I omsiit ®c0tt0tmn 
CONDUCTED BY MARY A. E. WAGER. 
COLD DINNERS A DUTY. 
“ Domestic Economy ” premised that 
“ eveiy farmer of ‘ parts ’ lias a well-filled 
ice bin; ” I should add, and a refrigerator, 
flow else will he get. the full benefit of his 
ice? I should think any uinn able to handle 
carpenters’ tools might make one, and thus 
the cost would be nothing, save for the zinc 
and a little paint. With this comfort in 
your house, my dear farmer, there would 
ensue such butter as would astonish your 
unaccustomed eyes; milk as delightfully 
cold as you could wish, and a host of cool 
luxuries that 1 can’t stop to enumerate, for 
I’m in haste to tell you your duty. 
When the thermometer begins to ruu up 
into the 90’s, or even in the 80’s, you ought to 
refuse to eat a warm dinner if your Martha 
has to prepare it; for into each pudding and 
roast and whatever goes to make up your 
‘‘square meal,” she puts vitality enough to 
cook a Christmas least. If you want her 
days to be long in the land, help her to turn 
over a new leaf; and if the whole family 
are not better tempered, I shall he mistaken. 
'What shall you cook, careful housewife ? If 
you rise early, as thrifty farmerines always 
do, and have planned your work wisely, you 
can be out of the kitchen by ten o’clock, easily 
enough, and still satisfy the masculines, I 
think. A piece of cold roast beef, boiled 
ham, corned beef or poultry will answer for 
the substantial part of the meal, accom¬ 
panied, of course, by bread and butter. Any 
ripe fruit is good enough for dessert; or, if 
you must have a concoction, let it be cold— 
a blanc mange t a tapioca, or a morang pud¬ 
ding; hotter still, an icecream, (the farmer 
of “parts” will not lack an Arctic freezer 
on any account.) 
As for the cream, there are so many ways 
of making it, that you’d hardly tire of it if 
you had it every day. Above all things, 
don’t make pies in hut weather. There’s no 
economy in making half a dozen and ex¬ 
pecting they’re going to answer for two or 
three days; the crust will soften in spite of 
you, and the fruit part is certain to spoil. 
Every man ought to like mush, samp and 
milk porridge, and then how delightful is 
life ! These things should always be eaten 
out of doors, on the north piazza or perhaps 
under the walnut in Ihe front yard. A man 
hasn’t imagination enough to conceive the 
relief that a woman-of-all work experiences 
when she can conscientiously omit the mid¬ 
day sun-burning, and boiling, and roasting 
in that little kitchen, with its almost roast¬ 
ing temperature. And lie who insists upon 
his three warm meals a day through the 
scorching, wilting, withering weather of 
July and August, ought to be sent to Widow 
Bedott’s “ lunatic arsenal.” 
There shouldn't be any cake on the pro¬ 
gramme either, except ginger snaps and 
jumbles, unless you feel perfectly able to 
make cream puffs or jelly cake. Keep your 
house cool, the milk and water cool, the 
kitchen cool, and you’ll miss your headaches 
and tired feet when night comes. If you 
over work in these warm days, you may 
pay dearly for it in time to come. 
“ Domestic Economy” speaks of mosquito 
bars for windows and doors. Have them by 
all means; hut if you want to make assur¬ 
ance doubly sure, buy a couple of pieces of 
netting, sew together, pass it through a suit¬ 
able ring fustenod in the ceiling over your 
bed, and you are safe, no matter if the win¬ 
dows are wide open. The effect of pink net 
over a white draped bed is very pretty, and 
cheap. Dore Hamilton. 
-♦ - »•» -— 
FOOD FOR THE SICK. 
There is nothing more difficult than to 
prepare acceptable dishes for sick people 
with poor appetites, and good suggestions 
coming when needed are always welcome. 
I append a few recipes which I have tried 
and found good: 
Soup. 
