344 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



gave him some cards with the kings and queens 

 of England pictured on them. Then, as he was 

 inquisitive to know who they all were, she used 

 to tell him the history of their different reigns, 

 and the good and the bad things they did. Her 

 stories interested the little boy, and he listened 

 very attentively. As he was playing with his 

 cards one day, his papa took up one, and asked 

 him whose face that was on the card. The little 

 boy told him, and moreover gave a good account 

 of that king's reign. His papa was much sur- 

 prised, and asked him about another ; and so he 

 went on and gave a correct little story of them 

 all. Papa was very much pleased, and the next 

 day gave his little son three large volumes of 

 English history. The child could not read yet, he 

 was only three years old ; but he was so atten- 

 tive. 



When he was eight years old, this same little 

 boy read a book, which, forty years after, he quot- 

 ed accurately from by memory, when writing a 

 lecture to be delivered before a body of learned 

 men ; nor had he ever seen the book since. How 

 carefully he must have read it. How clear it 

 must have been in his mind. No skipping or 

 skimming there, I reckon ; no confused jumble. 



That little boy became a distinguished teacher, 

 the famous Dr. Arnold, of Rugby school. This 

 is the kind of reading and hearing which makes 

 good memories and stores up useful information. 

 — Child's Paper. 



A Curious Experiment. — Take a round piece 

 of pasteboard (or any other shape) and insert it 

 in a quill open at both ends, and lay this on an- 

 other piece of pasteboard of the same shape, in 

 which is stuck a pin, so that the pin will enter the 

 quill. Blow through the quill as hard as you 

 may, but the lower piece cannot be blown off. 



A common spool, such as is used for sewing 

 cotton, forms a suitable apparatus for trying this 

 wonderful experiment. Take a bit of smooth 

 writing paper a little larger than the head of the 

 spool, and run a pin through the paper and into 

 the bore of the spool. Now, by blowing down it 

 will be found impossible to blow the paper off. 

 By observing closely, it will be seen that the pa- 

 per does not quite touch the head of the spool. 

 It is, of course, necessary to hold the paper up 

 with the hand until you begin to blow. 



The explanation is this : When the currents 

 of air are established, radiating from the central 

 tube horizontally between the disk and the paper, 

 the greater area of the disk as compared with that 

 of the tube causes the air above the paper to be 

 rarified, when the pressure of the air below, not 

 being counterbalanced, holds the paper up. The 

 pin acts as an anchor to prevent the paper from 

 being blown away horizontally. — Scientific Amer- 

 ican. 



The Earth. — The hollow ball on which we 

 five contains within itself the elements of its own 

 destruction. Within the outer crust — the cool 

 temperature of which supports animal and vege- 

 table life, and solidifies the stone, coal and me- 

 tallic ores so important to our well being — there 

 exists a mass of fluid igneous matter. Some of 

 this matter occasionally escapes through the 

 mouth of a volcano, or makes its presence felt by 



an earthquake ; but neither the earthquake nor 

 the volcano are necessary to prove that fire ex- 

 ists in the earth. At the depth of 2480 yards, 

 water boils ; lead melts at the depth of 8400 yds. 

 There is a red heat at the depth of seven miles, 

 and if we adopt the temperature as calculated by 

 Morveau's corrected scale of Wedgeworth's py- 

 rometer, we find that the earth is fluid at the 

 depth of one hundred miles. 



LADIES' DEPARTMENT. 



DOMESTIC HECEIPTS. 



Bread Making. — One of the best London ba- 

 kers gives the following receipt to make a supe- 

 rior loaf of bread, of what is called a half peck 

 size. Will not some of our readers try the plan, 

 and report upon their success with it ? 



•'To make a half peck loaf, take three-quarters 

 of a pound of well-boiled mealy potatoes, and 

 mash them through a fine cullender, or coarse 

 sieve, add one-eighth of a pint of yeast, (about 

 two table-spoonfuls,) or three-quarters of an 

 ounce of German dried yeast, and one pint and 

 three-quarters of lukewarm water, (88 degrees 

 Fahr.,) together with about three-quarters of a 

 pound of flour, to render the mixture the consist- 

 ence of thin batter ; this mixture should be set 

 aside to ferment ; if placed in a warm situation, 

 it will rise in less than two hours, when it will re- 

 semble yeast in appearance, except as to color. 

 The sponge so made is then to be mixed with one 

 pint of water, nearly blood warm — viz., 92 de- 

 grees Fahr., and poured into half a peck of flour, 

 which has previously had one ounce and a quar- 

 ter of salt mixed with it ; the whole should then 

 be kneaded into dough, and allowed to rise in a 

 warm place for two hours, when it should be 

 kneaded into loaves and baked. The object of 

 adding the mashed potatoes is to increase the 

 amount of fermentation in the sponge, which it 

 does to a very remarkable degree, and, conse- 

 quently, renders the bread lighter and better." 



Hot Slaw. — Cut a good cabbage, and with a 

 sharp knife, slice it fine ; put it into a stew-pan 

 with a piece of butter, and salt and pepper to 

 taste ; pour in just hot water enough to prevent 

 its sticking to the pan ; cover it closdly, and let 

 it stew ; stir it frequently, and when it is quite 

 tender, add a little vinegar, and serve it hot. 



To Make Unleavened BAead.— Take one 

 quart of bran flour, one table-spoonful sugar, a 

 little salt. Mix with cold water into a stiff dough ; 

 a little corn meal is an improvement. S^iread it 

 into a thin loaf ; bake in a quick, hot oven. 



Ginger Beer. — Put two gallons of cold water 

 into a pot upon the fire ; add to it two ounces of 

 good ginger bruised, and two pounds of white or 

 brown sugar. Let all this come to the boil, and 

 continue boiling for about half an hour. Then 

 skim the liquor and pour it into a jar or tub, 

 along with one sliced lemon, and half an ounce 

 of cream of tartar. When nearly cold, put in a 

 teacup full of yeast, to cause the liquor to work. 

 The beer is now made ; and after it has worked 

 for two days, strain it, and bottle it for use. Tie 

 down the corks firmly. 



