JULY 5 
BEAUTIFYING HOMES. 
I have just been looking at my hanging 
baskets, made of wire—old crinoline is just 
as good—and lined with delicate moss from 
the brook, in which are growing Abronias, 
Verbenas, Sanvitalijvs, Strawberry Gerani¬ 
ums and other trailing plants, They are in¬ 
deed strikingly beautiful and would adorn 
any home, however grand. Indeed, flowers 
and planks are almost, indispensable in and 
around our homes and should always be so 
regarded. 
A case of beautiful birds, some fifty kinds, 
is another ornament which would be pretty 
in any home and add much to its interest. To 
make this, first prepare your birds according 
to directions in Taxidermy, see Rural .New- 
Yorker, Vol. 31, pages 175, 3J'J and 331). At 
the bottom of your ease place a quantity of 
dried grass in a natural position, being dyed 
in green tinulina and fastened with common 
glue. In the center, where t he birds are at¬ 
tached upon it with wire, place t he limb or 
branch of tree in an upright position, having 
it first nicely varnished and also the feet and 
backs Of the birds. A little taste should be 
displayed in the arrangement of these birds. 
For instance, the larger ones near t he bottom 
and central branches, always placing the 
swimmers, nrdatnres and waders, gralhdores 
at the bottom on the grass, and f he tiny ones 
scattered about on tlie outer and upper twigs 
as space and taste may dictate. A hawk or 
owl though large, perched upon the topmost 
and central hough, looking down upon the 
others, has a pleasing effect. 
Almost every one has a collection, large or 
small, of natural curiosities—fossil remains 
from the animal and vegetable kingdom, such 
as petrified turtles, petrified fishes and frogs ; 
petrified moss, acorns and walnuts ; flowers, 
leaves ;uul shells imbedded in rock ; crystal- 
i*'d quartz, stalactites from caves, coral and 
shells from the sea &e. 
These are ve.ry interesting to many and are 
worthy a more prominent position than is 
sometimes allotted them. If your collection 
be large, a little closet with glass, such as is 
sometimes used for china closets, is just, the 
place for t hem, It is well to have the shelves 
in this closet, arranged in the, form of stairs, 
each shelf growing narrower as you ascend. 
If your specimens he rather small, a box or 
case in the shape of a cottage or house, hav¬ 
ing glass roof and sides, and shelves on either 
side arranged as above, is quite sufficient for 
them. The sides of this case or miniature 
cottage may be made of wood and orna¬ 
mented with shells and other fancy work. 
Hows Evermore. 
-♦>♦-*- 
SLUMBER ROLL WITH VENETIAN 
EMBROIDERY. 
We give two figures, on page J3, of a Slum¬ 
ber-roll, to bang over the back of a sol'a or 
elsewhere. It may be made with cotton or 
hair covered with coarse linen, and this cov¬ 
ered with Venetian embroidery made up of 
fine gray linen cut in patterns, as shown in 
Fig. 3. These patterns may be baistod on 
the body of the roll and connected with, the 
braid as shown in fctye pattern, until the body 
of the roll is covered. At the ends of the roll 
buttons should be sewed all around it; then 
a ruche is made of red silk reps, which has a 
band in which, are worked button holes to 
correspond with the buttons on the end of 
the roll, and to wliicli the ruehed ends are 
fastened. TUb cords shown are designed to 
hang over the back of the sofa or easy chair 
on which the Slumber-roll is to be used. The 
band in which the button-holes are worked, 
and which connect the ends with the roll, 
are covered with a small ruche of silk reps, 
as shown in Fig. 1. Six tassels are after¬ 
wards fastened at the two ends of the roll, 
as shown. Tire outer coven rig of embroidery 
may be removed and washed when soiled. 
-- 
DINNER-TABLE DECORATIONS. 
