4 = 64 ; 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
shook their heads and “inquired for the old paths.” 
The latter class probably never worked their way 
through college, as did Miss H. One who was in¬ 
clined to approve, soon after drifted among the 
New England “notable housekeepers,” and after¬ 
wards expressed to me her abhorrence of all such 
“ shirking ” performances. At that time the house¬ 
keeping mania was upon her, but long before this 
she has learned, by lesson after lesson, that she 
must try to save labor if she would save her health. 
Another one of that band of students, who married 
before I did, wrote to me after three years experi¬ 
ence : “ If I should do my work every day as I 
know it ought to be done, I should not only get 
extremely tired, but I should never have one mo¬ 
ment for reading or writing letters.”—I think it 
was her inability to satisfy her own too exacting 
ideal as to what her housekeeping should be, and 
the same feeling about training her children, which 
worried her into her grave a few years later. 
I don’t know as it is possible to be too neat, but 
I do know that one may break one’s back and 
break one’s temper in a vain endeavor to attain and 
preserve perfect cleanliness, and succeed only in 
making everybody uncomfortable and herself a 
fretful uncompanionable drudge. Probably most 
of my friends would never suspect this, judging by 
appearances, but I have indeed gone too far in this 
way myself for a little while at a time, and the 
savage things I have been led to say, with patience 
worn thin and nervous power exhausted, have 
caused the “party” most interested in my com- 
panionability to beg me just to let things go for 
awhile until help might come from some source— 
not to try to “keep up even ” (as I call it), but just 
manage to live along from day to day. Whew ! It 
is impossible ! I have been in some hovels where 
that method is in vogue, and I shall never cease 
trying to be decent. My standard is not a fixed 
and immovable one, and its lowest mark—for the 
years while children make work and help little—is 
held so low that I can never fall below that with¬ 
out conscious disgrace. 
No woman should allow' herself to become a mere 
household drudge. Even if perfect neatness from 
cellar to garret—floors clean 
enough for dining tables, 
etc.—can be maintained by 
the devotion of all her time 
and strength to the work, 
the sacrifice is far too great. 
We all have a variety of 
duties, and if their number 
be too great for our powers 
of accomplishment, we must 
lay them all out before 
us, and decide reasonably which are most important, 
and then cross off from the list those which are 
least essential, until we bring the number within 
our ability. It is as wicked to waste labor as to 
waste anything else ; and it is only reasonable and 
righteous to perform our necessary mechanical 
tasks with the least possible expenditure of time 
and strength required to do them well —to call in 
the aid of chemistry and natural philosophy, when¬ 
ever we can, to save time for reading and study, 
and social enjoyment and deeds of charity. 
Children’s Picture Books. 
It will never do to buy for a child the first thing 
that comes to hand in the way of a picture book. 
At some stores, where there seems to be a large 
stock, it is difficult to select anything satisfactory. 
Y ry young children seem best pleased with pic- 
lures of familiar animals—a gentle cow, a frolic¬ 
some kitten, a good-natured dog, or a steady-look¬ 
ing horse -give great delight to a child under two 
years of age. There have been so many babies in 
this world already, that one would suppose publish¬ 
ers would have learned their needs ere this, but I 
have pulled over great piles of gay picture books in 
search of good animal representations, and have 
found nothing better than “The Three Bears,” or 
“Three Little Kittens,” or “Three Blind Mice ” 
To furnish children with these, and only such as 
these, seems like giving them stones when they ask 
for bread. They like animals in their own natural 
characters better than when dressed up in human 
clothing and acting in burlesque of human manners. 
Once a little book with a pretty picture of “ Lit¬ 
tle Red Riding Hood” on the cover was hastily 
purchased and brought to me to send to a little 
two-year-old daughter, then spending some weeks 
with her grandmother. If you could see the illus¬ 
trations of the frightened grandmother when the 
wolf is about to eat her, and of the horrid wolf in 
grandmamma’s bed wearing her cap, you would 
not wonder that I burned the book rather than 
harrow a baby’s feelings with it. Another mistake 
was made last winter. In purchasing'Christmas 
gifts rather too hastily, a big primer, supposed to 
be suitable for a child just learning to count, found 
its way into the bundle, because it illustrasted the 
rhymes beginning with “ One, two, Buckle my 
shoe.” Possibly I am too particular, but I couldn’t 
wish my children to be amused by the great blub¬ 
bering boy thrusting his big foot in his mother’s 
face, the white maid’s scorn of the black cook in 
the kitchen, or the courting scene to illustrate 
thirteen fourteen. I kept the primer out of sight 
for some time, wondering-what I should do with it, 
then gave it to the baby, who was crying for some 
“ kitty meow ” picture, on account of the picture 
it contained of a big cat “ waiting ” (to rhyme with 
eighteen) for a mouse iu a trap. I was glad to find 
the book unanimously condemned by the children 
critics, who pounced upon it. They had not all of 
my reasons for disapproval, but they like to find 
pictures tolerably true to nature. 1 believe chil¬ 
dren usually do, though they learn to like carica¬ 
tures after awhile. There are pleasing colored 
picture books to be found, and there are charming 
cuts in many of the little story books and children’s 
.■—“ladies’ favorite” tongs. 
