AMEEICAS' AGEIOULTUEIST, 
69 
1884 .] 
If there is not enough of one material to cover all 
alike, the valance can be different. A patchwork 
cover might be pretty. First, tack on the valance, 
just deep enough to clear the floor. Begin at one 
of the back corners ; make a little fold in the cloth 
every two inches, and tack to the upper edge of 
the box. These folds will give the necessary full¬ 
ness to make the valance hang well. For the 
cover, make a tick of coarse canvas, or something 
similar, a little larger than the top of the box. Fill 
with straw, curled shavings, stripped husks, or 
something similar; feathers may be used by those 
who have and prefer them. To hold the tick firmly, 
take a stout cloth of any kind, new, or that pre¬ 
viously used for other purposes, and tack it along 
one side of the cover ; draw it tightly over the tick, 
and tack to the other side, fastening the ends sim¬ 
ilarly. Now add the final covering, which should 
be wide and long enough to extend down over the 
opening, upon the valance. It can be fastened to 
the cover edges with brass-headed nails, or plain or 
tinned furniture tacks. The tacks may be covered, 
if desired, with a running cord, sewed on. The 
corners may be finished, if one wishes, with a bow 
of ribbon, or cord and tassel. A pillow may be 
made of the same materials as the tick, or a common 
pillow be used with a tick like the lounge covering. 
If the end be set in a corner or against a wall, the 
pillow will be held in place. Bedding and many 
other articles may be stored inside the spacious box. 
A Home-made Fernery. 
BY EBEN E. BEXFOBD. 
If you have a north window in which you cannot 
grow flowering plants satisfactorily, make a fernery 
for it. Ferns, and other plants which do well in 
ferneries, delight in shade, and with them a north 
window can be rendered very pleasant for all fond 
of delicate ifiants. To watch the development of 
the tiny fronds into long and airy plumes, is a con- 
A BOX BOR FERNS. 
stant delight to the lover of nature. A fernery can 
be made at home that will answer all purposes, 
without being expensive. For the foundation have 
a zinc pan made at least six inches deep. Most pans 
for ferns are too shallow to give the roots much 
chance to spread, and the plants are likely to be 
crowded. Provide a box as deep as the pan, and 
large enough for it to set in. One of inch boards, 
sides and bottom, will be strong enough to allow 
moving the case, when filled, without wrenching it. 
Groove the upper inside corner of the four side 
pieces, to admit the glass. Then make four posts 
for the corners, long enough to rise at least eighteen 
inches above the box, and groove the inside cor¬ 
ners. Around the top of these put a rail, grooved 
on its lower inside corner. The frame, when 
properly made, with the grooves matching, will 
let glass slip into its place on the sides and ends. 
They can be secured by glazier’s tins. If you pre¬ 
fer a flat-top case, cut a groove in each upper in¬ 
side corner of the top rail, and have the glass cut 
to fit. I prefer one with a roof like covering. 
This form needs three sets of rafters, which can be 
fitted to the top-rail. This will require two tri¬ 
angular pieces of glass, to fill the space at the ends 
between top rail and rafters ; the end rafters as well 
as top rails must be grooved, to form a sash for 
these pieces. To the lower end of these rafters lit a 
piece of wood, projecting a little above their upper 
flat edge, to support the glass which is to cover the 
case. A ridge-piece is also needed. The accom¬ 
panying sketch will, I think, explain the whole. 
Cut the grooves for the glass so that, when placed 
together, it will serve as a sash. Fasten the frame 
with long, slender nails. Paint thoroughly. The 
box looks well with a heavy molding at the bot¬ 
tom, and a lighter one at the top, though this is 
not necessary. The joints will probably not be air¬ 
tight, and the plants will do all the better for that. 
Another article will tell how my home-made fernery 
is stocked with ferns and other plants, and how it 
is managed. 
About Coughs and Colds. 
MBS. LUCY BANDOLPII, WOODSTOCK, VA. 
