AMERICA]^ AGRICULTURIST. 
425 
1884 .] 
iiaiTOW-mouthed crock. Keep in a cellar or a cool 
room covered with a crock-lid. A little sugar, say 
a quarter pound, will help to make the pickles 
keep, and in time it strengthens the vinegar. The 
mixed spices of the stores are usually good. 
Mangoes. —Take young, green, smooth-skinned 
musk-melons, not larger than three inches in 
diameter, cut out a piece and remove the seeds; 
till in with any small vegetables, and tie on the lid. 
Place the melons in brine, and afterwards drain 
and pickle them exactly as for cucumbers, using- 
mustard seed a little more freely, a half teaspoon¬ 
ful in each melon before tying on the lid. 
Onion Picki.e. —Use small onions; peel them, 
and place in brine for twenty-four hours ; after¬ 
wards drain very dry, and pickle as for cucumbers. 
Cauliflower. —The principle is the same ; cover 
with salt water, restore to crispness with spiced 
vinegar and a trifle of alum. 
Red Cabbage.—C ut in neat, even slices, sprinkle 
salt on the layers and let stand over night, rinse off 
the Galt, drain dry, and pour over spiced .vinegar 
and cover. Remember a little alum, not too much, 
is necessary to make it crisp. 
Higdon. —This is an old-fashioned favorite. Mix¬ 
ed vegetables of any desirable kind are cut in flue 
dices, and treated the same as red cabbage. 
Green Tomato Pickles. —Take green tomatoes, 
slice evenly and finely with or without sliced onion. 
To one gallon allow two quarts of vinegar, well 
spiced with cloves, cinnamon, and ground mustard, 
W'ith a half pound of sugar added. 
Pickled Peaches. —We now come to another 
order of pickle, requiring entirely different treat¬ 
ment. The principle is the same, however, though 
instead of reducing with salt, heat is used. To 
seven pounds of peaches allow one quart of vine¬ 
gar, and three or four pounds of sugar, white or 
browm, spiced w'ith cinnamon and cloves, wdiole, if 
convenient, if not, the ground will do, though not 
as good. Bring the vinegar to a boil, adding a few 
peaches, when reduced a little take out and add 
more. When done, pour the juice over the whole. 
Pickled Plums. —These are made very much the 
same as peaches, though you may vary, if 3 'ou wish, 
by boiling the vinegar three successive days, and 
pouring over the fruit, prab apples, cherries, pears, 
or any tree fruit may be pickled in this way. Re¬ 
member, that for vegetables use salt, vinegar, 
alum, and any spice, excepting cloves and cinna¬ 
mon, and for fruit use a quart of vinegar to three 
or four pounds of sugar, with cloves and cinnamon 
as spices to suit the taste. Aunt Hattie. 
Our Sleeping Rooms. 
LUCT RANDOLPH FLEMING. 
A physician of note says, ” we hear a great talk 
about malaria now-a-days, but there is more ma¬ 
laria to be found in most modern bedchambers 
than anywhere else.” Persons who are moderate¬ 
ly intelligent on other topics, appear to have small 
thought, or that very perverted, on the subject of 
hygiene in their sleeping rooms, and especially 
those occupied by children. The ventilation of a 
bedchamber cannot be too carefully attended to ; 
and, as says Horace Mann, “ seeing the atmosphere 
is-forty miles deep all around the globe, it is a use¬ 
less piece of economy to breathe it more than 
once.” Yet nine mothers out of ten will carefully 
close all the windows, “ for fear of colds and night 
air,” and leave two or three children to sleep in a 
stifling atmosphere, and see no connection be¬ 
tween the colds and throat troubles they have, 
and the vitiated air she compels them to breathe 
night after night. Let the morning air and sun¬ 
shine into the bedroom as soon as possible after 
the occupants have risen ; and if there is no sun¬ 
shine, and it is not raining, let in the air. Do 
not make up beds too soon after they are vacated. 
You may get your house tidied sooner, but it is 
neither cleanly nor healthful to snugly pack up bed 
clothing until the exhalations of the sleepers’ 
bodies have been removed by exposure to the air. 
Look carefully after the wash-stand and the vari¬ 
ous utensils belonging thereto. The soap-dishes 
and tooth-brash mugs cannot be kept too scrapu- 
lously clean. All slops and foul water should be 
emptied very promptly. Wash out and sun all 
pitchers, glasses, and whatever vessel are used in 
the sleeping room. Never allow water, or stale 
bouquets of flowers to stand for days in the spare 
chamber after the departure of a guest. Towels 
that have been used should be promptly removed, 
and no soiled clothing allowed to hang or accumu¬ 
late about the room. Closets opening into a sleep¬ 
ing apartment are often the receptacles of soiled 
clothes, shoes, etc., and become fruitful sources of 
bad air, particularly where there are small children. 
