AMERIOA^r AGEIOULTUEIST. 
117 
n 1884.] 
j| Pretty and Inexpensive Curtains. 
j A pretty and somewhat new way of using cheese 
cloth, or bunting, for bedroom curtains, is the fol- 
1 lowing. For lining or foundation use Turkey red, 
[or blue, or pink chintz. First make a straight 
I lambrequin of the foundation material, and over 
j this gather a similar one of the cheese-cloth or 
i! hunting. The latter may be taeked to the lining 
before hanging it. Gather it so as to leave a nar¬ 
row heading. Edge both the lambrequin and cur- 
i tains with inexpensive laee. Line the bauds for 
■looping baek the curtains with the same color as 
the foundation, or use ribbon to match. If you 
have a plaster cast, three feet high or so, prepare a 
curtain of a yard of crimson canton flannel, by 
sewing on one end the small brass rings sold for 
-this purpose. [Felt costs but little more, and holds 
11 its color much longer; velvet is still better, but 
I it is more expensive]. A small, round wooden 
I rod, stained or painted black, and varnished, is 
ijrun through the rings, and fastened across the cor- 
,:nerof the room. This forms a fine back-ground 
I for the image. Its length should be such as to just 
I touch the floor, and reach a little above the image. 
II N. H. C. 
A Cupboard Front. 
1 ,,, ♦ 
? House-keepers are frequently troubled by dust 
I settling upon table-ware standing on the dresser. 
;||To obviate this, we have had a door fixed to ours, 
lllwhich not only acts as a protection to the dishes, 
Hwhen closed, but makes a temporary rest or table 
jiwhen open. It is secured by a chain on each side, 
of the proper length to hold it on a level with the 
, [dresser. It turns on hinges, and gives the cup- 
I board a desk-like appearance, and makes it look 
A CrrPBOAEU WITH DOCK. 
neater than the ordinary open cupboard. It is not at 
all difiicult to construct one, using good pine, either 
stained and varnished, or painted, to correspond 
with the body of the cupboard. 
Simple Hints for Busy Fingers. 
Many an old lady, and young one too, finds no 
other evening employment so pleasant as knitting, 
■ which requires little thought or eyesight. For 
' such fireside work, a pretty piece of fancy work is 
a cover for a sofa cushion, knit of narrow silk strips. 
The foundation is of common cotton yarn, knit on 
medium-sized needies. Knit three rows, then draw 
through each loop on the next row a bit of silk, cut 
; in strips of equal length and width. Arrange the 
i colors according to fancy. The yarn must be drawn 
I very firmly down, to keep the silk in place. Old 
j ribbons and silk remnants work in as well as new. 
The matting that comes round tea chests is good 
I for a great variety of fancy purposes. One of the 
I nicest is a newspaper case. When handsomely 
■ made, these bring a high price in New York. A 
square of the required size is cut out, on which a 
beautiful design is painted in oil colors, or else 
embroidered in crewels. A larger piece of matting 
forms the back, and they are joined together by 
triangular pieces of silk, five inches wide at the top, 
narrowing off to nothing, and all is bound with nar¬ 
row ribbon the same color as the sides, or else trim¬ 
med round with quilled satin ribbon. 
Salt and sugar jars, and common clay flower-pots, 
are now ornamented in a very artistic manner, 
simply with flowers made of putty. These are 
molded in the hand, fastened on the pot, and then 
tinted. For a first attempt, choose some single 
flower, as a daisy or wild rose; but there is no 
limit to which this art can not be carried, and with 
care in selecting and applying, these jars will 
last as well as those fired. 
So-called “ Limoges ware ” is now made by paint¬ 
ing the vases with oil colors and covering with a 
kind of varnish, which takes the place of burning. 
A new freak of fashion for the china closet, par¬ 
ticularly if one has old, handsome china, is to dis¬ 
play it behind a half-drawn curtain. A novel 
and inexpensive one can be made of a partially 
worn bed-spread. Soak it in water colored with 
coffee, to give it a rich, creamy tint, and edge with 
a band of Turkey red. Then carefully cut ouj; of 
cretonne, flowers and sprays of bright colors, with 
their foliage and buds. Arrange these for an in¬ 
side border, and buttonhole them round with em¬ 
broidery siik, working the stems in outline sketch. 
