530 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Flower Bos, with Supports. 
Flowers in pots do not, as a rule, have room 
enough to expand their roots properly; we have 
had more success with flowers grown in boxes of 
the shape given in the illustration. This box is con¬ 
venient for window-gardeniug, or can be used in 
the summer for plants generally put into pots. 
Some of the finest geraniums we ever raised dur¬ 
ing the winter months were grown in such a box. 
A. FLOWER BOX. 
It is made of inch pine, the bottom being common 
rough stuff of that thickness, and the sides of 
planed material. It is thirty inches long and 
twelve inches wide, the sides being four inches 
high. It should be screwed together, to prevent 
the moisture in the soil from drawing the joints 
apart, which is often the case when nails are used. 
In each corner, neat, nicely planed oak or hickory 
pieces, one inch square, are securely fastened, the 
pieces being about twelve or fifteen inches high ; 
to these are attached stout cords, to keep the 
branches of the plant within bounds. The box 
can be painted, stained, or varnished on the out¬ 
side, as may be desired by the owner. 
The Home Crematory. 
When one who has lived in a city removes to 
the country, he soon misses several of the conven¬ 
iences necessary to a dense population. One of 
the most prominent of these is the scavenger’s or 
dustman’s cart, which in well-regulated cities and 
towns comes around at stated intervals to carry 
away the household wastes. These wastes, known 
by the comprehensive name of rubbish, occur in a 
country house as well as in a city residence, and 
are more noticeable for the reason that there is no 
provision for their removal. A large share of the 
family wastes may be made useful, so to speak, by 
destroying them, that is, by burning, by yvhieh all 
that is of any value will he left in the form of 
ashes. Every country place, large or small, should 
afford some comer in which a crematory, or “ bum 
heap ” may be located. The wastes of a house¬ 
hold arc of three classes : The utterly useless and 
incombustible, such as old crockery and stone 
ware, old iron vessels, fruit cans, etc., which are 
best disposed of by burying in a deep hole ; then 
there are the weeds, vegetable refuse of the gar¬ 
den, and other materials that will decompose, 
which may be turned to good account in the pig¬ 
pen or on the manure heap ; still a third class com¬ 
prises materials which cannot be readily converted 
into manure, and are too valuable to bury. Of this 
kind are all clippings and primings of trees and 
shrubs, all weeds too far advanced for the manure 
heap on account of their seeds, old stakes and 
labels which are of no further use, waste paper 
and other combustibles that accumulate in the 
house, and various other materials. We find it 
convenient to have a barrel in a suitable place to 
receive all waste papers and such rubbish as would 
be scattered if placed upon the heap at once, and 
the best disposition to make of otherwise useless 
barrels is, to consign them to the heap with their 
contents. If such rubbish is occasionally com¬ 
pacted by pounding it down, using a heavy stake 
as a pounder, a barrel will hold a surprising quan¬ 
tity. At a convenient time such accumulations 
should be burned, of course, taking all proper 
precautions against burning anything else. It may 
be sometimes necessary to add combustible mate¬ 
rials as fuel, in order that all the contents of the 
heap may be thoroughly burned and reduced to 
ashes. It is to be kept in mind that the chief end 
and object of this method, aside from getting rid 
of the rubbish, is the ashes. Hence the heap, in¬ 
stead of covering a wide area, should be kept with 
as small a base as possible, and care taken to 
secure thorough burning. Soon after the fire is 
out, the ashes should be taken up ; never mind if 
some soil is mixed with them, and placed in bar¬ 
rels or boxes for future use. Do not take these 
receptacles to a shed or other outbuilding, as there 
is always danger of hidden fire, but protect them 
from rain by covering with old boards. There is 
no crop, upon old land at least, whether of the 
farm, orchard, vegetable, or other garden, that will 
not be benefited by an application of ashes. Now 
that wood is but little used for fuel, this valuable 
fertilizer is annually becoming more rare and diffi¬ 
cult to procure. By proper attention in the direc¬ 
tion here indicated, a surprisingly large quantity of 
ashes may be secured, while much unsightly rub¬ 
bish is disposed of. We would add that, as a rule, 
the best method of utilizing all large bones is, to 
place them on the heap and allow their ashes 
to add to the fertilizing value of the rest. 
