ladies’ department. 
353 
Cafties ^Department. 
HINTS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 
Old Lady's Diary , June 20th .—Having at length 
finished my preparations, given my last directions to 
my faithful Betsey, and a farewell look at closets 
and store-room, I determine to begin my journey to¬ 
morrow, and as my path will lie through by-roads 
and farming districts, I hope to gain many useful 
hints for the future. 
21st .—The day has been unusually fine, and the 
country beautiful beyond description. Wherever 
the eye rests it is charmed by the busy scene, the 
hay harvest is in full progress, and every field tells 
of hopes fulfilled. We have stopped for the night 
at a good-looking farm-house, claiming on a sign 
swinging near the door, to be “ The Traveller’s 
Rest,”—blessed promise, for a long day’s ride, 
however agreeable, will bring fatigue, and the tra¬ 
veller hails a clean room and comfortable bed as 
God’s own benison, which should be gratefully re¬ 
ceived ; everything in my own room appears com¬ 
fortable, and invites repose; but from sundry indi¬ 
cations around the house, such as patches of chick¬ 
en feathers that have been carelessly thrown out 
after the chickens had been picked, a pile of old 
shavings where a dog and some sheep have been 
reposing, and also two or three pigs running rather 
too near the house for my liking, creating suspi¬ 
cions that those daring and troublesome domestic 
familiars—yclept fleas, may, and will, intrude in 
the house, which otherwise appears a pattern of 
domestic comfort and cleanliness. 
22d. —Morning has dawned at length ; my suspi¬ 
cions were, alas, too true, and I have been in the 
power of the tormentors all night. Traveller's Rest! 
it can only be so to an armadillo or rhinoceros. 
What the house should be called I leave travellers 
to decide. I will amuse 'myself until breakfast 
time by writing the history of my tormentors, and 
give it as a hint to my kind entertainers, who, I 
have no doubt, err only through ignorance. 
The flea (Pulex irritans), in its perfect state, is 
too well known to need much comment; their eager¬ 
ness for blood and their powerful muscular activity, 
enable them to leap to an amazing distance, while 
their sharp lancet-like tongue renders them a dread 
and torment to all within their reach. The female 
flea deposits from ten to a dozen eggs, of a rounded 
form and white color; she places them in obscure 
places, such as cracks in the floor, shavings, saw¬ 
dust, or hairs of rugs where dogs are accustomed to 
lie. From these eggs are hatched long worm-like 
grubs, destitute of feet, with thirteen distinct seg¬ 
ments ; the last furnished with two hooks. These 
larvae are very active, twisting about in all direc¬ 
tions, and feeding upon the fleshy particles of fea¬ 
thers, congealed blood, scraps of raw meat left by 
the dogs near their kennels, and some say, the blood 
of animals, but this is doubtful, as they are not 
found on them. In about twelve days they are 
fully grown, and ready to enclose themselves in a 
small cocoon of silk, often covered with dust, and 
attached to adjoining substances, and should the 
weather be hot, they pass through the change 
without the silk cover. The eggs that are not 
hatched until the end of summer, continue in the 
worm state all winter. The period of the pupa 
state varies from eleven to sixteen days. Cleanli¬ 
ness, therefore, both in doors and out is the only 
remedy for this domestic torment. 
My hostess has received the information most 
kindly. The good man was called in, and has pro¬ 
mised to lend his aid, and as soon as the hurry of 
the farm work is over, the yard is to be well 
scraped, and the litter to be burned, that the fleas, 
young and old, may be effectually destroyed ; the 
dog-kennel is to be removed to a greater distance, 
and a fence made to keep the sheep at a respectful 
distance from the house. I was then taken into 
the household councils, and received, in return, 
useful hints and valuable recipes which I mean to 
put in practice on my return; the cream cheese was 
particularly good, and as it is the most economical 
and easiest recipe I have ever met with, I copy it 
here. To a quart of sour milk curd, drained to the 
consistence of soft butter, add a quart of thick rich 
cream; beat them well together until they are 
thoroughly 'mixed, then add a table-spoonful of 
fine salt; fold a napkin in four folds, and lay it 
in a large soup plate, into which pour the cream, 
then fold another napkin and lay it on the top—the 
mixture will make three or four. Set the plates in. 
a cool place for twenty-four hours; change the 
napkins and plates every morning for four or five 
days, when the cheese will be fit for use. 
Returning from my visit to the spring-house, 1 
was attracted by a nice intelligent looking girl 
busily employed mending gum elastic shoes ; she 
was filling up a leisure hour, and preparing for her 
early walks to the spring-house ; her directions are 
too valuable to be lost. Cut some scraps of gum 
elastic very fine, and put them into a wide-mouthed 
vial, on which pour enough oil of sassafras to cover 
the gum, then stop it tight and leave it until the 
gum is dissolved, which it will be in two or three 
days if the mixture is stirred frequently. Wash 
the gum shoe quite clean, inside and out, and dry it 
thoroughly, then smear the edges of the slit and 
the inside of the shoe near it, with the dissolved 
gum; have a patch of thin gum elastic a little 
larger than the slit, prepared in the same manner, 
and place it over the hole on the inside of the shoe, 
and press it firmly down, placing a weight in the 
shoe for three or four hours, when the patch will 
adhere firmly to the shoe. 
I then took my leave, promising to pay them a 
visit next year, provided they get rid of the fleas. 
God Rewards Virtue and Man Knowledge.— 
Miss M. E. H., of Poughkeepsie, in leaving the 
Albany Female Institute, received a gold medal 
upon which was inscribed the following beautiful 
and appropriate motto :— 
Dieu recompense la vertu et les hommes savoir. 
A Ready Mode of Removing Sperm, Tallow, 
or Oil from Cloth. —Hold the cloth or garment as 
near as possible to the fire without burning, and the 
sperm or oil will immediately evaporate away. If 
a fire is not at hand, light a small roll of paper and 
hold it for half a minute or so, close to, and directly 
over, the oil intended to be removed, and the sub¬ 
stance in like manner disappears. 
