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TREATISE 
 
 ON 
 
 DOMESTIC ECONOMY, 
 
 FOR THE USE OF 
 
 YOUNG LADIES AT HOME, 
 AT 8 OH OO eR: 
 
 By MISS CATHARINE E. BEECHER, 
 
 LATE PRINCIPAL OF THE HARTFORD FEMALE SEMINARY. 
 
 0% f te, 
 - 
 BOSTON: DOMESTIC 
 MARSH, CAPEN, LYON, AND WEBB. 
 1844. LIBRARY 
 Op. aw 
 “eer sew 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by 
 Marsa, Capen, Lyon, & Wess, 
 in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 WM. A. HALL AND Co. 
 PRINTERS. 
 
TO 
 
 AMERICAN MOTHERS, 
 
 WHOSE 
 
 INTELLIGENCE AND VIRTUES HAVE INSPIRED ADMIRATION AND RESPECT, 
 
 WHOSE 
 
 EXPERIENCE HAS FURNISHED MANY VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS, IN THIS WORK, 
 WHOSE 
 
 APPROBATION WILL BE HIGHLY VALUED, 
 
 AND WHOSE 
 
 INFLUENCE, IN PROMOTING THE OBJECT AIMED AT, 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY SOLICITED, 
 
 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED, 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR FRIEND AND COUNTRYWOMAN, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THERE are two questions, which the Writer 
 wishes to answer, in the Preface, as the most proper 
 place, though it is feared that many of those, who 
 will be disposed to ask them, may be among those 
 who “never read a preface.” 
 
 The first, is, How came the Author to write such 
 a book? She answers, Because she has herself suf- 
 fered from the want of such knowledge, in early 
 life ; because others, under her care, have suffered 
 from her ignorance; and because many mothers 
 and teachers, especiatly in reference to matters per- 
 taining to health, have so much occasion to sympa- 
 thize in the regret with which this acknowledge- 
 ment is made. 
 
 The care of a female seminary, for some twelve 
 years, and subsequent extensive travels, have given 
 such a view of female health, in this Nation, and of 
 the causes which tend to weaken and destroy the 
 constitution of young women, together with the 
 sufferings consequent on a want of early domestic 
 knowledge and habits, that, though others may be 
 better qualified to attempt some efficient remedy, the 
 
Vill PREFACE. 
 
 Writer has been led to contribute, at least what was 
 in her power, for this end. 
 
 For more than ten years, she has vainly striven 
 to induce various medical gentlemen, among her 
 personal friends, to prepare a short and popular work 
 on Physiology and Hygiene, for the use of female 
 schools; but, failing in the effort, much of what 
 could have been better presented by a medical 
 writer, is inwoven in this volume, as a substitute 
 for what it is hoped may yet be furnished by some 
 abler hand. 
 
 The second question, is, What qualifications has 
 the Writer, which entitle her to be received as 
 authority on the various topics embraced in this 
 Work ? 
 
 In reply to this, she would say, that, being the 
 eldest of a large family, she has, from early life, 
 been accustomed to the care of children, and to the 
 performance of most domestic duties. It has also 
 been her good fortune to reside, most of her life, in 
 the families of exemplary and accomplished house- 
 keepers, and under the supervision of such friends, 
 most of the domestic operations, detailed in this 
 Work, have been performed by the Writer. 
 
 But much in these pages is offered, not as the 
 results of her own experience, but rather as glean- 
 ings from the experience of those more competent 
 to instruct in such matters; and in gaining them, 
 the Writer has often had to learn her own deficien- 
 cies, by the light of superior excellence in others. 
 Nothing is here presented, which has not received 
 
PREFACE, ix 
 
 the sanction of some of the most judicious and 
 experienced mothers and housekeepers in this Na- 
 tion. 
 
 The articles on business not ordinarily performed 
 by females, are sanctioned by those who are consid- 
 ered the highest authorities on the respective sub- 
 jects, as are all the topics pertaining to Physiology 
 and Hygiene. 
 
 There is one suggestion, which may be offered, 
 to mothers and teachers who have to look back on 
 past measures and labors, and their present results. 
 It is painful, after years of toil and anxiety, to dis- 
 cover, that, in some important respects, mistakes 
 have been made, which have entailed suffering and 
 sorrow on ourselves, and on the objects of our care. 
 This often tends to prevent a sensitive and con- 
 scientious mind from fairly judging of views, 
 which, if true, will implicate the wisdom of past 
 measures. 
 
 But there is one consideration, which may rectify 
 this sinister tendency; and that is, that we are 
 never to blame ourselves for not acting according to 
 knowledge and evidence not within our reach. In 
 regard to the subject of health, especially, mothers 
 and teachers have never had the facilities afforded 
 for gaining the knowledge which they have needed, 
 and their consequent mistakes should be regarded 
 by themselves and by others, as misfortunes de- 
 manding sympathy, rather than as just occasions for 
 reproach. ‘The resemblance of this Work, in one 
 portion, to Miss Leslie’s House-Book, makes it 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 proper to state, that this was planned in all its 
 minutie, and partly completed, before that was 
 seen, or any thing known about it, except the 
 name. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 On page 38, a mistake occurs, which the Writer is particularly 
 anxious to have corrected. The last paragraph but one should read. 
 thus : 
 
 In the early years of female life, reading, writing, 
 needle-work, drawing, and music, should alternate 
 with domestic pursuits; and one hour a day de- 
 voted to some study, in addition to the above em- 
 ployments, would be all that would be needful to 
 prepare for a thorough education, after growth is 
 attained and the constitution established. 
 
 The system of Calisthenics, referred to on page 34, is one devised 
 by the Writer, and which has been adopted in several female semi- 
 naries. It has proved much more useful and interesting than previ- 
 ous methods; and the Author is now preparing a volume for the 
 press, in which this system will be fully exhibited, with many recent 
 improvements. 
 
 On p. 82, line 7, for eighty, read ninety. 
 “27, read neatly painted tubs. 
 “note, read Benjamin Godfrey, Esq: 
 
 ‘« 35, line 26, for Chalmers, read Chambers. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 PREFACE 00S.) Glade.” (SPR Ree tee Reo red een 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 
 
 American Women should feel a peculiar interest in Democratic 
 Institutions. The maxim of our Civil Institutions. Its iden- 
 tity with the main Principle of Christianity. Relations involv- 
 ing Subordination; why they are needful. Examples. How 
 these Relations are decided ‘in a Democracy. What decides 
 the Equity of any Law or Institution. The principle of Aris- 
 tocracy. The tendency of Democracy in respéct to the inter- 
 ests of Women. Illustrated in the United States. Testimony 
 of De Tocqueville. In what respects are Women subordinate? 
 and why? Wherein are they equal or superior in Influence? 
 and how are they placed by Courtesy? How can American 
 Women rectify any real disadvantages involved in our Civil 
 Institutions? Opinion of De Tocqueville as to the Influence 
 and Example of American Democracy. Responsibilities in- 
 volved in this view, especially those of American Women, . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 
 
 A Law of Moral Action to be noted. Its Application. Consid- 
 erations to be borne in mind, in appreciating peculiar Trials. 
 Application to American Women. Difference between this 
 and Aristocratic Countries. How this affects the Interests 
 of American Women, Effect of Wealth, in this Country, 
 on Domestic Service. Effects on the Domestic Comfort of 
 Women. Second peculiar Trial of American Women. Ex- 
 tent of this evil. The Writer’s observation on this point. 
 Effects on the anticipations of Mothers and Daughters. In- 
 frequency of Healthful Women in the Wealthy Classes. 
 Causes which operate to undermine the Female Constitution. 
 Excitement of Mind. Course of Intellectual Training. Taxa- 
 tion, in Domestic Life, of American Mothers and Housekeepers. 
 Exercise and Fresh Air needful to balance Mental Excitement. 
 
Xil CONTENTS. 
 
 Defect in American, compared with English, Customs, in this 
 respect. Difference in the Health and Youthfulness of Ap- 
 pearance between English and American Mothers. Liabilities 
 of American Women to the uncommon exposures of a New 
 Country. Remarks of De Tocqueville and the Writer on this 
 Pa Re enn ae ne Pe TS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 REMEDIES FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 First Remedy suggested. Obligations of Wealthy Ladies on 
 this point. How a dearth of Domestics may prove a blessing. 
 Second Remedy. ‘Third Remedy. Reasons for endowing 
 Colleges and Professional Schools. Similar reasons exist for 
 endowing Female Institutions. Present evils in conducting 
 Female Education. A Sketch of a Model Female Institution. 
 Accommodations provided. Mode of securing Exercise to 
 Pupils. Objections to this answered. Calisthenics. Course 
 of Intellectual Discipline adopted. Mode of Division of Labor 
 adopted. Example of Illinois in regard to Female Education. 
 Economy of Health and Time secured by such Institutions. 
 Plan suggested for the Early Education of Young Girls. Last 
 Ben cer eacecsind, tinal coe Pk a a Rb 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 ON DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A BRANCH OF STUDY. 
 
 Impediment to the Object of this Chapter. First Reason _for 
 making Domestic Economy a Study at School. Second Rea- 
 son. Examples illustrating. Third Reason. Questions asked. 
 First Objection; how answered. Next Objection; how an- 
 swered. Next Objection; how answered. Last Reason, . . Ai 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 Importance of a Knowledge of the Laws of Health, and of the 
 Human System, to Females. Construction of the Human 
 Frame. Bones; their Structure, Design, and Use. Engrav- 
 ing and Description. Exercise of the Bones. Distortions. 
 Moscuss; their Constitution, Use, and Connection with the 
 Bones. Engraving and Description. Operation of Muscles. 
 Nerves; their Use. Engraving and Description. Buoop- 
 Vesseis; their Object. Engraving and Description. Organs 
 or Dicestion anD Respiration. Engraving and Description. 
 Process of Digestion. Circulation of the Blood. Process of 
 Respiration. Tue Skin. Process of Perspiration. Insensible 
 Perspiration. Heat of the Body. Absorbents. Follicles of 
 
 oily matter in the Skin. Nerves of Feeling, . 47 
 
CONTENTS. Xili 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 ON THE PREPARATION OF HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 Responsibility of a Housekeeper in regard to Health and Food. 
 The most fruitful Cause of Disease. Gastric Juice; how pro- 
 portioned. Hunger the natural Guide as to Quantity of Food. 
 A benevolent provision; how perverted, and its effects. A 
 morbid Appetite, how caused. Effects of too much Food in 
 the Stomach. Duty of a Housekeeper in reference to this. 
 Proper Time for taking Food. Peristaltic Motion. Need of 
 Rest to the Muscles of the Stomach. Time necessary between 
 each Meal. Exceptions of hard Laborers and active Children. 
 Exercise; its effect on all parts of the Body. How it produces 
 Hunger. What is to be done by those who have lost the 
 guidance of Hunger in regulating the Amount of Food. On 
 Quality of Food. Difference as to risk from bad Food, be- 
 tween healthy persons who exercise, and those of delicate and 
 sedentary habits. Stimulating Food; its Effects. Condiments 
 needed only for Medicine, and to be avoided as Food. Differ- 
 ence between Animal and Vegetable Food. Opinion of some 
 Medical Men. Medical Men agree as to the Excess of Animal 
 Food in American Diet. Extracts from Medical Writers on 
 this point. Articles most easily digested. The most un- 
 healthful articles result from bad cooking, Caution as to 
 mode of eating. Reason why mental and bodily exertions are 
 injurious after a full meal. Changes in Diet should be grad- 
 ual; and why. Drink most needed at Breakfast; and why. 
 Dinner should be the heartiest Meal; and why. Little Drink 
 to be taken while eating; and why. Extremes of Heat or 
 Cold; why injurious in Food. Fluids immediately absorbed 
 from the Stomach. Why Soups are hard of Digestion. Why 
 highly-concentrated Nourishment is not good for Health. 
 Opinion of Dr. Combe as to the selection of Food, . . 
 
 i f 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 Responsibility of a Housekeeper in this respect. Stimulating 
 Drinks not required for the Perfection of the Human System. 
 Therefore they are needless. First Evil in using them. Sec- 
 ond Evil. Five kinds of Stimulating Articles in use in this 
 Ceuntry. First Argument in Favor of Stimulants, and how 
 answered. Second Argument; how answered. The Writer’s 
 View of the Effects of ‘Tea and Coffee on American Females. 
 Duty in reference to Children. Black Tea the most harmless 
 Stimulant. Warm Drinks not needful, Hot Drinks injurious. 
 Effect of Hot Drinks on Teeth. Mexican Customs and effects 
 illustrating this. Opinion of Dr. Combe on this subject. Dif- 
 ference between the Stimulus of Animal Food and the stimu- 
 latine Drmkstuseds 7 yistiis con at oe Mice ues as a. cete De ireiltate 6.1 OE 
 
X1V CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 London Bills of Mortality; Inference from it. Causes of Infant 
 Mortality. Of the Circulation in Infancy. Warm Dress for 
 Infants, and why. Investigations in France, and Results. 
 Dangers from the opposite extreme. Effects of too much 
 Clothing. Rule of Safety. Featherbeds; why unhealthy in 
 Warm Weather. Best Nightgowns for Young Children. 
 Clothing; how to be proportioned. Irrational Dress of Women. 
 Use of Flannel next the Skin. Evils of Tight Dress to Women. 
 False Taste in our Prints of Fashions. Modes in which Tight 
 Dresses operate to weaken the Constitution. Rule of Safety as 
 to Looseness of Dress. Extract on the subject of appropriate 
 Dress, Beet! yal eae Aad ot hia AB Ue ig Mae CE 
 
 93 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 ON CLEANLINESS. 
 
 Importance of Cleanliness not realized, without a Knowledge of 
 the Nature of the Skin. Foundation of the Maxim respecting 
 the Healthfulness of Dirt. Office of the Skin. Other Organs 
 that perform similar duties. Amount of Matter daily exhaled 
 by the Skin. Effect of a Chill upon the Skin, when perspiring. 
 lilustration of this. Effect of closing the Pores of the Skin, 
 with Dirt or other Matter. The Skin absorbs Matter into the 
 Blood. Reasons for a Daily Ablution of the whole Body. 
 Effects of Fresh Air on Clothing worn next the Skin. Amer- 
 icans compared with other Nations as to care of the Skin. 
 Cautions in regard to a use of the Bath. How to decide when 
 Cold Bathing is useful. Warm Bath tends to prevent Colds; 
 and why. Advantages of general Ablutions to Children. Care 
 PCM COrIMeR re res ye an eats sy AOD 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 ON EARLY RISING. 
 
 Universal Impression on this Practice. Why it should be re- 
 garded as American and Democratic. Practice in Aristo- 
 cratic Circles in England. Appeal to American Women. 
 First Consideration in Favor of Early Rising. Another 
 Physiological Reason in its Favor. Another Reason. Time 
 necessary for Sleep. Proper Hours for Rising and Retiring. 
 Evils of protracted Sleep, Testimony of Sir John Sinclair. 
 Another Reason for Early Rising. Responsibility of Parents 
 for the Health and Industry of a Family. Early Rising ;—its 
 
 Effects on General Society, . . - 106 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 
 
 Remarks from Dr. Combe. Effects of Exercise or a want of it 
 on the Muscles. Effects of neglecting to use the Muscles of 
 the Trunk; Effects of excessive use of them. How Female 
 Weakness and Deformity result from a Neglect of these Prin- 
 ciples. Effects of Stays. Effect of School Confinement and 
 Seats. Importance of a Feeling of Interest in taking Exercise. 
 A Walk merely for Exercise is useful. Morning Exercise 
 most proper for Young Girls. Extract from the Young Lady’s 
 Friend. Madam Roland. Lady Montague. Daughter of a 
 
 French Nobleman,. . . dee 112 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 What are Good-manners. Defect in American Manners. Cold- 
 ness and Reserve of the Descendants of the Puritans accounted 
 for. Cause of the Want of Courtesy in American Manners. 
 Want of Discrimination. Difference of Principles regulating 
 Aristocratic and Democratic Manners. Rules for regulating 
 the Courtesies founded on Precedence of Age, Office, and Sta- 
 tion, in a Democracy. Manners appropriate to Superiors and 
 Subordinates. Peculiar Defect of Americans in this Respect. 
 This to be remedied in the Domestic Circle, alone. Rules of 
 Precedence to be enforced in the Family. Manners and Tones 
 towards Superiors to be regulated in the Family. Treatment 
 of grown Brothers and Sisters by Young Children. Acknowl- 
 edgement of Favors by Children to be required. Children to 
 ask leave or apologize in certain cases. Rules for avoiding 
 Remarks that wound the Feelings of Others. Rules of Hospi- 
 tality. Conventional Rules. Rules for Table Manners. Cau- 
 tion as to teaching these Rules to Children. Caution as to 
 Allowances to be made for those deficient in Good-manners. 
 Comparison of English and American Manners. America 
 may hope to excel all Nations in Refinement, Taste, and 
 Good-breeding; and why. Effects of Wealth and Equalisa- 
 tion of Labor. Allusion tothe Manners of Courts in the past 
 Century yo ns yee OR Ae eer ois halt Ree OO) 
 
 th 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 I 
 | 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 ON THE PRESERVATION OF A GOOD TEMPER IN A HOUSEKEEPER. 
 
 Influence of a Housekeeper on Domestie Happiness. Contrasts 
 to illustrate. Sympathy. Influence of Tones. Allowances to 
 be made for Housekeepers. Considerations to aid in regulat- 
 ing Temper and Tones. First; Her Duties to be regarded as 
 Dignified, Important, and Difficult. Second; She should feel 
 that she really has Great Difficulties to meet and overcome. 
 Third; She should deliberately calculate upon having her 
 Plans interfered with, and be prepared for the Emergency. 
 
XV1 CONTENTS. 
 
 Fourth; All her Plans should be formed consistently with the 
 Means at command. Fifth; System, Economy, and Neatness, 
 only valuable when they tend to promote the Comfort and 
 Well-being of the Family. Sixth; Government of Tones of 
 Voice. Some Persons think Angry Tones needful, They 
 mistake. Illustration. Scolding, unlady-like, and in Bad 
 Taste. A Forgiving Spirit necessary. Seventh and Last 
 Consideration offered; Right View of a Superintending Prov- 
 idence. Fretfulness and Complaining sinful, . ... . . 14 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 Question of the Equality of the Sexes, frivolous and_ useless. 
 Relative Importance and Difficulty of the Duties a Woman 
 is called to perform. Her Duties not trivial. More difficult 
 than those of the Queen of a great Nation. A Habit of Sys- 
 tem and Order necessary. Right Apportionment of Time. 
 General Principles. Christianity to be the Foundation. In- 
 tellectual and Social Interests to be preferred to Gratification 
 of Taste or Appetite. The Latter to be last in our Estimation. 
 No Sacrifice of Health allowable. Neglect of Health a Sin in 
 the Sight of God. Regular Season of Rest appointed by the 
 Creator. Divisions of Time. Systematic Arrangement of 
 House Articles and other Conveniences. Regular Employ- 
 ment for each Member ofa Family. Children can be of great 
 Service. Boys should be taught Family Work. Advantage 
 to them in Afterlife. Older Children to take care of Infants of 
 aFamily,. . vee i : 
 
 a 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 No Point of Duty more difficult to fix by Rale, than Charity- 
 First Consideration ;—Object for which we are placed in this 
 World. How to be perfectly happy. Self-denying Benevo- 
 
 lence. Important Distinction. Second Consideration ;—Nat- 
 ural Principles not to be exterminated, but regulated and con- 
 trolled. Atl Constitutional Propensities good, and designed 
 to be gratified. ‘Their Abuses to be guarded against. ‘Third 
 Consideration ;—Superfluities sometimes proper, and some- 
 times not. Fourth Consideration;—No. Rule of Duty right 
 for One and not for All. The Opposite of this Principle tested. 
 Some Use of Superfluities necessary. Physical Gratifications 
 should always be subordinate to Social, Intellectual, and Moral 
 Advantages. Difficulties in the Way. Remarks upon them. 
 Plan for Keeping an Account of Necessaries and Superfluities: 
 Untoward Results of our Actions do not always prove that We 
 deserve Blame. Examples of Conformity to the Rules here 
 laid down. General Principles to guide in deciding upon 
 Objects of Charity. Parable of Good Samaritan. "Who are 
 our Neighbors. ‘Those most in Need to be first relieved. In- 
 tellectual and Moral Wants more necessary to be supplied 
 
CONTENTS. XVll 
 
 than Physical. Not much need of Charity in supplying Physi- 
 cal Wants in this Country. System of Associated Charities, 
 in which many small sums are combined. Indiscriminate 
 Charity. Very injurious to Society, asa General Rule. Ex- 
 ceptions, Impropriety of judging of the Charities of others, . 156 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 ON ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 
 
 Economy or Time. Value of Time. Right Apportionment of 
 Time. Laws appointed by God for the Jews. Proportions of 
 Property and Time the Jews were required to devote to Intel- 
 lectual, Benevolent, and Religious Purposes. The Levites. 
 The weekly Sabbath. The Sabbatical Year. Three sevenths 
 of the Time of the Jews devoted to God’s Service. Christian- 
 ity removes the Restrictions laid on the Jews, but demands all 
 our Time to be devoted to our own best Interests and the Good 
 of our Fellow-men. Some Practical Good to be the Ultimate 
 End of all our Pursuits. Enjoyment connected with the Per- 
 formance of every Duty. Great Mistake of Mankind. A Fi- 
 nal Account to be given of the Apportionment of our Time. 
 Various Modes of economizing Time. System and Order. 
 Uniting several Objects in one Employment. Employment of 
 Odd Intervals of Time. We are bound to aid Others in econ- 
 omizing Time. Economy or Expenses. Necessity of Infor- 
 mation on this Point. Contradictory Notions. General Prin- 
 ciples in which all agree. Knowledge of Income and Ex- 
 penses. Every One bound to do as much as she can to-secure 
 System and Order. Examples. Evils of Want of System and 
 Forethought. Young Ladies should early learn to be syste- 
 matic and economical. Articles of Dress and Furniture should 
 be in keeping with each other, and with the Circumstances of 
 the Family. Mistaken Economy. Education of Daughters 
 away from Home injudicious. Nice Sewing should be done 
 at Home. Cheap Articles not always most economical. Buy- 
 ing by wholesale economical only in special cases. Penurious 
 Savings made by getting the poor to work cheap. Relative 
 Obligations of the Poor and the Rich in regard to Economy. 
 Economy of Providence in the Unequal Distribution of Prop- 
 erty. Carelessness of Expense not a. mark of Gentility. Beat- 
 ing down Prices improper in Wealthy People. Inconsistency 
 in American would-be Fashionables, . ....... .170 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 Intimate Connection between the Body and Mind. Brain ex- 
 cited by improper Stimulants taken into the Stomach. Mental 
 Faculties then affected. Example of a Person having lost a 
 Portion of his Skull. Causes of Mental Diseases. Want of 
 oxygenized Blood. Fresh Air-absolutely necessary. Exces- 
 sive Exercise of the Intellect or Feelings a cause of Derange- 
 ment. Such Attention to Religion, as prevents the Perform- 
 
 B* 
 
XVill CONTENTS. 
 
 ance of other Duties, wrong. Teachers and Parents should 
 look to this. Unusual Precocity in Children usually the Re- 
 sult of a Diseased Brain. Parents generally add Fuel to this 
 Fever. Idiocy often the Result, or the Precocious Child sinks 
 below the Average of Mankind. This Evil yet prevalent in 
 Colleges and other Seminaries. A Medical Man necessary in 
 every Seminary. Some Pupils always needing Restraint in 
 regard to Study. A Third Cause of Mental Disease, the 
 Want of Appropriate Exercise of the Various Faculties of the 
 Mind. Extract from Dr.Combe. Examples of Wealthy La- 
 dies. Beneficial Results of active Intellectual Employments. 
 Indications of a. Diseased Mind, . . - - »= ». «© « «© = > 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 No Subject on which American Women need more Wisdom, 
 
 Patience, Principle, and Self-control. | Its Difficulties. Neces- 
 sary Evils. Miseries of Aristocratic- Lands. Wisdom of 
 Conforming to Actual Cireumstanees: How to judge cor- 
 rectly respecting Domestics. ‘They should be treated as we 
 would expect to be under similar Circumstances. When 
 Labor is scarce, its Value is increased. Instability of Domes- 
 tics; how it may be remedied. Pride and Insubordination ; 
 how remedied. Abhorrence of Servitude a National Trait of 
 Character. Domestics easily convinced of the Appropriate- 
 ness of different Degrees of Subordination. Example. Do- 
 mestics may be easily induced to be respectful in their De- 
 portment, and appropriate in their Dress. Deficiencies of 
 Qualifications for the Performance of their Duties; how rem- 
 edied. Forewarning, better than Chiding. Preventing; better 
 than finding Fault. Faults should be pointed out in a Kind 
 Manner. Some Employers think it their Office and Duty to 
 find Fault. Domestics should be regarded with Sympathy 
 and Forbearance, ae VOR A, SEL rie) GREETS 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 Neeessity of a Knowledge of this Subject, to every Young. Lady. 
 Examples. Extracts from Dr. Combe. Half the Deaths of 
 Infants owing to Mismanagement, and Errors in Diet. Errors 
 of Parents and Nurses.. Eating regarded as a Sovereign Pan- 
 acea. Other Common Mistakes. Animal Food. Remark of 
 Dr. Clark. Opinion of other Medical Men. Many Popular 
 Notions relating to Animal Food for Children, erronegus. It 
 does not contain so much Nourishment as Vegetable Food. 
 The Formation of the Human Teeth and Stomach do not in- 
 dicate that Man was designed to live on Flesh. Opinions of 
 Linneus, Cuvier, Thomas Bell, Professor Lawrence, Sir John 
 Sinclair. Examples of Men who lived to a great age. Albany 
 Orphan Asylum. Animal Diet not necessary in Cold Climates. 
 Russia. Siberia. Scarcity of Wheat, durmg William Pitt’s 
 
 186 
 
 196 
 
CONTENTS. XixX 
 
 Administration. Beneficial Effects of using unbolted Flour. 
 Dr. Franklin’s Testimony. Sir Isaac Newton and others. 
 Extracts from Dr. Combe and Dr. Bell. Empiricism and 
 Quackery. Necessity of Fresh Air. Bathing. Cholera In- 
 fantum not cured by Nostrums. Fashionable Dress injurious. 
 Milk sometimes injured by the Food of the Cow. Rules for 
 Management of Children at Weaning,.. . 9... 2% + «+ 207 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 Submission to the Will of Superiors, Self-denial, and Benevo- 
 lence, the three most important Habits to be formed in Early 
 Life. Extremes to be guarded against. Medium Course. 
 Adults sometimes forget the Value which Children set on 
 Trifles. Example. Impossible to govern Children, properly, 
 without appreciating the Value they attach to their Pursuits 
 and Enjoyments. Those who govern Children should join in 
 their Sports. This the best way to gain their Confidence and 
 Affection. But Older Persons should never lose the Aititude 
 of Superiors. Unsteadiness in Government. Illustrations. 
 Punishment from unsteady Governors, does little Good. Over- 
 Government. Want of Patience and Self-control in Parents 
 and Governors. Formation of Habits of Self-denial in Early 
 Life. Denying Ourselves to promote the Happiness of Others. 
 Example of Parents more effectual than their Precepts. Hab- 
 its of Honesty and Veracity. In what Lying and Stealing 
 consist. Efabits of Modesty. Delicacy studiously to be cher- 
 ished. Licentious and impure Books to be banished. Bulwer 
 a Licentious Writer, and to be discountenanced. Intellectual 
 Education. Hours of School. Inquiries of Secretary of Mas- 
 sachusetts Board of Education, and answers of Distinguished 
 Physicians, & C0 ine Ge, Rene ie Vaan eee are gnaed one. kee ERODE 
 
 CHAPTER XXI, 
 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 i 
 Ria 
 ] 
 | 
 
 Women frequently called upon to direct in Cases of Indisposi- 
 tion. Extremes to be avoided. Grand Cause of most Diseases, 
 Excess in Eating and Drinking. Fasting useful. Want of 
 Reflection and Good Sense displayed by Many, in dosing. 
 Pernicious Results. Necessity of a Woman’s Understanding 
 the Nature and Operation of Common Medicines. Cough 
 Mixtures. Opium. Mucilaginous Mixtures. Calomel. Dis- 
 cretion required. Child bleeding to Death. Sulphur the 
 safest Cathartic in ordinary eases. Remarks of Dr. Combe 
 on keeping the Bowels in good order. Tempting Delicacies 
 injurious in Sickness. Fresh Air absolutely necessary. Fre- 
 quent Ablutions important. Arrangements to be made before- 
 hand, when practicable. Importance of Cleanliness; nothing 
 more annoying to the Sick, than a want of it. Necessity of a 
 proper Preparation of Food, for the Sick, Every Woman 
 should strive to prepare herself to, be a good Nurse. How to 
 
men 
 
 XX CONTENTS. 
 
 drop Medicines. Physicians’ Directions to be well understood 
 and implicitly followed. Kindness, Patience, and Sympathy, 
 towards the Sick, important. Impositions of Apothecaries. 
 Drugs to be locked up from the Access of Children, . . . . 236 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 
 
 Medical Aid should be promptly resorted to. Suffocation, from 
 Substances in the Throat. Common Cuts. Wounds of Ar- 
 teries, and other severe Cuts. Bruises. Sprains. Broken 
 Limbs. Falls. Blows on the Head. Burns. Drowning. 
 Poisons:—Corrosive Sublimate; Arsenic; Opium; Acids; 
 Alkalies. Stupefaction from Fumes of Charcoal; Suffocation 
 from entering a Well, Limekiln, or Coalmine. Hemorrhage 
 of the Lungs, Stomach, or Throat. Bleeding of the Nose. 
 Dangers from Lightning. Mad Dogs. Insects. Local In- 
 Aenea tT NS sla iin W/s has SPAN aw Cap atu AIRMAIL Na isa RLS 85.6 oma 24B 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Indefiniteness of Opinion on this Subject. Every Person needs 
 some Recreation. General Rules. How much Time to be 
 given. What Amusements proper. Those should always be 
 avoided, which cause Pain, or injure the Health, or endanger 
 Life, or interfere with important Duties, or are pernicious in 
 their Tendency. MHorse-racing, Circus-riding, Theatres, and 
 Gambling. Dancing, as now conducted, does not conduce to 
 Health of Body or Mind, but the contrary. Dancing in the 
 Open Air beneficial. Social Benefits of Dancing considered. 
 Ease and Grace of Manners better secured by a System of 
 Calisthenics. The Writer’s Experience. Balls going out of 
 Fashion, among the more refined Circles. Novel-reading. 
 Necessity for Discrimination. Young Persons should be 
 guarded from Novels. Proper Amusements for Young Per- 
 sons. Cultivation of Flowers and Fruits. Benefits of the 
 Practice. Music. Children enjoy it. Collections of Shells, 
 Plants, Minerals, &c. Children’s Games and Sports. ‘Parents 
 should join in them. Mechanical Skill of Children to be en- 
 Ceutased. -OUer MmjOvMents, oa ene © jos ce ey #) payee BOO 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 
 
 Social Enjoyments not always considered in the List of Duties. 
 Main Object of Life to form Character. Kindness to Strangers. 
 Hospitality. Change of Character of Communities in Relation 
 to Hospitality. Resolving large Communities into small Cir- 
 cles. Hospitality should be prompt. Strangers should be 
 made to feel at their ease. Family Friendship should be pre- 
 served. Plan adopted by Families of the Writer’s Acquaint- 
 PRET ee ee 4 Reon Veer ye. MOO 
 
CONTENTS. Xxi 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 Importance to Family Comfort of well-constructed Houses. Rules 
 for constructing them. Often disregarded. When. Economy 
 of Labor. Large Houses. Arrangement of Rooms. Stair- 
 cases. Wells and Cisterns. Ornaments and Furniture. Econ- 
 ony of Money. Shape and arrangement of Houses. Porticos, 
 Piazzas, and other Ornaments. Simplicity to be preferred. 
 Fireplaces. Economy of Health. Outdoor Conveniences. 
 Doors and Windows. Ventilation. Economy of Comfort. 
 Domestics. Spare Chambers. Good Taste. Proportions. Col- 
 or and Ornaments. Puians or Houses anp Domestic Con- 
 VENIENCES; . Receipts for, Wohitewasbs 020) wile as fo vas OG 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 Wood Fires. Construction of Fireplaces. Firesets. Building 
 
 a Fire. .Wood. Cautions. Wood Stoves. Advantages of, 
 and Objections to, them. Remedies for the Objections. Cau- 
 tions. Stovepipes. Franklin Stoves. Anthracite Coal Fires. 
 How to kindle them. Proper Grates and Furniture. Bitwmi- 
 nows Coal Fires. Proper Grates. How to make the Fires... ~ 
 Coke Fires. Coal Stoves. Various Kinds. On Licurs. Oil. 
 Candles. Lard. Pearlash and Water for cleansing Lamps: 
 Care of Lamps. Difficulty. Articles needed in trimming 
 Lamps. Astral Lamps. Wicks. Shades. Weak Eyes. Dip- 
 ping Wicks in Vinegar. Entry Lamps. Night Lamps. Ta- 
 pers; how made. Sealing Wax. To make Candles, Moulds. 
 Dipping *Rush-lig hts. -*. 0a eee hhh ei eee am | 
 
 : 
 ait 
 i 
 
 ee 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIL. 
 ON WASHING. 
 
 Good Washers rare. All needful Accommodations should be 
 provided. Plenty of Water, easily accessible, necessary. Ap- 
 paratus for heating Water. Articles to be provided for Wash- 
 ing. Substitutes for Soft Water. Washerwoman. Common 
 Mode of Washing. Assorting Clothes. Tio wash Blankets 
 and other Bedding. Feathers. Soda Washing. Soda Soap. 
 Mode of Soda Washing. Lime-water. Cautions in regard 
 to Colored Clothes. Bran-water. Potato-water. Tio wash 
 Brown Linen, Muslins, Nankeen, Furniture Chintz, Curtains, 
 &c., Woollen Table-Covers and Shawls, Woollen Yarn, Paint- 
 ed Muslins. To cleanse Gentlemen’s cloth Coats and Panta- 
 loons. To wash Merinos, Bombazines, and Challys. To 
 Manufacture Soap-Starch, and other Articles used in Wash- 
 ing. To make Ley. Soft Soap. Hard Soap. Fine White 
 Soapey Stee wep 84 og oc) ay oth miele cee ts (ash iene EU pi wh 
 
XXii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 To Prepare Starch. Glue Starch. Glue for Cementing Furni- 
 ture. To Prepare Gum Arabic, Beef’s or Ox-Gall. Starching 
 Thick Clothes.. To Wash and Prepare Thread and Bobbinet 
 Laces. To Cleanse or Whiten Silk Lace, or Blond, and 
 White Lace Veils. On Ironinc. Articles to be provided for 
 Ironing. Sprinkling, Folding, and Ironing, . OR el 25 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 
 
 To Whiten and Remove Stains from Cloths and Muslins. Mix- 
 tures useful to keep on Hand, to remove Stains and Grease. 
 To cleanse Silk HandkerchiefS and Ribands; Silk Hose and 
 
 - Gloves. Soot Stains and Stovepipe Stains. Grease in Wall 
 Paper. To cleanse Gloves, Down, and Feathers; Straw and 
 Leghorn Hats. Stains on Silk and Worsted Dresses. Grease 
 and Oil on Silk and Worsted Dresses. Tar, Pitch, and Tur- 
 pentine, on Dresses. Lamp Oil on Carpets and Floors. Oil 
 Paint. Wax and Spermaceti. Ink on Carpets and Colored 
 Table-cloths. Stains on Mahogany, and Other Wood. ON 
 Conoriwe. Pink, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Salmon and Buff, 
 Dove and Slate, Black, Brown, and Olive Colors,. . - . . 
 
 327 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 Poor Economy of Comfort in this Country, in regard to House 
 Arrangements. Proper Arrangement of Rooms. Finishing of 
 Parlor Walls. House Paper. Carpets, Curtains, and other 
 Furniture, should be selected with Reference to each other. 
 
 Laying down Carpets. Blocks to prevent Sofas and Tables 
 
 aa from rubbing against Walls, and to hold Doors open. Foot- 
 
 stools. Sweeping Carpets. Tealeaves. Taking up and 
 cleansing Carpets. Washing Carpets. Straw Matting. Pic- 
 tures and Glasses. Curtains. Mahogany Furniture. Unvar- 
 nished Furniture; Mixtures for. Hearths and Jambs. Sweep- 
 
 i ing and Dusting Parlors. Inferior Locks and Keys should not 
 
 f be used. Creaking Hinges. Carriage Wheels; how _lubri- 
 
 { cated. Smoky Chimneys. Cold and Damp Rooms. House 
 
 i cleaning. Whitewash. Washing Paint, Windows, and Floors. 
 K Miscellaneous Directions; Parties, Invitations, Refreshments, 
 
 Firescreens, Fireboards, Baskets for Flowers,. Moss Baskets 
 
 for: Bint Ware ess f sbala dik Pea veriarue eles sem pth Re eee 
 
 CHAPTER XXXT. 
 ON THE CARE OF BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 
 
 = eS AF 
 
 ‘Xarge Closet necessary. Dumb Waiter, or Sliding Closet. Fur- 
 niture for a Table. On Setting a Table. Rules for doing it 
 
 i 
 i} 
 
CONTENTS. XXili 
 
 properly ;—for Breakfast and Tea; for Dinner. On Clearing 
 the Table. Waiting on Table. On Carving and Helping at 
 Table, gig re Uae = he ei Ran ne ats REE gear Neti tre 5 OOO 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 ON THE CARE OF CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 
 
 Importance of well-ventilated Sleeping-rooms. Debility and 
 Ill-health caused by a Want of Pure Air. Chamber Furni- 
 ture. Cheap Couch. Trunks. Washstand. Bedsteads. Beds. 
 Feathers, Straw, or Hair Mattrasses. Pillows and Bolsters. 
 Bedcoverings. On Cleaning Chambers. Sweeping and Dust- 
 ing. To Make a Bed. Domestics should be provided with 
 Single Beds, and Washing Conveniences. On Packing and 
 Storing Articles. ‘To fold a Gentleman’s Coat and Shirt, and 
 a Frock. Packing Trunks. Carpet Bags. Bonnet Covers. 
 Packing Household Furniture for Moving, . . ... . . 358 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 ON THE CARE OF THE KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 
 
 Importance of a Convenient Kitchen. Floor should be painted. 
 Sink and Drain. Towels. Washbasins. Dishcloths. Wash- 
 ing Dishes. Conveniences needed. Rules. Kitchen Furni- 
 ture. Crockery. Iron Ware. Tin Ware. Wooden Ware. 
 Basket Ware. Other Articles. Miscellaneous Directions. 
 On the Care of the Cellar and Storeroom. Modes of Destroy- 
 ing Insects and Vermin, . Lal? ia ie RM ety gee oe 
 
 366 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 Importance of Young Girls being taught various Kinds of Stitch- 
 ing. Directions for doing various Stitches. Workbaskets, 
 and their Contents. On Curmne anp Firtinc Garments. 'To 
 cut and make Frocks, Shirts, and Chemises. Cotton and Linen. 
 Old Silk Dresses quilted for Skirts. Flannel; White should 
 be colored. Children’s Flannels. Nightgowns. Nighteaps. 
 
 Wrappers. Bedding. Menpina, 377 
 
 CHAPTER XXXYV. 
 ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS, 
 
 Important Rules for Ladies cultivating Fruits and Flowers. On 
 the Preparation of Soil. For Pot-Plants. To prepare Garden 
 Soil. On the Preparation of a Hot-bed. Planting Flower- 
 Seeds. ‘To plant Garden-Seeds. To transplant Flowers and 
 Vegetables. To transplant Shrubs and Trees. ‘To repot 
 Hlouse-Plantsapeie ec neie 6.6. is satan na, Wi cees ubide a ae sme SOR 
 
XXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 Different Modés of Propagation. By Offsets. Cuttings. Lay- 
 ers. Budding, or Inoculating. Ingrafting ;—Whip-Grafting ; 
 
 Split-Grafting. Inarching. Pruning. Thinning, . . .—- 392 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 List of Various Kinds of Flowers, in Reference to Color, Height, 
 and Time of Flowering. Biennial and Perennial Flowers. 
 Shrubs; List of those most suitable for adorning a Yard. 
 Roses; Varieties of. Herbaceous Roots. Care of House- 
 Plants. Shade-Trees for Yards. Creepers; Annual. Care of 
 Bulbous and Tuberous Roots. Laying out Flower-Beds, . . 400 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 Preparation of Soil. Planting of Seeds. Budding, Grafting, 
 and Transplanting. Training the Limbs. Attention to the 
 Soil. Manuring. Caution needful, lest too much Manure 
 be used. Washes. Apples. Pears. Peaches. Quinces. 
 Apricots and Nectarines. Plums. Cherries. Filberts. Figs. 
 Gurrants. Gooseberries. Raspberries. Strawberries. Grapes. 
 To preserve Fruit, . 3 pao eae pee hal] 
 
 CHAPTER, XXXIX. 
 ON GARDEN VEGETABLES, 
 
 ‘Potatoes. Sweet Potatoes. Turnips. Indian Corn. Cucum- 
 bers. Onions. Melons. Peas. Beans. Beets. Celery. Cab- 
 bages. Carrots and Parsnips. Lettuce. Egg-Plants and 
 Tomatoes. Pumpkins. Radishes. Rhubarb, or Pie-Plants. 
 Salsify, or Vegetable Oysters. Squashes. Herbs. Asparagus. 
 Planting Garden-Seeds. Culture. Gathering. On laying out 
 
 aGarden, . . =. - 426 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. 
 
 A Knowledge of this Subject often of great Value to a Wo- 
 man. Care ofa Horse. Rules for Riding, for a Lady. On 
 the Care of a Cow. Dog and Cat. Poultry. On Barns and 
 Pine 1G Sallie Ile RRC ie a NCR MT ew ie We 
 
 434 
 
DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 
 
 American Women should feel a peculiar interest in Democratic In- 
 stitutions. ‘The maxim of our Civil Institutions. Its identity with 
 the main principle of Christianity. Relations involving subordina- 
 tion; why they are needful. Examples. How these relations are 
 decided in a Democracy. What decides the Equity of any Law or 
 Institution. The principle of Aristocracy. The tendency of De- 
 mocracy in respect to the interests of Women. [Illustrated in the 
 United States. Testimony of De Tocqueville. In what respects 
 are Women subordinate? and why? Wherein are they equal or 
 superior in influence? and how are they placed by courtesy ?> How 
 can American Women rectify any real disadvantages involved in 
 our Civil Institutions? Opinion of De Tocqueville as to the influ- 
 ence and example of American Democracy. Responsibilities in- 
 volved in this view, especially those of American Women. 
 
 THERE are some reasons why American women 
 should feel an interest in the support of the demo- 
 cratic institutions of their Country, which it is impor- 
 tant that they should consider. The great maxim, 
 which is the basis of all our civil and political insti- 
 tutions, is, that ‘all men are created equal,” and that 
 they are equally entitled to “life, liberty, and the 
 pursuit of happiness.” 
 
 But it can readily be seen, that this is only another 
 mode of expressing the fundamental principle which 
 the Great Ruler of the Universe has established, as 
 the law of His eternal government. “'Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbor as thyself; ” and ‘ Whatsoever ye 
 would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
 
2 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 them.”? These are the Scripture forms, by which the 
 Supreme Lawgiver requires that each individual of 
 our race shall regard the happiness of others, as of 
 the same value as his own; and which forbids any 
 institution, in private or civil life, which secures ad- 
 vantages to one class, by sacrificing the interests of 
 another. 
 
 The principles of democracy, then, are identical 
 with the principles of Christianity. 
 
 But, in order that-each individual may pursue and 
 secure the highest degree of happiness within his 
 reach, unimpeded by the selfish interests of others, a 
 system of laws must be established, which sustain 
 certain relations ‘and dependencies in social and civil 
 life. What these relations and their attending obli- 
 gations shall be, are to be determined, not with ref- 
 erence to the wishes and interests of a few, but 
 solely with reference to the general good of all; so 
 that each individual shall have his own interest, as 
 much as the public benefit, secured by them. 
 
 For this purpose, it is needful that certain relations 
 be sustained, that involve the duties of subordina- 
 tion. ‘There must be the magistrate and the sub- 
 ject, one of whom is the superior, and the other the 
 inferior. ‘There must be the relations of husband and 
 wife, parent and child, teacher and pupil, employer 
 and employed, each involving the relative duties of 
 subordination. ‘The superior in certain particulars is 
 to direct, and the inferior is to yield obedience. So- 
 ciety could never go forward, harmoniously, nor could 
 any craft or profession be successfully pursued, un- 
 less these superior and subordinate relations be insti- 
 tuted and sustained. 
 
 But who shall take the higher, and who the sub- 
 ordinate, stations in social and civil life? This mat- 
 ter, in the case of parents and children, is decided by 
 the Creator. He has given children to the control 
 of parents, as their superiors, and to them they re- 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 3 
 
 main subordinate, to a certain age, or so long as they 
 are members of their household. And parents can 
 delegate such a portion of their authority to teachers 
 and employers, as the interests of their children re- 
 quire. 
 
 In most other cases, in a truly democratic state, 
 each individual is allowed to choose for himself, who 
 shall take the position of his superior. No woman 
 is forced to obey any husband but the one she chooses 
 for herself; nor is she obliged to take a husband, if 
 she prefers to remain single. So every domestic, 
 and every artisan or laborer, after passing from pa- 
 rental control, can choose the employer to whom he 
 is to accord obedience, or, if he prefers to relinquish 
 certain advantages, he can remain without taking a 
 subordinate place to any employer. 
 
 Hach subject, also, has equal power with every 
 other, to decide who shall be his superior as a ruler. 
 The weakest, the poorest, the most illiterate, has the 
 same opportunity to determine this question, as the 
 richest, the most learned, and the most exalted. 
 
 And the various privileges that wealth secures, are 
 equally open to all classes. Every man may aim at 
 riches, unimpeded by any law or institution that se- 
 cures peculiar privileges to a favored class at the ex- 
 pense of another. Every law, and every institution, 
 is tested by examining whether it -secures equal ad- 
 vantages to all; and if the people become convinced 
 that any regulation sacrifices the good of the ma- 
 jority to the interests of the smaller number, they 
 have power to abolish it. 
 
 The institutions of monarchical and aristocratic 
 nations are based on precisely opposite principles. 
 They secure, to certain small and favored classes, 
 advantages which can be maintained, only by sacri- 
 ficing the interests of the great mass of the people. 
 Thus, the throne and aristocracy of England are sup- 
 ported by laws and customs, that burden the lower 
 
4 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 classes with taxes, so enormous, as to deprive them 
 of all the luxuries, and of most of the comforts, of 
 life. Poor dwellings, scanty food, unhealthy em- 
 ployments, excessive labor, and entire destitution of 
 the means and time for education, are appointed. for 
 the lower classes, that a few may live in palaces, 
 and riot in every indulgence. 
 
 The tendencies of democratic institutions, in ref- 
 erence to the rights and interests of the female sex, 
 have been fully developed in the United States ; and 
 it is in this aspect, that the subject is one of peculiar 
 interest to American women. In this Country, it is 
 established, both by opinion and by practice, that 
 women have an equal interest in all social and civil 
 concerns ; and that no domestic, civil, or political, in- 
 stitution, is right, that sacrifices her interest to pro- 
 mote that of the other sex. But in order to secure 
 her the more firmly in all these privileges, it is de- 
 cided, that, in the domestic relation, she take a sub- 
 ordinate station, and that, in civil and political con- 
 cerns, her interests be intrusted to the other sex, 
 without her taking any part in voting, or in making 
 and administering laws. The result of this order of 
 things has been fairly tested, and is thus portrayed 
 by M. De Tocqueville, a writer, who, for intelli- 
 gence, fidelity, and ability, ranks second to none.* 
 
 * The work of this author, entitled ‘ Democracy in. America,’ se- 
 cured for him a prize from the National Academy, at Paris. The 
 following extract expresses an opinion, in which most of the best 
 qualified judges would coincide. 
 
 “The manner of conducting the inquiry which the Author has in- 
 stituted; the intimate acquaintance with all our institutions and re- 
 lations, every where evinced ; the careful and profound thought; and, 
 above all, the spirit of truth, which animates and pervades the whole 
 work, will not only commend it to the present generation, but render 
 ita monument of the age in which it is produced.” “In Europe, it 
 has already taken its stand with Montesquieu, Bacon, Milton, and 
 Locke. In America, it will be regarded, not only as a classic philo- 
 sophical treatise of the highest order, but as indispensable in the edu- 
 cation of every statesman, and of every citizen who desires thor- 
 oughly to comprehend the institutions of his Country.” 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 5 
 
 The following extracts present his views. 
 
 ‘There are people in Europe, who, confounding 
 together the different characteristics of the sexes, 
 would make of man and woman, beings not only 
 equal, but alike. They would give to both the same 
 functions, impose on both the same duties, and grant 
 to both the same rights. They would mix them in 
 all things,—their business, their occupations, their 
 pleasures. It may readily be conceived, that, by thus 
 attempting to make one sex equal to the other, both 
 are degraded ; and from so preposterous a medley of 
 the works of Nature, nothing could ever result, but 
 weak men and disorderly women. 
 
 ‘Jt is not thus that the Americans-understand the 
 species of democratic equality, which may be estab- 
 lished between the sexes. They admit, that, as Na- 
 ture has appointed such wide differences between the 
 physical and moral constitutions of man and woman, 
 her manifest design was, to give a distinct employ- 
 ment to their various faculties; and they hold, that 
 improvement does not consist in making beings. so 
 dissimilar do pretty nearly the same things, but: in 
 getting each of them to fulfil their respective tasks, 
 in the best possible manner.. The Americans. have 
 applied to the sexes the great principle of political 
 economy, which. governs the manufactories of our 
 age, by carefully dividing the duties of man from 
 those of woman, in order that the great-work of so- 
 ciety may be the better carried on. 
 
 ‘‘In no country has such constant care been taken, 
 as in America, to trace two clearly distinct lines of 
 action for the: two sexes, and to make them keep 
 pace one with the other, but in two pathways which 
 are always different. American women never man- 
 age the outward concerns of the family, or conduct 
 a business, or take a part in political life; nor are 
 they, on the other hand, ever compelled to perform 
 the rough labor of the fields, or to make any of those 
 
 1* 
 
6 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 laborious exertions, which demand the exertion of 
 physical strength. No families are so poor, as to 
 form an exception to this rule. 
 
 “Tf, on the one hand, an American woman cannot 
 escape from the quiet circle of domestic employ- 
 ments, on the other hand, she is never forced to go 
 beyond it. Hence it is, that the women of America, 
 who often exhibit a masculine strength of under- 
 standing, and a manly energy, generally preserve 
 great delicacy of personal appearance, and always 
 retain the manners of women, although they some- 
 times show that they have the hearts and minds of 
 men. : 
 
 ‘Nor have the Americans ever supposed, that one 
 consequence of democratic principles, is, the subver- 
 sion of marital power, or the confusion of the natu- 
 ral authorities in families. 'They hold, that every 
 association must have a head, in-order to accomplish 
 its object ; and that the natural head of the conjugal 
 association is man. ‘They do not, therefore, deny 
 him the right of directing his partner; and they 
 maintain, that, in the smaller association of husband 
 and wife, as well as in the great social community, 
 the object of democracy is, to regulate and legalize 
 the powers which are necessary, not to subvert all 
 power. 
 
 ‘‘'This opinion is not peculiar to one sex, and con- 
 tested by the other. I never observed, that the wo- 
 men of America considered conjugal authority as a 
 fortunate usurpation of their rights, nor that they 
 thought themselves degraded by submitting to it. 
 [t appears to me, on the contrary, that they attach a 
 sort of pride to the voluntary surrender of their own 
 will, and make it their boast to bend themselves to 
 the yoke, not to shake it off. Such, at least, is the 
 feeling expressed by the most virtuous of their sex ; 
 the others are silent ; and in the United States, it is 
 not the practice for a guilty wife to clamor for the 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 7 
 
 rights of woman, while she is trampling on her ho- 
 liest duties.” 
 
 ‘* Although the travellers, who have visited North 
 America, differ on a great number of points, they agree 
 in remarking, that morals are far more strict, there, 
 than elsewhere. It is evident that, on this point, the 
 Americans are very superior to their progenitors, the 
 English.” ‘In England, as in all other countries 
 of Europe, public malice is constantly attacking the 
 frailties of women. Philosophers and statesmen are 
 heard to deplore, that morals are not sufficiently 
 strict; and the literary productions of the country 
 constantly lead one’ to suppose so. In America, all 
 books, novels not excepted, suppose women to be 
 chaste; and no one thinks of relating affairs of gal- 
 lantry.”’ 
 
 ‘It has often been remarked, that, in Europe, a 
 certain degree of contempt lurks, even in the flat- 
 tery which men lavish upon women. Although a 
 Kuropean frequently affects to be the slave of woman, 
 it may be seen, that he never sincerely thinks her 
 his equal. In the United States, men seldom com- 
 pliment women, but they daily show how much they 
 esteem them. ‘They constantly display an entire 
 confidence in the understanding of a wife, and a pro- 
 found respect for her freedom. They have decided 
 that her mind is just as fitted as that of a man to 
 discover the plain truth, and her heart as firm to em- 
 brace it, and they have never sought to place her 
 virtue, any more than his, under the shelter of preju- 
 dice, ignorance, and fear. 
 
 ‘It would seem, that in Europe, where man so 
 easily submits to the despotic sway of woman, they 
 are nevertheless curtailed of some of the greatest 
 qualities of the human species, and considered as se- 
 ductive, but imperfect beings, and (what may well 
 provoke astonishment) women ultimately look upon 
 themselves in the same light, and almost consider it 
 
a ne 
 
 8 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 as a privilege that they are entitled to show them- 
 selves futile, feeble, and timid. The women of 
 America claim no such privileges.” 
 
 ‘It is true, that the Americans rarely lavish upon 
 women those eager attentions which are commonly 
 paid them in Europe. But their conduct to women 
 always implies, that they suppose them to be virtu- 
 ous and refined ; and such is the respect entertained 
 for the moral freedom of the sex, that, in the pres- 
 ence of a woman, the most guarded language is used, 
 lest her ear should be offended by an expression. In 
 America, a young unmarried woman may, alone, and 
 without fear, undertake a long journey.”’ 
 
 -Thus the Americans do not think that man and 
 woman have either the duty, or the right, to perform 
 the same offices, but they show an equal regard for 
 both their respective parts; and, though their lot is 
 different, they consider both of them, as beings of 
 equal value. They do not give to the courage of 
 woman the same form, or the same direction, as to 
 that of man; but they never doubt her courage : and 
 if they hold that man and his partner ought not al- 
 ways to exercise their intellect and understanding in 
 the same manner, they at least believe the under- 
 standing of the one to be as sound as that of the 
 other, and her intellect to be as clear. Thus, then, 
 while they have allowed the social inferiority of wo- 
 man to subsist, they have done all they could to 
 raise her, morally and intellectually, to the level of 
 man ; and, in this respect, they appear to me to have 
 excellently understood the true principle of demo- 
 cratic improvement. 
 
 “As for myself, I do not hesitate to avow, that, 
 although the women of the United States are con- 
 fined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and 
 their situation is, in some respects, one of extreme 
 dependence, I have nowhere seen women occupying 
 a loftier position; and if I were asked, now 1 am 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 9 
 
 drawing to the close of this work, in which I have 
 spoken of so many important things done by the 
 Americans, to what the singular prosperity and grow- 
 ing strength of that people ought mainly to be at- 
 tributed, I should reply,—to the superiority of their 
 women.” 
 
 ‘This testimony of a foreigner, who has had abun- 
 dant opportunities of making a comparison, is sanc- 
 tioned by the assent of all candid and intelligent 
 men, who have enjoyed similar opportunities. 
 
 It appears, then, that it is in America, alone, that 
 women are raiséd to an equality with the other sex ; 
 and that, both in theory and practice, their interests 
 are regarded. as of equal value. They are made sub- 
 ordinate in station, only where a regard to their best 
 interests demands it, while, as if in compensation for 
 this, by custom and courtesy, they are always treated 
 as superiors. Universally, in this Country, through 
 every class of society, precedence is given to woman, 
 in all the comforts, conveniences, and courtesies, of 
 life. 
 
 In civil and political affairs, American women take 
 no interest or concern, except so far as they sympa- 
 thize with their family and personal friends; but in 
 all cases, in which they do feel a concern, their opin- 
 ions and feelings have a consideration, equal, or even 
 superior, to that of the other sex. 
 
 In matters pertaining to the education of their 
 children, in the selection and support of a clergy- 
 man, in all benevolent enterprises, and in all ques- 
 tions relating to morals or manners, they have a su- 
 perior influence. In all such concerns, it would be 
 impossible to carry a point, contrary to their judge- 
 ment and feelings; while an enterprise, sustained by 
 them, will seldom fail of success. 
 
 If those who are bewailing themselves over the 
 fancied wrongs and injuries of women in this Nation, 
 could only see things as they are, they would know, 
 
10 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 that, whatever remnants of a barbarousor aristocratic 
 age may remain in our civil institutions, in reference 
 to the interests of women, it is only because they 
 are ignorant of it, or do not use their influence to 
 have them rectified ; for it is very certain that there 
 is nothing reasonable which American women would 
 unite in asking, that would not readily be bestowed. 
 
 The preceding remarks, then, illustrate the posi- 
 tion, that the democratic institutions of this Country 
 are in reality no other than the principles of Chris- 
 tianity carried into operation, and that they tend to 
 place woman in her true position in society, as hav- 
 ing equal rights with the other sex; and that, in 
 fact, they have secured to American women a lofty 
 and fortunate position, which, as yet, has been at- 
 tained by the women of no other nation. 
 
 There is another topic, presented in the work of 
 the above author, which demands the profound at- 
 tention of American women. 
 
 The following is taken from that part of the Intro- 
 duction to the work, illustrating the position, that, for 
 ages, there has been a constant progress, in all civil- 
 ized nations, towards the democratic equality at- 
 tained in this country. 
 
 “'The various occurrences of national existence 
 have every where turned to the advantage of democ- 
 racy; all men have aided it by their exertions ; 
 those who have intentionally labored in its cause, 
 and those who have served it unwittingly; those 
 who have fought for it, and those who have declared 
 themselves its opponents, have all been driven along 
 in the same track, have all labored to one end;”’ 
 “all have been blind instruments in the hands of 
 God.” 
 
 “The gradual developement of the equality of 
 conditions, is, therefore, a Providential fact ; and it 
 possesses all the characteristics of a Divine decree : 
 it is universal, it is durable, it constantly eludes all 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 11 
 
 human interference, and all events, as well as all 
 men, contribute to its progress.” 
 
 ‘The whole book, which is here offered to the 
 public, has been written under the impression of a 
 kind of religious dread, produced in the Author’s 
 mind, by the contemplation of so irresistible a revolu- 
 tion, which has advanced for centuries, in spite of 
 such amazing obstacles, and which is still proceed- 
 ing in the midst of the ruins it has made. 
 
 ‘“‘Tt is not necessary that God Himself should 
 speak, in order to disclose to us the unquestionable 
 signs of His will. We can discern them in the 
 habitual course of Nature, and in the invariable 
 tendency of events.” 
 
 “If the men of our time were led, by attentive 
 observation, and by sincere reflection, to acknowl- 
 edge that the gradual and progressive developement 
 of social equality is at once the past and future of 
 their history, this solitary truth would confer the 
 sacred character of a Divine decree upon the change. 
 To attempt to check democracy, would be, in that 
 case, to resist the will of God; and the nations 
 would then be constrained to make the best of the 
 social lot awarded to them by Providence.” 
 
 ‘It is not, then, merely to satisfy a legitimate 
 curiosity, that I have examined America; my wish 
 has been to find instruction by which we may our- 
 selves profit.” ‘I have not even affected to discuss 
 whether the social revolution, which I believe to be 
 irresistible, is advantageous or prejudicial to mankind. 
 I have acknowledged this revolution, as a fact al- 
 ready accomplished, or on the eve of its accomplish- 
 ment ; and I have selected the nation, from among 
 those which have undergone it, in which its devel- 
 opement has been the most peaceful and the most 
 complete, in order to discern its natural conse- 
 quences, and, if it be possible, to distinguish the 
 means by which it may be rendered profitable. I 
 
a 
 
 12 PECULIAR RESPONSIBILITIES 
 
 confess, that in America I saw more than America ; 
 I sought the image of democracy itself, with its in- 
 clinations, its character, its prejudices, and its pas- 
 sions, in order to learn what we have to fear, or to 
 hope, from its progress.”’ 
 
 It thus appears, that the sublime and elevating 
 anticipations which have filled the mind and heart of 
 the religious world, have become so far developed, 
 that philosophers and statesmen perceive the signs 
 of its approach and are predicting the same grand 
 consummation. 'There is a day advancing, ‘ by 
 seers predicted, and by poets sung,”’ when the curse 
 of selfishness shall be removed ; when “‘ scenes sur- 
 passing fable, and yet true,” shall be realized ; when 
 all nations shall rejoice and be made blessed, under 
 those benevolent influences which the Messiah came 
 to establish on earth. 
 
 And this is the nation, which the Disposer of 
 events designs shall go forth as the cynosure of 
 nations, to guide them to the light and blessedness 
 of that day. To us is committed the grand, the 
 responsible privilege, of exhibiting to the world, 
 the beneficent influences of Christianity, when 
 carried into every social, civil, and political institu- 
 tion, and though we have, as yet, made such imper- 
 fect advances, already the light is streaming into the 
 dark prison-house of despotic lands, while startled 
 kings and sages, philosophers and statesmen, are 
 watching us with that interest which a career so 
 illustrious, and so involving their own destiny, is 
 calculated to excite. They are studying our insti- 
 tutions, scrutinizing our experience, and watching 
 for our mistakes, that they may learn whether “a 
 social revolution, so irresistible, be advantageous or 
 prejudicial to mankind.” 
 
 There are persons, who regard these interesting 
 truths merely as food for national vanity ; but every 
 reflecting and Christian mind, must consider it as 
 
 ’ 
 
OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 13 
 
 an occasion for solemn and anxious reflection. Are 
 we, then, a spectacle to the world? Has the Eternal 
 Lawgiver appointed us to work out a problem in- 
 volving the destiny of the whole earth? Are such 
 momentous interests to be advanced or retarded, just 
 in proportion as we are faithful to our high trust? 
 ‘What manner of persons, then, ought we to be,’ 
 in attempting to sustain so solemn, so glorious a 
 responsibility ? 
 
 But the part to be enacted by American women, 
 in this great moral enterprise, is the point to which 
 special attention should here be directed. 
 
 The success of democratic institutions, as is con- 
 ceded by all, depends upon the intellectual and 
 moral character of the mass of the people. If they 
 are intelligent and virtuous, democracy is a blessing ; 
 but if they are ignorant and wicked, it is only a 
 curse, and as much more dreadful than any other 
 form of civil government, as a thousand tyrants are 
 more to be dreaded than one. It is equally conceded, 
 that the formation of the moral and intellectual char- 
 acter of the young is committed mainly to the female 
 hand. The mother writes the character of the 
 future man; the sister bends the fibres that here- 
 after are the forest tree ; the wife sways the heart, 
 whose energies may turn for good or for evil the 
 destinies of anation. Let the women of a country 
 be made virtuous and intelligent, and the men will 
 certainly be the same. The proper education of a 
 man decides the welfare of an individual; but edu- 
 cate a woman, and the interests of a whole family 
 are secured. 
 
 If this be so, as none will deny, then to American 
 women, more than to any others on earth, is com- 
 mitted the exalted privilege of extending over the 
 world those blessed influences, that are to renovate 
 degraded man, and “clothe all climes with beauty.” 
 
 No American woman, then, has any occasion for 
 
 wees 
 fe Bt 
 f 
 f 
 | 
 | 
 
14 RESPONSIBILITIES OF AMERICAN WOMEN. 
 
 feeling that hers is an humble or insignificant lot. 
 The value of what an individual accomplishes, is to 
 be estimated by the importance of the enterprise 
 achieved, and not by the particular position of the 
 laborer. The drops of heaven that freshen the earth 
 are each of equal value, whether they fall in the 
 lowland meadow, or the princely parterre. The 
 builders of a temple are of equal importance, whether 
 they labor on the foundations, or toil upon the dome. 
 Thus, also, with those labors that are to be made 
 effectual in the regeneration of the Earth. The 
 woman who is rearing a family of children; the 
 woman who labors in the schoolroom; the woman 
 who, in her retired chamber, earns, with her needle, 
 the mite to contribute for the intellectual and moral 
 elevation of her country ; even the humble domes- 
 tic, whose example and influence may be moulding 
 and forming young minds, while her faithful ser- 
 vices sustain a prosperous domestic state ;—each 
 and all may be cheered by the consciousness, that 
 they are agents in accomplishing the greatest work 
 that ever was committed to human responsibility. 
 It is the building of a glorious temple, whose base 
 shall be coextensive with the bounds of the earth, 
 whose summit shall pierce the skies, whose splendor 
 shall beam on all lands, and those who hew the - 
 lowliest stone, as much as those who catve the 
 highest capital, will be equally honored when its 
 top-stone shall be laid, with new rejoicings of the 
 morning stars, and shoutings of the sons of God. 
 
DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 
 
 A Law of Moral Action to be noted. Its Application. Considerations 
 to be borne in mind, in appreciating peculiar Trials. Application 
 to American Women. Difference between this and Aristocratic 
 Countries. How this affects the Interests of American Women. 
 Effect of Wealth, in this Country, on Domestic Service. Effects 
 on the Domestic Comfort of Women. Second peculiar Trial of 
 American Women. Extent of this evil. The Writer’s observa- 
 tion on this point. Effects on the anticipations of Mothers and 
 Daughters. Infrequeney of Healthful Women in the Wealthy 
 Classes. Causes which operate to undermine the Female Consti- 
 tution. Excitement of Mind. Course of Intellectual Training. 
 Taxation, in domestic life, of American Mothers and Housekeep- 
 ers. Exercise and Fresh Air needful to balance Mental Excite- 
 ment. Defect in Ameriean, compared with English, Customs, in 
 this respect. Difference in the Health and Youthfulness of Ap- 
 pearance between English and American Mothers. Liabilities of 
 American Women to the uncommon exposures of a New Country. 
 Remarks of De Tocqueville and the Writer on this point. 
 
 In the preceding Chapter, were presented those 
 views, which are calculated to inspire American wo- 
 men with a sense of their high responsibilities to 
 their Country, and to the world; and of the excel- 
 lence and grandeur of the object to which their en- 
 ergies may be consecrated. 
 
 But it will be found to be the law of moral action, 
 that whatever involves great results and great bene- 
 fits, is always attended with great hazards and diffi- 
 culties. And as it has been shown, that American 
 women have a loftier position, and a more elevated 
 object of enterprise, than the females of any other 
 nation, so it will appear, that they have ereater trials 
 and difficulties to overcome, than any other women 
 are called to encounter. 
 
 Properly to appreciate the nature of these trials, it 
 must be borne in mind, that the estimate of evils and 
 privations depends, not so much on their positive na- 
 
16 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR 
 
 ture, as on the character and habits of the person 
 who meets them. A woman, educated in the savage 
 state, finds it no trial to be destitute of many con- 
 veniences, which a woman, even of the lowest con- 
 dition, in this country, would deem indispensable to 
 existence. Soa woman, educated with the tastes 
 and habits of the best New England or Virginia 
 housekeepers, would encounter many deprivations 
 and trials, that would never occur to one reared in 
 the log cabin of anew settlement. So, also, a wo- 
 man, who has been accustomed to carry forward her 
 arrangements with well-trained domestics, would 
 meet a thousand trials to her feelings and temper, by 
 the substitution of ignorant foreigners, or shiftless 
 slaves, which would be of little account to one who 
 had never enjoyed any better service. 
 
 Now, the great portion of American women are the 
 descendants of English progenitors, who, as a nation, 
 are distinguished for systematic housekeeping, and 
 for a great love of order, cleanliness, and comfort. 
 And American women, to a greater or less extent, 
 have inherited similar tastes and habits. But the 
 prosperity and democratic tendencies of this country 
 produce results greatly affecting the comfort of 
 housekeepers, and which the females of monarchical 
 and aristocratic lands are not called to meet. In 
 those countries, all ranks and classes are fixed Ina 
 given position, and each person is educated for a 
 particular sphere and style of living. And the dwell- 
 ings, conveniences, and customs a life, remaim very 
 nearly the same, from generation to generation. This 
 secures the preparation of all classes for their partic- 
 ular station, and makes the tower orders more de- 
 pendent, and more subservient to employers. 
 
 But how different is the state of things in this 
 country. Every thing is moving and changing. 
 Persons in poverty, are rising to opulence, and per- 
 sons of wealth, are sinking to poverty. The chil- 
 
TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 17 
 
 dren of common laborers, by their talents and enter- 
 prise, are becoming nobles in intellect, or wealth, or 
 station; while the children of the wealthy, ener- 
 vated by indulgence, are sinking to humbler sta- 
 tions. 'The sons of the wealthy are leaving the rich 
 mansions of their fathers, to dwell in the log cabins 
 of the forest, where very soon they bear away the 
 daughters of éase and refinement, to share the priva- 
 tions of a new settlement. Meantime, even in the 
 more stationary portions of the community, there is 
 a mingling of all grades of wealth, intellect, and edu- 
 cation. ‘There are no distinct classes, as in aristo- 
 eratic lands, whose bounds are protected by distinct 
 and impassable lines, but all are thrown into promis- 
 cuous masses. ‘T'hus, the person of humble means 
 is brought into contact with those of vast wealth, 
 while all gradations, between, are placed side by side. 
 Thus, too, there is a constant comparison of condi- 
 tions, among equals, and a constant temptation pre- 
 sented to imitate the customs, and to strive for the 
 enjoyments, of those who possess larger means. 
 
 In addition to this, the flow of wealth, among all 
 classes, is constantly increasing the number of those 
 who live in a style demanding much hired service, 
 while the number of those, who are compelled to go 
 to service, is constantly diminishing. Our manufac- 
 tories, also, are making increased demands for female 
 labor, and offering larger compensation. In conse- ~ 
 quence of these things, there is such a disproportion 
 between those who wish to hire, and those who are 
 willing to go to domestic service, that, in the non- 
 slaveholding states, were it not for the supply of pov- 
 erty-stricken foreigners, there would not be one do- 
 mestic for each family who demands one. And this 
 resort to foreigners, poar as it is, scarcely meets the 
 demand ; while the disproportion must every year in- 
 crease, especially if our prosperity increases. For, 
 just in proportion as wealth rolls in upon us, the 
 
 o* 
 
18 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR 
 
 number of those, who will give up their own inde- 
 pendent homes to serve strangers, will be diminished. 
 
 The difficulties and sufferings that have accrued 
 to American women, from this cause, are almost in- 
 calculable. 'There is nothing, which so much de- 
 mands system and regularity, as the affairs of a 
 housekeeper, made up as they are of ten thousand 
 desultory and minute items ; and yet, this perpetu- 
 ally fluctuating state of society seems forever to bar 
 any such system and regularity. The anxieties, vex- 
 ations, perplexities, and even hard labor, that come 
 upon American women, from this state of domestic 
 service, are endless ; and many a woman has, in con- 
 sequence, been disheartened, discouraged, and ruined 
 im health. The only wonder is, that, amid so many 
 real difficulties, American women are still able to 
 maintain such a character for energy, fortitude, and 
 amiableness, as is universally allowed to be their 
 due. 
 
 But the second, and still greater difficulty, pecu- 
 liar to American women, is a delicacy of constitu- 
 tion, which renders them early victims to disease 
 and decay. 
 
 The. fact that the women of this Country are unu- 
 sually subject to disease, and that their beauty and 
 youthfulness is of shorter continuance than that of 
 the women of other nations, is one which always at- 
 tracts the attention of foreigners, while medical men 
 and philanthropists are constantly giving fearful mo- 
 nitions as to the extent and alarming increase of this 
 evil. Investigations make it evident that a large 
 proportion of young ladies from the wealthier classes 
 have the incipient stages of curvature of the spine, 
 one of the most sure and fruitful causes of future dis- 
 ease and decay. "Phe Writer has heard medical men, 
 who have made extensive inquiries, say, that proba- 
 bly one in every six, of the young women at board- 
 ing schools, are affected in this way, while many 
 
TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 19 
 
 other indications of disease and debility exist, in 
 cases where this particular evil cannot be detected. 
 
 In consequence of this enfeebled state of their 
 constitutions, induced by a neglect of their physical 
 education, as soon as they are called to the respon- 
 sibilities and trials of domestic life, their constitution 
 fails, and their whole life is rendered a burden. For 
 no person can enjoy existence, when disease throws 
 a dark cloud over the mind, and incapacitates her 
 for the proper discharge of every duty. 
 
 The Writer, who for some ten years has had the 
 charge of an institution, consisting of young ladies 
 from almost every state in the Union, since relin- 
 quishing that charge, has travelled and visited ex- 
 tensively in most of the non-slaveholding states. In 
 these circuits, she has learned the domestic history, 
 not merely of her pupils, but of many other young 
 wives and mothers, whose sorrowful experience has 
 come to her knowledge. And the impression pro- 
 duced by the dreadful extent of this evil, has at 
 times been almost overwhelming. 
 
 It would seem as if the primeval curse, that has 
 written the doom of pain and sorrow on one period 
 of a young mother’s life, in this Country had been 
 extended over all; so that the hour never arrives, 
 when ‘‘ she forgetteth her sorrow for joy that a man 
 is born into the world.” Many a mother will testify, 
 with shuddering, that the most exquisite sufferings 
 she ever endured, were not those appointed by Na- 
 ture, but those, which, for week after week, have 
 worn down health and spirits, when nourishing her 
 child. And medical men teach us, that this, in 
 most cases, results from a debility of constitution, 
 consequent on the mismanagement of early life. 
 And so frequent and: so mournful are these, and the 
 other distresses that result from the failure of the 
 female constitution, that the Writer has repeatedly 
 heard mothers say, that they had wept tears of bit- 
 
20 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR 
 
 terness over their infant daughters, at the thought 
 of the sufferings which they were destined to under- 
 go; while they cherished the decided wish that 
 these daughters should never marry. At the same 
 time, many a reflecting young woman is looking to 
 her future prospects, with very different feelings and 
 hopes from those which Providence designed. 
 
 A perfectly healthy woman, especially a perfectly 
 healthy mother, is so unfrequent, in some of the 
 wealthier classes, that those who are so may be re- 
 garded as the exceptions, and not as the general 
 rule. The Writer has heard some of her friends 
 declare, that they would ride fifty miles, to see a 
 perfectly healthy and vigorous woman, out of the 
 laboring classes. This, although somewhat jocose, 
 was not anentirely unfair picture of the true state of 
 female health in the wealthier classes. 
 
 There are many causes operating, which tend to 
 perpetuate and increase thisevil. Itisa well-known 
 fact, that mental excitement tends to weaken the 
 physical system, unless it is counterbalanced by a 
 corresponding increase of exercise and fresh air. 
 Now, the people of this Country are under the in- 
 fluence of high commercial, political, and religious 
 stimulus, altogether greater than was ever known 
 by any other nation; and in all this, women are 
 made the sympathizing companions of the other sex. 
 At the same time, young girls, in pursuing an edu- 
 cation, have ten times greater an amount of intel- 
 lectual taxation demanded, than was ever before 
 exacted. Let any daughter, educated in our best 
 schools at this day, compare the course of her study 
 with that pursued in her mother’s early life, and it 
 will be seen that this estimate of the increase of 
 mental taxation probably falls below the truth. 
 Though, in some countries, there are small classes 
 of females, in the higher circles, who pursue litera- 
 ture and science to a far greater extent than in any 
 
TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 21 
 
 corresponding circles in this Country, yet in no 
 nation in the world, are the advantages of a good 
 intellectual education enjoyed by so large a propor- 
 tion of the females. And this education has con- 
 sisted far less of accomplishments and far more of 
 those solid studies that demand the exercise of the 
 various powers of mind, than the education of the 
 women of other lands. — 
 
 And when the American women are called to the 
 responsibilities of domestic life, the degree in which 
 their minds and feelings are taxed, is altogether 
 greater than in any other nation. 
 
 No women on earth have a higher sense of their 
 moral and religious responsibilities, or better under- 
 stand, not only what is demanded of them, as houge- 
 keepers, but all the claims that rest upon them as 
 wives, mothers, and members of a social community. 
 An American woman, who is the mistress of a fami- 
 ly, feels her obligations, in reference to her influence 
 over her husband, and a still greater responsibility 
 in rearing and educating her children. She feels, 
 too, the claims the moral interests of her domestics 
 have on her watchful care. In social life, she re- 
 cognises the claims of hospitality, and the demands 
 of friendly visiting. Her responsibility, in reference 
 to the institutions of benevolence and religion, are 
 deeply realized. 'The regular worship of the Lord’s 
 day, and all the various religious and benevolent 
 societies that place so much dependence on female 
 activity, she feels obligated to sustain, by her influ- 
 ence and example. Add to these multiplied respon- 
 sibilities, the perplexities and evils that have been 
 pointed out, resulting from the fluctuating state of 
 society, and the deficiency of domestic service, and 
 no one can deny that American women are exposed 
 to a far greater amount of intellectual and moral 
 excitement, than those of any otherland. Of course, 
 in order to escape the danger resulting from this, a 
 
22 ‘ DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR 
 
 greater amount of exercise in the fresh air, and all 
 those methods which strengthen the constitution, 
 are imperiously required. 
 
 But, instead of this, it will be found, that, owing 
 to the climate and customs of this Nation, there are 
 no women who secure so little of this healthful and 
 protecting regimen. Walking and riding and gar- 
 dening, in the open air, are practised by the women 
 of other lands, to a far greater extent, than by 
 American females. Most English women, in the 
 wealthier classes, are able to walk six and eight 
 
 -miles on a stretch, without oppressive fatigue; and 
 
 when they visit this Country, always express their 
 surprise at the inactive habits. of American ladies. 
 In England, the regular daily exercise, in the open 
 air, is very commonly required by the mother, as a 
 part of daily duty, and is sought by young women, 
 as an enjoyment. In consequence of a different 
 physical training, English women, in those circles 
 that enjoy competency, present an appearance which 
 always strikes American gentlemen as a contrast to 
 what they see at home. An English mother, at 
 thirty, or thirty-five, is in the full bloom of perfected 
 womanhood; as fresh and healthful as her daugh- 
 ters. But where are the American mothers, who can 
 reach this period unfaded and unworn? In America, 
 young ladies in the wealthier classes, are sent to 
 school from early childhood; and neither parents 
 nor teachers make it a definite object to secure a 
 proper amount of fresh air and exercise, to counter- 
 balance this intellectual taxation. As soon as they 
 pass their school days, dressing, visiting, evening 
 parties, and stimulating amusements, take the place 
 of study, while the most unhealthful modes of dress 
 add to the physical exposures. ‘To make morning 
 calls, or do a little shopping, is all that can be called 
 their exercise in the fresh air; and this, compared 
 to what is needed, is absolutely nothing, and on 
 
TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 23 
 
 some accounts is worse than nothing. In conse- 
 quence of these, and other evils, that will be pointed 
 out more at large in the following pages, the young 
 women of America grow up with such a delicacy of 
 constitution, that probably eight out of ten become 
 subjects of disease either before or as soon as they 
 are called to the responsibilities of domestic life. 
 
 But there is one peculiarity of situation, in regard to 
 American women, that makes this delicacy of consti- 
 tution still more disastrous. It is the liability to the 
 exposures and hardships of a newly-settled country. 
 
 One more extract from De Tocqueville will give a 
 view of this part of the subject, which any one, 
 familiar with western life, will admire for its veri- 
 similitude. 
 
 “The same strength of purpose which the young 
 wives of America display in bending themselves, at 
 once, and without repining, to the austere duties of 
 their new condition, is no less manifest in all the great 
 trials of their lives. In no country in the world are 
 private fortunes more precarious, than in the United 
 States. It is not uncommon for the same man, in the 
 course of his life, to rise and sink again through all the 
 grades which lead from opulence to poverty. Amer- 
 ican women support these vicissitudes with a calm 
 and unquenchable energy. It would seem that their 
 desires contract, as easily as they expand, with their 
 fortunes. The greater part of the adventurers, who 
 migrate, every year, to people the Western wilds, 
 belong” ‘to the old Anglo-American race of the 
 Northern States. Many of these men, who rush so 
 boldly onward in pursuit of wealth, were already in 
 the enjoyment of a competency in their own part of 
 the country. They take their wives along with 
 them, and make them share the countless perils and 
 privations, which always attend the commencement 
 of these expeditions. I have often met, even on the 
 verge of the wilderness, with young women, who, after 
 
24 DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR 
 
 having been brought up amid all the comforts of the 
 large towns of New England, had passed, almost 
 without any intermediate stage, from the wealthy 
 abode of their parents, to a comfortless hovel in a 
 forest. Fever, solitude, and a tedious life, had not 
 broken the springs of their courage. Their features 
 were impaired and faded, but their looks were firm: 
 they appeared to be, at once, sad and resolute.” 
 
 In another passage, he gives this picturesque 
 sketch: ‘‘By the side of the hearth, sits a woman, 
 with a baby on her lap. She nods to us, without 
 disturbing herself. Like the pioneer, this woman is 
 in the prime of life; her appearance would seem 
 superior to her condition; and her apparel even be- 
 trays a lingering taste for dress. But her delicate 
 limbs appear shrunken; her features are drawn in; 
 her eye is mild and melancholy; her whole phys- 
 iognomy bears marks of a degree of religious res- 
 ignation, a deep quiet of all passion, and some 
 sort of natural and tranquil firmness, ready to meet 
 all the ills of life, without fearing and without 
 braving them. Her children cluster about her, full 
 of health, turbulence, and energy; they are true 
 children of the wilderness: their mother watches 
 them, from time to time, with mingled melancholy 
 and joy. ‘To look at their strength, and her languor, 
 one might imagine that the life she had given them 
 had exhausted her own; and still she regrets not 
 what they have cost her. The house, inhabited by j 
 these emigrants, has no internal partition or loft. In 
 the one chamber of which it consists, the whole fam- 
 ily is gathered for the night. The dwelling is itself a 
 little world; an ark of civilization amid an ocean of 
 foliage. A hundred steps beyond it, the primeval for- 
 est spreads its shades, and solitude resumes its sway.”’ 
 
 Such scenes, and such women, the Writer has 
 met, and few persons realize how many refined 
 and lovely women are scattered over the broad prai- 
 
 Oe 
 
 a aes 
 
TO AMERICAN WOMEN. 25 
 
 ries and deep forests of the West; and none but the 
 Father above appreciates the extent of those sacri- 
 fices and sufferings, and the value of that firm faith 
 and religious hope, that lives, in perennial bloom, 
 amid those vast solitudes. If the American women 
 of the East merit the palm, for their skill and suc- 
 cess as accomplished housekeepers, still more is due 
 to the heroines of the West, who, with such un- 
 yielding fortitude and cheerful endurance, attempt 
 similar duties, amid so many disadvantages and de- 
 privations. 
 
 But, though American women have those elevated 
 principles and feelings, which enable them to meet 
 such trials in so exemplary a manner, their physical 
 energies are not equal to the exertions demanded. 
 Though the mind may be bright and firm, the 
 casket is shivered; though the spirit may be will- 
 ing, the flesh is weak. A woman of firm health, 
 with the hope and elasticity of youth, may be envied 
 rather than pitied, as she shares with her young 
 husband the hopes and enterprises of pioneer life. 
 But, when the body fails, the eye of hope grows 
 dim, the heart sickens, the courage dies, and in 
 solitude, weariness, and suffering, the wanderer pines 
 for the dear voices and the tender sympathies of a 
 far distant home. ‘Then it is, that the darkest shade 
 is presented, that marks the peculiar trials and lia- 
 bilities of American women, and which exhibits still 
 more forcibly the disastrous results of that delicacy 
 of constitution which has been pointed out. For, 
 though all American women, or even the greater 
 part of them, are not called to encounter such trials, 
 yet no mother, who rears a family of daughters, can 
 say, that such a lot will not fall to one of her flock, 
 nor can she know which will escape. The reverses 
 of fortune, and the chances of matrimony, expose 
 every woman in the Nation to such liabilities, for 
 which they need to be prepared. 
 
 3 
 
26 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 CHAPTER IIL 
 
 bt REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 First Remedy suggested. Obligations of Wealthy Ladies on this 
 | point. How a dearth of Domestics may prove a blessing. Second 
 | Remedy. Third Remedy. Reasons for endowing Colleges and 
 ! Professional Schools. Similar reasons exist for endowing Female 
 
 Institutions. Present evils in conducting Female Education. A 
 
 Sketch of a Model Female Institution. Accommodations provided. 
 
 Mode of securing exercise to Pupils. Objections to this answered. 
 | Calisthenics. Course of Intellectual Discipline adopted. Mcde of 
 Division of Labor adopted. Example of Illinois in regard to Fe- 
 male Education. Economy of Health and Time secured by such 
 Institutions. Plan suggested for the Early Education of Young 
 Girls. Last Remedy suggested. 
 
 Havine pointed out the peculiar responsibilities of 
 
 American women, and the peculiar embarrassments 
 
 they are called to encounter, the following sugges- 
 
 tions are offered, as the remedy for these difficulties. 
 
 In the first place, the physical. and domestic edu- 
 
 cation of daughters should occupy the principal 
 
 i attention of mothers, in childhood; and the stimu- 
 
 lation of the intellect should be very much reduced. 
 
 As a general rule, daughters should not be sent to 
 
 school before they are six years old; and when they 
 
 do go, far more attention should be paid to their 
 
 physical developement. They should never be con- 
 
 fined, at any employment, more than an hour at a 
 
 time; and this confinement should be followed by 
 
 sports in the open air. Such accommodations should 
 
 be secured, that, at all seasons, and in all weathers, 
 
 the teacher can send out a portion of her school, 
 every half hour, for sports. 
 
 In addition to this, much less time should be 
 given to school, and much more to domestic em- 
 ployments, especially in the wealthier classes. A 
 little girl may begin, at five or six years of age, to 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 27 
 
 assist her mother; and, if properly trained, by the 
 time she is ten, she can render essential aid. From 
 this time, until she is fourteen or fifteen, it should 
 be the principal object of her education to secure a 
 strong and healthy constitution, and a thorough 
 practical knowledge of all kinds of domestic em- 
 ployments. During this period, though some atten- 
 tion ought to be paid to intellectual culture, it ought 
 to be made altogether secondary in importance ; and 
 such a measure of study and intellectual excitement, 
 as is now demanded in our best female seminaries, 
 ought never to be allowed, until a young lady has 
 passed the most critical period of her youth, and has 
 a vigorous and healthful constitution fully estab- 
 lished. 
 
 And it is to that class of mothers, who have the 
 most means of securing hired service, and who are 
 the most tempted to allow their daughters to grow 
 up with inactive habits, that their country and the 
 world must look for a reformation, in this respect. 
 Whatever ladies in the wealthier classes decide shall 
 be fashionable, will be followed by all the rest; 
 while, if ladies of this class persist in the aristocratic 
 habits, now so common, and bring up their daugh- 
 ters to feel as if labor was degrading and unbecom- 
 ing, the evils pointed out will never find a remedy. 
 It is, therefore, the peculiar duty of ladies who 
 have wealth, to set a proper example, in this respect, 
 and make it their first aim to secure a strong and 
 healthful constitution for their daughters, by active 
 domestic employments. All the sweeping, dusting, 
 care of furniture and beds, the clear starching, and 
 the nice cooking, should be done by the daughters 
 of a family, and not by hired service. It may cost 
 the mother more care, and she may find it needful 
 to hire a person for the express purpose of instructing 
 and superintending her daughters in these employ- 
 ments, but it is what should be regarded as indis- 
 
28 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 pensable to be secured, either by the mother’s agen- 
 cy, or by a substitute. 
 
 It is in this point of view, that the dearth of good 
 domestics in this Country may, in its results, prove 
 a substantial blessing. If all housekeepers, that have 
 the means, could secure good service, there would 
 be little hope that so important a revolution, in the 
 domestic customs of the wealthy classes, could be 
 effected. And so great is the vis inertie* of man- 
 kind, that the amount of exercise, needful for health, 
 would never be secured by those who were led to it 
 by no necessity, but merely from rational considera- 
 tions. But already the pressure of domestic troubles, 
 from the want of good domestics, has led many a 
 mother, in the wealthy classes, to determine to train 
 her daughters to aid her in domestic service; and 
 thus necessity is driving mothers to do what abstract 
 principles of expediency never could secure. 
 
 A second method of promoting the same object, 
 is, to raise the science and practice of domestic 
 economy to its appropriate place, as a regular study 
 in female seminaries. 'The succeeding chapter will 
 present the reasons for this, more at lars ge. But it is 
 to the mothers in this Country, that the community 
 must look for this change. It cannot be expected, 
 that teachers, who have their attention chiefly ab- 
 -sorbed by the intellectual and moral interests of 
 their pupils, should properly realize the importance 
 of this department of education. But if mothers 
 generally become convinced of the importance of 
 this measure, their judgement and wishes will meet 
 the respectful consideration they deserve, and the 
 thing will be done. 
 
 The third method for securing a remedy for the 
 evils pointed out, is by means of endowed female 
 
 * “The power of inertness.” In. Natural Philosophy, this term is 
 applied to the tendency of matter to keep at rest;.in morals, it has a 
 figurative signification, and is another name for slugeishness. 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 29 
 
 institutions, under the care of suitable trustees, who 
 shall secure a proper course of female education. 
 The importance of this measure cannot be realized 
 by those, who have not turned their attention to 
 this subject ; and for such, the following considera- 
 tions are presented. 
 
 The endowmentjof colleges, and of law, medical, 
 and divinity, schools, for the other sex, is designed 
 to secure a thorough and proper education, for those 
 who have the most important duties of society to 
 perform. 'The men who are to expound the laws, 
 the men who have the care of the public health, and 
 the men who are to communicate religious instruc- 
 tion, should have well-disciplined and well-informed 
 minds ; and it is mainly for this object that collegiate 
 and. professional institutions are established. Liberal 
 and wealthy men contribute funds, and the legisla- 
 tures of the States also lend assistance, so that every 
 State in this Nation has from one to twenty such 
 endowed institutions, supplied with buildings, appa- 
 ratus, library, and a faculty of learned men to carry 
 forward a superior course of instruction. And the 
 use of all these advantages is secured, in many 
 cases, at an expense no greater than is required to 
 send a boy to a common school and pay his board 
 there. No private school could offer these advan- 
 tages, without charging such a sum, as would forbid 
 all but the rich from securing its benefits. By fur- 
 nishing such superior advantages, on low terms; 
 multitudes are properly educated, who would other- 
 wise have remained in ignorance; and thus the 
 professions are supplied, by men properly: qualified. 
 
 Were there no such institutions, and no regular 
 and appropriate course of study demanded for admis- 
 sion to the bar, pulpit, and medical practice, the 
 education of most professional men would be desul- 
 tory, imperfect, and deficient. Parents and children 
 would regulate the course of study according to their 
 
 2% 
 
30 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 Be own crude notions, and instead of having institutions: 
 that agree in carrying on a similar course of study, 
 each school would have its own peculiar system, 
 and be competing and conflicting with every other. 
 Meantime, the public would have no means of de-. 
 ba ciding which was best, nor any opportunity for learn- 
 va ing when a professional man was. properly qualified 
 for his duties. But as it is, the diploma of a college, 
 I and the license of an appointed body of judges, must 
 al both be secured, before a young man feels that he 
 has entered the most. promising path to success in his 
 
 profession. 
 
 Our Country, then, is most abundantly supplied 
 with endowed. institutions, which seeure a liberal 
 education, on such low terms as make them acces-. 
 sible to all classes, and in which the interests of edu- 
 cation are watched over, sustained, and made perma-. 
 
 ) nent, by an appropriate board of trustees. 
 i But are not the most responsible of all duties com-. 
 mitted to the care of woman? Is it not her profes- 
 sion to take care of mind, body, and soul? and that, 
 too, at the most critical of all periods of existence ? 
 And is it not as much a matter of public concern, 
 i that she should be properly qualified. for her duties, 
 Vel as that ministers, lawyers, and physicians, should be 
 prepared for theirs?. And is it not asimportant to 
 ph endow institutions that shall make a superior educa- 
 1 tion accessible to all classes, for females, as much as 
 ! for the other sex >. And is it not equally important, 
 that institutions for females be under the supervision 
 of intelligent and responsible trustees, whose duty it 
 shall be to secure a uniform and appropriate educa- 
 tion for one sex as much as for the other? It 
 would seem as if every mind must accord an aflirm- 
 ative reply, as soon as the matter is. fairly consid- 
 ie ered. | 
 i As the education of females is now conducted, any: 
 | man or woman that pleases can establish a female 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 31 
 
 seminary, and secure recommendations that will at- 
 tract pupils. But whose business is it to see that 
 these young females are not huddled into crowded 
 rooms? or that they do not sleep in ill-ventilated 
 chambers? or that they have healthful food ? or that 
 they have the requisite amount of fresh air and ex- 
 ercise ? or that they pursue an appropriate and sys- 
 tematic course of study ? or that their manners, prin- 
 ciples, and morals, are properly regulated? Parents 
 either have not the means, or else are not qualified to 
 judge; or, if they are furnished with means and ca- 
 pacity, they are often restricted to a choice of the 
 best. school within reach, even when it is known to 
 be exceedingly objectionable. i 
 
 If the Writer were to disclose all that could truly 
 be told of boarding-school life, and its influence on 
 health, manners, disposition, intellect, and morals, it 
 would be a tale, which would both astonish and 
 shock every rational mind. And yet she believes 
 that such institutions are far. better managed in this 
 Country than in any other; and that the number of 
 those, which are subject to imputations in these re- 
 spects, is much less than could reasonably be ex- 
 pected. But it is most surely the case, that much 
 remains to be done, in order to supply such institu- 
 tionsas are needed for the proper education of Amer- 
 ican women. 
 
 in attempting a sketch of the kind of institutions 
 which are demanded, it is very fortunate that there 
 is no necessity for presenting a theory, which may, 
 or may not, be approved by experience. It is the 
 greatest honor of one of our newest Western States, 
 that it can boast of such an Institution, and one en- 
 dowed, too, wholly by the munificence of one indi- 
 vidual. A slight sketch of this Institution, which 
 the Writer has examined in all its details, will give 
 an idea of what can be done, by showing what has 
 actually been accomplished. 
 
32 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 This Institution*® is under the supervision of a 
 Board of Trustees, appointed by the Founder, who 
 hold the property, in trust for the object to which it 
 is devoted, and who have the power to fill their own 
 vacancies. It is furnished with a noble and tasteful 
 building, of stone, so liberal in dimensions and ar- 
 rangement, that it can accommodate eighty pupils 
 and teachers, giving one room to every two pupils, 
 and all being so arranged, as to admit of thorough 
 ventilation. This building is surrounded by exten- 
 sive grounds, enclosed with handsome fences, where 
 remains of the primeval forest still offer refreshing 
 shade for juvenile sports. 
 
 To secure adequate exercise for the pupils, two 
 methods are adopted. By the first, each young lady 
 is required to spend two hours in domestic employ- 
 ments, either in sweeping, dusting, setting, and clear- 
 ing tables, washing and ironing, or other household 
 concerns. 
 
 Let not the aristocratic mother and daughter ex- 
 press their dislike of such an arrangement, till they 
 can learn how well it succeeds. Let them walk, as 
 the Writer has done, through the large airy halls, 
 kept clean and in order by their fair occupants, to the 
 washing and ironing rooms. There they will see a 
 long hall, conveniently fitted up with some thirty 
 neat looking tubs, with a clean floor, and water con- 
 ducted so as to save both labor and slopping. Let 
 them see some thirty or forty merry girls, superin- 
 tended by a motherly lady, chatting and singing, 
 washing and starching, while every convenience is 
 at hand, and every thing around is clean and com- 
 fortable. Two hours, thus employed, enables each 
 young lady to wash the articles she used during the 
 previous week, which is all that is demanded, while 
 thus they.are all practically initiated into the arts 
 
 * The Monticelio Female Seminary, endowed by Mr. Godfrey, of. 
 Alton, [limois. 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 33 
 
 and mysteries of the wash-tub. The Superintend- 
 ent remarked to the Writer, that, after'a few weeks 
 of probation, her young washers succeeded quite as 
 well as most of those whom she could hire, and who 
 made it their business. Adjacent to the washing 
 room, was the ironing establishment ; where another 
 class were arranged, on the ironing day, around 
 long extended tables, with heating furnaces, clothes 
 frames, and all needful appliances. 
 
 By a systematic arrangement of school and do- 
 mestic duties, two hours, each day, from each of the 
 pupils, accomplished all the domestic labor of a fam- 
 ily of eighty, except the cooking, which was done 
 by two hired domestics. This part of domestic la- 
 bor it was deemed inexpedient to incorporate as a 
 part of the business of the pupils, inasmuch as it 
 could not be accommodated to the arrangements of 
 the school, and was in other respects objectionable. 
 
 Is it asked, how can young ladies paint, play the 
 piano, and study, when their hands and dresses must 
 be unfitted by such drudgery? The woman who 
 asks this question, has’ yet to learn that a pure and 
 delicate skin is better secured by healthful exercise, 
 than by any other method; and that a young lady, 
 who will spend two hours a day at the wash-tub, or 
 with a broom, is far more likely to have rosy cheeks, 
 a finely-moulded form, and a delicate skin, than one 
 who lolls all day in her parlor or chamber, or only 
 leaves them, girt in tight dresses, to make fashion- 
 able calls. It is true, that long-protracted daily la- 
 bor hardens the hand, and unfits it for delicate em- 
 ployments ; but the amount of labor needful for health 
 produces no such effect. As to dress, and appearance, 
 if neat and convenient accommodations are furnished, 
 there is no occasion for the exposures that demand 
 shabby dresses. A dark calico, genteelly made, with 
 an oiled silk apron, and wide cuffs of the same ma- 
 terial, secure both good looks and good service. This 
 
34 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 plan of domestic employments for the pupils in this 
 institution, not only secures regular healthful exer- 
 cise, but also reduces the expenses of education, so 
 as to bring it within the reach of many, who other- 
 wise could never gain such advantages. 
 
 In addition to this, a system of Calisthenic* exer- 
 cises is introduced, which secures all the advantages 
 which dancing is supposed to effect, and which is 
 free from the dangerous tendencies of that fascinat- 
 ing fashionable amusement. This system is so com- 
 bined with music, and constantly varying evolutions, 
 as to serve as an amusement, and also as a mode of 
 curing distortions, particularly all tendencies to cur- 
 vature of the spine; while, at the same time, it 
 tends to promote grace of movement, and easy man- 
 ners. 
 
 Another advantage of this institution, is, an ele- 
 vated and invigorating course of mental discipline. 
 Many persons seem to suppose, that the chief object 
 of an intellectual education is the acquisition of 
 knowledge. But it will be found, that this is only 
 a secondary object. It is the formation of habits of 
 investigation, of correct reasoning, of persevering at- 
 tention, of recular system, of accurate analysis, and 
 of vigorous mental action, that are the primary ob- 
 jects to be sought in preparing American women for 
 their arduous duties, which will demand not only 
 quickness of perception, but steadiness of purpose, 
 
 regularity of system and perseverance in action. 
 
 It is for such purposes, that the discipline of the 
 Mathematics is so important an element in female 
 education ; and it is in this aspect, that the mere ac- 
 quisition of facts, and the attainment of accomplish- 
 ments, should be made of altogether secondary ac- 
 count. 
 
 In the institution here described, a systematic 
 
 * From two Greek words,—xe2oc, kalos, beauty, and oSevos, sthenos, 
 strength, being the union of both. 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 35 
 
 course of study is adopted, as in our colleges; de- 
 signed to occupy three years. The following slight 
 outline of the course of study, will exhibit the lib- 
 eral plan adopted in this respect. 
 
 In Mathematics, the whole of Arithmetic con- 
 tained in the larger works used in schools, the whole 
 of Euclid, and such portions from Day’s Mathematics 
 as are requisite to enable the pupils to demonstrate 
 the various problems in Olmsted’s larger work on 
 Natural Philosophy. In Language, besides English 
 Grammar, a short course in Latin is required, sufli- 
 cient to secure an understanding of the philosophy 
 of the language, and that kind of mental discipline 
 which the exercise of translating affords. In Phi- 
 losophy, Chemistry, Astronomy, Botany, Geology 
 and Mineralogy, Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, 
 Political Economy, and the Evidences of Christian- 
 ity, the same textbooks are used as are required at 
 our best colleges. In Geography, the largest work, 
 and most thorough course, is adopted ; and in His- 
 tory, a more complete knowledge is secured, by 
 means of charts and textbooks, than most of our col- 
 leges offer. ‘'T'o these branches, are added Griscom’s 
 Physiology, Bigelow’s Technology,* and Jahn’s Ar- 
 cheology, together with a course of instruction in 
 polite literature, for which Chalmers’s English Litera- 
 ture is employed, as the textbook, each recitation 
 being attended with selections and criticisms, from 
 teacher or pupils, on the various authors brought into 
 notice. Vocal Music, on the plan of the Boston 
 Academy, is a part of the daily instructions. Linear 
 drawing and pencilling are designed also to be a part 
 of the course. Instrumental Music is taught, but 
 not as a part of the regular course of study. 
 
 * This work, greatly improved, enlarged, brought down to the 
 present time, and illustrated by numerous engravings, now forms 
 vols. xi. and xi. of the larger series of ‘ The School Library,’ issued 
 by the publishers of this volume. Its present title is ‘The Useful 
 Arts, considered in connexion with the Applications of Science.’ 
 
36 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 Tio secure the proper instruction in all these 
 branches, the division of labor, adopted in colleges, 
 is pursued. Each teacher has distinct branches as 
 her department, for which she is responsible, and in 
 which she is independent. By this method, the 
 teachers have sufficient time, both to prepare them- 
 selves, and to impart instruction and illustration in 
 the class-room. 
 
