416 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Killing Mosquitoes with Pyrethrum. 
Some months ago we mentioned the use of 
Pyrethrum, or “Persian Insect Powder,” for the 
destruction of insects. It was stated that in Prance 
the powder was made into pastilles, to be burned 
in rooms, in order to kill mosquitoes by the smoke 
thus produced. Our long-time correspondent, M. 
Jean Sisley, Lyons, France, upon reading this arti¬ 
cle, sent us his method of using the Pyrethrum 
powder for mosquitoes. He says : 
“ I take a small pomatum pot, round the top of 
which I put an iron wire, and at the upper end of 
this I make a ring to hold 
a cartridge or cigarette. 
This cartridge I make by 
rolling a piece of paper of 
about six inches long by 
two inches wide round 
a common lead pencil. 
I twist the paper at one 
end, and then put in the 
Pyrethrum powder at the 
other end. The powder 
is added in small quanti¬ 
ties at a time, and pressed 
by the pencil. When the 
cartridge is full, it is 
twisted atthetop,and put 
in the wire ring, as shown 
PYRETHRUM CIGARETTE. . Q ^ engravi n<r. Thus 
prepared, the affair is set upon the mantel shelf of 
the bedroom, and the cartridge lighted an hour be¬ 
fore going to bed, the doors and windows being 
shut. One charge of this size will do for a small 
room of 9 or 10 feet square, but for a larger room 
two or three must be used. The paper for the case 
should be thin, and burn easily, and the powder 
must be very dry, in order to burn well.” 
The pomatum pot is used as a support for the 
burning powder, and to prevent accidents from 
fire. Of course any other vessel that will answer 
these purposes may be used instead. We would 
suggest as a still simpler way, to fill a cup or other 
vessel with dry sand, and insert the lower end of 
the cartridge or cigarette in that. 
Useful Household Devices. 
BY L. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y. 
A Neat Fruit Drying Arrangement. 
The best way to dry fruit, is by artificial heat,but 
farmers and others who have but little fruit, are 
not able to purchase a fruit dryer. The usual 
A FRUIT-DRYING PLATFORM. 
method of drying apples, is to build a frame out of 
doors, cover it with boards, upon which the fruit 
is spread. During inclement weather, the fruit is 
usually only partially protected by a covering of 
loose boards. The following describes a good fruit 
drying arrangement. It should be located in the 
south side of the second story of the wood-house, 
wash-house, or even in the corn-house, or other 
convenient out-building. A space eight inches 
high, and five or six feet iu length, is cut in the 
south side of the building, level with the floor; 
upon the floor arc nailed two light scantlings, a, a, 
projecting beyond the building six or eight feet as 
desired. The ends are connected by the strip h, 
and supported by the braces e, e. Upon this track 
runs the platform, or drying board, b. The wheels 
may be of either wood or iron, and run in grooves, 
or in anyway desired. When the platform is with¬ 
in the building, it is easy of access, and perfectly dry, 
and can be easily pushed out along the track to re¬ 
ceive the direct rays of the sun during pleasant 
weather, and drawn in during stormy weather, or at 
night. It is up out of the way of fowls, and is so 
arranged that even a child can manage it, besides 
insuring a better quality of dried fruit, than if 
dried out of doors in the usual manner. The open¬ 
ing cut in the building should be so arranged as to 
be closed, when the drying season is over, with a 
long strip of board, or, better still, arranged with 
hinges. 
A Clothes Xiiue Elevator. 
As usually strung up, the clothes line is almost 
out of reach, especially at the ends, and clothes are 
hung upon it with some difficulty, especially by a 
person of short stature. This difficulty can be 
quite successfully obviated, by the use of the sim¬ 
ple arrangement shown in the engraving. The 
elevator consists of a plank post, a, projecting four 
feet above ground, to which is bolted at the top, 
near one edge, a lever, r, five feet in length. The end 
of the clothes line is attached two feet from the bolt. 
