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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Ewtrjftl (Topics. 
BUCEPHALUS BROWN’S NOTIONS AND 
IDEAS. 
Potato Tops —Generally, in digging pota¬ 
toes, the “vines” are thrown together in heaps 
or left scattered over the ground, where they 
are in the way of cultivation. When potatoes 
are npe, the dry tops seem to be a small item, 
but they contain a full half of the fertilizing 
salts extracted from the soil. My practice 
for years has been to bury them in digging. 
If the digging is not done by nand, then I 
would have them left on the ground, (not in 
piles) and work them at once into the soil 
with a Disk or Cutaway harrow, i suspect 
that this method of mine, which I have fol¬ 
lowed for many years, is the reason why I 
have not been able to see that potatoes are a 
particularly exhaustive crop. Other crops 
following them have not indicated any such 
fact. 
“Wearing Out” Seed. —At a recent farm¬ 
ers’ meeting, a prominent agricultural writer 
is reported as saying that a certain county 
has “worn out the Hebron,” and adds: 
1 ‘We kuow it to be a fact, but are unable to 
tell why.” Now it seems very strange that a 
whole county, of 800 square miles, should 
“wear out” a potato which is as good as ever 
elsewhere. Do all the farmers in that county 
pursue a single method of culture, and that 
one so very injurious ? It is utter nonsense to 
talk about “wearing out” a variety of any 
cultivated crop—that is, if it is said with the 
idea that the fault is in the variety. Intelli¬ 
gent and careful cultivation, and the proper 
selection of seed, will keep up and even im¬ 
prove any variety,except in peculiar locations 
unsuited to its growth. 
Improvement by Selection.— A good 
many farmers claim to have tried the plan 
advised by some experiment stations, of select¬ 
ing seed potatoes from the most prolific hills, 
and have reported “ no good.” This is just 
what I expected to hear. The advice was too 
unqualified; and even with qualification, it is 
only true under limitation. Bucephalus has 
pent his back, digging “ taters,” lo! these 
many years; and he can indorse the profes¬ 
sional statement that some hills, and some in¬ 
dividual plants, will turn out handsomer 
potatoes, and many more of them, than 
others. VV hat makes them do it? Sometimes 
it is a mysterious modification in the plant 
itself. If this be the case, seed selected from 
that plant may be more productive,—and it 
may not,—for few things are less certain than 
that the peculiarities of “ sports ” will t>e per¬ 
petuated in their posterity. But in most 
cases these fine productive plants are so just 
aud only because "their lines have fallen to 
them in pleasant places,” that is, in rich spots. 
When this is so, seed from them is no better 
than from another hill, in poorer ground, 
that is not half so productive. 
Mind the Conditions.— Experimenting 
professors at the stations, where everything 
is supposed to be done well and systemati¬ 
cally, will often get results that will not be 
justified in the experience of common farm¬ 
ers, because the conditions are in nowise the 
same. For every crop at the station the land 
will be thoroughly prepared and suitably fer¬ 
tilized, according to the teachings of en¬ 
lightened experience. Upon how many farms 
will the like conditions be met with? And if 
they are not found there, how shall the re¬ 
sults agree* 
Killing off the Poor Cows. —Some of 
our cautious cultivators, (you see I am falling 
into alliteration, due probably to the example 
of the Rural’s head-line editor,) are wanting 
to know what they shall do with their feed, if 
they send all their unyielding cows to the 
slaughter. “ Give it to those you have left," 
is the only reply I have seen ma le, and it is a 
pretty good one. But it cannot be appli¬ 
cable to all herds. I know some farmers that 
are feeding all they ought to their cows, yet 
who might weed their herds considerably 
with profit. I should say to such, that they 
make no hasty or wholesale slaughter. Test 
every cow faithfully; study her as an indi¬ 
vidual ; try if some special modification of feed, 
or feeding, may not develop merit in her; 
“ give her a fair show,” and then, if there be 
no good found in her, let her go. If this plan 
is followed there will be no sudden, wholesale 
reductions of the herd; and time will be al¬ 
lowed to replace the rejected ones by others 
that are known to be better. This is what 
the most of our improving dairymen are do¬ 
ing. There is not going to be any wholesale 
slaughter, or any indisposable surplus of 
feed. 
