AMERICAS AGRICULTURIST. 
293 
1883.] 
merits and in semi-weekly changes, if one can 
manage it. At least half a dozen pairs of strong 
thick cotton drawers are needed by a child of three 
years. Though thick or heavy, the cloth should 
not be too firm or close of texture, as a loose fabric 
washes more easily. There should never be a gap 
between the stockings and drawers, but one should 
overlap the other. It is cheaper and easier for the 
mother to have the drawers come well over the 
knees, so that the hard wear, in children’s play, 
comes more on the strong cotton cloth than on the 
stocking; but fashion has lately been opposed to 
this, and knee darning and patching of stockings 
is no small task. 
Willie needs two good every-day petticoats, 
rather scant, plain in front, plaited behind, and 
sewed to a waist, with straps, or better still, with 
arm-holes cut in the waist. These may well be of 
flannel, as he needs no petticoat at all on very hot 
days. The long gingham apron, buttoned down the 
back, can be worn either with or without a dress 
underneath, according to the weather, and even 
without the petticoat, as of course it is by the 
larger boys. 
The stockings should be kept in place by elastic 
straps, one end buttoning to the outer-side of the 
stockings, and the other to a button on the bottom 
of the waist, under the arm. Garters that encircle 
the leg (especially above the knee) are generally 
condemned now, as interfering with the circula¬ 
tion of the blood. 
I have spoken only of Willie’s every-day clothes. 
Mamma will of course make his Sunday suit as 
tasteful as she pleases, and for that matter, his 
every-day clothes too. But first she will consider 
health, coiftfort, and convenience. R. 
A Duck Pen-Wiper. 
A neat and attractive wiper for pens may be 
made as shown in the engraving. A young duck, 
A DUCK PEN-WIPER. 
that has died soon after hatching, is stuffed and 
placed in a “ nest ” made of a series of cloths. 
The edges of the pieces, to serve as the wiper, 
may be cut with pleasing outlines. We do not ad¬ 
vocate the hatching of young ducks for making 
pen-wipers, but as accidents often befall young 
fowls, nearly every farmer’s poultry yard will fur¬ 
nish subjects to be used as here described. A 
young chick, though not so pretty, will answer 
well in place of a duckling. 
Fruit Culture for Women. 
The best way I know of for a farmer’s wife to 
earn something, is to cultivate small fruits for 
market. There is usually a good market for all 
varieties of small fruit. Nothing will yield a better 
profit for the labor expended, and the out-door 
work is particularly adapted to women and chil¬ 
dren. When a garden is once set out to strawber¬ 
ries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, etc. 
it is an easy matter to cultivate these fruits. On 
almost every farm there is more or less waste land 
and half an acre in a convenient place near the 
house, given to the mother and children as a fruit 
garden, properly cared for, would surprise the 
farmer with an income almost equal to his own. 
The wife of a poor farmer, and mother of eight 
children, adopted this plan of having a small fruit 
garden, and it has proved most profitable. Her 
husband plowed for her a small piece of ground, 
on which she and the children set out the straw¬ 
berry plants. The following year the vines were 
loaded with fruit, and besides furnishing her family 
with an abundance of berries, she sold twenty 
dollars worth. The bed was enlarged, more plants 
added, and she has now each year a fair income 
from strawberries alone. The family had formerly 
been denied almost everything but the bare neces¬ 
sities of life, but by the industry and energy of 
this mother, they now enjoy many comforts un¬ 
known to them before. N. B. 
A Case for Dust Cloths. 
A tidy housekeeper cannot get along without 
dusters and wipers. A convenient place to keep 
such articles is a Case made as shown in the illus- 
A DUST CLOTH CASE. 
tration, and hung on the kitchen wall. It has a 
division in the middle so that the dust cloth and 
the window and lamp wipers can be kept separate. 
It should be made large enough to accommodate 
all the dusters and w ipers in use, and a few others 
in reserve. Pieces for the back, front, bottom, and 
two sides, of the shape shown in the illustration, are 
cut from pasteboard. A third piece, the same size 
and shape as the sides, is fastened in the middle of 
the case, to make the two compartments. Each 
piece is covered with light oil-cloth and bound 
around with woolen braid, a simple pattern having 
first been worked along the lower edge of the oil¬ 
cloth with zephyr, same color as the braid. After 
the case is sewed together, the extra piece is 
fastened in the center by a few stitches top and 
bottom. A corner of the oil-cloth scolloped along 
the front and bound with braid is sewed to the 
back. Also three rings or loops of braid to hang the 
case up by are sewn to the back. Two pieces of 
braid on the flap and two on the front serve for 
fastenings. A. F. W. 
