pa- 

 per which this ingenious chemist has prepared, 

 seems to render this sort of operation impossible 

 without detection, as the slightest acid is said to 

 leave on it an ineiraceable stain, which at once 

 reveals the attempt at fraud.— The discovery is 

 an important one, and if efl[bctual, will no doubt 

 prove highly useful as a protection against one 

 species of coimterfeiling, and that the luost dan- 

 gerous and difficult to guard against heretofore. 

 Several of the New York f)auks"are in treaty with 

 the agent in that city of the French manufactu- 

 rers, of this ])aper, and some further experiments 

 arc shortly to be made, with a view to a couclu- 

 sive test of its virtue Lancaster Ex. 



Washing Silks. — A late number of an Eng- 

 lish periodical, contains an useful article on wash- 

 ing silks, from which we copy the following ex- 

 tract : — 



"Lay the piece of silk upon a clean hoard ; soap 

 a piece of flannel wet, and with this rub the silk 

 carefully and evenly one way; after having thus 

 cleansed one side of the silk, take a wet sponge 

 and wash oft' the soap ; proceed in the same man- 

 ner to clean the other side, and then wipe the wa- 

 ter oft' of each with a clean dry cloth; after which 

 hang the silk in the air to dry ; do not wring it, 

 hut hang it as single as possible upon a linen horse[ 

 and let it dry gradually. When very nearly dry^ 

 iron it with a cool box. In this manner we last 

 summer washed a slate-colored dress, which was 

 so dirty with the constant wear of a winter, that 

 we did not like to use it even for linings, wi'thout 

 endeavoring to remove some of the spots, and we 

 were quite hopeless of its being fit fi,r anything 

 except linings, even when washed, but its bright- 

 ness was completely restored, its texture was soft- 

 er than when new. 



