1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
this, and draw it through two every time, until 
but one stitch is on the needle. This one stitch 
will of course make the first stitch of next row. 
The third row is somewhat, but not exactly 
like the first. On looking at the row just done, 
Fig. 2—UNDER SLEEVE COMPLETE. 
you will see upright stitches on the near side, 
not along the top. Take up each of these in suc¬ 
cession, until you have the full number on your 
needle again. Work the second and third rows 
alternately. To decrease in this stitch, you draAV 
the thread through two instead of one at the end, 
or three instead of two in any other part of a 
row: but in the following row you put your 
hook through two upright loops instead of one. 
We will now give directions for a very com¬ 
fortable under-sleeve, for winter wear, the 
cuff of which is done in this stitch of crochet. 
THE WOOLEN UNDER-SLEEVE. 
The materials will be two ounces of single wool, 
and a few yards of another wool contrasting in 
color. Besides the crochet hook—a fine wooden 
one, and two bone knitting needles, also rather 
fine, will be wanted to work this undersleeve. 
Begin with the band at the top. Cast on eight 
stitches, and knit, in the common way, a piece 
long enough to go round the arm, above the 
elbow. Cast off. Take up the stitches along 
one edge, and knit them, but before doing each 
one, bring the thread in front. Knit in the com¬ 
mon way, which makes the thread pass over the 
needle each time, and so increases. The next 
and long succeeding alternate row must be 
purled, the stitch looking like the wrong side of 
a stocking. For this, bring the thread in front, 
and put the point of the needle in the stitch from 
the back to the front. Pass the thread round, 
and withdraw the needle backward, leaving the 
thread still in 
front, ready for 
the next stitch. 
Continue so to 
the end of the 
row. As you 
purl into a 
stitch every 
thread pulled 
over the nee¬ 
dle, you get double the number you took up. 
After this, when you put the thread round in 
knitting or purling, do it twice instead of once, 
which makes a long stitch, as it is only knitted 
as one in the next row. This makes very loose 
soft knitting, and answers better than using 
coarse needles. As much should be done as will 
cover the arm from above the elbow to the 
wrist, where an elastic band is to be knitted, 
after knitting one row with two stitches togeth¬ 
er each time, to decrease the number to half. 
The wristband .—Have a number you can di¬ 
vide by 4. Knit 2 stitches, purl 2, alternately. 
As knitted stitches seem purled on the wrong 
side, you take care in the alternate rows, to knit 
the stitches you purled in the intermediate, and 
purl those you knitted. Do a piece of two 
inches deep thus; it will make the sleeve sit 
firmly as well as comfortably around the wrist. 
The cvff, which is to be sewed on, is done in 
Princess stitch. Make a chain of 09. Tie a bit 
of colored thread in the center stitch to mark it. 
Work backward and forward, decreasing one 
bn each side of the center stitch, until you have 
done 24 rows, when the cuff will be pointed in 
the middle. Then, with wool of another color, 
do one row, taking up all the stitches at the ends 
and outer edge, so as to have them all at once 
on the needle, increasing a little at the points. 
Work back as usual. Do another pair of rows 
with the original wool, and then a single line of 
common crochet, and so on until large enough. 
Finish the sleeve by joining the cuff to the 
edge of the wristband by a line of crochet, hold¬ 
ing the wristband stretched out that it may af¬ 
terwards contract to fit the wrist, and sew up 
the sleeve, nearly as far as the ribbing. 
--—o-S>n—-- 
Hints on Washing the Hands, etc. 
Some “ philosophy ” is useful in even so sim¬ 
ple a matter as washing the hands; if any one 
doubts it, let her with a microscope examine 
the surface to be cleansed by water, and she will 
be interested, and perhaps shocked at the dis¬ 
coveries made. Instead of a smooth surface of 
skin, presenting, when unwashed, a dingy ap¬ 
pearance, there will be seen a rough, corrugated 
surface, with deep irregular furrows in which 
the foreign particles are deposited like earth 
among the rough paving stones of a street. If 
they lay loosely, it would be an easy matter to 
dislodge them with a little cold water; but the 
pores, the waste pipes of the body, are continu¬ 
ally discharging into these open drains, perspi¬ 
ration and oil, which, by evaporation, become a 
cement to hold the particles of dust, etc., and to 
remove them, requires both chemical and me¬ 
chanical action. Warm water softens this ce¬ 
ment, expands the furrows, and makes the skin 
pliable, so that by rubbing, the soil is disturbed 
and partially removed. But chemistry must aid 
a little before the process is complete; and soap 
is added, the alkali of which unites with the oily 
matters, and the whole is then easily disposed of. 
