310 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
is noticeable this year in the strawberries of 
that neighborhood. The variety called the 
Longworth Prolific has been remarkable as 
having stamens and pistils on the same flow¬ 
er, but all the plants of that variety are now 
in bloom near Louisville, and all destitute 
of stamens. The flowers are all alike, fine 
large pistillate blooms, entirely without sta¬ 
mens. Some of the beds are three years 
old, and others two years, and this present 
bloom is the first appearance of deviation. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
MRS, BROWN’S EXPERIENCE IN PAINTING 
AND PAPERING. 
Mrs. Brown had been busily employed all 
day in scrubbing, while Jane had whitewash¬ 
ed the ceiling of the parlor, making it as 
white as milk. Every trace of winter’s 
smoke and dust had passed away from ceil¬ 
ing and wood-work, but the paper on the 
walls was dingy, and no rubbing with brush 
or cotton could make it fair and clean. The 
paint too was worn from the doors and win¬ 
dows, and along the edges of the base-board 
the native color of the pine showed itself, 
giving evidence that both time and Mrs. 
Brown had been busy in the parlor. The 
lady, however, was somewhat dissatisfied 
with her work. The appearance of the room 
was not altogether what she desired. “ I do 
wish we could have this room painted and 
papered,” she exclaimed, “but Mr. Brown 
has had to expend so much on the farm this 
Spring, I know he cannot afford it.” 
“ I wish it could be done,” responded Jane, 
who was always ready to second her moth¬ 
er’s wishes. 
“If we only had the paint,” continued the 
good woman, “ I think we might do it our¬ 
selves, and then it would not add much to 
our expenses.” 
After some conversation on the subject, 
they decided to make inquiries in regard to 
the price of paint, brushes, and paper, the 
first time they should go to the village. At 
the tea-table, they told Mr. Brown theirplans, 
and he very cordially approved them, al¬ 
though he feared it would be too hard for 
them to do it, but they were willing to en¬ 
counter the fatigue, that they might enjoy 
the comfort the fatigue would ensure. 
The next day Mrs. Brown went with her 
husband, in the farm wagon, to the village, 
and made the inquiries she wished. She 
found she could get a keg of American zinc 
paint weighing twenty-five pounds for two 
dollars. The French zinc came a few shil¬ 
lings higher, but it makes a purer white, and 
as she wished white paint for the parlor she 
concluded to purchase it in preference to the 
American, which is more glossy, and an¬ 
swers equally well when it is to be tinted. 
She selected a large brush for seven shil¬ 
lings, and a small one for one shilling. She 
also bought some spirits of turpentine to 
mix with the paint to thin it for use. She 
was told that it was unnecessary to add oil, 
there being sufficient put in when the paint 
was ground. She also bought a little tin 
can containing a pound of raw amber for 
eighteen pence, to color the paint for the 
dining-room, aa she concluded that while 
she was about such work, she might as well 
improve the appearance of that room as the 
other. 
After these important purchases were 
made, she looked at various styles of paper 
for the walls, and selected a very pretty one 
of a neutral tint for the parlor, for which she 
paid two shillings a roll, and one of wood- 
color, well covered, for the dining-room, for 
which she paid only a shilling a roll. The 
shop-keeper exhibited for her inspection 
quite a variety of paper. Some of it was 
covered with railroad tracks, the cars appa¬ 
rently in full motion, but never moving an 
inch from the same spot; a wearisome and 
ugly sight on the walls of a room, however 
impressive the reality is when moving along 
in its grandeur and might, and ever and anon 
sending forth a roar which rivals that of the 
king of beasts. Then too there were great 
parrots, and birds of Paradise, and stainy 
flowers as unlike nature, as nature is unlike 
deformity, but Mrs. Brown had too much 
taste to select any such for her purpose, she 
preferred those which were not marked, nor 
glaring in their character. 
Mrs. Brown went home quite delighted 
with her purchases, and her husband and 
Jane fully sympathized with her. Mr. Brown 
did not consider anything which affected his 
wife’s comfort of small consequence, and he 
would gladly have called in paperers and 
painters if he could afford it, but as he could 
not, he determined to give her all the assist¬ 
ance his business would allow. He mixed 
the paint for her to save her the trouble, and 
used the brushes a little himself. In about 
half a day Mrs. Brown and her daughter 
gave the parlor its first coat of paint. They 
were gratified with their success, having 
prospered quite as well as they had antici¬ 
pated. By the next afternoon it was dry 
enough to receive a second coat. How 
nicely it made the room look,—so nicely 
that they decided to give a third to make 
it perfect. Each day they were amply com¬ 
pensated for their labor by the improvement 
they witnessed. 
