374. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[October, 
the pan; this is perforated with numerous holes 
through which the stems of the flowers are thrust. 
The pan in this case, of course, contains water. 
Below is a wire basket which can be lined with 
moss, and hold a pot of Ivy, the stems of which 
may be entwined around the legs of the stand. 
The legs are of 
the shape given in 
fig. 2, A ; they are 
first sawed out 
of a black walnut 
plank, and then 
worked into a 
rounded shape by 
use of the draw¬ 
ing knife, spoke- 
sliave, or even a 
Fig. 3. -top OF stand. jack-knife. The 
shape of the curv¬ 
ed cross pieces near the bottom of the stand is shown 
at i>, figure 2. After the pieces are rounded, a 
“rustic” appearance is given to the work by lining 
it with shallow grooves by means of a small gouge, 
such as is used by wood-carvers. The whole is 
finished by oiling it with linseed oil. When the 
stand is not occupied by flowers, Mr. Allen con¬ 
verts it into a useful article of furniture by means 
of tlie circular top, figure 3. This has a projec¬ 
tion to lit into the upper part of the stand in place 
of the zinc pan. Any one who is at all handy with 
tools can readily make this really pretty article of 
furniture from the engravings we have given. 
-——— g p- > - 
Household Talks. 
BY AUNT HATTIE. 
Almost every housekeeper fancies (hat her way 
of making pickles is the best, at any rate, I for one 
must plead guilty to the charge, for certainly I do 
think my mangoes and the way I manage my 6-gal¬ 
lon churn crock cannot be beaten. Some few years 
ago, I came across an old-fashioned churn which 
suited my ideas of a pickle crock admirably, as it 
was tall and narrow. The lid was lost or broken, 
and it was chipped a little on the bottom, but did 
not leak, however. Being useless as a churn with¬ 
out a properly constructed lid, the storekeeper 
made a reasonable deduction from its original price. 
It has always been my mango crock, has been 
full every fall and invariably empty every spring. 
About the time of early frost, I take every musk- 
melou I can find of suitable size and kind. The 
smaller, greener, and smoother skinned, the better. 
I never use those larger than a goose egg, nor any 
rough skinned ones. For materials for stuffing I 
procure a quantity of small, round, green tomatoes, 
two or three heads of cauliflower, as many small 
cucumbers as possible, radish pods, nasturtiums, 
and carrots, in fact, any kind of vegetable that 
will make pickle, including small button onions. 
From each melon I cut a slice or square, accord¬ 
ing to fancy, and take out the pulp, and seeds, re¬ 
serve the lid with each, and set on oue side until 
all are done; then I stew the tomatoes, peel the 
onions, and cut the cauliflower into small branches 
leaving a head to each little stem, scrape and slice 
the carrots, etc. When all are done, place a few 
melons on the bottom of the crock, filling in the 
spaces with the prepared ingredients, aud so on 
until the crock is full. By usinga little care in pre¬ 
paring, a less quantity of brine will be needed; this 
will apply also as regards vinegar. To two gallons 
of boiling water add a pint and a half of salt and a 
piece of alum as large as a butternut, and as soon as 
dissolved pour over the mangoes and let them stand 
three or four days, when they will be ready to fin¬ 
ish. During this time I make ready the spices 
and vinegar needed. A darning needle and white 
darning cotton will be needed to secure the lid of 
each mango, after it is filled. Then I shall want 6 
quarts of the best cider vinegar, % of a lb. of mus¬ 
tard seed, 2 ounces of allspice, 14 an ounce of 
mace, a root or two of ginger, green is best, two or 
three peppers, and a tablespoonful of pounded 
alum. I reject cinnamon and cloves, from sour 
vegetable pickle, and reserve them for sweet fruit 
pickle—there is method in all things,even in pickles. 
In five days at the longest, take the vegetables from 
the brine, wash in clear spring water, and let them 
drain an hour or two ; then fill each melon with a 
pleasant variety, such as an onion, a piece of cauli¬ 
flower, a cucumber, a small tomato, a slice of car¬ 
rot, and one teaspoonful of mustard seed, adjust 
the proper lid, secure it with the needle and thread, 
and fill each one in the same way. When all are 
filled, put a few on the bottom of the crock with 
the lid uppermost, and fill the spaces with any in¬ 
gredients remaining over, and so on until the jar 
is full. Boil the vinegar with the alum and spices 
before mentioned, and any mustard seed not used 
in the filling, aud pour boiling hot over the whole, 
and they are ready to put away for winter use. Do 
not tie the spice in a bag, but allow it to arrange 
itself among the mangoes. This pickle will 
keep any length of time the family will allow. 
It may be thought to savor of vulgar taste, but I 
assure you that every one of our household, Ed¬ 
ward especially, is fond of pickled onions, and it is 
an invariable rule with me to do up a bushel and 
ahalf every fall; and I have never found that quan¬ 
tity more than enough to supply our wants. In 
former years it has been a serious matter to get 
such a quantity in proper condition for pickling, 
and many were the tears shed over the jacket strip¬ 
ping process, but I am happy to say that tears and 
stained fingers as respects onions, are things of 
the past, for they are quite unnecessary. With a 
sharp knife, cut off neatly the top and bottom 
from each, and throw into a tub or crock, and pour 
over them a boiling lye made of wood ashes. It 
should be as strong as possible. Most of the skins 
will come off immediately. I have never repeated 
the process, but I suppose if the first lye was re¬ 
moved, and fresh poured over, no further trouble 
would be needed; as it is, with me it has been nec¬ 
essary to use a knife in removing some of the skins. 
