1867 .] 
AMERICE4N AGRICUI.T URIST. 
871 
(tW~ For other Household Items, see " Casket " pages.) 
Household Ornaments. 
The anlian Case is one of tlic most entertaining 
and instructive of lionie ornainenis. It is an inge¬ 
nious device to keep plants in a tliriviug and at- 
Fig. 1.— WAItDIAN CASE. 
tractive condition, without the constant attention 
which a bouquet in a vase, or growing plants in 
pots require. The glass which is put over the lit¬ 
tle bed of plants retiins the moisture of the atmos¬ 
phere and constantly retunis it to the bed, so that 
tio extra watering is required for weeks. For stock¬ 
ing a case, ])lants are usually selected that flourish 
In deep woods or in moist, secluded places. The 
tine velvety mosses which grow upon rocks, along 
water courses, and all the smaller ferns, especially 
the Maiden’s hair, arc adminiblc for this purpose. 
One who enters upon 
the study of suitable 
material for stocking 
a case will be surpris¬ 
ed at the number and 
beauty of the mosses 
and ferns that grow 
in wet, unfrequented 
woods. The Twin or 
Part ridge berry, {Mil- 
chella repens), a trail¬ 
ing evergreen, with 
flowers growing in 
twos, and bright scar¬ 
let berries holding on 
all winter; the Ad¬ 
der’s Tongue, Fry- 
th ronluniA mericanttm, 
witli its curiously 
blotched leaves; the 
Wintergrecn, Gaul- 
theriaproenmbens ; the 
rrinee’s Pine, Chima- 
phihi umbcUala; the 
Trailing Arbutus,jCyn- 
(jvea repens, fairest and 
sweetest of all the 
children of the early 
spring, arc suitable 
plants for this pur¬ 
pose. The catalogue 
might be greatly ex¬ 
tended, for almost all 
the plants that flour- 
Fi". 2. — WAuniAX case. 
Ish in wet, shady localities, do well in the case. 
Many bulbs llo»iri-h here, and you may have your 
Crocuses anticipate their spring blooming out 
of doors by planting the bulbs among the mosses. 
The first thing needed is a suitable frame to hold 
the case. This may indeed be set upon a table or 
shelf, but it is much more elegant to liavc a stand 
made for the i)urpose, even if it be very rough 
rustic work. Fig. 1 shows a stand made princi¬ 
pally with the turning lathe. The top piece is 
made concave so as to hold the plate of plants 
without showing it. The plate fits in closely, and 
the edge is concealed by the wooden rim of the 
stand. Three rounds unite the top piece and the 
shaft below, and this is furnished with three legs. 
In fig. 2 a platform under the legs makes a nice plaee 
for a pot of ivy, whieh may be trained graeefully 
about the legs or suffered to climb along the win¬ 
dow case. A common earthen plate or shallow 
tin pan u^l serve to hold the bed for the plants. 
The prei)aration of the soil is a matter of consider¬ 
able importance. Nothing is better than leaf mould 
or rotton wood, whieh is usually found in abund¬ 
ance with the plants. 'With this, pounded char¬ 
coal should be mixed in about equal parts, and a 
handful of sand be added. The surface should be 
left CTA’cnly convex to show the plants to the best 
advantage. The moss now goes on as the back¬ 
ground of the picture, and the other plants are 
arranged according to the taste of the operator. 
When finished, the glass case is put over it, and 
you have an ornament for the fireside that will 
give you a fresh bit of summer all through the 
dreary winter. 
The divinity who 
presides in our 
household adds, 
“ be sure and take 
off the glass case 
every day Avhen 
you are dusting, 
for the space of 
five minutes by 
the clock, and no 
more.” As this 
injunction is very 
emphatic, and her 
case is always the 
finest in the town, 
we advise our 
readers to take 
heed. The glasses 
may be had in city 
ores. A small Fig. 3.— aquakiu.m. 
juarium, made 
i a jar or vase, is shown in Fig. 3. Clean white 
ebblcs are put in the bottom of the jar, in which 
*e placed some of the plants that Hn e entircl} un- 
21 - water, and which m.ay be found in almost every 
ond or slow stream. Anachans and Valisneria are 
ery good, but any Avith fine foliage Avill do. A 
:w small gold fish may be put in after the jilants 
ive been established for a few days. Tliis will 
table, and may also be used to hold a bouquet. 
Leaves from the Diary of a Young House¬ 
keeper.—No. X. 
PRIZE ESSAY BY MRS. LAURA E. LYMAX, STAMFORD, CT. 
October 2d.—I always hail Avitli enthusiasm the 
coming of this month ! The air is so bracing, and 
Nature wears her most gorgeous livery of russet 
and brown and gold. She has just put on the mel¬ 
low, Avarm tints that presage the eoming frosts. 