The illustration on page 13 is a facsimile of 
that to which was awarded the first prize at 
the dinner-table exhibition, which took place 
in tlie Royal Horticultural Society’s Garden 
at South Kensington, on May 15, 1S73, except 
that the table here represented is laid for 
sixteen instead of for twenty persons, as at 
South Kensington, and there wore two Parian 
statues i -a that table which have been omit¬ 
ted in the engraving. The center-piece was 
arranged thuB :—In the bottom dish wore 
scarlet Cactus blooms and trusses of Stephan- 
otis placed alternately, with spikes of Astilbe 
(Spiraea) japonlca and Cypcrm allernifalius; 
around the edge, resting on the table-cloth, 
SVIOOBE’S BUBAL W-YOBKER. 
were fronds of Adianlum Farltyense and of 
Fieri8 srmdata alternately. In the top dish 
were pale-flowered zonal Pelargoniums, Lily 
of the Valley, and Maidenhair Fern. Ln the 
trumpet, Astilbe (Spiraa) japonlca, Bho- 
drni thc Mangiest f, small-flowered scarlet and 
pale pink Bepaw ns. Maidenhair Fern, long- 
trailing sprays of Lygodhim, and a few spikes 
of wild grass. The plants put through the 
table were Ferns (Fieri. s tmnuln), round the 
base of which were arranged trusses of 
Stephana!is, white Rhodauthc, Maidenhair 
Fern, and Last rot Filix-Mas. The baskets 
were of glass and contained grapes, two of 
white and two of black; the four oval glass 
dishes had in them cherries and strawberries, 
the top and bottom a melon and piue. The 
small circu'ar stands between the baskets 
were sugar dishes. In front, of each person 
is one of the new shaped finger glasses, each 
containing a. button-bole bouquet or coat 
’flower; and on the water double scarlet 
Pelargoniums, pips a nd small leaves of sweet- 
scented geranium Lady Plymouth. 
-- 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES. 
Floating island. —Take one quart sweet 
milk; live eggs; beat the whites to a stff 
froth; let the milk come to a boil and put 
the whites in the milk with a spoon ; turn 
and then take out; mix in u little milk two 
tablespoonsful of cornstarch or Hour; also 
the sugar and eggs, then stir it in the boiling 
milk ; when simmered a little put in a deep 
dish and spread the whites on the top. it is 
very nice with some jelly dropped on when 
colil ; flavor with lemon.—C. A. R.. Lamar¬ 
tine, Pa. 
SptU Bolls. —One egg, well beaten ; one ta¬ 
blespoon sugar; one yeast cake dissolved in 
a cup of warm milk; two teaspoons salt; 
flour enough to make a stiff batter; set to 
rise. When risen work in a large spoonful of 
butter, and flour enough to roll ; roll out an 
inch thick, spread over with butter, fold in 
half, cut out with biscuit cutter, let it rise 
again and bake.—M rs. H. S. Brown. 
Boiled Jelly Cake.—One cup sugar ; 1 cup 
flour; IJ eggs; 3 teaspoons cream tartar; l 
teaspoon sodu. Bake in two parts ; spread 
with jelly and roll very soon a fter it is baked. 
Cheap and very puffy.— Mrs. H. S. B. 
TIME DEVOTED TO MEALS. 
Dr. Derby states that the average time 
occupied in the process of taking food by the 
people of Massachusetts does not exceed 
from twelve to fifteen minutes for each meal. 
Such haste is injurious to health for ma ny 
reasons. The process of digestion begins in 
the mouth with the action of the teeth, and 
I hrough excitement of the salivary glands by 
the presence of food. Unless saliva is abund¬ 
antly mingled with the latter, the first act of 
digestion is obstructed and .Nature's plan is 
changed. This fluid not only lubricates but 
acts chemically in the month, if a reasonable 
t ime be given it, upon all the starchy ele¬ 
ments which make up the great bulk of what 
we eat. Eating In haste, a great deal of air 
is swallowed. Air is to a certain extent al¬ 
ways entangled in the saliva and assists di¬ 
gestion, but when " wads ” of food succeed 
each other very rapidly, they seem to act like 
pistons in the tube leading from the back of 
the throat, and drive before and between 
them into the stomach such amounts of air 
as to distend that organ and impede its func¬ 
tions. Another effect of eating in this wav 
is that the masses of food, imperfectly mixed 
with saliva, become impacted in the (esopha¬ 
gus, checking its muscular action, which is 
obviously intended to propel only one piece 
at a time. This embarrassment is overcome 
by taking at one gulp as much fluid as the 
mouth will hold, thus distending the elastic 
tube and washing the obstructed food into 
the stomach. All this is unnatural and can 
hardly fail to work mischief. 
CUNDURANGO. 
