“Bejabers! but you were a ‘pretty bird’ 
before I shot all the feathers off of yo!” 
I have purposely avoided giving the name 
of your correspondent, as there may be a 
sensibility that would not like to be ridi¬ 
culed, for a mistake, which is, after all, not 
much worse than that of the renowned Swam- 
eudam, on developing a caterpillar which 
happened to have been stung by a parasitic 
hymenoptorous insect, (ichneumon fly.) This- 
caterpillar became a chrysalis, but the mag¬ 
got of the fly within him destroyed the body 
of its nidus or foster insect, and great was 
the surprise of this naturalist that instead of 
hatching a lepidopterous fly, he hatched that 
of a trogus, or kymcnopter&us fly. This won¬ 
derful transmutation, now so well under- 
be Satunilist 
^ CgD 
cm tzixt Mnrmrmp 
CONDUCTED BY MARY A. E. WAGER. 
NITRO-GLYCERINE, 
HUMMING BIRDS. 
The letter from your correspondent, C. M. 
B., Providence, R. I., is before me. I would 
treat the whole matter as a hoax, were it 
not that the writer labors under a great, mis¬ 
take, from getting things mixed up, and 
jumping at conclusions on a subject, evident¬ 
ly not understood. The first query is; 
“ Do humming birds toy eggs t" Of course 
they do, like every other bird, in proportion 
to their size. 
CONTRIBUTED RECEIPES. 
Baked Apples, —Take moderately sour ap- , 
pies, and with a small knife cut out tbc stem ( 
and flower end, so as to remove the skin £ 
from these cup-shaped cavities; wash them, | 
and place in a baking tin; fill the cavities , 
with sugar, and sprinkle it pretty freely be- ] 
tween them, also; lay on a few lumps of but- , 
ter over 1 lie sugar, and bake until thoroughly ; 
done. Take them up with a spoon, and dip j 
the gravy arising from the apple-juice, but- ] 
ter and sugar, over them. < 
Costard Pic. —Take the yol ks of tli rce eggs, < 
two tablespoons of sugar and one of flour; 
beat hard; then flavor and add two teacups 
of milk and bake. To the whites of three, 
eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, add two table¬ 
spoons of sugar, and flavor. When the pie . 
is done, spread evenly over it and set in the 
oven for a few minutes.— Mrs. K. E. .T. 
How to Pack Eggs.—In answer to the Syra¬ 
cuse correspondent, in regard to packing : 
eggs, hi Rural, Feb. 19th, let mo say:—I 
have packed eggs for several years, and find 
that they can be kept perfectly fresh and 
good for six or eight months in coarse salt, 
little ends down, packed a layer of salt and 
eggs alternately. Having tried many ways, 
we find this the best of any.—Esouus, Sau- 
gcrtics, K Y. 
To Color Scarlet. —Take soft, water enough to 
cover the cloth, bring nearly to a boil in brass; 
then add one-half ounce of cream tartar for 
every pound of cloth; boil a minute or two; 
add two ounces of powdered lac, one-luilf 1 
ounce quercitron and three ounces of mad¬ 
der compound; the lac, quercitron and mad¬ 
der compound must be previously mixed in 
an earthen bowl. Boil five minutes; wet 
the cloth In warm water and wring it; then 
put into the dye. Boil nearly one hour; 
take out and rinse in clear water. 
Compound and Chemic Blue, (which is used 
in coloring green only on woolen goods.)— 
Take one ounce of good indigo, reduce to 
fine powder, put in glass bottle, pour on 
three ounces pure Oil of vitriol; stir together 
well; when the fermentation and heat ceases, 
cork up with beeswax. This will make a 
beautiful blue by putting a little in hot rain 
water. The goods must first be colored 
yeilow to make a green.—F. A. K., Hudson , 
Michigan. 
