<§omcstu( (Bcoitomw 
COUSIN CARRIE'S ADVICE ASKED. 
Int reading the Domestic Economy of your 
issue of Oct. IS. I caunot lielp wishing that 
pORB Hamilton's Cousin Carrie wero with¬ 
in my reach that I might have hor give me 
some lessons in housekeeping. I should cer¬ 
tainly go to her with some questions which 
are puzzling me just now. 
For yoara I have boon on a farm, where 
wo have every variety of fruit and vegetable 
in superabundance, and where wo use all 
kind-; of meat-. We never thi.J< of preparing 
a meal, breakfast, dinner or supper without 
fish, flesh or fowl, of some kind. Having 
such a variety of material, we have fallen iu 
a way of cooking each article to but few dif¬ 
ferent ways, having our variety in our vari¬ 
ous articles, rather than in the various dishes 
of the same article. 
Now I am about to leave the farm to go to 
THE MANATEE AT CENTRAL PARK. 
W. A. Conklin, Director of tho Central 
Park Menagerie, N. Y. City, furnishes to 
Foi est and Stream tho following interesting 
account of an interesting arrival:—Ono of 
the most interesting animals lately received 
at the Central Park Menagerie, is a Manatee, 
believed to bo tho first of tho species ever 
kept for any length of time In captivity. 
These croaturea-aro now roLrrating before 
the tide of population, and as animals gener¬ 
al ly a rc valued in proportion to their search y, 
a brief description of the manatee may prove 
interesting to your readers. There are found 
but throe species, Jli. Intiroatria, inhabiting 
Florida, the Gull of Mexico, and the Cnrrib- 
oan SCO Coast t M. amt , alia from Carribcan 
sea down the coast of Brazil; and M. acne- 
galen&te, oil t.ho west coast of Africa. The 
more northern species, strange to say, is more 
closely allied to the African specie*, M. acncr 
gulr.n$is, than to its near neighbor, M. aus¬ 
tralis. Harlan, in his dcscrip ion of the 
Florida Manatee, when he wrote in 1825, says, 
“ that they wore found in considerable 
I'Uficu ;* rcfrti'xilosl*, obtained in the East 
River. The process of eating takes place un¬ 
derwater, which seem? strange inviowof tho 
fact that it cannot breathe during that time. 
It manifests at times extrema playfulness, 
and will answer tho call o? the keeper by a 
peouliar noise somewhat resembling the 
squeak of a mouse. Sometime ago Hie epi¬ 
dermis on the back peeled off in f mall ii* ces, 
leaving a bright new skin similar to that of a 
snake just after shedding. It was kept out 
in the open air until tho thermometer fell to 
.VP when it was removed to a building. 
It appears to bo very sensitive to the cold, 
curlKig up its back if the water is in the least 
chilly. It has been observed to remain under 
water five or six minutes at, a time without 
coming to tho surface to breathe. 
num¬ 
bers, so that an Indian was able to capture 
ten or twelve with the harpoon in one 
season. 
The manatee is generally to be found at 
tho mouths of large rivers, such os tho Orin¬ 
oco and tho Amazon, and they ascend the 
South American rivers several huudrod miles, 
and even into the inland fresh water lakes. 
They are usually' seep in small troupes, asso¬ 
ciating for mutual protection and for defense 
of their young. IVhen the cubs are captured 
the mother becomes careless of her own 
preservation, and should the mother be the 
victim, tho young will foUovv her to the 
shore. Being found iu shallow water they 
are easily captured by the natives, who kill 
thorn with lmrpoons, lances, and arrows. 
The manatees grow to the length of ten or 
twelve feet, aud generally Inhabit tropical 
countries, and are represented in the Pacific 
or Indian oceans by the allied species, tiie 
dugong. Tho manatee lias the elongated, 
fish-like body of the wlndo, head conical 
without distinct line of separation from the 
body. The fleshy nose resembles somewhat 
that of a cow, semi-circular at its upper part 
whore are the nostrils, which arc closed with 
valves when the animal is under water. The 
upper lips are full and cloft, in the middle. 
Rows of still bristles are placed on each side 
of the cleft. The lower lip is much shorter 
than the upper ono, but tho mouth is not 
very largo. In the young animal there are 
two sharp incisor teeth in the upper jaw 
whieh afterwards fall out; canines none; 
molars thirty-two; eyes very small; anterior 
limbs flattened Into fins, upon which are four 
rudimentary nails ; posterior limbs 'vanting. 