That disciple of Isaac Walton who threw 
the trout back into the water because he was 
angling for minnows, is a type of a la rge class 
of medical men, as well as of too many of the 
public generally. Because cuudurango, ad¬ 
vertised apparently in good faith as a cure 
for cancer, was found, on trial, to have no 
power over that disease, whatever might be 
its other virtues, it was, forthwith, sweep- 
ingly condemned as a humbug. Recent ex¬ 
periments, by men properly qualified for 
accurate investigation—the most thorough 
and conclusive of which are the work of 
Edmund Andrews, an eminent surgeon of 
Chicago—prove cundurango to be the most 
valuable addition to the materia medica 
made for many years, not, it is true, as a 
cancer cure, but as a powerful general tonic, 
and one unequaled in furthering plastic pro¬ 
cesses of growth and repair. Even in can¬ 
cerous tumors it is found so frequently to 
diminish the pain, lessen the discharge and 
remarkably improve the general health, as 
to furnish more of a basis Cor the claims which 
ha ve been made for it than many an unques¬ 
tioned “specific” would be found, on investi¬ 
gation, to possess. Its greatest value will 
probably be developed in military surgery, 
favoring, so powerfully as it does, the rapid 
healing of wounds and fractures on the one 
hand, while its “magnificent tonic influence 
on the general system,’’ to quote Dr. An¬ 
drew’s language, must, make it an important 
prophylactic agent against those causes— 
insufficient and improper food, impure water, 
exposure, etc.,—which the surgeon dreads 
more than the battle-field. We make occa¬ 
sion to say this the more readily, because 
of pert ain recent strictures on cundurango, 
which have their animus in matters entirely 
foreign to the value of the drug itself.— 
Hygiene. 
--- 
THE USE OF TEA AND COFFEE. 
Dr. Derby, in a recent report saysBoth 
tea and coffee have properties which are 
universally recognized as valuable. Without 
being nutritive, they sustain nutrition by 
limiting the body’s waste and by promoting 
the absorption of animal food. Their health- 
fulness depends on the amount taken and the 
times when taken. They enliven and in¬ 
spirit the wearied body, and supplement, as 
it were, nutritious food. 
There is nothing simpler than to make¬ 
good tea or coffee, but nine persons out of 
ten are unable to do it. Neither should 
under any circumstances be boiled. Tea 
should be prepared by placing the leaves in a 
well warmed (scalded out) tea pot, pouring 
fiercely boiling water directly upon them and 
drinking the fresh infusion almost imme¬ 
diately. If left stewing dn a fire, the aro¬ 
matic qualities are boiled away, and there 
remains a concentrated decoction of the inn 
and the astringent matters with which it is 
combined. Such tea is intoxicating, pro¬ 
duces nervousness and fretful temper, and, 
as the author remarks, often underlies much 
domestic unhappiness, (toffee may be pre¬ 
pared either by beating up the ground, fresh 
roasted berries with the white of an egg, 
adding boiling water and standing back of 
the range for a short time where it cannot 
boil, or on the French plan, which is better, 
by sin.ply pouring the water through the 
very finely ground beans once or twice. 
Coffee boiled to death loses all its aromatic 
and healthful principle, the caffeine; ft Strong 
decoction of tannin is principally the result, 
which is both indigestible and harmful. 
Beef tea, Dr. Derby considers is better than 
either tea or coffee, the pure meat being 
better for the purpose than any of the 
extracts sold. 
-- 
OAT MEAL IN DRINKS. 
This is highly recommended by those who 
have tested it. One writer says :—“ Last 
summer we attended a field trial of plows, 
and for a drink in the field we had buckets of 
cold, water with, oat meal stirred in, which 
we found to be both victuals and drink, and 
mighty refreshing.” A Scottish Medical 
Journal also says of oat meal that in its raw 
state, when it is mixed up with water, it is 
becoming a. favorite dish. The brose of 
“Auld Scotland” is becoming a favorite 
dish—and we are glad to note this, because 
we believe it to be a healthy aud muscle- 
forming commodity—by the hunters and 
trappers of the West, who are substituting 
Oat meal in this form for parched Indian 
corn. The same brawny fellows—whose 
powers of endurance are proverbial, whose 
scorn of fatigue is known to all readers of 
travel and natural history—have found out 
that a very acceptable drink is made by put¬ 
ting about two teaspoonfuls of oat meal to a 
tumbler of water. This they—the hunters 
and trappers—aver to he l ho best drink they 
can use, and it is at once nourishing, unstim- 
ulating and satisfying.” 
