ladies’ department. 
257 
Cables’ department. 
DIRECTIONS FOR GATHERING GARDEN 
SEEDS. 
The finest plants of each kind should be reserv¬ 
ed, and only the largest fruits, or seed vessels, on 
each selected for seed. These are generally the 
first that are formed; for those which come to per¬ 
fection while the parent plant is in full vigor, will 
always produce the largest seeds, and as a necessa¬ 
ry consequence, the best seeds will produce the 
finest plants; while those from small, or half-ripened 
seeds, will be less in size, and their fruit of course, 
will be inferior in quality to that of the parent 
plant. Seeds should be gathered as soon as possi¬ 
ble after they are ripe, and always on a dry day. 
Beans and peas may be pulled up by the roots, 
spread for a day or two in the sun to dry, taken in 
at night, or otherwise protected from the dew, and 
then threshed out on the barn floor. When quite 
dry, which will be in a few days, they should be 
barrelled, or boxed up, for sale, after selecting the 
largest for the next year’s planting. 
The seeds of cabbages, turnips, and such kinds, 
should be pulled, and hung in the shade for a day 
or two, and then the largest pods, which are al¬ 
ways on the lower part of the stems, should be 
stripped off", the seeds beaten out, and shaken in a 
sieve so openly woven as to retain only the largest. 
The seeds of cucumbers, tomatos, egg plants, 
&c., must be left till dead ripe before they are ga¬ 
thered ; then slit open and laid in the shade, on a 
board, so placed aslant, that the moisture w T ill 
•drain off; and so left till the pulp has dried, when 
the seeds can be separated by rubbing between the 
hands. 
The seeds of canteloupes and water melons can 
best be chosen from those of the finest flavor 
brought to table, and only require to be separated 
from the pulp and dried. 
Squashes, or cymlings, require no care, and are 
not injured materially if left out all winter, as the 
skin becomes a hard shell capable of resisting cold 
and damp; but it is better to house them unbroken 
until the seeds are wanted in the spring. 
Lettuce must be watched closely, or all the best 
seeds will be carried off by the wind, or eaten by 
the pretty little yellowbirds. As soon, therefore, 
as the tops of the plants are covered with their 
first coat of down, they must be pulled up early in 
the morning : spread on large cloths on the barn 
floor, or in the garret; and the next day, all that 
are ripe can be shaken out, and cleaned in a sieve. 
Those that ripen after the plants wdther, will not 
vegetate at all, and the produce will not be worth 
the care bestowmd upon them. 
Artichokes, salsafy, or oyster plants, have also 
winged seeds, and are a very uncertain crop, unless 
closely watched. The birds, too, make a great 
havock with the best, by tearing open the invo¬ 
lucre with their bills, and devouring them before 
they are mature. As they continue to bloom and 
produce perfect seeds for a week or ten days, it will 
not do to pull them up; but the plan I pursue is, to 
go every morning, while the dew is on them, and 
with the clippers, cut off all the heads that have 
the down ready to expand; and examine all the 
large ones that seem nearly ready, by drawing the 
involucre carefully open. If the seeds are white , 
leave them for a day or two longer; if discolored, 
they may be cut, and wall mature in drying ; spread 
them on papers, on the garret floor, and in two or 
three days, they will be fit to clean and put up. 
The garret should be hot, dry, and capable of being 
shut up to exclude the wind and rain. 
Balm, sage, and most other u herbs,” that have 
uncovered seeds, must be cut as soon as those on 
the lower part of the stems are black, when they 
will be shaken out by the wind and lost. Not 
many of the others will open, but it is better to 
lose some, than not secure the best. 
Carrots, parsnips, &c., perfect only a small por¬ 
tion of their seeds, which can be ascertained, at a 
glance, being large, well-shaped, and separate read¬ 
ily from their slender foot stalks. These only need 
be gathered, as the others never vegetate. 
For planting, corn take only the largest grains 
from the middle of the most perfect ears, rejecting 
those badly shaped, and the small ones near the 
ends of the cob. 
These rules should always be followed when 
quality is of more consequence than quantity, and 
may be carried out in a large scale with the field 
seeds on the farm, as is done by the best practi¬ 
cal farmer in my neighborhood. As his grain is 
brought to the barn, he takes each sheaf and shakes 
it over a large box, into which the full ripe grains 
fall, and are reserved for seed. E. S. 
Eutawah , July, 1848. 
CAUTION IN THE CHOICE OF CULINARY 
UTENSILS.—No. 2. 
Another class of metallic vessels, employed in 
cooking, particularly worthy of notice, are those 
coated internally with a kind of enamel, prepared 
without the admixture of lead, or any other poison¬ 
ous ingredients, and consequently no bad effects 
can ensue. 
Vessels of the above description are now man¬ 
ufactured both in Ehrope and in this country, the 
invention of which is considered to be one of the 
greatest improvements recently introduced into do¬ 
mestic economy, such vessels being remarkably clean, 
salubrious, and adapted to the delicate culinary 
operations of boiling, stewing, making of jellies, pre¬ 
serves, &c. Not only are small saucepans and 
stewpans covered with this enamel, but large iron 
boilers, holding twenty-five gallons, as well as fry- 
ingpans and gridirons. The use of these utensils 
cannot be too strongly recommended. C. 
Farmers’ Wives in Olden Times. —The du¬ 
ties of farmers’ wives, in England, in olden times, 
were somewhat different, than is at present the 
case in this country. In the reign of Henry VIII., 
Sir A. Fitzherbert wrote a treatise, entitled the 
A Prologue for the Wyve’s Occupation,” in which 
he says, 
“ It is a wyve’s occupation to winnow all maner 
of cornes, to make malte, to washe and wrynge, 
to make heye, shere corne, and in time of nede, 
to help her husbande to fill the mucke wayne, or 
dounge carte, dryve the ploughe, to lode heye, corne 
and such other, and to go and ryde to the market to 
sell butter, chese, mylke, egges, chekyns, capons, 
hennes, pygges, gese, and all maner of cornes.” 