The limbs are more free in their motions 
than those of cetaceans, and can bo used for 
dragging the body about in shallow water. 
Momma two, situated on the breast. The 
tail oval, about one-quarter the length of the 
body, ending in a horizontal, rounded expan¬ 
sion. The skin is a grayish-dark olive color, 
becoming black on drying, and has a few 
scattered bristles on tho back. The skin is m 
groat demand by the natives of South Amer¬ 
ica for making harness, whips and leathern 
articles for- which great strength ia required, 
and is noted for its great durability. The oil 
which is extracted from the fat is of excel¬ 
lent quality. The flesh of thlsaquatio animal 
is said to be well flavored, being considered a 
fish by tho Roman Catholic Church, conse¬ 
quently is oaten on fast. days. When properly 
salted and dried in the sun, the flesh will 
remain sweet a whole year. Orton in kis 
“Andes and the Amazon,” s^ys the flesh 
resembles fresh pork. (.apt. Henderson, ia 
his account of Hondura , speaks thus enthu¬ 
siastically of the tail as a tit-bit“ Tho tail, 
which forms the most valuable part of the 
manatee, after lying somo days in pickle 
prepared for it, with spice?, &c., and eaten 
cold, is a discovery of which Ap e. us might 
have been proud, aud which the discrimin¬ 
ating palate of Klugabulus would have 
INFLUENCE OF THE MOON ON VEGE- 
TATION. 
M. Carbonnif.r, a member of the Accli¬ 
matization Society, of Paris, has published 
the result of some observations ou t.ho effect 
of the moon upon vegetation, which tend to 
confirm the popular notions on this subject. 
It is well known that glass aquariums, 
placed in the light, soon become Invaded by 
ftlgoid growth;-, which in some cases, after a 
time, pervade the whole of the interior. M. 
Carbonnier requiring to keep a number of 
these reservoirs perfectly claim, found that, 
while iu some cares no vegetation appeared 
for ten days, or even more, in others it was 
completely developed in two or three days. 
Watching these phenomena with care for 
some time, lie came to the conviction that 
the maximum intensity of this vegetation 
corresponded with the time of the full moon ; 
he found that the increase diminished daring 
tho othtr phases of the moon until it was 
imperceptible i mid, while at. full moon the 
aquariums had to be clean id every day, after 
that period twice a week proved sufficient, 
1 lie water that Lie used for his aquariums is 
that of the canal of the. Olireq, (too impure 
for culinary purposes.» which is nnen f,,.- „ 
suggests that wheu the polish ou new furni¬ 
ture becomes dull it can bo renewed by tho 
following process :—Take a soft sponge, wet 
with clean cold water, and wash over the 
article. Then take a soft chamois skin aud 
wipn ifc clean. Dry the skin as well as you 
can by wringing it in the hands, and wipe 
the water off the furniture, being careful to 
wipe only one way. Never use a dry char 
inois oti Viirai^ljod work. If tU© v&ruisli i& 
defaced and shows white marks, take linseed 
oil and turpentine in equal parts ; shake 
them well in a phial and apply a very small 
quantity on a soft rag until the color is re¬ 
stored ; then with a clean, soft rag wipe the 
mixture entirely oil'. In deeply carved work, 
tho dust cannot be removed with a sponge. 
Use a. stiff-haired paint brush instead of a 
sponge. The cause of varnished furniture 
becoming dull, and the reason why oil aud 
turpentine restore its former p lish, it. will 
be appropriate to explain. The humidity 
of tho atmosphere and the action of gas 
cause a blua-h white confine- to roller. -,n 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES, 
Ginger Snap*.—I wish to have tho fair 
readers of the Rural New-Yorker know 
how to make good ginger snaps and SCO if 
they are good without eggs, and acknowledge 
in your columns. Take ly pints of molas¬ 
ses ; y pound of sugar; % lb. batter; y tea¬ 
cup of ginger ; stirred hard, rolled and baked 
quick.—E. 
Canning Green Corn.—It P. C. Bowman 
will look through the Rural New-Yorker 
for the past six months oarefully, ho will 
find all that we can tell him about canning 
green corn so that it will keep. 
Lot ion for Freckle*.— Mary G. P. is recom¬ 
mended to try the following Borax three 
grains ; rose water, five drams ; orange-flow¬ 
er water, five drums ; wash the slgin once or 
twice a week. 
