1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FAR^rER. 



547 



or of pretty print, fasten It to fall aronnd the sides 

 of the chair, fit a cushion to the back and one to 

 the scat, cover it witli the same, and you will have 

 a comfortable and pretty chair in which you can 

 rest while you work. This fashion of chair — in 

 the particular of having the seat slope backwards 

 a little was the invention of a friend of mine while 

 suffering from a prolonged illness. Rocking chairs 

 did not suit ; she grew tired in them even faster than 

 in an ordinary chair, and lounges were no better, 

 while in this chair, manufactured under her super- 

 intendence, by a brother, she found just what she 

 desired. Chairs and rocking chairs, as ordinarily 

 made give no support to the back below the shoul- 

 ders, and therelty tend to make a person round- 

 shouldered by throwing them forward; a chair 

 made in this way, on the contrary, allows a person 

 to sit, giving support to the small of the back, in 

 which case the shoulders will look out for them- 

 selves, and instead of being placed in an unnatural 

 position with the support in the wrong place en- 

 tirely, you will find yourself just right in all re- 

 spects and will rest in your chair almost as well 

 as in lying down. — A Farmer's Daughter, in Ver- 

 mont Farmer. 



Home-made Mats. — A lady coiTCspondent of 

 the Vermont Farmer gives the following directions 

 for making mats from the smallest bits of cloth 

 left after cutting out clothes, or preparing the ma- 

 terials for rag carpets. Pieces over an inch square 

 are too large, so it can easily be seen that this way 

 of making rugs will use up the pieces, otherwise 

 of no account except for the rag-bag. These little 

 bits must be strung on a cord, the edges being 

 ravelled out so as to present a soft, fuzzy appear- 

 ance and wound and sewed like the braids in a 

 braided mat, it will be ditflcult to distinguish it 

 from chenille work. In regard to colors, you 

 must consult your own taste. The style called 

 hit-or-miss, in which you use all colors indiscrim- 

 inately, as they are most convenient, has often a 

 veiy good effect, if plenty of bright colors are used ; 

 in any other case it is too apt to have a dingy look. 

 Decided contrasts or shades of the same color arc 

 better in mats of this kind. 



How TO Bake Apples. — Bake without breaking 

 the skin. Bake from three to five hours. When 

 the pulp is perfectly tender, break the skin ; if that 

 is silken, like the cuticle of the hand, you have 

 your fruit done. If you break the skin by bak- 

 ing, the heat and riioisture will escape, and your 

 apple will dry. The peel prevents evaporation, 

 and is a good conductor of heat. Bake on paper, 

 and there will be no dishes spoiled or needed to be 

 washed. 



Green Tomato Pickle. — Cut in thin slices one 

 pei k of green tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, 

 and let them stand a day or two ; slice ten or 

 twelve small onions ; mix together one bottle or 

 small tin box of mustard, half an ounce of mus 

 tard seed, one ounce of cloves, one ounce of pi- 

 mento, and two ounces of tumeric. Put in the 

 kettle a layer of tomatoes, then one of onions and 

 spice, till all are in. Cover it with good vinegar, 

 and let it simmer till the tomatoes are quite clear. 



PLOWEKS AND VINES INT HOUSES. 



There are many beautiful botanical experiments 

 which may be conducted in the house during win- 

 ter, which are not embraced generally in the list 

 of flowers and vines in our parlors and windows. 



How many of our fair readers have the beauti- 

 ful vine of the sweet potato running over their 

 mantel-shelf! This pretty sight can be enjoyed by 

 placing a sweet potato in a tumbler or other glass 

 vessel, filled with water ; passing a pin through 

 the tuber so as to keep the lower end from one to 

 two inches from the bottom of the vessel. Keep 



on the mantel-shelf, in a warm room, and every 

 day give it the sun for an hour or two, and in a 

 few days rootlings will begin to appear, aiming for 

 the bottom of the vessel, and in two or three 

 weeks the eye will begin to shoot and rapidly 

 grow and run upon suspended twine or any little 

 trellis-work prepared for it. Thu dioscorea batatas 

 is the prettiest for this purpose, when it can be ob- 

 tained. 



The "Morning Glory" can be propagated in par- 

 lor windows, where there is some sun, to perfec- 

 tion during winter; it flowers with its natural col- 

 ors, and the delicate little vine can be made to run 

 over the window. A hanging vase is ihe prettiest 

 for this. 



Suspend an acorn by a cotton thread so as 

 nearly to touch the water in a glass vessel, (a hy- 

 acinth glass is perhaps the best,) set ujion the win- 

 dow or mantel, and let it remain there for eight or 

 ten weeks, more or less, without being interfered 

 with, except to supply evaporation of the water, 

 and the acorn will burst, and as it throws a root 

 down into the water, a sprout or stem will he sent 

 upward, throwing out beautiful little green leaves ; 

 thus giving you an oak tree, in full lite and health, 

 within your parlor 1 



There are many of the mosses which can be 

 very successfully grown in the house through the 

 winter, and with the foregoing afford an interesting 

 and refined enjoyment for the feminines of a fam- 

 ily, and a real pleasure to all who have a taste for the 

 beautiful to witne.-s. We trust to see a greater 

 inclination on the part of the ladies to introduce 

 into their houses this most agreeable addition to 

 their domestic pleasures. 



CANNING FBUIT. 

 Like many others, I tried, again and again, 

 to seal fruit cans so as to keep the fruit with- 

 out moulding upon the top. I was particular 

 in following the printed directions in general 

 use, but found that my cans, when cold, would 

 not be more than two-thirds full, and in a few 

 days a white mould appeared upon the top. I 

 finally appealed to a friend who, I knew, 

 canned large quantities for her own use. She 

 showed me fruit over a year old, quite fresh, 

 the cans full, and no mould. I at once adop- 

 ted her plan, which I have since followed with 

 great success. 1 have no interest in the man- 

 ufacture of cans, and believe that every one 

 should do his own advertising, but I prefer 

 that kind in which you have only the can, 

 glass cover and rubber to use. Fruit can be 

 kept just as well without, as with sugar ; and 

 those sealed up for pies are better without 

 auy, as they will retain their flavor far better. 

 Brass kettles should never be used. Tin pans 

 or kettles lined with porcelain, so as to pre- 

 serve the most perfect flavor of the fruit, are 

 the best. While my fruit is being scalded, I 

 put a gill of cold water in each can, and fill up 

 with hot water, putting the covers and rubber 

 also into hot water. The fruit need not be 

 cooked — only heated to the boiling point — un- 

 less in preparing pears or quinces, or some 

 other hard fruits, that may require more cook- 

 ing, and then only just so that a straw may be 

 passed through, always being careful to have 

 juice enough to cover the fruit. As soon as 

 boiling hot, empty a can and fill ; then another, 



