24, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
■when well pickled and dried and shaved in very 
thin chips, and better still when soaked and cooked 
with cream gravy. By proper care one can have 
these all the year round. For winter use, beef 
Fig. 1.— FRAME OF WASH-STAND. 
preserved in a frozen state is still better, and almost 
as good as absolutely fresh meat. It may be packed 
in snow or, (better), in well drained ice, or, (better 
still), it may be frozen in pieces suitable for use, 
wrapped in clean brown paper, each piece sepa¬ 
rately, and packed in chaff, bran, or hay, in a cold 
place, so as to remain frozen until late in the spring. 
In the use of an ice-house I have had no experience. 
Other meat than beef can be preserved in the same 
way. Barrels or boxes of poultry or wild game 
may be kept frozen, in a fresh state, for winter use. 
It is said to be best to put a bit of charcoal in the 
cavity of each dressed fowl, with lumps here and 
there between them, as they are packed. Charcoal 
will remove all offensive smell or flavor from meat 
already somewhat tainted from too long exposure 
to the warm air. Fresh fish can be kept frozen 
very easily, for winter use. When you wish to use 
a fish, you can shave the outside clean with a sharp 
knife, and then thaw it by puttiug it in cold water 
for a little while. In tha\ving the fish, fowl, or 
piece of frozen meat in cold water, (for this is the 
proper way to thaw all meat), a crust of ice will be 
formed upon the surface, and you can either peel 
this off or wait for it to melt off in the water. Fish 
vnd fowls of various kinds can be kept in brine, 
(each class by itself), for use at any time of year. 
But persons who live near a river or lake where fish 
abound, can catch fresh fish at most any time in 
winter, or purchase of the fishermen who take 
them through the ice holes with spears. Those 
■who keep poultry can kill and dress it as they need 
it, though it may be economy to freeze and pack in 
the fall a quantity for winter use. 
Wonieu’s Under-Garments. 
I still receive repeated inquiries in regard to 
women’s sensible under-clothes. It does not seem 
to me necessary to send anyiohcre for patterns. The 
idea is very plain. Make a long-sleeved, high- 
necked, easy-fitting waist, with buttons around the 
bottom. Gore this over the hips, and put on two 
or three rows of buttons if you like, one row for 
the drawers and one for skirt; another row, the 
middle one, for “ dress drawers,” if you use them. 
The remainder of the combination garment, (a 
combination of waist and drawers, which together 
make a complete and comfortable under-suit), con- 
Fig. 2.— WASH-STAND COMPLETE. 
sists of drawers which may be cut like any garment 
of the kind., of cotton for summer use, open in the 
usual way, and so high in the back as to admit of 
leaning far over without bursting the buttons from 
the back of the waist; or they may be made for 
winter long and close at the ankle, left open at the 
bottom for a few inches to admit of their lapping 
smoothly under the stockings. There is room for 
individual taste and preference in several respects, 
as whether the waist and drawers shall be perma¬ 
nently united or buttoned together, (I prefer the 
latter for my children and myself), whether the 
waist shall be made close-fitting or more like a sack, 
and whether the drawers shall be closed or not. 
I think that any woman who has sense enough to 
cut her own ordinary clothing, can cut and make 
these new-fangled garments without any patterns 
whatever, except her old dress-waist and drawers 
patterns. If she has a well-formed bust, she will do 
well to cut out a place in the front and set in 
a gathered strip which will give looseness and ease. 
Care must be had that every part is sufficiently loose 
for comfort and health, big arm-holes, loose bands, 
and room in all directions for bending the body. 
For winter many still prefer to buy merino under- 
suits—vests and drawers. These can be improved 
variously. One improvement is to cut out the 
senseless breast “pockets,” and in their place in¬ 
sert a strip fulled a little at both edges, made of the 
best part of some old under-suit or merino stock¬ 
ing legs. Another improvement is the cutting off 
of the vest or jacket at the waist line, (and the cut¬ 
off portion will answer for breast strip and patches), 
finishing it with a loose band with six or eight 
buttons, to which the merino drawers are buttoned. 
