1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
341 
hardier, and will do much better in the house, 
than those which have been grown in the green¬ 
house. We name a few readily obtained, which 
do well in rooms with a fair share of care. 
j Roses. —These are put at the head of the list 
as they are such general favorites. Of the China 
Roses, Agrippina, Sanguinea, are very good 
sorts; and the Indica for common monthly. Of 
Tea Roses; Safrano, Odorata, and some others. 
Geraniums. —Rose Geranium, always admired 
for the fragrance of its foliage, and Tom Thumb 
or some other of the scarlets for flowers. The 
Ivy-leaved is pretty for both foliage and flow¬ 
ers, but it should be grown upon a trellis, or in a 
hanging basket, where it appears very beautiful. 
Verbenas. —These make admirable window 
plants. They can be kept in a compact stocky 
form by frequently pinching off the shoots. 
Petunias. —These do well, but require some 
care to keep them from growing too straggling. 
Heliotrope. —Always desirable for its fragrance. 
Cuttings started during Summer will make good 
blooming plants for the Winter following. 
Abutilon. —We consider this one of the most de¬ 
sirable plants for the house. It is described and 
figured in the September Agriculturist. 
Cuphea. —The little Cuphea ignea (sometimes 
called platycentra) is a fine plant for the parlor, 
being always covered with its brilliant flowers. 
For climbers the English and Irish Ivy, and 
the plant called Mexican or German Ivy will 
give a refreshing green. These may be run up 
over the window on strings or wires. The 
Canary Bird Flower Tropaeolum peregrinum, and 
other Tropceolums, will do well in a poor soil. 
To the above list may be added: Azaleas; 
Hoy a or Wax plant; Calla; Chinese Primroses; 
and Caniellias. The Camellia will, however, 
seldom bloom in a heated room; the temper¬ 
ature should never be over 65°. 
Hints on Drying Apples. 
Apples not wanted for family use may be 
turned to very good account in feeding stock, 
but they will give much better return by care¬ 
fully drying them. Although the season for 
gathering this fruit is mostly past, many bar¬ 
rels will not keep until used at home; if sent to 
a distant market, freight expenses would con¬ 
sume most of their value, and no better dispo¬ 
sition can be made of them than to prepare them 
for sale in the dried state. The demand for such 
fruit is at present almost unlimited, and those 
who prepare it, may not only have the satisfac¬ 
tion of receiving good prices, but also of know¬ 
ing that a large part of the stock will go to im¬ 
prove the fare of our soldiers, to whom they 
will be a real luxury. The work may be great¬ 
ly facilitated with proper apparatus. The 
“ turn-table ” apple parer, of which several mod¬ 
ifications are to be found at most hardware 
stores, is a great time and labor saver. Where 
the amount is small, the coring and slicing may 
be done with the common knife; but where 
large quantities are to be prepared, a circular 
cutter of tin to remove the core and a slicer 
having several blades which will finish the work 
at a single stroke, are desirable. At this season 
most of the drying must be done within doors; 
and if properly managed, this method is prefer¬ 
able at all times. A drying room may be cheap¬ 
ly fitted up with a stove having the pipe near 
the floor and extending lengthwise of the room. 
The frames or racks containing the fruit may be 
placed in tiers directly over the pipes, and the 
drying done very expeditiously. The plan of a 
convenient drying frame is represented in the 
accompanying illustration, designed by one of 
the editors of the Journal of Health. The up¬ 
right posts of the frame a, are two inches 
square with strips about one inch square 
nailed across, far enough apart to admit 
a rack between them, and braced with inch 
strips at the back, as shown in the engraving. 
The rack b, is four feet long, and about eigh¬ 
teen inches wide, made of common wall lath 
nailed on a strip at each end, about one fourth of 
an inch apart, or nearer if required to dry small 
fruits. Or they could be constructed of “ galvan¬ 
ized ” wire cloth, which would be preferable, 
though of course more expensive. A lath or strip 
of board one inch wide is nailed round the 
edge, to prevent the fruit falling off. These 
racks are slipped in upon the side supports as 
shown in the figure. The legs of the frame 
may be made sufficiently high to admit of its 
being placed directly over the stove pipe, from 
which a current of heated air will pass up 
among the sliced fruit, and dry it very 
rapidly. There should be good ventilation of 
the room to carry off the air as it becomes sat¬ 
urated with moisture. The more rapidly fruit 
can be dried, without exposure to high heat, the 
better will be its flavor and color. Drying 
within doors also has the advantage that flies 
and other insects can be excluded by mosquito 
netting at the windows, or openings for venti¬ 
lation. One or two cents per pound over the 
ordinary price, which will be readily realized 
for nicely dried fruit, will in most cases well re¬ 
pay the extra cost of all the needed appliances. 