Removing Fruit Stains. 
Fruit stains are not difficult to remove if one 
precaution is observed: all attempts to take out the 
stains should be made before the article is washed. 
Soap, in many cases, fixes the stain, making it 
much more difficult to remove. Many stains are 
discharged simply by the use of boiling water. Let 
one person hold the article a little stretched, while 
another pours boiling water upon the spot. Burn¬ 
ing a common sulphur match beneath a stain will 
often cause it to disappear at once, but the spot 
must be wet, else the sulphur fumes will not act. 
The most convenient application for fruit stains of 
all kinds is “ Javelle Water,” a solution of chlori¬ 
nated potash sold at the drug shops. A solution 
of “ Bleaching Powder ” (the so-called chloride of 
lime), is sometimes recommended. It will take out 
the stains, but the combination of the lime with 
soap, when the article is washed, will make the 
fabric harsh and unpleasant. The Javelle Wa¬ 
ter is similar in composition, potash being used 
in place of lime. When Javelle Water is used, 
dip the stained portion first in hot water, then 
wet it with the Javelle, and rinse at once. The 
Javelle Water is often much stronger than need 
be, and experiment will show how much it may be 
diluted, and still remove the stain. The applica¬ 
tion should be made just before the articles go into 
the wash. Where the stains are upon printed or 
colored materials, it is likely that the colors will be 
destroyed by Javelle Water. A small piece of 
the material should be tested before using it. 
For stains on such articles boiling water should be 
tried first. 
Canning Tomatoes. 
Many housewives think canning tomatoes is a 
mysterious and difficult operation. Here is my 
method : Place thoroughly ripe and sound to¬ 
matoes, a few at a time, in a kettle of boiling 
water. As soon as the skins crack, remove and 
peel the fruit, cutting out the hard stem part. 
Put the tomatoes into a porcelain or granite lined 
kettle and boil steadily until the watery juice has 
evaporated. Add for each gallon one heaping 
tablespoonful of salt, and one-half teaspoonful of 
cayenne pepper. Dip a coarse cloth in hot water, 
remove the rubber from the jar, dip it in hot water, 
and replace it on the jar, lightly wring your cloth, 
wrap it around the jar, set it in a pail or basin, 
with the surplus corners of the cloth under the 
jar, insert the canning-tunnel in the mouth of the 
jar, and with a common water dipper, fill the jar 
full of the boiling fruit. Put on the cover, screw 
it down tightly, and set the jar on a dry cloth, out 
of the draft to cool. When nearly cold, tighten 
the cover down once more. 
I keep my fruit in a cool, dark, dry cellar, in a 
board cupboard, resting on the ground. I have 
put up tomatoes after the foregoing rule for seven 
or eight years, and do not remember losing a single 
jar. I have always considered them one of the 
easiest of fruits to keep. Elder’s Wife. 
Strawberry Short-Cake. 
If one partakes of Strawberry Short-Cake in half 
a dozen different cafes, it is likely that a different 
preparation will be served at each. The old- 
fashioned Short-cake is in many eases replaced by 
a kind of confectionery, made with slices of cake 
(somewhat like pound-cake) covered with whipped 
cream, in which a few strawberries are imbedded. 
This is quite unlike the real thing. Among the rec¬ 
ipes for Short-Cake that have been tried, the fol¬ 
lowing was preferred: Flour, one quart; Butter, 
three tablespoonfuls; Buttermilk, (or rich sour 
milk) one large cupful; one Egg; White Sugar, 
(powdered) one tablespoonful; Soda, (dissolved in 
warm water) one teaspoonful; Salt, one saltspoon- 
ful. Mix the salt and sugar with the flour; chop up 
the butter in the flour ; add the egg and suda to the 
milk and mix, handling as little as possible. Roll 
out lightly, lay one sheet of paste upon the other 
in a round tin bake. While still warm, separate 
the cakes, and place between them a thick layer of 
strawberries, which should be abundantly sugared. 
Some place a layer of the fruit on the upper cake. 
It is eaten with sugar and cream. 
An Open Wood Box. 
The engraving illustrates a convenient wood- 
box. The “ shelf ” is a H-inch plank, L by2ifeet. 
A WOOD RACK. 
The end pieces are 28 inches high, with the shelf 
nailed on 10 inches from the floor. A cleat is fas¬ 
tened along the front. The ends may be cut away 
To form legs, as shown above. Such an open box 
or rack cannot become a receptacle for the refuse 
commonly thrown into the ordinary wood box. 