Soluble Phosphates.— According to Sir 
J. B. Lawes, while it seems evident, at least 
on his heavy soil, that turnips must have their 
phosphoric acid served to them in its most sol¬ 
uble form, it is also apparent that this is not 
true of other crops. Sir John recognizes a dif¬ 
ference, too, among that class of phosphates so 
deceivingly classed by chemists as “insoluble," 
and expresses the belief that the phosphoric 
acid in basic slag, although not soluble in 
water, is not only available for grain and 
grass crops, but is also available for roots. 
He adds that, while turnips do not seem cap¬ 
able of extracting the slowly soluble phos¬ 
phates from the soil, the mangels Hud no dif¬ 
ficulty whatever in doing so. Making the 
phosphates “soluble” doubles their cost; and 
it is high time that our instructors, the agri¬ 
cultural press, should take hold of this sub¬ 
ject in earnest and discuss it exhaustively un¬ 
til its readers are taught all the facts about 
it. 
A* Quack Idea. —Under this heading may 
be justly placed the proposition to regard the 
soil as practically inert, and unable to supply 
any nutriment to crops. This is disguised 
under the plausible formula, “feed the crop, 
and not the soil,” the practical outcome of 
which must be that the whole demand of all 
crops for soil nutriment should be supplied to 
them in manures and fertilizers. This is utter¬ 
ly preposterous. There is plant food enough 
in every available soil to nourish vegetation 
indefinitely. It is only when we want to push 
the soil to produce extra crops that any ar¬ 
tificial feeding of the plant is required. The 
major part of the food of all plant growths 
must be supplied by the soil. It always has 
been and it is safe to say it always will be. 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
Starching, Ironing, Etc. 
HOW BEST TO DO IT. 
ELBOW GREASE, CLEANLINESS, 
DEFTNESS, DIFFERENT KINDS 
OF STARCH, SUBSTITUTES, 
CONCOMITANTS 
Boiled , Celluloid, Elastic, Electric, Satin 
Gloss, Silver Gloss and Water Starches. 
Borax, Butter, Gum-arabic, Kerosene, 
Lard, Milk, Red Cedar, Salt, Spermaceti, 
Sugar, Tallow, Turpentine and Wax 
Prevent Stickiness. 
FROM MAY MAPLE. 
Ironing day is often the greatest dread of 
the whole week’s work, on account of the 
“ starched clothe 5 ,” and many a young house¬ 
keeper spends the day in tears while she 
stands at the ironing-table tryiug so hard to 
make those shirt-bosoms look as they used to 
when “his mother” had charge of his clothes; 
for. in spite of all her efforts, there will be a 
blister here, an ugly wrinkle there, a streak of 
smut from the flat-iron or, mayhap, a scorch, 
and in despair she tosses the detestable article 
to one side, only to return to it with renewed 
vigor after ironing some other article re¬ 
quiring less patience and care; but the once 
fastidious Johu is obliged to wear a very sorry 
specimen of lauudry work. To the exper¬ 
ienced hand there is no work about the 
house that is made more proudly prominent 
than the ironed finery of the family, as it is 
hung upou the clothes-horse in immaculate 
purity, and most conspicuous of all are the 
fine shirts with bosoms, cuffs aud collars as 
white as freshly-fallen snow, as smooth as 
French china, and as stiff as a board. 
Of course, there is a right way aud a wrong 
way to do laundry work as well as any other, 
as Leona found to her sorrow, aud also to her 
joy. When she went out from the farm to 
service in town, her mistress told her she 
could put the shirts with the soiled clothes 
after she had spent nearly the whole of a hot 
July afternoon in “doing up” three fiue shirts. 
The next week, when she was doing the 
washing, the mistress came to the kitchen 
and made the starch. Putting a good spoou- 
ful into a bright tin basin, she moistened it 
with cold water, and then poured about a 
quart of boiling water upon it, aud then put 
it ou the stove to boil for five minutes, stir¬ 
ring it frequently. It was then taken off 
to cool, and was then ready for use, and was 
what is usually called thin starch. 
“Now, Leona,” said Mrs. H., “after you 
have rinsed the clothes, dip the fine pieces in 
this starch, taking collars and cuffs, shirt- 
bosoms and bands first, and when they are 
dry, make some fresh starch like this and dip 
the last mentioned articles into it; wring and 
hang up to dry, and then dip, and wring out 
of this last starch again and dry; that is, 
three dips in the thin boiled starch, drying 
after each dip \V hen you are sprinkling the 
clothes in the morning.make a little thin cold 
starch and dio the shirt-fronts, neck-bands, 
collars aud cuffs in it, wring and shake out, 
then fold and roll tight and let them be for 
two or three hours, then iron with a moder¬ 
ately hot flat, and 1 think you and I will 
both be better satisfied with the laundry 
work.” 
