ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New YojiK. §tate Colleges ■ OF Agriculture" AND Home Economics AT Cornell University The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924080102902 .M.rlo.n of B'"ef ". lioasl Tuike 6. Koa?t uack? Lied .-'riliT.'-'n jed 'luibo* CkrM.-//'l Ho'HchdJ C:<,dr. /■/ j«.,o/.i,,f. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE: ^ Complete (EncgeUpceMa DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL ECONOMY, AND FORMING A Guide to Every Department of Practical Life. VOLUME I. LONDON: CASSELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN, LUDGATE HILL, E.G.; AND S96, BROADWAY, NEW YORK. INDEX. INDEX TO VOL. I. Abscess, Treatment of, 303. Acted Charades, 320, 347. Ague, Treatment of, 302. Alum Baskets, How to Make, 263. Animals Kept for Pleasure, II, 60, 76, 106, 204, 266, 395, 308, 32s. 358, 375- Animals Kept for Profit, 30, 46, 95, 121, '145, 168, 188, 217, 228,295,309,325,375. Apoplexy, Treatment of, 318. Aquarium, The, 17, 63, 69, 105, 132, 161. Arable Husbamdry, 301, 327, 344. Asthma, Treatment of, 319. Back Windows, How to Ornament, 299. Baking Powders, 263. Bedroom Furniture, 155. Bell Hanging, 180. Biliousness, How to Treat, 334, 350, Blankets, How to Wash, 299; Blinds, Construction of, 175. Boot-Cleaning, 305. Bread, 5. Bronchitis, How to Treat, 358. Brotlis, How to Make, 253, 258. Bunions, How to Treat, 201. Burns and Scalds, Treatment of, 71. Busts and Statuettes in Marble, How to Imitate, 164. Cage Birds, 1 75. Cameos, a Word or Two About, 123. Card Games, 261. Carpenter's Bench, lOi. Carpets, to Remove Grease from, 312. Carving, Hints on, ,6, 55, 79, 143. '97, 2^6. Cattle, 188, 22S, 309. Ohapped Hands, &c,, 124. Cheap Heme Comforts, Some, 312. Cheese Cement, 248. Chicken-Pox, Treatment of, 271, Chilblains, Treatment of, 123. Choosing a Trade, 307, 362. Christmas Decorations, 97. Christmas Fare, 150, i56. Cinder-Sifting,, 305. Citizenship, Law of, 230. Clothes-Brushing, 306. Clothing for Children, 88, 116, 177, 236, 291, 331, 369- Clothing for Infants, 33, 88. Coffee Making, 294. Colds, Precautions against, 284. Coloured Transparencies, How to Make, 165. Comical Combinations, 320. '" . i.-wy Convulsions, Treatment for, 83. Cook, the Duties of, 170. Cooking, 4, 27, 36, 53, 66, 86, 103, 119, 139, 166, 181, 195, 219, 232, 253, 258, 282, 304, 310, 322, 340, 364, 376. Cottage Farming, 25, 93, 152, 209, 276, 300, 327, 344. Corns, Treatment of, 124. Correspondence, 106. Croup, Treatment of, 115. Curtains, Construction of, 208. Dairy Cows, Management of, 309. Diaphanie, 92. Diarrhoea, How to Treat, 83. Dietary in Early Childhood, 314. Dietary of Youth, 343, 354. Dinner Tables, Dressing of, '371. Dinner Table, Hints on Arranging the, 1 14. Diseases Incidental to Children, 83, 114. Diseases of Dogs, 266, 308. Dislocations, How to Treat, 71. Doctors and Patients, 359. Dog, The, II, 60, 76, 106, 204, 266, 308, 358. Domestic Medicine, 7, 41, 83, 114, 186, 215, 226, 271, 302, 318- 334, 350, 359. * Domestic Servants, Their Duties, 102. Domestic Surgery, 7, 29, 51, 71, HI, 154, 172, 201, 252, 286 Doors, Construction of, 128. Drainage, 25, 93, 247. Draughts, How to Stop, 312. Ducks'and Geese, Keeping, 169. Dyeing, u. Few Words about, 360. Eruptive Fevers, Treatment of, l85, 215. Exercise for Children, 242. Feather Screens, 289, 321. Fencing, 276, 300, Fevers, How to Treat, 186, 215, 226. Fish, How to Cook, 67, 86, 322, 340, 364. Fish Soups, How to Blake, 260, 282. Food in Infancy, 270. Forfeits, Game of, 163, 202. Fractures, Treatment of, 71. Frost-Bite, 154. Frying, 171. Furniture, 18, 125, 155, 183, 243, 285, 346. Furniture-Hiring, 312. Gardening, 43, 81, 113. Garden Furniture and Decorations, 372. Gardening, Home, 20, 58, 65, 109, 136, 148, 174, 190, 2'23, 239, 246, 271, 287, 330, 355, 378, Gas, 250," 273, 299. General Servant, Duties of, 147. INDEX. Godfrey's Cordial, 284. Gold and Silver Marks, 180. Gold and Silver, Qualities and Values of, 279 Gold, How to Cleanse, 284. Gutta-Percha for Mending Shoes, 214. Haemorrhage,' How to Stop, 9, 29. Hair, Management of, 241, 274, 366, 379. Hooping Cough, Treatment of, 226. Horse, The, 295, 325, 374. Hot Dished Easily Served at Short Notice, 167. House, The, 2, 38, 74, 99, 134, 162, 179, 198, 247, 257, 317. SSI- House Hunting, 99. Household Amusements, 127, 159, 163, 191, 202, 238, 251, 261, 278, 319, 347. Hdusehold Chemistry, 338. Household Decorative Art, 39, 57, 92, 97, 129, 164, 193, 264, 289, 315. 321. 345. 353- Household Mechanic, 14, 23, 42, 49, 77, 84, lOl, 128, 140, 175, 180, 208, 213, 250, 273, 299, 372. Housemaid, her Duties, 221. Housing Hay, 276, 300. Inmates of the House, 13, 35, 90, 102, 130, 147, 170, 206, 221, 230, 140, 17s, 180, 22r, 268, 305, 363. Invalid Broths and Beverages, 283. Jaundice, How to Treat, 350. Joints, in Carpentry, 78, 84. Kitchen Requisites, 232. Knife-Cleaning, 306. Lady's Maid, her Duties, 363. Lamp-Trimming, 306. Leather Work, 39, 57. Letter- Writers, Hints to, 79, loi, 207, 235, 267, 335. Life Assurance, 74, 134, 179, 198. Liquids, How to Keep them Warm, 299. Local Ailments, Treatment of, 252, 268. Locks and Door-Fittings, 213. Lodgers, Advice to, 211. Mad Dogs, 308. Marketing, 261, 336. Master and Servant, Law of, 13. Mats, 312. Mattresses, Stuffing, 263. Meat Dishes at Moderate Cost, 103, 119, 139. Modelling in Clay, 315, 345, 353. Mumps, How to Treat, 227. Mushrooms, How to Cook, 195. Novelties in Toys and Tricks, 191. Nursery, The, no. ^ Odds and Ends, 190, 203, 223, 230, 255, 263, 284, 299, 312, ■349. 36J, 377- Page, the Duties of, 305. Paint for Out-Door Work, 248. Paper Flower Making, 193, 264, Parlour Maid, Duties of, 2S8. Parent and Child, Law of, 35. Patchwork, 337. Pickles, How to Make, 195, 219. Plain Cookery, 4. Point Lace Work, 225, 280, 356. Pomades, Receipts for Making, 276. Poor-Rate, The, 131. Poultry, Management of, 30, 46, 95, 121, I4S, 168, 217. Preserves, How to Make, 219. Property-Tax, 131. Qualities, The, and Values of Gold and Silver, 279. Qualities of Beef and Veal, 261. Quilts and Counterpanes, 284. Rates and Taxes, Law of, 130, 206. Rearing and Management of Children, 10, 33, 88, no, 116, 142, 177, 236, 242, 270, 291, 314, 331, 343, 354, 369. Recipes, Miscellaneous, 234. Recipes, Simple, 5, 27, 36, 53. Recreations for Ixjng Evenings, 129. Relapsing'Fevers, Treatment of, 226. Roasting, 170. Sauce for Calfs Head, 374. Sealing Wax, How to Make, 368. Seasonable Food, in, 148, 235, 284. Shell Fish, How to Cook, 140, 181. Skin, The Management of, 22, 45, 62, 70, 123, 157. Sleep of Children, 142. Soups, How to Make, 87, 103, 258, 283, 304, 310. Stools for Children, How to Make, 299. Stoppers, How to Remove, 306., Substitute for Common Washing Soda, 299. Suspended Animation, To Restore, in. Sweetmeats, How to Make, 291. Table Ornaments, How to Make, 313. Tea, How to Make, 380. Teething of Children, 172. Toasti How to Make and Butter, 313. Toilette, The, 21, 45, 62, 70, 123, 157, 241, 274, 366, 379, Tool Chest, The, 15, 23, 42, 49. Typhoid and Typhus and Infantile Intermittent Fevers, 215. Vegetables, How to Cook, 182. Wages and Income Table, 368. Waiting at Table, 268. Warts, Cure of, 124. Watchmaking, 307, 362. Water Supply, 162, 257, 317, 351. Ways Eind Means, 2, 38, 106. Weights and Measures, 160. Weights of Bread and Flour, 284. Whist, Game of, 262, 278, 319. Window Garden, 43, 81, 113. Windows, Construction of, 140. Will Making, Law of, go. Woods used in Household Carpentry, 77. Worms, Treatment for, 302. ' Wounds, Bruises, and Sprains, How to Treat, 51, CAS SELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. I NTRODiUCTIO N. In an age when, owing to the spread of educ^tiop and the consequent growth of intelligence and of pompetition, the affairs of human life are becoming' in every depart- ment more intricate and complicated, no apofqgy can; be needed for an endeavour; to, set out accurately, and in something lik?, scientific, order, the laws , which govern, and the rules which should regulate, that njipjtiiiecessary and most important of all human institutions, The Household. It is there that l;he fruits^of njan's labPHr are ultimately enjoyed ; there that . woman finds her chief sphere of duty, as the helpmate of man ; there that the coming generation is being trained for the duties of life. It is there, then, if anywhere, that the secret of man's material well-being should be sought out and its principles carried out into .constant practice. i The lesson, above all others, which is required to be learnt in the present day, is: the good old homely one that wealth is to be found not in the possession of a large . income, but in the possession of a surplus after the income has been made to meet the necessary demands •upon it. He who earns a hundred a year and spends ninety, is really richer than he who earns .'two hundred and spends two hundred and ten. And it not unfrequently happens that where the resources of the household are judiciously husbanded, a relatively smaller income is found to yield more solid results than a larger omej. Domestic comfort, in short, together with all the benign influences that flo-fr therefrom, as health, good spirits, equability of temper, clearness of head, prudence in enterprise, happi- ness in the home circle,' and the esteem of one's neigh- bours, centres in the practice of a wisev ECONOMY — in the thoughtful and infelligeht fitting' of means to ends, 30= as to secure the most advantageous results at the lowest possible cost. ' ■ ' ' More especially is this so at a time when a deeper investigation of the laws of ' health has 'brought into prominence the necessity of increased- recreation, and longer and more frequent migrations into purer atmo- spheres — desiderata which, when men >have nloderate incomes, can be supplied only by a prudfent curtailrn'ent of expenditure in other directions. For we believe it will be found by many that when they have learnt how to obtain economically , the necessaries of the household, and to do for themselves whdt hitherto they have had to get done by expensive assistance, they will have in every case something left with" which they can augment the convenience, the comfort, and possibly even the luxury of their house and Ifvihg^— bettering at once their mode of life and their measure of enjoyment, VOL. I. . : Management is the one thing needful in the house- hold. No matter what the amount of. income; may, be, everything depends upon the careful laying; out of the money. In one house the owner always seems to get full value, for his ouitl^-y^, in another it is difficult to imagine where the money expended goes to, the apparent return is sp inadequate,. And this difference dpqS; not always and of necessity.spring from recklessness, or even from carelessness in management ; far mpre frequently it is owing to the want of an intelligent appreciation of the way in which the available resources can be best tilrned to account. To supply, in a plain, practical, and exhaustive manner, this information, which otherwise inust be ineffectively obtained by long and wearisome experience, is the object of The Household Guide. . We shall take, up in succession each department of domestic and social eco- nomy, and the various branches of household manage- ment, showing in every case how true economy can be practised — how by the tniniinum ai expenditure the maximum of comfort and of luxury may be obtained. In each department we shall commence with . the treatment of the subject in its simplest possible form, so as to meet the requirements of the mostrmoderate incomes. ■: ■ ,■ . ■> ..;.]■.' We shall first treat of the HOUSE itself,, in the threefold aspect of a building, a possession, and a home. Those who are about to take a house for the first' time, 6r to change their present residence for another, will find' in- formation as to the points which they ought to look to as essential in regulating their choice, what evils they ought ' specially to avoid, and how such evils may most ; readily be detected. For those who are about to build^ there will be papers on the best way of planning a house, and the best materials to be employed in its construction ; while those who are already occupying houses which they are unable or unwilling to leave, will find advice as to the best plan for remedying or removing existing defects which are making their houses unhealthy Or uncomfort- able. We shall also explain, in language as free as pos- sible from technicality, those points of law with which it is desirable that the occupiers of houses or mastei'S of households should be fully acquainted. ' In the articles on FURNITURE, information will be given as to' what sort of furniture in each part of the house will be found most economical, durable, and pleasing, both in colour, material, shape, and texture. Under this head we shall include some of the simplest branches of the decorative art, a knowledge of which I THE HOUSE. will enable our readers to find amusement and gratifica- tion in the exercise of their taste and ingenuity. Our papers upon COOKING will be a practical, simple, and complete work upon the subject in every depart- ment, commencing with receipts for the most ordi- nary and homely operations, and proceeding gradually to the highest and most elaborate branches of the culi- nary art. Hints will be given which will enable the cooking to be performed with the most limited appliances, while the best and most improved form of cooking utensils will also be described. Various methods of preparing food almost unknown at present in this country, but which in other lands are a great boon to those of limited means, will be explained ; while a place will also be found for instructions in the serving of the choicest dishes. The Inmates of the House will be considered from two points of view. First of all with regard to their position in law and their legal obligations, as standing in a civil relation to each other ; secondly, their social position and domestic duties as. members of a household. Under the latter head will be found instructions to servants in their various capacities. The articles on Domestic Surgery and Medicine (which will be contr'outed by professional men of emi- nence) will give me.-ely simple remedies for simple ail- ments, and instructions how to act in sudden emergencies and accidents when medical aid cannot readily be pro- cured ; showing, also, how symptoms which are trivial and unimportant are to be distinguished from those which prognosticate a serious illness, and call imperatively for the doctor's interference. While some of our papers on the Toilette will con- tain hints upon various matters of dress and personal adornment, we shall give in others instructions on the mana'gement of the skin and hair, especially with regard to health and cleanliness — a matter which has by no means received the attention which its great importance demands. A subject of kindred importance, and one about which a large amount of ignorance prevails, is the Feeding, Clothing, and Training of Children ; and we shall therefore treat of these points in detail from an economic, social, and medical point of view. Passing to the outside of the House, the Garden, the Cottage Farm, and Animals kept for Pleasure and for Profit, will form the three series which will be occupied with what we may term the out-of-door depart- ments of the household. In the papers on the Garden, one of the earliest fea- tures will be instructions in Window Gardening, as being that branch of the art within reach of every one who has but a room which he can call his own, arid thence we shall proceed gradually to the most complex operations, which require the greatest care and most elaborate con- trivances to be carried out successfully. Pursuing the same plan in our papers upon Animals kept for Plea- sure and for Profit, we shall begin with papers upon Poultry, as being the most universally useful, and as suiting the means of the largest number, and afterwards give information on the breeding, rearing, management, and diseases of aU other domestic animals. Those who possess more land than need be devoted to gardening, will find in the Cottage Farming complete instructions for carrying on farming upon a small scale. Drainage, rotation of crops, the variety of soils, and the various agricultural operations which are possible in a limited portion of land, will be treated of in turn. As a kind of essentially practical supplement to nearly all the above-mentioned departments, we shall give a series of papers entitled The Domestic Tool-Chest. From this, which is after all but a brief outline of our plans, it wiU be seen that our work will be at once com- prehensive in scope and exhaustive in detail, treating in each branch of our subject alike of the simplest necessaries and the most refined luxuries— furnishing, in the truest sense, a Guide to every department of the Home, and affording instruction the most valuable and practical to every member of the Household. THE HOUSE. i.— Ways and means. It is attributed to the Rev. Sydney Smith to have said, " All degrees of nations begin with living in a pig-stye. The king or the priests first get out of this style of living, then the noble, then the pauper, just in proportion as each class becomes more and more opulent ; better tastes arise from better circumstances, and what is termed luxury in one period bears the name of wretchedness in another." Far too often an appearance of luxury, but with real wretchedness, exists in the same habitation. Living in a fine house with very straitened means frequently entails great discomfort, and is in most cases excessively impru- dent, although, under others, it may be quite the reverse. A respectable-looking house, in a desirable locality, is ta a profession or trade absolutely necessary to future success, even though the tenants be poor. The style of a house in a degree determines the respectability, class, credit, or means of its occupier, even though he be without a fixed income, and living to the extent of or beyond his means. Where there is a fixed income, derivable from whatever source, it is positive dishonesty to live in a finer house than the means honestly permit. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people make no calculations how far their incomes will go, or in what manner their money should be spent. The daily life of the household is a happy-go- lucky style ; the wife has her allowance freely given, some- times without any consideration of what proportion the amount so allotted really should bear to the entire income ; but by those acting thus it is soon found that both ends wiU not meet, and " once in debt, rarely out of trouble," for the honie and all that the word means are neglected, and con- tention and wretchedness are rife. " In for a penny in for pound" is the reckless proverb of such people, ever recur- ring in thought and producing the most fearful results. » It would be impossible to give minute details for every item of expenditure in any household, be the income small or large, but the following rules for the expenditure of some fixed incomes have been found to work well when the different items of cost have been faithfully adhered to in their limitations. There is no doubt diffi- culty in this, for the "'tis buts," the "unforeseens," and the " musts " are devouring moths, always intruding and ever spoiling the finest plans of housekeeping. Speaking roughly, one-half may be appropriated to housekeeping, including the expenses of coals, candles, gas charges (beer, wines, and spirits, if such liquors be used), and laundry. One-eighth to rent, taxes, and water- rate. One-eighth to clothing of all descriptions, inclu- sive of dressmaking and milliner's bills, and needlework. One-eighth to wages, medical attendance, insurance from CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. fire, and life assurance. One-eighth to incidentals — as general travelling expenses, the cost of carriage, cabs, and horses, whether of stable expenses or hiring, the pur- chase or repairs of furniture, personal expenses of the family, as pocket-money, &c. — which et ccetera has a very extended signification, but must be provided for. We may, however, be able to approximate to some- thing like definite information if we take a series of different incomes, and apportion out their expenditure. To begin with, let us take an income of ^loa a year, which may be divided as follows : — Expenditure for an Income of £ioo per annum. Rent and taxes, rates and water-rate . ;^I7 o o Housekeeping . . . . 55 o o Clothing . . . . . 12 10 o ;Incidentals, which will include travelling expenses, medicine, education of children, repairs of furniture, &c., pew rents, and charitable gifts . . . . 15 10 o £100 o o Weekly Expenditure. Rent . . . ;£o 6 6i Housekeeping . .112' Clothing . . .049!^ Incidentals . . . o 5 11 Daily, 5s. 5|d, £1 18 5 Monthly, ^8 6s. 8d. Expenditure for an Income of ;£20o a year. Rent, taxes, rates, and water-rate Housekeeping, laundry, coal, gas, also wines spirits, and beer (where used) Wages — one servant, £\o. Beer, 7d. weekly laundry, 6d. weekly Clothing of all descriptions Incidentals .... ;£35 80 12 30 42 16 o 3 ^200 Weekly Expenditure. Rent and taxes . . ^o 13 5 J Housekeeping Wages Clothing Incidentals . I lo o 5 O II 9 o 6^ o 16 1% £s 15 Daily, i6s. SJd. ; Monthly, ^25. £3 16 II Daily, los. iijd. ; Monthly, ;£i 6 13s. 4d. Expenditure for an Income of ;£3oo a year. Rent, rates, taxes, and water-rate . . ^46 o o Housekeeping — laundry, coals, candles, gas, also wines, spirits, and beer (where used) . 150 o o Wages — one servant, ;£l6, inclusive of tea and sugar. Beer, is. 2d. weekly; laundry, IS. 2d. weekly . . . . 19 o o Clothing, including tailor's bills, millinery, and dress-making . . . . 45 o o Incidentals, as above . . . 40 o o ;^300 Weekly Expenditure Rent Housekeeping Wages Clothing Incidentals . for ;^3°o £0 2 a year. n 8 17 8 7 5 17 2i IS Ai £400 per attnum allows of the following Disbursement. Rent, taxes, and all rates, including water- rate (one-eighth of income) . . ^^50 o o Housekeeping— laundry, coal, gas charge, also wines, spirits, and beer, where used (one-half) 200 o o Wages — two servants — general servant, £16; housemaid, ;£i4, inclusive of tea and sugar. Beer, is. 2d. each, weekly; laundry, IS. 2d. each, weekly . . . 36 i 4 Clothing of all descriptions, including tailor's, milliner's, and dress-making bills (one-eighth) 5018 8 Incidentals . . . 63 o o ^400 Weekly Expenditure for Rent Housekeeping Wages Clothing Incidentals . ^400 per annum. • £0 19 3 3 16 II 13 10 19 7i 1 4 2j £7 13 10 Daily, £1 is. I id.; Monthly, £2'^ 6s. 8d. The balance in favour of surplus cash, over that of ;^5oo a year^ — for incidentals — arises from keeping two servants instead of three. Expenditure for an Income of ^500 a year. Rent, rates, taxes, arid water-rate (one- eighth of income) . . ' . ^62 10 o Housekeeping — including laundry expenses, coal, candles, gas charge, also wines, spirits, and beer, where used (one-half) , 250 o o Clothes, including tailor's, dress-making, and millinery bills (one-eighth) . . 62 10 o Wages — one-eighth, expended thus : three servants — cook, £\?> ; nurse, or house- maid, ;^i6 ; general servant, £\o; or cook, housemaid, and nurse — tea and sugar being included in their wages — ^44. Beer money — is. 2d. each weekly— fy 2s. ; laundry, £<) 8s. (being a fraction less than is. i\A. weekly) . . . 62 10 o Incidental expenses — one-eighth . . 