416 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September. 
Don’t Leave the Table. 
It is often that the one who presides at the table 
must also be her own waiter there, and it is very 
annoying to her, and to the guests, to he obliged 
to leave her seat every now and then to get some 
needed article, or to change the plates. Much of 
this unpleasant movement may be avoided by ttie 
use of a low side table ; we have heard this called 
a “ dumb waiter,” a name which belongs to a very 
different affair; the French call it a servante. The 
engraving shows a convenient form for an arrange¬ 
ment of this kind; the size may be larger or 
smaller, according to that of the table itself. It 
should be strong and solid, and provided with cas¬ 
ters, to allow it to be easily moved. The shelves 
below are important ; they increase the holding ca¬ 
pacity, and allow soiled dishes, etc., to be put out 
A COMMON SIDE TABLE. 
of sight. We have seen an excellent makeshift 
made from a box of convenient size, placed upon 
rollers ; in this there was a shelf, which, with the 
bottom and top of the box, afforded three places to 
hold articles. A strip around three sides of the 
top will be useful to keep articles from slipping 
off. A common box, with the sides neatly uphol¬ 
stered with some material of quiet color, and the 
top, shelf, etc., covered with oilcloth,would answer. 
These side tables are very common in city homes. 
Hints for the Sick-Room. 
Sickness is too apt to be synonymous with sad¬ 
ness, and it is all important that the person in 
charge of a patient should wear a bright, hopeful 
countenance. The weak look to the strong for 
support, and are quick to mark the slightest tokens 
of uneasiness or apprehension on the part of those 
about their bedsides, although they may give no 
outward expression of their sense of it at the 
time. A nurse who combines apparent confidence 
as to a happy result, with the tender attentions 
necessary to secure it, does but discharge the 
proper functions of her calling, save in extreme 
cases, of which we are not treating here. 
Let the nurse be quiet. Let her dress be of no 
stiff or rustling material; her shoes of a kind that 
shall in no wise creak or cry. The modulation of 
the voice, too, should be carefully attended to. 
We cannot, and should not, forbear attendance 
upon the sick, because nature has not gifted us 
with that rare, blessed boon, of a sweet and mu¬ 
sical voice ; yet, even more earnestly than the elo¬ 
cutionist, should the nurse study to modulate such 
organs as she does possess, to the utmost gentle¬ 
ness of which they are capable. For nothing is of 
greater importance, we would assure her, if she 
desires to soothe irritated nerves, and quiet per¬ 
turbed spirits, than to use an habitually soft and 
calm speech in all her conversation, either with the 
sick or in their presence. 
It is primarily important that an attendant 
should give quick heed to the physician’s orders, 
and obey them exactly. The hard-headed and 
opinionated nurse is one who incurs a heavy re¬ 
sponsibility, and in nine cases out of ten brings to 
grief her patient as well as herself. All important 
as is the province of the nurse, yet she should ever 
remember that it is subordinate to that of the 
physician, whose work it is to indicate the direc¬ 
tion and limits of her course. The best things 
lose their good qualities when misplaced and ill- 
applied. Another quality that 
the nurse should sedulously cul¬ 
tivate is, watchfulness as to her 
patient’s moods. She should 
adapt her conduct carefully to 
the demands of the minute, as 
indicated by expression of coun¬ 
tenance, or even an involuntary 
gesture, where the case is of a 
sick person who would be pa¬ 
tient if he could. In these days, 
'When nervous maladies are so 
common, too much stress can 
not be laid upon this point. 
And yet it is a difficult lesson 
to instil by mere precept, for it 
involves tact, a subtile quality 
that is commonly thought to be 
more nearly allied to the graces 
than virtues, therefore rather 
an endowment of nature than 
a fruit of endeavor. Fortu¬ 
nately, however, for poor humanity, nearly every 
right thing and tact among the number is attain¬ 
able by patient effort, guided by good sense, such 
as all people of sound mind may reasonably aspire 
to. Then let not the plainest nurse despair of at¬ 
taining to this crowning grace of her profession. 
