\onxtstit tec0namm 
CONDUCTED BY MARY A. E. WAGER. 
FROM CORRESPONDENTS. 
CannLnsr Fruits—IIow It Should ho Done. 
In response to many inquiries, I send you 
my method. 
To commence at the beginning , it is neces¬ 
sary to say a few words about soldering,— 
a simple matter, yet but little understood. 
This seems to he the great difficulty of put¬ 
ting up fruit in tin cans,—“ IIow shall I get 
them soldered V" 
First got a (soldering iron , which, for home 
use, should be about an inch in diameter and 
about three or four inches long. The iron 
is made of a piece of copper, with an iron 
handle keyed, screwed or forged into one 
end. This hud better bo procured of some 
tinsmith or hardware store. At the same 
time get one, two, or more pounds of solder, 
according to t he amount, of work you expect 
to do. 
Next it is necessary to “ tin your iron ,” if 
you have not had it already done by the tin¬ 
ner; and, as you will have to do it yourself 
quite often, directions how to do it will not 
be out of placo hero. A very smooth brick 
or stone is best for the rubbing block, but a 
smooth piece of wood will answer. On this 
put a little pulverized resin ; then heat your 
iron enough to melt the Bolder when put in 
contact with it, first smoothing the faces of 
the iron with a fine file; place the faces of 
the iron iu succession on the rubbing block 
in the resin, dropping a few drops orsolder 
also on the block; rub briskly until the faces 
are well covered with solder, and then your 
iron is ready for use. It must be well cov¬ 
ered, or the solder will not llow when it is 
wanted. 
In soldering tin, pulverized resin is used to 
make the solder stick, for other metals acid 
is used. Acid can he used for tin : 1 prefer 
it for all kinds of work; it is so much more 
convenient. My recipe for making the acid 
isTo one ounce of muriatic acid add as 
much zinc filings or clippings as it will dis¬ 
solve, then add three ounces of water. 
In soldering, first sprinkle the parts to be 
joined with resin, or wet them with the 
acid; hold the soldering iron in the right 
hand and the solder in the loft; place the 
point of the iron on the work, and touching 
tho solder to the iron it will flow on to the 
parts to be united. In small work, where it 
is necessary to use one hand to hold the 
parts, lay the stick of solder on tho table 
close at hand and touch the iron to it. A 
few drops will adhere to it, which can be 
thus conveyed to the work. In all kinds of 
work it is accessary to have tho parts to he 
united bright, and clean, else the solder will 
not stick. For tin and zinc the point of an old 
knife to scrape off tho dirt and grease is tho 
most con von lent; for copper, brass or iron you 
must use a fiue file. In copper, brass or iron, 
it is best to first “ tin” the parts to bo united, 
i. c., cover them with the thinnest, possible 
coating of Bolder. It will take the beginner 
a few trials to be sucecssful with the last 
tlii’oo metals. 
Next procure yoyir cans, pint, quart, or 
larger size, whichever preferred. (I use the 
quart size entirely.) Now we are ready for 
work, provided we have the fruit. First we 
will try 
Tomatoes. —Pick your fruit and put into 
a tin pan or earthen dish, and pour boiling 
water over them; this will loosen the skin, 
so they can be peeled quickly aud without 
difficulty. Next fill your cans with the peel¬ 
ed fruit, as foil as you can yet than. Put on 
the covers and solder them on ; with a fine 
'pointed awl prick a very small hole iu the 
cover—the smaller this hole the better. . 
Put your cans in a boiler over the lire; the 
water in the boiler must not bo allowed to 
cover the cans nor boil over them. A little 
straw must be placed under the bottom of 
the cans, else the water cannot get under 
them aud the fruit will burn. Allow tho 
fruit in tho cans to boil five to ten minutes, 
and then with a drop of solder closo up tho 
hole in the lid. (It is better for tho begin¬ 
ner to 11 tin" this hole before putting tlie 
cans over the fire.) Take the cans out of 
the boiler, and after cooling put them away 
in a cool, dry room or pantry. To know 
whether they are light, examine the ends; 
it they hollow in —are concave—they are all 
right; if they bulge out—are convex—bet¬ 
ter unsolder the hole and heat them over 
again. 
