1875 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
229 
and with as much cleanliness on a large scale as on 
a small one, we do not doubt—but it is all a matter 
of personal knowledge and confidence, one must 
“ know the woman wotmade it.”—We have no rea¬ 
son to believe that this “boughten” mince meat is 
not just as good as any other, we have no proof, 
only we should go without mince pies for the rest 
of our lives before we bought any. As to how it is 
made, we suppose it need not be different from any 
good home-made mince—as to the proportions of 
which no two housekeepers agree. We learn that 
the mince that is sold is highly alcoholic—-brandy, 
it is said, is largely used to make it keep, but it is 
more likely to be cheap whiskey, when any decent 
brandy sells for $S or more a gallon. In short, we 
don’t know—and have no especial desire to know— 
about this compound. 
- - 
A Home-Made Chair. 
The publication of several articles of home-made 
furniture, such as tables from boxes, and other 
easily made conveniences, has induced our friends 
to wish for more, and we have several letters ask¬ 
ing us if we will not give others. The letter of 
Fig. 1.— HOME-MADE CHAIR—PLAIN. 
F. W. Winship, Minn., giving an easily made chair, 
comes very opportunely. The chair is shown in fig. 1. 
A board 40 inches long, and 12 or 15 inches wide, as 
may be preferred, answers for the back and a part of 
the legs ; the seat is made of another piece of board 
12 or 15 inches long, and of a width to correspond to 
the back; the edge of the seat which comes next to 
the back, must be beveled to give the back the 
proper pitch; it is then nailed to the back, and 
further strengthened by nailing a cleat to the back 
directly under the seat ; strips at each side, nailed 
on as shown in the engraving, strengthen the seat 
and serve as the rear legs. This chair may have 
both seat and back upholstered, or with only a 
cushion for the seat, it will be found very comfor¬ 
Fig. 2.— HOME-MADE CHAIR—ORNAMENTED. 
table. We have no doubt that the idea is original 
with “F. W. W.,” but a number of years ago we 
made a similar chair for a particular purpose ; a 
young surgical friend needed a chair with a pecu¬ 
liar tilt, in which to perform an operation, and not 
being able to purchase a regular operating chair, 
applied to us to suggest a substitute ; finding what 
was wanted, a chair on just this plan was made and 
covered in an hour or two, which answered every 
purpose. In fig. 2 is shown how the outlines of the 
parts may be varied, and produce a really handsome 
piece of furniture ; the pattern can be made more 
elaborate if one wishes, but there is nothing sug¬ 
gested in this which may not be cut out with a 
narrow saw. A chair of this style made in hard 
wood and oiled, would not be out of place in an 
expensively furnished house. Very comfortable 
piazza-chairs may be made after these patterns. 
- - —■!-»>— - * -- 
Care of the Teeth—Suggestions. 
It is admitted that poor teeth are more common 
among Americans than with any other people. 
Whether this is due to poor digestion or not, we 
will not here discuss, though it is quite certain that 
poor teeth will produce poor digestion, and its con¬ 
sequent ills. It is a fixed physiological fact that 
food, to be properly digested, must be masticated— 
ground fine by the teeth and mixed with salvia be¬ 
fore it passes into the stomach. Defective teeth, 
or the lack of teeth, prevent the proper perform¬ 
ance of this, the very first act in the complicated 
process of digestion. The dentist can supply arti¬ 
ficial teeth when the natural ones arc lacking, but 
very few persons seem to be aware of what every 
honest dentist will tell them, that very poor natural 
teeth are better than the best possible artificial 
ones. No matter how well they may be made, ar¬ 
tificial teeth are always a source of discomfort, 
lienee the importance of great care to preserve 
every tooth possible. A natural tooth should be 
kept useful by filling so long as it can be operated 
upon. Filling is too important an operation to be 
trusted to any but the best operators. It some¬ 
times happens, as in the writer’s case, that gold 
and other metals can not be tolerated; the teeth 
being sensitive, and the gold a good conductor, a 
sensation of chill and pain was felt when cold or 
hot liquids came in contact with it. This difficulty 
was remedied by using a filling of prepared gutta¬ 
percha, which has remained firm from three to six 
years. Some dentists introduce a non-conducting 
layer of gutta-percha under the gold filling. The 
proper care of the teeth will do much to preserve 
them, and it is a great mistake to neglect the teeth, 
as many do, with the idea that when they are gone, 
they can afford to buy a new set. We repeat with 
emphasis what was said above, that the very best 
artificial teeth are a poor substitute for cvcd poor 
