1882.] 
AMERICAN .AGRICULTURIST. 
297 
Sleeping Accommodations. 
Cleanliness is the great essential. Our life is 
passive during the hours of sleep, but our breath¬ 
ing goes on constantly, and the demand for pure 
air in sleeping rooms is very important. There 
should always be communication with the outside 
air, and in w r arm weather, the doors and windows 
may all be wide open. If currents of air can sweep 
through the rooms in the day time (or in the night 
without endangering the sleepers), so much the 
better. The bad air that originates in sleeping 
rooms—the waste substance that escapes from 
human bodies, by the lungs and skin—settles and 
clings about the carpets, curtains, bedding and 
clothing, tainting them with decomposing, and 
it may be, poisonous matter, unless a constant 
cleansing process is carried on by plentiful airing, 
and the action of light, especially sunshine. The 
room should contain as little drapery as possible. 
Rugs are better than carpets, and no heavy curtains 
should be used. The bed should not be made up 
after using, until the bedding has been well aired, 
and the more it can be exposed to bright sunshine, 
and out-door breezes, the better. The room 
should be kept as free as possible from all odors. 
The night clothing should be well aired during the 
day, and all the day clothing be placed at night 
where it will get aired before it is again worn. 
Sleeping rooms are often much crowded. It 
would be well, could each, when old enough, have 
a private room and a clean bed apiece. A great 
gain in health would result from this arrangement. 
In our present state of poverty, we can only insist 
that no more than two ought to occupy the same 
bed. It is an outrage on infancy to wedge a baby 
in between two grown-up people. Much injury is 
done to the health and to the morals of children, 
by the crowded sleeping arrangements in families. 
The practice is now becoming quite common among 
careful people, where there are several young chil¬ 
dren, for the parents to divide the care of the little 
ones, the mother taking the youngest in her bed, 
and the father attending to the next to the young¬ 
est, and to others if there is need. It seems a pity 
that the man of the house should be broken of his 
rest, but it is quite as bad a thing to have the 
children’s mother made sick and nervous from 
lack of sleep, and excess of care. With attention 
to the laws of health, especially in regard to food 
and air, there need be little suffering from broken 
rest, as healthy children sleep soundly and quietly, 
and need little care. 
A Neat and Handy Catch-All. 
This little Catch-all is to be hung in a sitting- 
room or bed-room, to hold the little trimmings and 
scraps of waste paper, which make such an untidy 
Fig. 1.— ONE OE THE “ BINGS.” 
litter if left around loose. The rings are crocheted 
from wrapping cord, and the bag is made of blue 
or red cashmere. For the rings, first make four 
chain stitches, join, and over these make fifteen 
stitches in double crochet (see fig. 1); each ring is 
made separately, and when fifteen are finished, they 
are sewed together with strong thread, so that 
the stitches do not show on the right side, 
in the shape shown in figure 2. A similar 
half diamond is made for the other side. Cut of 
pasteboard two pieces, the size of the rings after 
being sewed together, and cover each on both 
sides with cashmere. To these pieces sew a puff 
Fig. 2.— THE CATCH-ALL COMPLETE. 
four inches wide, and long enough to allow for 
gathering. A piece of the cashmere, five inches 
wide, is sewed around the top. The upper edge is 
turned down to make a hem an inch deep. A sec¬ 
ond row of stitching is put an eighth of an inch 
above the first, to make a casing in which is run a 
colored cord for a draw string. The bag is hung 
up by the cord which is knotted together, and the 
knot drawn into the casing. 0. Y. Y. 
Juvenile Love Affairs. 
BY FAITH ROCHESTER. 
Yesterday afternoon a young girl aged fifteen, 
coming out from a public school near here, was 
confronted by her jealous lover aged sixteen, who 
attempted to shoot her, because he thought she 
liked some other boy better than himself. Failing 
in this attempt, he blew out his own brains. In 
this morning’s paper, I find a similar story told of 
an equally youthful couple in some southern city. 
It strikes me that “Juvenile Love Affairs” is a 
very practical subject for parents to consider. 
There is some great lack in early home training, 
back of follies and crimes like these. Foolish read¬ 
ing has much to do with these failures, and for 
that, parents and teachers are responsible. They 
should cultivate in children a taste for good read¬ 
ing, and then carefully supply the demand. 
Those who leave this important part of education 
to chance, can have no reasonable hope that their 
children will escape serious harm and disgrace. 
