42 
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HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. 
I noticed in the October number of the Cabinet 
a descriplion of a rug made of lambskin, with a bor¬ 
der of applique. The design is beautiful; but I think 
it could be improved by coloring the wool on the skin 
some bright color. This can easily be done with 
fuchine or Leamon’s dye. The prepared dye is best, 
but fuchine is cheaper, and green and red can be col¬ 
ored with fuchine. 
Wash the skin in a strong soapsuds, so as to cleanse 
it from grease; rinse in warm water. Use rain-water 
for washing and coloring. Stretch it on a clean board. 
Have your dye ready, not too hot or it will injure the 
skin. Wet the wool thoroughly, using a sponge for 
this; let it dry, and if it is not dark enough repeat the 
process until it is the color you desire. 
For a cheap carpet, I think straw matting is the 
best; it is cool and pleasant in the summer, and can 
be made to look warm and cosy for winter by the use 
of rugs. 
A very pretty rug can be made from a coffee sack. 
Cut the rug the size you desire, then work in the cen¬ 
tre a cat, dog, or any figure you failcy, with German¬ 
town yarn, in simple cross stitch the same as on can¬ 
vas. A border of leaves, worked with green yarn, 
would he very pretty for fringe; ravel the sacking to 
the depth of an inch or more, with hunches of the yarn 
worked an inch apart, using the same color in fringe 
you used in working on the sacking. 
A pretty way to train vines on a long porch or por- 
tico, is to have strings from the ground to the roof of 
the portico. After they are half way up, draw them 
apart and loop them like a curtain ; in the arch thus 
formed is a beautiful place to hang your bird cage. 
Another way is to tie a large hoop in making a green 
wreath, or you can hang hoops from the ceiling of the 
porch ; and if you have Madeira vines growing out¬ 
side, you cau bring in enough branches to cover 
them. 
A very pretty summer-house can be made by driving 
four cedar posts into the around, with one in the 
centre; it is better to have them forked a little at the 
top ; lay strips across the top and plant honeysuckles 
or Wisteria vines outside; train them up to the post 
in the centre. 
Not having a convenient place for my wardian case, 
except where there is only fire occasionally, 1 took the 
ferns and plants out and put them in the cellar, sent, to 
the woods for a nicely shaped cedar, put it in the cen¬ 
tre of the case, gathered a quantity of Chrysanthe¬ 
mums of all sizes and colors, cut off all of the leaves, 
as they turn brown very soon ; put the flowers among 
the cedar, hiding the stems; the flowers are as bright 
and pretty as when put in two months ago, and my 
case is as pretty as when I had growing plants 
in it. 
A pretty way to decorate your portico in the winter 
is to grow Ground Ivy in a shady place during the 
summer, and in winter All your hanging-baskets with 
it ; all it ueeds is a little water occasionally, as freez¬ 
ing does not hurt. 
For your vases use Arbor-vitse ; this can be grown 
from seed sown in the spring. Thus when winter, 
with its icy breath, has killed all of your delicate 
flowers, you can still have something to supply their 
place. 
A pretty bracket for the porch can be made and 
trimmed with burs. Make the frame of the bracket 
large and strong enough to hold a good sized pot. 
For the lambrequin take heavy cloth ; white pine 
burs are the best; boil them in water to soften them ; 
sew the scales on the cloth carefully, lapping them so 
as to show only the brown ends; finish with a bouquet 
of small burs in the centre; burdock burs make a 
pretty finish for the edge of the lambrequin. A chain 
made by stringing small burs, and hung iu festoons, 
make a nice addition to it; give two coats of varnish 
and you have a bracket impervious to the weather ; it 
makes a very suitable shelf to set a pot of Ivv to de¬ 
corate the front door. Another pretty and unique 
bracket can he made by cutting out a nice frame, to 
which fasten three shells of the laud terrapin in the 
same way as cocoanut shells are described in “ House¬ 
hold Elegacies.” 
A very interesting and instructive pastime is to col¬ 
lect a cabinet of curiosities. With the aid of a fret¬ 
saw any lady cau decorate one after the frame for it is 
made, which would cost but a trifle. To fill, put any¬ 
thing you think interesting or curious in it. I saw 
one on a visit to the eastern part of the State that af¬ 
forded entertainment to guests for several hours. 
Many of them the family had collected, quite a num¬ 
ber of them had been given to them by friends. They 
had every kind of birds’ eggs, from a little wren to a 
hawk. The large eggs had been opened at the small 
end and the egg taken out, leaving only the shell. 
Among other things was a small bird’s nest with three 
eggs in it that were petrified as hard as a rock. They 
had a number of small purple rocks; they said they 
had given the largest of these to a physician from the 
neighboring town ; he gave it to his daughter who 
carried it to Washington city to a jeweler, who pro¬ 
nounced it an amethyst, and made it into settings for 
two rings, making her a present of one. We may not 
often have the opportunity of picking up real jewels, 
but in collecting things of this kind we encourage a 
taste for it in the minds of the children, and gain.much 
useful information. 
