66 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
§51?“ For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
A Coal Bin. 
Mr. Edward Dambach, Butler Co., Pa., 
sends a sketch of a very convenient coal bin 
which lie has used to his satisfaction for some 
time. The coal is put in at the top of the 
bin, a, and is removed through a lid in the 
side. The coal is kept from pressing against 
this lid by means of a board in the position 
shown by the dotted line, c, in the engraving. 
The bottom of the bin, d, is slanting, the up¬ 
per and front sides of which come even with 
the lower edge of the lid. The box can be 
A HANDY COAL BIN. 
made either plain or ornamented, and if the 
latter, it is far superior hi its appearance to 
he unsightly coal ‘scows’ frequently seen. 
Heating Water—A Japan Bath. 
A correspondent, in writing from near 
Lucknow, in the East Indies, sends a sketch 
of what is in common use there as a Japan 
Bath, though it is employed to heat water for 
many purposes besides bathing. He thinks 
that such an affair would be much used in 
this country if it were generally known how 
quickly and cheaply water can be heated in 
it. The reservoir used is a half-barrel, large 
firkm, or some such affair. In the center is 
a cylinder of sheet iron, B, which fits over a 
hole in the bottom of the vessel; it has a 
flange, E, at the bottom, by means of which 
it is fastened to the bottom of the barrel, by 
rivets, with red-lead between the two to 
make a close joint; there is a grate, A, at the 
bottom of the cylinder, to hold the charcoal, 
At the top is a cover, D, with openings that 
may be closed more or less, and serve as a 
damper. A faucet near the bottom completes 
the heater. It should be set upon two horses 
or other supports, placed far enough apart to 
clear the grate and allow the coals that may 
drop from it to fall to the ground. Our cor¬ 
respondent states that, properly managed, 
two lbs. of charcoal is enough fuel for a day. 
Water of Ammonia, or Spirits of Harts¬ 
horn. 
A few months ago -we suggested that 
house-keepers should keep a bottle of Lime- 
Water at hand, and mentioned some of its 
: uses. Another alkaline solution, the Water 
, of Ammonia, is also of great utility in the 
household. This is a solution of the gas Am- 
i monia in water. Ammonia is formed when 
i animal matters are distilled in a certain man¬ 
ner ; the early chemists produced it from 
j the horns of the deer or hart, and as they re- 
■ garded everything that was distilled as a 
! “ spirit,” they called this Spirits of Harts¬ 
horn. The gas, Ammonia, is invisible, but 
we can readily recognize it by its strong and 
pungent odor. One of its peculiarities is, 
the readiness with which it dissolves in water. 
At ordinary temperatures water will dissolve 
over 600 times its own bulk of the gas. The 
| liquid sold by the druggists as Spirits of 
Hartshorn, is merely a solution of this gas 
in water, lienee the more accurate name 
for it is Water of Ammonia. Two kinds are 
kept in the shops, one three times as strong 
as the other. If simply Water of Ammonia 
is asked for, the weaker kind is given ; to 
procure the other the “ strong” must be des¬ 
ignated. To keep it, the bottle must be closed 
by a well fitting glass stopper which is waxed, 
or by a rubber one, as it soon destroys a cork. 
When applied to the skin, Ammonia is a 
powerful stimulant, and the strong solution 
will blister very promptly. It is usually ap¬ 
plied externally in the form of a liniment. 
If one part of ordinary Water of Ammonia 
be mixed with two parts of Olive Oil, they 
form a liquid soap which is known as Vo¬ 
latile Liniment, and used wherever the 
stimulant action of ammonia is needed, es¬ 
pecially in the sore throats of children. 
Being strongly alkaline, it is useful to neu¬ 
tralize acids, and when strong acids are spilled 
upon clothing or other fabrics, an immediate 
application of Ammonia may arrest their 
destructive action. When black fabrics are 
discolored by most acids, Ammonia will re¬ 
store the color. The readiness with which it 
combines with oil and grease of all kinds 
makes it most serviceable in removing such 
articles from the clothing. Applied to a 
grease spot, it forms at once a soap with the 
oil or fat, which may then be washed out. 
Unless the application be followed by wash¬ 
ing with water, it will do little or no good. 
A mixture of equal parts of Water of Am¬ 
monia and Alcohol forms one of the best 
liquids for cleaning woollen clothing, there 
being few spots or stains which water will 
not remove, that will not be dissolved by the 
Ammonia or the Alcohol. In using this, 
apply it well to the spot, and then wash the 
place with a sponge and warm water. There 
is no way in which hair-brushes and combs, 
especially fine ones, can be kept in good 
order so easily, as by an occasional washing in 
water (blood warm), to which enough Water 
of Ammonia has been added to make it smell 
rather strongly. A washing in this at once 
cleanses a soiled hair brash and makes it 
look as bright and as good as new. 
A Chimney Sweeper. 
"W. W. W.,” Cape Girardeau Co.. Ill., 
sends a sketch of a de¬ 
vice for removing soot 
from a chimney. It 
consists of a bundle of 
flax straw large enough 
to fill the flue, to which 
a rope is attached in its 
middle, each half being- 
long enough to reach 
through the chimney. 
If the rope cannot be 
dropped readily from 
the top, attach a weight 
of some kind to it to car¬ 
ry one end of the rope 
through the chimney. 
The sweeper is operated 
by two persons, one at 
the top and the other at 
the bottom, one pulling- 
up and the other down. 
The illustration here¬ 
with given shows the ar¬ 
rangement of the flax, weight, and the rope. 
Variety from Potatoes. 
Owing to the long and severe drouth over 
a wide extent of country, many families will 
find their usual variety of winter vegetables 
much curtailed, if they are not reduced to 
the potato as the only vegetable. Probably 
no other vegetable can be prepared in so great 
a variety of acceptable styles, and we remind 
our friends of a few of the least common ones. 
Kentuuky, or Fricasseed Potatoes.— 
Peel the potatoes and slice very thin, as for 
frying, and allow them to remain in cold 
water for half an hour. Place in a pudding 
dish, adding- salt, pepper, and milk; put in 
the oven and bake for an hour. When taken 
out, cut a lump of butter. half as big as a 
hen’s egg into small bits and scatter them 
over the top just before serving. We find 
that some potatoes need longer baking, two 
hours not being too much. The quantity 
of milk should be sufficient to leave a 
little rich gravy to moisten the potatoes; 
half a pint to a dish of moderate size will 
usually be enough, but this can be learned by 
experience. If this is once tried it will be 
liked, and it will be very sure to be repeated. 
Broiled Potatoes. — One of the ways 
of making a breakfast dish of cold potatoes, 
is to slice about half an inch thick, place in a 
wire gridiron, and broil them, browning both 
sides equally. As they are removed, sprinkle 
each slice with salt and pepper, and place on 
it a bit of butter, and serve hot. 
Potato Balls. —Use mashed potatoes left 
from the dinner, or mash them for the pur¬ 
pose ; add the yolk of an egg, and make into 
flattened cakes. Dip these in egg and crack¬ 
er crumbs, and fry, or place upon a greased 
griddle and brown evenly on both sides. 
Potato Salad. —Slice cold boiled potatoes 
very thin, place in a dish, strewing among 
them pepper and salt, and a little onion and 
parsley chopped fine ; add vinegar enough to 