Put up peaches precisely the same, adding 
sugar or not as you please. 
We will give directions for corn, &c., iu 
our next. a. m. n. 
Rye, N. Y. _ 
To Pickle Green Tomatoes. 
In answer to an inquiry I send the follow¬ 
ing, from experience:—Slice your tomatoes 
in three slices each; sprinkle plenty of salt 
between each layer; let them stand twelve 
hours, if not longer. Then scald up in clear 
water (brass or tin.) Boiling makes them 
soft Skim them out; draw thoroughly 
through a colander; then put them in your 
jar, sprinkling apices, cinnamon and cloves, 
between each layer. Turn on vinegar, cold, 
while pickles arc warm; then it will strike 
through good, Slice horse radish root and 
put some in to keep the vinegar. A tea-cup 
of sugar to il gallon jar improves them very 
much. 
To (look nn Old Fowl Tender. 
Put a teaspoonful of soda in the water 
when it first bolls up, and the fowl will be 
tender as chicken. 
To Keep Grapes Throuah Winter. 
Take boxes the size of candle-boxes; nail 
pieces across the ends to lay slats on; put iu 
the bottom a newspaper. Have ready a dish 
of hot sealing wax, and dip the ends of stems 
in this. Put in a layer in the box carefully, 
then a paper, thou put in your slats, then a 
paper, then grapes again, and so on till full, 
not more than three layers in a box. Nail 
up tight,; keep in a cool, dry place until cold 
weather; then place in a dry cellar. Grapes 
iu this way will keep till March.— Vina. 
To Dry Pencil cs. 
A very good way to dry peaches is to 
scald them in sugar and dry on earthen 
plates. 
Sure Cure for Hod Rims. 
ITai.f an ounce of quicksilver to the whites 
of three eggs; beat up and put iu the holes 
and crevices.—A Farmer’s Wife. 
Indian l’nddincr. 
One quart new milk, one egg, one cup 
Indian meal, one-half cup molasses, one-half 
tablespoon saleratus, a little salt. Stir tlirce 
or four times when it first commences to 
bake. Eat witli butter while warm. 
Rice I’ml dinar. 
Ouo cup rico, one cup sugar, four quarts 
milk, a little nutmeg and salt; stir same as 
the Indian pudding. 
Jouruev Cake. 
Oho and onc-lmlf Cups new milk, one of 
buttermilk, ono egg, one teaspoonful salera- 
tus, one tablespoonfnl molasses. 
Cheap Cookies. 
One cup good sour cream, one cup sugar, 
onc-balf teaspoonful saleratus, nutmeg. l)o 
not knead very still. Roll middling thick. 
Mock Sponge Cuke. 
One pound sugar, one-half pound butter, 
ono cup water, five and one-half cups of 
flour, four eggs —whites and yolks ixyaten 
separately — ono teaspoonful cream tartar, 
one-half teaspoonful soda. Beat batter mui 
soda to a froth. m. 
Duchess Co., 1809. 
--■ | 
TO SWEEP FLOORS. 
Concerning this very important opera¬ 
tion the New York Observer says: 
Iu the days of Puritan grandmothers no 
girl was considered fit to receive proposals 
of marriage until she could make a good 
hemlock broom; but in these later times 
many a young lady not only offers herself 
in the matrimonial market, but absolutely 
gets married, and undertakes to man ago her 
house, without knowing how to use a broom 
that some ono else has made. We have 
seen a broom used so unskillfully that ono 
would think the person engaged in nsduy it 
was endeavoring to transfer the dust frqui 
the floor to tho furniture. 
It requires sorno science, or at least skill, 
to use a broom well. To do this skillfully, 
the handle should incline forward and not 
back. If the top of the broom inclines for¬ 
ward beyond the part next the floor, it will 1 
prevent much of the dust from rising into l 
the air, and will carry it along by a gentle 
sliding motion toward the place where it is ; 
to be disposed of. If on the other hand, the 
handle of tho broom inclines backward, the 
dust is sent in the air by a kind of jerk, to 
the detriment of everything in the apart¬ 
ment. More than this, it wears off the 
threads of the carpet quicker, injures the 
paint more, if the floor is uncarpeted, and 
destroys the broom sooner than if the 
sweeping Is done in a rational way. A 1 
brush of bristles Is always better to sweep 
a carpet, as it is less liable to “ kick up a 
dust,” or to injure the texture of the carpet. 
