190 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Mat, 
for which the outfit is not costly—it, in fact, meets 
every possible requirement in a family game that 
shall furnish recreation, that shall be as far re¬ 
moved from work as possible, and to be partici¬ 
pated in because, and for that reason only, it affords 
healthful exercise for both body and mind. The 
kind of exercise afforded by the use of the bow is 
unlike that in most other out-door amusements ; 
it brings into play the muscles of both arms, and 
aids in developing the chest, and leads to an erect 
and graceful carriage of the body. An archery party, 
as shown in the engraving, is attractive to the spec¬ 
tators, as the outfit and the positions taken by the 
players are exceedingly picturesque and pleasing. 
We have frequently referred to the mental exercise, 
holding that to be quite as important as the other. 
Archery affords this in an unusual degree, for, be¬ 
sides the excitement of rivalry, the desire to excel 
another, the conditions of success must be consid¬ 
ered, and this will lead those who desire to excel to 
consider under what conditions the best shots are 
made. Besides this, while Archery is now merely 
a game, it was formerly an art. The history of the 
bow, not only as a weapon of war, but as the only 
pne used in the hunt, opens up an interesting period 
>f history, and those so inclined will find the his¬ 
tory of Archery most attractive. In view of the 
revival of Archery—in fact, it promises to be the 
coming home exercise or game—a number of per¬ 
sons have been at work devising new and attractive 
forms of the bow, arrow, and other accessories. 
Several of these new designs in Archery have been 
presented to the Orange Judd Company, no doubt 
because they are widely known as agents for Cran¬ 
dall’s Blocks, the most popular toys of the age. 
One of these new styles of Bows and accesso¬ 
ries—that invented by Wright & Thome—seemed 
to possess so many novel and useful features that 
they have undertaken the sale of them. The par¬ 
ticulars in which the bow—of course, the most 
important part of the outfit—differs from other 
bows, and the accessories were shown last month, 
on next to the last page of the cover, and are given 
more in full in a Catalogue which is sent upon appli¬ 
cation. We may suggest that, besides the home 
exercise of Archery—and we believe in home amuse¬ 
ments before all others—the formation of Archery 
Clubs, to meet at stated times, to adopt some simple 
uniform, and to exercise for some inexpensive 
prize. Such clubs greatly conduce to good feeling, 
and as they create a community feeling, make bet¬ 
ter neighbors. Let our young people try Archery. 
A Compact Quilting Frame. 
It looks as if there might be a quilting mania, 
from the receipt in quick succession of three de¬ 
signs for quilting frames. These designs are essen¬ 
tially the same—varying in unimportant details only 
Fig. 1.— STANDARD OF QUILTING FRAME. 
—and appear to be an improvement upon any of the 
numerous frames we have published. Having sev¬ 
eral to choose from, we accept the one that has 
come the greatest distance—that by George Lin- 
field, Washington Co., Oregon. The frame is sup¬ 
ported by two standards or end pieces, one of 
which is shown in fig. 1. The upper horizontal 
portion is 30 in. long, and of 2 by 3-inch stuff ; be¬ 
tween this and the foot is an upright 30 in. high, 
with two mortises for the slats. There are two 
slats, 7 ft. long and 1 by 3 in.; each end i6 cut to 
form a tenon, which passes far enough through the 
upright in fig. 1 to allow of a Much pin ; when the 
slats are in place, and the pins driven in, the whole 
is very firm, and may be moved about if desired ; 
Fig. 2.— SLAT TO JOIN STANDARD. 
the lower slat answers as a foot-rest for those work¬ 
ing at the quilt. The two rollers, fig. 3, may be 
round or 8-sided, 7 ft. long and 2 in. through ; one 
end has a round bearing H in. diameter ; the other 
end has a similar bearing, and beyond that is an 
inch square, to hold the ratchet-wheel shown in fig. 
1. The ratchet-wheels may be of hard wood, 4 in. 
diameter and an inch thick. A strip of cloth is 
Fig. 3.—ROLLER TO HOLD QUILT. 
tacked to each roller. E. S. Hallett, of Indiana, 
makes the ratchet-wheel of sheet-iron, and 5 in. in 
diameter; uses but one slat, which with the roller 
is 9 ft. long. The advantage of this frame over 
most others is the small space it occupies, whether 
in use or not. If the work is interrupted, the quilt 
can be rolled up on the rollers and set aside. 
Home Topics. 
BY FAITH ROCHESTER. 
More Baby Talk. 
