4 = 28 
[November, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
•with garden and farm tools, and can handle many 
of them; it comprehends the domestic animals, 
horses, cows, sheep, pigs ; it delights in the barn¬ 
yard groups of hens, ducks, and geese; together 
with the fish of the streams and the birds of the 
air. Then it discerns the world above—clouds, 
rainbows, sun, moon, stars, light and darkness, 
snow, hail, and rain ; it hears the voice of God in 
the thunder, and sees His power iu the lightning ! 
Thus the heavens above and the earth beneath, with 
all their variety of beautiful objects, combine to en¬ 
rich the child-mind and store it with knowledge 
enduring as itself. No man having a country ori¬ 
gin, with any sense of gratitude in his heart, fails 
to bless his Maker for childhood memories. Those 
happy childhood scenes re-appear in his memory to 
cheer many a disconsolate hour, and re-awaken his 
love for childhood innocence, purity, and joy. 
When young parents contemplate a move from 
country to city, let them consider the interests of 
their children. Let them first solve the problem— 
which will pay best, to make more money, which is 
the usual object, (but rarely attained,) or deprive 
their young children of pure air, sweet water, health¬ 
ful sunshine, and familiarity with God’s beautiful 
heaven and earth? How superior are the opportuni¬ 
ties of the pious parent living in the country to in¬ 
struct and mold the young heart, when such rich 
displays of God’s works are ever before it. I have 
tried both city and country, and brought up children 
in each. I do not hesitate, therefore, to say to any 
countryman, 6tay where you are I C. C. N. 
-- 
A Royal Dish.—“Dom Pedro.” 
People are apt to look upon royal personages as 
made of finer kind of clay, and fed on nicer meats 
than common mortals, while, in fact, they have 
much the same wants and tastes as the rest of us. 
Queen Victoria is said to be remarkably fond of 
cold mutton, and we have strong circumstantial 
evidence to show that Dom Pedro, emperor though 
he be, takes kindly to “warmed over victuals.” 
Being in a New England state a few months ago, 
we dined in a family where both husband and wife 
are appreciative readers of the American Agricultur¬ 
ist. A dish came upon the table which we did not 
recognize from its external appearance. “Are you 
acquainted with the mysteries of Dom Pedro ? ” 
asked the wife. We had to acknowledge ignorance 
of royalty and all its mysteries.—“Here then,” 
said the husband, “is something for the American 
Agriculturist ,"—and between the two we learned all 
about the dish. It was called Dom Pedro because 
it was introduced to notice by his majesty’s cook, 
while D. P. was visiting England, and our friends 
learned about it while they were in that country 
shortly after. It is simply a clever way of warm¬ 
ing up, and making a savory dish of cold meats. 
Figure 1 is the affair complete, and in order to show 
its arrangement more distinctly, a section is given 
in figure 3. It is a tin dish, and as it is to come upon 
the table, may be of a pleasing form; bits of cold 
meat are put in the lower part, and what gravy may 
be left poured over them; if there is no gravy, 
Fig. 1.— “DOM PEDRO” ENTIRE. 
butter, water, and seasoning may be added. Cold 
vegetables may, if desired, be put with the meat. 
Fitting into the dish, a short distance below its 
upper edge, is a diaphram, or plate perforated by 
numerous small holes, and furnished with a long 
handle ; this is put in place after the meat is pre¬ 
pared, and mashed boiled potato is heaped upon it 
in such a manner as to close every crevice. The 
dish is then set in the oven, and is allowed to re¬ 
main there until the surface of the mashed potato 
is nicely browned. The meat will be found properly 
heated through, and not hardened as it often is by 
too much cooking, and all the flavor is retained ; 
any steam which would otherwise pass off, is 
caught by the potato. In serving, the piece which 
holds the potato is lifted off and set upon a plate. 
There are some persons who affect to despise these 
little household economies. We once heard the 
wife of a clerk, whose salary was not large, say 
that her husband never wished to see meats upon 
Fig. 3.— “DOM PEDRO” IN SECTION. 
the table a second time in any form, and it is not 
rare to find those who think that there is something 
poor and mean about warmed up food, and these 
are generally those who can least afford costly liv¬ 
ing. Perhaps if such persons knew that we met 
with this dish of warmed up meats on the table of 
those who rank high among American sovereigns, 
and that it has the endorsement of royalty itself, 
they might look with more favor upon such at¬ 
tempts of the frugal housekeeper to make the most 
of all good gifts, and let nothing be wasted. 
