372 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
occupying their place. Inquiring of Edward about 
it, he smiled in a queer way, and said, " women 
mustn't be too curious ; the box was a little pri- 
vate affair of his own." I said no more, but this 
morning when I went down stairs, I found in the 
corner of my sitting room, near my sewing chair, 
the very S'.nne sewing machine I saw and admired 
so much, and which took the prize at the fair. It 
is a Wheeler & Wilson, just such an one as I have 
been wishing, for. Edward came in and found me 
standing over it with happy tears of surprise in my 
eyes. " How do you like the looks of your Ches- 
ter pigs ?" said he. "They are more of an orna- 
ment to my sitting room than I thought pigs could 
be," I replied; and then he told me that the two 
little pigs had sold for enough, with the prize they 
took at the fair, to pay for the sewing machine, 
that I had earned it, and called me a prize wife, 
and other names which I shall remember, but 
won't write down here. Ever since I made him 
that vest, he. said, he had intended this surprise 
for me in the fall, before the time for winter sew- 
ing to be done. Now I can make all his clothes, 
except his Sunday coats, and perhaps I shall in 
time learn to make even those. 
Edward's sister Jane writes me a very pleasant 
letter, and, among other things, remarks that she 
has taken, since her visit to us, regular daily exer- 
cise in the open air, and is trying to learn how to 
keep the house in order and have a little more sys- 
tem in their family arrangements. I am afraid 
she will have a hard time, and accomplish but lit- 
tle in that line. Habits of order and system will 
be slowly superinduced upon long years of care- 
lessness and disorder. But it is better to begin 
now than not at all, and she may inspire the 
younger members of the family with something 
of her own ambition, which will lead to happy re- 
sults in their future households. 
Sue has become almost invaluable to me; she is 
learning all the domestic arts, and I find her per- 
fectly reliable. Reliability I regard as among the 
very first of social virtues, and, in one sense, the 
corner stone of them all. 
October 2oth. — I have been collecting for some 
time all the pieces of calico and woollen dress 
goods to make some quilts for winter use. For 
several days I have been busy piecing the calico 
iuto squares, and have nearly enough run together 
for a quilt. I shall line it with partly worn domes- 
tic, colored with tea; that is the easiest and quick- 
est way of coloring I know of. The tea grouuds 
of two or three days must be saved, and when 
there are a bowlful or so, I shall put them into my 
porcelain kettle, fill it with water and boil it, and 
after wringing the domestic in alum water to set 
the color, dip it in the tea dye, wring it out and 
hang it to dry. When ironed it will be ready for use. 
Instead of marking off my quilt with chalk lines, 
I will do as one of my neighbors suggested : pin a 
piece of white domestic where I wish to quilt, and 
run along the edge ; this saves the fingers very 
much in quilting. There are plenty of woollen pieces 
to make a quilt, and I have given them to Sue to 
make up for her bed. She will thus become initi- 
ated into the mystery of quilt making, and find 
that she can, by economy and thrift, by and by fur- 
nish her own bed by her own labor. 
.: October 28th. — We have a few quinces this year 
which I have been preserving to-day. There was 
not more than a peck iu all, so I put up a small 
jar only of pure quiuee, and selecting twice as 
many hard russet apples as there were quinces 
left, and as near the same size as I could find, I cut 
them up in just the same shape as the quinces, and 
preserved them together, aud the apple is so fla- 
vored with the quince that one cau hardly distin- 
guish the two. 
October oOth. — Edward brought in eight or ten 
pounds of honey to-day, and after putting about 
six pouuds away in ajar, I made the rest into a de- 
lightful honey syrup for family use, which is even 
more agreeable than pure honey. My recipe is as 
follows : Dissolve ten pounds of sugar in four 
pounds, or two quarts of water ; when melted, add 
two pounds of honey, mix well together, and when 
cooling, stir in a few drops of essence of pep- 
permint or other flavoring, according to taste. 
