1869.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
221 
TOE IfflOTSimDflLID). 
(2W For other Household Item% see "Basket" pages.) 
A Chip of the Old Block. 
Nothing is more common than to bear children 
described by this homely phrase. They cannot 
help taking upon themselves the character of the 
homes in which they are nurtured. They have been 
involuntarily moulded by the influences which they 
have felt from their earliest hours. Many faults of 
temper and manners for which we blame them, they 
have received unconsciously from us, and we only 
sec our own uncomfortable habits made flesh before 
our eyes, in the condition of those who have been 
constantly moulded by our example. It is not what 
we say, but what we are, that most powerfully af- 
fects the childhood in our homes. 
The father dies out of an affectionate family, aud 
the mother is left behind in bereavement and sor- 
row with her little flock of children. As she sits 
meditating upon her loss, she hears a step coming 
down the walk. The color rushes into her face, 
aud then she becomes deathly pale and faint. 
Whose step was that ? Is he coming home as usual 
from his work again? After all, were his sickness 
and death but a feverish dream ? Was that Ait step ? 
The door opens and her oldest son is in her arms ! 
When was he taught to step like his father? Ev- 
ery time his father stepped before him. We are 
constantly influencing these susceptible j-oung 
spirits while wc are in their presence. Their faces 
do not bear more distinct marks of our counte- 
nances than their tempers do of our spirits. The 
smiles that pass like sunshine over our foreheads, 
aud the clouds that sometimes veil them, are all 
imaged upon the souls of the children, just as the 
beams of midday and the floating vapors are reflect- 
ed iu the bosom of the sea. We bless them by our 
example more than we cau by our counsels. Moth- 
ers preach less thau fathers, but they influence 
young children far more. We should be ourselves 
what we would have them to be. Children arc 
shrewd aud close observers. 
"Be still !" said a mother to her little son, who 
was playing just out of the door with his compan- 
ions while bis mother was entertaining company. 
The noise continued. "Bo quiet!" again said the 
mother; but still the clatter went on. "I shall 
have to punish you if you do uot obey me," said 
the mother once more, and without effect, to the 
child. " Aint you afraid she will whip you ?" asked 
one of his companions, surprised at his boldness. 
"O, no !" returned the little philosopher, "she never 
whips me until she has spoken louder than that !" 
AVheu we find coarse, selfish, unmannerly, unkind 
children, we can but think the influences of home 
have been unwholesome. There may have been 
correct counsels and severe punishments, but the 
daily temper and habit of the household have not 
been genial. It is not the storm, the deluge of 
rain, the electric discharge, that has the most to 
do in bringing forward vegetable life, although 
these have their place ; but it is the daily sunshine 
and the evening and morning dews that chiefly 
nourish aud bring to perfection the summer fruits. 
Neither is it the harsh command, and the sharp, 
sudden retribution that follows wrong-doing, that 
has the most to do in giving direction to youthful 
character, but the daily example and genial tempers 
of the household. Let it be a compliment to child 
aud parent to say, " he is a chip of the old block." 
The Table— Order and Ornament 
After every care has been given to neatness and 
order, and every dish upon the table has been 
made to look its best, we may then proceed to use 
ornament for its own sake, and for this purpose 
flowers are pre-eminent. The most costly vases of 
crystal or porcelain, and the most elaborately 
wrought center-piece or epergne of silver, are only 
most beautiful when they hold flowers, while, on 
the other hand, these dignify the most humble re- 
ceptacle. Let us then- have flowers npon the table, 
—not the costly efforts of the florist, but such as the 
country gardens aud the woodsides afford. In ar- 
ranging flowers there is an opportunity for a dis- 
play of skill and taste. The finest products of the 
garden may be huddled into a compact mass, look- 
ing much like a many-colored cauliflower, and be 
surpassed in beauty by a few wildlings from the 
woods. In flower arrangement it is necessary to 
have an abundant supply of green, aud here is 
Fig. 1. — TABLE ORNAMENT. 
where most fail. A few bits of the lily of the valley 
put iu a wine-glass are more attractive than many 
masses of flowers called bouquets. We have a 
large preponderance of green with the delicate 
white bells of the lily of the valley hanging with 
their natural grace. The idea of naturalness aud 
grace should pervade all arrangements of flowers 
for table decoration. We know that the florists 
will demur at this, but we are writing for people 
who do not care for flower fashions. Let the rule 
be, but few colors and plenty of green. There 
should always, when practicable, be a plenty of 
white flowers, and a plenty of spray-like green, to 
give lightness to the bouquet. Asparagus green 
often comes in very cleverly for this. In arranging 
flowers in a vase, let them look as if they enjoyed 
being there, aud not as if crowded iu and held iu 
durance. For some- 
thing more elaborate 
than a vase bouquet, 
we have used with 
much satisfaction a 
plan suggested some 
years ago by one of 
the English journals. 