Treatment of the Croup. 
A “ Physician’s Wife,” at Carrol Co., Ill., writes 
to the American Agriculturist: “ Croup gives warn¬ 
ing in advance, and woe to the mother who fails to 
heed that warning. Last Sunday morning the good 
of the sermon was lost to me by the dry hacking 
croup cough of a little boy in one of the front 
seats. As the sermon progressed the coughing 
grew deeper and harder, and I thought the services 
would never get through. A mother in front of 
me clutched nervously at her shawl every time the 
little fellow coughed, as if she would fain pull it off 
and wrap it around the child. There he sat with a 
low necked jacket on the throat, and part of the 
chest exposed and bare; the sight of aeorpscwould 
hardly have chilled me more. I was a stranger to 
the lady who sat beside him, but learned it was his 
mother. ‘ Do you know your child has got the 
croup ?’ said a woman as she came up the aisle. 
‘ Yes, he was rronpy last night,’ she replied quiet¬ 
ly. ‘ Why don’t you tie some thing round his neck 
then?’ said the friend, ‘and if you want to save his 
life, give him an emetic when you get home; rub 
liniment on his throat and chest, and get him in a 
perspiration, keep him warm for a day or two and 
give him light diet.’ The mother passed out and I 
hope she followed the directions. ‘Who is it?’ I 
inquired of the friend. ‘ O, it’s Mrs. Blank,’ was 
the reply, ‘ it’s not two weeks since she buried a 
child.’ There is no disease more simple to cure than 
croup at its outset, inflammatory croup excepted, 
and no disease more bafiling to physicians when 
allowed to proceed too far. Now is the croup 
harvest; one day is warm, another is cold, and in 
many families the winter clothes are not ready un¬ 
til near Christmas. This ought not to be. Moth¬ 
ers ought always to have some simple remedy on 
hand for child diseases, for with many families a 
doctor is so distant, and his being at home so 
uncertain, that sickness may have made fatal pro¬ 
gress before he arrives. The butchering season 
is at hand now, and it is proverbially croupy. 
Fresh sausages and pork steak are too tempting for 
the children’s appetites; and the stomach out of 
order, I have noticed, will bring on croup, nearly 
as soon as taking cold. A mother who seldom 
employs a doctor, said to me, ‘ I have never known 
an emetic to fail in curing croup if given in time.’ 
It is always used in our family, and always with 
the same success.” [See simple cough remedies 
in the October Agriculturist. —Ed.] 
- - • - — -- 
Designs for Ornamenting Cravats- 
Miss S. R, Bowman, Philadelphia Co., Pa., contrib¬ 
utes to the Agriculturist the accompanying designs 
for ornamenting the ends of gentlemen’s silk cra¬ 
vats. They should be worked in fancy colored 
silks, crimson, blue or buff, to suit the taste and 
complexion. The edges of the ends may be worked 
with either points and dots, or finished with a hem, 
and stitched or chain stitched in one or two rows, 
with silk to match the principal design. The cra¬ 
vat itself is best made of plain black, either ribbon 
or dress silk. To our individual taste the plain 
neckerchief or tie, without any such addition, is 
more becoming to any gentleman, old or young, 
but fashion decides otherwise, and most young 
men will be in the fashion if possible. A neck tie 
neatly ornamented in this manner would be a very 
suitable present from a young lady to a gentleman, 
on the approaching holidays. Articles made by 
the hands of a friend are more highly valued 
than those purchased. 
How to Fold a Lady’s Dress. 
Miss S. R. Bowman, Philadelphia Co., Pa., con¬ 
tributes the following directions for the American 
Agriculturist: Take the exact quarters of the dress, 
from the bottom of the skirt, to the sleeves, double 
them together with the bosom out; then on a 
bed, lay the skirt perfectly smooth, and begin at the 
bottom to fold it up, just the width of the trunk or 
drawer. The waist and sleeves will fold nicely to- 