62 10 o £t,OQ Weekly Expendittire for ;^Soo a year. Rent £1 4 oi Housekeeping 4 16 2i Clothing I 4 oj Wages I 4 oi Incidentals I 4 oi £9 12 3i Daily, ^i 7s. 4id. ; Monthly, ^41 3s. 4d. It is a matter for prudential consideration, whether three servants can be maintained on an income of ;£soo a year — we thi'nk not. The above calculations show how very little money can be honestly spent in extravagance of any kind, whether of clothes, of amusements, of visiting, or entertainments, and what perpetual watchfulness is required to guard against waste of the most trivial nature in all incomes below six hundred a year. It will be observed that we have omitted from our list the items of expenditure of an income of ^^150 a year, an income which is a very common one. In our next paper on this subject we propose to enter at stiU greater length and in fuller detail into the question of household ex- penses, and to take the £1$° income as the basis of a more exhaustive article. COOKING. COOKING. PLAIN COOKERY. — INTRODUCTION. Everybody knows that a good cook is an economical cook, so that a knowledge of the elementary rules- regarding the preparation of food must prove an economy to all, and not only an economy of money, but of life and strength, by enabling people to get better food, and thus obtain more actual nourishment out of the materials they cin afford to provide. The great secret in cooking is to make food palatable, and not to waste the nutriment contained in the meat, neither to let it boil out or steam out. If you boil your dinner, always keep the liquor in which it is boiled ; there must be the very essence of the meat in it, and it is there- fore always good for vegetable soup. Always cover your pot, and let the steam, which contains the strength, fall back into the stew. Never waste anything. Remember the old adage, " Waste not, want not." Save every bone, every leaf, every crust, and make them into soup, if not abandon altogether the attempt to cook their dinners for themselves, and after preparing it in the rudest possible form, send it to the baker's oven to be cooked, a proceeding utterly wasteful and bad, the reason show- ing upon the very face of it ; for how is it possible that dishes of all sizes and sorts can be equally well cooked in the same heat? Besides, think of the different gases all condensiisg, and flowing mingled back upon the meat. Fish, flesh, fowl, pastry, and vegetables, all share alike. Then, again, there is the mixture of gravy, for basting must go on quite "promiscuously." You' cannot expect the baker's man to dip his ladle into the very dish he wants to baste. Will he not, as a matter of course, dip where the dish is deepest and handiest ? In many families of moderate means, after the Sunday dinner is eaten, the meat that is left comes in cold day after day through the week until it is consumed. Such a disagreeable sameness might easily be avoided, and a wholesome and pleasant variety be obtained, by a slight for your own children, for the children of those poorer than yourself. It should always be remembered that " wholesome fare" is well-prepared fare, and fare -necessary to keep up the system, especially where there is an extra amount of wear and tear by any exhausting labour. In rural dis- tricts, where wprk is done in the open air, and without any ,e;ccitement to the nervous system, nature does not seem to make such large demands for replenishment, and turns out fine muscular men upon no stronger feeding than potatoes and oatmeal. This, however, does not hold good in all cases. With many animal food is a necessity, and reasoning from this necessity, it is not too much to argue that every young woman ought to study the rudiments of cookery — so as to learn that a clear quick fire is ireqiiired to cook a chop or a steak, which may be rendered tender, by beating, either with the point of a knife or a rolling-pin ; that a stew ought never to boil ; that meat boiled is meat spoiled, unless simmered ; that vegei tables must be put in boiling water, and without a cover ; that bread goes twice as far, and is three times as whole- some stale as fresh ; and that brown flour is much more nutritious and cheaper than white. Many people, ^specially such as live in large towns,' Fig. 3- but sound knowledge of cooking. Of course, some people have greater facilities than others. Where there is a small garden a good dinner may be eaten every day ; but even without 'this, it is possibls, by a little judicious economy, to obtain a regular supply of vegetables. As almost all who possess a garden may keep a pig and a few hens, they may vary their bill of fare, either by using or selling the home produce. For growing children a full supply of food is a necessary to health and development. Where oatmeal is cheap, nothing can be better than well - boiled porridge ; but where any prejudice exists against this, let the breakfast and supper consist of coarse brown bread, and, if you can get it, skim or butter milk; if not, treacle and toast- and-water. Children will generally thrive well upon bread alone but nature requires something else, and the more you can vary the diet, even by the use of .common vegetables boiled down, the better. Onions are easily grown are cheap to buy, and contain a large amount of nutriment • so, too, do carrots ; both are wholesome and palatable' and make; a loaf of bread go much further. Always teach children to masticate their food, and eat slowly ; half the quantity so eaten will suffice. Bolting food is not only CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 5 wasteful but unhealthy, and ought to be carefully guarded against. In France the culinary art is much more generally known or understood than in Great Britain, and without doubt Scotland and the Border land come next in at- tention to it in its simpler branches. As a rule, people in this country do not pay sufficient attention to the matter of culinary vessels ; quite for- getting that it is really the best economy to have such vessels as will enable them to cook their food easily and well without at the same time necessitating any great outlay. In many houses in this country a great deal of fuel is wasted in the large open grates generally in use, and they are being consequently superseded in most places by some sort of cooking range. Fig. i shows a range suitable for a household of moderate means, which will be found convenient and economical; to the details of such a range we shall have occasion to refer in treating of the preparation of various dishes. It will be found an economical plan to use a stove like that shown on page 4, Fig. 2, ranging from about two feet and a half by two, and only containing an oven (the larger sizes have a boiler as well). They heat equally all over ; will boil, bake, and roast, all at once ; use very little fuel, and can be allowed to go out directly their work is done. In addition to this they are easy, to manage ; the saucepans require little or no scrubbing, as they never come in con- tact with the smoke ; and the consumption of fuel is Very small. We use coke to advantage, French people use charcoal, but coal is the best. The first outlay in a stove without a boiler is about £% los., with a boiler, ^3 ; and this is soon saved in fuel and time occupied in cleaning the saucepans. A frying-pan, a gridiron, a saucepan, and a three-legged pot or "getlin," are all the culinary utensils absolutely necessary for ordinary plain cookery. These vary in price, according to size ; for example — a moderate-sized gridiron costing from is. 2d. to 2s. 6d. ; frying-pan, is. to is. 6d. ; saucepan, is. 6d. to 3s. ; iron pot, 4s. 6d. to 7s. With these, a decent cook can do all that is necessary. As for a roasting-jack, nothing is better than a skewer and a hank of yarn. The gridiron is a serviceable utensil, which deserves to be kept with special care. It is not unfrequently the friend in need to whom we resort when other means of cooking fail. It has also been made the subject of modern improvements. In olden time a silver gridiron was the pride of aristocratic cooks ; but an enamelled or a well tinned one is scarcely its inferior. A good gridiron now has grooved bars (as shown in Fig. 3), which render the double service of keeping the fire clear of dropping fat, and consequently of smoke, and of conducting the gravy to a trough in front, whence it may be poured over steaks or chops in their dish. A rusty gridiron will not improve a steak, while one still greasy with last week's broil will spoil it. Although not made of silver, it should be as bright, and scrupulously clean between the bars. For broiling, a charcoal fire is best ; a coke fire, second best. With a cinder fire, you must wait till it is quite clear, and then sprinkle it with salt. Then heat your gridiron before laying on the steak, otherwise the parts touching the bars will remain raw when the rest is cooked. If made too hot, the bars will bum and char the steak, marking it witli black lines, besides spoiling the flavour. Turning the steak several times keeps the gravy inside. This turning,' which should be done not with a fork, but with a pair of meat tongs, will slightly prolong the time of cooking. A good rump steak will take ten minutes ; pork chops and mutton cutlets less, according to their thickness; the former, however, should always be well done. For turning chops and steaks without pricking them with a fork, a double gridiron has been invented, the only objec- tions to which are that it is more trouble to keep clean and less easy to heat its bars equally to the proper temperature. When placed • on the fire, the gridiron should stand forwards, to cause the fat to run in that direction, instead of dropping into the fire, and so smoking the steak. This position is now insured by making the hind legs of the gridiron higher than the front ones, as shown in our illustration. Fig. 3. The above utensils we have indicated here as especially useful in a household of moderate means. As our work proceeds, we shall give illustrations of others necessary for the more advanced and elaborate branches of cookery, and proceed now with SIMPLE RECIPES. Bread is the Briton's staff of life ; we therefore begin our Homely Cookery with that important article of food. It is sometimes a good deal helped out with potatoes, but the use of more than a certain proportion of that vegetable is not desirable for maintaining strength. People who live almost entirely on potatoes become too stout, and are comparatively weak. The Hindoos and other Eastern nations, who eat little besides rice, are inferior in bodily strength not only to the northern peoples of Europe, who consume fish in large quantities, and to the South American races of men, whose diet is meat exclusively, but to bread-and-meat eating people like ourselves. It is the large quantity of bread they consume that maintains the strength of the French labourers, many of whom do not taste fresh meat more than once or twice a year. All the soups so liked by the working classes in France, contain soaked bread in some shape or another. Bread, if we think, of it, is an ingenious contrivance for rendering corn eatable by human mouths, and digestible by human stomachs, which could only have been discovered step by step. The eating of dry barley, wheat, or rye, must have been working hard for one's living. Even frumity (new wheat boiled soft and flavoured with sugar, nutmeg, and eggs) is tolerably trying to the jaws. Pounded com might furnish an ingredient for stews and gruel ; after the further invention of grinding it into flour between two flat stones, it would make porridge, and could even be baked on the hearth into cakes, which, however, would not yet be bread. It is the fermentation, the " working," the causing of the dough to " rise " and become light, without which there is no real bread. Unleavened bread is an incomplete article, the produce of an unfinished process ; and is therefore the. symbol of pressure, danger, and con- sequent haste, in the eyes of the persons who partake of it at stated seasons. We may believe that the discovery of the fermentation of dough, converting it from heavy cake into light bread, was the result of some lucky accident. Good Household Bread. — To ten pounds of flour in your kneading-trough, put a small handful of sa.lt. Stir into this about two quarts of water, more or less ; but some flours will soak up more water than others. For very white bread, made with superfine flour, the dough should be softer than for seconds or brown bread. In summer the water may be milk-warm ; in winter, con- siderably warmer, but never hot enough to kill the yeast. After the water is mixed with the flour, add the yeast. Much depends on the quality of the yeast. Then knead your bread. After kneading, leave it to rise in a warm place, covered with a cloth. If all goes well, it will have risen in something between an hour and an hour and a half Then divide it into rolls, loaves, or tin-breads, as wanted, and bake. For a three-pound loaf, you must take three pounds and a half of dough ; for a four-pound loaf, four pounds eleven ounces ; for a six-pound loaf, six pounds and three-quarters ; and for an eight-pound loaf, nine pounds of dough. You cannot make good bread without good water. The HINTS ON CARVING. water; should be good drinking water, pure both to the taste and smell — water which dissolves soap without curdlingj and which boils fresh vegetables green, and dry- vegetables (as peas and haricots) tender. None is better than rain-water, when it can be had clean and without the taste of: soot. Stagnant water, hard water, and water from melted ice or snow, are all to be avoided. The quality of the water has a considerable effect on the ^§bS&^ quantity of it which the flour will take up. The quantity- varies according to the kind of bread you want to make, and even according to the season. You can put in more water in winter than in summer, because the dough re- mains firmer in winter than in summer. It takes more water to make soft bread, like the French, than to make firm- bread, like the getierality of bakers' bread in England. When it is kneaded with salt, and yeast, as for making unusually light rolls, there enters into the composition of the dough almost as much water as, flour. The smaller the rolls are, the less stiff the dough, should be. But, as we have already stated, exact precision, in these, matters is not possible. In kneading dough, too much water is less inconvenient than too little. Never- theless, when the dough is too moist, the "eyes" in the bread become too big, irregular, and unequal:; and the crust is apt to separate from the bread and get burnt. Oaten bread requires to be made with warm water, good, yeast and plenty of it,, and to be well kneaded; to be thoroughly baked in a hot oven, and left there some time, according to the size of the loaf, because the inside is apt to be pasty. Barley-bread takes less yeast, but should also be thoroughly baked in a brisk oven.- The German pea- santry make bread with a mixture of barley-flour and potatoes, which they, highly relish, custom being second nature. For rye-bread, make a stiff dough with cold water and plenty of good yeast; knead well; when risen, put it into a smart oven, and be in no hurry to take it out. In Sweden, bread is made with a. mixture of flour and barley ; in some districts, buckwheat-flour is mixed with rye-flour. When yeast cannot be got, we recommend the following- way of making. Bread, without Yeast. — To every half-quartern of flour, add one teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and half a tea- spoonful of salt Mix all together ; then, to the water sufficient to make a dough, add half a teaspoonful of muriatic acid. Set into die oven at once. This makes beautiful sweet; bread, and is wholesome. Some use tar- taric acid; in which case the bread will contain tartrate of soda, which, although not poisonous, is medicinal— slightly purgative even. On the other hand, muriatic acid neutralises soda just as well as tartaric acid, and the resulting compound is only common salt. Potato Pie. — There is pne dish, a home invention, useful and economical, and each end. Fill the pie-dish with slices of cold meat; two boiled onions, a litde seasoning, and a cup of water ; flour the meat, and set on the tin lid. Pile upon the lid cold mashed potatoes, done up with salt, pepper, and a littie dripping (as shotm in Fig. S), and bake, either in a regular oven or before ihe fire, for an hour. W h en ccr ^', or who may, at the age of thirty, have at his disposal a sum of £24. 5s. a year, or who can save this sum from his salary, may secure ;£i,ooo to his relatives or others, in the event of his dying- before he reaches the age of sixty-five, or, passing that age himself, he may receive ;£i,ooo, or exchange this sum for an annuity of ^112 i6s. 8d. during the remainder of his life. Such a prospect should be an inducement to save nine and four- pence weekly from the age of thirty for a period of thirty- five years. At first, to a man or woman not having a miser's spirit, this petty saving of pence is distasteful, but the results are astounding, and offer every encouragement to economy. It is troublesome to persist in saving pence unless it be tegun and continued in a resolution to avoid any unneces- sary expenses ; but evils often repressed soon cease to become exacting. It will thus be seen that, at a definite early age — and a man may insure his life till he is sixty — by the saving of two shillings weekly, and invested as an insurance at the end of the year, will in twelve nionths represent a value of ;£2oo ; that is, whether death comes early or late. But if the insurance is allowed to drojp from nonpayment of the premium, the whole is lost. Now the Post Office savings banks offer a very ready mode of taking care of the pence and shillings till the end of the year, when, without delay, the life should be insured. If two shillings out of a weekly wage is deposited in the bank, there should arise no inducement to take it out again. Some inevitable circumstance might happen, or a pre::sing need, and it may be withdrawn ; but let it be im:xgined that the money is not there, and the need will not be so prominent. In recommending to our readers thus strongly the system of life insurance, we cannot overlook the fact that, especially at the present time, there is a tendency to view all associations of this nature with suspicion, owing to a series of disclosures which have revealed the unsoundness and insecurity of the working of some of them. But it must be clearly understood that these are only a few indi- vidual cases ; the principle of life insurance is sound enough, and very many insurance offices fully deserve the confidence they inspire. We propose in our next paper on this subject to explain fully to our readers the principles and working of an insurance office, and thus enable them to judge for themselves of the stability of the undertaking in which they purpose investing their savings. HOUSEHOLD DECORATIVE ART. I. — LEATHER WORK. Leather work, or the art of modelling leather in imi- tation of carved wood, is an artistic occupation which has been revived of late, but has not yet reached either in beauty or utility the high standard it may be expected to attain. Wherever lightness, elegance, and durability in ornamentation are required, leather work, either plain or gilt, may be called into requisition. Cornices and border- ings for panels, groups for the latter, picture-frames, brackets, card-baskets, and many of the thousand and one appliances of modem luxury can receive embellish- ments at the hand of a tasteful designer and worker in leather work, which may elevate them to the rank of art- furniture. Leather work is of very ancient date. In the Egyptian Room of the British Museum there are specimens of em- bossed leather supposed to have been manufactured 900 B.C., ^d over the door of the same room there is a cross from the vestment of a Coptic priest, attributed to the year of our Lord 640. In the early part of the 17th century leather work was introduced into England in the form of tapestry or hangings. In Flanders especially, this tapestry was carried to great perfection. Its- superiority over carved and moulded work consists in its adaptability to ornamentation, where lightness and elegance, with economy of cost, are desir- able. It improves by age, does not break, nor chip, and is not readily affected by heat or damp. It can be gilt, silvered, or stained to any colour to imitate old carvings in pak, ebony, &c., and admits of being easily cleaned. The materials and instruptents required consist of basil and skiver leathers, liquid glue, copper wire of various sizes, some very small headless tacks, a sharp pen- knife, a fine brad-awl, cutting pliers, and a veiner (Fig. i) ; moulds for grapes, brushes, and one or two bottles of size and varnishes ; all of which can be purchased at any fancy repositories. Basil leather is sheep-skin tanned brown, and is used for the leaves and petals of the flowers. Skiver leather consists of shavings from the currier's block, and is used for stalks, tendrils, &c. Those who wish to ber come proficients in the art of making leather ornaments should svork^irom nature in all its varied forms, taking specimens from the fields, hedges, and gardens. When these are not procurable, the bought patterns maybe used. To make leaves, &c., soak the leather in water, dry well 40 HOUSEHOLD DECORATIVE ART. with a towel, and then cut out the proper shapes thus : lay the pattern on the leather, holding it firmly down with the left hand, while with the right draw a line round the pattern with a hard lead pencil ; then, with a pair of sharp scissors cut out each leaf or petal thus traced, taking care to have the edges sharp and clear ; proceed thus until a sufficient number of one size are cut out ; and con- tinue in the same manner until several sizes have been cut, and the requisite- number obtained. Now throw them into a basin of cold water for about five minutes, then take them out and squeeze them gently in a cloth, lay them separately on a board, wipe and smooth them out ; next mark or vein them deeply with the veiner on the smooth side of the leather, pressing heavily where a thick vein is required, and more lightly where only finer ones should be visible ; next mould the leaf with the fingers, laying it upon the pakn of the left hand to the form which taste or the model designs for it, endeavouring, as far as possible, to give the required effect at once, as working the leather is apt to injure it : if any of the veins seem pressed out by the moulding, vein them afresh. In veining a better effect is obtained by working the tool front rather than towards the operator. The next process is to twist the stalk between your finger and thumb un- til it acquires a rounded form. A leaf sometimes requires a pinch between the finger and thumb to give it a graceful turn. If the leaves are for a formed design, to be constructed before it is attached to the frame, the appearance of the work may be considerably im- proved by passing a small wire into the leather at the under part in a direction corresponding to the cen- tral vein ; it strengthens and gives firmness of form to it. After moulding, the leaves should be dried as quickly as possible, with- out artificial heat, as fire is apt to shrivel, and make them brittle. When the leaves are dry, brush them all over (particularly the edges) with the pre- pared stiffening, applied with a camel's hair brush, thinly and evenly. When dry they will be ready for use. The stiffening or size can be procured ready made, but it is pre- ferable to make it, after the following recipe, which is not affected by damp, and dries quickly : mix cold, two ounces of Aus- tralian red gum, six ounces of orange shellac, half-pint of spirits of wine, put into a bottle, and shake up occasionally until the gums are dissolved ; strain, and it is fit for use. Stems are made of strips of basil leather, one-third of an inch wide, and as long as the leather will allow ; soak them till soft, wipe them, and then roll them round as tightly as possible (the smooth side outwards) on the table, and dry them; if required very stiff, add inside a piece of wire. Tendrils are made in a similar manner, using skiver leather, and cutting it into very narrow strips, and winding them, when damp, round a brad-awl or knitting- pin ; dry by the fire, remove from the awl, and a deUcate tendril will be the result ; cut it to the length desired, and apply a coat of stiffening to keep it in shape. Berries are made by smearing with liquid glue a long^ Fig. 4. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 41 thin shaving of leather, and rolling it between the finger and thumb until it becomes round ; several of these berries are glued together to a thin strip of rolled leather which forms the stalk. Grapes are formed by cutting rounds of skiver leather to the size required, which should be wetted and placed in the grape mould ; then fill the leather in the mould firmly with wadding, and tie the grapes securely with fine twine ; when the grape is finished put a piece of wire through the part where it has been tied up to form a stalk. P'or acorns and filberts the acorn and nut itself should be covered in leather. For larger fruits the leather must be moulded, while moist, over a plaster cast. It is advisable for the beginner to keep to foliage en- tirely at first, and learn to cover frames and brackets with them before attempting flowers ; therefore we will conclude this article with directions for that purpose, and a recipe for preserving leaves, and keeping them in form for imitation. Procure a frame, draw an outline of the design upon it, then cut strips of leather about three-quarters of an inch wide, and as long as the skin will allow ; turn the rough side outwards, and with the palm of the hand roll these strips on a table till they are somewhat rounded ; then smear the inside with liquid glue ; now roll them together till the two sides have adhered closely. The branch is now to be affixed to the frame, by giving it occa- sional touches of the liquid glue, and here and there inserting headless tacks ; then glue or nail the foliage on thickly, so as to hide all the woodwork. Great taste can be displayed in the arrangement. Among the most effective and easiest imita- tions for beginners to make and arrange, are the ivy, vine, oak, and fern patterns. We give patterns for the ivy and a fern frond, copied from nature and of the natural size. Fig. 2 represents the ivy leaf, as cut out of the basil : it may be used as a pattern. Fig. 3 represents the Same leaf veined : this also may be used as a pattern. Fig. 4 is an accurate tracing of a natural fern frond ; and Fig. 5 of an oak leaf. Stains and varnishes are to be procured of every shade when it is intended to imitate the appearance of old wood carvings. To imitate old oak or walnut-wood procure asphaltum varnish. For modern oak, brown or yellow varnish ; for pine, white. To stain the leaves, brush each stem and leaf entirely over with the varnish, using a hog's hair brush for the purpose. Brush well over the veined parts, and should the leaves, when dry, not be so dark as desired, another coat may be given, but it should not be put on too thickly, and one coat must dry before another* is applied. The frames and brackets must be coloured before the foliage is' put on, but before the wood will take the stain the frame-work must be sized all over twice with melted size. Recipe for Preserving Leaves. — Take one pound white powdered starch, dry it before the fire, when cool put a layer of half an inch at the bottom of a small box, taking care that the box is dry ; gather the leaves on a fine day, and lay as many leaves on the starch powder as can be done without touching each other; then sprinkle starch powder over them, covering all the leaves well ; then put another layer of leaves, and proceed with the powder as before, until the box is filled. Fill up with the powder, and fasten the box lid firmly down until the leaves are required. DOMESTIC MEDICINE. In commencing a system of domestic medicine it is ne- cessary to determine the classification of subjects. The best arrangement of diseases will be that which is most practical, which can be most easily comprehended and recollected. We will endeavour to be practical in our division of diseases, and also to be simple in the language which we use, avoiding technical phrases as much as possible. Before de^ibing particular diseases we shall devote a few lines to "consideration of the symptoms by which we may know that a person is out of health, and we shall be particular in pointing out symptoms which imply a serious case, or one for which the doctor should be sent. It is lamentable to see in some cases how th"& importance of symptoms is overlooked until disease has made serious advance. Let us, accordingly, first mention A FEW SYMPTOMS THAT SHOULD ALWAYS BE CON- SIDERED GRAVE ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY US IN SENDING FOR THE DOCTOR. 