Put a half pint of water to boil in a tin or 
earthen dish, with a few thin pieces of dried 
beef. Add a large potato cut in the thinnest 
slices possible. Boil until the potato tails to 
pieces, then skim it out and mash thorough¬ 
ly, and add again to the soup. Season with 
salt, pepper and butter. 
Eggs cooked in water, rare done, are com¬ 
paratively harmless. 
Raw custard is very acceptable to some 
persons. 
Tapioca Jelly. 
Take four tablespoon fills of tapioca and 
soak an hour or two in a pint of water; then 
put on the stove in the same water and boil 
until clear. Stir in two tablespoon fids of 
white sugar and some lemon essence, and 
wine if desired. 
Bread Cofl'ee. 
Toast some bread well, but be cautious 
not to burn it; pour boiling water over it. 
Seuson to suit the taste. A very nice drink. 
Corn roasted and prepared in the some way 
is nice. 
Green Corn, 
cut from the cob and boiled in just enough 
water to coyer it. Take the soup of this 
alone and season with salt, is very good in 
cases requiring very delicate food. It is 
more strengthening than one would think. 
I have known patients to live on this alone 
for two or three weeks.— L. E. k. 
CONTRIBUTED RECIPES. 
To Pickle Blackberries. 
Select blackberries with care, leaving 
out unripe and poor berries; pack them in 
a jar, shaking it occasionally, to be sure 
they are as closely packed as they can be 
without bruising the fruit. Take strong 
cider vinegar, about one quart to each gal¬ 
lon of berries, and add to it one and a-lialf 
or two pounds of sugar (brown is good, but 
white is better,) in a suitable vessel and heat 
the mixture, stirring it most of the time till 
it boils and the sugar is all dissolved ; then 
pour it hot on the berries; cover closely 
with a cloth laid on the berries; shut up the 
jar and set it in a dry, cool place in the cel¬ 
lar. If the liquid is not sufficient to cover 
the berries, more must bo added, as it is 
necessary that it should cover them. If 
they show sigus of fermentation, (and they 
will if the weather is warm,) drain off the 
liquid, all of it, and boil it well and return 
it to the berries hot, as at first. The cloth 
which is laid on the top of the pickles must 
be rinsed occasionally. Should the liquor 
be diminished by scalding, more must be 
added. —Kate Cuyler. 
Norwcotinn Cream I’mldinu; for Children. 
Skim a pan of meet milk, and put the 
cream, with a very small pinch of salt, on 
the stove. Let it boil, stirring frequently, 
until it shows oil on the top. Have ready a 
heaping teaspoonful of flour made into a 
paste with water. Stir it into the cream. 
If this doesn’t make it quite thick, stir in a 
little dry flour. Continue to stir, until con¬ 
siderable oil has fried out. Then put the 
pudding in a saucer, pour the oil over it, 
and put on some white sugar. This is an 
excellent dish for infants. The oil cures the 
sore mouth of nursing infants, and is a good 
remedy for constipation, while nothing is 
better for food.— mrs. d. w. 
Orange Cake. 
Two cups sugar, two of flour, one-half of 
water, one and a-lialf teaspoons of baking 
powder, yolks of four eggs, whites of three; 
Juice and grated rind of one orange; a little 
salt. Bake as for jelly cake. Whites of 
three eggs, and sugar as for icing, with one 
orange rind and juice, to put between the 
layers and over the top.— l. s. 
-<*-♦-*- 
SELECTED RECIPES. 
Washing Summer Suite. 
A writer in the New York World says : 
“ Summer suits are a arly all made of white 
or buff linen, pique, cambric or muslin, and 
the art of preserving the new appearance 
after washing is a matter of the very great¬ 
est importance. Common washerwomen 
spoil everything with soda, and nothing is 
more frequent than to see the delicate tints 
of lawns and percales turned into dark 
blotches aud muddy streaks by the igno¬ 
rance aud vandalism of a laundress. It is 
worth while for ladies to pay attention to 
this, and insist upon having their summer 
dresses washed according to the directions 
which they should be prepared to give their 
laundresses themselves. 