 One peculiarity of this Institution demands consid- 
 eration. By the method adopted there, the exclusive 
 business of educating their own sex is confined to 
 females, as it ever ought to be. The Principal of the 
 Institution, indeed, is a gentleman; but, while he 
 takes the position of a father of the family, and re- 
 sponsible head of the whole concern, the whole 
 charge of instruction, and all the responsibilities in 
 regard to health, morals, and manners, rest upon the 
 female teachers, in their several departments. 'The 
 Principal is the chaplain and religious teacher ; and 
 is a member of the board of instructers, so far as to 
 have a voice, and an equal vote, in every question 
 pertaining to the concerns of the Institution: and 
 thus he acts as a sort of regulating mainspring in all 
 the various departments. But no one person in the 
 Institution is loaded with the excessive responsibili- 
 ties, that rest upon one person where a large institu- 
 tion of this kind has one Principal, who employs and 
 directs all the subordinate assistants. 'The Writer 
 has never before seen the principle of the division of 
 labor and responsibility so perfectly carried out in 
 any female institution ; and believes that experience 
 will prove that this is the true model for combining, 
 in appropriate proportions, the agency of both sexes 
 in carrying forward such an institution. 
 
 One other thing should be noticed, to the credit 
 of the rising State where this Institution is located. 
 A female association has been formed, embracing a 
 large portion of the ladies of standing and wealth, 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 3h 
 
 the design of which, is, to educate, gratuitously, at 
 this, and other similar, institutions, such females, as 
 are anxious to obtain a good education, and are des- 
 titute of the means. If this enterprise is continued, 
 with the same energy and perseverance as has been 
 manifested the last few years, Illinois will take the 
 lead of her sister States, in well-educated women ; 
 and if the views in the preceding pages are correct, 
 this will give her precedence in every intellectual 
 and moral advantage. 
 
 Many, who are not aware of the great economy 
 secured by a proper division of labor, will not un- 
 derstand how so extensive a course can be properly 
 completed in three years. But in this Institution, 
 none are received under fourteen, and a certain 
 amount of previous acquisition is required, in order 
 to admission, as is done in our colleges. This se- 
 cures a diminution of classes, so that but few studies 
 are pursued at one time; while the number of well- 
 qualified teachers is so adequate, that full time is 
 afforded for all needful instruction and illustration. 
 Where teachers have so many classes, that they 
 merely have time to find out what their pupils learn 
 from books, without any aid from their teacher, the 
 acquisitions of the pupils are vague and imperfect, 
 and soon pass away ; so that an immense amount of 
 expense, time, and labor, are spent in acquiring what 
 is lost about as fast as it is gained. 
 
 Parents are little aware of the immense waste 
 incurred by the present mode of conducting female 
 education. In the wealthy classes, young girls are 
 sent to school, as a matter of course, year after year, 
 confined, six hours a day, to the schoolhouse, and 
 required to add some time out of school to acquiring 
 school exercises. Thus, during the most critical 
 period of life, they are confined, six hours a day, in 
 a room filled with an atmosphere vitiated by many 
 breaths, and are constantly kept under some sort of 
 
38 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 responsibility in regard to mental effort. Their 
 studies are pursued at random, often changed with 
 changing schools, while one schoolbook after an- 
 other (heavily taxing the parent’s purse) is conned 
 awhile and then supplanted by another. ‘Teachers 
 usually have so many pupils, and such a variety of 
 branches to teach, that little time can be afforded to 
 each pupil, while scholars, at this thoughtless period 
 of life, feeling sure of going to school as long as 
 they please, feel little interest in their pursuits. 
 
 The Writer believes that the actual amount of 
 education, permanently secured by most young la- 
 dies from the age of ten to fourteen, could all be 
 acquired in one year, at the Institution described, by 
 a young lady at the age of fifteen or sixteen. 
 
 Instead of such a course as the common one, if 
 
 mothers would keep their daughters as their domes- 
 
 tic assistants, until they are fourteen, requiring them 
 to study one lesson, and go out, once a day, to recite 
 it to a teacher, it would abundantly prepare them, 
 after their constitution is firmly established, to enter 
 
 ‘such an institution, where, in three years, they 
 
 could secure more than almost any young lady in 
 the Country now gains, by giving the whole of her 
 youth to school pursuits. 
 
 In the early years of female life, writing, needle- 
 work, drawing, and music, should interchange with 
 domestic duties ; and one hour a day, being devoted 
 to these pursuits, or to reading, would be all that 
 would be needful to prepare them for a thorough 
 education after they attain their growth. Thisis the 
 time when young women would feel the value of an 
 education, and pursue their studies with that maturity 
 of mind, and vividness of interest, which would double 
 the perpetuity and value of all their acquisitions. 
 
 But the great difficulty which opposes such a 
 plan, is, the want of such institutions as would 
 enable a young lady to complete, in three years, 
 
REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 39 
 
 such a liberal course of study, as the one described. 
 But if American mothers become convinced of the 
 importance of such advantages for their daughters, 
 and will use their influence appropriately and effi- 
 ciently, they will certainly be furnished. There 
 are other men of liberality and wealth, besides the 
 one in Illinois, who can be made to feel that a for- 
 tune, expended in securing an appropriate education 
 to American women, is as wisely bestowed, as in 
 founding colleges for the other sex, who are already 
 so abundantly supplied. We ought to have such 
 institutions, as the one at Monticello, in every part 
 of this Nation; and funds should be provided for 
 educating young women destitute of means: and if 
 American women think and feel that, by such a 
 method, their own trials will be lightened, and their 
 daughters will secure a healthful constitution and a 
 thorough domestic and intellectual education, the 
 appropriate expression of their wishes will secure 
 the necessary means. he tide of charity, which 
 has been so long flowing from the female hand to 
 provide a liberal education for young men, will re- 
 flow with abundant remuneration. 
 
 The last method suggested for lessening the evils 
 peculiar to American women, is, a decided effort to 
 oppose the aristocratic feeling, that labor is degrad- 
 ing; and to bring about the impression that it is 
 refined and lady-like to engage in domestic pursuits. 
 In past ages, and in. aristocratic countries, leisure 
 and indolence and frivolous pursuits have been 
 deemed lady-like and refined, because those classes, 
 which were most refined, patronised such an im- 
 pression. But as soon as ladies of refinement, as 
 a general custom, patronise domestic pursuits, then 
 these pursuits will be deemed lady-like. But it 
 may be urged, that it is impossible for a woman 
 who cooks, washes, and sweeps, to appear in the 
 dress, or acquire the habits and manners, of a lady ; 
 
| 
 i} 
 i| 
 5} 
 ie 
 i 
 i 
 i 
 
 [ 
 
 40 REMEDY FOR THESE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 that the drudgery of the kitchen is dirty work, and 
 that no one can appear delicate and refined, while 
 engaged in it. Now all this depends on circum- 
 stances. If a woman has a house, destitute of neat 
 and convenient facilities; if she has no habits of 
 order and system; if she is slack and careless in 
 person and dress;—then all this may be true. 
 But, if a woman will make some sacrifices of costly 
 ornaments in her parlor, in order to make her kitchen 
 neat and tasteful; if she will sacrifice costly dishes, 
 in order to secure such conveniences for labor as 
 protect from exposures; if she will take pains to 
 have the dresses, in which she works, made of suit- 
 able materials, and in good taste; if she will rise 
 early, and systematize and oversee the work of her 
 family, soas to have it done thoroughly, neatly, and 
 in the early part of the day; she will find no neces- 
 sity for any such apprehensions. It is because such 
 work has generally been done by vulgar people, and 
 in a vulgar way, that we have such associations ; 
 and when ladies manage such things, as ladies 
 should, then such associations will be removed. 
 There are pursuits, deemed very refined and genteel, 
 that involve quite as much exposure as kitchen em- 
 ployments. For example, to draw a large landscape, 
 
 in colored crayons, would be deemed very lady-like ; 
 
 but the Writer can testify, from sad experience, that 
 no cooking, washing, sweeping, or any other domes- 
 tic duty, ever left such deplorable traces on hands, 
 face, and dress, as this same lady-like pursuit. Such 
 things depend entirely on custom and associations ; 
 
 and every American woman, who values the insti- 
 tutions of her Country, and wishes to lend her in- 
 fluence in extending and perpetuating such bles- 
 sings, may feel that she is doing this, whenever, by 
 her example and influence, she “destroys the aristo- 
 cratic association, that would render domestic labor 
 degrading. 
 
DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A BRANCH OF sTUDY. A] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A BRANCH OF STUDY. 
 
 Impediment to the Object of this Chapter. First Reason for making 
 Domestic Economy a Study at School. Second Reason. Exam. 
 ples illustrating. ‘Third Reason. Questions asked. First Objec- 
 tion; how answered. Next Objection; how answered. Next 
 Objection; how answered. Last Reason. 
 
 THE greatest impediment to the object of this 
 chapter, is, the fact, that neither parents nor teachers 
 realize, either the importance, or the practicability 
 of making domestic economy a regular part of school 
 education. 
 
 It is with reference to this, that the first aim will 
 be, to point out some of the reasons for introducing 
 Domestic Economy as a branch of female education, 
 to be studied at school. 
 
 The first reason, is, that there is no period, ina 
 young lady’s life, when she will not find such 
 knowledge useful to herself, and to others. The 
 state of domestic service, in this country, is so 
 precarious, that there is scarcely a family, in the 
 free States, where it can be affirmed, that either 
 sickness, discontent, or love of change, will not de- 
 prive them of all their domestics, so that every fe- 
 male member of the family will be required to lend 
 some aid in providing food and the conveniences of 
 living. Every young lady is the member of some 
 family, which will need her aid in such emergen- 
 cies, and the better she is qualified to render it, the 
 happier she will be, herself, and the more she will 
 contribute to the enjoyment of others. 
 
 A second reason, is, that every young lady, at the 
 close of her schooldays, and’ even before they are 
 closed, is liable to be placed in a situation, in which 
 
 A¥ 
 
42 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A 
 
 she will need to do, herself, or to teach others to do, 
 all the various processes and duties detailed in this 
 work. That this may be more fully realized, the 
 Writer will detail some instances, that have come 
 under her own observation. 
 
 The eldest daughter of a family returned from 
 school, on a visit, at sixteen years of age. Before 
 her vacation had closed, her mother was laid in the 
 grave; and such were her father’s circumstances, 
 that she was obliged to assume the cares and duties 
 of her lost parent. The care of an infant, the man- 
 agement of young children, the superintendence of 
 domestics, the charge of family expenses, the re- 
 sponsibility of entertaining company, and the many 
 other cares of the family state, all at once came 
 upon this young and inexperienced schoolgirl. 
 
 Again; a young lady went to reside with a mar- 
 ried sister, in a distant State. While on this visit, 
 the elder sister died, and there was no one but this 
 young lady to fill the vacant place, and assume all 
 the cares of the nursery, parlor, and kitchen. 
 
 Again; a pupil of the Writer, at the end of her 
 schooldays, married, and removed to the West. 
 She was an entire novice in all domestic matters ; 
 an entire stranger in the place to which she removed. 
 In a year she became a mother, and her health 
 failed; while, for most of the time, she had no 
 domestics, at all, or only Irish or Germans, who 
 scarcely knew even the names, or the uses, of many 
 cooking utensils. She was treated with politeness 
 by her neighbors, and wished to return their civili- 
 ties; but how could this young and delicate crea- 
 ture, who had spent all her life at school, or in visit- 
 ing and amusement, take care of her infant, attend 
 to her cooking, washing, ironing, and baking, take 
 care of her parlor, chambers, kitchen, and cellar, 
 and yet visit and receive company? If there is any 
 thing that would make a kindly heart ache with 
 
BRANCH OF STUDY. 43 
 
 sorrow and sympathy, it would be to see so young, 
 so amiable, so helpless a martyr to the mistaken 
 system of female education now prevalent. “I have 
 the kindest of husbands,” said the young wife, after 
 her narrative of sufferings, ‘‘and I never regretted 
 my marriage; but, since this babe was born, I have 
 never had a single waking hour of freedom from 
 anxiety and care. O! how little young girls know 
 what is before them, when they enter the married 
 life!’? Let the mother or teacher, whose eye may 
 rest on these lines, ask herself, if there is no cause 
 for fear that the young objects of her care may be 
 thrown into similar emergencies, where they may 
 need a kind of preparation, which as yet has been 
 withheld? 
 
 Another reason for introducing such a subject, as 
 a distinct branch of school education, is, that, as a 
 general fact, young ladies will not be taught these 
 things in any other way. In reply to the thousand- 
 times-repeated remark, that girls must be taught 
 their domestic duties by their mothers, at home, it 
 may be inquired, in the first place, What proportion 
 of mothers are qualified to teach a proper and com- 
 plete system of Domestic Economy? When this is 
 answered, it may be asked, What proportion of those 
 who are qualified, have that sense of the importance 
 of such instructions, and that energy and persever- 
 ance which would enable them actually to teach 
 their daughters, in all the branches of Domestic 
 Economy presented in this work ? 
 
 When this is answered, it may be asked, How 
 many mothers actually do give their daughters in- 
 struction in the various branches of Domestic Econo- 
 my? Is it not the case, that, owing to ill health, 
 deficiency of domestics, and multiplied cares and 
 perplexities, a large portion of the most intelligent 
 mothers, and those, too, who most realize the impor- 
 tance of this instruction, actually cannot find the 
 
44 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A 
 
 time, and have not the energy, necessary to properly 
 perform the duty? They are taxed to the full 
 amount of both their mental and physical energies, 
 and cannot attempt any thing more. Almost every 
 woman knows, that it is easier to do the work, her- 
 self, than it is to teach an awkward and careless 
 novice; and the great majority of women, in this 
 Country, are obliged to do almost every thing in the 
 shortest and easiest way. This is one reason why 
 the daughters of very energetic and accomplished 
 housekeepers often are the most deficient in these 
 respects; while the daughters of ignorant or ineffi- 
 cient mothers, driven to the exercise of their own 
 energies, often become the most systematic and 
 expert. 
 
 It may be objected, that such things cannot be 
 taught by books. ‘This position may fairly be ques- 
 tioned. Do not young ladies learn, from books, how 
 to make hydrogen and oxygen? Do they not have 
 pictures of furnaces, alembics, and the various uten- 
 sils employed in cooking the chemical agents? Do 
 they not study the various processes of mechanics, 
 and learn to understand and to do many as difficult 
 operations as any that belong to housekeeping? All 
 these things are studied, explained, and recited in 
 classes, when every one knows that little practical 
 use can ever be made of this knowledge. Why, 
 then, should not that science and art, which a woman 
 is to practise during her whole life, be studied and 
 recited ? 
 
 It may be urged, that, even if it is studied, it will 
 soon be forgotten. And-so will much of every thing 
 studied at school. But why should that knowledge, 
 most needful for daily comfort, most Hable to be in 
 demand, be the only study omitted, because it may 
 be forgotten ? 
 
 It may also be objected, that young ladies can 
 get such books, and attend to them out of school. 
 
BRANCH OF STUDY. A5 
 
 And so they can get books on Chemistry and 
 Philosophy, and study them out of school ; but will 
 they do it? And why ought we not to make sure 
 the most necessary knowledge, and let the less need- 
 ful be omitted? If young ladies study such a work 
 as this, in school, they will remember a great part of 
 it; and, when they forget, in any emergency, they 
 will know where to resort for instruction. But if 
 such books are not put into schools, probably not 
 one in twenty will see or hear of them, especially in 
 those retired places where they are most needed. 
 So deeply is the Writer impressed with the impor- 
 tance of this, as a branch of female education, at 
 school, that she would deem it far safer and wiser to 
 omit any other, rather than this. 
 
 Another reason, for introducing such a branch of 
 study into female schools, is, the influence it would 
 exert, in leading young ladies more correctly to 
 estimate the importance and dignity of domestic 
 knowledge. It is now often the case, that young 
 ladies rather pride themselves on their ignorance of 
 such subjects; and seem to imagine that it is vulgar 
 and ungenteel to know how to work. This is one 
 of the relics of an aristocratic state of society, 
 which is fast passing away. Here the tendency of 
 every thing is to the equalisation of labor, so that 
 all classes are feeling, more and more, that indolence 
 is disreputable. And there are many mothers, 
 among the best educated and most wealthy. classes, 
 who are bringing up their daughters, not only to 
 know how to do, but actually to do, all kinds of 
 domestic work. 'The Writer knows young ladies, 
 who are daughters of men of wealth and standing, 
 and who are among the most accomplished in their 
 sphere, who have for-months been sent to work 
 with a mantuamaker, to acquire a practical knowl- 
 edge of that occupation, and who have at home 
 learned to perform all kinds of domestic labor. 
 
46 DOMESTIC ECONOMY AS A BRANCH OF STUDY. 
 
 And let the young women of this Nation find, 
 that Domestic Economy is placed, in schools, on an 
 equal or superior ground to Chemistry, Philosophy, 
 and Mathematics, and they will blush to be found 
 ignorant of its first principles, as much as they will 
 to hesitate respecting the laws of gravity, or the 
 composition of the atmosphere. But as matters are 
 now conducted, many young ladies, who can tell 
 how to make oxygen and hydrogen, and discuss 
 questions of Philosophy or Political Economy, do not 
 know how properly to make a bed and sweep a 
 room; while they can “construct a diagram’ in 
 Geometry with far more skill than they could con- 
 struct the simplest article of female dress. 
 
 It may be urged, that the plan suggested by the 
 Writer, in the previous pages, would make such a 
 book as this needless; for young ladies would learn 
 all these things at home, before they go regularly 
 to school. But it must be remembered, that the 
 plan suggested cannot fully be carried into effect, 
 till such endowed institutions as the one described 
 are universally furnished. This probably will not 
 be done, till at least one generation of young women 
 are educated. It is only on the supposition that a 
 young lady can, at fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 enter such an institution, and remain three years, 
 that it would be easy to induce her to remain, 
 during all the previous period, at home, in the prac- 
 tice of Domestic Economy, and the limited course of 
 study pointed out. In the present imperfect, desul- 
 tory, changing mode of female education, where 
 studies are begun, changed, partially learned, and 
 forgotten, it requires nearly all the years of a 
 woman’s youth, to acquire the intellectual education 
 now demanded. While this state of things con- 
 tinues, the only remedy is, to introduce Domestic 
 Economy asa study at school. 
 
 It is hoped that these considerations will have 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. AT 
 
 weight, not only with parents and teachers, but 
 with young ladies themselves, and that all will 
 unite their influence to introduce this as a popular 
 and universal branch of education in all female 
 schools. 
 
 CHAPTER YV. 
 
 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 Importance of a Knowledge of the Laws of Health, and of the Human 
 System, to Females. Construction of the Human Frame. Bones; 
 their Structure, Design, and Use. Engraving, and Description. 
 Exercise of the Bones. Distortions. Muscues ; their Constitution, 
 Use, and Connection with the Bones. Engraving, and Descrip- 
 tion. Operation of Muscles. Nerves; their Use. Engraving 
 and Description, Buoop-Vessexs; their object. Engraving and 
 Description. Orcans or Diesstion anp RESPIRATION, Engraving 
 and Description. Process of Digestion. Circulation of the Blood. 
 Process of Respiration. 'Tur Skin. Process of Perspiration. In- 
 sensible Perspiration. Heat of the Body. Absorbents. Follicles 
 of oily matter in the Skin. Nerves of Feeling. 
 
 TERE is no point, where a woman is more liable 
 to suffer from a want of knowledge and experience, 
 than in reference to the health of a family committed 
 to her care. Many a young lady, who never had 
 any charge of the sick ; who never took any care of 
 an infant ; who never obtained information on these 
 subjects, from books, or from the experience of 
 others ; in short, with little or no preparation ; has 
 found herself the chief attendant in dangerous sick- 
 ness, the chief nurse of a feeble infant, and the 
 responsible guardian of the health of a whole family. 
 
 The care, the fear, the perplexity, of a woman, 
 suddenly called to such unwonted duties, none can 
 realize, till they themselves feel it, or till they see 
 some young and anxious novice first attempting to 
 meet such responsibilities. 'To a woman of age and 
 experience, such duties often involve a measure of 
 
A8 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 trial and difficulty, at times deemed almost insup- 
 portable ; how hard, then, must they press on the 
 heart of the young and inexperienced ! 
 
 There is no really efficacious mode of preparing a 
 woman to take a rational care of the health of a 
 family, except by communicating that knowledge,. 
 in regard to the construction of the body, and the 
 laws of health, which is the first principle of the 
 medical profession. Not that a woman should un- 
 dertake the minute and extensive investigation 
 requisite for a physician; but she should gain a 
 general knowledge of first principles, as a guide to 
 her judgement in emergencies when she can rely on 
 no other aid. ‘Therefore, before attempting to give 
 any specific directions on the subject of this chapter, 
 a short sketch of the construction of the human 
 frame will be given, with a notice of some of the 
 general principles, on which specific rules in regard 
 to health are based. ‘This description will be ar- 
 ranged under the general head of Bones, Muscues, 
 Nerves, Buoop-Vesseis, Oreans or Digestion AND 
 Respiration, and tue SKIn. 
 
 BONES. 
 
 The bones are the most solid parts of the body. 
 They are designed to protect and sustain it, and also 
 to secure voluntary motion. ‘The annexed engrav- 
 ing, (Fig. 1,) represents the several bones of the body 
 as they appear when all other parts are removed. 
 
 The bones are about two hundred and fifty in 
 number, being sometimes a few more or less; and 
 are fastened together by cartilage, or gristle, a sub- 
 stance like the bones, but softer, and more elastic. 
 The bones are composed of two substances,—one 
 animal, and the other mineral. ‘The animal part is 
 a fine network, called the cellular membrane; in 
 which is deposited the harder. mineral substances, 
 which consist chiefly of carbonate and phosphate of 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. A9 
 
 lime. In very early life, the bones consist chiefly of 
 the animal part, and are then soft and pliant. As 
 the child advancés in age, the bones grow harder, 
 by the gradual deposition of the phosphate of lime, 
 which is supplied by the food, and carried to the 
 bones by the blood. In old age, the hardest mate- 
 rial preponderates; making the bones more brittle 
 than in earlier life. 
 
 It is the universal law of the human frame, that 
 exercise is indispensable to the health of the several 
 parts. Thus, if a blood-vessel is tied up, so as not to 
 be used, it shrinks, and becomes a useless string ; if 
 a muscle is condemned to inaction, it shrinks in size, 
 and diminishes in power; and thus it is also with 
 the bones. Inactivity produces softness, debility, 
 and unfitness for the functions they are designed to 
 perform. 'This is one of the causes of the curvature 
 of the spine, that common and pernicious defect in 
 the females of America. From inactivity, the bones 
 of the spine become soft and yielding ; and then, if 
 the person is often placed, for a length of time, in 
 positions that throw the weight of the body unequal- - 
 ly on certain portions of the spine, these parts yield 
 to this frequent compression, and a distortion ensues. 
 The positions taken by young persons, when learn- 
 ing to write or draw, and the position of the body 
 when sleeping on one side on high pillows, all tend 
 to produce this effect, by throwing the weight of 
 the body unequally and for a length of time on par- 
 ticular parts of the spine. 
 
 In order to convey a more clear and correct idea 
 of the form, relative position, and connection, of the 
 bones constituting the human framework, the en- 
 graving (Fig. 1,) on the next page is given. 
 
50 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 By the preceding engraving, it will be seen, that the 
 cranium, or skull, consists of several distinct pieces, 
 which are united by sutures, (or seams,) as repre- 
 sented by the zigzag lines in the engraving; a, being 
 the frontal bone ; b, the parietal bone ; c, the tempo- 
 ral bone; d, shows the place of the occipital bone, 
 which forms the back part of the head, and there- 
 fore is not seen in the engraving ; e, the nasal bones, 
 or bones of the nose ; f, the cheek bone; g, the up- 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 51 
 
 per, and h, the lower, jaw bones ; 7 7%, the spinal 
 column, or back bone, consisting of numerous small 
 bones, called vertebre ; jj, are the seven true ribs, 
 which are fastened to the spine, behind, and by the 
 cartilages, k k, to the sternum, or biétist bone, d, in 
 front; m m, are the first three “false ribs, which are 
 so called because they are not united directly to the 
 breast bone, but by cartilages to the seventh true rib ; 
 
 nn, are the lower two false ribs, which are also 
 called floating, because they are not connected with 
 the breast bone, nor the other ribs, in front; 00 pq, 
 are the bones of the pelvis, which is the foundation 
 on which the spine rests; r 7, are the collar bones ; 
 ss, the shoulder blade ; t t, the bones of the upper 
 arm ; uu, the elbow joint, where the three bones of 
 the arm and fore arm are united in such a way that 
 they can move like a hinge; v w v w, are the bones 
 of the fore arm; x x, the bones of the wrists; y y, 
 those of the fingers ; 2 z,are the round heads of the 
 thigh bones, where they are inserted into the sockets 
 of the bones of the pelvis, giving motion in every 
 direction, and forming the hip joint ; a b a b, are the 
 thigh bones ; @ |e; the knee joint; dede, ‘the leg 
 bones ; f f, the ankle joint; g g, the bones of the 
 
 foot. 
 
 MUSCLES. 
 
 The muscles are the chief organs of motion, and 
 consist of collections of fine fibres or strings, united 
 in casings of membrane or thin skin. They possess 
 an elastic power, like India rubber, which enables’ 
 them to extend and contract. The red meat in ani- 
 mals consists of muscles. Every muscle has con- 
 nected with it nerves, veins, and arteries ; and those 
 designed to move the bones, are fastened to them by 
 tendons at their extremities. The muscles are laid 
 over each other, and are separated by means of mem- 
 branes and layers of fat, which enable them to. move 
 easily, without interfering with each other. 
 
52 _ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 Some idea of the construction and action of the 
 muscles, may be obtained from this engraving. 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 53 
 
 This figure represents the muscles of the arm, 
 as they appear when the skin and fat are removed. 
 The muscles a and 6 are attached, at their upper 
 ends, to the bone of the arm, and by their lower 
 ends to the upper part of the fore arm, near the 
 elbow joint. When the fibres of these muscles con- 
 tract, the middle part of them grows larger, and the 
 arm is bent at the elbow. 'The muscle ¢, is, in like 
 manner, fastened, by its upper end, to the shoulder 
 blade and the upper part of the arm, and by its lower 
 end to one of the bones of the fore arm, near the 
 elbow. When the arm is bent, and we wish to 
 Straighten it, itis done by contracting this muscle. 
 The muscles d d, come from the middle of the arm, 
 and on the back, of the hand are reduced in size, 
 appearing like strong cords. 'These cords are called 
 tendons. ‘They are employed in straightening the 
 fingers, when the hand is shut, and are attached 
 to the fingers. These tendons are confined by 
 the ligament or band, e, which binds them down, 
 around the wrist, and thus enables them to act 
 more efficiently, and secures beauty of: form to 
 the limb. The muscles at f,; are those which 
 enable us to turn the hand and arm outward. 
 Every different motion of the arm has one muscle 
 to produce it, and another to restore the limb to its 
 natural position. ‘Those muscles which bend the 
 body are called flexors; those which straighten it, 
 extensors. When the arm is thrown up, one set 
 of muscles is used; to pull it down, another set: 
 when it is thrown forward, a still different set is 
 used; when it is thrown back, another, different 
 from the former. When the arm turns in its socket, 
 still another set is used; and thus every: different 
 motion of the body is made by a different set of 
 muscles. All these muscles are compactly and skil- 
 fully arranged, so as to work with perfect ease. 
 Among them, run the arteries, veins, and nerves, 
 
 5* 
 
54 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 which supply each muscle with blood and nervous 
 power, as will be hereafter described. 
 
 NERVES. 
 
 The nerves are the organs of sensation. They 
 enable us to see, hear, feel, taste, and smell; and 
 also combine with the bones and muscles in produc- 
 ing motion. The engraving, (Fig. 3,) is a vertical 
 section of the skull, and of the spinal column, or back 
 bone, which supports the head, and through which » 
 runs the spinal cord, whence most of the nerves 
 originate. In this engraving, @, represents the cere- 
 brum, or great brain; 6, the cerebellum, or little 
 brain, which is situated directly under the great 
 brain, at the back and lower part of the head; cd e, 
 is the spinal marrow, which is connected with the 
 brain at ¢, and runs through the whole length of the 
 spinal column. This column consists of a large 
 number of small bones, called vertebre, f f, laid one 
 above another, and fastened together by cartilage, 
 or gristle, g, between them. ‘The spinal column is 
 perforated through its whole extent; and within the 
 cavity, thus formed, is contained the spinal marrow, 
 ede, as seen in the engraving. Between each two 
 vertebrae, or spinal bones, there issues from the spine, 
 en each side, a pair of nerves. ‘The lower broad 
 part of the spine, (see p, Fig. 1,) is called the sa- 
 crum; in this, are eight holes, through which the 
 lower pairs of nerves pass off. 
 
 The nerves, which thus proceed from the spine, 
 branch out, like the limbs and twigs of a tree, till 
 they extend over the whole body; and so minutely 
 are they divided and arranged, that a point, destitute 
 of a nerve, cannot be found on the skin. 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 55 
 
 pine 
 
 si) 
 
56 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 The nerves of the head and lungs run directly 
 from the brain; those of all other parts of the body 
 run from the spine. 
 
 Fig, 4. 
 . SWwaee li 
 (KW af i KG > » 
 KO Gly 
 x WV Ws gy 
 KM 
 
 vate ( ‘ 
 = > te \ X Cr 
 ee 
 B S 
 2) 
 
 / VY Se 
 y ti Sey 
 f, y ji 2 _ 
 
 a\\ 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 57 
 
 Some idea of the ramifications of the nerves may 
 be obtained from the preceding engraving, (Fig. 4,) 
 in which A A, is the cerebrum, or great brain; BB, 
 the cerebellum, or little brain ; (see also a b, in Fig. 
 33) CC, represents the union of the fibres of the 
 cerebrum; D D, the union of the two sides of the 
 cerebellum; E EE, the spinal marrow, which 
 passes through the centre of the spine, (as seen at 
 cde,in Fig. 3;) 1234 5 6, are branches of. the 
 nerves going to different parts of the body. 
 
 BLOOD-VESSELS. 
 
 The blood is the fluid into which our food is 
 changed, and which is employed to minister nour- 
 ishment to the whole body. For this purpose, it is 
 carried to every part of the body, by the arteries; 
 and, after it has given out its nourishment, returns 
 to the heart, through the veins. Before entering 
 the heart, it receives another fresh supply of nour- 
 ishment, by a duct which leads from the stomach. 
 The arteries have their origin from the heart, in a 
 great trunk called the aorta, which is the parent of 
 all the arteries, as the spine is the parent of the 
 nerves which it sends out. When the arteries have 
 branched out into myriads of minute vessels, the 
 blood which is in them passes into as minute veins; 
 and these run into each other, like the rills and 
 branches of a river, until they are all united in two 
 great veins, which run into the heart. One of these 
 large receivers, called the vena cava supexior, or 
 upper vena cava, brings back the blood from the 
 arms and head, the other, the vena cava inferior, or 
 lower vena cava, brings back the blood from the 
 body and lower limbs. 
 
58 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 » wa, 
 sek 
 
 Se Sy 
 
 ~ 
 
 oes 
 epee, 
 
 Fe. 
 frye S 
 wd > 
 
 ones 
 ee ns LA 
 
 The preceding engraving, (Fig. 5,) which pre- , 
 sents a rude outline of the vascular system, will : 
 more clearly illustrate this operation. H, is the heart, 
 which is divided into four compartments ; two, called 
 auricles, used for receiving the blood, and two, 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 59 
 
 called ventricles, used for sending out the blood. A, is 
 the aorta, or great artery, which sends its branches 
 to every part of the body. In the upper part, at 
 @ @ a, are the main branches of the aorta, which Zo 
 to the head and arms. Below, at a a, are the branches 
 which go to the lower limbs. The branches which 
 set off at X X, are those by which the intestines are 
 supplied by vessels from the aorta. Every muscle 
 in the whole body, all the organs of the body, and 
 the skin, are supplied by branches sent off from this 
 great artery. When the blood is thus dispersed 
 through any organ, in minute vessels, it is re- 
 ceived, at their terminations, by numerous minute 
 veins, which gradually unite, forming larger branches, 
 till they all meet in either the upper or lower vena 
 cava, which returns the blood to the heart. V iF 
 is the vena cava inferior, which receives the blood 
 from the veins of the lower parts of the body, as 
 seen at v v. The branches of these receive the 
 blood sent into the lower limbs from the qorta - 
 0 0, represent the points of entrance of those tribu- 
 taries of the vena cava, which receive that blood 
 from the intestines which is sent out by the aorta 
 at X X. In the upper part, V 8, is the vena cava 
 superior, which receives the blood from the head - 
 and arms; v v v, are the tributaries of the upper 
 vena cava, which bring the blood back from the 
 head and arms. dd, represents the position of the 
 thoracic duct, a delicate tube by which the chyle is 
 carried into the circulation, as mentioned on page 
 65; ¢, shows the place where this duct empties 
 into a branch of the vena cava. 
 
 It thus appears, that wherever a branch of the 
 aorta goes to carry blood, there will be found a tribu- . 
 tary of the upper or lower vena cava, to bring it back. 
 
 ‘The succeeding engravings will enable the reader 
 to form a more definite idea of this important func- 
 tion of the system,—the circulation of the blood. 
 
60 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 The heart, in man, and in all warm-blooded animals, 
 is double, having two auricles and two ventricles. 
 In animals with cold blood, (as fishes,) the heart 
 is single, having but one auricle and one ventri- 
 cle. Fig. 6, represents the double heart as it ap- 
 pears when the two sides are separated, and also the 
 great blood-vessels; those on the left of the figure 
 being on the right side of the body, and vice versa. 
 The direction of the blood is.represented by the ar- 
 tows. <A, represents the lower vena cava, returning 
 the blood from the lower parts of the body, and L, 
 the wpper vena cava, returning the blood from the 
 head and arms. B, is the right sinus, or auricle, 
 into which the returned blood is poured. From this 
 cavity of the heart, the blood is carried into the 
 right ventricle, C; and from this ventricle, the pui- 
 monary artertes, D, convey into the lungs the blood 
 which is returned from the body. These five ves- 
 sels, A B C D and L, belong to the right side of the 
 heart, and contain the venous or dark-colored blood, 
 which has been through the circulation, and is now 
 unfit for the uses of the system, till it has passed 
 through the lungs. When the blood reaches the 
 lungs, and is exposed to the action of the air which 
 we breathe, it throws off its impurities, becomes 
 bright in color, and is then called arterial blood. It 
 then returns to the left side of the heart, (on the 
 right of the engraving,) by the pulmonary veins, 
 EE, (also seen at m m, Fig. 8,) into the left auricle 
 F’, whence it is forced into the ventricle, G. From 
 the left ventricle, proceeds the aorta, H H, which is 
 the great artery ofthe body, and conveys the blood 
 to.every part of the system. I J K, are branches 
 of the aorta, going to the head and arms. 
 
61 
 
 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 \ 
 Ss SS 
 
 / 
 
 » 
 Mh 
 =) 
 
 oH 
 
 a == = 
 
 7 we 
 
 + 
 
 Lie 
 
 nin 
 
 — Z| 
 
 eer 
 en! 
 se. 
 ae 
 as 
 a) 
 m DO 
 ~~ 
 = Sle 
 aS 
 = 4 
 o 4 
 at 
 1 
 (sb) 
 2 
 ores 
 2) 
 — 
 eS 
 oO ~ 
 Sy 
 Og 
 Sa 
 2) 
 og 
 — 
 ~ 2 
 2) 
 oor 
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 : 
 
 2.0: 
 
 description of Fi 
 
 be understood from the 
 
62 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 Fig. 7; 
 
 On the opposite page, Fig. 8, represents the heart, 
 with the great blood-vessels, on a still larger scale ; 
 a, being the left ventricle ; 6, the right ventricle ; ce f, 
 the aorta, or great artery, rising out of the left ven- 
 tricle ; g h 2, the branches of the aorta, going to the 
 head and arms; k ld, the pulmonary artery, and its 
 branches ; m m, veins of the lungs ; n, right auricle ; 
 0, vena cava inferior ; p, veins returning blood from 
 the liver and bowels; q, the vena cava superior ; r, 
 the left auricle; s, the left coronary artery, which 
 distributes the blood exclusively to the substance 
 of the heart. 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 63 
 
 ORGANS OF DIGESTION AND RESPIRATION. 
 
 Digestion and respiration are the processes, by 
 which the food is converted into blood for the nour- 
 ishment of the body. The engraving (Fig. 9) on 
 the next page shows the organs by which these op- 
 erations are performed. 
 
 In the lower part of the engraving, is the stomach, 
 marked S, which receives the food through the gul- 
 let, marked G. 'The latter, though in the engraving 
 it is cut off at G, in reality continues upwards to the 
 throat. ‘The stomach is a bag composed of muscles, 
 nerves, and blood-vessels, united by a material simi- 
 lar to that which forms the skin. As soon as food 
 enters the stomach, its nerves are excited to perform 
 their proper function of stimulating the muscles. A 
 muscular (called the peristaltic) motion immediately 
 commences, by which the stomach propels its con- 
 
64 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 tents around the whole of its circumference, once in 
 every three minutes. This movement of the mus- 
 cles attracts the blood from other parts of the sys- 
 tem; for the blood always hastens to administer its 
 supplies to any organ which is called to work. The 
 blood-vessels of the stomach are soon distended with 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 65 
 
 blood, from which, the gastric juice is secreted by 
 minute vessels in the coat of the stomach. This 
 mixes with the food, and reduces it to a soft pulpy 
 mass, called chyme. It then passes through the 
 lower end of the stomach, into the intestines, which 
 are folded up in the abdomen, and the upper portion, 
 only, of which is shown in the engraving, at A A. 
 The organ marked L L, is the liver, which, as the 
 blood passes through its many vessels, secretes a 
 substance called bile, which accumulates in the gall- 
 bladder, marked B. After the food passes out of the 
 stomach, it receives from the liver a portion of bile, 
 and from the pancreas the pancreatic juice. The 
 pancreas does not appear in this drawing, being con- 
 cealed behind the stomach. These two liquids sepa- 
 rate the substance which has passed from the stomach, 
 into two different portions. One is a light liquid, 
 resembling cream very much in appearance, and 
 called chyle, of which the blood is formed; the other 
 is a more solid substance, which contains the refuse 
 and useless matter, with a smaller portion of nour- 
 ishment. This, after being further separated from 
 the nourishing matter which it contains, is thrown 
 out of the body. As these two mixed substances 
 pass through the long and winding folds of the in- 
 testines in the abdomen, there are multitudes of 
 small vessels, called lacteals, which absorb the chyle 
 from the intestines, and convey it to the thoracic 
 duct, which runs up close by the spine, and carries 
 the chyle, thus received, into a branch of the vena 
 cava superior, at t, whence it is mingled with the 
 blood going into the heart. In this engraving, the 
 lacteals and thoracic duct are not shown; but their 
 position is indicated by the dotted lines, marked 
 X Y; X, being the lacteals, and Y, the thoracic 
 duct. 
 
 In the upper half of the: engraving, H represents. 
 the heart; a, the commencement of the aorta PPOs 
 
 6* 
 
66 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 the termination of the vena cava superior. On each 
 side of the heart, are the lungs; //, being the left 
 lobe, and r J, the right lobe. 'They are composed of 
 a network of air-vessels, blood-vessels, and nerves. 
 W, represents the trachea, or windpipe, through 
 which the air we breathe is conducted to the lungs. 
 It branches out into myriads of minute vessels, 
 which are thus filled with air every time we breathe. 
 From the heart, run the pulmonary arteries, marked 
 pa. These enter the lungs and spread out along 
 side of the branches of the air-vessels, so that every 
 air-vessel has a small artery running side by side 
 with it. When the two vena cavas empty the blood 
 into the heart, the latter contracts, and sends this 
 blood, through these pulmonary arteries, into the 
 lungs. 
 
 As the air and blood meander, side by side, 
 through the lungs, the superabundant carbon and 
 hydrogen of the blood combine with the oxygen of 
 the air, forming carbonic acid gas, and water, which 
 are thrown out of the lungs at every expiration. 
 This is the process by which the chyle is converted 
 into arterial blood, and the venous blood purified of 
 its excess of carbon and hydrogen. When the blood 
 is thus prepared, in the lungs, for its duties, it is re- 
 ceived by the small pulmonary veins, which gradu- 
 ally unite, and bring the blood back to the heart, 
 through the large.pulmonary veins, marked p v, p v. 
 
 On receiving this purified blood from the lungs, 
 the heart contracts, and sends it out again through 
 the aorta to all parts of the body. It then makes 
 another circuit through every part, ministering to the 
 wants of all, and is afterwards again brought back 
 by the veins to receive the fresh chyle from the 
 stomach, and be purified by the lungs. 
 
 The throbbing of the heart is caused by its alter- 
 nate expansion and contraction, as it receives and 
 expels the blood. With one throb, the.blood is sent 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 67 
 
 from the right ventricle into the lungs, and from the 
 left ventricle into the aorta. 
 
 Every time we inspire air, the process of purifying 
 the blood is going on; and every time we expire the 
 air, we throw out the redundant carbon and hydro- 
 gen, taken from a portion of the blood. If the waist 
 is compressed by tight clothing, a portion of the 
 lungs is compressed, so that the air-vessels cannot be 
 filled. This prevents the perfect purification and 
 preparation of the blood, so that a part returns back 
 to the heart unfitted for its duties. 'Thisisa slow, 
 but sure, method, by which many a young lady has 
 her constitution undermined. 
 
 OF THE SKIN. 
 
 The skin is the covering of the body, and has 
 very important functions to perform. It is more 
 abundantly supplied with nerves and blood-vessels 
 than any other part ; and there isno spot of the skin 
 where the point of the finest needle would not pierce 
 a nerve and blood-vessel. Indeed, it may be consid- 
 ered as composed chiefly of an interlacing of minute 
 nerves and blood-vessels, so that it is supposed there 
 is more nervous matter in the skin, than in all 
 the rest of the body united, and that the greater 
 portion of the blood flows through the skin. 
 
 The whole animal system is in a state of contin- 
 ual change and renovation. Food is constantly 
 taken into the stomach, only a portion of which is 
 fitted for the supply of the blood. All the rest has 
 to be thrown out of the system, by various organs 
 designed for this purpose. 'These organs are, the 
 lungs, which throw off a portion of useless matter 
 when the blood is purified ; the kidneys, which se- 
 erete liquids that pass into the bladder and are 
 thrown out from the body by that organ; and the 
 intestines, which carry off the- useless and more solid 
 parts of the food, after the lacteals. have drawn off 
 
68 ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 
 
 the chyle. In addition to these organs, the skin has 
 a similar duty to perform; and as it has so much 
 larger a supply of blood, it is the chief organ in re- 
 lieving the body of the useless and noxious parts of 
 the materials which are taken for food. 
 
 Various experiments show, that not less than a 
 pound and four ounces of waste matter is thrown off 
 by the skin every twenty-four hours. This is ac- 
 cording to the lowest calculation. Most of those, 
 who have made experiments to ascertain the quan- 
 tity, make it much greater; and all agree, that the 
 skin throws off more redundant matter from the 
 body than all the other organs together. In the or- 
 dinary state of the skin, even when there is no ap- 
 parent perspiration, it is constantly exhaling waste 
 matter, in a form which is called znsensible perspi- 
 ration, because it cannot be perceived by the senses. 
 A very cool mirror, brought suddenly near to the 
 skin, will be covered, in that part, with a moisture, 
 which is this effluvia thus made visible. When 
 heat or exercise excite the skin, this perspiration is 
 increased, so as to be apparent to the senses. 
 
 Another oflice of the skin, is, to regulate the heat 
 of the body. 'The action of the internal organs is 
 constantly generating heat; and the faster the 
 blood circulates, the greater is the heat evolved. 
 The perspiration of the skin serves to reduce and 
 regulate this heat. For, whenever any liquid 
 changes to a vapor, it absorbs heat from whatever is 
 nearest to it. ‘T'he faster the blood flows, the more 
 perspiration is evolved. This bedews the skin 
 with a liquid, which the heat of the body turns 
 to a vapor; and in this change, that heat is ab- 
 sorbed. When a fever takes place, this perspi- 
 ration ceases, and the body is afflicted with heat. 
 Insensible perspiration is most abundant during 
 sleep, after eating, and when friction is applied to 
 the skin. Perspiration is performed by the termina- 
 
 eee ee nr SO aE 
 
ON THE CARE OF HEALTH. 69 
 
 tions of minute arteries in every part of the skin, 
 which exude the perspiration from the blood. 
 
 The skin also performs another function. It is 
 provided with a set of small vessels, called absorb- 
 ents, Which are exceedingly abundant and minute. 
 When particular substances are brought in contact 
 with the skin, these absorbents take up some por- 
 tions and carry them into the blood. It is owing to 
 this, that opium, applied on the skin, acts in a man- 
 ner similar to its operation when taken into the 
 stomach. 'The power of absorption is increased by 
 friction; and this is the reason that liniments are 
 employed, with much rubbing, to bruises and sprains. 
 The substance applied is thus introduced into the 
 injured part, through the absorbents. 
 
 The skin is also provided with small follicles, or 
 bags, which are filled with an oily substance. This, 
 by gradually exuding over the skin, prevents water 
 from penetrating and injuring its texture. 
 
 The skin is also the organ of touch. This office. 
 is performed through the instrumentality of the 
 nerves of feeling, which are spread over all parts of 
 the skin. 
 
 This general outline of the construction of the 
 human frame is given, with reference to the practical 
 application of this knowledge in the various cases 
 where a woman will be called upon to exercise her 
 own unaided judgement. The application will be 
 further pointed out, in the chapters on’ Food, Dress, 
 Cleanliness, the Care of the Sick, and the Care of 
 Little Children. 
 
0 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 Responsibility of a Housekeeper in regard to Health and Food. The 
 most fruitful Cause of Disease. Gastric Juice ; how proportioned. 
 Hunger the natural Guide as to Quantity of Food. A benevolent 
 provision ; how perverted, and its effects. A morbid Appetite, how 
 caused. Effects of too much Food inthe Stomach. Duty of a House- 
 keeper in reference to this. Proper Time for taking Food. Per- 
 istaltic Motion. Need of Rest to the Muscles of the Stomach. Time 
 necessary between each Meal. Exceptions of hard Laborers and 
 active Children. Exercise; its effect on all parts of the Body. 
 How it produces Hunger. What is to be done by those who have 
 lost the guidance of Hunger in regulating the Amount of Food. 
 On Quality of Food. Difference as to risk from bad Food, between 
 healthy persons who exercise, and those of delicate and sedentary 
 habits. Stimulating Food ; its Effects. Condiments needed only 
 for Medicine, and to be avoided as Food. Difference between An- 
 imal and Vegetable Food. Opinion of some Medical Men. Med- 
 ical Men agree as to the Excess of Animal Food in American Diet. 
 Extracts from Medical Writers on this point. Articles most easily 
 digested. The most unhealthful articles result from bad cook- 
 ing. Caution as to mode of eating. Reason why mental and bodily 
 exertions are injurious after a full Meal. Changes in Diet should 
 be gradual; and why. Drink most needed at Breakfast; and why. 
 Dinner should be the heartiest Meal; and why. Little Drink to be 
 taken while eating; and why. Extremes of Heat or Cold; why 
 injurious in Food. Fluids immediately absorbed from the Stom- 
 ach. Why Soups are hard of Digestion. Why highly-concentrated 
 Nourishment is not good for Health. Opinion of Dr. Combe as to 
 the selection of Food. 
 
 T'ue person who decides what shall be the food 
 and drink of a family, and the modes of preparation, 
 is the one who decides, to a greater or less extent, 
 what shall be the health of that family. It is the 
 opinion of most medical men, that intemperance in 
 eating is the most fruitful of all causes of disease and 
 death. If this be so, the woman who wisely adapts 
 the food and cooking of her family to the laws of 
 health, removes the greatest risk which threatens the 
 lives of those under her care. 
 
 To exhibit this subject clearly, it will be needful 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 71 
 
 to refer, more minutely, to the organization and ope- 
 ration of the Digestive Organs. 
 
 It is found, by experiment, that the supply of gas- 
 tric juice, furnished from the blood by the arteries of 
 the stomach, is proportioned, not to the amount of 
 food put into the stomach, but to the wants of the 
 body ; so that it is possible to put much more into 
 the stomach than can be digested. 'To guide and 
 regulate in this matter, the sensation called hunger 
 is provided. Ina healthy state of the body, as soon 
 as the blood has lost its nutritive supplies, the call of 
 hunger is felt, and then, if the food is suitable, and 
 is taken in the proper manner, this sensation ceases 
 as soon as the stomach has received enough to sup- 
 ply the wants of the system. But our benevolent 
 Creator, in this, as in our other duties, has connected 
 enjoyment with the operation needful to sustain our 
 bodies. In addition to the allaying of hunger, there 
 is the gratification of the palate, secured by the im- 
 mense variety of food, some articles of which are far 
 more agreeable than others. 
 
 This arrangement of Providence, designed for our 
 happiness, either through ignorance, or want of self- 
 control, has become the chief cause of the various 
 diseases and sufferings that afflict those classes which 
 have the means of seeking a variety to gratify the 
 palate. If mankind had only one article of food, and 
 only water to drink, they would never be tempted to 
 put any more into the stomach, than the calls of 
 hunger required. But the customs of society, which 
 present an incessant change, and a great variety of 
 food, with those various condiments that stimulate 
 appetite, lead almost every person very frequently 
 to eat merely to gratify the palate, after the stomach 
 has been abundantly supplied, so that hunger has 
 ceased. 
 
 When too great a supply of food is put into the 
 stomach, the gastric juice dissolves only that portion 
 
72 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 which the wants of the system demand. ll the 
 rest is ejected from the stomach in an unprepared 
 state, the absorbents take portions of it into the sys- 
 tem, and all the various functions of the body, which 
 depend on the ministries of the blood, are thus grad- 
 ually and imperceptibly injured. Very often, intem- 
 perance in eating produces immediate results, such 
 as colic, headaches, pains of indigestion, and vertigo. 
 But the more general result, is, a gradual undermin- 
 ing of all parts of the human frame; thus impercep- 
 tibly shortening life, by a debilitated constitution, 
 which is ready to yield at every point, to any un- 
 common risk or exposure. ‘Thousands and thousands 
 are passing out of the world, from diseases occasion- 
 ed by exposures, that a healthy constitution could 
 meet without any danger. It is owing to these con- 
 siderations, that it becomes the duty of every wo- 
 man, who has the responsibility of providing food 
 for a family, to avoid a variety of tempting dishes. 
 Only one kind of healthy food, for each meal, is a 
 much safer rule, than the abundant variety which is 
 usually met at the tables of almost all classes in this 
 Country. When there is to be any variety of dishes, 
 they ought not to be successive, but so arranged, as 
 to give the opportunity of selection. How often is 
 it the case, that persons, by the appearance of a fa- 
 vorite article, are tempted to eat, merely to gratify 
 the palate, when the stomach is already adequately 
 supplied. All such intemperance wears on the con- 
 stitution, and shortens life. It not unfrequently 
 happens, that excess in eating produces a morbid 
 appetite, which must constantly be denied. 
 
 But the organization of the digestive organs de- 
 mands, not only that food be taken in proper quan- 
 tities, but that it be taken at proper times. 
 
 It has before been shown, that, as soon as the food 
 enters the stomach, the muscles are excited by the 
 nerves, and the peristaltic motion commences. This 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 73 
 
 is a powerful and constant exercise of the muscles of 
 the stomach, which continues until the process of 
 digestion is complete. During this time, the blood 
 is withdrawn from other parts of the system, to sup~ 
 ply the demands of the stomach, which is laboring 
 hard with all its muscles. When this motion ceases, 
 and the digested food has gradually passed out of 
 the stomach, then Nature requires that it should 
 have a period of repose. If fresh food is put into 
 the stomach shortly after eating, it demands a greater 
 muscular effort to carry around this undigested mass, 
 than it would if it had entered at the same time 
 with the other portion, which has now been digested 
 and ejected. And if another meal is eaten, imme- 
 diately after one is digested, the stomach is set to 
 work again, before it has time to rest, and before a 
 sufficient supply of gastric juice is provided. - 
 
 The general rule, then, is, that three hours be 
 given to the stomach for labor, and two for rest ; 
 and in obedience to this, five hours at least, ought 
 to elapse between every regular meal. In cases 
 where exercise produces a flow of perspiration, more 
 food is needed to supply the loss ; and strong labor- 
 ing men may safely eat as often as they feel the 
 want of food. So young and healthy children, who 
 gambol and exercise much, and whose bodies grow 
 fast, may have a more frequent supply of food. But, 
 as a general rule, meals should be five hours apart, 
 and eating between meals avoided. There is noth- 
 ing more unsafe, and wearing to the constitution, 
 than a habit of eating at any time, merely to gratify 
 the palate. When a tempting article is presented, 
 every person should exercise sufficient self-denial to 
 wait till the proper time for eating arrives. 
 
 In deciding as to quantity of food, there is one 
 great difficulty to be met by a large portion of the 
 community. It has been shown, that. the exercise 
 of every part of the body is indispensable to its 
 
 t 
 
ee 
 
 74 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 health and perfection. ‘The bones, the muscles, the 
 
 nerves, the organs of digestion and respiration, and 
 
 the skin, all demand exercise, in order properly to 
 perform their functions. When the muscles of the 
 
 body are called into action, all the blood-vessels 
 entwined among them are frequently compressed. 
 
 As the heart is so contrived, that the blood cannot 
 
 run back, this compression sends the blood forward 
 
 towards the heart in the arteries and veins. The 
 
 heart is immediately put in quicker motion, to send 
 
 it into the lungs; and they, also, are thus stimulated 
 
 to quicker motion, which is the cause of that panting 
 
 which active exercise always occasions. The blood 
 
 thus courses in quicker streams through the body, 
 
 and sooner loses its nourishing properties. Then 
 
 the stomach issues its mandate of hunger, and a 
 
 new supply of food must be furnished. Thus it 
 appears, as a general rule, that the quantity of food, 
 
 actually needed by the body, depends on the amount 
 
 of muscular exercise taken. A laboring man, in the 
 
 open fields, probably throws off from his skin ten 
 
 times the amount, which evolves from the skin of a : 
 person of sedentary pursuits. In consequence of 7 
 this he demands ten times the amount of food and | 
 drink. 
 
 Those persons who keep their bodies in a state of 
 health, by sufficient exercise, can always be guided 
 by the calls of hunger. They can eat when they 
 feel hungry, and stop when hunger ceases ; and then : 
 they will calculate exactly right. But the difficulty | 
 is, that a large part of the community, especially 
 women, are so inactive in their habits, that they 
 seldom feel the calls of hunger. They habitually 
 eat, merely to gratify the palate. This produces 
 such a state of the system, that they have lost the 
 guide which Nature has provided. ‘They are not 
 called to eat, by hunger, nor admonished, by its 
 cessation, when to stop. In consequence of this, 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 15 
 
 such persons eat what pleases the palate, till they 
 feel no more inclination for the article. It is prob- 
 able that three fourths of the women, in the wealthier 
 circles, sit down to each meal without any feeling 
 of hunger, and eat merely because they find some- 
 thing that gratifies the palate. Such persons find 
 their appetite to depend almost solely on the kind 
 of food on the table. This is not the case with 
 those who take the exercise which Nature.demands. 
 ‘They approach their meals in such a state that al- 
 most any kind of food will be acceptable. 
 
 The question then arises, How are persons, who 
 have lost the guide which Nature has provided, to 
 determine as to the proper amount of food they 
 should take ? 
 
 The only rules they can adopt, are of a general 
 nature ; founded on the principles already developed. 
 They should endeavor to proportion their food to 
 the amount of the exercise they ordinarily take. If 
 they take but little exercise, they should eat but 
 little food in comparison with those who are much 
 in the open air and take much exercise ; and their 
 food should be vegetable and not animal. But how 
 often is it seen, that a student, or a man who sits all 
 day in an office, or a lady who spends the day in 
 her parlor and chamber, will sit down to a loaded 
 table, and, by continuing to partake of the tempting 
 varieties, in the end load the stomach with a supply, 
 which a stout farmer could scarcely digest. 
 
 But the health of a family depends, not merely on 
 the quantity of food taken; but very much, also, on 
 the quality. Some kinds of food are very pernicious 
 in their nature, and some healthful articles are ren- 
 dered very injurious by the mode of cooking. Per- 
 sons who have a strong constitution, and take much 
 exercise, may eat almost any thing, with apparent 
 impunity; but young children, who are forming 
 their constitutions, and persons who are delicate, 
 
76 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 and who take but little exercise, are very dependent 
 for health, on a proper selection of food. 
 
 There are some general principles that aid in 
 regulating the judgement on this subject. 
 
 It is found that there are some kinds of food 
 which afford nutriment to the blood, and do not 
 produce any other effect on the system. ‘There are 
 other kinds, which are stimulating ; so that they not 
 only furnish nourishment, but quicken the functions 
 of the organs on which they operate. The condi- 
 ments used in cookery, such as pepper, mustard, and 
 spices, are of this nature. ‘There are certain states 
 of the system, when these stimulants are beneficial ; 
 but it is only in cases where there is some debility. 
 Such cases are to be pointed out by medical men. 
 But persons in perfect health, and especially young 
 children, never receive any benefit from such kind 
 of food ; and just in proportion as condiments operate 
 to quicken the labors of the internal organs, they 
 tend to wear down their powers. A person who 
 thus keeps the body working under an unnatural 
 excitement, lives faster than Nature designed, and 
 the sooner his constitution is worn out. A woman, 
 therefore, should provide dishes for her family, which 
 are free from these stimulating condiments, and as 
 much as possible prevent their use. It is found, by 
 experience, also, that animal food is more stimulat- 
 ing than vegetable. This is the reason why, in 
 cases of fevers, or inflammations, medical men forbid 
 the use of meat and butter. Animal food supplies 
 chyle much more abundantly than vegetable food 
 does ; and this chyle is more stimulating in its nature. 
 Of course, a person who lives chiefly on animal food, 
 is under a higher degree of stimulus than if his food 
 was chiefly composed of vegetable substances. His 
 blood will flow faster, and all the functions of his 
 body will be quickened. 
 
 This makes it important to secure a proper pro- 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. ti 
 
 portion of animal and vegetable diet. Some medi- 
 cal men suppose that an exclusive vegetable diet is 
 proved by the experience of many individuals to be 
 fully sufficient to nourish the body, and bring, as 
 evidence, the fact, that some of the strongest and 
 most robust men in the world, are those trained, from 
 infancy, exclusively on vegetable food. From this 
 they infer, that life will be shortened, just in pro- 
 portion as the diet is changed to more stimulating 
 articles ; and that, all other things being equal, chil- 
 dren will have a better chance of health and long 
 life, if they are brought up solely, on vegetable 
 food. 
 
 But, though this: is not the common opinion of 
 medical men, they all agree, that, in America, far 
 too large a portion of the diet consists of animal 
 food. As a nation, the Americans are proverbial 
 for the gross and luxurious diet with which they 
 load their tables; and there can be no doubt that 
 the general health of the nation would be increased, 
 by a change in our customs in this respect. To 
 take meat but once a day, and: this in small quanti- 
 ties, compared with the vegetables eaten, is a rule, 
 the observance of which would: probably greatly 
 reduce the amount of fevers, eruptions, headaches, 
 and the many ailments that come from: too gross a 
 mode of diet. 
 
 The following quaint extract fromthe work of a 
 physician of Europe, where there is less of gross 
 living among the common people, than in America, 
 expresses the views of most. intelligent medical 
 men. 
 
 ‘fT must own I never see a fashionable physician 
 mysteriously counting the pulse of a plethoric pa- 
 tient, or, with a silver spoon on his: tongue, impor- 
 tunately looking down his red inflamed gullet, but I 
 feel a desire to exclaim, ‘Why not tell the poor 
 gentleman, at once,—‘ Sir, you have eaten too 
 
 * 
 
78 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 much, you have drunk too much, and you have not 
 taken exercise enough!” These are the main 
 causes of almost every one’s illness ; there can be no 
 greater proof, than that those savage nations, who 
 live actively and temperately, have only one great 
 disorder,—death. 'The human frame was not cre- 
 ated imperfect; it is we ourselves who have made 
 it so. There exists no donkey in creation, so over- 
 laden, as our stomachs; and it is because they groan 
 under the weight so cruelly imposed upon them, 
 that we see people driven in herds to drink at some 
 little watering-place.”’ 
 
 The eelebrated Roman physician Baglivi, who, 
 from practising extensively among Roman Catholics, 
 had ample opportunities to observe, mentions, that, 
 m Italy, an unusual number of people recover health 
 in the forty days of Lent, in consequence of the 
 lower diet which is required as a religious duty. 
 An American physician remarks, ‘‘ For every reeling 
 drunkard that disgraces our country, it contains one 
 hundred gluttens ;—persons, I mean, who eat to 
 excess, and suffer in consequence.’”’ Another distin- 
 guished physician remarks, “I believe that every 
 stomach, not actually impaired by organic disease, 
 will perform its functions, if it receives reasonable 
 attention; and when we perceive the manner in 
 which diet is generally conducted, both in regard to 
 quantity and variety of articles of food and drink, 
 which are mixed up in one heterogeneous mass, 
 instead of being astonished at the prevalence of in- 
 digestion, our wonder must rather be, that, in such 
 circumstances, any stomach is capable of digesting 
 at all.” 
 
 in regard to articles the most easily digested, only 
 general rules can be given. T’ender meats are 
 digested more readily than those which are tough, 
 or than most vegetable food. The farinaceous 
 articles, such as rice, flour, corn, potatoes, and the 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 79 
 
 like, are the most nutritious and most easily digest- 
 ed. A perfectly healthy stomach can digest almost 
 any healthful food ; but when the digestive powers 
 are weak, every stomach has its peculiarities, and 
 what is good for one is hurtful to another. In such 
 cases, experiment, alone, can decide, which are the 
 most digestible articles of food. A person, whose 
 food troubles him, must deduct one article after 
 another, till he learns, by experience, which is the 
 best for digestion. Much evil has been done, by 
 assuming that the powers of one stomach are to be 
 made the rule in regulating every other. } 
 
 The most unhealthful articles of food, are some 
 that result from bad cooking; such as sour and 
 heavy bread, cakes, pie-crust, and other articles 
 made of fat mixed and cooked with flour, and also 
 high-seasoned articles. The fewer mixtures in 
 cooking, the more healthful is the food likely 
 to be. 
 
 There is one caution, as to the mode of eating, 
 which it seems Americans peculiarly need. It is 
 indispensable to good digestion, that food be well 
 chewed and taken slowly. It needs to be thorough- 
 ly chewed, in order to prepare it for the action of the 
 gastric juice, which, by the peristaltic motion, will be 
 thus brought into universal contact with the minute 
 portions. It has been* found, that a solid lump of 
 food requires much more time and labor of the. 
 stomach, than divided substances. It has also been 
 found, that, as each bolus, or mouthful, enters the 
 stomach, the latter closes until the portion received 
 has had some time to move around and combine 
 with the gastric juice; and that the orifice of the 
 stomach resists the entrance of any more, till this is 
 accomplished. But, if the eater persists in swallow- 
 ing fast, the stomach yields; the food is poured in 
 faster than the organ can perform its duty of diges- 
 tion ; and evil results are sooner or later developed. 
 
80 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 This exhibits the folly of those hasty meals so com- 
 mon to travellers, and to men of business. 
 
 After taking a full meal, it is very important to 
 health that no great bodily or mental exertions be 
 made, till the labor of the stomach is over. Intense 
 mental effort draws the blood to the head, and mus- 
 cular exertions draw it to the muscles; and in con- 
 sequence of this, the stomach loses the supply 
 which it requires when performing its office. When 
 the blood is thus withdrawn, the adequate supply of 
 gastric juice is not afforded, and indigestion is the 
 result. ‘Ihe heaviness that follows a full meal is 
 the indication which Nature gives of the need of 
 quiet. When the meal is moderate, a sufficient 
 quantity of gastric juice is exuded in an hour, or an 
 hour and a half; after which labor of body and mind 
 may safely be resumed. 
 
 When undigested food remains in the stomach, 
 and isat last thrown out into the bowels, it proves 
 an irritating substance, producing an inflamed state 
 in the lining of the stomach and other organs. 
 The same effect is produced by alcoholic drinks. 
 
 It is found that the stomach has the power of 
 gradually accommodating its digestive powers to the 
 food it habitually receives. ‘Thus animals, that live 
 on vegetables can gradually become accustomed to 
 animal food; and vice versa. Thus, too, the human 
 stomach can eventually accomplish the digestion of 
 some kinds of food, which at first were indigestible. 
 
 But any changes of this sort need to be gradual. 
 Any sudden changes of diet are trying to the powers 
 of the stomach, as furnishing matter for which its 
 gastric juice isnot prepared. Whenever, therefore, 
 a change of diet is resolved upon, it should always 
 be made a gradual process. 
 
 In regard. to the nature of the meals prepared, the 
 breakfast should furnish a supply of liquids, because 
 the body has been exhausted by the exhalations of 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 81 
 
 the night, and demands them more than at any other 
 period. It should not be the heartiest meal, because 
 the organs of digestion are weakened by long fast- 
 ing, and the exhalations of sleep. Dinner should be 
 the heartiest meal, because then the powers of di- 
 gestion are strengthened, by the supplies of the 
 morning meal. After dinner, neither the mind nor 
 body should be heavily taxed; as the process of 
 digestion would thus be interfered with. Light and 
 amusing employments should occupy mind and 
 body for an hour or more after a full meal. 
 
 But little drink should be taken, while eating, as 
 it dilutes the gastric juice which is apportioned to 
 each bolus as it enters the stomach. It is better to 
 take drink after the meal is past. 
 
 Kixtremes of heat or cold are injurious to the 
 process of digestion. ‘Taking hot substances, habit- 
 ually, tends to debilitate all the organs thus needless- 
 ly excited. In regard to cold substances, it is found 
 that a certain degree of warmth is indispensable to 
 digestion ; so that, when the gastric juice is cooled 
 below this temperature, it ceases to act. Taking 
 large quantities of cold drinks, or eating ice creams, 
 after a meal, tend to reduce the temperature of the 
 stomach, and thus to stop digestion. This shows 
 the folly of those refreshments in convivial meetings, 
 where the guests are tempted to load the stomach 
 with a variety, such as would require the stomach 
 of a stout farmer to digest, and then to wind up with 
 ice creams, thus destroying whatever ability might 
 otherwise have. existed to digest the heavy load. 
 ‘The fittest temperature for drinks, if taken when the 
 food is in the digesting process, is blood heat. Cool 
 drinks, and even ice, can be safely taken at other 
 times, if not in excessive quantity. When the thirst 
 is excessive, or the body weakened by fatigue, or 
 when in a state of perspiration, cold drinks are in- 
 jurious. When the body is perspiring freely, taking 
 
82 ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 
 
 a large quantity of cold drink has often produced 
 instant death. 
 
 Fluids taken into the stomach are not subject to 
 the slow process of digestion, but are immediately 
 absorbed and carried into the blood. ‘This is the 
 reason why drink, more speedily than food, restores 
 from exhaustion. The minute vessels of the 
 stomach inhale or absorb its fluids, which are car- 
 ried into the blood, just as the minute extremities of 
 the arteries open upon the inner surface of the 
 stomach, and there exude the gastric juice from the 
 blood. 
 
 When food is chiefly liquid, (soup, for example, ) 
 the fluid part is rapidly absorbed. ‘The solid parts 
 remain to be acted on by the gastric juice. In the 
 case of St. Martin,* in fifty minutes after taking 
 soup, the fluids were absorbed, and the remainder 
 was even thicker than is usual after eating solid 
 food. This is the reason why soups are deemed 
 bad for weak stomachs; as this residuum is more 
 difficult of digestion than ordinary food. In recover- 
 ing from sickness, beef-tea and broths are good, be- 
 cause the system then demands fluids to supply its 
 loss of blood. 
 
 For a similar reason, highly-concentrated food, 
 having much nourishment in a small bulk, is not 
 favorable to digestion, because it cannot be properly 
 acted on by the muscular contractions of the stom- 
 ach, and is not so minutely divided, as to enable the 
 
 * The individual here referred to,—Alexis St. Martin,—was a 
 young Canadian, of eighteen years of age, of a good constitution and 
 robust health, who, in 1822, was accidentally wounded by the dis- 
 charge of a musket, which carried away a part of the ribs, lacerated 
 one of the lobes of the lungs, and perforated the stomach, making a 
 large aperture, which never closed; and which enabled Dr. Beau- 
 mont, (asurgeon of the American army, stationed at Michilimackinac, 
 under whose care the patient was placed,) to witness all the processes 
 of digestion and other functions of the body, for several years. The 
 published account of the experiments made by Dr. B. is highly inter- 
 esting and instructive. 
 
ON HEALTHFUL FOOD. 83 
 
 gastric juice to act properly. This is the reason 
 why a certain bulk of food is needful to good diges- 
 tion ; and why those people, who live on whale oil, 
 and other highly nourishing food, in cold climates, 
 mix vegetables and even sawdust with it, to make 
 it more acceptable and digestible. So in civilized 
 lands, bread, potatoes, and vegetables, are mixed 
 with more highly concentrated nourishment. For 
 this reason, soups, gellies, and arrow-root, should 
 have bread or crackers mixed with them. 
 
 The following remarks, from Dr. Combe, relate to 
 the selection of food. ‘There are very few articles 
 of diet, which a person in health, and leading a suffi- 
 ciently active life, may not eat with impunity.” 
 But “there are some, which ought to be preferred, 
 and others which ought to be avoided, by those 
 whose digestion is impaired.” 'Thus, the coarser 
 ~ vegetables,” like parsnips, beans, &c., “are, gen- 
 erally speaking, slower of digestion than animal and 
 farinaceous aliments,” like flour, rice, &c., “and 
 consequently, when digestion is feeble, are liable to 
 remain in the stomach till acetous fermentation takes 
 place, and give rise to acidity and flatulence. Fat 
 and oily meats are nearly in the same predicament, 
 and hence both form unsuitable articles of diet for 
 dyspeptics. Soups and liquid food are also objection- 
 able, both because they are ill adapted for being 
 properly acted upon by the gastric juice and the 
 muscular fibres of the stomach, and because they 
 afford insufficient nourishment. From the former 
 cause, they frequently impair the digestive functions ; 
 and from the latter, they induce diseases of debility.” 
 
 ‘“ Pastry, rich cakes, puddings, and other articles 
 containing much fatty or oily matter in their compo- 
 sition, are perhaps the most generally indigestible of 
 all kinds of food.” 
 
 “Plain and well-cooked animal food, not too re- 
 cently killed, and eaten in moderate quantity, with 
 
84 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 bread, rice, or roasted potatoes, forms one of the 
 most easily digested meals which can be devised 
 for a weak stomach.” 
 
 Candy and sugar, so much desired by children, 
 are unhealthy, because too highly concentrated. If 
 mixed with other food, and thus diluted, they are 
 harmless, unless eaten in great quantities. When- 
 ever, therefore, candy and sweets are given to chil- 
 dren, they should be eaten as a part of a meal, and 
 never taken on an empty stomach. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL. 
 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 Responsibility of a Housekeeper in this respect. Stimulating Drinks 
 not required for the Perfection of the Human System. Therefore 
 they are needless. First Evil in using them. Second Evil. Five 
 kinds of Stimulating Articles in use in this Country. First Argu- 
 ment in Favor of Stimulants, and how answered. Second Argu- 
 ment; how answered. The Writer’s View of the Effects of Tea 
 and Coffee on American Females. Duty in reference to Children. 
 Black Tea the most harmless Stimulant. Warm Drinks not need- 
 ful, Hot Drinks injurious. Effect of Hot Drinks on Teeth. Mex- 
 ican Customs and effects illustrating this. Opinion of Dr. Combe, 
 on this subject. Difference between the Stimulus of Animal Food 
 and the stimulating Drinks used. 
 
 AutuoucH intemperance in eating is probably the 
 most prolific cause of the diseases of mankind, in- 
 temperance in drink has produced more guilt, mise- 
 ry, and crime, than any other one cause. And the 
 responsibilities of a woman, in this particular, are 
 very great; for the habits and liabilities of those 
 under her care will very much depend on her opin- 
 ions and practice. 
 
 It is a point fully established by experience, that 
 the full developement of the human body, and the 
 vigorous exercise of all its functions, can be secured 
 
 eee ee — seinen 
 
 | 
 | 
 | 
 | 
 : 
 
| 
 
 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 85 
 
 without the use of stimulating drinks. It is, there- 
 fore, perfectly safe, to bring up children never to use 
 them; no hazard being. incurred by such a course. 
 
 It is also found, by experience, that there are two 
 evils incurred by the use of stimulating drinks. The 
 first is, their positive effect on the human system. 
 Their peculiarity consists in exciting the nervous 
 system, in such a way, that all the functions of the 
 body are accelerated, so that they all move quicker 
 than their natural speed. This quickened motion 
 of the animal fluids always produces an agreeable 
 effect on the mind. The intellect is invigorated, 
 the imagination excited, the spirits enlivened; and 
 these effects are so agreeable, that all mankind, after 
 having once experienced them, feel a great desire 
 for a similar result. 
 
 But this temporary invigoration of the system, is 
 always followed by a diminution of the powers of 
 the stimulated organs; so that, though in all cases 
 this reaction may not be perceptible, it is invariably 
 the result. It may be set down as the unchangeable 
 rule of physiology, that stimulating drinks (except 
 in eases of disease) deduct from the powers of the 
 constitution, in exactly the proportion in which they 
 operate to produce temporary invigoration. 
 
 The second evil, is, the temptation which always 
 attends the use of stimulants. Their effect on the 
 system is so agreeable, and the evils resulting are so 
 imperceptible and distant, that there is a constant 
 tendency to increase such excitement, both in fre- 
 quency and strength. And the more the system is 
 thus reduced in strength, the more craving is the 
 desire for that which imparts a temporary invigora- 
 tion. ‘This process of increasing debility and in- 
 creasing craving for the stimulus that removes it, 
 often go to such an extreme, that the passion is 
 perfectly uncontrollable, and mind and body perish 
 under this baleful habit. 
 
 8 
 
86 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 In this Country, there are five forms in which the 
 use of such stimulants is common, namely, alcoholic 
 drinks, tea and coffee, opium mixtures, and tobacco. 
 These are all alike, in the main peculiarity of im- 
 parting that extra stimulus to the system, which 
 tends to exhaust its powers. 
 
 Multitudes in this Nation are in the habitual use 
 of some one of these stimulants; and each person 
 defends the indulgence by these arguments. 
 
 First, that the desire for stimulants is a natural pro- 
 pensity, implanted in man’s nature, as is manifest 
 from the universal tendency to such indulgences, in 
 every nation. From this, it is inferred, that it is an 
 innocent desire, which ought to be gratified, to some 
 extent, and that the aim should be to keep it within 
 the limits of temperance, instead of attempting to 
 exterminate a natural propensity. 
 
 Thisisan argument, which, if true, makes it equally 
 proper to use opium, brandy, tea, or tobacco, as stim- 
 ulating principles, provided they are used temperate- 
 ly. But, if it be granted that perfect health and 
 strength can be gained and secured without these 
 stimulants, and that their peculiar effect is injurious, 
 then there is no such thing as a temperate use, unless 
 they are so diluted, as to destroy any stimulating 
 power, and in this form, they are seldom desired. 
 
 The other argument for their use, is, that they 
 are among the good things provided by the Creator, 
 for our gratification; that, like all other blessings, 
 they are exposed to abuse and excess; and that we 
 should rather seek to regulate their use, than to 
 banish them entirely. 
 
 This argument is based on the assumption, that 
 they are like healthful foods and drinks, injurious 
 only by excess. But this is not true; for, whenever 
 they are used in any such strength as to be a gratifi- 
 cation, they operate to a greater or less extent as 
 stimulants; and, in just such extent, they wear out 
 
ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 87 
 
 the powers of the constitution. Such articles are 
 designed for medicine, and not for common use as 
 food and drink. There can be no argument framed 
 to defend the use of one of these articles, which will 
 not equally defend.all. "That men have a love for 
 being stimulated, after they have once felt the pleas- 
 urable excitement, and that Providence has provided 
 the means for securing it, are arguments as much in 
 favor of alcohol, opium, and tobacco, as of coffee and 
 tea. All that can be said in favor of the last-men- 
 tioned favorite beverages, is, that the danger in 
 their use is not so great. Let any one, who defends 
 one kind of stimulating drink, remember, then, that 
 he uses an argument, which, if it be allowed that 
 stimulants are not needed, and are injurious, will 
 equally defend all kinds. 
 
 The Writer is of opinion, that tea and coffee are 
 a most extensive cause of much of the nervous de- 
 bility and suffering endured by American women; 
 and that relinquishing such drinks would save an 
 immense amount of nervous suffering. But there is 
 little probability that the present generation will 
 make so decided a change in their habits, as to give 
 up these beverages; and the subject is presented 
 rather in reference to forming the habits of children. 
 
 It is a fact, that tea and coffee are, at first, seldom 
 or never agreeable to children. It is the mixture of 
 milk, sugar, and water, that reconciles them to a 
 taste, which in this manner gradually becomes 
 agreeable. Now, suppose that those who provide 
 for a family conclude that it is not their duty to 
 give up entirely the use of stimulating drinks, may 
 not the case appear different, in regard to teaching 
 their children to love such drinks? Let the matter 
 be regarded thus:—The experiments of physiolo- 
 gists all prove, that stimulants are not needful to 
 health, and that, as the general rule, they tend to 
 debilitate the constitution. Is it right, then, for a 
 
88 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 parent to tempt a child to drink what is not needful, 
 when there is a probability that it will prove, to 
 some extent, an undermining drain on the consti- 
 tution? Some constitutions can bear much less 
 excitement than others; and in every family of 
 children there is usually one, or more, of. delicate 
 organization, and consequently peculiarly exposed to 
 dangers from this source. his is the child who 
 ordinarily is the victim to stimulating drinks. The 
 tea and coffee which the parents and the healthier 
 children can use without immediate injury, gradu- 
 ally saps the energies of the feebler child, who proves 
 either an early victim, or a living martyr to all the 
 sufferings that debilitated nerves inflict. Can it be 
 right, when another path is known to be perfectly 
 safe, to lead children where all allow that there is 
 some danger, and where, in many cases, disease and 
 death are met? 
 
 Of the stimulating drinks in common use, black 
 tea is least injurious, because its flavor is so strong, 
 in comparison with its narcotic principle, that one 
 who uses it, is much less liable to excess. Children 
 can be trained to love milk and water sweetened 
 with sugar, so that it will always be a pleasant 
 beverage ; or, if there are exceptions to the rule, 
 they will be few. Water is an unfailing resort. 
 Hvery one loves it, and it is perfectly healthful. 
 
 The impression, common in this Country, that 
 warm drinks, especially in Winter, are more health- 
 ful than cold, is not warranted by any experience, 
 nor by the laws of the physical system. At dinner, 
 cold drinks are universal, and no one deems them 
 injurious. It is only at the other two meals that 
 they are supposed to be hurtful. 
 
 There is no doubt that warm drinks are healthful, 
 and more agreeable than cold, at certain times and 
 seasons; but it is equally true that drinks above 
 blood heat are not healthful. If any person should 
 
 De ns ee 
 
 Sannaainietineeea 
 
ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 89 
 
 hold a finger in hot water, for a considerable time, 
 twice every day, it would be found that the finger 
 would gradually grow weaker. The frequent ap- 
 plication of the stimulus of heat, like all other stim- 
 ulants, eventually causes debility. If, therefore, a 
 person is in the habit of drinking hot drinks twice a 
 day, the teeth, throat, and stomach, are gradually 
 debilitated. This, most probably, is one of the 
 causes of an early decay of the teeth, which is 
 observed to be much more common among Ameri- 
 can ladies, than among those in European countries. 
 
 It has been stated to the Writer, by an intelligent 
 traveller, who visited Mexico, that it was rare to 
 meet an individual with a good set of teeth; and 
 that almost every grown person, he met in the street, 
 had only remnants of teeth. On inquiry into the 
 customs of the Country, it was found, that it was 
 the universal practice to take their usual beverage 
 almost at the boiling point ; and this, doubtless, was 
 the chief cause of the almost universal want of teeth 
 in that Country. In the United States, it cannot be 
 doubted that much evil is done, in this way, by hot 
 drinks. Most tea drinkers consider tea as ruined, if 
 it stands until it reaches the healthful temperature 
 for drink. 
 
 The following extract from Dr. Combe, presents 
 the opinion of most intelligent medical men, on this 
 subject. 
 
 ‘* Water is a safe drink for all constitutions, pro- 
 vided it be resorted to in obedience to the dictates 
 of natural thirst, only, and not of habit.” ‘Unless 
 the desire for it is felt, there is no.occasion for its 
 use during a meal.” 
 
 "Phe primary effect of all distilled and fermented 
 liquors, is, to stimulate the nervous system and 
 quicken the circulation.” ‘In infancy and child- 
 hood, the circulation is rapid, and easily excited ; 
 and the nervous system is strongly acted upon, even 
 
 Q* 
 
90 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 by the slightest external impressions. Hence slight 
 eauses of irritation readily excite febrile and convul- 
 sive disorders.” ‘In youth, the natural tendency of 
 the constitution is still to excitement; and conse- 
 quently, as a general rule, the stimulus of fermented 
 liquors is injurious.” 
 
 ‘These remarks show, that parents, who find that 
 stimulating drinks are not injurious to themselves, 
 may mistake in inferring, from this, that they will 
 not be injurious to their children. 
 
 Dr. Combe continues thus: ‘‘In mature age, when 
 digestion is good and the system in full vigor, if the 
 mode of life be not too exhausting, the nervous 
 functions and general circulation are in their best 
 condition, and require no stimulus for their support. 
 The bodily energy is then easily sustained by nutri- 
 tious food and a regular regimen, and consequently 
 artificial excitement only increases the wasting of 
 the natural strength.” ‘In old age, when the 
 powers of life begin to fail, moderate stimulus may 
 be used with evident advantage.” 
 
 “If it be said that this doctrine amounts to a 
 virtual prohibition of wine and stimulant liquors, I 
 admit, at once, that, where the whole animal func- 
 tions go on healthfully and energetically without 
 them, their use is, in my opinion, adverse to the 
 continuance of health.” 
 
 ‘‘Many persons imagine that spirits, taken in 
 moderate quantity, cannot be injurious, because they 
 
 feel no immediate bad effects from their use.” But, 
 ‘if all the functions of the system are already vigor- 
 
 ously executed without their aid, their use can be 
 followed only by one effect,—morbid excitement ; 
 and it is in vain to contend against this obvious 
 truth.” 
 
 He then refers to the case of St. Martin,* in which, 
 
 * See: Note on p. 82. 
 
ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 91 
 
 after using alcoholic drinks, the coat of the stom- 
 ach became inflamed, and wasin a diseased state, 
 and yet St. Martin felt no symptom that indi- 
 cated any injurious effect from such drinks. After 
 describing this diseased appearance of the stomach, 
 Dr. Combe remarks, 
 
 ‘“ Here we have incontestable proof, that disease of 
 the stomach was induced, and going on from bad to 
 worse, in consequence of indulgence in ardent spirits, 
 although no prominent symptom made its appear- 
 ance, and St. Martin was in his general habits a 
 healthy and sober man.” 
 
 ‘‘Dr. Beaumont had also frequent occasion to re- 
 mark, that, when stomachic disorder, attended by 
 febrile action, was present, the mucous coat of the 
 stomach presented distinct appearances of disease. 
 He frequently saw it, for example, red, irritable, and 
 dry; and on the food touching it, no gastric juice 
 exuded, and consequently any food taken lay long 
 undigested. But, after the diseased action was sub- 
 dued by regimen and medicine, the gastric juice 
 again flowed readily, and digestion went on as vig- 
 orously as before. Even anger and violent mental 
 emotions sometimes produced these appearances, and 
 gave rise to temporary indigestion. ‘These observa- 
 tions show the futility, not to say mischief, of ad- 
 ministering food; during fever and other diseases, by 
 way of supporting the strength, when, from the 
 deficiency of gastric juice, it cannot be digested, and 
 can only add to the existing irritation. In this state, 
 however, bland fluids are appropriate, because they 
 allay irritation, and are almost entirely absorbed 
 without requiring digestion.’? This “ explains, at 
 once, the miserable digestion and impaired appetite 
 of the habitual drunkard.” 
 
 ‘Tf it be asked, whether I go to the length of pro- 
 scribing all fermented liquors, from tablebeer, up- 
 vards, I answer,” “that where the general health is 
 
92 ON HEALTHFUL DRINKS. 
 
 perfect without them, they ought not to be taken, be- 
 cause then their only effect is to produce unnatural 
 excitement.”’ He then points out cases of disease or 
 debility when such drinks may be useful; but of 
 such cases a physician only can be the proper judge. 
 
 It may be asked, in this connection, why the 
 stimulus of animal food is not to be regarded in the 
 same light as that of stimulating drinks. In reply, 
 a very essential difference may be pointed out. Ani- 
 mal food furnishes nowrishment to the organs it 
 stimulates, but stimulating drinks excite the organs 
 to quickened action, without affording any nourish- 
 ment. 
 
 It has been supposed, by some, that tea and coffee 
 have some nourishing power. But it is proved that 
 it is the milk and sugar, and not the main portion of 
 the drink, that imparts the nourishment. ‘T'ea has 
 not one particle of nourishing properties; and what 
 little exists in the coffee-berry, is lost by roasting it 
 in the usual mode. All that these articles do, is 
 simply to stimulate, without nourishing. 
 
 It is very common, especially in schools, for chil- 
 dren to form a habit of drinking freely of cold water. 
 This is a debilitating habit, and should be corrected. 
 Very often, chewing a bit of cracker will stop a 
 craving for drink better than taking water; and 
 when teachers are troubled with very thirsty scholars, 
 they should direct them to this remedy. A person 
 who exercises but little, requires no drink, between 
 meals, for health ; and the eraving for it is unhealth- 
 ful. Spices, wines, fermented liquors, and all stimu- 
 lating condiments, produce unhealthful thirst. 
 
ON CLOTHING. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 London Bills of Martality; Inference from it. Causes of Infant Mor- 
 tality. Of the Circulation in Infancy. Warm Dress for Infants, 
 and why. Investigations in France, and Results. Dangers from the 
 opposite extreme. Effects of too much Clothing. Rule of Safety. 
 Featherbeds ; why unhealthy in Warm Weather. Best Nightgowns 
 for Young Children. Clothing how to be proportioned. Irrational 
 Dress of Women. Use of Flannel next the Skin. Evils of Tight 
 Dress to Women. False Taste in our Prints of Fashions. Modes 
 in which Tight Dress operates to weaken the Constitution. Rule 
 of Safety as to Looseness of Dress. Extract on the subject of appro- 
 priate Dress. 
 
 Ir appears, from the bills of mortality in the city 
 of London, that the health of the people, there, is 
 about the usual average; and consequently that 
 children are as likely to have health and long life, 
 there, as in most places in this Country. And yet it 
 is found, that one quarter of the children, born there, 
 die before completing their second year. From this, 
 it is inferred, that this is about the ordinary mortality 
 of infants. "That one quarter of the human race 
 should perish in infancy, is a fact not in accordance 
 with the analogy of Nature. No such mortality 
 prevails among the young of animals; it does not 
 appear to be the design of the Creator; and it must 
 be owing to causes which can be removed. Medical 
 men agree in the opinion, that a great portion of this 
 mortality is owing to mismanagement, in reference 
 to fresh air, food, and clothing. 
 
 At birth, the circulation is chiefly in the vessels 
 of the skin; for the liver and stomach, being feeble 
 in action, demand less blood, and it resorts to the 
 surface. If, therefore, an infant is exposed to cold, 
 the blood is driven inward, by the contracting of the 
 blood-vessels in the skin, and the internal organs 
 
94 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 being thus overstimulated, bowel complaints, croup, 
 convulsions, or some other evil, ensues. This shows 
 the sad mistake of parents, who plunge infants in 
 cold water to strengthen their constitution. And it 
 teaches, also, that infants should be washed in warm 
 water, and ina warm room. Some have constitu- 
 tions strong enough to bear mismanagement in these 
 respects; but many fail in consequence of it. 
 
 This shows the importance of dressing infants 
 warmly, and protecting them from exposure to a 
 cold temperature. It is in reference to this, that 
 mothers, now, very generally, cover the arms and 
 necks of infants, especially in Winter. Fathers and 
 mothers, if they were obliged to go with bare arms 
 and necks, even in moderate weather, would often 
 shiver with cold; and yet they have a power of 
 constitution which would subject them to less haz- 
 ard and discomfort, than a delicate infant must 
 experience from a similar exposure. This mode 
 of dressing infants, with bare necks and arms, has 
 arisen from the common impression, that they have 
 a power of resisting cold superior to older persons. 
 This is a mistake; for the experiments of medical 
 men have established the fact, that the power of 
 producing heat is least in the period of infancy. 
 
 Iixtensive investigations have been made in 
 France, in reference to this point. It is there 
 required, in some districts, that every infant, at 
 birth, be carried to the office of the maire, to be 
 registered. It is found, in these districts, that the 
 death of infants, soon after birth, is much greater in 
 the cold, than in the warm, months ; and that a much 
 greater proportion die among those who reside at a 
 distance from the office of the mazre, than among those 
 In its vicinity. This proves, that exposure to cold 
 has much to do with the continuance of infant life. 
 
 But it is as dangerous to go to the other extreme, 
 and keep the body too warm. The skin, when kept 
 
ON CLOTHING. 95 
 
 at too high a temperature, is relaxed and weakened 
 by too profuse perspiration, and becomes more sensi- 
 tive, and more readily affected by every change of 
 temperature. ‘This increases the liabilities to sudden 
 colds; so that it frequently happens that the children, 
 who are most carefully guarded from cold, are the 
 ones most liable to take sudden and dangerous chills. 
 The reason is, that, by the too great accumulation 
 of clothing, the skin is too much excited, and the 
 blood is withdrawn from the internal organs, thus 
 weakening them, while the skin itself is debilitated 
 by the same process. 
 
 The rule of safety, is, so to cover the body, as to 
 keep it entirely warm, all over, but not so as to 
 induce perspiration in any part. The perspiration 
 induced by exercise is healthful, because it increases 
 the appetite ; but the perspiration produced by excess 
 of clothing is debilitating. 'This shows the impor- 
 tance of adjusting beds and their covering to the 
 season. eatherbeds are unhealthful in. warm 
 weather, because they induce perspiration ; and in 
 all cases, those who have the care of children should 
 proportion their covering by night to the season of 
 the year. Infants and children should never be so 
 clothed as either to feel chilly, or to induce perspi- 
 ration. 
 
 The greatest trouble, in this respect, to those who 
 have the care of children, is owing to their throwing 
 off their covering in the night. The best guard, 
 against such exposures, is a nightgown, of the 
 warmest, and thickest flannel, made like pantaloons 
 at the lower part, and the legs long, so that they 
 can be tied over the feet. This makes less covering 
 needful, and saves the child from excessive cold 
 when it is thrown off. 
 
 The clothing ought always to be proportioned to 
 the constitution and habits. A person of strong 
 constitution, who takes much exercise, needs less 
 
U 
 { 
 i 
 a 
 i 
 
 96 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 clothing than one of delicate and sedentary habits. 
 According to this rule, women need much thicker 
 and warmer clothing, when they go out, than men. 
 But how different are our customs, from what sound 
 wisdom dictates! Women go out with thin stock- 
 ings and thin shoes and open necks, when men are 
 protected by thick woollen hose and boots, and their 
 whole body encased in many folds of flannel and 
 broadcloth. 
 
 Flannel, worn next the skin, is useful, for several 
 reasons. It is a bad conductor of heat, so that it 
 protects the body from sudden chills when in a state 
 of perspiration. It also produces a kind of friction 
 on the skin, which aids it in its functions, while its 
 texture, being loose, enables it to receive and retain 
 much matter, thrown off from the body, that would 
 otherwise accumulate on its surface. This is the rea- 
 son why medical men direct that young children 
 wear flannel next the body, and woollen hose, the 
 first two years of life. They are thus protected 
 from sudden exposures. 'This is the reason, too, 
 why laboring men should wear flannel next the 
 body. Flannels are also considered as preservatives 
 from infection, in unhealthy atmospheres. ‘They 
 give a healthy action to the skin, and thus enable 
 it to resist the operation of unhealthy miasms. For 
 this reason, persons residing in a new country should 
 wear flannel next the skin, to guard them from the 
 noxious miasms caused by extensive vegetable de- 
 compositions. It is stated, that the fatal influence of 
 the malaria around Rome, has been much dimin- 
 ished by this practice. 
 
 But the practice by which females probably suffer 
 most, is, the use of tight dresses. Much has been 
 said against the use of corsets by ladies. But these 
 may be worn with perfect safety, and be left off, 
 and still the injury they often produce be equally 
 felt. It is the constriction of dress that is to be 
 
ON CLOTHING. 97 
 
 feared, and not any particular article that produces 
 it. A frock, or a belt, may be so tight, as to be 
 even worse than a corset, which would more equally 
 divide the compression. : 
 
 So long as it is the fashion to admire, as models 
 of elegance, the wasp-like figures which are pre- 
 sented at the rooms of mantuamakers and milliners, 
 there will be hundreds of foolish women, who will 
 risk their lives and health to secure some resem- 
 blance to these deformities of the human frame, 
 But it is believed that all sensible women, when 
 they fairly understand the evils which result from 
 tight dressing, and learn the real model of taste and 
 beauty for a perfect female form, will never risk 
 their own health, or the health of their daughters, 
 in efforts to secure a form, as much at variance with 
 good taste, as it is with good health. 
 
 Such female figures as our print-shops present, 
 are made, not by the hand of the Author of all grace 
 and beauty, but by the murderous contrivances of 
 the corset-shop; and the more a woman learns the 
 true rules of grace and beauty for the female form, 
 the more her taste will revolt from such ridiculous 
 distortions. The folly of the Chinese belle, who 
 totters on two useless deformities, is nothing, com- 
 pared to that of the American belle, who impedes 
 all the internal organs in the discharge of their 
 functions, that she may have a slender waist. 
 
 It was shown, in the article on the bones and 
 muscles, that exercise was indispensable to their 
 growth and strength. If any muscles are left un- 
 employed, they diminish in size and Strength. The 
 girding of tight dresses operates thus on the muscles 
 of the body. If an article, like corsets, is made to 
 hold up the body, then those muscles which are 
 designed for this purpose are released from duty, 
 and grow weak; so that, after this has been con- 
 tinued for some time, leaving off the unnatural sup- 
 
 9 
 
98 ON CLOTHING. 
 
 port produces a feeling of weakness. ‘Thus a person 
 will complain of feeling so weak and unsupported, 
 without corsets, as to be uncomfortable. ‘This is 
 entirely owing to the disuse of those muscles which 
 corsets throw out of employ. 
 
 Another effect of tight dress, is, to stop the office 
 of the lungs. Unless the chest can expand, fully, 
 and with perfect ease, a portion of the lungs are not 
 filled with air, and thus the full purification of the 
 blood is prevented. ‘This movement of the lungs, 
 when they are. fully inflated, increases the peristaltic 
 movement of the stomach and bowels, and promotes 
 digestion; and any constriction of the waist tends 
 to impede this important operation, and indigestion, 
 with all its attendant evils, is often the result. 
 
 The rule of safety, in regard to the tightness of 
 dress, is this. EXvery person. should be dressed so 
 loosely, that when sitting in the posture used in 
 sewing, reading, or study, THE LuNGs can be as 
 fully and as easily inflated, as they are without 
 clothing. Many a woman thinks she dresses loose- 
 ly, because, when she stands up, her clothing does 
 not confine her chest. This is not a fair test. It is 
 in the position most used when engaged in common 
 employments, that we are to-judge of the constric- 
 tion of dress. Let every woman then bear in mind, 
 that, just so long as her dress and position oppose 
 any resistance to her chest, in just such proportion 
 her blood is unpurified, and her vital organs are 
 endangered. 
 
 The following remark is from the Young Lady’s 
 Friend. > 
 
 “There is one thing, which is never sufficiently 
 
 taken into account, in the fashions of this Country ; 
 and that is, climate. Receiving our models from 
 the more equable temperature of France, they are 
 often unsuited to the scorching suns of our Sum- 
 mers, and the severe frosts of our Winters. The 
 
ON CLOTHING. 99 
 
 English ladies set us a good example, in this re- 
 spect.” “The most delicately-bred fine lady in the 
 land puts on cotton stockings and thick shoes to 
 walk out for exercise; and would think it very 
 unladylike not to be so provided; and on more 
 dressy occasions, when she wears silk hose, she 
 would on no account go out, in cold weather, with- 
 out warm shoes or boots, either kid, lined with fur, 
 or quilted silk shoes, foxed with leather. To walk 
 out, as our young ladies do, in cold and wet weather, 
 with thin-soled prunella or kid shoes, would seem to 
 them as very vulgar, betraying a want of suitable- 
 ness, only to be accounted for by supposing the 
 individual unable to provide herself with better.” 
 ‘All styles of dress, which impede the motions of 
 the wearer; which do not sufficiently protect the 
 person; which add unnecessarily to the heat of 
 Summer, or to the cold of Winter; which do not 
 suit the age and occupation of the wearer; or which 
 indicate an expenditure unsuited to her means; are 
 inappropriate, and therefore destitute of one of the 
 main essentials of beauty.” 
 
100 ON CLEANLINESS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 ON CLEANLINESS. 
 
 Importance of Cleanliness not realized, without a Knowledge of the 
 Nature of the Skin. Foundation of the Maxim respecting the 
 Healthfulness of Dirt. Office of the Skin. Other Organs that 
 perform similar duties. Amount of matter daily exhaled by the 
 Skin. Effect of a Chill upon the Skin, when perspiring. — Illustra- 
 tion of this. Effect of closing the Pores of the Skin, with Dirt or 
 other Matter. The Skin absorbs Matter into the Blood. Reasons 
 for a Daily Ablution of the whole Body. Effects of Fresh Air on 
 Clothing worn next the Skin. Americans compared with other 
 Nations as to care of the Skin. Cautions in regard to a use of the 
 Bath. How to decide when Cold Bathing is useful. Warm Bath 
 tends to prevent Colds; and why. Advantages of general Ablu- 
 tions to Children. Care of the Teeth. 
 
 Tur importance of cleanliness, in person and 
 dress, can never be fully realized, by persons who 
 are ignorant of the construction of the skin, and of 
 the influence which its treatment has on the health 
 of the body. Persons deficient in such knowledge, 
 frequently sneer at what they deem the foolish and 
 fidgety particularity of others, whose frequent ablu- 
 tions and changes of clothing exceed their own 
 measure of importance. 
 
 The popular maxim, that ‘dirt is healthy,” has 
 probably arisen from the fact, that playing in the 
 open air is very beneficial to the health of children, 
 who thus get dirt on their persons and clothes. But 
 it is the fresh air and exercise, and not the dirt, 
 which promotes the health. 
 
 In a previous article, it was shown, that the lungs, 
 bowels, kidneys, and skin, were the organs employed 
 in throwing off those waste and noxious parts of the 
 food not employed in nourishing the body. Of this, 
 the skin has the largest duty to perform; throwing 
 off, at least, twenty ounces every twenty-four hours, 
 
ON CLEANLINESS. 101 
 
 by means of insensible perspiration. When exercise 
 sets the blood in quicker motion, it ministers its 
 supplies faster, and there is consequently a greater 
 residuum to be thrown off by the skin; and then 
 the perspiration becomes so abundant as to be per- 
 ceptible. In this state, if a sudden chill takes place, 
 the blood-vessels of the skin contract, the blood is 
 driven from the surface, and the internal organs are 
 taxed with a double duty. If the constitution is a 
 Strong one, these organs march on and perform the 
 labor exacted. But if any of these organs are debil- 
 itated, the weakest one generally gives way, and 
 some disease ensues. 
 
 One of the most frequent illustrations of this re- 
 ciprocated action, is afforded by a convivial meeting 
 in cold weather. The heat: of the room, the food, 
 -and the excitement, quicken the circulation, and 
 perspiration is evolved: When the company passes 
 into the cold air, a sudden revulsion takes place. 
 The increased circulation continues, for some time 
 after; but the skin being cooled, the blood retreats, 
 and the internal organs are obliged to perform the 
 duties of the skin as well as their own. Then, in 
 case the lungs are the weakest organ, the mucous 
 secretion becomes excessive; so that it would fill 
 up the cells, and stop the breathing, were it not for 
 the spasmodic effort called coughing, by which this 
 substance is thrown out. In case the nerves are the 
 weakest part of the system, such an exposure would 
 result in pains in the head’ or teeth, or in some other 
 nervous ailment. If the muscles are the- weakest 
 part, rheumatic affections: will ensue; and‘if the 
 bowels or kidneys are weakest, some: disorder in 
 their functions will result. 
 
 But it is found that the closing of the pores of the 
 skin with other substances, tends to a similar result 
 on the internal organs. In this situation, the skin 
 is unable perfectly to perform: its functions, and 
 
102 ON CLEANLINESS. 
 
 either the blood remains to a certain extent unpu- 
 tified, or else the internal organs have an unnatural 
 duty to perform. Hither of these results tends to 
 produce disease, and the gradual decay of vital 
 powers. 
 
 Moreover, it has been shown, that the skin has 
 the power of absorbing into the blood particles re- 
 tained on its surface. In consequence of these 
 peculiarities, the skin of the whole body needs to 
 be washed, every day. This process removes from 
 the pores the matter exhaled from the blood, and 
 also that collected from the atmosphere and other 
 bodies. If this process is not often performed, the 
 pores of the skin fill up with the redundant matter 
 expelled, and being pressed, by the clothing, to the 
 surface of the body, the skin is both interrupted in 
 its exhaling process, and its absorbents take back 
 into the system portions of the noxious matter. 
 Thus the blood is. not relieved to the extent de- 
 signed, while it receives back noxious particles, 
 which are thus carried to the lungs, liver, and every 
 part of the system. 
 
