I think it must be these same red ants 
that toil so “ t'or one poor grain.'’ They are 
spunk to the back bone ; this is indicated 
not only by the color of their hair but their 
perseverance also. There is left this mode 
of conquering their perverse natures Sim¬ 
ply cold-water baths. Remedies of reputed 
worth were tried with little success ; the 
final resort, which other housekeepers would 
do well to remember, is to wash the cupboard 
shelves every morning and evening with the 
coldest of water. Do the work thoroughly, 
sides and all, leaving the shelves quite wet; 
this discourages them, and they will abandon 
their resort, 
“ What a trouble l” did you say i After 
once or twice doing it you will not think so. 
Athens Co., O. Mary Moret.and. 
seems to me, with their backs to the sun, 
casting shadows upon the objects they wonhl 
examine. From my standpoint they hinder 
scientific progress by attaching too great 
importance to the mere nomenclature of 
science, and ignoring its application to the 
every-day wants of a practical people. If, 
without giving offense to learned gentlemen 
who may be present, I can say they are as a 
class too egotistic and exclusive with their 
knowledge, too content to know and too un¬ 
willing to do or teach others to do, 1 shall 
say just what I think. The fact that they 
do not prove to those who look up to them 
with something aldu to awe that their vast 
acquisitions of knowledge may be applied 
and realize practical results, creates distrust 
of such knowledge and affects its accuracy 
because there is no tost; when tested, it fails 
because the conditions that can be learned 
only by the co-operation of practical men 
are unknown to the impractical, theoretical, 
dreaming (if 1 may use a paradox) scientist. 
The active, practical men are not taught nor 
stimulated to observe; no man will observe 
who is not interested in so doing; and no 
man will become interested without practi¬ 
cal results follow, in some form. So I repeat 
that scientific men hinder scientific progress 
because they fail to apply their knowledge 
to practical use. They are known to the 
world as learned men; but their knowledge 
is of little more uso than the Yankee side- 
hill plow was to the Virginia planter whom 
I met in Lynchburg, Va., under the follow¬ 
ing drcumstaucos:—I sat in the store of a 
Yankee agricultural implement denier one 
hot July day. A tall, swarthy, intelligent- 
looking gentleman, on horseback, rode up to 
the door. He was followed by a four-mule 
team attached to a heavy, covered Virginia 
wagon, driven by a colored man. 
“Good afternoon, Col. -said the 
dealer. 
“Good evening,” was the response with 
an accent indicating irritation. 
“ What brings you to town so soon again?” 
asked the dealer, who evidently feared 
something wrong, as he had sold the planter 
a plow a day or two before. 
“ AVell, sir, I’ve brought that plow back,” 
was the reply. 
“ Brought the plow backl Why what ails 
it ? That was one of my best plows—perfect 
in every respect.” 
“Well, sir,” said the planter with a freez¬ 
ing dignity, “you remember there was a 
small piece of iron attached to that plow 
with a string?” 
“Yes,” was the response. 
“Well, sir, I’ll be dog-goned if either I or 
my man could find a place where it would 
fit! We tried it every way and could do 
nothing with it, ami so there it is in the 
wagon. J reckon you had better take it 
back or give me another.” (The planter had 
hauled it twenty miles in an empty wagon, 
with a four-male team.) 
“Why," said the dealer, (and you may 
imagine there was a broad smile upon his 
face,) “that was an extra point for you to 
use v'hen the one nuu> on the plow had worn 
out. n 
The planter, a graduate of the University 
of Virginia, and really a sensible man, saw 
the point, and allowed he was a -fool. 
He knew he had a plow, but he did not 
know how to use it; so men of science have 
the implements of usefulness, but too gen¬ 
erally fail to use and to teach others how to 
use them; and whatever is useless is value¬ 
less; and for that which is valueless there 
are no seekers. 
MOTHS IN FURNITURE 
THE WARMTH OF CLOTHING. 
According to Von Petteukofor, who has 
been investigating the subject of late, the 
permeability of fabrics to air is a condition 
of their warmth. Taking equal surfaces of 
certain materials, he found their compara¬ 
tive permeability to bo as follows, flannel 
such as is ordinarily used for clothing being 
l; linen of me- 
buekskin, 58 ; 
chamois leather, 51. 