“In the first place, the water should he 
tepid, the soap should not ho allowed to 
touch the fabric; it should be washed and 
rinsed quick, turned upon the wrong side 
and hung in the shade to dry, and when 
starched (in thin boiled, but not boiling, 
starch) should be folded in sheets or towels, 
and ironed upon the wrong side, as soon as 
possible. 
“ But linen should he washed in water in 
which hay bas been boiled, or a quart bag 
of bran. This last will be found to answer 
for starch as well, and is excellent for print 
dresses of all kinds, but a handful of stilt is 
very useful also to set the colore of’ light 
cambrics and dotted lawns; aud a little 
beef’s gull will not only set, but brighten, 
yellow and purple tints, anil has a good effect 
upon green. 
A Summer Brink. 
^ Prepare a five gallon keg, (a ten gallon 
if you prefer,) in proportion to the size of the 
family; draw a piece of coarse bohi.net, or 
very coarse book muslin over the end of the 
faucet that is inserted into the keg, to pre¬ 
vent its choking, a good, tight bung, and 
near to that a gimlet hole, with a peg to fit 
in tight. For rive gallons, take one quart of 
sound corn, put into the keg, with half a gal¬ 
lon of molasses; then fill with cold water to 
within two inches of the bung. Shake well, 
aud in two or three clays it will be fit for use. 
Bung tight. If you want spruce flavor, add 
one teaspoon of essence of spruce—lemon, if 
lemon is preferred—ginger, or any flavor you 
prefer. The com will last to make five or 
six brewings; when it isexlmnsted,renew it. 
When the beer passes from the vinous to the 
acetous fermentation, it can be corrected by 
adding a little more molasses and water. 
This is a simple, cheap beverage. After 
the beer becomes ripe, it ought to be kept in 
a cool place, to prevent it from becoming 
sour before it is exhausted. 
Domestic Inquiries.— Laura writes:—“Ishould 
like to learn how to preserve green corn in 
brine.”—J. H. Wn.u a ms asks for the best mode 
of destroying house flies. 
®bt Naturalist. 
THE CABBAGE BUG. 
The specimens of hugs, sent you by Geo. 
D. Davis & Son, from Lynchburg, Va., 
under dale of June 87, 1870, arrived safely, 
and the letter also, stating that these “ bugs 
arc making fearful ravages in our gardens. 
Their depredations are. confined more par¬ 
ticularly to cabbages and kindred plants,” 
( Cruciform ,) and asking “ What arc they; 
and is there any means to exterminate 
them r 
On opening the well-secured box, to my 
delight, I found the imprisoned rogues alive 
and lively after their long journey. They 
are certainly very gaily arrayed and very 
pretty, if they are very mischievous. I 
knew at a glance that they belonged to 
Westwood’s twelfth family of Helervptera 
—the Seutelteridce. There is a great diversity 
of form in the insects of this family. These 
sent me being in the pupa state, and alto¬ 
gether new, I was at some loss to what 
genus to refer them. The nearest approach 
l found was the genus Eurgdcma , Lap., 
(Struchia , IIaiin.) “ Broadly ovate; bead 
broad; eyes transverse; legs long; anten¬ 
na} long, basal joint oval, second longest.” 
Having gained this point, and unable to 
learn anything from Fitcii and Harris, I 
appealed to Koli.ar. On page 148, 1 find 
“ The Painted Field Bug (Citium ornatus , 
Linn.,) Pcntatoma ornate, which is also a 
dangerous enemy to the different plants of 
the cabbage tribe, particularly in dry sum- 
mere, since, in its larva as well us its perfect 
state, it pierces the leaves, till it makes them 
like a sieve.” 
