328 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
jj^” For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
A Cupboard and Book-Rack. 
George O. Cook, Polk Co., Minn., sends a 
sketch and description of a cupboard and 
book-rack that he has found very handy. 
“ It is made from pine matched flooring and 
is 6 ft. high, 4 ft. wide, the cupboard being 
half the hight. The boards forming the 
A CUPBOARD AMD BOOK-RACK. 
bottom are raised 3 inches from the ground, 
giving respectively 18 inches and 14 inches 
clear for the shelves of the cupboard. The 
shelves of the book-rack are respectively 14, 
il, and 9 inches from each other. The tongue 
on the boards at top and on cupboard is left 
on, and the top edge rounded, forming a kind 
of moulding. Four boards form the sides of 
the cupboard, and two the book-rack. This 
handy article of furniture can be made of 
any dimensions desired.”—The engraving 
herewith given shows the appearance of the 
affair when finished and in use. 
Home Topics. 
BY FAITII ROCHESTER. 
Ulore on the Subject ot Bed-Bugs. 
I have had another bout w-ith these pests. 
How do they come ? I wish they made a noise 
like mosquitoes; but no! they come upon 
you like a thief in the night, while all is quiet. 
I am thankful that a bite wakes me at once, 
else I might not have known to this day that 
the enemy was in our midst. It was more 
than two weeks after I felt the first alarm, 
and lit a lamp to kill the foe, before I was 
able to clean the suspicious chamber. Every 
day I turned up the corners of the mattresses 
and examined the bedsteads, and scrutinized 
all the bedding and walls, but never a bug 
did I see except in the night. Only a few 
nights before the cleaning I found the first 
small bugs, half a dozen adults having pre¬ 
ceded them in previous nights. I never sleep 
soundly when I suspect bed-bugs, but light a 
lamp and go to hunting whenever I hear a 
child nestling uneasily. I began to clean the 
chamber by examining all the clothing as I 
took it down from the hooks ; all the articles 
of furniture as I removed them from the 
rooms ; then every article of bedding, but 
with no success until I came to the mattresses. 
On two comers I found the clusters of tiny 
white eggs with some newly-hatched bugs, 
and in two or three places in the spring-bed, 
nests which promised a prolific increase. All 
of the time I was very careful not to scatter 
them, preferring to hunt them in the bed¬ 
steads, and hoping to run no risk of getting 
them into the walls or under the mop-boards. 
One slat at a time was taken out carefully, 
watching at each end, and then examined in 
every portion before putting back. The whole 
bedstead was cleaned, and then the cracks 
and joints brushed with ammonia. I like to 
use this because it kills the bugs and (I believe, 
but am not certain from my own observation) 
destroys the life of the eggs, but its powerful 
smell brings out in dismay any bugs that 
have escaped my eye. I use a fine knitting 
needle to poke out the cracks. I kill all of the 
bugs, and crash all the eggs that I see, and 
dose well with ammonia where I cannot see. 
I found only a few full-grown bugs, and it 
seemed to me I did the hunting and destruc¬ 
tion business very thoroughly, but I never 
feel sure that the work is all done, and con¬ 
tinue to watch and search for some time after 
the big hunt. If I see another bug I shall 
try the new remedy recommended to me by 
a neighbor. She says there is nothing like 
alum, as she has learned by experience. Her 
directions were: “Dissolve alum in water, 
using a little more alum than the water will 
take up. Wash over every possible place for 
bugs with this strong solution, using a rag or 
a brush, as is most convenient.” This remedy 
is safe and cheap, and is said to be very 
effectual. For a log house, or in unfinished 
rooms, how would it do to use a white-wash 
brush, and go all over the walls, floors, and 
ceilings? Alum is cheap, and it is easily dis¬ 
solved in water. 
I asked, “ How do they come?” We can¬ 
not tell in each particular case, but by great 
care we can usually keep free from them, 
though the case is a hard one when one 
moves into a house with infested walls. My 
neighbor lent an umbrella, and when, after a 
week or so, it was returned, she opened it 
while carrying it to its place. She had no 
thought of bugs, but there was a poor hungry- 
looking bed-bug in the folds of the umbrella! 
A hired man came to a new place to work, 
and the next morning a bug was found on the 
wall near his valise. An overcoat was bor¬ 
rowed in a storm, and in its folds was found 
a bed-bug. People who are very careful 
never lay the outer clothing of visitors upon 
a bed, but upon a table or chair. It seems 
unkind to be so suspicious, but my mother 
tells of seeing a great bed-bug on the shawl 
of a visitor, as it was handed to her, which 
so disconcerted her that she impulsively 
started to carry both bonnet and shawl 
into the wood-shed. A very neat and lovely 
lady told me of finding one of these repul¬ 
sive insects on the white strings of her Leg¬ 
horn bonnet on her return from church. 
Uemou Sauce. 
Grate the yellow peel from one lemon. 
Tear out the pulp containing the juice, and 
cut into bits. The thick white portion is of 
no use. Soak a heaping teacupful of bread 
crumbs, or a long thick slice of bread in hot 
water, rubbing it fine and smooth. Add more 
water, putting lemon, crumbs, and water 
together, so that there shall be about a pint 
and a half in all. Add a small teacupful of 
sugar, and let all boil together for a few min¬ 
utes. Then add a level teaspoonful of butter 
and one egg well beaten. To prevent the egg 
from cooking unevenly, stir carefully a little 
of the boiling mixture into the egg, thus 
thinning it before you turn it into the mix¬ 
ture, always stirring fast as you gradually mix 
the egg with the rest. When cool this makes 
an excellent sauce, and eaten with bread is 
better for children (or any one else) than the 
common lemon pie. It “ goes further,” too. 
A Folding Cot or Bed for Children. 
Mr. H. A. McLaughlin, Butler Co., Pa., 
“ noticing so many valuable hints in regard 
to home-made articles for the household,” 
adds his mite by sending a model for a small 
cot, or bed, that he made for children’s use, 
and finds to be very convenient. The cot is 
so constructed that it folds up and can be 
put away in a closet, or other small place, 
when not in use. It is made of pine, and is 
Fig. 1— THE COT SHOWN OPEN. 
4 feet long by 2 2 | 3 feet wide; the sides and 
ends are 1 foot high, and made of three 
strips of boards, held together by two cross¬ 
pieces. The legs are 8 inches in length. The 
main part, or “body” of the cot, is made of 
strips of boards, 3 inches wide ; the sides, 
ends, and legs, being attached to it by hinges, 
twelve in number. There are eight hooks 
and eyes, one at each upper comer, and one 
for each leg. These hold the parts in position 
when the cot is set up for use. The hinges 
Fig. 2.— THE COT FOLDED. 
and hooks and eyes cost not far from 80 
cents. Such a cot, as here described, is so 
simple that it can be made by any one who 
is handy with ordinary tools, and, as Mr. 
McL. says, “in a single day’s time.” The 
cot as opened for use is shown in figure 1; 
when folded it appears as seen in figure 2. 
Cucumber Catsup.— Several years ago 
we gave our method of making this, with cu¬ 
cumbers only. We now give a recipe with 
additions; we have not tried this, but can 
commend that made in the same manner with 
cucumbers alone, as most excellent. Take a 
dozen large ripe cucumbers, pare, cut open 
and remove the seeds, and grate to a pulp; 
place the pulp in a bag of thin muslin and 
hang it up to drain. Next day remove the 
grated cucumber from the bag, add two or 
three onions and green peppers chopped fine, 
a tablespoonful of salt, mix well, and place 
in a jar with sufficient vinegar to cover it. 