 This is the reason why it is arule of health that 
 the whole body should be washed every day, and 
 that the articles worn next to the skin should often 
 be changed. ‘This is the reason why it is recom- 
 mended that persons should not sleep in the article 
 they wear next the skin through the day. The 
 alternate change and airing of the articles worn next 
 the body by day or night is a practice very favorable 
 to the health of the skin. The fresh air has the 
 power of removing much of the noxious effluvia 
 received from the body by the clothing. It is with 
 reference to this, that, on leaving a bed, its covering 
 should be thrown open and exposed to the fresh air. 
 
 The benefit arising from a proper care of the 
 skin, is the reason why bathing has been so exten- 
 sively practised by civilized nations. 'The Greeks 
 
ON CLEANLINESS. 103 
 
 and Romans considered bathing as indispensable to 
 daily comfort, and as much so, as their meals; and 
 public baths were provided for all classes. In Eu- 
 ropean. countries, this practice is very prevalent, and 
 there is no civilized nation that pays so little regard 
 to the rules of health, on this subject, as our own. 
 The health of a horse is found to depend so much 
 on the care of his skin, that frequent washing and 
 rubbing are deemed indispensable ; but thousands in 
 this land go month after month without paying any 
 such regard to the wants of their own physical sys- 
 tem. ‘T'o wash the face, feet, hands, and neck, is 
 the extent of the ablutions practised by perhaps the 
 majority of our people. 
 
 In regard to the use of the bath, there is need of 
 some information, in order to prevent danger from 
 its misuse. Persons in good health, and with strong 
 constitutions, can use the cold bath, and the shower- 
 bath, with entire safety and benefit. Their effect 
 is suddenly to contract the blood-vessels of the skin, 
 and send the blood to the internal organs. Then, 
 if these organs are in health, a reaction takes place 
 as soon as bathing ceases, and the blood is sent in 
 greater supplies to the skin, producing an invigorat- 
 ing and cheerful glow. But if the constitution is 
 feeble, this reaction does not take place, and cold 
 bathing is injurious. Buta bath, blood warm, ora 
 little cooler than the skin, is safe for all constitu- 
 tions, if not protracted over half an hour. After 
 bathing, the body should be rubbed with a brush 
 or coarse towel, to remove the light scales of scarf- 
 skin, which adhere to it, and also to promote a 
 healthful excitement. 
 
 When families have no bathing establishment, 
 every member should wash the whole person, on 
 rising or going to bed, either in cold or warm water, 
 according to the constitution. It is especially im- 
 portant, that children have the perspiration and other 
 
104 ON CLEANLINESS. 
 
 impurities, which their exercise and sports have oc- 
 casioned, removed from their skin before going to 
 bed. ‘The hours of sleep are those when the body 
 most freely exhales the waste matter of the system, 
 and all the pores should be properly freed from im- 
 pediments to this healthful operation. For this pur- 
 pose; a large tin wash-pan should be kept for chil- 
 dren, just large enough, at bottom, for them to stand 
 in, and flaring outward, so as to be very broad at 
 top. A child can then be placed in it, standing, 
 and washed with a sponge, without wetting the 
 floor. It being small at bottom, makes it, better 
 than a tub, as lighter, smaller, and not requiring so 
 much water. 
 
 A bath should never be taken till three hours after 
 eating, as it interrupts the process of digestion, by 
 withdrawing the blood from the stomach to the sur- 
 face. Neither should it be taken when the body is 
 weary with exercise, nor be immediately followed 
 by severe exercise. Many suppose that a warm 
 bath exposes a person more readily to take cold; 
 and that it tends to debilitate the system. This is 
 not the case, unless it be protracted too long. If it 
 be used so as to cleanse the skin, and give it a gentle 
 stimulus, it is better able to resist cold than before 
 the process. ‘This is the reason why the Swedes 
 and Russians can rush reeking out of their steam 
 baths and throw themselves into the snow, and not 
 only escape injury, but feel invigorated. It is fora 
 similar reason that we suffer less in going into the 
 cold, from a warm room, with our body entirely 
 warm, than when we go out somewhat chilled. 
 When the skin is warm, the circulation is active on 
 the surface, and the cold does not so reduce its tem- 
 perature, but that increased exercise will keep up 
 its warmth. 
 
 These remarks indicate the wisdom of those 
 parents, who habitually wash their children, all 
 
ON CLEANLINESS. 105 
 
 over, before they go to bed.. The chance of life and 
 health, to such children, is greatly increased by this 
 practice ; and no doubt much of the suffering of 
 childhood, from cutaneous eruptions, weak eyes, ear- 
 ache, colds, and fevers is owing to a neglect of the 
 skin. 
 
 The care of the teeth should be made habitual to 
 children, not merely as promoting an agreeable ap- 
 pearance, but as aneedful preservative. The follow- 
 ing extract from Dr. Combe relates to this point. 
 
 ‘“‘Being constantly moistened with saliva, the 
 teeth have a tendency to become incrusted with the 
 tartar, or earthy matter, which it contains.” ‘“ As 
 this incrustation not only destroys the beauty of the 
 teeth, but also promotes their decay, it becomes an 
 object of care to remove it as soon as it is formed ; 
 and the most effectual mode of doing so, is to brush 
 the teeth regularly twice a day,”—when retiring at 
 night, and on rising in the morning. 
 
 ‘‘ When digestion is impaired, and acidity prevails 
 in the stomach, the mucous secretions in the mouth 
 also become altered in character; and, by their in- 
 cessant contact, injure and even destroy the teeth. 
 F'rom this cause, we often see the teeth in young 
 people in a state of complete decay.” 
 
 Intemperance in eating, therefore, by causing in- 
 digestion, destroys the teeth, and this is one cause 
 of the defective teeth so common in America, 
 
106 ON EARLY RISING. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 ON. EARLY RISING. 
 
 Universal Impression on this Practice. Why it should be regarded 
 as American and Democratic. Practice in Aristocratic Circles in 
 England. Appeal to American Women. First Consideration in 
 Favor of Early Rising. Another Physiological Reason in its Favor. 
 Another Reason. ‘Time necessary for Sleep. Proper Hours for 
 Rising and Retiring. Evils of protracted Sleep. Testimony of Sir 
 John Sinclair. Another Reason for Early Rising. Responsibility 
 of Parents for the Health and Industry ofa Family. Early Rising; 
 —its Effects on General Society. 
 
 THERE is no practice, which has been more ex- 
 tensively eulogized, in all ages, than early ~rising ; 
 and this universal impression is an indication that it 
 is founded on true philosophy. For it is rarely the 
 case, that the common sense of mankind fastens on 
 a practice as really beneficial, especially one that 
 demands self-denial, without some substantial reason. 
 
 This practice, which may justly be called a 
 domestic virtue, is one which has a peculiar claim 
 to be called American and democratic. 'The dis- 
 tinctive mark of aristocratic nations, is a disregard 
 of the great mass, and a disproportionate regard for 
 the interests of certain privileged orders. All the 
 customs and habits of such a nation are, to a greater 
 or less extent, regulated by this principle. Now the 
 mass of any nation must always consist of persons 
 who labor at occupations which demand the light of 
 day. But in aristocratic countries, especially in 
 England, labor is regarded as the mark of the lower 
 classes, and indolence is considered as one mark of a 
 gentleman. ‘This impression gradually and imper- 
 ceptibly has, to a great extent, regulated their cus- 
 toms, so that, even in their hours of meals and re- 
 pose, the higher orders aim at being different and 
 
ON EARLY RISING. 107 
 
 distinct from those, who, by laborious pursuits, are 
 placed below them. In consequence of this, while 
 the lower orders labor by day, and sleep at night, the 
 rich, the noble, and the honored, sleep by day, and 
 follow their pursuits and pleasures by night. It will 
 be found that the aristocracy of London breakfast 
 near mid-day, dine after dark, visit and go to Parlia- 
 ment between ten and twelve, and retire to sleep 
 towards morning. In consequence of this, the sub- 
 ordinate classes, who aim at gentility, gradually fall 
 into the same practice. And the influence of this 
 custom extends across the ocean, and here, in this 
 democratic land, we find many, who measure their 
 grade of gentility by the late hour at which they 
 arrive at a party. And this aristocratic tendency is 
 growing upon us, so that, throughout the Nation, 
 the hours for visiting and retiring are constantly 
 retrograding, while the hours for rising correspond 
 in lateness. 
 
 The question, then, is one that appeals to Ameri- 
 can women, as a matter of patriotism ; as having a 
 bearing on those great principles of democracy, 
 which we claim are equally the principles of Chris- 
 tianity. Shall we form our customs on the princi- 
 ple that labor is degrading, and that indolence is 
 genteel? Shall we assume, by our practice, that 
 the interests of the great mass are to be sacrificed 
 for the pleasures and honors of a privileged few? 
 Shall we ape the customs of aristocratic lands, in 
 those very practices that result from principles and 
 institutions which we condemn? Shall we not 
 rather take the place to which we are entitled, as 
 the leaders, rather than the followers, in the customs 
 of society, turn back the tide of aristocratic inroads, 
 and carry through the whole, not only of civil and 
 political, but of social and domestic life, the true 
 principles of democratic freedom and equality? The 
 following considerations may serve to strengthen an 
 affirmative decision. 
 
108 ON EARLY RISING. 
 
 The first consideration relates to the health of a 
 family. It is a universal law of physiology, that all 
 living things flourish best in the light. Vegetables, 
 in a dark cellar, grow pale and spindling, and chil- 
 dren, brought up in mines, are wan and stinted. This 
 universal law indicates the folly of turning day into 
 night, thus losing the genial influence which the 
 light of day produces on all animated creation. 
 
 There is another phenomenon in the physiology 
 of Nature, which equally condemns this practice. It 
 has been shown, that the purification of the blood in 
 the lungsis secured, by the absorption of carbon and 
 hydrogen from the blood by the oxygen of the at- 
 mosphere: This combination forms carbonic acid 
 and water, which are expired into the atmosphere 
 from our lungs. Now all the vegetable world un- 
 dergoes a similar process. In the light of day, all 
 the leaves of vegetables absorb carbon and expire 
 oxygen, thus supplying the air with its vital prinei- 
 ple, and withdrawing the more deleterious element. 
 But when the light is withdrawn, this process is 
 reversed, and all vegetables exhale carbonic acid and 
 inspire the oxygen of the air. ‘Thus it appears, that 
 the atmosphere of day is much more healthful than 
 that of the night, especially out of doors. 
 
 Moreover, when the body is fatigued, it is much 
 more liable to deleterious influences from noxious 
 particles in the atmosphere, which may be absorbed 
 by the skin or the lungs. In consequence of this, 
 the last hours of daily labor are more likely to be 
 those of risk, especially to delicate constitutions. 
 This is a proper reason for retiring to the house and 
 to slumber, at an early hour, that the body may not 
 be exposed to the most risk, when after the exer- 
 tions of the day it is least able to bear it. 
 
 The observations of medical men, whose inquiries 
 have been directed to this point, have decided, that 
 from six to eight hours is the amount of sleep de- 
 manded by persons in health. Some constitutions 
 
ON EARLY RISING. 109 
 
 require as much as eight, and others no more than 
 six, hours of repose. But eight hours is the maxi- 
 mum for all persons in ordinary health, with ordinary 
 occupations. In cases of extra physical exertions, 
 or the debility of disease or a decayed constitution, 
 more than this is required. Let eight hours, then, 
 be regarded as the ordinary period required for sleep, 
 by an industrious people, like the Americans. <Ac- 
 cording to this, the practice of rising between four 
 and five, and retiring between nine and ten, in Sum- 
 mer, would secure most of the sunlight and least of 
 the noxious period of the atmosphere. In Winter, 
 the night air is less deleterious, because the frost 
 binds noxious exhalations, and vegetation ceases its 
 inspiring and expiring process ; and, moreover, as the 
 constitution is more tried in cold than in warm 
 weather, and as in cold weather the body exhales 
 less during the hours of sleep, it is not so injurious 
 to protract our slumbers beyond the period allowed 
 in the warm months. In Winter, therefore, the 
 proper rule would be, to rise as soon as we can see to 
 dress, and retire so as to allow eight hours for sleep. 
 
 It thus appears, that the laws of our political con- 
 dition, the laws of the natural world, and the consti- 
 tution of our bodies, alike demand that we rise with 
 the light of day to prosecute our employments, and 
 that we retire within doors, when this light is with- 
 drawn. 
 
 In regard to the effects of protracting the time 
 spent in repose, many extensive and satisfactory in- 
 vestigations have been made. It has been shown, 
 that during sleep the body perspires most freely, 
 while yet neither food nor exercise are ministering 
 to its wants. Of course, if we continue our slum- 
 bers beyond the time required to restore the body to 
 its usual vigor, there is an unperceived undermining 
 of the constitution, by this protracted and debilitating 
 exhalation. This process, in a course of years, 
 
 10 
 
110 ON EARLY RISING. 
 
 renders the body delicate, and less able to withstand 
 disease ; and in the result shortens life. Sir John 
 Sinclair, who has written a large work on the Causes 
 of Longevity, states, as one result of his extensive 
 investigations, that he never has yet heard or read 
 of a single case of great longevity, where the indi- 
 vidual was not an early riser. He says that he has 
 found cases, in which the individual has violated 
 some one of all the other laws of health, and yet lived 
 to great age; but never a single instance in which 
 any constitution has withstood that undermining 
 consequent on protracting the hours of repose beyond 
 the demands of the system. 
 
 Another reason for early rising, is, that it is indis- 
 pensable to a systematic and well-regulated family. 
 At whatever hour the parents retire, children and 
 domestics, wearied by play or labor, must retire 
 early. Children usually awake with the dawn of 
 light, and commence their play, while domestics 
 usually prefer the freshness of morning for their 
 labors. If, then, the parents rise at a late hour, they 
 either induce a habit of protracting sleep in their 
 children and domestics, or else the family is up, and 
 at their pursuits, while their supervisors are in bed. 
 Any woman, who asserts that her children and do- 
 mestics, in the first hours of day, when their spirits 
 are freshest, will be as well regulated without her 
 presence as with it, confesses that, which surely is 
 little for her credit. It is believed that any candid 
 woman, whatever may be her excuse for late rising, 
 will concede, that, if she could rise early, it would 
 be for the advantage of her family. A late break- 
 fast puts back the work, through the whole day, for 
 every member of a family ; and if the parents thus 
 occasion the loss of an hour or two, to each indi- 
 vidual, who but for their delay in the morning would 
 be usefully employed, the parents, alone, are respon- 
 sible for all this waste of time. Is it said, that 
 
ON EARLY RISING. 111 
 
 those, who wish to rise early, can go to their em- 
 ployments before breakfast ? it may be replied, that, 
 in most cases, it is not safe to use the eyes or the 
 muscles in the morning, till the losses of the night 
 have been repaired by food. In addition to this, it 
 may be urged, that, where the parents set an example 
 of the violation of the rules of health and industry, 
 their influence goes in the wrong direction ; so that 
 whatever waste of time is induced, by a practice 
 which they thus uphold, must be set down to their 
 account. If, by the early rising of parents, every 
 member of the family would be saved from the wear 
 of constitution consequent on protracted sleep, and 
 would secure an hour of useful industry, the parents 
 are responsible to their consciences and to God for 
 the whole loss. 
 
 But the practice of early rising has a relation to 
 the general interests of the social community, as 
 well as to that of each distinct family. All that 
 great portion of the community who are employed 
 in business and labor, find it needful to rise early ; 
 and all their hours of meals, and their appointments 
 for business or pleasure, must be accommodated to 
 these arrangements. Now, if a small portion of the 
 community establish very different hours, it makes 
 a kind of jostling in all the concerns and interests of 
 society. ‘The various appointments for the public, 
 such as meetings, schools, and business hours, must 
 be accommodated to the mass, and not to individuals. 
 The few, then, who establish domestic habits at 
 variance with the majority, are either constantly in- 
 terrupted in their own arrangements, or else are 
 interfering with the rights and interests of others. 
 This is exemplified in the case of schools. In fami- 
 lies where late rising is practised, either hurry, 
 irregularity, and neglect, are engendered in the 
 family, or else the interests of the school, and thus 
 of the community, are sacrificed. In this, and many 
 
112 ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 
 
 other concerns, it can be shown, that the interests of 
 the bulk of the people, to a greater or less extent, 
 are sacrificed by the aristocratic practice of having 
 late hours for rising and meals. Let any teacher 
 select the unpunctual scholars,—a class who most 
 seriously interfere with the interests of the school ; 
 —and let men of business select those who cause 
 them most waste of time and vexation, by unpunc- 
 tuality ;—and it will be found, that they are among 
 the late risers, and rarely among those who rise 
 early. ‘Thus it is manifest, that late rising not only 
 injures the person and family which practise it, but 
 interferes with the rights and convenience of the 
 community in which they reside. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 
 
 Remarks from Dr. Combe. Effects of Exercise or a want of it on 
 the Muscles. Effects of neglecting to use the Muscles of the 
 Trunk; Effects of excessive use of them. How Female Weak- 
 ness and Deformity result’ from a Neglect. of these Principles. 
 Effects of Stays. Effect of School Confinement and Seats. Im- 
 portance of a Feeling of Interest in taking Exercise. A Walk 
 merely for Exercise is useful. Morning Exercise most proper for 
 Young Girls. Extract from the Young Lady’s Friend. Madam 
 Roland. Lady Montague. Daughter of a French Nobleman. 
 
 Tue following extract from a work of Dr. Combe, 
 will present the views which all intelligent physi- 
 cians hold in common, on the subject of exercise. 
 
 “ Whenever a muscle i is called into frequent use, 
 its fibres increase in thickness, within certain lim- 
 its, and become capable of acting with greater force 
 and readiness; and, on the other hand, when a 
 muscle is little used, its volume and power decrease, 
 in a corresponding degree. When in a state of 
 
 Ene 
 
ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. E¥S 
 ' 
 
 activity, the quantity of blood which muscles re- 
 ceive is considerably increased; and, in conse- 
 quence, those which are much exercised, become of 
 a deeper red color, than those which are less used.” 
 ‘To every organ of the body, arteria} blood is an 
 indispensable stimulus; and its supply is, during 
 health, always proportioned to the extent and energy 
 of the action. When any part, therefore, is stinted 
 of its usual quantity of blood, it very soon becomes 
 weakened, and at last loses its power of action.” 
 ‘A state of permanent contraction is both unnatu- 
 ral and impossible; and, accordingly, the most fa- 
 tiguing muscular employment, to which a man ean 
 be subjected, is that of remaining immovable in any 
 given attitude.” “We may easily put the fact to 
 the test, by attempting to hold the arm extended at 
 tight angles to the body for the short spaee of ten 
 minutes. He whose muscles, if indeed capable of 
 the exertion, do. not feel sore with fatigue at the 
 end of that time, may think himself peculiarly for- 
 tunate in being blessed with a powerful constitution. 
 “The principle just stated, explains, very obvi- 
 ously, the weariness, debility, and injury to health, 
 which invariably follow foreed confinement to one 
 position, or to one limited variety of movement, 
 as is often witnessed in the education of young 
 females.” ‘Exercise of the muscles which sup- 
 port the trunk of the body are the only means, 
 which, according to the Creator’s laws, are con- 
 ducive to muscular developement, and by which 
 bodily strength and vigor can be secured. Instead 
 of promoting such exercise, however, the prevailing 
 system of female education places the muscles of 
 the trunk, in particular, under the worst possible 
 circumstances, and renders their exercise nearly 
 impossible. Left to its own weight, the body would 
 fall to the ground, in obedience to the ordinary law 
 of gravitation : in sitting and standing, therefore; 
 Lo* 
 
114 ON DOMESTIC ‘EXERCISE. 
 
 as well as in walking, the position is preserved only 
 by” exertion of the muscles that support the spine 
 and trunk. ‘ But, if we confine ourselves to one 
 attitude, such as that of sitting erect upon a chair, 
 —or, what is still worse, on benches without backs, 
 as is the common practice in schools,—it is obvious 
 that we place the muscles which support the spine 
 and trunk in the very disadvantageous position of 
 permanent, instead of alternate contraction.” ‘ Girls, 
 thus restrained daily for many successive hours, 
 invariably suffer, being deprived of the sports and 
 exercise after school hours, which strengthen the 
 muscles of boys, and enable them to withstand the 
 oppression. ‘The muscles, being thus enfeebled, 
 the girls either lean over insensibly to one side, and 
 thus contract curvature of the spine; or, their 
 weakness being perceived, they are forthwith cased 
 in stiffer and stronger stays; that support being 
 sought for in steel and whalebone, which Nature 
 intended they should obtain from the bones and 
 muscles of their own bodies.” But the ‘“ want of 
 varied motion, which was the prime cause of the 
 muscular weakness, is still further-aggravated, by 
 the tight pressure of the stays interrupting the play 
 of the muscles, and rendering them, in a few 
 months, more powerless than ever.” ‘“ During the 
 short time allotted to that nominal exercise,—the 
 formal walk, the body is left almost as motionless 
 as before.”? ‘The natural consequences of this 
 treatment are, debility of the body, curvature of 
 the spine, impaired digestion, and, from the dimin- 
 ished tone of all the animal and vital functions, 
 general ill health; and yet, while we thus set Na- 
 ture and her laws at defiance, we presume to 
 express surprise at the prevalence of female deform- 
 ity and disease!” 
 
 “he sedentary and unvaried occupations which 
 follow each other, for hours in succession, in many 
 
ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 115 
 
 of our schools, have also been the cause of needless 
 suffering to thousands; and it is high time that a 
 sound physiology should step in, to root out all such 
 erroneous and hurtful practices.” ‘The custom of 
 causing the young to sit on benches without any 
 support to the back, and without any variety of 
 motion, cannot be too soon exploded. If the mus- 
 cles of the spine were strengthened by the exercise 
 which they require, but which is so generally de- 
 nied ; and if the school employments were varied or 
 interrupted at reasonable intervals, to admit of change 
 of position and of motion; nothing could be better 
 adapted for giving an easy and erect carriage, than 
 seats without backs.” “But it is a gross miscon- 
 ception, to suppose that the same good results will 
 follow the absence of support, when the muscles are 
 weakened by constant straining and want of play.” 
 
 “Instead, therefore, of so many successive hours 
 being devoted to study and to books, the employ- 
 ments of the young ought to be varied or interrupted 
 by proper intervals of cheerful and exhilarating ex- 
 ercise,”’ ‘which require the cooperation and society 
 of companions. This is infinitely preferable to the 
 solemn processions which are so often substituted for 
 exercise, and which are hurtful, inasmuch as they 
 delude parents and teachers into the notion that they 
 constitute, in reality, that which they only counter- 
 feit and supersede.” 
 
 ‘““Eivery body knows how wearisome and disa- 
 greeable it is to saunter along, without having some 
 object to attain; and how listless and unprofitable a 
 walk, taken against the inclination, and merely for 
 exercise, 1s, compared to the same exertion made in 
 pursuit of an object on which we are intent. The 
 difference is, simply, that, in the former case, the 
 muscles are obliged to work without that full ner- 
 vous impulse which Nature has decreed to be essen- 
 tial to their healthy and energetic action ; and that, 
 
116 ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 
 
 in the latter, the nervous impulse is in full and har- 
 monious operation.” In illustration of this, ‘the 
 elastic spring, bright eye, and cheerful glow of the 
 beings thus excited, form a perfect contrast to the 
 spiritless and inanimate aspect of many of our board- 
 ing-school processions.” 
 
 “Tt must not, however, be supposed, that a walk, 
 simply for the sake of exercise, can never be bene- 
 ficial. , If a person be thoroughly satisfied that ex- 
 ercise is requisite, and perfectly willing or rather 
 desirous, thus to” secure good health, “the desire 
 then becomes a sufficient nervous impulse, and one 
 in perfect harmony with the muscular action.” 
 
 The foregoing principles of physiology enable us 
 to appreciate, more readily, the benefits to health of 
 the various domestic exercise which all young ladies 
 should be trained to practise. In the morning, every 
 young lady should dress herself very loosely, to give 
 full play to all her muscles. She should first throw 
 open her windows, and lay open her bed, that the 
 sheets and bed may be aired. In this way, she fills 
 her room with fresh air. After breakfast, if it is 
 cold, she can shut the windows, and, while making 
 her bed and sweeping and dusting her room, almost 
 every muscle in the body will be called into vigor- 
 ous activity; and this kind of exercise should be 
 continued two or three hours. Washing, ironing, 
 starching, rubbing furniture, tending infants, and all 
 employments that require stooping, bending, and 
 change of position, are promoting the health of the 
 muscles used, and of all the various organs of the 
 body. Some persons object to sweeping, on account 
 of the dust inhaled. But there is no need of such 
 an impediment. Free ventilation, frequent sweep- 
 ing, and the use of damp sand, or tea leaves, will 
 prevent any such quantity of dust as can be in the 
 least degree injurious. And the mothers, who will 
 hire domestics.to take away all these. modes. of se- 
 
ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 117 
 
 curing to their daughters health, grace, beauty, and 
 domestic virtues, and the young ladies who consent 
 to be deprived of these advantages, will probably 
 both live to mourn over the languor, discouragement, 
 pain, disappointment, and sorrow, that will come 
 with ill health, as the almost inevitable result. 
 
 The following extracts from ‘The Young Ladies’ 
 Friend,’ are given, as most excellent remarks on this 
 topic, with the hope, also, that it will lead to the 
 perusal of the whole of that valuable work. 
 
 ‘‘Whether rich or poor, young or old, married or 
 single, a woman is always liable to be called to the 
 performance of every kind of domestic duty, as well 
 as to be placed at the head of a family; and nothing 
 short of a practical knowledge of the details of 
 housekeeping can ever make those duties easy, or 
 render her competent to direct others in the per- 
 formance of them. 
 
 ‘All moral writers on female character treat of 
 Domestic Economy as an indispensable part of fe- 
 male education; and this, too, in the old countries 
 of Europe, where an abundant population, and the 
 institutions of society, render it easy to secure the 
 services of faithful domestics. Madam Roland, one 
 of the most remarkable women of the last century, 
 says of herself, ‘The same child who read system- 
 atic works, who could explain the circles of the 
 celestial sphere, who could handle the crayon and 
 the graver, and who, at eight years of age, was the 
 best dancer in the youthful parties, was frequently 
 called into the kitchen, to make an omelet, pick 
 herbs, and skim the pot.’ 
 
 ‘‘ All female characters that are held up to admi- 
 ration, whether in fiction or biography, will be found 
 to possess these domestic accomplishments; and if 
 they are considered indispensable in the Old World, 
 how much more are they needed in this land of 
 independence, where riches cannot exempt the mis- 
 
118 ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 
 
 tress of a family from the difficulty of procuring 
 efficient aid, and where perpetual change of domes- 
 tics renders perpetual instruction and superintend- 
 ence necessary. 
 
 ‘‘ Since, then, the details of good housekeeping 
 must be included in a good female education, it is 
 very desirable that they should be acquired when 
 young, and so practised as to become easy, and to 
 be performed dexterously and expeditiously.” 
 
 ‘The elegant and accomplished Lady Mary Wort- 
 ley Montague, who figured in the fashionable, as 
 well as the literary circles of her time, has said, 
 that ‘the most minute details of household economy 
 become elegant and refined, when they are ennobled 
 by sentiment;’ and they are truly ennobled, when 
 we do them either from a sense of duty, or consid- 
 eration for a parent, or love to a husband. ‘'T'o 
 furnish a room,’ continues this lady, ‘is no longer 
 a commonplace affair, shared with upholsterers and 
 cabinet-makers; it is decorating the place where I 
 am to meet a friend or lover. 'T’o order dinner is 
 not merely arranging a meal with my cook,—it is 
 preparing refreshment for him whom I love. ‘These 
 necessary occupations, viewed in this light, by a 
 person capable of strong attachment, are so many 
 pleasures, and afford her far more delight than the 
 games and shows which constitute the amusements 
 of the world.’ 
 
 “Such is the testimony of a titled lady of the last 
 century, to the sentiment that may be made to min- 
 gle in the most homely occupations. I will now 
 quote that of a modern female writer and traveller, 
 who, in her pleasant book, called ‘Six Weeks on 
 the Loire,’ has thus described the housewifery of 
 the daughter of a French nobleman, residing in a 
 superb chateau on that river. The travellers had 
 just arrived, and been introduced, when the follow- 
 ing scene took place. 
 
ON DOMESTIC EXERCISE. 119 
 
 “ “The bill of fare for dinner was discussed in my 
 presence, and settled, sans facon, with that delight- 
 ful frankness and gayety, which, in the French 
 character, gives a charm to the most trifling occur- 
 rence. Madamoiselle Louise then begged me to 
 excuse her for half an hour, as she was going to 
 make some creams, and some pastilles. I requested 
 that I might accompany her, and also render myself 
 useful; we accordingly went together to the dairy. 
 I made tarts d ? Anglaise, whilst she made confec- 
 tions and bonbons, and all manner of pretty things, 
 with as much ease as if she had never done any 
 thing else, and as much grace as she displayed in 
 the saloon. I could not help thinking, as I looked 
 at her, with her servants about her, all cheerful, 
 respectful, and anxious to attend upon her, how 
 much better it would be for the young ladies in 
 England, if they would occasionally return to the 
 habits of their grandmammas, and mingle the ani- 
 mated and endearing occupations of domestic life, 
 and the modest manners and social amusements of 
 home, with the perpetual practising on harps and 
 pianos, and the incessant efforts at display, and 
 search after gayety, which, at the present day, ren- 
 der them any thing but what an amiable man, of a 
 reflecting mind and delicate sentiments, would desire 
 in the woman he might wish to select as the com- 
 panion of his life.’ ”’ 
 
120 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 What are Good-manners. Defect in American Manners. Coldness 
 and Reserve of the Descendants of the Puritans accounted for. 
 Cause of the Want of Courtesy in American Manners. Want of 
 Discrimination. Difference of Principles regulating Aristocratie 
 and Democratic Manners. Rules for regulating the Courtesies 
 founded on Precedence of Age, Office, and Station, in a Democracy. 
 Manners appropriate to Superiors and Subordinates. Peculiar De- 
 fect of Americans in this Respect. This to be remedied in the 
 Domestic Circle, alone. Rules of Precedence to be enforced in the 
 Family. Manners and tones towards Superiors to be regulated in 
 the Family. Treatment of grown Brothers and Sisters by Young 
 Children. Acknowledgement of Favors by Children to be required. 
 Children to ask leave or apologize in certain cases. Rules for 
 avoiding Remarks that wound the Feelings of Others. Rules of 
 Hospitality. Conventional Rules. Rules for Table Manners. 
 Caution as to teaching these Rules to'Children. Caution as to Al- 
 lowances to be made for those deficient in Good-manners. Com- 
 parison of English and American Manners. America may hope to 
 excel all Nations in Refinement, Taste, and Good-breeding ; and 
 why. Effects of Wealth and Equalisation of Labor. Allusion to 
 the Manners of Courts in the past Century. 
 
 Goop-manners are the expressions of benevolence 
 in personal intercourse, by which we endeavor to 
 promote the comfort and enjoyment of others, and to 
 avoid all that gives needless pain. It is the exterior 
 exhibition of the Divine precept which requires us to 
 do to others as we would that they should do to us. 
 It is saying, by our deportment, to all around, that 
 we consider their feelings, tastes, and convenience, 
 as equal in value to our own. 
 
 Good-manners lead us to avoid all practices that 
 offend the taste of others; all violations of the con- 
 ventional rules of propriety ; all rude and disrespect- 
 ful language and deportment; and all remarks that 
 would tend to wound the feelings of another. 
 
 There is a defect in the manners of the American 
 people, especially in the free States, which is a 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS, 1D 
 
 Serious one, and which can never be efficiently 
 remedied, except in the domestic circle, and in early 
 life. It is a deficiency in the free expression of 
 kindly feelings and sympathetic emotions, and a 
 want of courtesy in deportment. 'The causes, which 
 have led to this result, may easily be traced. 
 
 The forefathers of this Nation, to a wide extent, 
 were men who were driven from their native land, 
 by laws and customs which they believed to be op- 
 posed both to civil and religious freedom. 'The 
 sufferings they were called to endure, the subduing 
 of those gentler feelings which bind us to country, 
 kindred, and home, and the constant subordination 
 of the passions to stern principle, induced characters 
 of great firmness and self-control. They gave up 
 the comforts and refinements of a civilized country, 
 and came as pilgrims to a hard soil, a cold clime, 
 and a heathen shore. They were constantly called 
 to encounter danger, privations, sickness, loneliness, 
 and death ; and all these, their religion taught them 
 to meet with calmness, fortitude, and submission. 
 And thus it became the custom and habit of the 
 whole mass, to repress, rather than to encourage, the 
 expression of feeling. 
 
 Persons who are called to constant and protracted 
 suffering and privation, are forced to subdue and 
 conceal,emotion; for the free expression of it would 
 double their own suffering, and increase the suffer- 
 ings of others. Those, only, who are free from care 
 and anxiety, and whose minds are mainly oceupied 
 by cheerful emotions, are at full liberty to unveil 
 their feelings. 
 
 It was under such stern and rigorous discipline, 
 that the first children in New England were 
 reared; and the manners and habits of parents 
 are usually, to a great extent, transmitted to children. 
 Thus it comes about, that the descendants of the 
 Puritans, now scattered over every part of the Na- 
 
 11 
 
122 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 tion, are predisposed to conceal the gentler emotions, 
 while their manners are calm, decided, and cold, 
 rather than free and impulsive. Of course, there are 
 very many exceptions to, these predominating results. 
 
 The causes, to which we may attribute a general 
 want of courtesy in manners, are certain incidental 
 results of our democratic institutions. Ourancestors, 
 and their descendants, have constantly been com- 
 bating the aristocratic principle, which would exalt 
 one class of men at the expense of another. They 
 have had to contend with this principle, not only in 
 civil, but in social, life. Almost every American, 
 in his own person, as well as in behalf of his class, 
 has had to assume and defend the main principle of 
 democracy,—that every man’s feelings and interests 
 are equal in value to those of every other man. But, 
 in doing this, there has been some want of clear dis- 
 crimination. Because claims founded on distinctions 
 of mere birth and position were found to be injuri- 
 ous, many have gone to the extreme of inferring that 
 all distinctions, involving subordination, are useless. 
 Such would regard children as equals to parents, 
 pupils to teachers, domestics to their employers, and 
 subjects to magistrates ; and that, too, in all respects. 
 
 The fact, that certain grades of superiority and 
 subordination are needful, both for individual and 
 for public benefit, has not been clearly discerned ; 
 and there has been a gradual tendency to an ex- 
 treme, which has sensibly affected our manners. 
 All the proprieties and courtesies which depend on 
 the recognition of the relative duties of superior and 
 subordinate, have been warred upon, and thus we 
 see, to an increasing extent, disrespectful treatment 
 of parents from children, of teachers from pupils, of 
 employers from domestics, and of the aged from the 
 young. Children too often address their parents in 
 the same style and manner as they do their com- 
 
 ‘panions. Domestics address their employers, and 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 123 
 
 the visiters of the family, as they do their associ- 
 ates; while, in all classes and circles, there is a 
 gradual decay in courtesy of address. 
 
 In cases, too, where kindness is rendered, it is 
 often accompanied with a cold unsympathizing man- 
 ner, which greatly lessens its value, while kindness 
 or politeness is received in a similar style of noncha- 
 lance, as if it were but the payment of a just due. 
 
 It is owing to these causes, that the American 
 people, especially the inhabitants of New England, 
 do not do themselves justice. For, while those, 
 who are near enough to learn their real character 
 and feelings, can discern the most generous impulses, 
 and the most kindly sympathies, they are so veiled, 
 in a composed and indifferent demeanor, as to be 
 almost entirely concealed from strangers. 
 
 These defects in our national manners, it especial- 
 ly falls to the care of mothers, and all who have 
 charge of the young, to rectify ; and if they serious- 
 ly undertake the matter, and wisely adapt means to 
 ends, these defects will be remedied. With refer- 
 ence to this object, the following ideas are sug- 
 gested. : 
 
 The law of Christianity and of democracy, which 
 teaches that all men are born equal, and that their 
 interests and feelings should be regarded as of equal 
 value, seems to be adopted in aristocratic circles, 
 with exclusive reference to the class in which the 
 individual moves. 'The courtly gentleman addresses 
 all of his own class with politeness and respect, and 
 in all his actions seems to allow that the feelings 
 and convenience of others are to be regarded the 
 same as his own. But his demeanor to those of. in- 
 ferior station is not based on the same rule. 
 
 Among those who make up aristocratic circles, 
 such as are above them, are deemed of superior, and 
 such as are below, of inferior, value. Thus, if a 
 young, ignorant, and vicious coxcomb, happens to 
 
124 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 be born a lord, the aged, the virtuous, the learned, 
 and the well-bred of another class must give his 
 convenience the precedence, and must address him 
 in terms of respect. So when a man of noble birth 
 is thrown among the lower classes, he demeans him- 
 self in a style, which, to persons of his own class, 
 would be deemed the height of assumption and 
 
 rudeness. 
 
 Now the principles of democracy require, that the 
 same courtesy, which we accord to our own circle, 
 shall be extended to every class and condition; and 
 that distinctions of superiority and subordination 
 shall depend, not on accidents of birth, fortune, or 
 occupation, but solely on those relations, which the 
 good of all classes equally require. The distinctions 
 demanded in a democratic state, are simply those, 
 which result from relations that are common to every 
 class, and which are for the benefit of all. 
 
 It is for the benefit of all, that children be subor- 
 dinate to parents, pupils to teachers, the employed 
 to their employers, and subjects to magistrates. In 
 addition to this, it is for the general wellbeing, 
 that the comfort and convenience of the delicate 
 and feeble should be preferred to that of the strong 
 and healthy, who would suffer less by any depré 
 vation. 
 
 It is on these principles, that the rules of good- 
 breeding, in a demoeratic state, must be founded. 
 It is, indeed, assumed, that the value of the happi- 
 ness of each individual is the same as that of every 
 other; but as there always must be occasions, where 
 there are advantages which all cannot enjoy, there 
 must be general rules for regulating a selection. 
 Otherwise, there would be constant scrambling 
 among those of equal claims, and brute force must 
 be the final resort, in which case the strongest 
 would have the best of every thing. The demo- 
 cratic rule, then, is, that superiors in age, station, or 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 125 
 
 office, have precedence of subordinates; and that 
 age and feebleness have precedence of youth and 
 strength. 
 
 It is on this principle, that the feebler sex has 
 precedence of more vigorous man, while the young 
 and healthy give precedence to age or feebleness. 
 
 There is, also, a style of deportment and address, 
 which is appropriate to these different relations. It 
 is suitable for a superior to secure compliance with 
 his wishes from those subordinate to him, by com- 
 mands; but a subordinate must secure compliance 
 with his wishes, from a superior, by requests. It is 
 suitable for a parent, teacher, or employer, to ad- 
 monish for neglect of duty; it is not suitable for an 
 inferior to take such a course to a superior. It is 
 suitable for a superior to take preeedence of a subor- 
 dinate, without any remark; but in such cases, an 
 inferior should ask leave, or offer an apology. It is 
 proper for a superior to use the language and man- 
 ners of freedom and familiarity which would be 
 improper from a subordinate to a superior. 
 
 It is a want of proper regard to these proprieties, 
 which oecasions the chief defect in American man- 
 ners. It is very common to see children talking to 
 their parents in a style proper only between equals ; 
 so, also, the young address their elders, and those 
 employed their employers, in a style which is in- 
 appropriate to their relative positions. It is not 
 merely towards superiors that a respectful address 
 is required; every person likes to be treated with 
 courtesy and respect, and therefore the law of be- 
 nevolence demands such demeanor towards all whom 
 we meet in the social intercourse of life. “Be ye 
 courteous,” is the direction of the Apostle, in refer- 
 ence to our treatment of ail. 
 
 It is in early life, and in the domestic circle, alone, 
 that good-manners can be successfully cultivated. 
 There is nothing that so much depends. on habit, as 
 
 11* 
 
126 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 the constantly recurring proprieties of good-breeding ; 
 and if a child grows up without forming such habits, 
 it is very rarely the case that they can be formed at 
 a later period. 'The feeling that it is of little conse- 
 quence how we behave at home, if we conduct 
 properly abroad, is a very fallacious one. Persons 
 who are careless and illbred at home, may imagine 
 that they can assume good-manners abroad; but 
 they mistake. Fixed habits of tone, manner, lan- 
 guage, and movements, cannot be suddenly altered ; 
 and those who are illbred at home, even when they 
 try to hide their bad habits, are sure to violate many 
 of the obvious rules of propriety, and yet be uncon- 
 scious of it. 
 
 And there is nothing which would so effectually 
 remove prejudice against our democratic institutions, 
 as the general cultivation of good-breeding in the 
 domestic circle. Good-manners are the exterior of 
 benevolence, the minute and often recurring exhibi- 
 tions of ‘‘ peace and good-will;” and the nation, as 
 well as the individual, which most excels in the 
 exterior, as well as the internal prineiple, will be 
 most respected and beloved. 
 
 The following are the leading points, which claim 
 attention from those who have the care of the young. 
 
 In the first place, in the family, there should be 
 required a strict attention to the rules of precedence, 
 and those modes of address appropriate to the various 
 relations to be sustained. Children should always 
 be required to offer their superiors, in age or station, 
 the precedence in all comforts and conveniences, 
 and always address them in a respectful tone and 
 manner. ‘I'he custom of adding ‘ Sir,” or “ Ma’am,” 
 to ‘ Yes,”’ or “No,” is a valuable practice, as a per- 
 petual indication of a respectful recognition of supe- 
 riority. Et is now going out of fashion, even among 
 the most wellbred people; probably from want of 
 consideratien of its importanee. Ewvery remnant of 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. L277 
 
 courtesy in address, in our customs, should be care- 
 fully cherished, by all who feel a value for the 
 proprieties of good-breeding. 
 
 If parents allow their children to talk to them, 
 and to the grown persons in the family, in the same 
 style in which they address each other, it will be 
 vain to hope for the courtesy of manner and tone, 
 which good-breeding demands in the general inter- 
 course of society. In a large family, where the 
 elder children are grown up and the younger are 
 small, it is important to require the latter to treat 
 the elder as superiors. There are none so ready as 
 young children to assume airs of equality; and if 
 they are allowed to treat one class of superiors in 
 age and character disrespectfully, they will soon use 
 the privilege universally. This is the reason why 
 the youngest children of a family are most apt to be 
 pert, forward, and unmannerly. 
 
 Another point to be aimed at, is, to require chil- 
 dren always to acknowledge every act of kindness 
 and attention, either by words or manner. If they 
 are trained always to make grateful acknowledge- 
 ments, when receiving favors, one of the objection- 
 able features in American manners will be avoided. 
 
 Again, children should be required to ask leave, 
 whenever they wish to gratify curiosity, or use an 
 article which belongs to another. And if cases 
 occur, when they eannot eomply with the rules of 
 good-breeding, as, for instance, when they must step 
 between a person and the fire, or take the chair of 
 an older person, they should be required either to 
 ask leave, or offer an apology. 
 
 There is another point of good-breeding, which 
 cannot, in all cases, be applied by children, in its 
 widest extent. Itis that which requires us to avoid 
 all remarks which tend to embarrass, vex, mortify, 
 or in any way wound the feelings, of another. ‘To 
 notice personal defects; to allude to others’ faults, 
 
128 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 or the faults of their friends ; to speak disparagingly 
 of the sect or party to which a person belongs; to 
 be inattentive, when addressed in conversation ; to 
 contradict flatly; to speak in contemptuous tones of 
 Opinions expressed by another ;—all these are vio- 
 lations of the rules of good-breeding, which chil- 
 dren should be taught to regard. Under this head, 
 comes the practice of whispering, and staring about, 
 when a teacher, or lecturer, or clergyman, is ad- 
 dressing a class or audience. Such inattention is 
 practically saying that what the person is uttering 
 is not worth attending to, and persons of real good- 
 breeding always avoid it. Loud talking and laugh- 
 ing, in a large assembly, even when no exercises are 
 going on; yawning and gaping in company; and 
 not looking in the face a person who is addressing 
 you, are deemed marks of ill-breeding. 
 
 Another branch of good-manners, relates to the 
 duties of hospitality. Politeness requires us to wel- 
 come visiters with cordiality ; to offer them the best 
 accommodations ; to address conversation to them; 
 and to express, by tone and manner, kindness and re- 
 spect. Offering the hand to all visiters, at one’s own 
 house, is a courteous and hospitable custom; and a 
 cordial shake of the hand, when friends meet, would 
 abate much of the coldness of manner ascribed to 
 Americans. 
 
 The last point of good-breeding to be noticed, 
 refers to the conventional rules of propriety and good 
 taste. Of these, the first class relates to the avoid- 
 ance of all disgusting or offensive personal habits, 
 such as fingering the hair; cleaning the teeth or 
 nails ; picking the nose ; spitting on carpets; snuff- 
 ing, instead of using a handkerchief, or using the 
 article in an offensive manner ; lifting up the ‘boots 
 or shoes, as some men do, to tend them on the knee, 
 or to finger them ;—all these tricks, either at table 
 or in society, children should be taught to avoid. 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 129 
 
 Another branch under this head, may be called 
 table manners. 'To persons of good-breeding, noth- 
 ing is more annoying, than violating the convention- 
 al proprieties of the table. Reaching over another 
 person’s plate; standing up to reach distant articles, 
 instead of asking to have them passed ; using one’s 
 own knife, and spoon, for butter, salt, or sugar, when 
 it is the custom, of the family to provide separate 
 utensils for the purpose ; setting cups, with tea drip- 
 ping from them, on the table-cloth, instead of the 
 mats or small plates provided for the purpose ; using 
 the table-cloth instead of the napkins provided ; eat- 
 ing fast and in a noisy manner; putting large pieces 
 in the mouth ; looking and eating as if very hungry, 
 or as if anxious to get at certain dishes ; sitting at 
 too great a distance from the table, and dropping 
 food ; laying the knife and fork on the table-cloth, 
 instead of on the bread, or the edge of the plate — 
 all these particulars children should be taught to 
 avoid. It is always desirable, too, to require chil- 
 dren, when at table with grown persons, to be 
 silent, except when addressed by others; or else 
 their chattering will interrupt the conversation and 
 comfort of their elders. They should always be 
 required, too, to wait 7 sdlence, till all the older 
 persons are helped. 
 
 All these things should be taught to children, 
 gradually, and with great patience and gentleness. 
 Some parents, who make good-manners a great 
 object, are in danger of making their children per- 
 petually uncomfortable, by suddenly surrounding 
 them with so many rules, that they must inevitably 
 violate some one or other a great part of the time. 
 It is much better to begin with a few rules,‘and be 
 steady and persevering with these till a habit is 
 formed, and then take a few more, thus making the 
 process easy and gradual. Otherwise, the temper of 
 
130 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 children will be injured; or, hopeless of fulfilling 
 so many requisitions, they will become reckless 
 and indifferent to all. 
 
 But in reference to those who have enjoyed ad- 
 vantages for the cultivation of good-manners, and 
 who duly estimate its importance, one caution is 
 important. Those who never have had such habits 
 formed in youth, are under disadvantages, which no 
 benevolence of temper can remedy. They may 
 often violate the taste and feelings of others, not 
 from a want of proper regard for them, but from 
 ignorance of custom, or want of habit, or abstraction 
 of mind, or from other causes, which demand for- 
 bearance and sympathy, rather than displeasure. 
 An ability to bear patiently with defects in man- 
 ners, and to make candid and considerate allowance 
 for a want of advantages, or for peculiarities in men- 
 tal habits, is one mark of the benevolence of real 
 good-breeding. 
 
 The advocates of monarchical and aristocratic in- 
 stitutions have always had great plausibility given 
 to their views, by the seeming tendencies of our 
 institutions to insubordination and bad-manners. 
 And it has been too indiscriminately conceded, by the 
 defenders of our institutions, that such are these 
 tendencies, and that the offensive points in Ameri- 
 can manners, are the necessary result of democratic 
 principles. 
 
 But it is believed that both facts and reasonings 
 are in opposition to this opinion. The following 
 extract from the work of De Tocqueville exhibits 
 the opinion of an impartial observer, when compar- 
 ing American manners with those of the English, 
 who are confessedly the most aristocratic of all 
 people. 
 
 He previously remarks on the tendency of aris- 
 tocracy to make men more sympathizing with per- 
 sons of their own peculiar class, and less so towards 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 131 
 
 those of lower degree ; which he illustrates by the 
 deportment of nobles to their boors, and slavehold- 
 ers towards slaves. And he claims that the progress 
 in equality of conditions has always been attended 
 with a corresponding refinement of manners and 
 humanity of feeling. ‘“ While the English,” says 
 he, ‘retain the bloody traces of the dark ages in 
 their penal legislation, the Americans have almost 
 expunged capital punishments from their codes. 
 North America is, I think, the only country upon 
 earth, in which the life of no one citizen has been 
 taken for political offence in the course of the last 
 fifty years.”’ 
 
 He then contrasts American manners with the 
 English, claiming that the Americans are much the 
 most affable, mild, and social. ‘In America, where 
 the privileges of birth never existed, and where 
 riches confer no peculiar rights on their possessors, 
 men acquainted with each other are very ready to 
 frequent the same places, and find neither peril 
 nor advantage in the free interchange of their 
 thoughts. If they meet by accident, they neither 
 seek nor avoid intercourse ; their manner is therefore 
 natural, frank, and open.” “If their demeanor is 
 often cold and serious, it is never haughty or con- 
 strained.”’? But an ‘aristocratic pride is still ex- 
 tremely great among the English ; and as the limits 
 of aristocracy are ill-defined, every body lives in 
 constant dread, lest advantage should be taken of 
 his familiarity. Unable to judge at once of the 
 social position of those he meets, an Englishman 
 prudently avoids all contact with them. Men are 
 afraid lest some slight service rendered should draw 
 them into an unsuitable acquaintance; they dread 
 civilities, and they avoid the obtrusive gratitude of 
 a stranger. as much as his hatred.” 
 
 Thus facts seem to show that when the most 
 aristocratic nation in the world is compared, as to 
 
132 ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 
 
 manners, with the most democratic, the judgement 
 of strangers is in favor of the latter. 
 
 And if good-manners are the outward exhibition 
 of the democratic fundamental principle of impar- 
 tial benevolence and equal rights, surely the nation 
 that adopts this rule, both in social and civil life, is 
 the most likely to secure the desirable exterior. 
 The aristocrat, by his principles, extends the exte- 
 rior of impartial benevolence to his own class only ; 
 the democratic principle requires it to be extended 
 to all. 
 
 There is reason, therefore, to hope and expect 
 more refined and polished manners in America, than 
 in any other land; while all the developements of 
 taste and refinement, such as poetry, music, paint- 
 ing, sculpture, and architecture, it may be expected, 
 will come to a higher state of perfection, here, than 
 in any other nation. 
 
 If this Country increases in virtue and intelli- 
 gence, as it may, there is no end to the wealth that 
 will pour in as the result of our resources of climate, 
 soil, and navigation, and the skill, industry, energy, 
 and enterprise, of our countrymen. ‘This wealth, 
 if used as intelligence and virtue will dictate, will 
 furnish the means for a superior education to all 
 classes, and all the facilities for the refinement of 
 taste, intellect, and feeling. 
 
 Moreover, in this Country, labor is ceasing to be 
 the badge of a lower class; so that already it is 
 disreputable for a man to be “a lazy gentleman.” 
 And this feeling will increase, till there will be such 
 an equalisation of labor, as will afford all the time 
 needful for every class to improve the many advan- 
 tages offered to them. Already, in Boston, through 
 the munificence of some of her citizens, there are 
 literary and scientific advantages offered to all classes 
 of the citizens, rarely enjoyed elsewhere. In Cin- 
 cinnati, too, the advantages of education, now 
 
ON DOMESTIC MANNERS. 3a 
 
 offered to the poorest classes, without charge, sur- 
 pass what, a few years ago, most wealthy men 
 could purchase, for any price. And it is believed, 
 that a time will come, when the poorest boy in 
 America can secure advantages, which will equal 
 what the heir of the proudest peerage can now 
 command. 
 
 The records of the courts of France and Ger- 
 many, (as detailed by the Duchess of Orleans,) in 
 and succeeding the brilliant reign of Louis the 
 Fourteenth,—a period which was deemed the acme 
 of elegance and refinement,—exhibit a grossness, 
 a vulgarity, and a coarseness, not to be found among 
 the lowest of our respectable poor. And the biog- 
 raphy of Beau Nash, who attempted to reform the 
 manners of the gentry in the times of Queen Anne, 
 exhibits violations of the rules of decency, which 
 the commonest yeoman of this Land would feel dis- 
 graced in perpetrating. 
 
 This shows that our lowest classes, at this period, 
 are more refined than were the highest in aristo- 
 cratic lands, a hundred years ago; and another cen- 
 tury may show the lowest classes, in wealth, in this 
 Country, attaining as high a polish, as adorns those 
 who now are leaders of good-manners in the courts 
 of kings. 
 
 12 
 
134 ON THE PRESERVATION OF 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ON THE PRESERVATION OF A GOOD TEMPER IN A 
 HOUSEKEEPER. 
 
 Influence of a Housekeeper on Domestic Happiness. Contrasts tc 
 illustrate. Sympathy. Influence of Tones. Allowances to be 
 made for Housekeepers. Considerations toaid in regulating Tem- 
 per and Tones. First; Her Duties to be regarded as Dignified, 
 Important, and Difficult. Second; She should feel that she really 
 has Great Difficulties to meet and overcome. Third; She should 
 deliberately calculate upon having her Plans interfered with, and 
 be prepared for the Emergency. fourth; All her Plans should be 
 formed consistently with the Means at command. Fifth; System, 
 Economy, and Neatness only valuable when they tend to promote 
 the Comfort and Well-being of the Family. Sixth ; Government of 
 Tones of Voice. Some Persons think Angry Tones needfal. 
 They mistake. Hlustration. Scolding, unlady-like, and in Bad 
 Taste. A Forgiving Spirit necessary. Seventhand Last Consider- 
 ation offered; Right View of a Superintending Providence. F'ret- 
 fulness and Complaining sinful. 
 
 Tere is nothing, which has a more abiding in- 
 fluence on the happiness of a family, than the pres- 
 ervation of equable and cheerful temper and tones 
 in the housekeeper.. A woman who is habitually 
 gentle, sympathizing, forbearing, and cheerful, car- 
 ries an atmosphere about her, which imparts a sooth- 
 ing and sustaining influence, and renders it easier 
 for all to do right, under her administration, than in 
 any other situation. 
 
 The Writer has known families, where the 
 mother’s presence seemed the sunshine of the circle 
 around her; .imparting a cheering and vivifying 
 power, scarcely realized, till it was withdrawn. 
 Kvery one, without thinking of it, or knowing why 
 it was so, experienced a peaceful and invigorating 
 influence, as soon as they entered the sphere illu- 
 mined by her smile and sustained by her cheering 
 kindness and sympathy. On the contrary, many a 
 
A GOOD TEMPER IN A HOUSEKEEPER. 135 
 
 good housekeeper, good in every respect but. this, 
 by wearing a countenance of anxiety and dissatis- 
 faction, and by indulging in the frequent use of 
 sharp and reprehensive tones, more than destroys all 
 the comfort that otherwise would result from her 
 system, neatness, and economy. 
 
 There is a secret, social sympathy, which every 
 mind, to a greater or less degree, experiences with 
 the feelings of those around, as they are manifested 
 by the countenance and voice. <A sorrowful, a dis- 
 contented, or an angry, countenance, produces a 
 silent sympathetic influence, imparting a sombre 
 shade to the mind, while tones of anger or complaint 
 still more effectually jar the spirits. 
 
 No person can maintain a quiet and cheerful frame 
 of mind, while tones of discontent and displeasure 
 are sounding on the ear. We may gradually ac- 
 custom ourselves to the evil, till it is partially dimin- 
 ished ; but it always is an evil, which greatly inter- 
 feres with the enjoyment of the family state. There 
 are sometimes cases, where the entrance of the mis- 
 tress of a family seems to awaken a slight apprehen- 
 sion, in every mind around, as if each felt in danger 
 of a reproof, for something either perpetrated or neg- 
 lected. A woman who should go around her house 
 with a small stinging snapper, which she habitually 
 applied to those she met, would be encountered with 
 feelings very similar to those, experienced by the in- 
 mates of a family where the mistress often uses her 
 countenance and voice to inflict similar penalties for 
 duties neglected. 
 
 Yet there are many allowances to be made for 
 housekeepers, who sometimes imperceptibly and un- 
 consciously fall into such habits. A woman, who 
 attempts to carry out any plans of system, order, and 
 economy, and who has her feelings and habits con- 
 formed to certain rules, is constantly liable to have 
 her plans crossed, and her taste violated, by the in- 
 
136 ON THE PRESERVATION OF 
 
 experience or inattention of those about her. And 
 no housekeeper, whatever are her habits, can escape 
 the frequent recurrence of negligence or mistake, 
 which interferes with her plans. It is probable 
 that there is no class of persons, in the world, who 
 have such incessant trials of temper, and such 
 temptation to be fretful, as American housekeepers. 
 For a housekeeper’s business is not like that of the 
 other sex, limited to a particular department, for 
 which previous preparation is made. It consists of 
 ten thousand little disconnected items, which can 
 never be so, systematically arranged, that there is no 
 daily jostling, somewhere. And in the best regu- 
 lated families, it is not unfrequently the case, that 
 some act of forgetfulness or carelessness, from some 
 member, will disarrange the business of the whole 
 day, so that every hour will bring renewed occasion 
 for annoyance. And the more strongly a woman 
 realizes the value of time, and the importance of 
 system and order, the more will she be tempted to 
 irritability and complaint. 
 
 The following considerations may aid in preparing 
 a woman to meet such daily crosses with even a 
 cheerful temper and tones. 
 
 In the first place, a woman, who has charge of a 
 large household, should regard her duties as digni- 
 fied, important, and difficult. ‘The mind is so made, 
 as to be elevated and cheered by a sense of far- 
 reaching influence and usefulness. A woman, who 
 feels that she is a cipher, and that it makes little 
 difference how she performs her duties, has far less 
 to sustain and invigorate her, than one who truly 
 estimates the importance of her station. A man, 
 who feels that the destinies of a nation are turning 
 on the judgement and skill with which he plans and 
 executes, has a pressure of motive, and an elevation 
 of feeling, which are great safeguards from all that 
 is low, trivial, and degrading. 
 
A GOOD TEMPER IN A HOUSEKEEPER. 187 
 
 So an American mother and housekeeper, who 
 looks at her position in the aspect presented in the 
 previous pages, and who rightly estimates the long 
 train of influences which will pass down to hundreds, 
 whose destinies, from generation to generation, will 
 be modified by those decisions of her will, which 
 tegulated the temper, principles, and habits, of her 
 family, must be elevated above petty temptations 
 which would otherwise assail her. 
 
 Again, a housekeeper should feel that she really 
 has great difficulties to meet and overcome. A per- 
 son, who wrongly thinks that there is little danger, 
 can never maintain so faithful a guard, as one who 
 rightly estimates the temptations which beset her. 
 Nor can one, who thinks that they are trifling diffi- 
 culties which she has to encounter, and _ trivial 
 temptations, to which she must yield, so much 
 enjoy the just reward. of conscious virtue and self- 
 control, as one who takes an opposite view of the 
 subject. : 
 
 A third method, is, for a woman deliberately to 
 calculate on having her best-arranged plans interfered 
 with, very often; and to be in such a state of prep- 
 aration that the evil will not come unawares. So 
 complicated are the pursuits, and so diverse the 
 habits of the various members of a family, that it is 
 almost impossible for every one to avoid interfering 
 with the plans and taste of a housekeeper, in some 
 one point or another. It is therefore most wise, for 
 a woman to keep the loins of her mind ever girt, to 
 meet such collisions with a cheerful and quiet spirit. 
 
 Another important rule, is, to form all plans and 
 arrangements in consistency with. the means at com- 
 mand, and the character of those around. A woman 
 who has a heedless husband, and young children, 
 and incompetent domestics, ought not to make such 
 plans, as one may properly form, who will not, in so 
 many directions, meet embarrassment. She must 
 
 12* 
 
138 ON THE PRESERVATION OF 
 
 aim at just so much as it is probable she can secure, 
 and no more; and thus she will usually escape much 
 temptation, and much of the irritation of disappoint- 
 ment. 
 
 The fifth, and a very important, consideration, is, 
 that system, economy, and neatness, are valuable, 
 only so far as they tend to promote comfort and the 
 well-being of those affected. Some women seem to 
 act under the impression, that these advantages must 
 be secured, at all events, even if the comfort of the 
 family be the sacrifice. True, it is very important 
 that children grow up in habits of system, neatness, 
 and order; and it is very desirable that the mother 
 give them every incentive, both by precept and ex- 
 ample: but it is still more important, that they grow 
 up with amiable tempers, that they learn to meet 
 the crosses of life with patience and cheerfulness ; 
 and nothing has a greater influence to secure this, 
 than a mother’s example. Whenever, therefore, a 
 woman cannot carry her plans of neatness and order, 
 without injury to her own temper, or to the temper 
 of others, she ought to modify and reduce them, 
 until she can. 
 
 The sixth method, relates to the government of 
 the tones of voice. In many cases, when a woman’s 
 domestic arrangements are suddenly and seriously 
 crossed, it is impossible not to feel some irritation. 
 But it zs always possible to refrain from angry tones. 
 A woman can resolve, that, whatever happens, she 
 will not speak, till she can do it in a calm and gentle 
 manner. Perfect silence is a safe resort, when such 
 control cannot be attained as enables a person to 
 speak calmly; and this determination, persevered in, 
 will eventually be crowned with success. 
 
 Many persons seem to imagine, that tones of anger 
 are needful, in order to secure prompt obedience. 
 But observation has convinced the Writer that they 
 are never necessary ; that 77 all cases, reproof, ad- 
 
A GOOD TEMPER IN A HOUSEKEEPER. 139 
 
 ministered in calm tones, would be better. A case 
 will be given in illustration. 
 
 A young girl had been repeatedly charged to avoid 
 a certain arrangement in cooking. On one day, 
 when company was invited to dine, the direction 
 was forgotten, and the consequence was an accident, 
 which disarranged every thing, seriously injured the 
 principal dish, and delayed dinner for an hour. The 
 mistress of the family entered the kitchen just as it 
 occurred, and at a glance saw the extent of the 
 mischief. For a moment, her eyes flashed and her 
 cheeks glowed; but she held her peace. After a 
 minute or so she gave directions, in a calm voice, as 
 to the best mode of retrieving the evil, and then left, 
 without a word said to the offender. 
 
 After the company left, she sent for the girl, 
 alone, and ina calm and kind manner pointed out 
 the aggravations of the case, and described the 
 trouble which had been caused to her husband, her 
 visiters, and herself. She then portrayed the future 
 evils which would result from such habits of neglect 
 and inattention, and the modes of attempting to 
 overcome the evil; and then offered a reward for 
 the future, if, in a given time, she succeeded in 
 improving in this respect. Not atone of anger was 
 uttered ; and yet the severest scolding of a practised 
 Xantippe could not have secured such contrition, 
 and determination to reform, as was gained by this 
 method. 
 
 But similar negligence is often visited by a con- 
 tinuous stream of complaint and reproof, which, in 
 most cases, is met, either by sullen silence, or im- 
 pertinent retort, while anger prevents any contrition, 
 or any resolution of future amendment. 
 
 It is very certain, that some ladies do carry for- 
 ward a most eflicient government, both of children 
 and domestics, without employing tones of anger; 
 and therefore they are not indispensable, nor on any 
 account desirable. 
 
140 ON THE PRESERVATION OF 
 
 Though some ladies, of intelligence and refine- 
 ment, do fall unconsciously into such a practice, it 
 is certainly very unlady-like, and in very bad taste, 
 to scold; and the further a woman departs from all 
 approach to it, the more perfectly she sustains her 
 character as a lady. 
 
 Another method of securing equanimity, amid the 
 trials of domestic life, is, to cultivate a habit of 
 making allowance for the difficulties, ignorance, or 
 temptations, of those who violate rule or neglect 
 duty. It is vain, and most unreasonable, to expect 
 the consideration and care of a mature mind, in 
 childhood and youth; or that persons, of such lim- 
 ited advantages as most domestics have enjoyed, 
 should practise proper self-control, and possess proper 
 habits and principles. 
 
 Every parent, and every employer, needs daily to 
 cultivate the spirit expressed in the Divine prayer, 
 ‘forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
 trespass against us.’”’ The same allowances and 
 forbearance we supplicate from our Heavenly Father, 
 and desire from our fellow-men, in reference to our 
 deficiencies, we should constantly aim to extend to 
 all who cross our feelings and interfere with our 
 plans. 
 
 The last, and most important mode of securing 
 placid and cheerful temper and tones, is, by a right 
 view of the doctrine of a superintending Providence. 
 All persons are too much in the habit of regarding 
 the more important events of life as exclusively under 
 the control of Perfect Wisdom. But the fall of a 
 sparrow, or the loss of a hair, they do not feel to be 
 equally the result of His directing agency. In con- 
 sequence of this, Christian persons, who aim at per- 
 fect and cheerful submission to heavy afflictions, and 
 who succeed, to the edification of all about them, 
 are sometimes sadly deficient under petty crosses. 
 If a beloved child is laid in the grave, even if its 
 
A GOOD TEMPER IN A HOUSEKEEPER. 141 
 
 death resulted from the carelessness of a domestic, 
 or a physician, the eye is turned from the subordi- 
 nate agent, to the Supreme Guardian of all, and to 
 Him they bow without murmur or complaint. But 
 if a pudding is burnt, or a room badly swept, or an 
 errand forgotten, then vexation and complaint are 
 allowed, just as if these events were not appointed 
 by Perfect Wisdom, as much as the sorer chastise- 
 ment. 
 
 A woman, therefore, needs to cultivate the habit- 
 wal feeling, that all the events of her nursery and 
 kitchen are brought about by the permission of our 
 Heavenly Father, and that fretfulness and complaint, 
 in regard to these, is, in fact, complaining and dis- 
 puting at the appointments of God, and are really 
 as sinful, as unsubmissive murmurs amid the sorer 
 chastisements of His hand. And a woman, who 
 will daily cultivate this habit of referring all the 
 events of her life to the wise and benevolent agency 
 of a Heavenly Parent, will soon find it the perennial 
 spring of abiding peace and content. 
 
142 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 Question of the Equality of the Sexes, frivolous and useless. Rela- 
 tive Importance and Difficulty of the Duties a Woman is called 
 to perform. Her Duties not trivial. More difficult than those of 
 the Queen of a great Nation. A Habit of System and Order 
 necessary. Right Apportionment of Time. General Principles. 
 Christianity to be the Foundation. Intellectual and Social Inter- 
 ests to be preferred to Gratification of Taste or Appetite. The 
 Latter to be last in our Estimation. No Sacrifice of Health al- 
 lowable. Neglect of Health a Sin in the Sight of God. Regular 
 Season of Rest appointed by the Creator. Divisions of 'Time. 
 Systematic Arrangement of House Articles and other Conve- 
 niences. Regular Employment for each Member of a Family. 
 Children can be of great Service. Boys should be taught Family 
 Work. Advantage to them in afterlife. Older Children to take 
 care of Infants of a Family. 
 
 T'ue discussion of the question of the equality of 
 the sexes, in intellectual capacity, seems both frivo- 
 lous and useless, not only because it can never be 
 decided, but because there would be no possible 
 advantage in the decision. But one topic, which is 
 often drawn into this discussion, is of far more con- 
 sequence ; and that is, the relative importance and 
 difficulty of the duties a woman is called to perform. 
 
 It is generally assumed, and almost as generally 
 conceded, that women’s business and cares are con- 
 tracted and trivial ; and that the proper discharge of 
 her duties demands far less expansion of mind and 
 vigor of intellect, than the pursuits of the other sex. 
 This idea has prevailed, because women, as a mass, 
 have never been educated with reference to their 
 most important duties; while that portion of their 
 employments which are of least value, have been 
 regarded as the chief, if not the sole concern of a 
 woman. The covering of the body, the conve- 
 niences of residences, and the gratification of the 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 143 
 
 appetite, have been too much regarded as the sole 
 objects on which her intellectual powers are to be 
 exercised. 
 
 But as society gradually shakes off the remnants 
 of barbarism, and the intellectual and moral inter- 
 ests of man rise in estimation above the merely 
 sensual, a truer estimate is formed of woman’s du- 
 ties, and of the measure of intellect requisite for 
 the proper discharge of them. Let any man of 
 sense and discernment become the member of a 
 large household, in which a well-educated and pious 
 woman is endeavoring systematically to discharge 
 her multiform duties; let him fully comprehend all 
 her cares, difficulties, and perplexities; and it is 
 probable he would coincide in the opinion, that no 
 statesman, at the head of a nation’s affairs, had more 
 frequent calls for wisdom, firmness, tact, discrimina- 
 tion, prudence, and versatility of talent, than such a 
 woman. 
 
 She has a husband, whose peculiar tastes and hab- 
 its she must accommodate; she has children, whose 
 health she must guard, whose physical constitution 
 she must study and develope, whose temper and 
 habits she must regulate, whose principles she must 
 form, whose pursuits she must direct. She has con- 
 stantly changing domestics, with all varieties of 
 temper and habits, whom she must govern, instruct, 
 and direct ; she is required to regulate the finances 
 of the domestic state, and constantly to adapt expen- 
 ditures to the means and to the relative claims of 
 each department. She has the direction of the 
 kitchen, where ignorance, forgetfulness, and awk- 
 wardness are to be so regulated, that the various op- 
 erations shall each start at the right time, and all be 
 in completeness at the same given hour. She has 
 the claims of society to meet, calls to receive and re- 
 turn, and the duties of hospitality to sustain. She 
 has the poor to relieve ; benevolent societies to aid ; 
 
144 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 the schools of her children to inquire and decide 
 about; the care of the sick; the nursing of infancy ; 
 and the endless miscellany of odd items constantly 
 recurring in a large family. 
 
 Surely it isa pernicious and mistaken idea, that 
 the duties which tax a woman’s mind are petty, 
 trivial, or unworthy of the highest grade of intellect 
 and moral worth. Instead of allowing this feeling, 
 every woman should imbibe, from early youth, the 
 impression, that she is training for the discharge of 
 the most important, the most difficult, and the most 
 sacred and interesting duties that can possibly em- 
 ploy the highest intellect. She ought to feel that 
 her station and responsibilities, in the great drama of 
 life, are second to none, either as viewed by her 
 Maker, or in the estimation of all minds whose judge- 
 ment is most worthy of respect. 
 
 She, who is the mother and housekeeper in a large 
 family, is the sovereign of an empire demanding as 
 varied cares, and involving more difficult duties, 
 than are really exacted of her, who, while she wears 
 the crown, and professedly regulates the interests of 
 the greatest nation on earth, finds abundant leisure 
 for theatres, balls, horseraces, and every gay pursuit. 
 
 There is no one thing, more necessary to a house- 
 keeper, in performing her varied duties, than @ habit 
 of system and order ; and yet the peculiarly desulto- 
 ry nature of women’s pursuits, and the embarrass- 
 ments resulting from the state of domestic service 
 in this Country, render it very difficult to form such 
 a habit. But it is sometimes the case, that women, 
 who could and would carry forward a systematic 
 plan of domestic economy, do not attempt it, sim- 
 ply from a want of knowledge of the various modes 
 of introducing it. It is with reference to such, that 
 various modes of securing system and order, which 
 the Writer has seen adopted, will be pointed out. 
 
 A wise economy is nowhere more conspicuous, 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 145) 
 
 than in the right apportionment of time to differ- 
 ent pursuits. There are duties of a religious, in- 
 tellectual, social, and domestic, nature, each having 
 different relative claims on attention. Unless a per- 
 son has some general plan of apportioning these 
 claims, some will intrench on others, and some, it is 
 probable, will be entirely excluded. Thus, some 
 find religious, social, and domestic, duties, so numer- 
 ous, that no time is given to intellectual improve- 
 ment. Others, find either social, or benevolent, or 
 religious, interests, excluded by the extent and vari- 
 ety of other engagements. 
 
 It is wise, therefore, for all persons to devise a 
 general plan, which they will at least keep in view, 
 and aim to accomplish, and by which, a proper pro- 
 portion of time shall be secured for all the duties of 
 life. 
 
 In forming such a plan, every woman must ac- 
 commodate herself to the peculiarities of her situa- 
 tion. If she has a large family, and a small income, 
 she must devote far more time to the simple duty of 
 providing food and raiment, than would be right 
 ‘were she in affluence and with a small family. It 
 is impossible, therefore, to draw out any general 
 plan, which all can adopt. But there are some gen- 
 eral principles, which ought to be the guiding rules, 
 when a woman arranges her domestic employments. 
 These general principles are to be based on Chris- 
 tianity, which teaches us to “ seek first the kingdom 
 of God,” and to place food, raiment, and the con- 
 veniences of life, as of secondary account. Every 
 woman, then, ought to start with the assumption, 
 that religion is of more consequence than any 
 worldly concern, and that whatever else may be 
 sacrificed, this shall be the leading object in all 
 her arrangements, in respect to time, money, and 
 attention. It is also one of the plainest requisitions 
 of Christianity, that we devote some of our time 
 
 13 
 
146 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 and efforts to the comfort and improvement of 
 others. There is no duty so constantly enforced, 
 both in the Old and New Testament, as the duty of 
 charity, in dispensing to those who are destitute of 
 the blessings we enjoy. In selecting objects of 
 charity, the same rule applies to others, as well as 
 to ourselves ; that their moral and religious interests 
 are of the first concern, and that for them, as well 
 as ourselves, we are to ‘‘seek first the kingdom of 
 God.” 
 
 Another general principle, is, that our intellectual 
 and social interests are to be preferred to the mere 
 gratification of taste or appetite. A portion of time, 
 therefore, must be devoted to the cultivation of the 
 intellect and the social affections. 
 
 Another general principle, is, that the mere grati- 
 fication of appetite is to be placed Jast in our esti- 
 mate, so that, when a question arises as to which 
 shall be sacrificed, some intellectual, moral, or social, 
 advantage, or some gratification of sense, we should 
 invariably sacrifice the last. 
 
 Another general principle, is, that, as health is 
 indispensable to the discharge of every duty, noth- 
 ing that sacrifices that blessing is to be allowed, in 
 order to gain any other advantage or enjoyment. 
 There are emergencies, when it is right to risk 
 health and life, to save ourselves and others from 
 greater evils; but these are exceptions, which do 
 not vacate the general rule. Many persons imagine, 
 that, if they violate the laws of health in performing 
 religious or domestic duties, they are guiltless before 
 God. But such greatly mistake. We as directly 
 violate the law ‘‘thou shalt not kill,” when we do 
 what tends to risk or shorten our own life, as if we 
 should intentionally run a dagger into a neighbor. 
 True, we may escape any fatal or permanently inju- 
 rious effects, and so may a dagger or bullet miss the 
 mark, or do only transient injury. But this, in 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 147 
 
 either case, makes the sin none the less. The life 
 and happiness of all His creatures are dear to our 
 Creator; and He is as much displeased, when we 
 injure our own interests, as when we injure others. 
 So that the idea that we are excusable if we harm 
 no one but ourselves, is most false and pernicious. 
 These, then, are the general principles, to guide a 
 woman in systematizing her duties and pursuits. 
 
 The Creator of all things is a Being of perfect 
 system and order; and to aid us in our duty, in this 
 respect, he has divided our time, by a regularly 
 returning day of rest from worldly business. In 
 following this example, the intervening six days 
 may be subdivided to secure similar benefits. In 
 doing this, a certain portion of time must be given 
 to procure the means of livelihood, and for preparing 
 food, raiment, and dwellings. To these objects, 
 some must devote more, and others less, attention. 
 The remainder of time not necessarily thus em- 
 ployed, might be divided somewhat in this manner: 
 The leisure of two afternoons and evenings could be 
 devoted to religious and benevolent objects, such as 
 religious meetings, charitable associations, Sunday 
 school visiting, and attention to the sick and poor. 
 The leisure of two other days might be devoted -to 
 intellectual improvement, and the pursuits of taste. 
 The leisure of another day might be devoted to 
 social enjoyments, in making or receiving visits; 
 and that of another to miscellaneous domestic pur- 
 suits, not included in the other particulars. 
 
 It is probable that few persons could carry out 
 such an arrangement, very strictly ; but every one 
 can make out a systematic arrangement of time, and 
 at least azm at accomplishing it; and they can also 
 compare the time which they actually devote to 
 these different objects, with such a general outline, 
 for the purpose of modifying any mistaken pro- 
 portions. 
 
148 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 Instead of attempting some such systematic em- 
 ployment of time, and carrying it out so far as they 
 can control circumstances, most women are rather 
 driven along by the daily occurrences of life, so that, 
 instead of being the intelligent regulators of their 
 own time, they are the mere sport of circumstances. 
 There is nothing which so distinctly marks the 
 difference between weak and strong minds, as the 
 fact, whether they control circumstances, or cir- 
 cumstances control them. 
 
 It is very much to be feared, that the apportion- 
 ment of time, actually made by a great portion of 
 women, exactly inverts the order required by reason 
 and Christianity. Thus the furnishing a needless 
 variety of food, the conveniences of dwellings, and 
 the adornments of dress, often take a larger portion 
 of time, than is given to any other object. Next 
 after this, comes intellectual improvement; and last 
 of all, benevolence and religion. 
 
 It may be urged, that it is indispensable for most 
 persons to give more time to earn a livelihood, and 
 to prepare food, raiment, and dwellings, than to any 
 other object. But it may be asked, how much time 
 devoted to these objects is employed in preparing 
 varieties of food, not necessary, but rather injurious, 
 and how much is spent for those parts of dress and 
 furniture not indispensable, and merely ornamental ? 
 Let a woman subtract from her domestic employ- 
 ments, all the time given to pursuits which are of 
 no use, except as they gratify a taste for ornament, 
 or minister increased varieties to tempt appetite, and 
 she will find, that much, which she calls ‘‘ domestic 
 duties,” and which prevent her attention to intellec- 
 tual, benevolent, and religious, objects, should be 
 called by a very different name. No woman has a 
 right to give up attention to the higher interests of 
 herself and others, for the ornaments of taste or the 
 gratification of the palate. To a certain extent, 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 149 
 
 these lower objects are lawful and desirable; but, 
 when they intrude on nobler interests, they become 
 selfish and degrading. 
 
 Some persons endeavor to systematize their pur- 
 suits, by apportioning them to particular hours of 
 each day. For example, a certain period before 
 breakfast, is given to devotional duties; after break- 
 fast, certain hours are devoted to exercise and do- 
 mestic employments; other hours to sewing, or read- 
 ing, or visiting; and others to benevolent duties. 
 But, in most cases, it is more difficult to systematize 
 the hours of each day, than it is to sustain some 
 regular division of the week. 
 
 In regard to the minutize of domestic arrange- 
 ments, the Writer has known the following methods 
 adopted. Monday, with some of the best house- 
 keepers, is devoted to preparing for the labors of the 
 week. Any extra cooking, the purchasing of articles 
 to be used during the week, and the assorting of 
 clothes for the wash, and mending such:as would 
 be injured without ;—these and similar items belong 
 to this day. Tuesday is devoted to washing, and 
 Wednesday to ironing. On Thursday, the ironing 
 is finished off, the clothes folded and put away, and 
 all,articles which need mending put in the mending 
 basket, and attended to. Friday is devoted to 
 sweeping and housecleaning. On Saturday, and 
 especially the last Saturday of every month, every 
 department is put in order; the castors and table 
 furniture are regulated, the pantry and cellar in- 
 spected, the trunks, drawers, and closets arranged, 
 and every thing about the house put in order for 
 Sunday. All the cooking needed for Sunday is 
 also prepared. By this regular recurrence of a par- 
 ticular time for inspecting every thing, nothing is 
 forgotten till ruined by neglect. 
 
 Another mode of systematizing, relates to provid- 
 ing proper supplies of conveniences, and proper 
 
 to" 
 
150 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 places in which to keep them. ‘Thus, some ladies 
 keep a large closet, in which are placed the tubs, 
 pails, dippers, soap-dishes, starch, bluing, clothes- 
 line, clothes-pins, and every other article used in 
 washing; and in the same or another place are kept 
 every convenience for ironing. In the sewing de- 
 partment, a trunk, with suitable partitions, is pro- 
 vided, in which are placed, each in its proper place, 
 white thread of all sizes, colored thread, yarns for 
 mending, colored and black sewing-silks and twist, 
 tapes and bobbins of all sizes, white and colored 
 welting-cords, silk braids and cords, needles of all 
 sizes, papers of pins, remnants of linen and colored 
 cambric, a supply of all kinds of buttons used in the 
 family, black and white hooks and eyes, a yard 
 measure, and all the patterns used in cutting and 
 fitting. ‘These are done up in separate parcels and 
 labelled. In another trunk, are kept all pieces used 
 in mending, arranged in order, so that any article 
 can be found without loss of time. A trunk like 
 the first mentioned, will save many steps, and often 
 much time and perplexity; while purchasing thus 
 by the quantity makes them come much cheaper 
 than if bought in little portions as they are want- 
 ed. Such a trunk should be kept locked, and a 
 smaller supply, for current use, be kept in a work- 
 basket. 
 
 The full supply of all conveniences in the kitchen 
 and cellar, and a place appointed for each article, 
 very much facilitates domestic labor. For want of 
 this, much vexation and loss of time is occasioned, 
 while seeking vessels in use, or in cleansing those 
 used by different persons for various purposes. It 
 would be far better for a lady to give up some ex- 
 pensive article in the parlor, and apply the money, 
 thus saved, for kitchen conveniences, than to havea 
 stinted supply where the most labor is to be per- 
 formed. If our Countrywomen would devote more 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 151 
 
 to comfort and convenience, and less to show, it 
 would be a great improvement. Mirrors and _pier- 
 tables in the parlor, and an unpainted, gloomy, ill- 
 furnished kitchen, not unfrequently are found under 
 the same roof. 
 
 Another important item, in systematic economy, 
 is the apportioning of regular employment to the 
 various members of a family. If a housekeeper can 
 secure the cooperation of adi her family, she will 
 find that ‘‘many hands make light work.” 'There 
 is no greater-mistake, than in bringing up children 
 to feel that they must be taken care of, and waited 
 on, by others, without any corresponding obligations 
 on their part. The extent to which young children 
 can be made useful in a family, would seem sur- 
 prising to those who have never seen a systematic 
 and regular plan for securing their services. The 
 Writer has been in a family, where a little girl of 
 eight or nine washed and dressed herself and little 
 brother, and made their little beds before breakfast, 
 set and cleared all the tables at meals, with a little 
 help from a grown person in moving tables and 
 spreading cloths, while all the dusting of parlors and 
 chambers was also neatly performed by her. A 
 little brother of ten, brought in and piled all the 
 wood used in the kitchen and parlor, brushed the 
 boots and shoes neatly, went on errands, and took 
 all the care of the poultry. They were children 
 whose parents could afford to hire this service, but 
 who chose to have their children grow up healthy 
 and industrious, while proper instructions, system, 
 and encouragement, made these services rather a 
 pleasure than otherwise to the children. 
 
 Some parents pay their children for such services ; 
 but this is hazardous, as tending to make them feel 
 that they are not bound to be helpful without pay, 
 and also as tending to produce a hoarding, money- 
 making spirit. But where children have no hoard- 
 
152 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 ing propensities, and need to acquire a sense of the 
 value of property, it may be well to let them earn 
 money for some extra services, rather as a favor. 
 When this is done, they should be taught to 
 spend it for others, as well as for themselves; and 
 in this way, a generous and liberal spirit will be cul- 
 tivated. 
 
 There are some mothers, who take pains to teach 
 their boys most of the domestic arts which their sis- 
 ters learn. The Writer has seen boys mending their 
 own garments, and aiding their mother or sisters in 
 the kitchen, with great skill and adroitness; and at 
 an early age they usually very much relish joining 
 in such occupations. The sons of such mothers, in 
 their college life, or in roaming about the world, or 
 in nursing a sick wife or infant, find occasion to 
 bless the forethought and kindness which prepared 
 them for such emergencies. Few things are in 
 worse taste, than for a man needlessly to busy him- 
 self in women’s work; and yet a man never appears 
 in a more interesting attitude, than when, by skill 
 in such matters, he can save a mother or wife from 
 care and suffering. The more a boy is taught to 
 use his hands in every variety of domestic employ- 
 ment, the more his faculties, both of mind and body, 
 are developed ; for mechanical pursuits exercise the 
 intellect, as well as the hands. The early training 
 of New England boys, in which they turn their hand 
 to almost every thing, is one great reason .of the 
 quick perceptions, versatility of mind, and mechani- 
 cal skill, for which that portion of our Countrymen 
 are distinguished. 
 
 The Writer has known one mode of systematiz- 
 ing the aid of the older children in a family, which, 
 in some cases of very large families, it may be well 
 to imitate. In the case referred to, when the oldest 
 daughter was eight or nine years old, an infant sis- 
 ter was given to her as her special charge. She 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 1a 
 
 tended it, made and mended its clothes, taught it to 
 read, and was its nurse and guardian through all its 
 childhood. Another infant was given to the next 
 daughter, and thus the children were all paired in 
 this interesting relation. In addition to the relief 
 thus afforded to the mother, the elder children were 
 thus qualified for their future domestic relations, and 
 both older and younger bound to each other by pe- 
 culiar ties of tenderness and gratitude. 
 
 In offering these examples of various modes of 
 systematizing, one suggestion may be worthy of at- 
 tention. It is not unfrequently the case, that ladies, 
 who find themselves cumbered with oppressive cares, 
 after reading remarks on the benefits of system, im- 
 mediately commence the task of arranging their pur- 
 suits, with great vigor and hope. They divide the 
 day into regular periods, and give each hour.its du- 
 ty ; they systematize their work, and endeavor to 
 bring every thing into a regular routine. But ina 
 short time, they find themselves baffled, discouraged, 
 and disheartened, and finally relapse into their for- 
 mer desultory ways, with a sort of resigned despair. 
 The difficulty, in such cases, is, that they attempt 
 too much at a time. There is nothing which so 
 much depends upon habit, asa systematic mode of 
 performing duty ; and where no such habit has been 
 formed, it is impossible for a novice to start at once 
 into a universal mode of systematizing, which none 
 but an adept could carry through. ‘The only way 
 for such persons, is, to begin with a little at a time. 
 Let them select some three or four things, and reso- 
 lutely attempt to conquer at these points. In time, 
 a habit will be formed of doing a few things at 
 regular periods, and in a systematic way. Then it 
 will be easy to add a few more; and thus, by a 
 gradual process, the object can be secured, which 
 it would be vain to attempt by a more summary 
 course. larly rising is almost a sine qua non to 
 
154 ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 
 
 success, in such an effort; but where a woman 
 lacks either the health or the energy to secure a 
 period for devotional duties before breakfast, let her 
 select that hour of the day in which she will be 
 least liable to interruption, and let her then seek 
 strength and wisdom from the only true Source. 
 At this time, let her take a pen and make a list of 
 all the things which she considers as duties. 'Then 
 let a calculation be made, whether there is time 
 enough in the day or the week for all these duties. 
 If there is not, let the least important be stricken 
 from the list, as what are not duties and must be 
 omitted. In doing this, let a woman rémember, 
 that, though “‘ what we shalleat, and what we shall 
 drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed,” are 
 matters requiring due attention, they are very apt to 
 take a wrong relative importance, while social, in- 
 tellectual, and moral, interests, receive too little re- 
 gard. 
 
 In this Country, eating, dressing, and house- 
 hold furniture and ornaments, take far too large a 
 place in the estimate of relative importance ; and itis 
 probable that most women could modify their views 
 and practice, so as to come nearer to the Saviour’s 
 requirements. No woman has a right to put a stitch 
 of ornament on any article of dress or furniture, or 
 to provide one superfluity in food, until she is sure 
 she can secure time for all her social, intellectual, 
 benevolent, and religious, duties. If a woman will 
 take the trouble to make such a calculation as this, 
 she will usually find that she has time enough to 
 perform all her duties easily and well. 
 
 It is impossible for a conscientious woman to 
 secure that peaceful mind, and cheerful enjoyment 
 of life, which all should seek, who is constantly 
 finding her duties jarring with each other, and much 
 remaining undone, which she feels that she ought to 
 do. In consequence of this, there will be a secret 
 
ON HABITS OF SYSTEM AND ORDER. 155 
 
 uneasiness, which will throw a shade over the whole 
 current of life, never to be removed, till she so effi- 
 ciently defines and regulates her duties, that she can 
 fulfil them all. 
 
 And here the Writer would urge upon young 
 ladies the importance of forming habits of system, 
 while unembarrassed with multiplied cares which 
 will make the task so much more difficult and hope- 
 less. Every young lady can systematize her pur- 
 suits, to a certain extent. She can have a particular 
 day for mending her wardrobe, and for arranging 
 her trunks, closets, and.drawers. She can keep her 
 workbasket, her desk at school, and all her con- 
 veniences in proper places, and in regular order. 
 She can have regular periods for reading, walking, 
 visiting, study, and domestic pursuits. And by fol- 
 lowing this method, in youth, she will form a taste 
 for regularity, and a habit of system, which will 
 prove a blessing to her through life. 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 No Point of Duty more difficult to fix by Rule, than Charity. First 
 Consideration ;—Object for which we are placed in this World. 
 How to be perfectly happy. Self-denying Benevolence. Important 
 Distinction. Second Consideration ;—Natural Principles not to be 
 exterminated, but regulated and controlled. All Constitutional 
 Propensities good, and designed to be gratified. Their Abuses to 
 be guarded against. Third Consideration ;—Superfiuities some- 
 times proper, and sometimes not. Fourth Consideration ;—No 
 Rule of Duty right for One and not for All. The Opposite of this 
 Principle tested. Some Use of Superfluities necessary. Physical 
 Gratifications should always be subordinate to Social, Intellectual, 
 and Moral Advantages. Difficulties in the Way. Remarks upon 
 them. Plan for Keeping an Account of Necessaries and Superfiu- 
 ities. Untoward Results of our Actions do not always prove that 
 We deserve Blame. Examples of Conformity to the Rules here 
 laid down. General Principles to guide in deciding upon Objects 
 of Charity. Parable of Good Samaritan. Who are our Neighbors. 
 Those most in Need to be first relieved. Intellectual and Moral 
 Wants more necessary to be supplied than Physical. Not much 
 need of Charity in supplying Physical Wants in this Country. 
 System of Associated Charities, in which many small sums are 
 combined. Indiscriminate Charity. Very injurious to Society, as 
 a General Rule. Exceptions. Impropriety of judging of the Char- 
 ities of others. 
 
 Ir is probable that there is no point of duty, 
 where conscientious persons differ more in opinion, 
 or where they find it more difficult to form discrimi- 
 nating and decided views, than on the matter of 
 charity. That we are bound to give some of our 
 time, money, and efforts, to relieve the destitute, all 
 allow. But, as to how much we are to give, and on 
 whom our charities shall be bestowed, many a re- 
 flecting mind has been at a loss. Yet it seems very 
 desirable, that, in reference to a duty so constantly 
 and so strenuously urged by the Supreme Ruler, we 
 should be able so to fix metes and bounds, as to 
 keep a conscience void of offence, and to free the 
 mind from disquieting fears of deficiency. 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 157 
 
 The Writer has found no other topic of investiga- 
 tion so beset with difficulty, so absolutely without 
 the range of definite rules which can apply to all in 
 all circumstances. But on this, as on a previous 
 topic, there seem to be general principles, by the aid 
 of which, any candid mind, sincerely desirous of 
 obeying the commands of Christ however much 
 self-denial may be involved, can arrive at definite 
 conclusions as to its own individual obligations, so 
 that, when these are fulfilled, the mind may be at 
 peace. 
 
 But for a mind that is worldly, living mainly to 
 seek its own pleasures, instead of living to please 
 God, no principles can be so fixed, as not to leave a 
 ready escape from all obligation. Such minds, either 
 by indolence (and consequent ignorance) or by 
 sophistry, will convince themselves that a life of 
 engrossing self-indulgence, with perhaps the gift of 
 a few dollars and a few hours of time, may so suf- 
 fice to fulfil the requisitions of the Eternal Judge, 
 that they can safely meet Him at the final day. 
 
 For such minds, no reasonings will avail, till the 
 heart is so changed, that, to learn the will and fol- 
 low the example of Jesus Christ, becomes the lead- 
 ing object of interest and effort. It is to aid those 
 who profess to possess this temper of mind, that the 
 following suggestions are offered. 
 
 The first consideration, which gives definiteness 
 to this subject, is, a correct view of the object for 
 which we are placed in this world. A great portion, 
 even of professed Christians, seem to be acting on 
 the supposition, that the object of life is to secure 
 as much as possible of all the various enjoyments 
 placed within reach. Not so teaches reason or reve- 
 lation. From these, we learn, that, though the 
 happiness of His creatures is the end for which God 
 created and sustains them, yet that this happiness 
 depends, not on the various modes of gratification 
 
 14 
 
158. ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 put within our reach, but mainly on character. A 
 man may possess all the resources for enjoyment 
 which this world can afford, and yet feel that “all is 
 vanity and vexation of spirit,’’ and that he is su- 
 premely wretched. Another may be in want of all 
 things, and yet possess that living spring of benevo- 
 lence, faith, and hope, which will make an Eden of 
 the darkest prison. 
 
 In order to be perfectly happy, man must attain 
 that character, which Christ exhibited; and the 
 nearer he approaches it, the more will happiness 
 reign in his breast. 
 
 But what was the grand peculiarity of the charac- 
 ter of Christ? It was self-denying benevolence. He 
 came ‘not to seek His own; He ‘went about 
 doing good,” and this was His “meat and drink ;”’ 
 that is, it was this that sustained the health and life 
 of His mind, as food and drink sustain the health 
 and life of the body. Now, the mind of man is so 
 made, that it can gradually be transformed into the 
 same likeness. A selfish being, who for a whole 
 life has been nourishing habits of indolent self-in- 
 dulgence, can, by taking Christ as his example, 
 by communion with Him, and by daily striving to 
 imitate His character and conduct, form such a 
 temper of mind, that ‘doing good”’ will become the 
 chief and highest source of enjoyment. And this 
 heavenly principle will grow stronger and stronger, 
 until self-denial loses the more painful part of its 
 character, and then, ving to make happiness, will 
 be so delightful and absorbing a pursuit, that all 
 exertions, regarded as the means to this end, will be 
 like the joyous efforts of men when they strive for 
 a prize or a crown with the full hope of success. 
 
 In this view of the subject, efforts and self-denial 
 for the good of others are to be regarded, not merely 
 as duties enjoined for the benefit of others, but as 
 the moral training indispensable to the formation of 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 159 
 
 that character, on which depends our own happiness 
 both for time and eternity. This view exhibits the 
 full meaning of the Saviour’s declaration, “how 
 hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom 
 of Heaven!” He had before taught, that the 
 kingdom of Heaven consisted not in such enjoy- 
 ments as the worldly seek, but in the temper of 
 self-denying benevolence like His own; and, as the 
 rich have far greater temptations to indolent self- 
 indulgence, they are far less likely to acquire this 
 temper, than those, who, by limited means, are 
 inured to some degree of self-denial. 
 
 But on this point, one important distinction needs 
 to be made, and that is, between the self-denial 
 which has no other aim than mere self-mortification, 
 and that which is exercised to secure greater good to 
 ourselves and others. ‘The first is the foundation of 
 monasticism, penances, and all other forms of asceti- 
 cism; the latter, only, is that which Christianity 
 requires. 
 
 A second consideration, which may give definite- 
 ness to this subject, is, that the formation of a per- 
 fect character involves, not the extermination of any 
 principles of our nature, but rather the regulating of 
 them, according to the rules of reason and religion ; 
 so that the lower propensities shall always be kept 
 subordinate to nobler principles. Thus we are not 
 to aim at destroying our appetites, or at needlessly 
 denying them, but rather so to regulate them, that 
 they shall best secure the objects for which they 
 were implanted. We are not to annihilate the love 
 of praise and admiration ; but so to control it, that 
 the favor of God shall be regarded more than the 
 estimation of men. We are not to extirpate the 
 principle of curiosity, which leads us to acquire 
 knowledge ; but so to direct it, that all our acquisi- 
 tions shall be useful and not frivolous or injurious. 
 And thus with all the principles of the mind, God 
 
160 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 has implanted no desires in our constitution, which 
 are evil and pernicious. On the contrary, all our 
 constitutional propensities, either of mind or body, 
 he designed we should gratify, whenever no evils 
 would thence result, either to ourselves or others. 
 Such principles as envy, ambition, pride, revenge, 
 and hate, are to be exterminated ; for they are either 
 excesses or excrescences: not created by God, but 
 rather the result of our own neglect to form habits 
 of benevolence and self-control. 
 
 In deciding the rules of our conduct, therefore, 
 we are ever to bear in mind, that the developement 
 of the nobler principles, and the subjugation of infe- 
 rior propensities to them, is to be the main object of 
 effort, both for ourselves and for others. And in 
 conformity with this, in ajl our plans, we are to 
 place religious and moral interests as first in estima- 
 tion, our social and intellectual interests next, and 
 our physical gratifications, as subordinate to all. 
 
 A third consideration, is, that, though the means 
 for sustaining life and health are to be regarded as 
 necessaries, without which no other duties can be 
 performed, yet that a very large portion of the time 
 spent by most persons in easy circumstances, for 
 food, raiment, and dwellings, are for mere superflui- 
 ties, which are right when they do not involve the 
 sacrifice of higher interests, and wrong when they 
 do. Life and health can be sustained in the hum- 
 blest dwellings, with the plainest dress, and the sim- 
 plest food, and after taking from our means what is 
 necessary for life and health, the remainder is to be 
 so divided, that the larger portion shall be given to 
 supply the moral and intellectual wants of our- 
 selves and others, and the smaller share to procure 
 those additional gratifications, of taste and appetite, 
 not indispensable. Mankind, as yet, have never 
 made this apportionment of their means; but, just 
 as fast as they have risen from a savage state, mere 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 161 
 
 physical wants have been made subordinate to 
 higher objects. 
 
 Another very important consideration, is, that in 
 urging the duty of charity, and the prior claims of 
 moral and religious objects, no rule of duty should 
 be maintained, that it would not be right and wise 
 for all to follow. And we are to test the wisdom 
 of any general rule, by inquiring what would be 
 the result, if all mankind should practise according 
 to it. In view of this, we are enabled to judge of 
 the correctness of those who maintain, that, to be 
 consistent, men who hold to the eternal destruction 
 of all those of our race who are not brought under 
 the influence of the Christian system, should give 
 up, not merely the elegances, but all the superflui- 
 ties, of life, and devote the whole of their means, 
 not indispensable to life and health, for the propaga- 
 tion of Christianity. But, if this is the duty of 
 any, it is the duty of all; and we are to inquire 
 what would be the result, if all conscientious per- 
 sons gave up the use of all superfluities. Suppose 
 that two millions of the people in the United States 
 were conscientious persons, and relinquished the use 
 of every thing not absolutely necessary to life and 
 health. It would instantly throw out of employ- 
 ment one half of the whole community. The man- 
 ufacturers, mechanics, merchants, agriculturists, and 
 all the agencies they employ, would be beggared, 
 and one half of the community not reduced to pov- 
 erty, would be obliged to spend all their extra means 
 in simply supplying necessaries. to the other half. 
 The use of superfluities, therefore, to a certain ex- 
 tent, is as indispensable to promote industry, virtue, 
 and religion, as any direct giving of money or time ; 
 and it is owing entirely to a want of reflection, and 
 of comprehensive views, that any men ever make 
 so great a mistake, as is here exhibited. 
 
 Instead, then, of urging a rule of duty which is 
 
 14* 
 
162 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 at once irrational and impracticable, there is another 
 course, which commends itself to the understand- 
 ings of all. For whatever may be the practice of 
 intelligent men, they universally concede the prin- 
 ciple, that our physical gratifications should always 
 be made subordinate to social, intellectual, and 
 moral advantages. And.all that is required, for the 
 advancement of our whole race to the most perfect 
 state of society, is, simply, that men should act in 
 agreement with this principle. And if only a very 
 small portion of the most intelligent of our race 
 should act according to this rule, under the control 
 of Christian benevolence, the immense supplies, 
 that would be furnished for the general good, is far 
 beyond what any would imagine, who had never 
 made any calculations on the subject. In this Na- 
 tion, alone, suppose the one million and more of 
 professed followers of Christ should give a larger 
 portion of their means for the social, intellectual, 
 and moral, wants of mankind, than for the superflui- 
 ties that minister to taste, convenience, and appetite ; 
 it would be enough to furnish all the schools, col- 
 leges, Bibles, ministers, and missionaries, that the 
 whole world could demand; or at least, it would be 
 far more than properly qualified agents to administer 
 it could employ. 
 
 But it may be objected, that, though this view is 
 one, which, in the abstract, looks plausible and 
 rational, not one in a thousand can practically adopt 
 it. How few keep any account at all of their cur- 
 rent expenses? How impossible it is to determine 
 exactly what are necessaries, and what are super- 
 fluities! And in regard to women, how few have 
 the control of an income, so as not to be bound 
 by the wishes of a parent or a husband ! 
 
 In reference to these difficulties, the first remark 
 is, that we are never under obligations to do what is 
 entirely out of our power, so that those persons. who 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 163 
 
 have no power to regulate their expenses or their 
 charities, are under no sort of obligation to attempt 
 it. The second remark is, that when a rule of duty 
 is discovered, we are bound to aim at it and to fulfil 
 it, Just so far as we can. The third remark is, that 
 no person can tell how much can be done, till a 
 faithful attempt has been made. If a woman never 
 did keep any accounts, nor attempt to regulate her 
 expenditures by the right rule, nor use her influence 
 with those that control her plans, to secure this ob- 
 ject, she has no right to say how much she can, or 
 cannot, do, till after a fair trial has been made. 
 
