1878.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
385 
end is to be cut away up to the seeds. In working 
with this, we found it convenient to contrive some 
kind of a support in order, as far as possible, to 
avoid handling. Two very large pins pushed 
through a bit of thin wood, such as a piece of cigar 
bos, formed a stand upon which the seed-bearer 
was mounted, as in figure 4, the pins being thrust 
into the portion ( c , fig. 3) not covered by seeds. 
The nest step is to remove the seeds, using the 
point of a penknife as in scaling a fish, taking care 
to avoid disturbing the down; most of the seeds 
will come off with ease, but here and there one may 
need to be picked off separately. When the seeds 
are removed, the down will present a beautiful ap¬ 
pearance, the closely pressed down resembling, 
in all but color, the breast of a humming-bird ; in¬ 
deed the arrangement is so regular, and the lustre 
so exquisite,that a sight of it is worth all the trouble, 
and one naturally wishes it might be kept in this 
state. Nothing else is now to be done but to allow 
the seed-bearer and its attached down to dry. 
Each tuft of down is overlapped and held by the 
one next below it, and the last, or lowermost, are 
tied; each is secured by the end that is, when at¬ 
tached to the seed, uppermost. The natural ten¬ 
dency is to spread, as in figure 2, but one end of each 
being held by the other tufts, and the hairs being 
stuck together at the opposite end, each tuft can 
only spread to form a sort of narrow balloon. As 
each tuft thus expands, the size of the whole mass 
will increase wonderfully as it dries ; that from a 
pod of medium size being over two inches through. 
Should any of the downy tufts stick down and fail 
to open, they may be gently lifted with a needle or 
slender knife point. We do not attempt to show 
the finished affair by an engraving, as it is so deli¬ 
cate that it would be very difficult to do so, and 
black lines would quite fail to give the lustrous 
beauty and gossamer lightness of the mass. But 
the affair is as frail as it is delicate, and will not 
bear handling; it is best preserved under a glass 
shade. Such a down-cluster would work in admira¬ 
bly with a design in skeleton leaves, and no doubt 
many of our tasteful friends will find other uses 
for such an exquisitely beautiful natural product. 
- ©»■- 
More About Soap-making. 
The article in the AmericanAgriculturist for July 
last has called out several letters from our house¬ 
keeping friends ; many of these are so indefinite as 
to quantities as to be of little use to inexperienced 
housekeepers—the only ones needing instruction. 
The following, by Mrs. G., of Conn., gives the cold 
method, which is preferred by many. In giving the 
results of 25 years’ experience, she says: “ The 
soap-barrel should be of pine or fir, instead of oak 
or other hard wood—a fish-barrel, well cleansed, 
will answer, though the heads of these are not 
quite thick enough. Put into the barrel five pail¬ 
fuls of lye, that is strong enough to bear up an 
egg, and pour to it 28 lbs. of melted and strained 
grease. Stir it well together, and fill it up gradual¬ 
ly with weak lye or water, stirring well as this is 
added, and stir it daily for a few weeks. It will not 
be fit to use under three months, although it is of 
the consistence of nice hard jelly, and looks good 
enough to eat. It is still better if kept until six 
months’ old. If one prefers to make soap with 
potash instead of lye, take 20 lbs. of nice while pot¬ 
ash, and the same weight of strained grease. Dis¬ 
solve the potash in 3 or 4 pailfuls of water in the 
barrel; it may take 2 or 3 days for it all to dissolve ; 
melt the grease and pour to the potash, fill up the 
barrel with water, and proceed as above directed. 
Do not use potash soap when new, as it eats the 
hands badly. The proportions of materials may 
seem large in the above rules, but strong soap is 
much more effective in cleansing soiled clothes than 
the weak, slimy, ill-smelling stuff so often seen, and 
it will keep good for years. Boiled soap will be fit 
to use sooner than cold soap, but it is not so nice. 
The economical farmer’s wife should have two 
soap-barrels, one for the old soap and one for the 
new, and never use new soap. If made of clean ma¬ 
terials, and kept closely covered, it is nicer for the 
finest linen than most of the many kinds of hard 
soap so much in use, and does not injure the fabric.” 
“ Aunt Peggy ” writes a very pleasant letter from 
Otterville, Mo., in which she says if she “under¬ 
stands anything, it is making soap from ashes.” 
Her instructions for making the lye are useful and 
explicit, but when she comes to making the soap 
she “ is not particular about the quantity of grease” 
she uses, and her directions are much less definite. 