A Quaint, Antique Chair. 
Now that antique forms in furniture are popular, 
we give a design of a chair which may be easily 
made. If the pattern is not exactly reproduced, it 
will suggest the putting together of a chair that 
will be both useful and ornamental, in the farmer’s 
hall, or “front entry,” on the piazza, or, if neatly 
made, even in the parlor. Those who have the use 
of a lathe can easily turn the parts, or, in the ab¬ 
sence of this, such a chair would be pleasing even 
if made in rustic work, of such material as the 
limbs of the Red-cedar, or roots and branches of 
the Mountain Laurel. The pattern is taken from 
the President’s Chair at Harvard University, Cam¬ 
bridge, Mass. The history of the chair is lost in an¬ 
tiquity, but it has been in use for more than a cen¬ 
tury, and is still occupied by the President of Har¬ 
vard when he confers the degrees at the annual 
commencements of this old University. 
CofllVe Flavoring;. —To many persons the 
flavor of good coffee is preferable to that of va¬ 
nilla, cinnamon, lemon, or nutmeg. Strong coffee, 
especially the first clear liquid obtained by passing 
a little water through good roasted coffee, not 
that burned to a bitter taste, may be successfully 
substituted for other flavors in many kinds of 
cake, and in some pudding sauces, 
Where to Place Fly Screens. 
Fly screens for doors and windows are no longer 
needed this season and have, doubtless, been re¬ 
moved and placed where they are always in the way, 
or where somebody will be almost certain to put 
his foot through them sometime during the winter; 
or else they are hung up in some spot from whence 
they will, at the proper moment, tumble upon 
some one’s devoted head and crack the skull there¬ 
of. Now, it is no more trouble to place them and 
all their belongings out of the way at once, than 
to put them right in the way where nobody can 
find them when they are needed again. Take olf 
all the springs and attachments, tie them together, 
and fasten each lot to its own screen; then take the 
screens and fasten them with screws against the 
inside of some shed, as shown in the cut. Next 
summer when you need them you will find them 
all together, straight and in proper condition for ser¬ 
vice, instead of being twisted, warped and broken, 
and their attachments scattered to the four winds. 
How Shall we Dress. 
It is the laudable ambition of every true lady, to 
dress as well as her means and taste will admit. 
Those who live far away from the principal cities 
cannot see for themselves, what is new and appro¬ 
priate to the season. To these we hope to give some 
idea of the prevailing styles, for dresses, hats, 
cloaks, children’s garments, etc. Inquiries upon 
these and other household matters may be ad¬ 
dressed to Household Department, American Agri¬ 
culturist. The numerous fashion magazines, 
many of them admirable, are suited mostly for 
those who have abundant means, and are able to 
have a variety of dresses. We shall write for those 
only who wish to dress in the best style on moder¬ 
ate means. 
For fall dresses, basques, polonaises, and redin- 
gotes, (a long tight fitting outside garment) 
are still worn. Basques are shorter—often pointed 
before and behind, and very short on the hips. 
An old polonaise may be modernized by cutting off 
the front into a basque shape, leaving the back as 
it is and puffing it very full. An apron front of 
velvet, brocade, or anything which will harmonize 
with the material, may be inserted. These aprons 
are gathered full around the waist, and hang long 
and loose, cut at the bottom in battlements, or 
points—or fitted plain, and looped full and high 
upon the hips. For plain skirts to wear with plaid 
or figured over-dresses, a deep plaited flounce is 
best. For a plain suit, a skirt with a plaiting—of 
either side or box plaits,—about three inches deep, 
with narrow or broad tucks above, is very neat. 
For silk, a broad ruche, plaited very full above the 
flounce, is simple and dressy. Sleeves are for the 
most part long and plain. Some are puffed on the 
shoulders, but this style is not generally becoming; 
