1883.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
25 
is a cover, which turns back against the wall. The 
box is placed close to the stove and the wood is 
handy. As fast as wood is removed from the box, 
that which has been piled into the reservoir of the 
box, in the wood-shed, settles down, and thus there 
is always a supply, provided the filling of the box 
in the wood-shed has not been neglected. This 
part in the wood-box is made large enough to hold 
fuel for a day’s supply, and has also a cover. 
When both covers are closed, there is no draft of 
cold air coming through the box. As the front of 
» the reservoir is slanting, the weight of the wood 
crowds the sticks at the bottom forward into the 
opening in the kitchen. Such a wood-box is a 
vast improvement on the old kind, in handiness 
and in looks ; the part belonging to the kitchen 
can be made as ornamental as desired. 
Various Household Conveniences. 
Scouring Mitten.— These mittens, fig. 1, which 
every house-keeper will think very useful little 
articles after she has tried them, are made of rub¬ 
ber cloth, cut the shape of a mitten, without the 
thumb, stitched two rows with the machine on 
the wrong side, and then turned. The mittens 
must be two sizes larger than an ordinary mitten. 
The rubber cloth can be bought at dry goods 
stores by the yard, and as it is impenetrable, it ef¬ 
fectually protects the hands from the preparation 
used for scouring, and removes the most unpleas¬ 
ant feature of the work. 
Bag with Tie String. —It is a great addition to 
any bag used for holding such things as pop-corn, 
nuts, dried fruits, etc, to have the tie-string run 
through eyelets worked near the top, and the ends 
joined together, fig. 2, so there is no danger of the 
string being mislaid every time the bag is opened. 
Funnel for Cake Pan. —When making certain 
kinds of cake, it is often desirable to use an earthen 
Fig. 4.— SEALING WAX CUP. Fig. 3.— CAKE FUNNEL. 
dish, so that all danger of a too hard crust will be 
prevented. A tin funnel, fig. 3, can be made to 
order at a tin shop, and with it any dish can be 
turned into a cake pan, as occasion demands. 
Cup For Sealing-wax. —A large tin cup, with 
broad, flat bottom, and spout, as shown in fig. 4, is 
convenient for melting sealing-wax for fruit cans. 
The wax melts in it very quickly, and the spout is 
a great advantage. Mrs. Busyhand. 
For a Sore Throat.— This trouble may' come 
from a variety of causes, but most frequently from 
taking cold. In many persons the slightest chill 
is felt at once in the tonsils. A wet cloth around 
the neck, covered with a dry one, during the 
night, is often effective, if care be taken not to 
expose the throat to cold in the morning. When¬ 
ever there is redness or inflammation of the tonsils, 
or back of the mouth, a very simple remedy, usu¬ 
ally effective, and in no case harmful, is a tea¬ 
spoonful of Chlorate of Potash solution, used as a 
gargle, and then swallowed. Repeat this every 
two or three hours as long as necessary. Chlorate 
of potash is cheap, is found at all druggists, and it 
is well to keep it on hand in solution. In a large 
vial, or small bottle of water, put as much chlor¬ 
ate of potash as will dissolve on shaking and stand¬ 
ing, and the solution is always ready for use. A pint 
of cold water will dissolve about an ounce. Chlorate 
of potash contains nearly two-fifths of its weight 
of pure oxygen, and this readily oxydizes any dis¬ 
organized material, and is frequently useful to the 
whole system. 
About the Fashions. 
A good deal is said now-a-days about artistic 
dress and historical costumes. It would relieve 
my mind to give public expression to my private 
opinion that most of this talk is nonsense. If 
fashions grow beautiful and becoming, simply by 
growing to be very old, the present fashions are as 
good as any, for they will some day be old enough. 
It may be a pleasant pastime for ladies of leisure to 
make themselves look like ancient pictures, but I 
doubt whether they make themselves any more 
comfortable in such “aesthetic” gowns, thau in 
more moderate garments. 
The catalogues go on giving us a dreary show of 
bunched and puckered and preposterously draped 
gowns, but fashion writers assure us that we are 
not in the least obliged to follow these fashions. 
