1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
4 63 
windows are made tighter by weather-strips, and 
the furnace in the basement renders the air unfit, 
not only to plant and human life, but the very fur¬ 
niture rebels by cracking, achieves a horticultural 
triumph. On the other hand, in country houses, 
which city people would regard as far from com¬ 
fortable, and where of a cold night the plants must 
be moved away from the window and covered with 
a blanket, we have seen roses flourish as well as one 
could wish. The roses known as China, Bengal, or 
Monthly, and some of the hardier Tea roses, are 
best suited to window culture. The old “Daily 
Rose ” belongs to the China class ; both the blush 
and white varieties, are among the most certain of 
any. In purchasing roses for wiudow culture, the 
advice of an intelligent florist will be safer than 
one’s own selection from descriptions in books and 
catalogues. Be sure that the roses have been grown 
in pots, and not taken up from the open ground and 
potted, as they rarely recover in time to be of much 
use. As to soil, it matters little what it is, provid¬ 
ed it is porous, as liquid manure may be used if it 
is poor, but if it becomes soggy and close, the 
plants will fail Roses when growing need at 
most a temperature of 70° in the daytime, and it 
may go 15° to 20° lower at night. Do not over¬ 
water ; always let the soil get a little dry on the 
surface before watering. Turn the ball of earth 
out of the pot occasionally, and see if there are 
angle worms; if they can not all be picked off, 
water with clear lime water. Shower as often as 
convenient; once a week at least, but twice or 
three times is better ; set the pots in a bath-tub or 
sink, and shower with a flue sprinkler. If plant- 
lice appear, shower with weak tobacco water, or if 
the plant is small, dip it in the tobacco water. Sud¬ 
den changes of temperature and cold drafts are apt 
to cause mildew, and should be avoided in airing. 
When a shoot has bloomed, cut it back to a good 
bud; do not be afraid to use the knife. 
Mistaking a Friend for an Enemy. 
An Ohio correspondent complained that his pear 
and cherry trees had their leaves quite skeletonized 
by an insect, of which some were sent in a letter. 
They were crushed past all proper identification, 
and we sent for more to be forwarded in a box ; 
they came, and proved to be the Twice-stabbed 
Lady-bird (Chilococcus bivulnerus), which does not 
feed upon plants, but is carnivorous in its habits. 
The larva is blackish and prickly, and looks ugly 
enough to do any amount of mischief; this goes 
into a pupa state, cracks open on the back, and 
liberates a polished black Lady-bird, with a red spot 
on each wing-case. Our correspondent wrote that 
the insect appeared first as a slimy slug, next as 
the hairy fellow, then as a shiny bug, and that he 
had tried all sorts of destructive appliances, even 
to Paris green, without any apparent benefit. It is 
a great misfortune that people in general look up¬ 
on all insects as “bugs,” and on all bugs as in¬ 
jurious. Our Ohio correspondent had been in¬ 
dustriously trying to destroy his very best friend, 
that had come to his assistance in ridding his trees 
of that miserable slimy, slug-like larva of Selandria 
Cerasi. There are bugs and bugs, and one of the 
important things for a gardener to learn, is to 
distinguish his friends from his enemies. 
--—*»—>-©- 
Governors and Grasshoppers. —The Governors 
of eight of the States and Territories most liable to 
the devastations of the grasshoppers, met at Omaha, 
Neb., on Oct. 25th. Our correspondent, Prof. Riley, 
who probably knows more about these insects and 
their work than any one else, was present. A com¬ 
mittee was appointed “ to issue in a pamphlet form 
all the most practical means, based upon experi¬ 
ment, for the destruction of grasshoppers.” Ac¬ 
cording to the report an appeal is to be made to 
the President, “ setting forth the urgent necessity 
of action by the General Government in behalf of 
the sections ravaged.” As the meagre telegraphic 
report does not state what “ action ” is asked for, 
we do not understand what is expected from the 
government. Is this to introduce a new element 
into politics—if not a sectional element, at least an 
in-sectional one ?—Shall we have to inquire of a can¬ 
didate for Congress instead of the former : “ Is he 
sound on the goose?”—“Is he sound on the grass¬ 
hopper?” However, it is no joking matter to the 
grasshopper-ravaged districts, and it is hoped that 
this action of the States and Territories most inter¬ 
ested, may lead to co-operation on the part of the 
people, for unless this scourge can be stayed it will 
depopulate some of the finest portions of the West. 
THE H®1O§]E1EI(0)1L10) o 
jggr For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
Home Topics. 
BY FAITII ROCHESTER. 
Trying to (to Everything. 
Not long ago I wrote about doing “ the nothing” 
for a family, which is a very different thing from 
having “nothing to do,” and not half so tedious. 
Since then I have been left for a little while with 
everything on my hands. Had not disappointment 
been the principal crop left to be harvested, this 
would not have happened. To hire a man’s help 
for a few days when most needed, is easier planned 
than accomplished, for neighbors are all busy when 
early frosts are expected. It is not very hard work, 
to cut and bind corn, working with a little boy 
who knows how to do the work, but has too short 
arms to manage well alone. A day’s work at com 
cutting is not so tiresome, as a half day over the 
wash-tub. But as dinner-time approaches, it seems 
a little tough, to have to take the coveted rest only 
by “change of employment,” and hurry in to get 
dinner. 1 have thought the same,' however, when 
obliged to leave the washing to get dinner, and 
then to go back to the tub, as soon as the dinner 
work was hurried through. Out-door work, as far 
as I have tried it, is not so wearisome to the mind, 
as house-work. Indeed, it seems restful to the 
mind. It, no doubt, makes some difference what 
you work at, but out-door work that I have tried, 
does not keep one mentally “on the stretch,” like 
housekeeping, combined with the care of young 
children. I will not say that housework and farm- 
work can not be carried on simultaneously by one 
individual with success, but I have strong doubts 
about it, as the result of observation and expe¬ 
rience. One morning last spring a neighbor called, 
and found me on my knees, pulling weeds in the 
onion rows. The work was mechanical, and in no 
way confined my thought, so I was enjoying my¬ 
self first-rate. As I rose to answer her greeting, I 
became aware of my own “ unpresentable ” appear¬ 
ance. We went into the house, and found disorder 
everywhere. The hired girl was working away at 
her ironing table, with unperturbed spirit apparent¬ 
ly, much more tidy in appearance than her mistress. 