-m- 
Lemon Pie.—One lemon, ono cup sugar, two 
OKiPS tliroc tablespoons flour, ouo cup sweet 
milk. Grate tlio rind of iho lemon; mix nil 
together, leaving out tho whites of the ogtfs. 
Bake without an upper crust. Boat tho whites 
of the eggs to a froth, add four tablespoons ol' 
sugar, and when halted pour over tho top. Try ! 
it, —Mus. Jambs H. Peck, Skancateles , iV. Y. 
-M*- 
To Make Paper Stick to Whitewashed Walls.— j 
Make a sizing of common glue and water, of tho 
consistency of linseed oil, and apply with white¬ 
wash or other brush to the walls, taking care to 
go over every part, and especially top and bot¬ 
tom. Apply the paper in tho ordinary way m 
soon as you please, and if tho paste is properly 
made it will remain tlrm for y oars.—L. Jordan, 
■-*♦«- 
Soap Inquiry.—In tho Rural of June 5, under 
tho head of “Soap Making," it is said, “Very 
elegaut soap may be made by using sal-soda 
made caustic with limo and clean nice tallow or 
lard.” Will “Northwest" tell us what the pro- ^ 
portion of each should bo?—R eader. 
-- 
Elderberry Wine.— Can any of your readers in¬ 
form me how to make elderberry wine ?—J. E. 
HOrFJdAN. 
intomological. 
[Qi-ksTioNH to bo Answered in tbln Department, when Accompanied 
by specimen*, should bo sent directly to C. V* Riley, $130 Clark 
Av«., St. Louis, Mo.] 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
Larva of the Grape Vino Flca-Itcctlc. 
I sf.xo you a gritpo leaf pretty well used up by 
a small brown worm. It is one-sixteenth ot an 
inch in length, some 10U on a lout. I ratserl Al¬ 
teon bushels last year; this year they are "gone 
up.” What is the worm culled? Wlmt is the 
remedy, if any? II 1 you or any of your many 
correspondents can toll whai will destroy this 
worm,.i on will obiigu at lOast. one subscriber. 
1). D. V'oswukuii.- Columbus,IVie. 
The worms which accompanied tho above 
description wore the larvae of the. Grape-vine 
Flea-beetle, (IJaltica Ohalybia lllig.) also 
quite commonly known as the Steel-blue 
Beetle, The beetle does serious damage in 
the spring of the year by boring into the 
bursting buds of the vino. Iu May tho 
sexes pair, aud the female beetle soon after¬ 
wards deposits her eggs on the leaves, and in 
due time tho larvae, such as those described 
above, hatch from these eggs. Tho best, 
method of destroying these larvce is by sprink¬ 
ling them with new air-slaked lime. The 
beetles should also be killed, and ns they pass 
the winter near the ground, under protection 
of old wood, leaves, or debris of any kind 
that is left in the vineyard, hosts of them 
may be sacrificed by a judicious burning of 
all such rubbish during the winter or early 
spring. 
Rose Bug.—( Subscriber, Ohio .)--The nar 
row', long-legged beetle, about one-third of 
an inch long, and of a yellow color, covered 
with short aslien-yellow down, is tho com¬ 
mon Rose-bug (/ nacrc/lactylus mbspinosus, 
Tabr.) You say it is greatly injuring the 
grape-vines by devouring the leaves. It lias 
long been known to have this pernicious 
habit, though their favorite food seems to bo 
tho petals of the Rose. Tho booth. 1 lives un¬ 
derground in tho preparatory suite, subsist¬ 
ing on tho tender roots of different plants. 
