1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
25 
fortable lounge it is. If used as a bed, the bedding 
may be kept in one of the boxes, while the other 
will come in play as a stow-away-place for various 
articles. When the table is to be used, the lounge 
part is rolled away, and it is found very convenient 
to have this part separable into two, as the halves 
are more readily put out of the way than the whole 
would be. “None of these makeshifts for me,” 
gar or molasses and water, but it will not have the 
peculiar refreshing fragrance of that made from 
cider. The cost of cider-vinegar is greater than 
that of its substitutes, but is of no consequence 
when the superiority of the article is concerned. 
It is not the mere acidity that we want, but the 
acidity qualified by an aroma, only to be found in 
that made from cider. Cider or any similar liquid 
EOTS <& amM’ (BQMTMim 
Fishing in Winter. 
Some people go a fishing for the sake of fishing, while 
others go for the sake of the fish. Some young men are 
never fishermen, but “anglers”; they make their ap¬ 
pearance in remarkable rig from boots to cap, and their 
Mrs. Broadlands will say, “ give me the real stuff, 
and solid, whether it is black walnut or mahogany. 
If I should put a visitor into a room with such a 
wash-stand as that, what would they think ? ”—We 
answer Mrs.- B. that the difference in cost between 
makeshifts and the “real stuff” will buy all the 
books the family will need for a year ; will send the 
oldest boy or girl to the academy, or may be used 
in many other ways. As to what visitors think ; 
if we have any who do not think all the more of us 
for our economical ways, we hope they will not 
come again, but go where they can come in contact 
with more congenial furniture. 
Household Notes and Queries. 
Vinegar.— The inquiries about vinegar come fre¬ 
quently ; they generally ask how to make good 
vinegar in the family, but sometimes how to 
make vinegar from tomatoes, rhubarb, and the like. 
We do not know anything about these unusual 
to be converted into vinegar, needs a high tempera¬ 
ture, at least 70 degrees, and free exposure to the 
air. If the temperature is lower, the operation will 
be slower. To start the vinegar, some ferment is 
needed, and for this some old vinegar, or the 
“ mother ” from an old barrel is useful. If one has 
an old vinegar cask with some vinegar left in it, the 
better way is to add cider to it gradually, a gallon 
or two at a time. To convert new eider into vinegar 
it is best to have two barrels, each half full, and 
draw each day a pailful from one and pour it slowly 
into the other, thus exposing it as much as possible 
to the air. Unless the proper temperature can be 
commanded, there is no way of hurrying the process. 
Cleaning Tbipe.— Mrs. M. A. S., says that tripe 
is cleaned more easily with lime than by any other 
method. One quart of air-slaked lime is sufficient 
for a stomach ; this is sprinkled very evenly over 
the stomach, and in about 15 minutes the coating 
will scrape off easily ; she puts the tripe into warm 
water before scraping. 
Sending Recipes.—S ome seem to set a high 
bag, rod, reel, and all other outfit cost as much as a good 
mowing machine ; they will be out all a long summer's 
day, and be quite satisfied with one or two little trout; 
they do not go for fish, but for the fishing. Those who 
try fishing in winter arc very likely to care more for fish 
than for sport, for wh’le there is a certain excitement 
about it, there is also a good share of what is very muen 
like work, with the addition of cold fingers and toes. In 
many parts oi the country large quantities of fish are 
caught through the ice, both by those who send them to 
market, and those who catch them for family use. Some 
of these ways of fishing are practised by boys, especially 
the one to be named last. There is danger attending 
fishing through the ice, as there is in going upon the ice 
for skating, or any other purpose, and it would be much 
better for boys to go with older persons, or a t least not 
undertake fishing in this way unless their parents feel 
that they are old enough to take proper care of them¬ 
selves and avoid danger. One method sometimes prac¬ 
tised, is stunning the fish, but this can not be done un¬ 
less the ice is very clear and not too thick; for this the 
fisherman requires only an axe ; he goes along cautiously, 
and when he sees a large pickerel or other fish near the 
surface—for they are fond of coming up to the sun-light— 
he gradually approaches it, until he can strike the ice a 
Fig. 3.— CATCHING SMALL FISH WITH NET. 
Fig. 4.— TIP-UP OR TILT-UP FISHING. 
kin’ds of vinegar, nor do we care to make their 
acquaintance. Vinegar can be made out of any 
liquid that contains alcohol, or sugar, or other 
matters that may be converted into alcohol, and 
there can be, at least so far as the ordinary manu¬ 
facture is concerned, no vinegar without first pro¬ 
ducing alcohol. We think that good family vinegar 
can be made from but two substances, wine and 
cider. Wine being for the most part out of the 
question, cider is the only available material for 
good vinegar. We admit that just as strong, and 
just as wholesome vinegar may be made from su- 
value upon their recipes ; we find on looking over 
our file that one person sends three very ordinary 
recipes, and wishes us to forward their value in 
money, and another encloses a single recipe of a 
few lines for which the paper for the year is asked. 
We always have on hand more recipes than we can 
ever expect to publish, and do not wish to purchase 
any. We are glad to say that the vast majority 
having received freely, are happy to give freely, 
and contribute to the general fund without any 
other recompense than what may come from the 
feeling that they have helped other housekeepers, 
heavy blow directly over the fish. The force of the blow 
is communicated to the water, and the fish is stunned 
and motionless; a hole is then cut and the fish taken out. 
The work must be done quickly, or the fish may recover 
and get out of reach... .Spearing is a very common way 
of taking fish through the ice, and in some cases requires 
much skill; a fish or other object in the water is not ex¬ 
actly where it appears to be ; very likely some of you 
have seen in your school-books something about the re¬ 
fraction of light, and that the rays of light are bent in 
going from the air into the water, or from the water into 
the air; you know that an oar or straight pole put 
slantingly in the water looks as if it were bent; we can’t 