1. Foremost among these is a shivering, or what doctors call a rigor, a Latin word meaning a stiff coldness. Most inflammations and fevers begin with more or less of this shivering or rigor, and it is a symptom to which doctors always attach importance. It may be a severe shivering, severe enough to make the teeth of the patient chatter, and the bed shake ; or it may be slight enough only to make the patient feel a little cold, as if cold water were running down the back. Sometimes there is only a pale- ness, of the face and the surface generally to represent this peculiar symptom. This shivering is a very re- markable thing, and the exact nature and cause of it is yet a matter of discussion among doctors. But, never- theless, the significance of it is admitted on all hands, and it is generally the beginning of an illness more or less severe ; often of only a sore throat, but often, too, of an internal inflammation, or of rheumatic fever, or of one of the eruptive diseases, such as scarlet fever or small-pox. In lying-in-women it is. generally a significant thing, but the exact significance of it can only be judged of by a doctor. It may mean the beginning of an abscess in the breast, or it may simply denote a weed, that is, a slight child-bed fever, characterised by alternate shiverings and sweatings, or it may imply a child-bed fever of a more serious kind, or an inflammation of the womb. It is probable that this symptom — a rigor — is a nervous symptom, and that it depends upon some effect produced upon the nerves or the nervous centres. In children it is sometimes represented or replaced by a thorough convul- sion. It is always an important thing, though the exact significance of it is to be determined by other symptoms, which do not always immediately follow. These symp- toms are generally pain in some part, as, for example, the throat, or in joints, or, in lying-in-women, in the breast. In other cases an eruption will succeed the rigor. When a shivering does occur, the proper thing to do is to administer some warm drink, put the patient to bed, apply warmth to the feet, and cover the body well, and, if he is not well in twelve hours, to send for the doctor. 2. Another symptom of interest and importance is an nimsual heat of the body, or, as doctors say, an elevation of the temperature. The natural heat of the body is about 98°- The temperature may be judged of roughly by the hand, but much more accurately by a thermometer, the bulb being placed under the tongue or in the arm-pit, the body being carefully covered over with bed-clothes. The patient should be an hour in bed before the thermometer is used. A very convenient and' sensitive thermometer for medical purposes, and costing half-a-guinea, lately in- vented, will be found very useful for this purpose. It is at the same time an index thermometer, that is to say, it has a short column of mercury detached from the mercury of the bulb by a little air, which remains at any point to 42 THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. which it has been raised by the heat of the patient, after the withdrawal of the instrument. This increased heat of the body is not only a symptom of the severity of disease, but it is a very early symptom. Dr. Burdon Sanderson, during the cattle-plague, made the interesting observation that thp very first symptom which occurred was this elevation of temperature. When to all ordinary appearance the animal was well, a thermometer thrust into an internal part, often showed an elevation of the temperature of the body by two or^ree degrees ; and in these cases he was able to predict confidently that the animal was in for cattle-plague. The advantage here was that the animal might sooner be slaughtered and removed from contact with other animals before the more qon- tagious stages of its disease occurred. And so in human diseases a rise of temperature is an early and significant symptom, and one not difficult to ascertain. A child, a few years old, will not unwillingly become a party to an interesting thertaometric observation, and will hold the bulb of the thermometer under its tongue. The writer may illustrate these points by a case : — A little girl at church on a Sunday evening, and making no particular complaint, was noticed the next day to be rather hot in the skin, by the medical man who was calling at the house for another pur- pose. Sore throat was immediately suspected and soon after found. And the thermometer being at hand, it was kept in the mouth by the little patient, and found to rise to 102° Fahrenheit. The patient may feel shivery, and yet the thermometer will show an elevation of temperature : so early does this occur in disease. As our object at present is to specify early symptoms which imply com- plaints serious enough to have a medical opinion upon, we will not dwell further upon the significance of an elevated temperature. We will only say, with the view of showing our readers how careful and precise medical science is becoming, that the thermometer is often used for ascertaining the existence of serious disease when other symptoins are very vague, and also for determining the danger of particular cases. A very high temperature occurring in the course of diseases, such as fevers or rheumatic fever, is a dangerous symptom. If a high temperature succeeds a severe shivering, the case is cer- tainly one for medical, not domestic treatment. 1 Shiverings and subsequent heat, or alternate shiverings and heat, accompanied with general aching and soreness, are the symptoms by which we may generally judge of the onset of some acute attack. Other preliminary symptoms occur, according to the particular nature of the disease setting in. For example, sickness generally accompanies the preliminary shiverings and heats of scarlet fever ; sneezing and red eyes^ those- of measles ; severe acute pain in the back, those of small-pox. But these will come in for more particular notice under the head of the special diseases which they characterise. The grand thing to remember here is that shiverings and sub- sequent heat of the body are generally the indications of a smart attack of some kind. Let us now mention a few symptoms which may not be the forerunners of any acute attack, but which must never- theless be seriously regarded ; amongst these we may notice — sickness, loss of flesh, loss of colour, loss of strength. Sickness may be of no consequence. It may be caused by an error of diet, eating unwholesome food or forbidden fruit, and it may cure itself. There is one kind of sickness, against neglecting which we warn people, that is, a very acute, incessant sickness in children or young people, accompanied with costiveness. Such a sickness as this leading the patient to vomit even water; should be regarded as of serious import. Vomiting is a common symptom at the outset of sca.rlet fever. Of this more hereafter. Pend- ing the arrival of a doctor the proper treatment of it is the blandest food in small quantities, such as milk, or milk and water ; and a little effervescing drink from time to time. Loss of Flesh, Loss of Colour, or Loss of Strength, if they occur either singly or together, are things to take advice about rather than to take physic for. With these preliminary hints about important symptoms, we will give in a future number a more detailed notice of particular diseases THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. THE TOOL-CHEST {continued). For maljipgany a tool like a smoothing-plane is used, but the angle of the bed is much greater, eighty or ninety degrees, and the edge of the iron is cut into little teeth. The action of this tool is more scraping than cutting, and is of most use in, roughing veneers. It is called a toothing- plane. Beading-planes, for cutting beads of various sizes and curves,; are constructed with irons of the required shape. Hollows, rounds, and various mouldings are cut by the same means. Fillisters, or rebating-planes, are provided with knives which cut on the sides_^ as well as at the sole, and are chiefly used for cutting out the channel in window-frames in which the glass lies. They are often provided with movable stops and guides, without which their action is very uncertain. Match-planes are provided with two sides, one of which has an iron constructed to hollow out a groove on the edge of a plank, the other side having a double iron, which cuts a tongue exactly to match the groove, the object being to fit two planks together, edge to edge. It is common to work a small bead on one edge, which is a great improvement to the appearance, These planks are termed "match-boarding.f Fig. 20. Fig. 20 is what is known as an " old woman's tooth," and is used for cutting out grooves across the grain, such as slides, into which shelves are fitted. The edges of these grooves should be sawn out with a tenon-saw. Compass -planes have round soles according to the curve they are required to cut, and of course are of great variety. The principle in a plane is the same as with a chisel, with the advantage of much greater steadiness on account of the increased power of guiding given by the sole, which prevents too great a' degree of penetration. The spokeshave is the lowest form of plane, and is only used for small widths. It is pulled towards the operator by both hands. The angle of the edge being only twentyr five degrees, the tool cuts quickly and easily. Saws. — It is by means of saws that the more easily worked materials are converted from the tree form to the crude shape they are required to assume before the finishing processes are begun ; and as the ends , to be accompUshed are so varied in magnitude and difficulty, so are the forms these tools are given numerous and diversified. _ All saws, however, consist of thin blades of steel, fixed in convenient handles, and having one edge serrated, or cut into teeth ; and it is in the .size and shape of these teeth, and the angles at which they are inclined, that the most important variations are to be noticed. In all saws intended for wood, the teeth are slightly bent alternately outwards, in order that the cutting edge should present a larger surface to the materiai than the blade CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE; 43 will require to follow in. If this were not done, the tool would become clogged and choked with the sawdust. In metal saws, the teeth being too fine and thick to admit ef being bent, or " set," as it is termed, the back of the blade is made much thinner than the cutting edge. 1 U IT ji !L__n_ Fig. 21. Fig. 21 shows a " saw-set," the nicks of which are of different sizes, to suit the various thicknesses of the blades. As none of our readers are likely to have 'occasion to use the pit-saw, it is of no use to bring it before them. The next largest variety is the cross-cut, saw, Fig. 22, A/VV Fig. 22. which is used for felling and cutting trees or timber in a direction across its grain. It is worked by two men, one at each end, and pushed backwards and forwards with equal force, cutting both ways ; and for this reason the front and back angles of the teeth are equal, or about sixty degrees. The teeth are kept so upright to prevent too great a degree of penetration. The rip-saw. Fig. 23, is the largest single-handled saw — about 2 ft. 6 in. or 3 ft. long — and is used for sawing or \AAA/ Fig. 23. ripping along planks in the direction of the grain. The teeth are, therefore, inclined forward, and work very fast, and number about three and a half teeth to the inch. The half-rip saw is of the same shape and form of teeth as the rip, but altogether smaller. The panel-saw is much narrower at the bottom end than the half-rip. Its width there is about two inches, and it is much finer in the teeth, which generally number about six or seven to the inch. The last three may be considered to represent the most usual form of plain hand-saws. In use they are grasped by the right hand on the handle — the work to be sawn being laid on the sawing-stool, and held by the left hand or either knea ■ After just notching the end of the line to be cut, the strokes are lengthened gradually, and swept downwards with considerable vigour and force, and brought up -with the teeth kept well down in the cut, the blade being used from top to bottom. A little grease smeared on the blade occasionally makes the saw go easier. The tenon -saw. Fig. 24, consists of a thin blade, fastened at the top edge in a metal rim or back, which keeps it firmly stretched out. It is, nevertheless, rather a delicate instrument, and requires careful .usage,' or the blade will be crumpled or buckled — a fault very difficult to remedy. If the buckle is only slight, a smart blow with a hammer on the middle of the top of the back will often set it right; but failing this, the blade must be taken out and re-fitted by a smith, as it is entirely unfit for its work while in that condition. The teeth are fine —ten to the inch— and the pitch is not very forward, the back angle being about thirty degrees with the cut, and the forward angle ninety degrees. Dovetail - saws exactly resemble tenon-saws, but are smaller and much thinner in the blade and finer in the teeth. The hint 5*'*-'-**************»«**»-S**»»**»-j Fig. 24. ' about careful usage should be doubly observed with them. After making the line intended to be' sawn, these "two saws are used horizontally, and across the grain of the wood, and are grasped by the right hand, being moved with short, quick, parallel strokes. The work should be fixed higher than in rip sawing ; the bench is a con- venient height. We now come to saws intended to cut in curves or Fig. 2S- circles — the most ordinary form being the keyhole-saw. Fig. 25. This is a long, thin, tapering blade, A, much thicker on the teeth edge than at the back, to allow of the curve to be made. In order that the extreme end of the thin part may be used for small circles without danger of crippling or breaking, the blade is made to slide into a long hole right through the handle, and is fixed at any required place by the screws, C. In using, a hole is first bored with a gimlet, touching the required path of the saw, the thin end of which is then introduced and pushed backwards and forwards, rapidly, but not too forcibly, the straight or curved path being regulated by the twist of the hand. t GARDENING. II. — THE WINDOW GARDEN. Although it is not in every man's power to have a garden, in 'the ordinary sense of the word, it is not difficult to improvise a greenhouse, or to cultivate flowers in the very heart of a town. Window-gardening is within reach of all who have a roof to cover them, and the nearer the sky the operations are carried on the better chance have the flowers of thriving. A few boxes made of rough boards nailed together, or, indeed, anything that will hold earth and permit drainage, will serve, as the ground-work of a window garden ; and even in a house where there are only two or three rooms, flowers may be cultivated successfully. It is erroneous to imagine that it is unhealthy to have plants in living-rooms. There are, of course, exceptional cases, where the perfume of some particular flower pro- duces sickness or headache, but this, only occurs with delicate persons ; from sleeping-rooms, however, growing plants ought to be excluded. As a rule, it is a good plan to keep flowers in a living-room during the day, as they absorb the noxious gases in the atmosphere. These they exhale by night ; and as they thus poison the air of the room, it is desirable, as far as possible, then to remove them. 44 GARDENING. We have said that anything capable of containing soil and affording an outlet to moisture will do for flowers to grow in. Ordinary flower-pots are most frequently used, but they are not desirable when economy of space is an object. The great advantage of pots is the facility . which they afford for changing the plants from time to time. Zinc boxes are often preferable to clay pots, and they can be had at a very trifling cost, or made at home without much trouble. The bottom must be per- forated, and the box either raised upon small feet of wood or iron, or set upon bricks. 'A wooden outside case is a very great advantage — it ought to be a trifle larger than the zinc one — the intervening space being filled with moss, or straw, or dried leaves. The object to be gained by this is one every window-gardener must attend to — namely, to prevent the rays of the sun over-heating the earth in which the roots of his plants are lying. Very pretty and ornamental cases are made by planting common ivy between the zinc and wood, and letting it trail over the sides, or upon a little trellis-work, which is easily made by. bending and interlacing willow wands, such as basket-makers use, sticking the ends into the earth. I once saw a box of this sort with a very picturesque device. Four wands were fastened at the corners, from which four more met in the centre ; round these a small-leaved clematis was trained, and kept so close that it did not interfere with the passage of air or light to the other flowers. The pots or cases having thus been secured, the next thing to do before fiUing-in the earth will be to attend to the drainage. Be very particular never to let your plants stand in water. Some few plants, it is true — hydrangeas, for example — like to have their roots kept constantly moist, but, as a rule, plants, like men, are better with their feet dry. The best way to set about the drainage is to cover the hole at the bottom of the pots with a piece of a broken pot, so placed as to afford a free passage for the water; over this spread moss or straw, to prevent the earth running down and choking up the drainage. If a case is used, set to work in the same way, only lay the broken pieces a little thicker, and let the moss be also thicker, and well pressed down. A very . good drainage may be easily obtained by filling the bottom of the box or. pot with a layer of common coal cinders, about an inch in thick- ness. The next thing is to get soil — not always an easy matter in a crowded town, , and often entailing many a long walk. In London it is very difficult indeed to get soil, if there is no ground adjoining the dwelling , which can be laid under contribution. It will often prove the best economy to procure some from a gardener, which will have the advantage of being specially prepared for the growth of flowers ; and the expense of getting such a small quantity as would be required for a window-garden would be very trifling indeed. At any large market where flower roots are sold, the gardeners are glad to part with any of the refuse soil they have brought there round the roots of the plants for a very trifling cost. For a penny or two the amateur window gardener willget enough soil to fill at least two good-sized flower boxes. When people can get out into the country, they will have httle difficulty in obtaining leave to gather the earth that they want from the little hillocks of road-scrapings piled at the side of the road, which are full of valuable manure, choosing ' always those parts where the grass is stiff and sharp. For some plants-=- namely, those of the fine hair-rooted sorts, such as heaths, &c.^— a more fibrous earth, mixed with flints and sands, will be re- quired. This can always be obtained where heath grows. When you have time, and really mean to excel in your flowers, it is an excellent plan to carry home a few sods of the wiry grass we mentioned, and having charred the grass at the fire, lay the sods away in any dark dry corner for a month or two, when it will be ready to powder down with the hand. In some cases it is a good thing to mix sand with it. All soils, however, do not require an extra quantity of sand, and you can determine as to this in a very simple way. Take a little soil in your hand, arid work it into a pulp. If it feels gritty, you will require very little sand, perhaps none at all ; if it gets simply soft and smooth, add sand accordingly. The manure you mix with the soil must be perfectly rotten, and in a crumbling state. You must use your own judgment, when it' is thoroughly mixed with the soil, as to adding sufficient moisture. It is a mis- take to use too fine soil, as it is apt to run together and cake ; therefore take rough soil in proportion to the. size of your pots. In transplanting or repotting you must be careful to damp the earth and roots thoroughly, then spread the fingers over the surface, reverse the plant, and tap the pot smartly, the contents will come out unbroken ; separate the outer roots a little at the outside, place the plant in the pot, and crumble in the fresh earth round the ball of roots. If the earth is lumpy, and the roots scanty, wash the roots free from soil, keeping them in your hands and manipulating very quietly, for fear of breaking the fibres; then, replacing the plant in the pot, throw in the fresh earth, packing carefully, but lightly, when rapid growth is the object. This last should always be observed ; but if you want to stimulate flower bulbs, pack the earth firmly. After trans- planting, water equally with a rose, or if you have not such a con- venience, take any flat thing— a lid or a piece of wood — and by holding it over the plant, a gentle stream of water falls upon the surface, which will thus be diffused over the foliage as well as the soil. . For raising seedlings, warmth, air, and comparative darkness are essen- tial. Warmth must range at 45° or 50° to germinate the seed, after which 60° is quite as much as the young plants will bear. Moisture is essential, but should be equal, and never excessive. Comparative darkness is desirable, as the seed will sooner germinate, and throw forth its shoot, than when, kept in a hardened condition by the influence of a hot sun.. Care must, however, be taken to accustom the plants gradually to the light, and that as soon as they begin to show above the surface. The great secret in raising seedlings is never to allow them to get a check. It is more difficult to raise seeds in pots than in the CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 45 open air, and we shall therefore give a few practical directions for planting and raising them. Our illustrations show designs for hanging-baskets, which may be suspended in the window by a hook driven into the ceiling of the apartment, and, when filled with ferns, creepers, &c., will be found to produce a very elegant effect. Of these Fig. i represents a basket made of rough pieces of rustic wood joined together, while Fig. 2 is of a little more elaborate kind, being composed of twisted wire. THE TOILETTE. I. — THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SKIN {continued). Warmth. — If we would have the skin doing its duty properly, we must be sure that we do not subject it to too great changes of temperature, at least that we protect it sufficiently against surprises in this respect. This we are enabled to do by means of properly selected clothing, which prevents the heat from being conducted, as it is termed, too rapidly away from the body. Flannel garments are the best for this purpose, since flannel is what is called a bad conductor of heat. Merino is the next best pro- tector. The young and the old require more clothing than the middle aged. Now in cold weather the young should, in this variable climate, be provided with flannel or woollen garments next the skin ; the feet should be kept especially warm. The custom of allowing young children to be dressed in a half-naked style is fraught with con- siderable danger. It may be fashionable, Spartan, and so on, but it is not sensible. The chest should be well pro- tected, and the sensitive stomach of the child as well. Flannel may be irritable to the skin ; in that case merino should be substituted, or a thin layer of linen placed inside the flannel. When the skin (be it in the infant, the