ladies’ department.—roys’ department. 
34 
SUNDRY ITEMS. 
Preservation of Meat by Freezing. —Everybody 
knows, or ought to know, that meat will keep per¬ 
fectly sweet so long as it remains frozen. Witness, 
for example, the mammoth which was found some 
years ago in the north of Siberia, preserved by the 
eternal frosts of the arctic circle, from the time it 
was enclosed in the iCe, after the deluge—a whole 
carcase covered with skin and flesh; some of which 
was cooked and eaten by the enterprising discov¬ 
erer, and found to be palatable. But everybody 
does not know that their meat will be tender or 
tough, according to the method of thawing it. 
If frozen meat is brought into a warm room, and 
thawed by heat—\i you have not good teeth, 
and the digestive powers of an ostrich, you had 
best leave that part of the dinner for those who 
have. Therefore, bring from the larder, the night 
before it is wanted, the meat or poultry intended for 
dinner, and plunge it into cold water. The next 
morning, a thick coating of ice will be found en¬ 
crusting the whole piece. Take it off, and change 
the water, and let it remain until the hour for dress¬ 
ing it. If to be boiled, put it over the fire in cold 
water—if for a roast, put it not before too brisk a 
fire, as there is always danger that the heart of a 
large piece may not be completely thawed, in 
which case it will be spoiled. 
Vegetables should be thawed in the same way, 
and, with few exceptions, they will be better for 
having been frozen. Potatoes, however, acquire a 
disagreeable sweetness. 
How to Restore Frozen Plants. —If you have ever 
nad the misfortune to find your parlor window 
favorites frozen stiff when you paid your devoirs to 
them in the morning, you will appreciate and thank 
an unknown friend for the following recipe for 
preserving tender plants from the effects of frost; 
and restoring them after they have been frozen. 
Before you allow them to feel the effects of fire— 
plunge the whole, or as much of the frozen plant 
as is practicable, into cold water, and keep it under 
until it has thawed, which will easily be known by 
its becoming flaccid—then place it where it will 
warm gradually, as sudden heat will cause it to die. 
So treated, the most hardy will recover immedi¬ 
ately—others will lose their leaves, or even die 
down to the ground—and some are so tender that 
the slightest frost will kill them ; but generally 
they will put forth with fresh vigor after a season 
of rest, and gratefully repay your care. Water 
sparingly, until the leaf-buds are well grown, in¬ 
creasing the quantity when they expand. 
How to Revive Cut Flowers— When cut flowers 
begin to wither, they can be revived by placing the 
stems an inch or more, according to their length, in 
hot water; if it cools before they recover, change 
it once or twice, and you will surely succeed. This 
method I constantly practise with bouquets of 
favorite flowers in winter, and with wild plants for 
botanical specimens in summer, and always suc¬ 
cessfully, except where, like the rose and a few 
others, the flower naturally is short-lived, and falls 
to pieces as soon as it feels the effects of 
heated air. 
Season for obtaining Cuttings. —January is per¬ 
haps the best time to take cuttings of myrtles and 
other hard-wooded plants—at least they strike root 
very readily at that season, and many a beautiful 
and rare exotic have I raised from the stems of my 
bouquets, after they have adorned the parlor table 
for several days, or bloomed for more than one 
night amid the curls of some fair girl, only less 
lovely than the flowers she wore. Geraniums, and 
many other soft-stemmed plants strike root easily 
at any season. Some, as oleanders, require no 
earth, and may be raised very readily by plunging 
the stems in a bottle of spring or rain water, and 
hanging the bottle -where it will have light and air, 
ut not much hot sun. E. S. 
Eutawah. 
Bogs 1 department. 
SNOW—ITS WONDERS AND USES. 
Council of the Young Naturalists.' —“ How 
beautiful and dazzling is the snow in the sunshine !” 
said Frank Dorsey, of Georgia, on his first winter 
visit to the North. “ Why is it opaque and white, 
cousin George, instead of being clear and colorless 
like ice ? Is there any difference in their forma¬ 
tion ? If so, be pleased to describe it, with such 
other phenomena as have come under your notice.” 
“ I believe there is no difference,” replied George, 
“ in the form of the spiculae or fine frosty needles, 
of which the two are composed, except that those 
of snow, perhaps, become eight times more ex¬ 
panded than those of ice. Snow, you are aware, 
is formed by a process of regular crystallization by 
the union of a great number of minute frozen par¬ 
ticles of water floating in mid air, which collect to¬ 
gether in their descent, and before they reach the 
surface of the earth, are converted into flakes. 
When clouds are formed at an elevation where the 
temperature is below 32°F., the particles of mois¬ 
ture become congealed and fall down in the form of 
snow or hail. It often happens, however, that the 
temperature of the lower regions of the atmosphere 
is somewhat higher than the freezing point, and the 
snow again dissolves before it reaches the earth. 
The reason of the opacity and whiteness of snow, 
is, that the icy spiculae of which it is composed, in 
falling, rest in every possible angle, and reflect 
the light in as many directions. If you take a 
single crystal of snow, you will see that it is per¬ 
fectly transparent; and if all its particles rested on 
each other in parallel lines, the whole mass would 
be as clear as a like quantity of ice.” 
“ You speak of crystals,” said Frank,—“ Am I 
to understand that water, in freezing, is crystallized 
in a similar manner as alum or salt, in passing 
from a fluid to a solid state ?” 
“ Yes,” answered George ; “ all crystallizing 
substances shoot out needles or points at determi¬ 
nate angles, which never vary in the same sub 
stance, but have an almost infinite variety in differ¬ 
ent materials. This property, you may recollect, 
in crystallography, is called the angle of crystalli¬ 
zation. In the freezing of water, these spicula?, as 
far as known, are uniformly joined at angles of 30°, 
60°, 120°, and 150®. They usually consist of flat, 
transparent stars, with six radial points, subtending 
angles of exactly 60° or 120^, displaying an endless 