We give her method of managing the leach, or 
“hopper” as it is called in some 
parts of the country. She says: 
“ Grease is grease, the world over, 
and the trouble in soap-making is al¬ 
ways with the lye. I first fill the hop¬ 
per with good strong ashes, that have 
been well burned, dampening them 
thoroughly, but not wet enough to 
drip, and let them stand two or three 
weeks before the lye is needed. Pro¬ 
vide a barrel large enough to hold all 
the lye the hopper will make; pour 
water upon the ashes and let the lye 
run down and fill the barrel. You 
will find the lye very strong at first, 
but it will grow gradually weaker un¬ 
til that which comes from the ashes 
is of not much value. Keep trying 
the lye in the barrel with an egg; 
when the egg sinks in the lye, until 
all is covered but a spot the size of 
the thumb nail, then it is just right; stop the 
leach then, whether the barrel is full or not; it will 
not hurt, but will help the lye to stand awhile.” 
Household Holes and Queries. 
Canning Green Corn.—I t having been several 
times stated in these columns that it was not prac¬ 
ticable to can green corn in the family, several have 
kindly written to show us our mistake, claiming 
that they have canned it for years. We must still 
adhere to our original statement, as all those 
who have sent us an account of their method, do 
not properly can the corn, they merely put it up 
in jars, pickled in Tartaric Acid. This process was 
described in August last in the “ Basket ” on p. 287. 
There is so much testimony in its favor 
that the process seems worthy of trial. 
Poison in the Bread. —Serious cases 
of lead-poisoning occurring in Taunton, 
(Eng.) in houses far apart, the attending 
physician was at loss to account for the 
trouble, and water, cider, canned fruits, 
etc., were examined without finding lead. 
It was at length ascertained that all the 
families procured their flour at the same 
mill, and it was found to contain lead in 
poisonous quantities. An examination 
showed that large holes in the mill stones 
had been filled up with lead, which had 
gradually ground off and the very fine 
lead had become mixed with the flour, 
and caused the disease in a serious form. 
Ivy Poison.—P oisoning by the “ Poison 
Ivy,” “ Poison-Oak,” or in some localities, 
“Mercury” (“Markery”), the climber 
botanically known as Rhus Toxicodendron , 
is of such frequent occurrence that there 
are probably more domestic remedies for 
it than for any other trouble. The latest 
we have seen comes from Doct. A. S. 
Brown, U. S. N., who gives it in the “ N. 
Y. Medical Record.” The remedy is 
Bromine , 10 drops of which are dissolved 
in an ounce of Olive Oil. The mixture is 
applied to the affected parts three or four 
times a day—especially on going to bed at 
night; the oil is to be washed off twice a 
day with Castile soap. Bromine is a most 
volatile liquid, escaping through any or¬ 
dinary stopper, and it will be necessary to 
have the mixture made by the apothecary as want¬ 
ed, as it cannot be kept on hand any length of time. 
Rye Drop Cakes. — Mix one quart Milk, two 
beaten Eggs, a lump of Butter as large as an egg, 
two teaspoonfuls of Cream of Tartar and one of 
Soda, half a teacupful of White Sugar, sufficient 
Rye-flour to make a stiff batter. Bake in gem-pans. 
HOTS <k mi(im¥Mm 
Esi Ssores. 
Here is autumn with its ripeness, telling us that the 
season of growth is over, and that the rest of winter will 
soon follow. Winter brings its work and its pleasures; 
the Christmas holidays will soon be here, when girls, and 
Fig. 1, —FRAME OF CAT-TAIL STEMS. 
boys too, will be thinking of presents for the family and 
friends; then there will be birthdays, for which you will 
wish some little gift; besides these it is very likely that 
there may bo some fair to which you would like 
to contribute something. In thinking about presents 
you will recollect that it is not its cost that makes a gift 
valuable, and that one worthy of a present would much 
prefer something you have made yourself to anything you 
could buy; and you call to mind the many nice little 
things you could make if you only had the materials to 
work with, and will regret that you had not thought of it 
some months ago and provided a stock of things in store. 
This with most of yon will bef if not the last, almost 
the last month in which you can collect materials to 
work up hereafter, and we remind you to improve it. 
What Shall we Collect ? 
will be asked by some. That depends in part upon what 
you would like to use the materials for, and in part upon 
Fig. 2— FRAME OF GRAPE STEMS. 
what you can find. A little ingenuity will convert very 
common materials into really tasteful and useful forms. 
Very pretty things are made of spruce twigs : they make 
neat little picture frames, racks for pens, or even for 
tooth-brushes, and various other articles. The common 
White or Black Spruce will answer, but it is often easier 
to get twigs of the Norway Spruce, which is so often 
planted for ornament. By cutting a twig carefully hero 