Now that poultry feathers are used for trimming 
hats, it has been a matter of surprise to me that coun¬ 
try people will pay an extravagant price for them 
when by the use of a little ingenuity and taste they 
could prepare them as well. A lady was showing me 
her hat. I remarked upon the cost; she replied the 
feathers made it cost so much ; it was trimmed with 
plume de coqs. I had made equally as pretty one out 
of the tail feathers, finished off with the neck feathers, 
a few days before, at no cost at all. Many chicken 
feathers are of that peculiar bronze-green that is so 
fashionable this winter, and you can color a beautiful 
cardinal red with Leamon’s scarlet dye. Another 
pretty ornament for a hat is to color three or four long 
feathers a dark blue and some neck feathers a pale 
blue, shading out into white; to make the feathers 
bend in the shape you desire, shave off the under side 
of the quill, or to make the feather curl up in small 
rings, scrape them with a penknife. 
Pigeons’ wings make pretty ornaments for hats; 
you can get them pure white and color them. A 
pretty wreath for a young girl’s hat can he obtained 
from the small green feathers of a pea fowl, the long 
feathers are too glaring; sew them on a strip of cloth, 
use care in lapping them, and then to extend over the 
edge far enough to hide the cloth. 
Of course, wealthy people have no need of these 
small economies, but to people with large families and 
limited income, it. is necessary to save; and this can 
he done and yet present a nice appearance. Country 
people waste their resources. 
A nice dessert can be made from pigs’ feet. Soak 
all the salt out of them, or use before salting; boil 
until tender iu plenty of water. Strain the liquor, 
after removing the feet, through a jelly hag; flannel 
is the best; sweeten to taste, as sugar is not neces¬ 
sary to make it jelly, and to every quart of liquor 
add the juice of one lemon. If you have jelly moulds, 
mould it in them ; if not, use egg shells for moulds ; 
to color it add a little tumeric for yellow, or beet juice 
will color it red ; nice jelly moulds add greatly to the 
appearance ; those I saw were in the shape of an ear 
of corn ; nothing could be prettier than jelly colored 
with tumeric and moulded in the form of an ear of 
corn. To he eaten with cream and sugar. Blanc 
mange, and the different kinds of jellies from gelatine, 
can be moulded and colored in the same way. 
Another nice dish for dessert is to pare and slice six 
large cooking apples; put alternate layers of them 
and bread crumbs in a baking dish, a small quantity 
of water, tablespoonful of butter, a cupful of sugar; 
less would do ; grate nutmeg on top ; bake in a hot 
oven ; before it is quite done, heat the whites of two 
eggs to a stiff froth ; season with lemon, sweeten with 
sugar, and spread over the top, and let it slightly 
brown. Augusta. 
A Barrel Chair. — I am a subscriber of the Cabi¬ 
net, and think a great deal of it. I should feel quite 
lost without it. In it I first got the idea of a barrel 
chair among the many other things. 1 tried it quite 
torny satisfaction, only instead of putting ropes across 
for the seat, which is some trouble, I leave the bot¬ 
tom in, and fill it up with any soft material, which 
makes it more comfortable. 
We have discovered a new way of making mottoes 
which look very pretty. It is siinply to take three or 
four sheets of cotton wadding, lay them together, and 
cut from them the letters required ; then wet the sur¬ 
face a little with mucilage and sprinkle with diamond 
dust. Of course the wadding should be white, and 
the diamond dust, together with the thickness of the 
letters, make them look like marble. Then place on 
black, scarlet, or any colored ground desirable. We 
have the word “Welcome” made this way, and placed 
on a ground of scarlet iu a frame made of walnuts 
eut in two and a slice taken from the centre and used, 
filled in with grape seeds. The frame should he made 
deep according to the thickness of the letters. 
Can any one give me directions, through the Cabi¬ 
net, how papier maehe work is made, also how to 
make hair pictures, such as were seen at the Centen¬ 
nial? 
Hattie Searl.es. 
Hanging-Basket. —Take an old pint dipper, and 
with a pair of pincers wrench off the handle. Cut a 
strip of silver perforated cardboard long enough to 
go round the dipper and join, and about two holes 
wider. Join, and crochet a bottom to just fit the bot¬ 
tom of the dipper. With shaded orange single zephyr 
work the cardboard in rows, slipping a silver glass 
bead on each stitch. Crochet a border round the top 
with the worsted; also crochet four cords to haug 
the basket with. Fill the dipper with rich earth, and 
plant Tradescantia, or anything which will live with¬ 
out drainage. These sell rapidly at fancy fairs, etc. 
Anabel C. Andrews. 
