214 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
family work. We want something inexpen¬ 
sive, compact, easily worked, and which shall 
free us from the drudgery of standing in an un¬ 
comfortable position, over a heated surface, and 
laying out strength enough to last two days in 
ordinary work. Please, Messrs. Inventors, 
come to the aid of woman in this matter, and 
you will find a ready purchaser and a grateful 
friend in Martha. 
-a i ---- 
Important Hints on Putting out Pires. 
It should be firmly fixed in the mind of every 
man, woman, and child, that the best way to 
extinguish a fire is to smother it, that is, to shut 
out the access of air. If the clothes take fire, 
wrap them together closely, or throw around 
them a blanket, a sheet, another dress, a table¬ 
cloth, or a piece of carpet—anything that can be 
first got hold of. A newspaper, or hankerchief, 
suddenly spread over a flame and drawn down 
so as to at once shut out air, will extinguish or 
check the fire. It is well for children and even 
grown people to practice extinguishing a flame, 
by setting on fire, in a safe place out of doors, 
a quantity of paper or shavings, and even burn¬ 
ing fluid, and then try how suddenly the flame 
may be extinguished with a cloth or paper. A 
little practice like this will give confidence and 
experience, and prevent that sudden fright and 
indecision which generally occur when a fire 
breaks out. 
Where burning fluids are used, they frequent¬ 
ly run over and take fire on the outside of the 
lamp. Usually, if held still, the excess of fluid 
will burn off with no harm. A sudden, heavy 
blast of breath will generally put out the flame. 
A cloth thrown entirely over it, will certainly put 
it out. Shaking the lamp through fright, or 
throwing it down, only makes the matter worse, 
by forcing out more fluid. Don’t be afraid of 
an “ explosion.” It is next to impossible to ex¬ 
plode even a burning fluid lamp. It is barely 
possible to do it by having the wick out of one 
tube, so that the flame can run down the open¬ 
ing ; and then not one time in a thousand will 
there be just the right mixture of air and fluid 
vapor to produce explosion enough to break the 
lamp. There may be a little puff and report, 
and the dropping of the lamp in fright will throw 
out the fluid, or break the lamp if of glass, when 
of course there will be a flame, but one easily 
extinguished by means of a cloth. Dashing on 
water often scatters the burning liquid around 
the room, making the matter worse. Let it be 
remembered, that not one in five hundred of the 
reported “explosions” of lamps, is really an 
' explosion ” at all. They result from spilling 
fluid carelessly, or breaking a lamp. In the 
fright, the fluid is perhaps dashed over the 
clothing, and bad burns and even death 
may result, especially if the person runs out into 
the air, and thus fans the flame. After all that 
has been published and said on the subject, any 
person who will fill a lamp while burning, or do 
it near another burning lamp or fire, ought to be 
burned —a little. 
If a fire occurs in a room or closet, do not 
throw open the doors and windows, and thus 
fan the flame. Close every aperture instantly, 
until an abundance of blankets, and water, are 
secured, then throw open the door, and quickly 
smother the flame. Mo common substance will 
burn without air, except gunpowder, or nitre, 
or chlorate of potash, and such like compounds 
which of themselves furnish the oxygen to sup¬ 
port the flame. Even phosphorus will instant¬ 
ly go out if simply smothered.—If these simple di¬ 
rections were so fixed in the mind, that a person 
is prepared to act coolly, nine-tenths of all the 
fires, the suffering from burning of garments, and 
the so-called lamp explosions would be avoided. 
--—--- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
“Patent Leather” Boots and Shoes. 
A man with unblacked, rusty looking boots, 
can scarcely be well dressed. He may be hon¬ 
est, energetic, and every way worthy, but the 
first impression he makes upon strangers, will 
be less pleasing than if his equipment were com¬ 
pleted with well polished leather. But it takes 
time and trouble to apply the blacking and 
brush, and manufacturers have devised a fabric 
to dispense with this trouble, and at the same 
time enable the wearer to be always presenta¬ 
ble, so far as covering for the feet is concerned. 
“Patent leather,” as it is called, is japanned, or 
coated with a varnish which retains its luster, 
and boots and shoes made from it, only need a 
slight dusting to be in trim. Hence they have 
become very popular; and judging from the 
appearance of the shoemakers’ display of stock, 
and the numbers we meet who wear these ar¬ 
ticles, nearly one half the dress boots and shoes 
now worn, are of “ patent leather.” But those 
who buy them, pay dear for their whistle. They 
are uncomfortable, and positively injurious to 
health. Complaints are sometimes made that 
they “ draw the sun ” and heat the feet. This 
is an error. They absorb less heat from the out¬ 
side than ordinary leather, because a polished 
surface reflects heat more readily than a rough 
one: but, for the same reason, they do retain 
the heat given out from the foot, and hence are 
uncomfortably warm in Summer. The varnish, 
before it is cracked by wear, is impervious to 
water, and hence the large amount of perspira¬ 
tion escaping from the foot is retained, and the 
flesh is thus kept steaming with poisonous va¬ 
por. In Winter, the dampness of the stocking 
conducts away the heat rapidly, and you have a 
continual cold foot bath, which every one 
knows, or should know, is ruinous to health. 