Preserving Eggs. —Pack your eggs in dry 
bran or oalB, in barrels or boxes of any kind, 
with the small end clown, {mind that!) and 
the eggs will keep the year round. I have 
practiced it for many years with perfect suc¬ 
cess. The theory is that the film at the large 
end of the egg prevents the yolk from rising 
up against the shell of the egg. The barrel 
must not be turned over.—II. N. L., Roches¬ 
ter , Feb., 1870. 
Jelly Cake, —One teacup of sugar, one of 
sweet milk, two of flour, two eggs, one even 
teaspoonful of soda, two of cream tartar. 
Beat well together, divide into eight equal 
parts, spread thin, and bake in a quick oven. 
—A. Mann. , 
To Cook Caulijloioer. —Cut away the leaves 
and coarse part of the stalks among the 
bloom; soak a few minutes in cold water, 
then steam fifteen or twenty minutes. Cut 
up and season with butter, pepper, vinegar, 
sugar and a little salt. The addition of a 
little cream, or new milk does no harm.— 
Mrs. L. Stilson. 
To Color Scarlet. —Use a brass or copper 
kettle. For every pound of goods uBe one- 
half ounce of cream of tartar, dissolved in 
warm water. When the heat has increased, 
add one ounce cochineal, pulverized ; stir it 
well, then add two ounces solution of tin. 
When it boils, put in the goods, and stir 
briskly a few minutes; then slower, airing 
frequently. Let it boil twenty minutes; 
then rinse in clear water. Have the goods 
wet when put in. 
To Color Black. —One ounce extract of 
logwood, one ounce copperas, one-half ounce 
verdigris; tie the verdigris iu a cloth and 
boil. Dissolve the copperas in an iron ket¬ 
tle, and soak the goods at a scalding heat 
three-quarters of an hour, 9tirring occasion¬ 
ally. Dissolve the logwood, and add the 
water in which the verdigris is boiled. Dip 
the goods three-quarters of an hour, stirring 
frequently. This makes a beautiful black. 
Always use water sufficient to cover the 
goods, and stir easily. Rinse thoroughly.— 
Mrs. L. S. 
To Pickle Ripe Tomatoes Whole. — Skin 
the tomatoes, then put a layer of tomatoes 
and a light layer of fine salt, until all are 
used up; let them stand two or three days, 
then put them on dishes and dry in the sun 
one day ; let them lay in weak vinegar one 
night. To one gallon of vinegar add one 
„ teacupfhl of molasses, one box ground mus¬ 
tard, nutmeg, race ginger, allspice, celery 
seed, black and red pepper, and a good deal 
of sliced horse raddish. Put a layer of to- 
The ruby-throated humming 
bird ©f the United States is a familiar species, 
SELECTED RECIPES 
To Pickle and Smoke Hams and Bacon .—A 
correspondent of the New England Farmer 
lias found a way, he says, to do this, which 
is just right. It is as follows: 
“ First, we smoke the barrel or firkin, by 
placing it over a small fire of corn or the 
cobs, which are put in an old tin pan. Wo 
have tried cobs, sawdust and maple chips, 
ftud think that burning corn and cobs to¬ 
gether gives the sweetest smoke. Four good 
sized cars of yellow corn will smoke a fifty 
pound firkin which will hold two large 
hams, two pieces of beef, and two or three 
tongues. The meat is rubbed with two 
quarts of fine salt, one pint of molasses and 
three ounces of saltpetre, for three days be¬ 
fore putting into the firkin; turning and 
rubbing it. twice each day; but if this is too 
much trouble, a pickle can be made of six 
pounds of coarse salt, one quart of molasses, 
and tlirou ounces of sailpetre, dissolved iu 
two gallons of water, mid after the meat is 
closely packed iu the firkin this mixture is 
turned over it. In three or four weeks the 
meat is ready for use; the beef can be hung 
to dry, and bam and tongues left under brine. 