After all. there is nothing connected with the 
Household so important as the proper nurture of 
our children. I need not apologize for coming 
back to the subject so often. How can I help it 
now, when my arms and my time and my heart and 
mind are chiefly occupied with the care of one of 
the sweetest and cunningest babies that ever came 
into this world ? All mothers will understand this 
language, which no doubt seems extravagant to 
others. A bachelor friend of the family called 
here the other day, and was surprised to find what 
he called “a little stranger” among us. I pitied 
his ignorance of babyhood. But it was not a will¬ 
ing ignorance, for he asked some curious questions 
on the subject—wanted to know if the fourth or 
fifth or sixth baby in a family seemed just as won¬ 
derful and delightful to its parents as the first 
child. I was glad to bear testimony to the good¬ 
ness of God, for how dreadful it would be if this 
story of human life and love did ever grow old and 
wearisome. It is a part of the Lord’s great mercy 
that to loving parents, each infant added to the 
flock, is a fresh wonder and source of tender ad¬ 
miration. Sometimes our hands are so full and our 
strength is so little, that we do not see how we can 
possibly do or bear any more as mothers ; and we 
could not, if the baby itself did not awaken such a 
fresh fountain of love for its own sweet helpless¬ 
ness as gives us new energy and courage—new 
physical strength too, in many cases. Let me say 
plainly that I believe parentage, under healthy and 
happy conditions, to be decidedly wholesome for 
women, physically, mentally, and morally. It is 
good for men, too, and a pure and wise fatherhood 
is quite as necessary for the welfare of the human 
race as a good and loving motherhood. Fathers 
ought to see a good deal of their little children; 
ought to share to some extent in the real daily care 
which infancy entails upon some one. Babies are 
costly treasures, and some one must very frequently 
attend to their various needs, and one who does 
this with loving attention, is sure to reap a blessing. 
The experience is so new and wonderful to the 
young parents of a first child, that they fancy the 
delight comes largely from its novelty. But there 
are added elements of pleasure as other children 
come along. The wonder of the little brothers and 
sisters is a pleasant thing to see. It seems to me. 
that children who are led to believe that the doctor 
or nurse brings the baby to its mother, cannot pos¬ 
sibly love and reverence it as those do who believe 
that it has come from Heaven as one of God’s most 
precious gifts—came to mamma’s bed in the night, 
as the youngest one thinks—grew naturally in 
God’s appointed way as the elder ones have heard) 
as the flowers and fruits each grow in their own 
heaven-appointed way. It pains me to think of 
the falsehoods other mothers have told their confid¬ 
ing children about our precious baby, and I can 
hardly wonder at the indignation or contempt 
which better-informed children feel for these false 
stories. I think it important, however, as we give 
truthful answers to our children’s inquiries, that 
we caution them not to talk on such subjects with 
any but their parents. A very little correct in¬ 
formation satisfies most children, and the subject 
is easily changed. 
Baby's Nights. 
One of my late letters of congratulation, lacks a 
little pity in some of its lines. It comes from a 
mother of only one child. She says, “ I have no 
doubt the little one has found a warm welcome in 
your heart, but I think of the tired and already 
overtaxed mother, and wonder if strength sufficient 
will be added to carry you safely through the next 
two or three years of wakeful nights and baby¬ 
tending days. Or do your babies go to bed and 
sleep all night like grown folks. Mine didn’t, and 
we are making up now for lost sleep.” 
I have not forgotten my experience with my first 
baby when he was the only child. We either kept 
a lamp burning all night or lighted one whenever 
anything was the matter with the little one. This 
was all unnecessary and has never been repeated in 
this family. The present baby has slept in a dark 
room every night since he came here, and since the 
first week no lamp has been lighted on his account. 
A maple “chunk” has burned slowly in the stove 
all night until this week (early in March), but a 
window has been kept open nearly every night. He 
is usually sound asleep soon after 7 o’clock, often 
earlier, and does not wake again until after mid¬ 
night. He sometimes goes off into this sound 
sleep while nursing, and sometimes is rocked to 
sleep. The little grunts and squeaks he makes, 
stretching himself as he gradually wakes up with 
hunger in the uight, awake me, so he does not 
arouse any one by crying. Here, it has come to be 
considered, by father and mother both, as quite un¬ 
desirable for both parents to occupy the same bed 
with baby. No bed is wide enough for this, and a 
crib for baby alone is not the best place for him in 
winter. So it is never necessary to have him sleep 
on my arm except when feeding him, and quite un¬ 
necessary to keep a warm room, as he does not 
have to be moved from under the warm bed-clothes. 
Usually no change of garments is required as he is 
dressed for the night with sufficient protection to 
carry him through. If he gets uneasy about it, 
however, his “ under-clothes ” can be changed 
without uncovering mother or child, if you have 
the napkins carefully folded ready for use and laid 
near, so that you know just how to open and use 
them in the dark. These quiet nights are worth 
trying for, and to secure them, the mother and child 
should not be crowded, the room should be well 
ventilated and reasonably quiet, and the baby 
should never be taken up in the night or exposed 
to the lamp-light unless it is absolutely necessary. 
When an infant has to be fed with a spoon or drink 
from a cup, the case becomes more difficult, but let 
everything be done with as little fuss as possible. 
If the mother can nurse the child at all, if her milk 
is healthy but only insufficient in quantity, the child 
need not be weaned entirely, but have two or three 
additional meals, and none need come in the night. 
Bread that is Sweet. 
“ I don’t know what you mean hy sweet bread,” 
said the hired girl; and she didn’t. Her bread was 
well kneaded and very light, but never really sweet 
and sometimes sour. That bread shall taste sweet, 
is one of my household hobbies, perhaps. I hear 
bread praised as very nice, which seems to me quite 
poor, because it lacks this essential quality. Sugar 
will not give the desired sweetness, and surely soda 
cannot. In the wheat itself is the saccharine prin¬ 
ciple—all the sugar that is needed to make our 
bread palatable or nutritious. All I ask is that the 
wheat when ground into flour or meal shall not be 
so prepared as food, as to lose all of this natural 
sweetness. It is less likely to do so, if the flour— 
