438 Domestic Economy. 



good foreign, but I coiisider them decidedly superior to the general run of 

 currantand gooseberry wines; and also more wholesome, and more palatable, 

 than the wines sold as foreign (particularly sherry), at three taverns out of 

 four. Except for brisk wine, I always rack the wine off into a sulphured 

 cask. All English wines should be allowed the same chance for success as 

 Ibreign, by being kept in the cask two or three years, and nearly as long ia 

 bottle. 



The following recipe, from M'Culloch,! have found answer very well : — 

 Forty pounds unripe grapes, picked from the stalks ; bruise them in a mor- 

 tar, but do not break the seeds ; put them in a tub, just covering them with 

 water ; have them well squeezed repeatedly. At the end of the second, or, 

 at most, the third day, strain off the liquor, and dissolve from .36 to 40 lbs. 

 good lump sugar, so as to make the quantity up to 10 gallons. In two 

 or three days more, draw it off, clear of setliment or scum, by a peg at 

 the side, and near the bottom of the tub, and put it into the cask in the 

 cellar. Put on the bung lightly at first, but, as soon as it can be done safely, 

 drive it in hard, giving vent as may be necessary by a peg. It should remain 

 in cask till the March twelvemonth following, and then be racked off into 

 a well sulphured cask, containing the lees of good wines, or such substances 

 as are intended to communicate the flavour. If it remain another year or 

 two, so much the better; then, if necessary, fine it, and bottle it off. If 

 kept in bottle two years, it will puzzle some of the knowing ones, though, 

 perhaps, may not please the old ladies who admire their own sugar-water 

 and orange-peel. To be in proper keeping with my " cognomen," I shall 

 soon address you on other subjects widely different. — Zig-zag. Forest, 

 Sept. 10. 1827. 



To j)reserve Potatoes in a proper state for Food for many years, it is only 

 necessary to scidd them, or subject them to a heated oven, for a few minutes. 

 By doing this they will never sprout, and the farinaceous substance will keep 

 good for many years, provided the cortical part be entire. They should be 

 well dried after being scalded. {Worcester Herald, July 19.)' 



A Cream Gauge is a very useful appendage to a dairy. This is a glass tube, 

 exactly cylindrical, of about 1 in. in diameter, and 104 in. long. On its 

 outside is a graduated scale. Sin. long, apd each inch is divided into 10 

 equal parts. The scale commences at exactly the height of 10 in. from the 

 bottom of the tube ; it is numbered, and counts downwards. Being filled 

 up to loin, high with new milk, of a proper temperature, it is set by in the 

 dairy for 1 2 hours, in which time the cream will all of it have risen to the 

 top of the tube, if the cow be a proper one from which to make butter. 

 ( Waistell on Agr. Build., p. 29.) 



Application of Medicine by Absorption. — The appjication of certain pow- 

 erful remedies, by applying them to the skin, promises to be of considerable 

 importance in domestic medicine. The great advantage of this practice over 

 the internal administration of medicine is, the exemption of the digestive 

 organs from an inconvenient or unaccustomed stimulus ; a matter of great 

 importance when the stomach is incapable of retaining medicines, or the 

 power of deglutition lost, or greatly impaired. M. Bailly, of Paris, has given 

 the following results, which we quote from the medical repository : — 



The action of Salts of Morphia (as a substitute for opium) applied to the 

 skin, is speedily exhibited upon the brain and nervous system, by the contrac- 

 tion of the pupils, and often by dysuria and ischuria ; nausea and vomiting 

 are rare ; sometimes a sensation of itching is felt in the nasal cavities, and 

 papular eruptions not unfrequently appear upon the skin. 



The application of Extract of Belladonna upon the upper surface of the 

 feet, produced all the consequences derived from its internal exhibition ; 

 such as dilatation of the pupil, and impaired vision. 



While Extract of Squill augments transpiration, it promotes the urinary 

 secretion, and facilitates expectoration. 



