1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
357 
not add soda'; it does not help a particle, and if 
the plums do crack open, the soda spoils their 
flavor. This scalding is done simply to prepare 
them for being peeled for preserves (if you choose 
to take that trouble), or to remove the bitterness 
before the next step in making jelly or preserves. 
Keeping 1 Away from the Mosquitoes. 
Perhaps the title should have read—keeping the 
mosquitoes away from us—but the end is the same, 
METHOD OF ADJUSTING THE NETTING. 
namely: the escape from the poisonous “ bites” of 
those widely spread pests of summer. We are 
accustomed to speak of the mosquito, as if there 
were but one kind; naturalists have named and 
described over 30 different species, some of which 
are very rare ; some fly only by day, others only at 
night, but all agree in having blood-thirsty females, 
while the males neither sing nor sting, but lead in¬ 
nocent lives at play among the flowers. Some of 
the most savage are only to be found in the damp, 
dense forests, where they breed in swarms and fill 
the air with their piping. Fishermen and hunters 
and their experienced guides would not visit the 
backwoods without the strong-smelling mixture of 
tar and oil with which they smear all exposed parts 
of the body. Only those persons who have gone 
unprotected into the home of the wild mosquitoes 
of the forest can know how savage and unrelenting 
are their wholesale attacks. But it is the escape 
from the attacks of these pests at our homes that 
most interests us. Our means of defence may be 
planned to keep them out of the whole house the 
entire season, or they may be arranged to protect 
■each individual. In the first method any opening 
that may allow mosquitoes to enter the house must 
be provided with some barrier against them. This 
may be of musquito netting or fine wire cloth, and 
placed at every window and door. Only thorough 
work will answer, and it is poor economy to leave 
some little-used windows unprovided with screens, 
as these are the very windows that some one will 
open, and one open unscreened window makes all 
the other screens useless—indeed worse than use¬ 
less, as they will serve to keep the mosquitoes in 
the house that are let in elsewhere. Screens for 
the windows are sold at the furnishing and furniture 
stores ; but the majority of our readers will no 
doubt prefer to make them in the workshop. It is 
poor economy to put together a temporary make¬ 
shift. Our set was well made five years ago, and 
are apparently good for as many years to come, 
only that at the most used door has needed some 
mending of the wire cloth. The frames are of 
7 $-inch stuff 2 in. wide, mortised at the corners and 
put together with glue. The wire cloth is neatly 
tacked on, and a narrow plain moulding put on to 
cover tbe edges. The frames are of just the size 
of the lower sash. Those edges that come next to 
the window frames are rabbeted with a 6 /:e-in. tool, 
making a square groove of that width and depth. 
Strips 5 /ie-in. square are fastened to the window 
frame with small brads, and the grooves upon the 
screen-frames slide upon these. Rubbing the pine 
with burnt umber stain and a coat of shellac-varnish 
gives a proper finish. The door frames are made 
rather heavier with apiece of the same stuff across 
at the middle. They have each a spring that will 
promptly close them. With these frames put at 
the windows and doors early in the season, not only 
do we enjoy freedom from mosquitoes, but from 
flies, only a very few entering. If mosquitoes are 
Hot kept out of the house in this or some similar 
manner, then at least the beds should have nets. 
The nets can be quite simple and cost but very 
little, or an ample canopy can be made, such as are 
in use in southern houses. The one we have used 
with great satisfaction is made of six yards of com¬ 
mon white mosquito netting, doubled in the middle, 
and stitched together on one side, thus forming a 
double width with a loop or hold at one end where 
the breadth was turned upon itself. This hood 
just fits over the head-board and holds one end of 
the netting securely in place, the other being drawn 
down aud laid over the foot board, securing it, if 
necessary, with a large pin, and the whole screen is 
ready. During the day it may be thrown over the 
head-board or spread ready for use as desired. 
The cost of the whole protection is 60 cents, or per¬ 
haps less. The comfort afforded each night by 
such a screen is out of all proportion with the 
cost, and if well cared for will last two or more 
seasons. The more costly bed canopies are of 
various styles ; some of them are attached to a 
frame which is so arranged that it can be drawn up 
to the ceiling by means of a cord and pulley ; they 
can be procured at most house furnishing stores. 
The beds of children, especially, should be well 
screened, as their tender flesh is much more at¬ 
tractive to mosquitoes than that of grown people. 
Handy Window Holders. 
Fig. 1.— NOTCHED WINDOW 
HOLDER. 
