1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
378 
thin. Seeds very small, not larger than those of 
the summer crook-neck. We have cooked this 
squash in various ways, and consider it of the 
first quality. The flesh is very tine grained, 
sweet, sufficiently dry, and good flavored. It has 
-aaSSSSBI 
{; 
\ 
Fig. 2.— INTERIOR OIT SQUASH. 
the appearance of being a good keeper, but in 
this respect it is yet to be tested. From the 
size of the seeds, Mr. Hogg supposed it to be a 
bush-squash, aud planted it so closely that the 
vines did not have a fair chance to run, but in 
this unfavorable condition it proved to be a 
good bearer, and much earlier in maturing than 
other Autumn varieties. We suppose the small 
stock of seeds will be placed on sale with some 
of the seed dealers ; we have none to dispose of. 
•-. — — «» >-• 
A Convenient Clothes-Sprinkler- 
A subscriber to the American Agriculturist, Geo. 
L. Hale, Cumberland Co., Pa., sends a model and 
description of the clothes-sprinkler illustrated 
herewith, which we find upon trial to be a con- 
venient instrument. It is made of tin, the main 
part or cylinder, i}4 inches long, and 3% inches in 
diameter. One end is convex 
and is punched with very fine 
holes, J-^ inch apart. The 
handle is 4)4 inches long, hol- 
low, and opens into the cylin- 
der. When in use, the top 
of the handle is closed by a 
well-fitting cork. To fill the 
sprinkler, take out the cork 
and plunge the cylinder into a 
vessel of water ; then insert 
the cork, and with a gentle 
shake, the water will be 
thrown over the clothing clothes sprinkler. 
more evenly than can be done 
by the hand alone, and without necessity of wetting 
the fingers. The article is not patented, and can 
be very easily and cheaply made by any tinman. 
Economy in the Household. 
With cotton cloth at 40 cents a yard, chickens at 
18 cents a pound, and beefsteak not much less — 
with every article of food and clothing greatly in- 
creased in price, there is need of economy, especial- 
ly among that large class, haviug fixed salaries and 
incomes. The war or something else has greatly 
increased the expenses of living, without adding to 
the income of a large class of the people. The la- 
borer and mechanic have raised the price of their 
wages very properly, perhaps not in proportion to 
their increased expenses. But the doctor does not 
charge any more for his visits, the lawyer probably 
thought that he charged about enough before, aud 
the people seldom think of raising the minis- 
ter's salary, 40 or 50 per cent., to enable him to 
make both ends of the year meet. The board of di- 
rectors in the bank have not increased the salary of 
the cashiers aud clerks, and the grocers aud dry- 
goods men have forgotten that the board and 
clothing of their employees have advanced a third 
or more. (Though printing paper costs double 
now, the subscriptiou price of this journal is not 
increased at all.) , With the general prosperity of the 
country, there is a good deal of pinching in spots. 
What is to be done to meet the 
emergency ? The hardest mat- 
ter, perhaps, is to get rid of 
a little pride, and adapt our- 
selves, with true manliness, to 
our new circumstances. An old 
coat, if it be clean, is handsomer 
upon an honest back, than the 
most splendid garment a bank- 
rupt ever wore. In these days 
of cheap benzine, (there is one 
thing cheap,) a little money will 
go a great way in removing 
grease-spots and renovating an 
old garment. We must wear 
our garments until, like the 
deacon's onc-hoss shay celebrat- 
ed in Holmes' muse, they fall 
to pieces of their own weight 
aud antiquity, or rather until 
the day before that catastrophe. 
We shall have less to sell to 
shoddy manufacturers, but they 
will make enongh without our 
patronage. Then, in taking 
care of the stomach, we must 
go in for the substantial rather 
than the most costly and fash- 
ionable dishes. If flour costs 
$11 a ban*!, do not buy a poor 
article of flour, but use more 
Indian and rye meal instead. 