Children whose minds are fed habitually upon stor¬ 
ies, get a weak mental digestion, and have no in¬ 
clination for instructive books. From childish 
stories of a sensational kind, they go naturally to 
novels, and poor novels are very much more abun¬ 
dant than good ones. It seems to me really best 
that no novels at all should be read by boys and 
girls under sixteen. Webster defines the word nov 
el, as I use it here : “ A fictitious tale or narrative, 
intended to exhibit the operation of the passions, 
and particularly of love.” There are fictitious 
stories of considerable length, that can not properly 
be called novels. Who would apply that name to 
the “Roila” books, the “Prudy” series, or to 
Miss. Edgeworth’s and Miss. Olcott’s Juvenile 
books? “Love stories about murder,” defines 
popularly the class objected to. 
A parent who has to forbid novels to his or her 
children has reason to feel ashamed, for it implies 
a previous failure of duty. The first duty is to see 
that a taste for wholesome reading is developed in 
the child. Read to it when very young, interesting 
facts of natural science or history. A very little at 
a time, made very simple and plain, and given if 
possible when the mind craves food—when the 
child asks “ Why ? ” or “ How ? ” I often wonder 
whether the readers of the American Agriculturist 
appreciate the value of the “ Doctor’s Talks.” It 
is hardly possible to say too much in their praise. 
Most writers for children go on the supposition 
that all facts must be rolled in a sugar coating of 
fancy (or fairy stuff), to be acceptable to the young, 
but my own experience leads to a different belief. 
But good stories have their use, and I have often 
searched for them, feeling serious need of their 
help in training my children. This is the help I 
wish them to render; to aid in developing moral 
character, in raising one’s standard of manners, 
serving as a sort of antidote for the effects of un¬ 
avoidable association with persons of poor breed¬ 
ing, or low moral tone. Good biography is still 
better. If good juvenile stories lead on naturally 
to a moderate use of the best class of fiction, there 
is no necessity for prohibition. Novel-reading us¬ 
ually has a weakening rather than an elevating ef¬ 
fect upon character, and love stories stimulate an 
unhealthy sensationalism. 
Are children to be kept in ignorance concerning 
the “ grand passion ? ” I hope not. I hope they will 
learn something of it in the most natural and 
wholesome way—as exemplified in the life of their 
parents ; not in any silly ostentatious manner, but 
in the genuine regard shown by each for the other’s 
happiness. Children should never hear love spoken 
of as a light matter, but they should grow up with 
a realization that the proper choice of a husband 
or wife, is something that demands the full exer¬ 
cise of the reason and practical judgment, as 
well as the warm sanction of the heart. They 
should be taught, by the habitual judgment of 
their parents and friends, when such matters are 
talked about, that a choice “for better or for 
worse,” of a life companion, demands the exercise 
of mature powers, and can not properly be made 
in school days. 
“ In school days 1 ” That brings to mind the 
sweet story told by our bachelor poet, Whittier. 
Indeed I was just going to mention this genuine 
little love affair, or warm friendship of children. 
Hardly any warm-hearted boy or girl escapes some 
experience (usually brief), of the kind, but the less 
said about it the better. If silly people do not 
meddle, and if the boy or girl makes mamma a ju¬ 
dicious confidant, no harm is done. Often the 
dream is unduly broken, sometimes the fascina¬ 
tion developes into a pleasant lasting friendship, 
and occasionally it grows gradually into the happy 
love of a life-time. I have had sweet artless con¬ 
fessions made to me by very young children. Sym¬ 
pathy should not be withheld on occasion of any 
frank confidences, but a mutual liking of a little 
boy and girl, should neither be joked about, nor 
treated too seriously. Sentimentalism is always 
unhealthy, and its best antidote, is activity in prac¬ 
tical matters. I never like the pairing off of little 
boys and girls. Let them study and play and work 
together, and be good faithful friends, if mutually 
attracted on any reasonable basis of friendship, but 
beaux and lovers do not belong naturally to child¬ 
hood and early youth. Children’s parties usually 
do much more harm thau good. The whole Valen¬ 
tine business seems to me decidedly unwholesome, 
and I am amazed to learn that Valentine boxes 
have lately been introduced into some of our pub¬ 
lic schools, on the 14th of February, for the con¬ 
venience and encouragement of youthful pairs, who 
wish, to exchange those silly (however pretty), 
tokens of insincere love. I do not believe that sin¬ 
cere and sensible lovers resort to such expressions 
now-a-days. Another more common custom in our 
schools has a tendency in the same wrong direc¬ 
tion—the choosing by ballot of the handsomest 
girl for the May Queen. Great growths of vanity 
and of envy are sometimes the results of this unnec¬ 
essary performance. As parents and teachers and 
friends of the coming men and women, let us en¬ 
courage only those things that tend to promote 
the various virtues, and to increase true happiness. 