The larva has the appearance of a diminu¬ 
tive white grid), and conics to its growth iu 
the fall of tho year, when it descends below 
the reach of frost, and passes the winter iu 
a dormant state. In the spring following, 
this larva works up towards the surface of 
the ground, and there forms a smooth, oval 
chamber, within wbicli it changes to the 
pupa. About the first of June tho beetle 
bursts the thin pupa skin, and works itself 
up to the light of day. Thus the whole 
cycle of its tnmsmuunions scarcely requires 
a year. When these bodies appear ill such 
vast swarms ns to greatly injure the vines, 
the best way of getting rid of the pests is to 
shake them down and burn them. 
Large Queen Catbh pillar on the Apple.— 
I n i el oho tor you a worm which I found on my 
applo tree, ricn.su tell mo through Iho RURAL 
its kjud, its tiabits, and its various translormu- 
t.lons. On some of tho sumo kind (T think) ttin 
hru)l>* on thofv bonds (four in number) worn red. 
Hoping tins may vouch von in safety, I remain 
very respect fully, — S, E. A. Palmer, Auburn , 
Kantaj. 
This immense green worm is the larva 
of the Cecropia moth (Attaeus coeropia , Linn.) 
a most beautiful insect with immense dark 
mouse-gray wings, each wing having near 
its middle an opaque, kidney-shaped, dull 
rod spot with a white center and a narrow 
black edge, and each wing being also crossed 
with wavy bands of white, red and slate- 
color. The worms make their appearance 
in your latitude about the first of July. 
When first hatched they are entirely black, 
f with the tubercles placed in the same post- 
[ lion, but being larger at the base aud with 
; a narrower* stem Ilian in the maturcr iiuli- 
) viduals. After the first moult the body is of 
| a, deep orange color, with the tubercles 
black, and with longitudinal rows of blade 
dots running between them. After the 
necxmd moult, a still greater change takes 
place: the body acquires a beautiful yellow¬ 
ish-green tint, the tubercles on the back are 
yellow, with the exception of four near the 
head, which are coral-red, and those at the 
sides are blue. After tlic third moult the 
black spots between the tubercles entirely 
disappear, and after the fourth moult the red 
tubercles near the head frequently become 
yellow, as in tho specimen you sent. Thus 
we see that, this caterpillar undergoes such 
remarkable changes that specimens taken iu 
different stages of growth would scarcely be 
recognized by tbe uninitiated as belonging 
to one and the same species. 
When full fed these worms spin tough, 
1 ashen-gray cocoons, attenuated at each end, 
and usually fastened to a twig of the tree 
upon which they had fed. Within this co¬ 
coon they pass the winter in the chrysalis 
state aud issue the following June ns moths. 
The worms feed on a variety of other trees 
and shrubs besides the Apple, but, though 
great feeders, they are not often sufficiently 
numerous to cause any serious alarm. 
Conical Galls on Leaves of Wild 
Grape-vine. — (D. McClaine, Piermont, N. 
Y .)—The elongate, conical, crimson - brown 
galls which project like so many small trum¬ 
pets at right angles from the surface of the 
leaf of a wild grape-vine are caused by a 
^iccies of gall-gnat ( Cecidornyia .) Upon cut¬ 
ting open ono of these galls you will discover 
that it contains an orange-colored maggot, 
which maggot will in due time produce a 
two-winged gnat, not unlike a common mos¬ 
quito in general appearance. Wo have 
never bred tlie perfect insect fVorn these 
gulls, and us the specimens were first sent to 
New York and reached us in a very dry 
condition, we should be pleased to receive 
other specimens at. as early a day and in as 
fresh condition as possible. If you can find 
others please send them direct to tho address 
given at the head of this column. Though 
we have not bred this insect to the perfect 
state, we have no hesitancy whatever in 
telling you that it. is in this state a two¬ 
winged gall-gnat belonging to lliegenus Ce- 
culomyia, because tho larva? of these gall- 
gnats are readily distinguishable by what is 
technically called “breast-bone” — a dark 
colored Y-shaped or dove-shaped process 
situated on the lower part of the first joint. 
The ends of this “ breast-bone” are furnished 
with sharp points, and as tho head of the 
larva is retractile these sharp points are 
brought into play at tho will of the insect, 
and serve doubtless to abrade tho inner sur¬ 
face of tho gall, and thereby cause an abnor¬ 
mal llow of tho sup, which serves as food. 
