THE CULTIVATOR. 
131 
HINTS TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 
A writer of your paper of the 7th ult. over the signature of Syl- 
vanus, has offered excellent advice for curing bacon, and insists 
that the hogs, for this purpose, must be corn fed. How long must 
they be so ted is the question. 
Experience lias shown that it requires but a very short time to en¬ 
tirely change the flavor and texture of all kinds of flesh. In 1770 
I resided in New-Jersey where it was the custom to take great 
numbers of wild pigeons in spring-nets, by the assistance of decoy 
pigeons prepared for the purpose. The flesh of these birds, when 
first taken, is always very dark, and most generally tough. I have 
seen more than 300 of them confined and led in a large corn-house, 
and in one week their flesh has not only become tender, but as white 
as a well fed chicken. 
In 1784, I promised to present to a brother just married a prime 
beef towards his winter stores. I had a fine steer and a spayed hei¬ 
fer in a large wheat field abounding with wild garlic; my brother 
named a day to send for his beef, and three days previous we killed 
the heifer, which, although extremely fat, was to my great disap¬ 
pointment, so thoroughly tainted with garlic, even to the marrow in 
the bones, that my house servants refused to eat it—a bad prospect 
for my brother, whose wagon came the fourth day ; and in despair I 
killed his beef, which was beautiful to the eye. I did not at the time 
pay much attention to a remark of his feeder, who observed that the 
steer had not eat any thing since the heifer was killed; my trouble 
was the certainty of my brother’s disappointment, but to my great 
joy, I soon received his letter of thanks, saying, that a more juicy, 
tender, and fine-flavored beef could not be. 
The foregoing facts are known to every experienced farmer, and 
they have convinced me, that hogs fed upon corn for two weeks is 
much better than two months, for the plain reason that the flesh is 
equally good, and the expense is less. 
Hogs, as generally managed, are not only the most troublesome, 
but the most costly flesh we consume, and I have, for many years, 
been in pursuit of a plan to lighten the cost of their flesh, which is 
so absolutely necessary for the establishment of every Marylander. 
I flatter myself that I now see my way clear, for after two years tri¬ 
al, I am well satisfied that the use of cymblins, pumpkins, ruta baga 
and clover will enable me to send more corn to market, and with 
two weeks feeding upon that precious grain, my bacon will not yield 
to that of any person. No branch of rural economy requires more 
attention than feeding our various kinds of stock. Our northern 
friends laugh and say, that in Maryland the hogs eat all our corn, 
and our negroes eat all our hogs. This is too true to deny, and it 
my mite can, in your opinion, be of any use to the public, it is at 
your service.— American Farmer. 
IMPORTANCE OF ABLUTION AND BATHING. 
When the saline and animal elements left by the perspirations 
are not duly removed by washing or bathing, they at last obstruct 
the pores and irritate the skin—-and it is apparently for this reason, 
that in the eastern and warmer countries, where perspiration is very 
copious, ablution and bathing have assumed the rank and importance 
of religious observances. Those who are in the habit of using the 
fl sh-brush daily are at first surprised at the quantity of while dry 
scurf which it brings off; and those who take a warm bath for half 
an hour, at long intervals, cannot fail to have noticed the great 
amount of impurities which is removed, and the grateful feeling of 
comfort which its use imparts. The warm, tepid, cold or shower 
bath, as a means of preserving health, ought to be in as common 
use as a change of apparel, for it is equally a measure of necessary 
cleanliness. Many, no doubt, neglect this, and enjoy health notwith¬ 
standing, but many, very many, suffer from its omissions ; and even 
the former would be benefitted by employing it. The perception of 
this truih is gradually extending, and baths are now to be found in 
fifty places for one in which they could be obtained twenty years 
ago. Even yet, however, we are far behind our continental neigh¬ 
bors in this respect. They justly consider the bath as a necessary 
of life, while we still regard it as luxury. 
