1884.] 
AMEEIOAI^ AGEIOULTURIS^I.\ 
299 
Awnings for Country Dwellings. 
Blinds are convenient to protect glass, shut out 
the sun and admit air, but they are far less desir¬ 
able for summer than awnings, which afford ample 
shade without excluding abundant light and ven¬ 
tilation ; and standing further from the window, 
they more effectively ward off the sun’s heat. 
Those made at the shops, with iron frames, cords, 
pullies, etc., are expensive ; but any one can con¬ 
struct simple good looking ones, with small outlay 
and little vvork, which will be sufficient to protect 
windows from hail stones. We give our own method, 
which works well.—Two pine pieces, one by two 
inches, are cut as long as the window is wide. Two 
similar pieces of desired length are nailed to these 
at the corners—or may be halved on to them—to 
form the frame, (fig. 1), which is strengthened by 
short braces at the upper corners. A strap hinge 
at the back of each lower corner screwed to the 
window frame, allows the top to turn out and 
down to a horizontal position. Suitable cloth is 
tacked to the top wuidow casing or frame, 
carried slanting to and over the outside bar when 
let down, tacked to it, and extended six or eight 
inches further, to form a valance, with its edge 
scalloped as seen in figure 8. A triangular piece is 
fitted to each side, sewed at the top, tacked to the 
side of the frame, and the lower side scalloped 
continues the front border round the three sides. 
A cord, shown by the dotted line, extends from 
the center of the outer bar to an eye at the middie of 
the top of the window, thence to a side eye, and 
hangs down. Pulling on this raises the frame, 
Fig. 1. 
Fig. 2. 
gathering the cloth against the top of the window, 
at evening and on cloudy days. After a rain, the 
awning should be shaken out to dry, to prevent 
rotting or decay. With this care, such an awning 
will last for years. Almost any cheap cloth will 
answer temporarily, and may be reversed; but 
good, strong fabric will cost but little more, the 
work of construction will be the same; it will 
show better, and be far more durable. The whole 
expense outside of the cloth will be a trifle, for the 
pine sticks, two hinges, a few screws and nails, 
cord and staples. 
Shawl Bags. 
A bag is a capital thing to save a shawl from fhe 
dust of a journey and, if of good size, can be used 
for holding toilet articles, etc. The best material 
A. BAG FOR SHAWLS. 
for making shawl bags is brown water-proof. Cut 
two round end pieces eight inches in diameter, and 
a piece twenty inches wide by twenty-five inches 
long. Stitch these together, leaving the straight 
seam open nearly all the way across, and bind its 
edges and the edges of the end-pieces with worsted 
braid, sewed on with the machine. Close the 
opening with three buttons and button-holes. 
Stitch a piece of braid on a band of the water¬ 
proof two inches wide, and fasten on firmly for 
handles. The outside pocket can be made of any 
size or loft off, but it is very convenient for papers. 
The bag shown in the engraving has an extra row 
of braid stitched on, but that is left entirely to the 
taste of the one who is to use it. A person while 
travelling will never wish to be without one of the 
shawl bags, after finding out how useful they are. 
Wash-Stand Screen. 
The screen shown in the engraving is made over 
a hoop, the diameter of which should correspond 
to the width of the wash stand. Cover the hoop 
as smoothly and tightly as possible with some 
bright-colored cambric or Silesia, and make an out¬ 
side covering of plain or cotton Swiss, half the 
width of the hoop, and long enough to full on 
slightly. Gather the opposite edge, and after fas¬ 
tening it firmly on the outside of the hoop, draw it 
down to the center and finish it with a large bow 
of ribbon of the same color as the lining. The 
edge should be finished with a Swiss ruffle, about 
three inches wide, worked in “herring-bone” 
stitch, with worsted. Make a loop on the back by 
which to hang it up, and suspend it so that only 
three quarters of the screen can be seen. 
Wedding Presents.—Beginning House- 
Keeping. 
Everybody likes to receive wedding cards. But 
with this pleasure often comes the perplexing 
query, “ What shall I give ? ” The custom of ex¬ 
hibiting wedding presents, is a questionable, if not 
a vulgar one; and the story of a bride who received 
so few, that she felt obliged to hire from a jeweler 
suffleient silver-ware to make a good display, is an 
intimation of the desire people have, to make 
their presents show to the best advantage. It 
would not be strange if the smaller presents were 
sometimes hid behind the larger, even though the 
latter, seat because “ they must send something 
that would show well,” were unaccompanied by 
the sincere regard which went with the former. Of 
course, much uncomfortable, if not bitter feeling 
results, and unless one can feel independent enough 
not to care, it is better to give in a less public way. 