A Strange Bug. —Tim insects described 
under this caption in the issue for July 31st, 
wore in all probability a species of four- 
winged ily belonging to the order Nkurop- 
TKKA and to the genus Psocus. Without 
specimens it would be impossible to tell the 
exact species, but P. venoms, Bivrm., is known 
to congregate on trees as described. Tim 
wingless specimens were the pupte and 
would eventually have acquired wings. The 
minute hook-lice; which are so frequently 
found among books, belong to this same 
genus, and all the insects of I lie genus, of 
which tim habits are known, feed on dead 
animal and vegetable matter. Wo judge, 
therefore, that those on the locust trees do 
scribed by North Carolina could do no 
possible harm to the trees. 
Currant Worms and Black Currant. 
Your correspondent Adim must ho a little 
more precise in his statements. When a 
man says that tho “ currant worm" does not 
touch the Black Currant, he does not neces¬ 
sarily refer to the currant borer. All this 
seeming contradictory experience arises from 
t lie want of a little entomological knowledge. 
This will ho readily understood when we 
state that, in this country there are three 
distinct worms which feed on tin: leaf of tin* 
Currant: and two distinct borers which live 
within the stem. Because tlmhoror is found 
indiscriminately in the Red, White and 
Black varieties, it does not necossarily follow 
that all tlio leaf-feeding worms are equally 
impartial in their tastes. 
CtrnOUr.YO.—Wo wore glad to see the re¬ 
marks on tho article of your correspondent 
Northwest. We shall not discuss tlie mat¬ 
ter, for tlie game is not worth tho powder 
with one who flings his pen with such a 
reckless flourish, under a concealed name. 
iingicmc ^Information. 
PERPETUAL EATERS. 
BY BITTER SWEET. 
At the risk of being thought a fault¬ 
finder, I hazard a few remarks upon per¬ 
petual eating, quid ly hoping that some kind 
soul of a physician may come to my assist¬ 
ance and administer comfort by proving, in 
good, plain English, that the habit is hurtful 
in its effects upon the individual, or by giv¬ 
ing substantial reasons for its indulgence, 
showing that. it. is not only allowable, but 
necessary to certain physical organizations 
and temperaments. Even tlie latter would 
he a relief, though contrary to my opinions, 
because I could the better endure the many 
petty vexations that necessarily grow out of 
a social contact with people of that class. 
By perpetual eaters I mean human beings, 
male or female, whose rule of faith and 
practice seems to be to eat whenever they 
see anything eatable, and to put themselves 
in the way of seeing something as often as 
possible, at nil hours of tho day and far into 
the night; indeed, T have known people of 
that class to carry food tc> bed witli them, or 
rise in tlie night to supply the stomach that, 
like the horsc-lcech’s daughter, is never 
satisfied. As a rule, to which T have never 
known an exception, they are a very rest¬ 
less, uncomfortable sort of people, and have 
a very great facility for making homo an un¬ 
comfortable place for a housekeeper with 
medium patience and a wish to keep things 
in possible order, not to mention the mental 
disgust, if she be a mother, and feels that to 
form such a habit for her children is to entail 
upon them a life-long bondage. 
If the perpetual cater is a child, tlio habit 
tends to deception and thievishness to grut- 
ify the appetite — numberless raids on pan¬ 
try and store-room being made, to the 
annoyance of tlie presiding genius, and re¬ 
counted iu after years as feats of amazing 
cleverness, in tlie hearing of other children, 
who, naturally enough, desiring to be at least 
as smart as their ancestry, determine to em¬ 
ulate their noble deeds, and immediately put 
the resolve into practice. If a man, lie is a 
more severe trial to patience, ami some oilier 
graces; because to u child,sometimes, u few 
old fashioned spanks, effectual lj applied, will 
work a cure in the first stages of the disease, 
'when it is sympathetic rather than organic, 
or if no more, may prove a safety-valve to 
the excited feelings of the aggrieved part} 1 -. 