Johnny Cake.— Three cups of Indian meal; 
one cup of flour; two cups of buttermilk; 
three tablespoonfuls of molasses; one tea- 
spoonful of salcratus.— e. 
all tne paper used to print the national 
currency on is made in the Glen Mills, near 
Westchester, Pa., by a sixty-two inch Fom- 
drinier machine. The principal peculiarity 
is that short, pieces of red silk thread aro 
mixed with the pulp, and this is poured on 
the wire cloth, without going through a sieve 
(as this would retain the threads. N*xt, 
from a separate contrivance worked in a 
very peculiar manner, » shower of short t.luo 
silk threads fails in strips on the paper while 
this is in the process of formation. One side 
of the paper in thus covered with LJue lines, 
formed by the blue silk thread; and tliia is 
used for the fre ot ot tho greenback, ou which 
t.h< 5 pe threads are distinctly visible, conform 
to the manner in which they were super¬ 
ficially distributed, notv UbsUiudini tLty mo 
deeply enough imbedded in the texture of 
tho paper. The peculiarity of this machine 
turns white, and the color ia restored by ap¬ 
plying the oil and turpentine. If the mixture 
is left on the furniture, it will amalgamate 
with the varnish and become tough, there¬ 
fore the necessity of wiping it entirely off at 
once. To varnish old furniture, it should be 
rubbed with pulverized pumice stone and 
water to take of? the old surface, and then 
varnished with varnish reduced, by adding 
turpentine, to the consistency of cream. 
A.-ply with a stiff haired brush. If it does 
not look well, repeat the rubbing with puin- 
ico stone, aud when dry, varnish it again. 
NOTES AND QUERIES' 
Remedy for Bee Stings.— J. E. Moore, an 
occasional correspondent of the Rural New 
Yorker, gives tho American Bee Journal 
the following : Get a small, heavy glass 
phial, wilha ground glass stopper; have it 
filled with “ Tine, of Iodine." T. , use: shake 
well, then remove stopper, applying what 
adheres to it to the wound, being cureful not 
to drop any on clothing, as it leaves a bad 
stajn. Hilf-ouuoe pkiul is large enough. 
Anotjter very simple and efficient remedy 
Is to apply common soil directly to the part 
affected. 
Remedy for Bee Robbers .—A correspond¬ 
ent says :—'‘ The most complete check upon 
robbing bees is to place a bunch of pros 1 ' or 
wet hay. over the entrance to the hive The 
bees will find their w a y to the entrance of 
their own hive, the robbers will be caught bv 
the so tinels in passing through tho jrruss 
and soon cease their pilfering. ’ 
Wafer for Bees.—A icrent writer says • 
Be sure to have a number of trough*, with 
t^n-cobB and gravel placed in them, and 
filled with pure water, sitting around your 
ap.ary ; a little salt thrown oouaiLocaiJy"into 
tUo water is aUo a groat help. 
PATCHING A RUBBER BOOT 
-tito most economical way of using meat is 
to cook it iu not water, and serve it up in its 
own grav_j. If it is boiled for preparing 
B>up tho water should not be too quickly 
raised to the boiling point., since this tends to 
coagulate the albuminous portions ana to 
pi erent the juices from passing into the wa¬ 
ter. The moat should be chopped or cut as 
line as possible, and steeped for some time 
inoold water, which should then be gradu¬ 
ally heated up to a temperature not exceed¬ 
ing 153* Fahrenheit, or 03“ below its boiling 
point. At the lust moment the soup may be 
allowed to reach the boiling point. The 
tones should bo crushed or brok u up into 
email p.oooe, and boiled, or rather sunaiei'64, 
meuueu so iu win not leak i If you or any 
one of the many readers of the Rural c: n 
tell mo. you will greatly oblige—A CONSTANT 
Reader. 
A CORRESPONDENT of the RURAL New- 
\ORKJCR has given the following dsrectiot s • 
Get. a pirceot pure rubber—an old shoe • vu'- 
eamzed rubber will not dc—cut into sn ail 
bits, put it In a bot'le and cover it to twice 
itj d^-pih with spirits of turpentine or rc-fiued 
coal tar na ( h'ha -not, petroleum nopfirtui. 
Stop the bott le and ret one side. : hak i l f> e- 
quantly. Tho rubber will soon dissolve*, 
Then fake the shoe or boot and press .he rip! 
i out or cot rime togetlw r and put on ti e so¬ 
lution with a camel’s hair biush • aonl Cnnr 
v 