She had put the rooms in order once that morning, 
but there had been no one to keep them in order. 
The broom, having served for a horse, lay sprawled 
in the middle of the floor, and all the chairs in the 
apartment were drawn up around one corner to 
form a stable. Dolly-things were scattered about, 
mixed with paper cuttings. I never see anything 
like this, without making many “ general reflec¬ 
tions,” and often I am led to conclude that I may 
have judged other housekeepers quite uncharitably, 
from the appearance of things. 
I believe in work most heartily, but I believe also 
in a division of labor. It is a good thing to learn 
how to do everything that comes in one’s way, if 
the learning can be done without over-balancing 
loss. “ Can do is easily carried about,” and any 
particular knowledge may serve us well in an 
emergency, but a person who undertakes to fill a 
great many offices at once, in his or her own per¬ 
son, works against the best social order. 
Here and there I have had among my neighbors 
women, who performed almost or quite a hired 
man’s part in out-door labor, superintended the in¬ 
door establishment, and did much of the work 
themselves, and at the same time bore and nursed 
babe after babe in steady succession. I might have 
written to some woman’s paper, bragging of what 
our sex could do, but such a sight always fills me 
with shame—shame on account of the ignorance or 
wickedness of members of that other sex, which our 
sex is helplessly bound to love, and which we long 
to look up to with reverence. “ They know not 
what they do,” or they would never suffer mothers 
to be so over-loaded. 
I don’t believe you will find the most pleasant 
homes, where the women-folks do a large part of 
the farm-work. As a general thing the wife and 
mother can serve the family interests (if not the 
family purse) best, by keeping to her part as di¬ 
rector of the housekeeping and especial guardian of 
the little ones. But every true brother and sister 
in our big human family should stand ready to 
“lend a hand,” whenever and wherever there is a 
decided call for help, and ability to obey the call, 
without detriment to higher interests. 
How Much will tSic Mangle Dot—A “ Long 
Felt Want” or Two. 
I was interested in “Mangles Old and New',” in 
the October American Agriculturist , as I am in all 
labor-saving inventions and devices. But how 
much of a family ironing would the mangle do ? 
Towels, napkins, table-cloths, sheets and pillow¬ 
cases—aH straight, square, or oblong pieces that 
can be folded evenly. But this is the easiest part 
of the family ironing, especially after the folding 
has been done. If these articles are sufficiently 
smoothed by the mangle when folded to several 
thicknesses, w'hy can they not be ironed folded less 
thick, instead of passing the iron over the entire 
surface before folding ? I do not see how a mangle 
can give the polish to table linen, upon which many 
housekeepers pride themselves, and I am afraid it 
w T onld make poor work with children’s garments. 
The starched clothing is the hardest part of the 
ironing, especially w'hen rutiled and puffed. Prints, 
ginghams, lawns, etc., look decidedly better if 
starched, than when ironed without this prepara' 
tion. I wish this was not the case, for the starch¬ 
ing is not only a task in itself, but it doubles the 
labor of ironing. Wheu 1 do the family washing 
myself, I usually get along finely until I get to the 
colored clothes—then comes “the tug of war.” 
The hardest rubbing comes upon the little frocks, 
and aprons, and trowsers, for hot suds, chemicals, 
and machinery, are not to be depended upon among 
colors. And then the starch—if it were only ready 
prepared, so that I need only empty a little from a 
bottle into my rinsing water, what a bother it 
would save ! A reliable starch preparation of this 
kind might be classed among “long felt wants.” 
Let me hint to the would-be inventor of this de¬ 
sideratum, that it must also possess the property of 
making muslins and linens easy to iron ! And 
while you are about it, please make it cheap ! 
Let us set down also, among “ long felt wants,” 
an ironing machine, which will not only mangle 
straight and plain articles, but gored and puckered 
and plaited ones, both starched and unstarched, 
without heat, if possible, and with very small ex¬ 
penditure of human muscle. 
Ah! why not? yes, let us set it down as the 
greatest want of all—some cheap and strong and 
agreeable fabric, that need only be washed and 
shaken out to make it look quite “ as good as new,” 
and so save all the labor of ironing. I will not go 
further and wish for garments that will not spot or 
soil—at least not for this world. Labor is a Mess¬ 
ing, and there is a beautiful significance in the 
cleansing of soiled clothing, and a use for the soap 
suds after it has done duty in the washing ; but al 1 
hail to the machinery that lightens the labor! 
Wliy Save Labor ? 
Speaking of mangles reminds me of the first one 
I ever saw in operation. At least it was a method! 
of ironing by pressure. It was a Latin Lexicon, 
atop of somebody’s “Unabridged Dictionary,” and 
seated upon these two books was a youug lady 
college student. Under the books, lying on a low 
box, were two sheets, folded carefully—in process 
of being made smooth by pressure ! When these 
were taken out, probably other articles would go 
in. This was told of, among the students, as one 
of Miss H.’s odd Avays. Some approved, aud some 