A stand is made, like 
that in fig. 2. It con- 
sists of two tin plates; 
the lower one, which 
should be larger in 
proportion than here 
shown, has a socket 
in the middle on the 
inside, and the up- 
per one a similar 
socket on the undsr Flg - 2 -~ STAND - 
side. A solid rod or glass tube, which may be had 
of the druggists, serves as the standard, and fits 
into the sockets. The lower plate should be made 
of heavy tin or galvanized iron, iu order to be suf- 
ficiently stiff. The two plates, which arc painted 
green, are to be filled with wet sand, into which 
the stems of the flowers are stuck. Figure 1 gives 
an idea of the effect when finished. Many of our wild 
ferus may be used, but they should be dipped in 
water to prevent them from wilting. Light, droop- 
ing plants are best suited to the upper plate, and 
some delicate vine may twine around the glass rod. 
A stand of this kind filled with well-chosen green 
only would be beautiful, but when flowers are in- 
troduced, it is really elegant. Moss may be used 
iu the plates instead of sand ; it is lighter, but it 
is more trouble to insert the flowers iu it. 
Household Talks. 
BY AUNT 11ATTIE. 
Bottling Fruit.— The question is often asked, 
"What kind of bottles do you use ?" — I reply, any 
and all kinds, from a common loug-uecked bottle 
for green currants, gooseberries, aud rhubarb, to 
pickle jars for strawberries and raspberries, up to 
the glass, wide-mouthed, self-sealing, patented fruit 
jars, which I reserve for plums, pears, and peaches, 
or auy kind of fruit which it is desirable to pre- 
serve in an unbroken state. These narrow-mouth- 
ed bottles may be sealed very nicely and effectively 
in the following way : Procure some pieces of new 
cotton cloth large enough for the purpose ; then 
melt together an ounce of mutton tallow aud a pound 
of rosin ; a little beeswax would lie au improve- 
ment. Have it melted and mixed, and standing on 
the back of the stove, ready when you wish to use 
it. After the boiling fruit lias been successfully in- 
troduced into the bottle, and while in this heated 
state, put in the cork, if you have one, or if 
not, a wooden plug will answer. Take one 
of the pieces of cloth and tie it with a stout 
string over the mouth of the bottle; then 
cover entirely, rim and all, with the warm 
rosin. It would be as well to put another cloth 
over this, and, perhaps, more rosin; it must be 
air-tight. If I were to get a fresh supply of bottles, 
I should choose a kind the lid of which would 
move or slip up if subjected to pressure from with- 
in, as would be the case if fermentation of the con- 
tents occurred. I never have had such an accident 
happen to mo, but I have been assured that where, 
lids are made to screw tightly on to the bottle and 
the fruit fermented, the bottle would burst before 
the lid would yield. Learners in the art would do 
well to confine their first efforts to bottles with 
corks, using wax to make them air-tight. 
To Buttle Strawberries. — Wash, stein, and 
weigh the fruit, and to every pound of fruit allow at 
least one quarter of a pound of the best white sugar ; 
put into the preserving kettle a pint of water and 
a pound of the sugar; dissolve the sugar, and when 
the syrup boils, put in a quantity of strawberries, — 
say three or four pounds; let the kettle stand on t lie 
back of the stove until the fruit appears well heat- 
ed through ; then remove to the front, aud when it 
boils briskly, bottle immediately. If quite juicy, 
leave some of the syrup in the kettle aud add more 
sugar (not any water) ; put in more berries and 
proceed as before. Of course during this time the 
bottles will have been prepared by placing them iu 
warm water, to prevent cracking when the boiling 
fruit is poured in. 
Pickled Walnuts. — I have procured from an 
English lady a recipe for making walnut pickle. 
She iuforms me that butternuts will answer the 
purpose, but are not so nice as the English walnut. 
Gather the nuts just before the kernel commences 
to harden, prick them through and through several 
times with a coarse needle, put them into a crock, 
pour over them a rather strong brine, aud al- 
low them to remain for three or four days ; drain 
and spread them in the sun until they are dry and 
have turned to a dark brown or nearly black. Put 
them now into a suitable jar, aud pour over them 
boiling spiced vinegar, using 3 ounces of mustard 
seed, a little mace, 3 ounces of allspice, and 3 
ounces of whole black pepper, to one gallon of vin- 
egar. A few onions may be added, if your taste 
will permit. This pickle may be used at any time 
after making, but is much better for being kept a 
year. After the pickles are used, the vinegar may 
be boiled and bottled for catsup, as it is exeelleut. 
Molasses Cake. — I have been making a kind of 
molasses candy gingerbread, which the children 
seem to appreciate, and in fact, I enjoyed eating 
some of it myself. A quart of molasses and two 
tablespoonfuls of butter were boiled gently on the 
back of the stove for nearly an hour. When nearly 
