376 
I 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Rack for Newspapers. 
In a family where a number of papers are taken 
it is almost a necessity to have some accessible 
place besides the tables in which to keep them. A 
rack like the one given in the engraving can be 
hung beside the table, or on an out-of-the-way bit 
HACK FOR NEWSPAPERS. 
of wall space, and answers the purpose admirably. 
It is easily made of heavy card-board. Cut two 
pieces eighteen inches long and twelve inches wide 
for the back, and two pieces the 6ame length, and 
ten inches wide, for the front. The back pieces 
are covered with gray linen, and sewed bound 
together. The inner piece of the front is also faced 
with linen. The outside piece is covered with 
bronze-green felt, with corners of a darker shade, 
worked on with feather stitch in black silk floss. 
The bands are of darker shade, worked with bright 
colored silks in various hues. The band is fas¬ 
tened on the front with “blind stitch.” The long 
stitches which go across from one edge of the band 
to the other are of bright yellow brown; the shorter 
stitches which cross them are of dark red aDd 
light blue, and the stitches which extend outwards 
from the edge of the band are of black and pink 
silk. The bands are put on before the felt is attach¬ 
ed to the paste-board. After the two front pieces 
are put together, the back and front are sewed to¬ 
gether along the bottom, and a cord is attached to 
the front piece near the top, taken through two 
holes in the back, and fastened. Three brass rings 
are very firmly sewed to the upper edge of the 
back, by which the rack is hung against the Avail. 
A very pretty rack can be made by using linen 
throughout, omitting the corner-pieces, and mak¬ 
ing the bands of velvet, of knot-work, or of can¬ 
vass, worked with bright wool and silk. The shape 
may be changed by slightly rounding the upper 
corners of the front, or both the front and back. 
Summer Fancy Work. 
During warm weather, ladies enjoy some small 
“catch-work,” that can be easily slipped into a 
pocket or basket, and carried about on the piazzas 
or under the trees. For these odd moments, the 
daisy edging, made of rick-rack braid, still seems to 
hold its own. It is always useful for trimming all 
kinds of cotton goods. More elaborate fancy work 
is also in demand, and many exquisite lots of house- 
decoration are put together during the summer 
months. A simple, but exceedingly pretty scarf 
for a small table, may be made of three strips of 
broad ribbon, the center strip being of a contrast¬ 
ing color with the two outer ones ; thus, cardinal 
with shaded browns, or purple with old gold. Turn 
the ends back to make them pointed, and put a 
tassel or ball on each point. Baste the ribbon on a 
lining of silk silesia, or colored Canton flannel, and 
where the edges join, work fancy stitches. If de¬ 
sired, the center strip can be embroidered, or 
painted with sprays or a trailing vine. Crazy quilts 
have been the fashion for gome little time, and 
they well deserve their name, being a bewildering 
combination of silk, satin, and velvet patches of 
every conceivable hue and shape, joined together 
with gold floss in feather stitch. The effect is good, 
if artistically arranged, and these “ slumber robes,” 
as some persons call them, may be made very 
elegant by being bordered with a deep band of dark 
plush, and lined throughout with quilted crimson 
satin. We have seen some very pretty scrap- 
baskets, crocheted of fish-twine, in a long shell 
stitch, leaving openings between each three rows, 
two inches wide. The round bottoms are of solid, 
plain crochet. These baskets are starched very 
stiff, and while wet, stretched on a pail, where they 
are allowed to dry, and varnished with shellac, 
which makes them as firm as wicker-ware, and of 
somewhat the same color. Bright satin ribbon is 
run through the openings, and a bunch of artificial 
flowers fastened on the front. Those who live near 
or expect to visit the sea during the summer, will 
find many uses for the graceful sea-weeds thrown 
up by the waves. The simplest way to mount them 
is to float them upon panels of card-board. First 
soak the sea-weed thoroughly in a basin of water. 
Then have ready a flat dish, also filled with water, 
into which plaoe the piece to be mounted, and let it 
spread out. Slip the card-board under it, and raise 
it quickly out of the dish. Let the water drain off, 
and with a fine needle arrange the tiny branches. 
