it boil until a little of it dropped in cold 
water will harden readily; then add the 
Btarch, stirring very rapidly, and boil a 
minute or two; again try; when done, pour 
into a buttered dish, or pan. and set aside 
till cool enough to work with tho hands; 
add to it while working such flavoring ex¬ 
tract as may be preferred; work till very 
WILD TEA” AGAIN 
HICKORY OR LOCUST BORER, 
In many portions of the country it is al¬ 
most impossible to raise locust t rees, (Ro- 
binia Pseudacacla ,) on account, of borers 
which infest the wood. This insect is known 
by various names, such as ClytUS flcxuosil# 
of Fa mucus, C. ptetus of Drury, and C. 
roniniev of Forster. Its habits are pretty 
well known, and maybe briefly stated as 
follows:—The beetles appear in August and 
September, the female laying her eggs in 
the crevices of the bark, where they soon 
batch, and the young borer or larva enters 
the soft wood of the tree, remaining near 
the outer surfaoe until the following spring, 
when it penetrates into tho more solid por¬ 
tions of the stem. In July the borers as- 
In tho Rural New-Yorker, Jan. (5th, I 
notice a paragraph headed “ A Cancer 
Cured.” You ask—“What is wild tea?” I 
think you can safely say that it is the Cft un¬ 
it phi to nrnbelUita (Pipsl&sewa), as my rec¬ 
ollection is having heard that plant called 
either “ Mountain Tea” or “ Wild Tea.” 1 
enclose you specimens; sec the U. S. Dis- 
f iensatory for its medical ilistorv. E. 13. 
Tcnuletox, ih-rlilcy Sprinys, West Va. 
The plant you enclosed is tho well-known 
“ wintergreen," Oaulthcrl.it procumbcm, 
also called Chookerbcrry, Boxberry, etc. 
The Chiniaphlla umbcUata and C. macu¬ 
la to, arc the two most common species of 
Fipsissewa or Princess-Pine. They are low- 
growing cvergoen plants, but quite distinct 
from the OanUhcria.it, or true aromatio 
wintergreen, their leaves possessing a bit¬ 
ter taste. Wo llnd by referring to the med¬ 
ical botanies that the common wintergreen, 
or Gaulthcria, is called mountain Tea. See 
Grifff.th’s Medical Botany, page 424. But 
we find no allusion to its being used for 
cancel’s. These plants have been thorough¬ 
ly studied by medical experts, and were 
used during tho revolution as a substitute 
for tea. The first notice we have of any 
attention being paid to the medical quali¬ 
ties of the Chimaphila was by Schaeff, 
who says that it is astringent, styptic and 
tonic. The lute Dr. MlTCliELof New York 
city published an inaugural dissertation on 
it in 1803, but it attracted little attention 
Hojiku- 
light; draw out into flat lengths, and cut 
into sticks. This will bo found as good as 
any made at a confectioner’s. 
Folding Napkins Miter Shape.—Wo 
give another of our scries of modes of fold¬ 
ing napkins. C 1. is tho first fold; 0 2, the 
second; C 3, the third; C 4, the fourth; C 5, 
the fifth, and 0, tho final appearance. 
(iTCUUimi) 
How to Roil and Serve Beets.—Acids 
of some sort are usually required to give a 
dinner a proper relish, and food dressed 
with vinegar Is much preferable to that 
from professional men, until Dr 
villk of the British army gave the re¬ 
sults of his trials of it in the fitti Veil, of the 
Modioo-Chirurgical Transactions, us a reme¬ 
dy for dropsy, it being used us a tonic where 
there is much debility and loss of appetite. 
Dr. Bartow, (see his vegetable Materia 
Medica, Vol. 1, page 17,) says it was exten¬ 
sively prescribed during tho revolutionary 
war for camp fevers. So much for the plant 
which you probably intended to send us but 
did not. We are still iu doubt as to tho 
name of the “Wild Tea” that oured tho 
cancer—if indeed a canoer was ever cured 
by it, of which we have much doubt. Wo 
advise caution, and are inclined to believe 
that wo, with numerous other journalists, 
have been badly “sold” by this Charles 
Yardi.ey. 
ODDS AND ENDS 
Directions for Making Fringed Mit- 
tens.—The yarn for the fringe is best if 
spun very coarsely and but slightly twisted. 
It may then be reeled Into skeins and col¬ 
ored to suit the fancy. Some dark color, 
(lowered with lighter on tho back, is best 
for common use, or light for nice ones. They 
may have flowers knit on the outside of 
each, so as to be very pretty. Cast from 
fifteen t.o eighteen stitches, according to the 
size of the mitten you wish to knit and the 
quality of the yarn, upon three coarse knit¬ 
ting needles, reserving the fourth to knit 
with ; double the end of the yarn you hold 
in the left hand to make it strong at the 
edge; knit around plain four times, then, 
having your fringe cut in pieces of six 
threads, if quite coarse, or eight if line, 
place the end of the fringe at the corner of 
tlie. needle a half-ineh out, and knit one 
stitch, thou turn the other part of the fringe 
out and knit two stitches, then turn in, 
leaving a loop, when out, that will be half 
an inch long; after knitting around in this 
way once, knit around plain twice, before 
putting in more fringe; widen, for thumb, 
and narrow oil - the mitten like any plain 
mitten.—E. 
Bean Soup.— With all thy dinner getting 
gel. soup. Get into the habit of having it. 