The wash cloth is useful, because its threads 
or fibers work down among the furrows, like so 
many little brooms, sweeping them out; hence 
it should be soft and pliable. Flannel is prefer¬ 
able to cotton for this purpose, and a sponge is 
the best of all. Rough coarse cloths are objec¬ 
tionable, as they abrade the skin and leave it 
rough and more easily filled with dust than be¬ 
fore. Harsh, strongly alkaline soap should be 
avoided for the same reason; it abstracts all the 
oil from the upper layer of the skin, and makes 
it “ chap ” or crack. Where a sponge is not 
obtainable, a very neat and serviceable wash¬ 
cloth may be knit of soft cotton twine; either 
with the crochet, or with coarse wooden needles; 
knitting back and forth, as garters are knit. A 
mitten knit of tidy cotton with the crochet 
needle, is very handy for this purpose, and makes 
a neat article for the wash stand. A wash rag 
will not be tolerated by a tidy housekeeper. If 
cloths are used, let them be neatly hemmed, and 
kept scrupulously clean. Applying a little vine¬ 
gar and water to the hands or face, after the use 
of soap, and rinsing off the vinegar with clean 
water, is a capital process to prevent chapping 
or roughness. The acid neutralizes the alkali 
of the soap, and keeps it from destroying the 
skin. Try this frequently, especially on Avash- 
ing days. Diluted vinegar or other acid is ex¬ 
cellent for the face after shaving. 
21 
Take Care of the Umbrellas. 
There is, perhaps, no article more abused or 
less deserving it than the umbrella. By a bad 
custom it has been voted out of protection as 
property, every man being at liberty to help 
himself Avherever he can find one—provided, 
of course, he be not above meanness. It bears 
the brunt of the storm, and is shriveled by the 
scorching sun; is counted a nuisance in the 
house while Avet, and from neglect speedily 
falls a victim to hard usage. Hear a Avord in 
its behalf. After use in a storm, place it Avith the 
handle downward , in a stand Avith a tub or dish 
attached to catch the drip. If you have no such 
stand, nail together a shallow box of planed 
boards, with four uprights at the corners, and a 
feAV Avires at proper distances passing around 
the uprights to form the frame. It Avill save 
many a puddle in the house, and many a storm 
from the neat housekeeper. If set with the 
handle upward, the water gathers around the 
joints at the top, rusts the wires, and this speed¬ 
ily rots the cloth. As soon as all the water has 
ceased to drip, the umbrella should be opened 
out, and set in an unoccupied room to dry. 
The observance of these precautions will pro¬ 
long its usefulness at least one half. 
Blinks from a Lantern... XXIV 
I have been in search of a farmer for many 
months without finding any thing that ansAvers 
exactly to my ideal of that article. I uoav pur¬ 
pose to turn the light of my lantern inside of the 
house, and search for a farmer’s Avife. I have 
already had glimpses of this personage in my 
journeyings, but the pretenders are quite as nu¬ 
merous as among the meu. 
Nothing is more common than to find discon¬ 
tent in the farmer’s kitchen and parlor, where 
there happens to be a parlor to be occupied. 
This apartment is often found in the house, but 
in many cases it is visited as unfrequently as a 
grave yard. If it gets opened twice a year for 
airing and cleaning, it is very genteel doings. 
Madam mourns over her hard lot, thinks she 
Avorks harder and sees less of the Avorld than 
any mechanic’s Avife, and, in fact, is not much 
better off than the Avife of the hired man who 
helps her husband on the farm. Bridget works 
all the Avhile, and she is obliged to do .no less. 
Bridget walks to meeting, Avhile she rides, and 
that is about all the difference between them. 
There has been a very great change in wom¬ 
an’s condition since I dwelt in the flesh. The 
Avife of the Greek peasant avIio tilled the soil, 
was little better than a slave, and the plainest 
log cabin, or dAvelling of modern times, is a 
palace in comparison Avith her home. She not 
only had the drudgery of the household upon 
her, but very often the toil of, the field also. 
There Avas no poetry in yoking a woman Avith 
an ass, and sending her forth to draAV the plow 
and the cart. If I could but impart to some of 
the good housewives Avho complain of theii 
