1875 ' 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
105 
their ways, and to accept their mode of life with¬ 
out the slightest hint that it might be different. If 
persons can not leave their own home behind them 
when they visit, they had better stay at home. We 
can conceive of nothing more rude than for a visi¬ 
tor to ask for a change in the table arrangements, 
or to suggest that she has things different at home. 
If there is such a thing as a female “snob,” 
that “lady from the 
city ” is one. As 
to the question of 
cups, where coffee 
is taken at break¬ 
fast, large cups are 
in general use, and it 
is only for after din¬ 
ner coffee, which is 
served very strong, 
either at the table 
as the last thing, 
or in the drawing¬ 
room after the com¬ 
pany have left the 
table, that small cups 
are “ fashionable.” 
In this case the coffee 
is taken semi-medi- 
cinally to relieve the 
sense of fullness that 
Is often experienced 
after a hearty meal. 
We have now reference to those who live in what 
Is called “style.” The great majority of peo 
pie do not have coffee after dinner.To ans 
wer the second ques¬ 
tion. We think there 
is no regular rule 
with regard to leav¬ 
ing the spoon. We 
have heard that in 
old times placing the 
spoon in the saucer, 
was an indication that 
another cup of tea 
was desired. Common 
sense would dictate 
to leave it where it 
was last placed. That 
there is any prescrib¬ 
ed method of leaving 
the spoon, is as to 
you, “ a new idea ” 
to us......3d. The 
remark about con¬ 
forming one’s self to 
the ways of the fam¬ 
ily visited, applies 
here. Where there 
are waiters, it is cus¬ 
tomary to leave the 
chair as it is when 
the person rises from 
it. Any sensible per¬ 
son in visiting will 
note what is done by 
the family and do the 
same. All matters of 
etiquette should be 
founded upon com¬ 
mon sense and kind¬ 
ly regard for others, 
and the putting on 
of airs, and telling 
how differently they 
do at home, shows that visitors who do this have 
not learned the first principles of good breeding. 
bots 4 mis’ (Bmraim 
A Regatta on Ice. 
Did you ever see an ice-boat ? Not a boat that carries 
ice, but one that sails on the ice. It is made with iron 
runners much like skate runners, of course placed so 
it will not readily upset, and the hull or body of the 
boat is a mere frame work, made as light as possible 
and yet he strong enough. These boats have rudders 
and masts, and spread a great deal of sail. With smooth 
ice and a good wind, how they go! At some of the towns 
upon the Hudson Kiver, the people use ice-boats a great 
deal. The river is a very wide one in most parts, and it 
keeps frozen for a long time, and is a particularly good 
place for such boats, which are used to go from place to 
place or for pleasure sailing, and sometimes they have 
races, or regattas, which, by the way, is an Italian word, 
now much used for a public boat-race of any kind. It is 
very exciting to see several of the large boats of this kind 
skim over the ice with the swiftness of the wind- whew, 
how they fly ! The sport is not free from danger, as a 
THE BOYS* REGATTA. 
weak spot in the ice, or running foui of some obstacle, 
makes a sad wreck. The boys in the picture have evi 
dently seen a race of this kind, and are amusing them¬ 
selves with a regatta of their own, and though their sails 
are not of the most approved style, we have no doubt 
they are enjoying themselves quite as much as the own¬ 
ers of the larger and faster crafts. 
Aunt Sue’s Chats. 
James D. O.—Perhaps you did not enclose a postage- 
stamp. When writing to any one for information, which 
is entirely for your own benefit, it is highly impolite not 
to enclose a stamp for the reply. 
Alice wants to know what “ Whitby Jet” is, whether 
Whitby is “ the man’s name who makes it.” No, dear ; 
Whitby is a district of Yorkshire, England, and the jet 
is found enclosed in lumps of clay. It is a kind of coal. 
But jet is also found on the Continent of Europe. The 
Whitby jet is often imitated with what is called ebonite, 
or vulcanite, which is a very tough material prepared 
from India-rubber ; black glass is used as an imitation ot 
jet, and compounds of other kinds are made to resemble it. 