-- 
The Disinfection of a Room is not com¬ 
plete unless the walls have also been thor¬ 
oughly cleansed. If they are papered the 
paper must be removed, and the surface 
beneath carefully scraped and washed ; if 
the walls are pointed they should be washed 
with caustic soda. The ceiling should also 
be subjected to similar treatment. 
WHAT SOCIETIES ARE DOING. 
Oak wood Hurt. Hoe. Such asoeiety has been 
organized at the Friend* - Academy, Union 
Springs, N, V.. the leading object being the 
ornamenting and polishing the grounds of the 
Institution. Its mem hers, many of whom belong 
to tho class in botany have heel* favored at 
some of their meetings with discourses on 
pract ical gardening and t in* principles on which 
success depends, anil on the evening of t heXiii 
just., an hour’s lecture, on vegetable anatomy 
was given by J, .1. Thomas, one of the managers 
of the Academy, Illustrated with over fiftymag¬ 
nified pictures thrown by means of the sc I opti¬ 
cal! on a twelve-fool screen. 
Albany, V. V. Agricultural ami Arts Assn, 
-Such an Association has been recently organ¬ 
ized, 44 acres of land purchased, which is to bo 
In proved and prepared for the State Fair which 
Is to tv held In Albany the week com poncing 
Sept. 83. The following arc the officers ol the 
Associuiiim ; Ft.-*. Thomas W, Oi.cott. * ic<> 
I’m t. - Maurice K. V lelc. Sec.— Volc.kert 1. 
t)onw. Tints. William H. Haskell. Kx. Cam. 
T. II. Van Henson, G. It. bauslug, J. U. Ram¬ 
sey, Walter S. Church, 0. Van Uonthuyseii, VVm. 
Mi Whitney, Albion Hansom.Daniel Doncaster, 
Henry A. Fonda. Ass’t Her.— John T. Lansing. 
Shelljy Co., (»., Ag. Institute.— 1 ’The 14tb An¬ 
nual Fair will he held In Sidney. Ohio,on Kept. 
Hi ill, 1873. The officers for 1873 arc: I'res. 
Ho bison .Iowan. Vice-Fres. K. A. Lackey. 
Tints. G. (’. Weaver. Sec. .Jus. 8. Head. Di¬ 
rectors.- William Shinn, W. A. Carey, Harmon 
I learn, .1. T. Hetzler, J. K. Prudeii, John El- 
dredgo, David Taylor, Samuel Young, Cyrus 
McClure, T. Kelsey, John Duncan, Curtis Kel¬ 
sey, Ed. la the. T. 1$. Graham, W. McCullough, 
II.' M. Heed, Nathan Moore, Francis Bailey and 
Morris Honntdl. 
Dudley, Minx., Ag. Hoc. Officers for 1873; 
I’ve#. Itev. 11. Pratt. Vlec-Prcs'ts.- Waldo M, 
Hcjiiy, Geo. If. Marsh, Joseph GUI : F. E. Kim¬ 
ball. Ebeii S. Stevens, Goo, Edwards, Kbetiozar 
Davis, Win- K. l’aine. Miss Mary A. Dwight, Mrs. 
John Marsh, Mrs. Silas While, Mrs. II. If. Ste- 
vcnsMiid Mis.-. Mary Hoaly. Sic. -C. A. Babcock. 
Tints. Daniel Dwight. 
The Western N. V. Ag. Merit, and Driving 
Park Ahs'ii, at a recent meeting of its stock¬ 
holders, in eousetpiencc of a disagreement be¬ 
tween the agricultural and driving factions, 
adopted a resolution whereby the dissatisfied 
stockholders wore permitted to withdraw their 
subscriptions. It is stated that over fifty have 
so withdrawn. 
Ilrnmlon, VI., Fur. and Meoli’s Glob. Officers 
for 1873: I’m t.- N. T. Sphaouf., Jr. Viee.-Fres. 
Horace Ellis. Sec. F. J. McGolIiun. For. 
Sir. A. J. Copeland. Tons. Charles Winslow. 