lad, or the man) is kept uniformly warm, the circulation through its texture is much facilitated, and diseases, both of skin and internal organs, are warded off. In summer time, however, flannel is to Ise dispensed with, and cotton under-garments used instead, as the keeping the body too hot is then followed by various summer rashes, the most uncomfortable of which is the " prickly heat." When we say that infants should be warmly clad, we do not mean that they should be boxed up indoors or in stuffy rooms all day ; they should be clothed warmly, in order that they may get the benefit of open air and the like, without running any risk of being injured by it, or the alternations of temperature that characterise our variable climate in England. So, in the summer time, when the average temperature of the day is high, the child should not be muffled up as though he or she were in a vapour bath ; nothing so readily induces little red rashes,- which result from the excessive perspiration. These rashes are known by the name of the red gum, " red gown," &c., and are most frequently an indication that the sufferer from them requires to be kept much cooler. Clothe well and wisely in winter, but lightly and thinly in the summer. Flannel encasing the chest and stomach, especially in children, in cold weather, must give way to thin garments of cotton in the hotter days of the summer. This is a matter of common sense. Exercise is absolutely necessary to a healthy state of skin. The only remark we would here make is this, that exercise should be regularly taken each day, and that it should not be taken for at least two or three hours after a meal, since it then stops digestion ; and that exercise before meals is certainly the best kind to take, as it puts a man in the fittest condition for food taking. Any kind of exercise, when excessive, is of course accompanied in warm weather by perspiration. When the latter is too great, it should never be checked by plunging into cold water, sitting in draughts, or by throw- ing off the clothes and going to sleep. If the surface be too rapidly cooled, it is not at all unusual for eruptions of various kinds to follow. Cleanliness. — The virtues of the use 01 soap and water have been more appreciated of late. It is impossible to define the amount of good which results from habits of cleanliness, and this can very readily be understood by the reader, if he has comprehended the description of the structure of the skin already given. The skin is a great breathing organ : oxygen enters the blood through it and helps to purify the blood ; then the glands of the skin carry off, in the sweat and fatty secretion, matters that if retained would act as poison in the blood. The tendency of an unwashed skin is to become sluggish, the pores get blocked up, the oxygen cannot reach the blood, the perspiration does not readily escape, so as to keep the temperature of the body equable ; the injurious action of outside heat is therefore not counteracted by the free evaporation of the perspiration, the circulation gets de- ranged, and inflammation may be set up. Any one may guess for himself what an unwashed skin can do in choking up the ducts of the skin, if he examine the mass of cuticle and dirt which can be rubbed off the skin of a man who, not having had recourse to a bath or the appli- cation of soap to his skin for some time, takes a Turkish bath, or a hot bath, and remains under the influence of heat and moisture sufficiently long to soften the skin and the useless scales of cuticle which should long before have been cast off from the body. Nature can be helped by art in the preservation of health and vigorous action of organs. The application of water to the skin should be part and parcel of the daily toilette. From oldest time " purification by water " has been inculcated as part of man's daily duty, and not without sound reason. By its aid the accumulation of a layer of worn-out and useless cuticle is prevented, which otherwise forms a complete barrier to the entrance of the life-giving oxygen, and pre- vents, to a greater or less degree, the exit of poisonous products. So far, then, as to the necessity; now as to the mode in which the skin should be cleansed. The use of soap is the most sure way of purifying the surface of the body. Soap contains what chemists call an alkali — a chemical substance (potash or soda) which, brought in contact with animal membranes or sub- stances, softens them. (Moreover, it emulsifies fat. The effect of soap on the skin is therefore clear ; it softens up the cuticle, and it enters into combination with the fatty layer, so enables the water to gain free access to the skin, and friction to remove the loOse particles of cuticle and dirt. But there are good and bad soaps. Some have too much alkali in them, and then they dissolve or soften up the cuticle too much, and so expose or irritate the delicate deeper layers of the skin. We should use a soap that has a small amount of alkali in it. The best of all the soaps made, considered from a medical point of view, are, in the writer's opinion, the transparent soap of Messrs. Pears, or the well-known old brown Windsor, or a glycerine soap. The nicest to use is certainly Pears's, but it is somewhat expensive. It is the best for babies unquestionably, and may be used freely to them. Well, having obtained a nice mild soap, it should be used to the face once a day, the heads of children twice a week, and the whole body once a week at least. This is in addition to taking the daily cold water bath to be by-and-by noticed. If persons can afford the time and have the inclination, there can be no question that the best possible Vesults follow the use of soap to the arm-pits, the groin and parts about, and the feet, each day, and" to those who luxuriate in the thing, it cannot hurt to employ Pears's soap to the body generally each day. We have, however, stated that at least once a week the whole body should be soaped. Ordinary yellow soap does not meet with any favour at our hands, and we condemn it in the case of young children. 46 ANIMALS KEPT FOR PROFIT. There is one more point on this head. • The face, when very hot or dirty, or after a walk, should not be washed in soap. It is better to bathe, not rub, it in a little warm water, and then powder it with ordinary baby powder and let it dry. THE bATH, AND BATHING IN GENERAL. There are very few individuals who could not take daily ablution in the way of the sponge bath. It is true that the majority of people are quite unacquainted with such a thing, from childhodd to old age, as the morning dip or the cold douche, but this is die reverse of what really should be the case. It is, perhaps, hopeless to expect that any reformation can be effected in the case of those who have up to the mid period of life avoided the bath, but we may be able, perhaps, to persuade mothers of families to train up their children in the way they should go, and the young portion of our readers to adopt a means of pro- moting health, which will alone do very much, if persist- ently followed, in even prolonging life. The babe should be subject every morning to a good sponge all over, with, in the winter time, warmish water ; soap being used as well. Those parts in contact with the napkins should be washed carefully at night as well as in the morning. The temperature of the room should also be good in winter, and the babe dried rapidly by the use of towels warmed before the fire. In the summer a dip into tepid or nearly cold water itself, or in the case of ruddy children, quite cold, is to be, given. When the child comes to be three or four months old it should have become accustomed to its "tub" regularly in the morning, and in the summer time the water may be even cold, provified the skin feels warm after the child comes out of the bath, and after gentle friction with a warm or dry towel. The head should be washed first of all with soap and flannel. When the child is in the bath the back may be freely douched with the sponge. When children are given the bath from an early age, they take it each day with peculiar enjoyment. There need be no difficulty in the way of expense ; a wooden bath suitable for infants can be bought in the turners' shops for a few shillings, and the ordinary sponge baths, fitted for youths, girls, and adults, of a common sort, cost something inconsiderable. If the cold douche bath is taken at an early age, it should be persevered with throughout life, and only relinquished temporarily in febrile ailments. The best time for every one to take the cold bath is immediately on getting out of bed, before the body 'becomes chilled. The test whether the bath does good or harm is to be found in the occur- rence of shiverings, cold feet, a sense of coldness over the 'body, and an absence of "glow" over the surface. In such circimistances, the water taken must be tepid, and friction with towels must be freely employed. Hot baths should only be taken, as a rule, as a cleansing operation ; in fact, for the " Saturday night's wash," so to speak. Those who are taking active exercise, on the one hand, in their occupation, and those, on the other, who lead a sedentary life, are benefited by a good soaping all over and a rinsing in warm water every fortnight, in ad- dition to their cold douche each day. So with the Turkish bath. It may be taken as a clean- sing operation ; it cannot supersede the cold bath in the morning. When the skin gets dry and inactive, and the cuticle feels rough, the forced perspiration and the tho- rough wash and soaping ojie gets in the Turkish bath, tend to remove the worn out and dead cuticle which col- lects on the skin. The Turkish bath should be taken before a meal, not at least until three hours after a meal, and the bather should be perfectly quiescent in the bath, lying down as much as possible. He may drink a little water from time to time, and place a little water on the head if it gets dry and hot. Turkish baths, however, for healthy persons, do not find much favour with us. A good deal has been said with regard to the efficacy of flesh gloves and brushes. These are very good in their way, but there is no better way of promoting the proper circulation of the blood (for flesh brushes and the like act in this way) than by rubbing the skin freely, but mo- derately and firmly, with a fairly rough towel. If, from long-continued cold weather, or east winds, the perspira- tion has been retarded, the skin may become harsh to the feel from the plugging up of the little sweat glands by dead cuticle; then a vigorous application of the flesh brush, after a good soaping of the surface, may do very much good. In addition to the home or douche bath, there is the plunge bath, river or other, to be considered. Bathing in general, such as we now refer to, is very injudiciously practised, and it is much to be regretted that parents, heads of schools, and others, are so extremely ignorant generally of the best rules for bathing. The proper time is when the body is moderately heated with exercise, and when the process of digestion is at an end, and the water into which the bather goes has been somewha:t warmed by the sun. The reason for bathing when the body is heated slightly by exercise is simply this, that the circulation is excited and active, and is on the qui vive, as it were, to prevent any bad effect of the shock of the plunge. If the body is cool, or the bather fatigued, the vital powers are depressed rather than stimulated by the cold plunge. The whole body should be immersed. As stated before, in reference to the cold douche, the test of a bath agreeing with any individual is to be found in the occurrence of what is termed " reaction." If after the plunge the blood circu- lates freely through the skin, and a feeling of warmth and freshness is experienced, we know that the bath has acted as a tonic. If the bather feels shivery and cold, the bath does harm, and when this latter condition is found to exist in weakly subjects, it is better that medical advice should be at once taken, before bathing is again permitted. The following rules, drawn up by the Royal Humane Society, are good : — 1. Avoid bathing within two hours after a meal. 2. Avoid bathing when exhausted. ; . 3. Avoid bathing when the body is cooling after per- spiration. ■ 4. Bathe when the body is warm. 5. Avoid chiUing the body after bathing by sitting naked on banks or in boats. 6. Avoid staying too long in the water. Leave it directly there is the slightest feeling of chilliness. 7. Avoid bathing altogether in the open air if, after having been a short time in the water, there is a sense of chiUiness or numbness of hands and feet. 8. The vigorous and strong may bathe early in the morning on an empty stomach. 9. The young and the weak had better bathe three hours after a meal— best after breakfast. 10. Those who are subject to attacks of giddiness and faintness, or palpitation, &c., should not bathe without first consulting their medical adviser. ANIMALS KEPT FOR PROFIT. II.— THE FEEDING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF ADULT FOWLS. A judicious system of feeding is very essential to the well-being of poultry, and has, of course, more direct influence upon the profit or loss than any of the circum- stances — though equally important — which we have before enumerated. We shall, therefore, endeavour to give the subject a full and practical consideration. The object is to give the quantity and quality of food CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. which will produce the greatest amount of flesh and eggs ; and if it be attained, the domestic fowl is unques- tionably the most profitable of all live stock. But the problem is rather a nice one, for there is no " mistake on the right side" here. A fat hen is not only subject to many diseases, but ceases to lay, or nearly so, and becomes a mere drag on the concern ; while a pampered male bird is lazy and useless at best, and very probably, when the proprietor most requires his services, may be attacked by apoplexy and drop down dead. That fowls cannot be remunerative if starved need scarcely be proved. Exnihilo nihil fit j and the almost daily production of an article so rich in nitrogen as an egg — the very essence of animal nourishment — must demand an ample and regular supply of adequate food. We say no more upon this point, knowing that the common mistake of nearly all amateur poultry-keepers is upon the other side — that of over-feeding. The usual plan, where fowls are regularly fed at all, appears to be to give the birds at each meal as much barley or oats as they will eat ; and this being done, the owner prides himself upon his liberality, and insists that his at least are properly fed. Yet both in quantity and quality is he mistaken. Grain will do for the regular meals of fowls which live on a farm, or have any other extensive range where they can provide other food for themselves, have abundant exercise, and their digestive organs are kept in vigorous action. But poultry kept in confinement on such a diet will not thrive. Their plumage, after awhile, begins to fall off, their bowels become affected, and they lose greatly in condition ; and though in summer their eggs may possibly repay the food expended, it will be almost impossible to obtain any in winter, when they are most valuable. All fixed dietary scales for fowls are delusive. The one simple rule is to give them as much as they will eat eagerly, and no more ; directly they begin to feed with apparent indifference, or cease to run when the food is thrown at a little distance, the supply should be stopped. In a state of nature, they have to seek far and wide for the scanty morsels which form their subsistence ; and the Creator never irit.ended that they, any more than human beings,' should eat tiU they can literally eat no more. It follows, from this rule, that food should never be left on the giround. If such a slovenly practice be permitted, much of what is eaten will be wasted, and a great deal will never be eaten at all ; for fowls are dainty in their way, and unless at starvation point always refuse sour or sodden foo5. The number of meals per day best consistent with real economy will vary from two to three, according to the size of the run. If it be of moderate extent, so that they can, in any degree, forage for themselves, two are quite suffi- cient, at least in summer, and should be given early in the morning, and the last thing before the birds go to roost. In any case, these will be. the principal meals ; but when the fowls are kept in confinement, they will require, in addition, a scanty — and only a very scanty — feed at mid- day. The first feeding should consist of soft food of some kind. The birds have passed a whole night since they were last fed ; and it is important, especially in cold weather, that a fresh supply should as soon as possible be got into the system, and not merely into the crop. If grain be given, it has to be ground in the poor bird's gizzard before it can be digested ;■ and on a cold winter's morning the delay is anything but beneficial. But for the very same reason, at the evening meal grain forms the best food which can be supplied ; it is digested slowly, and during the long cold nights affords support and warmth to the fowls. A great deal depends upon this system of feeding, and as we are aware it is opposed to the practice of many, who give grain for the breakfast, and meal, if at all, at night, let the sceptical reader make one simple experi- ment. Give the fowls a feed of meal, say at five o'clock in the evening ; at twelve visit the roosts, and feel the crops of the poor birds. AU will be empty ; the gizzard has nothing to act upon, and the food speedily disappears,, leaving with an empty stomach, to cope with the long cold hours before dawn, the most hungry and incessant feeder of all God's creatures. But if the last feed has been grain, the crop will still be found partially full, and the birds will awake in the morning hearty, strengthened, and refreshed. With respect to the morning meal of pultaceous food, when only a few fowls are kept, to supply eggs for a moderate family, this may be provided almost for nothing by boiling daily the potato peelings till soft, and mashing them up with enough bran, slightly scalded, to make a tolerably stiff and dry paste. There will be more than sufficient of thi» if the fowls kept do not exceed one for each member of the household ; and as the pfeelings cost nothing, and the bran very little, one half the food is pro- vided at a merely nominal expense, while no better could be given. A little salt should always be added, and in cold or wet days in winter a slight seasoning of pepper will tend to keep the hens in good health and laying. This food may be mixed boiling hot over night, and covered with a cloth, or be put in the oven ; in either case it will remain warm till morning — the condition in which it should always be given in cold weather. If a tolerable stock of poultry be kept, such a source of supply will be obviously inadequate ; and in purchasing the food' there is much variety to choose from. Small or "pig" potatoes may be bought at a low price and simi- larly treated ; or barley-meal may be mixed with hot water ; or an equal mixture of meal and " sharps," or of Indian meal and bran ; either of these make a capital food. Or, if offered on reasonable terms, a cart-load of swede or other turnips, or mangel-wurzel, may be pur- chased ; and when boiled and mashed with meal or " sharps," we believe forms the very best soft food a fowl can have, especially for Dorkings ; but they cannot every- where be obtained at g. cheap rate, and the buyer must study the local market. A change of food, at times, will be beneficial, and in making it^ the poultry- keeper should be guided by the season. It isj however, necessary to avoid giving too great a proportion of maize, either as meal or corn, or the effect will be a useless and prejudicial fattening from the large quantity of oil it contains ; it is best mixed with barley or bean-meal, and is then a most economical and useful food. Potatoes, also, from the large proportion of starch contained in them, are not good as a regular diet for poultry ; but occasionally mixed with bran or meal will be found most conducive to condition and laying. In mixing soft food, there is one general rule always to be observed : it must be mixed rather dry, so that it will break if thrown upon the ground. There should never be enough water to cause the food to glisten in the light, or to make a sticky porridgy mass, which clings round the beaks of the fowls and gives them infinite annoyance, besides often causing diarrhoea. If the weather be dry, and the birds are fed in a hard gravelled yard, the food is just as well, or better, thrown on the ground. If they are fed in the shed, however, it is best to use an oblong dish of zinc, or, preferably, earthen- ware, such as represented in Fig. 3. The trough or dish must, however, be protected, or the fowls will walk upon it, scratch earth into it, and waste a large portion ; and this is best prevented by having a loose curved cover made of tin and wire, as shown in Fig. 4, which, when *■«. 3- 48 ANIMALS KEPT FOR PROFIT. Fig. 4- placed on the ground over the dish, will effectually prevent the fowls having anything to do with the food except to eat it, which they are quite at liberty to do through the perpendicular wires, two and a half inches apart. Many experienced poultry-keepers prefer to drive the wires into the ground, leaving them six inches high ; the trough is then put behind them, and a board laid over, leaning on the top of the wires. The effect of such a plan is precisely similar as regards the protection of the food, and its only (Bsadvantage is, that the wires being always in the ground rather hinder the sweeping of the shed. ' If the fowls have a field to run in they will require no further feeding till their evening meal of grain. Taking it altogether, no grain is more useful or economical than barley, and in summer<*his may be oc- casionally changed with oats; in winter, for the reasons already given, In- dian corn may be given every second or third day with advantage. Buckwheat is, chemically,- almost identical in composition with barley, but it certainly has a stimulating effect on the production of eggs, and it is a pity, it cannot be more frequently obtained at a cheap rate. We never omit purchasing a sack of this grain when we can, and have a strong opinion that the enormous production of eggs and fowls in France is to some extent connected with the almost universal use of buckwheat by French poultry-keepers. Wheat is generally too dear to be em- ployed, unless damaged, and if the damage be great it had better not be meddled with ; but if only slightly injured, or if a good sample be offered of light " tail " wheat, as it is called, it is a most valuable food, both for chickens and fowls. "Sweepings" sometimes contain poisonous substances ; are invariably dearer, weight for weight, than sound grain ; and should never be seen in a poultry-yard. The mid-day meal of penned-up fowls should be only a scanty one, and may consist either of soft food or grain, as most convenient — meal preferably in cold weather. The regular and substantial diet is now provided for, but will not alone keep the fowls in good health and laying. They are omnivorous in their natural state, and require some portion of animal food. On a wide range they will preside this for themselves, and in a small establishment the scraps of the dinner-table will be quite sufficient ; but if the number kept be large, with only limited accommodation, it will be necessary to buy every week a few pennyworths of bullocks' liver, which may be boiled, chopped fine, and mixed in their food, the broth being used instead of water in mixing ; these little tit-bits will be eagerly picked out and enjoyed. A very little is all that is necessary, and need not be given more than three times a week. If fowls be much over-fed with this kind of food the quills of the feathers become more or less charged with blood, which the birds in time perceive, and almost invariably peck at each other's plumage till they leave the skin quite bare. There is yet another most important article of diet, without which it is absolutely impossible to keep fowls in health. We refer to an ample and daily supply of green or fresh vegetable food. It is not perhaps too much to say that the omission of this is the proximate cause of nearly half the deaths where fowls are kept in confine- ment ; whilst with it, our other directions having been observed, they may be kept in health for a long time in a pen only a few feet square. It was to provide this that we recommended the open yards, to' be laid down in grass — the very best green food for poultry ; and a run of even an hour daily on such a grass plot, supposmg the shed to be dry and clean, will keep them in vigorous health, and not be more than the grass wijl bear. But if a shed only be available, fresh vegetables must be thrown in daily. "Anything will do. A good plan is to mince up cabbage-leaves or other refuse vegetables, and mix pretty freely with the soft, food ; or the whole leaves may be thrown down for the fowls to devour ; or a few turnips may be minced up daily, and scattered like grain, or simply cut in two and thrown into the run ; or if it can be got, a large sod of fresh-cut turf thrown to the fowls will be better than all. But something they must have every day, or nearly so, otherwise their bowels sooner or later become disordered, their feathers look dirty, and their combs lose- that beautiful bright red colour which will always accompany really good health and condition, and testifies pleasantly to abundance of eggs.