64 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
which she calls the "ehcmlin." She also has pat- 
terns for sale— price tweuty-livo cents. 
Without doubt, scores of other hivcutors of this 
sensible sort of uudergariueut might be hunted up. 
Twelve years ago I made myself two eottou-. 
flannel suits, which were high-necked waists and 
long under-drawers combined. I thought then that 
I showed my good sense by making the sleeves 
long enough to reach my elbows— for in those days 
a thin mnslin or lace undersleevc was considered 
sufficient ]irotectiou for a lady's arm below the 
elbow. It does seem now as though woman is at 
last to be chithcj, aud in her right miml. Hitherto 
the female human body has been made subservient 
to the display of drapery and trimmings. Before 
long we shall liave it really clothed from head to 
foot, and then, when we show by our deeds that 
we believe that " the body is more than raiment," 
(here is a text for the Rev. gentleman who sent to 
the Agriculturist office for patterns of the garments 
mcntioaed in the December Topics,) then we shall 
begin to have some clear ideas of real beauty. 
— • — -^«^ _• 
"*Vliilo Oems should always be made of the 
hcst of fine flour and new milk, with a little salt, 
beaten well together into a stiff batter, too stiff 
for griddle cakes— or into a soft dough, too soft 
for biscuit — and baked in a hot oveu in gem pans, 
made hot before the dough is dipped in. These 
are the best of "warm biscuit," I think. Tou 
can put iu baking powder, but do try them without. 
ITIilk-Paiis. — A Farmer's Wife writes : If 
the lady who thinks her way best for washing 
milk-pans, in a former No., will use a flannel cloth 
in the lukewarm water, she wUl find that it will 
facilitate the labor. 
The Flying-Goose Patchwork. 
I have been asked to give a description of "the 
flyin?-gonsc," mv\ (as I think it is the very pretti- 
But might you not better be doing that than noth- 
ing y And is there any nicer present — fur the ba- 
by's crib, — for Papa's sofa, or lor Mamma's bed — 
i'lg. 1. — ."ujjilNU 'IDE SECTION. 
est pattern for a silk quilt), I will endeavor to do 
60. Take two squares of sUk, one light and one 
dark, about three inches square, (larger if you 
choose,) double each 
square diagonally across 
the center, aud cut it in 
two. Tou have now 
two pieces of light, and 
two pieces of dark. Di- 
vide each piece of dark 
silk again in two. Joiu 
them as in fig. 1. Plain 
silks produce a tetter 
effect than figured ones. 
Join the sections as in 
figure 3. Each stripe 
should be uniform in 
color: e. g., light yel- 
low center, maroon cor- 
ners ; — pale-pink cen- 
ter, dark-grey comers ; 
— light - green center, 
dark-brown corners. Do 
not join your stripes to- 
getlirr until you have enough of them completed to 
make the entire quilt ; then lay them on the bed, and 
arrange them artistically to suit the eye before you 
attempt to sew them together ; for you mil find you 
will have to change their positions very often before 
they will quite suit you. Wlien you are m.iking 
them, the gentlemen will probiibly say "What in 
the world is the use of cutting all those pieces of 
silk to bits, just to sew them together again ?" 
Fig. 3. — THE QUELT COMPLETE. 
than a silk quilt ? Fig. 3 gives you an idea of how 
the stripes look when sewed together. Tlie num- 
ber of stripes required will of course depend upon 
the size of your original square. A. S. N. 
^-« — l E ^ t^ I w 
Kindling Fires—" Fools vs. Philosophers," 
The trite old saying has it, that "it takes a fool 
or philosopher to build a fire well." — How this 
adage originated, or why it is used, we can not tell ; 
perhaps it means that a fool blunders into it, and 
the other party does it " philosophically." Fire- 
heat is produced — or evolved, brought out, made 
sensible— by a chemical combination, that is, by the 
union of the oxygen of the air with the carbon or 
coal of the wood. These two elements combine, 
producing carbonic acid gasj which goes off iuio 
the air in an invisible state, and the union of tlie 
two gives out heat that was before latent or in- 
sensible. Only one-fifth part of the air is oxygen. 
The other four-fifths are nitrogen, a substance that 
does not unite with the wood, and therefore it 
does not help send out heat. To make fire burn 
faster, we blow it, that is, drive more ah- uixm 'it, 
and of course more oxygen. (The cliemist some- 
times makes an artificial atmosphere of oxygen, 
containing no nitrogen. In this wood will burn 
intensely, and even a piece of iron will hum in it.) 
