1806.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
327 
tion ill most places. The Golden Dwarf may 
prove to be the t'omnlcr of a race of peaches of 
such hiuuble stature, that they may be protect- 
ed as easily as raspberry bushes, and thus allow 
peaches to be raised in localilies where it is not 
now practicable. It is well known that the peach 
is more nearly reproduced from seed, than any 
other of our cultivated fruits. It would bo in- 
teresting to luiow if this dwarf habit is inher- 
ited by auy of the seedlings of this variety. 
TEE ^^ 
iEM(D]LBo 
It is well known that linen and other white ft- 
brics will not be perfectly white, no matter how 
tTiorouijhly they may be washed. They acqiurc a 
yellowish tinge which is counteracted by dill'usiuj 
a small quantity of Indigo through the rinsing 
water. This is about the only common domestic 
use of Indigo, and though the amount eousuincd 
in each household is small, it in the .aggregate 
amounts to a large sum annually. Indigo is a re- 
markable product, usually obtaiued from .species 
of Indiyfifera, shrubby plants of the Pea- Family. 
The engraving shows the general aspect of the 
plant, which grows from three to six feet high, and 
h.as compound leaves much like those of the locust 
tree. The flowers are small, blue, and have the gen- 
eral shape of the pea Ijlossom ; they are followed 
by a small pod. The plant is cultivated in various 
warm countries, especially in the East Indies. The 
foliage of the Indigo plant is green, and no one 
would suspect it capable of yieldiug such a dark 
blue coloring matter. Indeed indigo, .as such, does 
not exist iu the plant, but is contained in juices in 
a colorless and soluble form. To obtain iudigo, 
the plants are steeped in water, .and the liquid, or 
tea thus obtaiued run off into vats where it is stir- 
red and beaten with rods for the purpose of bring- 
ing the air freely in contact with the liquid. By 
this treatment, the oxygen of the air combines 
Avith the colorless and soluble matter, and converts 
it into blue .and insoluble indigo, which is allowed 
to settle, and is then made into cakes. The product 
of different countries varies considerably in hard- 
ness and intensity of color, but all of it when rub- 
bed by auy hard substance, such as the finger-nail, 
takes on a peculiar metallie luster. Indigo is sol- 
uble iu strong oil of vitriol, and iu this condition 
it is the " sulphate of indigo," or liquid blue of the 
druggist and dyer. Iu the common way of dyeing 
with indigo, it is first changed from its blue and in- 
soluble state. There are several substuuces that 
effect this change; a mixture of lime and copper- 
as is often used iu scttiug the vat. Fabrics im- 
mersed in this solution of colorless iudigo aud then 
exposed to the air become dyed by the change of 
the indigo, back to its blue eonditiou. It has been 
found that turnips coutain a principle (pectine) 
which converts iudigo into the soluble form, aud 
iu France, turnips are largely used by the dyers. 
Eemember 
1st. — Th.at before food can bo of auy boneflt to 
the body, it must be dissolved iu the stomach, so 
that it can be absorbed into the blood iu a liquid 
state, and be thus carried to the parts of tlie body 
needing to be uourished or strengthened, or re- 
newed by it. Ecmemhcr 
2nd. — That the human stomach is not like the 
gizzard of a fowl — a ^u-d, tough memlu'ane, filled 
with gravel-stones, to break or grind up the food — 
but tliat it is a soft bag, so to spe;dc, wliich merely 
holds the food and shakes it about, so that the gas- 
tric juice can better dissolve aud work it into a 
liquid state ; therefore, Hemember 
3d. — That nothing should go into the stom.ach 
which has not first been masticated (chewed) vcrij 
Jinc, or cut or mashed fine before it is taken into 
the mouth, so that it eau be easily dissolved. 
Lumps of potato, or of fruit not well ripeued and 
mellow, pieces of meat as large as chestnuts, lumps 
of dough or new bread, small fruits with skin un- 
broken, etc., etc. — anything that will be slowly dis- 
solved — causes an uneasy feeling, and often irri- 
tates and inflames the stomach itself. Further, if 
they are not fully dissolved, these things pass down 
through the whole twcuty-flve feet or more of the 
alimentary caual, causing jjaiu, colic, diarrhcea, 
aud oftcu dysentery. Jiemembcr 
4th. — That the saliva of the mouth mixed with 
the food, greatly aids the dissolving or digestion of 
the food in the stomach, and that even soft food 
should be chewed or worked over in the mouth, 
until well mixed with saliva, ^member 
5th. — That children can not appreciate the impor- 
tance of masticating food, aud that great care 
should be taken, either to see that they do masti- 
cate it well, or that it be so thoroughly jirepared 
for them that it eau not go into the stomacli in an 
undigestable form. Proper care iu this single 
thiug would save the lives of half the ehildren that 
now die young, and a very large proportion of all 
" p.ains under the .apron," tbe diarrhoeas, and 
bowel complaints, that children, and grown peo- 
ple as well, suffer. Hemember 
6th. — That, as all food after goiugiutothestomach 
must either be properly digested, or produce inju- 
rious results, it is the bight of folly to crowd down 
into the stomach two or three quarts of food and 
drink, .and expect that organ to work it all up 
readily. Suppose that for every article you eat at 
a meal, you put, or imagine you put, precisely a 
similar amount into a dish — the meat, bread, pota- 
toes, vegetables, tea, coffee, or water, aud the pie 
or pudding — what a mixture you would have both 
in kind and bulk ; yet tbat is what is given the 
stomach to dissolve, or tiy to dissolve. Hemember 
7th. — That the stomach keeps at work while it 
has any undissolved food iu it, aud that if you 
" luuch " or " piece " between meals you give that 
orgau no time to rest, aud it will in time be weak- 
ened if it do not give out. Hemember 
8th. — That sleep is far more quiet and refreshing, 
if the stomach sleeps with the rest of the body, 
and that it is better to eat nothing which can not 
be digested before retiring to rest. Children, who 
retire early, or ought to, should have only light 
suppers of simple, digestible food. 
