106 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
THE HdOTSEWm 
For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
Monograms For Needle Work. 
A mark of ownership upon any article of cloth¬ 
ing is an important item when the garment is lost 
and it is desired to find the owner. Again, in sort¬ 
ing the clothing as it comes from the wash, a mark 
of some kind, easily found, but not too conspicu¬ 
ous, is a matter of practical value; in fact, there 
are sufficient reasons why all underclothing should 
bear its possessor’s mark or name. There are very 
many ways of 
marking cloth¬ 
ing, from a 
single letter 
stamped or 
written upon 
the fabric, or a 
simple stitch of 
thread, to the 
most elaborate 
designs worked 
with great care 
and ingenuity. 
To those per¬ 
sons who have 
a fondness for fine needlework, the designing 
and working of monograms furnishes an agree¬ 
able occupation. Some monograms are given 
in the accompanying engravings, not expecting 
that they will be just the initials for many of 
the readers, but rather as samples to serve as a 
guide—to suggest how designs may be made and 
the work done. The chances are only one in sev¬ 
eral thousand that any given person’s initals are as 
shown in figure 3. The size of the monogram, and 
the color and quality of the thread used in its 
construction, and other like matters, will depend 
upon the kind of garment, nature of fabric, and 
“last, but not least,” the taste of the designer. 
A Burlesque Art Gallery. 
At a fair for charitable purposes that the writer 
recently attended, one of its most popular and at¬ 
tractive features was an Art Gallery—an “ annex” 
to the main show, as it would have been called in 
the Centennial year. There was just an even 
hundred “works of art” on exhibition,all going to 
show the dupli¬ 
city and flex¬ 
ibility of our 
language, and 
the ingenuity 
of the “ artist.” 
For example, 
when a “View 
of Paradise ” is 
announced on 
the catalogue, 
one’s thoughts 
turn to some 
grand sight of 
a celestial city, 
but what he really sees is only a pair of dice. 
There has been much excitement over contests 
in swimming during the past year, and to see 
one must, of course, be well worth the price of 
admission to the gallery. “ The Swimming Match ” 
had but an ordinary glass of water in which to 
swim, and we wonder how it will “go ofE ” when 
it comes to the “rub.” “A Bridal Scene” was 
soon in full view, and for the moment it reminded 
one of a harness shop. “ The Skipper’s Home,”— 
a snug little cottage by the sea as we had always 
been told, proved to be only an ordinary slice of a 
very ordinary cheese. “ Sweet Sixteen ” excited 
much interest among the young men present. 
They were shown a collection of four times four 
lumps of cut sugar. Several dead mice proved to 
be “A View of the Catskills.” The “Maid of 
Orleans ” is a person for whom our historial reading 
had given us a very high appreciation. She was 
here sweet in character, but not so white as more 
pulling would have made her. Of course the lass 
was candy from (New) Orleans (Mo-lasses). It is 
said that one seldom sees “A Perfect Foot,” but 
here was one with all the inches, halves, quarters, 
etc., marked upon it, and yet looking at it one 
would think such a foot was the common rule. It 
was with some surprise that we saw it was an¬ 
nounced that there was an “ Eclipse of the Sun,” 
as the almanacs had not foretold it, besides it was 
evening, but this did not prevent a black cloth 
from obscuring the view of a copy of the “New 
York Sun.” “The Great American Desert” was 
the title of the next picture presented to the view 
of the lovers of nature and art. This was art in the 
form of a Pie ! One of the neatest thing was a new 
version of the old song, “ Coming Through the 
Rye.” Three little artificial mice with their heads 
just sticking out of a loaf of rye bread. A pumpkin 
shell with a five-cent, toy time keeper upon it had 
the high sounding title of “The Watch on the 
Rhine.” The pile of hinges, screws, knobs, bolts, 
etc., were all “ Things to Adore,” and “ A View of 
Boston,” that home of wisdom, was presented in 
the central portion of a wheel, The Hub. “ The 
Missing One” 
was a mystery 
to us until look¬ 
ing all around 
a large paste¬ 
board unit was 
seen above our 
head. We can 
by no means 
go through the 
whole list, but 
as this is the 
p r e s i d e n tial 
year, we close 
with “The 
Two Candidates.” We did not make a choice, 
Dates being sufficiently sweet without being 
candied. These extracts from the catalogue of the 
Burlesque Art Gallery are given to afford a hint to 
those engaged in the management of fairs, etc. 
Such an exhibition, when well carried out, is capa¬ 
ble of affording a vast amount of innocent amuse¬ 
ment, and may be made to add essentially to the 
receipts with a very small outlay. It should be in 
the hands of those who have sufficient ingenuity to 
present a fresh lot of pictures, as many of the “ old 
masters ” have become badly worn by long use. 
Household Notes and Queries. 
The Moths.—A word in season, is the one that 
tells. This is not the month for moths, but it is 
getting so far along towards the time when the 
precautions should be used, that in giving them 
now, many will be saved the trouble of writ¬ 
ing to ask what to do with their robes, furs, etc. 