Last year, a writer in a technical or scien¬ 
tific paper gave the following information, 
which is seasonable now. Ho says : 
There are two species of moths which in¬ 
fest furniture. One is a large fly of silvery- 
white color ; the worm of the same is shaped 
like a chestnut worm, and is familiarly 
known. It rarely infests furniture. The 
other is a small fly of a dark drab color; the 
worm is about one-fourth of an inch long, 
and tapering from the head to the tail. It 
was first observed by upholsterers about 
thirteen years ago. This fly penetrates a 
sofa or chair, generally between the back 
and seats of sofas, or under the seats, where 
the vacancy among the springs affords a safe 
retreat. It may make a lodgment in one 
week after the furniture is placed in the 
house. If such should be the case, In two 
months the worm will appear ; and the con¬ 
tinual process of procreation in a few months 
increases the number to thousands. This 
moth has no season. It destroys in winter 
and summer alike, and it is kept in active 
life by the constant heat of the house. We 
find at the same time, in the same piece of 
furniture, the fly, the worm, aud the eggs ; 
thus showing that they are breeding and 
destroying all the time. It does not eat pure 
curled hair, but fastens its cocoon to It, the 
elasticity of which prevents Its being dis¬ 
turbed. 
The inside of furniture is used by it only 
for the purposes of propagation. The worm 
when ready for food crawls out and destroys 
the covering, if of woolen or plush material; 
and falling to the carpet, destroys it. It 
rarely outs through plush from the inside, as 
it is of cotton back, but there are instances 
where the worms have cut up muslin on th<a 
outside back of sofas. There is no protection 
against them but continual care. New fur¬ 
niture should be removed from the waits at 
least twice a week at this season of the year, 
and should be well whisked all round, and 
particularly under the seats, to prevent the 
fly from lodging. This is an effectual pre¬ 
ventive, and the only one known. Cayenne 
pepper, Scotch snuff, camphor, turpentine, 
and all other remedies for protection from 
the large, moth are of little or no avail 
against the furniture ninths. Saturation 
with alcohol will not destroy them when in 
a piece of furniture. If the furniture is in¬ 
fested, they may be removed by taking off 
the muslin from under the seats and off the 
outside ends and backs, where they congre¬ 
gate most, and exposing to the air as much 
as possible. Beat well with a whisk or the 
open hand, and kill all the flies and worms 
which show themselves. This done often 
will disturb them, and may make them leave 
the furniture, in their desire to be left in 
quiet. 
- When the furniture is free from moths and | 
is to be left during the summer months 
without attention, it may be protected by 
camphor in small bags or highly concentra¬ 
ted patchouli. The safest way is to have 
the furniture well whisked twice a week. If 
the moths attack the carpet, which they 
will first do under the sofas and chairs, 
spread a wet sheet on the carpet and pass 
a hot flat iron over it quickly ; the steam 
will effectually destroy both worms and 
eggs. If furniture is delivered in a dwelling 
free from moths, the upholsterer’s responsi¬ 
bility ends there and all rests with the 
housekeeper, as no tradesman can tell 
whether the moth will attack it or not. 
There are cases where the furniture has 
been in use ten or twelve years before being 
attacked. It would be as fair to hold the 
tailor responsible for the safety of clothing 
from moths as to hold the upholsterer re¬ 
sponsible l'or the safety of furniture. 
reckoned at tfi(i:—Flannel, 100 
dlum fineness, 58 ; silk, 40 ; I 
tanned leather, 1 
Hence, il the warmth of clothing depended 
upon the degree in which It keeps out the 
air from our bodies, glove-kid would be 100 
times warmer than flannel, which every one 
knows Is not the fact. 
The whole question, then, is resolved into 
that of ventilation. If several layers of the 
same material be placed together, and the 
air be allowed to permeate them, the venti¬ 
lation through the second layer is not much 
less than through the fix-st, since the meshes 
of the two form a system of continuous 
tubes of uniform diameter, and the i-apidity 
of the movement of the air through these is 
affected merely by the resulting friation. 