There is a chance for a considerable choosing, and 
a sensible woman may make herself tolerably com¬ 
fortable if she tries. She may have warm and easy 
undergarments, broad-soled, low-heeled,easy-fitting 
shoes ; may dispense with the corset, and wear light, 
short skirts with as little trimming as she likes. 
The plain princesse can never be wholly out of fash¬ 
ion, it harmonizes so well with the human figure. 
One of the prettiest dresses I see now-a-days, is a 
soft gray flannel cut-plain princesse, with a wide 
flounce around the bottom. This is worn over a 
small hoop-skirt, but I am not disposed to complain 
of that, since the hoop-skirt makes the drapery of 
a long skirt more endurable in walking. I hope 
that the ioumure now demanded at the back does 
not lead the way to auother “Grecian bend” by 
another name. It is folly to talk of “artistic” dress, 
6o long as the first principles of true art are ignored, 
and utility cr service is not made the foundation of 
ornament. So long as the idea of ornament under¬ 
takes to lead, we shall have fantastic but not really 
beautiful costumes. 
Every sensible woman may help some toward the 
good time when health, comfort, and convenience 
may underlie genuine beauty in dress. Let her al¬ 
ways choose the best among prevailing fashions, 
and cling to those forms that are least grotesque 
when out of fashion ; for instance, the sack-cloak 
with sleeves that give most freedom to the arms. 
Such cloaks are still to be found, though the idea 
of most of the cloaks now offered for sale, is that 
woman is a doll to be draped, and not an active 
human being requiring clothes to serve her needs 
instead of only adorning her person. Among bon¬ 
nets and hats, it is generally possible to find some 
form that will serve the needs of the human head. 
In winter it ought to be something sufficiently 
close-fitting to allow of extra wraps over it in very 
cold weather. F. E. R. 
Preparing for Winter—Keep out the Cold, 
An abundance of fresh air is good, but care 
should be taken as to the way in which it is ad¬ 
mitted, to have it answer its proper purpose. Fre¬ 
quently a person may go into a house and almost 
immediately feel a chilly sensation, which some¬ 
times breaks out in a shiver or sneezing, and per¬ 
haps the foundation of a severe cold is laid. If 
proper care is taken before settled cold weather 
comes, much of the danger of taking cold may be 
avoided. We should see that there is no chance 
for the wind to get under the floor. Bank the 
house with snow if there is nothing else to use. 
The broken places in the plastering should he 
patched up, and it will often add not only to the 
looks of the room, but to its comfort, to paper the 
walls. Take pains to press the paper down 
smoothly, and see that the paste is good, and one 
will be able to close many little crevices through 
which much cold might enter the room. Between 
the floor and the mop, or base-board, in rooms, 
there is often a crack which lets in cold air about 
the feet. Fill up these cracks snugly with putty. 
Go over the lower part of the sash in each window, 
and fasten it securely to prevent rattling. Paste 
narrow strips of paper, or cloth, of the color of the 
frame, neatly over each crack. Any loose glass 
should be securely puttied in. 
All this work should be done before cold weather 
sets in. Often large bills for doctor’s attendance 
can be avoided by taking these precautions against 
drafts of cold air in the house. E. E. R. 
Catch-All. 
To make this catch-all, cover a piece of tin or 
paste-board, twenty inches long, and four wide, 
joined into a ring, with bright-flowered chintz. 
To the lower part of the ring run a strip of material 
a catch-all. 
twelve inches deep, and a yard long, seamed to¬ 
gether. After it is sewed on, gather it at the bot¬ 
tom to make a full, fluffy bag, and add two small 
tassels of zephyr. Around the upper edge sew 
another piece of material, like the bag, six inches 
deep, and long enough to go around the ring easily. 
Sew a ribbon or braid an inch and a half from the 
upper edge to make a casing, in which run a nar¬ 
row silk braid, or a cord, for a draw-string. Fasten 
a heavy worsted cord at each side, by which to 
hang it up. F. T. W. 
Freezing Clothes Dry. —Thick garments, and 
even thin ones, are injured by the customary hang¬ 
ing them out in winter to “freeze dry.” The wet 
fibres, even if but a sixteenth of an inch long, are 
sufficiently expanded in freezing to greatly weaken, 
if not break them. The VuAh-inch of expansion 
in a thread an eighth-inch long is enough to break, 
the small fibres, however tough and strong. 