Leaves from My Journal.— Ho. VIII. 
PRIZE E5SAT BT MRS. B. M'CLELLAN, OF OHIO. 
October. — Henry and Lizzie Mason have well-de- 
fined ideas in regard to the discipline necessary for 
little Georgy, I see. I suppose they have formerly 
said, (like all the rest of us,) that a child of theirs 
should be made to mind, at any rate. About the 
propriety of this there can be no question, but only 
in regard to the best means for producing the re- 
sult. How quietly and lovingly some parents, with 
a simple word, gain obedience ! Others, worried 
and angered, it may be with a long contest, obtain 
at last but a sullen and very imperfect compliance 
with their wishes. Young parents often err here 
in judgment, rather than iu motive. Though 
pained to punish a child, they honestly believe it 
must be done. "The rod and reproof give wis- 
dom, but a child left to himself bringeth his moth- 
er to shame." "Chasten thy son while there is 
hope, aud let not thy soul spare for his crying." 
The admonitions rest upon their hearts like huge 
weights, that can only be thrown off by adminis- 
tering the punishment. But is not the trouble a 
mere radical one ? Do not parents often misjudge 
as to the true cause for correction ? For instance : 
a little child, half in fun, and half iu willfulness, 
disobeys some command. The parent at once 
threatens punishment. The child, in alarm, runs 
from the danger. Now, surely, the parent reasons, 
this obstinacy must be subdued, this dreadful tem- 
per conquered. The child, suffering in every deli- 
cate nerve, and well nigh beside itself with terror, 
is in no tit condition to understand what is required, 
or even to think what wrong thing it has done. 
Some children have become idiotic, some cpilcctic, 
some deaf, and some blind, from such treatment. 
Positive untruth, aud deliberate, willful disobedi- 
ence, doubtless demand prompt and decisive pun- 
ishment, but let not every trifling fault, every acci- 
dental failure or delay, be exaggerated iuto abund- 
ant cause for correction. How common for the 
parent to urge the child, to "be a man," or " be a 
lady." Oh, let children be children! Let them act, 
aud think, and speak, and play, and dress, as chil- 
dren should. Childhood will swiftly pass, and 
worldly wisdom and questionable maxims, and 
fashiou, and guile, and strong temptations, will 
soou enough surround them. Ah, let notthesauc- 
tuary of home be so darkened by unreasonable and 
exacting demands, that it shall not furnish a dear re- 
treat from the snares and pitfalls of this earthly way. 
Jesus blessed little children, and is not Our Father 
infinitely patient with His disobedient family ? 
I have been canning tomatoes and quinces to-day. 
These about close tip that labor for the season, 
and I am not sorry when it is over. Tomatoes are 
nicer if cooked for some time. No water should be 
added, as they contain a superabundance of juice. 
Sweet corn and lima beans will find ready mar- 
ket in winter, if put up iu generous quantity. The 
former has been prepared before this, but the lat- 
ter claim attention now. They are better to be 
gathered while green, well scalded in water, aud 
dried on plates by the stove, but can be left to 
ripen on the vines. Both corn aud beans should be 
kept, when dried, in a tight bag. Before cooking, 
cover well "with cold water, and soak over night. 
Oue teacupful of beans to two of corn is a good 
proportion, and sufficient for a family of five or six. 
Boil two and a half or three hours. Just before 
takiug up, add butter, salt, and pepper, to taste. 
Some sweet cream is an improvement, and as the 
corn loses some of its sweetness in the process of 
drying, two or three teaspoonfuls of sugar will 
give the original flavor. 
As washing was about to-day, and by little and 
little we are doing something at house cleaning, I 
thought I would wash the windows, aud clean the 
paint in the bedroom. The tubs were at hand, and 
plenty of hot suds. " Nothing like killing two birds 
with one stone," as my dear old grandfather used to 
say. After washing one window, I tipped it upon 
the comer to drain, with good exposure to the suu 
and air. But how the wind blows ! It is almost a 
hurricane out there. That window may go over, I 
ought not to leave it so, but I'll hurry with the 
other, aud. soou have all in safe quarters. Hark, a 
crash, an ominous rattling of broken glass ! 