— - 
A Box for the Stove Polish, 
Probably no article used in the household is, so 
to speak, more apt to “ lay around loose,” than the 
stove-blacking. Polishing the stoves is not a job 
much relished by mistress or maid, and when it is 
over, the articles used are put in an odd corner as 
quickly as possible. Our ingenious correspondent, 
L. D. Snook, Yates County, N. Y., who is always 
contriving some clever household convenience, 
sends a drawing of a handy box for the stove- 
polish, which contains the material and the neces¬ 
sary appliances, and when not in use shuts up and 
may be set in any convenient place, being not un¬ 
sightly if exposed. The box is one foot long, 
seven inches wide, and four inches high, with par¬ 
titions, and a cover, which turns upon a screw, as 
shown in the engraving. There is a place for the 
cake or polish, A, the brush, B, and the mixing 
plate or dish, E. The cover has an opening, <7, 
which, when the box is closed, comes directly over 
the mixing dish ; across this opening is placed an 
old knife blade, or a bit of iron filed sharp. The 
cake of polish is pushed across this blade until a 
sufficient quantity for use is scraped off, and falls 
directly into the dish, where it is to be mixed. 
Common Sense in the Household. —In looking 
for something in the excellent work with the above 
title, by Marion Harland, our eye happened to be 
caught by this bit of really uncommon sense: 
“Never stand when you can do your work as well 
while sitting.”—Every housekeeper, and especially 
every mother should heed this. Have a variety of 
seats of different hights, from the low cricket to an 
office stool of moderate hight. It is a matter not 
only of comfort, but health. 
Home Topics. 
BY FAITH ROCHESTER. 
A Despondent Sister. 
A farmer’s wife away out in Oregon, wants me 
to give her some counsel that may help to keep her 
out of an insane asylum. Whether I can do that 
or not I can not say, but I shall venture to make 
public a part of her letter, knowing that the private 
experience of many a woman will assure her of the 
truthfulness of this woman's story. It may com¬ 
fort another almost shipwrecked sister, to know 
that she is not alone in such experiences, and it 
may do her good to think over the whole subject, 
with its relation to insanity. Some of these severe 
“ crying spells ” have happened to me, and it has 
helped me out of them, I think, to remember how 
some of my early friends used to “cry and cry” 
sometimes, in discouragement with their lot. 
One of them was the mother of four children, the 
the eldest only six years old. Two others had only 
two children each, at the time when I saw their 
tears. All three had very indulgent and helpful 
husbands, and their moans were over their own 
incapacity to meet the supposed requirments of 
their positions. All of them are now happy wives 
and mothers. The one who had four babies on her 
hands when I saw her eyes red with much weeping, 
and heard her dispairing story, wrote me not long 
ago a very happy account of her little family, “ all 
helpers now,” saying that she could not foresee this 
pleasant state of things when she was “ bearing 
the burdens of their infancy.” 
The Oregon woman writes a long and frank let¬ 
ter. Among other things, she says : “When lam 
well and have sufficient help to do my work, I am 
almost always cheerful and hopeful, but I can not 
keep good spirits when I am 
sick, and-tired, and sleepy, 
as I am about half of the 
time. When I tell you that 
I have three children, and 
the eldest is only five years 
old, you will know what I 
mean by ‘sick.’ It is a small 
family, but 1 am a small 
woman—of small ability in 
the way of work—or so I 
suppose, for I know I don’t 
accomplish as much as 
my husband’s mother and 
sisters used to, and I am 
tired to death much of the time. I seldom have 
a hired girl, and then only for a few weeks at 
a time, for we are too poor to pay a girl’s wages. 
I work all day long until I am ready to drop down, 
and then go to bed with the work not half done. 
My house is dirty, my children are dirty, my hus¬ 
band goes ragged, I wear my own clothes ragged 
and unironed—and yet I can not get my work 
‘done up’ any day or any week, as I know it 
should be done. Yet I had hope until lately, that 
I should soon find my task lighter and easier to 
perform, as the children grew old enough to help, 
but now I am in despair again. My children are 
very dear, and are welcomed with love—I would not 
object to a large family, if I could take care of it. 
But to see them so neglected, to be 60 cross to the 
little ones as I am sometimes, because so very tired, 
it fills me with remorse and shame, and so I cry, 
and when I get to crying I can not stop. Life 
looks so dark and hard to me, and I pity the 
children, and my husband too. Shall I confess it ? 
sometimes I feel very hard towards my husband, 
and he is a good man too. It used to seem to me 
it would be a great relief to tell him how I felt, and 
talk with him about some way of escape from the 
despondent moods and crying 6pells. But he only 
feels astonished that a person ‘ of my culture ’ 