natural teeth. The teeth of children, after they get 
their second set, should be carefully looked after, 
and in old and young, the first signs of decay should 
be arrested by the care of a skilled dentist. Insist 
upon proper care of the teeth ; few persons are so 
careless as not to brush them once a day—in the 
morning usually—but it is quite as important to 
brush them at night also ; and besides this, every 
particle of food should be carefully removed from 
between the teeth. Never use a pin, or a metallic 
tooth-pick, but one of wood or quill, and small 
enough to go between the closest teeth. Food left 
between the teeth at night ferments and causes de¬ 
cay. Use only a moderately hard brush and water, as 
a general thing. The tooth-powders and washes are 
for the most part worse than useless—some being 
positively injurious ; the teeth should never get 
into such a condition as to need a harsh scouring 
with powdered pumice, or powdered charcoal; 
when this is the case, the cleaning should be done 
by a dentist, and the teeth kept clean afterwards 
by the frequent use of the brush. Many persons 
think that, unless they use a powder of some kind, 
they are not doing their duty ; let such use powder¬ 
ed orris-root, or some fine toilet-soap. If the gums 
are in a spongy, soft condition, use a few drops of 
tincture of myrrh in the water, or make a cold in¬ 
fusion of white oak-bark to use as a wash ; the 
strength is not important. To sum up—use the 
tooth-brush morning and night—all the better if 
after each meal; use a wood or quill tooth-pick 
thoroughly, especially before going to bed ; avoid 
all “ boughten ” and much advertised tooth-pow¬ 
ders—and. especially, at the first signs of decay, con¬ 
sult a competent dentist, and hold on to every 
natural tooth as long so it can perform service. 
EOTS & (BUM'S’ (B(DOTM§ a 
The lttector's Talks-Ilrazil Niuts— 
Mumkeys and M»ukej'-I l> ots. 
Among the questions on hand from my young friends, 
is one about Brazil Nuts, asking where they come from 
and how they grow. I suppose almost every hoy and girl 
knows these nuts, but for fear that some of you may 
live too far away from seaports for them to reacli you, I 
have had a drawing made of one, (fig. 1); it is aboilt two 
inches long, and three-cornered, the two fiat sides about 
an inch wide, and the back, which is somewhat rounded, 
is narrower; its shell, which is brown, is not difficult to 
crack, and is filled with the large white kernel, which is 
very pleasant to eat, its flesh is so smooth and fine, and 
has such a cream-like flavor, that many call them Cream- 
nuts. These nuts are borne by a 
large tree, found on the banks of 
the Amazon, Orinoco, and other 
South American rivers, where it 
forms large forests. The nuts 
were known long before, but the 
tree was first described by Hum¬ 
boldt ; this great traveler, with 
his friend and companion, Bon- 
pland, were in South America near 
the beginning of this century, 
and finding that the tree was un¬ 
like any known before, they nam¬ 
ed it after their friend, Berthol- 
let, who was then becoming cele¬ 
brated as a chemist, hence the 
Brazil-nut tree is Bertholletia , and 
as it is a very fine, lofty tree, they gave it the specific 
name excelsa , which is the Latin word for lofty or high. 
The tree is usually over 100 feet high, and sometimes 
grows 150 feet, and has fine large dark green leaves, about 
two feet long, and half a foot broad. The cream-colored 
flow-ers are followed by the fruit, which is a large 
Figs. 2 and 3.— entire and opened eruit. 
round case or pot or jug, very much like a great 
wooden bomb-shell, six or eight inches through, which 
is shown in fig. 2, qnd, as you see, looks very lit¬ 
tle like a Brazil-nut; the nuts are inside, and whoever 
wants them must work for them, as the shell of this case 
or pot is about half an inch thick, and so very hard as to 
require heavy blows with a hatchet to break it. Figure 
3 shows one of these pots sawed across without disturb¬ 
ing the nuts ; they are placed around a central portion, 
to which, while growing, they were all attached, as it is 
through this they received their nourishment from the 
tree. You now see what gives them their 3-cornered 
shape, they crowded each other as they grew ; you per¬ 
haps have noticed that when there are several chestnuts 
in a bur, they are shaped differently from the nut that 
has the whole bur to itself, and had plenty of room to 
Fig-. 4.— SAPUCAYA NUT. Fig. 5.— FRUIT. 
grow without crowding. There are from 18 to 24 nuts in 
each fruit, and so nicely are they packed away, that it is 
said to be impossible for one to put them all back again 
in the pot after they have once been taken out. I do not 
know how much one of these wooden jugs full of nuts 
weighs, but it must be several pounds. At all events, 
travelers tell of the great danger of entering the forest 
Fig. 1. BRAZIL NUT. 