The opposite end, three feet in length, is used fora 
handle or lever for adjusting the clothes line, when 
filled with clothes, and is retained in position by a 
wooden button, b. A small block is nailed upon 
the post at p, to hold the lever in a horizontal posi¬ 
tion, while the clothes are being placed upon and 
removed from the line. A similar “ elevator ” may 
be placed at each end of the clothes line, 
and it may be made of any desired size. 
A Safe AsU Bin. 
Many fires, sometimes most disastrous 
ones, are traced to the method of dis¬ 
posing of ashes ; and no wonder, when 
so few families have any safe place for 
depositing them ; even if they have iron 
pails for carrying them. Very often 
they are left in the pail in a wooden 
outbuilding, or thrown into a corner of 
a wooden smoke house, under' the im¬ 
pression that there are no live coals in 
them. Hard-wood charcoal buried in 
ashes w ill hold fire a long time. We 
once uncovered a hickory stick, 4 or 5 
inches in diameter, that had lain cover¬ 
ed with ashes in a fire-place during 
eleven days, and found the buried 
end all aglow on exposure to the air. Farm¬ 
ers having a smoke house, if they bum wood, 
dump the ashes in one corner of it, to save them 
for soap-making, or as a fertilizer. But the large 
majority in both village and country, throw their 
ashes in a heap on the ground. A little ex¬ 
pense would provide a perfectly fire-proof bin or 
house that will keep the ashes fresh and dry. The- 
engraving herewith shows a convenient form. It 
is built of brick, is about 5 feet long, 4 feet wide,, 
and 4 feet high, outside measurement. If the soil 
is sandy or well drained, the bottom may be a foot 
below the surface. The roof is made of boards 
A CHEAP AND SAFE ASH BIN. 
lined with tin or sfyeet iron—even with old stove 
pipes opened out flat. One side is hung on hinges- 
at the ridge, answering for a door. A single course 
of bricks, making the wall 41 inches thick, is suffi¬ 
ciently strong and almost any one can lay them. 
Old brick will answer, and it may be as plain or as 
ornamental as desired. It may be built of stone, if 
these are at hand, and can be used more cheaply 
than brick. Usually brick will be most economi¬ 
cal, on account of the saving of work and mortar. 
A Filter for Cistern. 
BY GRUNDY, CHRISTIAN CO., ILL. 
While visiting a friend last year, I was surprised 
to find that he was compelled to use cistern water 
for all purposes. In answer to my inquiries, he 
stated that no well water was to be had in that sec¬ 
tion short of one hundred feet, and then the quality 
was such that no one 
could use it. Springs 
were unknown. Three 
miles distant was a 
creek to which all live 
stock was driven,when 
cisterns and ponds 
failed. The water in 
the house cistern was 
simply abominable, 
caused by keeping the 
spout turned on, and 
running in every drop 
that fell on the house. 
At his earnest solici¬ 
tation, I constructed 
a filter for his cistern, of which I give a sketch. 
He recently informed me that it works like a charm, 
and that his neighbors are all using it. Figure 1 
shows the filter. It is a large barrel with one end 
knocked out. At the bottom is a layer of fine 
charcoal, d. Above this is a layer of fine gravel, c - 
over this is a layer of coarse gravel, b, on the top 
of the barrel is a thin strainer, a, held in place by a. 
hoop which fits over the barrel. The cloth is de¬ 
pressed in the center as seen in the cut. This 
strainer catches all leaves and coarse dirt, and 
should be cleaned after every shower. Some use a 
wire strainer of very fine mesh, but the cloth ans- 
Fig 2.—ARRANGEMENT OF FILTER AND CISTERN, 
wers the purpose very well. The filtered water 
flows through a hole, e. Into this hole a metal tube 
a foot or more long, punched full of holes, and 
covered with wire netting, is inserted. Six inches 
below the top is another hole, s, which is fitted with 
Fig. 1.— SECTION OF 
FILTER. 