When we consider the importance of the exhalation performed 
by the skin, the extent to which ablution and bathing of every de¬ 
scription are neglected in charitable institutions, in seminaries for 
the young, and even by many persons who consider themselves the 
patterns of cleanliness, is almost incredible. Mr. Stuart, in speak¬ 
ing of the North Americans, states in his remarks, that “ the prac¬ 
tice of travellers washing at the doors, or in the porticoes or stoops, 
or at the wells of taverns, and hotels once a day, is most prejudicial 
to health ; the ablution of the body, which ought never to'be ne¬ 
glected, at least twice a day , in a hot climate, being altogether in¬ 
consistent with it. In fact,” he adds, “ I have found it more diffi¬ 
cult, in travelling in the United States, to procure a liberal supply of 
water at all times of the day and night in my bed chamber than to 
obtain any other necessary. A supply for washing the face and 
hands once a day seems all that is thought requisite.” But bad as this 
is, I fear that numbers of sensible people may be found much nearer 
home, who limit their ablutions to the visible parts of their persons 
and would even express surprise if told that more than this is neces¬ 
sary to health. Certain it is, that many never wash their bodies at 
all, unless they happen to be at sea-bathing quarters in summer, or 
oppressed with heat, when they will resort to bathing as a means of 
comfort, but wuthout thinking at all of its efficacy as a means of 
cleanliness in preserving health. In many public charities and 
schools, in like manner, bathing or ablution is never thought of 
as a proper or practicable thing, except for the sick; and yet, it 
is obviously of great importance to every one, especially to the 
young. 
For general use, the tepid or warm bath seems to me much more 
suitable than the cold bath: especially in winter, and for those 
who are not robust and full of animal heat. Where the constitu¬ 
tion is not sufficiently vigorous to secure reaction after the cold bath, 
as indicated by a warm glow over the surface, its use inevitably does 
harm. A vast number of persons are in this condition ; while on the 
contrary, there are few indeed who do not derive evident advan¬ 
tage from the regular use of the tepid bath, and still fewer who are 
hurt by it. 
While the health is good, and the bodily powers are sufficiently 
vigorous, the cold bath during summer, and the shower bath in win¬ 
ter, may serve every purpose required from them. But it should ne¬ 
ver be forgotten, that they are too powerful in their agency to be 
used with safety by every one, especially in cold weather. 
In proportion as cold bathing is influential in the restoration of 
health when judiciously used, it is hurtful when resorted to without 
discrimination; and invalids, therefore, ought never to have re¬ 
course to it without the sanction of their professional advisers. 
Even where cold bathing is finely to be of service when judicious¬ 
ly employed, much mischief often results from prolonging the immer¬ 
sion too long, or resorting to it when the vital powers are too lan¬ 
guid to admit of the necessity of reaction; before breakfast, for ex¬ 
ample, or after fatigue. For this reason many persons derive much 
benefit from bathing in the forenoon, who, when they bathe in the 
morning before taking any sustenance, do not recover their natural 
heat and elasticity of feeling. 
For those who are not robust, daily sponging of the body with cold 
water and vinegar, or salt water, is the best substitute for the cold 
bath, and may be resorted to with safety and advantage in most 
states of the system; especially when care is taken to excite in the 
surface, by subsequent faction with the flesh brush or hair glove, the 
healthy glow of reaction. It then becomes an excellent preserva¬ 
tive from the effects of changeable weather. When, however, a 
continued sensation of coldness or chill is perceptible over the body, 
sponging ought not to be persisted in; drv friction, aided by the te¬ 
pid bath, is then greatly preferable, and often proves highly service¬ 
able in keeping up the due action of the skin.— Combe’s Principles 
of Philosophy. 
DEMAND CREATES A SUPPLY. 
The improvement of agriculture, like that of every art, manufac¬ 
ture, or commodity, necessarily depend on demand and production; 
a powerful or effectual demand will ensure produce, and excellent 
produce will, to a certain extent, create demand. A general nicety 
of taste in coach or saddle horses will call forth a superior descrip¬ 
tion of those animals, and superior animals will tempt purchasers; 
if the inhabitants of any district who live chiefly on barley or oats, 
indicate a preference for wheat, and a willingness to pay for that 
grain, wheat will be produced, and so on. Again, as the object of 
every individual who engages in art or trade is to acquire gain, the 
advancement of an art will depend mainly on the profits it affords; 
an art or occupation which affords less than the average profits on 
capita], will only be followed by such as from habit or other reasons, 
cannot apply themselves to any thing better, but extra profits will 
command both capital and skill. From these considerations it is ob¬ 
vious that the improvement of agriculture depends on the profits of 