Lay the cards out to dry, and the sea-weed will be 
found as firmly fastened to the paper, as though 
glued. A beautiful album can be made of these 
“ flowers of the sea.” 
A Carpet Rag Looper. 
Mr. H. M. Stump, Randolph Co., Ind., sketches 
and describes a Carpet-rag Looper, from which 
the engraving, herewith given, is made. The 
Looper is made out of .an old saw blade, and is 
about 4 inches long, and } inch wide in its widest 
part. There should be a slot large enough to ad¬ 
mit the ends of the rags. In use, force one end 
into a block of wood, then push a rag down over 
the looper, push another rag over on the opposite 
side, and put the loose end of the first rag through 
the slot and pull both rags from the looper. Rags 
may be looped quickly with this instrument. 
The Care of Ice. 
In most localities, ice-houses are now so common 
that there is usually little difficulty in procuring a 
supply of ice. Still, in newly settled places, ice is 
often difficult to obtain, and must be brought from 
a distance. In the sick-room, especially in some 
fevers, the life of the patient almost depends upon 
having ice. Then this usually cheap commodity 
becomes very precious, and every care must be 
taken for its preservation. The common method 
of wrapping a lump of ice in a blanket, answers very 
well as long as that remains dry, but as soon as the 
blanket is wet through by the melting of the ice, it 
becomes a poor protection. The advice, to place the 
ice upon a feather pillow and cover it with another, 
may be followed, if nothing bettercan be done. This 
affords the proper conditions for the preservation 
of ice, in completely surrounding it by some non¬ 
conductor of heat. It will not require much in¬ 
genuity to so prepare a box, with a lining of cotton- 
batting, felt, or other non-conductor of heat, that 
it will preserve ice for a long time. If the ice is 
to be used in small bits, to be placed in the mouth 
of the patient, use a sharp awl for chipping off 
pieces of the proper size. If powdered ice is to be 
applied to the head, etc., first break the ice into 
pieces as large as a hen’s egg, then put these into 
a canvas bag or a coarse, very strong towel, and 
by using a wooden mallet, gradually at first, it may 
be reduced to a fine powder. Rubber bags are 
made to hold ice in applying it to the head, etc., 
but in the absence of these, a bladder will answer. 
A Cabbage-Cutter. 
BY E. E. REXPOKD, WIS. 
The cutter herewith described was introduced into 
our neighborhood, by some German families who 
make a vast deal of sour kraut every autumn. Its 
A CABBAGE CUTTER. 
convenience is apparent at a glance ; its cost is 
light, and any carpenter can easily make one. Now- 
a-days, most cabbage is shaved into strips be¬ 
fore being cooked, and this little affair does the 
work quickly and well. It cuts fine enough for slaw, 
and can be used to slice potatoes for frying by 
adjusting the knives to cut the required thickness. 
It consists of a board about three feet long and 
a foot wide. In the center of this board, fitted di¬ 
agonally across a square opening, are knives, usu¬ 
ally made, here, out of old scythes, and set slant¬ 
ing like a plane-iron. To each edge of this bottom 
board are fitted strips having a flange on the upper 
part. The end-pieces of the box have notches cut 
in them to fit these flanges, which make a track for 
the box to slide on. It is best to make the strips 
of hard-wood. The box is slipped in on these 
flanges, and the cabbage, or whatever is to be cut, 
is put in the box and snugly pressed down. By 
sliding the box back and forth, and keeping the 
contents pressed down, each push shaves off a 
thickness, precisely as a plane takes off shavings 
from a board. These shavings fall through the 
openings between the knives, and drop into the 
pan or tub over which the apparatus is placed. 
[Small cutters for the same use, with but a single 
knife and without the box, are sold at the house¬ 
furnishing stores, under the name of “vegetable 
slicers.”—E ds.] 
A Summer Substitute for a Cistern. 
Many kitchens are without cisterns, and any sug¬ 
gestion regarding a substitute, by which a supply 
SUBSTITUTE FOR A CISTERN. 
of rain-water can be had, if for only part of the 
time, will be gladly received by housekeepers. My 
substitute is an old “rain-barrel.” Usually this 
stands at the corner of the house, and to obtain 
water from it obliges the women to go out of the 