Look back over the American 
Agriculturist recipes for cook- 
ing corn meal; one must be 
hard to suit if he does not find 
dishes good and cheap. A dol- 
lar in this article will go as far 
in sustaining life as $3 in fine 
flour. Rye makes au excellent 
bread, and is much cheaper 
than wheat. The unbolted wheat commonly known 
as Graham meal, makes a very wholesome bread. 
If sugar is $40 a barrel, use less of it. Substitute 
sweet apples for the prepared sweetmeats, and 
both money and health will be saved. It is not 
necessary, at every evening meal, to have preserv- 
ed quinces, peaches, or strawberries, that have been 
made with a pound of sugar for every pound of 
their own weight. Baked apples, with a little milk, 
disappear with celerity. If coffee is 50 cents a 
pound, barley is only 2 or 3, and the latter is the 
more nutritious article, aud makes a very fair drink. 
If tea is a dollar, use water, which is both cheap 
and wholesome. You will soon get accustomed to 
it, and find that it agrees well with the nerves. 
" But would you have us starve to death iu these 
hard times ?" Not at all. The country is too much 
in need of every good citizen to lose one, by under 
or over-feeding. We must have good wholesome 
food, and that which is enjoyable. When beefsteak 
is IS cents a pound, it is not necessary that every 
meal should come out of the sirloin. A shin-bone 
costing a quarter as much, made into a soup, 
will dine quite as large a family, and give them 
as much strength for physical or mental labor. 
We are greatly behind our neighbors, the Germans 
and French, in the use of soups, and indeed iu all 
matters of economy at the table. With the same in- 
come they will live comfortably and save, where we 
should feel pinched and run in debt. The war is 
working out good results for us, in many respects. 
It will be one of its greatest blessings, if it teach us 
simpler modes of living, and constrain us to a 
more healthful use of the bounties of Providence. 
Tainted Barrels. — A. Neeper, Ohio, says : "Fill 
the barrel with hay, then fill up with boiling wa- 
ter, let stand for 34 hours, and the thing is done." 
We have seen hams, which duriug a long overlaud 
journey in a warm country, had acquired an un- 
pleasant odor, rendered perfectly sweet by putting 
them for a day in a tub with hay and cold water. 
" Wm. L," Orange Co., N. T., directs to fill the cask 
with sour milk or whey, let it stand several days, 
then refill with water, and change occasionally. 
Pattern for Crocheting or Netting a Tidy. 
The above pattern, designed for the American 
Agriculturist by Miss Sallie K. Bowman, Philadel- 
phia Co., Pa., is intended for crotcheting, or for 
darning a netted tidy. Those skilled in the myste- 
ries of such fancy work will have little difficulty in 
making an enlarged copy to work by ; or by noticing 
the arrangement of the small squares, the design 
can be followed directly from the engraving. As 
will be generally understood, the smaller figures at 
the top are samples of the border and corners. The 
space left betweeu the chief ornament in the centre 
aud the border will be regulated by the size of the 
tidy aud the fancy of the maker. 
A Home-made Toast Holder. 
This simple contrivance will be found a very con- 
venient article, particularly for those who use coal 
fires, and are often troubled to toast a slice of bread 
quickly by holding it near the coals. If the bread 
is laid upon a support on the top of the stove, it 
dries hard before the surface is browned, impairing 
the sweetness, and requiring cither very good teeth 
to masticate it, or to be moistened by hot water or 
milk. Or if a common fork be used, the fingers are 
burned, and the forks heated and loosened in the 
handle. To make the "holder," take two pieces of 
common wire about the size of coarse kuitting 
needles, each 3 to :.''._' feet long. Twist them to- 
gether to within about 5 inches of each end, bend 
the twisted part double, to bring the ends together, 
and then form the arms or supports as showu in the 
engraving. They can easily be sprung apart to re- 
ceive a slice of bread, which cau then be conveni- 