- The water vessel must be filled fresh every day at least, and so arranged that the birds cannot scratch dirt into it, or make it foul. The ordinary poultry-fountain is too well known to need description, but a rather better form than is usually made is shown in the annexed figure. The advantages of such a construction are two : the top being open, and fitted with a cork, the state of the interior can be examined, and the vessel well sluiced through to re- move the green slime which always collects by degrees, and is very prejudicial to health ; and the trough being sightly raised from the ground, instead of upon it, the water is less easily fouled. Some experienced breeders prefer shallow pans ; but if these be adopted they must be either put behind rails, with a board over, or protected by a cover, in the same way as the feeding-troughs already described. Fowls must never be left without water.- During a frost, therefore, the fountain should be emptied every night, or there will be trouble next morning. Care must always be taken also that snow is not allowed to fall into the drink- ing vessel. The reason has puzzled wiser heads than ours ; but it is a fact, that any real quantity of snow- water seems to reduce fowls and other birds to mere skeletons. It is well in winter to add to the water a few drops of a solution of sulphate of iron (green vitriol), just enough to give a slight mineral taste. This will, in a great mea- sure, guard agaiiist roup, and act as a bracing tonic generally. The nisiy appearance the water will assume is quite imma- terial. Whilst the fowls are moulting, sulphate of iron should always be used ; it will assist them greatly through this, the most critical period of the whole year. A little hemp- seed should also be given every day at this season, at least to all fowls of value ; and with these aids, and a Httle pepper on their food, with perhaps a little extra meat, or even a little ale to delicate breeds during the few weeks the process lasts, there will rarely be any lost; With hardy kinds and good shelter such precautions are scarcely necessary, but they cost little, and have their effect also on the early recommencement of laying. In addition to tlieir regular food it will be needful that the fowls have a supply of lime, in some shape or other, to form the shells of their eggs. Old mortar pounded is excellent ; so are oyster-shells well burnt in the fire and pulverised ; of the latter they are very fond, and it is an excellent plan to keep a "tree-saucer" full of it in their yard. If this matter has been neglected, and soft shell- less eggs have resulted, the quickest way of getting matters right again is to add a little lime to the drinking- water. " CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 4' THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. THK TOOL-CHEST {continued). Saws.— For larger curves and coarser work, u. strong, narrow, tapering blade, fixed into a handle, is used. This is called a compass-saw. For more elaborate curves, a narrow parallel blade, thinner on the back than in front is stretched in a wooden frame. This is called a turning- saw, and a common arrangement is shown in Fig. 26. Fig. 26. The blade, a, is fixed by a rivet at each end to the handles, B B, which are thrust through holes in the sides of the frame, C C. A centre bar, D, keeps this frame distended, and acts as a fulcrum, whereby the force generated by the twisting of the cord, E, is transmitted to the blade. The cord is twisted by the lever, F, and should consist of five or six turns of strong whipcord. The parts of the handles which go through the frame Fig. 27. being cylindrical, they can be turned so as to put the blade in any required position to keep the frame out of the way of the work. The handle behind the pitch of the teeth — which is the one taken hold of— is usually laj-ger than the one at the other end. A stronger and larger form of this kind of saw , is much used on the Continent for all sorts of carpentry work, in place of our rip and half-rip saws. The turning-saw may be used to cut out spaces, by first boring a hole, into which the Fig. 28. blade, released from one of the handles by taking out the rivet, is inserted. Of course, the limit of distance from the edge of the work at which these saws can act, is equal to the space between the blade and the centre bar, D. Fig. 27 is a diagram of the buhl-saw ; these saws are used for cutting' delicate and elaborate patterns through thin materials, such as veneer for inlaying, and they are fitted ' in frames with very long backs of light metal, so that they VOL. I. may take m work of some size. The blade is of extreme thm metal, with very fine teeth, so that if a pattern sawn through two layers of veneer at once, one of lig colour and the other dark, temporarily stuck togethf with a piece of paper glued between them for the co venience of separation, the pieces of each set wou correspond and fit into the holes of the other, and vi versdj and so, with the one operation, two patterns a produced, one dark on light ground, aad the other lie on dark ground. The joints of the pattern are bare perceptible, owing to the extreme thinness of the sai In use, this saw is held with the blade vertical, and tl Fig. 29. handle below the work, and both frame and work are twistt about as the curves of the pattern require. The professe buhl cutter often uses a kind of wooden vice, one ja of which acts with a treadle, in which case the work is i a vertical position, and the saw is held horizontal! Fig. 28 shows a common metal saw, which is a stoi blade, A, of hard, tempered steel, thicker at the teeth edg than the back in order to allow clearage way, the teet not being " set," fixed in a metal frame, B, in which it strained by the nut, C. This saw is held by the hand! in the right hand, arid piished forward with considerabl force, the left hand being, lightly pressed in the curve ( Fig. 30. Fig. 31. the frame in order to steady the blade. These saw should be used as little as possible for cutting steel, whic' wears them out very quickly, and they are too hard to b filed up again economically. The ordinary forms of woo( saws are sharpened with three-cornered files, known a saw files, which* are moved rapidly -to and fro over th front and back edges of the tooth. The blade of the sai is held in a wooden vice, but an ordinary bench or tail vice may be made to answer the purpose, if a couple o wooden clamps be placed in the jaws one on each side o the blade, otherwise the grating noise is almost unbear able. Of circular or vertical machine saws, it will not b( necessary to say anything here, as they will not be likelj 50 THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC to he required, for the small jobs we shall probably meet in our household. Screw-driver. — Fig. 29 is the diagram of a screw-driver, a tool in which the only variation noticeable is in size! The longer the handle, of course the greater the power obtained. The point should not be ground up sharp, but bevelled nearly to an edge, so as exactly to fit the nick in the head of a screw. Screw-drivers are also fitted as bits, and used in the brace, a most convenient form where much screwing is to be done. Squares, Levels, B'c. — Fig. 30 shows the ordinary form of carpenter's square, which consists of a thin, flat, steel Fig. 33. blade, A, which is riveted into a thicker piece of wood, B, at right angles to it, the inner edge of the wood being generally faced with brass. In using, the blade is laid fiat on the wood to be squared, with the brass part of the handle held close up to the edge, and being brought to the required place, a line drawn along the metal edge ' will be exactly at right angles to the guide edge of the wood. Squares are also used in testing the ac- curacy of planed work, in which case the work should be held between the eye and the light, so that, on applying the tool, it will at once appear if it is at all untrue. Similar in principle and application is the mitre bevel. Fig. 31, which is a handle, B, with a shifting blade. A, which can be set at any required angle by the screw, c. The blade can be drawn out to the full extent of the slot in it, by which means a much longer line can be drawn. When not in use, the blade is turned round and brought in a line with the handle, in which position it occupies very little space. Fig. 32 shows the form of larger squares used by masons and others, which also serve as levels and tests of upright lines, by means of the plummet and line, C. For the horizontal test, it may be used on the same position as in the diagram, or turned over with the side, B, downwards, in which case the plumb-bob falls into the hole at A. The opposite side, C, held to vertical work, will test its uprightness. The plummet will fall in this case into the hole A, as with the last. " Fig. 33 shows a common form of spirit- level, which consists of a hollow tube of glass, closed at each end, and full of spirits of wine, all but a small bubble of air. This tube is mounted in a block of wood, faced with brass, in the centre of which is an opening, through which the tube is seen ; across the slit is a thin line, which marks the exact middle of, the level, and when placed on the surface to be tested,' Fig- 34' the bubble should stand exactly under this index if the work is correct. Levels are of many different shapes, and are sometimes found set in rules or squares ; but in all forms their application is the same. Analogous in use to squares and levels are carpenters' straight-edges, often called winding-sticks, which are simply parallel slats of wood about two feet long, with their edges planed per- fectly true. Suppose a long block of wood has been planed up to an apparently true surface, place one straight- edge on each end, and parallel to one another ; bring the eye down so as to get the two sticks in a line, and if any twist should exist in the log of wood, the greater length of the straight-edge will magnify the fault. If, however, the two sticks appear, when foreshortened, exactly parallel, the work is correct. One edge of a straight-edge is usually bevelled to a point, which is used for testing long surfaces. by bringing this- sharp edge in contact with the work when between the eye and the light. If the light is seen plainly through at any part, it is obvious that that part is too low, and therefore the surrounding portions must be reduced to the same level. For gauging across narrow logs, the metal edge of the square is mostly used in the same manner. For marking across the grain, a tool is used called a striking knife, shown in our illus- tration, Fig. 34, which is a blade sharpened with a slanting edge, which is bevelled from both sides. The other end of the blade terminates in a point, which is used for such purposes as pricking holes as guides for the position of nails, &c. Vices. — These useful contrivances are almost indispen- sable if any work in metal is attempted; but should our amateur only desire to work in softer materials, he will find the screw bench, to be described hereafter, answer his purpose, or at all events will only need a small table- vice. Fig. 35 shows the usual arrangement for the larger Fig- 35- kinds of vices, called tail-vices, from the fact that one of its arms is prolonged downwards into a tail, B, which rests on the floor, and contributes much to the steadiness of the hold. The work is held between the jaws. A, which are closed by turning the handle working the screw, C, the jaws opening when released by the action of the spring, d. These vices should be screwed firmly to the bench or table. Table-vices are much the same as the above, but smaller, and have no tail, but are screwed to the edge of the bench. They are only fit for light work, however. In both the above, the insides of the jaws are faced with steel, and cut into teeth, in order to increase the holdmg power ; these teeth, however, are liable to mjure the surface of finished work, if such is required to be held. To prevent this, clamps are used, made of soft metal, and may be had ready to fit the jaws ; although for nearly all purposes, nothing answers better than two strips of thick sheet lead, the length of the jaws, and about three or. four inches wide, nipped half-way in, and the remaining half bent over on each side with a hammer so as to fit round, the jaws and keep on them when opened. For holding round bars or pipes, a pair of clamps like a and b, Fig. 35, will be found^useful. a is a piece of angle iron, and <5 is similar, but thicker on one side, which side IS filed out into a gap, t ; the three faces formed by the sides of the neck and the clamp a giving' a vastly mcreased grip on rods, &c., besides altogether preventing them from shpping out of the upright position. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 5.J Fig. 36 shows a hand or pin-vice, much used by watch- makers, &c., for holding small wire. The jaws are closed by a fly nut, and the handle is hollow, to admit of a long rod being slipped through. The round handle is very Fig. 36. convenient for keeping work cylindrical if required, as the file may be moved in a straight path while the vice is rolled backwards and forwards by the left hand, the work being lodged in the partially-opened jaws of another vice. To obviate the difficulty in holding large works, owing to the disadvantage produced by the radial motion of the jaws in these arrangements, vices have been contrived in which the jaws move horizontally. Fig. 37 shows one Fig. 37- of these, which, though usually fine specimens of work- manship, are of course rather expensive (about 30s.). Tail-vices may be had from los. upwards, according to weight, about 6d. or 7d. per lb. being the average price. Table-vices are about 5s.,^and pin about 2s. 6d. upwards. Wrenches. — These are used chiefly for turning nuts or bolts by means of their heads, which are shaped so as to admit of being gripped, mostly having four or six sides. The ordinary form is known as a spanner, but, being of certain fixed size, is, of course, limited in effective- ness to only just those nuts or bolts it happens to fit. In order to do away with the necessity of having a large \J Fig: 38. number to fit every size, wrenches are made with sliding jaws, which open or close by various means. Fig. 38 is a diagram of what is popularly known as a screw hammer. The handle. A, turns in the collar, B, and has a screw cut in a hole bored inside it, into which screw the movable jaw, c, is drawn by the turning of the handle. There are many other forms of screw wrenches, but in all the application is similar, and it is needless to describe each form.' Before concluding this chapter on tools, it will be as well to bring before the reader the common forms of nails, &c., 'he will be sure to want, and just to let him know the names by which to call them. In Fig. 39, A shows that most common form, the "cut" nail. It will be seen that, looked at from the side, this is wedge formed, but from the edge parallel. It follows, there- fore, that the nail, when driven into wood, should be placed with its wedge side in a line with the grain of the wood. If this is not attended to, the wood, if at all thin, is sure to be split, besides which the hold is not so firm, as the fibres, being bulged away, do not maintain' ' so complete a contact with the nail as if driven in right. A practical trial or two will soon show the truth of this argument. These nails are very cheap, about 2 Jd. per lb., and are known as inch, two-inch, &c., cut nails. At one time the standard for their length was the height of piles of pennies ; but since the alteration in the coinage this standard has given way to the more rational one of inch measure. Brads, B, are cut by machinery from sheet A Fig. 3g. iron, which is used without waste in their manufacture, as the diagram C, showing the manner in which they fit one another, will show. These are also wedge-formed in one direction, and should be driven as directed for cut nails. The price of brads varies according to size, being from about 3d. to IS. per 1,000. D is a round, flat-headed nail, called a " clout," much used for such purposes as nailing on sacking of beds, &c., or in any case where a broad holding surface is required. These nails, being almost exclusively wrought by hand, are expensive, about 6d. per 100 and upwards, according to size. The tack, E, is a reduced form of the above, and will perhaps be the most used of all nails in household requirements, for naihng down carpets, blinds, &c. They may be had as japanned or tinned tacks, at 4d. to 6d. per packet, con- taining 1,000. Wall-nails, F, are used only for nailing up trees to walls, and such purposes. They are made of cast iron, and consequently very brittle. Price, 2d. per lb. The -sort of long iron tacks known as French pins, deserve to be much more generally used, as their grasp is very firm, although, owing to their cylindrical shape, there is but little danger of splitting the wood in using them. They are made of iron wire, flattened at one end into a head, sharpened at the other into a point. The price ranges from 6d. to is. and over per lb. Gimp-pins, H, will be found useful for tacking on bordering, fringe, &c., to curtains, ottomans, &c. They are 'only short, very stout forms of pins made of brass wire, and lacquered of different colours to suit the different furniture ; price about 2d. per oz. Nails with iron or steel points and brass heads or hooks of various shapes, will most likely be in much request ; they may be had with screws instead of points, if required. DOMESTIC SURGERY. WOUNDS, BRUISES, AND SPRAINS. Poisoned Wounds.— The form of poisoned wound most familiar in domestic surgery is in the finger of a cook who has pricked herself whilst trussing game or cleaning fish. The slight prick, which is not noticed at the moment, becomes painful in the course of a few hours, when the finger becomes hot and swollen, and a red flush is seen to be extending up the finger to the hand. This state of things, if taken in time, may be effectually checked by the application of a wetted stick of lunar caustic over ail the inflamed surface, and for some little distance beyond it. The caustic, of course, causes a .52 DOMESTIC SURGERY. smarting pain, and turns the finger black, but this wears off in a few days. A solution of caustic answers as well, or even better, than the solid caustic in these cases, and the ordinary." nitrate-bath" of photography, to be found in so many houses, is very good for the purpose. Instead of the inflammation spreading in the above described way, it may be concentrated in the wounded spot, and give rise to a whitlow. In this case, fomentation of the whole hand, hot linseed-meal poultices, and support in a sling, will be the proper treatment '; but if matter fonns, it will probably require an incision, in order to save the finger, and therefore early recourse should be had to a surgeon. Bites'of animals may give rise to poisoned wounds, with- out there being any risk of hydrophobia ; and this is seen in the case of pet dogs, cats, squirrels, &c. The same treatment as for ordinary wounds, followed by that in- dicated for poisoned wounds, if occasion arises, would be proper in such cases. When there is the least reason to fear hydrophobia in the animal which has bitten, every precaution should be taken, which should include thorough cauterisation or extirpation of the wounded part ; but this it is impossible for a non-medical person to carry out effec- tually. The bite of the adder is the only example of snake- poison met with in this country, and its effects, though serious, are not ordinarily fatal. In order to prevent, as far as possible, absorption of the poisonous material into the system, a string should be tied tightly above the wounded spot, which should be well sucked, the operator taking care to rinse his mouth out with a little brandy and water, and not to swallow any of the poison. After this, hot fomentations and a poultice will be the proper treatment. If the poison has spread up the limb, it, gives rise to great swelling of the part, and this , may even extend to the trunk. Friction with warm oil is the best remedy for this state of things, but it often does npt subside for some days. The stings of wasps or bees are painful, but not dangerous, unless some vital part," such as the inside of the throat, is stung. The stings, which are often left in the part, should be extracted with fine forceps or tweezers, and the smarting pain may be allayed by a little moistened carbonate of soda being laid over, or some sal-volatile and oil rubbed on the part. Penetrating Wounds of a slight character arise from the incautious use of some Common articles of domestic use, such as an ordinary sewing-needle, a crochet-needle, or a fish-hook. The ordinary needle, if buried beneath the skin of the hand or other part, may be readily ex- tracted if so placed that both ends can be felt. In that case, it is only necessary to press the end nearest the sur- face through the skin, and it can be easily withdrawn. If, however, as more frequently happens, only one end can be felt, and it is uncertain what length of steel is in the tissues, attempts to force the needle out lead generally to its being buried deeper ; and it is better, therefore, to have recourse to medical advice at <5nce, in order that the surgeon may, if he think it advisable, at once cut down upon the foreign body. Operations of this kind, though apparently trivial, should never be undertaken by amateurs, since the hand is too important an organ to be cut into lightly by one unacquainted with its anatomy ; and, besides^ there is usually no great urgency in the case, and the needle may very well be left alone until, in process of time, it makes its way to the surface, as it is pretty sure to do. Crochet-needles are more difficult to manage than ordinary needles, owing to the hook at one end. If merely driven accidentally into the skin, the wound may be cau- tiously enlarged with a lancet or sharp and clean pen- knife, so as to allow of the withdrawal of the barb ; but if deeply embedded in a finger, or, as has happened, in the tongue of a child, it will be necessary to push the point through in order to cut the hook off with a pair of wire- pliers, and for this medical assistance should, if possible, be obtained.' Fish-hooks are to be treated on a simik plan, except that the disciple of Walton, being gem rally alone and at a distance when the accident happen: must be content to cut the line from the mischievou hook, and having forced the barb through the neares point of skin, should draw the hook through the woua thus made. Bleeders are persons who suffer from what is scienti fically called a " hsemorrhagic diathesis " — i.e., they bleei profusely with the slightest scratch, and the blood is si peculiar that there is the greatest difficulty in stopping, it flow. This disease is found to affect sometimes only oni or two members of a family, is often hereditary, and ma; be traced through many generations. It is, fortunately of not very common occurrence, and is only mentionei here in order to warn parents of children who suffer fron a tendency to bleed, that they. should always. inform thei: medical man and their dentist of the fact, so that, as fa; as possible, all sources of bleeding may be avoided ; anc should haemorrhage accidentally occur, immediate medica assistance should be obtained, since every hour's delaj renders it more difficult to stop the bleeding. , Bleeding from the Nose is sometimes violent, and usuallj an evidence of some derangement of the general health for which medical advice should be sought. In order tc check the bleeding, cold water may be employed to bathe the face and head ; or ice-water may be injected with s syringe or india-rubber bottle into one nostril, when, i: the patient will keep the mouth open, the water will flow round the nose and out of the opposite nostril. In slighl cases, merely sniffing up cold air forcibly will ofter check the bleeding, and, in addition, powdered alum oi tannin may be used as snuff. When the bleeding con- tinues for any time, the surgeon should be called in tc plug the nostrils. Bruises and Contusions are common accidents whefe there are children, and fortunately a child is able to sustain, without serious after-consequences, a bruise which might be of importance to an older person. A seyere bruise is alarming to the bystanders on account of the rapid swell- ing vifhich takes place, and is annoying, in addition, to the recipient on account of the ecchymosis or discoloration left for some days after. The application of cold in any form has a tendency to check the swelling and sub-cuta- neous extravasation of blood constituting a bruise, and this may be applied in any form most convenient— cold vinegar and water, iced water, or the favourite cold metal spoon. Raw beef-steak is popularly supposed to have a great controlUng effect upon bruises, but apparently with- out good foundation. There is a medical remedy o) recognised utility in these cases, however, and this is the tincture of arnica ; and