When a ham is cut it. can be returned to the 
pickle; thus it ia kept from drying up and 
from insects. In March or April pour out 
the brine, re-smoke the tub, scald the brine; 
add one pint of suit to every two quarts of 
water, which is needful lo keep the meat 
covered; or else, pour away the old brine, 
and make new. Keep the lirkio in a cool, 
dry cellar, or in the ice-house, mid your 
moat will lie as sweet as a nut till all is con¬ 
sumed, This way of smoking and pickling 
will recommend itself to every woman of 
common sense. If she is willing to take the 
trouble of rubbing the Jmius, the meat will 
be sweeter. After they have been well 
rubbed they should bo placed in the smoked 
firkin and pounded down very tightly with 
a heavy slick. A stone must be laid on the 
top of the meat, and the salt, molasses, &c., 
poured over it. In the early spring a fresh 
brine cun be made for the meat, washing off 
the old brine and re-smoking the firkin. 
Beef and pork can be cured together with¬ 
out injury to either.” 
A Formula for Scent Bags .—Take of cori 
nnder, orris root, and calamus uromnticus, 
four ounces each; of lavender flowers, eight 
ounces; of rhodium wood, one ounce; and 
of musk, twenty grains. Reduce to coarse 
powder, and bag it. The recipe is said by 
good authorities to be an excellent one. 
Mrs, W. A. Tower, 
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC ITEMS 
The Best and Cheapest Paint in Use .—The 
manufacturers of tubs and pails in this sec¬ 
tion use tiie following composition lor paint¬ 
ing the inside of their wares, and I have 
painted buildings and fences with it for nine 
years, and it looks and lasts as well as all oil 
and lead. Take nine pounds of dry while 
zinc, finely pulverized, put it in a tub or 
keg, and add one gallon of water; (before 
adding the water dissolve in it one pound of 
potash to cut the oil.) Mix the zinc and 
water well, then add one gallon of linseed 
oil; stir well, and put on with a brush as 
other paints. If the alkali is not sufficient 
to cut the oil, add strong potash water until 
the oil is cut so as not to rise on the top. 
Make the alkali strong, so as not to get in 
too much water, for the composition should 
behalf water and half oil. This will not cost 
half as much as lead and oil, for one pound 
of zinc will spread over one-fourth more 
surface than the one pound of lead, and last 
much longer. Zinc is a much nicer paint 
than lead in nil respects; two years from 
laying lead will rub off as bad as chalk. I 
never paint my buildings with lead.—L. L. 
P., East Jaffrey, N. II. 
We do not agree with our correspondent 
as to the relative value of lead or zinc. Good 
lead will not rub off like chalk; but whiting 
will, and a great deal of stuff is sold as 
“ lead ” that Is no nearer related to it than 
lime is to wheat flour. 
To Preserve Steel Pens .—The best method 
is to simply elevate the point of the pen so 
that the Ink will immediately flow back from 
it. By attending to this I keep my pens in a 
serviceable state for a long time.— a. 
Water Lime and Water .—“ Why does a 
cistern admit water through the water lime 
froiwthe outside? If it will retain water, 
why not keep it out?” So asks a corres¬ 
pondent. Let us ask him why water will 
run into a well through a stone wall, but 
will pot Tin out of it ? 
of honey w over, and gives a drawing ot 
tho“chrysalis,” (the larva,) which is evidently 
that of a caterpillar of a species of lepiodop- 
tera. Here I would observe that some of 
the clear winged sphinges, like the “ Sesia 
pelasyus," among the lepidopturn (butterfly 
family,) hover over flowers “ like humming 
birds,” and are frequently so called, and the 
caterpillar (Fig. I, correspondent’s letter,) is 
much like some of the larvae of this family, 
as well as the moth, (Fig. 3 of same letter,) 
with the tuft of spreading hairs on the pos¬ 
terior extremity. Fig. 2 of your correspon¬ 
dent is a very correct outline drawing of 
the Attacus ceeropia , figured in a treatise on 
insects injurious to vegetation, by Tuad. W. 
Harris, new edition, illustrated, &e., by 
Prof. Agassiz, published in 1862, on page 
387. The tracing, No. 2, is enough like it as 
if copied from it; and in pencil “butterfly” 
is written after Fig. 2, while Fig. 3 is given 
as its second form, and Fig. 4 represents a 
veritable “ humming bird” witli two wings. 