magazines now published. This being the case, it 
is a pity to buy poor ones. I wouldn’t like to 
banish “ Mother Hubbard ” and all her crew, but 
these ancient worthies must consent to take a sub¬ 
ordinate place in journal literature and art. 
Handy to Have in the House. 
A well stocked house-furnishing store is to us a 
most interesting and instructive place to visit. It is 
wonderful to see the various contrivances for per¬ 
forming household operations,and the numerous lit¬ 
tle conveniences that go to make domestic matters 
run smoothly, but are classified under the general 
head of “Notions.” The amount of inventive skill, 
as we two or three years ago showed in some illus¬ 
trated articles, that has been directed towards mak¬ 
ing the simple operations of beating eggs and grating 
nutmegs more perfectly and easily performed, is as 
great in its way as that displayed upon much more 
important inventions. Labor saving, time saving, 
and comfort in working, seem to be the ends sought 
for in these various house-keeping contrivances. 
We do not meau to say that these ends are always 
accomplished, for some of the affairs, though in¬ 
genious, are in use more trouble than the task it¬ 
self, but on the other hand there are many others, 
which are very useful. It is a capital exercise for 
ones own mechanical skill to go through such a 
store and endeavor to ascertain by the examination 
of the various articles the purposes for which they 
are intended. We have often wondered who in¬ 
vented these things and where they were made, 
and our curiosity was satisfied with regard to some 
of them, at least, by receiving from Mr. G. J. Cape- 
well, of Cheshire, Conn., a parcel containing a 
number of his inventions and productions, a few of 
which are here illustrated. Figure 1, shows a pair 
of light tongs, which, as all these things must have 
titles, goes by the name of “Ladies’ Favorite.” 
They are made all of metal—galvanized iron—or 
with wooden handles. The lower ends have three 
prongs, and they open by a spring. The uses for 
such an affair are many, taking various articles out 
of boiling water, roasting oysters, takiug fish out 
of brine, and a hundred things where the hands 
should be saved from hard usage. The inventor 
claims especial excellence for this as a dish-washer, 
and particularly to wash out the inside of fruit 
jars, pitchers, and other articles which the hand can 
not enter. Another useful affair is called the “Vic¬ 
tor Knife and Scissors Sharpener.” It is said to be 
an alloy, which from its hardness is called “ diamon- 
dized metal.” It is to all iutents and purposes a 
steel, and a most excellent one, whether it be due 
to the metal, the peculiar shape, shown in figure 2, 
or both together, it is the most sharpening thing of 
the kind we have come across. More fanciful than 
the foregoing is the “ Cinderella,” which is a trade 
name for a new Pie Crimper and Omamenter. The 
grooved wheel is used for printing rosettes, and also 
to run along the edge of the pie to crimp it; on the 
other side, opposite the wheel, but not shown, is a 
set of blades which cut ventilating holes in the 
crust in the form of a star. The same concern 
makes tack hammers and various other articles 
handy to have in the house. 
Home-Made Easy Chairs. 
Several correspondents have, within a few 
months, asked us to give them directions for mak¬ 
ing comfortable easy-ehairs from cheap materials. 
In the back volumes are several designs which may 
meet the wants of some of our correspondents. It 
is not, our practice to republish such matters, unless 
there may be some unusual reason for doing so, as 
back numbers for the last 20 years are kept in stock, 
and can be supplied on application. Indeed, so 
many are the requests for things which we have 
already published and illustrated, that were we to 
comply with all of them, the paper would some¬ 
times be made up of articles that have before ap¬ 
peared. As to chairs, the article in June of last 
year, (1875), on page 229, gives the very simplest 
plan of a chair. We do not see how it is possible to 
construct one with fewer pieces; it has the disad¬ 
vantage that the back must always slope considera¬ 
bly, and it does not allow of any change. Still this 
gives a good idea for a foundation, and it may be 
made of any rough lumber, furnished with arms, 
and stuffed and covered to make a very acceptable 
easy-cliair. In December, 1874, p. 463, was given 
an engraving of a chair, which wc 6aw at the St. 
Fig. 2.—“victor” knife and scissors sharpener. 