 In attempting such a trial, the following method 
 can be taken. Let a woman keep an account of all 
 she spends for herself and her family, for a year, 
 arranging the items under three general heads. 
 Under the first, put all articles for food, raiment, 
 rent, wages, and all conveniences. Under the sec- 
 ond, place all sums paid in securing an educa- 
 tion and books and all intellectual advantages. 
 Under the third head, place all that is spent for 
 benevolence and religion. At the end of the year, 
 the first and largest account will show the mixed 
 items of necessaries and superfluities, which can be 
 arranged so as to gain some sort of idea how much 
 has been spent for superfluities, and how much for 
 necessaries. ‘Then, by comparing what is spent for 
 superfluities with what is spent for intellectual and 
 moral advantages, data will be gained for judging of 
 the past, and regulating the future. 
 
 Does a woman say she cannot do this? let her in- 
 quire, whether the offer of a thousand dollars, as a 
 reward for attempting it one year, would not make 
 her undertake to do it; and if so, let her decide, in 
 her own mind, which is most valuable, a clear con- 
 science, and the approbation of God, in this effort to 
 do His will, or one thousand dollars. And let her 
 do it with this warning of the Saviour before her 
 
164 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 eyes,—‘‘ No man can serve two masters.” ‘ Ye 
 cannot serve God and Mammon.” 
 
 Is it objected, How can we decide between super- 
 fluities and necessaries in this list? it is replied, we 
 are not required to judge exactly, in all cases. Our 
 duty is, to use the means in our power to aid us in 
 forming a correct judgement ; to seek the Divine aid 
 in freeing our minds from indolence and selfishness ; 
 and then to judge as well as we can, in our en- 
 deavors rightly to apportion and regulate our ex- 
 penses. Many persons seem to feel that they are 
 bound to do better than they know how. But God 
 is not so hard a Master; and after we have used all 
 proper means to learn the right way, if we then fol- 
 low it according to our ability, we do wrong to feel 
 misgivings, or to blame ourselves, if results come 
 out differently from what seems desirable. The 
 results of our actions, alone, can never prove that 
 we deserve blame. For it is often the case, that, 
 by lack of intellect or means, men are so placed, that 
 it is impossible for them to decide correctly. To 
 use all the means of knowledge within our reach, 
 and then to judge with a candid and conscientious 
 spirit, is all that God requires; and when we have 
 done this, and the event seems to come out wrong, 
 we should never wish that we had decided otherwise. 
 For it is the same as wishing that we had not fol- 
 lowed the dictates of judgement and conscience. As 
 this is a world designed for discipline and trial, un- 
 toward events are never to be construed as indica- 
 tions of the rectitude of our past decisions. 
 
 In order to act in accordance with the rule here 
 presented, it is true, that many would be obliged to 
 give up the idea of conforming to the notions and 
 customs of those with whom they associate, and 
 compelled to adopt the maxim, “be not conformed 
 to this world.”” In many cases, it would involve an 
 entire change in the style of living. And the Writer 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 165 
 
 has the happiness of knowing more cases than one, 
 where men, who have come to similar views on this 
 subject, have given up large and expensive establish- 
 ments, disposed of their carriages, dismissed a por- 
 tion of their domestics, and modified all their expen- 
 ditures, that they might keep a pure conscience, 
 and regulate their charities more according to the 
 requirements of Christianity. And there are persons, 
 well known in the religious world, who save them- 
 selves all labor of minute’ calculation, by giving so 
 large a portion of their means to benevolent objects, 
 that they find no difficulty in knowing that they 
 give more for religious, benevolent, and intellectual, 
 than for any inferior objects. 
 
 In deciding what particular objects shall receive 
 our benefactions, there are also general principles to 
 guide us. The first, is that presented by our Saviour, 
 when, after urging the great law of benevolence, 
 He was asked, ‘“‘and who is my neighbor?” His 
 reply, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, teaches 
 us, that any human being, whose wants are brought 
 to our knowledge, is our neighbor. The wounded 
 man was not only a stranger, but he belonged to a 
 foreign nation peculiarly hated; and he had no 
 claim, except that his wants were brought to the 
 knowledge of the wayfaring man. From this, we 
 learn that the destitute, of all nations, become our 
 neighbors, as soon as their wants are brought to our 
 knowledge. 
 
 Another general principle, is this, that those who 
 are most in need, must be relieved, in preference to 
 those who are less destitute. On this principle, it is, 
 that the followers of Christ should give more to sup- 
 ply those who are suffering for want of the bread of 
 eternal life, than for those who are deprived of physi- 
 cal enjoyments. And another reason for this prefer- 
 ence, is, the fact that many, who give in charity, 
 have made such imperfect advances in civilization 
 
 PFE RSS 
 
 memes, 
 
166 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 and Christianity, that the intellectual and moral 
 wants of our race make but a feeble impression on 
 the mind. Relate a pitiful tale of a family reduced 
 to live for weeks on potatoes, only, and many a mind 
 would awake to deep sympathy, and stretch forth 
 the hand of charity. But describe cases where the 
 immortal mind is pining in stupidity and ignorance, 
 or racked with the fever of baleful passions, and 
 how small the number so elevated in sentiment, and 
 so enlarged in their views, as to appreciate and sym- 
 pathize in these far greater misfortunes! The intel- 
 Jectual and moral wants of our fellow-men, therefore, 
 should claim the first place in our attention, both 
 because they are most important, and because they 
 are most neglected. 
 
 Another consideration to be borne in mind, is, that, 
 in this Country, there is much less real need of 
 charity in supplying physical necessities, than is 
 generally supposed by those who have not learned 
 the more excellent way. ‘This Land is so abundant 
 in supplies, and labor is in such demand, that every 
 healthy person can earn a comfortable support. And 
 if all the poor were instantly made virtuous, it is 
 probable that there would be no physical wants 
 which could not readily be supplied by the imme- 
 diate friends of each sufferer. The sick, the aged, 
 and the orphan, would be the only objects of charity. 
 In this view of the case, the primary effort in reliev- 
 ing the poor should be, to furnish them the means 
 of earning their own support, and to supply them 
 with those moral influences which are most effectual 
 in securing virtue and industry. 
 
 Another point to be attended to, is, the importance 
 of maintaining a system of associated charities. 
 There is no point, in which the economy of charity 
 has more improved, than in the -present mode of 
 combining many small contributions for sustaining 
 enlarged and systematic plans of charity. If all the 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 167 
 
 half-dollars, which are now contributed to aid in 
 organized systems of charity, were returned to the 
 donors, to be applied by the agency and discretion 
 of each, thousands and thousands of the treasures, 
 now employed to promote the moral and intellectual 
 wants of mankind, would become entirely useless. 
 In a democracy, like ours, where few are very rich, 
 and the majority are in comfortable circumstances, 
 this collecting and dispensing of drops and rills is 
 the mode by which, in imitation of Nature, the dews 
 and showers are to distil on parched and desert 
 lands. And every person, while earning a pittance 
 to unite with many more, may be cheered with the 
 consciousness of sustaining a grand system of opera- 
 tions, which must have the most decided influence 
 in raising all mankind to that perfect state of society, 
 which Christianity is designed to secure. 
 
 Another consideration relates to the indiscriminate 
 bestowal of charity. Persons who have taken pains 
 to inform themselves, and who devote their whole 
 time to dispensing charities, unite in declaring, that 
 this is one of the most fruitful sources of indolence, 
 vice, and poverty. From several of these, the Wri- 
 ter has learned, that, by their own personal inves- 
 tigations, they have ascertained, that there are large 
 establishments of idle and wicked persons in most 
 of our cities, who associate together to support 
 themselves by every species of imposition. They 
 hire large houses, and live in constant rioting on the 
 means thus obtained. Among them, are women 
 who have, or who hire the use of, infant children ; 
 others, who are blind, or maimed, or deformed, or 
 who can adroitly feign such infirmities, and by these 
 means of exciting pity, and by artful tales of wo, 
 they collect alms, both in city and country, to spend 
 in all manner of gross and guilty indulgences. 
 Meantime, many persons, finding themselves often 
 duped by impostors, refuse to give at all; and thus 
 
168 ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 
 
 many benefactions are withdrawn, which a wise 
 economy in charity would have secured. For this, 
 and other reasons, it is wise and merciful, to adopt 
 the general rule, never to give alms, till some knowl- 
 edge is gained, of knowing how they will be spent. 
 There are exceptions to this, as toevery general rule, 
 which a person of discretion can determine. But 
 the practice, so common among benevolent persons, 
 of giving at least a trifle to all who ask, lest, per- 
 chance, they may turn away some who are really 
 sufferers, is one which causes more sin and misery 
 than it cures. 
 
 The Writer has never known any system for dis- 
 pensing charity, so successful, as the one which, in 
 many places, has been adopted in connection with 
 the distribution of tracts. By this method, a town 
 or city is divided into districts; and each district is 
 committed to the care of two ladies, whose duty it 
 is to call on each family and leave a tract, and make 
 that the occasion for entering into conversation, and 
 learning the situation of all residents in the district. 
 By this method, the ignorant, the vicious, and the 
 poor, are discovered, and their physical, intellectual, 
 and moral, wants, are investigated. In some places, 
 where the Writer has resided or visited, each lady 
 retained the same district, year after year, so that 
 every poor family in the place was under the watch 
 and care of some intelligent and benevolent lady, 
 who used all her influence to secure a proper educa- 
 tion for the children, to furnish them with suitable 
 reading, to encourage habits of industry and economy, 
 and to secure regular attendance on public religious 
 instruction. Thus, the rich and the poor were 
 brought in contact, in a way advantageous to both 
 parties ; and if such a system could be universally 
 adopted, more would be done for the prevention of 
 poverty and vice, than all the wealth of the Nation 
 could avail for their relief. In one of these places, 
 
ON GIVING IN CHARITY. 169 
 
 the Writer heard a resident reply to some remarks 
 about the danger of having her fruit stolen, ‘No; the 
 boys never steal fruit here. The people never take 
 any pains to protect it, and have it in great abun- 
 dance ; but it is seldom if ever taken without leave.” 
 This was in a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, 
 where the plan above described had been in efficient 
 operation for several years. But this plan cannot be 
 successfully carried out, in this manner, unless there 
 is a large proportion of intelligent, benevolent, and 
 self-denying, persons; and the mere distribution of 
 tracts, without the other parts of the plan, is of very 
 little avail. 
 
 But there is one species of charity, which needs 
 especial consideration. It is that, which leads a 
 person to refrain from judging of the means and the 
 relative charities of other persons. There have 
 been such indistinct notions, and so many different 
 standards of duty, on this subject, that it is rare for 
 two persons to think exactly alike, in regard to the 
 measure of duty. Hach person is bound to inquire 
 and judge for himself, as to his own duty or defi- 
 ciencies ; but as both the resources, and the amount 
 of actual charities of other men are beyond our ken, 
 it is as indecorous, as it is uncharitable, to set in 
 judgement on their decisions. 
 
170 ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 ON ECONOMY OF TIME AND EXPENSES. 
 
 Economy of Time. Value of Time. Right Apportionment of Time. 
 Laws appointed by God for the Jews. Proportions of Property and 
 Time the Jews were required to devote to Intellectual, Benevolent, 
 and Religious Purposes. The Levites. The weekly Sabbath. The 
 Sabbatical Year. ‘Three sevenths of the Time of the Jews de- 
 voted to God’s Service. Christianity removes the Restrictions laid 
 on the Jews, but demands all our Time to be devoted to our own 
 best Interests and the Good of our Fellow-men. Some Practical 
 Good to be the Ultimate End of all our Pursuits. Enjoyment 
 connected with the Performance of every Duty. Great Mistake 
 of Mankind. A Final Account to be given of the Apportion- 
 ment of our Time. Various Modes of economizing Time. Sys- 
 tem and Order. Uniting several Objects in one Employment. 
 Employment of Odd Intervals of Time. We are bound to aid 
 Others in economizing Time. Economy or Expenses. Necessity 
 of Information on this Point. Contradictory Notions. General 
 Principles in which all agree. Knowledge of Income and Ex- 
 penses. Every One bound to do as much as she can to secure Sys- 
 tem and Order. Examples. Evils of Want of System and Fore- 
 thought. Young Ladies should early learn to be systematic and 
 economical. Articles of Dress and Furniture should be in keep- 
 ing with each other, and with the Circumstances of the Family. 
 Mistaken Economy. Education of Daughters away from Home 
 injudicious. Nice Sewing should be done at Home. Cheap Arti- 
 cles not always most economical. Buying by wholesale economi- 
 eal only in special cases. Penurious Savings made by getting the 
 Poor to work cheap. Relative Obligations of the Poor and the 
 Rich in regard to Economy. Economy of Providence in the 
 Unequal Distribution of Property. Carelessness of Expense not 
 a Mark of Gentility. Beating down Prices improper in Wealthy 
 People. Inconsistency in American would-be Fashionables. 
 
 ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 
 
 Tue value of time, and our obligation to spend 
 every hour for some useful end, are what few minds 
 properly realize. And those, who have the highest 
 sense of their obligations in this respect, sometimes 
 sreatly misjudge in their estimate of what are useful 
 and proper modes of employing time. ‘This arises 
 from limited views of the importance of some pur- 
 
ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 171 
 
 sults, which they would deem frivolous and useless, 
 but which are, in reality, necessary to preserve the 
 health of body and mind, and those social affections, 
 which it is very important to cherish. Christianity 
 teaches, that, for all the time afforded us, we must 
 give account to God; and that we have no right to 
 waste a single hour. But time which is spent in 
 rest or amusement, is often as usefully employed, 
 as if it were devoted to labor or devotion. In em- 
 ploying our time, we are to make suitable allowance 
 for sleep, for preparing and taking food, for securing 
 the means of a livelihood, for intellectual improve- 
 ment, for exercise and amusement, for social enjoy- 
 ments, and for benevolent and religious duties. And 
 it is the right apportionment of time to these various 
 duties, which constitutes its true economy. 
 
 In making this apportionment, we are bound by 
 the same rules as relate to the use of property. 
 We are to employ whatever portion is necessary to 
 sustain life and health, as the first duty; and the 
 remainder we are so to apportion, that our highest 
 interests shall receive the greatest allotment, and 
 our physical gratifications the least. 
 
 The laws of the Supreme Ruler, when He be- 
 came the civil as well as the religious Head of the 
 Jewish theocracy, is an example which it would be 
 well for all attentively to consider, when forming 
 plans for the apportionment of time and property. 
 T’o estimate this properly, it must be borne in mind, 
 that the main object of God was to preserve His 
 religion among the Jewish nation, and that they 
 were not required to take any means to propagate it 
 among other nations, as is now required by Chris- 
 tianity. Solow were they in the scale of civilization 
 and mental developement, that a system, which con- 
 fined them to one spot, as an agricultural people, 
 and prevented their growing very rich, or having 
 extensive commerce with other nations, was indis- 
 
172 ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 
 
 pensable to prevent their relapsing into the low idol- 
 atries and vices of the nations around them. 
 
 The proportion of time and property, which every 
 Jew was required to devote to intellectual, benevo- 
 lent, and religious purposes, were as follows. 
 
 In regard to property, they were required to give 
 one tenth of all their yearly income, to support the 
 Levites and the priests and religious service. Next, 
 they were required to give the first fruits of all their 
 corn, wine, oil, and fruits, and the first-born of all 
 their cattle, for the Lord’s treasury, to be employed 
 for the priests, the widow, the fatherless, and ‘the 
 stranger. The first-born, also, of their children, 
 were the Lord’s, and were to be redeemed by a 
 specified sum, paid into the sacred treasury. Be- 
 sides this, they were required to bring a freewill 
 _ offering to God, every time they went up to the 
 
 three great yearly festivals. In addition to this, 
 regular yearly sacrifices, of cattle and fowls, were 
 required of each family, and occasional sacrifices for 
 certain sins or ceremonial impurities. In reaping 
 their fields, they were required to leave the corners 
 for the poor, unreaped, and not to glean their fields, 
 or olive and vineyards; and if a sheaf was left, by 
 mistake, they were not to return for it, but leave it 
 for the poor. When aman sent away a servant, he 
 ‘was thus charged: ‘‘ Furnish him liberally out of thy 
 flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine- 
 press.” When a poor man came to borrow money, 
 they were forbidden to deny him, or to take any 
 interest ; and if, at the sabbatical, or seventh, year, 
 he could not pay, the debt was to be cancelled. 
 And to this command, is added the significant cau- 
 tion, “‘ Beware that there be not a thought in thy 
 wicked heart, saying, the seventh year, the year of 
 release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against - 
 thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and 
 he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin 
 
ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 173 
 
 unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him,” “ because 
 that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless 
 thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest 
 thine hand unto.” Besides this, the Levites were 
 distributed through the land, with the intention that 
 they should be instructers and priests in every part 
 of the nation. Thus, one twelfth of the people 
 were set apart, having no landed property, to be 
 priests and teachers; and the other tribes were 
 required to support them liberally. 
 
 In regard to the time taken from secular pursuits, 
 for the support of religion, an equally liberal amount 
 was demanded. In the first place, one seventh part 
 of their time was taken for the weekly sabbath, 
 when no kind of work was to be done. Then the 
 whole nation were required to meet at the appointed 
 place, three times a year, which, including their jour- 
 neys, and stay there, occupied eight. weeks, which 
 was another seventh of their time. Then the sab- 
 batical year, when no agricultural labor was to be 
 done, took another seventh of their time from their 
 regular pursuits, as they were an agricultural people. 
 This was the amount of time and property demanded 
 by God, simply to sustain religion and morality 
 within the bounds of that nation. Christianity de- 
 mands the spread of its blessings to all mankind, and 
 so the restrictions laid on the Jews are withheld, and- 
 all our wealth and time, not needful for our own best 
 interest, is to be employed in improving the condi- 
 tion of our fellow-men. 
 
 In deciding respecting the rectitude of our pur- 
 suits, we are bound to aim at some practical good, as 
 the ultimate object. With every duty of this life, 
 our benevolent Creator has connected some species of 
 enjoyment, to draw us to perform it. Thus the pal- 
 ate is gratified, by performing the duty of nourishing 
 our bodies; the principle of curiosity is gratified, in 
 pursuing useful knowledge; thedesire of approbation 
 
 fo* 
 
174 ON ECONOMY OF TIME. 
 
 is gratified, when we perform benevolent and social 
 duties; and every other duty has an alluring en- 
 joyment connected with it. But the great mistake 
 of mankind has consisted in seeking the pleasures, 
 connected with these duties, as the sole aim, without 
 reference to the main end that should be held in view, 
 and to which the enjoyment should be made subser- 
 vient. ‘Thus, men seek to gratify the palate, without 
 reference to the question whether the body is properly 
 nourished ; and follow after knowledge, without in- 
 quiring whether it ministers to good or evil. 
 
 But, in gratifying the implanted desires of our na- 
 ture, we are bound so to restrain ourselves, by reason 
 and conscience, as always to seek the main objects 
 of existence,—the highest good of ourselves and 
 others; and never to sacrifice this, for the mere 
 gratification of our sensual desires. Weare to gratify 
 appetite, just so far as is consistent with health and 
 usefulness, and no further. We are to gratify the 
 desire for knowledge, just so far as will enable us to 
 do most good by our influence and efforts; and no 
 further. We are to seek social intercourse, to that 
 extent, which will best promote domestic enjoyment 
 
 -and kindly feelings among neighbors and friends. 
 And we are to pursue exercise and amusement, only 
 so far as will best sustain the vigor of body and 
 mind. And for the right apportionment of time, to 
 these and various other duties, we are to give an ac- 
 count at the final day. 
 
 Instead of attempting to give any very specific 
 rules on this subject, some modes of economizing time 
 willbe suggested. The most powerful of all agencies, 
 in this matter, is, that habit of system and order, in all 
 our pursuits, which has been already pointed out. It 
 is probable, that a person, who is regular and system- 
 atic in employing time, will accomplish thrice the 
 amount, that could otherwise be secured. 
 
 Another mode of economizing time, is, by uniting 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 175 
 
 several objects in one employment. Thus, exercise, 
 or charitable efforts, can be united with social enjoy- 
 ments, as is done in associations for sewing or visit- 
 ing the poor. Instruction and amusement can also be 
 combined. Pursuits like music, gardening, drawing, 
 botany, and the like, unite intellectual improvement 
 with amusement, social enjoyment, and exercise. 
 
 With housekeepers, and others whose employ- 
 ments are various and desultory, much time can be 
 saved by preparing employments for little odd inter- 
 vals. Thus, some ladies prepare, and keep in the 
 parlor, light work, to take up when detained there ; 
 some keep a book at hand, in the nursery, to read 
 while holding or sitting by a sleeping infant. One 
 of the most popular poetesses of our Country very 
 often shows her friends, at their calls, that the thread 
 of the knitting never need interfere with the thread 
 of agreeable discourse. 
 
 It would be astonishing, to one who had never 
 tried the experiment, how much can be accomplished, 
 by a little planning and forethought, in thus finding 
 employment for odd intervals of time. 
 
 But besides economizing our own time, we are 
 bound to use our influence and example to promote 
 the discharge of the same duty by others. A wo- 
 man is under obligations so to arrange the hours and 
 pursuits of her family, as to promote systematic and 
 habitual industry ; and if, by late breakfasts, irregu- 
 lar hours for meals, and other hinderances of this kind, 
 she interferes with, or refrains from promoting regu- 
 lar industry in, others, she is accountable to God for 
 all the waste of time consequent on her negligence. 
 The mere example of a systematic and industrious 
 housekeeper, has a wonderful influence in promoting 
 the same virtuous habit in others. 
 
 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 
 
 It is impossible for a woman to practise a wise 
 economy in expenditures, unless she is taught how 
 
 _@ 
 
176 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 
 
 to do it, either by a course of experiments, or by the 
 instruction of those who have had experience. It 
 is amusing to notice the various, and oftentimes 
 contradictory, notions of economy, among judicious 
 and experienced housekeepers; for there is probably 
 no economist, who would not be deemed lavish or 
 wasteful, in some respects, by another equally expe- 
 rienced and judicious person, who, in some other 
 points, would’ herself be equally condemned by the 
 other. These diversities are occasioned by different 
 early habits, and by the different relative value given 
 by each to the different modes of enjoyment, for 
 which money is expended.* 
 
 But, though there may be much disagreement in 
 minor matters, there are certain general principles, 
 which all unite in sanctioning. The first, is, that 
 care be taken to know the amount of income and of 
 current expenses, so that the’ proper relative propor- 
 tion be preserved, and the expenditures never exceed 
 the means. Few women can do this, thoroughly, 
 without keeping regular accounts. The habits of 
 this Nation, especially among business-men, are so 
 desultory, and the current expenses of a family, in 
 many points, are so much more under the control of 
 the man than of the woman, that many women, 
 who are disposed to be systematic in this matter, 
 cannot follow their wishes. But there are often 
 cases, when much is left undone in this particular, 
 
 * The Writer, not long since, met an amusing illustration of this. 
 “ Anna,” said a wealthy lady, to her daughter, who had returned 
 from an expensive boarding-school, and was playing on the piano, 
 ‘“where is the fine needle?” “I have broken it,” was the reply. 
 ‘Where is the coarse one, then?” “Ellen is using it.” ‘“ Then 
 just step over, and ask Mrs. C. to lend me her fine needle.” The 
 daughter went, and returned, saying, “ Mrs. ©. says she has lost hers, 
 and has not had time to get another.” A visiter, present, sent off for 
 her wellstocked workbasket ; and the remarks afterwards made, by 
 the lady, in regard to its supplies, showed that she deemed her visiter 
 lavish and extravagant in this matter. The wealthy lady hired out 
 most of her plain sewing, and all her tailoring and mantuamaking. 
 The visiter cut and made all the garments for her family, and each 
 thought the other uneconomical. 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. iv" 
 
 simply because no effort is made. Yet every woman 
 is bound to do as much as is in her power, to accom- 
 plish a systematic mode of expenditure, and the 
 regulation of it by Christian principles. 
 
 The following are examples of different methods 
 vhich have been adopted, for securing a proper ad- 
 justment of expenses to the means. 
 
 The first, is that of a lady, who kept a large 
 boarding-house, in one of our cities. Every evening, 
 before retiring, she made an account of the expenses 
 of the day; and this usually occupied her not more 
 than fifteen minutes, at a time. On each Saturday, 
 she took an inventory of the stores on hand, and of 
 the daily expenses, and also of what was due to 
 her ; and then made an exact estimate of her expen- 
 ditures and profits. This, after the first two or 
 three weeks, never took more than an hour, at the 
 close of the week. Thus, by a very little time, 
 regularly devoted to this object, she knew, accurate- 
 ly, her income, expenditures, and profits. 
 
 Another friend of the Writer lives on a regular 
 salary. ‘The method adopted, in this case, is to 
 calculate to what the salary amounts, each week. 
 Then an account is kept of what is paid out, each 
 week, for rent, fuel, wages, and food. This amount 
 of each week is deducted from the weekly income. 
 The remainders of each week are added, at the 
 close of a month, as the stock from which is to be 
 taken, the dress, furniture, books, travelling expenses, 
 charities, and all other expenditures. 
 
 Another lady, whose husband is a lawyer, divides 
 the year into four quarters, and the income into four 
 equal parts. She then makes her plans, so that the 
 expenses of one quarter shall never infringe on the 
 income of another. So resolute is she, in carrying 
 out this determination, that if, by any mischance, 
 she is in want of articles before the close of a quarter, 
 for which she has not the means, she will subject 
 
178 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 
 
 herself to temporary inconvenience, by waiting, rath- 
 er than violate her rule. 
 
 Another lady, whose husband is in a business, 
 which he thinks makes it impossible for him to know 
 what his yearly income will be, took this method. 
 She kept an account of all her disbursements, for one 
 year. This she submitted to her husband, and: ob- 
 tained his consent that the same sum. should be 
 under her control, the coming year, for similar pur- 
 poses, with the understanding that she might modify 
 future apportionments, in any way her judgement 
 and conscience might approve. 
 
 A. great deal of uneasiness and discomfort is caused 
 to both husband and wife, in many cases, by an 
 entire want of system and forethought, in arranging 
 expenses. Both keep buying what they think they 
 need, without any calculation as to how matters are 
 coming out, and with a sort of dread of running in 
 debt, all the time harassing them. Such never 
 know the comfort of independence. But, if a man or 
 woman will only calculate what the income is, and 
 then plan so as to know that all the time they live 
 within it, they secure one of the greatest comforts, 
 which wealth ever bestows, and what many of the 
 rich, who live ina loose and careless way, never en- 
 joy. It is not so much the amount of income, as 
 the regular and correct apportionment of expenses, 
 that makes a family truly comfortable. A man, 
 With ten thousand a year, is often more harassed, 
 for want of money, than the systematic economist, 
 who supports a family on only six hundred a year. 
 
 As it is very important that young ladies should 
 learn systematic economy in expenses, it will be a 
 great benefit for every young girl to begin, at twelve 
 or thirteen, to make her own purchases, under the 
 guidance of her mother or some other friend. And 
 if parents would ascertain the actual expense of a 
 daughter’s clothing, for a year, and give the sum 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 179 
 
 to her, in quarterly payments, requiring a regular 
 account, it would be of great benefit in preparing 
 her for future duties. How else are young ladies to 
 learn properly to make purchases, and to be system- 
 atic and economical? ‘The art of system and econ- 
 omy can no more come by intuition, than the art of 
 watchmaking or bookkeeping; and how strange it 
 appears, that so many young ladies take charge of a 
 husband’s establishment, without having had either 
 instruction or experience in the leading duty of their 
 station ! 
 
 The second general principle of economy, is, that, 
 in apportioning an income, among various objects, 
 the most important should receive the largest supply, 
 and that all retrenchments be made in matters of 
 less importance. In a previous chapter, some gen- 
 eral principles have been presented, to guide in this 
 duty. Some additional hints will here be added, on 
 the same topic. 
 
 In regard ‘to dress and furniture, much want of 
 judgement and good taste is often seen, in purchas- 
 ing some expensive article, which is not at all in 
 keeping with the other articles connected with it. 
 Thus, a large sideboard, or elegant mirror, or sofa, 
 which would be suitable only for a large establish- 
 ment, with other rich furniture, is crowded into too 
 small a room, with coarse and cheap articles around 
 it. So, also, sometimes a parlor, and company- 
 chamber, will be furnished in a style suitable only 
 for the wealthy, while the table will be supplied 
 with shabby linen, and imperfect crockery, and 
 every other part of the house will look, in compar- 
 ison with these fine rooms, mean and niggardly. It 
 is not at all uncommon, to find very showy and 
 expensive articles in the part of the house visible 
 to strangers, when the children’s rooms, kitchen, 
 and other back portions, are on an entirely different 
 scale. 
 
180 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES: 
 
 So in regard to dress, a lady will sometimes pur- 
 chase,an elegant and expensive article, which, instead 
 of attracting admiration from the eye of taste, will 
 merely serve as a decoy to the painful contrast of all 
 other parts of the dress. A woman of real good 
 taste and discretion, will strive to maintain a rela- 
 tive consistency between all departments, and not, 
 in one quarter, live on a scale fitted only to the rich, 
 and in another, on one appropriate only to the poor. 
 
 Another mistake in economy is often made, by 
 some of the best-educated and most intelligent of 
 mothers. Such will often be found spending day 
 after day at the needle, when, with a comparatively 
 small sum, this labor could be obtained of those who 
 need such earnings. Meantime, the daughters of 
 the family, whom the mother is qualified to educate, 
 or so nearly, that she could readily keep ahead of 
 her children, are sent to expensive boarding-schools, 
 where their delicate frames, their plastic minds, and 
 their moral and religious interests, arc relinquished 
 to the hands of strangers. And the expense, thus 
 incurred, would serve to pay the hire of every thing 
 the mother can do in sewing, four or five times 
 over. ‘The same want of economy is shown in 
 communities, where, instead of establishing a good 
 female school in their vicinity, the men of wealth 
 send their daughters abroad, at double the ex- 
 pense, to be either educated or spoiled, as the case 
 may be. 
 
 Another species of poor economy, is manifested in 
 neglecting to acquire and apply mechanical skill, 
 which, in consequence, has to be hired from others. 
 Thus, all the plain sewing will be done by the moth- 
 er and daughters, while all that requires skill will be 
 hired. Instead of this, others take pains to have 
 their daughters instructed in mantuamaking, and 
 the simpler parts of millinery, so that the plain work 
 is given to the poor, who need it, and the more 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 181 
 
 expensive and tasteful operations are performed in 
 the family. The Writer knows ladies, who not 
 only make their own dresses, but also their caps, 
 bonnets, and artificial flowers. 
 
 Some persons make miscaleulations in economy, 
 by habitually looking up cheap articles, while others 
 go to the opposite extreme, and always buy the best 
 of every thing. Those ladies, who are considered 
 the best economists, do not adopt either method. 
 In regard to cheap goods, the fading colors, the 
 damages discovered in use, the poorness of material, 
 and the extra sewing demanded to replace articles 
 lost by such causes, usually render such bargains 
 very dear, in the end. On the other hand, though 
 some articles, of the most expensive kind, wear 
 longest and best, yet, as a general rule, articles at 
 medium prices do the best service. This is true of 
 table and bed linens, broadcloths, shirtings, and the 
 like; though, in these cases, it is often found that 
 the coarsest and cheapest last the longest. 
 
 Buying by wholesale, and keeping a large supply 
 on hand, is economical only in large families, where 
 the mistress is careful; but in other cases, the haz- 
 ards of accident, and the temptation to a lavish use, 
 will make the loss outrun the profits. 
 
 There is one mode of economizing, which, it is 
 hoped, will every year grow more rare ; and that is, 
 making penurious savings by getting the poor to 
 work as cheap as possible. Many amiable and be- 
 nevolent women have done this, on principle, with- 
 out reflecting on the want of Christian charity thus 
 displayed. Let every woman, in making bargains 
 with the poor, conceive herself placed in the same 
 circumstances, toiling hour after hour, and day after 
 day, for a small sum, and then deal with others 
 as she would be dealt by in such a situation. ¢b- 
 eral prices, and prompt payment, should be an un- 
 failing maxim in dealing with the poor. 
 
 16 
 
182 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 
 
 The third general principle of economy, is, that 
 all articles should be so used, and taken care of, as 
 to secure the longest service with the least waste. 
 Under this head, come many particulars in regard 
 to the use and preservation of articles, which will 
 be found more in detail in succeeding chapters. It 
 may be proper, however, here to refer to one very 
 common impression, as to the relative obligation of 
 the poor and the rich in regard to economy. Many 
 seem to suppose, that those who are wealthy, have 
 a tight to be lavish and negligent in the care of ex- 
 penses. But this surely is a great mistake. Prop- 
 erty is a talent, given by God, to spend for the 
 welfare of mankind; and the needless waste of it, 
 is as wrong in the rich, as it is in the poor. ‘The 
 rich are under obligations to apportion their income, 
 to the various objects demanding attention, by the 
 same rule as all others; and if this will allow them 
 to spend more for superfluities than those of smaller 
 means, it never makes it right to misuse or waste 
 any of the bounties of Providence. Whatever is no 
 longer wanted for their own enjoyment, should be 
 carefully saved, to add to the enjoyment of others. 
 
 It is not always that men understand the economy 
 of Providence, in that unequal distribution of prop- 
 erty, which, even under the most perfect form of 
 government, will always exist. Many, looking at 
 the present state of things, imagine that the rich, 
 if they acted in strict conformity to the law of be- 
 nevolence, would share all their property with their 
 suffering fellow-men. But such do not take into 
 account the inspired declaration, that a man’s life 
 consisteth not in the abundance of that which he 
 possesseth, or, in other words, life is made valuable, 
 not by great possessions, but by such a character as 
 prepares a man to enjoy what he holds. God per- 
 ceives ‘that human character can be most improved 
 by that kind of discipline which exists, when there 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 183 
 
 is something valuable to be gained by industrious 
 efforts. This stimulus to industry, never could exist 
 in a community where all are just alike, as it does 
 in a state of society where every man sees enjoy- 
 ments possessed by others, which he desires and 
 may secure by effort and industry. So in a com- 
 munity where all are alike as to property, there 
 would be no chance to gain that noblest of all attain- 
 ments, a habit of self-denying benevolence, which 
 toils for the good of others, and takes from one’s own 
 store to increase the enjoyments of another. 
 
 Instead, then, of the stagnation both of industry 
 and of benevolence, which would follow the univer- 
 sal and equable distribution of property, one class of 
 men, by superior advantages of birth, or intellect, or 
 patronage, come into possession of a great amount of 
 capital. With these means, they are enabled, by 
 study, reading, and travel, to secure expansion of 
 mind, and just -views of the relative advantages 
 of moral, intellectual, and physical enjoyments. 
 At the same time, Christianity imposes obligations 
 corresponding with the increase of advantages and 
 means. ‘The rich are not at liberty to spend their 
 treasures for themselves, alone. Their wealth is 
 given, by God, to be employed for the best good of 
 mankind ; and their intellectual advantages are de- 
 signed, primarily, to enable them to judge correctly, 
 in employing their means most wisely for the 
 general good. 
 
 Now, suppose a man of wealth inherits ten thou- 
 sand acres of real estate : it is not his duty to divide 
 it among his poor neighbors and tenants. It is 
 probable, that, if he took this course, most of them 
 would spend all in thriftless waste and indolence, or 
 in mere physical enjoyments. Instead of thus putting 
 his capital out of his hands, he is bound to retain it, 
 and so employ it, as to raise his neighbors and 
 tenants to such a state of virtue and intelligence, 
 
184 ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 
 
 that they could secure far more, by their own efforts 
 and industry, than he could bestow by dividing his 
 capital. 
 
 In this view of the subject, it is manifest, that the 
 unequal distribution of property is no evil. The 
 great difficulty is, that so large a portion of those 
 who hold great capital, instead of using their various 
 advantages for the common good, employ the chief 
 of them for mere selfish indulgences; thus inflicting 
 as much mischief on their own souls, as results to 
 others from their culpable neglect. A great portion 
 of the rich seem to be acting on the principle, that 
 the more God bestows on them, the less are their 
 obligations to practise any self-denial, in fulfilling 
 his benevolent plan of raising our race to intelligence 
 and holiness. 
 
 There are not a few, who seem to imagine that it 
 isa mark of gentility to be careless of expenses. 
 But this notion is owing to a want of knowledge of 
 the world. As a general fact, it will be found, that 
 persons of rank, and wealth, abroad, are much more 
 likely to be systematic and economical, than persons 
 of inferior standing in these respects. Even the 
 most frivolous, among the rich and great, are often 
 found practising a rigid economy, in certain respects, 
 in order to secure gratifications in another direction. 
 And it will be found so common, among persons of 
 vulgar minds and little education and less sense, to 
 make a display of profusion and indifference to ex- 
 pense, as a mark of their claims to gentility, that the 
 really genteel look upon it rather as a mark of low 
 breeding. So that the sort of feeling which some 
 persons cherish, as if it were mean to be careful of 
 small sums, and to be attentive to relative prices, 
 in making purchases, is founded on mistaken notions 
 of gentility and propriety. 
 
 But one caution is needful, in regard to another 
 extreme. When a lady of wealth is seen roaming 
 
ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES. 185 
 
 about in search of cheaper articles, or trying to beat 
 down a shopkeeper, or making a close bargain with 
 those she employs, the impropriety is glaring to all 
 minds. A person of wealth has no occasion to spend 
 time in looking for extra cheap articles; her time 
 could be more profitably employed in distributing 
 to the wants of others. And the practice of beating 
 down tradespeople, is vulgar and degrading, in any 
 one. A woman, after a little inquiry, can ascertain 
 what is the fair and common price of things; and 
 if she is charged an exorbitant sum, she can decline 
 taking the article. If the price be a fair one, it is 
 inappropriate to search for another article which is 
 below the regular charge. If a woman finds that 
 she is in a store where they charge high prices, ex- 
 pecting to be beat down, she can simply mention, 
 that she wishes to know the lowest price, as it is 
 contrary to her principles to beat down charges. 
 
 There is one inconsistency, found among that class 
 who are ambitious of being ranked among the aris- 
 tocracy of society, which is worthy of notice. It 
 has been remarked, that, in the real aristocracy of 
 other lands, it is much more common than with us, 
 to practice systematic economy. And such do not 
 hesitate to say so, when they cannot afford certain 
 indulgences. This practice descends to subordinate 
 grades; so that foreign ladies, when they come to 
 reside in this Country, seldom hesitate in assigning 
 the true reason, when they cannot afford any gratifi- 
 cation. 
 
 But in this Country, it will be found, that many, 
 most fond of copying aristocratic examples, are on 
 this point rather with the vulgar. Not a few of 
 those young persons, beginning life with parlors and 
 dresses in a style fitting only to established wealth, 
 go into expenses which they can ill afford, and are 
 ashamed even to allow that they are restrained from 
 any expense by motives of economy. Such a con- 
 
 16* 
 
186 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 fession is never extorted, except by some call of 
 benevolence, and then they are very ready to declare 
 that they cannot afford to bestow even a pittance. 
 In such cases, it would seem as if the direct oppo- 
 site of Christianity had gained possession of their 
 tastes and opinions. ‘They are ashamed to appear 
 to deny themselves; but very far from any shame 
 in denying the calls of benevolence. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 Intimate Connection between the Body and Mind. Brain excited by 
 improper Stimulants taken into the Stomach. Mental Faculties 
 then affected. Example. of a Person having lost a Portion of his 
 Hi Skull. Causes of Mental Diseases. Want of oxygenized Blood. 
 
 be Fresh Air absolutely necessary. Excessive Exercise of the Intel- 
 
 lect or Feelings a Cause of Derangement. Such Attention to 
 
 Religion, as prevents the Performance of other Duties, wrong. 
 
 Teachers and Parents should look to this. Unusual Precocity in 
 
 Children usually the Result of a Diseased Brain. Parents gener- 
 
 ally add Fuel to this Fever. Idiocy often the Result, or the Pre- 
 
 eocious Child sinks below the Average of Mankind. This Evil 
 yet prevalent in Colleges and other Seminaries. A Medical Man 
 necessary in every Seminary. Some Pupils always needing Re- 
 straint in regard to Study. A Third Cause of Mental Disease, 
 the Want of Appropriate Exercise of the Various Faculties of the 
 
 Mind. Extract from Dr. Combe. Examples of Wealthy Ladies. 
 
 Beneficial Results of active Intellectual Employments. Indica- 
 
 tions of a Diseased Mind. 
 
 Tere is such an intimate connection between 
 the body and mind, that the health of one cannot 
 be preserved, without a proper care of the other. 
 And it is from a neglect of this principle, that some 
 of the most exemplary and conscientious persons in 
 the world, suffer a thousand agonies, from a diseased 
 state of body, while others ruin the health of the | 
 body, by neglecting the proper care of the mind. ! 
 When the brain is excited, by stimulating drinks 
 
ON HEALTH OF MIND. 187 
 
 taken into the stomach, it produces a corresponding 
 excitement of the mental faculties. The reason, 
 the imagination, and all the powers, are stimulated 
 to preternatural vigor and activity. In like manner, 
 when the mind is excited by earnest intellectual 
 effort, or by strong passions, the brain is equally 
 excited, and the blood rushes into the head. Sir 
 Astley Cooper records, that, in examining the brain 
 of a young man who had lost a portion of his skull, 
 whenever ‘‘he was agitated, by some opposition to 
 his wishes,” ‘‘the blood was sent, with increased 
 force, to his brain,’’ and the pulsations “ became fre- 
 quent and violent.”” The same effect was produced 
 by any intellectual effort; and the flushed counte- 
 nance which attends earnest study, or strong emo- 
 tions of fear, shame, or anger, are external indica- 
 tions of the suffused state of the brain from such 
 causes. 
 
 In exhibiting the causes which injure the health 
 of the mind, they will be found to be partly physi- 
 cal, partly intellectual, and partly moral. 
 
 The first cause of mental disease and suffering, 
 is not unfrequently found in the want of a proper 
 supply of duly oxygenized blood. It has been 
 shown, how the blood, in passing through the lungs, 
 is purified, by the oxygen of the air combining with 
 the superabundant hydrogen and carbon of the 
 venous blood, thus forming carbonic acid and water, 
 which are expired into the atmosphere. Every pair 
 of lungs is constantly withdrawing from the sur- 
 rounding atmosphere its healthful principle, and re- 
 turning an injurious one. 
 
 When, by confinement, and this process, the at- 
 mosphere is deprived of its appropriate supply of 
 oxygen, the purification of the blood is interrupted, 
 and it passes unprepared into the brain, producing 
 languor, restlessness, and inability to exercise the 
 intellect and feelings. Whenever, therefore, per- 
 
188 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 sons sleep in a close apartment, or remain for a 
 length of time in a crowded ill-ventilated room, a 
 most pernicious influence is exerted on the brain, 
 and, through this on the mind. A person often ex- 
 posed to such influences, can never enjoy that elas- 
 ticity and vigor of mind, which is one of the chief 
 indications of its health. This is the reason why 
 all rooms for religious meetings, and all schoolrooms, 
 and sleeping apartments, should be so contrived, as 
 to secure a constant supply of fresh air from with- 
 out. The minister, who speaks in a crowded and 
 ill-ventilated apartment, loses much of his ability to 
 feel and to speak, while the audience are equally re- 
 duced, in their ability to attend and to feel. The 
 teacher, who confines children in a close apartment, 
 diminishes their ability to study, or to attend to his 
 instructions. And the person who habitually sleeps 
 in a close room, diminishes his mental energies in a 
 similar degree. It is not unfrequently the case, that 
 depression of spirits, and stupor of intellect, are 
 occasioned solely by this neglect. 
 
 Another cause of mental disease, is, the excessive 
 exercise of the intellect or feelings. If the eye is 
 taxed beyond its strength, by protracted use, its 
 blood-vessels become engorged, and the bloodshot 
 appearance warns of the excess and the need of 
 rest. 
 
 The brain is affected, in a similar manner, by ex- 
 cessive use, though the suffering and inflamed organ 
 cannot make its appeal to the eye. But there are 
 some indications, which ought never to be misun- 
 derstood or disregarded. In cases of pupils, at 
 school or at college, a diseased state, from over 
 action, is often manifested by increased clearness of 
 mind, and ease and vigor of mental action. In one 
 instance, known to the Writer, a most exemplary 
 and industrious pupil, anxious to improve every 
 hour, and ignorant or unmindful of the laws of 
 
ON HEALTH OF MIND. 189 
 
 health, first manifested the diseased state of her 
 brain and mind, by demands for more studies, and a 
 sudden and earnest activity in planning modes of 
 improvement for herself and others. When warned 
 of her danger, she protested that she never was bet- 
 ter, in her life ; that she took regular exercise in the 
 open air, went to bed in season, slept soundly, and 
 felt perfectly well; that her mind was never before 
 so bright and clear, and study never so easy and 
 delightful. And at this time, she was on the verge 
 of derangement, from which she was saved only by 
 an entire cessation of all her intellectual efforts. 
 
 A similar case occurred, under the eye of the 
 Writer, from over-excited feelings. It was during a 
 time of unusual religious interest in the communi- 
 ty, and the danger was first manifested by the pupil 
 bringing her Hymn-book or Bible to the class-room, 
 and making them her constant resort in every inter- 
 val of school duty. It finally became impossible to 
 convince her that it was her duty to attend to any 
 thing else; her conscience became morbidly sensi- 
 tive, her perceptions indistinct, her deductions un- 
 reasonable, and nothing but entire change of scene, 
 exercise, and amusement, saved her. When the 
 health of the brain was restored, she found that she 
 could attend to the “one thing needful,” not only 
 without interruption of duty, or injury of health, but 
 rather so as to promote both. This is a danger, 
 which clergymen and teachers need most carefully 
 to notice and guard against. 
 
 Any such attention to religion, as prevents the 
 performance of daily duties and needful relaxation, 
 is dangerous, as tending to produce such a state of 
 the brain as makes it impossible to feel or judge cor- 
 rectly. And when any morbid and unreasonable 
 pertinacity appears, much exercise and engagement 
 in other interesting pursuits should be urged, as the 
 only mode of securing the religious benefits aimed 
 
190 ON HEALTH OF MEND. 
 
 at. And whenever any mind is oppressed with 
 care, anxiety, or sorrow, the amount of active exer- 
 cise in the fresh air should be greatly increased, 
 that the action of the muscles may withdraw the 
 blood, which, in such seasons, is constantly tending 
 too much to the brain. 
 
 There has been a most appalling amount of suffer- 
 ing, derangement, disease, and death, occasioned by 
 a want of attention to this subject, in teachers and 
 parents. Unusual precocity in children, is usually 
 the result of an unhealthful state of the brain; and 
 in such cases, medical men would now direct, that 
 the wonderful child should be deprived of all books 
 and study, and turned to play or work in the fresh 
 air. Instead of this, parents frequently add fuel to 
 the fever of the brain, by supplying constant mental 
 stimulus, until the victim finds refuge in idiocy or 
 an early grave. Where such fatal results do not 
 occur, the brain, in many cases, is so weakened, 
 that the genius of infancy sinks below the medium 
 of intellectual powers in afterlife. In our colleges, 
 too, many of the most promising minds sink to an 
 early ¢ grave, or drag out a miserable existence, from 
 this same cause. And it is an evil, as yet little 
 alleviated by the increase of physiological knowl- 
 edge. Every college and professional school, and 
 every seminary for young ladies, needs a medical 
 man, not only to lecture on physiolog y and the laws 
 of health, but empowered, in his official capacity, to 
 investigate the case of every pupil, and, by author- 
 ity, to restrain him to such a course of study, exer- 
 cise, and repose, as his physical system requires. 
 The Writer has found, by experience, that, in a 
 large institution, there is one class of pupils who 
 need to be restrained, by penalties, from late hours 
 and excessive study, as much as another class need 
 stimulus to industry. 
 
 A third cause of mental disease, is, the want of 
 
ON WEALTH OF MIND. 191 
 
 the appropriate exercise of the various faculties of 
 the mind. On this point, Dr. Combe remarks, “‘ We 
 have seen, that, by disuse, muscle becomes ema- 
 ciated, bone softens, blood-vessels are obliterated, and 
 nerves lose their characteristic structure. The brain 
 is no exception to this general rule. Of it, also, the 
 tone is impaired by permanent inactivity, and it be- 
 comes less fit to manifest the mental powers with 
 readiness and energy.” It is “the withdrawal of 
 the stimulus necessary for its healthy exercise, 
 which renders solitary confinement so severe a pun- 
 ishment, even to the most daring minds. It is a 
 lower degree of the same cause, which renders 
 continuous seclusion from society so injurious, to 
 both mental and bodily health.” 
 
 ‘Inactivity of intellect and of feeling is a very 
 frequent predisposing cause of every form of nervous 
 disease. or demonstrative evidence of this posi- 
 tion, we have only to look at the numerous victims 
 to be found among”? persons “‘ who have no call to 
 exertion in gaining the means of subsistence, and 
 no objects of interest on which to exercise their 
 mental faculties, and who consequently sink into a 
 state of mental sloth and nervous weakness.” ‘If 
 we look abroad upon society, we shall find innumer- 
 able examples of mental and nervous debility from 
 this cause. When a person of some mental capacity 
 is confined, for a long time, to an unvarying round 
 of employment, which affords neither scope nor 
 stimulus for one half of his faculties, and, from want 
 of education or society, has no external resources ; 
 his mental powers, for want of exercise,” ‘ become 
 blunted, and his perceptions slow and dull.” “'The 
 intellect and feelings, not being provided with in- 
 terests external to themselves, must either become 
 inactive and weak, or work upon themselves and 
 become diseased.”’ 
 
 ‘The most frequent victims of this kind of pre- 
 
192 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 disposition, are females of the middle and higher 
 ranks, especially those of a nervous constitution, and 
 good natural abilities ; but who, from an ill-directed 
 education, possess nothing more solid than mere 
 accomplishments, and have no materials of thought,” 
 and no ‘‘occupation to excite interest or demand at- 
 tention.” ‘ The liability of such persons to melan- 
 choly, hysteria, hypochondriasis, and other varieties 
 of mental distress, really depends on a state of irri- 
 tability of brain, induced by imperfect exercise.”’ 
 
 These remarks, of a medical man, illustrate the 
 principles before indicated ;—namely, that the de- 
 mand of Christianity, that we live to promote the 
 general happiness, and not merely for selfish indul- 
 gence, has for its aim, not merely the general good, 
 but the highest happiness, of the individual of whom 
 it is required. 
 
 A person possessed of wealth, who has nothing 
 more noble to engage his attention, than seeking his 
 own personal enjoyment, subjects his mental powers 
 and moral feelings to a degree of inactivity, utterly 
 at war with health of mind. And the greater the 
 capacities, the greater are the sufferings which result 
 from this cause. Any one, who has read the misan- 
 thropic wailings of Lord Byron, has seen the neces- 
 sary result of great and noble powers bereft of their 
 appropriate exercise, and, in consequence, becoming 
 sources of the keenest suffering. 
 
 It is this view of the subject, which has often 
 awakened feelings of sorrow and anxiety in the 
 mind of the Writer, while aiding in the develope- 
 ment and education of superior female minds, in the 
 wealthier circles. Not because there are not noble 
 objects for interest and effort, abundant, and within 
 reach of such minds; but because long-established 
 custom has made it seem so Quixotic, to the majori- 
 ty, even of the professed followers of Christ, for a 
 woman of wealth to practise any great self-denial, 
 
ON HEALTH OF MIND. 193 
 
 that few have independence of mind and Christian 
 principle sufficient to overcome such an influence. 
 The more a mind has its powers developed, the 
 more does it aspire and pine after some object 
 worthy of its energies and affections; they are 
 commonplace and phlegmatic characters, who are 
 most free from such deep-seated wants. Many a 
 young woman, of fine genius and elevated senti- 
 ment, finds a charm-in Lord Byron’s writings, be- 
 cause they present a glowing picture of what, to a 
 certain extent, must be felt by every well-developed 
 mind, which has no nobler object in life, than the 
 pursuit of its own gratification. 
 
 If young ladies of wealth and standing could pur- 
 sue their education under the full conviction that 
 the increase of their powers and advantages increased 
 their obligations to use all for the good of society, 
 and with some plan of benevolent enterprise in view, 
 what new motives of interest would be added to 
 their daily pursuits! And what blessed results 
 would follow to our beloved Country, if all well- 
 educated females carried out the principles of 
 Christianity in the exercise of their developed pow- 
 ers ! 
 
 It is cheering to know that there are women, 
 among the most intelligent and wealthy, who can 
 be. presented as examples of what may be done, 
 when there is a heart todo. A pupil of the Writer 
 is among this number, who, though a rich heiress, 
 on the close of her school life immediately com- 
 menced a course of self-denying benevolence in the 
 cause of education. She determined to secure a 
 superior female institution in her native place, which 
 should extend the benefits of the best education to 
 all in that vicinity, at a moderate charge. Finding 
 no teacher on the ground, prepared to take the lead, 
 and though herself a timid and retiring character, 
 she began, with the aid of the governess in her 
 
 17 
 
194 ON HEALTH OF MIND. 
 
 mother’s family, a daily school, superintending all, 
 and teaching six hours a day. The liberal-minded 
 and intelligent mother cooperated, and the result is 
 ‘a flourishing female seminary, with a large and 
 beautiful and well-furnished building; the greater 
 part of the means being supplied by the mother, and 
 almost all by the members of that family connection. 
 And both these ladies will testify, that no time or 
 money, spent for any other object, has ever secured 
 to them more real and abiding enjoyment, than 
 “witnessing the results of this successful and benev- 
 olent enterprise, which, for years to come, will pour 
 forth blessings on society. 
 
 Another lady could be pointed out, who, possess- 
 ing some property, went into a new western village, 
 built and furnished her schoolhouse, and established 
 herself there, to aid in raising a community from 
 ignorance and gross worldliness, to intelligence and 
 virtue. And in repeated instances, among the friends 
 and pupils of the Writer, young ladies have left 
 wealthy homes, and affectionate friends, to find no- 
 bler enjoyments in benevolent and active exertions 
 to extend intelligence and virtue where such disin- 
 terested laborers were needed. In other cases, where 
 it was not practicable to leave home, well-educated 
 young ladies have interested themselves in common 
 schools in the vicinity, aiding the teachers, by their 
 sympathy, counsel, and personal assistance. 
 
 Other ladies, of property and standing, having 
 families to educate, and being well qualified for 
 such duties, have relinquished a large portion of 
 domestic labor and superintendence, which humbler 
 minds could be hired to perform, and received other 
 less fortunate children, to share with their own these 
 superior advantages. But, so long as the feeling 
 widely exists, that the increase of God’s bounties 
 diminishes the obligations of self-denying service for 
 
 the good of mankind, so long well-educated women, 
 
ON HEALTH OF MIND. 195 
 
 in easy circumstances, will shrink from such con- 
 finement and exertion. 
 
 It is believed, however, that there are many most 
 benevolent and intelligent women in this Country, 
 who would gladly engage in such enterprises, were 
 there any appropriate way within their reach. And 
 it is a question, well deserving consideration among 
 those who guide the public mind in, benevolent 
 enterprises, whether some organization is not de- 
 manded, which shall bring the religious community 
 to act systematically, in voluntary associations to 
 extend a proper education to every child in this 
 Nation, and to bring into activity all the female 
 enterprise and benevolence now lying dormant, for 
 want of proper facilities to exercise them. There 
 are hundreds of villages, which need teachers, and 
 that would support them, if they were on the spot, 
 but which never will send for them. And there are 
 hundreds of females, now unemployed, who would 
 teach, if a proper place and home and support and 
 escort were provided for them. And there needs to 
 be some enlarged and systematic plan, conducted by 
 wise and efficient men, to secure these objects. 
 
 Could such a plan as this be carried out, it is 
 believed that many female minds, now suffering 
 from diseases occasioned by want of appropriate 
 objects for their energies, would be relieved. The 
 duties of a teacher exercise every intellectual facul- 
 ty, to its full extent; while, in this benevolent ser- 
 vice, all the social, moral, and benevolent, emotions, 
 are kept in full play. The happiest persons the 
 Writer has ever known,—those who could say that 
 they were as happy as they wished to be in this 
 world, (and she has seen such, )—were persons en- 
 gaged in this employment. 
 
 The indications of a diseased mind, owing to a 
 want of the proper exercise of its powers, are apathy, 
 discontent, a restless longing for excitement, a crav- 
 
196 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 ing for unattainable good, a diseased and morbid 
 action of the imagination, dissatisfaction with the 
 world, and factitious interest in trifles which the 
 mind feels to be unworthy of its powers. Such 
 minds sometimes seek alleviation in exciting amuse- 
 ments; others resort to the grosser enjoyments of 
 sense. Oppressed with the extremes of languor, or 
 over-excitement, or apathy, the body fails under the 
 wearing process, and adds new causes of suffering 
 to the mind. It is to such that the compassionate 
 Saviour calls to his service in such appropriate terms, 
 ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy 
 laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 
 upon you, and learn of Me,” ‘and ye shall find rest 
 unto your souls.” 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 No Subject on which American Women need more Wisdom, Pa- 
 tience, Principle, and Self-contro]l. Its Difficulties. Necessary 
 Evils. Miseries of Aristocratic Lands. Wisdom of Conforming 
 to Actual Circumstances. How to judge correctly respecting Do- 
 mestics. ‘They should be treated as we would expect to be under 
 similar Circumstances. When Labor is scarce, its Value is in- 
 creased. Instability of Domestics; how it may be remedied. Pride 
 and Insubordination; how remedied. Abhorrence of Servitude a 
 National Trait of Character. Domestics easily convinced of the 
 Appropriateness of different Degrees of Subordination. Example. 
 Domestics may be easily induced to be respectful in their Deport- 
 ment, and appropriate in their Dress. Deficiences of Qualifications 
 for the Performance of their Duties; how remedied. Forewarning, 
 better than Chiding. Preventing, better than finding Fault. Faults 
 Should be pointed out ina Kind Manner. Some Employers think it 
 their Office and Duty to find Fault. Domestics should be regarded 
 with Sympathy and Forbearance. 
 
 THERE is no point, where the women of this 
 Country need more wisdom, patience, principle, and 
 
ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 197 
 
 self-control, than in relation to those whom they 
 employ in domestic service. The subject is attend- 
 ed with many difficulties, which powerfully influ- 
 ence the happiness of families; and the following 
 suggestions are offered, to aid in securing right 
 opinions and practice. 
 
 One consideration, which it would be well to bear 
 in mind, on this subject, is, that a large portion of 
 the peculiar trials, which American women suffer 
 from this source, are the necessary evils connect- 
 ed with our most valuable civil blessings. Every 
 blessing of this life involves some attendant liability 
 to evil, from the same source; and, in this case, 
 while we rejoice at a state of society which so 
 much raises the condition and advantages of our sex, 
 the evils involved should be regarded as more than 
 repaid, by the compensating advantages. If we 
 cannot secure the cringing, submissive, well-trained, 
 servants of aristocratic lands, let us be consoled that 
 we thus escape from the untold miseries and oppres- 
 sion which always attend that state of society. 
 
 Instead, then, of complaining that we cannot have 
 our own peculiar advantages, and those of other 
 nations, too; or imagining how much better off we 
 should be, if things were different from what they 
 are, it is much wiser and more Christianlike to strive 
 cheerfully to conform to actual circumstances ; and, 
 after remedying all that we can control, patiently 
 submit to what is beyond our power. If domestics 
 are found to be incompetent, unstable, and uncon- 
 formed to their station, it is Perfect Wisdom which 
 appoints these trials, to teach us patience, fortitude, 
 and self-control; and if the discipline is met in a 
 proper spirit, it will prove a blessing, rather than an 
 evil. 
 
 But, to judge correctly in regard to some of the 
 evils involved in the state of domestic service, in 
 this Country, we should endeavor to conceive our- 
 
 7 
 
198 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 selves placed in the situation of those, of whom 
 complaint is made, that we may not expect, from 
 them, any more than it would seem right should be 
 exacted from us, in similar circumstances. 
 
 It is sometimes urged, against domestics, that they 
 exact exorbitant wages. But what is the rule of 
 rectitude, on this subject? Is it not the universal 
 law, of labor and of trade, that an article is to be 
 valued according to its scarcity and the demand? 
 When wheat is scarce, the farmer raises his price ; 
 and when a mechanic offers services, difficult to be 
 obtained, he has a corresponding increase of price. 
 And why is it not right for domestics to act accord- 
 ing to a rule allowed to be correct in reference to all 
 other trades and professions? It is a fact, that really 
 good domestic service must continue to increase in 
 value, just in proportion as this Country waxes rich 
 and prosperous; thus making the proportion of those, 
 who wish to hire labor, relatively greater, and the 
 number of those, willing to go to service, less. 
 
 Money enables the rich to gain many advantages, 
 which those of more limited circumstances cannot 
 secure ; and one of these, is, securing good domes- 
 tics, by offering high wages: and this, as the scarcity 
 of this class increases, will serve constantly to raise 
 the price of service. It is right for domestics to 
 charge the market value, and this value is always 
 decided by the scarcity of the article and the amount 
 of demand. Right views of this subject, will some- 
 times serve to diminish hard feelings towards those, 
 who would otherwise be wrongfully regarded as 
 unreasonable and exacting. 
 
 Another complaint against domestics, is, that of 
 instability and discontent, leading to perpetual 
 change. But in reference to this, let a mother or 
 daughter conceive of their own circumstances as so 
 changed, that the daughter must go out to service. 
 Suppose a place is engaged, and it is then found that 
 
ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 199 
 
 she must sleep in a comfortless garret; and that, 
 when a new domestic comes, perhaps a coarse and 
 dirty foreigner, she must share her bed with her. 
 Another place is offered, where she can have a com- 
 fortable room, and an agreeable room-mate: in such 
 a case, would not both mother and daughter think it 
 right to change? 
 
 Or, suppose, on trial, it was found that the lady of 
 the house was fretful, or exacting and hard to please ; 
 or, that her children were so ungoverned, as to be 
 perpetual vexations; or, that the work was so heavy 
 that no time was allowed for relaxation and the 
 care of a wardrobe ;—and another place offers, where 
 these evils can be escaped: would not mother and 
 daughter here think it right to change? And is it not 
 right for domestics, as well as their employers, to 
 seek places where they can be most comfortable ? 
 
 In some cases, this instability and love of change 
 would be remedied, if employers would take more 
 pains to make a residence with them agreeable ; and 
 to attach domestics to the family, by feelings of 
 gratitude and affection. There are ladies, even 
 where stich domestics are most rare, who seldom find 
 any trouble in keeping good and steady ones. And 
 the reason is, that their domestics know they cannot 
 better their condition, by any change within reach. It 
 is not merely by giving them comfortable rooms, and 
 good food, and presents, and privileges, that the at- 
 tachment of domestics is secured; it is by the mani- 
 festation of a friendly and benevolent interest in their 
 comfort and improvement. This is exhibited, in 
 bearing patiently with their faults; in.kindly teach- 
 ing them how to improve; in showing them how 
 to make and take proper care of their clothes; in 
 guarding their health; in teaching them to read, if 
 necessary, and supplying them with proper books; 
 and, in short, by endeavoring, so far as may be, 
 to supply the place of a parent. It is seldom that 
 
200 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 such a course would not secure steady service, and 
 such affection and gratitude, that even higher wages 
 would not tempt them away. ‘There would proba- 
 bly be some cases of ungrateful returns; but there is 
 no doubt that the course indicated, if generally pur- 
 sued, would very much lessen the evil in question. 
 
 Another subject of complaint, in regard to domes- 
 tics, is, their pride, insubordination, and a spirit not 
 conformed to their condition. They are not willing 
 to be called servants; in some places, they claim 
 a seat, at meals, with the family; they imitate a 
 style of dress unbecoming their condition ; and their 
 manners and address are rude and disrespectful. 
 That these evils are very common, among this class 
 of persons, cannot be denied ; the only question is, 
 how can they best be met and remedied. 
 
 In regard to the common feeling among domestics, 
 which is pained and offended by being called “ ser- 
 vants,’’ there is need of some consideration ‘and 
 allowance. It should be remembered, that, in this 
 Country, children, from their earliest years, are train- 
 ed to abhor servitude, in reference to themselves, as 
 the greatest of all possible shame and degradation. 
 They are perpetually hearing orations, songs, and 
 compositions of all sorts, which set forth the honor 
 and dignity of freemen, and heap scorn and con- 
 tempt on all who would be so mean as to be slaves. 
 Now the term servant, and the duties it involves, 
 are, in the minds of many persons, nearly the same 
 as those of the slave. And there are few minds, 
 entirely free from associations which make servitude 
 a degradation. It is not always pride, then, which 
 makes this term so. offensive. It is a consequence 
 of that noble and generous spirit of freedom, which 
 every American draws from his mother’s breast, and 
 which ought to be respected, rather than despised. 
 In order to be respected by others, we must respect 
 ourselves; and sometimes the ruder classes of soci- 
 
ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 201 
 
 ety make claims, deemed forward and offensive, 
 when, with their views, such a position seems indis- 
 pensable to preserve a proper self-respect. 
 
 Where an excessive sensibility on this subject 
 exists, and forward and disrespectful manners result 
 from it, the best remedy is, a kind attempt to give 
 correct views, such as better-educated minds are 
 best able to attain. It should be “shown to them, 
 that, in this Country, labor has ceased to be degrad- 
 ing, in any class; that, in all classes, different grades 
 of subordination must exist; and that it is no more 
 degrading for a domestic to regard the heads of a 
 family as superiors in station, and treat them with 
 becoming respect, than it is for children to do the 
 same, or for men to treat their rulers with respect 
 and deference. ‘They should be taught, that domes- 
 tics use a different entrance to the house, and sit at 
 a distinct table, not because they are inferior beings, 
 but because this isthe best method of securing neat- 
 ness and order and convenience. They can be 
 shown, if itis attempted in a proper spirit and man- 
 ner, that these very regulations really tend to their 
 own ease and comfort, as well as to that of the 
 family. 
 
 The Writer has known cases, where the lady of 
 the family, for the sake of convincing her domestic 
 of the truth of these views, allowed her to follow her 
 own notions, for a short time, and join the family at 
 meals. It was merely required, as a condition, that 
 she should always dress her hair as the other ladies 
 did, and appear in a clean dress, and abide by all the 
 rules of propriety at table, which the rest were re- 
 quired to practise, and which were duly detailed. 
 ‘The experiment was tried, two or three times; and, 
 although the domestic was treated with studious 
 politeness and kindness, she soon felt that she 
 should be much more comfortable in the kitchen, 
 where she could talk, eat, and dress, as she pleased. 
 
202 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 A reasonable person can also be made to feel the 
 propriety of allowing a family opportunity to talk 
 freely of their private affairs, when they meet at 
 meals, as they never could do, if restrained by the 
 constant presence of a stranger. Such views, pre- 
 sented in a kind and considerate manner, will often 
 entirely change the views of a domestic who Is sen- 
 sitive on such subjects. 
 
 When a domestic is forward and bold in manners, 
 and disrespectful in address, a similar course can be 
 pursued. It can be shown, that those, who are 
 among the best-bred and genteel, have courteous and 
 respectful manners and language to all they meet, 
 while many, who have wealth, are regarded as 
 vulgar, because they exhibit rude and disrespectful 
 manners. The very term, gentleman, indicates the 
 refinement and delicacy of address, which distin- 
 guishes the high-bred from the coarse and vulgar. 
 
 In regard to appropriate dress, in most cases it is 
 difficult for an employer to interfere directly with 
 comments or advice. "The most successful mode, is, 
 to offer some service in mending or making a ward- 
 robe, and when a confidence in the kindness of feel- 
 ing is thus gained, remarks and suggestions will 
 generally be properly received, and new views of 
 propriety and economy can be imparted. In some 
 cases, it may be well for an employer,—who, from 
 appearances, anticipates difficulty of this kind,—in 
 making the agreement, to state that she wishes to 
 have the room, person, and dress of her domestics 
 kept neat, and in order, and that she expects to re- 
 mind them of their duty, in this particular, if it is 
 neglected. Domestics are very apt to neglect the 
 care of their own chambers and clothing ; and such 
 habits have a most pernicious influence on_ their 
 wellbeing, and on that of their children in future 
 domestic life. An employer, then, is bound to exer- 
 cise a parental care over them, in these respects. 
 
ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 203 
 
 In regard to the great deficiencies of domestics, in 
 qualifications for their duties, much patience and 
 benevolence are required. Multitudes have never 
 been taught to do their work properly ; and, in such 
 cases, how unreasonable it would be to expect it of 
 them! Most persons, of this class, depend for their 
 knowledge, in domestic affairs, not on their parents, 
 who usually are not qualified to instruct them, but 
 on their employers; and if they live in a family 
 where nothing is done neatly and properly, they 
 have no chance to learn how to perform their duties 
 well. When a lady finds that she must employ a 
 domestic who is ignorant, awkward, and _ careless, 
 her first effort should be, to make all proper allow- 
 ance for past want of instruction, and the next, to 
 remedy the evil, by kind and patient teaching. In 
 doing this, it should ever be borne in mind, that 
 nothing is more difficult, than to change old habits, 
 and to learn to be thoughtful and considerate. And 
 a woman must make up her mind to tell the same 
 thing ‘over and over again,’ and yet not lose her 
 patience. It will often save much vexation, if, on 
 the arrival of a new domestic, the mistress of the 
 family, or a daughter, for two or three days, will go 
 round with the novice, and show the exact manner 
 in which it is expected the work will be done. And 
 this, also, it may be well to specify in the agreement, 
 as some domestics would otherwise resent such a 
 supervision. 
 
 But it is often remarked, that, after a woman has 
 taken all this pains to instruct a domestic, and make 
 her a good one, some other person will offer higher 
 wages, and she will leave. This, doubtless, is a 
 sore trial ; but still, if such efforts were made in the 
 true spirit of benevolence, the lady will still have her 
 reward, in the consciousness that she has contributed 
 to the welfare of society, by making one more good 
 domestic, and one more comfortable family where 
 
204 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 that domestic is employed ; and if the latter becomes 
 the mother of a family, a whole circle of children 
 share in the benefit. 
 
 There is one great mistake, not unfrequently 
 made, in the management both of domestics and of 
 children ; and that is, in supposing that the way to 
 cure defects, is by finding fault as each failing occurs. 
 But, instead of this being true, in many cases the 
 directly opposite course is the best; while, in all 
 instances, much good judgement is required, in order 
 to decide when to notice faults, and when to let 
 them pass unnoticed. There are some minds, very 
 sensitive, easily discouraged, and infirm of purpose. 
 Such persons, when they have formed habits of neg- 
 ligence, haste, and awkwardness, often need expres- 
 sions of sympathy and encouragement, rather than 
 reproof. They usually have been found fault with, 
 so much, that they have become either hardened or 
 desponding; and it is often the case, that a few 
 words of commendation will awaken fresh efforts 
 and renewed hope. In almost every case, words of 
 kindness, hope, and encouragement, should be min- 
 gled with the needful admonitions or reproof. 
 
 It is a good rule, in reference to this point, to fore- 
 warn, instead of finding fault. Thus, when a thing 
 has been done wrong, let it pass unnoticed, till it is 
 to be done again; and then, asimple request, to have 
 it done in the right way, will secure quite as much, 
 and probably more, willing effort, than a reproof ad- 
 ministered for neglect. Some persons seem to take 
 it for granted, that young and inexperienced minds 
 are bound to have all the forethought and discretion 
 of mature persons; and freely express wonder and 
 disgust, when mishaps occur for want of these traits. 
 
 ‘But it would be far better to save from mistake or 
 
 forgetfulness, by previous caution and care on the 
 part of those who have gained experience and fore- 
 thought ; and thus many occasions of complaint and 
 ill humor will be avoided. 
 
ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 205 
 
 Grown persons, who fill the places of heads of 
 families, are very apt to forget how painful it is to 
 be chided for neglect of duty, or for faults of charac- 
 ter. If they would sometimes, in imagination, put 
 themselves in the place of those whom they control, 
 and conceive of some person as daily administering 
 reproof to them, and pointing out their faults, in the 
 same tone and style as they employ to those under 
 their control, it might serve as a useful check. It 
 is often the case, that persons, who are most strict 
 and exacting, and least able to make allowances and 
 receive palliations, are themselves peculiarly sensi- 
 tive to any thing which implies that they are in 
 fault. By such, the spirit implied in the Divine 
 petition, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
 those who trespass against us,’’ especially needs to 
 be cherished. 
 
 One other consideration is very important. There 
 is no duty, more binding on Christians, than that of 
 patience and meekness under provocations and dis- 
 appointment. Now the tendency of every sensitive 
 mind, when thwarted in its wishes, is to complain 
 and find fault, and often in tones of fretfulness or 
 anger. But there are few domestics, who have not 
 heard enough of the Bible, to know that angry or 
 fretful fault-finding, from the mistress of a family, 
 when her work is not done to suit her, is not in 
 agreement with the precepts of Christ. They notice 
 and feel the inconsistency ; and every woman, when 
 she gives way to feelings of anger and impatience 
 at the faults of those around her, lowers herself in 
 their respect, while her own conscience, unless very 
 much blinded, cannot but suffer a wound. 
 
 There are some women, who, in the main, are 
 amiable, who seem to feel that it is their {office 
 and duty to find fault with their domestics, when- 
 ever any thing is not exactly right, and follow their 
 
 fancied calling without the least appearance of ten- 
 18 
 
206 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTICS. 
 
 derness or sympathy, as if the objects of their disci- 
 pline were stocks or stones, without human feelings. 
 The writer once heard a domestic, describing her 
 situation in a family which she had left, make this 
 remark of her past employer: ‘‘She was a very 
 good. housekeeper, allowed good wages, and gave 
 us many privileges and presents; but if we ever did 
 any thing wrong, she always talked to us just as if 
 she thought we had no feelings, and I never was so 
 unhappy in my life as while living with her.” And 
 this was said of a kind-hearted and conscientious, 
 woman, by a very reasonable and amiable domestic. 
 
 Every woman, who has the care of domestics, 
 should cultivate a habit of regarding them with that 
 sympathy and forbearance, which she would wish 
 for herself or her daughters, if deprived of parents, 
 fortune, and home. The fewer advantages they 
 have enjoyed, and the greater difficulties of temper 
 or of habit they have to contend with, the more 
 claims they have on compassionate forbearance. 
 They ought ever to be looked upon, not as the mere 
 ministers to our comfort and convenience, but as the 
 humbler and more neglected children of our Heaven- 
 
 ly Father, whom he has sent to claim our sympathy 
 and aid.* 
 
 * The excellent little work of Miss Sedgwick, entitled, ‘ Live, and 
 Let Live,’ contains many valuable and useful hints, conveyed in a 
 most pleasing narrative form, which every housekeeper would do 
 well to read. And her ‘ Means and Ends,’ forming the third volume 
 of the Juvenile Series of ‘ T'He Scooon Lrprary’ issued by the Pub- 
 lishers of this Volume, is equally worthy of notice. 
 
 hg 
 
 ee 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 Necessity of a Knowledge of this Subject, to every Young Lady. 
 Examples. Extracts from Dr. Combe. Half the Deaths of In- 
 fants owing to Mismanagement, and Errors in Diet. Errors of 
 Parents and Nurses. Eating regarded as a Sovereign Panacea. 
 Other Common Mistakes. Animal Food. Remark of Dr. Clark. 
 Opinion of other Medical Men. Many Popular Notions relating 
 to Animal Food for Children, erroneous. It does not contain so 
 much Nourishment as Vegetable Food. The Formation of the 
 Fluman ‘Teeth and Stomach do not indicate that Man was designed 
 to live on Flesh. Opinions of Linnzus, Cavier, Thomas Bell, 
 Professor Lawrence, Sir John Sinclair. Examples of Men who 
 lived toa great age. Albany Orphan Asylum. Animal Diet not 
 necessary in Cold Climates. Russia. Siberia. Scarcity of Wheat, 
 during William Pitt’s Administration. Beneficial Effects of using 
 unbolted Flour. Dr. Franklin’s Testimony. Sir Isaac Newton 
 and others. Extracts from Dr. Combe and Dr. Bell. Empiricism 
 and Quackery. Necessity of Fresh Air. Bathing. Cholera In- 
 fantum not cured by Nostrums. Fashionable Dress injurious. 
 Milk sometimes injured by the Food of the Cow. Rules for Man- 
 agement of Children at Weaning. 
 
 Every young lady ought to learn how to take 
 proper care of an infant; for, even if she never be- 
 comes the responsible nurse in the care of one, she 
 will always be mingling with those who have: and 
 such knowledge and experience will often be of 
 great value, in enabling her to render benevolent 
 aid to others. 
 
 To illustrate this, a case will be mentioned, which 
 fell under the notice of the Writer. An inexperi- 
 enced young mother was travelling with her infant, 
 in a steamboat, without any attendant to aid her. 
 For want of proper care, the infant became restless 
 and sick, while its cries annoyed the mother and the 
 passengers. To prevent this, she was constantly 
 administering doses of paregoric; but this finally 
 failed to quiet the child. At last, the mother lost 
 all patience and energy; and seemed to fall into a 
 
 t 
 
208 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 sort of stupor of indifference and weariness. A young 
 lady on board, who had been instructed in the care of 
 infants, at this point volunteered to take charge of the 
 child, if the mother would give it up entirely to her 
 discretion. The offer was accepted; and the young 
 lady then proceeded to cleanse the head and skin of 
 the little sufferer, which were in a shocking state, 
 from long neglect. She put on dry and warm 
 clothing, and prepared suitable medicine and food. 
 The child was speedily quieted and restored, by this 
 judicious management, and the young nurse was 
 more than repaid, by the smiles of the little sufferer, 
 and the gratitude of the mother and the other 
 voyagers. 
 
 In another instance, while visiting in one of the 
 newest western States, the Writer had occasion to 
 realize the importance of knowledge, and experience 
 in these matters, to young mothers. A lady in the 
 neighborhood became the mother of her firstborn; 
 and, though in a town containing fifteen hundred 
 inhabitants, there was not, so far as was known, in 
 the place, a nurse, for such emergencies, and the 
 service was performed by the ladies of the neighbor- 
 hood. With no attendant, but an inexperienced 
 young husband, and with no domestic, but a girl of 
 twelve, all the care of an infant, and all the respon- 
 sibility of directing about its management, came 
 upon the mother, in this anxious and feeble state. 
 What mother can be sure that her daughter is not 
 destined to meet similar trials and anxieties? 
 
 The following extracts from Dr. Combe’s Physi- 
 ology of Digestion,* contain information with which 
 every woman should be familiar. 
 
 ‘Those whose opportunities of observation have 
 been extensive, will agree with me in opinion, that 
 nearly one half of the deaths occurring during the 
 
 * Issued by the Publishers of this Work. 
 
 aa ee eo 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 209 
 
 first two years of existence, are ascribable to mis- 
 management, and to errors in diet. At birth, the 
 stomach is feeble, and as yet unaccustomed to food. 
 Its cravings are consequently easily satisfied, and 
 frequently renewed.” ‘At that early age, there 
 ought to be no fixed time for giving nourishment. 
 The stomach cannot be thus satisfied. In one child, 
 digestion may be slow, and the interval be conse- 
 quently too short; in another, it may be quick, and 
 the interval too long. But the active call of the 
 infant is a sign, which needs never be mistaken, 
 and none else ought to be listened to. 
 
 ‘‘Many mothers consider every expression of un- 
 easiness as an indication of appetite,” and offer it 
 food, ‘although ten minutes may not have elapsed 
 since its preceding repast. Nothing can be more 
 injurious than this custom. It overloads and op- 
 presses the stomach; excites griping and bowel 
 complaints, restlessness, and fever; and not unfre- 
 quently leads to fatal diseases in the brain.” 
 
 “Tt is astonishing, indeed, with what exclusive- 
 ness of understanding eating is regarded, even by 
 intelligent parents, as the grand solatiwm, or panacea 
 for all the pains and troubles which afflict the young.” 
 ‘Because the mouth is open, when the child is 
 crying,” ‘‘parents jump to the conclusion, that it is 
 open for the purpose of being filled.” ‘Let appe- 
 tite, then, be the only rule;” “and do not attempt 
 to provoke it.” “The lower animals instinctively 
 avoid this error,’ and ‘rather allow themselves to 
 be strongly solicited, before yielding to the wishes 
 of their young.” ‘‘When the system has become 
 more developed, and the stomach accustomed to the 
 exercise of its functions, regularity in the distribution 
 of its meals may be gradually and beneficially intro- 
 duced.” 
 
 ‘Through pure ignorance, and mistaken kindness, 
 many nurses, imagining themselves wiser than Na- 
 
 18* 
 
210 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 ture, and conceiving that the newly-born infant must 
 of necessity be starving,’ ‘‘hasten to fill its stom- 
 ach.”’ ‘Not unfrequently severe indigestion is thus 
 induced.” ‘At birth”? “the stomach and bowels, 
 never having been used,” ‘‘contain a quantity of 
 mucous secretion,”’ ‘‘ which requires to be removed.” 
 “To effect this object, Nature has rendered the first 
 portions of the mother’s milk purposely watery and 
 laxative; and, on the part of the infant, nothing 
 further is required, than to allow it to follow its 
 natural instinct.” ‘Nurses, however, distrusting 
 Nature, often hasten to administer castor oil, or some 
 other active purgative;” and the consequence is, 
 “irritation in the stomach and bowels, which is not 
 always easily subdued.”? ‘In early infancy, when 
 no teeth exist,’ milk is ‘‘the only food intended by 
 Nature.” If “the mother’s milk is scanty,” ‘‘cow’s 
 milk, diluted with one third of water, and slightly 
 sweetened’? may be given. This is ‘‘more suitable 
 than any preparation of milk and flour or arrow-root.”’ 
 
 ‘Tt isa common mistake, to suppose, that, because 
 a woman is nursing, she ought to live very fully, 
 and to add an allowance of wine, porter, or other 
 fermented liquor, to her usual diet. ‘The only result 
 of this plan, is, to cause an unnatural degree of ful- 
 ness in ee system, which places the nurse on the 
 brink of disease,” and retards, rather than increases, 
 the food of the infant. ‘More will be gained by 
 the observance of the ordinary laws of health, on 
 the part of the nurse, than by any foolish deviation, 
 founded on ignorance.” ‘‘ After a child has been 
 weaned, panado, gruel, thin arrow-root, tapioca, sago, 
 rusk, or crust of bread,” fruit, ‘‘fresh milk and water 
 and sugar,” may be given. 
 
 On the subject of giving animal food to young 
 children, the following opinion of Dr. Clark, Physi- 
 eian in Ordinary to the Queen of England, expresses 
 the views of most of the celebrated physicians. 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. yA | 
 
 ‘There is no greater error in the management of 
 children, than that of giving them animal diet very 
 early.” ‘By persevering in the use of an over- 
 stimulating diet, the digestive organs become irri- 
 tated, and the various secretions, immediately con- 
 nected with, and necessary to, digestion, are dimin- 
 ished, especially the biliary secretion ;? and “ con- 
 stipation of the bowels, and congestion of the ab- 
 dominal circulation succeed.” “Children so fed, 
 become, moreover, very liable to attacks of fever 
 and of inflammation, affecting, particularly, the mu- 
 cous membranes ; and measles, and the other dis- 
 eases incident to childhood, are generally severe in 
 their attack.” 
 
 In reference to this last remark, a distinguished 
 medical gentleman mentioned to the Writer, that, in 
 families where children lived on simple diet, with- 
 out tea and coffee; if they were seized with measles, 
 whooping cough, mumps, and similar diseases, he 
 never called but once, as he knew there was no 
 danger; but that in families where an opposite 
 course was pursued, he always expected trouble. 
 
 In regard to the importance of giving animal food 
 to children, at all, there are many popular notions, 
 which are very incorrect. Many seem to think that 
 animal food is more nourishing than vegetable, and, 
 when a child is weak and thin, will for this reason 
 give it meat. This is an entire mistake. Experi- 
 ments, repeatedly made by chemists, prove the con- 
 trary ; and tables are made out, showing the relative 
 amount of nourishment in each kind of food. From 
 these tables, it appears, that, while beef contains 
 thirty-five per cent. of nutritious matter, rice and 
 wheat contain from eighty to ninety-five per cent. 
 One pound of rice, then, contains as much nourish- 
 ment as two pounds and a half of beef. The reason 
 why meat has been supposed to be more nourishing, 
 is, that, on account of its stimulating property, the 
 
212 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 stomach works faster, and digests it quicker; while 
 the withdrawal of a meat diet produces a temporary 
 loss of strength, just as the withdrawal of other 
 stimulants are followed by consequent languor. 
 
 Another mistake, is, the common supposition, that 
 the formation of the human teeth and stomach indi- 
 cate that man was designed to feed on flesh. But this 
 is contrary to the testimony of all the most distin- 
 guished naturalists. Linneeus says, that the organ- 
 ization of man, when compared with other animals, 
 shows, that ‘“ fruits and esculent vegetables consti- 
 tute his most suitable food.’? Baron Cuvier, the 
 highest authority on comparative anatomy, says, 
 “the natural food of man, judging from his struc- 
 ture, appears to consist of fruits, roots, and other 
 succulent parts of vegetables.” 
 
 Mr. Thomas Bell, Lecturer in Guy’s Hospital, in 
 a work on the natural and proper food for man, as 
 deducible from the construction of his teeth and 
 stomach, says, ‘‘ every fact, connected with human 
 organization, goes to prove, that man was originally 
 formed a frugivorous animal;” and, ‘if analogy 
 be allowed to have any weight,’ ‘“ those animals, 
 whose teeth and digestive apparatus most nearly 
 resemble our own, namely, the apes and monkeys, 
 are undoubtedly frugivorous.” 
 
 Another common mistake, is, that the stimulus of 
 animal food is necessary for the full developement 
 of the physical and intellectual powers. On this 
 subject, Professor Lawrence, a distinguished writer, 
 says, ‘‘that animal food renders man strong and 
 courageous, is fully disproved, by the inhabitants of 
 Lapland, Kamschatka, and Patagonia, who, living 
 solely on animal food, are among the smallest, weak- 
 est, and most timid of races.” On the contrary, the 
 Scotch Highlanders, who, in a very cold latitude, 
 live, most of them, exclusively on vegetable diet, 
 are among the stoutest, largest, and most athletic of 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 213 
 
 men. ‘The South-Sea Islanders, in a tropical clime, 
 feed almost exclusively on fruits and vegetables; 
 and yet it is testified, that “the stoutest and most 
 expert English sailors had no chanee with them in 
 wrestling and boxing.” In Africa, the stoutest and 
 largest races live exclusively on vegetables; and 
 the bright and active Arabs live entirely on milk 
 and vegetables. 
 
 The greatest portion of those, who have lived to 
 a remarkable and robust old age, have been persons 
 of abstemious habits, whose diet was almost ex- 
 clusively vegetables. Sir John Sinclair, an eminent 
 British surgeon, says, ‘‘I have wandered a good 
 deal about the world; my health has been tried in 
 all ways; and, by the aid of temperance and hard 
 work, I have worn out two armies, in two wars, and 
 probably could wear out another.” ‘J eat no ani- 
 mal food, drink no wine,” “or spirits of any kind.” 
 Henry Jenkins lived to the age of one hundred 
 and sixty-nine years, on a low coarse simple diet. 
 Thomas Parr died at the age of one hundred and 
 fifty-two years, and his diet was coarse bread, milk, 
 cheese, whey, and small beer. The early Chris- 
 tians, who fled to the deserts to escape persecution, 
 lived exclusively on vegetables, to a great age. 
 James the Hermit lived to the age of one hundred 
 and four years, Arsenius to one hundred and twenty, 
 St. Epiphanius to one hundred and fifty, and Romal- 
 dus to one hundred and twenty. It is stated, too, 
 as a wellknown and undisputed fact, that the pulse 
 of a hardy, robust man, who lives on simple vege- 
 table diet, is from ten to thirty beats less in a min- 
 ute than that of men who live on a mixed diet. 
 The teeth, also, of those nations who live on such 
 simple diet, are white and enduring, and extreme 
 contrasts to those of people who live on more stimu- 
 lating food. 
 
 The result of the treatment of young children in the 
 
214 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 Orphan Asylum, at Albany, New York, is one upon 
 which all who have the care of young children, 
 should deeply ponder. ‘This institution was estab- 
 lished in 1829-1830; and, during the six succeed- 
 ing years, its average number of children was eighty. 
 For the first three years, their diet was meat once a 
 day, fine bread, rice, Indian puddings, vegetables, 
 fruits, and milk. Considerable attention was given 
 to clothing, fresh air, and exercise; and they were 
 bathed once in three weeks. During these three 
 years, from four to six children were continually on 
 the sick list, and sometimes more; one or two as- 
 sistant nurses were necessary; a physician was 
 called two or three times a week; and in this time 
 there were between thirty and forty deaths. At the 
 end of this time, the management was changed, in 
 these respects. Daily ablutions of the whole body 
 were practised ; bread of unbolted flour was substi- 
 tuted for that of fine wheat; and all. animal food 
 was banished. More attention was also paid to 
 clothing, bedding, fresh air, and exercise. 'The re- 
 sult was, that the nursery was vacated, the nurse 
 and physician no longer needed, and for two years 
 not a single case of sickness or death occurred. 
 The third year, also, there were no deaths, except 
 those of two idiots, and one other child, all of whom 
 were new inmates, who had not been subjected to 
 this treatment. ‘Their teachers also testified that 
 there was a very manifest increase of intellectual 
 vigor and activity, while there was much less irrita- 
 bility of temper. 
 
 Many persons suppose, that meat diet is more 
 needful in a cold than in a warm climate; but in 
 some of the coldest portions of Russia, a hardy 
 and vigorous péasantry subsist wholly on vegetable 
 diet ; and a very intelligent gentleman, who spent 
 many months in Siberia, testifies, that no exiles 
 endure the climate better than those, who have 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS, 215 
 
 all their lives been accustomed to a simple vegeta- 
 ble diet. 
 
 There is another fact, in relation to coarse bread, 
 worthy of notice. Under the administration of Wil- 
 liam Pitt, for two years or more, there was such a 
 scarcity of wheat, that Parliament passed a law, that, 
 to make it hold out longer, the army should have all 
 their bread made of unbolted flour. The result 
 was, that the health of the soldiers improved go 
 much, as to be a subject of surprise to themselves, 
 the officers, and the physicians. These last came 
 out publicly, and declared, that the soldiers never 
 before were so robust and healthy; and that disease 
 had nearly disappeared from the army. The civic 
 physicians joined and pronounced it the healthiest 
 bread ; and, for a time, schools, families, and public 
 institutions, used it almost exclusively. Even the 
 nobility, convinced by these facts, adopted it for 
 their common diet; and the fashion continued a 
 long time after the scarcity ceased, until more luxu- 
 rious habits resumed their sway. 
 
 In regard to the intellect, Dr. Franklin asserted, 
 from his own experience, that an exclusive vegeta- 
 ble diet ‘‘ promotes clearness of ideas and quickness 
 of perception ; and is to be preferred by all who 
 labor with the mind.”? The mightiest efforts of Sir 
 Isaac Newton were performed while he was nour- 
 ished only by bread and water ; and many others, of 
 the greatest genius and intellect, carried on their in- 
 tellectual labors, sustained only by this simple diet. 
 These facts, to say the least, prove that animal food 
 is not necessary either to the physical or intellectual 
 perfection of our race. ' 
 
 The following extracts from a late Treatise by 
 Dr. Combe, relate to other topics of infant manage- 
 ment. 
 
 ‘‘Of all the defects which a nurse can have, none 
 is more directly destructive of infant life, than that 
 
 i 
 FY 
 tf 
 4 
 d 
 
 — 
 
 2 phe 
 
216 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 in which many mothers, as well as nurses, indulge, 
 of administering, of their own accord, strong and 
 dangerous medicines to children.” ‘It appears, 
 from a late return, printed by order of the House of 
 Commons, of all inquests held in England and 
 Wales, in 1837 and 1838, in cases of death from 
 poison, that” “‘nearly one seventh of the whole 
 number resulted from the carelessness of mothers 
 and nurses, in administering medicines, with the 
 properties of which they were not acquainted, in 
 doses far beyond those in which they are ever pre- 
 scribed by medical men.” For example, in one 
 year, fifty-two infants were killed by giving prepara- 
 tions containing opium, and twenty were destroyed 
 by other powerful agents. ‘lhe Coroner of Notting- 
 ham reported, that great numbers in that borough 
 were destroyed, every year, by taking Godfrey’s 
 Cordial; but he remarks, ‘‘as they die off gradual- 
 ly,” they do not come into his report, as coroner. 
 ‘Tn addition to cases of absolute poisoning, of the 
 above description, it is well known to practitioners, 
 that much havoc is made among infants, by the 
 abuse of calomel and other medicines, which pro- 
 cure momentary relief, but end by producing incur- 
 able disease; and it has often excited my astonish- 
 ment, to see how recklessly remedies of this kind 
 are had recourse to, on the most trifling occasions, 
 by mothers and nurses, who would be horrified, if 
 they knew the nature of the power they are wield- 
 ing, and the extent of injury they are inflicting. 
 Whenever a child shows any symptom of uneasiness, 
 instead of inquiring whether it may not have been 
 caused by some error of regimen, which only re- 
 quires to be avoided in future, to remove the suffer- 
 ing, many mothers act as if it were indispensably 
 necessary to interfere immediately and forcibly with 
 the operations of Nature, by giving some powerful 
 medicine to counteract its effects; and if relief does 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 217 
 
 not ensue, within an hour or two, the dose must be 
 repeated. In this way, it is not uncommon for a 
 medical man to be sent for, in alarm, and told, that 
 the child began to complain at such a time ; that, 
 notwithstanding that a large dose of calomel, or 
 laudanum, or tincture of rhubarb, was immediately 
 given, and repeated every hour or two, it is still very 
 ill, or becoming hourly worse ; and that, if he can- 
 not do something, instantly, it will soon be beyond 
 recovery. Whereas, it may appear, on examination, 
 that there was, at first, only a slight indisposition, 
 which required no active treatment, at all, and that 
 the urgent symptoms are those caused solely by the 
 intended remedies. 
 
 “That there are cases of diseases, in which very 
 active means must be promptly used, to save the 
 child, is perfectly true. But it is not less certain, 
 that these are cases, of which no mother or nurse 
 ought to attempt the treatment. Asa general rule, 
 indeed, where the child is well managed, medicine, 
 of any kind, is very rarely required; and if disease 
 were more generally regarded in its true light, not 
 as a something thrust into the system, which re- 
 quires to be expelled by force, but as an aberration 
 from a natural mode of action, produced by some 
 external cause, we should be in less haste to attack 
 it by medicine, and more watchful, and therefore 
 more successful, in our management, and in its pre- 
 vention. Accordingly, where a constant demand 
 for medicine exists in a nursery, the mother may 
 rest assured, that there is something essentially 
 wrong in the treatment of her children.” 
 
 Dr. Combe further remarks, “All women are not 
 destined, in the course of Nature, to become mothers ; 
 but how very small is the number of those, who are 
 unconnected, by family ties, friendship, or sympa- 
 thy, with the children of others! How very few 
 are there, who, at some time or other of their lives, 
 
 19 
 
218 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 would not find’ their usefulness and happiness in- 
 creased, by the possession of a kind of knowledge 
 so intimately allied to their best feelings and affec- 
 tions! And how important is it, to the mother her- 
 self, that her efforts should be seconded by intel- 
 ligent, instead of ignorant, assistants!” ‘In all 
 points of view, every right-minded woman has an 
 interest” “in removing the ignorance, in which this 
 subject has been involved,” from her own mind, and 
 the minds of others. 
 
 “Tt may, indeed, be alleged, that mothers require 
 no knowledge of the laws of the infant constitution, 
 or of the principles of infant management, because 
 medical aid is always at hand, to correct their er- 
 rors.” But “professional men are rarely consulted, 
 till the evil is done, and health is broken; and even 
 if they were, it requires intelligence and information 
 in the mother,” properly to obey their directions. 
 Dr. Bell remarks, ‘‘ Physicians would confer an es- 
 sential service on the community, if they were to 
 take more pains to divert the curiosity of their pa- 
 tients and invalids from medical matters to questions 
 relating to the health and vigor of the functions of 
 the organs, and to the means of avoiding disease.” 
 
 The Writer, in reference to the above remark, 
 would inquire, whether the prevalence of empiri- 
 cism, and of quack medicines, would not be most 
 effectually stopped, by giving the common people, 
 in all possible ways, a knowledge of the wonderful 
 and delicate construction of the several organs of 
 life, and of the causes which operate to produce their 
 diseased action? Such views would instantly con- 
 vince any mind of common sense, that ignorant men 
 cannot be qualified to administer medicine ; and that 
 medical drugs, given without a knowledge of their 
 nature, must, in a vast majority of cases, produce 
 and increase disease, instead of curing it. 
 
 Dr. Combe further remarks, ‘I have seen” ‘a 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 219 
 
 nursery,’ that was “like a paradise on earth, com- 
 pared to one under the more ordinary guidance. In 
 one of the latter kind, I lately saw a strong, and 
 naturally healthy, infant, literally gasping for breath, 
 and in a state bordering on convulsions, from ex- 
 treme anxiety on the part of the parent, to exclude 
 every breath of air, from a nursery overheated bya 
 large fire, as a precaution against cold, which she 
 supposed to have been the chief cause of the death 
 of a former child.’ ‘When I insisted on the ad- 
 mission of fresh air,’’ ‘she remonstrated, with all 
 the earnestness of the most tender affection. With 
 difficulty I carried the point, and remained to pre- 
 vent the too speedy termination of the experiment. 
 In a few minutes, the uneasy twitching and con- 
 tortion of the features ceased; and, ina quarter of 
 an hour, a smile of contentment and cheerfulness 
 took their place, and encouraged the mother to allow 
 the continued_entrance of some small portion of the 
 air.” "The child took no cold, and required only 
 fresh air, moderate diet, and exercise, to restore it to 
 perfect health.” 
 
 Dr. Bell observes, “ the necessity of a continued 
 supply of fresh air is manifested, in the construction 
 of some of the roomsin many houses. These rooms 
 have no fireplaces, and consequently, during night, 
 if they are used for sleeping in, the doors and win- 
 dows being shut, there is no channel, either for the 
 introduction of air from the atmosphere without, or 
 for the escape of the impure air, within, which latter 
 is made in the processes of breathing and exhalation 
 from the lungs and skin.” “'The sufferings of” 
 children of feeble constitutions, and of invalids, “are 
 increased, beyond measure, by such lodgings as 
 these. An action, brought by the Commonwealth, 
 ought to lie against those persons, who build houses 
 for sale or rent, in which rooms are so constructed 
 as not to allow of free ventilation; and a writ of 
 
220 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 lunacy taken out against those, who, with the 
 knowledge of the common elements of natural phi- 
 losophy, or, indeed, with the common-sense experi- 
 ence which all have on this head, should spend any 
 portion of their time, still more, should sleep, in 
 rooms thus nearly air-tight.” 
 
 ‘‘ Parents,” in cities, ‘‘ who are desirous that their 
 children should avoid bowel complaints, under vari- 
 ous names, must contrive to change the air which 
 their children breathe, by taking them into the 
 country.” ‘The indispensable condition, in a vast 
 number of cases, for the avoidance of disease, as 
 well as for its cure, is the access of fresh and some- 
 what cooler air, both to the lungs and skin.” ‘This, 
 also, is a condition ‘for restoration from the irrita- 
 tion, and feebleness, and fever, which harass so often 
 in the Summer months, a child during the process 
 of teething.”” ‘Those who cannot go into the coun- 
 iry, should “so manage, that their children shall 
 enjoy, early in the morning, the air of some of the 
 public squares of a city,’ or ‘“ the still fresher air on 
 the water,’”’ in some ferry or steamboat. ‘The money 
 spent in giving a child fresh and cool air, every day, 
 is well laid out; and ‘these little excursions will 
 be much cheaper, than the cost of medicine, to say 
 nothing of professional attendance, and the necessa- 
 ry interruption of the domestic and other duties of 
 the mother.” “It is desirable to allow the free 
 access of the outer air, during the night, to bed- 
 rooms,” in hot weather. ‘If the inmates do not 
 gain a cooler, they at any rate breathe a fresher, a 
 more elastic, air, and suffer less.”” The bed “ should 
 always be a mattrass, and a hard feather or hair pil- 
 low. <A child, tossing about, in feverish heat, in a 
 featherbed, or buried under a load of clothes, will 
 often-be revived, at once, and restored to sound and 
 refreshing sleep, by putting it on a folded sheet, 
 which again rests simply on a piece of matting or 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 221 
 
 floor-cloth, and by throwing a light coverlet or sheet 
 over it.” 
 
 ‘‘ Another, and a valuable resource, is afforded to 
 all classes, in the use of a bath. Water, and a wash- 
 tub, are the only conditions required for this purpose.” 
 In cases of delicacy of constitution, “it is proper 
 to raise a little the temperature of the water for the 
 bath, so as to render it tepid, or slightly warm.” 
 ‘‘ After the morning bath, the child is better able to 
 bear, without suffering, the great heat and close air 
 of its lodging, should it unhappily be thus restricted. 
 Friction, assiduously practised, on the whole skin, 
 especially along the spine, and on the abdomen, and 
 chest, and lower limbs, ought to follow the bath.” 
 “When the stomach is: peculiarly irritable,” (from 
 teething, ) “it is of paramount necessity and duty to 
 withhold all the nostrums, which have been so boast- 
 ingly and so falsely lauded “as sovereign cures for 
 cholera infantum.” “The true restoratives to a 
 child threatened with disease, at this season, are, 
 cool air, cool bathing, and cool drinks of simple 
 water, in addition to its proper food, taken at stated 
 intervals.” As cool weather approaches, the cloth- 
 ing must ‘be of a thicker substance and warmer 
 texture : the feet particularly will require protection 
 against sudden changes of temperature, as well as 
 against moisture.” 
 