Fig. 5, marked the “ dead bird," is also the 
humming bird. 
How ft Is possible that a humming bird 
could get so mixed up iu the mind of the 
writer, is surprising—so totally different in 
character that the most crude observer could 
not possibly mistake between a bird and a 
four-winged butterfly—but he says in the 
letter that the five several drawings repre¬ 
sent the same thing from “ the chrysalis to the 
dead bird." 
T cannot help repeating a stale joke fast- 
GLEANINGS FOR NATURALISTS 
To l’reveut Minks llurrowinv. 
1 wish to inform “ II ” that minks can be 
prevented from burrowing by cutting off the 
toes from their fore feet. This operation 
should be performed while they are young, 
and it is said that they suffer but little incon¬ 
venience except for a few days. If this be 
true, mink raising will be comparatively 
easy, for they can be allowed the range of a 
large inclosure, when the fence is made 
tight. Will some one suggest a mode of 
making such a fence? When such can be 
obtained with but little expense, more than 
half the difficulties will be overcome. A 
small stream can lie allowed to flow through 
the inclosure, entering and leaving through 
some kind of a gate which will allow small 
fish, &c., to enter, and Ihus furnish food for 
the minks, especially in the summer months. 
Does any one know whether minks will eat 
anything but meat?—o. 
Killing Fink, 
A paper called “ Our Dumb Animals,” 
proposes that we shall kill fish, instead of 
allowing them to die by a slow process after 
having been taken from their native element. 
The Dutch kill the fish by making a slight 
longitudinal incision under the tail, and the 
operation, which is performed with a very 
sharp instrument, can be done so quickly 
that it is practiced even in the largest fish¬ 
eries, not excepting those of the herring. It. 
is the custom in Holland to kill the fish as 
soon as he Is drawn from the water, while 
wo lot him lie in an agony which produces 
the effect of a sickness on the animal eco¬ 
nomy, softens the flesh, and gives to it the 
principles of dissolution. 
Yeast for Bread. 
Lexington,Mass., took the first premium of¬ 
fered by the Middlesex Agricultural Society 
for the beat unbolted wheat flour bread and 
made the following statement:—For yeast 
1 take four mashed potatoes, one cup of 
white sugar, one cup of flour, and pour on 
this mixture one quart of scalding wafer in 
which a handful of hops lias been boiled, 
then add one pint of lukc-warm water, stir, 
strain, and let it rise over night. 
For Graham, Bread I mix two quarts of 
Graham flour, one cup of molasses, one cup 
of yeast, one pint of water, a little salt, aud 
let it rise over night; then put in pans and 
let it rise another hour; bake one hour and 
a-half in a slow oven. 
Rye and Indian Bread. — Mrs. Edwin 
Harrington, Sudbury, Mass., received the 
first premium from the above-named Society 
for tin; best Rye and Indian bread, and made 
the following statement—Take two quarts 
of rye and one quart Indian meal, one-lialf 
cupful of yeast, one-half cupful ot molasses, 
mix with warm water, rise three hours, and 
bake the same time in a stove oven. 
How lo Destroy Mole*.—Will you, or some of 
your correspondents, tell me through your paper 
how to prevent moles from outing corn after It 
is planted, aiul before it comes up?— VV. H. Cab- 
j.ion dick, Brentwood , Tenn. 
yet not doubting the bird had been hit, and 
must be under the tree, lie looked for it, and 
finding nothing but a “ toad,” he grabbed it, 
and as he held it up by one leg, remarked, 
To I’reuerve Carriage Tops.— Allow tno t.o In¬ 
quire the heat method of priservinn the leather 
top on u covered bu^gy. What oil is best, and 
aud how often should it be applied?—A Sun- 
sgrxpbb. 
Corn Muffin*.—“ A Western Housewife” asks 
for it recipe for good corn mullius. Who will 
furnish it ? 