Summer still lingers lovingly in the lap of autumn, 
arraying herself, in her most fascinating garb, that 
we may more sadly mourn her departure. All the 
morning I have been in the garden gathering seeds 
for next spring; they arc wrapped up in little pack¬ 
ages, e^i-efully secured with twine, labeled and put 
away in the seed basket for future use. Taking 
the hint from Edward’s practice, I selected the 
seeds from the largest and most perfect plants, so 
.03 to improve the varieties. By continuing thus, 
I hope in two or three years to have the very best 
seed of everything which the garden produces. 
October I am in the midst of my prepara¬ 
tions for the Fair Avhich is to take place next week, 
and find myself absorbed in the very natural house- 
Av ifely ambition to carry off some* of the prizes 
Avhich have been olfercd. If I fail it Avill not be 
for Avant of effort on my part, but because some 
more successful competitor has more knoAvledge, 
skill, and experience than I possess. For several 
daj's the cows have been turned into the wheat 
fields to feed upon the j’oung cloA’er that has sprung 
up there since haiwest; this will give the butter a 
richer flavor and a more golden color to the but¬ 
ter than the i)asture they h.avc been in lately. 
The abundant care I have ahvays taken of my 
milk and cream is redoubled. Every day I scald 
my p.ans in hay Avatcr that they may be perfectly 
sweet, and Avateh my milk carefully, using my best 
judgment in removing the cream from it at just 
the right moment. This morning I churned, and 
more fragrant, golden, delicious butter I never 
saAv in my life. I have Avorked it over once, and 
just before dark shall do so again, and mould 
it into the shape of a pineapple. Four of the 
lumps Avill just fill a little shalloAV hemlock firkin 
Edward bought for me, to put them in to carry to 
the fair. They Avill Aveigh about three pounds 
each. Besides my butter, I am going to take to 
the fair some Boston brown bread, Avhich is quite 
a novelty in these iiarts, and my parlor rug. 
October lUh. —To-day I made my brown bread. 
Last night I sifted two quarts of corn meal, 
and Avet it in Avarnr buttermilk from my last 
churning, and set it to soak over night. This 
gives it full time to swell, .and extracts .all the 
sweetness of flic meal, Avhich is fresh ground, and 
of this year’s growth. This morning I added a 
pint of the best molasses, two pints and a half of rye 
meal, some s.alt, buttermilk sufficient to moisten the 
AA’hole, and soda to neutralize the acid of the but¬ 
termilk. After mixing all the ingredients thor¬ 
oughly, I put it into a large earthen pan and baked 
it three hours in a moderately heated oven, being 
careful to preserve the heat at a uniform tempera¬ 
ture. A little of the dough I put in a smaller pan, 
and Edwtird declares it is the best broAvn bread I 
ever made, but suggests that, as many object to the 
hard crust formed over the top of the loaf by this 
long baking, I had better make another loaf to- 
morroAV, and steam it in my pudding pan. There 
is no crust at all upon bread cooked in this way, and 
its flavor, too, is different from that Avhiehis baked. 
My rug, Avhich has been so much admired, and 
Avhich resembles tapestry carpeting so clo.=ely that 
cA'erybody takes it for an imported article, I made 
of carpet thrums, purchased at a carpet factory. 
They cost only two dollars, but such a rug as I 
made of them could not be purchased for less than 
ten dollars. My oavu labor in its manufacture I 
nevdr count; it Avas a recreation from the routine 
of household duties. The pattern, Avhich I made 
myself, is a double cornucopia, filled and over¬ 
flowing with flowers of all hues and CA'ery variety. 
I took them from Avorsted patterns and varied the 
figure to suit my taste. 
Edward is going to take two of the largest and 
fattest of the Chester Whites we raised Avith so 
much care last spring, and avc shall carry also some 
of the handsomest clusters of our grapes, and the 
largest and finest flavored of our apples. 
October 20fA.—We relumed last evening from the 
Fair, and a most delightful time Ave had. My but¬ 
ter, my bread, my rug, each drew a prize. For the 
butter, I received a beautiful silver cup; for the 
bread, a silver fruit knife; and for the rug, a silver 
dessertspoon. They shine on the table as I wiite, 
and much as I prize them for their intrinsic value, 
the honor of which they are the pledge, I rate of 
far more worth. My butter Avas pronounced by the 
judges as at once more beautiful in appearance, 
and excellent in quality, than any other at the Fair, 
and it was beautiful; four magnificent golden pine¬ 
apples in a setting of green leaves; they looked 
like fruitage from the trees of Eden! The silver 
cup I shall keep, but the butter that took the 
prize I have sent as a gift to our excellent pastor. 
When our hired man brought back the ai’ticles 
we sent to the Fair, I missed the two pigs from the 
flvrm wagon, and saw in it a big square box of pine 