To s.ave blowing with our lungs, or with a bellows, 
we constract chimneys or stove-pipes. Warm air 
is lighter than cold air, and rises up just as light 
substances rise in water. As this air rises in the 
confining pipe or chimney, cold air rashes in to 
take its place below — it is thus drawn in instead of 
being blown in. This draft, bringing more air and 
therefore more oxygen, makes the fire burn faster. 
In starting a fire, the thing to bo aimed at is, to 
make the air drawn in by the upward draft concen- 
trate just where the fire in still feeble. In a stove 
or furnace put the kindlings, and start the fire close 
by the small opening, so that the inward draft will 
and must strike right upon the point where the fire 
is kindled. If it be started back a few inches, only 
a part of the incoming current will hit the fire, the 
rest will go round it. In a fire-place, put the larger 
sticks in rear and front, and so arrange the small 
stuff that the rising current of air will be compelled 
to come right through it. Arrange the larger fuel 
to be ignited so that the first fire will be drawn be- 
tween pieces lying near enough together to help 
warm each other. Very often, when a fire is to be 
started over a wide grate in a stove or furnace, it is 
well to cover up part of the grate with flat pieces 
of wood, orashes, or paper, so as to concentrate the 
draft of air at the point where the fire is to be 
started. As it increases, the wood or paper will be 
burned out, or the ashes can be raked out. In a 
broad bottom furnace, we often fill up one side, or 
all around the outside, with ashes and cinders, dur- 
ing warmer weatlier, so that in the remaining por- 
tions there will be draft enough to keep up a small 
fire. By noting the philosophy of concentrating 
the draft, above referred to, one can kindle a fire 
quickly and with a very little fine stuff. Unreason- 
ing "help" often use a large basketful of kind- 
lings, prepared with no little labor, or a peck of 
charcoal, to get a hard-coal fire started. By show- 
ing them the proper arrangement of fuel, a small 
quantity of shavings or splinters, with a few larger 
pieces of wood or charcoal, placed in a compact 
mass, and so that the current of air will strike 
them, will produce heat enough to ignite the hard 
coal immediately in contact, and that will soon ex- 
tend a strong heat to the whole surrounding 
mass. A slight covering of fine ashes upon the 
surface of the hard coal, except right over the 
kindling point, will gi'eatly help starting the fire. 
After the coal is well ignited through at one point, 
the ashes will drop down, or can be easily stiiTed 
out from below. We have often started up an al- 
most extinct coal fire by spreading a few flat chips 
over the top, except just where there was a little 
fire left, as this concentrated the draft there and 
started it into new vigor. These are small items, 
some may think, but it is better to be the "philo- 
sopher" than the "fool"; and further, aside from 
the saving of fuel, how much is often lost in the 
morning's comfort, and in the day's business, be- 
cause " the fire wouldn't start this morning." 
The Daisy Mat— How to Make It. 
The Daisy mat is made of Berlin wool, floss-silk, 
or cotton embroidery thread, or similar material 
that may be frayed out with a comb, to fonn the 
daisies and the fringe. It is made upon a frame 
either square, oblong, oval, or round. The frames 
are made of four strips of wood, an inch and a 
half wide, an inch thick, and 
twelve inches long; these arc 
grooved upon one edge with 
a common grooving plane, 
such as is used iu mateliing" 
flooring boards. The grooved 
edges are then notched with 
square notches, regularly and 
evenly an inch apart, and the 
ends of the strips are fastened 
together to form a square 
frame, as shown in the~figures 
1 and 3. The complete frame 
is seen in part at fig. 3. The 
mat is made by taking the 
wool or other material of se- 
lected colors, wound for con- 
venience into balls, and lap- 
ping it across the frame into 
the gi'oovcs ; about 35 threads 
of coarse wool are needed in each lap and groove. 
With finer thread more will be required. When the 
frame is covered one way, it is lapped the other 
way, so that the laps cross each other. In lapping, 
the threads should not be stretched, but kept 
moderately loose, or the mat will shrink when fin- 
ished. Then with a 
coarse linen or sdk 
thread, the intersections 
of the laps ni-e tied 
tightly, by crossing the 
threads, as shown in 
fig. 3, from a to b. It 
will much facilitate this 
work, if a coarse needle 
is used upon the thread, 
by which it is passed 
between the laps. When 
evcrv crossing is securc- 
Figs.landS. FRAME. ] 
Fig. 3. — MAKING THE MAT. 
ly tied, always upon the back of the mat, the frame 
is turned, and upon the other side a sharp-pointed 
pair of scissors is passed through about three 
quarters of the threads of the lap, exactly iu the 
center between the ties. Three-fourths of every 
lap is thus cut through, at the front or upper side 
of the mat, exactly half way between the tie 
threads or intersections of the laps, as seen at 