They should be well washed from the lye before 
handling. When ready, pour over a little stronger 
brine than that used for the mangoes, say 1 quart 
of salt to two gallons of water, without alum. Let 
them stand a week, when they may be washed and 
drained for a few hours, and boiling vinegar poured 
over them, spiced as for the mangoes, or if more 
convenient, with red peppers alone, as they are 
really a spice in themselves. Do not forget to add 
the alum, however, as it is necessary to restore 
them to their original crispness. The middle of 
October is the best time to make this pickle. 
I have also a 3-gallon crock known by the name 
of the pear jar. It is devoted to a sweet pickle, 
made of pears, seasoned with sugar, viuegar, cin¬ 
namon, and cloves. Just before pears are fully 
ripe, I peel the desired quantity and boil until ten¬ 
der in a syrup made to my taste—say oue and ahalf 
to two pounds of sugar to oue quart of vinegar. 
I boil a few at a time, and when all are done, cover 
with boiling syrup and put away for use.-My 4- 
gallon peach crock is filled nearly every fall with 
peaches done very much in the same way as the 
pears. I sometimes omit to peel them, in which 
case I insert 3 or 4 cloves into each. But little 
prepared syrup is necessary, as a great deal of 
juice is formed from the peaches themselves. 
Yes, quite an array of crocks, but then not half 
as' many as used in-some families. Here is the 
ripe tomato crock, the small cucumber, the mango, 
the onion, the peach, the pear, the preserved 
lb. for lb. damson crock, the plum pickle, aud 
the large green cucumbers stuffed aud pickled ex¬ 
actly as the muskmelons ; they are nearly as good, 
some prefer them. The higdom jar, the pickled 
cherries, and here is the ripe cucumber sweet 
pickle, and the ripe watermelon rind, both made 
alike, the latter the nicer, however, as it is more 
tender and of better flavor. But I must tell you 
how to make it as it is excellent, but I did not show 
you my stuffed large peppers, or my green tomato 
mangoes, both filled with sliced cabbage seasoned 
witli mustard, and then my sliced green tomato and 
onion, just the season for making it now as the 
frost, if there is any, does not injure the tomatoes 
materially. But enough—let us go to the melon 
pickle. Take the rind of ripe watermelon, peel 
and cut into slices, and pack in ajar, pour in over 
them a little vinegar or salt and water. I prefer 
the vinegar. In 24 hours, boil until tender in a 
syrup made of 2 lbs. of sugar to one quart of vine¬ 
gar spiced with cassia buds or cinnamon and cloves 
as preferred. Boil a few only at a time, and when 
all are done, pour over the remaining syrup. If 
not enough to cover well, make a little more. 
Higdom is made of vegetables—generally green 
tomatoes and onions chopped fine, and salted for 
a few hours. Drain thoroughly and place in a jar. 
Pour over boiling vinegar, spiced with mustard, 
allspice, and peppers; strain before pouring over. 
-■*-<——-- 
A Meat and Durable Tidy. 
An engraving is here given of a tidy which is 
easily made, is very pretty when done, and which cau 
be washed and done up to look as good as new. 
The materials required are spool cottou thread, 
No. 12, and a frame -14 inches square, which can 
be readily made of half inch strips. Upon the • 
outer edge of each side of the frame are cut 
Fig. 1.— THREAD TIDY. 
twenty notches, half an inch apart, beginning 
two inches from the corner. At each of these 
notches the frame is wound with thread, using 
from ten to fifteen turns, as the tidy is wanted heav¬ 
ier or lighter. When the frame has been wound 
iu one direction, then wind the cotton in the same 
manner the other way. If the notches have been 
properly placed, the threads will cross at right 
angles, dividing the body of the tidy into squares. 
Then take a nec- 
dlewith doubled 
cotton aud tic 
the crossed 
threads, as is 
shown in figure 
2. Commence at 
one corner and 
tie the thread 
fast, pass it diag¬ 
onally across the 
square, pass the 
needle around 
the threads 
Fig. 2. -PORTION OF TIDY. ^ ^ 
and tie asingle knot. The whole is to be tied over in 
one direction, and then in the opposite. Figure 2, 
which shows some squares of the natural size, will 
enable the construction to be readily understood. 
When all the tying is done, cut the threads where 
they pass around the frame, and the fringe is formed. 
After washing and starching, it should be stretched 
in shape and pinned out to dry. Is not to be ironed. 
Herbs for Winter. —Tying aromatic herbs 
in bunches, and hanging them in a garret or 
other place until needed, is not the best way 
to keep them. After drying, place the herbs near 
the stove for a short time, remove and cooi, when 
they can be rubbed to a moderately fine powder be¬ 
tween the hands, leaving only the useless stems. 
Keep the powdered herbs iu well stopped bottles 
properly labeled. Every housewife should have 
sage, thyme, summer savory, and sweet marjoram. 