But wo can only despise, at best pity, a 
full-grown man, whoso creed in all things, 
generally corresponding witli his theory in 
regard to iiis stomach, is short and very easy 
to remember—it being to do just, as he 
icants to do, his expressed reason being that 
it, is according to nutuve , and that all animals, 
guided by native instincts or impulses, do 
so. Aud that is not pleasant, especially when 
tho person Is one whom we ought, and 
would be glad, to respect as well as love. If 
ho takes whatever may suit liis fancy from 
dishes made ready for the table, he often puts 
the housewife to the mortification of seeing 
the scanty supply come short., if she have no 
more prepared, or to tlie trouble of refilling 
before her table can be supplied. In the 
meantime, If there are children, they fre¬ 
quently attempt to follow tlio example. *> 
unblushiugly set, and if punished or re¬ 
proved are very unhappy, and foci them¬ 
selves deeply wronged that mamma will not 
allow them the liberty that, papa mid older 
brothers take without, rebuke. " 
If a mother, tlie perpetual eater makes 
herself a slave to the unbridled appelitm of 
her family, feeding*tlic babies and children 
at nil unseasonable times and places witli 
all unsuitable viands, thinking the darlings 
would assuredly starve if she denied them 
anything they might ask for, or if she failed 
to give them lunch several times between 
meals. If remonstrated with, she is sure her 
way is right. Has she not raised a good- 
sized family ? Often forgetting that scarce 
one of thorn are healthy; and, if that fact is 
remarked on, thinking it folly to suppose 
that what, or how, a person cats can affect 
the health. The poor misguided creature 
seems to feci as though her “ whole duty” to 
friend and foe consisted in contributing 
something palatable to the contents of their 
stomach*. 
Tho perpetual enter seldom or never sits 
down to read without, first, providing a sup¬ 
ply of cake, apples, or some other convenient 
edible wherewithal to feed the body while 
tho mind is taking in ihn thought;) grave, 
gay, lively or severe, that may bo chosen 
as mental aliments, So crumbs may bo found 
between t he leaves of choicest books, or are 
dropped on the carpet to be crushed under 
foot, or, in a spasm of tin usual neatness, piled 
on tlie window sill, or on top of tho careful¬ 
ly blackened stove. 
Elderly perpetual eaters, in addition to 
these minutim, have generally worji out tlie 
overworked stomach, — and with dyspeptic 
pains come ill humor, impatience and fret- 
fulness, making tlio lot of ono forced into 
daily contact not to be envied, unless re¬ 
markably excellent in temper, philosophical, 
or stoically inclined, which plain hour,'.-keep¬ 
ing women seldom are. If I had a darling 
son, or daughter old enough to be married, 
I should, among other petitions for them, 
pray that they might he blessed with good 
common sense enough to resist the cluirms 
of perpetual eating, whatever other virtues 
of mind or beauties of body they might, pos¬ 
sess, believing that hardly another purely 
physical domestic trait can be found bring¬ 
ing a longer tram of petty, soul-fretting an¬ 
noyances and discomfort to a household. 
Newark Valley, N. Y., 1889. 
-- 
CARE OF THE FEET. 
Concerning this subject the Scientific 
American, very truly says: — “ Many are 
careless in the keeping of tlie feet. If they 
wash them once a week they think they are 
doing well. They do not consider that tho 
largest pores of the system are located in tho 
bottom of the foot, and that the most, offensive 
matter is discharged through the pores. 
They wear stockings from the beginning to 
the end of I lie wapk without change, which 
become complet<%r saturated with offensive 
matter. 
“ Ill health is generated by such treatment 
of the feet. Tlie pores are not repollan ta, but 
absorbents, and tiffs foetid matter, ton greater 
or less extent, is taken back into tlio system. 
The feet should ho washed every day with 
pure xvater only, as well as the arm-pits, from 
which an offensive odor is also emitted, un¬ 
less daily ablution is practiced. Stockings 
should not bo worn more than a day or two 
at a time. They may be worn one day, and 
then aired and sunned and worn another day, 
if necessary.” 
-—--- 
Bee Stings. — If visible, the sting of a 
wasp or bee may be at once extracted. A 
strong solution of ammonia in spirits or 
water, should then be applied, or in tho ab¬ 
sence of this, warm oil may bemused. 