 ‘‘ Dr. Eberle,” says Dr. Combe, “has very properly 
 called attention to a glaring inconsistency in infant 
 clothing, which ought to be immediately reme- 
 died, and which consists in leaving the neck, shoul- 
 ders, and arms, quite bare, while the rest of the 
 body is kept abundantly warm.” “It has been 
 supposed,’ he says, ‘that this custom is one of the 
 principal reasons why inflammatory affections of the 
 respiratory organs are so much more common during 
 the period of childhood, than at a more advanced 
 age.’”” On this, Dr. Bell remarks, ‘“Many are, we 
 
 19* 
 
222 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 fear, influenced to this,” “by a desire to imitate 
 others,”’ and by “a love of exposing their beautiful 
 breasts and round arms.’? But what “has fashion 
 to do with children, or they with fashion? It is 
 enough for mothers and grown daughters to be the 
 victims to fashion, as when they parade with bare 
 shoulders and tightly-corsetted waists, and paper- 
 soled shoes, without inflicting punishment on young 
 beings, who, insensible to admiration,” “find no 
 compensation for their sufferings in gratified vanity.” 
 
 ‘The head,” says Dr. Combe, “is commonly 
 kept too warm, in infancy ;’’ but Dr. Bell says, ‘a 
 better practice is now getting into fashion. It is for 
 the infant not to wear caps, at all.” “Colds,” con- 
 tinues Dr. Combe, are often induced by “the infant 
 being laid to sleep with the head immersed in a very 
 soft warm pillow.” “This plan has the double disad- 
 vantage of ” having one part of the head overheated, 
 and the other entirely uncovered. ‘When the head 
 is kept very warm, the nervous excitability is greatly 
 increased, so that every change makes an impression 
 on the infant, and any accidental irritation is more 
 likely to be followed by spasmodic or convulsive 
 his.) 
 
 The preceding general views of medical writers, 
 furnish the ground for several more minute direc- 
 tions. An infant should be washed all over, every 
 morning, with warm water, and, in cool weather, in 
 a warm room. ‘The head should be thoroughly 
 washed, and brushed clean with a soft brush. If, 
 by*neglect, a covering of dirt forms at the roots of 
 the hair, the yolk of an egg, rubbed in and combed 
 out while damp, will remove it without trouble. 
 After washing, fine starch should be sprinkled, from 
 a muslin bag, increases of fat, under the knees and 
 in the groins. 
 
 A wrapper, high in the neck, with long sleeves, 
 put on over the frock, and left open in front, is now 
 
ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 223 
 very fashionable. This is to cover the neck and 
 arms. It is safest to fasten the clothing of infants 
 with strings and buttons. Woollen socks should be 
 kept on the feet. In sleep, the child’s head should 
 be uncovered, and its eyes shaded. An infant 
 should not sleep on its mother’s arm, as it will be 
 kept too warm, and from the fresh air. It should 
 be daily carried or drawn in a wagon, in the fresh 
 air; but great pains should be taken, to protect 
 the eyes from too much light. Blindness is very 
 common, among children, in countries where moth- 
 ers labor in the open air, on account of want of care 
 in this respect. 
 
 When an infant lives on cow’s milk, if it is sick, 
 inquiry should be made respecting the cow, and its 
 food ; as the health of the animal, and the nature of 
 its food, very much affects the child. In cities, 
 cows fed on still slops never give healthy milk; and 
 city cows are very apt to be diseased, from want of 
 proper food and care. The milk of a new-milch 
 cow is best for an infant, as other milk is too old. 
 
 In changing the food of children, at weaning, the 
 following are safe and important rules. 
 
 Do not give any stimulating food or drinks, such 
 as tea, coffee, spices, pepper, mustard, and the like ; 
 and the less animal food given, the better. The 
 Writer knows a family of eleven children, all but 
 one born with robust constitutions, and reared in 
 the country, through early childhood, in fine health, 
 But they were allowed to eat meat, twice a day, 
 with butter and gravy; and every one, in afterlife, 
 suffered severely, either from chronic cutaneous 
 eruptions, or from dyspepsy, or from liver complaints, 
 or from excessive nervous excitability. Not one 
 escaped. 
 
 Always give a large supply of fruit, or some coarse 
 vegetable food, such as bread of unbolted flour, pota- 
 toes, and the like, to keep up a regular daily action 
 
224 ON THE CARE OF INFANTS. 
 
 of the bowels, by a due admixture of innutritious 
 matter with that which is more nourishing. 
 
 Avoid highly-concentrated nourishment, unmixed, 
 such as sugar, sweetmeats, gellies, candy, and the 
 like. Such are healthy only when eaten with a 
 large mixture of other food. 
 
 Do not give either food or drinks at a temperature 
 exceeding blood heat. 
 
 Give food at regular hours, and do not provoke 
 the appetite by a variety. 
 
 When a child seems ill, first try the effect of fast- 
 ing and free perspiration, that the system may rest 
 and throw off the evil probably resulting from too 
 much, or from improper food. If this does not suc- 
 ceed, apply to a physician. 
 
 Avoid giving to children, fat, or any cooking 
 combined with grease, as it tends to weaken the 
 powers of digestion, and to affect injuriously the 
 biliary secretions. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 Submission to the Will of Superiors, Self-denial, and Benevolence, 
 the three most important Habits to be formed in Early Life. Ex- 
 tremes to be guarded against. Medium Course. Adults some- 
 times forget the Value which Children set on Trifles. Example. 
 Impossible to govern Children, properly, without appreciating the 
 Value they attach to their Pursuits and Enjoyments. Those who 
 govern Children should join in their Sports. This the best way to 
 gain their Confidence and Affection. But Older Persons, should 
 never lose the Attitude of Superiors. Unsteadiness in Government. 
 Illustrations. Punishment from unsteady Governors, does little 
 Good. Over-Government. Want of Patience and Self-Contro! in 
 Parents and Governors. Formation of Habits of Self-denial in 
 Early Life. Denying Ourselves to promote the Happiness of 
 Others. Example of Parents more effectual than their Precepts. 
 Habits of Honesty and Veracity. In what Lying and Stealing 
 consist. Habits of Modesty. Delicacy studiously to be cherished. 
 Licentious and impure Books to be banished. Bulwera Licentious 
 Writer, and to be discountenanced. Intellectual Education. Hours 
 of School. Inquiries of Secretary of Massachusetts Board of Edu- 
 cation, and Answers of Distinguished Physicians. 
 
 Ir the happiness of our race depend on the forma- 
 tion of habits of self-denying benevolence, then this 
 ought to be the prominent object, in the minds of 
 those who have the control of young children. As 
 the commands of the Supreme Ruler are the only 
 sure guide to a right course of benevolent action, 
 submission of the will, to the will of a superior, is 
 the best preparative for such a course of benevolent 
 action. Submission of the will, self-denial, and 
 benevolence, then, are the three most important 
 habits to form in early life. 
 
 In regard to habits of obedience, there have been 
 two extremes, both of which need to be shunned. 
 One is, a stern, unsympathizing maintenance of 
 parental authority, demanding perfect and constant 
 obedience, without any attempt to convince a child 
 
226 MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 of the propriety and benevolence of the requisitions, 
 and without any manifestation of sympathy and ten- 
 derness for the pain and difficulty with which it has 
 to meet, under this discipline. Children, under such 
 discipline, grow up to fear their parents, rather than 
 to love and confide in them, and some of the most 
 valuable and happy-making principles of character 
 are chilled or forever blasted. 
 
 In shunning this danger, others pass to the other 
 extreme, and put themselves on the footing of equals 
 with their children, as if nothing were due to supe- 
 riority of age and relation. Nothing is exacted, 
 without the implied concession, that the child is to 
 be the judge of the propriety of the requisition; and 
 reason and persuasion are employed, as if the parent 
 had no right to command. ‘This system produces 
 a most pernicious influence. Children very soon 
 perceive the position which they are thus allowed 
 to occupy, and they take every advantage of it. 
 They soon acquire habits of forwardness and self- 
 conceit, assume disrespectful manners and address, 
 maintain their views with incessant disputes, and 
 yield with ill-humor and resentment, as if their 
 rights were infringed. 
 
 The medium course, is, for the parent to take the 
 attitude of a superior in age, knowledge, and rela- 
 tion; who has a perfect right to control every action 
 of the child, and to exact respectful language and 
 manners; and, whenever an express command is 
 given, to demand prompt obedience, without hesita- 
 tion or dispute. But at the same time, care should 
 be taken to make the child perceive that the requisi- 
 tions are reasonable and benevolent; designed both 
 for the good of the child, and for the good of all. 
 
 Grown persons are very apt to forget the value 
 which children attach to things which a mature 
 mind, having higher resources, regards as trifles.. A 
 lady, of great strength of mind and sensibility, once 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 227 
 
 told the Author, that one of the most acute periods 
 of suffering she could remember, was occasioned by 
 her mother’s burning up some milkweed-silk. The 
 child had found, for the first time, this shining and 
 beautiful substance, was filled with delight at her 
 discovery, and was planning its future uses, and her 
 pleasure in showing it to her companions; when her 
 mother, finding the carpet all strewed with it, hasti- 
 ly brushed it into the fire, and, with so careless and 
 indifferent an air, that the child fled away, almost 
 distracted with grief and disappointment. The 
 mother little realized the pain she had inflicted, but 
 the child felt the unkindness so severely, that, for 
 some time, her mother was an object almost of 
 aversion. 
 
 It is impossible to govern children, properly, 
 especially those of strong and sensitive feelings, 
 without a constant effort to appreciate the value they 
 attach to their pursuits and enjoyments. And with 
 this, should be maintained a habit of carefully ex- 
 plaining the necessity of all requisitions that try 
 their feelings, and of expressing tender sympathy for 
 their grief and disappointment. 
 
 There is no way, in which those who govern 
 children can gain so powerful and pleasing an influ- 
 ence over them, as by joining in their sports. By 
 this method, a grown person learns to understand 
 the feelings and interests of childhood, and to de- 
 tect peculiarities of intellect or temper; and, at the 
 same time, secures a degree of confidence and affec- 
 tion, which can be gained so easily in no other way. 
 Those who help children along in their sports, with 
 kindness and sympathy, are always favorites with 
 them; and, if qualified and disposed-so to do, can 
 exert more influence over them, than any other per- 
 son. It is a great misfortune, to the children of 
 this Nation, that so many fathers are absorbed in 
 making money, for mere show or physical enjoy- 
 
228 MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 ments, and so many mothers engaged in using it for 
 the same ignoble ends, that they find no time to 
 share in the sports or pursuits of their children, and 
 relinquish this most powerful mode of influence to 
 domestics and playmates, who often use it for the 
 most pernicious purposes. 
 
 In sharing the sports of childhood, older persons 
 never should relinquish the attitude of Superiors, or 
 allow disrespectful manners or address. If a superior 
 demand such deportment, it is never more cheerful- 
 ly accorded, than in seasons when young hearts are 
 pleased, and made grateful, by having their tastes 
 and enjoyments so efliciently promoted. ‘The 
 Writer has often seen parents and teachers, engaged 
 with children in the most boisterous sports, without 
 a single violation of such proprieties. 
 
 Next to the entire want of all government, the 
 two most fruitful sources of mischief, in the manage- 
 ment of children, are unsteadiness in government, 
 and over-government. Most of those cases, in which 
 the children of sensible and conscientious persons 
 turn out badly, will be found to result from one or 
 the other of these causes. ; 
 
 Children are exposed to the evils of unsteady 
 government, when those, who control them, are 
 sometimes very strict and decided, in exacting 
 obedience, and, at other times, let disobedience go 
 unrebuked and unpunished. In such cases, the 
 children, never knowing exactly when they can 
 escape with impunity, are constantly tempted to 
 make a trial. 'The bad effect of this system, on the 
 temper, can be better appreciated, by reference to 
 one important principle of mind. It is found to be 
 universally true, that objects of desire, put beyond 
 the reach of hope, do not agitate the mind with 
 anxious wishes, nor produce regret, at being deprived 
 of what is not hoped for. A child is never harassed 
 with longings for any object, which he knows can 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 229 
 
 never be obtained. It is in reference to objects 
 which awaken desire, with some hope of attainment, 
 that the mind suffers from regret and disappointment. 
 And all the time the mind is aiming at some sup- 
 posed good, and using efforts to gain it, opposition 
 excites irritable feelings ; but the moment it is put 
 beyond the reach of hope, such irritation ceases. In 
 consequence of this principle, whenever a thing is 
 denied or forbidden to children, who are under the 
 control of persons of steady and decided government, 
 they know that it is entirely out of their reach. 
 The agitation of hope and desire of course ceases, 
 and the mind turns to other objects. 
 
 But children under the control of weak and in- 
 dulgent parents, or of unsteady and undecided per- 
 sons, never enjoy this preserving aid. When a 
 thing is denied, they do not know but that either 
 coaxing may win it, or disobedience gain it, with- 
 out any penalty ; and so they are kept in just that 
 state of hope and uncertainty, which produces irri- 
 tation, and tempts to insubordination. Such chil- 
 dren are very apt to become irritable and fractious, 
 while a constant warfare is kept up with those who 
 govern them, destructive to the peace and harmony 
 so important in domestic life. The Writer has 
 heard parents, of such unsteady government, lament- 
 ing, that, while they punished their children more 
 than most parents, it seemed to do little or no good ! 
 
 Another class of persons, in aiming to avoid this 
 evil, go to another extreme, and are very strict and 
 pertinacious, in regard to every requisition. Such, 
 keep the young mind in a state of constant appre- 
 hension, lest some of the multiplied requisitions be 
 omitted, and a penalty be inflicted. The result of 
 such management, is, that children gradually acquire, 
 either obtuseness of conscience and an indifference 
 to rebukes, or else they become excessively irritable 
 or misanthropic. It is the merciful provision of our 
 
 20 
 
230 MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 Creator, that the constant repetition of an evil 
 gradually hardens the mind, till eventually it is 
 borne with comparative indifference. This princi- 
 ple, designed for good, is. sadly abused, when chil- 
 dren become so inured to rebuke, that it produces 
 little grief or contrition. 
 
 To avoid these evils, it is a wise precaution, for 
 those who govern children, in their ordinary inter- 
 course to advise and request, rather than to command. 
 The most important duties of life should be enforced 
 by commands ; but all the little acts of heedlessness, 
 or awkwardness, or ill-manners, so frequently occur- 
 ring with children, should pass as instances of for- 
 getfulness, and not as acts of direct disobedience. 
 Whenever a child deliberately disobeys an express 
 command, the penalty should always follow, as sure 
 as the laws of Nature. This will be the most infal- 
 lible preservative from voluntary and known disobe- 
 dience. 
 
 Children of active, heedless temperament, or those 
 who are odd, awkward, or mal apropos in remarks 
 and deportment, are often essentially injured, by a 
 want of patience and self-control in those who govern 
 them. Such children often possess a morbid sensi- 
 bility, which they strive to conceal, or a desire of 
 love and approbation that preys like a famine on the 
 soul. And yet, they become objects of ridicule and 
 rebuke to almost every member of the family, until 
 their sensibilities are tortured into obtuseness or mis- 
 anthropy. Such children, above all others, need 
 tenderness and sympathy. A thousand instances of 
 mistake or forgetfulness should be passed over, in 
 silence, while opportunities for commendation and 
 encouragement should be diligently sought. 
 
 In regard to the formation of habits of self-denial, 
 tender and affectionate parents seem to forget the 
 importance of inuring them to this duty, in early 
 life. Instead of this, they seem to be constantly 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 231 
 
 aiming, by seeking to gratify every wish, to remove 
 every chance for forming so important a habit. 
 Some parents, under this mistaken feeling, will 
 maintain, that nothing shall be put on their table, 
 which their children may not join them in eating. 
 But where can a parent, so effectually as at the daily 
 meal, teach that government of the appetites, which 
 is a lesson that children must learn or be ruined? 
 The food which is proper for grown persons, is often 
 not suitable for children; and this is a sufficient 
 reason for accustoming them to see others partake of 
 delicacies, which they must not share. Requiring 
 children to wait till others are helped, and to refrain 
 from conversation at table, except when addressed 
 by their elders, is another mode of forming habits 
 of self-denial and self-control. Requiring them to 
 help others, first, and to offer the best to others, has 
 a similar influence. 
 
 The still more difficult duty of denying them- 
 selves, to promote the enjoyment of others, is a 
 lesson which needs to be assiduously taught. But 
 how few parents make this a definite object of in- 
 terest and effort, although they will allow that it is 
 the most important as well as the most difficult duty! 
 Instead of this, a course is often followed, which 
 tends rather to cultivate selfishness. 'Thus, almost 
 all motive, offered to stimulate children, are those 
 which refer to mere self-gratification. How few are 
 the parents, who excite their children by the hope of 
 good which others will secure! And yet, very 
 much might be done, to awaken the love of benevo- 
 lent activity, if it were habitually and systematically 
 attempted. Many parents have succeeded in leading 
 their children to deny their appetites, for some 
 benevolent object, with entire success. By similar 
 efforts, they can be trained to give up their time, 
 their property, or their sports, to add to the comforts, 
 or relieve the wants of others. Leta parent make 
 
it ie 
 
 a 
 
 232 MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 this a distinct and important object of effort, and 
 much will be accomplished. 
 
 Habits of honesty and veracity very much depend 
 on the character, and example of parents. Children 
 are creatures of sympathy and imitation; and when 
 they see that their parents and older friends are par- 
 ticular in respecting rights of property, and always 
 exact in stating truth, they are led to similar up- 
 rightness. In inculecating these duties, it is impor- 
 tant for older people to form exact and definite ideas, 
 themselves, or they will often perplex children with 
 inconsistencies. E'or example, when children are 
 taught, that Hyeng is saying what is not true, how 
 often will they hear their parents or other ‘older 
 friends, either jocosely, or in other ways, say what 
 is not strictly true! So, if stealing is said to consist 
 in taking or using what belongs to others, how often 
 is this done by parents, and guardians, and for sufli- 
 cient reasons ! 
 
 Instead of this, children should be taught that 
 intentional deceit is wrong ; and that lying is telling 
 what is false, with an intention to deceive. So, 
 stealing is taking or using the property of others, 
 without proper evidence that the owner is willing. 
 By these simple definitions, children can be shown, 
 that sometimes people may say what is not true, 
 without intending to deceive, and that this is not 
 lying ; and that they may sometimes deceive, when 
 it is not their intention so to do: and that, in such 
 cases, they may not do wrong. 
 
 So there are cases, when we may know that per- 
 sons are willing we should use their property, even 
 without asking ; and in such cases, it is not stealing. 
 Parents and teachers, also, have certain rights over 
 the property of children, which should be explained. 
 The effect of sympathy and example is eeay mani- 
 fest, in some families, where the parents have very 
 strict notions respecting truth and honesty. From 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 233 
 
 early infancy, the children hear lying, deceit, and 
 dishonesty, spoken of as mean, vulgar, cowardly, 
 and wicked, and feeling a sympathy with those 
 around, avoid these practices, very readily, and are 
 never known to lie, or practise any deceitful or dis- 
 honest tricks. In other families, children will see 
 their parents deceiving others, and practising many 
 little artful or dishonest measures. Of course, such 
 parents never can impart an admiration for virtues 
 they do not possess, nor great disgust for. vices 
 which they daily practise. 
 
 There is no more important duty, devolving upon 
 a mother, than the cultivation of habits of modesty 
 and propriety in young children. All indecorous 
 words or deportment, should be carefully restrained ; 
 and delicacy and reserve studiously cherished. It 
 is acommon notion, that it is important to secure 
 these virtues to one sex more than to the other ; 
 and, by a strange inconsistency, the sex most ex- 
 posed to danger, is the one: selected as least needing 
 care. Buta wise mother will be especially careful 
 that her sons are trained to modesty and purity of 
 rind. 
 But few mothers are sufficiently aware of the 
 dreadful penalties that often result from indulged 
 impurity of thought. If children, in future life, 
 can be preserved from: licentious associates, it is sup- 
 posed that their safety is secured. But the records 
 of our insane retreats, and the pages of medical 
 writers, teach, that even in solitude, and without 
 being aware of the sin or the danger, children may 
 inflict evils on themselves, which not unfrequently 
 terminate in disease, delirium, and death, Every 
 mother and every teacher, therefore, carefully avoid- 
 ing all explanation of the mystery, should teach the 
 young, that the indulgence of impure thoughts and 
 actions is visited by the most awful and _ terrific 
 penalties. Disclosing the details. of vice, in order 
 
 20* 
 
234 MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 
 
 to awaken dread of its penalties, is a most dangerous 
 experiment, and often leads to the very evils feared. 
 The safest course, is, to cultivate habits of modesty 
 and delicacy, and to teach that al] impure thoughts, 
 words, and actions, are forbidden by God, and are 
 often visited by the most dreadful punishment. At 
 the same time, it is important for mothers to protect 
 the young mind from false notions of delicacy. It 
 should be shown, that whatever is necessary, to 
 save from suffering or danger, must be met, without 
 shame or aversion; and that all which God has in- 
 stituted, is wise and right and pure. 
 
 It is in reference to these dangers, that mothers 
 and teachers should carefully guard the young from 
 those highly-wrought fictions, which lead the imagi- 
 nation astray; and especially from that class of li- 
 centious works, made interesting by genius and 
 taste, which have flooded this Country, and which 
 are often found on the parlor table, even of moral 
 and Christian people. Of this class, the writings 
 of Bulwer stand conspicuous. 'The only difference, 
 between some of his works and the obscene prints, 
 for vending which men suffer the penalties of Jaw, 
 is, that the last are so gross, as to revolt the taste 
 and startle the mind to resistance, while Bulwer 
 presents the same ideas so clothed in the fascina- 
 tions of taste and genius, as most insidiously to 
 seduce the unwary. It seems to be the chief aim 
 of this licentious writer, to make thieves, murderers, 
 and adulterers appear beautiful, refined, talented, and 
 interesting. It is time that all virtuous persons in 
 the community should rise in indignation, not only 
 against the writers, but the venders of such poison. 
 
 In conducting the intellectual education of chil- 
 dren, some modifications have already been pointed 
 out, as desirable, with reference to their physical 
 well-being. Very recently, the Secretary of the 
 Massachusetts Board of Education addressed letters. 
 
MANAGEMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN. 235 
 
 to three of the most distinguished medical men in 
 this Country, requesting their opinion as to the num- 
 ber of hours in which children under eight years of 
 age might safely be kept at school. They were 
 unanimous in limiting the time to fowr hours de- 
 voted to school employments that tax the mind. 
 And this period, they maintain, should not be con- 
 tinuous, but divided by long recesses, so that no 
 child should be confined to one pursuit, for more 
 than half an hour at a time. 
 
 Of the six hours usually devoted to school, then, 
 two should be given to exercise and sports, and only 
 four to the duties of school. It is very important, 
 to the comfort of most mothers, that their children 
 should be removed from their care, during the six 
 hours of school. And there are many advantages 
 in subjecting young children to the discipline and 
 regularity of a school, and to intercourse with other 
 children, of their own age. If, then, a parent can 
 secure a suitable teacher, it is no matter how early 
 they are sent to school, provided their health is not 
 endangered by confinement and mental stimulus. 
 But a decided effort is demanded, to change the cus- 
 toms of schools, so that two thirds of the time shall 
 be allowed for relaxation and sports. And the vigor 
 of mind, and physical comfort, thus secured, would 
 make children learn even faster than by the ordinary 
 method. 
 
236 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 Women frequently called upon to direct in Cases of Indisposition. 
 Extremes to be avoided. Grand Cause of most Diseases, Excess in 
 Hating and Drinking. Fasting useful. Want of Reflection and 
 Good Sense displayed by Many, in dosing. Pernicious Results. 
 Necessity of a Woman’s Understanding the Nature and Operation 
 of Common Medicines. Cough Mixtures. Opium. Mucilaginous 
 Mixtures. Calomel. Discretion required. Child bleeding to 
 Death. Sulphur the safest Cathartic in ordinary cases. Remarks 
 of Dr. Combe on keeping the Bowels in good order. Tempting 
 Delicacies injurious in Sickness. Fresh Air absolutely necessary. 
 Frequent Ablutions important. Arrangements to be made before- 
 hand, when practicable. Importance of Cleanliness; nothing more 
 annoying to the Sick, than a want of it. Necessity of a proper 
 Preparation of Food, for the Sick. Every Woman should strive 
 to prepare herself to be a good Nurse. How to drop Medicines. 
 Physicians’ Directions to be well understood and implicitly fol- 
 lowed. Kindness, Patience, and Sympathy, towards the Sick, im- 
 portant. Impositions of Apothecaries. Drugs to be locked up 
 from the Access of Children. 
 
 Sucu is the state of health, in this Nation, that a 
 woman, with the care of a large family, seldom 
 passes a week without being called on to know what 
 shall be done for some one who is indisposed. In 
 this situation, two extremes are to be avoided; one 
 is, neglecting to do any thing until the person be- 
 comes quite sick, the other is, excessive dosing. In 
 regard to the first, many would be saved from long 
 and dangerous illness, if proper attention were paid 
 to the first symptoms; whereas, by neglect, the case, 
 which at first would yield readily, becomes a long 
 and distressing disease. 
 
 But the other extreme is much more common, and 
 involves far greater danger. All medical men unite 
 in the declaration, that the grand cause of most dis- 
 eases, 1S, Excess in eating and drinking, united with 
 too sedentary habits. Without the exercise which 
 aids to throw off redundant matter, through the 
 
wy 
 
 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 237 
 
 pores of the skin and the lungs, and stimulated by 
 various condiments, an excessive quantity is put 
 into the stomach, when either digestion must fail, 
 or, if all is absorbed, the system becomes too full, 
 and inflammatory attacks follow. For this reason, 
 it is, that most medical men would, in all slight 
 cases of illness, recommend fasting over two meals, 
 that the overloaded system may have a chance to 
 relieve itself. Another chief cause of disease, is, 
 sudden chills, closing the pores of the skin, and thus 
 causing inflammation of the throat, lungs, and nos- 
 trils. The best remedy for these attacks, is, warm 
 aperient drinks, bathing the feet, and warm covering, 
 to promote perspiration. After such a process, the 
 skin is more susceptible than before, and should be 
 carefully guarded. 
 
 It is astonishing to see what want of reflection 
 and good sense is displayed, by persons when sick, 
 in pouring doses into the stomach, without knowing 
 anything of their properties, simply because some 
 one tells them it is good for such a complaint. It 
 does not come to mind, that all which goes into the 
 stomach is either dissolved and carried into the 
 blood, or expelled as redundant matter. Thus, 
 when the lungs, for example, are inflamed, doses 
 will be taken, as if under the apparent impression 
 that the cooling or healing article was somehow 
 going to be poured into the lungs, instead of the 
 stomach. In this way, sometimes one article will 
 be taken, calculated to produce one effect, and an- 
 other, exactly calculated to counteract it; or some- 
 thing will be taken, calculated to open the pores, 
 and promote perspiration, just as a person is going to 
 be most exposed to cold. The frequent result of 
 such dosing, is, that the stomach, being loaded with 
 a variety of contradictory principles, is debilitated, 
 and interrupted in its natural operations, and the 
 whole system, and especially the diseased part, sym- 
 
238 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 pathizes in the evil. It is very important, therefore, 
 that a woman should understand something of the 
 nature and operation of the most common articles 
 given in a family, that some discretion may be used, 
 in adapting means to ends, and in avoiding the 
 excessive or the wrong use of them. Most of the 
 cough mixtures contain some narcotic, generally 
 opium, to quiet the irritability of the nervous sys- 
 tem, and thus act on the nerves of the lungs and 
 diminish coughing. To this principle, is usually 
 added, something of the nature of ipecac, to promote 
 a slight nausea, and thus open the pores. ‘To this, 
 sometimes, is added, some cathartic, to remedy the 
 binding tendency of the narcotic principle. Of 
 course, such mixtures should be used sparingly, and 
 with reference to these objects. Opium, in all forms, 
 tends to produce constipation of the bowels. It also 
 powerfully affects the nervous system, and should 
 be used as little as possible. Balsams, and muci- 
 laginous mixtures, such as flaxseed tea, slippery- 
 elm-bark, and the like, are useful, when the mem- 
 brane of the throat, and the parts connected with it, 
 are affected; but have little effect, when a cold 
 affects the lungs. Whenever any article is taken, 
 to promote perspiration, the body should be kept 
 very warm. 
 
 Calomel is a very dangerous medicine; and should 
 seldom be used, without advice from a physician. 
 Even when prescribed by a medical man, discretion 
 is often needed. ‘The Writer knew a case, where 
 the physician left several small papers of calomel, 
 and told the mother to give them so often, t2/1 an 
 operation was produced. Something peculiar in the 
 case prevented their acting as a cathartic; the moth- 
 er, having no knowledge of the nature of the medi- 
 cine, kept on giving the powders, till all were used 
 up. ‘The result was, the blood-vessels of the mouth 
 and other parts were so affected, that, after drench- 
 
- ON THE CARE OF THE SICK, 239 
 
 ing sheet after sheet with blood, the child actually 
 bled to death. 
 
 The most common cathartics, used in a family, 
 are rhubarb, salts, castor oil, and calomel. Salts 
 should be given, when the system needs reducing ; 
 and never in a weak and low state of the system. 
 One of the most distinguished practitioners in the 
 Nation, observed to the Writer, that he considered 
 sulphur as the safest cathartic, for family use, in 
 ordinary cases. 
 
 Dr. Combe remarks, on this subject, “In the nat- 
 ural and healthy state, under a proper system of 
 diet, and with sufficient exercise, the bowels are 
 relieved regularly, once every day.” Habit “is 
 powerful in modifying the result, and in sustaining 
 healthy action when once fairly established. Hence 
 the obvious advantage of observing as much regu- 
 larity, in relieving the system, as in taking our 
 meals.” It is often the case, that soliciting Nature 
 at a regular period, each day, will remedy constipa- 
 tion, without medicine, and induce a regular and 
 healthy state of the bowels. ‘ When, however, as 
 most frequently happens, the constipation arises” 
 ‘from the absence of all assistance from the abdom- 
 inal and respiratory muscles, the first step to be 
 taken, is, again to solicit their aid ;—first, by remov- 
 ing all impediments to free respiration, such as stays, 
 waistbands, and belts; and, secondly, by resorting 
 to such active exercises, as shall call the muscles into 
 full and regular action :” and lastly, ‘to proportion 
 the quantity of food to the wants of the system, and 
 to the condition of the digestive organs. If we 
 employ these means, systematically and_persever- 
 ingly, we shall rarely fail in at last restoring the 
 healthy action of the bowels, with little aid from 
 medicine. But if we’ neglect these modes, “we 
 may go on, for years, adding pill to pill, and dose to 
 dose, without ever attaining the end at which we 
 aim.” 
 
240 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 It is not unfrequently the case, that, when appe- 
 tite ceases, from some disarrangement of the system, 
 the first effort of friends, is, to seek some tempting 
 delicacy, to stimulate the palate. But a knowledge 
 of the organization of the stomach, would prevent 
 this pernicious practice. The cessation of appetite 
 is ordinarily the signal, that the system is in such a 
 state that food is not needed, and cannot be digested. 
 Of course, as there will be little or no gastric juice, 
 what is thus urged into the stomach, cannot be 
 properly digested, and disease is increased. 
 
 In nursing the sick, too much attention cannot be 
 given to securing a proper supply of fresh air. The 
 fact, that persons in the debility of sickness cannot 
 bear exposure to sudden chills, has led to the perni- 
 cious practice, of keeping sick-rooms not only warm, 
 but close. But there is nothing, which more con- 
 tributes to the restoration of a diseased body, than a 
 plentiful supply of the pure air, which is appointed 
 to draw off from the lungs the unhealthful portions 
 of the system. ‘The purer the air, the faster this 
 restoring process is carried on. It should, therefore, 
 be a primary object, to keep a sick-room well venti- 
 lated: this can be done, and still keepit warm. <A 
 sick person should always be put in a room with an 
 open fireplace, through which the fresh air, from 
 without, gains access, and impure air passes off. 
 At least twice in the twenty-four hours, the patient 
 should be entirely covered in bed, and a window 
 opened in an adjoining room, into which the door of 
 the sick-room opens. No air in a house, can be so 
 pure, as that which comes from without. After this 
 airing, the patient should remain in bed, till the 
 room is restored to the proper temperature, by the 
 aid of a fire, if need be. 
 
 Frequent changes of clothing and bedding, are 
 needful in sickness; as the exhalations from the 
 skin are then more abundant and more noxious. 
 
ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 241 
 
 Frequent ablutions, also, are very important, and 
 greatly promote the comfort of the patient. If the 
 room be kept warm, and warm water be used, there 
 is not the least danger in performing this operation. 
 If the whole body cannot be sponged with water, at 
 least the face, neck, and limbs, should be washed, 
 once or twice a day. 
 
 It greatly promotes the comfort of the sick, to 
 have their room, and the articles used about them, 
 kept clean and in order. In doing this, care should 
 be used, to avoid bustle, haste, or noise. If, when a 
 person is taken sick, there are indications that the 
 disease will continue several days, the following 
 arrangements are suggested, to secure quiet, neat- 
 ness, and order. 
 
 If it is Winter, let a supply of fuel be put in a 
 large box in the room, and let it be filled, once or 
 twice aday. It would be well to have the follow- 
 ing articles provided, to keep in the room or adjacent 
 closet, to prevent constant passing to obtain them 
 from without :—a small teakettle, a saucepan, a large 
 pail of water, for ablutions, and other water, for 
 drink, in a pitcher, a covered porringer, to warm 
 food and drinks, two pint bowls, two tumblers, two 
 cups and saucers, two wine-glasses, two large and 
 two small spoons, a bow] and towel, to use in wash- 
 ing these articles, a supply of white towels, and also 
 of dish towels. A slop bucket should be in an ad- 
 jacent room or closet, to receive the wash of the 
 room. 
 
 Whenever medicine or food is given, a clean towel 
 should be spread over the person or bed-clothing, as 
 nothing is more annoying, to a weak stomach, than 
 the stickiness and soiling produced by medicine and 
 food. It is also very desirable, that every thing 
 about a sick-room be kept clean and in order. 'The 
 fireplace should be often cleansed of ashes and coals, 
 and the carpet or floor be kept neat. All the articles 
 
ZAQ ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 used should be immediately after washed, and set in 
 a proper place; and every implement be put in good 
 order. A sick person has nothing to do, but look 
 about, and when everything is neat, quiet, and in 
 order, a feeling of comfort is induced, while disorder, 
 filth, and neglect, are constant objects of annoyance, 
 which, if not complained of, are yet felt. An air of 
 cheerfulness is given to a sick-room, by covering the 
 table and stand with a clean napkin, and placing 
 flowers and fruit on them. Oranges and lemons give 
 an agreeable look and perfume to any apartment. 
 Pains should be taken to keep flies out of a sick- 
 room ; and for this purpose, all articles which attract 
 them should be covered. 
 
 There is nothing, more important to the comfort 
 of the sick, than to have their food prepared in a 
 neat and proper manner. It is at such times, that 
 the sense of smell and taste are most susceptible of 
 annoyance; and defects, that would scarcely be 
 noticed in health, will often seem so revolting, as to 
 take away all appetite. And the sick have so few 
 sources of enjoyment and comfort, that the minds, 
 even of the most rational, will sometimes fix on 
 some article of food, with great earnestness, and 
 when disappointed, by neglect or mistake in the 
 preparation, will sometimes feel it so keenly, as to 
 shed tears. Perhaps, too, the disappointment will 
 be enhanced, by a feeling that the nurse has little 
 care and interest for the comfort of her patient. 
 
 It is very important, therefore, that every woman 
 strive to prepare herself to be a neat, quiet, and 
 skilful nurse; and especially, that she learn to pre- 
 pare articles for the sick with care and accuracy. 
 For this purpose, all the articles, used in cooking 
 for the sick, should be carefully washed, and then 
 scalded, that every disagreeable smell and taste may 
 be removed. In boiling articles, great care should 
 be taken, by having a slow fire, and constant stir- 
 
ON THE CARE OF FHE SICK. 243 
 
 ring, to prevent the bitter taste acquired by the ad- 
 herence of the food to the bottom. Articles can 
 seldom be cooked over a blaze, without acquiring a 
 smoky taste; therefore be sure never to stir anything, 
 that is boiling, over a blaze or srnoke. Strain out 
 lumps, through a strainer or small colander, and put 
 the article in a bowl standing ina plate or saucer, and 
 set them on a waiter. Beside them, place the sugar 
 or salt, or other articles to be added; and first con- 
 sult the patient as to the quantity, being careful to 
 put in too little, rather than too much. 
 
 Keep a clean handkerchief, and a clean towel, to 
 present with food, as nausea is often produced by 
 such articles, used when taking medicine, and all 
 appetite is thus lost, and sometimes, too, without 
 knowing the reason. When a person is feverish, 
 cooling the pillows, and changing them, is a com- 
 fort; also, sponging the hands with water having a 
 little milk in it. Frequent swabbing the mouth, 
 with a clean rag tied on the end of a stick, is often 
 a great comfort. When a sick person is raised in 
 bed, a shawl should always be thrown over the 
 shoulders; and, if weak, a chair put behind the 
 pillows. 
 
 In dropping medicine, first, wet the lip of the vial, 
 to make it run smooth, and always drop it into a 
 teaspoon, first, lest some mistake be made. Be care- 
 ful to understand the physician’s directions, and to 
 follow them, exactly. Do not yield to the folly of 
 thinking that persons, who have never studied the 
 complicated system of the human body, nor the 
 nature of medicines, are qualified to modify a physi- 
 eian’s advice. If another person is supposed to 
 know better about the case, than the physician, the 
 only rational way is to dismiss the physician, and 
 secure the services of the more competent person. 
 
 It is always best to write down the directions of 
 the physician, if he does not do it; and not trust to 
 
244 ON THE CARE OF THE SICK. 
 
 memory. The nurse should be sure she knows 
 how to properly perform all the directions given. 
 The Writer knows the mother of several children, 
 who was nursing a sick infant, and, when the physi- 
 cian directed her to dress a large blister on its chest, 
 she asked, how it was to be done. ‘‘ With cabbage- 
 leaves, as usual,’”? was the reply. The mother, 
 never having had experience, took large cabbage- 
 leaves, and put them, cold, unbruised, and unwilted, 
 on the raw flesh of the little sufferer. This was 
 done by an educated woman, and one who would 
 be called a discreet and sensible person. It shows, 
 that every nurse should be sure to learn, exactly, 
 from the physician, the proper mode of obeying his 
 directions. 
 
 In nursing the sick, always speak kindly and 
 bear patiently their hasty murmurs and ill-humors. 
 In nursing a child, though it is hard to do so, it is 
 better to secure proper conduct, and the taking of 
 medicine, by penalties, than to allow rebellion and 
 disobedience. ‘The child will suffer much less, in 
 the end, than if it finds that sickness is a preserva- - 
 tive from all penalties for disobedience and ill-humor. 
 Many children, of delicate health, are ruined in their 
 disposition and tempers, by the indulgence and false ' 
 tenderness of those who nurse them. 
 
 Always sympathize with the sufferings of the 
 sick, and yet strive to induce them to bear pain 
 with patience, fortitude, and submission, to Him 
 who appoints it. In nursing the sick, offer to read 
 the Bible, at proper times, and use all discreet means 
 to lead their minds to proper thoughts and feelings, 
 on a subject, of all others most appropriate in hours 
 of confinement and suffering. 
 
 , One caution is very important, in regard to medi- 
 cines. Physicians say that there are constant impo- 
 sitions and mistakes practised, by many apothecaries, 
 who need to be carefully watched. Some adulterate 
 
ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 245 
 
 their medicines; some mix them in wrong propor- 
 tions, to make a little more profit ; and some buy old 
 and useless drugs, for a trifle, and sell them for good 
 ones. It is always best to consult your physician, 
 in regard to the selection of an apothecary; and, if 
 possible, in all cases you should show him the medi- 
 cines, before using them. Sometimes, mistakes are 
 made, and poisonous articles are sent, instead of the 
 ones ordered. Many medicines, kept by a family, 
 lose all their virtues, after a time, and are of no use. 
 Always put labels on vials of medicine, and very 
 large and distinct ones on dangerous drugs, which 
 should be kept locked up from the access of children. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 
 
 Medical Aid should be promptly resorted to. Suffocation, from Sub- 
 stances in the Throat. Common Cuts. Wounds of Arteries, and 
 other severe Cuts. Bruises. Sprains. Broken Limbs. Falls. 
 Blows on the Head. Burns. Drowning. Poisons:—Corrosive 
 Sublimate; Arsenic; Opium; Acids; Alkalies. _Stupefaction from 
 Fumes of Charcoal; Suffocation from entering a Well, Limekiln, 
 or Coalmine. Hemorrhage of the Lungs, Stomach, or Throat. 
 Bleeding of the Nose. Dangers from Lightning. Mad Dogs. In- 
 sects. Local Inflammations. 
 
 Wuen serious accidents occur, medical aid: should 
 be immediately procured. Till that can be done, the 
 following directions may be useful. 
 
 When a child has any thing in its throat, first try, 
 with the finger, to get the article up. If it is beyond 
 reach, push it down into the stomach, with some 
 elastic stick. If the article be a pin, sharp bone, 
 glass, or other cutting substance, vomiting should be 
 promptly produced. 
 
 ai 
 
246 ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 
 
 If the choking be occasioned by something getting 
 into the windpipe, it is very dangerous; but a sur- 
 geon can usually save life, if immediately applied to. 
 
 In the case of a common cut, bind the lips of the 
 wound together with rags. If the cut is large, and rags 
 will not press it well together, a sticking plaster must 
 be used for the purpose. Sometimes, it is necessary 
 to take a stitch in the skin, on each lip of the wound, 
 and draw them together with a needle and thread. 
 
 If an artery is cut, it must immediately be tied 
 up, or the person will bleed to death. The blood 
 of an artery spirts out, in regular jets, with the beat- 
 ing of the heart; and the blood is of a bright red 
 color. Take up the bleeding end of the artery, and 
 hold it; or tie a string around it, till a surgeon ar- 
 rives. When the artery cannot be found, and in all 
 cases of bad cuts, apply compression; and, where it 
 can be done, tie a very tight bandage above the 
 wound, if it is below the heart, and below, if the 
 wound is above the heart. Put a stick into the 
 band and twist it as tight as can be borne, till 
 surgical aid is obtained. 
 
 Bad bruises are best cured by bathing in hot 
 water, or hot spirits, or a decoction of bitter herbs. 
 Sprains are cured, by entire rest from use, and by 
 bathing in warm water or warm whiskey. If a 
 sprained limb is immediately put to rest, and not 
 used, at all, it will heal twice as quick, as if not so 
 treated ; and for want of this rest, what would often 
 prove very slight, in the end result in very bad, 
 sprains. A sprained leg should be kept in a horizon- 
 tal position, on a bed or sofa. 
 
 When a leg is broken, tie it to the other leg, to 
 keep it still; and get a surgeon, if possible, before 
 the limb swells. Bind a broken arm to a piece of 
 shingle, to keep it still. 
 
 In case of a fall, or blow on the head, causing 
 insensibility, use a mustard paste on the back of the 
 
ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 247 
 
 neck and pit of the stomach, and apply spirits, with 
 friction. After the circulation is restored, bleeding 
 is often necessary ; but it is dangerous to attempt it 
 before. 
 
 In case of bad burns, when the skin is taken off, 
 apply an ointment made of linseed oil and limewater 
 in equal quantities; and cover this with cotton. But 
 never put raw cotton on a burn with the skin off, as 
 is often done. To some skins, cotton is almost 
 poisonous. Sweet oil on cotton is good. For burns 
 when the skin is not taken off, soft soap, or scraped 
 potato, are very alleviating. 
 
 In case of drowning, the person should be laid 
 upon his right side, with his head a little elevated, 
 and gently inclined forward; he should as soon as 
 possible be placed in a moderately-warmed bed, or 
 wrapped in blankets to preserve the vital heat which 
 may yet remain. ‘The mouth should be cleared of 
 phlegm, water, or other foreign substance, by care- 
 fully introducing the fingers into it. Spirits of 
 hartshorn may be cautiously applied to the nostrils, 
 or rather occasionally held near the nose. The 
 warmth of the body should be slowly restored or 
 increased, by applying a bladder of warm water to 
 the pit of the stomach, bottles of the same, or hot 
 bricks, or bags filled with hot ashes, to the armpits, 
 groins, and soles of the feet. Brisk frictions of the 
 whole body, first with a dry brush, flannel, or the 
 bare hand, and afterwards with cloths wet with 
 spirits of camphor, should be diligently employed. 
 Gentle pressure should be applied, alternately to the 
 breast and belly, and the lungs should be inflated, 
 in imitation of natural respiration. This may be 
 done, by introducing the nose of a bellows into one 
 nostril and closing the other; or by closing both 
 nostrils, applying the mouth to that of the drowned 
 person, and gently blowing in air; in either case 
 closing the gullet, by pressure on the throat. The 
 case should not be abandoned too hastily, as hope- 
 
248 ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 
 
 less; for resuscitation has taken place, after eight or 
 ten hours persevering use of proper means. I say 
 proper means, for highly improper and injurious ones 
 are often, through ignorance, had recourse to; such, 
 for example, as the rolling of the body on a barrel, 
 the suspending of it by the heels, the administering 
 of injections of tobacco, or tobacco smoke, &c. Af- 
 ter the person begins to revive, he may take, at 
 short intervals, and in small quantities, wine or 
 spirit and water, diluted spirits of camphor, or 
 Cologne water, &c. 
 
 In case of poisoning, from corrosive sublimate, 
 whites of eggs, beaten up with water, should be 
 given. ‘The proportions are ten or twelve eggs, to 
 two quarts of water. Of this mixture, a tumblerful 
 should be administered every two or three minutes, 
 in order to produce vomiting. Where eggs cannot 
 be obtained, give wheat-flour and water, or milk and 
 water, freely; if these are not at command, use 
 gum and water, flaxseed tea, slippery-elm tea, or 
 sugar and water; or, time being precious, if none of 
 these be at hand, give copious draughts of water 
 alone. 
 
 In case of poisoning from arsenic, or any of its 
 preparations, let the individual poisoned drink large 
 quantities of sugared water, of warm, or even of cold, 
 water, or of flaxseed tea, so as to distend the stomach 
 and produce vomiting, if possible, and thereby eject 
 the poison. A mixture of equal quantities of lime- 
 water and sugared water will also prove beneficial. 
 
 If opium, or any of its preparations has been taken, 
 in poisonous quantities, induce vomiting, without a 
 moment’s unnecessary delay, by giving, in a small 
 quantity of water, ten grains of ipecac, and ten grains 
 of sulphate of zine or white vitriol, (the latter of 
 which is the most prompt emetic known,) and re- 
 peating the dose every fifteen minutes, if the desired 
 effect be not produced. ‘Fhe operation may be 
 sometimes expedited, by introducing the fingers into 
 
ON ACCIDENTS AND ANTIDOTES. 249 
 
 the mouth, or tickling the throat with a feather. 
 If white vitriol cannot be obtained, substitute three 
 or four grains of blue vitriol, (or sulphate of copper.) 
 The soporific influence of the poison should be coun- 
 teracted, by keeping the person in motion. After the 
 stomach has been thoroughly emptied, but not pre- 
 viously, give, every five or ten minutes, alternately, 
 acup of water made acid with vinegar, cream of 
 tartar, or lemon juice, and a.cup of coffee, (without 
 sugar or milk,) prepared by pouring a pint of boiling 
 water upon a quarter of a pound of ground burnt 
 coffee, letting it stand ten minutes, and then strain- 
 ing it. ‘The drinks should be continued, so long as 
 any danger is to be apprehended. Dashing cold 
 water upon the head and body, and friction of the 
 extremities, with a brush or coarse towel, are useful. 
 
 If any kind of acid is taken, in too large quantity, 
 give strong pearlash water. If ley, or pearlash, or 
 any alkali, is taken, give vinegar. 
 
 In case of stupefaction from fumes of charcoal, 
 or suffocation from entering a well, limekiln, or coal- 
 mine, expose the person freely to cold air, on his 
 back ; dash cold water or vinegar, on the head, face, 
 and breast ; rnb the body with the same, or spirits of 
 camphor, or Cologne. Apply mustard paste to the 
 pit of the stomach, and use friction to the soles of 
 the feet, the palms of the hands, and the whole 
 length of the back bone. Vinegar and water or 
 lemonade should be given as drink. When the per- 
 son revives, he should be laid in a warm bed, in a 
 well-ventilated room, and given small quantities of 
 wine and water. Whatever is done must be done 
 promptly and perseveringly. 
 
 In case of bleeding at the lungs, or stomach, or 
 throat, take a teaspoonful of dry salt, and repeat it 
 often. For bleeding of the nose, pour cold water on 
 the back of the neck, keeping the head elevated. 
 
 If a person is struck with lightning, throw buck- 
 etsfull of cold water on the head and over the body, 
 
250 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 and apply mustard poultices on the stomach, with 
 friction of the whole body, especially the extremities, 
 and inflation of the lungs. 
 
 If a person is bitten by a mad dog, or a rattlesnake, 
 sucking the wound, and cutting out the flesh, around 
 the bite, are the immediate preventives. Meantime 
 call medical advice. For bites of insects, spirits of 
 hartshorn, or salt and water, are good. Poultices, 
 kept wet and warm, are good for most cases of local 
 inflammation; but they must be kept constantly 
 warm, to be useful. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Indefiniteness of Opinion on this Subject. Every Person needs some 
 Recreation. General Rules. How much Time to be given. What 
 Amusements proper. Thoseshould always be avoided, which cause 
 Pain, or injure the Health, or endanger Life, or interfere with im- 
 portant Duties, or are pernicious in their Tendency. Horse-racing, 
 Circus-riding, Theatres, and Gambling. Dancing, as now conduct- 
 ed, does not conduce to Health of Body or Mind, but the contrary. 
 Dancing in the Open Air beneficial. Social Benefits of Dancing 
 considered. Ease and Grace of Manners better secured by a Sys- 
 tem of Calisthenics. The Writer’s Experience. Balls going out 
 of Fashion, among the more refined Circles. Novel-reading. Ne- 
 cessity for Discrimination. Young Persons should be guarded 
 from Novels. Proper Amusements for Young Persons. Cultivation 
 of Flowers and Fruits. Benefits of the Practice. Music. Chil- 
 dren enjoy it. Collections of Shells, Plants, Minerals, &c. Chil- 
 dren’s Games and Sports. Parents should join in them. Mechan- 
 ical Skill of Children to be encouraged. Other Enjoyments. 
 
 T'arre is much indefiniteness of opinion, in many 
 minds, on the subject of amusements, which needs 
 to be removed. All persons perceive that children, 
 at least, must spend much time in pursuits which 
 are mere amusements. Many persons think that 
 grown people are at liberty to spend some portion 
 of their time in this way; while others suppose, 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 251 
 
 that all time, spent by mature minds, for mere 
 amusement, is utterly wasted. 
 
 But it is believed, that, where the laws of body 
 and mind are fully understood, it will be allowed, 
 by all, that every person needs some kind of recrea- 
 tion; and that, by securing it, the body is’strength- 
 ened, the mind invigorated, and all our duties more 
 cheerfully and successfully performed. There are 
 general rules for our guidance, on this subject, also. 
 Children, whose bodies are growing fast, and whose 
 nervous system is tender and excitable, need much 
 more amusement, than mature minds; and any great 
 degree of physical confinement or mental taxation, 
 are dangerous. Persons, also, who have very great 
 duties and cares, or who are subjected to any con- 
 tinuous intellectual or moral excitement, need recre- 
 ations to secure physical exercise, and to draw off 
 the mind from absorbing interests. But, unfortu- 
 nately, it is this class of persons, who have least to 
 do with amusement, while the light, gay, and un- 
 employed, seek amusements which are entirely 
 needless, and for which useful occupation would 
 be most beneficial substitutes. 
 
 In deciding how much time it is right to give to 
 mere amusement, it surely is clearly our duty to 
 take just so much as, and no more than, is needful 
 to invigorate mind and body, and thus prepare for 
 the serious duties of life. Any protracting of amuse- 
 ment, which induces excessive fatigue, exhausts the 
 mind, or invades the hours of regular repose, cannot 
 be allowed to be right, by those, who concede that 
 we are bound to spend every hour usefully, and that, 
 at the last day, we are to give an account of the 
 use of all our time. 
 
 In deciding which amusements should be selected, 
 and which avoided, the following general rules are 
 binding. In the first place, no amusements, which 
 inflict needless pain, should ever be allowed. All 
 
252 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 tricks, which cause fright or vexation, and all sports, 
 which involve sufferings to animals, should be utter- 
 ly forbidden. Hunting and fishing, for mere amuse- 
 ment, can never be justified. If aman can convince 
 his children that these are pursued mainly to gain 
 food and health, and not that the wounding and 
 killing of animals is sought for amusement, his ex- 
 ample may not be very injurious. But children, 
 who see grown persons killing or frightening ani- 
 mals, for amusement, receive lessons which tend 
 little towards forming habits of benevolence and 
 tenderness, and much to an opposite result. 
 
 Another rule, to guide in selecting amusements, 
 is, that we are to choose none which injure the 
 health, endanger life, or interfere with important 
 duties. As the only legitimate object of amuse- 
 ments, is, to promote health, and prepare for more 
 serious duties, of course, selecting what has a direct- 
 ly opposite tendency, cannot be justified. 
 
 A third rule, is, to avoid those amusements, which 
 experience has shown to be so exciting, and connect- 
 ed with so many temptations, as to be pernicious in 
 tendency, both to the individual and to the commu- 
 nity. It is on this ground, that horseracing and 
 circus-riding are excluded. Not because there is 
 any thing positively wrong, in having men and 
 horses run, and perform feats of agility, or in persons 
 looking on for the amusement; but because experi- 
 ence has shown so many evils connected with these 
 amusements, that they should be relinquished. So 
 with theatres. The enacting of characters, and the 
 amusement thus afforded, in itself may be harmless ; 
 and possibly, in certain cases, might be useful: but 
 experience has shown so many evils to result from 
 this source, that it is deemed wrong to patronize it. 
 So with those exciting games of chance, which are 
 employed in gambling. 
 
 Under the same head, comes dancing, in the esti- 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 253 
 
 mation of the great majority of the religious world. 
 Still, there are many intelligent, excellent, and con- 
 scientious persons, who hold a contrary opinion. 
 Such maintain, that it is an innocent and healthful 
 amusement, tending to promote ease of manners, 
 cheerfulness, social affection, and health of mind 
 and body; that evils are involved only in its excess; 
 and that, like food, study, or religious excitement, it 
 is only wrong, when not properly regulated. Such 
 maintain, that, if serious and intelligent people would 
 Strive to regulate, instead of striving to banish, this 
 amusement, much more good would be secured. 
 On the other side, it is objected, not that dancing 
 is a sin, in itself considered, for it was once a part 
 of sacred worship; not that it would be objection- 
 able, if it were properly regulated; not that it does 
 not tend, when used in a proper manner, to health 
 of body and mind, to grace of manners and to social 
 enjoyment: all these things are conceded. 
 
 But it is objected to, on the same ground as horse- 
 racing, card-playing, and theatres; that we are to 
 look at amusements as they are, and not as they 
 might be. Horseracing might be so conducted, as 
 not to involve cruelty, gambling, drunkenness, and 
 every other vice. And so might theatres and card- 
 playing. And if serious and intelligent persons un- 
 dertook to patronize these amusements, in order to 
 regulate them, perhaps they would be somewhat 
 raised from the depths to which they are now sunk. 
 But serious and intelligent men know, that, with 
 the weak sense of moral obligation in the mass of 
 society, and the imperfect ideas men have of the 
 proper use of amusements, and the little self-control 
 men, or women, or children, practise, such amuse- 
 ments, as a fact, will not be thus regulated. And 
 they believe dancing to be in the same condemnation. 
 
 As this amusement is actually conducted, it does 
 not tend to produce health of body or mind, but 
 
 22 
 
B54 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 directly the contrary. If young and old went out 
 to dance together, in the open air, as the French 
 peasants do, it would be a very different sort of 
 amusement, from what is seen, when, in a room 
 furnished with many lights, and filled with guests, 
 both expending the healthful part of the atmosphere, 
 the young collect, in their tightest dresses, to protract 
 a kind of physical exertion, not habitual, for several 
 hours. During this process, the blood is made to 
 circulate more swiftly, in circumstances where it is 
 less perfectly oxygenized than health requires; the 
 pores of the skin are excited by heat and exercise ; 
 the stomach is loaded with indigestible articles, and 
 the quiet, needful to digestion, withheld; the amuse- 
 ment is protracted beyond the usual hour for repose ; 
 and then, when the skin is made the most highly 
 susceptible to damps and miasms, the company pass 
 from a warm room tothe cold night air. Itis proba- 
 ble, that there is no single thing that can be pointed 
 out, which combines so many injurious particulars, 
 as this amusement, so often defended, as so health- 
 ful. Even if parents, who train their children to 
 dance, can keep them from public balls, (which is 
 seldom the case,) dancing in private parlors unites 
 the same mischievous influences. 
 
 As to the claim of social benefits,—when a dancing- 
 party occupies the centre of parlors, and the music 
 begins, most of the conversation ceases, while the 
 young prepare themselves for future sickness, and 
 the old look smilingly on. — 
 
 As tothe claim for ease and grace of manners,— 
 all that is gained, by this practice, can be better 
 secured, by having masters teach the system of Ca- 
 listhenics, which, in all its parts, embraces a much 
 more perfect system, both of healthful exercise, 
 graceful movement, and pleasing carriage. 
 
 The Writer was once inclined to the common 
 opinion, that dancing was harmless, and might be 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 255 
 
 regulated ; and she allowed a fair trial to be made un- 
 der her auspices, by itsadvocates. The result was, 
 a full conviction that the amusement secured no good, 
 which could not be better gained another way ; that 
 it involved the most pernicious evils to health, 
 character, and happiness; and that those parents 
 were wise, who brought up their children with 
 the full understanding that they were neither to learn 
 nor to practise the art. In the fifteen years, during 
 which she has had the care of young ladies, she 
 has never known any case, where learning this art, 
 and following the amusement, did not have a bad 
 effect; either on the habits, the intellect, the feelings, 
 or the health. Those young ladies, who are brought 
 up to less exciting amusements, are uniformly likely 
 to be the most contented and most useful, while 
 those, who enter the path to which this amusement 
 leads, acquire a relish and desire for high excitement, 
 which makes the more steady and quiet pursuits and 
 enjoyments of home comparatively tasteless. This, 
 the Writer believes to be generally the case, though 
 not invariably so; for there are exceptions to all 
 general rules. 
 
 In regard to these exciting amusements, so liable 
 to danger and excess, parents are bound to regard 
 the principle involved in the petition, “lead us not 
 into temptation.” Would it not be inconsistent to 
 teach the lisping tongue of childhood this prayer, 
 and then send it to the dancing-master, to acquire 
 alove for an amusement which leads to constant 
 temptations that so few find strength to resist ? 
 
 It is encouraging, to those who take this view of 
 the subject, to find how fast the most serious and 
 intelligent portion of the community are coming to 
 a similar result. Twenty-five years ago, in every 
 part of the Nation, the young, as a matter of course, 
 universally practised this amusement. Now, in 
 those parts of the Country, where religion and intel- 
 
256 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 ligence are most extensively diffused, it is almost 
 impossible to get up a ball among the more refined 
 class of the community. The amusement is fast 
 leaving this rank in society, to remain as a resource 
 for those, whose grade of intelligence and refinement 
 does not relish more elevated amusements. Still, as 
 there is great diversity of opinion, among persons of 
 equal worth and intelligence, a spirit of candor and 
 courtesy should be practised, on both sides. ‘The 
 sneer at bigotry and narrowness of views, on one 
 side, and the uncharitable implication of want of 
 piety, or sense, on the other, are equally illbred and 
 unchristian. Truth, on this subject, 1s best pro- 
 moted, not by illnatured crimination and rebuke, but 
 by calm reason and generous candor, forbearance, 
 and kindness. 
 
 There is another species of amusement, which a 
 large portion of the reHgious world have been accus- 
 tomed to put under the same condemnation as the 
 preceding. This is novel-reading. The indistinct- 
 ness and difference of opinion on this subject, have 
 arisen from a want of clear and definite distinctions. 
 Now, as it is impossible to define what are novels 
 and what are not, so as to include one class of ficti- 
 tious writings and exclude every other, it is impos- 
 sible to lay down any rule respecting them. ‘The 
 discussion, in fact, turns on the use of those works 
 of imagination, which embrace fictitious narrative. 
 That this species of reading is not only lawful, but 
 necessary and useful, is settled by Divine examples 
 in the parables and allegories of Scripture. Of 
 course, the question must be, what kind of fictitious 
 narratives must.be avoided, and what allowed. In 
 deciding this, no specific rules can be given; but it 
 must be a matter to be regulated by the nature and 
 circumstances of each case. No fictitious writings, 
 which tend to throw the allurements of taste and ge- 
 nius around vice and crime, should ever be tolerated ; 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 257 
 
 and all that tend to give false views of life and duty, 
 should also be banished. Of those which are writ- 
 ten for mere amusement, presenting scenes and 
 events that are interesting and exciting, and having 
 no bad moral influence, much must depend on char- 
 acter and circumstances. Some minds are torpid 
 and phlegmatic, and need to have the imagination 
 stimulated ; and such would be benefitted by this 
 kind of reading: others have quick and active im- 
 aginations, and would be as much injured. Some 
 persons are often so engaged in absorbing interests, 
 that any thing innocent, which for a short time will 
 draw off the mind, is of the nature of a medicine ; 
 and, in such cases, this kind of reading is useful. 
 
 There is need, also, that some men should keep a 
 supervision of the current literature of the day, as 
 guardians to warn others of danger. Fr this pur- 
 pose, it is more suitable for editors, clergymen, and 
 teachers, to read indiscriminately, than for any other 
 class of persons; for they are the guardians of the 
 public weal, in matters of literature, and should. be 
 prepared to advise parents and young persons of the 
 “evils in one direction and the good in another. In 
 doing this, however, they are bound to go on the 
 same principles that regulate physicians, when they 
 visit infected districts,—using every precaution to 
 prevent injury to themselves; having as little to do 
 with pernicious exposures, as a benevolent regard to 
 others will allow ; and faithfully employing all the 
 knowledge and opportunities, thus gained, for warn- 
 ing and preserving others. ‘There is much danger, 
 in taking this course, that men will seek the excite- 
 ment of the imagination, for the mere pleasure it af- 
 fords, under the plea of preparing to serve the pub- 
 lic, when this is neither the aim nor the result. 
 
 In regard to the use of such works, by the young, 
 as'a general rule, they ought not to be allowed to 
 any, except those of dull and phlegmatic tempera- 
 
 22" 
 
258 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 ment, until the solid parts of education are secured, 
 and a taste for more elevated reading acquired. If 
 these stimulating condiments in literature are freely 
 used in youth, in a majority of cases all relish for 
 more solid reading will be destroyed. If parents 
 succeed in securing habits of cheerful and implicit 
 obedience, it will be very easy to regulate this mat- 
 ter, by an express command, that no story book shall 
 ever be read, until the consent of the parent is ob- 
 tained. 
 
 It is not unfrequently the case, that advocates for 
 dancing, and the other more exciting amusements, 
 speak as if those, who were more strict in these 
 matters, were aiming to deprive the young of all 
 amusements; just as if, when card-playing, theatres, 
 and dancing, were cut off, nothing remains but se- 
 rious and severe duties. Perhaps there has been 
 some just ground of objection to the course often 
 pursued by parents, in neglecting to provide agreea- 
 ble and suitable substitutes, for the amusements de- 
 nied; but, that there is not a great abundance of 
 safe, healthful, and delightful, amusements, which 
 all parents may secure for their children, cannot be 
 maintained. Some of these will here be pointed out. 
 
 One of the most useful and important, is, the cul- 
 tivation of flowers and fruits. This, especially for 
 the daughters of a family, is greatly promotive of 
 health and amusement. It is with the hope, that 
 many young ladies, whose habits are now so formed, 
 that they never can be induced to a course of active 
 domestic exercise, while their parents ean hire do- 
 mestics, may yet be led to an employment which 
 will tend to secure health and vigor of constitution, 
 that so much space is given, in this work, to direc- 
 tions for the cultivation of fruits and flowers. It 
 would be a most desirable improvement, if all female 
 schools could be furnished with suitable grounds and 
 instruments for the cultivation of fruits and flowers, 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 259 
 
 and every inducement offered to engage the young 
 ladies in this pursuit. And every father, who wishes 
 to have his daughters grow up to be healthful wo- 
 men, cannot take a surer method to secure this end. 
 Let him set apart a portion of his yard and garden, 
 for fruits and flowers, and see that the soil is well 
 prepared and dug over, and all the rest may be com- 
 mitted to the care of the children. These would 
 need to be provided with a light hoe and rake, a dib- 
 ble or garden trowel, a watering-pot, and means and 
 opportunities for securing seeds, roots, buds, and 
 grafts, all which might be done at a trifling ex- 
 pense. ‘Then, with proper encouragement, and by 
 the aid of such directions as are contained in this 
 work, every man, who has even half an acre, could 
 secure a small Eden around his premises. 
 
 In pursuing this amusement, children can also be 
 led to acquire many useful habits. Early rising 
 would, in many cases, be thus secured ; and, if re- 
 quired to keep their walks and borders free from 
 weeds and rubbish, habits of order and neatness 
 would be induced. Benevolent and social feelings 
 could also be cultivated, by influencing children to 
 share their fruits and flowers with friends and neigh- 
 bors, as well as to distribute roots and seeds to those 
 who have not the means of procuring them. A 
 woman or a child, by giving seeds and slips and 
 roots to a washerwoman, or a farmer’s boy, thus ex- 
 citing them to love and cultivate fruits and flowers, 
 awakens a new and refining source of enjoyment in 
 minds, that have few resources, more elevated than 
 mere physical enjoyments. Our Saviour directs, in 
 making feasts, to call, not the rich, who can recom- 
 pense again, but the poor, who can make no returns. 
 So children should be taught to dispense their little 
 treasures, not alone to companions and friends, who 
 will probably return similar favors ; but to those who 
 have no means of making any return. If the rich, 
 
260 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 who acquire a love for the enjoyments of taste, and 
 have the means to gratify it, would aim to extend 
 the cheap and simple enjoyment of fruits and flowers 
 among the poor, our Country would soon literally 
 blossom as the rose. 
 
 If the ladies of a neighborhood would unite small 
 contributions, and send a list of flower-seeds and 
 roots to some respectable and honest florist, who 
 would not be likely to turn them off with trash, they 
 could divide these among themselves, so as to secure 
 an abundant variety, at a very small expense. A 
 bag of flower-seeds, which can be obtained, at 
 wholesale, at the rate of four cents, would abundant- 
 ly supply a whole neighborhood; and, by the gath- 
 ering of seeds in the Autumn, could be perpetuated. 
 
 Another very elevating and delightful recreation 
 for the young, is found in music. Here, the Wri- 
 ter would protest against the common practice, in 
 wealthy families, of having the daughters learn to 
 play on the piano, whether they have taste and ear 
 for music, or not. No young lady, who cannot sing, 
 and has no great fondness for music, does any thing 
 but waste time, money, and patience, in learning to 
 play on the piano. But all children can be taught 
 to sing, in early childhood, if the scientific mode of 
 teaching music in schools could be introduced, as it 
 is in Prussia, Germany, and Switzerland. Then, 
 young children could read and sing music, as easily 
 as they can read language; and might take any 
 tune, dividing themselves into bands, and sing off, 
 at sight, the endless variety of music that is pre- 
 pared: And if parents of wealth would take pains 
 to have teachers qualified, as they may be at the 
 Boston Academy, and other similar institutions, for 
 this purpose, who shall teach all the young children 
 in the community, much would be done for the 
 happiness and elevation of the rising generation. 
 
 5 
 This is an amusement, which children enjoy in the 
 
ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 261 
 
 highest degree; and it is one that they can enjoy 
 both in the dark weather at home, and in fields and 
 visits abroad. 
 
 Another resource for domestic amusement, is, the 
 collection of shells, plants, and specimens in geolo- 
 gy and mineralogy, for the formation of cabinets. 
 If intelligent parents would get the simpler works 
 prepared for the young, and study these things, with 
 their children, a taste for such amusements would 
 soon be developed. ‘The Writer has seen young 
 boys, of eight and ten years of age, gathering and 
 cleaning shells from rivers, and collecting plants and 
 mineralogical specimens, with a delight bordering on 
 ecstasy ; and there are few, if any, who, by proper 
 influences, would not find this a source of ceaseless 
 amusement and improvement. 
 
 Another resource for family amusement, is, the 
 various games that are played by children, and in 
 which the joining of older members of the family is 
 always a great advantage to both parties. All med- 
 ical men unite in declaring, that nothing is more 
 beneficial to health than hearty laughter; and sure- 
 ly our benevolent Creator would not have provided 
 risibles, and made it a source of health and enjoy- 
 ment to use them, and then have made it a sin so to 
 do. 'There has been a tendency to asceticism, on 
 this subject, which needs to be removed. Such 
 commands as forbid foolish laughing and jesting, 
 “‘ewhich are not convenient ;”? and which forbid all idle 
 words, and vain conversation, cannot apply to any 
 thing but what is foolish, vain, and useless. But 
 jokes, laughter, and sports, when used in such a 
 degree as tends only to promote health, social feel- 
 ings, and happiness, are neither vain, foolish, nor 
 ‘‘not convenient.” It is the excess of these things, 
 and not the moderate use of them, that Scripture 
 forbids. The prevailing temper of the mind, should 
 be cheerful, yet serious; but there are times, when 
 
262 ON DOMESTIC AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 relaxation and laughter are proper for all. There is 
 nothing better for this end, than that parents and 
 older persons should join in the sports of childhood. 
 Mature minds can always make such sports more 
 entertaining to children, and can exert a healthful 
 moral influence over their minds; and, at the same 
 time, can gain exercise and amusement for them- 
 selves. How lamentable, that so many fathers, who 
 could be thus useful and happy with their children, 
 throw away such opportunities, and wear out soul 
 and body in the pursuit of gain or fame! 
 
 Another resource for children, is, in the exercise 
 of mechanical skill. Fathers, by providing tools for 
 their boys, and showing them how to make wheel- 
 barrows, carts, sleds, and various other articles, con- 
 tribute both to the physical, moral, and social, im- 
 provement of their children. And in regard to little 
 daughters, much more can be done, in this way, 
 than many would imagine. The Writer, blessed 
 with the example of a most ingenious and industri- 
 ous mother, had not only learned, before the age of 
 twelve, to make dolls, of various sorts and sizes, but 
 to cut and fit and sew every article that belongs to 
 a doll’s wardrobe. This, which was for mere 
 amusement, secured such a facility in mechanical 
 pursuits, that, ever afterward, the cutting and fitting 
 of any article of dress, for either sex, was accom- 
 plished with entire ease. 
 
 When a little girl first begins to sew, her mother 
 can promise her a small bed and pillows, as soon as 
 she has sewed a patch quilt for them; and then a 
 bedstead, as soon as she has sewed the sheets and 
 cases for pillows; and then a large doll to dress, as 
 soon as she has made the under garments; and thus 
 go on, till the whole baby-house is earned by the 
 needle and skill of its little owner. Thus, the task 
 of learning to sew will become a pleasure ; and every 
 new toy will be earned by useful exertion. A little 
 
ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 263 
 
 girl can be taught, by the aid of patterns prepared 
 for the purpose, to cut and fit all articles for her doll. 
 She can also be provided with a little wash-tub, and 
 irons, to wash and iron, and thus keep in proper 
 order a complete little domestic establishment. 
 
 Besides these amusements, there are the enjoy- 
 ments secured in walking, riding, visiting, and many 
 others, which need not be recounted. Children, if 
 trained to be healthful and industrious, will never 
 fail to discover resources for amusement; while 
 their guardians should lend their aid to guide and 
 restrain them from excess. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 
 
 Social Enjoyments not always considered in the List of Duties. Main 
 Object of Life to form Character. Kindness to Strangers. Hos- 
 pitality. Change of Character of Communities in Relation to 
 Hospitality. Resolving large Communities into small Circles. 
 Hospitality should be prompt. Strangers should be made to feel 
 at their ease. Family Friendship should be preserved. Plan 
 adopted by Families of the Writer’s Acquaintance. 
 
 Ir is not unfrequently the case, that the social 
 enjoyments of life, with many, are never placed in 
 the list of duties. Many men allow their profes- 
 sional employments, and many mothers the cares of 
 their families, to occupy their whole time, and never 
 imagine, when they confess their neglect of visiting, 
 writing letters, and the various modes of social hos- 
 pitality, that they are confessing omissions of sacred 
 duties. 
 
 If the main object of this life were to make 
 money, and secure those various gratifications of 
 appetite and taste which money purchases, such a 
 course might, to some extent, be justified. But, if 
 
264 ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 
 
 the main object of life, for ourselves and for others, 
 is to form character, then the neglect of appropriate 
 means to develope the social, domestic, and benevo- 
 lent, feelings, must be regarded in a very different 
 light. In this view of the subject, every man and 
 every woman are under obligation to devote some 
 portion of time to perpetuating and increasing family 
 and neighborhood friendships, and to sustaining the 
 various claims:of domestic hospitality. 
 
 There is no social duty, which the Supreme Law- 
 giver has more strenuously urged, than hospitality 
 and kindness to strangers. ‘The widow, the father- 
 less, and the stranger, are classed together, as the 
 special objects of Divine tenderness ; and the neg- 
 lect of their feelings and interests is viewed with 
 particular displeasure. There are some reasons, why 
 this duty peculiarly demands attention from the 
 American people. Reverses of fortune are, in this 
 land, so frequent and sudden, and the habits of the 
 people are so migratory, that there are strangers in 
 every part of the Country, many of whom have 
 been suddenly bereft of wonted comforts, and are 
 pining, in a strange land, without friends, and with- 
 out the sympathy and society so necessary to sus- 
 tain the spirits. Such, too frequently, pass along 
 unnoticed, and with no comforter but Him who 
 ‘‘ knoweth the heart of a stranger.” 
 
 In a new country, where visiters are few, and 
 in those states where residences are on dissevered 
 plantations, a generous hospitality may thrive, more 
 as the result of personal wants, than as the offspring 
 of benevolent principle. It is when population be- 
 comes so dense, that men feel no such _ personal 
 wants, that the sacred name and claims of ‘the 
 stranger”? aré most likely to be neglected. And 
 those, who on this subject are accustomed to act on 
 principles of Christian benevolence, rather than from 
 impulse, are most likely to fulfil such obligations. 
 
ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 265 
 
 It not unfrequently is found, that communities, 
 which, in their earliest history, were most remarka- 
 ble for a free and ever ready hospitality, as the rush 
 of population pours in, pass to the opposite extreme. 
 They find that the habits of attention to the stran- 
 ger, which existed in a limited circle, cannot be 
 extended to all who make this claim; and, finding 
 themselves too severely taxed, instead of modifying, 
 they give up, almost entirely, the practice of this 
 duty. 
 
 The increase of population in a community, often. 
 involves another evil, in the multiplication of a 
 large circle of acquaintances, so that, keeping up 
 any degree of intimacy with all, makes burdensome 
 demands upon time. It is probable, that, in most 
 large places, the visiting circle of each family is far 
 too large to secure the most useful and agreeable 
 mode of social enjoyment. 
 
 The only remedy for this evil, is, attempting to 
 resolve a large community into small circles. A 
 few families, united by similarity of character and 
 pursuits, may perpetuate a degree of intimacy and 
 friendship, which can never be secured by the not 
 uncommon method of keeping up ‘a calling ac- 
 quaintance,” with some forty or fifty families, and 
 occasionally making a large party to entertain them 
 all. Such a subdivision of society, as the one sug- 
 gested, cannot suddenly be effected ; but, if system- 
 atically aimed at, it can eventually be secured. 
 The Writer has been in circles, where this object 
 was effected, and witnessed most delightful results. 
 The parents mingled in unrestrained modes, with 
 the easy cordiality of affectionate friends; the chil- 
 dren of the families thus associated, grew up to- 
 gether, more like brothers and sisters, than like com- 
 mon acquaintances ; while the joys and sorrows of 
 each family were shared by a common sympathy. 
 When a community is thus subdivided, the claims 
 
 23 
 
266 ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 
 
 of the stranger are much more likely to be properly 
 regarded. A person, entering any one of these minor 
 circles, is much more likely to be met by that kind 
 of attention and kindness which is most agreeable, 
 because each member feels some degree of hospita- 
 ble responsibility ; whereas, strangers, having claims 
 only on the community, in general, are very apt to 
 find that they are met by no one in particular. 
 
 {t is impossible, in large communities, to carry 
 out the practice of each one paying civilities to 
 every stranger. But it is the duty of all to learn 
 whether such attentions are bestowed ; and, in cases 
 where there is any neglect, to supply the deficiency. 
 
 If a stranger is allowed to remain in a place, day 
 after day, and week after week, unnoticed and un- 
 known, there must be a great want of correct views 
 and feelings in regard to the duty of hospitality. 
 And it should ever be remembered, that the first 
 days of a stranger’s sojourn are the most dreary ; 
 and that procrastinating hospitable attentions, often 
 destroys half their value. A person who intends to 
 offer civility to a stranger, doubles the kindness, by 
 conferring it at an early period. 
 
 In social gatherings, the claims of the stranger 
 are too apt to be forgotten. If the person is hand- 
 some, or rich, or distinguished by other adventitious 
 advantages, there is no want of proffered civilities or 
 affable discourse; but a stranger, possessing no such 
 advantages, may often pass a whole evening in soci- 
 ety, claiming to be the best, and meet scarcely a 
 word or an act of politeness. When a community 
 learn to act from principle, and not from mere feel- 
 ing, in this matter, then the mere fact that a person 
 has the claims of a stranger, will ever secure kind- 
 ness and polite attentions. 
 
 The most agreeable hospitality, to strangers who 
 become inmates of a family, is that which puts them 
 entirely at ease. This can never be done, when the 
 
ON SOCIAL DUTIES. 267 
 
 guest perceives that the order of family arrangements 
 is altered, and that time, comfort, and convenience 
 are sacrificed. 
 
 Offering the best to the stranger, a polite regard 
 to every wish expressed, and giving precedence in 
 all matters of comfort and convenience, can still be 
 combined with the easy freedom which makes the 
 stranger feel at home; and this is the perfection of 
 hospitable entertainment. 
 
 It is to be feared, that, in this migratory and busi- 
 ness Nation, there is far too little attention given to 
 the preservation of. family friendships. There can 
 be no friends, like those reared by the same parents, 
 who have enjoyed together the pleasures of child- 
 hood and youth. And yet, such friends scatter 
 abroad, and, taking little or no pains to preserve 
 any social intercourse, they soon become almost as 
 strangers; and some of the dearest ties of life are 
 suffered to untwine, for want of a little care. Ifa 
 very little of the time and money spent for the lux- 
 uries of food, dress, and furniture, were devoted to 
 perpetuating family friendships, how much more 
 elevated and purer enjoyments would be secured! 
 There. are families, who make it a definite object 
 of effort to perpetuate the ties of kindred by frequent 
 ‘personal intercourse and correspondence, and who 
 secure the means for doing this, by economizing in 
 other less important particulars. Such will testify 
 that the effort has secured to them some of the purest 
 enjoyments of this life. A practice, which, in some 
 cases, has been adopted by the scattered members 
 of a large family, may be worthy of imitation. The 
 method is this. The first day of each month some 
 member of each family, at the two extreme points of 
 dispersion, take a folio sheet, and, filling a part of one 
 page, send it on, by mail, to the next family, who, 
 after reading it, add another contribution, and remail 
 it to the next. Thus the family circular passes from 
 
268 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 each extreme, through, to all the members of a large 
 and widely dispersed family ; and each member 
 becomes a sharer in the joys and sorrows, plans, 
 pursuits, and hopes, of all the rest. At the same 
 time, frequent family meetings are sought ;, and the 
 expense, thus incurred, is cheerfully met by re- 
 trenchments in other directions. The sacrifice of 
 tea and coffee, or of some other useless physical 
 indulgence, would often purchase many social and 
 domestic enjoyments, of this kind, a thousand times 
 more elevating and delightful. 
 
 CHAPTER XXvV. 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 Importance to Family Comfort of well-constructed Houses. Rules 
 for constructing them. Often disregarded. When. Economy of 
 Labor. Warge Houses. Arrangement of Rooms. Staircases. 
 Wells and Cisterns. Ornaments and Furniture. Economy of 
 Money. Shape and Arrangement of Houses. Porticos, Piazzas, 
 and other Ornaments. Simplicity to be preferred. Fireplaces. 
 Economy of Health. Outdoor Conveniences. Doors and Windows. 
 Ventilation. Economy of Comfort. Domestics. Spare Chambers. 
 Good Taste. Proportions. Color and Ornaments. Pans or 
 Hovses anp Domestic Conveniences. Receipts for Whitewash. 
 
 THERE is no matter of domestic economy, which 
 more seriously involves the health and daily comfort 
 of American women, than the proper construction. of 
 houses. There are five particulars, to which atten- 
 tion should be given, in building a house; namely, 
 economy of labor, economy of money, economy of 
 health, economy of comfort, and good taste. 
 
 The Writer will first point out some particulars, 
 in which these rules may be disregarded. | 
 
 The first, respects economy of labor. In deciding 
 upon the size and style of a house, the probabilities 
 
be 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 269 
 
 in regard to hired service, and the health and capacity 
 of the housekeeper, should be the very first consider- 
 ation, 
 
 If a man has a reasonable assurance of an income 
 that will enable, him to hire the service which a 
 large house demands, and if he is in those sections 
 
 of the country where money will secure competent | 
 
 domestics, it is proper to build a large house and live 
 in a style suitable to it. But if a man is uncertain 
 as to his means, or if qualified domestics are scarce, 
 it is poor economy to build a large house. Every 
 room added to a house increases the amount of 
 sweeping, dusting, cleaning of floor, paint, and win- 
 dows, and the expense and care of the furniture per- 
 taining toit. A house of half the size, requires only 
 just half the labor to take care of it; and so vice 
 versa. ‘There is a great disregard of economy, in 
 this particular, in this Country. Multitudes are 
 living in houses so large, as to demand an amount 
 of service which the means of the owners cannot 
 supply ; so that the extra rooms must either be neg- 
 lected, or the labor must fall on the housekeeper 
 herself. 
 
 The arrangement of rooms, and the proper sup- 
 ply of conveniences, is another item, in which the 
 economy of labor and comfort are often violated. A 
 great amount of labor is saved, by having rooms and 
 conveniences so arranged, as to avoid walking and 
 carrying. ‘lo exhibit these points, more distinctly, 
 some minutiz will be pointed out, where the rules 
 of economy, in regard to labor and comfort, are 
 violated. 
 
 A front entry and staircase, in most houses, occupy 
 a large space, above and below, and are so open to 
 Inspection, as to demand daily care, while a back 
 staircase is added for more common uses. This 
 creates the expense involved in building two stair- 
 cases, and the labor of keeping them in order; the 
 
 23* 
 
* 
 270 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 front one occupying the most conspicuous position, 
 and demanding much space. 
 
 But a house can be so arranged, that one staircase 
 shall answer all the purposes of two, and save much, 
 both in space, expense, and labor. This will be 
 shown in the engravings on subsequent pages. (See 
 Fig. 11, &c.) 
 
 Another violation of economy of labor, may be 
 seen in the position of kitchens. Nothing 1s’ more 
 laborious, to a woman of delicate health, than the 
 care of her kitchen, when access to it is gained only 
 by going down one or two flights of stairs. And 
 yet, how often is it the-case, that the mother’s 
 nursery is in the second story, and her kitchen in 
 the basement! This, in cities, seems to be inevita- 
 ble; but it is very needless in the country, where 
 land enough can be secured for extending the circuit 
 of a house. A house should be so arranged, that the 
 mother and housekeeper, when she is in feeble 
 health, or is without domestics, can have access to 
 her nursery and kitchen, with the fewest steps and 
 least effort. 
 
 Another particular, in which economy in labor is 
 neglected, is in the position of wells and cisterns, 
 and in the methods of drawing the water. ‘These 
 can be so placed, that, by simply turning a cock, or 
 working a small pump, the water will flow directly 
 into the place where it is needed for use. This will 
 be illustrated in the engravings on subsequent pages. 
 But how often is it the case, that wells and cisterns 
 are located out of doors, and at a distance from the 
 place where the water is to be used; while the 
 mode of drawing and carrying it is excessively 
 laborious! To draw and carry a couple of pails of 
 water, will often demand an amount of muscular 
 energy, which would be equal to an hour of ad- 
 ditional exertion in common modes, if this needless 
 wear and tear were subtracted. 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 271 
 
 A want of economy in labor, is often seen in the 
 style, ornaments, and furniture, of a house, such as 
 brasses demanding labor, in place of other materials 
 demanding little or none; filigree ornaments to the 
 casings and mantelpieces; kitchen floors without 
 paint or oil-cloth, which double the labor in keeping 
 them in order ; and many other items of this sort. 
 
 A want of economy in money is often seen in the 
 shape and arrangement of houses. A perfect square 
 encloses more rooms, at a less expense, than any 
 other shape ; while it has least surface exposed to 
 external cold, and is most easily warmed and ven- 
 tilated. And the further a house departs from this 
 shape, the more is the expense increased, both as to 
 construction and methods of warming it in cold 
 weather. Wings and kitchens built out, behind, 
 add to the expense of a building, and require more 
 fuel to warm them. Piazzas and porticos are very 
 expensive appendages, and would secure far more 
 comfort, if turned into additional accommodations, 
 such as closets, drawers, shelves, and kitchen con- 
 veniences. ‘The money demanded for the cheapest 
 kind of portico, would pay for enlarging the house, 
 so as to admit another room of convenient size. 
 
 In the subsequent engravings, it will be shown 
 how all the advantages of a portico or piazza may 
 be secured, for a much less sum than is ordinarily 
 bestowed on these expensive appendages. 
 
 Much money is often worse than wasted in finical 
 ornaments about porticos, doors, windows, and fire- 
 places, which, to the eye of taste, really diminish, 
 rather than increase, the beauty of appearance. Or- 
 nhaments are not suitable for any but large and ex- 
 pensive houses, and even in these, it is every year 
 becoming more fashionable to have simple mould- 
 ings and carvings, and but little ornamental filigree 
 work. 
 
 A want of economy is sometimes shown, in the 
 
272 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 position of fireplaces. When a chimney is in the 
 outer wall of a house, one fourth of the heat passes 
 off, through the wall, and is lost. When the chim- 
 ney is in the centre, all the heat generated, passes 
 into the house, and tempers its whole atmosphere. 
 A house, so constructed that a stove can be placed in 
 a central room, surrounded by other rooms, can be 
 warmed with less fuel than by any other contrivance. 
 Some of the plans subsequently given, will illustrate 
 this. 
 
 In regard to the economy of health, it will be 
 allowed, that, considering the cost of medicine, at- 
 tendance of physicians, loss of labor, and the inter- 
 ruption of domestic plans, nothing is so expensive as 
 sickness. Every arrangement, therefore, which tends 
 to injure the health, is a serious violation of economy. 
 It sacrifices not only health, but also comfort, time, 
 and money. There is much bad economy, in this 
 respect, in constructing houses. One of the most 
 pernicious instances, is found in the position of wells 
 and privies, so that persons in the perspiration of 
 labor, or in the debility of ill health, are obliged to 
 so out of doors, in all weathers. Many an invalid 
 has been thrown back upon a sick-bed, and many a 
 woman, engaged in domestic labor, has been made 
 sick, by this cause. In a subsequent engraving, 
 (Fig. 28, page 294,) the proper arrangement and po- 
 sition of these conveniences is exhibited. 
 
 Another cause of sickness, is furnished by outside 
 doors opening into sitting-rooms; an arrangement 
 very common at the South and West. In such 
 cases, children, and persons in delicate health, are 
 very liable to suffer from sudden chills. The warmth 
 of a fire, or the exercise of labor or sport, induces a 
 perspiration. In this state, the door is thrown open, 
 whatever be the temperature abroad; and the fre- 
 quent result is, fever, bowel complaints, or the many 
 other evils which follow from a sudden chill, when 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 273 
 
 the body is in a state of perspiration. This arrange- 
 ment, which is so agreeable in warm weather, can 
 be secured without risk, by having a small entry for 
 the outer door, and the windows made long, down 
 to the floor, the lower part on hinges like a door. 
 These can be closed tight, in Winter, and opened 
 only in temperate weather. 
 
 Another point, where economy of health is neg- 
 lected, is, in regard to the construction and venti- 
 lation of sleeping-rooms. The family, especially 
 children and domestics, are often placed in small 
 chambers, without fireplaces, and with no coutriv- 
 ance for the proper ventilation of the room. Thus 
 they have only a small quantity of air provided for 
 the hours of ‘slumber; and, before morning, it has 
 been inhaled and expired, until it is loaded with the 
 noxious effluvia from the lungs, and almost deprived 
 of its vital principle. In this way, by a slow, but 
 certain, process, the constitution of childhood and 
 youth is gradually undermined, and life shortened. 
 Every chamber, if not large and airy in dimensions, 
 should have a current of air made to pass through 
 it, by an opening over the door and by a chimney. 
 This will keep up a constant supply of fresh air. 
 When this cannot be secured, a door should be left 
 ajar, and a small opening made in the window, while 
 the bed should be placed out of the immediate cur- 
 rent of air. 
 
 A disregard of economy of comfort, is sometimes 
 seen in the provisions made for the convenience of 
 domestics. A woman, who has large and airy par- 
 lors, with a dark and comfortless kitchen, and a 
 small ill-furnished room for her domestics, will often 
 be left to much labor and perplexity, which she 
 would never have felt, had she taken pains to make 
 her house comfortable to her domestics, as well as 
 to herself and her company. 
 
 There are persons, so wise and economical, as to 
 
Q74 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 select the largest and pleasantest rooms in the house 
 for common use, while those designed only for occa- 
 sional occupancy, though genteel and comfortable, 
 are selected from those parts least desirable. Spare 
 chambers, and spare parlors, are generally used. in 
 the evening, when position makes little difference 
 in the enjoyment of visiters, while the enjoyment of 
 a family, through every hour of the day, depends, 
 in some degree, on the agreeableness of their accom- 
 modations. But multitudes of persons will cramp 
 their bedrooms, kitchens, and closets, to secure a 
 large parlor and spare chamber, to be shut up most 
 of the time, and opened only for transient visiters. 
 This is poor economy of comfort. 
 
 The construction of houses with reference ¢o taste, 
 is a desirable, though the least important, item. It 
 is not realized, by persons who have not attended to 
 the subject, how much the beauty of a house depends 
 on propriety of proportions. It is always the case, 
 that a house in good proportions is as cheap as, and 
 generally cheaper than, one in which the rules of 
 taste are violated; and such a house always pleases 
 the eye, even of one unacquainted with the rules of 
 proportion. So the color and ornaments of a house, 
 when properly adapted to its situation, style, and use, 
 have much influence in producing a pleasing effect. 
 
 PLANS OF HOUSES AND DOMESTIC CONVENIENCES. 
 
 ‘The following plans are drawn on the assumption, 
 that the present changing state of society, in Amer- 
 ica, makes it peculiarly important that dwelling- 
 houses be constructed with reference to economy 
 of labor. here will always be persons, who can 
 build large houses, and find means to secure the ser- 
 vice, which a corresponding style of living demands. 
 But any person, who takes general views of the 
 present tendencies of things in this Country, must be 
 convinced, that those who demand hired service, will 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 275 
 
 every year increase, while the relative number of 
 properly-qualified domestics will constantly decrease. 
 The housekeepers in this Nation, to a very wide ex- 
 tent, must either depend on the service of foreigners, 
 who must be both taught and superintended, or 
 mothers and daughters must themselves perform 
 most of the domestic labor. Hither alternative de- 
 mands, that, in constructing a house, the first object 
 of attention should be, economy of labor. 
 
 The plans in this work are chiefly designed for 
 persons of moderate circumstances, especially for 
 young housekeepers, who are making their first es- 
 says in domestic affairs. 
 
 In the three or four first years of married life, the 
 young mothers of this Country are called, suddenly, 
 and, in a great majority of cases, without suitable 
 preparation, to superintend or to perform all the va- 
 rious business of domestic economy ; to nurse chil- 
 dren, to manage domestics, to entertain company, to 
 attend the sick, and to multiplied other domestic 
 cares. At the same time, so large a portion of them 
 have delicate health, and suffer so much from the 
 discouragement and depression consequent on dis- 
 ease and the accumulation of harassing cares, that 
 every man, in forming plans for a future residence, 
 ought to make these probabilities the first considera- 
 tion. And every woman, who has any influence in 
 deciding questions of this sort, ought to regard these 
 liabilities as the foundation of her plans. Especially 
 is this needful, in those newer portions of this Na- 
 tion, where qualified domestics are most rare. 
 
 The plan exhibited on the accompanying engrav- 
 ings, (Fig. 10, and 11,) is, that of a cottage, which 
 will accommodate six grown persons, and one or two 
 children to sleep in the room with the parents. The 
 elevation, or outside front view, (Fig. 10,) is drawn 
 in fine proportions, which is its chief beauty ; and it 
 should be painted white. 
 
276 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 j es 
 Ae 
 
 L__— 
 
 Fig. 11. 
 
 Ground Plan. 
 
 ADELE 
 
 a, Porch. 
 
 b, Parlor, 15 by 
 16 feet. 
 
 c, Dining-room, 
 15 by 16 feet. 
 
 d, d, Small Bed- 
 
 rooms, 
 
 N e, Stairs. 
 
 FFF, Closets. 
 
 PLLLALLE DEPP PAPI 
 Y 
 MI 
 
 2 
 
 Z 4) 
 ig PLETELY 
 
 a 
 
 R N 
 
 LN N 
 USSSA 
 
 N | g, Pantry. 
 
 N N 4, Store closet. 
 
 N 2212, Fireplaces. 
 N 7, Kitchen. 
 SX] —__ k, Bedpress. 
 
 2, Cellar door. 
 
 N 
 N 
 
 \ 
 SSS 
 
 es sae nee “HEHE 
 4 Speech 
 
 Scale of Feet. 
 
 Fig. 11, is the plan of the interior of the same 
 building. ‘The central part (or porch, a) projects just 
 enough to afford an entrance to the two adjacent 
 rooms. ‘This is to avoid having an outer door in 
 any family sitting-room, the evils of which have 
 been pointed out. ‘The front, or side windows, or 
 
~ 
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 277 
 
 both, might be made down to the floor, the lower 
 part opening like doors. These could be made tight 
 in Winter, and be opened in Summer. 
 
 This house has a parlor, eating-room, and kitchen, 
 of convenient size for a family of six oreight. The 
 parlor, 6, has the closet, f, and the bedpress, &, ad- 
 joining it. 
 
 Fig. 12. 
 
 ]] 
 malities ea 
 
 t ; t T i T T 
 DOF OF BIS OGG Ol Ee ys fot 
 Scale of Feet for the Doors. 
 
 Fig. 12, represents the doors on that side of the 
 room. ‘The large central doors open to the bed- 
 press, the smaller side doors open, those on the left 
 into the closet, f, and those on the right into the 
 kitchen, j. When these large doors are closed, the 
 room looks like a common parlor, with folding-doors 
 opening into another parlor, as is common in most 
 city houses. ‘This makes it a genteel room for re- 
 ceiving company. When these large doors are 
 thrown open, the room becomes a spacious and airy 
 bedroom ; while the two closets, f, f, furnish accom- 
 modations for concealing all pertaining to a bedroom 
 that cannot appropriately appear in a parlor. 'The 
 bedpress is just large enough to receive a bed; and 
 
278 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 under it can be placed a trucklebed for young chil- 
 dren. Thus, the mother. can have her parlor, 
 nursery, and kitchen, all under her eye at once. 
 The dining-room, c, (Fig. 11,) has the small bed- 
 room, d, adjoining it, large enough for a bed, wash- 
 stand, bureau, and chair. Leaving the door open, 
 at night, will make it sufficiently airy for a sleep- 
 ing-room. 
 
 The kitchen, 7, has a smaller bedroom, d, attached 
 to it. This will contain a narrow single bed fora 
 domestic. If it be necessary to find accommoda- 
 tions there for two persons, a narrow trucklebed can 
 be put under the single bed. 
 
 The pantry is at g, and store closet, at h. The 
 chimney is in the middle, thus economizing fuel. 
 The staircase, is designed to give access to the gar- 
 ret, above, and the cellar, below; one door being 
 at e, and the other at z. A plan for back accommo- 
 dations is shown in Fig. 28, (see page 293.) These 
 should be placed in the rear of the kitchen. 
 
 In a plan on so limited a scale, some economy 
 and contrivance will be demanded, in storing away 
 articles of dress and bedclothing. For this end, in 
 the bedpress (k) of the parlor, 6, (Fig. 11,) a wide 
 shelf may be placed about two feet from the ceiling, 
 and a curtain be hung from the wall above in front 
 of it. On this shelf, Winter bedding and clothing 
 can be stowed, and the curtain will protect them from 
 dust. Under this shelf, at the foot of the bed, pegs 
 can be placed, to hold garments. From the edge 
 of the shelf, above, a curtain can be suspended, to 
 conceal these articles, and protect them from dust. 
 This contrivance answers the purpose of a wardrobe, 
 though it is not quite so convenient. One or both 
 of the closets, f f, should be also fitted up with 
 shelves and drawers. 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 279 
 
 Fig. 13, represents a fireplace and mantelpiece, in 
 a style which corresponds with the doors and other 
 parts of the building. 
 
 In these plans of rooms, an entire vacancy ina 
 wall or partition represents a door; a vacancy with 
 a single line across it, representsa window. A x by 
 a door, shows the place where the door should be 
 hung, and the room into which it should swing. 
 The comfort of a room, in Winter, depends very 
 much on the way in which the doors are hung. 
 
 Big. 14, 15, are plans of another cottage, which 
 contains rooms rather more agreeably arranged, hav- 
 ing a bedpress attached to each room, and more 
 space for closets. The disadvantage is, that the 
 chimney is not central ; each fireplace having a flue 
 in the side of the house. 
 
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 Fig. 14. 
 
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ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 281 
 
 The elevation (Fig. 14) is drawn with a piazza or 
 porch in front, which would probably cost two hun- 
 dred dollars. For this sum, another story might be 
 added. The two-story house, without a piazza, 
 (Fig. 16, 17,) could be built for the same sum as 
 this cottage with one. But whoever likes this inte- 
 rior plan better than the preceding one, and prefers 
 to dispense with the piazza, can put the front of the 
 first cottage to this plan. The only alteration re- 
 quired, would be, to make the windows down to 
 the floor, in order to preserve uniformity with the 
 door, which is to be placed at the side, instead of in 
 
 “the middle. In place of the projection for an entry, 
 the slight projection of the width of one brick would 
 preserve the same general appearance on the outside. 
 The folding doors and side doors shown in Fig. 12, 
 are designed only for a room intended to be used for 
 company. ‘They give a genteel look and symme- 
 try to a room, but cost more. In this cottage, (Fig. 
 15,) they may be put in the front room, and more 
 common doors in the two back ones. In the front 
 room, at z, a door is not needed ; a false one is put 
 there to secure the beauty of symmetry. The bed- 
 presses should all be fitted up with shelves, pegs, 
 and curtains, as previously described. Windows are 
 put in the bedpresses, in order to secure proper ven- 
 tilation. They ought to be left open, every morn- 
 ing, to air the bedclothing. The window, opening 
 from the entry, 6, to the bedpress, g, is designed 
 simply for this purpose. 
 
 Explanation of Fig. 15. 
 
 a, Porch. & £ g, Bedpresses. 
 
 b, Entry. Ah h h, Closets. 
 
 ¢, Stairs. z, Store closet. 
 
 d, Parlor, 16 by 20 feet. j, Back entry and Sink. 
 e, Dining-room, 16 by 16 feet. , Cellar stairs. 
 
 J, Kitchen. 0 0 0, Fireplaces. 
 
 24* 
 
282 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 Fig. 16. 
 Ground Plan. a, Entry. 
 Za b, Stairs. 
 Z, 4c, Parlor, 16 
 | by 20 feet. 
 eb NA a 1 d, Kitchen, 14 
 Y O11 s : Q by 14 feet. 
 Y Y 
 j _ v ; 1 €, Store clos- 
 GY y + 
 Y Ct. 
 j f, Pantry. 
 ZY Pico: Sinicn 
 Y A g, Sinkroom. 
 Za A h, Closet, 
 2%, Fire- 
 ~ laces. 
 oa}, n,Cellar door 
 WEE, 
 “lid o, Oven. 
 f Retastetatc i tetop y, Furnace. 
 a £0 LG Zz, Sink. 
 
 Scale of Feet. 
 Fig. 17. 
 Second Story. 
 
 A aes A a, Stairs. 
 a, | &, Passage. 
 y d & me & Bed- 
 so op C ZA _ rooms. 
 BS YZ g ddd d, Clos- 
 ; @oad we ¢, Fire- 
 A __ places. 
 Af, Nursery. 
 e T g,Room for 
 | young 
 Z| children. 
 
 The plans shown in Fig. 16, 17, are designed for 
 a family where most of the domestic labor is to be 
 performed by the ladies of the family. In Fig. 16, 
 the parlor, c, is designed for a sitting-room, and for 
 company. ‘The room d, is designed partly for an 
 eating-room, and partly for a kitchen. Adjacent to 
 it, is the room g, where, at y and o may be placed 
 an oven and large boiler, or a small fireplace. In 
 this room, the washing, baking, and sink-work may 
 be done ; so as to withdraw all the most soiling em- 
 ployments from the room d. This room may be 
 furnished with a carpet, having a wide oil-cloth 
 around the fireplace. Here most of the cooking for 
 
 RTA 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 283 
 
 ordinary meals, and the ironing can be done, and 
 yet the room be made agreeable for an eating-room. 
 The fumes of cooking can be removed by a tempo- 
 rary current of fresh air; and they will be no greater 
 than in many houses where a cooking-stove is used, 
 even in a distant kitchen. 
 