But as the larvte do not accord in the 
markings, I was compelled to search fur¬ 
ther ; Avhen it occurred to me that 1 had 
met with an account of the “ Harlequin 
Cabbage Bug.” I find in Vol. 2, No. !i, of 
the American Entomologist (page 79,) for 
December and January, 1810, the insect, in 
its matured state, figured, and of which I 
will give you a copy, as well as a drawing 
of the larva sent me. It is quite possible 
that it may turn out to differ In its matured 
state, from the species first described by the 
able pen of Dr. Gideon Lincecum of Wash¬ 
ington Co., Texas, in the year 1860, which 
was printed in the Practical Entomologist,” 
Vol. I., p, 110, and reprinted, in connection 
with the figure, (p. 70, -above referred to,) so 
destructive to his cabbage, radishes, mustard, 
turnips, &c. Dr. Summereu of Salisbury, 
in North Carolina, calling it the “ Texan 
Cabbage Bug,” found if. very injurious in 
1807. It was considered probable that it 
came as far North as Tennessee and Arkan¬ 
sas, with some reason to suspect that it 
might turn up iu Southern Illinois and 
Southern Missouri. 
Fxa. 1. Pin. 2. 
The illustration, Figs. 1 and 2, shows the 
shining black aud bright, yellow-colored 
Harlequin (Strachia hktmnica, IIaiin,) Fig. 
8, the natural size, and Fig. 4, a magnified 
view, to show the spots and markings of the 
pupa or incomplete insect sent from Lynch¬ 
burg, Va., which latter 1 will briefly de¬ 
scribe. (I have seen no full description of 
the markings of Strachia histrioniea, only 
from the cut and brief reference to its beauty 
iu the Entomologist—pp. 79 and 80. 
Fig. 4. Fio. 3. 
These larv® or pupae have a triangular 
head, the eyes very prominent, with two 
milk-white spots below the eyes centrally 
on the face; the antennae are four-jointed, 
the second joint longest, the first and fourth 
shortest. The shape of its body and thorax 
is of a round, oval form, as shown. The 
thorax bas margins on the sides, of a deep 
yellow color, widening posteriorly into a 
chib-sl taped form rounded inwards, with a 
small spot on the inner side of the margin 
above and one below, and a large obovate 
spot in the center, also yellow. The meta- 
thorax 1ms three milk-white spots, the cen¬ 
tral obovate, elongated; the side spots near¬ 
ly orbcular. On the undeveloped wing 
cases, there is a round, yellow spot, on each 
side; and on the upper portion of the in¬ 
complete scutellmn, are two lozenge-shaped 
yellow spots, joined by the prolonged points. 
There is a horse-shoe like sub-marginal band, 
traversed by three irregular, white curved 
lines. The margin of the abdomen shows 
five of those white lines outside the yellow, 
submarginal band. Otherwise the insect 
is of a beautiful jet-black color, and those 
bright yellow and milky white spots give 
the insect a very pretty appearance, as gay 
as any Zouave or artillerist, dressed out in 
the most gallant array. This, with the cut, 
will give a correct idea of the depredator. 
The author of the article in the Entomol¬ 
ogist, in reference to the Harlequin Cabbage 
Bug, says what may well apply to this. I 
will quote his words in part:—“ We have 
already referred to the beauty of its color¬ 
ing. As offsets, therefore, to its greediness 
and its thievery, we have, first, the fact of 
its being agreeable to the nose, and, second¬ 
ly, the fact of its being agreeable to the eye. 
Are there not certain demons iu the garb of 
angels, occasionally to he met with among 
tin: human species, in favor of whom no 
stronger arguments than the above can pos¬ 
sibly be urged?” I will not stop to moral¬ 
ize, having to the best of my ability given a 
description of the larva of “ Strachia hietn • 
omca," already described and figured, or an 
allied species, (not described before,) must 
suffice to answer the first question of your 
correspondent. 
As to the remedy: (The larva has nearly 
the same markings as the matured insect, 
generally, only that it wants wings.) The 
only means of destroying these insects, con¬ 
sists in picking them off, and killing them. 
Dr. Lincecum says:—‘ By the first of April 
the mustard and radishes were large enough 
to use, and I discovered that, the insect hud 
commenced on them. I began picking them 
off by hand and tramping them under foot. 