Coughs and colds are prevalent now, especially 
among children, too often from the ignorance or 
carelessness of their elder guardians. Many moth¬ 
ers appear to accept with resignation the repeated 
and violent colds from which their children suffer 
as providential and unavoidable. A cold is by no 
means always due to exposure. Indigestion, con¬ 
stipation, a lack of scrupulous cleanliness, the un¬ 
wise habit of sleeping in much of the clothing worn 
during the day, unaired bed chambers—all, or any 
of these things may have far more to do with your 
chiid’s tendency to coid than the keenest breath of 
the bracing winter air. And in great measure 
these things are under your control. Mothers 
should understand that it is a fact, whether they can 
see how it is or not, that numerous colds and sore- 
throats are directly traceable to indigestion and 
dietetic errors. Quantities of greasy food, fried 
meats, pastry, and the like, ill-ventilated rooms, 
and continued constipation, have to answer for 
many cases of croup, and putrid sore throats. All 
these things weaken the system and render it far 
less able to resist changes of temperature.—Give 
every bedroom a thorough airing every day, more 
especially if several children are obliged to sleep 
together, or with their parents. This is to be 
avoided, if possible : if not, always lower a window 
slightly from the top—or if this cannot be done, 
raise it from below. There is frequently bad air 
enough generated and breathed in the sleeping 
apartment of a family with small children, to sup¬ 
ply them all not only colds, but with a number of 
so-called ‘‘ malarious” diseases, to last a year, per¬ 
haps longer. Neglect of bathing is another prolific 
source of colds. A child from three to ten years 
old should certainly receive an entire bath twice a 
week in winter. A warm bath at night, taking 
special care to avoid any chill after, wUl frequently 
break up a sudden cold. Keep children from play¬ 
ing in chilly, unused rooms in autumn and winter 
weather. Let them play out of doors as much as 
possible, taking care to have their feet warm and 
dry. A flannel suit and rubber overshoes will of¬ 
ten save much cough medicine and doctor’s bills. 
Keep them warmly clad, but do not be content with 
thick coats aud worsted hoods, while short skirts 
barely cover their knees, leaving the limbs chilled. 
A Sand-Paper Block. 
Sand-paper is put up by the manufacturers in 
quires of sheets nine by eleven inches in size. As 
used by many workmen, nearly a fourth of each 
Fig. 1. 
sheet is wasted by folding aud crumpling over im¬ 
properly shaped blocks. A convenient block for 
use (fig. 1), aud permitting the use of all the paper. 
Is here described. Make a wedge-shaped piece of 
hard-wood, one .and a half inch thick, three 
inches wide, and live and one-quarter inches long, 
tapering from the head to a sharp edge. Cut a V- 
shaped hollow across the head. Fit a piece three 
inches long, of hard-wood, exactly to this hollow. 
Fig. 2. 
Insert in tlie head a wood or porcelain drawer knob 
seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, fastening it 
securely by a long screw. Cut a sheet of sand¬ 
paper into three equal parts, three by eleven inches. 
Fold under three-sixteenth inch at each end of a 
strip, and put them under the head-piece by loosen¬ 
ing the same. Tightening the screw will hold it 
fast and smooth for work. A common wood screw 
may be used in place of the knob, but is not as con¬ 
venient, as it must be turned by a screw-driver. 
Line Carving. 
An improved tool for line carving can be made 
from a veining tool or smallest fluting gouge. 
Heat the end red hot over a spirit lamp or in the 
Fig.— A TOOL FOR LINE CARVING. 
fire carefully, not to overhe.at or rust it. Bend it 
under and back like fig. 1, so that it will cut with 
a draw motion. Do not forget to retemper it. 
Two sizes of this shape, one-eighth and three- 
sixteen inches wide, with a .straight one-quarter 
inch fluting gouge and a three-eighth inch flat 
sweep gouge are all the tools necessary for quite 
elaborate patterns. A boy can learn to carve orna- 
Fig. 2.— A DESIGN FOR LINE CARVING. 
mental lines in a few minutes with this tool, with¬ 
out danger of running away from the pattern. 
Suppose it is required to line carve a design like 
fig. 2 for the front of a wall pocket. With pencil 
and ruler mark the center of the piece to be orna¬ 
mented, aud other guide lines if necessary. 
Sketch the pattern with pencil lines on the sui’face. 
Fasten the piece to be carved so that it can easily 
be turned about if desired. Caiwe the principal 
lines of the pattern, after which the details can be 
cut with the tool best adapted to the design. Full 
sized designs on paper cau be easily transferred to 
the wood by iirickiug through the paper with a 
needle. Line carving, as a means of decorating 
surfaces, offers an infinite variety of designs, and is 
easily learned. Artistic designs suitable for the 
purpose have long been used by the book-hindei's 
and ornamental painters. A little study of any 
figure will enable the carver to reproduce it off¬ 
hand at will. Then with chisel in hand, mest beau¬ 
tiful decorations can be produced in a few minutes, 
when the surface of the wood is of a color to 
strongly contrast with the lines, cut through it. 
When the surface is the same as the under part, as 
in solid walnut, the lines may be gilded or painted. 