 The nursery is in the second story, at f, (Fig. 17,) 
 with the small adjoining room, g, for young children. 
 The nursery, and also the back chamber, have a 
 fireplace, both of which may be needed in case of 
 sickness. The elevation, Fig. 22, is designed for the 
 exterior of this plan. 
 
 Fig. 18, 19, are plans of a two-story house, on a 
 larger scale. It has three convenient rooms on the 
 ground story, and four chambers above. The let- 
 tering and explanation on the drawing make further 
 description needless. This plan can have either of 
 the elevations, Fig. 20, or 21, for its exterior.. In 
 this plan, a concealed staircase is made to serve for 
 front and back use. 
 
 Fig. 20, 21, are other plans, for a larger house, 
 which also can have either of the elevations, Fig. 
 22 or 23, adapted to it. The two parlors, ¢ e, (Fig. 
 20,) can either be used as parlors, or one of them 
 can be taken for a nursery. In this latter case, the 
 two closets, ¢ 7, will be very convenient. The room 
 d, is for an eating-room, and the closets, and store- 
 room, are placed between that and the kitchen, f. 
 It is a great convenience to have the dish-closet be- 
 tween the dining-room and kitchen; and if a small 
 stone or marble sink be placed here, it will also be a 
 great convenience. Small cupboards and drawers 
 should be placed in this closet, for table linen and 
 articles that need to be locked up. 
 
 This is an example of the position of a staircase 
 which is concealed from public view, and answers 
 for both front and back stairs. At p, is a place for 
 hanging overgarments out of sight. 
 
———————————— mom ae 
 
 284 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 Fig. 18. 
 
 Ground Plan. 
 
 WSS 
 
 b b, Entry. 
 
 c, Stairs. 
 
 d, Parlor, 16 by 20 
 feet. 
 
 e, Dining-room, 15 
 by 16 feet. 
 
 J, Kitchen, 15 by 
 16 feet. 
 
 £& £ g, Closets. 
 
 h, Store closet. 
 
 i, Back entry. 
 
 j, Pantry. 
 
 kK &, Fireplaces. 
 
 x, Cellar stairs. 
 
 LZ ar” ee 
 Z; 
 . 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 Second Story. 
 
 @@ a4, Bedrooms: - 
 | b, Stairs. 
 
 ccc, Closets. 
 
 d, Passage. 
 
 e é é, Kireplaces, 
 y, Garret stairs. 
 
 Scale of Feet. 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 289 
 
 bedpress (j) can be closed, thus making it a sitting- 
 room. ‘This, the gentleman of the house can use 
 for his library. The kitchen, &, has J, m, for pantry 
 and store-room. Another bedroom, m, is adjacent to 
 the nursery ; and comfortable chambers for domestics 
 can be finished in the attic. Closets are marked 0, 
 and fireplaces, p. The stairs are at q. 
 
 The Writer has repeatedly heard ladies, who have 
 kept house where parlor, kitchen, and nursery, were 
 on the same floor, say that it saves nearly one half 
 the fatigue that housekeeping demands, when the 
 nursery is in one story, the parlor in another, and 
 the kitchen in the basement. 
 
 Fig. 26, is the representation of a cottage, built 
 by Daniel Wadsworth, Esq., in the vicinity of Hart- 
 ford, Connecticut. It was for some time the resi- 
 dence of a friend of the Writer, who always spoke 
 of it as one of the most comfortable and agreeable 
 residences she ever entered. 
 
 It is arranged on a plan similar to the preceding, 
 but is on a smaller scale. This drawing exhibits 
 the manner in which the roofs of the previous plan 
 are to be arranged, which here are seen in perspec- 
 tive, while the other drawing shows the front view 
 only. 
 
 The ground plan of this, has the following di- 
 mensions. It is forty feet square. The recess for 
 the portico is five feet deep. The wings, on each 
 side of the central rooms, are twelve feet wide. 
 These wings can be divided into a kitchen and 
 sleeping-rooms. Height, from sill to eaves, ten feet; 
 from sill to ridge-pole, eighteen feet; wings, twelve 
 feet front ; centre building, sixteen feet front; win- 
 dows, in the front of the wings, nine feet and nine 
 inches, from the bottom to the highest point; width 
 three feet and four inches. The upper part of these 
 windows is false. Width of windows, in front 
 of the main building, two feet and nine inches. 
 
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 HI = 
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 1 =) 
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 isn 
 
 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF 
 
 296 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 291 
 
 Kecess for piazza, five feet deep. ‘The house is of 
 wood, covered with narrow boards, planed and 
 matched, and painted stone color. The columns 
 are nine inches at the base, being trunks of trees, 
 with the bark taken off, and their knots projecting a 
 little, but smoothed, and painted the same color as 
 the house, or a little lighter. 
 
 The barn makes a very picturesque appearance. 
 It is thirty feet, on the side toward the street, and 
 forty feet deep. 'The wings on each side, are sheds 
 for cattle, and a carriage-house. These wings are 
 fifteen feet front, toward the street, and twelve feet 
 deep. Height of sheds, from sill to battlement, 
 twelve feet. Height of barn, from sill to eaves, 
 eighteen feet; from sill to ridge, twenty-nine feet. 
 The barn is covered with boards, planed and capped, 
 and painted to represent blocks. 'The windows are 
 false. The small building is a model for a Summer- 
 house, or any small out-building. 
 
 Both this, and the preceding cottage, require a 
 woodhouse, and the conveniences connected with it. 
 Such are represented in Fig. 28, page 293. A building 
 for this purpose, projecting from the kitchen, with 
 battlements like the wings of the barn, (without the 
 block-work,) and with windows like those in the 
 small Summer-house, would appear in good keeping 
 with the rest. The ornaments of the front, and the 
 pillars of the portico, of this cottage, made simply of 
 trunks of small trees, give a beautiful rural finish to 
 the building, and are trifling in expense. 'The fence 
 is painted stone color. 'The interior has two central 
 rooms, and small rooms on each side, in the wings. 
 Tt has also a cellar kitchen. 
 
 in arranging the yard and grounds for such resi- 
 dences, the house should be set back, as in the 
 drawing. The custom of planting shade trees, in 
 straight rows, in yards, is in very bad taste. It is 
 much more beautiful to have them put in clumps, at 
 
292 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 two or three different points. By this method, a 
 dense shade is secured, for some places, and a clear 
 opening for green grass and flowers, which never 
 flourish well, when shade trees are scattered over 
 the premises. The mode of arranging the front 
 yard, as represented in the drawing, is in much 
 better taste than to have the front gate directly 
 before the front door, and a straight walk from one 
 to the other. 
 
 A clump of trees, each side of the gate, a clump 
 at one front corner, and another at one of the back 
 corners of the cottage, and a clump on the circular 
 piece of turf between the barn and house, are what 
 would appear the best. Flowers should be put close 
 to the cottage, and shrubbery on the circle in front, 
 and along the path. 
 
 Fig. 27, represents the accommodations for secur- 
 ing water with the least labor. It is designed fora 
 well or cistern under ground. The reservoir, R, 
 may be a half hogshead, or something larger, which 
 may be filled once a day, from the pump, by a man, 
 or boy.. 
 
 Fig. Qi. 
 
 P, Pump. LZ, Steps to use when pumping. A, Reservoir. G, 
 Brickwork to raise the Reservoir. #B, A large Boiler. F', Fur- 
 nace, beneath the Boiler. C, Conductor of cold water. H, Con- 
 ductor of hot water. K, Cock for letting cold water into the Boiler. 
 S, Pipe to conduct cold water to a cock over the kitchen sink. T, 
 Bathing-tub, which receives cold water from the Conductor C, and ° 
 hot water from the Conductor H.W, Partition separating the Bath- 
 ing-room from the Wash-room. Y, Cock to draw off hot water. Z, 
 Plug to let off the water from the Bathing-tub into a drain. 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 293 
 
 The conductor, C, should be a lead pipe, which, 
 instead of going over the boiler, should be bent along 
 behind it. From §, a branch sets off, which con- 
 ducts the cold water to the sink in the kitchen, 
 where it discharges with a cock. H, is a conductor 
 from the lower part of the boiler, made of copper, or 
 some metal not melted by great heat; and at Y,a 
 cock is placed, to draw off hot water. Then the 
 conductor passes to the bathing-tub, where is another 
 cock. At Z, the water is let off from the bathing- 
 tub. By this arrangement, great quantities of hot 
 and cold water can be used, with no labor in carry- 
 ing, and with very little labor in raising it. 
 
 In case a cistern is built above ground, it can be 
 placed as the reservoir is, and then all the labor of 
 pumping is saved. 
 
 A, Boiler and fur- 
 nace. 
 B, Bathing-room. 
 5 C, Reservoir. 
 + D, Pump. 
 E,, Wash-form. 
 q 2, Sink. 
 N G, Kitchen. 
 H, Woodpile. 
 Z, Large doors, 
 22, Bins for coal 
 and ashes,. 
 O, Window. 
 P P, Privy. 
 | T, Bathing-tub, 
 V, Door, 
 
 Scale of Feet, 
 
 Fig. 28, is the plan of a building for back-door 
 accommodations. At A C D E, are accommodations 
 shown in Fig. 27. The bathing-room is adjacent 
 
 to the boiler and reservoir, to receive the water. 
 25% 
 
294 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 The privy, P P, should have two apartments, as in- 
 dispensable to healthful habits in a family. A win- 
 dow should be placed at O, and a door, with springs 
 or a weight to keep it shut, should be at V. Keep- 
 ing the window open, and the door shut, will pre- 
 vent any disagreeable effects in the house. G*,is the 
 kitchen, and at F’, is the sink, which should have a 
 conductor and eoek from the reservoir. H, is the 
 place for wood, where it should in Summer be stored 
 for Winter. A bin for coal, and alsoa brick receiver 
 for ashes, should be in this part. Every woman 
 should use her influence to secure all these con- 
 veniences; even if it involves the sacrifice of the 
 piazza, or ‘“ the best parlor.” 
 
 Fig. 29. 
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 Front View. Side View. 
 
 Fig. 29, is a latticed portico, which is cheap, and 
 answers all the purposes of a more expensive one. 
 
ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 295 
 
 It should be solid, overhead, to shed the rain, and 
 creepers should be trained overit. A simple latticed 
 arch, over a door, covered with creepers, is very 
 cheap, and serves instead of a portico. 
 
 Fig. 30. 
 
 C, Parlor ceiling. K, Kitchen ceiling. 
 
 Fig. 30, represents a sliding closet, or dumb waiter, 
 a convenience which saves much labor, when the 
 kitchen is in the basement. 'The two closets should 
 be made wide, and broad enough to receive a com- 
 
296 ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. 
 
 mon waiter. The chain or rope, which passes over 
 the wheels, should branch at X,so as to keep the 
 closet from rubbing in its movements, when the 
 dishes are not set exactly in the middle, or are of 
 unequal weights. By this method, almost every 
 thing needed to pass between the kitchen and parlor 
 can be sent up and down, without any steps. If the 
 kitchen is not directly under the eating-room, the 
 sliding closet can be placed in the vicinity of one 
 or both. Where the place is not wide enough for 
 two closets like these, they can be made wider 
 than they are long, say one foot and six inches long, 
 and three feet wide. A strip of wood, an inch broad, 
 should be fastened on the front and back of the 
 shelves, to prevent the dishes from being broken 
 when they are set on carelessly. 
 
 There is nothing which so much improves the 
 appearance of a house and the premises, as painting 
 or whitewashing the tenements and fences. The 
 following receipts for whitewashing, have been 
 found, by experience, to answer the same purpose 
 for wood, brick, and stone, as oil-paint, and are 
 much cheaper. The first is the receipt used for the 
 President’s house at Washington, improved by fur- 
 ther experiments. The second, is a simpler and 
 cheaper one, which the Writer has known to suc- 
 ceed, in a variety of cases, lasting as long, and look- 
 ing as well, as white oil-paint. 
 
 Receipt. 
 
 Take half a bushel of unslacked lime, and slack 
 it with boiling water, covering it during the process. 
 Strain it, and add a peck of salt, dissolved in warm 
 water; three pounds of ground rice, boiled to a thin 
 paste, put in boiling hot; half a pound of powdered 
 Spanish whiting; and a pound of clear glue, dis- 
 solved in warm water, Mix, and let it stand several 
 days. Then keep it in a kettle, on a portable fur- 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 297 
 
 nace, and put it on as hot as possible, with a painter’s 
 or whitewash brush. 
 
 Another. 
 
 Make whitewash, in the usual way, except that 
 the water used should have two double-handfuls of 
 salt dissolved in each pailful of the hot water used. 
 Then stir in a double-handful of fine sand, to make 
 it thick like cream. 'This is better to be put on hot. 
 Coloring matter can be added to both, making a light 
 stone color, a cream color, or a light buff, which are 
 most suitable for buildings. ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXVL 
 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 Wood Fures. Construction of Fireplaces. Firesets. Building a Fire. 
 Wood. Cautions. Wood Stoves. Advantages of, and Objections to, 
 them. Remedies for the Objections. Cautions. Stovepipes. Frank- 
 lin Stoves. Anthracite Coat Fires. Yiow to kindle them. Proper — 
 Grates and Furniture. Bituminous Coal Fires. Proper Grates. 
 How to make the Fires. Coke Fires. Coal Stoves. Various Kinds. 
 Ow Licguts. Oil. Candles. Lard. Pearlash and Water for cleans- 
 ing Lamps. Care of Lamps. Difficulty. Articles needed in trim- 
 ming Lamps. Astral Lamps. Wicks. Shades. Weak Eyes. Dip- 
 ping Wicks in Vinegar. Entry Lamps. Night Lamps. Tapers ; 
 How made. Sealing Wax. To make Candles. Moulds. Dipping. 
 Rush-lights. 
 
 Wood Fires. 
 
 In constructing chimneys, the fireplace should be 
 made shallow ; as this secures more heat and a bet- 
 ter current of air. When already made too deep, a 
 false back, of brick, is an improvement. If the 
 jambs are not of stone, it is best to paint them black. 
 If the hearth is made of bricks, those nearest the 
 fire should be washed over, every day, with redding 
 mixed with milk. 'The bricks not reached by ashes 
 
298 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 should be painted ; or, what is better, covered over 
 with a zinc sheet hearth, which can be fitted down 
 by atinman. ‘This looks very neat and handsome. 
 The hearth, and the lower part of the shovel and 
 tongs, should be washed, every morning. _ Hooks, 
 for holding up tongs and shovel, and a square block 
 of stone, with crossing creases in it, should be pro- 
 vided for every fireplace. Also, a bellows, and a 
 hearth-brush, and brass nails or knobs, on which 
 to hang them. A fireplace cannot well be kept in 
 proper order, without all these conveniences. 
 
 Steel furniture, for a fireplace, is more genteel 
 than brass, and is much less trouble to keep clean. 
 An iron bar, to lay across the andirons, keeps the 
 fire in much better order than it can be without it. 
 
 In building a fire, if logs are used, green wood 
 should be employed, as they consume more slowly, 
 and give out more heat. A mixture of green and 
 dry wood makes a cheaper and hotter fire, than dry 
 wood alone. In kindling a fire, in a fireplace not 
 recently used, it is best to burn a newspaper in it, 
 first, to warm the chimney, and insure a good cur- 
 rent of air. 
 
 Walnut, hickory, and oak, are the best fuel. 
 Chestnut is very bad, as it snaps, and endangers 
 clothing and carpeting.- It is wise for a woman to 
 learn to distinguish the different kinds of wood ; for 
 she may be called to make purchases, when such 
 knowledge will be useful. Almost any man can 
 give this information. 
 
 Wood that is small and crooked, is unprofita- 
 ble. The larger and straighter the wood, the bet- 
 ter. In laying up fuel, for Winter, it is best to 
 have it all split, before piling. Then it should be 
 piled in separate parcels, one consisting of logs, 
 another of green wood, and another of dry; with 
 another pile of chips, and kindling stuff. There 
 should also be a supply of oven-wood, in a sepa- 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 299 
 
 rate pile. Fagots, and any light, dry wood, are suit- 
 able for oven-wood. <A bin of charcoal, also, for 
 heating irons, and broiling meat, afd a brick bin, 
 for holding ashes, should be provided. Keeping 
 ashes in wooden vessels, or throwing them out near 
 combustibles, is a frequent cause of fires. 
 
 When fires are covered, at night, care should be 
 taken that no coal of fire’ adheres to a broom, or 
 brush used for sweeping the hearth; as this has 
 often set fire to houses. All combustible articles 
 should be removed to a distance from the fireplace, 
 lest a spark should fly out and set them on fire. 
 
 Wood WNStoves. 
 
 Stoves are used on account of the great economy 
 of fuel thus secured. A common large box-stove, 
 set in a hall, with a long pipe, and a drum in a dis- 
 tant room, will warm the hall and three or four 
 other rooms. ‘The chief objections to stoves, are, 
 the dryness of air which they induce; the disagree- 
 able smell of the iron; and the coldness of the lower 
 stratum of air, producing cold feet in those who are 
 subject to this difficulty. 
 
 The dryness of the atmosphere can be remedied, 
 most delightfully, by keeping a large number of 
 plants inaroom. ‘The common mode, is, by keep- 
 ing water, in an iron or block-tin vessel, on the 
 stove. Some method of this kind should always be 
 adopted, or else the eyes and lungs will be exposed 
 to injury. 
 
 The disagreeable smell is occasioned by the burn- 
 ing, on the surface of the hot iron, of the dust float- 
 ing in the atmosphere. If stoves are large, so as 
 not to require a very fierce fire, this effect is not 
 produced, as it is only when the iron is nearly red 
 hot, that it takes place. Small sheet-iron stoves 
 almost always produce this effect. 
 
 The remedy for cold feet, is to place the stove as 
 
300 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 low as possible. This can be done, by putting a 
 shallow box of sand under the stove, and covering 
 it with a sheet of iron, having its edges rest on 
 bricks, so as not to touch the box of sand. It can 
 be bent down, so as to conceal its supporters, and 
 thus look neater, but must not touch the floor. 
 By this method, a current of air passes between the 
 sheet-iron and the sand, and the stove can be 
 brought so low as to warm the stratum of air next 
 the floor without danger. 
 
 When the pipe of a stove passes through a wooden 
 partition, the opening should be larger than the pipe, 
 and a sheet of tin be fastened over the opening, 
 with an aperture of about the size of the pipe. 
 When the draught of a stove is poor, it can be 
 increased by lengthening the pipe. Pipes running 
 out of windows, do not have so good a draught, as 
 when they pass into chimneys; nor will they draw 
 as well, when run through a fireboard, as when raised 
 higher. Sometimes, a double elbow, at the end of 
 a pipe which runs through a window, will make the 
 stove draw better, by preventing the access of wind, 
 and by giving two directions to the smoke. 
 
 Franklin-stoves are most agreeable for parlors, as 
 they combine the advantages of stoves and open 
 fireplaces. 
 
 Anthracite Coal Fires. 
 
 Anthracite coal is principally burned east of the Al- 
 leghany mountains. Its advantages are, that it makes 
 a very clean and a very hot fire, and that it seldom 
 needs replenishing. In selecting coal, that which 
 has a soft, porous appearance, and is covered with 
 damp dust, is not good. That which is bright, hard, 
 and clear, is the best. The broken or sereened coal 
 is best for grates, and the nut-coal for small stoves. 
 Three tons are enough for one fire, through the 
 Winter, in the Middle States, and four tons in the 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 301 
 
 Northern States. With every ton of anthracite coal, 
 two barrels of charcoal may be used for kindling ; or 
 the fire may be kept constantly alive, by throwing 
 on, at night, a few coals, to cover up the fire. The 
 grates for anthracite coal must have a very good 
 draught ; and, for this purpose, there should be only 
 one opening into the chimney, and this only two 
 and a half inches wide. An aperture for carrying 
 off dust and ashes, diminishes the draught. The 
 grate should also be made deep, as shallow grates 
 make it difficult to keep the fire ignited. If the 
 grate is large, and well made, the fire needs to be 
 replenished, after it is made in the morning, only 
 twice ; once at eleven, and once at six, o’clock. In 
 kindling a fire, in the morning, first remove all the 
 coal and ashes, and once a week wash the grate out 
 clean. Then lay on one tier of coal, and on this 
 place the fire, then the kindling stuff, and then the 
 charcoal. Then pile on the coal, which should be 
 of the size of eggs and oranges, laying the largest 
 pieces back. Fill the grate full, then raise the coal 
 still higher against the back, and then put up the 
 blower. This kind of fire should never be poked, 
 except when replenished, and then, not till after the 
 blower has been put up, and the fire kindled by it. 
 The blower should always be taken down before it 
 becomes red hot, or it will soon be burned out. The 
 fire should not be allowed to sink lower than the 
 second bar from the top, or it will go out. 
 
 When the fire is to be replenished, put up the 
 blower, to keep off the ashes, and then poke the 
 coal, to bring it to a more compact state. Then fill 
 the grate, as before. When the fire is too hot, it 
 can be diminished by throwing ashes on the top. 
 The dryness of the air can be remedied by hooking 
 a long and narrow iron pan in front of the grate, and 
 keeping it filled with water. A large number of 
 plants in a room, is also a remedy for this evil. 
 
 26 
 
302 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 A coal fire, should be furnished with shovel, tongs, 
 and poker, a blower, a coal scuttle, a brush, and a 
 holder for the blower, made of woollen covered with 
 old silk. 'The ashes of anthracite coal, it is said, 
 serves the same purpose for manure, as plaster of 
 Paris. 
 
 Bituminous Coal Fires. 
 
 Bituminous coal is burned west of the Mountains, 
 and to some extent at the Hast. Grates for this kind 
 of fire, should have a flue nearly as deep as the 
 grate; and the bars should be round, and not near 
 together. The bars which are square and close, 
 do not make so bright and clear a fire as the others. 
 It burns best in large pieces; though the fine can be 
 burnt with a mixture of chips and fine wood: but if 
 put in alone, it packs so tight as to prevent a draught. 
 The quantity of dust and ashes from a coal fire, de- 
 pends very much on the construction of the grate. 
 If it has a good draught, much less dust and ashes 
 will be made, and the most of this will be drawn up 
 the chimney. But if the draught is poor, the coal 
 dust will fly about, soiling every thing in the room. 
 It would be a saving of much labor and expense, if 
 a grate is a bad one, to have it replaced by a better 
 one. This kind of fire is improved by poking, when 
 it has burned some time. It may be kept burning 
 slowly all night in a grate, by covering the top with 
 ashes. When the fire is to be kindled anew, in the 
 morning, all the coal and ashes must be removed, 
 and the grate made clear ; then put some small pieces 
 of sticks and coal at the bottom, and on this put the 
 fire and kindling stuff. After they have begun to 
 burn, fill the grate with coal. 
 
 Coke Fires. 
 
 Coke is the coal which has had the bituminous 
 part extracted from it. It makes a quick bright fire, 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 303 
 
 but burns out faster than coal, and is best for Spring 
 and Fall. 
 
 Coal-Stoves. 
 
 There are various kinds of stoves, for burning coal. 
 Anthracite, when burnt in stoves, should be as small 
 as eggs. What is called nui-coal is best. Stoves 
 for coal should be carefully put up, as, if the pipe 
 gapes, the coal gas may occasion death, especially if 
 it escapes into a sleeping-room. If a person is ap- 
 parently lifeless, from the effects of coal smoke, 
 fresh air, friction, poultices on the feet, stimulants to 
 the nostrils, and hot drinks, such as pepper and gin- 
 ger, should be administered with much perseverance. 
 
 ON LIGHTS. 
 
 Oil is most commonly used, as lamps afford a 
 clearer and steadier light, and do not scatter grease 
 like common tallow candles. Oil is much cheaper 
 than candles of wax and spermaceti. The best oil 
 is clear, and nearly colorless. Winter-strained oil 
 should be bought for Winter, as the other kinds will 
 not burn so well in cold weather. Where lard is 
 very cheap, as it often is in places where pork 
 abounds, it will be found a less expensive and more 
 agreeable material than oil, for astral and other large 
 lamps. ‘Those who use it, keep it in a coarse 
 pitcher, and set it to melt every morning, just before 
 filling their lamps. It will not answer for small 
 lamps. Oil grows thick, and does not burn well, 
 when it has been kept long. It is not, therefore, 
 good economy to buy large quantities. It should 
 not be left standing, in astral or other lamps not in 
 steady use, as this spoils the oil. It should be 
 emptied out, as soon as the lamp is out of use, even 
 if only a few days intervene before it is used again. 
 The inside of lamps and oil-cans should often be 
 cleansed, with pearlash water. In doing this, be care- 
 
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 CRF CSE IO YR LAO 
 
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 grat i rn eS eS 
 
304 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 ful not to let any of the pearlash get on the gilding 
 or bronze, as it would do injury. Also take care to 
 drain it thoroughly out of the lamps, or it will com- 
 bine with the oil and form soap, and injure the oil. 
 Mix one tablespoonful of pearlash with one quart of 
 water. 
 
 On the Care of Lamps. 
 
 There is no work intrusted to domestics, which it 
 is so difficult to have properly attended to, as the care 
 of lamps. They forget to screw them on properly, 
 and the oil is spilt ; or, the oil runs over and soils the 
 hand that takes the lamp; or, the wicks are not 
 properly trimmed; or, some other thing is neglected, 
 or done amiss. For this reason, many ladies, who 
 keep a full supply of domestics, choose to do this 
 work themselves. ‘Tio do it neatly and properly, 
 the following articles should be provided :—An old 
 waiter, on which should be placed all the articles 
 used; a lamp-filler, with a spout small at the end 
 and turning up to prevent oil from dripping ; a ball 
 of wickyarn, and a small basket to keep it in; a 
 lamp-trimmer, made for the purpose, or a pair of 
 sharp common scissors ; a small soap-cup, and some 
 pearlash corked in a broad-mouthed bottle; two 
 small soft cloths, to wash the lamps with, and several 
 soft coarse towels to wipe them. After cleaning and 
 filling the lamps, the waiter, and every article used, 
 should be thoroughly cleansed from oil, with soap 
 suds. If all these articlesare kept neatly, it will not 
 be so unpleasant a job, as it is, in the manner in 
 which it is usually done by domestics. If the lady 
 of the house chooses to have her domestics do it, 
 it is very important that she should provide all con- 
 veniences, and insist on cleanliness, and the frequent 
 change of cloths and towels. In taking care of an 
 astral lamp, the shade should be washed once a week, 
 and the glass chimney whenever it is dimmed by 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 305 
 
 smoke. 'The whole lamp should be taken apart, and 
 cleansed with pearlash water, once a month, if it is 
 in constant use. In trimming lamps, the fingers 
 should be perfectly dry. The way to raise an astral 
 lamp wick, is, to turn it to the right ; to lower it, turn 
 it to the left. It should be trimmed, before using it, 
 and raised to the proper height, as near as can be, be- 
 fore lighting. If it is allowed to burn awhile, before 
 raising it to the proper height, it forms a crust, which 
 dims the light. 'The wick should be renewed, when 
 it is only an inch and a half long. The close-woven 
 wieks burn better than those which are loose. Plain 
 shades are better than cut, for astral lamps, as they 
 give a steady light, and do not injure weak eyes as 
 figured shades do. They also make prints and 
 paintings appear better. An astral lamp should be 
 lighted by a strip of rolled or folded paper, after the 
 shade and chimney are removed. Adjust the lamp, 
 after putting on the chimney, before putting on the 
 shade. Low lights are bad for weak eyes, as the 
 light shines more directly into the eye. Weak eyes 
 should always be shaded from bright lights, by a 
 small screen, set on the table. A person who has 
 weak eyes, can often use them, without much inju- 
 ry, in the evening, if the light is clear and steady, 
 and is shaded from the eyes. Dipping the wick in 
 vinegar, makes a light more steady, and prevents 
 the disagreeable smell, when extinguished. Entry 
 lamps should be trimmed every night, and the lamps 
 in lanterns should be cleansed and filled twice a 
 week, and oftener if much used. Small lamps are 
 best to carry about, and broad-bottomed tin lamps 
 are best for kitchen use, not being easily upset. 
 
 The best and simplest kind of night-lamp, is a 
 common small lamp, with a tin cover to set over it. 
 The cover can be made so as to set an article over 
 the lamp to heat water. A common roll of tin, with 
 a few holes in the bottom, made smaller at top than 
 
 26* 
 
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 Hl 
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306 ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 
 
 the bottom, and having a handle, is all that is re- 
 quired. 
 
 Where a light is to be kept every night, it is 
 cheaper to use the floating tapers, which can be 
 bought at stores, or easily made. ‘T’o make them, 
 melt some beeswax in water, and run very coarse 
 thread repeatedly through it, until it is as large as 
 the largest sized darning needle. Cut this in pieces, 
 an inch long. Then cut a large cork into thin 
 pieces, and make a hole in the centre. Get some 
 round pieces of tin, about the size of the cork, with a 
 small hole in the centre. Put the tins on the top of 
 the cork, and then draw the waxed thread through. 
 This wick must be made of the size of the holes, or 
 it will slip out. Put some oil in a small tin cup, place 
 one of these with the cork side down in the oil, light 
 it, and it will burn all night. A strip of wick-yarn 
 drawn through melted white wax, till stiff and 
 smooth, makes a good article for sealing letters. It 
 ean be rolled in a fanciful form, to be kept on the 
 writing table. The wax must be melted in hot 
 water. It will rise on the top, and then the wick 
 can be repeatedly drawn through it. 
 
 To make Candles. 
 
 Nice candles are made in moulds. ‘To do this, 
 melt the materials together, in this proportion: one 
 quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an 
 ounce of camphor, and two ounces of alum, to every 
 ten ounces of suet or mutton tallow. Soak the 
 wicks in lime-water and saltpetre; fix them in the 
 moulds, and pour in the melted tallow. When they 
 have remained one night, for cooling, warm them 
 a little, to melt the tallow, and then draw them 
 out; and when hard, put them in a box, in a dry 
 place. 
 
 Dipped candles are cheaper, and more easily made. 
 To make them, cut the wicks into strips, and double 
 
ON FIRES AND LIGHTS. 307 
 
 them over a rod, twisting them slightly. They 
 should first be dipped in vinegar, or lime-water, and 
 thoroughly dried. Then melt the tallow in a large 
 kettle of water, having as much water as tallow. 
 Wax, and powdered alum, improve them. Let this 
 stand on a portable furnace, or coals, to keep the 
 water hot. Lay two strips of wood, about three 
 fourths of a yard apart, and about as high from the 
 floor. Under this, put boards, or pans, to catch the 
 drippings. Then take all the rods, dip the wicks 
 once, and suspend them on this frame. Then take 
 each rod separately, and when cold straighten and 
 smooth the wicks, and put them at proper distances. 
 Then continue to dip them, (two reds at a time,) till 
 the candles are of the size wanted. Keep filling the 
 kettle with hot water, so as to keep the tallow near 
 the top. In dipping, do not plunge them perpen- 
 dicularly, but in a slanting direction, and do it 
 quickly. When the bottom part of the candles 
 grows too large for the upper part, hold them in the 
 hot tallow, till a part melts off. Let them hang one 
 night; then cut off the bottoms, square, and keep 
 them in a dry cool place. Lights, made of rushes 
 dipped in tallow, are very cheap. 
 
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308 ON WASHING. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVILI. 
 
 ON WASHING. 
 
 Good Washers rare. All needful Accommodations should be provid- 
 ed. Plenty of Water, easily accessible, necessary. Apparatus for 
 heating Water. Articles to be provided for Washing. Substitutes 
 for Soft Water. Washerwoman. Common Mode of Washing. 
 Assorting clothes. To wash Blankets and other Bedding. Feathers. 
 Soda Washing. Soda Soap. Mode ofSoda Washing. Lime-water. 
 Cautions in regard to Colored Clothes. Bran-water. Potato-water. 
 Yo wash Brown Linen, Muslins, Nankeen, Furniture Chintz, 
 Curtains, &c., Woollen Table Covers and Shawls, Woollen Yarn, 
 Painted Muslins. To cleanse Gentlemen’s cloth Coats and Panta- 
 loons. To wash Merinos, Bombazines, and Challys. To Manu-~ 
 facture Soap-Starch, and other Articles used in Washing. To 
 make Ley. Soft Soap. Hard Soap. Fine White Soap. Starch. 
 
 Ir is a common complaint, in all parts of the 
 Country, that good washers are very rare. And yet 
 there are few things, more trying to a neat house- 
 keeper, than to put nice articles into the wash, and 
 have them returned yellow, streaked, and spotted. 
 There is nothing, which tends so effectually to di- 
 minish this evil, as to secure an abundant supply of 
 all accommodations and facilities for doing this work 
 properly. If the washerwoman has to draw water, 
 at a distance from her place of work, or, if she ob- 
 tains it only by a laborious process, she will be very 
 apt to stint her measure of it; whereas, if it is easily 
 obtained, and readily heated, she will be much more 
 likely to make her clothes clean and white, by an 
 abundance and frequent change of water. The 
 apparatus for the convenience and heating of water, 
 spoken of on page 292, (Fig. 27,) can be secured, at 
 no very great expense ; and will greatly increase the 
 probabilities of securing good washing. There are 
 other accommodations, a full supply of which, will 
 also greatly promote the same object. For persons 
 
ON WASHING. 309 
 
 who have large washes, all of the following articles 
 will be desirable. 
 
 Articles to be provided for Washing. 
 
 Soft water is a very important item. When this 
 cannot be obtained, soda or ley, put in the hard 
 water, softens it. But great care is required, lest, by 
 putting in too large a quantity, the clothes, as well 
 as the skin of the person washing, be injured. Two 
 washforms are needful; one for the two tubs in 
 which the suds is put, and the other for the blueing 
 water and starch-tub. Four tubs, of different sizes ; 
 two or three pails; a large wooden dipper ; a grooved 
 wash-board ; a clothes-line, (sea-grass, or horse-hair, 
 is best;) a long wash-stick to move the clothes in 
 boiling ; and a wooden fork to take them out ;—these 
 are all useful, and prevent loss of time. It is also 
 very desirable to have soap-dishes made of wood, 
 with hooks of wire or wood, so that they can be 
 hooked to the sides of the tubs. This prevents 
 waste, both of time and soap. In addition to these, 
 are needed, a clothes-bag, in which to boil the 
 clothes; an indigo-bag, made of double flannel; a 
 bottle of ox-gall, to use for calicos; a supply of 
 starch; a starch-strainer, of coarse unbleached cot- 
 ton, made into a bag, tapering down to a point; and 
 six or eight dozen clothes-pins, which are cleft sticks, 
 made to fasten the clothes on the line. A junk bot- 
 tle of dissolved gum Arabic is also often useful. A 
 brass or copper kettle is best for boiling clothes, as 
 iron is apt to stain them with its rust. Tubs and 
 pails, after having been used, should be put in a 
 cool place, to prevent their shrinking and falling to 
 pieces. A closet, for keeping all these articles at 
 hand, and in proper order for the washer, is a very 
 great convenience. It should be made four feet 
 wide, three feet deep, and six or seven feet in height, 
 with a wooden bottom. In the lower part, are to 
 
ON WASHING. 
 
 be placed the tubs, one within another, turned on 
 their sides. A short distance above them, is to be 
 placed a shelf, on which is to be put a basket hold- 
 ing the clothes-pins, the clothes-fork and line, soap- 
 dishes, and dipper. Above this, is to be placed 
 another shelf, upon which may be set the jug of ox- 
 gall, a bottle of dissolved glue, a bottle of gum 
 Arabic, a large box of starch, and a small box of 
 indigo. ‘These shelves should extend to only half 
 the depth of the closet. On one side of the closet, 
 should be four nails, on which to hang the starch- 
 bag, the bag in which the clothes are boiled, the 
 blueing-bag, and the wash-stick. The ironing imple- 
 ments might also be kept in this closet, by making 
 the lower shelf a foot and a half higher, and putting 
 a deep drawer under it. In this drawer, could be 
 kept the ironing sheets and holders, and the irons 
 might be placed on one of the shelves. A lock and 
 key should be put on this closet, so that, if necessary, 
 it may be kept locked. Whena washerwoman finds 
 all the conveniences amply provided ‘and neatly ar- 
 ranged, it always will have an effect in leading her 
 to be more particular than she would be, if every 
 thing is at loose ends, and many conveniences are 
 lacking. If the lady of the house requires the 
 washerwoman to see her before leaving, and then 
 inquires if each of these articles are properly cleansed 
 and put in their places, it will be more certainly done. 
 
 Common Mode of Washing. 
 8 
 
 It saves considerable labor, to assort the clothes, 
 and put the white ones to soak, the night before, in 
 warm water. Do not allow hot water to be poured 
 on them, as it makes it more difficult to wash out 
 the dirt. In assorting clothes, the flannels are to be 
 put in one lot, the colored clothes in another, the 
 coarser white clothes in a third, and the fine clothes 
 in a fourth lot. Wash the fine clothes first, in suds, 
 
ON WASHING. 311 
 
 and throw them, when wrung, into another tub of 
 suds. ‘Then wash them in the second suds, turning 
 them wrong side out. Then put them into the 
 boiling bag, and let them boil, in strong soapsuds, 
 for half an hour, (not more,) moving them about, 
 with the wash-stick, to keep them from getting 
 yellow in spots. Take them out of the boiling 
 water, into a tub, and rub the dirtiest spots. Then 
 rinse them, throwing them, when wrung, into a tub 
 of blueing water. Wring them hard the last time, 
 or they will be liable to dry in streaks. Put the 
 articles to be stiffened, by themselves, and dip them 
 in starch just before hanging out. Hang white 
 clothes, if possible, in the sun, and colored clothes 
 in the shade. They should be fastened: on the line 
 with wooden clothes-pins, which are safer and more 
 .convenient than any other mode. After the fine 
 clothes, wash the coarser articles in the above man- 
 ner. ‘Then wash the colored clothes, which must 
 not be boiled, nor have ley or soda put in the water. 
 A tablespoonful of beef-gall, added to the suds, im- 
 proves the appearance of nice prints, and preserves 
 their colors. Lastly, wash the flannels. In wash- 
 ing white flannels, make suds as hot as the hand 
 can bear. It shrinks flannels, in spots, to have soap 
 rubbed on. Very nice flannels should have a suds 
 of white soap. After washing through the first suds, 
 they should be thrown into another tub of hot suds, 
 and in this last be turned wrong side out. They 
 should then be thrown into clear hot blueing water, 
 as suds will not combine well with indigo, and 
 makes specks in the flannel. Flannels should never 
 be left long in water, nor ever be put in any but hot 
 water. After washing, shake them and pull them 
 into proper shape, before hanging them out. Noth- 
 ing is so much injured by bad washing, as white 
 flannel. Colored flannel, and woollen hose, should 
 be washed after the white. Some persons keep 
 
 if 
 
312 ON WASHING. 
 
 stocking boards, shaped like a foot and leg, on 
 which they draw woollen hose, when drying. This 
 keeps them from shrinking, and makes them look 
 better than to iron them. Unbleached cotton hose 
 should be dipped in coffee water, unless it is wished 
 to whiten them. 
 
 To wash Blankets. 
 
 Select a warm and long day, and begin at an 
 early hour. Pound the blankets in a barrel, with 
 hot suds, mixing the soap thoroughly with the 
 water, before putting them in. Rinse in hot suds, 
 not wringing them much. If not dry by night, fold 
 them and hang them out the next morning. 
 
 To wash other Bedding. 
 
 Bedquilts should be pounded in a barrel, with 
 warm suds. After rinsing, wring as dry as possible. 
 Bolsters and pillows can be washed, without empty- 
 ing the feathers, by pounding them in warm suds, 
 and rinsing them in fair water. It takes several 
 days to dry them. Usually it is better to take out 
 the feathers from good articles; more common ones 
 can be washed without. Cotton comforters can be 
 washed without taking out the cotton; but it is 
 better to wash the covers only, and then put them 
 together again. ‘To wash beds, the feathers must 
 be taken out, and washed, and laid to dry, on some 
 floor not in use. The ticks must be washed like 
 other articles. 
 
 Soda Washing. 
 
 A very great improvement in economy of labor 
 has become common, namely, soda washing. Much 
 prejudice has been excited against the method, be- 
 cause, if it is not done with proper care, it injures 
 the texture of the cloth. This evil is done either 
 by boiling in the mixture too long, or by putting in 
 too much soda. ‘To prevent a risk of the last, some 
 
ON WASHING. Be 
 
 ladies make a composition, called sodg soap, which 
 they keep on hand for the purpose. The following 
 method has been pursued by several friends of 
 the Writer, for successive years, and though they 
 have employed all sorts of washers, no injurious 
 results have ever followed. They calculate that it 
 saves one half the labor of common washing, In 
 preparing for it, it is necessary first to make the 
 soap. 
 Soda Soap for Washing. 
 
 Take twenty-four pounds of common bar-soap ; 
 twenty-four pounds of sub-carbonate of soda, (or 
 coarse washing-soda;) and five gallons of soft water. 
 Boil the above for two hours, and keep it on hand 
 for use. Also make a barrel of lime-water, by put- 
 ting one peck of quicklime to a barrel of soft water. 
 This is to be kept for use. 
 
 Mode of Soda- Washing. 
 
 Put two pounds of the above soap to two large 
 pailfuls of soft water, and add one pint of lime-water. 
 In this mixture, first put the nicer white clothes. 
 They must be soaked the previous night in warm 
 (not hot) water. Let them boil just one hour and no 
 more. If they boil longer, it injures the clothes. 
 Take them out into clear water, (draining them so as 
 not to waste the material.) Turn them wrong side 
 out, and rub the spots that look most soiled. If very 
 dirty, rub on a little soap. Wring them hard, and 
 throw them into the blueing-water. Wring them 
 hard out of the blueing, and hang them out. It will 
 be seen that this saves all the labor of the two first 
 washings in suds in the common mode of washing, 
 and yet it usually makes clothes look whiter than 
 any other method. After the fine clothes are boiled, 
 put in the coarser ones, and proceed as above. The 
 colored clothes, and flannels, must not, of course, be 
 
 27 
 
3 Lt ON WASHING. 
 
 boiled in this. These can be washed while the 
 white clothes are boiling. 
 
 The Writer has friends who omit the lime-water, 
 and say that it makes no difference, except that it 
 saves the trouble of making and keeping the lime- 
 water. Another rinsing-water, before the blueing- 
 water, is an improvement. 
 
 Cautions in Regard to Colored Clothes. 
 
 Neither calico, nor prints, ought to be left lying in 
 water. The water in which they are washed, ought 
 not to be very warm; and when the suds looks dark 
 and dirty, it should be changed, before another 
 article is added: otherwise the succeeding pieces 
 will be streaked or dingy. Soap ought not to be 
 rubbed on; the grease should be removed by a paste 
 of magnesia, or starch 1, or by French chalk, or Wil- 
 mington clay. It is better to make starch for dark 
 calico, with water mixed with cold coffee, as it pre- 
 vents a whitish appearance. Common clue stiffen- 
 ing, also, is good for dark calico clothes. ‘They 
 is be dried wrong side out, in the shade. F'reez- 
 
 ng in drying injures the colors of calico. When 
 laid aside from use, all the stiffening should be taken 
 out, or their texture will be sa jaeed. Some persons 
 
 . wash calicos in bran-water, without soap. For this 
 
 perpose, boil four quarts of wheat bran in two pail- 
 fuls of water; strain it, and when lukewarm divide 
 it into two parts. Wash the calico first in one and 
 then in the other water. Then rinse, wring hard, 
 and hang out to dry. Potato-water is equally good. 
 
 For this, grate eight large potatoes to one gallon of 
 water ; divide the water into three portions. Wash 
 in the two first, and rinse in the last. 
 
 To wash Brown Linen, or Muslins, of Tea, Drab, 
 or Olive Colors 
 
 Boil a bunch of common hay in sufficient sofi 
 water to wash and rinse the articles. ‘The water 
 
ON WASHING. 3b 
 
 should be the color of new brown linen. If darker, 
 add more water. If the clothes are not very dirty, 
 it is best to wash the first time in lukewarm clear 
 water, without soap. ‘Then wash and rinse in the 
 hay-water, stiffening with glue-water. Put a tea- 
 spoonful of oil of vitriol or pyroligneous acid in the 
 rinsing-water. Dry in the shade, and sprinkle and 
 roll three hours before ironing. Ladies’ linen travel- 
 ling dresses, gentlemen’s roundabouts, and linen 
 aprons, by the above process can be made to look as 
 when new. 
 
 To wash Nankeen. 
 
 New Nankeen, if soaked in ley one night, and 
 dried without rinsing, retains its color, perfectly. 
 Wash, after it is worn, in two portions of warm suds, 
 the first having a teacupful of ley added to it. Rinse 
 in two waters, with a very little suds added. [Iron 
 on the wrong side. 
 
 To wash Furniture Chintz, Curtains, and Spreads. 
 
 The Writer has never seen the following tried. It 
 is given on Miss Leslie’s authority. 
 
 Boil two pounds of rice in two gallons of water, 
 till the rice is perfectly soft. Strain the water, and 
 use one half for washing ; and, where soap is needed, 
 rub on some of the rice tied up in a muslin rag. 
 Put half the boiled rice in a bag, and place it ina 
 tub of clean water; and in this wash the chintz, 
 using the rice-bag for soap. Then put three tea- 
 spoonfuls of pyroligneous acid in the last half of 
 the rice-water, and rinse the chintz. Dry, stretch, 
 fold, and press. Then rub it, on the right side, 
 with a smooth stone, or a bit of polished marble, in- 
 stead of ironing it. 
 
 T'o wash Woollen Table Covers, or Woollen Shawis. 
 
 Take out the grease spots, either with starch, 
 French chalk, magnesia, or Wilmington clay-ball. 
 
316 ON WASHING. 
 
 Take out the stains with spirits of hartshorn. Wash 
 in two portions of hot suds made of white soap. 
 Do not wring, but fold and press the water out, 
 catching it in a tub under the table. Shake, stretch, 
 and dry it, not in the sun, and not by a fire. 
 Do not let it freeze in drying. Sprinkle with 
 warm water three hours before ironing, and fold and 
 roll it tight. Iron on the wrong side, pressing very 
 heavily. 
 
 To wash Woollen Yarn. 
 
 Wash in hot water, putting ina teacupful of ley to 
 half a pail of water, and no soap. Rinse till the 
 water comes off clear. 
 
 To wash Black Worsted or Woollen Hose. 
 
 If new, soak all night; then wash in hot suds, 
 with beef’s gall, a tablespoonful to half a pail of 
 water. Rinse till no color comes out. Then stretch 
 on stocking-frames, or iron them, when damp, on the 
 wrong side. 
 
 T'o wash Painted Musilins. 
 
 Wash in one or two portions of lukewarm suds, 
 made with white soap. Rinse twice, in cold water, 
 putting in the last rinsing-water a teaspoonful of oil 
 of vitriol, or pyroligneous acid. Stiffen with rice- 
 water made by boiling a pint anda half of rice, one 
 hour, in a gallon and a half of soft water, and strained. 
 Stretch and dry in the shade, wrong side out. Then 
 sprinkle and roll one hour before ironing. 
 
 To cleanse Gentlemen’s Cloth Coats and Panta- 
 loons. 
 
 The Writer has tried, and seen others try, the 
 following method, with remarkable success, on all 
 sorts of broadcloth articles of dress. Take one 
 beef’s gall, half a pound of saleratus, and four gal- 
 
ON WASHING. 317 
 
 ions of warm water. - With a clothes-brush dipped in 
 this mixture, scour the article, laying it on a table, 
 for the purpose. The collar of a coat and the grease 
 spots (previously marked by a stitch or two of white 
 thread) must be brushed with this mixture repeated- 
 ly. After this, take the article and rinse it up and 
 down in the mixture. Then rinse it up and down 
 in the same way in soft cold water. Then, without 
 any wringing or pressing, hang it up to drain and 
 dry. When dry, dampen with a sponge, and iron 
 on the wrong side, or else spread something between 
 the cloth and iron, ironing till perfectly dry. It is 
 best to rip out pockets and linings, if the articles are 
 worth the trouble. Also brush the article before 
 washing. It is often best to iron no part but the 
 skirt, and press the lappets and cuffs. 
 
 Another Mode of washing Broadcloths. 
 
 Shake and brush the article. Rip out pockets and 
 linings. Wash in two portions of strong suds, put- 
 ting a teacupful of ley in the first. Do not wring, 
 but roll them tight, and press the water out. When 
 entirely dry, sprinkle them, and let them lie all night. 
 Iron on the wrong side, or with an intervening cloth, 
 tll perfectly dry. For light woollens, white soap 
 must be used. Iron on the right side with an inter- 
 vening cloth. 
 
 To wash Merinos, Bombazines, and Challys. 
 
 Take out all gathers and plaits. Free the article 
 from dust. Make a suds of warm (not hot) water 
 and white soap, adding a spoonful of ox-gall. Then 
 wash in a weaker suds, adding, for dark things, a 
 handful of salt, and for light things, a teaspoonful of 
 oil of vitriol. Do not wring, but fold and press the 
 water out on a table, catching it in a tub beneath. 
 When nearly dry, roll in a damp towel, and let it 
 lie an hour. Iron on the wrong side. Do not let 
 
 27% 
 
 th 
 ait 
 i 
 ys 3 
 
318 ON WASHING. 
 
 them remain damp very long. For black bomba- 
 zines, put in ley instead of ox-gall. 
 
 To manufacture Soap-Starch, and other Articles 
 used in Washing. 
 
 To make Ley. : 
 
 Provide a large ash-tub, small at bottom and large 
 at top. Set it on a form, so high that a large tub 
 may stand under it. Make a hole, an inch in diame- 
 ter, on one side, at the bottom of the tub. Lay 
 bricks within this tub, about the hole, and put straw 
 over them. ‘To seven bushels of ashes, put three 
 pailfuls of boiling water, two gallons of slacked lime, 
 and one gallon of unslacked lime. Put the lime 
 into the water, and let it stand some time, and then 
 pour it in. After this, add one pailful of cold soft 
 water, once an hour, for ten hours. Set a large tub 
 under the ash-tub, to catch the drippings, and try 
 the strength by an egg. If this rises so as to show 
 a circle of the size of a ten-cent-piece, the ley is right. 
 If the egg rises higher, the ley must be weakened 
 with water; if it does not rise so high, the ley is too 
 weak, and there is no remedy but to go over the 
 whole process. Much depends on the kind of ashes. 
 Hickory ashes make the strongest ley ; and one fourth 
 less of this kind is needed, than of most other kinds. 
 Quick icy is made by pouring one gallon of boiling 
 soft water on three quarts of ashes, and straining it. 
 
 To make Soft Soap. 
 
 The grease for this purpose may be secured by sav- 
 ing all drippings and fat not used in a family. This 
 can be melted up, and poured into weak ley, and when 
 cold set away. Some persons keep a barrel, or half 
 barrel, for soap-grease. Weak ley should be kept in 
 this barrel, and a cover over it. ‘'T'o make soft soap, 
 take in the proportion of one pailful of ley to three 
 
ON WASHING. 319 
 
 pounds of fat. Melt the fat, and pour in the ley by 
 degrees. Let it boil steadily, all day, till it is ropy. 
 If it is not boiled enough, when cold it will turn to 
 ley and sediment. While boiling, there should al- 
 ways be a little oil on the surface. If this does not 
 appear, add more grease. If there is too much, it 
 can be skimmed off, when the soap is cold. T'ry it, 
 by cooling a small quantity. When it appears like 
 gelly, on becoming cold, it isdone. It must then be 
 put in a cool place, and stirred often, for several days. 
 
 Lo make Hard Soap. 
 
 ‘T'ake in the proportion of a pound and a half of 
 fat to two gallons of ley, and a piece of quicklime as 
 large as an egg. Boil four hours, stirring often. 
 When it appears like gelly, on cooling, put in one 
 quart of fine salt, boil ten minutes, and then cool it. 
 Next day, melt it, run it in moulds, and put it in a 
 dry place, to harden. Before putting the salt in, if 
 it is too liquid, add a little water, as the ley is too 
 strong. -Adding more lime, makes the soap harder. 
 
 Lo make fine White Soap. 
 
 Take fifteen pounds of lard or suet. When boil- 
 ing, add, by dipping slowly, five gallons of ley. 
 Skim it, and then add a gallon of ley mixed with 
 a gallon of water. Cool a small portion, and if no 
 grease rise, it is done; if grease does rise, add ley 
 and boil it till no more grease appears. Then add 
 three quarts of fine salt. If this does not harden it 
 sufficiently, add more salt. Cool it, and if it is to be 
 perfumed, and put in moulds, melt it the next day, 
 for this purpose. 
 
 To manufacture Starch. 
 
 Cleanse a peck of unground wheat, and soak it, 
 several days, in soft water. When quite soft, re- 
 move the husks, with the hand, and the soft part 
 
2 Tere Se 
 
 320 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 will settle. Pour off the water, and put in fresh, 
 every day, stirring it well. When, after stirring 
 and settling, the water is clear, it is done. Then 
 strain off the water, and dry it several days in the 
 sun. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 To Prepare Starch. Glue Starch. Glue for Cementing Furniture. 
 To Prepare Gum Arabic, Beef’s or Ox-Gall. Starching Thick 
 Clothes. ‘To Wash and Prepare Thread and Bobbinet Laces. 
 To Cleanse or Whiten Silk Lace, or Blond, and White Lace 
 Veils. OnIroninc. Articles to be provided for Ironing. Sprink- 
 ling, Folding, and Ironing. 
 
 To prepare Starch. 
 
 Taxes four tablespoonfuls of starch, and wet it in 
 about as much cold water, rubbing it till all lumps 
 
 are removed, and then add half a teacupful of cold 
 
 water. Have ready a quart of boiling water, and 
 into it slowly pour the starch, stirring the water 
 briskly. Some prefer pouring the boiling water into 
 the starch. Boil it for half an hour, and just before 
 taking it up, stir in a bit of spermaceti, as large as a 
 hazelnut. This prevents the starch from sticking 
 to the irons. ‘Loaf sugar, or salt, thrown in, produce 
 a similar effect, but are not quite so good. Strain 
 the starch through the starch-bag, and then add a 
 very little blueing. If the starch is to be made 
 thinner, hot water should be used. For dark cali- 
 cos, starch, thinned with coffee, prevents the whitish 
 appearance of common starch. 
 
 Glue Starch. 
 
 Glue stiffening is often better for linen, calicos, 
 and some other articles, than common starch. It is 
 
ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 321 
 
 prepared thus:—Put a piece of glue, six inches 
 square, into four quarts of water, having first broken 
 itup. Boil it, and then keep it corked in a jug, to 
 use on washing-days. Jt must be mixed with the 
 rinsing-water, according to the discretion of the 
 washer. Millinet, and any other article, can be 
 made stiffer, by adding glue to common starch. 'To 
 prepare glue for cementing furniture, put it in a tin 
 cup with very little water, and set the cup in boiling 
 water until the glue is melted. 
 
 Lo prepare Gum Arabie. 
 
 Put one quart of hot water to four ounces of clean 
 gum Arabic. Cork it in a bottle, and set it away 
 for use. It is very good, when doing up lawns, 
 book muslins, and laces. It must be mixed with 
 the starch, at the discretion of the user. k 
 
 Lo prepare Beef’s-Gall, or Ou- Gall. 
 
 Send a bottle or jug to the butcher, and request 
 that it may be filled with beef’s-gall. Perfume it 
 with any strong essence that is agreeable. Keep it 
 corked, and in a cool place. If eventually it smells 
 disagreeably, the smell will be removed by drying 
 the articles in the fresh air. 
 
 Directions for Starching Thick Clothes. 
 
 In starching wristbands, collars, and the like, be 
 careful that the starch is strained, so as to be free 
 from lumps. If the starch is thinned, after it gets 
 cold, the whole should be run through the starch- 
 bag, to make it even. Dip the articles, and squeeze 
 them till the starch is equally distributed. They 
 should be starched just before hanging out. 
 
 Mirections for Clear Starching. 
 
 Many ladies clap their muslins till clear, and then 
 dry them entirely. After this, they sprinkle and 
 
322 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 roll, and when thoroughly damp, pull them into 
 shape, and iron them. This method saves some 
 time and labor, and is thought, by those who prac- 
 tise it, to be the best way. Others prefer to clap 
 and pull them till nearly dry, then fold them and 
 lay them between two plates to keep them from 
 drying any more, and when all are thus prepared, 
 they are ironed. Wrought muslins should always 
 be ironed on the wrong side, and plain ones on the 
 right side. Wrought work appears much better 
 when ironed on soft flannel. 
 
 Lo wash and prepare Thread and. Bobbinet Laces. 
 
 Sew a white cloth on a large bottle. Wind the 
 lace around, with much care, pulling out the purl, 
 and rolling it so as not to leave the purl and scollops 
 outside, but covering it, as you proceed in rolling. 
 Cover the lace with white muslin, and then fill the 
 bottle with water, and put it into a kettle of cold 
 suds made of white soap. It will be well to tie it 
 with a string to the handle, to keep it from swaying 
 about. Boil it for one hour, and then rinse it in fair 
 water, squeezing it with the hand. Set it in the 
 sun, and, when perfectly dry, fold it carefully, and 
 press it between white papers, in a large book. If 
 any stiffening is wished, put a very little gum Ara- 
 bic, or a little thin starch, or rice-water, in the rins- 
 ing-water. It makes the lace look more like new, 
 to wet it with sweet oil, after it is rolled on the 
 bottle, before it is put in to boil. The oil can be 
 applied with a sponge or rag. 
 
 Lo cleanse or whiten Silk Lace, or Blond. 
 
 Roll it on a bottle, as before directed, and set the 
 bottle upright, in cold suds, and wet it all over with 
 the hand, and set it in the sun. Renew the suds, 
 every day, for a week, wetting and squeezing the 
 lace lightly. Meantime keep it in the sun, as much 
 
ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 323 
 
 as possible. Take off the lace when wet, and with- 
 out rinsing, and pin it back and forth on a pillow or 
 large sheet, making the edge and scollops even, and 
 leave it, till dry, in the sun. Lay it away in loose 
 folds. Instead of rolling on a bottle, common arti- 
 cles can be laid in a flat dish, in suds, and set in the 
 sun ten days, often renewing the suds. 
 
 / 
 To wash a White Lace Veil. 
 
 Boil it, for fifteen minutes, in a strong suds of 
 white soap, putting it in while cold. Squeeze it in 
 the suds, but do not rub it. Rinse in two waters, 
 the last a little blued, and with a little gam Arabic 
 or rice-water added. Pin it on a sheet, to dry, fas- 
 tening the scollops with care. Iron it on the wrong 
 side, with a piece of muslin between the veil and 
 iron. Any lace may be washed thus. 
 
 ON IRONING. 
 
 Articles to be provided for Ironing. 
 
 A very convenient article, for kitchen use, is a 
 settee, or settle, made to serve also as an ironing-table. 
 [t can be made of pine, and stained of a cherry color. 
 The dimensions are as follows. Length, five feet 
 and six inches; width of the seat, one foot and 
 eight inches; height of the seat, one foot and three 
 inches; height of sides, (or arms of the seat,) two 
 feet and four inches; height of back, five feet and 
 three inches. The back is made with hinges of 
 the height of the sides or arms, so that it can be 
 turned down, and rest on the arms, and thus be- 
 come an excellent ironing-table. 'The seat has two 
 lids, opening into two boxes or partitions, in one of 
 which is kept the ironing-sheets, in the other, the 
 other ironing-apparatus. It can be put on casters, 
 to move easily, and have cushions, stuffed with hay 
 and covered with dark covers. It thus serves, in 
 Winter, to set before the fire, and is a comfortable 
 
324 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 seat, protecting the back from cold; besides serving 
 for the other purposes. The back, when down, 
 rests on the sides, and is fastened, when up, by long 
 hooks behind. Instead of this, a large ironing-board 
 is often used, which can be put on a small table} 
 and should be used for no other purpose. The follow- 
 ing articles are also needed, in ironing :—A woollen 
 ironing-blanket, and a linen or cotton one, to put 
 over it; a large fire, of solid wood and charcoal, (un- 
 less stoves or furnaces are used;) a hearth, free from 
 cinders and ashes, and a piece of sheet-iron, in front 
 of the fire, on which to set the irons; (this last 
 precaution, saves many black spots from careless 
 ironers ;) three or four old holders, made of woollen, 
 and covered with old silk, as these do not take fire 
 like cotton or linen; a ring, or iron-stand, on which 
 to set the irons, and a piece of board to put under it, 
 to prevent very hot irons from scorching the sheet; 
 a linen or cotton wiper, one for each ironer, and a 
 piece of beeswax, to rub on the irons when smoked. 
 There should be, at least, three irons for each person 
 ironing. ‘There should also be one or two large 
 clothes-frames, on which to hang the clothes, when 
 ironed; and a small one for the smaller articles. | If 
 the housekeeper will see that all these articles are 
 provided, that the fires are fixed properly, the clothes- 
 frames dusted, and the ironing-sheets spread smoothly 
 and pinned well at each corner, she will be much more 
 sure of securing good ironing, than if she does not. 
 The following articles will also be found very 
 convenient. A bosom-board, for ironing shirt-bosoms. 
 This is made, by covering, with flannel, a board, one 
 foot and six inches long, and one foot wide. It 
 should have two over-cases, made. to fit it, like pil- 
 low-cases, to be changed and washed. A skirt- 
 board. ‘This is a board five feet long, two feet wide 
 at one end, tapering to one foot and four inches wide 
 at the other. This, also, should be covered with 
 
ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 325 
 
 flannel, and have two over-cases provided. It saves 
 much trouble, in ironing the skirts of dresses, and 
 enables the ironer to do them quicker and_ better. 
 The large end should be put on the table, and the 
 small end on achair. Both these boards are con- 
 venient, when ironing muslins, or when wishing to 
 press some little articles in the parlor or chamber. 
 A fluting-iron, called also a patent Italian iron, is 
 very convenient in ironing ruffles. It is made with 
 a tapering hollow tube, fixed to a stand, and provid- 
 ed with two heaters, to run into the tube. The 
 ruffles are taken, when damp, and drawn over this 
 tube. When persons have practised awhile, they 
 can iron very quickly, and very beautifully, in this 
 mode, And the expense is trifling. Another article, 
 called a crimping-iron, is equally useful. It is made 
 of two grooved brass rollers, which, when turned, 
 work into each other. There is some danger of cut- 
 ting muslins, in crimping them. To prevent this, 
 the iron must be screwed to the right degree of 
 tightness,’and this can be discovered only by trying 
 it on old muslins. When it is adjusted right, care 
 should be taken to have it remain so. They are 
 more expensive than the fluting-irons. They cost 
 four or five dollars in New York or Boston. 
 
 On Sprinkling, Folding, and Lroning. 
 
 Wipe the dust from the ironing-board. Take the 
 clearest water, (warm water penetrates soonest, ) and 
 laying the articles successively on the board, sprin- 
 kle them all, laying them in separate piles, one of col- 
 ored, one of flannels, one of common, and one of fine, 
 articles. Shake, fold, and roll the fine things, wrap- 
 ping them in a towel ; then shake and fold the rest, 
 turning them all right side outward. The colored 
 clothes ought not to lie long wet or damp, as this in- 
 jures colors. The sheets and table-linen must be 
 stretched, shaken, and folded, by two persons. The 
 
 28 
 
PO — Se Aces e235 
 
 326 ON STARCHING, IRONING, AND CLEANSING. 
 
 colored clothes should be separated from the rest, by 
 a towel. Iron all lace and needle-work on the 
 wrong side. Iron calicos with an iron not very hot, 
 (as a hot iron will make them fade,) and generally 
 on the wrong side. In ironing frocks, first do the 
 waist, then the sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the 
 skirt rolled, while ironing the waist and sleeves. 
 Set a chair to hold the waist and sleeves while 
 ironing the skirt. In ironing a shirt, first do the 
 back, then the sleeves, then the collar and bosom, 
 then the front. Laces and muslins should be laid 
 in a:basket, and carried away as soon as dry. 
 
 Tron silk on the wrong side, when it is quite 
 damp. ‘The iron must not be very hot. Pink, blue, 
 green, and yellow, change color in ironing. Black 
 and other dark colors are less affected. 
 
 Velvet can be ironed, only by turning up the face 
 of an iron, and after dampening the velvet, on the 
 wrong side, draw it over the iron. 
 
 Black silk should be washed in suds, with ox-gall, 
 and stiffened very little, with glue or gum Arabic. 
 It looks better to wash it, by sponging it, on both 
 sides on a table, and not squeezing or wringing it. 
 It can be stiffened, by applying the gum or glue 
 on the wrong side, when a little damp. Sleeves 
 changed by perspiration, and yellow spots, can be 
 restored, by sponging with spirits of hartshorn mixed 
 with an equal quantity of water. 
 
ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 327 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING, 
 
 To Whiten and Remove Stains from Cloths and Muslins. Mixtures 
 useful to keep on Hand, to remove Stains and Grease. To cleanse 
 Silk Handkerchiefs and Ribands; Silk Hose and Gloves. Soot 
 Stains and Stove-Pipe Stains, Grease in Wall Paper. ‘To cleanse 
 Gloves, Down, and Feathers; Straw and Leghorn Hats. Stains 
 on Silk and Worsted Dresses. Grease and Oil on Silk and Worsted 
 Dresses. Tar, Pitch, and Turpentine, on Dresses. Lamp-Oil 
 on Carpets and Floors. Oil-Paint. Waxfand Spermaceti. Ink on 
 Carpets and Colored Table-cloths. Stains on Mahogany, and 
 Other Wood. On Couortne. Pink, Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, 
 Salmon and Buff, Dove and Slate, Black, Brown, and Olive Colors, 
 
 Lo Whiten, and Remove Stains from Cloths and 
 Muslins. 
 
 Lay white clothes for two or three days on the 
 ground, where the sun shines, bringing them in after 
 the sun sets, to prevent mildewing. They will 
 whiten faster, to wet them in soapsuds, every time 
 they are spread. Muslins are best whitened, by 
 first washing them, and then laying them in strong 
 suds, in a flat dish, and setting them in the sun for 
 two or three days. This is much safer and neater, 
 than to lay them on the grass. Any small articles 
 can be whitened thus. When articles are scorched, 
 in ironing, if the stain does not wash out, it can 
 often be remedied, by whitening. Boiling in white 
 soap and milk, in the proportion of one pound of soap 
 to one gallon of milk, will often remove the stain of 
 scorching from linen. Miss Leslie also recommends 
 the juice of two onions, (extracted by chopping and 
 squeezing,) one ounce of white soap, two ounces of 
 fuller’s earth, and half a pint of vinegar. ‘These to 
 be mixed, boiled, and, when cooled, spread and 
 dried on the scorched part. When clothes are mil- 
 dewed, the stain can often be readily removed, by 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 | 
 Hi; 
 i 
 
328 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEINE. 
 
 whitening. Dipping in sour buttermilk, before lay- 
 ing out, hastens the process. This must be washed 
 out, in cold water. Soap and chalk also hasten the 
 process. Also, soap and starch, adding half as much 
 salt, as there is of starch, and also the juice of a 
 lemon. ‘These articles should be applied on both 
 sides. Stains in linen can often be removed, by 
 first rubbing on soft soap, and then covering it with 
 starch paste, drying in the sun, and renewing the 
 application several times. Wash it off, with cold 
 water. 
 
 Mixtures useful to keep on hand to remove Stains 
 and Grease. 
 
 Stain Mixture. One ounce of sal ammoniac, one 
 ounce of salt of tartar, and one pint of soft water, 
 mixed. ‘These can be kept, corked in a bottle, for 
 use, with the articles used in washing. 
 
 Another Stain Mixture. Half an ounce of oxalic 
 acid in a pint of soft water. This is very poisonous, 
 and should be kept with much care. It is infalli- 
 ble in removing ink stains and iron rust. The arti- 
 ticle must be spread over hot water and often wet 
 with a sponge or rag. 
 
 To remove Grease. Four ounces of fuller’s earth, 
 in powder, half an ounce of pearlash, wet into a 
 stiff paste, with lemon juice, and dried into balls by 
 the sun, or in an oven just warm. When grease is 
 to be removed from white clothes, wet the spot with 
 cold water, and rub on the ball; then dry it, and 
 wash it off with cold water. Grease can be re- 
 moved by a paste of starch, or magnesia, on both 
 sides, dried and renewed, till the spot is gone. 
 French chalk scraped on, and left several days, will 
 remove grease from the nicest silks, without injuring 
 the texture or color. The apothecaries keep it for 
 sale. Scrape it in athin powder, on both sides. 
 Pin paper over it, to keep it from scattering on other 
 
ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 329 
 
 parts. The harder kind of French chalk is not the 
 best. That which looks white and scrapes easily, is 
 most serviceable. 
 
 Wilmington *clay-balls are also very useful, for 
 this purpose. They can be obtained from Phila- 
 delphia and New York. 
 
 Ink spots can often be removed, simply by rub- 
 bing on common tallow, and leaving it for a day or 
 two. It will then wash out. 
 
 Chloride of lime and warm water, and also oxalic 
 acid and water, will remove indelible or marking- 
 ink stains from white clothes. he articles must 
 be washed immediately, or the application injures 
 the cloth. 
 
 To cleanse Silk Handkerchiefs and Ribands. 
 
 If there are any spots of grease, scrape French 
 chalk on them. Let them lie two days, and renew 
 the chalk, if needful. Brush the chalk thoroughly 
 off, sponge both sides, on a perfectly clean board, or 
 table, with lukewarm soft water. If very dirty, 
 warm suds of white soap must be used, and after- 
 wards clean water. Stretch and fold them, pressing 
 out the water, after they are folded. Stretch them 
 out to dry, on a board or sheet, in the house. Then 
 stiffen them. A weak solution of isinglass, put on 
 the wrong side, with a sponge, is best. Gum Arabic 
 will answer. When nearly dry, iron them between 
 white papers, with an iron not very hot. Putting a 
 tablespoonful of spirits of wine to one gallon of 
 water is an improvement when washing them. 
 
 To cleanse Silk Hose and Gloves. 
 
 Wash them in warm suds of white soap. Rinse 
 in cold water. When nearly dry, stretch them into 
 shape, and pinning them to a sheet, rub them, till 
 dry, with flannel, rolied hard. This gives them the 
 gloss and appearance of new silk. Ironing silk hose 
 
 28* 
 
330 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 
 
 always injures the appearance. For black silk, add 
 a spoonful of ox-gall to the suds. Yellow spots, in 
 black silk, can be removed by spirits of hartshorn, 
 mixed with an equal quantity of water. Silk gloves 
 are to be treated in the same manner. ; 
 
 To take out Soot Stains, or Stove-Pipe Stains. 
 Wash the place in sulphuric acid and water. 
 
 To take Grease out of Wall Paper. 
 
 Make a paste, of either potter’s or Wilmington 
 clay, and ox-gall, with water. Apply it to the wall, 
 and keep it covered with paper, till dry. Renew it 
 till the spot disappears. 
 
 To cleanse Gloves, Down, and Feathers. 
 
 Linen, silk, and cotton, gloves, can be washed as 
 previously directed. _ Wash-leather gloves should 
 have grease removed by French chalk or magnesia. 
 They then may be squeezed through two different 
 
 portions of suds, and rinsed, first in warm, and then 
 
 in cold, water. If but a little dirty, they can be 
 cleansed with a sponge and warm suds, and afterward 
 fair water. White kid gloves can be improved, by 
 removing grease with French chalk or magnesia, 
 and then brushing them with a soft brush and a 
 mixture of powdered fuller’s earth and magnesia. In 
 an hour after, wet them with flannel, dipped in bran 
 and powdered whiting. Common colored gloves or 
 Hoskin’s gloves, can be cleansed very neatly, by nice 
 spirits of turpentine, rubbed on with woollen cloths, 
 rubbing from the wrist towards the ends of the fin- 
 gers. Hang them several days in the air, and all 
 the disagreeable smell escapes. They can often be 
 made to look as well as new. Gentlemen’s white 
 gloves can be cleansed by washing with a sponge, 
 in white-soapsuds, and then wiping them thorough- 
 ly. When nearly dry, they must be stretched on 
 
ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 331 
 
 the hands. Swan’s-down capes and tippets, can be 
 washed in white-soapsuds, by squeezing and not 
 rubbing. Rinse in two waters, shake and stretch 
 while drying it. Ostrich feathers can also be thus 
 washed. Stiffen them a very little, with starch wet 
 in cold water, but not boiled. They should be 
 shaken in the air till dry. ‘To curl them, hold them 
 before the fire, while damp, and taking a pair of dull 
 scissors, give each fibre a twitch, turning it inwards 
 and holding it so a moment. 
 
 To cleanse and whiten Straw and Leghorn Hats. 
 
 Rip them and take out the grease with magnesia 
 or French chalk. Most stains can be removed with 
 cream of tartar. Oxalic acid and water is better. 
 The last must be immediately washed off. Wash 
 the straw first in weak pearlash water, afterwards in 
 soapsuds. ‘Then take a barrel and fasten nails near 
 the bottom so that cords can be stretched across. 
 On these cords, tie the bonnet, while wet with suds, 
 so that, when the barrel is turned bottom side up- 
 wards, the bonnet will hang near what is then the 
 top. Turn the barrel, holding the bonnet over a 
 dish of coals, on which roll brimstone is placed, so 
 as to burn slowly. The barrel must be raised on a 
 chip, to admit air. Keep the bonnet in these fumes 
 _ till itis white. Then let it hang in the air, (it must 
 not be damp, as this yellows the straw, ) till the smell 
 of sulphur ceases. Then stiffen the bonnet with a 
 solution of isinglass, or rice-water, or gum Arabic, 
 applied on the inside, with a sponge. When this is 
 dry, press the crown on a block, and the rest on a 
 board, putting muslin between the iron and the bon- 
 net, and pressing very hard. Care must be taken 
 not to make the bonnet too stiff, by trying the mix- 
 ture on a part of the straw. Simply washing a 
 Leghorn hat, in clear warm water, and then pressing 
 it, improves its looks very much. 
 
332 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 
 
 To remove Stains from Silk and Worsted Dresses. 
 
 Stains made by sweetmeats can generally be re- 
 moved by pure water and a soft towel. Those made 
 by acids can be removed by spirits of hartshorn 
 diluted with an equal quantity of water. Sometimes 
 it must be applied several times. Stains made by 
 tea, wine, and fruits, can usually be removed thus. 
 
 To remove Grease or Oil from Silk or Worsted 
 Dresses. 
 
 Slight grease spots can be removed by cold water 
 and a soft towel, or by rubbing with coarse pin-paper. 
 Fine French chalk, scraped on and renewed every 
 few hours, will remove most grease spots. It is still 
 more sure, if left on a day or two, then shaken off, 
 and renewed. Wilmington clay-balls are considered 
 amore certain remedy. 'These are to be put, in dry 
 powder, on the wrong side, and renewed every hour. 
 Laying an article in water, and changing it till no 
 oil rises, will often remove lamp-oil. 
 
 Lo remove Tar, Pitch, and Turpentine. 
 
 Scrape off all that can be removed without injury. 
 Put the spot in sweet-oil, for twenty-four hours, or 
 spread cold tallow over it, for that length of time. 
 After this, wash linen or cotton as usual. Woollens 
 and silks must be rubbed with ether or spirits of 
 Wine. 
 
 To take out Lamp Oil from Carpets and Floors. 
 
 Take fuller’s earth, or potter’s clay, and spread 
 them in a paste over both sides of the carpet, and on 
 the floor. The floor should be first washed with 
 hot ley or suds. Pin paper over the spots on the 
 carpet. Renew the application several times, till all 
 is removed. Wilmington clay-balls or finely pow- 
 dered pipe-clay, put on dry, are considered still bet- 
 
ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 333 
 
 ter for a carpet. The Writer never knew the first 
 method to fail. The latter is the most easily tried. 
 Potter’s clay, mixed with an equal quantity of ox- 
 gall, with water sufficient to make a paste, can be 
 applied to nice sofas and other articles, to remove 
 grease, pinning paper over. It is better to put ox- 
 gall into paste for carpets, as it preserves the colors. 
 When dry, it must be taken off, carefully, from nice 
 worsteds or silk, and brushed with a soft brush. 
 
 To remove Oil-Paint. 
 
 Dip a piece of flannel in ether, and with it rub 
 the spot. Very pure spirits of turpentine is as good. 
 If the paint be dry, repeat the application, several 
 times. Sometimes, dry paint can never be removed. 
 
 To remove Wax and Spermaceti. 
 
 Wax can be removed by scraping it off and then 
 holding a red-hot poker near the spot. To remove 
 Spermaceti, scrape off what can be thus removed, 
 and, putting a paper over the spot, press the article 
 with a warm iron. If this does not perfectly restore 
 it, rub on spirits of wine. Wilmington clay, put on 
 the wrong side, renewing it every three hours, re- 
 moves spermaceti. 
 
 To remove Ink from Carpets and Colored Table- 
 Covers. 
 
 Wash the stained place in one teaspoonful of oxalic 
 acid dissolved in a teacup of hot water. Repeat this, 
 if needful, and then thoroughly wash out the acid, 
 with warm water. The water must not be hot, as 
 it may injure the texture. This acid is a strong 
 poison, and must be carefully put away. 
 
 To remove Stains from Mahogany, and other Wood. 
 
 Stains made by setting cups of hot water on var- 
 nished furniture, can be removed by rubbing, first 
 
334 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 
 
 with lamp-oil and then with alcohol. Ink spots can 
 be removed by oxalic acid and water, or, by one 
 teaspoonful of oil of vitriol to one tablespoonful of 
 water. ‘These must be brushed over quickly, and 
 then washed off with milk. 
 
 ON COLORING. 
 
 There are many articles in a family, which may 
 be much improved by dyeing, and some old articles 
 may thus be apparently transformed to new. The 
 following precautions and preparations are very im- 
 portant. ‘The articles to be dyed must be entirely 
 free from oil and grease of all kinds, and in most 
 cases free from soapsuds. Light colors are best 
 made in brass, and dark ones in iron vessels. Arti- 
 cles must always be put into the dye quite wet, or 
 they will be dyed in streaks; and they must be 
 stirred, and lifted to the air, so that all parts may be 
 exposed to it. The dye must always be carefully 
 strained, before dipping, or the particles of dyestuff 
 will make spots. If the color is too light, dry it, 
 and dip the article again. All the former color 
 must be removed, if possible. Boiling in suds, or, 
 still better, in the soda mixture, will usually secure 
 this. 
 
 Pink Dye. 
 
 Buy, at an apothecary’s, a saucer of carmine, 
 which costs about twenty-five cents. With it you 
 will find directions for using it. This is one of the 
 most beautiful and convenient modes of renewing 
 old silk handkerchiefs, ribands, &c. A little stiffen- 
 ing of gum Arabic in the dye, improves the looks. 
 Balm blossoms, and also the blossoms of the berga- 
 mot plant, make a pretty pink dye. Cream of tartar, 
 or oil of vitriol, sufficient to give a slight acid taste, 
 must be put into the water in which the articles are 
 wet before dyeing. 
 
ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 335 
 
 Red Dye. 
 
 Take half a pound of wheat bran, three ounces of 
 powdered alum, and two gallons of soft water. Boil 
 them in brass, and then add an ounce of cream of 
 tartar and half an ounce of cochineal, each tied sep- 
 arately, in a bag. Boil fifteen minutes, and then 
 wet the articles in water, and dip them. Brazil 
 wood, set with alum, makes another red dye. 
 
 Yellow Dye. 
 
 Fustic, and also Turmeric powder, which may be 
 found at the apothecaries’, make a handsome yellow 
 color. Also, saffron, barberry bush, peach leaves, 
 and marigold flowers. They may be set with alum, 
 putting a piece the size of a small walnut to each 
 quart of water. 
 
 Blue Dye. 
 
 The hatters and apothecaries keep a “ blue compo- 
 sition,’ which is cheap, and makes a good blue for 
 silks and woollens, but injures cottons. Articles, 
 after being dyed in this, must be very thoroughly 
 rinsed. Fifteen drops, to a quart of water, will 
 make a light blue. A dark blue is made by boiling 
 four ounces of copperas in two gallons of water, 
 wetting the articles in this, afterwards dipping them 
 in a strong decoction of logwood, boiled and strained, 
 and then washing them thoroughly in soapsuds. 
 
 Green Dye. 
 
 First dye a yellow, and then, if the article is made 
 of wool or silk, dip it in the ‘“ blwe composition.” Do 
 not iron the articles, as that changes the color; but 
 rub them with a hard roll of flannel, while drying. 
 
 Salmon and Buff Colors. 
 
 Tie one teacupful of potash in a bag, and put it 
 in two gallons of hot (not boiling) water. Add an 
 
336 ON WHITENING, CLEANSING, AND DYEING. 
 
 ounce of anotia or arnotto powder in a bag, and keep 
 it in the hot water for half an hour. Dip the article 
 to be dyed in strong potash-water, warmed, and then 
 dip it in the dye. Dry it, and then wash in soap- 
 suds. Birch bark and alum make another buff. Old 
 cottons, dyed thus, make good linings for curtains, 
 and also good valances. Arnotto, boiled in soap- 
 suds, makes a salmon color. It must be set with 
 alum. Birch bark, boiled in water with a lump of 
 alum, makes a nankeen color. Black-alder bark, set 
 with ley, makes an orange. 
 
 Dove and Slate Colors. 
 
 Boil a teacupful of black tea, in three quarts of 
 water, in iron, and grate in a teaspoonful of copperas. 
 This makes a dove color. Boil the purple sugar- 
 paper in water, with a piece of alum. Both these 
 make a good dye for ladies’ hose. 
 
 Black Dye. 
 
 Put one pound of chopped logwood to one gallon 
 of vinegar, and let them stand all night. Boil them, 
 and put in a piece of copperas, of the size of a hen’s 
 egg. Wet the articles, in warm water, and then boil 
 them, for fifteen minutes, in the dye, stirring them 
 well. Dry them, then dip them again, first wetting 
 them in warm water. Repeat this, till the article is 
 black enough. Then wash it in suds, and rinse till 
 the water comes off clear. Iron nails boiled in vin- 
 egar make a black dye, which is good to restore 
 
 - rusty black silks. 
 
 Brown Dye. 
 
 Put half a pound of camwood in a bag, with two 
 gallons of water, and boil them for fifteen minutes. 
 Then boil the articles, for a few minutes, in the dye. 
 White-walnut bark, the bark of sour sumach, or of 
 white maple, make a brown. Set them with alum. 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 337 
 
 Olive Color. 
 
 Boil fustic and yellow-oak bark together. The 
 more fustic the brighter the olive, and the more oak 
 bark the darker the shade. Set the light shade 
 with a few drops of oil of vitriol, and the dark shade 
 with copperas. Half a teaspoonful of copperas to a 
 quart of water will answer. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 Poor Economy of Comfort in this Country, in regard to House Ar- 
 rangements. Proper Arrangement of Rooms. Finishing of Par- 
 lor Walls. House Paper. Carpets, Curtains, and other Furniture, 
 should be selected with Reference to each other. Laying down 
 Carpets. Blocks to prevent Sofas and Tables from rubbing against: 
 Walls, and to hold Doors open. Footstools. Sweeping Carpets. 
 Tea Leaves. Taking up and cleansing Carpets. Washing Carpets. 
 Straw Matting. Pictures and Glasses. Curtains. Mahogany 
 Furniture. Unvarnished Furniture; Mixtures for. Hearths and 
 Jambs. Sweeping and Dusting Parlors. Inferior Locks and Keys 
 should not be used. Creaking Hinges. Carriage Wheels; how 
 lubricated. Smoky Chimneys. Cold and Damp Rooms. House 
 Cleaning. Whitewash. Washing Paint, Windows, and Floors. 
 Miscellaneous Directions; Parties, Invitations, Refreshments, Fire- 
 screens, Fireboards, Baskets for Flowers, Moss Baskets for Fruit, 
 Varnishes. 
 
 Ir may be questioned, whether there is any point, 
 in which a poorer economy of comfort and money 
 is exhibited, than in the appropriations for parlors, in 
 this Country. In the style of building, most com- 
 mon among persons of moderate wealth, we find two 
 parlors, with folding doors, an eating-room, and a 
 kitchen, on the same floor, while the bedroom and 
 nursery are above stairs. The keeping of the largest 
 and handsomest rooms, to use only when the family 
 are dressed to see company, generally occasions a 
 dull, cheerless, unsociable, eating-room, and the con- 
 
 29 
 
POOR saisienia pentane ee so ecrmaoncca — 
 Fo a Sin SS EB tim Db SAA Wabi a ae ss aro 
 
 308 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 stant passing of the mother and housekeeper, up and 
 down stairs, in her daily cares of nursery and kitchen. 
 Instead of this plan, some, who deem it wisest to 
 enjoy the comforts of their own house, themselves, 
 select the pleasantest and largest room, and use it 
 for both sitting and eating-room, and sometimes keep- 
 ing another parlor in daily use for company, or for 
 retiring to when the servants eat after the family, in 
 the same room. Instead of an extra parlor, such 
 have a bedroom on the ground floor. It is hoped, 
 that, as the science of domestic economy improves, 
 in this Country, much less money will be laid out 
 in parlors, verandas, porticos, and entries; and the 
 money, thus saved, be employed in increasing the 
 conveniences of the kitchen, and the healthfulness 
 and comfort of those parts of the house most used by 
 the family. 
 
 In finishing the walls of parlors, the cheapest 
 material is common plaster, washed with colored 
 washes of light lemon, straw, or lead colors. These 
 are objectionable, because this wash rubs off on 
 clothing. The next best covering, is_ wall paper. 
 In selecting paper, choose delicate colors, and small 
 figures. Large figures make a room look smaller, 
 and are out of fashion. The best of all, isa hard- 
 finished wall, painted with oil-paint. This should 
 always be of a light and sober cast, such as gray, 
 stone color, light lemon, or pale olive. Some leave 
 hard-finished walls white ; but this makes the rooms 
 look bare and cold; and, unless the windows are 
 much shaded, the light of the room is excessive. If 
 hard walls are once well painted, they will last for 
 many years, in perfect order, and all smoke, dirt, 
 and stains, can be easily washed off. In selecting 
 carpets, curtains, and paper, some reference should 
 be had to a correspondence of appearance. Curtains 
 and blinds should always be darker than the walls; 
 and, if the walls and carpets are light, the chairs 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 339 
 
 should be dark. If some contrast is not thus pre- 
 sented, the room has an indistinct and untasteful ap- 
 pearance. Pictures, furniture, and glasses, always 
 look better against light walls. In selecting carpets, 
 it is poor economy to buy the cheapest. These are 
 made of the poorest wool, and colored with the 
 worst dyes. Ingrain carpets, of close texture, are 
 best for common use. The three-ply carpets will 
 Jast enough longer to pay for the extra price, and 
 they are of the best colors and materials. Brussels 
 carpets do not wear so long as the three-ply ones, 
 because they cannot be changed and turned. Wil- 
 ton carpets are the poorest of any of the expensive 
 kinds, for wear. They soon become threadbare. 
 Venetian or striped carpets are suitable only for stairs 
 and passages. 
 
 In selecting colors, black should never be allowed ; 
 not even a single thread; as it is almost always 
 rotten. White is not a good color, because it is so 
 easily soiled, and gives a dirty look to the carpet. 
 Very light carpets are never good for common wear. 
 Carpets that are all of medium colors, which make 
 no contrast of light and shade, never look well. 
 The most tasteful carpets, are those, in which there 
 are only two colors, and all shades of these. A car- 
 pet, of all shades of brown and yellow, or of blue and 
 buff, or of green only, or of salmon and green, is 
 always handsome. In such eases, sofas and curtains 
 to match add greatly to the beauty of the appearance. 
 The very dark shades, which look like black, should 
 be chocolate or bottle-green, but not a real black. 
 
 In laying down carpets, it is a practice, in some 
 parts of the Country, to put straw under them. 
 But this, by making an uneven surface, makes the 
 carpet wear out faster. Where straw matting is 
 used for Summer, it saves carpeting, very much, to 
 lay it on over the matting. This permits the dust 
 to sift through, and makes a soft even surface under- 
 
340 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 neath, while it does not injure the matting. In 
 buying a carpet, always get some yards over, for a 
 portion is always lost in matching the figures. In 
 cutting a carpet, take off one breadth, about three or 
 four inches shorter than the room, to allow for 
 stretching. ‘Then lay it down, and match the fig- 
 ure, exactly, before cutting another; and thus go on, 
 till all are eut. It is generally best to begin to cut 
 in the middle of a figure. 
 
 Sew with double waxed linen thread, of a little 
 
 . darker color than the carpet. Sew it on the wrong 
 side, with the ball stitch, and it looks better, and 
 wears better, than the common over stiteh. The 
 ball stitch is done by taking a stitch on the breadth 
 next you, pointing the needle towards you, and 
 then a stitch on the other breadth, pointing the 
 needle from you. Draw the thread firmly, but not 
 too tight. In fitting a breadth around the hearth, 
 do not cut out the piece, but make two slits, and 
 turn it under. Bind the whole of the carpet with 
 carpet-binding, lapping it over as far as it will reach. 
 In nailing it down, have pieces of kid, or thin leather, 
 to put under the heads of the nails, as it saves the 
 carpet, and makes it easier to draw the nails out. 
 A carpet-fork, such as is kept at hardware stores, is 
 a great assistance, in putting down carpets easily 
 and neatly. 
 
 In all rooms, where there are nice walls, or paper, 
 blocks should be covered with carpeting, like that of 
 the room, and be put on the floor, behind sofas, 
 tables, &c., to prevent their being pushed against 
 the wall, and to prevent the wall from being dirtied 
 by the dusting of furniture. A large brick, covered 
 with carpeting, is good to hold doors open. Cheap 
 foot-stools, made of carpeting, for parlors and bed- 
 rooms, can be easily made thus: Have a square 
 or octagon sawed out of a thick plank. Make a 
 cushion of the same shape and size, of stout linen. 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 341 
 
 Stuff it with hair, or moss and cotton. Then nail its 
 lower edge to the plank bottom, and cover all with 
 carpeting. Make it a foot high, and put worsted 
 handles to the sides. 
 
 The carpets of parlors not in constant use, should 
 be swept only once a week, as sweeping wears out 
 a carpet. It should be done with a new light 
 broom. A carpet can often be sufficiently cleaned, 
 without a regular sweeping, by a small whisk-broom 
 and dust-pan. ‘Tea leaves brighten the looks of a 
 carpet, and prevent dust. They should be scat- 
 tered, and then rubbed about with a broom, and then 
 swept off. 
 
 When carpets are taken up, they should be hung 
 on a clothes-line, or laid on thick grass, and whipped 
 with pliant whips, first on one side and then on the 
 other. They should then be rolled up with tobacco, 
 and sewed up in linen, to keep them from moths 
 and cockroaches. ‘This is a sure preservative. Be- 
 fore relaying a carpet, remove all the dust from the 
 floor, and mend all the thin places in the carpet, with 
 yarn of the same colors. Change the position of the 
 carpet, so that the worn spots shall not come in the 
 same place all the year round. Carpets can be 
 washed, and made to look much better, by first 
 shaking them, and then, after thoroughly washing 
 the room, laying them down, and nailing them as 
 usual, and then scrubbing them in cold soapsuds, 
 with ox-gall (a teacupful to a bucket of water. ) 
 Then wash off the suds, with a cloth, in fair soft 
 water, making the carpet as dry as possible. Then 
 set open the doors and windows, and let it dry, not 
 using the room for two days or more. Imperial, 
 Brussels, and ingrain, carpets, can be washed thus. 
 Wilton’s, or any plush carpets, cannot. Before 
 washing, take out grease, with Wilmington clay or 
 potter’s clay, mixed with water and ox-gall. 
 
 29% 
 
342 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 Straw Matting. 
 
 Straw matting is very cool, for parlors and cham- 
 bers, in Summer, and it is thought to be cheaper 
 than to use woollen carpets through the year. The 
 checked matting, made of two colors, does not wear 
 so well as the other kind. It is poor economy to 
 buy the cheap matting, as the higher-priced wears 
 more than double the time. Frequent washings 
 injure straw matting. Whenever it is washed, it 
 should be with salt-water, wiping it dry. In joining 
 matting, where it is cut, ravel out three inches of 
 each piece, and tie the thread together, and then 
 turn them underneath, and lay one piece close to, or 
 over, the other, nail it with small nails, having kid 
 or leather under their heads. Bind matting with 
 wide cotton or linen binding. 
 
 Pictures and Glasses. 
 
 In hanging up pictures around a room, they should 
 be placed so that the lower parts are not above the 
 eye of an observer. It prevents defacing a wall, if 
 there are many pictures, to have long brass rods at 
 the top of the wall, from which the pictures can be 
 suspended, by cords or ribands, which should all 
 be of a color. 
 
 The glass of pictures should be cleaned with damp 
 whiting, rubbed on with buckskin, and wiped off 
 with silk. Water endangers the prints or paintings. 
 The gilt frames of glasses and pictures can be kept 
 in much better order than in any other way, by 
 varnishing them with such varnish as  carriage- 
 makers can supply. <A suitable brush for the pur- 
 pose may .be procured of the same persons. After 
 this has been twice put on, and well dried, the 
 frames can be at any time cleansed with warm 
 water, without injury. 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 343 
 
 Curtains. 
 
 Heavy and dark curtains appear well only in 
 Winter. If made of glazed chintz, merino, or worst- 
 ed, they can be cleansed best by dry wheat bran, 
 rubbed on with flannel. -Ottomans and sofas can 
 be cleansed by the same method. Venetian blinds 
 are now made of a light color, to match the walls. 
 The green blinds are going out of fashion, as they 
 fade and spot easily. Blinds should be dusted every 
 day, with feathers, and often wiped with a dry cloth. 
 
 Plain linen or cotton curtains, to shut out the glare 
 of the sun, are now much used. They are simply 
 a strip of linen or cotton, of the size of the window, 
 suspended from a roller, which has pulleys and 
 cords, so that they can be rolled up or down at 
 pleasure. 
 
 Common chambers can be furnished with paper 
 curtains. ‘They are made by pasting wall paper on 
 cotton. Fasten them to a roller at the top, having 
 a cord so attached to it, that, when the curtains 
 are unrolled, the cord will be rolled up around the 
 roller. Then, by pulling the cord, the curtain can 
 be rolled up. 
 
 Mahogany Furniture. 
 
 Mahogany furniture, made in Winter is very like” 
 ly tocrack. <A table, kept near the fire, should be 
 so placed, that the grain of the wood shall run per- 
 pendicularly to the fire, and not across it ; as, in that 
 case, it will be likely to be warped. If mahogany 
 furniture is made in Spring, and it stands some 
 months to season, it is less likely to be warp- 
 ed. Carved mahogany is mostly out of fashion. 
 When mahogany is much used, by sending it to be 
 scraped and varnished, it will, at a small expense, 
 look almost as well as new. Rose-wood furniture, 
 and also black walnut, are very fashionable. These, 
 as well as mahogany, should usually be rubbed with 
 
Tn ET Se One en eee ee = Servers Tree 
 
 344 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 nothing but a dry cloth. It improves varnished 
 furniture to rub on, occasionally, sweet-oil, and 
 wipe it off thoroughly with a silk or linen rag. 
 
 For unvarnished furniture, use beeswax a little 
 softened by the addition of a very small portion of 
 sweet-oil. These articles should be melted together, 
 rubbed in with a hard brush, and polished, first 
 with a woollen, and then with a silk, rag. Another 
 method, is, to rub in linseed-oil. A better way than 
 either, however, is, to mix beeswax in spirits of tur- 
 pentine, adding a little rosin. Apply this article with 
 a sponge, wiping off with a soft rag. Some persons 
 keep the following mixture in bottles, to apply to un- 
 varnished furniture, whenever it is injured. T'wo 
 ounces of spirits of turpentine, four tablespoonfuls of 
 sweet-oil, mixed with one quart of milk. Apply 
 with a sponge, and wipe off with a linen rag. 
 
 Hearths and Jambs. 
 
 Those parts of brick hearths, which are not near 
 the fire, should be painted over with black-lead, 
 mixed with hot soft soap. ‘Those bricks nearest the 
 fire should every day be washed over with a mixture 
 of milk and redding, applied with a painter’s brush. 
 
 A sheet of zinc cut so as to cover all the hearth, 
 except the parts which touch the fire, looks very 
 neat and handsome, and saves much work. A tin- 
 man can fit it properly. Brick jambs can be washed 
 over with a mixture of fine wood-ashes and milk, or 
 with redding and milk. Stone hearths should be 
 occasionally rubbed over with a paste, made of 
 powdered stone of the same color, which may be 
 procured at the stonecutters’, Wet it with water, 
 and when dry, brush it off, with a stiff brush. Wash 
 the hearth first in strong suds. Kitchen hearths are 
 improved by occasionally rubbing in lamp-oil. 
 
 Marble jambs and hearths can have almost all 
 stains removed by oxalic acid and water, left on 
 
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~ 
 
 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 345 
 
 fifteen minutes, and then rubbed dry. Oil of vitriol 
 succeeds nearly as well; butit must be much diluted. 
 Gray marble is improved by rubbing with linseed- 
 oil. Grease spots can be removed from marble, by 
 potter’s clay and ox-gall wet with soapsuds. This 
 mixture improves the marble, if applied to the entire 
 surface, and left on for two days, and then rubbed 
 off. It is made with a gill of ox-gall and a gill of 
 strong suds, thickened with potter’s clay. A gill of 
 spirits of turpentine improves it. 
 
 On Sweeping and Dusting a Parlor. 
 
 When a new domestic takes charge of a parlor, it 
 is well for the mistress of the house to make her do 
 the work in the following order, when the weekly 
 sweeping-day arrives. 'The most exemplary house- 
 keepers consider a thorough cleansing as demanded 
 for most parlors not oftener than once a week, unless 
 used by children and other careless persons. 
 
 First cover the sofas, books, and other nice articles, 
 with old sheets kept for the purpose. 'Then remove 
 the rugs, and clean the fireplace. Then wash any 
 paint or other articles that require it, and cleanse the 
 mirrors and marble. Then sweep the room, re- 
 moving every article. Then, after the dust is well 
 settled, remove the covers, and, if needful, apply 
 any polishing mixtures to the mahogany furniture. 
 Then, with a duster of old silk, and a dust-brush, 
 dust all the furniture and books, taking care, in dust- 
 ing furniture, not to touch the wall paper. Then 
 take a painter’s brush, never used except for this 
 purpose, and brush off the dust, from all narrow 
 cracks and small recesses in the furniture or mould- 
 ings. The cloths for dusting should be washed 
 every week, and shook well after using, or the dirt 
 will accumulate, so as to soil the books and other 
 nice articles. It is best to have the ornaments and 
 nice books dusted with a soft fine brush, kept for that 
 
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346 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 purpose alone. With most domestics, it is necessary 
 to stay with them several times, and superintend 
 till they form a habit of doing this work regularly, 
 thoroughly, and carefully. If they are made to do 
 it in a regular order, they will be much less likely 
 to forget and neglect any particulars. And if a 
 proper supply of all conveniences is provided, and 
 kept in a regular place, it will aid in securing 
 thoroughness. 
 
 It is poor economy to furnish doors with inferior 
 locks and latches, which soon get out of order. Brass 
 locks and keys are kept in order longest, as they do 
 hot rust so easily as iron, and are more thoroughly 
 made. In the end, they are cheapest. In a nice 
 house, provided with good locks and keys, pieces of 
 brass should be tied, with strong cord, to each key, 
 and on the brass a number or name to show the door 
 to which it belongs. 
 
 When the hinges of a door creak, put on oil with 
 a feather. The wheels of carriages should be lubri- 
 cated with black-lead, mixed with grease, which will 
 last twice as long as oil. 
 
 Smoky Chimneys. 
 
 The following are some of the causes of smoky 
 chimneys :—1. Short and broad flues, running up 
 straight. A bend in a flue and its being made long 
 and narrow, increases the draught. 2. The flues 
 of two chimneys running together; whereas one 
 ought never to open into another. 3. Large open- 
 ings, at top, which are apt to make the wind draw 
 down,’ and therefore should have tapering summits 
 put {to them, if the chimneys smoke. 4. A house 
 being higher than the chimney. In such cases, the 
 chimney should be raised. 5. Too large an opening 
 at the bottom. This may be remedied, by a false 
 back, or by a sheet-iron front, which diminishes the 
 size. 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 347 
 
 Cold Rooms and Damp Houses. 
 
 The wood used for floors, windows, doors, and 
 Subbases to rooms, should be seasoned in the sun, 
 or else with furnaces, through a whole Summer, be- 
 fore being made up. Otherwise, large cracks will 
 appear, which will make the room uncomfortable and 
 unhealthy. When such gaps do occur, they should 
 in winter be calked with cotton, or list. Strips of 
 wood, covered with baize, and nailed tight against 
 a door, on the casing, keep out much cold. 
 
 House Cleaning. 
 
 This work should never be done, except in warm 
 and dry weather. In damp and cold weather, the 
 health of the family is endangered by it. White- 
 wash is improved by putting salt into the water it is 
 made with, and a very little blueing in the last coat 
 makes it look whiter. ‘Those who understand this 
 business, will whitewash without dropping any of 
 the wash, so that all carpets and furniture can re- 
 main untouched; but as there is always some risk, 
 it is better to cover furniture, and take up carpets. 
 
 Before commencing the cleaning of a house, take 
 down all nice glasses, pictures, and ornaments, and 
 cover them. In cleaning paint, use hot suds, and 
 then wipe dry. ‘Take off ink and stains, with ox- 
 alic acid. Wash windows with sponges, (as they 
 give off no list,) in warm water, without soap, and 
 wipe them dry. Rub them with whiting on buck- 
 skin, and they will look still better. A long brush, 
 to wash the outsides of windows, is useful. Throw 
 water on the outside. A little saltpetre in the water 
 improves the operation. Painted chairs ‘should be 
 wiped with a sponge dipped in warm water. Never 
 wash the floor of a sleeping-room in the latter part 
 of the day, as it endangers health by the damp- 
 ness. 
 