By that, means I have preserved my four 
hundred aud thirty-four cabbages; blit I 
have visited every one of them daily now 
for four mouths, finding on them from thirty- 
five to sixty full-grown insects every day, 
some coupled anil some in the act. of depos¬ 
iting their eggs. Although many have been 
hatched in my garden the present season, 1 
have suffered none to come to maturity; and 
the daily supplies of grown insects that 1 
have been blessed with, are immigrants from 
some other garden.” 
This shows the necessity for the citizens 
of an infected dist rict to organize themselves 
into a “ vigilance committee," and hunt flic 
rogues, smash them, and get rid of their 
depredations by united action. Small as the 
creature looks, the cabbage, &c., must suc¬ 
cumb to his suctorial powers; and the creat¬ 
ure will spread and multiply, unless some 
natural law will devclope a means of check, 
(wisely constituted in the nature of things,) 
to establish an equilibrium, and form bounds 
and limits, over which bugs nor biped beings 
cannot step. J. Stauffer. 
Lancaster, Pa., July, 1870. 
-- 
NOTES FOR NATURALISTS. 
IHauuiteineut of an Aquuriiiiti. 
“An Indulgent Mother,” Otsego, Minn., 
writes:—“ I have two little boys who have 
read in the Rural New-Yorker about the 
little fish “ Seminary and ever since they 
have been very anxious to have au aqua¬ 
rium. Last evening they brought home two 
little fishes, about three inches long, aud 
three or four very small ones, so small, in¬ 
deed, we cun hardly see them. The globe I 
have put them in holds about two quarts. 
I have put in some river sand, some pebbles, 
and some water plants; also, some water 
snails. Everything (water included) was 
taken from the Mississippi Itiver. Now, 
wliat must I feed them with, and must I 
change the water on them every day ?” 
We hope some of our readers who have 
had practical experience in the management 
of an aquarium will answer. Theoretically, 
if there are marine plants enough growing 
in the aquarium, the water will not need 
changing, since through their agency oxy¬ 
gen enough Is returned to the water to sup¬ 
ply fish life. Thu water should be aerated 
by agitation frequently. No dead plant or 
animal must be permitted to remain in the 
aquarium. Uvea if the water is changed (as 
it should he frequently, in case no plants are 
growing in it) the fish will thrive better if 
water plants are provided. As to the pro¬ 
per food for the fishes, we have no expe¬ 
rience. 
Grub Worms in Potatoes and Pumpkins. 
W. T. O., Brickslmrg, X. J., writes: 
“ Wlmt shall I do to kill the large white grub 
worms? They have hurt my potatoes very 
much. My pumpkin vines turned yellow. 
I thought I would examine the hill, when I 
found one hundred and twenty of these pests 
in one hill. From sixteen hills I took a two- 
quart pan full. If you know any remedy, 
please let us see it in the next Rural New- 
Yorker.” This root-eating grub is a larva 
of the May Beetle —Ludinmterna quercina. 
It eats the roots of strawberry plants, corn, 
lettuce, the grasses, and even young trees in 
nurseries. We know of no remedy for them 
except to dig them out and destroy them. 
If in spring the hogs be allowed to root over 
the garden before planting, they will destroy 
many of the larva} aud the beetles. 
►cuntific aitir Ststful 
A NEW ROAD STEAMER. 
A late number of The Graphic, (London,) 
after speaking of various attempts and fail¬ 
ures in adapting locomotive power to com¬ 
mon roads, says that a machine bus recently 
been constructed which has every proba¬ 
bility of soon becoming a common traveler 
on the high roads. This new invention, 
called Thompson’s Road Steamer, is thus 
described: 
“ The great peculiarity in this road steamer 
is, that tlm wheels are bound round to the 
depth of five inches with an India-rubber 
l ire. This covering, which at first sight does 
not appear capable of sustaining much hard 
work, possesses innumerable advantages, be¬ 
ing at the same lime perfectly noiseless, and 
exceedingly durable. It, also enables tho 
steamer to pass over wet grass and newly 
made land with an incredible case and light¬ 
ness—an immense improvement on the pon¬ 
derous traction engines which a few years 
since, were wont to wander about Loudon, 
lo the intense disgust of coachmen, and to 
tlie terror of nervous invalids, aud which, 
even now, cause great apprehension to the 
benighted countrymen by their midnight 
prowliliga about the country roads. 
