110 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Makch 



For the New England Fanner. 

 THE WINTER FIRESIDE. 



Within a few years the farmer's fireside has 

 undergone a marked chanije, as we all know. The 

 old-fasliioned open fire of logs, or blazing fagots, 

 has come to be too expensive a luxury, except in 

 backwoods settlements, where wood is the cheap- 

 est commodity. 



But the question is, whether it was the most 

 profitable way of passing winter evenings, for the 

 household to cluster, as they used to, about that 

 big, generous fire ; the younger members whiling 

 away the hours with reveries, and jokes, and 

 story-tcUing, and the old folks gradually subsiding 

 into the embrace of "tired Nature's sweet re- 

 storer." To be sure, those old fireside scenes are 

 treasured among our pleasantest memories — and 

 many a man misses now the glowing hearth and 

 dancing flames that used to make liis face slrine 

 so, and his heart leap when a boy. But on the 

 other hand, more than one day-dreamer contracted 

 the habit of dreaming with his eyes open, and 

 building air-castles and the like, at that very fire- 

 side, where the singing of the tea-kettle sounded 

 like a syren's song, and the embers and flames 

 assumed as many grotesque shapes as his musings 

 in the fire. No doubt, bright ideas were kindled 

 from those live coals, and occasionally a stupen- 

 dous scheme rose like the Phoenix, from ashes. 

 Yet, after all, Avas not that old-f.xshioned fire- 

 place most favorable to dream-life, in more senses 

 than one, and was the home circle any more one 

 bright "golden chain," binding heart to heart, 

 than now P 



There was, I admit, a large circulation of fresh 

 air through the sitting apartment then — especially 

 by the doors and windows, and corners of the 

 room remote from the cosy chimney-corner — and 

 plenty of exercise, too, in preparing and bringing 

 in wood to supply tliat generous fire. But when 

 a family gets together for a winter's evening, they 

 can do better than gather like a flock of swallows 

 about a chimney, or as a company of fii'e-worshi])- 

 jiers, that we read of. If the room be comfortably 

 warm — no matter by what means the warmth is 

 generated, provided it be healtliful, economical 

 and safe — whether from an open or close fire, a 

 furnace, or pipe from an adjoining apartment. 



In the days of our forefathers, they depended on 

 the 0])cn fire-place, we know, to help illuminate, 

 as well as heat the room ; and how we loved to, 

 when children, watch our own shadows, looming 

 up so queer and tall, here and there, as thrown, 

 by the big, blazing fire, upon the wall opposite. 

 But in tliese days of " bvirning fluid " and kero- 

 sene oil, every farmer's sitting-room is brighter 

 than ever fire-light made it. And now that the 

 temptation of the old, open fire-i)lace is gone, we 

 must L)ok around and find some good substitute. 

 AVhy not gather around the table, all so cheerful 

 with t!io rays of that bright lamp in the centre ; 

 and while mother and daughters are sewing, let 

 the father and sons be reading, or drafting plans 

 of operations for the next season ? At any rate, 

 let some head-work be going on as busily as those 

 nimble fingers on the otlier side are plying the 

 needle-work. Perha])s there is a i)iano in the 

 house — for many farmers are introducing this 

 article among their household furniture — or, at 

 least, the melodeon, which, being much cheaper, 



is likely to be more common. And perhaps the 

 instrument is not left alone in the cold, unfre- 

 quented " best room ;" but allowed to take its 

 place in the living-room through the winter, and 

 help on domestic harmony with its " concord of 

 sweet sounds." I, personally, have such a passion 

 for music that I dare not enlarge upon the subject 

 here, for fear I should spin out this communication 

 ad infinitum. Only let me throw out this closing 

 Ifint, for relieving the monotony of a winter 

 evening ; let every farmer that has the material, 

 encourage and cultivate music at home. No mat- 

 ter if it lulls one after another to sleep ; it will 

 keep as many more wide-awake and out of mis- 

 cliief. w. E. B. 



Longmeadoio, Jan., 1862. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 

 USE OF RAW HIDE. 



In the last number of the Farmer you say that 

 skins (meaning hides) may be tanned by spread- 

 ing "powdered alum or soft soap on the flesh 

 side," (Sec. Now let me guess that soft soap will 

 take the hair from the hide or skin, if applied on 

 the flesh side. Alum is of a difl'erent nature, and 

 will act as an astringent, or tan, and with common 

 salt will preserve the raw hide, but soap M'ithout 

 the alum or salt, will surely, if appHed in quanti- 

 ties to preserve the hide from taint or decomposi- 

 tion, take the hair oflf. If the object is to take off 

 the hair before using the alum and salt, it would 

 answer the same purpose as lime — but soft soap, 

 without any other ingredient, will start the hair 

 from the hide or skin. A Tanner. 



Bockingham, Vt., Jan. 13, 18G2. 



Remarks. — When a boy, at home on the farm, 

 we used to find amusement and profit among the 

 grey squirrels and partridges, "when they were 

 ripe ;" their flesh made an excellent breakfast, and 

 the skins of the former were wrought into ear- 

 pieces for caps, or into caps themselves. Our prac- 

 tice was, to talvc off" the skins carefully and spread 

 them, flesh side down, on the top of a cask of soft 

 soap, being careful that the soap should not touch 

 the upper part of the skin. In about ten or twelve 

 days they were taken out, the soap washed off, 

 and the skins drawn over a board or back of an old 

 chair until they were as "soft as silk." We have 

 no recollection of ever spoiling one by this prac- 

 tice. AVe have no doubt that considerable care 

 must be observed in the process. The soap was 

 made in the family, and might not have been as 

 strong as is sometimes made. But of tliis we 

 know nothing. 



We sincerely thank our correspondent for his 

 kind words of approbation of the Farmer, con- 

 tained in a private note. 



cows EATING LITTER FROM MANURE HEAP. 



I wish to inquire of you, or of any who can tell 

 me, through the Farmer, the cause of my cows 

 eating the straw and litter from the heap of horse 

 manure in preference to good clean fodder ? 

 Thinking it might be for the want of a sufficient 