Soup is to a dinner what an anthem is to 
a divine service. It is not half the trouble 
that inexperienced housekeepers imagine 
it may be. Only a little is required on 
which to begin a dinner. When once in 
the way of having it, regularly, you will ap¬ 
preciate the convenience of soup stock, and 
value it equally with prepared fruits. To 
make bean soup, clean the beans over night, 
pour boiling water over them and let them 
stand until morning. Then place in plenty 
pickled in vinegar. Small-sized beets are 
more delicious than those of larger growth. 
Wash well, but in uowise cut, the beet or 
break the skin or roots. Boil until tender, 
placing first in cold water. When done, 
skim them into a pan of cold water, and 
slip the skin off. Cut them into thin slices, 
and while hot, serve with butter, pepper, 
nOREH-INFESTEt) IXICKORY, FIG. 1. 
sume the quiescent or pupa state of the in¬ 
sect, and after remaining in this condition 
for a few weeks, its transformations are 
completed, and it again comes forth a beetle. 
The beetles are five-eighths to an inch in 
length, autennm in the males fully us long as 
the body, and in tho females about one- 
quarter less; color black, ornamented with 
transverse yellow bands, of which there are 
three on the hoad, four on tho thorax, and 
six on the wing covers. This beetle, as we 
have already stat ed, makes its appearance in 
autumn and attacks the locust; but there is 
another insect which attacks the hickory, 
which, if not identical, is a very near rela¬ 
tive, or, to speak cntomologically, closely 
allied. This hickory beetle appears in spring 
instead of autumn, which at first might 
seem to be as wide a departure from the 
natural laws supposed to govern the insect 
world, as it is for them to feed upon two 
trees as widely separated in the vegetable 
kingdom as the locust and hickory. 
Another peculiarity of this hickory borer, 
at least ho far as we have been able to dis¬ 
cover its habits, is that it does not attack 
living trees, like tho locust borer, but preys 
upon fallen trees, such as those blown or cut 
down in winter, cord-wood and hoop poles. 
We found, the past summer, large hickory 
HYGIENIC NOTES AND QUERIES 
Remedy for Nervous Headache.— 
“ Can you or any of your correspondents 
give a remedy for the terrible suffering with 
which I am oftou afflicted, called ‘nervous 
headache?’” So asks Susan P. Fellows, 
of the Rural New-Yorker. We have seen 
the. following recommended as a sure cure, 
but never have tested it.:—“Take a dessert 
spoonful of common soda, such as is used in 
making bread, and dissolve it thoroughly in 
a quart of cold water; with this thorough¬ 
ly shampoo tho head for about five minutes, 
scratching the skin of the head and the 
hack of the neck well with the finger nails; 
then rinse the hoad with clean cold water.” 
If any of our readers do test it and it proves 
effective, will they not inform us? 
A Hood Healing Salve.—Take of rosin, 
boeswax and Castile soap, one part each; 
two parts mutton tallow; three of lard; 
dissolve all slowly together. This salve is 
used a groat deal by people here, who prefer 
making such articles themselves to paying 
five times what they are worth. For my 
part, I could not do without, it in the family. 
For a cut joint, Orleans molasses or sirup 
(never Sorghum) should be used instead of 
the tallow and lard.—w. s. o. 
To Stop Bleeding of the Lungs.—In 
answer to an inquiry in the Rural New- 
Yorker, G. E, Coonly writesPeel a 
handful of witch hazel bark, downwards, 
Beven or eight inches long; also break from 
a peach tree a handful of twigs the same 
length. Boll well together in water enough, 
by adding a pound of brown sugar, to make 
a quart of sirup. Bottle tight, and keep in 
a cool plaoe. Take two tablespoonfuls three 
times a day.” __ 
Remedy for Chills and Fever.—In Ru¬ 
ral New-Yorker, Jan. 13, p. 38, we pub¬ 
lished a paragraph under this head, in whioh 
the dose of mandrake recommended was 
ono tablospoonful for an adult. G. W. writes 
us it should be on© tea spoonful. 
Remedy for Caked Breasts.—Stew 
hops in good lard until the strength is out, 
and bathe tho breast with the resulting 
salve, three or four times a day. It has 
never failed to relieve my sufferings.—A 
Mother of Ten Children. 
salt and vinegar, if that be the taste of your 
family. If served cold, slice lengthwise and 
lay in cold vinegar. 
Wanking Butter.— I do not believe in 
washing butter. I never did; 1 think I 
never shall. Good butter does not need it. 
All the waters of Jordan cannot make bad 
butter good; it it does remove any bitter or 
bad taste, why not the sweet from the good ? 
My experience for thirty years has been 
that it is injurious to color, and in no case 
beneficial. I keep butter thoroughly worked 
without water. You would hear a like tes¬ 
timony from very many in old Connecticut, 
if they speak from personal experience.— 
M. N., .Vcu) Haven Co., Conn. 
Carrot Fritters. — Beat two small car¬ 
rots to a pulp with a spoon; add three or 
HICKORY OR LOCUST BORER, FIG. 2. 
• 
trees, felled the winter previous, as well as 
cord-wood, that were so filled with borers 
that not a square foot could be found unmo¬ 
lested. We placed several small blocks of 
this infested hickory, iu which there were 
scores of pupfe, in our green-house a few 
weeks since, and the spring-like heat has 
hastened the appearance of the beetles, 
which have come out in abundance. 
A small section of ono of the logs is shown 
in Fig. 1, with the excavations made by the 
four eggs and a handful of flour; moisten 
with cream or milk, and sweeten to taste; 
beat all well together and fry in boiling 
lard. When of a good color, drain, squeeze 
over them the juice of an orange, and strew 
with finely sifted white sugar. They form 
a nice and palatable side dish at dinner, tea 
or a party. 