As strange as it may seem, we meet with intelligent 
persons, who do not understand the changes in 
insect life—all 
should know 
that we have 
first the egg; 
then the larva 
—some kind of 
a caterpillar, 
maggot, or 
grub, some¬ 
thing of the 
“ worm” kind; 
this then goes 
into the pupa, 
or chrysalis 
state, remains Fig. 4. 
quiet a while, then comes out as the perfect 
insect—either butterfly, moth, beetle, fly, or what¬ 
ever its kind. In the clothes-moth it is the larva, 
the caterpillar, that does the mischief; its perfect 
form is popularly known as the “ Moth Miller,” 
and in due time will be seen flitting about the 
house. Now the trouble arises from allowing this 
parent-moth to deposit her eggs upon or in the 
fabric, which afterwards furnishes the food for the 
young “ worms.” Prevention is thus seen to be 
the most important remedy. Hence various things 
that are distasteful to the mother moth, and not in¬ 
Fig. 3. 
jurious to the furs, woollens, etc., are in frequent 
use to keep the moths away. Of such are Camphor 
Gum, Cedar Shavings, Pepper, Tobacco, etc., 
sprinkled on the fabrics. But the best and surest 
method is, to put the goods away in a place—a box, 
barrel, or even paper bag—where the moths cannot 
enter—and pack the goods in it before there is any 
chance for the eggs to be laid. 
Household Accounts. —There are reasons why 
the wife or house-keeper should keep an account 
book. In the first place it would furnish interest¬ 
ing information of the number of pounds of sugar, 
spice, flour, meat, etc., that a family of a certain 
size consumes. How many know anything definite 
about these things ! Again, such a record would 
suggest changes in the living in one way or another, 
and furnish a basis for calculation of the require¬ 
ments for the coming year. We knew of a lady 
who went so far as to keep an account of the num¬ 
ber of extra meals which she furnished in a year; 
and wjien it was announced the family were greatly 
surprised. A household account is a startling re- 
vealer of facts. As a matter of family history, a 
record should be kept—of course, the dates of 
births and deaths will be given in the Record to be 
found in the family Bible, but there are other 
things that transpire in a family worthy of note. 
Rendering Boots Water Proof.— The snow 
and water of winter will get through the leather 
of most boots, and anything that will aid in making 
them impervious, is of importance. There are 
various compounds employed, one of the best and 
oldest of which is made thus : A pint of Linseed 
Oil and 4 ounces Powdered Rosin are melted to¬ 
gether with 8 ounces of Tallow, if of mutton all the 
better. They should be melted over a slow fire, and 
as the mixture cools stir while it is hardening. This 
preparation is to be applied to the boots, melting 
it with a gentle heat, applying while still liquid, 
and rubbing it in before the fire. 
Vaccination. —It is proper for us to call the at¬ 
tention of parents to this important operation, 
which should be performed upon every child. Vac¬ 
cination is a simple matter, quickly done, but nev¬ 
ertheless of such moment that it should be at¬ 
tended to at once, and thus ward oil an attack of 
that dreadful disease—the small pox. 
Baked Pork and Beans.—A request comes from 
a Virginia house-keeper that we tell how the “ Bos¬ 
ton Baked Beans that are sold in the stores are pre¬ 
pared.” We have had no experience with store 
baked beans, and do not know just how they 
are cooked, but for the best way to cook Pork and 
Beans in the New England style (we never could 
see the propriety of the prefix of Boston) we may 
help her. Do not expect to find it in a Cook Book ; 
there are as many ways as there are books, and 
neither of them the way—which is our way. Beans,, 
some ; Pork, a piece, and a pot or pan big enough 
to hold them are required. Pick over and wash 
the beans, cover them well with water, and let 
them soak all night, or longer. Place the beans in 
a pot or saucepan, cover with water, and heat 
slowly ; when simmering shows an approach to 
boiling, pour and drain oil the water; cover again 
with hot water and boil the beans slowly until 
done. The pork, selecting a rather lean piece, is 
to be boiled in a separate vessel, while the beans 
are boiling. When the beans are so soft that they 
crush readily between the fingers, place them in an 
iron or tin pan, or an earthen bean-pot; remove the 
rind from the pork; score the top of it both ways 
into half-inch squares, and press it into the beans, 
the top of it only exposed; put in the water in 
which the beans were boiled, more or less as they 
are wanted moist or dry; the quantity varying 
with the kind of beans, is to be learned only by 
experience—nearly to the surface of the beans will 
answer for a first trial; put into the oven and bake 
slowly, at least 5 hours—6, or more, will do no 
harm. 'Variations which may be tried: A table¬ 
spoonful or two of molasses put in the pan with 
the beans gives a fine color and a flavor liked by 
most persons. Sprinkle a little pepper with the 
beans. Ordinarily the upper layer of beans will be 
browned, and often hard and parched; to prevent 
this, place slices of raw potato over the beans, but 