»-. — -» — K-» 
Clicap Sj»OB«g-c Cake.— 1 cup sugar, 1 cup 
flour, 3 eggs, 1 teaspoonful cream tartar, J.j do. of 
soda dissolved in a little milk. Mix all together 
and bake 20 minutes iu a quick oven. — J. Friend. 
Original Contriliutions to the American Agriculturist. 
" Information Given."— {See page 394.) 
No. 9.— Home-made Ink.— (rf) The kind I use 
altogether, and it is better than auy I can buy, is 
made by boiling maple bark in water for sometime, 
then strainiug it off through a cloth aud boiling 
down until thick enough for use. To make it 
black enough, I add a little pulverized copi'eras 
(sulphate of iron).— Isaac II. Patje, OUiiiiuea, Iowa. 
[Mr. Page's letter is certainly written witli good 
iuk.— Ed.] (c) Into one gallon of soft water 
put 3 ounces extract of logwood ; boil ten minutes, 
aud then add 34 grains bichromate of potash, aud 
13 graius of prussiate of potash, stirring a few 
minutes while over the lire. The ingredients cost 
2.^) to 30 cents. I have used it exclusively for 4 
years.— P. 0. E., of &hodack.—[Tho iuk appears 
well ou the letter. Would not some gum arabic 
improve it? In a prescription from Foxboro, 
one of the figures is blotted out. — Ed.] 
No. 10.— ExTitACTiNG Wheel-crease, etc.— ((?) 
I have cleaned wbecl-grcose from a nice silk thus : 
Laying the silk on a clean sheet folded to .S thick- 
nesses, I rubbed the greased part with a soil cloth 
dipped iu lard, moving the silk to a new spot fre- 
queutly. After a time the wheel-grease all went 
through, leaving only clean lard. This was tlien 
cleaned out in the same way, by rubbing it with 
some nice soap aud alcohol, usiug a clean cloth to 
rub with, and frequently changing to a new spot 
on the under-lying sheet. The silk was then laid 
ou a clean cloth, and rubbed dry with a soft cloth. 
A friend cleaned a white Cauton Crape in this 
way, and you can not find the place where it was 
greased. — S. M. Beabj, Trempealeau, Mo. 
No. 15. — To Remove Mlldew from Mdslin. — 
(a) Put the muslin on an earthen platter and pour 
over it a strong soap suds, to which a tcasijoouful 
of soda is added. Set it iu a strong sunlight three 
or four days, or louger ff needed, adding more suds 
to make up the evaponition, and turning once or 
twice a day to expose all parts of the faljiic. I 
have used this with great success for a number of 
years. — Mrs. S. J Wood, North JIadison, Lid (b) 
Stir J^ lb. chloride of lime iu a gallon of cold wa- 
ter After settliug .an hour, pour off the clear li- 
quid, aud soak the mildewed cotton or linen in it 
two hours ; wash well aud expose to the sun. — 
Farmm-'s Daughter, JSkhmond, Ind. 
No. 18. — Old Brine. — Eight years' experience 
convinces me that old brine which has not soured, 
if taken iu spring, or before hot weather, and well 
boiled and thoroughly skimmed, is as good as new, 
whea cold. — Z. P. L., Eric Co., Ohio. 
No. 20. — Home-made Toilet Soap. — Boil togeth- 
er 3 lbs. soda ash, 1 lb. unslaked lime, aud 4 gallons 
of water. When hot, strain it, return to the ket- 
tle, add 6 lbs. clean grease ; boil slowly but con- 
stantly three hours, aud let it cool. Next day take 
off the hard soap from the top, .and put it in 
a clean kettle, adding }j lb. borax, and auy kind of 
perfumery you like; let it melt, stirring it well to- 
gether, and pour into a wooden mould or box that 
has been previously well soaked in water. Let it 
remain 24 hours, and then cut it into auy conve- 
nient or fancy shaped cakes desired. Dry these a 
day or two, baking care to bring iu at night. 
When dry enough, pack away for use. — Mrs. S. J. 
'Wood. [Meeting's adjourned, only. — Ed.] 
No. 21. — Preparation op Pickles. — For 200 
pickles of moderate size, take 3gallons of cider vine- 
gar, or enough to cover them, 1 ounce whole cloves, 
1 oz. .allspice, 3 oz. mustard seed, 3 oz. alum, 6 oz. 
horse-radish, and >,< pint salt. Put all together aud 
heat iu a brass or glazed kettle to near a boiling 
point, and pour it on the previously washed cucum- 
bers ; cover them with cabb.age leaves aud jjut ou a 
weight to lieep them down. If they do not look 
green enough in two or three weeks, po\ir off the 
vinegar, heat it, aud return it. Heat it a third time 
if necessary to make the pickles green enough. 
To prevent a white scum ou the vinegar, cover the 
