110 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
TiEIE MOTSEiEKOm 
gcgF” For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
A Cheap and Handy Book-Case. 
Like everything else in the house, books 
should have a place where they can be kept 
and be easy of access. The tap shelf in a 
< loset is not the place for the dictionary or 
i he recipe book, the utility of which depends 
upon their being readily at hand. Besides, 
well arranged books give a cheerful, refined 
aspect to a room. Some houses need only a 
small book-case, that may be nailed to the 
wall or hung by cords upon it, while others 
should have a larger, more substantial case. 
The engraving shows a form of book-case and 
desk combined easily made, that will be found 
of great convenience to all who can not afford 
to buy a more costly one. It may be made 
of pine boards, planed and varnished, or, 
if desired, stained. A place for writing, 
and a drawer for keeping the ink, paper, etc., 
will be a great convenience. A number of 
drawers could be put in, if desired, or the 
case may be left entirely open below the shelf. 
The main thing is to have a safe and handy 
place for the books of the household, and a 
convenient shelf for writing and reading. 
The book-case shown in the engraving will 
furnish these essentials, and pay in comfort 
and convenience many times over the slight 
expense and trouble incurred in making it. 
To Make A Mustard Plaster. 
Some months ago one of the girls wrote to 
“ Aunt Sue,” asking her to tell how to “pre¬ 
pare a mustard plaster, so that it would not 
be a nuisance. ” The answer was hardly suited 
for the Boys and Girls’ Columns, and we have 
only now found a place for it in the House¬ 
hold, where it belongs. If “Sarah Jane” 
feels that she has been overlooked, the fault 
is not Aunt Sue’s. “ Take with you to the 
kitchen an old handkerchief, and a coarser 
piece of rag of about the same size. Put a 
little water on the fire to boil. Put a large 
kitchen plate on the stove (or range) to get 
hot. Pour into a bowl two heaping table- 
spoonfu 3 of flour, and a (nearly flat) table¬ 
spoonful of mustard. While dry mix them 
thoroughly ; then pour a little boiling water 
over the mixture until it is of the consistence 
of thin dough (do not let it be thin enough to 
ooze through any crack or crevice, as that is 
what makes it ‘ a nuisance.’) Put your hot 
plate on the table, place the coarse rag upon it. 
Lay your “ dough ” upon that; then spread 
over it your old handkerchief, and with your 
hand over the handkerchief, press the dough 
out to the size required; then tuck the edges 
of the handkerchief under the coarse rag, and 
turn the plaster over on its face on to the 
plate. Fold the ends over carefully, and pin 
them (or, better yet, baste them). Now cany 
it on the plate to the patient, and the plate 
will keep the poultice warm while you are 
preparing the patient for its application. For 
a baby or young child it is better to use 
ground slippery-elm instead of flour; it is 
much lighter and more desirable. Two small 
tablespoonfuls of slippery-elm, to a flat tea¬ 
spoonful of mustard, is about the right pro¬ 
portion for an infant. The plaster may be 
bound on with a towel or handkerchief, and 
remain all night. The skin will be just irri¬ 
tated enough by morning.” [As the chief 
use of a mustard plaster is to act as a gentle 
irritant, rubefacient, the medical men call 
those things which make the skin red, these 
directions are safe and proper; but in cases 
of sudden severe pain, where prompt action 
is required, clear mustard, mixed cold, is re¬ 
quired. When applied, it should be carefully 
watched, and looked at eveiy now and then, 
in order to avoid any blistering.—E d.] 
A Gourd Flower Stand. 
Mr. Wm. M. Valentine, Queens Co., N. Y., 
illustrates several methods of employing the 
“Sugar-Trough Gourd” which will interest 
many of our readers. Figure 1 shows a flower 
stand made from a thoroughly dried gourd, 
by sawing it in two near the middle, the stem 
end being the part used. A paper is then cut 
to fit the outside of the 
gourd, and this serves 
as a pattern by which 
to bring the standards 
to the correct shape. 
Three pieces of board 
10 inches wide and 
about 30 inches long 
are then sawed accord¬ 
ing to any desired de¬ 
sign. The standards 
thus formed are nailed 
and glued together by 
their straight edge, or 
back—their lower ends 
being so cut as to form 
the legs to rest on the 
floor at equal distances 
from each other. The i l~ s< I u , ASH FL0W ~ 
flower stand complete, 
with the gourd in position, is shown in figure 
1. If made of pine, the stand can be quickly 
and cheaply stained ; and if of black walnut 
it should be oiled. A gourd, similarly cut, 
may be used for a hanging basket. In this 
case the flower end of the gourd is preferable. 
Three holes are made near the edge at equal 
distances apart, for the supporting wires. 
The wires should pass through the holes from 
the inside, and then around the outside, as 
the weight might cause the gourd to break 
if fastened only at the edges. The gourd 
hanging basket, showing the method of 
fastening the wires, is given in figure 2. 
These baskets are quite 
durable, lasting three or 
four years. They are so 
easily made that it is 
well for a little space to 
be given in the garden 
for the growth of a few 
of these gourds. They 
are prolific, and require 
but little attention. 
While the fruit is useful 
for various domestic 
purposes, besides fancy 
work, of which but one 
sample is here given. It may be said that 
in planting these gourd baskets, some 
vine, like Smilax or Wandering Jew, should, 
be provided to hang gracefully over the sides. 
Fig. 2.— A SQUASH 
HANGING BASKET. 
Take Care of the Matches. 
In nothing about the household does the 
injunction to have “a place for everything” 
require more strict enforcement than in the 
care of matches. What are known as “Par¬ 
lor Matches ” light the most readily, and are 
as much more dangerous than the common 
matches as they are more convenient. The 
general stock should be kept in a tin box, 
which is not to be opened or taken from, ex¬ 
cept by the master or mistress of the house. 
For each room where matches are used there 
should be a metal match-safe of some kind, 
and the matches are to be kept in that and no 
where else. It should be regarded as a serious 
offence for a match to be, anywhere or for ever 
so short a time, found “lying around loose.” 
In the kitchen and the bed-room, or wherever 
else matches are in frequent use, it is better 
to have the match-safe fixed and always in 
the same place, so that it can be found, if 
need be, in the dark. In taking matches from 
the larger box to replenish the safes, let that 
always be done by one person, and it will pay 
for that person to look over the matches at 
the time, throwing away all broken ones, and 
where, as is often the case, two or more are 
stuck together by the explosive mixture, 
these should be carefully broken apart, and 
unless two good matches are the result, rather 
than to put into the safe one with too little 
and the other with a ragged excess of the 
mixture, throw both away. Also throw into 
the fire those matches that have two or three 
times as much of the mixture on the ends as 
they should have. These, in lighting, often 
explode and scatter burning particles in a 
dangerous manner. If, in lighting a match, 
day or night, it breaks or the explosive end 
comes off without lighting, do nothing else 
until that end is found, and put into the fire, 
or where it can do no harm. In fact, treat 
matches, every match—as if it were—as it 
really is, a fire-arm, capable of dangerous 
mischief to person and property. Teach the 
children to carefully observe the same caution. 
Scrap Books For Children. —Under 
the head of “ Winter Evening Employment,” 
Mrs. “A. E. S.” writes us: “The little ones 
are not forgotten. Save very carefully any 
pictures that come in your way. Take some 
cloth and cut it into the right size for pages, 
and paste the picture on the cloth, and you 
have a good substantial book, and one that 