Through our clothing, then, there passes a 
stream of air, the amount of which, as in 
ventilation, depends upon the size 0 f the 
meshes, upon the differonee of temperature 
between the external and internal atmo¬ 
sphere, and upon the velocity of the sur¬ 
rounding air. Clothing, then, is required, 
not to prevent the admission of the air, but 
to regulate this so that our nervous system 
shall be sensible of no movoment in the air, 
Fui’ther, our clothes, at the same time, regu¬ 
late the temperature of the contained air, 
as it passes through them, bo that the tem¬ 
perature of the air between the clothing and 
the sui’faoe of our body averages 84° to 86° F, 
The hygroscopic property of different ma¬ 
terials used for clothing essentially modifies 
their functions. Tin's property varies with 
the different material-; wool, for instance, 
takes up more water than linen, while the 
latter takes up and gives off its watery con¬ 
tents more rapidly than the former. The 
more the air is displaced by water from the 
clothes, the less will be their power of re¬ 
taining the heat ; in other words, they con¬ 
duct the heat inoi’e readily, and hence we 
are quickly chilled by wet garments. 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES, 
Jams. — “Molly,” in Germantown Tele¬ 
graph, says It is not generally known that 
boiling fruit a long time and skimming it 
well, without the sugar and without a cover 
to the preserving pan, is a very economical 
and excellent way — economical because the 
bulk of the scum rises from the fnxit and 
not from the sugar, if the latter is good ; and 
boiling It without a cover allows the evapo- 
l’ation of the watery particles therefrom ; 
the preserves keep firm and well-flavored. 
The proportions are, three-quarters of a 
pound of sugar to a pound of fruit. Jam 
made in this way, of cun-ants, strawberries, 
raspberries or gooseberries, is excellent. The 
best jam I know of is made of an equal quan¬ 
tity of gooseberries and raspberries. Some 
made by us last year of this half-and-half 
mixture was preferred to all others. 
Lemon Cake .—In reply to the request of 
“Em” for a recipo for lemon cake, I send 
the following One teacup butter, three 
teacups sugar; rub them to a crearn, and 
stir in the yolks of five eggs well beaten; 
one teaspoon soda ; one cup milk ; the juice 
and grated peel of ono lemon, the whites of 
five eggs, and sift in, as lightly as possible, 
four and one half cups flour. Bake in shallow 
pans half an hour. —Vermont Friend. 
Caragene Custard .—Procure an ounce of 
earagene moss and divide it; into four parts ; 
one part is sufficient for one mess. Put the 
moss into water, and let it remain until it 
swells ; then drain it and put it Into two 
pints and a half of milk and place it over the 
fire; let it boil twenty minutes; stirring it 
continually; then strain it, sweeten with 
loaf sugar, put it into cups, and grate nut¬ 
meg over the Lops of them. 
HYGIENIC NOTES 
Valerian in Diabetes .—We find the follow¬ 
ing paragraph in the .Scientific American 
Dr. Bouchard Bays extract of valerian is a 
powerful agent in diminishing the elimina¬ 
tion of urea and waste of tiaBue seen in dia¬ 
betes. He adds a curious fact, observed in 
long practice among the Indian* of Lower 
Califoi-nia. The warriors, before entering 
on an expedition, go through a course of 
valerian regimen for a month, to get them¬ 
selves into a fatigue-supporting condition. 
This fact suggests another, concerning the 
Peruvian Indians, who are able to go with¬ 
out food for live days, under a burdensome 
journey, when well-supplied with the juice 
of the plant, so extensively used in that 
country, called coca. It seems to us that 
coca and valerian might be used in thickly- 
settled countries as articles of medical nutri¬ 
tion, to say nothiug- of their possible value 
as substitutes for food of the common sort 
among the very pool'. 
Communication of Cholera.—Dr. Blakis- 
ton says, in the London Times and Ouzette, 
that it has been fully proved in the Paiis 
hospitals that cholera Is not communicable 
by the breath of the patient, or by contact 
with his body during life or after death. 
Most of the “stiffs,” as they are called in 
technical vulgarity—that is, the subjects of 
dissection —were for many months victims of 
cholera in Paris, and yet no doctor and no 
student caught the disease. Therefore, let 
no timid person have any fear about the in¬ 
fection of air or touch, but remember that 
the germs of cholera have been proved to 
be propagated through the dejecta (vofdings 
in any way) which come In contact with 
water or food, possibly with air much 
breathed, though this is not fully shown. 