When the paint was sufficiently hardened, 
they proceeded to paper the room. Jane 
made a paste of rye flour, adding to it a lit¬ 
tle alum, as she scalded it. They used a 
small whisk broom and an old hair dust¬ 
brush for spreading the paste. As they put 
the paper on the wall, they were careful to 
match it, and to remove all wrinkles and air 
bubbles by patting it with a cotton cloth. 
They began the smoothing in the middle of 
the paper, patting outward to each edge. It 
took them nearly a day to finish. Then the 
carpet was put down, and the pretty, small- 
figured chintz curtains were hung at the win¬ 
dows. TRe cane seated chairs, the otto¬ 
mans—made of soap-boxes, with springs,and 
covered with chintz like the curtains—and 
the lounge of domestic manufacture, with 
the other furniture were brought in, and 
tastefully arranged. In one corner stood a 
small “ what not” filled with books, for all 
Mrs. Brown’s family loved to read. When 
the arrangements were completed, even to 
filling a vase with a few spring flowers, Mrs. 
Brown seated herself in the great arm chair 
to contemplate the result of her new effort 
at house-cleaning, and this time she was 
perfectly satisfied. Her parlor was as pret¬ 
ty and tasteful as any lady need desire. 
Mrs. Brown’s success in the dining-room 
was equally pleasing. The paint she tinted 
with umber, instead of using the pure white. 
When the two rooms were finished there was 
paint enough left for another, and this she 
used in her own chamber. She expresses 
her intention of painting more or less every 
Spring, thus keeping her house in the finest 
order, without suffering the annoyance of 
having strange painters about, and at the 
same time saving much expense. 
I have given a brief, account of Mrs. 
Brown’s experience in papering and painting 
for the encouragement of other housekeep¬ 
ers, who are equally disheartened in regard 
to the appearance of their rooms. It is an 
old saying that “ what man has done, man 
may do,” and it is equally true that what 
woman has done woman may do. 
It is not difficult to learn to paper, or to 
paint. All it requires is a little instruction 
and a little experience. The Agriculturist 
has given us some valuable information in 
regard to different colors, which may essen¬ 
tially aid those who wish to try for them¬ 
selves Mrs. Brown’s experiment. 
Anna Hope. 
REARING CHICKENS-A LAD PS EXPERIENCE. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist ; 
As this is the season of the year for rear¬ 
ing chicken's, allow me to communicate the 
results of my own experience in this inter¬ 
esting process. Last year I had a great 
mortality among my young broods. One 
little beauty after another drooped its tiny 
wings, and pined away till death finished its 
sufferings. I consulted the most approved 
books on Poultry breeding, and administered 
in turn the various remedies therein recom¬ 
mended for diseased fowls—pepper, chopped 
onions, powdered rhubarb, &c.,-but all these 
remedies were equally unsuccessful, and the 
chickens so doctored died off quite as quick¬ 
ly as those in which the disease was allowed 
to follow the natural course. At length, 
when the little favorite chicken—a lovely 
black Dorking—“ took sick and died,” I de¬ 
termined to discover, if possible, the exact 
nature and cause of its disease by dissect¬ 
ing it. On carefully opening the little body, 
I found the gall bladder about twice its nat¬ 
ural size, and black as ink. The liver was 
also very large, and of a deep yellow color. 
The heart was small, pale, and flaccid, and 
the intestines were distended with air to the 
very utmost, like blown up bladders. Other 
chickens which perished from the same mal¬ 
ady, presented similar appearances on dis¬ 
section. 
Judging from these appearances I inferred 
that the mortality among my chickens was 
principally occasioned by a derangement of 
the liver and digestive apparatus induced by 
improper diet. I had fed them on fine In¬ 
dian meal mixed with water ; and they like¬ 
wise partook of the unground corn flung to 
the larger fowls, as I found two or three un¬ 
digested grains in the crop and gizzard of 