“ The steamer is commonly used to draw 
an omnibus or carriage. It is also, however, 
capabloof dragging a plow, thus successfully 
solving tho problem of plowing by direct 
steam traction, as the India-rubber tires 
enable the steamer to go over the softest 
ground without showing the slightest sign 
of sinking. 
“ In 1808 extensive experiments were 
made in Edinburgh to test the powers of the 
steamer, when it not only hauled several 
heavily loaded wagons up a very sharp in¬ 
cline, but ran across a soft grass field with 
the greatest ease, and without leaving the 
slightest track, and in August, 1869, its 
plowing capacities were severely and suc¬ 
cessfully tried. 
“On the 25th nit. a further experiment 
was made in Edinburgh with the steamer 
and omnibus. The omnibus has only two 
wheels, and is a handsome and commodious 
vehicle, It is built to cany sixty five pas¬ 
sengers—twenty inside and forty-four out. 
The journey, which was to Leith and hack, 
was accomplished without the slightest 
hitch, and the whole of the party, among 
whom may he mentioned the Lord Provost 
of Edinburgh, expressed themselves highly 
satisfied with the performance of Mr. Thomp¬ 
son’s ingenious and useful invention.” 
- ■ ■ - - ♦ ♦ » 
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC ITEMS. 
Now Mode of Recording Speech. 
A mechanic living on the shores of Lake 
Zurich, 31. Theodor Zuppinger, has just In¬ 
vented a mechanism as marvelous as the 
daguerreotype was at first considered to be, 
the applications of which have since become 
so popular and universal. The machine of 
M. Zuppinger is no larger than the human 
hand, and performs the work of mi accom¬ 
plished stenographer. Placed in contact 
with the vocal organ, it re-produces the 
slightest sounds enunciated by the tongue, 
throat or lips. While one is in the act of 
speaking,a ribbon of paper is detached from 
the maohino, similar to that thrown off by 
the telegraphic apparatus, on which the 
words pronouuced are traced in black and 
white. The mechanism is in all respects 
most ingeniously constructed, and worthy of 
being compared with the inventions of 
Niepce, Daguerre and Morse. 
Pannier Railways. 
A new arrangement for railways will 
shortly come before the public in England, 
under the title of the Pannier system. A 
single row of piles carries a continuous 
girder on which the train t uns, the carriages 
hanging down on each side to within a very 
short distance of the ground. The car¬ 
riages are so arranged that inequality of 
weight on one side to the extent of a ton 
will not affect the action. The small quan¬ 
tity of land required, cheapness of con¬ 
struction and speed are advantages claimed 
for it. Extensions and alterations are going 
on which will place Edinburgh within six 
hours of London. A scheme bas been pro¬ 
posed by means of which, it is asserted, 
Manchester will be reached by Londoners 
in two hours. If we understand the propo¬ 
sition rightly, the carriages would puss over 
rollers kept iu motion by turbines. 
A New C»« for Oxygen. 
The Scientific American is informed by 
M. Widemann, who is connected with the 
works of the New York Oxygen Gas Com¬ 
pany, that the use of oxygen in-renewing 
and increasing the flow of oil ifi petroleum 
wells has been so successful that a regular 
trade has sprung tip in oxygen gas for this 
purpose. The gas is injected into the wells 
through tubes,and mingling with the hydro¬ 
carlion vapors, form an explosive mixture 
which, when ignited, completely opens 
seams which have become clogged, and 
thus renews the flow. 