After such places the housewife should look with 
a keen eye for objectionable articles, and remove 
them with an unsparing hand. I have encountered 
such closets, in which one might And all the odors 
traditionally belonging to the city of Cologne—any 
one of which was enough to suggest ideas of dis¬ 
ease-germs. 
Even so innocent a piece of furniture as the 
bureau, may by carelessness become the recipient 
of articles, which may taint the air of your bed¬ 
chamber. Damp and soiled combs and brushes 
are not only unsightly and disgusting, but lying- 
soiled and unaired from day to day, will certainly 
contribute to evil air and odors, as will also 
greasy and highly scented hair ribbons, etc. Never 
lay freshly laundried clothes upon the bed; nor 
air the same in your bedroom, if possible to do so 
elsewhere. Do not hesitate to light a fire on cool 
mornings and eveniijg>-s; and if so fortunate as to 
have an open flre-place, you possess a grand means 
of comfort and ventilation in the bedchamber. 
A Corner Medicine Cabinet. 
The Hanging Cabinet, shown in the engraving, 
can be made very ornamental. The case is of black 
walnut with panels of light wood. Wild roses are 
painted on one panel, and rushes on the other. 
There are three shelves to hold vials. Below is a 
drawer for court plaster, pieces of linen, string, 
etc. A lambrequin of velveteen, embroidered and 
edged with fringe, gives a handsome finish to the 
cabinet, while the top can be used as a shelf for a 
vase or other ornamental object. The lamp may be 
there during the day. Much time and suffering 
may be saved if a medicine cabinet is close at hand, 
well stocked with standard remedies and such other 
things, as are important in cases of illness. Label 
every bottle or package plainly, and keep nothing 
of a poisonous nature among household remedies. 
Shoe-Case and Bag for Soiled Linen. 
The articles as seen in the engravings may be 
of almost anj' material, cretonne or calico being 
preferred, as they shed the dust. To make the 
shoe-case shown in figure 1, take a piece of the 
goods double for the back, twenty-four inches 
long and seventeen wide. The piece of which the 
pockets are formed is thirty-three inches long, and 
ten inches wide, also made double. Stitch two 
pieces four and a half inches from the outside 
edge, which make a place for the pasteboard. 
Cut the pasteboard eight 
by ten inches, and slip it 
in place ; plait the spaces 
which are left at each 
side to fit the back, and 
baste on the pockets. 
The flaps are made the 
w'idth of the back, and 
seven and a half inches 
deep. Bind them with 
braid and baste in place, 
afterwards bind it all 
round with braid, and 
sew pieces on each pock¬ 
et by which to tie it up. 
The bag for soiled linen 
(fig. 2), is made of two 
straight pieces sewed to¬ 
gether all round, stitch¬ 
ing it twice across the top. Cut a slit in the front, 
and bind it with braid. Hang the bag with braid. 
Fig. 2.— A CLOTHES BAG. 
Have More Salads.—Their Healthfulness. 
Probably no people use so few salads as the 
Americans. Here Lettuce is by a large majority 
regarded as} the one plant to be used as a salad, 
and this is most frequently dressed with sugar and 
vinegar. The primary reason why we should use 
more salads, is their healthfulness. Sailors upon 
long voyages and soldiers on service on the frontier, 
subsist largely upon salted meats, and are aflflicted 
with that most distressing disease—scurvy. A 
supply of fresh vegetables at once effects a cure. 
The antiscorbutic (against scurvy) action of vege¬ 
tables is well established, and is supposed to be 
due to the saline matters they contain. In cook¬ 
ing vegetables, a large share of these saline con¬ 
stituents arc removed, which is supposed to ac¬ 
count for the fact, that raw vegetables are mon- 
effective than cooked in the cure of scurvy. I.i 
the early days of California mining, scurvy was a 
common disease, and the miners gladly paid a dol¬ 
lar a-piece for potatoes, which they sliced in vine¬ 
gar and ate raw. Farmer’s families, especially 
those who live a long distance from markets, of 
necessity live largely upon salted meats. This diet 
produces incipient scurvy, as is often manifested 
in defective teeth, had breath, and a colorless 
skin, accompanied by an inordinate desire for 
pickles and acids generally. Have more salads. 
