24r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
will gain by it, as such affection and helpfulness 
overflow their family limits, until the stranger and 
the poor feel their effects. A common sorrow, or 
a common danger, draws human beings together, 
irrespective of the old barriers of family, sect, or 
nation. In times of war, or pestilence, people be¬ 
gin to feel their dependence upon each other. 
There are so many charitable “Homes” and 
“Children’s Aid Societies,” calling for help, that 
no one ought to feel justified in hoarding unused 
old clothes, which have warmth and comfort in 
them. “ Charity begins at home,” but it will not 
live and thrive, even there, if always kept at home. 
It is not at all fair for those who can afford to 
purchase reading, to keep it all to themselves, while 
poorer people about them are hungering for some¬ 
thing to read. Self love itself, should lead us to 
do all in our power toward educating our neigh¬ 
bors, so that we and our children have good and 
intelligent society. How childish are those men of 
wealth who shut their fine galleries of paintings 
entirely from the public, imagining that they some¬ 
how get more pleasure from such exclusive pos¬ 
session of coveted treasures, than they could if the 
treasures were open for the enjoyment of others. 
Allowance for Growth in Children’s Clothes. 
These little boys and girls shoot up so fast, that 
garments made just right at the beginning- of the 
season, seem to have shrunken in their proportions 
before the season closes. To avoid this, some 
mothers dress their children in garments made so 
long and loose that they are worn to tatters before 
their wearers have grown to fit the clothes. One 
extreme is as bad as the other, or perhaps a little 
worse; for if garments ever fit, it might as well be 
when they are fresh and new. I saw a little girl 
six years old, wearing the same woolen dress that 
was made for her when three years old. It had 
been made with the skirt turned up almost double, 
and with large seams, capable of “letting out.” 
Afterwards the skirt and sleeves were pieced down 
under a row of trimming. It struck me as a little 
too bad, to oblige the child of three to carry about 
her the cloth needed to clothe her two or three 
years afterward. There were younger children, 
and it would have been quite as good economy to 
have passed the out-grown garments of the elder 
one, along down the ranks, to be worn by the one 
they best fitted. A little dress, of good material 
and well made,' will do service for three or four 
young children, a season each. It is always best 
to make allowance for a child’s growth in measur¬ 
ing its new clothes, but care must be used not to 
burden it with unnecessary weight. Skirts of flan¬ 
nel or felt should not have deep tucks, as they are 
not only increased in weight, as a consequence, but 
are thus made more bungling, and fit to the figure 
less warmly. Skirts that have become too long for 
their growing owners, can be pieced down with 
some kind of trimming. Often a plain strip of some 
darker shade of the same color, improves the ap¬ 
pearance, while it enlarges the garment. A cuff 
of the same on each sleeve, and a strip for a belt, if 
needed to lengthen the waist, may all be added 
without much trouble, and this is better than let¬ 
ting out burdensome tucks in heavy material. 
Danger from Sugar. 
In several journals I have lately seen warnings 
against the indiscriminate use of sugar. In the 
November number of the American Agriculturist, I 
find it in “ Bee Notes ” as follows : “ In selecting 
sugar, avoid that having a bluish tint, as we have 
proof that it contains poison that will injure the 
bees. The same advice might be offered in regard 
to buying for family use.”—I heard one of my 
neighbors complain of her white coffee sugar, 
which could not be used to sweeten cake or coffee, 
and had a bluish-green tint. 
We are told that the old-fashioned methods of 
refining sugar by means of bullocks’ blood, and 
other harmless mate¬ 
rials, have been super¬ 
seded by the use of 
poisonous chemicals, 
and that these are not 
all removed, but remain 
partially in the sugar as 
poisons. The purest 
and best sugars are the 
hard and white, or the 
coarse granulated. The 
brown sugars, which 
many consider sweeter 
than white sugar, are 
actually less sweet. 
They seem sweeter, be¬ 
cause they dissolve 
more readily in the 
mouth when tasted. 