In pursuance of this end, guard well the tongue. 
Take care that no disagreeable topic of conversa¬ 
tion be continued, if perchance introduced. Get 
more imperative; guard against talking at all 
when the patient indicates by his own silence a de¬ 
sire for quiet. If the vote of all the sick were 
taken as to that fault in their nurses, from which 
they suffer most, we should not be surprised if, 
with one voice, they would say, garrulity. It is 
conceded that truth lies at the foundation of all 
popular beliefs; and if so, then nurses, as a class, 
are prone to talk too much. Let so base a vice as 
gossip no longer degrade one of the noblest and 
beneficent of human callings—the care of the 6ick. 
A Seat in the Grove. 
A correspondent sent us a sketch of his device 
for making a seat in a grove. A tree had been 
feiled, leaving a stump of convenient bight. The 
top of this was made level, and surmounted with 
A BASKET TARD SEAT. 
a cover of one of the modern styles of peach 
baskets, which is made of clastic splints. When 
this cover is attached by a strong nail in the 
center, it forms an inviting and convenient seat. 
Splasher for the Wash-stand. 
The material used in making this splasher is 
fine white crash, which may be purchased for about 
ten or fifteen cents a yard. The size of the splasher 
will depend upon the space to be covered. The 
material must be cut with the selvedge at the top 
and bottom. The raw edges at each end must be 
hemmed. Trace the design lightly with lead-pen¬ 
cil, and work it in outline stitch with fine cotton.. 
Scarlet is prettiest, and retains the color better 
when washed. Follow the outline carefully that. 
the design may not be lost in working. Another 
pretty kind is made of linen, the design drawn on 
the cloth with indelible ink. In this case the design 
is not to be embroidered, as the color of the ink is 
permanent. The splasher is to be tacked to the 
wall just above the back of the washstand, thus 
preventing the wall from being spotted with water. 
Outline pictures of various designs may be used ; 
flowers, birds, or a combination of both. The 
Kate Greenway pictures are favorites, as the quaint 
little figures can be very prettily arranged in a 
beautiful framework of flowers. M. E. W. 
Cooking Vegetables Poorly and Well. 
POTATOES—CABBAGES—TURNIPS — KOHL-RABI—PEAS. 
The difference in taste and nutritiousness be¬ 
tween properly and poorly cooked and served 
vegetables is very great; the extra cost and labor 
of the former are very little. 
Potatoes are an expensive food, because four 
out of every five pounds are water; at thirty to 
thirty-five cents a bushel, they furnish more costly 
nutriment than flour at five dollars to seven dollars 
per barrel. Yet they are everywhere grown, are 
relished, and largely consumed. In all methods of 
cooking whole potatoes, select those of nearly the 
same size, whether large or small, as the cooking 
will be more uniform. Baking is preferable to 
boiling, if they are done through without blacken¬ 
ing or hardening the shell, as they are more mealy, 
are. swallowed in a more finely pulverized condi¬ 
tion, and therefore more easily digested, and all the 
nutriment is preserved, as proper baking merely 
expels the useless water. Any portion that is 
blackened or baked hard is indigestible, and fur¬ 
nishes little or no nutriment. As ordinarily hard 
baked, not over half of their substance is appro¬ 
priated as digested food. Pricking them with a 
fork in many places before baking, aids the escape 
of moisture and renders them more mealy. If 
boiled in their jackets, peeling should follow, and 
then et them stand awhile in a hot kettle or bak¬ 
ing pan until the contained water escapes. If 
pared before boiling, a wearisome, wasteful, use¬ 
less process, the after drying is desirable, but 
slight baking after boiling is an improvement, 
rendering watery, soggy kinds more palatable and 
digestible. Frying potatoes is the worst method, 
though if in very thin slices, ordiuary digestive 
organs can dispose of them. Small new or unripe 
a design for a splastier. 