348 ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. 
 
 Miscellaneous Directions. 
 
 In writing formal invitations, mention the day of 
 the month and of the week, and also the hour for 
 coming. Provide a place, if possible, for ladies to 
 arrange their dresses, and furnish combs, pins, and a 
 glass. Also a pitcher and tumbler of cold water. 
 In serving tea, the most agreeable mode, for a small 
 party, is, to set the tea on a table, on one side of the 
 room, the lady of the house to pour out tea and the 
 gentlemen to wait on the ladies and themselves. 
 When tea is sent round, always send in with the 
 milk and sugar, hot water, to weaken the tea. Send 
 cold water, also,in tumblers. Rinse the cups, when 
 returned, and keep up a supply of cream and sugar 
 and have the plates well filled. Wipe the waiters, 
 when soiled or wet. Direct the domestic to go first to 
 some elderly lady, or to a stranger guest, and then to 
 all the other ladies, as they come in order, and lastly 
 to the gentlemen. It is hoped, as this Nation ad- 
 vances in refinement, that eating will be made a less 
 prominent object in social gatherings; and ladies of 
 wealth and intelligence should set an example, in 
 this respect. It is important that a room for compa- 
 ny be well lighted ; but more important that the air 
 be kept pure, by having lamps and-_candles in good 
 order, and not too numerous. Crowded rooms should 
 never be allowed, unless very freely ventilated. 
 Keep a good fire, where ladies put on their outer 
 garments, in cold weather, that they may not go out 
 of doors chilled. Fire and candle screens are very 
 important, for persons with weak eyes. ‘They can 
 be made with a small standard, having light cross- 
 pieces for legs, with a slit made in the upper part, 
 through which the screen (made of stiff ornamented 
 paper) can be slipped. Chairs at table, near the fire, 
 should have back screens, made of stiff paper, hung 
 on their backs, as it is unhealthful to heat the back. 
 
ON THE CARE OF PARLORS. ' 349 
 
 Handsome fire-boards can be made by nailing black 
 foundation-muslin to a frame, the size of the fireplace, 
 and then cutting out flowers from wall-paper, and 
 pasting them on the muslin, according to the fancy. 
 
 Pretty baskets, for flowers, on centre-tables, can be 
 made, by knitting various shades of green and brown 
 into a square piece, with large knitting -needles. 
 Then press this with a hot iron, and ravel it out. 
 Then make a basket, of pasteboard, cut these rav- 
 ellings into bunches, and sew them on, to resem- 
 ble moss. Then line the basket, and set a teacup 
 of water in it, and in this put flowers. An old 
 waiter, filled with wet sand, raised in a mound 
 in the middle, and then stuck full of flowers, looks 
 prettily on a centre-table. Tissue-paper, of various 
 colors, cut in fancy figures, is pretty to hang in the 
 front of grates. 
 
 Large moss baskets, made as above directed, are 
 pretty for holding fruit in parlors. 
 
 » Many articles of furniture can be improved by 
 varnish, which any lady can apply, by procuring a 
 varnish-brush and some copal varnish, of a chaise or 
 cabinet-maker. Paper and paintings can be varnish- 
 ed, by putting on, with a brush, a previous prepara- 
 tion of isinglass, or fish-glue, (boiling two ounces in 
 a pint of water.) Go over the article, three times, 
 with this, and then varnish. If the varnish sinks 
 in, more isinglass is needed. 
 
 Copal varnish is best for furniture, and requires, 
 on wood, no preparation. Put it on thin, or it will 
 be rough. Dilute it with spirits of turpentine. 
 
 A white and nice varnish, for paper, is made by 
 mixing one third balsam of fir, one third spirits of 
 wine, and one third spirits of turpentine. First pre- 
 pare the cloth, or paper, with three coats of isinglass. 
 Strain the isinglass, before using it. 
 
 30 
 
350 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 ON THE CARE OF BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 
 
 Large Closet necessary. Dumb Waiter, or Sliding Closet. Furni- 
 ture fora Table. On settinga Table. Rules for doing it proper- 
 iy;—for Breakfast and Tea; for Dinner. On Clearing the Table. 
 Waiting on Table. On Carving and Helping at Table: 
 
 THE room appropriated to meals, should always 
 have a large closet connected with it, with drawers 
 and shelves, in which should be kept the crumb- 
 cloth, table-linen, dishes, mats, &c. If this closet 
 can be so contrived, as to communicate with the 
 kitchen, by a sliding window, or by a door, it will 
 save much repassing and opening of doors. If it be 
 large enough to have a window, and a small sink, 
 made of marble, or lined with zinc, it will be still 
 better; as, in this case, all nice glass and china can 
 be washed, without being carried into the kitchen. 
 If the house is supplied with water, by pipes, a cock 
 over this sink, for cold water, will be a great con- 
 venience. When there is a dumb waiter, or sliding 
 closet, it is well to have it come up here. It can be 
 contrived, so that when it is pushed down, its top 
 will constitute a part of the closet floor, in cases 
 where there is a want of room for it. 
 
 Articles of Furniture for a Table. 
 
 A table-rug or crumb-cloth saves carpets and floors, 
 very much. It can be of a pepper-and-salt color, 
 which shows dirt the least. Green baize, or heavy 
 brown linen, are often used. In spreading this rug, 
 the same side should always be put uppermost, or 
 else butter or sweetmeats adhering to it, will be trod 
 into the carpet on which it is spread. This rug 
 should be often thoroughly cleansed. 'Table-mats, 
 
BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 351 
 
 of straw, or of oil-cloth lined with baize, are impor- 
 tant, to save either waxed or varnished tables from 
 the effects of hot dishes. The India mats, are con- 
 sidered the best. Teacup-mats, or plates, are useful, 
 also, to preserve a tablecloth from the stains of tea 
 and coffee. It is very common for some persons to 
 pour out their drink into the saucer, and then set 
 their dripping cup on the tablecloth; and when 
 little mats or plates are provided to receive the cup, 
 it sometimes happens that such persons will use 
 them. Some persons have knife-rests, made of 
 china or metal, laid by the dishes, on which to rest 
 the carving-knife and fork. Butter-knives, of steel 
 or silver, set beside, or on, the butter-plate, are de- 
 signed to save the butter from the disgusting marks 
 made upon it when each person uses his own knife 
 to cut it. Salt-spoons are also put with salt-stands, 
 for the same purpose. Many persons are much an- 
 noyed by a neglect in not having these articles; it is 
 therefore well for a person to notice the habits of a 
 family, and if they seem to be particular in using the 
 butter-knife, salt-spoon, and sugar-spoon, to endeavor 
 to be equally particular. When the family are not 
 careful in this matter, the visiter may follow his 
 own taste. Salt-spoons should always be wiped, as 
 soon as the meal is over, as the salt injures their 
 appearance. A sugar-spoon, or sugar-tongs, should 
 also be kept by, or in the sugar-dish. There is 
 nothing which so much gives a table a neat and 
 tasteful appearance as clean table-linen. 'T'o secure 
 this, mats and cup-plates are a great aid; and a set 
 of table-napkins are still more useful. These are 
 usually small towels, folded and laid by each plate, 
 so that each person can spread one in his lap. These, 
 when soiled, can be doubled the other side out, once 
 or twice. A stranger should always have a clean 
 one, and the members of the family always have 
 the same one at each meal. ‘T'o secure this, nap- 
 
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352 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 kins are often rolled and slipped through rings, which 
 are numbered, and each person has a particular num- 
 ber. Others mark. each napkin with a different 
 number, and in setting the table, take care that each 
 person has the same number, at every meal. T'able- 
 cloths, if folded in the ironed creases, when taken 
 off, keep smoother, and look better, than if folded 
 carelessly. ‘They should always be well starched, 
 as should also the napkins. Finger-glasses are used 
 by some persons, in the more stylish circles. They 
 are glass bowls, filled with water, in which the fin- 
 gers are dipped, and wiped on the napkin, after 
 dining. Dotles are colored napkins, for wiping 
 fingers after eating fruit, and are put on only when 
 fruit or sweetmeats are used. Casters and salt-stands 
 should be attended to every morning. The Cayenne 
 needs to be stirred, every day; the holes in the 
 pepper-box unstopped; the vinegar-bottle filled; the 
 salad-oil replenished; the mustard renewed; the 
 salt-stands filled; and the salt and mustard-spoons 
 put in order. No Uttle comfort of a table is more 
 desirable, than fine and dry salt. To secure this, 
 many persons get the finest rock-salt, dry, pound, 
 and sift it, and keep it in a tight tin box, from the 
 air. Salt absorbs water, very fast, in a damp day; 
 and the salt-stands must be often changed, at such 
 times. Very fine and fair table-salt can be procured 
 at the groceries, in most large places. Many persons 
 are very much annoyed, by being obliged to use 
 coarse and impure table-salt. A caster and its glasses 
 in common use should be washed once a week. 
 Salad-oil is apt to grow rancid, unless carefully . 
 corked. 'The mustard-spoon must not be left in the 
 
 mustard after dinner. 
 
 In selecting table-furniture, French china is 
 deemed the nicest; but there is one objection to it, | 
 and that is, the shape of the plates, which is such, / 
 that butter, salt, and mustard, will not lodge on the 
 
BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 353 
 
 rim, but slip into the centre. Knivesand forks, which 
 have weights in the handles, so that, when laid 
 down, they will not touch the tablecloth, are very 
 much the best. Handles fastened with rivets, are 
 more durable than any others. Handles made of 
 horn, (except buckhorn,) do not last well. Knives 
 for the table should be sharpened once a month, 
 unless kept sharp by the mode of scouring. 
 
 On setting a Table. 
 
 Persons who are neat and thorough housekeepers, 
 observe the manner in which a table is set, more 
 than any thing else; and to a person of taste and 
 refinement, who has been accustomed to a table set 
 in a proper manner, few things are more annoying, 
 than to see a table askew; a tablecloth soiled and 
 rumpled, or put on awry; the plates, knives, forks, 
 and dishes, put on without order; the tumblers 
 dirty ; the caster out of order; the pitchers soiled 
 on the outside, and sometimes within; the butter 
 pitched into the plate, without care ; the salt, coarse, 
 damp, and dark; the bread cut with a mixture of 
 junks and thin slices; and all the other items in 
 similar style. One who wishes to have a table set 
 neatly, and genteelly, must persevere in standing by 
 a domestic, until the habit is formed, of doing it 
 regularly and in proper order. The following direc- 
 tions, put up in the closet or pantry where table- 
 furniture is kept, will secure this object better than 
 any other method. 
 
 Rules for setting a Table. 
 For Breakfast or Tea. 
 
 1. Lay the rug sguare with the room, and smooth 
 and even. 
 
 2. Set the table square with the room, and see 
 that the legs are properly placed to support the leaves 
 and to stand firmly. 
 
 30* 
 
ON THE CARE OF 
 
 3. Put on the tablecloth, square with the table, 
 and make it lie smooth and even. 
 
 4. Put on the waiter, for breakfast or tea, and set 
 the saucers and cups on in two or three piles, and 
 the spoons in the slop-bowl; or, if there are few 
 persons to eat, set the cups in the saucers, with a 
 spoon to each. Set the sugar and slop-bowls and 
 cream-cup the back side of the waiter, and put the 
 spoon or sugar-tongs on the sugar-bowl. 
 
 5. Lay the mats on the table, in a regular order, 
 and set the plates around the table, at regular dis- 
 tances, putting at each plate a napkin, and a cup- 
 stand. 
 
 6. Put a knife and fork to each plate, laying them 
 even, and all in a similar manner. If meat is used, 
 put the carving-knife and fork and steel by the 
 master of the house. 
 
 7. Set the tea or coffee-pot on a mat, at the right 
 side of the waiter, and the dishes on the mats, put- 
 ting them in a regular order. 
 
 8. If meat is used, set the easter in the centre, 
 and at two oblique corners set the salt, between two 
 large spoons crossed. Lay the salt-spoons across the 
 stands, and put the mustard-spoon by its cup. 
 
 9. Set the chairs. 
 
 For Dinner. 
 
 1. Place the rug, table, and cloth, as before 
 directed. 
 
 2. Set the caster, salts, and spoons, as above 
 directed. If more table-spoons are needed, put them 
 each side of the caster, or by the dishes. 
 
 3. Lay the mats, putting the largest two opposite 
 the master and mistress of the family, and the others 
 in regular order. 
 
 A, Put the plates where they will be warmed, if 
 it is cold weather, either in the plate-warmer, or on 
 the hearth, turning the top plate over the others, to 
 keep off dust. 
 
 a ae a eam nant or iEHE 
 
BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 355 
 
 5. Lay the knives and forks at regular distances, 
 and by each place a tumbler and napkin, arranged 
 in similar order. Set the pitcher on a mat on the 
 dining-table, or else on the side-table. Water in 
 glass decanters looks best. 
 
 6. Set the principal dish to be carved, on the mat 
 before the master of the house; the other principal 
 dishes before the lady. Place the other dishes in 
 regular order, straight and even. Put a knife and 
 fork by the pickles, and by any dish requiring them. 
 
 7. Set the bread on a side-table, if there is a do- 
 mestic to attend ; if not, on the table with the food. 
 It is customary to have bread cut for dinner in small 
 thick pieces. Some take a fork, and lay a piece of 
 bread by each plate on the napkin; others prefer to 
 keep it in a bread-tray, covered with a napkin, and 
 hand it around, as it is thus protected from flies. 
 
 8. Set the chairs. 
 
 On Clearing the Table. 
 
 1. Carry off the largest dishes, and then scrape 
 the plates into a dish, and lay the knives and forks 
 and spoons in a small waiter, kept for the purpose, 
 and carry them out. 
 
 2. Put the napkins in their places, and in good 
 order, and put up the caster. Wipe the mustard 
 and salt-spoons, and put them in their places. 
 
 3. Set the tumblers on a waiter, and carry them 
 out, or wash them in the room. 
 
 4, Remove the mats, shake, and put up the table- 
 cloth and rug. 
 
 Waiting at Table. 
 
 When persons can afford to keep the requisite 
 number of domestics, it is a great comfort and con- 
 venience to have a waiter in attendance at the table, 
 and remain standing by the mistress of the family, 
 until the meal is, at least, half through. It would 
 
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356 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 be well, in this case, to have this domestic, male or 
 female, wear a large clean apron, while in attendance, 
 to be used for no other purpose, and also to require 
 his hands and head to be put in the neatest order. It 
 is peculiarly unpleasant to have food served by an un- 
 tidy domestic. A small tray should be held by the 
 waiter to carry the articles around. ‘The waiter 
 should announce the meal (when ready) to the mis- 
 tress of the family, then stand by the door, till all 
 have entered, then close the door, and step to the 
 left of the lady or gentleman of the house. At din- 
 ner, when all are seated, the waiter should remove the 
 covers, taking care to lift them so as not to spill the 
 steam on the tablecloth or the dress of the persons 
 near. In serving articles, always go to the left side 
 of the person waited on, and be careful not to pour 
 water, so as to spill or make a tumbler too full. A 
 waiter should notice when drink, bread, or vegeta- 
 bles are wanting, and pass them without being 
 spoken to. When plates are to be removed, do it 
 quickly, but without haste, depositing the knives 
 and forks in a tray provided for the purpose, and 
 setting the plates in piles. Then collect the bread 
 with a fork and plate, then brush off the crumbs, 
 with a crumb-brush. When families do not find it 
 convenient to have a waiter, a light table can be set, 
 so that the mistress of the family can reach it with- 
 out rising, and on this should be set all the requisite 
 articles. 
 
 On Carving and Helping at Table. 
 
 It is considered more proper to carve sitting than 
 standing ; as an expert carver does not need to stand. 
 The carving-knife should be very sharp, and not 
 thick or heavy. All ladies should learn to carve, as 
 it is very difficult, without, and very easy, with, 
 practice. It is considered a genteel accomplishment, 
 for a lady to carve at her own table. 
 
BREAKFAST AND DINING-ROOMS. 357 
 
 In carving fowls, which should always be laid on 
 the platter with the breast upward, the common 
 mode is to stick the fork into the breast, having the 
 neck towards the right side of the carver. First 
 take off the further wing and leg. Then, without 
 turning the fowl], cut off the wing and leg nearest to 
 you; then cut off the merrythought, and slices from 
 the breast. Then cut off the collar-bone, then the 
 side bones, and then divide the carcass. Divide the 
 joints of a leg in a turkey. When a fowl is large 
 and tough, it will be necessary to turn it, in carving 
 the wing and leg nearest to you, when beginning. 
 Some persons cut off the wings and legs by running 
 the fork into them without putting it into the 
 breast ; but this is more difficult. 
 
 In helping, when no choice is expressed, give a 
 piece of the white and dark meat. Help to some of 
 the dressing, and put the gravy, not on the meat and 
 vegetables, but by itself. Do not mix the contents 
 of a plate. In helping vegetables, do not take the 
 water that may have drained into the plate. 
 
 In carving a surloin, begin by cutting thin slices 
 from the side next to you, and then cut from the ten- 
 derloin, and help to both kinds. Do not give the 
 outside piece, unless requested. 
 
 In carving a leg of mutton, begin, by cutting 
 across the middle, to the bone. So also with ham, 
 cutting the latter quite thin. Cut a tongue across, 
 and not lengthwise, and help from the middle part, 
 which is deemed the best. 
 
 In carving a forequarter of lamb, first separate the 
 shoulder from the ribs and breast; then divide the 
 ribs. On a loin of veal, begin at the smaller end, 
 separate the ribs, and help each person to a piece 
 of the kidney and its fat. 
 
 Carve pork and mutton in the same way. In 
 carving a fillet of veal, begin at the top, and help to 
 the stuffing with each slice. In a breast of veal, 
 
358 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 separate the breast and brisket, and then cut them 
 up, asking which part is preferred. In carving a 
 pig, it is customary to divide it, and take off the 
 head, before it comes to the table; as, to many per- 
 sons, the head is very revolting. Cut off the limbs, 
 and divide the ribs. In carving venison, make a 
 deep incision down to the bone, to let out the juices; 
 then turn the broad end of the haunch towards you, 
 cutting deep, in thin slices. For a saddle of veni- 
 son, cut from the tail towards the other end, on each 
 side, in thin slices. Warm plates are very necessa- 
 ry, with venison and mutton. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 ON THE CARE OF CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 
 
 Importance of Well-ventilated Sleeping-rooms. Debility and Ill- 
 health caused by a Want of Pure Air. Chamber Furniture. 
 Cheap Couch. Trunks. Washstand. Bedsteads. Beds. Feathers. 
 Straw, or Hair Mattrasses. Pillows and Bolsters. Bedcoverings. 
 On Cleaning Chambers. Sweeping and Dusting. To Makea Bed. 
 Domestics should be provided with Single Beds, and Washing 
 Conveniences. On Packing and Storing Articles. To fold a Gen- 
 tleman’s Coat and Shirt, anda Frock. Packing Trunks. Carpet 
 Bags. Bonnet Covers. Packing Household Furniture for Moving. 
 
 Tne importance of well-ventilated sleeping-rooms, 
 cannot be too strongly impressed upon every house- 
 keeper. ‘The debility of young children, the lassi- 
 tude and indolence of domestics, and much of the 
 ill-health of families, are caused by that most need- 
 less of all famines,—a want of pureair. No mistress 
 of a family should allow any person to sleep in a 
 room without an open fireplace, until she makes it 
 certain that free ventilation will be secured in some 
 other way. ‘'T'o accomplish this, a large crack can 
 be made, in the upper sash of the window, by sink- 
 
CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 359 
 
 ing it a little; or a ventilator can be made over a 
 door, or a pane of glass taken from a window; or the 
 door be fastened open into an adjoining room or 
 entry. So many persons are ignorant of the impor- 
 tance of fresh air to health, that the mistress of a 
 family will need to exercise constant care to prevent 
 evil in this direction. Instead of tight fireboards, in 
 chambers, the chimney should either be left open, 
 or the fireboard be made like window-blinds. It is 
 always best, in small rooms, even if they have fire- 
 places, to have the door left ajar. 
 
 As chambers are used most in Summer, straw 
 matting is the best for permanent carpets. In Win- 
 ter, strips can be laid over the matting around the 
 bed. Ifa fire is kept in a chamber, it is best to 
 have a woollen carpet. There are many cheap 
 contrivances, to make a chamber look neat and com- 
 fortable; some of which will be mentioned. In 
 chambers without closets, a wardrobe is very neces- 
 sary. This is a large moveable closet, with doors. 
 It is divided perpendicularly into two apartments. 
 In one, two rows of hooks are placed, at different 
 heights, for hanging dresses; in the other, are rows 
 of shelves, for other uses. Some are made with two 
 drawers, at the bottom, for shoes and other articles. ° 
 
 A low square box, set on casters, with a stuffed 
 cushion on the top, and a drawer on one side, is a 
 great convenience for dressing the feet. 'The drawer 
 is divided into two apartments; in one, is put shoes, 
 and in the other, stockings. An old champaigne 
 basket, fitted up with a cushion on the lid, anda 
 valance fastened to it to cover the sides, can be used 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 A very comfortable lounge, for chambers and sit- 
 ting-rooms, can be made by a common carpenter, at 
 very little expense. Have a frame made, (like the 
 annexed Fig. 31,) of common stuff, five feet long, 
 twenty-six inches wide, and fifteen inches high. 
 
360 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 Fig. 31. 
 
 ZF 
 | | 
 
 Have the sloping side piece, a, and head piece, 6, 
 sawed out of a board; nail brown linen on them, 
 and stuff them with soft hay or hair. Have these 
 screwed to the frame, and covered with furniture 
 patch. ‘Then have slats nailed across the bottom, 
 as at cc, half a foot apart. This will cost two or 
 three dollars. Then make a thick cushion, of hay 
 or straw, with side strips, like a mattrass, and lay 
 this for the under cushion. 'T'o put over this, make 
 a thinner cushion, of hair, cover it with furniture- 
 patch, and fasten to it a valance reaching to the 
 floor. Then make two square pillows, and cover 
 them with patch, like the rest. 
 
 The Writer has seen a lounge of this kind, ina 
 common parlor, which cost less than eight dollars, 
 was much admired, and was a constant comfort to 
 the feeble mother, as well as many other members 
 of the family. 
 
 Another convenience, for a room where sewing is 
 done in Summer, is a fancy jar, set in one corner, to 
 receive clippings, and any other rubbish. It can be 
 covered with prints, or paintings, and varnished; 
 and it then looks very prettily. 
 
 The trunks in a chamber can be improved in 
 looks and comfort, by making cushions of the same 
 size and shape, stuffed with hay and covered with 
 chintz, with a frill reaching nearly to the floor. 
 
 Every bedchamber should have a washstand, 
 bowl, pitcher, and tumbler, with a washbucket un- 
 der the stand, to receive slops. A light screen, 
 made like a clothes-frame, and covered with paper 
 or chintz, should be furnished for bedrooms occupied 
 by two persons, so that ablutions can be performed 
 
CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 361 
 
 in privacy. It can be ornamented, so as to look 
 well anywhere. A little frame, or towel-horse, by 
 the washstand, on which to dry towels, is a con- 
 venience. A washstand should be furnished with a 
 Sponge or washcloth, and a small towel, for wiping 
 the basin after using it. This should be hung on 
 the washstand or towel-horse, for constant use. A 
 soap-dish, and a dish for toothbrushes, are neat and 
 convenient, and each person should be furnished 
 with two towels; one for the feet, and one for other 
 purposes, 
 
 Bedsteads and Beds. 
 
 The recent absurd fashion of very high bedsteads, 
 seems to be passing away ; and it would be wise for 
 those, who have bedsteads so high that children 
 endanger their lives in sleeping on them, and stairs 
 are needed to mount them, to saw off the legs, toa 
 reasonable height. High-post bedsteads are best, as 
 it is often important to hang musquito-bars around 
 them, or curtains to protect from cold currents of air. 
 It is in good taste to have the curtains, bedquilt, 
 valance, and window-curtains, of similar materials. 
 
 In making featherbeds, side-pieces should be put 
 in, like those of mattrasses, and the bed should be 
 well filled, so that a person will not be buried ina 
 hollow, which is not healthful, save in extremely 
 cold weather. Featherbeds should never be used, 
 but in cold weather. At other times, a thin mattrass 
 of hair, cotton and moss, or straw, should be put 
 over them. A simple strip of straw matting, spread 
 over a featherbed, answers the same purpose. There 
 -is nothing more debilitating, than to sleep in warm 
 weather, with a featherbed pressing round much the 
 greater part of the body. Beds, used by children or 
 domestics, should have either a bed-case or a sheet 
 kept between the bed and under sheet, and the 
 bolster should have a case. It is not desirable for 
 
 31 
 
362 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 young persons to have both bolsters and pillows, as 
 one is better to keep the body in a correct position. 
 Sometimes they are so small, as to need both. Pil- 
 lows stuffed with papers an inch square, are good 
 for Summer, especially for young children, whose 
 heads should be kept cool. The cheapest and best 
 covering of a bed for Winter, is a cotton comforter, 
 made to contain three or four pounds of cotton, laid 
 in batts or sheets, between covers tacked together 
 at regular intervals. They should be three yards 
 square, and less cotton should be put at the sides 
 that are tucked in. It is better to have two thin 
 comforters to each bed, than one thick one; as then 
 the covering can be regulated according to the 
 weather. 
 
 On Cleaning Chambers. 
 
 A chamber, and all its appendages, should be 
 thoroughly cleaned, once each week ; every article 
 being moved, in sweeping. On other days, a dust- 
 pan and small whisk-broom can be used to collect 
 dust and rubbish. Paper and threads must first be 
 picked, and not swept, up. The domestic, who 
 takes care of the chambers, should go around, both 
 morning and evening, to remove slops, replenish the 
 pitcher with a fresh supply of water, and put the 
 washbowls and other articles in order. Tea leaves 
 are good to throw under a bed to collect the light 
 flue which is apt to fly about, when sweeping. In 
 dusting chambers, as well as other rooms, the ledges, 
 mouldings, doors, and window-sashes, must not be 
 omitted. Clean the plates of looking-glasses with a 
 sponge and pure water. 
 
 To Make a Bed. 
 
 Few domestics will make a bed properly, without 
 much attention from the mistress of the family. 
 The following directions should be given to those 
 who do this work. 
 
CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 363 
 
 Open the windows, and lay off the bed-covering, 
 on two chairs, at the foot of the bed. After the 
 bed is well aired, shake the .feathers from each 
 corner to the middle ; then take up the middle, and 
 shake it well, and turn the bed over. Then push 
 the feathers in place, making the head higher than 
 the foot, and the sides even, and as high as the mid- 
 dle part. Then put on the bolster and the under 
 sheet, so that the wrong side of the sheet shall go 
 next the bed, and the marking come at the head, 
 tucking in all around. Then put on the pillows, 
 even, so that the open ends shall come to the sides 
 of the bed, and then spread on the upper sheet, so 
 that the wrong side shall be next the blankets, and 
 the marked end at the head. This arrangement of 
 sheets is to prevent the part where the feet lie from 
 being reversed so as to come to the face, and also to 
 prevent the parts soiled by the body from coming to 
 the bedtick and blankets. 'Then put on the other 
 covering, except the outer one, tucking in all around, 
 and then turn over the upper sheet, at the head, so 
 as to show a part of the pillows. When the pillow- 
 cases are clean and smooth, they look best outside 
 of the cover, but not otherwise. Then draw the 
 hand along the side of the pillows, to make an even 
 indentation, and then smooth and shape the whole 
 outside. A nice housekeeper always notices the 
 manner in which a bed is made; and in some parts 
 of the Country, it is rare to see this work properly 
 performed. 
 
 The Writer would here urge every mistress of a 
 family, who keeps more than one domestic, to pro- 
 vide them with single beds, that they may not be 
 obliged to sleep with all the changing domestics, 
 who come and go so often. Where the room 
 is too small for two beds, a narrow truckle-bed un- 
 der another, will answer. Domestics should be fur- 
 nished with washing conveniences in their cham- 
 
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364 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 bers, and be encouraged to keep their persons and 
 rooms neat and in order. 
 
 ON PACKING AND STORING ARTICLES. 
 
 Fold a gentleman’s coat, thus :—Lay it on a table 
 or bed, the inside downward, and unroll the collar. 
 Double each sleeve once, making the crease at the 
 elbow, and laying them so as to make the fewest 
 wrinkles, and parallel with the skirts. Turn the 
 fronts over the back and sleeves, and then turn up 
 the skirts, making all as smooth as possible. 
 
 Fold a shirt, thus:—One that has a bosom-piece 
 inserted, lay on a bed, bosom downward. Fold each 
 sleeve twice, and lay it parallel with the sides of the 
 shirt. T'urn the two sides, with the sleeves, over 
 the middle part, and then turn up the bottom, with 
 two folds. This makes the collar and bosom lie, 
 unpressed, on the outside. 
 
 Fold a frock, thus:—Spread it on a bed, so that 
 the creases in folding will come behind and before. 
 Smooth it, and lay the hem even, and then fold the 
 shirt lengthwise, in four parts, turning one fold on 
 each side, and then both together. Then begin .at 
 the bottom, and double up the skirt, crosswise, and 
 then arrange the waist and sleeves, outside, so as 
 to make the fewest creases. Pin the whole in a 
 napkin. 
 
 In packing trunks, for travelling, put all heavy 
 articles at the bottom, covered with paper, which 
 should not be printed, as the ink rubs off. Put coats 
 and pantaloons into linen cases, made for the pur- 
 pose, and furnished with strings. Fill all crevices 
 with small articles; as, if a trunk is not full, and 
 tightly packed, its contents will be shaken about, 
 and get injured. A thin box, the exact size of the 
 trunk, with a lid, and covered with brown linen, is 
 a great convenience, to set inside, on the top of the 
 trunk, to contain light articles which would be in- 
 
CHAMBERS AND BEDROOMS. 365 
 
 jured by tight packing. Have straps, with buckles, 
 fastened to the inside, near the bottom, long enough 
 to come up and buckle over this box. By this 
 means, when a trunk is not quite full, this box can 
 be strapped over so tight, as to keep the articles 
 from rubbing. Under-clothing packs closer, by be- 
 ing rolled tightly, instead of being folded. 
 
 Bonnet-boxes, made of light wood, with a lock 
 and key, are better than the paper bandboxes so 
 annoying to travellers. Carpet bags are very useful, 
 to carry the articles to be used on a journey. The 
 best ones have sides inserted, iron rims, and a lock 
 and key. A large silk travelling-bag, with a double 
 jinen lining, in which are stitched receptacles for 
 toothbrush, combs, and other small articles, is a very 
 convenient article for use when travelling. 
 
 A bonnet-cover, made of some thin material, like 
 a large hood with a cape, is useful to draw over the 
 bonnet and neck, to keep off dust, sun, and sparks 
 from a steam engine. Green veils are very apt to 
 stain bonnets, when damp. 
 
 In packing household furniture, for moving, have 
 each box numbered, and then have a book, in which 
 as each box is packed, note down the number of the 
 box, and the order in which its contents are packed, 
 as this will save much labor and perplexity when 
 unpacking. In packing china and glass, wrap each 
 article, separately, in paper, and put soft hay or straw 
 at bottom, and all around each. Put the heaviest 
 articles at the bottom ; and on the top of the box, 
 write, ‘‘ This side up.” 
 
 31* 
 
366 ON THE CARE OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 ON THE CARE OF THE KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STORE- 
 ROOM. 
 
 Importance of a Convenient Kitchen. Floor should be painted. 
 Sink and Drain. Towels. Washbasins. Dishcloths. Wash- 
 ing Dishes. Conveniences needed. Rules. Kitchen Furniture. 
 Crockery. Iron Ware. Tin Ware. Wooden Ware. Basket 
 Ware. Other Articles. Miscellaneous Directions. On the Care 
 of the Cellar and Storeroom. Modes of Destroying Insects and 
 Vermin. 
 
 Ir is very important, for every man who wishes 
 to have his daughters brought up with good domes- 
 tic habits, to secure a light, neat, and agreeable 
 kitchen. Such an arrangement will make this part 
 of the house more attractive to his daughters, more 
 comfortable for his wife, and better secure the con- 
 tentment of domestics. For this reason, cellar- 
 kitchens are undesirable, besides being often un- 
 healthful. 
 
 A kitchen should have either a smooth, painted 
 floor, or else an oil-cloth, as this saves much labor, 
 and looks much neater than a bare floor. An oil- 
 cloth is best, because it can be removed, to be 
 repainted, whereas when a floor is newly painted, 
 it has to be used, before the paint is sufficiently 
 hardened, and consequently it wears off much sooner, 
 so that the oil-cloth is cheaper in the end. ‘T'o get 
 this as cheap as possible, make up a kitchen-carpet, 
 of coarse tow cloth, have it nailed to the south side 
 of a barn, and put on it a coat of thin rye paste. 
 Then hire a painter to put on a coat of common 
 yellow paint, and let it dry for a fortnight. Then 
 have a second coat of paint put on, and at the end 
 of another fortnight a third coat. Let it then dry, 
 for two months, and it will last many years. Be 
 
KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 367 
 
 careful to have the paint well mixed, with a proper 
 supply of drying ingredients. 
 
 A kitchen should always have a sink, with a 
 drain to carry away all slops; and this drain should 
 never empty on the surface of the ground near the 
 house, as it is both unhealthful and uncleanly. Itis 
 best to whitewash the walls of a kitchen, as it makes 
 it lighter, and tends to remove all bad smells. A 
 roller-towel, to be changed twice a week, and two 
 block-tin basins, one for common and one for nicer 
 uses, are very necessary, in every kitchen. A nicer 
 towel should also be hung near one of these basins. 
 
 The sink should be thoroughly washed every day, 
 and often scalded with ley or hot suds. Keep a sup- 
 ply of nce dish-cloths hanging near the sink, hemmed, 
 and furnished with loops. ‘There should be one for 
 dishes that are not greasy, one for greasy dishes, and 
 one for potsand kettles. These should all be put in 
 the wash every washing day. If the mistress of the 
 family will insist on this, she will be less annoyed by 
 having her dishes washed with black, dirty, and 
 musty rags. Under the sink should be kept a slop- 
 pail, and on a shelf, close by, should be placed two 
 water-pails, one for hard and one for soft water. A 
 large kettle of warm soft water should always be 
 kept over the fire, and a hearth-broom and bellows 
 be hung beside the fireplace. A clock, in or near 
 the kitchen, is very important, to secure regularity 
 in family arrangements. 
 
 Washing Dishes. 
 
 Careless domestics are very apt to fail in washing 
 dishes properly. A full supply of proper convenien- 
 ces, and considerable watchfulness from the lady 
 of the house, will remedy this. A swab, made of 
 candle-wick, or strips of linen, and tied to the end of 
 a stick, is useful to wash small deep dishes. Three 
 dish-cloths, as before described, and two towels, 
 
368 ON THE CARE OF THE 
 
 should always be used in washing up the family 
 dishes. 'T'wo large tin tubs, painted on the outside, 
 should be provided, one for washing and one for 
 rinsing ; and a large old waiter, on which to drain 
 the dishes. A soap-dish, with hard soap, and a slop- 
 pail, should also be furnished. ‘Then, if directions, 
 like the following, are written, in a large hand, and 
 put up near the sink, they will be some aid in se- 
 curing the desired care and neatness. 
 
 1, Put all the food remaining on the dishes, and 
 which is good, on plates, and set it away for use. 
 Scrape the grease into the soap-grease pot, and the 
 scraps into the slop-pail; and put the tea leaves into 
 a bowl] for use. Save all bits of butter. 
 
 2. Make a strong hot suds, in the wash-dish, and 
 wash the nicest articles with a swab, or the nicest 
 dish-cloth, and lay them in the rinsing-dish, which 
 should also be filled with hot water. This is 
 better than to pour hot water on them after the suds 
 is partly dried on. Then take them out of the 
 rinsing-water, and lay them to drain on the waiter. 
 Then rinse the dish-cloth, and hang it up. 
 
 3. Pour in some more hot water, take another 
 dish-cloth, and wash all the greasy dishes, rinsing 
 them, and setting them to drain. Then take two 
 towels, and wipe all the dishes, and set them away. 
 Put the knives and forks into a vessel made for the 
 purpose, and wash and wipe them; or, if no such 
 article is provided, wash them in the water with the 
 other greasy dishes, taking care not to put the 
 handles in the water. Wipe them, and put them in 
 the knife-tray, to be scoured. 
 
 A, Get afresh supply of hot suds, and wash the 
 milk-pans and buckets, and then the tins. Then 
 rinse and hang up the dish-cloth, and take another 
 and wash the roasters, gridiron, pots, and kettles. 
 Then empty the slop-bucket, and scald it. Dry the 
 teapots (if of metal) and the tins by the fire. 'Then 
 
KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 369 
 
 scald out the chamber-bucket, and set it out of 
 doors, to air. Then sweep and dust the kitchen and 
 put the fireplace in good order. 
 
 Kitchen Furniture. 
 
 Crockery. Brown earthen pans are said to be best, 
 for milk and for cooking. ‘Tin pans are lighter, and 
 more convenient, but are too cold for many purposes. 
 Tall earthen jars, with covers, are good to hold 
 butter, salt, lard, &c. The red earthen ware should 
 never have acids put into it, as there is a poisonous 
 ingredient in the glazing, which the acid takes off. 
 Stone ware is better and stronger and safer, every 
 way, than any other kind. 
 
 Iron Ware. Many kitchens are very imperfectly 
 supplied with the requisite conveniences for cooking ; 
 and when a person has sufficient means, the follow- 
 ing articles are all desirable. A nest of iron pots, of 
 different sizes, (they should be slowly heated, when 
 new ;) a long iron fork, to take out articles from 
 boiling water; an iron hook, with a handle, to lift 
 pots from the crane; a large and small gridiron, with 
 grooved bars, and a trench to catch the grease; a 
 Dutch oven, called, also, a bakepan ; two skillets, of 
 different sizes, and a spider, or flat skillet, for frying ; 
 a griddle, a waffle-iron, tin and iron bake and bread- 
 pans ; two ladles, of different sizes; a skimmer; iron 
 skewers ; a toasting-iron; two teakettles, one small 
 and one large one; two brass kettles, of different 
 sizes, for soap-boiling, é&«. Tron kettles, lined with 
 porcelain, are better for preserves. 'The German are 
 the best. ‘Too hot a fire will crack them, but with 
 care in this respect, they will last for many years. 
 
 Portable furnaces, of iron or clay, are very useful, 
 in Summer, in washing, ironing, and stewing, or 
 making preserves. If used in the house, a strong 
 draught must be made, to prevent the deleterious 
 effects of the charcoal. A spice-box, spice, pepper, 
 
370 ON THE CARE OF THE 
 
 and coffee-mill, are needful to those who use such 
 articles. Strong knives and forks, a sharp carving- 
 Knife, an iron cleaver and board, a fine saw, steel- 
 yards, chopping-tray and knife, an apple-parer, steel 
 for sharpening knives, sugar-nippers, a dozen iron 
 spoons, also a large iron one with a long handle, six 
 or eight flatirons, one of them very small, two iron- 
 stands, a ruffle-iron, a crimping-iron. 
 
 Tin Ware. Bread and cake-pans, a colander,.an 
 egg-boiler, a dredging-box, a pepper-box, a large and 
 small grater, large and small pattypans, cake-pans, 
 with a centre tube to insure their baking well, pie- 
 dishes, of block-tin, a covered butter-kettle, covered 
 kettles to hold berries, two sauce-pans, a tin oven or 
 tin-kitchen, a tin apple-corer, an apple-roaster, a 
 large oil-can, with a cock, a lamp-filler, a tin lan- 
 tern, broad-bottomed candlesticks for the kitchen, a 
 candle-box, a funnel or tunnel, a tin reflector, for 
 baking warm cakes, two sugar-scoops, and flour 
 and meal-scoop, a set of tin mugs, three tin dippers, 
 a pint, quart, and gallon measure, a set of scales and 
 weights, three or four tin pails, painted on the out- 
 side, a tin slop-bucket, with a tight cover, painted 
 on the outside, a milk-strainer, a gravy-strainer, a 
 tin box, in which to keep cheese, also a large one 
 for cake, and a still larger one for bread, with tight 
 covers. Bread, cake, and cheese, shut up in this 
 way, will not grow dry as in the open air. 
 
 Wooden Ware. A nest of tubs, a set of pails, 
 wooden-bowls, a large and small sieve, a beetle 
 for mashing potatoes, a spad or stick for stirring 
 butter and sugar, a bread-board, for moulding bread 
 and making piecrust, a coffee-stick, a clothes-stick, 
 a mush-stick, a meat-beetle, to pound tough meat, 
 an egg-beater, a wooden ladle for working butter, 
 a bread-trough, (for a large family,) flour-buckets, 
 with lids to hold sifted flour and Indian meal, salt- 
 boxes, sugar-boxes, starch and indigo-boxes, spice- 
 
KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 371 
 
 boxes, a bosom-board, a skirt-board, a large iron- 
 ing-board, two or three clothes-frames and six dozen 
 clothes-pins. 
 
 Basket Ware. Baskets, of all sizes, for eggs, 
 fruit, marketing, clothes, &c., also chip-baskets. 
 When often used, they should be washed in hot 
 suds. 
 
 Other Articles. Eivery kitchen needs a box con- 
 taining a ball of brown thread, a ball of twine, a 
 large and small darning-needle, a roll of waste-paper, 
 a roll of old linen and cotton, and a supply of com- 
 mon holders. There should also be another box, 
 containing a hammer, carpet-tacks, and nails of all 
 sizes, a carpet-claw, screws and a screw-driver, gim- 
 lets of several sizes, a bed-screw, a small saw, two 
 chisels, (one to use for button-holes in broadcloth, ) 
 two awls, pincers, two files. 
 
 In a drawer, or cupboard, should be placed cotton 
 tablecloths, for kitchen use, nice crash towels, for 
 tumblers, marked, T T'; coarser towels, for dishes, 
 marked, T'; six large roller-towels ; a dozen hand 
 towels, marked, H T; and a dozen dish-cloths, 
 hemmed and having loops. Also, two pudding or 
 dumpling-cloths, of thick linen, a gelly-bag, made of 
 white flannel, to strain gelly, a starch-strainer, and a’ 
 bag for boiling clothes. These last should be put in 
 the washing-closet, if there is one. In this, or 
 another place, should be kept a cotton and woollen 
 ironing-sheet, two iron-wipers, three iron-holders, 
 some beeswax and spermaceti, the common irons 
 and the ruffle and crimping-irons, the bosom-board 
 and skirt-board, and the cases or covers that slip on 
 them ; and, if there is room, the clothes-frames and 
 large ironing-board. 
 
 In a closet, should be kept, arranged in order, the 
 following articles. The dust-pan, dust-brush, and 
 dusting-cloths, old flannel and cotton for scouring 
 and rubbing, sponges for washing windows and 
 
372 ON THE CARE OF THE 
 
 looking-glasses, a long brush for taking down cob- 
 webs, whisk-brooms, and common brooms, a coat- 
 broom or brush, a whitewash-brush, a stove-brush, 
 shoe-brushes and blacking, articles for cleaning 
 tin and silver, leather for cleaning metals, bottles 
 containing stain mixtures and other articles used in 
 cleansing. 
 
 Miscellaneous Directions. 
 
 Clean gold ornaments with hot suds and a soft 
 brush, and then rub with magnesia. Never wash 
 pearls, nor wear them on damp hands. Repol- 
 ish tortoise-shell combs with sweet-oil and fine rot- 
 tenstone. Cleanse combs and brushes with pearl- 
 ash-water, wiping them dry. ‘Nothing looks more 
 slatternly, than a dirty fine-tooth comb. It can be 
 best cleaned with thread slipped between the 
 teeth. 
 
 India-rubber, melted in lamp-oil, and put over 
 common shoes, keeps water out, perfectly. Garden- 
 ing shoes should be thus protected. It can be black- 
 ened with ivory-black or lampblack. 
 
 Keep small whisk-brooms wherever gentlemen 
 hang up their clothes, either up stairs or down. 
 Also at the back door. Provide a good supply of 
 mats. 
 
 If a house takes fire, at night, wrap a woollen 
 blanket around you, to keep off the fire. If you 
 cannot get out of your room, draw the bedstead to a 
 window, tie the corners of your sheets together, 
 fasten them to the bedpost, and let yourself down 
 out of the window. Never read in bed, lest you fall 
 asleep, and the bed be set on fire. 
 
 When a stable is on fire, blind the horse, and then 
 he can be led out. Keep young children in woollen 
 dresses, in Winter, to save from risk of being burnt. 
 If your dress catches fire, do not run, but lie down, 
 and roll over till you can reach some article, or the 
 
KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND’ STOREROOM. 373 
 
 edge of the carpet, in which to wrap yourself tight, 
 and this will put out the fire. 
 
 Boil new earthen in bran-water, putting the arti- 
 cles in when cold. Do the same with porcelain ket- 
 tles. Never leave wooden vessels out of doors, as 
 they fall to pieces. Lift the handle of @ pump, and 
 cover it with blankets, to keep it from freezing. 
 
 Broken earthen and china can often be mended, 
 by tying it up, and boiling it in milk. Diamond 
 cement, when genuine, is very effectual for the same 
 purpose. Old putty can be softened by muriatic 
 acid. A strong cement may be made, by heating 
 together equal parts of white lead, glue, and the 
 whites of eggs. A cement for iron is made of six 
 parts potter’s clay and one part steel filings, formed 
 into a paste, as thick as putty, with linseed oil. 
 
 Stop cracks, at the bottom and sides of doors, by 
 nailing down strips of wood covered with baize, 
 tight against the door on the casing. Stuff raw 
 cotton into other cracks. Nail slats across nursery 
 windows. Scatter ashes on slippery ice at the door; 
 or rather, remove it. Clarify impure water with 
 powdered alum, a teaspoonful toa barrel. In thunder 
 storms, the centre of the room, or a bed, is safest, 
 shutting doors and windows. A lightning-rod, if 
 well pointed, and run deep into the earth, protects a 
 circle, whose diameter equals the height of the light- 
 ning-rod above the highest chimney, and no more. 
 
 ON THE CARE -OF THE CELLAR. 
 
 A cellar should often be whitewashed, to keep. it 
 sweet. It should have a drain, to keep it perfectly 
 dry, as standing water in a cellar is a sure cause of 
 disease ina family. The following articles are de- 
 sirable in a cellar. A safe, which is a moveable 
 closet with sides of wire or perforated tin, in which 
 cold meats, cream, and other articles are kept. If 
 ants are troublesome, set the legs in tin cups of 
 
 32 
 
374 ON THE CARE OF THE 
 
 water. A refrigerator, which is a large wooden 
 box, on feet, with a lining of tin or zinc, and a space 
 between the tin and wood filled with powdered 
 charcoal. At the bottom, is a place to put ice, and 
 a drain to carry off the water. It has moveable 
 shelves and partitions. It is used for keeping articles 
 cool. It should be cleaned, once a week. 
 
 _ Filtering jars, to purify water, should be kept in 
 the cellar. 
 
 Fish and cabbages, ina cellar, are apt to scent a 
 
 house, and give a bad taste to other articles. 
 
 STOREROOM. 
 
 Every house needs a storeroom, in which to keep 
 tea, coffee, sugar, rice, candles, &c. It should be fur- 
 nished with jars, having labels, a large spoon, a fork, 
 sugar and flour-scoops, a towel, and a dish-cloth. 
 
 MODES OF DESTROYING INSECTS AND VERMIN. 
 Bed Bugs. 
 
 These animals can be destroyed, by scalding the 
 places where they are found, with hot water, by 
 washing with tobacco tea, and by anointing, either 
 with quicksilver mixed with whites of eggs, or cor- 
 rosive sublimate dissolved in alcohol, or camphor 
 dissolved in oil of cedar. ‘The last is probably the 
 most effectual. All cracks and holes in bedsteads 
 should be filled with putty, and in Summer an ex- 
 amination should be made, (if not every day, at 
 least every Monday or Saturday,) of both bedstead 
 and bedding. It is much easier to keep them away, 
 than to get rid of them when they have once been 
 allowed to multiply. 
 
 Cockroaches. 
 
 These animals can be killed by scalding them, 
 when they accumulate in a place like a sink. ‘They 
 can be poisoned, by setting chloride of lime and 
 
KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 375 
 
 water about. Also, by mixing either arsenic or 
 calomel with Indian meal and molasses. These 
 last must be used with care, lest children or others 
 get poisoned. 
 
 Fleas. 
 
 These animals are generally brought by dogs or 
 swine, or by dry shavings about the premises. A 
 dog can be freed from them, by putting him into a 
 tub of warm suds. The insects will rise to the top, 
 and must be taken and burned, or they will revive. 
 Scotch snuff, sprinkled over a dog, will destroy 
 them. Strong perfumes, like camphor or penny- 
 royal, about the bed and person, will keep them off, 
 or at least diminish their attacks. When caught in 
 the fingers, they are best destroyed by putting them 
 in a basin of water. They often escape, if any other 
 mode is tried. 
 
 Crickets. 
 
 Scalding, and snuff sprinkled about, are remedies 
 for this annoyance. 
 
 Flies. 
 
 Flies can be driven out of rooms, by flirting towels 
 or branches with leaves. ‘Then darken a room, and - 
 they will not return. Cups containing quassia (four 
 drachms to one quart of water) will drive them off. 
 Also, cold green tea and molasses. Traps can be 
 made, like two large book covers and sprinkled with 
 sugar or molasses. When covered with flies, crush 
 them suddenly together. 
 
 Musquitoes. 
 
 Nets, made of gauze, or thin muslin or millinet, 
 hung around the bed, are the only perfect protection, 
 at night. Washing the skin in perfumes, will di- 
 minish their attacks. Salt and water, camphor, and 
 spirits of hartshorn, are the best remedies to alleviate 
 their stings. ‘The last is best. 
 
376 KITCHEN, CELLAR, AND STOREROOM. 
 
 Red or Black Ants. 
 
 Scalding them, and smearing the places where 
 they resort, with corrosive sublimate, will destroy 
 them. ‘The latter is dangerous, as it is a deadly 
 poison. (Whites of eggs are the antidote.) Setting 
 the legs of a sideboard or safe in tin cups of water 
 will keep them off, 
 
 Moths. 
 
 Airing clothes does not tend to prevent moths, but 
 rather produces the opposite effect. Furs, feathers, 
 and woollens, in Summer, if sprinkled with camphor, 
 or fine tobacco, and wrapped and sewed tight in 
 linen, are perfectly safe from moths. When moths 
 frequent a particular place, scald it with a decoction 
 of tobacco, and then sprinkle on camphor. Fur and 
 woollens should be put away in April. 
 
 Rats and Mice. 
 
 A good cat is the best preservative against rats 
 and mice. Various kinds of traps are also useful. 
 Poisoning is also a remedy. Equal quantities of 
 hemlock or cicuta and old cheese, mixed and set 
 in their haunts, will drive them off, or poison them. 
 Poison makes a house liable to the smell of dead 
 rats. ‘To remedy this, pour oil of vitriol on some 
 saltpetre, and set it where the smell is most annoy- 
 ing, and shut the room up tight. Chloride of lime 
 answers nearly as well, in most cases. It should be 
 mixed with a little water in a saucer. 
 
ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 377 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 importance of Young Girls being taught various Kinds of Stitching. 
 Directions for doing various Stitches. Workbaskets, and their 
 Contents. On Curtine anp Firrinc Garments. ‘To cut and make 
 Frocks, Shirts, and Chemises. Cotton and Linen. Old Silk Dresses 
 quilted for Skirts. Flannel; White should be colored. Chil- 
 dren’s Flannels. Nightgowns. Nightcaps. Wrappers. Bedding. 
 MenpinG. 
 
 Every young girl should be taught to do the fol- 
 lowing kinds of stitch, with propriety. Over-stitch, 
 hemming, running, felling, stitching, back-stitch 
 and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, 
 - darning, gathering, and cross-stitch. 
 
 In doing over-stitch, the edges should always be 
 first fitted, either with pins or basting, to prevent 
 puckering. In turning wide hems, a paper measure 
 should be used, to make them even. ‘'T'ucks, also, 
 should be regulated by a paper measure. A fell 
 should be turned, before the edges are put together, 
 and the seam should be over-sewed before felling. 
 All biassed or goring seams should be felled. For 
 stitching, draw a thread, and take up two or three 
 threads at a stitch. 
 
 In making buttonholes, it is best to have a pair of 
 scissors, made for the purpose, which cut very neatly. 
 For broadcloth, a chisel and board is better. The 
 best stitch is made by putting in the needle, and 
 then turning the thread near the eye, around the 
 needle. This is better than to draw the needle 
 through, and then take upa loop. A thread should 
 first be put across each side of the buttonhole, and 
 also a stay thread, or bar, at each end, before work- 
 ing it. A small bar should be worked at each end. 
 Whipping is done better by sewing over, and not 
 
 32* 
 
A 
 
 378 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 under. The roll should be as fine as possible, the 
 stitches short, the thread strong, and in sewing, 
 every gather should be taken up. 
 
 The rule for gathering, in shirts, is, to draw a 
 thread, and then take up two threads and skip four. 
 In darning, after the perpendicular threads are run, 
 the crossing threads should interlace, exactly, taking 
 one thread and leaving one, like woven threads. 
 
 The neatest sewers always fit and baste their 
 work, before sewing; and they say they always 
 save time in the end, by so doing, as they never 
 have to pick out work, on account of mistakes. 
 
 All new garments, that will never be altered in 
 shape, it is wise to sew close and tight; but some 
 are more nice than wise, in sewing frocks, and old 
 garments, in the same style. However, this is the 
 least common extreme. It is much more frequently 
 the case, that articles, which ought to be made strong 
 and neatly, are sewed so that a nice sewer would 
 rather pick out and sew over again, than to be an- 
 noyed with the sight of grinning stitches, and vexed 
 with constant rips. 
 
 Workbaskets. 
 
 It is very important to neatness, comfort, and 
 success in sewing, that a lady’s workbasket should 
 be properly fitted up. The following articles are 
 needful to the mistress of a family. 
 
 A large basket, to hold work ; and in it a smaller 
 basket, or box, fastened, and containing, a needle- 
 book, in which are needles of every size, both blunts 
 and sharps, having a larger number of those sizes 
 most used; also darning-needles, small and large, 
 for woollen, cotton, and silk; and two tape-needles, 
 large and small; nice scissors, for fine work ; button- 
 hole scissors ; an emery-bag ; two balls of white and 
 yellow wax; and two thimbles, in case one should 
 be mislaid. When a person is troubled with damp 
 
ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 379 
 
 fingers, a lump of soft chalk, in a paper, is useful, 
 to rub on the ends of the fingers. 
 
 Besides this box, keep in the basket, common 
 scissors; small shears; a bag containing tapes of all 
 colors and sizes, done up in rolls; bags, one, con- 
 taining spools of white, and another of colored, cot- 
 ton thread, and another for silks, wound on spools 
 or papers; a box or bag for nice buttons, and another 
 for more common ones; a bag containing silk braid, 
 welting cords, and galloon binding. Small rolls of 
 pieces of white and brown linen and cotton, are also 
 often needed.. A brick pincushion is a great conve- 
 nience, in sewing, and better than screw-cushions. 
 It is made by covering a brick with cloth, putting a 
 cushion on the top, and covering it tastefully. It is 
 very useful to hold pins and needles, while sewing, 
 and to fasten long seams when basting and sewing. 
 
 ON CUTTING AND FITTING GARMENTS. 
 
 To make a Frock. 'The best way for a novice, is, 
 to get a dress fitted (not sewed) at the best mantua- 
 maker’s. ‘Then take out a sleeve and rip it to pieces, 
 and cut out a pattern. 'Then take out half of the 
 waist, (it must have a seam in front,) and cut out a 
 pattern of the back and fore body, both lining and 
 outer part. In-cutting the patterns, iron the pieces, 
 smooth, let the paper be stiff, and then, with a pin, 
 prick holes in the paper, to show the gore in front, 
 and the depth of the seams. Then, with a pen and 
 ink, draw lines from each pinhole, to preserve this 
 mark. Then baste the parts together again, and in 
 doing it, the unbasted half will serve as a pattern. 
 When this is done, a lady of common ingenuity can 
 cut and fit a dress, by the patterns thus obtained. 
 If the upper part of a dress is too tight, the seam 
 under the arm must be let out; and in cutting a 
 dress, there should be an allowance made, to let it 
 out, if needful, at this seam. The lining of the fore- 
 body must be biassed. 
 
380 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 The linings for dresses should be stiffened with 
 cotton or linen. In cutting bias pieces, for trimming, 
 they will not set well, unless they are exact. In 
 eutting them, use a long rule, and a lead pencil or 
 piece of chalk. Welting-cords should be covered 
 with bias pieces; and it saves time, in many cases, to 
 baste on the welting-cord, at the same time that you 
 cover it. ‘The best way to put on hooks and eyes, 
 is to sew them on double broad tape, and then sew 
 this on the frock-lining. 'They can then be moved 
 easily, and do not show where sewed on. 
 
 In cutting a sleeve, double it biassed. The skirts 
 of dresses look badly, if not full; and in putting on 
 lining, at the bottom, be careful to have it a very 
 little fuller than the dress, or it will shrink, and look 
 badly. All thin silks look much better with lining, 
 and last much longer, as do aprons, also. In putting 
 in a lining to a dress, baste it on each separate breadth, 
 and it looks much better than to have it fastened 
 only at the bottom. Make notches in selvage to 
 prevent it from drawing up the breadth. Dresses 
 which are to be washed, should not be lined. 
 
 Silk dresses are very expensive; and none but 
 the wealthy should use them, except for a full dress. 
 Any lady will look properly dressed, for almost any 
 occasion, in the beautiful prints which are now to 
 be obtained, and which wash and wear so well, as to 
 make them the most economical dresses, both for 
 Winter and Summer. 
 
 Figured silks, do not generally wear well, if the 
 figure is large and satin-like. Black and plain 
 colored silks can be tested by getting samples, and 
 making creasesin them; fold the creases in a bunch, 
 and rub them against a rough surface, of moreen or 
 carpeting. ‘Those that are poor, will soon wear off, at 
 the creases. English satin reps, of the best quality, 
 double Florence, or Marceline, gros d’Afrique, and 
 Turkish satin, are the best silks for wear. 
 
ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 381 
 
 Plaids are becoming, for tall women, as they 
 shorten the appearance of the figure. Stripes are 
 becoming to a large person, as they reduce the ap- 
 parent size. Pale persons should not wear blue or 
 green, and brunettes should not wear any light deli- 
 cate colors, except shades of buff, fawn, or straw 
 color. Pearl white is not good for any complexion. 
 Dead white and black are becoming to almost all 
 persons. It is best to try colors, by candle-light, for 
 evening dresses; as some colors, which look very 
 handsome in the daylight, are very homely when 
 seen by candle-light. Be careful, in cutting dresses, 
 to have the figures run in the right direction, and to 
 have all the parts agree. When there is a right and 
 wrong side, and a figure also to be matched, much 
 care is necessary to prevent mistakes. Never cut a 
 dress low in the neck, as it shows that a woman is 
 not properly instructed in the rules of modesty and 
 decorum, or that she has not sense enough to regard 
 them. Never be in haste to be first ina fashion, and 
 never go to the extremes. 
 
 To cut and make Shirts and Chemises. 
 
 In buying linen, look for that which has a round 
 close thread, and is perfectly white; for if it be not 
 white at first, it will-never afterwards become so. 
 Much that is called linen at the shops is half cotton, 
 and does not wear so well as cotton alone. Cheap 
 linens are usually of this kind. It is difficult to dis- 
 cover which are all linen; but the best way isto find 
 a lot, presumed to be good, take a sample, wash it 
 and ravel it. If this be good, the rest of the same 
 lot will probably be so. If you cannot do this, draw 
 a thread, each way, and if both appear equally 
 strong, it is probably all linen. Linen and cotton 
 must be put in clean water, and boiled, to get out the 
 starch, and then ironed. A long piece of linen, a yard 
 wide, will, with care and calculation, make eight 
 
382 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 shirts. In cutting it, take a shirt of the right size, 
 for a model, and by it measure the length of seven 
 bodies, not cutting any but the last. Cut off from this 
 long piece all that is needed to go into the bodies, and 
 from the narrow strip cut out the binders or linings, 
 gussets, and other parts, measuring by the pattern. 
 Then cut out the sleeves, from the original piece ; 
 and when seven shirts are cut out, calculate whether 
 there is enough for the eighth, before beginning to 
 cut it. ‘Take the model-shirt as a guide, in fitting 
 and basting. Bosom-pieces, false collars, &c. must 
 be cut and fitted by a pattern which suits the person 
 for whom the articles are designed. Gentlemen’s 
 night-shirts are made like other shirts, except that 
 they are longer. 
 
 In cutting chemises, if the cotton or linen is a 
 yard wide, cut off small half gores, at top of the 
 breadths, and set them on the bottom. Use a long 
 rule and pencil, in cutting gores. 
 
 In cutting cotton which is quite wide, a seam can 
 be saved, by cutting out two at once, in this man- 
 ner. Cut off three breadths, and, with a long rule 
 and a pencil, mark and cut off the gores thus: from 
 one breadth, cut off two gores, the whole length, 
 each gore one fourth of the breadth at the bottom, 
 and tapering off to a point at the top. The other 
 two breadths are to have a ‘gore cut off from each, 
 which is one fourth wide at top and two fourths at 
 bottom. Arrange these pieces right, and they will 
 make two chemises, one having four seams, and the 
 other three. ‘This is a much easier way of cutting, 
 than sewing the three breadths together, in bag- 
 fashion, as is often done. The biassed, or goring 
 seams, must always be felled. The sleeves and neck 
 can be cut according to the taste of the wearer, by 
 another chemise for a pattern. There should be a 
 lining around the armholes, and stays at all corners. 
 Five yards, of yard width, will make two chemises. 
 
ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 383 
 
 Old silk dresses, quilted for skirts, are very ser- 
 viceable. White flannel is soiled so easily, and 
 shrinks so much in washing, that it is a good plan 
 to color it a light dove-color, according to a previous 
 receipt. Cotton flannel, dyed thus, is also good for 
 common skirts. In making up flannel, back-stitch 
 and run the seams, and then cross-stitch them open. 
 Nice flannel, for infants, can be ornamented, with 
 very little expense of time, by turning up the hem, 
 on the right side, and making a little vine at the 
 edge, with saddler’s silk. The stitch of the vine is 
 a modification of buttonhole-stitch. 
 
 Long nightgowns are best cut a little goring. It 
 requires five yards, for a long nightgown, and two 
 and a half for a short one. Linen nightcaps wear 
 longer than, and do not turn yellow as, cotton ones 
 do. ‘They should be ruffled with linen, as cotton, 
 borders will not last so long as the cap. 
 
 A double-quilted wrapper is a great comfort, in 
 case of sickness. It may be made of two old dresses. 
 It should not be cut full, but rather like a gentle- 
 man’s study-gown, having no gathers or plaits, but 
 large enough to slip off and on with ease. A double 
 gown, of calico, is also very useful. Most articles 
 of dress, for grown persons or children, require pat- 
 terns. 
 
 Bedding. The best beds, are thick hair mat- 
 trasses, which, for persons in health, are good for 
 Winter as well as Summer use. Mattrasses are also 
 made of husks, dried and drawn into shreds. They 
 are also made of alternate layers of cotton and moss. 
 The most profitable sheeting, is the Russian, which 
 will last three times as long as any other. It is 
 never perfectly white. Unbleached cotton is good 
 for Winter. It is poor economy to make narrow 
 and short sheets, as children and domestics will al- 
 ways slip them off, and soil the bedtick and bolster. 
 They should be three yards long, and two and a 
 
een 
 
 384 ON SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING. 
 
 half wide, so as to tuck in all around. All bed-linen 
 should be marked and numbered, so that a bed can 
 always be made properly, and all missing articles be 
 known. 
 
 MENDING. 
 
 Silk dresses will last much longer by ripping out 
 the sleeves when thin, and changing arms, and also 
 by changing the breadths of the skirt. ‘Tumbled 
 black silk, which is old and rusty, should be dipped 
 in water, and after being drained for a few minutes, 
 should be ironed, without squeezing or pressing. 
 Cold tea is better than water. Sheets, when worn 
 thin in the middle, should be ripped, and the other 
 edges sewed together. Window-curtains last much 
 longer, if lined, as the sun fades and rots them. 
 Broadcloth should be cut with reference to the way 
 the nap runs. When pantaloons are thin, it 1s best 
 to newly seat them, cutting the piece inserted in a 
 curve, as corners are difficult to fit. When the 
 knees are thin, it is a case of domestic surgery, 
 which demands amputation. This is performed, by 
 cutting off both legs, some distance above the knees, 
 and then changing the legs. ‘Take care to cut them 
 off exactly of the same length, or in the exchange 
 they will not fit. This method brings the worn spot 
 under the knees, and the seam looks much better 
 than a patch and darn. Hose can be cut down, 
 when the feet are worn. ‘Take an old sale stocking, 
 and cut it up for a pattern. Make the heel short. 
 In sewing, turn each edge, and run it down, and 
 then sew over the edges. ‘This is better than to 
 stitch and then cross-stitch. Run thin places in 
 stockings, and it will save darning a hole. If shoes 
 are worn through on the sides, in the upper-leather, 
 slip pieces of broadcloth under, and sew them around 
 the holes. 
 
ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 385 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 
 
 Important Rules for Ladies cultivating Fruits and Flowers. On the 
 Preparation of Soil. For Pot-Plants. To prepare Garden Soil. On 
 the Preparation of a Hot-bed. Planting Flower-Seeds. To plant 
 Garden-Seeds. To transplant Flowers and Vegetables. ‘To trans- 
 plant Shrubs and Trees. To repot House+Plants. 
 
 In undertaking the cultivation of fruits and flow- 
 ers, the following rules are very important for 
 ladies. 
 
 1. As this employment is designed for health and 
 amusement, no more time is to be taken for it, than 
 is requisite for these ends; and all that exceeds this 
 measure, is to be considered as time misemployed. 
 Before commencing, every lady should decide how 
 much time, each day, it is right for her to give to 
 this fascinating object, and then arrange her plans, 
 so as not to exceed this amount. 
 
 2. Any risk of health, in this pursuit, is sinful ; 
 and to avoid this, whenever the ground is damp, - 
 flannel drawers and India-rubber shoes, and a warm 
 shawl, should be put on. In a damp and cold air, 
 the neck and jaws should also be covered. Exces- 
 sive fatigue should likewise be avoided. 
 
 On the Preparation of Soil. 
 
 Although ladies cannot perform many of the pro- 
 cesses which are here mentioned, they need to know 
 how they are to be done, in order to be able properly 
 to direct others. 
 
 The common soil, which covers the earth, is called 
 doam. If sand predominate in it, it is called a sandy 
 loam, and is a light soil. If clay predominate, it is 
 called a clay loam, and is a cold and heavy soil. 
 
386 ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 
 
 The finest kinds of native soil, are those, in which 
 much decayed vegetable matter is mixed with the 
 loam. This is the kind of soil in our new Western 
 States; where, for hundreds of years, forests have 
 been shedding their verdure. 'The best kind of soil 
 is made by mixing animal manure, vegetable mould, 
 and common loam, in due proportions. 
 
 To prepare Notl for Pot-Plants. 
 
 Take one fourth common yellow loam, one fourth 
 manure, and one half vegetable mould, such as is 
 found in woods, under the trees. ‘The manure must 
 be at least two years old, so as to be thoroughly 
 decayed. It must first be laid to dry, then broken 
 up fine, and sifted through a lime screen, which 
 is a coarse sieve, made of wires one fourth of an 
 inch apart. These materials must be thoroughly 
 mixed. 
 
 To prepare Garden Soil. 
 
 If the original soil is a whitish loam, and packs 
 tight and hard during Winter, put on a covering of 
 sand, three inches thick. 'Then put on a thick 
 covering of manure, and spade it in, and this will 
 make one of the finest soils fora garden. A soil 
 which packs hard, and is slow in its growth, is called 
 a cold soil, and needs manure to warm it. If the 
 original soil is black, and crumbles readily, manure 
 without sand improves it, In digging a garden, it 
 is important to dig as deep as possible, so as to have 
 the soil soft and loose around the lower roots of the 
 vegetables. New manure is called dong, and that 
 which is old is called short, manure. Most garden 
 plants require short manure, and many of them will 
 be almost destroyed by the long. Cornand potatoes 
 will thrive, with long manure, as well as, or better 
 than, with short. ‘The soil must be kept loose 
 around plants. 
 
 ee 
 
ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 387 
 
 On the Preparation of a Hot-bed. 
 
 Hot-beds are very useful, in bringing forward 
 seeds for early vegetables and flowers. A gain of 
 two months is usually secured, by their use. T'o 
 prepare a hot-bed, make a frame, or box, without a 
 bottom, two feet deep, in front, and three feet deep, 
 behind, with the sides sloping from back to front. 
 To this, must be fitted frames like window-sashes, 
 except that the horizontal bars are omitted, and the 
 panes of glass are lapped over each other, like shin- 
 gles. 'Then select a place with a southern exposure, 
 and place four stakes in the earth, for the corners of 
 _ the bed, which must be made a foot larger than the 
 box, on every side. Between these stakes, raise the 
 bed, by carting on fresh horse-manure, (the old is 
 useless for this purpose.) When it is a foot thick, 
 tread it down hard, and then lay on another layer, a 
 foot thick, and tread it down. Continue this, till 
 the bed is three feet thick. Then set the box 
 upon it, so that the front shall face the south, and 
 throw into the box rich garden-soil, till a layer 
 of six inches is made. In this, plant the seeds, 
 The box must be covered with the glass, when the 
 weather is so cold as to chill the plants; at other 
 times, it must be raised, to admit the air, which is 
 necessary to the growth of the plants. When the 
 sun is warm, the top must be put over and covered 
 with straw matting, or old blankets, from ten to four 
 o’clock, otherwise the plants and seeds will be killed 
 by the heat. In very cold nights the box must be 
 covered with blankets and straw. The bed must 
 be often watered, especially in warm days. The 
 appearance of the soil and plants must be the guide 
 in this matter. Hot-beds should be prepared in the 
 middle of March, in the Northern States, and in the 
 middle of February, in the Middle States. After 
 the frosts are over, the plants can be transplanted 
 
388 ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 
 
 into the garden. They must be covered from the 
 sun, two days after transplanting. 
 
 Planting Flower-Seeds. 
 
 Before planting seeds, prepare sticks for marking 
 them. This is easily done, by sawing a board, 
 planed smooth on one side, into pieces a foot long, 
 and then splitting these into strips an inch wide. 
 On each of these pieces, the name of the seed can 
 be written, with a black-lead pencil, as this is not 
 washed out by the rain. Those seeds, which are 
 large, and have hard coverings, must be soaked in 
 cups and saucers, and be kept in a warm room, till 
 they begin to sprout. When doing this, write the 
 name on one of the above sticks, and place it upon 
 the saucer or cup, to prevent mistake. It is not 
 necessary to sprout seeds in water thus, it only 
 hastens their progress. 
 
 When ready to plant the seeds, take a dibble or 
 garden-trowel, and break up the soil. Make it fine 
 and soft, in a circle of a foot or nine inches in diam- 
 eter. ‘Then, if the seeds are large, like the sweet 
 pea, scrape off the soil of this circle, an inch deep, 
 and put it in a little pile. Then scatter the seeds 
 over the surface of the circle. Then sprinkle the 
 earth over the seeds, till it is all returned to its 
 place. Then, with the trowel, beat down the earth, 
 over the seeds, to make it press well, and to exclude 
 the light ; for seeds sprout much better in the dark 
 than in the light. After this is done, set up the 
 stick, in the middle of the circle, so that the name 
 will be towards the earth. This prevents the re- 
 moval of the writing by rain. Seeds ought not to 
 be planted, when the earth is very wet. In planting 
 flower-seeds, it is best to put them where they ought 
 to grow, as transplanting puts them back, a fort- 
 night, or more. It may be well to transplant a part, 
 
ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 389 
 
 as it will secure a longer supply of the flower, by hav- 
 ing some bloom earlier than others. The same object 
 can be secured by planting the same kind of seed at 
 different times, though many plants require a whole 
 season to bring them to perfection. As a long period 
 of wet or cold weather will rot the seeds, it is best 
 to plant only half at once; and if they do not come 
 up, plant more. 
 
 When the seeds have come up, and are half 
 an inch high, they should be thinned out. The 
 most thriving should be left to stand, and the rest 
 be pulled up or transplanted. If a large number 
 grow in the same spot, they will all be small and 
 imperfect. Where the plant is large, leave only one 
 in a place ; if smaller, four or five; if quite small, leave 
 seven or eight, or more. Small seeds, like those of 
 the poppy, should be scattered on the surface, and 
 be sprinkled with fine earth, enough just to cover 
 them. ‘This should be beat down with the trowel. 
 The largest seeds are put one inch deep, the smallest 
 on the surface ; and the seeds of intervening sizes are 
 to be planted accordingly, the larger, deeper, the 
 smaller, nearer the surface. Where seeds are very 
 small, like those of the ice plant, set up some shin- 
 gles on the south side, to shade the seeds and young 
 plants ; and success. will be more certain. 
 
 To plant Garden-Seeds. 
 
 Prepare the beds, laying them out about a yard 
 wide. ‘Take a board a yard long, and a foot broad. 
 Lay it across the bed, and with a stick make a fur- 
 row each side of the board, one inch deep. Scatter 
 the seeds in this furrow, and cover them. Lay the 
 board over the top of the covered furrows, and 
 step on it, to press it down hard. This. packs the 
 earth around the seeds, and makes them sprout 
 quicker. Lay the board a foot from the furrow, and 
 proceed as before. When the seeds come up, thin 
 
 o3* 
 
390 ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 
 
 them out, leaving the plants at different distances, 
 according to their size. The seeds of fruit-trees 
 i | must be planted in the fall. 
 
 To transplant Flowers and Vegetables. 
 
 Transplanting should never be done when the 
 sun is warm. ‘The best time is just before evening, 
 or before a rain. It should not be done ina rain, 
 7 orinadry time. Dig up the plants with a garden- 
 / trowel, and put them in the place prepared. Set 
 them straight in the ground, a trifle lower than they 
 were before, and press the soil around the roots, 
 firmly, but not so as to make it very hard. ‘Trans- 
 planted roots should never be watered, till the sun is 
 nearly down; and they are more likely to do well if 
 covered from the sun, for two or three days after 
 transplanting. All plants must be watered in a dry 
 time, at evening. 
 
 To. transplant Shrubs and Trees. 
 
 iE Fall is considered the best time for transplanting. 
 ath In cold climates, the peach, nectarine, and almond, 
 i run less risk of being Winter-killed, if transplanted 
 
 in the Spring. In transplanting, all the roots should 
 
 tit be taken, if possible, especially the small fibres, 
 hi which are of much more consequence than the large 
 { | roots. The fibres nourish, while the large roots 
 serve chiefly to hold the tree firmly in the soil. 
 These fibres should never be allowed to get dry. If 
 they are to be carried some distance, the roots should 
 be covered with moss, tied up in cloths, and kept 
 wet. Dig the hole larger than is sufficient to place 
 the roots in their natural position, and take care to cut 
 off any wounded root. Reduce the top one third, 
 and leave the two thirds perfect. Be careful not to set 
 the tree deeper than it was before, and throw in soil, 
 adding one or two shovelfuls of good manure accord- 
 ing to the size of the tree. While this is doing, the 
 
ON THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS. 9391 
 
 tree should be shaken, in order to admit the soil 
 among the small fibres. When the hole is filled, let 
 the ground be trodden hard, and raise a slight mound 
 of earth around the tree, say two or three inches 
 high. Then make a hollow or basin around the 
 trunk to receive the water, and pour in a little to 
 pack the earth around the fibres. T’he common 
 plan of cutting off all the limbs of the tree, and 
 leaving mere poles, under the impression that this 
 will secure more nourishment to what remains, is 
 founded on ignorance of the physiology of plants. 
 There must be a relative proportion preserved be- 
 tween the roots and leaves; and as some roots are 
 lost in transplanting, a part of the leaves must be 
 removed ; but usually not more than one third. If 
 a dry time follows transplanting, the trees should be 
 watered every three or four days. 
 
 To Repot House-Plants. 
 
 The earth for pot-plants should be renewed once 
 a year. ‘The best time for doing this, is soon after 
 their flowering, which is usually in the Spring. 
 First prepare the soil, as previously directed. ‘Then 
 take the plant out of the pot, and remove the small 
 matted fibres at the bottom, and all the earth, except 
 that which adheres to the roots. From woody 
 plants, like roses, all the earth should be shaken out. 
 Then hold the plant in the proper position in the 
 empty pot; and shake in the earth, around it. While 
 doing this, give several knocks on the side of the 
 pot, to shake the earth in among the roots. When 
 the pot is full, pour in some water to settle the earth, 
 and heap on fresh soil, till it is at the right height. 
 There must always be a hole at the bottom of the 
 pot, or else water will accumulate and rot the roots. 
 A piece of broken earthen must be laid in the pot, 
 over the hole, or the soil will be carried off when 
 the plant is watered. 
 
Fi i At a 
 
 392 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 Different Modes of Propagation. By Offsets. Cuttings. Layers. 
 Budding, or Inoculating. Ingrafting;—Whip-Grafting ; Split- 
 
 5) 
 
 Grafting. Inarching. Pruning. Thinning. 
 
 Most plants can be propagated by seeds; but this 
 is a slow method, for trees and shrubs. There are 
 six other methods, namely, by offsets, by cuttings, 
 by layers, by budding, by ingrafting, and by in- 
 arching. Bulbous roots are propagated by offsets. 
 Some bulbs have little offsets growing on the top of 
 the bulb, which, after furnishing supplies for them, 
 decay. Of this kind, are the crocus and the gladio- 
 lus. Other bulbs have offsets growing around their 
 sides, which are to be split off and set out to make 
 new plants. Of this kind, are tulips, daffodils, and 
 tuberoses. 
 
 Many plants can be propagated by cuttings, or 
 slips. This is done, by simply cutting off twigs of 
 the plant, and setting one end in the earth, so that 
 two or three eyes or buds may be under the soil. 
 Every variety of apple may be propagated in this 
 way; but some are more easily propagated than 
 others. In selecting cuttings, take side shoots from 
 the lower part of the tree, and choose those which 
 grow horizontally, rather than those which are per- 
 pendicular. Cut them ten inches long, having an 
 inch or two of last year’s growth, and the rest of 
 this year’s. The time for planting is when the sap 
 is in full flow; and in setting out the cuttings, put 
 broken crockery at the bottom of the hole, and let 
 the lower end rest upon it, pressing the earth firmly 
 around. At least one eye must be under the soil. 
 
 wie 
 i : 
 
 CARIN RAT ta nc 
 
ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. | 393 
 
 They must be watered, and shaded in hot weather. 
 Limbs of fruit trees can be made to sprout roots, by 
 encircling them with damp soil, kept constantly wet 
 for some weeks. Eventually, roots will shoot out 
 from the limb, into the wet earth. The limb may 
 then be sawed off, and set out, and it will make a 
 shrub fruit tree, as it will grow but little larger than 
 it would have done had it remained on the tree. 
 Plants are also propagated by layers. 'T’o do this, 
 take a shoot, which comes up near the root, bend it 
 down, and bring several eyes under the soil, leaving 
 the top above ground. It is better and more surely 
 done, by cutting the shoot half through, at one of 
 the buried eyes, and bending it in the manner ex- 
 hibited in Fig. 32, in which, a, is the place of the 
 
 Fig. 32. 
 
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 SAW QWs 
 
 By 
 
 Drs mec 
 CRT AKIN NW TN NW é 
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 REL 
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 =~ 
 
 eye where the shoot is cut half through, and c, the 
 place where it bends upward. This part must be 
 fastened firmly under the soil, two or three inches 
 
al 394 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 deep. At 6, is the place where the roots will spring 
 out for a new plant. After the roots appear, the 
 shoot can be cut from the parent stock, at e, and 
 transplanted. Roses, honeysuckles, and many other 
 
 shrubs, are readily propagated thus. They will 
 
 | generally take root, by being simply buried; but 
 cutting them, as here directed, is the best method. 
 Layers are more certain than cuttings. 
 
 Another mode of propagation is by budding, or 
 inoculating. The time for doing this, is from July 
 o September. ‘To do it, take a shoot, of this year’s 
 growth, from the tree whose fruit you wish to secure. 
 F'rom this shoot, cut off, with a penknife, a bud, half 
 an inch above, and half an inch below the bud, 
 cutting a piece of the inner wood adhering under 
 the bud. It used to be the practice to remove this 
 wood; but success is much more certain if it be 
 left. ‘Then prepare the stock, into which’ you are 
 to place the bud, by making a perpendicular cut in 
 the plant an inch long, and a transverse cut down- 
 ward, as is shown in Fig. 33. Then insert the bud, 
 in this opening, so that a, of the bud, shall pass 
 under the bark to a, of the stock. Then 6, of the 
 bud, must be cut off square, to match the cut, b, in 
 the stock, and fitted exactly to it. It is the fitting 
 of the bark of the bud and that of the stock exactly 
 together, at this point, which secures success. After 
 fitting in the bud, woollen yarn must be wound 
 around the place, to hold it securely. When the 
 bud has grown awhile, till the bark adheres firmly, 
 take off the yarn. 
 
 Peaches, plums, and other fruits, are easily thus 
 propagated. So also are roses, after a little practice. 
 Any lady can secure all the stone-fruit in the neigh- 
 borhood, by planting cherry and peach-stones in the 
 Fall, and when they are two or three years old, 
 budding them, in July or August, from any fruit 
 tree she may like. 
 
| 
 
 Hi iid $f] i tt iy Hi Git oat ili Hii 
 UIQ Ot 
 
 { 
 
 HIN 
 
 Seed-fruit can be budded into any other seed-fruit ; 
 as pears into apples, or apples into the crab-tree. So 
 stone-fruits can be budded into any other stone-fruit, 
 as peaches into cherry or plum trees. But stone and 
 seed-fruit cannot be thus mingled. 
 
 Rose bushes can have a variety of kinds budded 
 into the same stock. The branch above the bud, 
 must be cut off, the next March or April after the 
 bud is put in. Seed-fruit, like apples and pears, are 
 more easily propagated by ingrafting than by bud- 
 ding. 
 
 Ingrafting is a similar process, and offers this ad- 
 vantage, that it can be performed on large trees, 
 whereas budding can be done only on small ones. 
 There are two kinds of ingrafting,—whip-grafting, 
 and split-grafting. ‘The first kind is for young trees, 
 and the other for large ones. 
 
 The time for ingrafting, is from May to October. 
 
396 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 The cuttings must be taken between Christmas and 
 ‘March, and kept in a damp cellar. In performing 
 the operation, cut off, in a sloping direction, as seen 
 in Fig. 34, the tree or limb to be grafted. Then 
 
 Fig. 34. 
 
 erent | 
 
 \\ 
 FP) 
 
 SAT 
 
 cut off, in a corresponding slant, the slip to be grafted 
 on. ‘Then put them together, so that the bark of 
 each shall match, exactly, on one side, and tie them 
 firmly together, with woollen yarn. It is not essen- 
 tial that both be of equal size; if the bark of each 
 meet together exactly on one side, it answers the 
 purpose. But the two must not differ much, in 
 size. 'The slope should be an inch and a half in 
 length. After they are tied together, the place 
 should be covered with a salve or composition of 
 beeswax and rosin. A mixture of clay and cow- 
 dung will answer the same purpose. ‘This must be 
 tied on with acloth. Grafts must be selected from 
 
ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 397 
 
 horizontal shoots, in the Winter, and be kept from 
 freezing, till they are used. Grafting is more con- 
 venient than budding, as grafts can be sent from a 
 great distance ; whereas buds must be taken in July 
 or August, from a shoot of the present year’s growth, 
 and cannot be sent to any great distance. 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 Fig. 35, exhibits the mode called stock grafting ; 
 a being the limb of a large tree which is split, 
 and is to be held open by a small wedge, till the 
 grafts are putin. A graft, inserted in the limb, is 
 shown at db, and at c¢, is one not inserted, but designed 
 to be put in at d, as two grafts can be put into a 
 large stock. In inserting the graft, be careful to 
 make the edge of the bark of the graft meet ex- 
 actly the edge of the bark of the stock; for on 
 this, success depends. After the grafts are put in, 
 the wedge must be withdrawn, and the whole of 
 the stock be covered with the thick salve or com- 
 position before mentioned, reaching from the top, 
 where the grafts are inserted, to the bottom of the 
 slit. Be careful not to knock or move the grafts, 
 after they are put in. 
 
398 ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 
 
 Fig. 36. 
 
 Fig. 36, exhibits the mode of inarching; a being 
 the plant cut entirely off, and 6 one which has a 
 place shaved out half through the stock, to match 
 the slant in the other. ‘These are to be bound to- 
 gether, and covered with the salve or composition 
 before named. This is done in plants both having 
 aroot. When it is found that they have united, 
 and are growing well, the plant 6 is cut off, below 
 the inarching. All these modes require practice, to 
 insure success; but any lady, after a few trials, will 
 succeed. 
 
 Pruning. 
 
 The following rules for pruning, are from a dis- 
 tinguished horticulturist. Prune off all dead wood, 
 and all the little twigs on the main limbs. Retrench 
 branches so as to give light and ventilation to the 
 interior of the tree. Straight and perpendicular 
 shoots give little or no fruit, while those which are 
 most nearly horizontal, and somewhat curving, give 
 
ON THE PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 399 
 
 fruit abundantly, and of good quality. On this 
 account, side shoots are often budded, that new and 
 artificial angles may be formed to obstruct the flow 
 of sap, and secure fine fruit. Superfluous and. ill- 
 placed buds may be rubbed off, at any time; and no 
 buds, pushing out after Midsummer, should be spared. 
 In choosing between shoots to be retained, preserve 
 the lowest placed, and on lateral shoots, those which 
 are nearest the origin. ‘The retained shoots should 
 be treated according to the class of fruit to which 
 they belong. If the tree bears on distinct branches 
 and old spurs, they should not be shortened; if it 
 bears only on the last year’s wood, (like the apple, 
 apricot, pear, cherry, and plum,) shorten them alter- 
 nately, year and year, so as always to keep a proper 
 supply of bearers. Shorten strong shoots one fourth, 
 and feeble ones one half. The object of this, is, to 
 secure an increase of fruit. When branches cross 
 each other, so as to rub, remove one or the other. 
 Remove all suckers from the roots of trees or shrubs. 
 Prune after the sap is in full circulation, (except in 
 the case of grapes,) as the wounds then heal best. 
 Some think it best to prune before the sap begins to 
 run. Pruning-shears, and a pruning-pole, with a 
 chisel at the end, can be procured of those who deal 
 in fruit. 
 
 Thinning. 
 
 As it is the office of the leaves to absorb nourish- 
 ment, from the atmosphere, they should never be 
 removed, except to mature the wood or fruit. In 
 doing this, remove such leaves as shade the fruit, as 
 soon as it is ready to ripen. 'To do it earlier, impairs 
 the growth. Do it gradually at two different times. 
 Thinning the fruit is important, as tending to in- 
 crease the size and flavor of the fruit, and the lon- 
 gevity of the tree. If the fruit be thickly set, take 
 off one half, at the time of setting. Revise in June, 
 
A0O ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 and then in July, taking off all that may be spared. 
 
 On an apple tree, one very large apple to every 
 
 square foot, is the rule that may be a sort of guide, 
 
 in other cases. According to this, two hundred apples 
 
 would be allowed to a tree whose extent is fifteen 
 
 feet by twelve. Ifaperson thinks this thinning ex- 
 
 cessive, let him try two similar trees, and thin one 
 as directed, and leave the other unthinned. It will 
 be found that the thinned tree will produce an equal 
 weight, and much finer flavored fruits. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 List of Various Kinds of Flowers, in Reference to Color, Height, and 
 “Time of Flowering. Biennial and Perennial Flowers. Shrubs; 
 List of those most suitable for adorning a Yard. Roses; Varieties 
 of. Herbaceous Roots. Care of House-Plants. Shade-Trees for 
 Yards. Creepers; Annual. Care of Bulbous and Tuberous Roots. 
 Laying out Flower-Beds. 
 
 Tue following list of flowers, taken from the 
 Magazine of Horticulture, Number Ixv., will enable 
 a lady to lay out flower-beds, with reference to color, 
 height, and time of blooming. An immense variety 
 of tasteful plans might be devised, in arranging the : 
 beds and flowers in yards and gardens. i 
 
 WHITE. 
 
 Planis from siz to twelve tnehes high. 
 
 Ice Plant, (Mesembryanthemum cristallinum.) Flowering in July 2 
 yi and August. This plant is a great favorite in every garden, its singu- 
 ey) larly beautiful foliage claiming for it a place in almost every flower- 
 border. ‘The seeds should be planted in pots, early in May, and trans- 
 planted into the border about the first of June, and each plant allowed 
 oH sufficient room to spread its branches. The soil should be light, and 
 , ae the situation rather dry. 
 
 HF Sweet Alyssum, (Alyssum maritimum.} Flowering from June to 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. AOl 
 
 October. The sweet alyssum is a tender perennial, but flowers 
 from the seed the first season, and is therefore classed among annuals. 
 The flowers are highly fragrant. If the roots are taken up in a pot, 
 it will flower well in the house. 
 
 White-flowered Leptosiphon, (Leptosiphon androsaceus, var. alba.) 
 A new variety with white flowers. Flowering from June to August. 
 
 Mr. Walker’s Schizopetalon, (Schizopétalon Walkéri.) Flowering 
 in July and August; an extremely delicate plant, with small but 
 singularly beautiful white flowers. 
 
 Beautiful Blumenbachia, (Blumenbachia insignis.) Flowering 
 from July to September. 
 
 One foot to eighteen inches high. 
 
 Common white Candytuft, (Iberis amara.) Flowers in June and 
 July. To have a succession of flowers, two sowings of. the seed should 
 be made, one in April or May, and the other in June. 
 
 Pinnate-leaved Candytuft, (Ibéris pinnata.) Flowers from July 
 till October. 
 
 New rocket Candytuft, (Ibéris amara var.) Flowers in June and 
 July ; a newand improved variety, with very large and dense corym- 
 bose clusters of blossoms. 
 
 White Venus’s Looking-glass, (Prismatocarpus spéculum alba.) 
 Flowers from June to August. 
 
 Mr. Priest’s Schizanthus, (Schizanthus Priéstii.) Flowers in July 
 and August. 
 
 Sweet-scented Stevia, (Stévia serrata.) Flowering in July and 
 September. 
 
 White evening Primrose, (Gnothéra, tetraptera.) Elowers from 
 June to October. Very pretty. 
 
 Eighteen inches to two feet high. 
 
 White Petunia, (Pettmia nyctaginiflora.) Flowers from June to 
 October. A showy and handsome annual; the plants should be al- 
 lowed plenty of room to extend their branches. 
 
 White Clarkia, (Clarkia pulchélla alba.) Flowers in July and 
 September. One of the most delicate annuals. 
 
 White Chrysanthemum, (Chrysanthemum coronarium Alba.) 
 Flowers in July and September. 
 
 Double white Jacobzea, (Senécio élegans alba.) Flowers in July 
 and September ; very pretty. 
 
 Love in a Mist, (Nigélla damascéna:) Flowering in July and 
 September. 
 
 Lwo feet high and upwards: 
 
 White Argemone, (Argemone mexicana.). Flowers from July to 
 October. Very showy. 
 
 New white Malope, (Malope trifida alba.). Flowers in. July. and 
 October. New and handsome. 
 
 Winged Ammobium, (Ammobium alatum.) Flowers from July to 
 October ; erect in its habit. 
 
 White Lavatera, (Lavatera triméstris alba.) Flowers from July to 
 Oetober. The plants should not stand too crowded.. 
 
 White sweet Sultan, (Centauréa. moschata. dlba.) Flowers from 
 July. to September. 
 
 34* 
 
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 13) 
 I 
 i 
 Re 
 i 
 F 
 i 
 
 § 
 
AQ2 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 New white eternal Flower, (Xeranthemum bracteatum alba.) 
 Flowering from August to October. 
 
 White Helicrysum, (Helicrysum macranthum.) Flowers from 
 July to October; a new and very elegant variety, with white flowers, 
 tipped with blush. 
 
 YELLOW AND. ORANGE. 
 Stix inches to one foot high. 
 
 Yellow Chryseis, (Chryséis californica.) Flowers from June to 
 October; sow where the plants are to remain, as they do not bear re- 
 moving with success. 
 
 Orange-colored Chryseis, (Chryséis crocea.) Flowers from June 
 to October; sow where-the plants are to remain to flower ;: thin out 
 to the distanee of six inches. 
 
 Procumbent Sanvitalia, (Sanvitalia prochmbens.) Flowers in June 
 and September; of a spreading, dwarf habit; pretty in patches. 
 
 Musk-flowered Mimulus, (Mimulus moschata.) Flowering from 
 June to September. This is a pretty little plant, for small beds, and 
 desirable from its strong odor of musk. 
 
 One foot to eighieen inches high. 
 
 Drummond’s Coreopsis, (Callidpsis Drummondii.) Flowers from 
 June to October. 
 
 New dark Coreopsis, (Callidpsis, var. atrosanguinea.) Flowers 
 from June to October. 
 
 Golden Hawkweed, (Crépis barbata.) Flowers in June and August. 
 
 Showy Spheenogyne, (Sphzenogyne speciosa.) Flowers in July and 
 August. 
 
 Stem-clasping Dracopis, (Dracopis amplexicatlis.) Flowers in 
 July and September. 
 
 Tri-colored Chrysanthemum, (Chrysanthemum tricolor.) Flower- 
 ing in July and September. 
 
 Drummond’s Primrose, (Ginothéra Drumméndii.) Flowering 
 from June to September. New and very handsome. 
 
 Chrysanthemum-like Oxyura, (Oxyira chrysanthemoides.) Flow- 
 ers in July and August. 
 
 Yellow Cladanthus, (Cladanthus arabicus.) Flowers from June to 
 October; very pretty; grows well in light, dry soil. 
 
 Perofisky’s Erysimum, (Erysimum Peroffskyanum.) Flowering in 
 July and September. Bright orange and very beautiful. 
 
 Two feet high and upwards. 
 
 Golden Bartonia, (Bartonia aurea.) Flowers from July to October. 
 
 Golden Coreopsis, (Callidpsis tinctoria.) Flowering all Summer. 
 
 Bright yellow Zinnia, (Zinnia parviflora.) Flowers in July and 
 September. 
 
 Yellow Chrysanthemum, (Chrysanthemum coronaria.) Flowers 
 from Jnly to October; requires good soil, and the plants to stand one 
 toot apart. 
 
 African Marigold, (Tagétes erécta.) Flowers from June to Octo- 
 ber; should. be planted in good’soil. ~ 
 
 Yellow sweet Sultan, (Centauréa suavéolens.) Flowers in July 
 and August. One of the prettiest annuals cultivated. 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. A038 
 
 Bright yellow Argemone, (Argemone speciosa.) Flowers from 
 July to October. The plants should be tied to stakes, to prevent their 
 being broken by the wind. 
 
 Californian Lasthenia, (Lasthénia califérnica.) Flowers from June 
 to September. 
 
 Elegant Madaria, (Madaria, [formerly Madia] élegans.) Flowers 
 in July and September. Should bein a rather shady situation, as the 
 sun curls up the flowers. 
 
 Great flowering evening Primrose, (Ginothéra grandiflora.) Flow- 
 ering in August and September. 
 
 Yellow Nasturtium, (Tropz'olum majus.) Flowering from June 
 to September. 
 
 French Marigold, (Tagétes patula.) Flowering from June to Oc- 
 tober. 
 
 ROSE. 
 Six inches to one foot high. 
 
 Many-flowered Catchfly, (Siléne multiflora.) Flowers in August 
 and September. 
 
 Rose of Heaven, (Lychnis ceeli rosea.) Flowers in July and Sep- 
 tember, in light sandy soil. 
 
 One foot to eighteen inches high. 
 
 Draummond’s annual Phlox, (Phlox Drumméndii.) Flowers from 
 June to October. 
 
 Mangles’s Rodanthe, (Rodanthe Mangleésii.) Flowers from June 
 to September. 
 
 Rose-colored Nonea, (Nonea rosea.) Flowers from July to Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 Cluster-flowered Catchfiy, (Silene compacta.) Flowers from June 
 to October. This species does best when the seeds are sown in the 
 fall. The plants come up strong early in April, and in June are in 
 bloom, and continue to display their flowers the whole season. A 
 better soil may be appropriated to this species than the others. 
 
 Elegant rose Clarkia, (Clarkia élegans rosea.) Flowers in June 
 and September. A new and pretty plant, forming a beautiful object 
 in large masses. 
 
 Tenore’s Catchfly, (Siléne Tendrei.) Flowers in July and Sep- 
 tember. Like the other silenes, it delights in a light sandy soil. 
 
 Lobel’s Catchfly, (Silene arméria.) Elowers in July and September. 
 
 Two-colored Calandrinia, (Calandrinia discolor.) Flowers in Ju- 
 ly and September. 
 
 RED: 
 Six inches to one foot high. 
 
 Chinese annual Pink, (Dianthus chinénsis.) Flowers from July to 
 October. No annual adds more to the beauty of the border than the 
 annual pink, especially if the seeds are selected from choice flowers. 
 They grow freely, flower profusely, and the great variety and blend- 
 ing of colors, in a large bed, is extremely beautiful. 
 
 Virginian Stock, (Malcomia maritimus.) Flowers from July to 
 October. 
 
 Showy-flowered Calandrinia, (Calandrinia speciosa.) Flowering 
 
404. ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 in July and September. Delights in a light dry soil in a sunny and 
 fully exposed situation. 
 
 Rose-colored Verbena, (Verbena Aublétia.) Flowering in July 
 and September. 
 
 One foot to eighteen inches high. 
 
 Drooping Catchfly, (Silene pendula.) Flowers in July and Au- 
 gust, in a light sandy soil. 
 
 Crimson Coxcomb, (Celosia cristata.) Flowers from June to Oc- 
 tober. Plants should be forwarded in a frame or hot-bed, and trans- 
 planted into a very rich soil, to make them produce handsome heads. 
 
 Eighteen inches to two feet and upwards. 
 
 Red Lavatera, (Lavatera triméstris.) Flowers in July and Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 Rose-colored branching Larkspur, (Delphinium consdlida rosea.) 
 Flowers in July and September. Plant in very rich soil, and tie up 
 the stems to neat sticks, as the wind is apt to break them down from 
 the profusion of flowers. 
 
 Red Zinnia, (Zinnia multiflora.) Flowers in July and September, 
 in a good soil and open situation. 
 
 American Centaurea, (Plectocéphalus Americanus.) Flowers in 
 August and September. 
 
 Vermilion-colored Malva, (Malva miniata.) Flowers in July and 
 September. 
 
 Dark red Nasturtium, (Tropz'olum miajus, var. atrosanguinea.) 
 Flowers in July and September. A pretty plant for training up toa 
 trellis or sticks, &c.; attaining the height, when thus assisted in its 
 growth, of six feet. 
 
 Love. lies bleeding, (Amarantus caudatus.) Flowers from July to 
 September. 
 
 SCARLET. 
 One foot to eighteen inches high and upwards. 
 
 Scarlet Cacalia, (Cacalia coccinea.) Flowers from June to Sep- 
 tember. A bed or patch of this pretty flower, with the plants stand- 
 ing close together, has a very showy appearance; one foot high. 
 
 Flos Adonis (Adonis vernalis.) Flowers in July and September. 
 The plants may stand close together, as the flowers are not very 
 large, but in masses they make a brilliant show. One foot high. 
 
 Scarlet Zinnia, (Zinnia coccinea.) Flowering from July till frost. 
 This variety, when érwe, is one of the brightest scarlet annual flow- 
 ers; but unless great care is taken in saving the seeds, it soon degen- 
 erates to a dull purple, or into various shades between scarlet and 
 purple. ‘The soil should be very rich and light, and the situation 
 warm and exposed to the sun. 
 
 Crimson Cypress vine, (Ipomee'a Quaméclit.). Flowers in August 
 and September.. A most exquisitely beautiful annual climber. 
 
 LILAC AND PURPLE. 
 
 One foot to eightcen inches high. 
 
 Elegant Clarkia, (Clarkia elegans.) Flowers in July and Septem- 
 ber. 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. A05 
 
 Beautiful Clarkia, (Clarkia pulchélla.). Flowers from June to Sep- 
 tember; should be planted im light loamy soil. 
 
 Dense-flowered Leptosiphon, (Leptosiphon densiflorus.) Flowers 
 in June and August. Delights in a good loamy soil. 
 
 Great-flowered. Calandrinia, (Calandrinia grandiflora.) Flowers 
 in July and September. 
 
 Purple Petunia, (Petunia phoeenicea.) Flowers from June till frost. 
 A light rich soil will suit the plant best. 
 
 Purple Candytuft, (fb¢ris umbellata.) Flowers in June and August. 
 
 Crimson Candytuft, (Ibéris umbellata var.) Flowers in June and 
 August. 
 
 Double purple Jacobzea, (Senécio elegans pléno.) Flowers in July 
 to September. Plant in good rich soil. 
 
 Long-tubed Leptosiphon, (Leptosiphon androsaceus.) Flowering 
 in June and August. Both this and the L. densiflorus delight in a 
 good light loam, and a partially shaded situation. 
 
 Hooker’s Schizanthus, (Schizanthus Hookéri.) Flowering in July 
 and September. All the schizanthuses are beautiful and exceedingly 
 delicate plants. The seeds may be sown in May, in light, loamy 
 soil, and the plants transplanted early in June. A situation not too 
 much exposed to the wind or the full sun should be selected, and the 
 plants should be tied up to neat green stakes as they proceed in 
 growth. Thus treated, they will be great ornaments of the garden 
 all Summer. 
 
 Wing-leaved Schizanthus, (Schizanthus pinnatus.) Flowering in 
 July and September. 
 