Precautions Against Trichina. —The Medi¬ 
cal Society of Kalamazoo urge ;—Eat no un¬ 
cooked or half-cooked hog’s flesh. The raw 
flesh of the hog, whatever its shape er con¬ 
dition, whether ham, bacon, or pork, salt or 
fresh, smoked or unsmoked, is liable to con¬ 
tain this parasite, full of a life and activity 
that may work a remediless mischief in the 
human body. Bolog-ua sausage, if pork be 
in it uncooked, is as dangerous as any form 
of this meat. The heat that cooks meat ut¬ 
terly destroys the life and mischievous power 
HINDRANCES TO SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS, 
[At a re-union of the Liberal Club, (a sci¬ 
entific organization in New York City,) 
papers were read or speeches made by mem¬ 
bers of the Club—the time being limited to 
eight minutes. The following is the speech 
of one of the Editors of the Rcrau New- 
Yorker:] 
In the eight minutes I shall attempt to 
name but two of the hindrances to scientific 
progress that occur to tne. What I say shall 
be with no captious spirit nor, 1 trust, with 
egotism. I simply give you what I see, 
looking out from my practical stand point, 
a3 a practical man, having to do with prac¬ 
tical men and their daily needs. These two 
hindrances are: 
1. The Educational Hindrance, which 
grows out of an imperfect conception of 
what education really is or ought to be. 
Woi-ds, and ideas, and principles, and for¬ 
mulas, aud laws are all well. But their use 
and how to use them is too sadly neglected. 
The education of the schools is not suggest¬ 
ive enough; it suppresses, and docs not 
strengthen, Inquiry. It gives the pupil eyes 
to look with, but does not teach him to see; 
and it is not safe to say that all who have 
eyes see and that all who have ears hear. 
We have so much to do with material things 
in their manipulation for use and in using 
them that specific education is fast becom¬ 
ing an imperative necessity; and until it be¬ 
comes a feature, yes, the feature, of our ed¬ 
ucational system, that system may be, in 
my opinion, justly regarded a bar to scien¬ 
tific progress. 
2. Scientists themselves are the last liin- 
dranee I shall name. This second hind¬ 
rance is kindred in character to the first, and 
may be regarded, perhaps, as its offspring, 
for the faults of education seem to cling to 
and conti-ol them. I concede that in this re¬ 
spect scientists have made progress during 
the post decade ; but they still stand, it 
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL NOTES, 
Rain by Concussion.— The Scientific Amer¬ 
ican, speaking of Edward Powers’ proposed 
experiments, says :—“There is reason to be¬ 
lieve that the concussions of artillery, when 
sufficiently long continued, may have a con¬ 
densing or aggregating effect upon the rerial 
vapors, and so induce the fall of rain. When 
the national debt is paid, or specie payment 
resumed, we think it might bo well to bum 
some public powder, as suggested by the 
present petitioner. But we move that the 
experiments be postponed until then.” 
A Fairy Fountain .—The English Mechan¬ 
ic gives the following “ If twenty grains 
of phosphorus cut very small, and mixed 
with forty grains of powdered zinc, be put 
into four drams of water, and two drams of 
concentrated sulphuric add be added there¬ 
to, bubbles of inflamed phosphoretted hy¬ 
drogen gas will quickly cover the whole sur¬ 
face of ihe fluid in succession, forming a real 
fountain of fire,” Those not accustomed to 
experiment with the phosphorus may need a 
caution in regard to handling it. It is best 
to cut it under water. 
RED ANTS 
Of course, Job did have his patience tried 
a little more than any other man; that is 
conceded, and that amid all he stood firm 
and immutable as Gibraltar is another fact. 
But, poor man I he knew nothing about the 
trials of a housekeeper in hot weather, 
when everybody and everything almost 
melt in the intolerable heat and push off the 
shores of time. 
Of all the wretches that have invaded onr 
domains and tried me during hot weather 
the millions of little ungovernable red nuts 
have led off. They laugh at impossibilities, 
crossing the tin pans of water to the safe, 
with perfect impunity, and tar is no barrier 
whatever to their progress. 