It makes a beautiful curtain, quite ornamental in a 
dining-room, hung with brass rings on an oak rod. 
Kindlings in Paper Bags, etc. 
Having for more than a generation been on the 
constant outlook for little as well as large devices 
that will in the slightest degree add to human con¬ 
venience or comfort, and having continually asked 
our readers to write us of anything they practice 
or observe of the kind not likely to be known by 
all others, it sometimes seems as if the whole cata¬ 
logue must be exhausted. Yet there are doubtless 
scores and hundreds of things that have not come 
to universal knowledge, and we reiterate the oft- 
repeated request for contributions in this line from 
all readers, even on matters so simple as the fol¬ 
lowing. Calling by chance at the humble but 
pleasant cottage of a co-worker of by-gone years, the 
writer was welcomed to the “Prophets’ Chamber,” 
which we almost feared to enter on a cold night, 
after many chilling experiences in “ spare-rooms.” 
In this plainly but neatly furnished chamber is a 
small but ample stove, a box of pine wood behind 
it, a few hardy plants by the window on an easily 
moved support; half a dozen inconspicuous but 
strong hooks or pins, very convenient for hang¬ 
ing up one’s clothing on when retiring, and so on. 
But the new,thing to the writer was found inside 
the wood-box. The paper bags brought from 
the grocers had been preserved, and some of these, 
holding one to two quarts, were filled with shav¬ 
ings, bits of wood and chips, and the open ends 
twisted together, or tied with a bit of thread. So on 
this cold morning it was only necessary to spring out 
of bed, place one of these filled bags in the stove, 
throw in a few sticks of wood, touch a match to 
the end of the bag, and back to bed again—all done 
in less than a minute. In quick time a warm room 
was ready for dressing in entire comfort. A dark 
enameled kettle on the stove, found ready filled, 
soon changed the temperature of the half frozen 
water in pitcher and wash basin. Before leaving 
said room, we wrote this item, partly in gratitude, 
but more for the benefit of tidy housekeepers, who 
desire a convenient mode of keeping kindlings in a 
chamber, or elsewhere, without the usual litter. 
A Nice Breakfast Dish.— Let raw potatoes, 
slieed as thin as possible, stand in cold water for 
an hour and a half. Put them in a pan with a 
large lump of butter, some pepper and salt, a little 
flour, but not enough to make them sticky, and 
fill the pan half full of fresh milk. Bake slowly 
in a stove oven for two hours, or until done. 
Home-Made Toilet Table. 
A very substantial, convenient toilette table, 
similar to the sketch, can be made at home with 
little outlay of time and money, by any one having 
any knack at using a saw, hammer, gimblet and 
Fig. 1.— THE BOX. 
screw-driver. It may be more or less tasteful, ac¬ 
cording to the skill of the worker and the covering 
material used. Selecting a strong packing box (flg.l) 
of a convenient size, strengthen it with a few screws 
along each joining edge, and screw a strip on each 
side to support a shelf. Upon the back screw an 
inch-thick board firmly, of suitable bight to sup¬ 
port a mirror. Now cover with any avaiiable ma¬ 
terial of a color that suits the taste. Flowered 
chintz, a gray ground with pink roses over it, is 
very pretty and serviceable. A curtain around the 
front and two ends is securely taeked along the 
upper edge. A piece, the exact size of the top, is 
edged around with a ruffle two inches wide, and 
stretched over and tacked so that it hangs just be¬ 
low the edge. The mirror is held firmly by screw¬ 
ing it to the upright piece at the top and bottom. 
The mirror should be as tall as possible. If the 
money to be expended is limited, use most of it on 
the glass and have a plainer frame. A carpenter 
Fig. 2 .— THE STAND COMPLETED. 
will make a good-sized pine frame fora trifle, which 
can be stained to look like walnut thus : Give the 
wood two coats of a solution of about half an 
ounce of permanganate of potash to a quart of 
water. In a few minutes wash off with water, dry, 
and varnish.—A mat of white linen worked with 
bright colored thread is laid on the top so that 
the fringed ends hang over the front. Before the 
mirror, place the pin cushion, worked to correspond 
with the mat. Mrs. Busthand. 