I don’t see any necessity for using much sugar 
or molasses, but most people differ with me. It is 
indeed an important element of food, but nearly 
every article that we eat contains a certain percent¬ 
age of sugar, ia a healthy form, and if the cooking 
is done so as to preserve the natural proportion 
of saccharine matter, the needs of the body are 
amply satisfied. I have seen children, (and their 
need of sugar is supposed to be greater than the 
need of adults),live for weeks or months without a 
single lump of sugar, or bit of candy, or piece of 
cake, or sip of molasses or honey; and they never 
seemed to miss the sweets, or to suffer in the least 
from lack of them. (Not seeing anything of the 
kind, they never thought of them. After a fast of 
this kind, (with plenty of wholesome food, and 
fruit, and milk), the effect of sugar, or candy, or 
cake, is plainly perceptible. The breath is imme¬ 
diately affected, and the appetite capricious. The 
child professses to be hungry, but says “ No, I 
don’t want bread ; I want something sweet. 
Some suppose that this proves a natural appetite 
for concentrated sweets, but by the same reasoning 
you can prove a “ natural appetite ” for alcoholic 
drinks. Since it is not convenient for us to dis¬ 
pense entirely with the use of sugar, it is very de¬ 
sirable that we should have it in the most whole¬ 
some condition, and all enlightened people should 
refuse to purchase the most doubtful kinds, and 
use only the hard white or coarse granulated sugars. 
Few of us can examine for ourselves into the purity 
of sugars that we purchase, though a good magni¬ 
fying glass may enable us to detect the adultera¬ 
tions of common fine white sugar with corn.-starch, 
flour, or terra alba, and other impurities. 
. Economy of Water in Washing. 
Doubtless most of my readers have heard of the 
method of washing without boiling white clothes, 
by spreading the clothes fresh from the suds in 
which they were washed, to bleach for an hour or 
so in the hot sunshine, then rinsing them in two 
clear waters, or “ sudsing ” and rinsing them. This 
method saves both fuel and water in summer 
time, provided you have green grass on which to 
spread your clothes. Now I think of it, I dare say 
some of my talk about the difficulties of cleansing 
household gear, may have seemed strange^r exag¬ 
gerated to some housekeepers in well regulated es¬ 
tablishments. I do not wish to complain, but 1 will 
confess that in my various unprofitable movings 
about in eleven years, I have had grass about the 
house only twice, one summer each time. At other 
times the clay or sand, or fine black mold in the 
yard and around the doors, has served another pur¬ 
pose than to make washing and cleaning an easy 
task. Combined with this lack of grass for children 
to play on, and upon which their soiled garments 
might be bleached, and with the presence of un¬ 
limited quantities of black “dirt,” has been the 
frequent difficulty of obtaining soft water in suffi¬ 
cient quantity for easy washing. So I suppose I 
may have spoken feelingly about the difficulties of 
washing-day. 
But here comes another applicant for service, 
professing to save labor in the laundry—no less a 
person than Jack Frost. His service is certainly 
plenty and cheap in Minnesota.- I am assured that 
one rinsing or simply “ sudsing,” is just as effectual 
as two rinsings after boiling, if you hang out your 
clothes and let them freeze dry. I am told that the 
clothes look as well, and smell as fresh and sweet 
as under the old plan, but I have not tried the 
method, it being now only November. If I get 
very tired of melting snow for the processes of 
washing, during the coming winter, perhaps I shall 
try the new plan advised by my neighbors, but not 
with entire faith that the result will be satisfactory. 
Still the advice comes from good housekeepers, 
who state that they have tried it themselves. 
Hulled Corn. 
This is a genuine country luxury. Though not 
very easy of preparation, a large quantity can be 
made at one time, to be eaten cold or warmed over 
in some way. If you wish only a six-quart pan¬ 
ful of corn when hulled, take half that quantity of 
shelled com. The same amount of ashes, or three 
quarts, is sufficient to make the lye, if hard wood- 
ashes are used. To the ashes add six quarts of 
water, heat and boil several minutes, skimming as 
impurities rise. A little cold water poured in, set¬ 
tles the lye when set off from the fire. Turn the 
lye off from the ashes, and strain it into a kettle 
with the com. Boil it briskly half-an-hour, stirring 
it frequently. By this time the skins of the kernels 
should be loose and stip off easily. Strain off the 
lye, or skim out the com, and rinse the kernels 
well with several waters. Then wash the com cov¬ 
ered with water in a large pan, rubbing it well with 
your hands until the black chits come off. Then 
rinse until the water looks clear. Put it back into 
the clean kettle, with clean water enough to cover 