I lull Com. - J ames H. Taylor. Win. II. Harrison, 
A. M. Hill. Library Coin, Geo. Briggs, K. C. 
Ihirkee, II. Hellerltt. Meetings every Friday 
evening. 
Goliiinldnnn Co., O,, Ag. Hoe.—Fair at Now 
Lisbon, Sept. 23-311. Officers elect for 1873: Firs. 
John Robison. Vin-Ftrs. Jacob Miller. Sec. 
J. F. Benner. Trots. W illiam Myers. Mima - 
gets. Henry Krldler, Samuel Bowman, Andrew' 
Armstrong. J. S. I lerv, John Row, J, L. Cromdl. 
The Executive Committee of the A. V. State 
Ag. Hoe., at its lad meeting, ordered that Hor¬ 
ace Ames, Moscow, N . V., anil S. ML Thomas, 
Guba, N. V., “be arid are hereby excluded from 
exhibiting nl the fairs of the Society, on account 
of fraudulent practices at I he. Elmira Fair.” 
Washington Go.. V|,, \g. Hoe. -Officers elect 
for 1873: Pres. W. S. Martin, Plainfield. Viir- 
Frcs. l’hllnnder Hjfnrd, Warren. Nee. W. e. 
White, ftarre, Trots, Clark King, North Mont¬ 
pelier. The next Annual Fair at East Montpel¬ 
ier, Kept. 17, 18. 
The Kansas City Industrial Exposition and 
Fair \*»Ti holds Its next annual fair at Kansas 
City, Mo., Kept. 15 - 30 . Officers: Fres.-- Krney 
Coatks. Vice- Pits. Wm, li. Everhart. See. - • 
D. L. Hall. Trcas T. 8. Case, 
The quern* « o., I,. i„ Ag. Hoe. holds its 7th 
annual horticultural exhibition at Mineola June 
18. In connection therewith, is to be held a 
market fair for tho sale, or exchange, of stock, 
farm Implements, etc. 
A. V. *tule Ag. Hoe, 'Phis Society has or¬ 
dered that, the scale of points for pigs, adopted 
by the National Convention of Swinobreeders 
be used, a* far as practicable, in judging at the 
fairs Of thy Society. 
Nebraska Male Fair. We notice that Henry 
E. Colton of the New' York Times is to deliver 
the annual address at the Nebraska State Fair. 
Kubject, “Horticulture and Civilization.’’ 
Carroll Co,, \g. Hoc. We have received 
the prom. list of i Ids organization for 1873. Tim 
fair is to be held at West minster. Kept. 30 Oct, 3. 
Tho Scot Clary is W. A. MeKolilp. 
Bibb Co.. l«u.. Ag. Hoe. We have received 
from T. G. Halt, President, pretn. list and com¬ 
plimentary ticket lo the fair ol‘ this Society to 
he held at Macon, (la. 
A Poultry Convention is to he held at Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa, July 10, at 2 P. M., for the purpose 
of organizing a State Poultry Association. 
Tompkius Co , N. V.. Ag. und Ilnrt. Hoe._ 
Wo have the prom, list of this society which is 
to hold its fair at. Ithaca, Kept. 23 25. 
The New England Ag. Hoe. has leased Mystic 
Park at Medford, four miles front Boston, upon 
which to hold its next annual fair. 
I be Patrons ol Husbandry, and farmers gen¬ 
erally in the West, are to hold celebrations in 
different localities July t. 
The N. > . Htute Ag. Hoe. is to hold its next 
fair a< Albany enrumcnciug Kept. 23 and contin¬ 
uing through the week. 
The N. V. Hlute Poultry Hociely holds its 
semi-annual inoetingat 14 Murray St.N. V. bitv. 
July 8, 2 o’clock, P. M. 
Tlie Doylestown, Pa., Ag. and Merit. Insti¬ 
tute holds its next annual fair at Doylestown, 
Oct. 7-Hl. 
The Walworth Co., WU., >g. Hoc. holds its 
next annual fair at Elk I urn the first, week in 
October. 
The Montana Ag. Mineral and Merit. Asa’n 
holds its next fair at Helena, Montana. Sent. 
j Get. 4. 
The Lincoln, Me., Ag. and Hort. Hoc. bolds 
its next annual fair at Wiseasset, Kept. 30, Oct. 3. 
The American Institute Fair is to open in 
I New York City September 10th. 