To those who are about to commence housekeep¬ 
ing, a most acceptable gift, and one of which house¬ 
keepers in general know the value too well to rid¬ 
icule, would be a willow basket of suitable size and 
shape, containing six linen hemmed towels for glass 
and silver; six soft linen crash dish towels; three 
hemmed cloths for washing dishes; three soft 
linen cloths for washing glass and silver, and 
three cloths, knit of fishers’ twine, for washing pots 
and kettles; three flannel cloths, hemmed, for 
washing paint, etc.; three roller towels of linen 
crash, two yards long. These may be added to by 
the donor in many inexpensive ways. Another 
helpful gift would be a home-made l)ook. The 
covers are of gray, brown or black Bristol l)oard, 
bound with satin, with a spray of flowers painted 
on them in water colors, or they may be covered 
with satin, and the flowers emliroidcred on them. 
Inside arc seven cards of the size of the covers, and 
of white board, with each'day of the week—one on 
each card—written in illuminated letters at the 
top. These are intended for the young mistress to 
write down the special work of each day, and liaiig 
the card for the day in the kitchen for reference. 
This is a great helj) to system and order in tlic 
home. We confess great sympathy for the young 
mistress who, hitherto unaccustomed to care or 
responsibility, finds herself at the head of a home 
which she is to keep up in all its appointments. 
The table is to be supplied with palatable and nu¬ 
tritious food three times every day, or one thousand 
and ninety-five meals in the year; the house to be 
kept neat and wholesome; company to be enter¬ 
tained, and the vexed question to be thrust before 
her, perhaps every few weeks, whether she or her 
servants slmll rule. There is but one answer to this 
question. It will be the one that knows the most. 
So, if the true housekeeper hac not learned before 
marriage, she will begin as speedily as possible to 
l)erfect herself in all things pertaining to the com¬ 
forts of home ; so that her servants will not have 
occasion to reply to her, as an old colored servant 
said to the writer once many years ago, when asked 
to perform some service—“Laws now, what do you 
know—you’se nothing but a child.”—Probably the 
first discouraging trials will be with the cooking, 
for the ideal and the real in this department are far 
apart. Cook books are showered upon us and arc 
good and useful, many of them; but they only tell 
how to do, and not why so many fail. There is 
comfort, and truth too, in the proverb—“Every 
failure is one step toward success ”—and deter¬ 
mined effort to make any one dish perfect, will 
generally accomplish it. Let us see the reason of 
some failures in preparing a breakfast. It shall be 
a simple one : coffee ; fruit in its season ; oatmeal; 
fish balls dropped, and muftins of rye and graham 
flour. These may .all be delicious or wretched. 
Wo will suppose they do not come up to the ex¬ 
pectation of the cook, and will see why. The coffee 
should be clear, and. of distinct flavor. It is muddy 
and bitter with grounds in the bottom of the cup— 
w'ell, it was made of coffee ground at the store. 
It should be bought in the kernel, and burnt, or 
at least, ground at home. Ton know then that it 
is pure. It was not settled. It should have had 
half an egg with the shell, broken into the grounds, 
and a spoonful of cold water stirred with them be¬ 
fore adding the boiling water. It boiled too long. 
It should never boil over five minutes, then be set 
aside ten minutes to settle. The oatmeal is stiff 
and dry with husks in it. It should be smooth like 
blanc-Hiauge. There was not. enough water added 
at first. It did not cook long cnou.gh. It should 
boil three hours the day before, and half or three- 
quarters of an hour in the morning, with added 
water. The muffins are tough and dry. They 
should be so light that a touch will break them. 
They w'ere mixed too stiff, and the oven was not 
hot enough to bake them in ten or fifteen minutes, 
which is the longest time it should take. The fish- 
balls were soggy and fat. They should be of a 
golden-brown, light, and no fat in them. The rea¬ 
son is, the fat was not boiling hot when they went 
in. They should cook in three minutes. All these 
are little things, but great things depend upon 
them. Ethel Store. 
Little Household Conveniences. 
It is often convenient to boil several kinds of 
vegetables in one kettle. Peas, string-beans, and 
new potatoes cook well'together. For this pur¬ 
pose, small bags made of coarse, thin cloth are 
most excellent. Make the sacks the desired size 
and run a string through the top. Place each 
kind of vegetable in a separate sack, and tie the 
string around the handle of the kettle, so it can 
be easily drawn out. When the vegetables are 