F. M. S.—I never “ saw a shooting fish,” but I have 
heard ot him. It is a native of the West Indies. The 
fish has a hollow, cylindrical beak. It derives its name 
from the curious manner in which it procures its food. 
When it sees a fly, or any other insect, which it fancies 
for dinner, sitting on a leaf, or sailing upon a chip, the 
fish swims away to a proper distance, and then, with 
amazing cleverness and dexterity, he ejects from his 
tube-like mouth a drop of water, which is so well direct¬ 
ed and so swiftly shot forth, that it never fails to knock 
the insect into the water, and the fish darts upon its prey 
and eagerly devours it: another instance of the diversified 
modes in which creatures procure their food. 
How to Make a Catch-all. 
Some clever person has contrived a use for broken 
goblets. They were so popular near last Christmas, that 
crockery stores were beseiged for broken goblets, and 
when none were left, it is hinted that some store-keepers 
were so obliging as to break them on purpose. Here you 
have a picture of the fractured article—the bowl and the 
foot. Of course you all know how to make a pincushion 
of the base of the glass ; and now I am going to tell you 
how to utilize the upper part. Take a strip of silver per¬ 
forated card-board, nine holes deep, (cutting it through 
the first and eleventh row of holes). Measure the top of 
the goblet, and allow the strip to lap over one or two 
holes. Fit it snugly. Now work upon the card-board, 
in any colored worsted you like, the “ Roman key,” (fig. 
2,) or any other pattern you choose. When worked, join 
the ends, leaving the card in the form of a hoop, which 
goes snugly over the top of the tumbler. Then take it 
off, and button-hole each edge of the hoop with the 
Fig. 1.— MATERIALS FOR CATCH-ALL. 
worsted. Crochet through the lower row of button-hole 
stitches, narrowing at each side, every round, until taper¬ 
ed down to a point. Then crochet an edging In the up¬ 
per row of button-holeing, which must stand up beyond 
the edge of the glass. Make a little tassel of worsted 
and fasten it to the point. Now crochet a strip for a 
handle, about six and a half fingers long ; put a tassel on 
each end. Fasten one end on to the perforated card¬ 
board just over the joined end, allowing the tassel to fall 
just below the lower edge of the card-board ; then fasten 
the other end of the strip exactly opposite. It is now 
ready to receive the glass, and will appear as in fig. 3. 
Hang it up by your bureau or some other convenient place, 
and you will find it very handy to receive burnt matches, 
bits of thread, paper, etc. It has one advantage over 
most reservoirs of the kind, as when emptied you can 
wash the glass and make it as sweet and clean as ever. 
-■ i o i -- 
More About Puzzle Pictures. 
The picture No. 410, given in Nov. last, was so very 
easy, that we did not think that any one could help find¬ 
ing it out, and W“ are quite surprised that some have 
written us, asking for an explanation. There are two 
principal kinds of puzzle pictures: one in which the con¬ 
cealed view, or the puzzle portion, can only be seen by 
turning the picture, so that it will be bottom up, or so 
that one side or the other will be top; and another, in 
which certain strong lines first catch the eye and pre¬ 
vent it from seeing the puzzle part, which is less conspicu¬ 
ous. In the Nov. picture you have only to turn it so that 
the right hand side of the page will be the top, and you 
will at once see that what before looked like a bridge is 
a straw-hat with a broad band around it; the road be¬ 
comes a vest, and the face of a man beneath the hat is 
made up of-, but we will let you have the fun of 
finding that out, and you will see that the artist who drew 
it showed no little ingenuity in working out the parts. 
“Jack’s Garden ” last month needs to be turned in a sim- 
No. 443.— PUZZLE PICTURE—A FARM SCENE. 
I ilar manner, when the hot-beds become the windows 
| to “The House that Jack Built,” and all the other parts, 
| when seen in that position, appear quite different from 
J what they did before. Of the other class of pictures. 