Over this some wear another suit, (waist and 
drawers), of flannel or ladies’ cloth. I make these 
outer drawers with a lining, and for general use I 
know of nothing better for the drawers than the 
lighter shades of water-proof cloth. These are 
called by some “dress drawers,” and are some¬ 
times only used for out-door wear. I value them 
more than any skirt for steady comfort on winter 
days, in-door or out. It is well to cut them gored 
at the bottom, three or four “ darts,” so to speak, 
(or “biases,” as I think some would call them), 
little short gores anyhow—so as to make them fit 
around the stocking inside the top of the laced 
boot, and if they are long enough so that they do 
not pull away from the boot in walking, they will 
hang over a little at the bottoms, as though gath¬ 
ered and fastened with a band. 
■- ■iwxt -4^ »- <srg ■■■ 
Home-Made Furniture. 
Many a housekeeper has a room that is not used 
often enough to warrant the expense of furnishing. 
Fig. 8.—THE BOXES. 
She would fit it up for a visitor—or it may be a 
boarder, but for the question of furniture ; such 
rooms can be fitted with all the essentials, except 
the bed-stead, at a very small cost, and young peo¬ 
ple who go to liouse-keepiug on small means may, 
by the exercise of a' little skill, make their modest 
sum set apart for their outfit, go much further than 
if it were all expended at the cabinet-makers. We 
have now and then published hints in this direc¬ 
tion, and we give here two more useful articles 
which any one of ordinary tact, may make. The 
first is a wash-stand ; the engravings show it un¬ 
dressed and dressed. The frame-work is a barrel 
and a box. Nail the hoops upou the barrel so that 
it may not get rickety; the box should be large , 
enough for its edges to project beyond the swell of 
the barrel all around, about 20 by 24 inches is a 
convenient size; the box is without top, and has 
one side removed; all the other parts should be 
firmly nailed ; it is then nailed securely to the bar¬ 
rel, as in fig. 1. It is then to be draped, as in fig. 
2 , with such materia] as may be at hand ; if new 
stuff is to be bought, an inexpensive light chintz 
will answer; this should be tacked on in plaits, to 
give a full appearance ; or some light blue or pink 
paper muslin may be used, and some open material, 
like curtain lace, or even mosquito netting, tacked 
Fig. 4.— TABLE AND BACK OF LOUNGE. 
over it in folds ; an old dress may come into play for 
the drapery, or other material that may be at hand. 
The box portion, if it is to be used much, had bet¬ 
ter be covered with enamelled cloth at least for the 
inside of this part, which can be wiped off as occa¬ 
sion requires, or the box may be covered with the 
same material as the rest, and some simple tidy 
thrown over it to catch the spatters.... The second 
article combines in one a bed, a lounge, two otto¬ 
mans, a table, and two chests, and will be very use¬ 
ful to those who have to make the most of a little 
Fig. 5.— THE TABLE IN USE. 
room. The starting point is two good, strong, 
well made boxes, the cize of which will depend 
upon the use to be made of the affair. If to be 
used for a bed, they must be wider than if for a 
sofa alone, probably 2 feet is the least possible 
width, and 30 inches be still better; the length of 
the two together should be at least 6 feet. These 
boxes should be provided with well hinged lids, 
with casters, by which they may be readily moved, 
and three hooks, one at top, back, and front, by 
which the two boxes may be securely fastened to¬ 
gether-, as shown in fig. 3. The back to this sofa is 
arranged “ a double debt to pay.” It is made 
very much like the ironing table figured in August 
last; it is hinged at the top to a cleat, and has legs 
to support it when used as a table, (fig. 5), and 
when not so used the legs are folded under, as 
shown by the dotted lines in fig. 4, and the whole 
hangs nearly down to the floor, to serve as a back 
to the lounge. These are the foundation; for a 
covering, the back is provided with a quilted chintz 
cover, which is fastened in place by means of rings 
which hook over brass-headed nails in the cleat. 
The boxes are draped separately with the chintz in 
folds, and covered with a thin hair mattrass, made 
Fig. 6 .— THE LOUNGE AS FINISHED. 
in two parts, and covered with chintz, with a wide 
fluted ruffle all around the edge. Two large pillows, 
with raffled cases of the same material, make the 
affair complete, as shown in fig. 6, and a very com- 