“My next ironing day was one of the hap¬ 
piest of happy days,” said Leona, in relating 
her experience, “for my fine clothes looked 
just beautiful, and the work was so easily and 
quickly done. That starching lesson will 
last me all my life, but, oh ! how I cried over 
that first day’s work. I shall never forget 
how my feet ached and how every nerve 
throbbed with impatience and disgust at 
housework, and fine ironing in particular.” 
I like to do the starching immediately after 
rinsing. I make a thick boiled starch, adding 
a tea spoonful of white sugar and a table¬ 
spoonful of kerosene oil. Rub the starch in¬ 
to the fabric thoroughly, and hang up to dry 
with the washing Starch again in cold 
starch, roll up tightly and leave the clothes 
well packed for two or three hours. In iron¬ 
ing, the sleeves are straightened out and 
ironed, then the wrist-bands are smoothed out 
on the wrong side till about half dry. and 
then turned to the right side for the finishing 
strokes. Then the body of the shirt is ironed, 
and next the yoke and band, which received 
their full share of starch—for a well-starched 
band adds much to the fit of the collar. The 
bosom board—which, by the way, is only a 
piece sawed from an eight-inch pine board 
and wrapped about with a piece of an old 
pillow slip—is a great convenience though in¬ 
expensive, and next comes into use. The 
ends of the neck-band are buttoned together, 
the board is slipped under the bosom, which 
is straightened out from top to bottom, a 
clean white cloth is wrung out of clean water, 
and spread over the bosom and ironed with a 
hot flat While the cloth is yet steaming, 
take it off, and with a clean iron work up and 
down on the fabric as much as possible, re¬ 
move all specks with a damp cloth, and iron 
again till a delicate gloss appears. Collars 
and cuffs are usually smoothed out on the 
wrong side first, and then ironed on the right 
side, but never reversed, for to do so takes off 
the gloss. In this way a fine shirt is no more 
to be dreaded thau a pillow sham or white 
apron. 
collar or cuff through with the left hand, 
raising it as I draw it. I repeat this several 
times, then put the articles in something 
which will keep them rounded, and keep them 
in as hot a place as I can without scorching, 
till they are baked in shape. 
FROM EMMA D. \V. 
FROM MRS. F. L. AVERY. 
My clothes are all dried before starching. 
I use nothing but Wheat starch, and when I 
called for it here two years ago, my grocer 
had never heard of It, but found no trouble 
in getting it for me. I use two heaping table¬ 
spoonfuls of starch, dissolve with a little cold 
water, and pour on one pint of boiling water, 
stirring rapidly. To boil 15 minutes or longer 
won’t hurt the starch, if vou are careful that 
no lumps are form°d. When cool enough to 
handle, rub into the bosoms and collars, from 
the ou f side, all the cloth will take, and do this 
very thoroughly too. Rub out all wrinkles 
with the hanns before ranging up to dry, as 
this helps in ironing. In the morning, or two 
hours before wishing to iron,dip the clothes into 
cold starch made with two-thirds of a pint ot 
water and one heaping tea spoonful of starch. 
Sprinkle and roll up. Lay collars and cuffs 
on a towel and also roll them up. Partly iron 
the bosom with a cloth over it to absorb the 
water, and the iron will not stick. Carefully 
remove the cloth (so as not to make blisters) 
and iron thoroughly drv. Placing the shirts 
before the open door of the oven will cause 
them to be “as stiff as a board.” Collars 
may be stiffened by placing them on a board 
in the oven for a few minutes with the door 
left open. A marble slab the size of the 
bosom board, or one made of fine grained 
hard wood polished, is necessary for putting 
on the “ Heathen Chinee ” polish. Get an 
iron with sides and ends rounded and verv 
smooth—a polishing iron. Place the board 
under the bosom, wring a piece of soft cloth 
out of water, just as dry as you can, rub this 
once or twice up and down a narrow strip of 
the bosom, as only a slight moisture is needed. 
Polish by rubbing with the round point of 
the iron, up and down—never across— the 
goods. Moisten only a small place, then 
polish. One not accustomed to doing this re¬ 
quires practice. It cannot be done perfectly 
till after several trials. I learned this from a 
colored “auntie,” and, if I remember rightly, 
it was only after a good many trials that the 
work suited me. 