One of the golden rules for preserving health is, 
“ Keep the feet dry, and moderately warm,” 
neither of which can be done when using “ pa¬ 
tent leather ” shoes. 
It were better to appear ill-dressed than suffer 
from cliillblains, colds, and headaches ; but this 
need not be. Let the fastidious young men who 
pride themselves upon a highly polished boot, 
rise a few minutes earlier in the morning, and 
take healthful exercise with the shoe brush; it 
will conduce to their welfare in more ways 
than one. Common Sense. 
■-• i- nBna-® 9 
Get an Early Breakfast. 
A bad custom is prevalent in many families, 
especially among farmers, of working an hour 
or two before breakfast, attending to “ chores,” 
hoeing in the garden, cutting wood, mowing, 
etc. This is convenient on many accounts, but 
it is not conducive to health. The prevalent 
opinion is, that the morning air is the purest, and 
most healthful and bracing; but the contrary is 
the fact. At no hour of the day is the air more 
filled with dampness, fogs, and miasms, than 
at about sunrise. The heat of the sun gradually 
dissipates these miasmatic influences as the day 
advances. An early meal braces up the system 
against these external influences. Every one 
knows the languor and faintness often experi¬ 
enced for the first hour in the morning, and that 
this is increased by exercise and want of food. 
We do not agree with the boarding school re¬ 
gime which prescribes a long walk before break¬ 
fast as a means of promoting health. 
Probably the best custom would be, to furnish 
every member of the family, especially those 
who labor out of doors, with a simple cup of 
warm coffee well milked, immediately after ris¬ 
ing from bed. Then let them attend to chores, 
or mowing, hoeing, etc., for an hour or two, 
while the teams are feeding, and breakfast pre¬ 
paring. They will feel better, and do more work. 
■----=»©C—-* —-- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Good Meals for Emergencies. 
It often puzzles a young housekeeper to know 
how to provide for unexpected guests who 
chance to arrive near meal time. This is the 
more perplexing in the country, where one can 
not send to a neighboring cook shop for food 
ready prepared. It is no compliment to com¬ 
pany to spend the time of a visit in extra cook¬ 
ing, and yet one likes to have an inviting meal 
for friends. Let us see what may be done. 
Good bread and golden butter, no farmer’s 
wife should be without; fruits, either preserved, 
dried, or fresh, she is supposed to have, with eggs, 
cream, ham, sweet pork, and the best vegetables. 
Suppose a guest arrives at twelve, just as din¬ 
ner is coming on, and there is no pudding bak¬ 
ing, and only sufficient meat for a dinner, or 
perhaps a boiled dish, or beans with pork, are 
the food prepared. If the latter, delay the meal 
fifteen minutes, which will give time to make 
and bake such a cream pudding as towns-people 
seldom see, or a minute pudding, or custard. 
For a good Minute Pudding: Heat 1 quart of 
milk over water until boiling hot. Add some 
sweet butter to the milk. Mix flour with cold 
milk and four beaten eggs to form a batter, and 
stir it into the boiling milk, until smooth. Let it 
steam over water until needed, and serve with 
cream and sugar, or maple syrup.—For Cream 
Pudding: Beat six eggs to a froth, mix a pint of 
milk with a pint of flour, and two small tea- 
spoonfuls of salt, and just before baking, add a 
pint of sweet cream. Bake steadily twenty five 
minutes. Serve with sugar and butter stirred to 
a cream. If in time of fruit, instead of the 
above, serve peaches or berries with cream 
whipped stiff and sugared. 
If dinner can not be delayed, serve two tables. 
Fry or broil ham with eggs; or broil thin pork— 
the latter is a treat to city people. If you happen 
to have dry cake, boil a quart of rich milk, 
take it from the fire, add four beaten eggs, and 
sugar; beat until cool. Dip the cake in a part 
of the custard, and beat the remainder to a foam 
for the top of the dish; add the beaten whites of 
eggs stiffened slightly, over the hot milk, and 
flavor to suit the taste. An excellent dessert. 
If tea is the meal, and you are troubled for 
want of nice cake; remember, cake is no luxu¬ 
ry in town. Toast bread nicely, drop eggs on 
water until the whites are coagulated; dip the 
toast in butter, with a trifle of hot water added, or 
merely spread it; cut each slice in three or four 
pieces, lay an egg on each, and add butter, pep¬ 
per and salt. This is a nice tea dish for persons 
intending to ride, and with a pickle or other 
relish, would make a nice meal. Cream Cake 
hot, to be eaten with butter, is nice for a hurried 
tea, both with and without sugar. To make it: 
take a pint of flour, four eggs, a teaspoonful of 
soda, the same of salt, and thin sour cream 
sufficient to mix the whole in a stiff batter. 
Pour one cake into a pan, and add half a tea¬ 
cup of sugar to the other, and bake. Muffins 