" What's that ? " said Hannah. Ah, that unlucky 
window — I have no trouble in knowing the place 
of the disaster. I could find it in the dark ! I dis- 
like to be called careless, or be obliged to pro- 
nouuee sucli humiliating judgment upon myself, 
but, Mrs. Frlsby, w r ith the most charitable construc- 
tion, you must plead guilty to the charge here. 
It is no small accomplishment for a lady to be a 
neat sewer. A costly garment, shabbily made, is 
never ornamental, while a plaiu one, well fitted 
aud put together, is always becoming. 
Instruction in this department should commence 
in early childhood. The patchwork must be pre- 
pared with exactness, and the little girl patiently 
taught how to set stitches. As she grows older, 
she must not be allowed to sew carelessly. Dresses, 
as well as other garments, sometimes get sadly 
torn. Shall they be thrown aside now? Bather 
let them be mended so neatly that, if noticeable, it 
shall only call forth admiration for the way in 
which it is done. " Why," said a young lady who 
dressed with refined taste, after examining a rent 
thus repaired, " I should consider that ornamental 
rather than otherwise." 
I was taught while at school, how to " set iu a 
patch," and probably have never once done it since 
without thinking of my teacher with gratitude. 
Cut a square piece out from the place of the rent. 
Notch each corner diagonally, the notch being 
just of the depth required for turning down the 
raw edge, which should be overcast with fine 
thread. The piece to be put iu must be cut 
enough larger thau the one taken out, to allow for 
the turning down of both sides, aud also be over- 
cast. Sew together on the wrong side, over and 
over, with fine thread or silk of the color of the 
material. Let the stitches bo quite close together, 
but not deep. The corners, which are now square, 
must be tightly sewed. If striped or figured, take 
pains to match. When finished, dampen and press 
upon the wrong side. 
No wouder that Tommy, with great, round, star- 
ing patches on elbows and knees, hides behind 
mother's chair, when flue ladies so splendidly dress- 
ed call to see her. No wonder, if, while at play iu 
the yard, some sweet girls going by, peer at him 
through the railing and try to make his acquaiut- 
ance, he scampers away behind the wood-pile, wish- 
ing all the while, oh! so much, that his father was 
rich, and he might wear his Sunday suit every day. 
But now let those patches be put in with more 
paiustakiug, (for even the Sunday suit, if worn 
every day, would soon need them), so that these 
same ladies will notice and praise the neat work, 
and the dear little girls say they, wish their moth- 
ers could mend like Tommy's. Won't he stand 
erect now ? Won't his bright, open face beam like 
sunshine? Won't he think his mother Ihc most 
wonderful woman In the world ? 
Preserve Ripe C«ic«iml>er!>s. — Mrs. L. 
E. L. Take largo yellow cucumbers, pare them, 
take out the cores, and soak iu salt water two days. 
Then take them from the brine, pour over them 
boiling water, and let them stand over night. Pour 
off this water, and they are ready for the pickle, 
which prepare thus : For each quart of sharp vine- 
gar take one pint of hot water, two large cups of 
sugar, and one tablespoonful of each of the follow- 
ing spices: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, black pep- 
per, mace or nutmeg. Add one handful of raisins 
or ripe grapes. Scald all together, and boil until 
the cucumbers arc easily penetrated with a fork. 
Use as little of the vinegar to boil them in as pos- 
sible, aud pour the rest over them when done. 
Jelly Roll. — Four eggs, one teacup of sug- 
ar, one of flour, one toaspoonful of soda, two of 
cream of tartar. Spread thin on bread pans ; bake 
quickly. When done, spread on jelly and roll. 