It is a convenient thing to be able to raise the 
sash of a windo^v to any desirable hight, and then 
have it securely held at that point, and at the same 
time be readily let 
down or moved up 
higher. All this is 
made easy by a handy 
Holder which Ed¬ 
ward E. Eyles, Al¬ 
leghany Co., Pa., has 
had in use for some 
time, and who kindly 
sends a sketch and 
model. The notched 
strip of wood is 3i 
feet long and one 
inch wide, and is 
fastened to the win¬ 
dow casing, as shown 
in figure!. The key 
is 4i inches long and 
one inch wide, and 
is placed upon the 
lower portion of the sash. The key has a 
small projecting pin by which it can be readily 
moved. The working of this Holder is very simple ; 
all that is necessary is to push up the window as 
far as desired, and adjust the key to one of the 
notches. In lowering the sash the key is slipped 
out and the window is ready to descend. With 
the illustration, but little explanation is required. 
The sketch of another style of window stop 
is sent by “R. B. 
K.,” Columbia Co., 
Wis.; it is another 
easily constructed 
device for holding a 
window sash. The 
key, or catch, is as 
shown at A, and con¬ 
sists of a thin piece 
of hard-wood, so cut 
as to fit into notches 
made to receive it in 
the jamb. A person 
with a scroll saw 
could make these 
catches very rapidly, 
and at the same 
time of pleasing 
shape. If the win¬ 
dow is to be held 
down, the upper end of the key must fit into 
an inverted notch in the casing. Some such con¬ 
venient device as those mentioned here should be 
provided for all windows that are frequently open¬ 
ed ; it is far better than using a loose stick, or still 
worse, a book as a prop for the window sash. 
Household Notes and Queries. 
A Jug Rack. —The accompanying engraving of 
a rack for holding a jug, is sent by “J. W. R.,” 
and consists simply of a shelf in which are holes 
through which the neck of the jug may pass, and 
the jug be held in an inverted position. The im¬ 
portance of such a rack is evident to any housewife 
who has to keep jugs sweet and clean. It is a dif¬ 
ficult thing to properly drain a jug without some 
such arrangement for keeping the mouth down¬ 
ward, and this one, that can be so easily provided, 
will doubtless be acceptable to many. The water 
jug for the field, of all other vessels, should be 
thoroughly drained, and left dry, when not in use, 
and there is no better way to do this, than to have 
a small shelf for it like the one here given. 
SMOOTH MAT. 
Corn Husks. —There are a number of important 
uses to which corn husks can be put in domestic 
economy. When stripped into shreds by a hatchel, 
they make excellent material for beds, cushions, 
etc., as many farmers already 
know. Another important 
use for corn husks is in the 
manufacture of mats for the 
door. For this, the roughest 
and heaviest outer husks 
should be selected, and braid¬ 
ed together as tightly as pos¬ 
sible. There are two princi¬ 
pal kinds of door mats—the 
plain braid, which is sewn into 
the desired shape with stout 
thread, or where a double husk is woven into the 
plait at every turn-over, the braid being afterwards 
sewed into the mat as before. In this last, the in¬ 
terwoven double husks project at the upper side, 
and form a sort of rough brush—the mat when 
finished, appears as in figure 2. The smooth braid 
mat is shown in figure 1. A cheaper and more 
easily made mat is constructed as follows: Take 
the head of a flour barrel, and bore inch holes into 
it, close together; in¬ 
sert into each hole a 
closely rolled bunch 
of husks, so that the 
thick ends project a 
short distance above 
the board. A wooden Fig. 2.—rough mat. 
peg is driven into the centre of each bunch, to 
beep it in place. When a mat of this kind becomes 
worn, it can easily be renewed by replacing the 
old, worn-out hunches of husks, by new ones. 
Window Awnings.—A shade of some kind for 
the windows, during the hot months of summer, 
is almost a necessity. This should be kept in mind 
by the architect, and in designing the house, provis¬ 
ion ought to be made for a permanent shade for the 
windows, or mostruf them on the first story, by 
means of piazzas, verandas, etc. Windows in the 
upper stories can not be thus protected, and should 
be provided with temporary screens for them. 
The difficulty with screens, awnings, etc., has been 
that the shuttingoff of the sun’s rays, has prevented 
the means of proper ventilation. In this respect, 
an outside screen is much better than one placed 
inside the window, and the appearance of the room 
is vastly more comfortable. The awning can, and 
should be, made so that it can be let down from 
the top a short distance, and then with the upper 
window sash lowered, a free circulation of air is se¬ 
cured. Instead of nailing the upper side of the 
awning to the window frame, have it fastened to 
a wooden bar, or small iron rod, which should be 
arranged so that it can be drawn up by a cord pass¬ 
ing through a small pulley at the top of the win¬ 
dow casing, thus securing a free passage of air. 