I find it rather difficult to put into words 
ny wav of doing up linen. Experience has 
o much to do with it, to get the star -h just 
ight, and to know when an iron is at the 
teat which will do the best work. I use 
ibout one table-spoonful of lump starch, and 
l tea-spoonful of kerosene for each pint of 
torch needed. Dissolve the starch in cold 
vat-er, add the kerosene, then slowly stir in 
wiling (be sure it is boiling) water till it is a 
dear, rather thin jelly—it is now ready to 
lse. Use it as hot as you can. Dip the shirt 
losom in wrong side out, squeeze out, then 
•ub it in well; if too wet squeeze out again. 
Proceed in the same manner with the wrist 
lands, collars and cuffs and dry them. Be sure 
bey are perfectly dry before wetting them to 
ron. I wet them in cold raw starch, using 
i good tea-spoonful to a pint of water. Mix 
veil, and stir before dipping each piece in. 
After dipping in squeeze out and roll up 
:ightly. Let them remain so about two hours 
lefore ironing. Bring to this work good, 
dean, smooth irons, at the right heat, strength 
if arm and patience. Rubbing a bit of bees¬ 
wax tied in a cloth, over the irons if the irons 
ire then well rubbed on a clean cloth, helps to 
make them smooth. Iron the bosom of a shirt 
last, and use a board to iron it on. Stretch 
md straighteu it well, then irou. If it blis¬ 
ters it is because the starch is not well rubbed 
in. Try wetting it with raw starch, then iron 
•arefully until it is dry, using much strength. 
Don’t call a shirt done when any part of the 
bosom sticks to tbe board, and after it is well 
ironed see that it is well aired near the fire. 
Pull the collars and cuffs straight, and smooth 
lightly with a dry cloth, then pass the iron 
quickly over them, but do not press at all, 
straighten again; now use all your strength 
and iron dry on both sides; then polish the 
right side and, lastly, shape them so they will 
not break. I do this by pressing the flat 
lightly ou the wrong side and drawing the 
FROM MRS. E C. GILLETT. 
On washing day, wh9n the linen is ready for 
the line, take a dish that can be set on the 
stove—a bright tin basin or an agate dish or 
kettle—in it put one table-spoonful of starch, 
one-quarter of a table-spoonful of 'lard, also a 
tiny pinch of salt if you wish to be perfectly 
sure the starch will not stick. Add as little 
cold water as will thoroughly dissolve the 
starch, pour on boiling water—hard is better— 
stirring constantly, and let this boil. One 
quart of water will generally make it of the 
right consistency, as it is better to have the 
hot starch too thin than too thick. Now add 
a touch of bluing and put the collars and 
cuffs in one side of the dish. Dip the shirt- 
bosoms aud wrist-bands in the starch and rub 
them while they are as hot as you can possibly 
endure them—a dish of cold water to dip the 
hands in when too hot will help—squeeze out 
all extra starch when they have been well 
rubbed. Rubbing vigorously while the arti¬ 
cles are hot and not using too thick boiled 
starch will prevent blisters. When the arti¬ 
cles are well dried, dip them in cold starch 
made from one teacupful of cold water, one 
tea spoonful of starch and oue-quarter of a 
tea-spoonful of powdered borax, this last 
being very necessary to make liueu stiff. 
Slap them between the hands a little, fold the 
sleeves of shirts over the bosoms, lay the 
dampened collars and cuffs below, roll tight, 
aud let them remain at least an hour before 
ironing. I like best to dampen them at night 
and irou them the first thing in the morning 
before getting tired with other ironing. 
In ironing be sure the fiats are clean. Wash 
them, dry quickly, rub with beeswax and 
wipe well. Iron collars and cuffs first, taking 
out oue at a time and keeping the others rolled 
-up. 
For shirts, iron the neck-bands first, being 
careful not to stretch them, then the bodies 
and sleeves. Put a bosom-board under each 
bosom, pull the linen up and down smooth!/, 
wipe off with a clean cloth, any starch ou 
the surface, and unless the flats are just right, 
lay a soft fiue cloth over the bosoms; let the 
flats be quite hot, but not hot enough to 
scorch or cool enough to stick. If they are 
too hot, one can not iron slowly enough to 
dry them well. Rub the flat over the cloth 
once or twice—not more—then press slowly 
and firmly up and down until partly dry; 
loosen from the board, dampen by patting— 
not rubbing unless to remove some speck— 
with a cloth dipped in the starch 'and borax 