 Graham’s Schizanthus, (Schizanthus Grahami.) Flowering in Ju- 
 ly and September. 
 
 Dwarf-branched Schizanthus, (Schizanthus pinnatus humilis.) 
 Flowering in June and August. 
 
 Lindley’s Primrose, (Ginothéra Lindleyana.) Flowering in July 
 and September. 
 
 Veined Verbena, (Verbéna vendsa.) Flowers in July and Sep- 
 tember. The roots of this species, if protected in a frame or cellar 
 during Winter, flower very profusely the second season. 
 
 Purple eternal Flower, (Xeranthemum annuum.) Flowers in July 
 and August. 
 
 Eighteen inches to two feet high and upwards. 
 
 Globe Amaranthus, (Gomphréna globosa.). Flowers from July: till 
 frost. Plant in very rich soil. : 
 
 Purple sweet Sultan, (Centauréa moschata.) Flowers in July and 
 September. 
 
 Sweet Scabious, (Scabiosa atropurptrea.) Flowers in August and 
 September. 
 
 Purple Zinnia, (Zinnia elegans.) Flowers in August and Septem- 
 ber. 
 
 Prince’s Feather, (Amarantus hypochondriacus.) Flowers from Ju- 
 ly till frost. 
 
 Great flowering Malope, (Malope trifida grandiflora.) 
 
 Large blue Lupin, (Lupinus pilosus.) Flowers in July and Au- 
 gust. 
 
 Barclay’s Maurandya, (Maurandya Barclayana.) Flowers in Ju- 
 ly and September. A fine climber. 
 
406 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 BLUE. 
 Six inches to one foot high. 
 
 Graceful Lobelia, (Lobélia gracilis.) Flowers from July to Sep- 
 tember. ‘To plant this delicate annual, so as to have a fine effect, it 
 should be placed on slightly elevated mounds of rich soil. Lobélia 
 bicolor is similar to L. gracilis. 
 
 Elegant Nemophila, (Nemophila insignis.) Flowers in July and 
 September. Plant in a half shady moist situation. 
 
 Pretty Clintonia, (Clintonia pulchélla.) Flowers from July till 
 frost. 
 
 Elegant Clintonia, (Clintonia élegans.) Flowers from July till 
 frost. It should be treated in the same manner as Lobélia gracilis, 
 to which it is a fine companion. 
 
 Atriplex-leaved Nolana, (Nolana atriplicifolia.) Flowers from 
 June till frost. This and Nemophila insignis are fine annuals for 
 planting in beds on turf. 
 
 Fine blue Anagallis, (Anagallis indica.) Flowering all Summer. 
 
 One foot to two feet high. 
 
 Mexican Ageratum, (Agératum mexicana.) Flowers in July and 
 September. 
 
 Azure blue Commelina, (Commelina ceeléstis.) Flowers in July 
 and September. 
 
 Azure blue Gilia, (Gilia capitata.) Flowers in August and Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 Spanish Nigella, (Nigélla hispanica.) Flowers in July and Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 Fine blue Eutoca, (Eutoca viscida.) Flowers from July till frost. 
 
 Dwarf Convolvulus, (Convoélvulus minor.) Flowers from June till 
 frost. 
 
 Blue Didiscus, (Didiscus ccertleus.) Flowers in August and Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 LILAC, PURPLE, OR BLUE, AND WHITE. 
 One foot to two feet high. 
 
 Various-leaved Collinsia,.(Collinsia heterophylla.) Flowering in 
 June and August. Both of these species are very fine annuals. ‘The 
 plants flower more vigorously, if the seeds are sown early, before 
 warm weather overtakes the young plants. Select a half shady situa- 
 ation, and plant in good mellow loam. 
 
 Two-colored Collinsia, (Collinsia bicolor.) Flowering in June 
 and August. 
 
 Three-colored Gilia, (Gilia tricolor.) Flowers all Summer; one of 
 the most exquisite little annuals cultivated. 
 
 Unique Larkspur, (Delphinium consdélida var.) Flowering from 
 July to September. 
 
 VERY DARK. 
 One foot to eighteen inches high. 
 
 Dark-flowered Lotus, (Lotus jacobee'us.) Flowering in August and 
 September. A beautiful plant, which may be treated as an annual. 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. A07 
 
 The seeds should be sown in April, or early in May, and the young 
 plants removed to the border in June. Its dark, almost black flowers, 
 and small linear foliage, render it a very desirable plant. 
 
 Dark purple Salpiglossis, (Salpigldssis atropurpirea.) Flowering 
 in July and August. A light, loamy soil and half shaded aspect best 
 suits the salpiglossis. 
 
 COLORS VARYING. 
 Siz inches to one foot. 
 
 Pansy or Hearts-ease, (Viola tricolor.) Flowers all Summer. 
 The large flowering varieties are the most beautiful ornaments of the 
 garden all Summer, 
 
 One to two feet high. 
 
 Double German Aster, (Aster sinénsis.) Flowering in August 
 and September. These should be planted in very rich moist soil, and 
 be well watered if the weather should be dry. 
 
 Double Balsam, (Impatiens balsdmina.) “Flowering from July till 
 frost. ‘Transplant into very rich soil. 
 
 Rocket Larkspur, (Delphinum ajacis.) , Flowering all Summer if 
 successive sowings are made. Plants from seeds sown in April will 
 flower in June and July ; those from seeds sown in May, or early in 
 June, in July and August; and those sown in October, in May. Sow 
 the seeds where the plants are to bloom, as they will not do well 
 transplanted. 
 
 Fine Poppy, (Papaver somniferum.) Flowering in July and 
 August. 
 
 Lupin, (Lupinus sp. and var.) Flowering in July and August. 
 They delight in a light rich soil. 
 
 Ten-week stock Gilliflower, (Mathidla annua.) Flowering all 
 Summer. 
 
 Two to four feet high and upwards. 
 
 Marvel of Peru, (Mirabilis dichétoma.) Flowers in August and 
 September. 
 
 Morning Glory, (Convélvulus major.) Flowering in July and 
 September. 
 
 Sweet Pea, (Lathyrus odoratus.) Flower in August and Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 Tall branching Larkspur, (Delphinium consdlida.) Flowering in 
 August and September. 
 
 Mixed Cyanus, (Centauréa cydnus.) Flower all Summer. 
 
 Biennial and Perennial Flowers. 
 
 These bear the second year after planting. Holly- 
 hocks, of various colors, Hibiscus of many colors, 
 Purple and White Foxglove, Purple and White 
 Canterbury Bells, Perennial Pea and Perennial Bee 
 Larkspur. 
 
AO8 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 Shrubs. 
 
 The following is a list of the shrubs most suitable 
 for adorning a yard. 
 
 Lilacs, purple and white. By budding, the two 
 kinds can be made to grow on the same stalk, thus 
 much increasing the beauty. Syringas, single and 
 double. Snow-balls. Altheas, single and double. 
 Corchorus Japonicus. This has a rich green leaf, 
 bright yellow double flowers, resembling small 
 double roses, bears full early in the Spring, and con- 
 tinues flowering sparingly till Fall. Snow-berry, 
 a beautiful shrub, bearing white wax-like berries, 
 which hang till frost. Double flowering Almond. 
 This is very beautiful, and its abundant bright pink 
 blossoms appear early in the Spring. Shrub Honey- 
 suckles. Very delicate and early. Pyrus Japonica, 
 brilliant crimson flowers, in the Spring. Common 
 Barberry. A fine shrub for yards, having yellow 
 blossoms and bright red fruit. Rose Acacia. A 
 beautiful shrub, bearing large rose-colored clusters 
 and requiring a sandy soil. Yellow Laburnum. 
 An elegant shrub bearing yellow clusters. 
 
 Roses. No shrubs are more easily cultivated than 
 roses; and none are more elegant. The following 
 are the most beautiful kinds that will bear our Win- 
 ter. Moss Rose, White and Red. ‘This is propa- 
 gated by shoots or suckers, by the roots, by layers, 
 and by budding. But the third year after budding, 
 the shoot will fail, and must be budded again. Buds 
 from the shoot to be renewed, are as good as any; 
 as every bud is, in fact, a new plant. Double Yel- 
 low Roses. These must have a light gravelly soil, 
 well manured, and an airy situation ina north or 
 east exposure. A southern exposure is not good. 
 The old wood must often be cut away. The single 
 yellow rose can be more easily cultivated. The 
 Yellow Multiflora is very pretty. Black Roses, of 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 409 
 
 which, La belle Africana is the darkest. Tri-colored, 
 or Belle Alliance. Sweet Briar or Eglantine, single 
 and double. Small Eglantine Rose, used to border 
 beds. Champney’s Blush Rose. This is very beau- 
 tiful, and easily cultivated. It bears large clusters 
 of small double blush roses, in Autumn. At the 
 North, it needs to be covered with straw in Winter. 
 Noisette. This is like the preceding, only more 
 dark, and in larger clusters. It bears the Winter 
 without cover. Greville Rose. This is a splendid 
 Rose, bearing large clusters, containing, in the same 
 cluster, every variety of shade, from the lightest 
 pink to deep red and purple. It grows most luxuri- 
 antly, in one case growing eighteen feet in a few 
 weeks, It can easily be obtained in the large cities 
 from flower dealers. Rosa Banksii or Lady Banks. 
 Multiflora. This has an evergreen leaf, small double 
 white flowers, in clusters, and can bear the northern 
 Winter, if covered in the Fall with straw. Besides 
 these, there are the more common, White, Blush, 
 Cabbage, Hundred-leaved, and many others. 
 
 With a little practice, a lady can multiply her 
 varieties abundantly, by budding from all varieties 
 within her reach. Some buds do better in one kind 
 of stock, than another. Experiments can be tried 
 to learn how they will best succeed. Inarching can 
 be tried on rose trees. 'The surest way to propagate 
 roses; is, by suckers, which come from the root, 
 taking a part of the root. Layers prepared as before 
 directed, are the best mode ; budding and inarching 
 the next. In transplanting shrubs, do not bury too 
 deep. 
 
 Herbaceous Roots. 
 
 Herbaceous roots die to the root, in the Fall, and 
 in Spring again shoot up. Of these, the Artemisia, 
 Fleur-de-lis, Peonies, Hibiscus, and Lilies, of va- 
 rious kinds, are the finest kinds. Pzeonies have 
 
 35 
 
A410 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 varieties of white, crimson, rose-colored, and sweet- 
 scented ; the last having the perfume of a rose. Of 
 the Lilies, are the White, the Tiger, and the F'ire- 
 Lily. The Artemisias are of great variety, in color 
 and shade. The Lily of the Valley grows best in 
 the shade. All require a rich soil. 
 
 On the Care of House-Plants. 
 
 House-plants must have the soil renewed every 
 year, as previously directed. In Winter, they should 
 be kept as dry as they can be, without wilting. 
 Many house-plants are injured by giving them too 
 much water, when they have little light and fresh 
 air. This makes them grow spindling. ‘The more 
 fresh air, warmth, and light, they have, the more 
 water is needed. They ought not to be kept very 
 warm in Winter, nor exposed to great changes of 
 atmosphere. Forty degrees is a proper temperature 
 for plants in Winter, when they have little sun and 
 air. When plants have become spindling, cut off 
 their heads, entirely, and cover the pot in the earth, 
 where it has the morning sun, only. A new and 
 flourishing head will spring out. Most house-plants 
 cannot bear the noon sun. When insects infest 
 plants, set them in a closet, or under a barrel, and 
 burn tobacco. The smoke kills any insect envel- 
 oped in it. When plants get frozen, cold water, 
 and a gradual restoration of warmth, are the best 
 remedies. 
 
 Shade-Trees for Yards. 
 
 The Ailanthus or Tree of Heaven, is one of the 
 finest, as it grows the fastest, is most easily propa- 
 gated, and is not surpassed by any in beauty. It is 
 easily propagated by all methods. If trimmed up 
 every Spring, nearly to the top, it will in three or 
 four years grow thirty or forty feet high, bearing on 
 the top a large coronet of long leaves, and very 
 much resembling the palm tree. If left to grow 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. All 
 
 without trimming, it forms a wide spread and thick 
 shade. In good soil, it will, in two years from the 
 seed, grow ten or twelve feet high. It requires a 
 rich soil. The Locust grows fast, has fine blossoms, 
 and givesa good shade. The Elm and Sugar Maple 
 are the handsomest forest trees, but they grow slow- 
 ly, and should be mingled with fast-growing trees. 
 The Lime or Linden, is a beautiful forest tree. 
 The Tulip Tree is very beautiful, but difficult to 
 transplant successfully. The Mountain Ash is a 
 beautiful shade-tree. 
 
 Those who live in the Western States, can pro- 
 cure, in their own forests, the most beautiful shade- 
 trees and shrubs, such as, in Hurope, and at the 
 Hast, would be cultivated with great care, as rare 
 specimens of beauty. The Red Arbutus, called the 
 Burning Bush, is a shrub bearing evergreen leaves, 
 and bright scarlet berries, which hang on the tree 
 during the Winter. The Bitter Sweet is a creeper, 
 which has a rich green foliage in Summer, and 
 bright red berries which hang on the tree all the 
 Winter. ‘The Dog Wood is a beautiful tree, which 
 bears large white flowers before the leaves are out 
 in the Spring, and has red berries afterwards. 'The 
 Wild Lenna, or Cassia Marilandica, is an herbaceous 
 plant, bearing orange-colored pea-shaped flowers, 
 with leaves resembling those of the Locust, and is 
 found in sandy soil. The Virginian Creeper, or 
 American Ivy, grows rapidly, and fastens itself firm- 
 ly into brick walls. This makes it good for cover- 
 ing unsightly back buildings, in cities. The Ameri- 
 can Judas Tree grows fifteen feet high, and has 
 flowers early in the Spring. 
 
 Creepers. 
 
 The Sweet-scented Monthly Honeysuckle is the 
 most delightful of all creepers. It is easily raised, 
 and bears blossoms from early Spring to late in the 
 
| 
 
 | i 
 I 
 Li 
 
 A412 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 Fall. The Yellow, White, and Coral Honeysuckles 
 make a fine variety. ‘The White is very fragrant. 
 The Scarlet Trumpet Monthly is a beautiful climber, 
 and bears flowers through the season. Of the Cle- 
 matis, there are several varieties, all very handsome. 
 The Glycine is a large and splendid creeper, with 
 large blue clusters. The common large Trumpet 
 Creeper must not be trained on houses, either wood 
 or brick, as it injures them. It is the largest and 
 most showy of all creepers. The English Night- 
 shade is a quick and vigorous climber, with blue 
 flowers, and fruit of a bright red color. 
 
 Annual Creepers. 
 
 Crimson Cypress Vine, 
 White Cypress Vine, 
 White Maurandia, ; Beanttal 
 
 Pink Maurandia, j 
 
 White Thunbergia. 
 
 Buff Thunbergia. 
 
 Morning Glory. 
 
 Purple, White, and Scarlet, Flowering Beans. 
 Sweet Pea of various kinds. 
 
 On the Care of Bulbous and Tuberous Roots. 
 
 The soil for these roots should be such as is 
 described for pot-plants, well pulverized, and a foot 
 and a half deep. The beds should be raised six 
 inches above the earth around. For common gar- 
 dens and yards, it is best to plant them in little cir- 
 cles, nine inches or a foot in diameter, putting six 
 or eight in the ring, according to the size. Other 
 flowers can be planted on the same hed, as most 
 bulbs have completed their growth, before other 
 plants draw on the soil. The time of planting is in 
 the months of September and October, for the Hya- 
 cinth, Crown Imperial, Lily, Polyanthus, Narcissus, 
 Jonquil, Iris, Crocus, Colchicum, Star of Bethlehem, 
 
 R Very beautiful. 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. A13 
 
 Winter Aconite, Snow Drop, Snow Flake, Gladi- 
 olus, and most other hardy bulbs. The more deli- 
 cate bulbs must be kept in dry sand, till April, and 
 then be planted out. of the reach of frosts. The 
 depth of planting should be as follows: the measure 
 is made from the top of the bulb. 
 
 The Hyacinth, Martagon Lily, and Peony, should 
 be planted four inches deep; Crown Imperial, and 
 Polyanthus, Narcissus, six inches; Tulip, Jonquil, 
 Colchicum, and Snow Flake, three inches; Bul- 
 bous Iris, Crocus, small Fritillary, Pancratium, Gla- 
 diolus, and Snowdrop, two inches; Ranunculus, 
 Anemone, and Dog-tooth Violet, one inch deep. 
 In Winter, it is safer to cover bulbs with tan bark, 
 dry leaves, or straw, which should be removed very 
 early in the Spring. 
 
 Every three years, bulbs should be taken up, 
 about a month after they have done blooming; and, 
 after cutting off all within an inch above the bulb, 
 dry the tender ones which are to be kept till Spring, 
 in a garret for three weeks, and then keep them 
 each wrapped in a paper, or else put in dry sand, till 
 the month comes for planting them. All except the 
 tender ones should be taken up, and immediately 
 replanted. When replanting, all the little offsets 
 must be pulled off, and set by themselves, as they 
 make new roots, and will bloom the second year 
 after planting. . 
 
 Bulbs to bloom in pots in the Winter, should be 
 planted in October or November, and be exposed to 
 the open air till it begins to freeze. They should 
 be kept as much as possible in the sun; and water 
 should be sparingly given, or be proportioned to the 
 sun, and fresh air afforded. 
 
 Bulbs intended for glasses, should be placed in 
 them about the middle of November; and the glasses 
 should be often filled with pure water, so that the 
 bottom of the bulb may just touch the water. 
 
 35* 
 
Al4 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 They should be kept, during the first ten days, in a 
 dark room. The water must be kept pure and 
 never be allowed to freeze. This method injures 
 bulbs, irremediably. Putting them in a garden, for 
 two or three years, partially restores them. Culti- 
 vating them in the house, in pots, also injures them, 
 but not so much as keeping them in water. 
 
 Dahhias are tuberous roots; and as the plant can- 
 not bear the slightest frost, they must be taken up 
 in the Fall, and be kept in a dry room, free from 
 frost, or in dry sand; in a cellar. They can be 
 raised from seed, so as to bear flowers the same 
 season they are planted. But by this method, no 
 selection can be made, as it is all uncertain whether 
 they prove single or double. They are easily propa- 
 gated, by dividing roots. ‘This must be done so as 
 to leave at least one eye or sprout with each portion. 
 To do this, wait till they have sprouted, which will 
 be before it is time to set them out; and then, with 
 a sharp knife, divide the roots, giving one or more 
 sprouts to each part. In planting them, dig holes a 
 foot deep, and drive into it a stake, four feet high, to 
 tie them. After fixing the stake, put in the root, 
 so that the sprout will be one inch below the soil, 
 and press the soil firmly around them. An open 
 exposure, and good soil, inclining to sand, is the 
 best. When they are tall, tie them to the stake, 
 and trim off some of the lower shoots. Those 
 flowers which are fullest and roundest, and show 
 least of the centre, are esteemed the nearest perfect. 
 They are the most brilliant and showy of all garden 
 flowers, and are of many varieties of color. 
 
 On Laying out Flower-beds. 
 
 If flowers are cultivated in a common vegetable 
 garden, let the beds be along the main alleys. 
 Raise the flower-beds nine inches or a foot above 
 the walk, with even and sloping sides. Some put 
 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS, A15 
 
 brick or boards around, to keep the beds in place; 
 but these materials soon decay, or get out of order; 
 and it is better to have the beds kept in shape by 
 the hoe. Beds look very finely with borders made 
 of the snowdrop, the blue iris, the white and quilled 
 daisy, Iceland moss, sives, box, and various other 
 plants. The white and the quilled daisy are very 
 hardy, and blossom, all the season. They propagate 
 very fast, by offsets, and are the prettiest of any 
 tning for a border. They, do best when put on a 
 place which is shaded for half the day. 
 
 If flowers are to be put in a yard, where there is 
 much turf, an oblong, with a crescent at each ex- 
 tremity, cut out of the turf, and raised a foot above 
 it, looks very finely, among the green grass. If this 
 is done, a small trench should be made between the 
 beds and the turf, to keep off the grass. In planting 
 such beds, much taste can be displayed. Asa gen- 
 eral rule, the tallest and largest flowers should be 
 put in the middle, and the lowest on the outside. 
 The Writer has seen a yard laid out thus: In front 
 of the house, were two crescents, one on each side 
 of the walk. These were bordered with the white 
 and quilled daisy, and blue iris. Bulbs were put in 
 circles, around the beds, and between the circles 
 were planted the prettiest of the smaller annuals. 
 In the centre of each crescent, were planted the 
 crimson cypress, the Mauraudias, and Thunbergias, 
 which were trained on a fancy trellis, made of young 
 willow twigs, peeled. In the yard on the other side 
 of the house, was an ellipse, and two crescents, cut 
 out in the turf, and raised. Fig. 37, will give an 
 idea of its appearance. The crescent (a) having 
 dots in it, was planted with five different kinds 
 of Candytuft,—the purple, white, crimson, sweet- 
 scented, scarlet, and Normandy, scattered promiscu- 
 ously, so as to form a thick bed of mingled flowers, 
 in the shape of a smaller crescent. On the remain- 
 
A16 ON THE CULTIVATION OF FLOWERS. 
 
 Hic, 37 
 19. of. 
 
 ener Led 
 ee Oe 
 ~~~ 
 
 ing border of the bed were planted the various trail- 
 ing plants, which filled up the remainder of the bed. 
 The Ellipse, 6 6.6 6, had a centre bed, c, in which 
 was placed a clump of various colored Dahlias, and 
 around them, some smaller flowers.. Four narrow 
 alleys, ddd d, divided the Ellipse, and in the centre 
 of each of the divided parts, b 6 6 b, were placed a 
 root of either white lily, peony, or fleur-de-lis. 
 Around the edges, were planted various annuals. 
 The other crescent, e, was arranged ad libitum. 
 
 By planting the same flower, at different periods, 
 it can be continued a much longer time. Flowers 
 can often be arranged with reference to color, so as 
 to produce a good effect. 
 
 The most disagreeable part of gardening, is re- 
 moving weeds from beds and walks. The Writer 
 recommends that weeding walks should be reserved 
 for an early hour, when the beds are too wet with 
 dew to work upon them, and when, before breakfast, 
 active exercise is not good. Have the dibble ground 
 very sharp, and take a cricket to sit upon, and shave 
 off the weeds in the walks with the dibble, and 
 sweep them into a heap, witha broom. Draw the 
 weeds from around the flowers with the hand, and 
 then cut up the weeds in other places with a small 
 hoe, and rake them up and remove them. Be sure 
 and keep the walks and beds free from weeds, and 
 preserve the beds in regular shape. 
 
ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. A17 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 Preparation of Soil. Planting of Seeds. Budding, Grafting, and 
 Transplanting. Training the Limbs. Attention to the Soil. 
 Manuring. Caution needful, lest too much manure be used. 
 Washes. Apples. Pears. Peaches. Quinces. Apricots and 
 Nectarines. Plums. Cherries. Filberts. Figs. Currants. Goose- 
 berries. Raspberries. Strawberries. Grapes. To preserve Fruit. 
 
 T'HE most experienced nursery-men teach, that 
 the soil for a nursery should be rich and well dug. 
 It should also be protected from the coldest winds. 
 The manure should be well decayed. Plant seeds 
 in Autumn in ridges, four or five feet apart, beating 
 down the earth firmly over the seeds. They should 
 be planted from an inch and a half to two inches be- 
 low the surface. While they are growing, thin them 
 out, leaving the best-looking about a foot and a half 
 apart. The soil must be kept soft and free from 
 weeds. In two or three years, or when the stems 
 are of the size of a pipe-stem, they may be budded 
 or grafted. A year after this epoch, they may be 
 transplanted. Peach trees bear in four years from 
 planting, and two years from budding. Ina year 
 after transplanting, some pains must be taken to form 
 the heads aright. It has been found, by long expe- 
 rience, that straight upright branches produce what 
 are called gourmands, or twigs bearing leaves and no 
 fruit, and that it-is chiefly the horizontal and curved 
 branches which yield the fruit. For this reason, 
 those having the care of young nurseries, take pains 
 to train limbs in a curving direction; and when they 
 train young trees, they cut off those limbs which are 
 least likely to take a curving direction. 'The last of 
 June, is the best time for directing and pruning 
 
A418 ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 limbs. 'The more the earth is kept open and loose 
 about the roots, to admit air, the better they flourish. 
 Grass should never be allowed to grow around fruit 
 trees. A space of four feet each way from each tree, 
 should be kept loose and free from grass and weeds. 
 Opening the soil, with a spade, in the Fall, to admit 
 air, moisture, and frost to the roots, is a great advan- 
 tage in destroying insects, and promoting healthful 
 growth. When this is done, straw should be put 
 over the roots in the Spring, to prevent too much 
 evaporation from the soil. Fruit trees do best ina 
 warm, loose, and deep soil. They are not so flour- 
 ishing in a cold and stiff soil; and they fail entirely 
 on one that is very wet or very dry. The nature of 
 the earth under the soil has much influence. If it 
 be rock, or what is called hard pan, the trees will 
 deteriorate. ‘lhe best site for an orchard is a south- 
 ern exposure, protected from the coldest winds. 
 Manuring improves fruit. But there may be two 
 much employed. Manure should not constitute one 
 fourth of the soil, and often less than this will be 
 injurious. Orchards should have the trees twenty- 
 five feet apart. Young trees must be tied to stakes, 
 or they will be injured by the wind. Ley and soap- 
 suds applied to fruit trees are good. 
 Apples. 
 
 The best wash for an apple tree, is strong ley, 
 applied with a brush to the body and limbs, in June. 
 It destroys the insects and parasitic plants. Cater- 
 pillars should be destroyed by cutting off the nests 
 on a wet day, or by burning sulphur on a wadding 
 at the end of a pole. 
 
 The following are the best kinds of apples for an 
 orchard. The Summer Sweeting, the Harvest 
 apple, the Early Chandler, and the Juneating, ripen 
 in July and August. Besides these, are the follow- 
 
ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. AL19 
 
 ing, selected by Judge Buel,* as the best apples to 
 be found in the Country. The Bough, Summer 
 Queen, Early Pearmain, Summer Rose, Codling, 
 Maiden’s Blush, Hagloe Crab, Romanite or Rambo, 
 Cataline, Fall Pippin, Doctor apple, Wine, Late Pear- 
 main, Burlington, Greening, Bell Flower, Newark 
 Pippin, Pennock, Michael Henry, Spitzenburg, 
 Newtown Pippin, Priestly, Lady Apple, Carthouse, 
 Tewksbury, and the Winter Blush. The Newtown 
 Pippins, as raised in New York or Ohio, are the best 
 for keeping, as they can be preserved, in perfect 
 flavor, for a whole year, till they come again. In 
 a dry cellar, they can be thus preserved, without 
 extra care. In a damp cellar, they must’be packed 
 in dry sand, as elsewhere directed. 
 
 The Pear. 
 
 This excellent fruit tree is subject to the F%re 
 Blight, or Bru lere, which causes it to turn black, 
 and wither; but for which, a remedy has lately been 
 discovered. It consists in cutting off the blight- 
 ed parts, and then some of the main roots. It is 
 said to be caused by excess of sap, which cut- 
 ting off the roots remedies. The Citron des Carmes, 
 Jargonelle, Seckle, and Summer Rose, ripen in July 
 or August. The Belle et Bonne Virgalieu, White 
 Doyenne, Flemish Beauty, and Neille, ripen in Sep- 
 tember. The Autumn Bergamot, Ashton Town, 
 Capiaumont, Beurre d’wil, Duchesse d’Angouleme, 
 and Marie Louise, ripen in October. The Forelle, 
 Gloux Morceau, Napoleon, and Colmar, ripen in No- 
 vember. The Nilia Dasse Colmar, Beurre Vait, and 
 the Beurre d’Aremberg, ripen in December. The 
 Haster Beurre, Beurre Rance, and Chaumohlette, are 
 
 * The last and best work of this lamented Author,—his ‘ Farmer’s 
 Companion,’ is issued by the Publishers of this volume. It forms the 
 sixteenth volume of the larger series of ‘tHa Scuoor Lisrary,’ publish- 
 ing under the sanction of the Board of Education of the State of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
420 ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 late Winter and Spring pears; and the Catillac, 
 Chaptel and Bezi d’Hui are good for baking and 
 stewing. 
 
 Peaches. 
 
 The soil best adapted to peaches is a rich sandy 
 loam. Grass around their roots is very destructive. 
 A worm at the root, or the yellows, often destroys 
 the tree. Examining the root, every Spring, and 
 Autumn, to remove the worm, and throwing lime 
 and ashes freely about the root, is a remedy for the 
 first. Ashes or tanner’s bark should be put around 
 peach trees, to prevent the attack of the worm. A 
 plaster of cow-dung and clay should be put on any 
 wounds made byaworm. ‘The Yellows is a disease 
 which is spread by the pollen of the blossom. If a 
 tree is attacked thus, its leaves will turn yellow. It 
 should then be removed, before it blossoms again, 
 or it will spread the contagion to all the other peach 
 trees around. All its roots, also, should be removed. 
 When the trees are very full of young fruit, it should 
 be thinned out, or the tree will be weakened, and 
 all the fruit be inferior in quality. It has lately been 
 discovered, that planting tansy or wormwood around 
 the roots of peach trees, will effectually protect them 
 from worms at the root, by preventing the moth 
 from depositing her eggs upon them. 
 
 The farmers in New York save their peach trees 
 from being Winter-killed, by a heap of stones around 
 the tree, four feet in diameter, and as thick as the 
 usual depth of snow. A mound of earth it is said 
 has a similar effect. But these must be removed in 
 Spring, to give air and warmth to the soi]. Too 
 much manure injures peach trees; and many or- 
 chards never succeed, because the soil is too rich. 
 A sandy. soilis best. 
 
 The best peaches are the Early Ann, Heath, 
 Noblesse, Coolridge’s Red Rareripe, Early Royal 
 
ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 421 
 
 George, Kenrick’s Clingstone, Lemon Clingstone, 
 and the Teton de Venus. 
 
 The Quince. 
 
 There are four varieties of quince ;—the pear, the 
 apple, the mild, and the Portuguese. The last is 
 the best. 
 
 Apricots and Nectarines. 
 
 These trees require the same sort of management 
 as the peach. They are apt to produce too much 
 fruit, and should be thinned out. 
 
 Plums. 
 
 This fruit does well in any soil, except a very 
 sandy, or a clayey soil. A light rich soil is best. 
 Plums are very extensively destroyed by the Curcu- 
 lio, which also often attacks peaches, nectarines, 
 and apricots. Paving around a tree, as far out as 
 its limbs reach, is recommended as a remedy, by 
 most cultivators; though some say it is ineffectual. 
 Keeping hogs under plum trees, is said to be the 
 best remedy, as they eat up the plums as fast as 
 they fall and thus destroy the insect. Tin troughs, 
 filled with water or oil, placed tight around the 
 trunk of the tree, and the chinks, between it and 
 the trunk, filled with tow, prevent the insects from 
 ascending, as they rarely fly, but crawl up the body 
 of the tree. Huling’s Superb, is the largest plum. 
 The White and Green Gage, Purple and White 
 Magnum Bonum, and Large Queen Claudia, are 
 among the best plums. 
 
 Cherries. 
 
 A rich sandy loam is best for cherries. When 
 the trees are old, they should be cut off, to a stump 
 eighteen inches high, and one of the shoots be 
 
 trained for a new tree. 
 36 
 
A422 oN NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 The best cherries, are, the Black Tartarian, May 
 Duke, Spanish, Davenport’s Early Red, Elkhorn, 
 Downer, Napoleon Bigarreau, Belle et Magnifique, 
 Plumstone Morello, and Late White Heart. 
 
 Fulberts. 
 
 This favorite nut can easily be raised in any part 
 of this Country. Seed-nuts can be procured in our 
 large cities. 
 
 Figs. 
 
 This fruit can be raised in our Middle States, by 
 covering the tree in Winter. ‘To do this, loosen 
 half the roots on one side, bend the tree down, lay 
 it on the earth, and cover it with a mound of straw, 
 earth, and boards. 
 
 Currants. 
 
 This fruit grows in any soil, except a very wet 
 one. It is chiefly propagated by cuttings, which 
 should have the eye cut off the joints that go below 
 the soil. In Autumn, the old wood should be 
 thinned out, and some manure put around. They 
 can be trimmed into small trees, thus improving 
 their appearance, and the fruit. 
 
 Gooseberries. 
 
 These are propagated by layers and cuttings, 
 cutting out the eyes of the joints below the soil. 
 They do best when shaded from the noon-sun. It 
 is best to train a single stem like a tree, and it 
 should be kept free from suckers. One third of the 
 old wood should be removed every Autumn. Where 
 the Summers are hot, a northern aspect is best. 
 
 Raspberries. 
 
 These are propagated by cuttings, layers, and 
 suckers. A situation which is shaded, during part 
 of the day, is best. There is a kind, called the 
 
ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 423 
 
 Monthly Raspberry, to be obtained in Cincinnati, 
 and probably in other cities, which bears constantly 
 till late in the Fall. 
 
 Strawberries. 
 
 The soil for this fruit should be light, and ma- 
 nured chiefly with vegetable mould. Common 
 manure, well decayed, is better than none. April 
 or September is the best time for transplanting 
 Strawberries. In doing this, cut off the old leaves, 
 preserving the centre leaves. Set the plants eight 
 inches from each other, and in rows nine inches 
 apart, in beds two feet wide, each bed separated 
 from the next by a narrow alley. There are two 
 kinds, which always grow together ;—the bearers 
 and the non-bearers. ‘Those which bear, can be 
 distinguished in blossom-time, when care should be 
 taken to pull out the non-bearers. Some gardeners 
 leave a part of the non-bearers, in the proportion of 
 one to ten. Other gardeners think it needless to 
 leave any, claiming that the plant is Monecious. 
 The non-bearers have large flowers, with showy 
 stamens and high black anthers. The bearers have 
 short stamens, and a great number of pistils; and the 
 flowers are every way less showy. ‘They must be 
 selected in blossom-time. Many persons have beds 
 which never bear, because they consist chiefly of 
 non-bearing vines. All weeds should be kept out of 
 the vines. In two or three years after setting out 
 beds, when they have become matted with young 
 plants, it is the practice of some to dig over the beds 
 in cross lines, so as to leave some of the plants stand- 
 ing in little squares, while the rest are turned into 
 the soil. This is less work than transplanting, as it 
 thins out the bed, in some places, and leaves the old 
 roots standing in other places. This should be done 
 over, the second time, the same year, as it serves to 
 keep the soil mellow, and free from weeds. 
 
 . 
 4 
 j 
 y 
 4 
 
424 ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 
 
 Grapes. 
 
 The soil must be made mellow, two feet deep, 
 and well manured. A gravelly or sandy soil is bet- 
 ter than a harder one. A south, or southwest, expo- 
 sure, is the best. The Spring or the Fall is the 
 time for transplanting. The roots must be kept 
 moist, and the holes dug two feet deep, and two feet 
 square. ‘The young vine should be pruned, the 
 first year, so as to have only one or two main 
 branches, and all the side shoots should be taken 
 off, as soon as they appear. In October or Novem- 
 ber, shorten these main branches, till there_are only 
 three or four eyes remaining. This last pruning 
 must be done in Winter or late in the Fall. In the 
 Spring of the second year, the earth must be loos- 
 ened around the roots, with care, so as not to injure 
 the roots. During the second Summer, allow only 
 two of the most promising shoots to grow, and every 
 month prune off all the side shoots. When the side 
 shoots are strong, leave the first joint remaining, lest 
 too much sap be turned into the main stem. In the 
 Fall, take off these remaining parts. In October or 
 November, of the second year, cut off the main 
 stems to eight buds for the strongest and six for the 
 weakest vines. After the second year, no other 
 pruning is needed, except to reduce the side shoots, 
 in order to increase the fruit. All pruning of the 
 grape, (except nipping side shoots,) must be done in 
 the Fall or Winter, when the sap is not running, or 
 the vines will be killed or seriously injured. Vines 
 should be trained on latticed fences, or on poles, 
 freely to give them air and sun. ‘'T'ender vines 
 must be covered in the Fall after they are pruned. 
 Uncover them in April and restore them to their 
 places. Grapes may be propagated, by cuttings, 
 layers, or seeds. For cuttings, select well-ripened 
 wood, of the previous season, and cut it in pieces, 
 each having four or five joints. Bury these out of 
 
ON NURSERIES AND ORCHARDS, AND FRUIT. 425 
 
 the reach of frost, till early in April, and then soak 
 them some hours in water. ‘They may be set out, 
 so that all the eyes are covered except the top one. 
 Of course they must be set in the ground, sleping, 
 and not perpendicularly. The following are the 
 best for common use: Isabella, Catawba, Munier, 
 Black and White Sweetwater, Bland’s, Alexandria, 
 Elsinburg, Worthington, and Scuppernong. 
 
 To preserve Fruit. 
 
 Currants, Gooseberries, and all fruits of such kind 
 of skin, can be preserved in the following manner. 
 Gather them in a dry warm day, before they are 
 completely ripe. ‘Take off the stalks, and put them 
 in perfectly dry junk bottles. Set them in a large 
 kettle of cool water, without corks. Gradually raise 
 the water to the boiling point; then cork the bottles, 
 and after that, take them from the water. Then 
 drive in the corks, more firmly, and cover them with 
 rosin, and keep them in a dry place, where frost will 
 not reach them. ‘The success of this process de- 
 pends upon keeping out air and water. 
 
 Apples, Grapes, and the like, can be preserved by 
 packing in dry sawdust, or dry fine sand. First, 
 put a layer of sand or sawdust, then a layer of fruit, 
 (it must be entirely dry, not soft nor very ripe ;) 
 cover the fruit, entirely, with another layer of sand 
 or sawdust, and thus go on, till the box is filled, 
 putting sand on the top, three inches thick. The 
 sand or sawdust must be first dried in an oven. 
 The Writer has seen, in the most popular receipt 
 books, some receipts for preserving fruit in bottles; 
 in one case directing the bottles to be corked and 
 sealed, before putting them in the water, (which, 
 of course, would burst the bottles ;) and in another 
 directing to have hot water poured into them after 
 the fruit is put in, which must rather hasten, than 
 retard its decay. 
 
 36* 
 
ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
 
 Potatoes. Sweet Potatoes. Turnips. Indian Corn. Cucumbers. 
 Onions. Melons. Peas. Beans. Beets. Celery. Cabbages. 
 Carrots and Parsnips. Lettuce. Egg-Plants and Tomatoes. 
 Pumpkins. Radishes. Rhubarb, or Pie-Plants. Salsify, or Vege- 
 table Oysters. Squashes. Herbs. Asparagus. Planting Garden- 
 Seeds. Culture. Gathering. On laying out a Garden. 
 
 Potatoes. 
 
 Tue best soil for potatoes, is a sandy loam, in a 
 cold climate, and a clay loam, in a warm climate; 
 both being well manured. They should be planted 
 in rows, running North and South, that the sun may 
 reach both sides. The rows should be a foot and a 
 half apart, and each potato nine inches from the 
 next. ‘The largest and best potatoes must be se- 
 lected, for planting; and the largest leading eyes 
 must be put upward, as this will secure the strongest 
 shoots. They must be kept free from weeds, with 
 the hoe, making a slight hill or ridge about them. 
 ‘The best potatoes are the Kidney, or Foxites, the 
 Pink-eyes, the Mercer’s and the Loux St. Marie. 
 Long manure is better than short, for potatoes. Po- 
 tatoes should not be planted twice in the same spot. 
 
 Sweet Potato. 
 
 It is best to sprout these first in a hot-bed, and 
 then transplant them. When the potato has sent 
 up its shoots, take it up, and divide it into parts, 
 having at least one sprout on each, and plant these 
 parts in high hills or ridges. In weeding, take up 
 the running tops, and wind them around the top of 
 the hill; and do not let the vines throw layers into 
 the ground. ‘They must be kept, when gathered, 
 
ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. A227 
 
 in a dry place, and no frost allowed to reach them. 
 Packing in dry sand is best. 
 
 Turnips. 
 
 Turnips should be planted in beds, in rows, and 
 thinned out according to their size. A dry sandy 
 soil, well manured, is best. The Yellow Malta is 
 fine for the table; also the Early White Stone, and 
 the Yellow Altringham. 
 
 Indian Corn. 
 
 A sandy soil, and long manure, are best for corn. 
 Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris, is very good for it. In 
 raising corn, the following directions, from a cele- 
 brated cultivator, may be a guide. ‘Take the seed 
 from plants which have ripened two or more ears. 
 Take the middle grains, and not those on the ends, 
 Steep the seeds in nitre, for twenty-four hours. 
 Plant three grains in each place, three feet, each 
 way, from the others. Hoe every fortnight, and do 
 not hill up the corn, which is now regarded as a 
 bad practice. Put on gypsum, in small quantities, 
 at the first hoeing. 
 
 Cucumbers. 
 
 Raise them, at first, in a hot-bed; and then trans- 
 plant them. If no hot-bed is used, plant twenty 
 seeds in each hill, and thin out, leaving the two 
 largest plants to a hill. The hills must be six feet 
 apart, and three or four inches high. The seed 
 should be sowed three or four different times, to 
 have successive crops. ‘he soil should be very 
 rich, with manure. The Early Frame, and Long 
 Green, are the best. The Small Gherkins, are best 
 for pickles. 
 
 Onions. 
 
 A rich moist soil is best for onions. They should 
 be planted in beds, in rows eight inches apart, and 
 
428 ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
 
 thinned out, leaving six inches between each. Tie 
 them in strings, or bunches, and hang them in a dry 
 place, free from frost. The Yellow Dutch and 
 White Portugal are best. 
 
 Melons. 
 
 To succeed well with melons, dig holes in a 
 sunny spot, two feet square, and two feet deep. 
 Fill the hole with sand, stable manure, and vege- 
 table mould, in equal quantities. In this, plant the 
 seeds, say twenty to each hill, the hills being seven 
 feet apart. Thin out the plants, when an inch high, 
 leaving three of the largest to each hill. When the 
 melons are formed, pick off all but three or four to 
 each vine, and put a piece of glass, or thin stone, or 
 slate, under each melon, to have both sides ripen 
 alike, and avoid an earthy taste. Muskmelons and 
 Cantalupes are ripe when the stem appears a little 
 withered. ‘The Watermelon, when ripe, has a pe- 
 culiar hollow sound, if snapped with the finger. 
 Save the seeds of the best melons, and dry them in 
 their juice, in the shade. The best Watermelons 
 are the Long Island, or Jersey, the Carolina, and the 
 Early Apple-seeded. The best Muskmelons and 
 Cantalupes are the Early Yellow Cantelupe, the 
 Long Yellow Musk, Skillman’s Fine Netted, (very 
 fine,) Stone’s fine Mixed, Minorca Netted, Murray’s 
 Pine-Apple, the Green Nutmeg, and the Citron. 
 
 Peas. 
 
 A sandy soil with but little stable manure, is best 
 for Peas. Vegetable mould is better than animal 
 manure, mixed with the sand and loam. They 
 should be planted an inch and a half deep, in rows 
 four feet apart, and each plant six inches from the 
 next. When six inches high, they should be bushed. 
 The best Peas are the Harly Frame, the Large White 
 Marrowfat, Knight’s Tall Honey, the Tall and the 
 
ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 429 
 
 Dwarf Sugar. The pods of the last two are good, 
 if boiled with the Peas, unshelled. Peas should be 
 planted at intervals of three weeks, to keep up a 
 supply. 
 
 Beans. 
 
 Beans flourish best in a moist and well-manured 
 soil. ‘They should be planted (for poles) in hills 
 six feet from each other, four plants to a hill. More 
 must be planted than are needed, and the best se- 
 lected to remain. Get poles, nine or ten feet long, 
 for them to climbon. The Lima bean must not be 
 planted till frosts are over. Bush beans must be 
 planted in rows, each plant six inches from the next. 
 The best beans, for poles, are White Dutch, Case 
 Knife, and Large White Lima; for bushes, Early 
 China, Red-eye, and Large White Kidney. 
 
 Beets. 
 
 These should be planted in beds, in rows a foot 
 apart, and thinned out to be a foot apart. They are 
 tender, and at the North, should not be planted till 
 May. The best are the Early Blood, Turnip Rooted, 
 and the Long Blood. ‘They require a rich dry soil. 
 
 Celery. 
 
 Plant this in hot-beds, not very thick. Give it 
 air, every day, if not too cold. If it grows rank 
 and spindling, it must be put in the open air. If 
 no hot-bed is used, sow in a rich moist soil, the last 
 of April, (as far North as New York,) in a sheltered 
 situation. Plant one quarter of an inch deep, rather 
 thick, and beat down the soil lightly. When the 
 plants are two inches high, transplant, (three inches 
 apart,) into well-manured soil. In doing this, rub 
 off side shoots around the bottom, and cut off the 
 ends of the roots. This last is very important. 
 The first week in July, transplant to the trench. 
 
430 ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
 
 If the plants are too weak to bear up the tops, cut 
 them off, and shade from the sun. But if trans- 
 planted from the seed-bed, as above directed, into 
 good soil, they will need no trimming. Make the 
 trench eighteen inches deep, and fifteen inches wide. 
 Full up six inches with old manure, and dig over, to 
 mix it with the soil. Then put on an inch of good 
 soil, and set the plants in it, six inches apart. Keep 
 adding soil, as they grow, leaving only the green 
 leaves above the soil, till the trench is nearly filled. 
 Then do not add any more soil, till the ‘first or 
 second week in September; and then cover all but 
 the leaves. When taken up, cut off the fibrous 
 roots, and all the green of the tops. Dry it two 
 days, in an airy shed, turning it every day. Then 
 pack it in dry sand. 
 Cabbages. 
 
 These require a rich moist soil. Transplant them 
 when they are three inches high, putting each one 
 three feet from the next. Press the soil firmly about 
 the roots, and water after sunset. The Cauliflower 
 and ‘Turnip Cabbage require frequent watering, to 
 make them do well. Broccoli is as good as Cauli- 
 flower, and easier to raise. The best Cabbages are 
 the Karly York, the Large Late Drumhead, and the 
 Green Globe Savoy. The Red Dutch is good for 
 pickling. The best Cauliflowers are the Fine Early, 
 and the Large Late Dutch. The best Broccoli is 
 the Early Purple Cape. 
 
 Carrots and Parsnips. 
 
 These should be treated like the beet. 'The best 
 are the Early Horn, and the Long Orange, Carrot, 
 and the Long Dutch Parsnip. 
 
 Lettuce. 
 
 Plant this in hot-beds, and transplant. If the 
 hot-bed is not used, plant on the summit of ridges 
 
ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. - A31 
 
 three feet high. The best varieties, are the Early 
 Curled, the Royal Cape Head, and the Large Drum- 
 head, or Cabbage ; the last is the best. 
 
 The Egg-Plant, and Tomato. 
 
 These should be started in a hot-bed, and not 
 transplanted till frosts are past. If the hot-bed is 
 not used, plant so as to avoid frosts, and then thin 
 out, till the plants are three feet apart. 'T'rain the 
 tomato on a trellis. ‘Thin out some of the branches, 
 and the fruit will be much better. Both require a 
 rich soil. The best tomatos are the Large Red, 
 and Large Yellow. The Cuba or Spanish is best 
 for Pickles. The Egg-Plant has two varieties, the 
 Purple and the White. The Purple only is used to 
 eat; the White for ornament. Start in hot-beds, 
 and transplant three feet apart, in rich soil. 
 
 Pumpkins. 
 
 These do best in a sandy loam, well manured. 
 Put two vines to a hill, and let the hills be eight or 
 nine feet apart. Leave only two or three pumpkins 
 on one vine. 'The best kind, is the Large Cheese. 
 The best for pies, is the Seven Year, or Long 
 Keeping. 
 
 Radishes. 
 
 These require a very dry sandy soil, well manured. 
 Plant several times. The best are the Early Scar- 
 let Short-Top, the Long Salmon, and the Scarlet 
 Turnip-Rooted. 
 
 Rhubarb or Pie-Plant. 
 
 This is propagated by seeds and offsets. It re- 
 quires a sandy soil, well manured. The stalks, 
 alone, are used for Pies, being peeled, cut up in inch 
 pieces, and stewed like gooseberries. 
 
 Salsify or Vegetable Oyster. 
 
 A moist clay soil, well manured, is best for this 
 plant. Sow the seed in rows, a foot apart. Thin 
 
A32 ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
 
 out, leaving each plant six inches from the next. 
 To procure the seed, leave the plant in the ground, 
 in the Fall, and cover it with straw. The next 
 year it will yield seed. This plant must often be 
 watered, in dry weather. 
 
 Squashes. 
 
 Plant, and treat in the same manner as directed 
 for Pumpkins. The best Summer Squash, is the 
 Early Bush Scollop. The best Winter Squashes, 
 are the Valparaiso, and Acorn. For some climates, 
 the Winter Crook-Necks are best. 
 
 FHferbs. 
 
 Balm, Fennel, Caraway, Lavender, Sweet Marjo- 
 rum, Sage, Wormwood, Summer Savory, Saffron, 
 Catnip, and Thyme, should be planted in a garden, 
 for sickness, and for cooking. 
 
 Asparagus. 
 
 Manure, abundantly, with short manure, the space 
 devoted to Asparagus. Begin on one side, and dig 
 the earth more than two feet deep, and continue till 
 the whole space is made soft and mellow, two feet 
 in depth, and leave it thus through the Winter. 
 Very early in the Spring spread on short manure, 
 
 } three inches deep, and dig it over, as deep as the 
 spade will reach, mixing well. Level, and divide 
 into beds a yard wide, separated by narrow alleys. 
 Sow the seed, or plant the roots, in rows, a foot 
 apart, and each plant fourteen inches from the next. 
 If seed is planted, sow it thick, and thin out after- 
 ward. Plant the seed one inch deep, the root three 
 inches deep. In the Fall, mow off the young As- 
 paragus, and cover with stable litter, to keep it 
 
 warm. In the Spring, take off this, and keep the 
 bed loose, and free from weeds. 'The third year 
 from planting the seed, begin to use sparingly. 
 
ON GARDEN VEGETABLES. A33 
 
 After this, manure every third year. Brine, poured 
 around the plants, is very useful. 
 
 In planting garden-seeds, they must be put in 
 deep, according to the size, and the earth must be 
 pressed down firmly over them. In a very dry time, 
 they must be watered. Keeping the earth loose and 
 light, to admit air, is very essential, and weeds al- 
 ways subtract from the size and excellence of the 
 vegetable, by using up the nourishment of the soil. 
 In procuring seed, always select the finest plants. 
 Many vegetables do not yield seed till the second 
 year. 
 
 In gathering in the vegetables for Winter, the 
 beets and carrots must be got in before frost. The 
 parsnips and salsify may be left in the ground 
 through the Winter, as they are then better than 
 when put in the cellar. The potatoes should be 
 dug before the tops are injured by frost. 'Turnips 
 must be gathered before hard frosts, or else covered. 
 with straw. Cabbages can be preserved in the gar- 
 den, by turning them upside down, and burying the 
 heads. This preserves a house and cellar from their 
 unpleasant odor. Broccoli and Cauliflower must be 
 put in the cellar. Celery may be covered with 
 straw and left out. A part may be gathered and 
 put in sand. Pumpkins and Squashes must be 
 brought in before frost, and kept in a dry place, 
 free from frost. Herbs must be gathered in blossom, 
 except those whose seed is used. 
 
 On laying out a Garden. 
 
 Select a spot having a southern exposure, and one 
 not much shaded. Some shaded spots are useful, 
 for plants that require partial shading. Secure a sup- 
 ply of sand, of clayey earth, and of vegetable mould 
 from the woods, and of both long and short manure. 
 
A3Z34 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 Have them deposited in a convenient place, and then 
 use them for the various beds, according to the de- 
 mand. If there are any low and moist spots, reserve 
 them for the plants that demand such a soil. It is 
 best occasionally to change the location of each kind 
 of vegetable, as a rotation of crops is deemed very 
 important in the economy of agriculture, some plants 
 extracting one principle from the soil, and some 
 another. This method saves considerable labor in 
 manuring the soil. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 ON THE CARE OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. 
 
 A Knowledge of this Subject often of great Value to a Woman. 
 Care of a Horse. Rules for Riding, for a Lady. On the Care of 
 a Cow. Dogand Cat. Poultry. On Barns and Barnyards. 
 
 Ir may, at first glance, appear that this kind of 
 knowledge is not needed by a woman. But how 
 often is it the case, that the death or absence of a 
 husband, or a father, throws all the care of a whole 
 establishment on a woman. In such cases, if dumb 
 animals are left to the sole care of domestics, they 
 will often suffer, unless the mistress of the family 
 has the knowledge which fits her to direct respect- 
 ing them. 
 
 On the Care of a Horse. 
 
 Hot and foul stables are very injurious to horses. 
 Very dark stables are bad, occasioning inflamed eyes. 
 Very glaring light is also injurious. The stall for a 
 horse should be twelve feet high, and at least six 
 feet wide. 'The floors should never be made of 
 brick or stone, which injure the feet. The best 
 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. 435 
 
 floors are made of sand mixed with clay. Next to 
 these, plank floors are best. The floor of a stable 
 should incline a very little, to let the urine run off; 
 but not much, as it will strain the muscles of the 
 limbs, in standing. The stable should be airy, and 
 cool, but protected from a current of air. It should 
 be thoroughly cleaned every morning. The hay 
 should be put in a box behind the feeding trough, 
 so as to be on a level with the horse, instead of 
 being raised above his head ; as, in the latter case, 
 the seeds will fall into his eyes. 
 
 The farmer’s horse needs little more cleaning 
 than washing the dirt from his legs. A horse turned 
 into the field needs no cleaning. A horse kept in a 
 stable and irregularly exercised, should be curried 
 and brushed every day. Nothing refreshes a horse 
 more than rubbing his skin, especially his legs. 
 Every horse needs daily exercise, say, as much as to 
 trot two miles or more. When a horse is over 
 ridden, bloody spots appear in the whites of his eyes. 
 
 Food should never be given immediately after 
 labor; time must be allowed for the body to cool. 
 When a horse is very warm, very cold water is 
 dangerous ; and large draughts of water should never 
 beallowed. A little at a time, at considerable inter- 
 vals, is safe. Well-mixed cut hay, chaff, sheaf-oats, 
 shorts, corn-meal, and bran, are the best common 
 food for a horse. Oats may be given when he 
 works or travels, but very little or none, when he 
 does nothing. No horse should have oats till four 
 years old. When travelling, a horse should have 
 six quarts of oats in the morning, four at noon, and 
 six at night. A little salt should be put in his water 
 when he is warm, and he should not be watered, as 
 a general rule, except at his regular meals. The 
 common practice, of stopping to water horses, on the 
 road, in travelling, isa bad one, asis taught by the 
 best writers; and is passing into disuse. 
 
436 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 If horses’ feet are not cleaned, a disease is in- 
 duced, in which the legs swell, and sometimes 
 crack. Keeping the legs clean, prevents this. The 
 remedy is, to wash in soap and water, scrape off 
 the dandruff, and rub on a mixture, consisting of one 
 drachm of sugar of lead united with an ounce of 
 lard. If cracks appear, wash in alum-water, four 
 drachms to a pint of water. If very bad, use a 
 poultice of oil-cake or boiled carrots. Washing the 
 legs in cold weather, without rubbing them dry, is 
 bad. The better way, is, to brush off the mud and 
 dust, with a stiff brush. The hair should be cut off 
 from the heels of road horses, but not of farm horses. 
 
 When a horse drinks too much cold water, or eats 
 too much grain, while very hot, it produces what is 
 called foundering, which is shown by stiffness in the 
 limbs, and a fever. The remedy is bleeding, and 
 then one pound of Glauber’s salts, in two portions, 
 in a pailful of water. Keep the horse walking. 
 When a horse is kept long in a stable, and is very 
 fat, hard driving sometimes causes a muscular spasm, 
 over the body. Unless it is very bad, he will get 
 over it with rest and a drink of salt water, otherwise, 
 he must be taken to a farrier. A horse should be 
 completely new shod, every six or eight weeks. 
 Fish-oil on the skin, or strongly perfumed oil, like 
 tansy or pennyroyal, prevents horses from being bit 
 by the flies. Sometimes horses are made fractious 
 by having a check rein drawing too tight, so as to 
 weary the muscles of the neck. Sometimes the bit 
 hurts the jaws. 
 
 Rules for Riding, for a Lady. 
 
 In riding, hold the reins in the left hand, laying 
 the hand in the lap, and holding the whip in the 
 right. ‘The right hand also is to lay on the lap, ex- 
 cept when cantering ; and then it should hang by 
 the side, or, in case of danger, rest on the horn of the 
 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. A437 
 
 saddle. Let the stirrup be long enough for the limb 
 to hang nearly straight, and do not hang on the horn 
 of the saddle, but learn to balance the body and ac- 
 commodate yourself to the movement of the horse. 
 Ladies are apt to sit too far over to the right. The 
 mode of mounting, by stepping on a gentleman’s 
 hand, is very simple and easy, after a little practice. 
 The gentleman should ride on the right side of the 
 lady. 
 On the Care of a Cow. 
 
 A cow-house should be airy, but not open to cur- 
 rents of wind. The floor should incline a very little 
 to a gutter at the end, for the urine to run off. Oats 
 and bran mixed with hay, potatoes, carrots, and 
 boiled corn, are all good food for a cow. Turnips 
 and cabbage give a bad taste to the milk. A hand- 
 ful of salt should be mixed twice a week with the 
 food. Pure water is very important. A cow, if 
 well fed, will give nearly half as much again, by 
 being milked three times a day, instead of twice. 
 If cows are stripped a second time, fifteen minutes 
 after milking, they will give another quantity of 
 almost pure cream. It does not injure the health of 
 a cow to give a great quantity of milk, if she is well 
 fed; but such cows are usually thin in flesh. A 
 cow well fed, will give three or four times as much 
 milk, as if kept on a spare diet. A cow should g0 
 unmilked two months before calving, and her milk 
 should net be used till four or five days after calving. 
 The calf must run with the cow two or three days, 
 and then be shut up from her, except twice or thrice 
 a day, when it must be allowed to take as much 
 food as it wants, and then the cow must be milked 
 clean. 
 
 The Dog, and Cat. 
 A bull-dog should not be kept for a watch-dog, as 
 
 he attacks in silence, and may kill a child or inno- 
 37* 
 
A438 ON THE CARE OF 
 
 cent person. Setters and pointers and cur-dogs are 
 good for watchers. Dogs can be made neat and 
 cleanly, by proper care in punishing them. They 
 can be freed from fleas, by putting them ina tub of 
 hot soapsuds. he insects will float on the surface, 
 and must be burnt, or they will recover. Sprink- 
 ling with Scotch snuff is another remedy. Madness 
 or hydrophobia is indicated by frequent attempts to 
 pick up straws, bits of paper, and very small objects. 
 The eyes become red, the ears and head hang down, 
 the dog is dull and melancholy, and sometimes 
 howls. When suspected, a dog should be shut up. 
 If he proves mad, he will snarl, bite, and be dis- 
 tressed at the sight of water, because, although 
 longing for it, he cannot swallow it. Sometimes 
 dogs have fits, and also what is called the distemper. 
 When not very bad, three spoonfuls of sulphur, 
 mixed with molasses, is a remedy. 
 
 Cats sometimes have fits, and fly about as if they 
 were crazy. Catnip is the best remedy for diseases 
 of this animal. Cats should not be allowed to sleep 
 with children, as they sometimes do them injury, 
 and it is never a healthful practice. 
 
 On the Care of Poultry. 
 
 When poultry have proper care given to their 
 food and accommodations, they lay much more, and 
 their flesh is much better. The following is the 
 best method of taking care of them, having the 
 sanction of those who make it a business, and are 
 most successful. Provide a yard, which is dry, and 
 protected from cold winds. Surround it with a 
 very high picket-fenee, so that they will not fly 
 out. On the North. side, put up a poultry-house, in 
 which there should be perches for them to roost 
 upon, so placed, that one shall not be over another, 
 as a matter of cleanliness. 
 
 Covered boxes should be put aoe this house, 
 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. 439 
 
 for nests, having a side or back entrance, so that the 
 hen can go in unobserved. In the bottom of these 
 boxes, put a thick layer of ashes, to retain the heat 
 when the hen is sitting. Over this, put a layer of 
 fine bruised straw or hay. On one side of the yard, 
 place a heap of ashes for the poultry to roll in, to 
 keep off vermin. Near by, place some unslacked 
 lime, and also small gravel, which they will eat. 
 It is said that hens do not lay as much in Winter, 
 as in other seasons, because the snow prevents their 
 having access to lime for the shell of the egg, and 
 if this is supplied, they will lay all the year. 
 
 Hens sit twenty days. The eggs for sitting 
 should not exceed a month in age, and should be 
 of middle size, and smooth. The number should 
 vary from ten to fifteen, according to the size of the 
 hen. Mark the eggs with ink, and when the hen is 
 off, take away any new ones which may have been 
 laid. If an egg be broken, cleanse those remaining 
 with warm water, and remove all that part of the 
 nest which is soiled. Give corn and water to a 
 sitting hen once a day, as she will often suffer for 
 want of food, if it is not brought to her. The 
 chickens first hatched should be taken away, and 
 put in wool, in a basket, in a warm place. This is 
 to prevent the hen from leaving before the whole 
 brood is hatched. 
 
 There is no need of feeding chickens, for twelve 
 hours after they are hatched... When the brood is 
 all out, put the hen in a coop, in a dry sunny place, 
 and do not put two broods near together, as the 
 chickens will mingle, and the mothers will injure 
 those that do not belong to them. Insects and 
 angle worms, thrown occasionally to fowls, are very 
 good, to preserve health. Chopped meat answers 
 the same purpose. n egg-shaped lump of chalk is 
 good for a nest-egg, as it spoils an egg to be used 
 for this purpose. Oats are better for hens than 
 
AAO ON THE CARE OF 
 
 corn, though both are good. The first food for 
 young chickens should be coarse corn meal, dry. 
 All watery food is improper for very young chickens. 
 Clean water should be kept in pans. As they grow 
 older, feed with Indian meal, or boiled potatoes, 
 mixed with sour milk. The best food for ducks is 
 buckwheat, grass, and corn. 
 
 The diseases of poultry are generally caused by 
 bad food and want of care. Chickens, in cold wet 
 weather, have the chip, when they lose feathers, 
 shiver, and chip. Worms and peppercorns are the 
 best remedies. When hens have the pip, a white 
 scale grows on the end of the tongue. To cure 
 this, pull off this scale, and rub the tongue with 
 salt. The flux is cured with solid and some animal 
 food. Constipation is cured by scalded bran mixed 
 with a little sulphur. Vermin are consequent on a 
 want of cleanliness. The crowp is caused by bad 
 weather. ‘This is indicated by swollen eyes and 
 running nostrils. The cure is warmth and. pepper- 
 corns, for three successive days. Turkeys are diffi- 
 cult to rear, as wet and cold weather frequently 
 kills them. They must be kept warm, and well 
 housed, till six weeks old; and then allowed to 
 roam. ‘Their proper food is barley meal or oatmeal 
 mixed with milk, and in some cases only with water, 
 as milk is not then so good. In case of chills, give 
 caraway or coriander seed. 
 
 ON BARNS AND BARNYARDS. 
 
 A barn should be at a distance from the house, as 
 a matter of taste and cleanliness, and to escape the 
 risk of fire. Hay and grain should always be kept 
 under cover. Large plank bins should be made, to 
 keep rats from the grain. In some places, rats will 
 in one year consume the cost of the bins, if this 
 precaution is not taken. The barn-floor should be 
 close and tight, for the purpose of threshing. 
 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS, BARNS, ETC. AAI 
 
 A cellar under the barn is useful, for storing vege- 
 tables for cattle. Cisterns, made of brick, and coated 
 with water-lime, are useful in a yard, to catch, from 
 the eaves of the barn, water for the use of the cattle. 
 This saves the labor of drawing water. The barn- 
 yard should be on the South side of the barn, and 
 two other sides of it should be sheltered, by sheds 
 for the cattle. The following directions for making 
 a proper barnyard, are furnished by a successful 
 agriculturist. 
 
 Make a hollow place in the centre, four or five 
 feet deep in the middle, and sloping upward on every 
 side. Line the bottom of this with clay, well beat 
 down. In this basin, throw all the refuse of the 
 barn, house, and garden. This makes fine manure, 
 in Spring. It should be put on, and ploughed in 
 immediately, as manure loses its virtues, if left to 
 the influence of sun and rain. All manure should 
 be kept covered, either by a shed, or in a cellar 
 
 under the barn, or it loses its most valuable proper- 
 ties. ‘The drain of the stables should be conducted 
 to the manure-heap. When manure cannot be put 
 under cover, it should have earth thrown over it. 
 
 THE END. 
 
nn 
 
THE SCHOOL ADVERTISER. NO. IH. 
 
  caeeeeteeneeenenienneneeeintannmneteimmenainenen amenemmntaenentenee ene ee 
 
 THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. 
 
 Et 
 
 MARSH, CAPEN, LYON, AND WEBB, 
 
 9, WasHiIneTon Srrext, Boston, 
 
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 m 
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 ARE NOW PUBLISHING, UNDER THE CTION OF THE Mas- 
 SACHUSETTS Boarp or EDUCATION, A COLLECTION OF ORI- 
 GINAL AND SELECTED WORKS, ENTITLED, ‘Tue ScHoo. 
 LIBRARY.’ 
 
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 he Lisrary will embrace two series of fifty volumes 
 i ing from 250 to 280 
 o., each volume con- 
 former, or Juvenile 
 or twelve years of 
 
 age and under; the latter for individ 4 of that age, and 
 wu nia —in other i scholars and their 
 parents. 
 
 The Liprary ig to consist of reading, and not school, 
 i urnish youth with 
 sure hours ; works 
 3 fein of such a 
 easure, when 
 
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 The plan wil 
 Literature, pre co 
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 manners, customs, 
 for the whole commu 
 nomina tional es 
 acter in po 
 
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 t 
 
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 sequently, to seek information from other and more re- 
 condite works, which, if put into his hands at the onset, 
 would alarm him, and induce a disgust for that which 
 would appear dry and unintelligible, “and of course, un- 
 interesting. 
 
 The intention is not to provide information for any one 
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 of the Farmer, the Merchant, the Manufacturer, the Me- 
 chanic, the Laborer,—all to profit by the lights of science 
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 ous and happy, and become more useful to themselves, to 
 one another, to the community, and mankind at large. 
 To accomplish this desirable end, the Liprary will em- 
 brace so wide a range of subjects, that every child may 
 find something which will prove uséful and profitable to 
 him, whatever his situation, circumstances, or pursuits, in 
 afterlife may be. 
 
 The project is one of great extent, and vast importance; 
 and, if properly carried out, must become of inestimable 
 value to the young. Whether the anticipations of the 
 Publishers, with regard to it, will be verified, time must 
 determine ; but from the intellectual and moral, theoretical 
 and practical character of those who have engaged to aid 
 in the undertaking, they have good grounds for presuming 
 that much will be accomplished, and that by their united 
 efforts many obstacles, now existing to the mental, moral, 
 and physical improvement of youth, will be removed, or at 
 least be rendered more easily surmountable. 
 
 Among the individuals, already engaged as writers for 
 one or both Series, may be mentioned,—the Hon. Judge 
 Story, Jared Sparks, Esq., Washington Irving, Esq., Rev. 
 Dr. Wayland, Professor Benjamin Silliman, Professor 
 Denison Olmsted, Professor Meteo Potter, D. D., Hon. 
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 Rev. Charles W. Upham, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, 
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 exander H. Everett t, Hon, James M. Porter, Hon. Edward 
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3 
 
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 mbury, Mrs. A. H. Lincoln Phelps, Mrs. H. E. B. Stowe, 
 Miss E. Robbins, Miss E, P. Peabody, Miss Mary E. Lee, 
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 Esq., Rev. Thomas Robbins, D. D., Jared Sparks, Esq., 
 Hon. Charles Hudson, Hon. George N. Briggs, Hon. 
 William G. Bates, and John W. James, Esq. 
 
 The following works have been printed, and constitute 
 the first twenty-five volumes of the 12mo. series, viz. 
 
 LIFE OF COLUMBUS, by Wasuineron Irvine, a 
 new edition, (revised by the author,) including a Visit to 
 Palos, and other additions, a portrait of the Great Naviga- 
 tor, a Map, and several illustrative engravings. 
 
 PALEY’S NATURAL THEOLOGY, in two volumes, 
 with selections from the Dissertations and Notes of Lorp 
 BroucHam and Sir Cuarwes Bett, illustrated by numer- 
 ous wood cuts, and prefaced by a Life of the Author; 
 (with a portrait;) the whole being newly arranged and 
 adapted for The School Library, by Exisua Barrier, 
 M. D., Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic and 
 Pathological Anatomy wn Dartmouth College. 
 
 LIVES OF EMINENT INDIVIDUALS, CELEBRA- 
 TED IN AMERICAN HISTORY, in three vols., with 
 portraits of Robert Fulton, Sebastian Cabot, and Sir Henry 
 Vane, and autographs of most of the individuals. 
 
 Vou. I. WILL CONTAIN 
 
 Life of Maser-aEnERAL JOHN STARK, by His Excellency Edward Everett. 
 ¢  Davip BrainerD, by Rev. William B. O. Peabody. 
 «¢ Rosert Fuuton, by James Renwick, LL. D., Professor of Natural Phi- 
 losophy and Chemistry, in Columbia College, New York City. 
 ¢  6CarrTain JouNn SMITH, by George S. Hillard, Esq. 
 
 Vou. fl. WILL CONTAIN 
 
 Life of Masor-GenERAL ETHAN ALLEN, by Jared Sparks, Professor of History 
 in Harvard University. 
 66 SEBASTIAN CaznoT, by Charles Hayward, Jr., Esq. 
 ‘¢ Henry Hupson, by Henry R. Cleveland, Esq. 
 4¢ ~Masor-GENneRAL JosepH WARREN, by Alexander H. Everett, LL. D. 
 “6  Masor-GENERAL IsRAEL Putnam, by O. W. B. Peabody, Esq. 
 « 6Davip RITTENHOUSE, by Professor James Renwick, LL. D. 
 
Man.—Effects of protr: 1 Kiffects of protrac tec 
 Childhood on the Pare INDAY.—On Christian Love. 
 
 The D e be 
 
 Arguments in Far vor ¢ 
 
 Focts of Property 
 timula ee 
 aie s by 
 
 i} 
 
 eh bef by 
 OD be 
 
 8 
 
 ANNIVERSARY 
 
 ITIVE VIEW 
 
 ry ae 
 The Use and Deficier . 
 1. SUNDAY.— e AO a, 
 ie MUNDAY. € Q ternal 
 
 the 
 
 of 
 
 CS 
 “tiCUitUure 
 
 Sanguine Ants. 
 
 41 Unaracter 
 
 Predaceous An 
 
 iin, 
 
(a a 
 
 7 
 
 Offices in Nature. x. SunpAY.—Christ the Judge of the World. Quadrupeds— 
 Their Characteristics. Their Bodily Organs. TheBat. The Mouse. Ruminat- 
 ing—The Goat and Sheep. Sheep Shearing. x1. Sunpay.—Christ, the Good 
 Shepherd. Quadrupeds—The Shepherd’s Dog. _Ruminating—The Cow. Thick- 
 skinned—The Hog. The Horse and Ass. The Elephant. Reflections on the 
 Domestic Animals. x11. SuNDAy.—The Destruction of the World, and the 
 Renovation of the Human Frame in a Future State. Fishes. Man—His Ex- 
 ternal Structure. His Intellectual Powers. His Moral Powers. Physical Effects 
 of Climate. Moral Effects of Climate. x11. SunpAy.—The Confusion of 
 Tongues. Man—Human Language. 
 
 HAYMAKING—PLEASURES OF RuRAL SCENERY. 
 
 THE VARIETY, BEAUTY, AND UTILITY OF ORGANIZED EXISTENCES. 
 
 RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 Adaptation. Future Existence. Discipline. 
 XIV. SunDAY.—The Day of Pentecost—One Language. 
 
 VOL. IV.—AUTUMN. 
 PHENOMENA, PRODUCE, AND LABORS OF THE SEASON. 
 
 General Characterof Autumn. Autumn in theCity. Famine in the beginning 
 of Autumn. Autumnal Vegetation. Progress of Vegetation in the Corn Plants. 
 Harvest. 1. SuNDAY. Stability of Nature. Gleaning. The Harvest Moon. 
 Harvest-Home. Storing of Corn. Birds.—Their State in Autumn. 
 
 THE WOODS. 
 
 Their Autumnal Appearance. 11. SunpAy.—The Powers of the World to come, 
 The Woods. Their Uses. Various Kinds and Adaptations of Timber. 
 ORIGIN OF THE ARTS.—Food, Clothing, and Shelter. 
 
 HUMAN FOOD. 
 
 Its Principle. The Moral Operation of the Principle. Its Supply not inad- 
 equate. 11. SunpAy.—Christians “‘ Members one of another.” Provision for 
 the future.—Soil still uncultivated. Improved Cultivation. Means now in Ex 
 istence. Vegetable and Animal Food. Fruits—Their Qualities. Drink. Iv. 
 Sunpay.—* The Bread of Lie.” Milk. Wine. Tea and Coffee. Sugar. The 
 Pleasures connected with Food. Comparison between the Food of Savage and 
 Civilized Man. v. Sunpay.— Give us this Day our daily Bread” Agriculture 
 of the Greeks.—Their Harvest. Agriculture of the Romans. Their Harvest. 
 Progress of British Agriculture. Modern Continental Agriculture. 
 
 HUMAN CLOTHING. 
 
 Its Principle. Its Primitive State. vi. SuNDAY.—The Emptiness of Human 
 Attainments. Its Ancient History. Commercial History of the Raw Material. 
 The Silk Manufacture.—Its Modern History. History of Mechanical Contrivances 
 connected with it. Rearing of the Cocoons, &c. The Cotton Manufacture.—Its 
 Foreign History. vit. Sunpay.—The Intellectual and Moral Enjoyments of 
 Heaven. The Cotton Manufacture.—Its British History. Improvement of Ma- 
 chinery. Its American History.—Introduction of Steam Power. The Woollen 
 Manufacture.—Its History. The Art of Bleaching. Tk _tt of Dyeing.—Its 
 Origin and Ancient History. v1. Sunpay.—The Social and Religious Enjoy- 
 ments of Heaven. The Art of Dyeing.—Its Modern History. Its Chemical 
 Principles. 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Its Principle. Its original State.—Materials employed. Tools employed. Its 
 Modifications by the Influence of Habit and Religion. 1x. SunDAy.—The Chil- 
 dren of the World wiser than the Children of Light. Architecture.—Ancient His- 
 tory and Practice.—Egypt.—Thebes. The Pyramids. India.—Excavated Temples. 
 Central Asia-—Tower of Babel, or Temple of Belus. Babylon. Nineveh. Petra. 
 Greece. x. SUNDAY.—Divine Strength made perfect in Human Weakness. Rome. 
 The Gothic Style. Britain. Bridges. Aqueducts. Railways. x1. SunpAy.—dn 
 Autumnal Sabbath Evening. Prospective Improvement of Locomotive Power. 
 Lighthouses—The Eddystone Lighthouse. The Thames Tunnel. 
 
CLOSE OF AUTUMN. 
 Miscellaneous Reflections on Autumnal Appearances. The Landscape at the 
 Close of Autumn. xii. Sunpay.—The Fail of the Leaf. 
 GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 Government of the World by General Laws. Government of the World by a 
 Particular Providence. Contrast between Savage and Civilized Life, as regards 
 the Arts. As regards Domestic Comforts. As regards Commerce. As regards 
 Moral Cultivation. x11. Sunpay.— The Harvest is the End of the World.” 
 
 THE USEFUL ARTS, considered in Connexion with 
 the Applications of Science ; intwo volumes, with numer- 
 ous copperplate engravings, and upwards of one hundred 
 and eighty wood cuts. By Jacoz Biestow, M. D., Pro- 
 fessor of Materia Medica in Harvard Unwersity, Author 
 
 of ‘the Elements of Technology,’ &c. &c. 
 
 We subjoin a summary of the Topics discussed in the several chap- 
 ters of this Important Work, that its nature and objects may be the 
 more clearly understood. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Outline of the History of the Arts in Ancient and Modern Times. 
 
 Arts of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Jews, Hindoos, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, 
 Dark Ages, Modern Times, Nineteenth Century. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Of the Materials used in the Arts. 
 
 Materials from the Mineral Kingdom—Stones and Earths—Marble, Granite, 
 Sienite, Freestone, Slate, Soapstone, Serpentine, Gypsum, Alabaster, Chalk, 
 Fluor Spar, Flint, Porphyry, Buhrstone, Novaculite, Precious Stones, Emery, 
 Lead, Pumice, Tufa, Peperino, Tripoli, Clay, Asbestus, Cements, Limestone, 
 Puzzolana, Tarras. Other Cements—Maltha. Metals—Iron, Copper, Lead, Tin, 
 Mercury, Gold, Silver, Platina, Zinc, Antimony, Bismuth, Arsenic, Manganese, 
 Nickel. Combustibles, &c—Bitumen, Amber, Coal, Anthracite, Graphite, Peat, 
 Sulphur. Materials from the Vegetable Kingdom—W 00d, Bark, Oak, Hickory, 
 Ash, Elm, Locust, Wild Cherry, Chestnut, Beech, Basswood, Tulip Tree, Maple, 
 Birch, Button Wood, Persimmon, Black Walnut, Tupelo, Pine, Spruce, Hemlock, 
 White Cedar, Cypress, Larch, Arbor Vite, Red Cedar, Willow, Mahogany, 
 Boxwood, Lignum Vite, Cork, Hemp, Flax, Cotton, Turpentine, Caoutchouc, 
 Oils, Resins, Starch,Gum. Materials from the Animal Kingdom—Skins, Hair, 
 and Fur, Quills and Feathers, Wool, Silk, Bone and Ivory, Horn, Tortoise Shell, 
 Whale Bone, Glue, Oil, Wax, Phosphorus. Materials usedin Painting, Dyeing, 
 and Varnishing. 
 
 CHAPTER III: 
 Of the Form and Strength of Materials. 
 
 Modes of Estimation, Stress and Strain, Resistance, Extension, Compression, 
 Lateral Strain, Stiffness, Tubes, Strength, Place of Strain, Incipient Fracture, 
 Shape of Timber, Torsion, Limit of Bulk, Practical Remarks: 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Preservation of Materials. 
 
 Stones, Metals, Organic Substances, Temperature, Dryness, Wetness, Antisep 
 tics. Timber—Felling, Seasoning. Preservation of Timber.—Preservation) of 
 Animal Texture—Embalming, Tanning, Parchment, Catgut, Gold Beater’s Skin 
 Specimens in Natural History—Appert’s Process. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Of Dividing and Uniting Materials. 
 
 Cohesion. Modes of Division—Fracture, Cutting Machines, Penetration, Bor- 
 ing and Drilling, Turning, Attrition, Sawing, Saw Mill, Circular Saw, Crushing, 
 
9 
 
 Stamping Mill, Bark Mill, Oil Mill, Sugar Mill, Cider Mill, Grinding, Grist Mill, 
 Color Mill. Modes of Union—Insertion, Interposition, Binding, Locking, Ce 
 menting, Glueing, Welding, Soldering, Casting, Fluxes, Moulds. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of Changing the Color of Materials. 
 
 Of Applying Superficial Color—Painting, Colors, Preparation, Application, 
 Crayons, Water Colors, Distemper, Fresco, Encaustic Painting, Oil Painting, 
 Varnishing, Japanning, Polishing, Lacquering, Gilding. Of Changing Intrinsic 
 Color—Bleaching, Photogenic Drawing, Dyeing, Mordants, Dyes, Calico Printing. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Arts of Writing and Printing. 
 
 Letters. Invention of Letters, Arrangement of Letters, Writing Materials, 
 Papyrus, Herculaneum, Manuscripts, Parchment, Paper, Instruments, Ink, Copy- 
 ing Machines, Printing, Types, Cases, Sizes, Composing, Imposing, Signatures, 
 Correcting the Press, Press Work, Printing Press, Stereotyping, Machine Priunt- 
 ing. History. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Arts of Designing and Painting. 
 
 Divisions, Perspective, Field of Vision, Distance and Foreshortening, Defini- 
 tions, Plate II—Problems, Instrumental, Perspective, Mechanical Perspective, 
 Perspectographs, Projections, Isometrical Perspective, Chiaro Oscuro, Light and 
 Shade, Association, Direction of Light, Reflected Light, Expression of Shape. 
 Kiyes of a Portrait—Shadows, Aerial Perspective, Coloring, Colors, Shades, Tone, 
 Harmony, Contrast, Remarks, 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 Arts of Engraving and Lithography. 
 
 Engraving, Origin, Materials, Instruments, Styles, Line, Engraving, Medal 
 Ruling, Stippling, Etching, Mezzo-tinto, Aqua Tinta, Copperplate Printing, Col- 
 ored Engravings, Steel Engraving, Wood Engraving. Lithography—Principles, 
 Origin, Lithographic Stones, Preparation, Lithographic Ink and Chalk, Mode of 
 
 awing, Etching the Stone, Printing, Printing Ink. Remarks, 
 m9 i) ? cB) 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Of Sculpture, Modelling, and Casting. 
 
 Subjects—Modelling, Casting in Plaster, Bronze Casting, Practice of Sculpture, 
 Materials, Objects of Sculpture, Gem Engraving, Cameos, Intaglios, Mosaic, 
 Scagliola. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Of Architecture and Building. 
 
 Architecture—Elements, Foundations, Column, Wall, Lintel, Arch, Abutments, 
 Arcade, Vault, Dome, Plate I, Roof, Styles of Building, Definitions, Measures, 
 Drawings, Restorations, Hgeyptian Style, The Chinese Style, The Grecian Siyle, 
 Orders of Architecture—Doric Order, Ionic Order, Corinthian Order, Caryatides, 
 Grecian Temple, Grecian Theatre, Remarks, Plate IV, Roman Style, Tuscan 
 Order, Roman Doric, Roman Ionic, Composite Order, Roman Structures, Re- 
 marks, Plate V, Greco-Gothic Style, Saracenic Style, Gothic Style, Definitions, 
 
 Plate Vi, Plate VII, Application. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Arts of Heating and Ventilation. 
 
 Production of Heat—Yuel, Weight of Fuel, Combustible Matter of Fuel, Water 
 in Fuel, Charcoal, Communication of Heat, Radiated and Conducted Heat, Fire 
 ia the Open Air, Fire Places, Admission of Cold Air, Open Fires, Franklin Stove, 
 Rumford Fire Place, Double Fire Place, Coal Grate, Anthracite Grate, Burns? 
 Grate, Building a Fire, Furnaces, Stoves, Russian Stove, Cockle, Cellar Stoves, 
 and Air Flues, Heating by Water, Heating by Steam, Retention of Heat, Causes 
 of Loss, Crevices, Chimneys, Entries and Sky Lights, Windows, Ventélation, Ob- 
 
 ects, Modes, Ventilators, Culverts, Smoky Rooms, Damp Chimneys, Large Fire 
 
her 
 
 10 
 
 Places, Close Rooms, Contiguous Doors, Short Chimneys, Opposite Fire Places, 
 Neighboring Eminences, Turncap, &c., Contiguous Flues, Burning of Smoke. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII, 
 Arts of Illumination. 
 
 Flame—Support of Flame, Torches and Candles, Lamps, Reservoirs, Astral 
 Lamp, Hydrostatic Lamps, Automaton Lamp, Mechanical Lamps, Fountain Lamp, 
 Argand Lamp, Reflectors, Hanging of Pictures, Transparency of Flame, Glass 
 Shades, Sinumbral Lamp, Measurement of Light, Gas Lights, Coal Gas, Oil Gas 
 Gasometer, Portable Gas Lights, Safety Lamp, Lamp without Flame, Modes af 
 procuring Light. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Arts of Locomotion. 
 
 Motion of Animals, Inertia, Aids to Locomotion, Wheel Cariages, Wheels, Rol- 
 lers, Size of Wheels, Line of Traction, Broad Wheels, Form of Wheels, Axletrees, 
 Springs, Attaching of Horses, Highways, Roads, Pavements, McAdam Roads, 
 Bridges, 1, Wooden Bridges, 2, Stone Bridges, 3, Cast lron Bridges, 4, Suspen- 
 sion Bridges, 5, Floating Bridges, Rail Roads, Edge Railway, Tram Road, Single 
 Rail, Passings, Propelling Power, Locomotive Engines, Canals, Embankments, 
 Aqueducts, Tunnels, Gates and Weirs, Locks, Boats, Size of Canals, Sailing, Form 
 of a Ship, Keel and Rudder, Effect of the Wind, Stability of a Ship, Steam Boats, 
 Diving Bell, Submarine Navigation, Aerostation, Balloon, Parachute. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Elements of Machinery. 
 
 Machines, Motion, Rotary or Circular Motion, Band Wheels, Rag Wheels, 
 Toothed Wheels, Spiral Gear, Bevel Gear, Crown Wheel, Universal Joint, Per- 
 petual Screw, Brush Wheels, Ratchet Wheel, Distant Rotary Motion, Change of 
 Velocity, Fusee, Alternate or Reciprocating Motion, Cams, Crank, Parallel Mo- 
 tion, Sun and Planet Wheel, Inclined Wheel, Epicycloidal Wheel, Rack and Seg- 
 ment, Rack and Pinion, Belt and Segment, Scapements, Continued Rectilinear 
 Motion, Band, Rack, Universal Lever, Screw, Change of Direction, Toggle Joint, 
 Of Engaging and Disengaging Machinery, Of Equalizing Motion, Governor, 
 Fly Wheel, Friction, Remarks. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Of the Moving Forces used in the Arts. 
 
 Sources of Power, Vehicles of Power, Animal Power, Men, Horses, Water 
 Power, Overshot Wheel, Chain Wheel, Undershot Wheel, Back Water, Besant’s 
 Wheel, Lambert’s Wheel, Breast Wheel, Horizontal Wheel, Barker’s Mill, Wind 
 Power, Vertical Windmill, Adjustment of Sails, Horizontal Windmill, Steam 
 Power, Steam, Applications of Steam, By Condensation, By Generation, By Ex- 
 pansion, The Steam Engine, Boiler Appendages, Engine, Noncondensing Engine, 
 Condensing Engines, Description, Expansion, Engines, Valves, Pistons, Parallel 
 Motion, Historical Remarks, Projected Improvements, Rotative Engines, Use of 
 Steam at High Temperatures, Use of Vapors of Low Temperature, Gas Engines, 
 Steam Carriages, Steam Gun, Gunpowder, Manufacture, Detonation, Force, Pro- 
 perties of a Gun, Blasting. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Arts of Conveying Water. 
 
 Of Conducting Water—Aqueducts, Water Pipes, Friction of Pipes, Obstruction 
 of Pipes, Syphon, Of Raising Water, Scoop Wheel, Persian Wheel, Noria, Rope 
 Pump, Hydreole, Archimedes’ Screw, Spiral Pump, Centrifugal Pump, Common 
 Pumps, Forcing Pumps, Plunger Pump, Delahire’s Pump, Hydrostatic Press, 
 Lifting Pump, Bag Pump, Double Acting Pump, Rolling Pump, Eccentric Pump, 
 Arrangement of Pipes, Chain Pump, Schemnitz Vessels, or Hungarian Machine, 
 Hero’s Fountain, Atmospheric Machines, Hydraulic Ram, Of Projecting Water, 
 Fountains, Fire Engines, Throwing Wheel. 
 
li 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Arts of Combining Flexible Fibres. 
 
 Theory of Twisting, Rope Making, Cotton Manufacture, Elementary Inven- 
 tions, Batting, Carding, Drawing, Roving, Spinning, Mule Spinning, Warping, 
 Dressing, Weaving, Twilling, Double Weaving, Cross Weaving, Lace, Carpeting, 
 Tapestry, Velvets, Linens, Voolens, Felting, Paper Making. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 Arts of Horology. 
 
 Sun Dial, Clepsydra, Water Clock, Clock Work, Maintaining Power, Regulat- 
 ing Movement, Pendulum, Balance, Scapement, Description of a Clock, Striking 
 Part, Description of a Watch. 
 
 CHAPTER XX, 
 Arts of Metallurgy. 
 
 Extraction of Metals, Assaying, Alloys, Gold, Extraction, Cupellation, Parting, 
 Cementation, Alloy, Working, Gold Beating, Gilding on Metals, Gold Wire, 
 Silver, Extraction, Working, Coining, Plating, Copper, Extraction, Working, 
 Brass, Manufacture, Buttons, Pins, Bronze, Lead, Extraction, Manufacture, Sheet 
 Lead, Lead Pipes, Leaden Shot, Tzn, Block Tin, Tin Plates, Silvering of Mirrors, 
 Tron, Smelting, Crude Iron, Casting, Malleable Iron, Forging, Rolling and Slit- 
 ting, Wire Drawing, Nail Making, Gun Making, Steel, Alloys of Steel, Case Hard- 
 ening, Tempering, Cutlery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Arts of Vitrification. 
 
 Glass, Materials, Crown Glass, Fritting, Melting, Blowing, Amnealing, Broad 
 Glass, Flint Glass, Bottle Glass, Cylinder Glass, Plate Glass, Moulding, Pressing, 
 Cutting, Stained Glass, Enamelling, Artificial Gems, Devitrification, Reaumur’s 
 Porcelain, Crystallo-Ceramie, Glass Thread, Remarks. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Arts of Induration by Heat. 
 
 Bricks, Tiles, Terra Cotta, Crucibles, Pottery, Operations, Stone Ware, White 
 Ware, Throwing, Pressing, Casting, Burning, Printing, Glazing, China Ware, 
 European Porcelain, Etruscan Vases. 
 
 A FAMILIAR EXPOSITION OF THE CONSTI- 
 TUTION OF THE UNITED STATES ; containing a 
 Brief Commentary on every Clause, explaining the true 
 Nature, Reasons, and Objects, thereof ; designed for the 
 use of School Libraries, and general readers. With an 
 Appendix, containing important Public Documents, illus- 
 trative of the Constitution. By Josupu Srory, LL. D., 
 Dane Professor of Law in Harvard University, Author of 
 ‘ Commentaries on the Constitution,’ &c. 
 
 THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE UNDER DIF- 
 FICULTIES ; in two volumes, revised edition, with Pre- 
 face and Notes, by Francis Waytanp, D. D., President 
 of Brown University. With Portraits. 
 
12 
 
 THE FARMER’S COMPANION ; or, Essays on the 
 Principles and Practice of American Husbandry, by the 
 Hon. Jesse Bue, Conductor of ‘the Cultwator,’ Albany, 
 Rs ee 
 
 This Work is intended as an aid to the Young Farmer. The 
 following, among other subjects, are treated of, viz. 
 
 1. The Importance of Agriculture to a Nation. 
 2. Improvement in our Agriculture practicable and necessary. 
 3. Some of the Principles of the New and Improved Husbandry 
 4, Agriculture considered as an Employment. 
 5. Earths and Soils. 
 6. Improvement of the Soil. 
 %. Analogy between Animal and Vegetable Nutrition. 
 #urther Improvement of the Soil. 
 0 edi oa ay by Manures, Animal and Vegetable. 
 10. ee NY by Mineral Manures. 
 11. Principles and Operations of Draining. 
 12. Principles of Tillage. 
 13. Operations of Tillage, &c. &c. 
 14. Alternation of Crops. 
 15. Root Culture. 
 16. On substituting Fallow Crops for Naked Fallows. 
 17. On the Adaptation of particular Crops to certain Soils. 
 18. Effects of Cropping and Manuring. 
 19. Rules and Suggestions in Farming. 
 20. On the Improvement of Grass Lands. 
 21. On the Cultivation of Grasses. 
 22. The Atmosphere, and its Uses to the Husbandman. 
 23. On the Germination of Seeds. 
 24. On Stall-feeding. 
 25. The Economy of cutting up Corn. 
 26. On Rural Embellishment. 
 Address prepared to be delivered before the Agricultural and Hor- 
 ticultural Societies of New-Haven county, Conn. 
 Appendix ; containing a Collection of Facts and Tables valuable 
 to the Farmer. 
 A Glossary of Agricultural and Chemical Terms, and a Copious 
 Index. 
 The Work contains numerous Cuts, illustrative of the various ope- 
 rations spoken of and recommended. 
 To the whole is prefixed, 4 Hulogy on the Life and Character 
 of Judge Buel, by Amos DEAN, Esq@., Professor of Medical Ju- 
 risprudence in the Albany Medical College. 
 
GREAT EVENTS, described by distinguished Histor- 
 ians, Chroniclers, and other Writers. Collected and in 
 part ‘translated by E ‘RaNcis Linzer, LL. D, 
 
 THE FIRESIDE FRIEND, OR FEMALE STU- 
 DENT ; being Advice to Young Ladies on the Important 
 Subject of Education. With an Appendix on Moral and 
 Religious Education, from the French of Madame De Saus- 
 sure. By Mrs. Pusups, late Vice-Principal of the Troy 
 Female Semimary. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF RAC LE en ION 
 AND USEFUL KNOWLEDGE + bel ection from 
 
 . . 
 his Orations and other Discourses, b WARD EVERETT. 
 
 WPT p a am 
 
 LETTERS ON ASTRONOMY, addressed to a Lady : 
 in which the Elements of the Science are familiarly ex- 
 plained i in connexion with its Literary History. With nu- 
 merous Engraving gs. By Di ENISON OuMsTED, A.M., Pro- 
 
 ural Philosophy and Astronomy in Yale College. 
 
 SCIENCE applied to the 
 
 to Manan etures and 
 
 Progress of the Arts 
 With ee 
 Professor of Moral 
 
 4 73: J ree 
 amie. im thei Call feck Schenectady, 
 
 ave nee 
 shed by Science ; 
 A eles must know 
 1and, he eis would see 
 st vo its applica- 
 nforcing these 
 n an between 
 ance of sucha 
 
 work re 
 
 THE }] i THE WORLD, from the Ger- 
 man of Baron A Tobi von | le ised and corrected 
 with a Notice of his Life and V s, by Hon. Armxam. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 per H. Everert: in 4 vols. 
 
14 
 
 The preceding twenty-five volumes of the larger series 
 are now ready for delivery ;—and they will be followed, 
 with all due despatch, by the subjoined, among others, 
 provided they are approved by the Board of Education. 
 
 THE LIFE OF WASHINGTON, in the form of an 
 Autobiography ; the Narrative being, to a great extent, 
 conducted by himself, in Extracts and Selections from his 
 own Writings. In two volumes, with Portraits, and other 
 Engravings. By Rev. Cuartes W. Upnam, Author of 
 the ‘ Life of Sw Henry Vane.’ 
 
 STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES, by 
 Gzrorce Tucker, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the 
 Uniwersity of Virginia, Author of ‘the Lafe of Jefferson,’ 
 &c. &e. 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY, by Cuartes T. 
 Jackson, M.D., Geological Surveyor of Maine and Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, in two volumes, with illus- 
 
 trative wood cuts. 
 
 CHEMISTRY, with illustrative wood cuts, by Brnsa- 
 Min Sittiman, M.D., LL. D., Professor of Chemistry, 
 Mineralogy, &c., in Yale College. 
 
 NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, by Prorrssor O_mstep. 
 
 This work will be very fully illustrated by diagrams and wood en- 
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 AMERICAN TREES AND PLANTS used for Medi- 
 cinal and Economical Purposes, and employed in the Arts, 
 with numerous Engravings ; by Professor Jacos BicELow, 
 
 Author of ‘ Plants of Boston,’ ‘ Medical Botany,’ &c. &c. 
 MORAL EFFECTS OF INTERNAL IMPROVE- 
 MENTS, by Rozerr Rantoun, Jr., Esq. 
 LIVES OF THE REFORMERS, by Rev. Romeo 
 Exton, Professor of Languages in Brown University. 
 HISTORY OF EDUCATION, both Ancient and Mod- 
 ern, by Carvin E. Strowr, D.D., Professor of Biblical 
 Literature in Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
1 
 
 5 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES me DISTINGUISH 
 ED FEMALES, by Mrs. Emma C. Empury, of Brook- 
 lyn, N.Y. 
 
 DO RIGHT AND HAVE RIGHT, by Mrs. Aumira 
 H. Lincoitn Puenes, Pr ‘uncial af the Literary Department 
 of the Young Ladies’ Seminary, at A : Chester, Pa., for- 
 merly of the Troy Seminary, N. Y., Author of « Familiar 
 Lectures on Botany,’ ‘ Femal le he he veh 
 
 The object of this Work may be gathered from the following re- 
 marks of Mrs. Phelps. ‘‘ A popular work on the principles of law, 
 with stories illustrating these principles, might be very profitable to 
 people in common life, as well as to children. The ward cheated 
 by a guardian, the widow imposed on by administrators or executors, 
 the wife abandoned by a husband, with whom she had trusted her 
 paternal inheritance, the partner in business, overreached by his 
 crafty associate, for want of a knowledge of the operations of the 
 law,—all these might be exhibited in such a way as to teach the ne- 
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 es.”’ 
 
 BOTANY, by J. Ray, M. D., Author of the ‘Medical 
 
 Jurisprudence of Insanity.’ 
 LIFE OF DR. FRANKLIN. ° 
 
 ELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF 
 FRAN KLIN. 
 
 THE LORD OF THE SOIL; Seay ars: of Agri- 
 calaral I uife ; by Rev. Warren Burton, Author of ‘ The 
 District School as tt Was,’ &c. &c. 
 
 CHRISTIANITY AND KNOWLEDGE, by the Rev. 
 Royat Rossins. 
 
 The design of this Work is to show what Christianity has done for 
 the human ‘intellect, and what that has done for Christianity. 
 
 BELKNAP’S AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, or, An 
 Historical Account of those Persons who have been dis- 
 tinguished in America as Adventurers, Statesmen, Philos- 
 ophers, Divines, Warriors, Authors, and other remarka- 
 ble characters. Comprehending a recital of the events 
 connected with their lives and actions. Revised and cor- 
 
16 
 
 ( i rected, with a Life of Dr. Belknap prefixed, by T. M. Hus- 
 ie BARD, late Edntor of the ‘ Annals of Education.’ 
 
 tie This edition will contain additional matter, prepared by Dr. Bel- 
 knap, many corrections of dates, names, &c., and additional Biogra- 
 phies of individuals not given by Dr. B. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF VOLCANOES, by Joun 
 L. Haves, Esq., of Portsmouth, N. H. 
 
 The Publishers have also in preparation, for this Series, a History 
 of the United States, and of other Countries, a History of the Abo- 
 rigines of our Country, a History of Inventions, Works on Natural 
 
 History, &c. &c. 
 
 The following Works, belonging to the Juvenile Series, 
 are ready for delivery : 
 
 PICTURES OF EARLY LIFE :—Stories ; each in- 
 culcating some moral lesson ; by Mrs. Emma C. Empury, 
 of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 PLEASURES OF TASTE, and other Stories, selected 
 
 from the Writings of Janz Taytor, with a Sketch of her 
 life, (and a likeness,) by Mrs. S. J. Hate. 
 
 MEANS AND ENDS, OR SELF TRAINING, by 
 Miss Catuerine M. Sepewicx, Author of ‘ The Poor Rich 
 Man, and Rich Poor Man,’ ‘ Live and Let Live,’ ‘ Home,’ 
 &c. &e. 
 
 THE JUVENILE BUDGET OPENED; being Se- 
 
 ‘ections from the Writings of Dr. Joun Arkin, with a 
 Sketch of his Life, by Mrs. S. J. Hae. 
 
 HISTORIC TALES FOR YOUTH, by Miss Mary 
 E. Lez, of Charleston, S. C. 
 
 THINGS BY THEIR RIGHT NAMES, and other 
 Stories, Fables, and Moral Pieces, in Prose and Verse, 
 selected and arranged from the Writings of Mrs. Bar- 
 BAULD ; with a Sketch of her Life, by Mrs. S. J. Hare. 
 
 SCENES IN NATURE; or, Conversations for Chil- 
 dren, on Land and Water ; with a colored Map of Moun- 
 tains, and many illustrative Wood Cuts. 
 
17 
 
 JUVENILE BUDGET REOPENED ; being further 
 Selections from the Writings of Dr. Jonn Arkin ; with 
 copious notes. 
 
 RAMBLES ABOUT THE COUNTRY, by Mrs. E. 
 EF. Exrer, of Columbia, S. C. 
 
 THE CHILD’S FRIEND ; being Selections from the 
 Writings of ARNaup Berquin, with a Sketch of his Life. 
 
 LIVES OF COLUMBUS AND VESPUCIUS. 
 
 LIVES OF VASCO NUNEZ DE BALBOA, HER- 
 NANDO CORTES, and FRANCISCO PIZARRO. 
 
 To these will be added, in due time, among other Works, 
 the following, viz : 
 
 NEW-ENGLAND HISTORICAL SKETCHES, by 
 N. Hawruorne, Author of ‘ Twice-Told Tales,’ §c. 
 
 CONVERSATIONS AND STORIES BY THE 
 FIRESIDE, by Mrs. Saran J. Hate. 
 
 FREDERICK HASKELL’S VOYAGE ROUND 
 THE WORLD, by H. G. Hats, A. M., Philologist to the 
 Exploring Expedition. 
 
 BIOGRAPHY FOR THE YOUNG, by Miss E. Ros- 
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 the same, &c. 
 
 THE WONDERS OF NATURE, illustrated by nu- 
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 WORKS OF ART, illustrated by numerous cuts. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE WORKS OF MARIA 
 EDGEW ORTH, with a Life and Portrait. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE WORKS OF MRS 
 SHERWOOD, with a Life and Portrait. 
 
 CHEMISTRY FOR BEGINNERS, by Bensamin Sin 
 LIMAN, Jr., Assistant in the Department of Chemistry, Min- 
 eralogy, and Geology, mn Yale College ; aided by Profes- 
 sor SILLIMAN, 
 
 - HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 
 by the Author of Lives of Columbus and Vespucius. 
 
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