this may be painted on the skin, if not broken, or applied diluted with water, if the skin is torn. There is, however, one caution to be observed in the use of arnica — that in some persons it excites an irritation of the skin closely resembling erysipelas, par- ticularly if appUed to a broken surface. Some cautior should, therefore, be used in its first application, though the frequency of the occurrence of any untoward resull is probably very greatly exaggerated. Contusions are more severe accidents, than mere superficial bruises (with which, however, they may be combined), since they may endanger the life of the sufferer from injur) to deep-seated and important organs. The immediate effect of a severe contusion of any part is ordinarily tc produce faintness and nausea, and for this the patiem should be laid in an horizontal position, should be allowec plenty of fresh air (and consequently should not bf crowded upon by bystanders), and may, if able to swaUow dnnk a small quantity of weak brandy and water or wine On recovermg from the first faintness, no other symptom' may appear, and the patient may have received no furthe mjury than the "shock" of the accident ; but if, from the CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 53 nature and severity of the injury itself, it may be sus- pected that some internal injury has been received — as shown by long- continued faintness, by hiccup, or pain in the abdomen or chest — immediate recourse should be had to medical aid. Concussion of the Brain is the common result of a con- tusion of the head, and cannot be too seriously regarded. In any case of injury to the head, where insensibility has occurred, a doctor should be sent for ; but even in slighter cases, when the concussion has apparently only produced a temporary dizziness, careful treatment, both at the time and after the injury, will be necessary to restore the patient to a healthy state of both mind and body. In any case of insensibility from injury to the head, no harm can possibly be done by cutting the hair close, and applying cold to the head until the surgeon's arrival ; or should this be delayed, and the patient's body be cold and the skin clammy, hot bottles may be put to the feet in addi- tion. Beyond this, however, it is never safe for a non-pro- fessional person to go in a case of severe injury to the head ; and most particularly ought the administration of stimulants in any form to be avoided. Sprains. — A severely sprained ankle is a common, and at the same time a serious, accident. As it is very pos- sible that the accidental twisting of the foot to one side may have broken the small bone of the leg near the ankle, such a case should always be seen as soon as possible by a medical man. But if the sprain is of a sufficiently slight character to be treated domestically, it should be borne in mind that complications may occur at a later period, for which medical advice should not be too long delayed. In the case of a sprained ankle, it is of the first importance to get the boot off before the swelling, which invariably follows, has come on. If the accident has happened at a distance from home, the foot should then be firmly bound up with a bandage applied round the ankle in a series of figure of 8 loops, and the foot kept in an elevated posture during the conveyance of the patient to his home. On reaching home, the bandage is to be removed, and the foot assi- duously fomented with water as hot as can be borne, until the pain is relieved ; some tincture of arnica or poppy-heads being useful adjuncts to the fomentation. The application of leeches to bad sprains is often of service, but it is not safe to have recourse to them without medical sanction. The use of cold applica- tions to sprains, though popular, is not to be recom- mended. The cold lowers the vitality of the part, and tends to prevent the very repair which it is our object to bring about. Support and rest are the points to be insisted on, and these are most readily obtained by strapping the joint firmly with adhesive plaister, so that no movement of the ankle .is possible. In order to do this, it is necessary to have a yard or two of good " strapping " or " soap plaister," so that the pieces required may be cut "in the length" of the calico. • Strips long enough to encircle the foot and cross by some inches, are to be cut, and must be thoroughly warmed, one by one, either by holding them with the plain side to the fire, or, better, by plunging them for a moment into a basin of hot water. The foot being then brought to a right angle with the leg, and supported on the heel at a convenient height, the strips of plaister are to be applied as follows : — Beginning near the roots of the toes, the first strip is to be passed beneath the sole, and the ends crossed over the instep, and each strap is to be placed nearer the heel, and to overlap its predecessor for about half its width. When half a dozen straps have thus been applied, another series Fig. 13- is to be made to pass around the upper part of the joint horizontally, crossing the first set on the instep, and thus the whole joint will be supported and compressed, and the patient will be able to get about (Fig. 13). A bandage should be applied over the plaister, to keep it from slip- • ping. In a couple of days the plaister will have become loose, owing to the subsidence of the swelling, and must be renewed, the old plaister being most easily removed by slipping the blunt end of a pair of scissors beneath it on one side of the foot, and dividing it so that it can be taken away in one piece. For a sprain of mode- rate severity the plaister will require renewing three or four times ; but even when its use is abandoned, it will be advisable to employ a bandage or an elastic " foot- piece" for some time, as the foot will still require support. A sprain of one of the larger joints, and especially of the knee, is a serious injury ; and if any severe symptoms show themselves, immediate recourse must be had to medical aid. When a knee merely gives way occasion- ally under a person when walking, and there is no swelling or heat about the part, it will often be of service to support the joint with a knee-cap, which may be of elastic material, and is better made to lace up than to draw over the leg. When the joint continues weak for some time, it may be advantageously treated like an ankle by strapping, the plaister being cut long enough to go once-and-a-half round the joint, and about an inch in width. The straps are then made to over- lap in regular series, from below upwards, crossing in front until the joint is completely covered, as seen in the illustration. Fig. 14. A Strain is much the same as a sprain, except that it does not necessarily occur in the neighbour- hood of a joint. It consists in the tearing of some tendinous or mus- cular fibres, and is generally the result of some violent and un- wonted exertion. The treatment consists in obtaining rest and support for the part by careful bandaging, the use of a sling, &c. The term "a strain" is sometimes applied by the lower classes to the occurrence of a rupture from some violent exertion. If any s\velling should be noticed in the neighbourhood of the groin after some' exertion or athletic exercise, a surgeon should be immediately consulted, as the case may be a serious one, and a little delay be a matter of life or death. Fig. 14. COOKING. SIMPLE RECIPES {continued). Suet Dumpling. — This is an excellent dish both for rich and poor, for several reasons. It is wholesome, pleasant, and cheap ; it may be made more or less sub- stantial ; and its flavour may be varied according to taste ; it can be eaten either as a savoury or as a sweet. Its value as nourishment consists in its containing a good proportion of fat. Writers on cookery cannot too strongly insist, and mothers of families cannot be too fully per- suaded, that a certain quantity oi fat in our daily foqd is absolutely necessary to health. Young people, espe- cially, who have not enough of it to eat, are more liable than others to fall into a consumption at the period when they are making rapid growth. To such persons fat, in the shape of cod-liver oil, is administered as a medicine; 54 COOKING. for it matters little in what shape the fat is taken, whether as dripping, butter, or oil, their effects on the system being exactly the same. Unfortunately, though one man can lead a horse to water, a hundred can't make him drink ; and it is useless to set before delicate, perhaps fanciful, stomachs things from which, however good for them, they turn away with dislike and loathing. The only way is to cheat them, as it were, into taking, almost without knowing it, what'is essential for their bodily wel- fare. The housewife at least ought to be thoroughly convinced of the great importance of all kinds of fat in family dishes, and never to waste any ; but, on the con- trary, to procure all she can at an economical rate. There are families in which every scrap of fat which is helped to its members seated at table is left on the plate, and thrown to the cat or the pig. This ought never to be. It will not often happen in families who live by out- door employment, but it will when their occupations are different. We have no right to say an unkind word about " daintiness " and the rest, if persons who are con- fined nearly all day long to sedentary and monotonous employment, in a close, in-door atmosphere, have not the sharp-set appetite of the ploughman who hears the singing of the lark and feels the freshness of the winds of March, from misty daybreak to ruddy sunset; only, if they can eat no meat but lean, we urge them to use the fat under some disguise. They already take it in many shapes, unconsciously or without thinking of it, as in broths, milk, bread and butter, and even in meat which they call and consider lean. Let them buy, therefore, not one ounce the less of good wholesomqj^t with their meat, and let them employ it in some of the ways we are about to mention. For plain suet dumpling, the best is the kidney fat of beef or veal, which is sold separately in small quantities, and at a moderate price. Chop this fine, and to one pound of flour, put from a quarter to half a pound of chopped suet, according to the richness you wish to make it of. Add a pinch of salt, and water or milk enough to make it into a paste that will hold well together. It is a good plan to mix the salt (and, if you like, the least dust of pepper) with the suet before mixing with the flour. Make this paste into dumplings about the size of your fist. It is better to make several of a moderate size, than a few large ones : they boil more thoroughly, and in a shorter time ) besides, each person can have his dumpling to himself. Flour them well ; tie each one in a cloth, well floured inside, not too tight, but allowing a little room to swell. . A VQry little practice will teach you the degree of tightness. Throw them into boiling water, and keep boiling (galloping) a couple of hours or so, according to the size of your dumplings, and see that none of them stick to the bottom. Serve them the minute they are taken out of the cloth. They need no sauce ; but a little bit of butter, as an indulgence, or some roast meat gravy, does no harm. For sweet suet dumpling, allow a liberal quantity of suet. With , the salt mix a little grated nutmeg, and a good table-spoonful of brown powdered sugar ; or, instead of using sugar, you may mix a table-spoonful of treacle with the water with which you make the dumpling-paste. Boil as before. If sauce be wanted, give matrimony sauce. Pium Dumpling. — As before ; only mix with the salt, sugar, and suet six ounces of washed currants, or of raisins stoned and chopped. Same cooking, and same sauce. We once saw an ailing child crying for plum- dumpling when there was only plain, and refusing to dine. A good-natured friend, who happened to look in, said, " Give me one of those nasty plain dumplings," and dis- appeared with it into the kitchen. In two minutes he returned with it stuck over the outside with plums. The child set to with appetite, and ate it. If your quantity of phims is. .scanty, mix JMd a faw with your -flour and suet, and stick the rest on the outside of your dumplings before tying them up in their cloth and boiling them. They will be received by the little ones with a heartier welcome than if the treasures they contained were unseen. It is said that " a pleasing appearance is the best letter of recommendation." You may call them dumplings in their Sunday clothes. Moreover, the plan has a highly- approved precedent. Cabinet pudding (which is nothing but sponge-cake soaked in beat-up egg, and boiled in a mould) ought to have its outside only garnished with dried cherries, or, "in default of them, with jqr-raisitis stoned, by sticking them inside the mould before boiling. Suet Pudding. — Mix up the above ingredients with milk, a quarter of a pound of bread-crumbs, two or three eggs, a little lemon-peel chopped fine, and a little larger allowance of sugar. Do not make this up into separate dumplings, but boil in one lump, in a well- floured cloth, for a longer time — three or four hours. You see that in this case, as in the soldier's famous flint-soup, we are gradually enriching a preparation which started from a very simple beginning. By adding sundry nice things to suet and flour, we have got from plain suet pudding almost up to plum pudding itself. Short Cake. — We now come to things that are made with a crust (which we may call pie-crust, though in many cases it is boiled), enclosing something either sweet or savoury. And as we have said a few words about fat, so now we would call the attention of house- wives to the importance of sugar as an article of food. Its effects on the constitution are similar to those of fat, and it may be used as a partial substitute for, or in addition to it. They should also know that there are three things which, although so different to the taste and the touch, are alike in their nature and their chemical composition. Those three things are gum, starch, and sugar. We often eat these, especially the two last, without being aware of it. Arrowroot is starch. There is starch in potatoes and in bread. Indeed, the more of it there is in potatoes, the more nourishing they are. There is sugar not only in most ripe fruits, but in many roots, as turnips, carrots, and parsnips ; and in many vegetables, as in young green peas. When they grow older, it changes into starch. Almost all the sugar eaten in France is made from the beetroot or mangold- wurtzel. Sugar helps to fatten, and is therefore one of the aliments which supply animal heat. It is a valuable addition to food, though not an economical one ; and families who can afford its use are to blame if they pinch themselves in the article of sugar. Sweet things, however, require to be backed up with a supply of those kinds of food which nourish the body — that is, which supply the materials for growth. Short-cake is merely pie-crust sweetened with a little sugar, rolled out about three-quarters of an inch thick, and then baked in pieces of any convenient size. It is mostly eaten hot, as a little treat, at tea-time or supper, and is often made of what remains over and above of Good Common Pie-Crust. — You may make this by putting six or seven ounces of finely-chopped suet, with a little salt, to every pound of flour, and working it into a paste with a little cold water. But it is better to " try down," or melt in a saucepan over a gentle fire, any suet or fat you happen to have, and put it to the flour just before it gets cold. Very eatable crust may be made with the dripping from roast beef, veal, pork, or mutton. Even goose-dripping makes a not bad crust (though a little strong in flavour) for meat dumplings or pies. Butter is really the grease for pie-crust. Sweet, fresh pork-lard, too, makes excellent pie-crust, but it is often a? dear as butter, so that it is a question of price which you will use. The quantity of fat to each pound of flour is also a ihatter on which you will consult your pocket, and cut your garment according to your clotfa. Ten CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 55 ounces of dripping or lard will make a rich crust. But many things do not wani a i-ich crust. They are the better for its being at once substantial and lighi, which will somewhat depend on the cook's expertness in the use of her rolling-pin, and in her not being afraid to employ a little of what homely folk call " elbow-grease." A few quick turns and roUings out, with judicious sprink- lings of flour between them, will often make, with the same materials, all the difference between a light crust and a heavy one. Treacle Pudding. — Roll out your crust, to the thickness of from one-third to one-quarter of an inch, into an oblong shape, approaching to what learned men call " a parallelogram," and simpler people "a long square." Spread this with good treacle ; then roll it into the shape of a bolster ; work the ends together with your fingers, and give them a twist to keep the treacle in. Tie it up in a well -floured cloth, taking particular care of the ends. An oval boiler is the most convenient, because the pudding 7m{st not be bent. Throw it into boiling water, and let it boil well at least two' hours. Indeed, it is not easy to boil this class of puddings (roly-polies) too much, unless you sit up all night to do it. N.B. They should be kept boiling till the minute before you want to serve them. Sugar Roly-poly. — Make rather a rich crust ; spread It with brown sugS.r, and proceed as above. Matrimonjf sauce (p. 27) is very nice to eat with this. Apple Roly-poly. — Peel and quarter a quantity of apples, and cut out their cores. Set them on the fii-e in a saucepan with a little water and a clove or two. As they boil, stir them, and mash to a pulp. It will be a great improvement if you can put with them the rind of an orange peeled thin and shred fine. Of the pulp of the (?range you will have no difficulty in disposing, especially if there are children in the house. When siflooth and tender, reduce your apple-pulp to a thick marmalade by letting it stand by the side of the fire to evaporate. On the Continent, a similar marmalade is made with pears, especially with windfalls after a heavy gale. Sweeten your marmalade, if required, and with it make your roly-poly as in the case of treacle- pudding. It is clear that you can make a roly-poly pudding with any description of fruit, jam, or marmalade ; or you may even substitute for them a few plums and currants. Apple Dumplings. — Peel and core your apples ; cut them into small pieces. Put a small handful of these into the middle of a bit of pie-crust, and with them one clove and a little lemon-peel chopped fine. It is these little additions which make things jiice, and it is not the cost, but the thought and the trouble which prevent their being added. You may also put in a teaspoonful of brown sugar. Then work the crust round them, closing it at the top with a clever twist, and tie them, not too tight, nor yet too loose, in cloths floured inside, and boil galloping an hour and a half. There are recipes for baking apple-dumplings, respecting which we beg to observe that when baked they certainly are dumplings no longer, but become turnovers, rolls, or whatever else you please. Apple Rolls.- — Chop apples very fine, and sweeten them with sugar. Lay three or four tablespoonfuls of this in the middle of a circular or oval bit of paste, rolled out a quarter of an inch thick. Fold it in two lengthwise ; unite the edges, and press or scollop them with the bowl of a teaspoon, or the tines of a fork. Lay your rolls on a flat sheet of iron or baking- tin, that has been previously greased, and set into a moderate oven. To make quite sure of the apple being cooked, it will be found a good plan, instead of chopped or sliced fruit, to use apple marmalade, as made for apple roly-poly pudding. HINTS ON CARVING. Carving is quite a modem art, for forks have not been introduced in Europe many centuries. The first were brought to England from Italy by Coryat, an English traveller, in 161 1. In the days of our Saxon ancestors, joints of meat, poultry, and game, were brought to table on the spits on which they were cooked, and handed round to the company by the serving men on their knees. Each person cut what he pleased from the joint, using a knife which he carried at his girdle for the purpose, and tearing and conveying the pieces to his mouth with his fingers. The invention of forks is ascribed to the Italians, who used them in the fifteenth century. Other European nations fed out of the same dish, the gentlemen cutting off pieces of meat for the ladies first, and all using their fingers. The first forks were two- pronged, much like our carvers. In 1653 it had become an elegant habit to use a fork, but the roughness of the general manners at a period ignorant of forks and of the art of carving may be gleaned from the instructions given in etiquette in a little work published at the date above named, and entitled, " The Accomplished Lady's Rich Closet of Rarities," in which it seems necessary to warn her against a. demeanour only likely to be found amongst the very lowest mem- bers of society in our days, as the following extract shows : — "A gentlewoman being at table abroad or at home, must observe to keep her body straighte, and not lean by any means upon her elbowes ; nor by ravenous gesture discover a voracious appetite ; talke not when you have meat in your mouthe, and do not smackc like a pig, nor eat spoone-meat so hot that the tears stand in your eyes. It is very uncourtly to drink so large a draught that your breath is almost gone, and you are forced to blow strongly to recover yourself; throwing^ doune your liquor as into a funnel is an action fitter for a juggler than a gentlewoman. In carving at your own table, distribute the best pieces first, and it will appear very decent and comely to use a fork, so touch no piece of meat without it." Twenty years later than this, the Highlanders in Scot- land cut the joints of food brought to table with the daggers they wore at their sides. Even at the present day in France, which takes the lead in so many elegancies, carving is an unknown art amongst the mass of the middle classes. If a leg of mutton is brought to table, the master of the house grasps the joint in his left hand by the knuckle, and holds it up from the dish, cutting off junks of meat with a knife, commencing from the knuckle end, but without system. When about enough for the family or company has been severed from the joint, the rough-hewn lumps of mutton are transferred to a large meat dish, a fork placed at the edge, and the dish handed round by the seiTant. Veal and boiled beef is cut carelessly into lumps with a knife and fork, and handed round in the same way. And yet refined manners at table have been admired by the elite of all ages. Even the poet Ovid, so long ago as the Roman era, advised those who sought to gain the affections of others to be careful in their ways at table. He instructs his readers — " Your meat genteelly with your fingers raise, And, as in eating there's a certain grace, ' Beware with greasy hands lest you besmear your face." We, who have the assistance of forks, and can readily obtain instruction in the daintiest and most economical methods of cutting the food brought to table, ought to blush to be behindhand with the ancients, not only as there is in " eating" but also in carving;, " a certain grace " most desirable to be achieved. S6 HINTS ON CARVING. Roast Fowls are by no means an uncommon dish, and one is often raquested to carve a fowl, who, from want of practice, is obliged to blush and refuse. As sideboard carving is not yet sufficiently general to render the chal- lenge impossible, we recommend every one of our readers to master so really simple a thing ; for nothing makes a person look more stupid than a bashful refusal to perform such a little service for host or hostess upon occasion. It looks as though one would eat his dinner at another's expense, but would not even put out a hand to assist. Poultry-carvers are placed to divide fowls ; the poultry kiiife is short and thick, and pointed and sharp at the top. The great art in dividing all kinds of birds is to hit the joint at once, else there-is an awkward fumb- ling about, cut after cut made, and a stupid delay. To take off the leg, which should be the first joint ^^<3^^^^^ -pf^^^^^^^^ centre of it, hold it firmly, place the fork under the portion to the left of the knife, and raise it from the dish at right angles, till the bone snaps ; then cut right through, and help the two halves separately. The wings are deemed the most choice portions of the fqwl, and are usually served first. In Fig. 5 a little round is noticeable just in the bend of the wing, marked X. This is the gizzard in the one wing, and the liver in the other. The liver wing is generally most esteemed. When carving a fowl, it is usual to ask which is preferred, the liver or the gizzard wing. Salmon. — Fig. J in the coloured plate represents a slice of salmon when brought to table. Salmon, should be served on a napkin, and it is often garnished with sprigs of fennel or slices of lemon. A silver or plated slice or knife, Fig. 6, is used for this, as for FiR. 6. Fig- s- removed, thrust the fork into the breast at A, in Fig. 4. •Take one careful glance at your bird before you touch it with the knife ; in this glance ascertain where the joint is likely to be rela- tive to the width of the leg and the width of the body. Strike the knife to the joint ; feel for the centre of it, where the joint is united ; send in the tip of the knife upright ; press it down straight ; and then, with the weight of the hand, turn the knife over, as shown in Fig. 4. Instantly the joint cracks, and is severed. Now cut it off from the side, taking a nice slice of meat with it, according to the line indicated from A to c, in Fig. 5. Having re- moved one of the legs, take off the wing on the same side in a similar manner. A good-sized piece of meat is taken off from the side of the breast with the wing, and is almost of triangular s^iape ; it is shown by the dotted line from G to F, and from F to H. Remove the leg and wing from the other side, and then take the "merry-thought" off the breast. This is done by inserting the kjiife under the point of the breast-bone at I, in. Fig. 5, and sweeping it round at each side by a circular cut from I, past L to M. Afterwards separate tire remainder of the breast from the back by cutting it right through the small rib bones at the straight line, from end to end of the fowl,_ marked j K in Fig. 5. This last piece of the breast is generally helped entire. Now only the back reniains. Turn it over on the dish with the outside upward ; plant the knife upright in the Fig. 7. other kinds of fish, because steel spoils the flavour of fish. A knife needs to be broad to divide the flakes without breaking them. A fish-knife has a sharp curved point to disengage the fish from the bones, and is perforated with holes to allow any water retained about the fish to run off. A fork is not used in helping fish. With the blade of the fish-knife, A to E, in Fig. 6, cut through the salmon from end to end, close to the backbone, at the line marked A in Fig. 7. If the fish is large, it will be necessary to make one or more cuts parallel with A. These are again divided across into square pieces, as shown at B. This part of the salmon, which is the prime, is called the "thick." With each slice of the thick, cut also one of the "thin," or belly, which is cut down in smaller slices,- as shown from E to F in the illustration. When the upper portion is consumed, remove the centre bone with the fish-slice to the side of the dish. Cut the remainder as before, taking care not to damage the napkin on which it is laid. Each piece of fish is served from the dish to the plate on the flat of the silver slice. The centre of the salmon towards the shoulders, and the centre cuts are reckoned the best. In our next article on this subject we shall give instructions for carving the other dishes figured in our coloured illus- tration, as well as some more plain joints of butchers' meat. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. ?r HOUSEHOLD DECORATIVE ART. II.— LEATHER- WORK. To make flowers and fruit in leather, it is advisable that Nature should guide the learners entirely ; never trustirig to their own taste, nor to paper patterns, when natural leaves and productions are procurable. It is almost impossible to give a really practi- cal written description ; however, I will en- deavour to explain the process of making two or three of the easiest, as simply as I can, but really redommend those desiring to be proficients in the art, to take a couple of lessons to learn the more complicated species, as roses, passion-flowers, &c. Camellias. — Cut out the petals (Figs. 6, 7) according to the number and sizes required, damp and mould them into shape with the fingers, and give them as natural a form as possible ; fasten all the petals together with thread and liquid glue, and put a piece of wire through the whole for a stalk, covered with skiver leather. The buds are made by piece of leather uncut at one end, rolling the strips round between the thumb and finger. The anthers are formed by a thin strip of leather being cut into small pieces, and each portion rolled between the finger and thumb, the end of each stamen being tipped with liquid glue ; the anther can be easily affixed. The piece of leather left at the end of the stamens should be rolled up as a stalk, put into the interior of the lily, pulled through the hole at the base, and then glued to its proper place. The bud of the lily is formed by merely folding the whole corolla to- gether, veined (see Fig. 8). 7(7 make Hops. — Cut twenty petals oyt of skiver leather all the same size, the shape of the single petal, B, Fig. lo; then take a piece of wire, and wind leather round the end of it, as in a, Fig. lo, fasten- ing it well with liquid glue ; this inner body should be somewhat shorter than the hop is to be when completed, and pointed at both ends. Mould the petals into a convex form at the end of each petal, then W glue them alternately, com- Fig. 7. rolling some leather chips, smeared with liquid glue, into the proper shape, then covering with two or three petals, and gluing down the base to the calyx, tak- ing care to leave the upper part of each petal free. The calyx should be formed by cutting a piece of leather to pattern, and moulded into shape with the fingers and the handle of the veiner. Dahlias, Fig. g, are formed by cutting out circles of leaves, each circle being smaller than the other, and each having a hole in the centre ; a fine roll or pledget of leather is passed through these holes, and holds all the circles together. White Lilies. — Take a piece of leather and cut it into six petals, formed of one piece, thus : the three largest petals which alternate with the others are brought uppermcst, while the three smaller ones are placed behind ; the leaves are then to be veined, and curled or moulded into shape, as in the natural flower, and the petals will require to be glued to keep them in their proper places. Moulds can be procured to lyork the lily on ; but if there is not one at hand, some- thing should be adapted to place the lily upon while modelling it as near the shape of the interior as pos- sible. It has six stamens with oblong anthers, which are made by cutting strips of leather, and leaving a Fis. 10. mencing at the bottom and finishing at the top of the flower (c. Fig. lo). In constructing Fritit, much care is necessary in the formation of the moulds, the choice of specimens, and the manipulation through- out. The materials required consist of some gutta- percha sheets of various degrees of thickness, and some natural moulds j the rest of the materials are the saine as those used for other work, with the addi- tion of two fruit -moulding tools of different sizes. To construct a Peach. — Choose a hard, unripe speci- men, and obtain a cast of the exact half by dipping a piece of gutta-percha sheet into hot water, and pressing it firmly over the peach, previously smeared with olive oil. If neatly done — and the art will be acquired by practice — the natural division of the fruit may be imitated. Remove the cast from the fruit, smear the inside with oil, and cut a piece of leather larger than the mould, dip it into cold water, and with the moulding-tool press it gradually and firmly, with a circular motion, into the mould, then set it aside to dry. Next pour some liquid glue into the inside, and press in any odd pieces of leather or shavings until the half is filled. Construct another half, and join the two parts with liquid' glue ; rub off the irresrular edges that remain with the end of the Fig. 8. 58 HOME GARDENING. moulding-tool, and smear with liquid glue, to keep the parts firm, then size and varnish. Lemons, apples, melons, plums, or any similar fruits, are formed in the same manner. Pears, figs, or such shaped fruit, require casting with the apex at one end and the base at another. Cherries are made in a siiliilar way to grapes, which we described in our former article. Walnuts should be made by forming a mould of gutta- percha from the half, and pressing in the moist leather as usual, then filling up and varnishing. Filberts are very effective when made, and are thus produced : — Crack several nuts, and choose as many half pieces as you can ; cut the edges smooth with a knife, and there is the mould ready. Lay one of the halves upon a piece of basil, run a pencil round the edge, and cut out the piece, which should then be dipped into water and pressed into the half-shell mould and set aside to dry ; when dry, fill up with leather in the manner described for a peach ; remove from the mould, then glue the two halves together, rub the edges down, and the nut is finished. The bract is made by taking the natural bract of the nut, as in Fig. 1 1, laying it on the leather, and cutting it out from it. The base of the nut is glued to the centre, and the rest of the leather is brought round the nut so as to give as natural an appearance as possible. When several have been formed, they should be glued together by their bases, to resemble a cluster, and the stem and leaves, which are formed in the usual manner, affixed and arranged according to Nature's own design. Currants, 6-=^., are formed in the same manner as ivy-berries. Strawberries are constructed like grapes, but of course the shape is different ; and, when the fruit is finished, the seeds are imitated by digging up the leather with the sharp point of a pen-knife ; it is then fastened to its calyx witla glue, &c. Raspberries and Mulberries are formed by rolling up slips of smeared leather until they are the size of the seeds, and having previously formed a pyramidal piece, the seeds are to be fixed to it until they are clustered into the proper size and form. The mass is then to be fastened to the calyx, previously cut out by pattern, and attached to the stem as usual. Wheat is made by rolling up leather strips, and cover- ing the seed with small oval chips, rendered concave by means of pressure, and fastening them to a zig-zag strip of leather. To make Leather Figures. — Choose a good plaster of Paris cast, or a statue, and proceed as follows : — Oil the figure well with sweet oil, and having warmed a sheet of gutta-percha by immersion in hot 'water, press it firmly with a cloth into every part of the cast required ; allow it to cool, and remove it carefully. The mould is then to be oiled inside, and the leather (having been previously stretched) should be dipped into cold W3,ter and after- wards pressed into the mould, the inside to be filled with leather chips, as in the fruit process, and, when dry, re- moved ; but I recommend that a couple'of lessons be taken in this as well as in the modelling of flowers ; as to excel in this, the highest, order of leather mo- delling, practical demonstration is better than verbose descriptions. Bee-hives can be made with leather stems as follows : — Cut a piece of wood to the shape and size required ; wind and glue upon it the stems, beginning at the top and finishing off at the bottom. To join the stems, cut £ach end to an angle, so that they fit ; join them with liquid glue, and tie a piece of thread round to hold them tightly together till the glue is dry, when the thread can be cut off. To imitate the " tying" mark with a pen, with the darkest stain, lines and dots from top to bottom, cut a little bit out of the lower tier to make the entrance, and make a.handle at the top with a piece of stem. And with this example of industry we will conclude our lesson c leather work. It will be observed that the instructions v have given have been merely rudimentary, teaching tl reader how to form imitations in leather of single natun objects. We may, at some future time, give some desigr for the grouping of these together, for the purposes of hous( hold decoration. Such groupings may, of course, be infinif in their variety, according to the shape or requirement of the object the leather-work is intended to omamen Frames for pictures, and mirrors, brackets, bookstandi and similar articles, are good subjects for. the artist i leather-work to try his hand upon, and may be rendere highly ornamental by a tasteful employment of this simpl but effective branch of the household decorative art. HOME GARDENING. THE SMALL SUBURBAN GARDEN. Among the many thousands of houses which have beei built during the last few years in the neighbourhood o our large towns, few are without some small patch o ground which may be turned to account for flowers There may not be room for an extensive and show; display, but there is usually enough, either at back o front, to make an ornament to the house, and to affon some degree of amusement and interest to the owner What to do with these small plots, is the difficulty witl many who are without gardening experience, and have littl( time to acquire it, and consequently we very often fine such spaces either veiy injudiciously filled, or neglectec altogether. We shall try to put our readers in the wa; of making a flower gardfen, even if the space at their dis posal be only a few yards in extent, and this at a verj ^mall outlay of either money or labour. We must ask our readers to keep in view the hints wf gave in our last paper, as to the planning of the smal garden, and the preparation and improvement of the soil Taking these as a starting-point, we will suppose the beginner to have put his piece of ground in order bj clearing away rubbish, well turning and breaking up the soil, and importing mould if necessary. For getting the ground ready, if it has ever been used as a garden before he will find a three-pronged fork far iriore useful than i spade. It will be more effective in its work, while at the same time it is more easily handled. But, in selecting either spade or fork, do not choose a large or heav) implement. Select a tool that you can wield with ease, foi by so doing you will be able to go over far more ground in a given time, than if you chose one which apparently would turn up a great deal more at a stroke, but would entail in its use a degree of fatigue which might soon compel you to desist altogether. People very often fancy that it is necessary to get tools for their work of the same size and weight as those which a regular gardener is in the habit of using, but this is a mistake. With such operations as trenching, manuring^ and making pits, all of which are most important, and wiU require a full explanation, it is not our purpose to deal a1 present. Our readers who may desire information or those subjects wiU find it as we proceed ; it being oui intention to describe all the various gardening operations in their regular order, as they are successively required. The ground prepared, it has next to be laid out. There must be the space in which. the flowers are to be grown, and— what it is equally important to provide for— the means of getting at the flower-bed or beds from all points, for planting or cultivation. A small garden should have small beds ; but it is a common mistake to make one large bed in such a place, usually in the form of a circle oi an oblong square. If the garden is surrounded by ar open fencing, the best arrangement is a flower bordei running round three of its sides, with a walk up the centre. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 59 Fig. I. ^ i If there is sufficient width, a middle space may be allotted to flower-beds in addition. But if, as we have before re- marked, a wall or close fence encloses the plot, make your flower-beds in the centre, and your walks around the sides. The arrangement of side beds may be made either in the usual fashion of a straight and uniform line, or with the outer border forming a waved line. The latter plan is decidedly preferable where the available space is not so limited as to cause a trivial effect. Besides being a depar- ture from the tiresome uniformity which ordinarily meets the eye, it affords somewhat better means of tending the flowers, as the indentation of each curve gives a more convenient approach to the plants. But in these and other matters, it is hardly possible to lay down any very definite rules, and the reader must be guided by the suitability of the plan suggested to the space at his disposal. As to centre beds, ; beware, in any case, of the mistake to which we have be- fore alluded. Itmay be easy enough to plant a large bed, beginning from the middle and work- ing outward ; but when the plants come to grow, it is impossible to tend them properly without risk of in- jury. When they require trimming or watering, the plants are difficult of access, and you must step upon the bed to accomplish the work. For watering, in town gardens, should be given occasionally to every individual, plant ; not to its roots alone, but thoroughly over its leaves, to remove from them the dust and other pollutions which choke their pores. And when plants are in flower, it is necessary to remove from them continually all decaying leaves and spent blossoms, so that they may be kept in health, and their period of blooming may be prolonged as far as pos- sible. Accordingly, for any central space, let the ground be divided, so that access to all the plants is freely open. If the space will allow the formation of one good-sized bed only, reject thfe form of either circle or square ; there are others which will be both more pleasing to the sight and more convenient from the gardening point of view. We give two or three diagrams of suitable forms of single beds, Figs, i, 2, and 3, which will suggest others to our ingenious readers. When there is a larger space available, and more than Che central bed can be made, the ground may be portioned out in geometrical forms, comprising a circle or an oval, with segments of a circle. Our illustrations. Figs. 4 and 5, suggest figures applicable in this case, always remember- ing to let the forms chosen satisfy the eye, as well as afford ready access to the plants. We have seenj where plans similar ^ to these are adopted, and especially where the garden is formed on Big. 3- ( \ k Fig. 4. what was previously meadow land, the grass left on the spaces around or between the beds. But we must confess we would rather relay turfs at any time than attempt to renovate old and coarse grass, which can never be made to look so well as new ; neither do we approve of turf for either edging or lawn in very small gardens. It requires, in summer particularly, incessant clipping and attention to keep it in tolerable order, and the time which should properly be devoted to the plants is thus occupied by their surroundings. What is best for the purpose is a walk of neat gravel. FORMATION OF GARDEN PATHS. In the case of paths, we have heard it stated that perfect drainage is only absolutely essential in a very damp locality, or where there is a rush of water from higher ground near at hand; but we beg to differ in this respect, because we look upon it that " whatever is worth doing is worth doing well," and as it is merely the question of a little extra labour, there is no good reason why so important a matter should be slighted. Our planis to shape out the paths ex- actly, and remove the earth in their entire course to the depth of eighteen inches, making, as it were, a clean,square trench; then, hav- ing spread stones or rubbish, such as broken crockery, burnt brick clay, or some similar hard material, so as to fill to the sur- face, we permit it to lie for a time, ram- ming it down every now and again, until it has become perfectly solid. In a week or more, according to the weather and labour bestowed, it will be sunk to a distance of six inches from the top of the trench. Then place upon it a layer of coarse gravel, from three to four inches thick, and let it be well rammed down, and afterwards rolled as flat as possible; and as soon as you have made the surface to your liking, put another two-inch layer of finer gravel over the whole, roll it as before, and you will have a path that will discharge any amount of wet, and never give way or become rotten or untidy, let the weather be what it may. The gravel for the purpose may be obtained in many localities at a very slight expense, and it is not necessary, although it may be desirable, to have more than the usual bottom of well-beaten earth ; but where it is not so easily procured, stones, shingle, rubble, or any similar material, may be beaten into the ground to form a solid path. All garden paths, great or small, should be somewhat higher in the centre than at the sides, to allow water to run off freely, and so prevent their getting into a sloppy and unpleasant condition in wet weather. In the choice of material for the borders of beds, tastes differ widely, some preferring a permanent edging of tiles. /' m. I 1/ I Fig. 5. ' 6o ANIMALS KEPT FOR PLEASURE. or similar material, while others will have nothing but flowers. But where flowers are used for the purpose, it is necessary to plant very closely, or one of the chief objects of the edging-^namely, to keep the mould from being brought down on to the path by rain, &c. — will not te secured. Nothing answers this eJnd better, or looks neater, than good terra-cotta tiles, which may te obtained at the rate of about 15 s. the hundred, each tile nine inches in length. Where this edging cannot be procured, rounded stones are sometimes-used ; and in small gardens, in the vicinity of towns, we have frequently seen borders of oyster-shells, or broken bricks driven into the ground with the corners uppermost. ■ Box is the best and most lasting material for a permanent green edging, but it must 'be planted with great care, to protect it against frost. The soil round the edge of the bed to be formed must be patted down firrm and even, or level, and having chopped out the trench in a slanting direction towards the walk, the roots of the box must then b; laid against this, and the soil pressed down tight as the trench is being fiUed up around them. They should be planted in March or September, and clipped in July or August. An edging of grass is objectionable, as we have already remarked, as it requires constant attention to keep it tidy. , GARDENING OPERATIONS FOR NOVEMBER. Having described as minutely as possible the principal work to be done so far as regards the laying out, or, more properly speaking, formation of a new garden, we may now proceed to give some instructions to those whose gardens are already laid out, it being our intention to furnish throughout the course of our work a general calendar of operations in the various departments of gardening. ■ November will be found as good a month as any for carrying out any alterations in the laying out of the garden that may be thought desirable. It will, how- ever, be necessary to see to such work at once, as it must be borne in mind that frost is very likely, nay, almost certain, to overtake us at this season of tjie year, and accordingly not a moment should be lost in fixing upon the changes you intend to adopt, and carrying them out with all possible expedition ; for if the frost does come it wall put a complete stop to any operation of importance for the time being, and the progress of your garden may be very seriously delayed in consequence. Any deciduous trees and shrubs (as those that drop their leaves in the autumn are called) that it may be thought desirable to move should be taken up and replanted in their new places without further delay ; but evergreens (those that retain their foliage the whole year round) will not neces- sarily require to be so hastily dealt with, as they will take no hurt for a week or two. All such work as digging, trenching, making new paths or renovating old ones, laying turf, &c., should be seen to at once, for every fine day lost now is worse than a month at any other time, and especially in the case of bad weather setting in for any length of time, no matter whether it be wet or frost : indeed, in many respects the former does more mischief than tlie latter, so far as retarding progress is concerned. You should also be thinking now of providing a show of blossom for the following spring. Such bulbs as ane- mones may now be planted, in patches of six or more, three inches deep, or they may be put in five or six inches apart all over a bed or border ; while crocuses, snow- drops, and similar small kinds, which always do best when planted in patches of a dozen or more, may be got into their respective situations as soon as you can manage to "do so. Only a very few flowers will be left in the garden at this season, though there are some notable exceptions. The chrysanthemum, which will grow almost anywhere and' under any circumstances, will nevertheless thrive all the better for a little extra care ; therefore, those, in flower out of doors should have their dead and dying blooms removed at once, so as to throw additional strength and vigour into such as have not yet opened. Small gardens will require to the full as much attention as larger ones, where a constant display of bloom is wanted, and as we presume that to be a principal aim of all flower gardeners, we recommend everything to be grown in pots first of all, as you will then have merely to sink them in the beds ; and as each one fades it can be removed and replaced with something else of greater importance. As an example, let pots be introduced, the swan mussel {Anodon cygneus)\ and the duck mussel {Unto pictormn), but they possess no especial recom- mendation, and require careful watching lest they - die and pollute the water. Among the lively crea- tures that' deserve a place in the aquarium, there are few more interesting than the common water- spiders {Argyronetiz aqua- tied). These form especi- ally attractive objects on account of their activity, and their habit of rising to the surface, drawing a globule of air underneath the water, and carrying it down, as if it were a jewel attached to the hind part of the body. If the aqua- rium be in good condition, the water-spiderwill some- times weave a web and construct its nest, and live in confinement for a considerable period. There are several varie- tiesof thebeetle tobefound m rivers and ponds, but only two that can be safely intro- duced into the aquarium— the large harmless beetle {Hy- drous piceus), and the little whirligig {Gyrinus natator).' The former, though large in size, is distinguished for its amicable disposition ; the latter, though small, makes up for its insignificant proportions by whirling about and persistently forcing itself into notice. The caddis-worm, or cad-bait, is a favourite object for the aquarium. It is the larvas of the May-fly, and may be found in the shallows of rivers and streams. With minute pieces of twigs, grains of sand, and other obtainable materials, these worms construct grotto-like nests, the particles of which they fasten together by means of silken threads, secreted in the same manner as in the silk-worm The methodical, careful, and business-like way in which the caddis builds its dwelling affords an admirable illus- tration of the instinct possessed by the insect tribe ; and the operation may be easily observed in the aquarium, by the use of an ordinary magnifying glass placed on the outside near the spot where the creature is at work. AQUAElUM WITH ROCKWORK AND FEKN. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 65 HOME GARDENING. THE CULTIVATION OF SMALL GARDENS. In the outskirts of London, and, indeed, of most towns, there are to be found numbers of small houses at a moderate rental, with a very small patch of ground at the back, from twenty to thirty yards in length, ■and six or seven yards wide, so small, in fact, that at first sight it might appear questionable whether it would be really worth the time, trouble, and necessary expense to keep it in a state of cultivation.' We hope to be able to show that this would be a mistake. A plot of gi'ound, however small, is far too valuable to be wasted, especially in the suburbs of towns, where all garden produce is very expensive ; and our present object is to show those of our readers who have small gardens of this kind howto cultivate them to the best advantage. The laying-out of them should be as Fig. 2. endive, onions, spinach, and the various useful herbs necessary for a small family, and, if all the ground were kept continually under cultivation, or, in other words, as soon as one crop is done with it were cleared off, and another put in its place, it might be made remunerative. Smaller plots of ground, such as belong or accompany dwellings of a minor description, which might be better understood by the name of yards, if they were only paved, would likewise pay the tenant to grow use- ful pot herbs, and such crops as onions, lettuces, radishes, and so forth, and as such, there is no reason why a foot of soil should lie idle. In a future paper, we shall again revert to the subject of gardens on a some- what larger scale, and how to make them pay. Cauliflowers, rhubarb, sea-kale, and even asparagus might be grown. A few of the most useful fruits, such as raspberries, currants, gooseberries — of course, small sized — might be F'S- 3- simple as possible — either with a path down the centre, and beds on each side to the boundary walls, or else with a path running round the garden at about two or three feet from the wall. Of these, the latter is preferable, for several reasons ; it is certainly more Rightly, and enables one to reach every part of the ground with facility. Of course, if it be merely intended to use the garden as an ornament, it will be easy enough to fill the surrounding beds with flowers, the centre being laid out in • . grass,' with a few small beds of flowers i; in the. centre, as described in our ^ last paper, but this is an expensive matter, as all the plants will have to t)e procured fresh year after year, there not being sufficient space to propagate fresh, ones, or to keep a -winter for the next summer's planting. If it is desired to make the garden remunerative, flowers must be made a secondary consideration, and the principal part of the space should be filled with a judicious selection of vegetables. In favourable situations such a plot would grow the cabbages, lettuces, radishes, VOL. I. stock through the Fig. 4. planted here and there in the garden, currants migkt be nailed against the wall with advantage, and space might also be found for a few strawberries. gardening OPERATIONS FOR DECEMBER. Such of our readers as are desirous of obtaining an early spring display of bloom, may do so by preserving a few autumn-sown annuals in pots. Should they depend upon self-sown seedlings, which are always the best, when obtainable, they should take them up out of the ground, and plant two, three, or four, according to the size and habit of the plant, in good- sized pots, which should then be placed in a frame or pit. Of these the latter will be found to be the most effective for protecting these or any other small flowering plants or shrubs through the winter. To form a pit, the ground should be excavated to a depth of three feet, and lined all round with brickwork nine inches in thickness, rather higher at the back than the front, so as to allow of the covering sloping to the front. We have found stout boards answer the purpose fairly, but of 66 COOKING. course they are not so good a protection as brick, and they will want renewing each season ; and for a flooring or bottom there should be a layer of fine coal ashes six inches thick, which will not harbour vermin, or retain the moisture that runs from the pots after watering. In ordi- nary winters, a frame on; a hot-bed such as has been used for forcing in the earlier part of the year, will be found a suflficient protection. Both pits and frames ai-e covered with the ordinary glass sashes, and in severe weather a bass mat is the best additional covering. Those who are not prepared to go to the expense of glass sashes, will find the followirig substitute both cheap and effective. Procure some cheap calico and stretch it quite tight on an ordinary frame, and then proceed to make it waterproof by means of a composition for which we subjoin the recipe. Get some thin cheap calico, and after having stretched it on your frames (or, if required in a piece, on the ground) quite tight, then cover it by means of a brush with a com- position made of two pints of pale linseed oil, one ounce of sugar of lead, and four ounces of white resin. The sugar of lead is to be ground with a little of the oil, after which add the remainder and the resin, and mix the ingredients well together while warm. Water should: be giveii with -great caution in winter, but, when it is found necessary to apply it, moisten the soil entirely, without spilling any on the foliage if it can be avoided. In wet weather, the best way of admitting air to plants in pits and frames, is to tilt the glass sashes up behind, as by this means the rain is kept but of the bed, and that which falls on the glasses ;runs away more readily. In. dr^ "weather, these plants should be fully exposed, except iii the case of frost, when it will be necessaiy to keep the sashes close. A frame with one light open and thfe other partially closed, is shown in Fig. 3. An admirable plan ,for protecting small shrubs, when you are uilable to affitrd a green-house, is to, drive six or more stakes into the ground in a circle, at equal distances from each other, round the shrub, and bind them together with two hoops, whose size and diametrical proportions niust depend entirely upon the size of the plant or plants to be surrounded. One of these hoops is to' be nailfed; or tied within an inch of the top, and the other about half-way down, as shown in Fig. 2. This framework is to be covered with waterproof calico, as in the previous case. Fig 4 represents its appearance when completed. The third and last, though by no means the least important, is not a new idea, but it is equally useful in its w^ for the protection of rectangular beds of plants. It consists of a sufficient number of arches, which may be formed of hoops from an old tub, which have been opened and pointed at each end. These should be thrust into the ground at the extreme edges of the bed, at about eighteen inches apart all the way down. Then place a straight stick or lath on the top, and one on each side, about a foot from the ground ; tie each arch securely to these laths, and you will have a frame strong enough to hold the waterproof calico, as at Fig- 5- Care must be taken that in both cases the material used as a covering reaches the ground, where it must be Secured, . as, without this, the plants would be as well, and even better off without any covering at all. To give, air to plants thus protected, you must contrive to have some por- tion of the covering movable, as shown at Figs. I and 4. This opening should be as near the top as possible. Open these doors or windows, as they may be termed, whenever the weather will permit, but close them at night, or, in fact, as often as you think there is any danger of their taking harm. Keep everything as tidy as possible, and if you have any bulbs still out of the ground, get them in without delay. Cut down fuchsias that are to remain out all the wifiter, and see that their roots are protected by a cover- ing of coal ashes, sawdust, or similar material. It is a good plan to take up tea-roses, and lay them by in a shed, or out-house, or, in fact, in any place where frost cannot reach them. Auriculas and other plants in frames should be kept moderately dry, and they should also be kept free from weeds and dead and dying leaves. COOKING. PUDDINGS — CAKES — FRITTERS— FISH. Sausage Rolls. — Lay one sausage, whole, without re- moving the skin, in the middle of the rolled-out pie-crust,, and then proceed as with apple-rolls. This is capital, cold or hot, for hungry boys. Beef Pudding. — Cut beef into bits half the size of a walnut, fat and lean together ; they need not be the primest parts. Make them into a pudding, as you would ,make apple-pudding, seasoning with pepper, salt, all- spice, and chopped onions. Put in a little water to make gravy. People that can get them, add mushrooms and oysters ; but these are not absolutely necessary. This pudding takes a great deal of boiling. Saffron Cakes or Buns are a nice little treat for chil- dren ; pretty to look at, and easy to make. Their slight medicinal quality is stimulant — likely to do more good than harm. Their tendency is to .help digestion, and they are Said to kill or drive out intestinal worms. To make your saffron loaves, cakes, or buns, buy at the druggist's as small a quantity of saffron as he will sell. Infuse enough of this in the water with which you make your dough to give it a clear, hght, yellow tinge, and the decided taste and smell peculiar to the flower, both which" it will retain after baking. Then make your cake exactly as the gateau — directions for making which were given in a previous number (page 37) — ^with the addition of a little sugar, a.nd taking care that it rises well. If to be kept some time, make it into good-sized loaves ; if to be consumed or distributed immediately, ■ make into small buns or roUs. Bake in a moderate oven, neither fierce nor slack. Good Commott Cake. — Mix a teacupful of good yeast with half a pint of milk ; warm it slightl-y ; stir it into two and a half pounds of flour, and half a pound of brown sugar, and set it to rise. Then melt half a pound of butter with another half-pint of milk, and add it to the former ingredients, with half a pound of washed currants, or a few caraway seeds, a little bruised. Again leave it for awhile to rise. When well risen, put it into tins, and bake. Pancakes. — As these are a holiday treat, you will try and make them as good as you can. Shrove Tuesday comes but once a year. Allow eight eggs to a pound of flour. Separate the yolks from the whites. With the flour ipix the yolks, a pinch of salt, a little milk, and some good yeast. The quality of the yeast is more important than the quantity; Beat the whites of the: eggs to a froth with a little milk ; this is done to help the yeast in making the pancakes light. Mix this with the flour and the other ingredients. Stir in as much more tepid milk as will bring the whole to the thickness 0;f batter. Some people add a glass of rum or brandy, and a little grated nutmeg. Cover with a cloth, and set it for two or three hours somewhere near the fire, to rise. Always wipe out your frying-pan immediately before using it. You may have hung it up clean, but dust falls, blacks fly, and rust goes to work. When the pan is warm, put in a liberal quantity of dripping, pork lard, or butter. When that is hot, pour into the middle of the pan enough batter to make a pancake. As it fries, keep raising the. edges with a knife or with a fish-slice. When the under side is done, turn it quicldy, taking care not to break it; to do this cleverly requires a little practice. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 67 When the pancake is cooked, sprinkle its surface with a little moist sugar after it is laid on a very hot dish ; and so on, until your pile of pancakes is finished, sprinkling each with sugar in its turn. Over the top pancake squeeze the juice of one or two oranges. The oranges are quite an excusable extra. Peel them before squeezing, and dry the peel, jf not wanted for immediate use. It will serve to flavour puddings and stews. Boiling water poured over it, with a lump of sugar, makes a pleasant drink to quench feverish thirst, the bitterness and essential oil in the peel being slightly tonic. Some people prefer the juice, of, lemons with the pancake, so it. will be well to give them the opportunity of choosing. Afi^le Pancakes. — Put a little less milk into your batter— that is, make it a little stiffer, and sweeten it slightly. Ch,op apple very small, mix it with the batter, andiprpceed as before. The pancakes will require more care in turning, to keep them whole, but they are very nice when you do succeed. Stir up the batter every time you use it, to mix the apple equally. Apple jfriiters. — Peel a few large apples ; cut out their cores with an apple-scoop, and cut them across in slices a quarter of an inch thick. Some cooks will tell you to soak them an hour in brandy, in a soup-plate, with a Jittle sugar dusted over them ; but that expenditure of time, trouble, and materials is perfectly unnecessary. We do not say that it does no good, but you may make capital apple fritters without it. Let your batter be even stiffer than the preceding, with the allowance of one or two more eggs to the same quantity of flour. The frying-pan, which may be smaller and deeper, should also contain plenty of hot fat. With a fork, dip each slice of apple first into flour, then into the batter, to make as much stick to it as you can ; then with your slice push it off the fork into the frying-pan. Turn it, if necessary ; but there should be fat enough to cover it. When you judge the apple is tender, take up your fritters, let them drain on the slice an instant, then pile them in a pyramid on your dish. Fritters should be fried so dry as to be eaten, like cake, with the fingers, and served hot enough to bum the mouth. Other fruit may be fried in the same way as apples. We have eaten peach fritters, in the course oif our travels, but hold them to be inferior to apple, the peach being one of the fruits which lose flavour by cooking, while both the apple and the apricot gain by the process. Small slices of meat, cold cooked vegetables, as carrots and celery, joints of fowl, i&c., are all excellent fried in batter. It is worth knowing, not only that a great mainy little remnants may be dressed again in this way, in a pleasing shape, but (in case you have to help to cook a stylish dinner) are actually used to ornament and accom- pany other dishes. They are largelv so employed both by French and American cooks. Parsnip Fritters (^American). — Boil the parsnips in salted water, so as to flavour them througli ; make a light battpr; cut the parsnips into rounds, and dip them in the batter. Have ready hot lard; take the parsnips out of the batter with a spoon, and drop them into the lard while boilji^g,, Whep they rise to the surface, turn them ; when browned on ,tioth sides, take them out ; let them drain, ajad set, them into the oven to keep hot. Serve them with broiled, fried, or roast meats or fowls. Proceed iu the same way for turnip fritters, to be used as garnish for fried m^ts, hashes, stews, &c. , ,' PISH. , Perfh, fiels, and 'small Pike are excellent fried ; but frying is rather a costly way of cooking fish. The fat it takes would be better employed in making sauce to be eatejtt with them boiled. With roach, dace, and bream (the bigger these are the better), you may make a very nice,Jighti and extremely palatable dish in the following manner ; — After cleaning your fish, salt them for a night. Throw them into as much boiling water as will cover them. Let them boil about five minutes, and as soon as the flesh will come away from the bone, take them up, and pick it off clean with a knife and fork, taking care not to leave any of the little bones in it. You will then have a plateful of fish without any bone. Boil some mealy potatoes ; mash them ; season with pepper and salt ; add a bit of butter or sotne roast meat dripping, and mix up the fish with the mashed potatoes equally, so that there is not more of it in one place than in another. You may then turn it out on a dish, and serve it ; or you may put it in a basin, and set it before the fire, to keep it hot till wanted. When once made, it will warm up again easily. Eels are occasionally to be had in tolerable plenty. There are two easy ways of cooking them which are con- venient, because in both they are as good cold as hot. The first is — Potted Eels. — For people with good stomachs and hearty appetites, there is no need to skin eels. There is no doubt, hoWever, that their flavour and digestibility are increased by skinning, although the skin contains fat, which greatly helps to warm us, by supplying fuel for the slow combustion within us, by which our animal heat is maintained. The pickled eels that are sent in casks from the northern countries of Europe to the south are never skinned. After cleaning your eels, and cutting off their heads, cut them into pieces about two inches long. Put them into a brown earthen pot, to which, if there is not an earthen cover, you have fitted a wooden one. Season them with pepper, salt, and allspice ; if you have parsley and thyme in your garden put in a few sprigs. Pour over the eels a little more vinegar and water than will cover them ; put on the lid, and set the pot into a slow oven, or on the ashes on your hearth. They should not be too much done ;• as soon as the flesh will gome away from the bone, they are done enough. They will keep some time. When herrings are cheap, and before they are shotten, you may pot them in the same way. These you scale, cut off the heads and tails, and cut them across into two or three pieces. Collared Eels, though a little more trouble than potted eels, make a very good and handsome dish. For this, the larger the eels the better ; quite small eels can hardly be collared. Empty your eel ; cut off its head ; open it at the belly the whole of its length; wash it ; take out the backbone, tearing the flesh as little as may be. Dry it by pressing it with a coarse cloth. You will then have a flat strip of eel-flesh, broad at one end and narrow at the other. Season the inner surface of the eel by dusting it with salt, pepper, and allspice. Then roll it tightly upon itself, as you would a ribbon, beginning at the broad end, until you have rolled it into a lump something like a short, thick sausage, blunt at both ends. Tie it with broad tape (not with string, which would cut into the flesh when cooked), to keep it from unrolling, and then cook in an earthen pot with a lid, exactly as you do potted eels. One large eel will be enough to do at a time, and be as much as there is room for in your pot. If undersized, you can collar several (rolling each one separately) at once. When you want them, you take them but of the pot, and after cutting off as many slices as are required, you return them to their liquor for future use. They will keep thus several days or longer, and are very convenient to have in store, to save cooking in hot weather. Conger Eel Pie. — In many parts of the country, congers, or sea eels, are often plentiful and cheap. In Cornwall, where they put, everything into a pie, conger pie is one of the most approved. Take congers not thicker than your wrist (they may be less) ; empty, and cut them into two- inch lengths, rejecting the heads. Wash, drain, and dry them in a coarse cloth. Roll the pieces in flaur, then 68 COOKING. place them in your pie-dish, seasoning, as you do so, with pepper, salt, and allspice. You may sprinkle amongst them a little chopped parsley and lemon, or common thyme. Pour over them a tumbler of water, with a table- spoonful of vinegar in it, to help to make gravy. Two or three hard eggs quartered will be a nice addition. Cover all with a good solid crust, and bake in a moderate oven. This dish may be eaten either hot or cold ; if cold, the pie may be a little more highly flavoured with spice and vinegar. Large Conger, Roasted, is very good and easy to do. Take a cut, about a foot long, out of the middle of one of the largest. Clean it without opening the belly. If you can manage to stuff it with a stuffing made of bread cruiftbs, chopped parsley and lemon thyme, pepper, salt, and shred fat or suet, bound together with a raw egg, your roast will be all the better, as well as aU the bigger, for it, Tie it round with string, and after a good dredging with flour, roast it. Put into your catch-pan a lump of butter or some roast-meat dripping, and, if you live in a cyder country, a tumbler of cyder ; if riot, the same quantity of one-third vinegar, two-thirds water. Baste well your roasting conger with this, dredging it with flour from time to time. When half-done, change the end by which it hangs before the fire, and continue basting till it is done enough. Serve the gravy with it. Large conger, so prepared, can be baked in a dish, if the shape and size of the oven allow of its being basted now and then with the liquor (the same as you put into the catch-pan) in the dish, into which you may also put a few potatoes. Baking the fish is less trouble than roasting it, but if cooked in this way it is more liable to over-doing and drying up. » Skate is a Avholesome fish, often to be had at a reason- able price, as it bears travelling well, and is indeed, in cool weather, the better for being kept a couple. of days after catching. It is best in autumn, but is never exactly out of season. Choose fish with the brown skin clear and healthy-looking, the flesh and under skin very white. Young skate, called " maids," are tender fleshed and deli- cate ; larger fish are firmer, and altogether more profitable, having thicker flesh in proportion to the quantity of gristle, for they have no real bones. The upper skin should be removed. If you have to do it yourself, strip it from the middle outwards. Save the liver. Cut your fish into pieces about four inches square — some out of the thick parts, some out of the thin. After washing, throw the thick pieces and the liver into boiling salt and water ; when they have boiled up a couple of minutes, put in the thin. They will take from ten minutes to a quarter of an hour in cooking. When they are done, arrange them on your dish, and make for them some liver sauce, for which we subjoin a recipe. . Liver Sauce. — Chop some of the liver into pieces smaller than peas. Put some of the water in which the fish has been boiled into a saucepan ; thicken it with a little flour and butter or dripping ; add some vinegar, with a very small quantity of mustard mixed in it. Then put in your chopped liver ; let it come to a boil, and it is ready. Plain Boiled Mackerel, with Feizitel Sauce. — If the fish have roes and milts, by making an opening near the vent, you will be able to draw the entrails at the opening made by the removal of the gills, at the same time leaving the roe or milt in its place, afid also to wash the inside of the fish through those two apertures. The mackerel will thus have a much plumper appearance than if the roes were taken out and laid beside them. When the fish- kettle boils, throw in a few sprigs of the freshest light green fennel you can get. Add a little salt, and when the water boils again, throw in your mackerel. Skim carefully. They will take from twenty minutes to half an hour, according to the size. V/bcn done, lay your mackerel on the strainer in your dish, previously warmed. Have ready some melted butter, not too thick. Take the boiled fennel out of the fish-kettle,' chop it fine, and add enough of it to the melted butter to give it a light green tint. Add a dessert-spoon of vinegar, either common or flavoured with tarragon. You may also stir in a very little made mustard, but so little as scarcely to be perceptible. When well mixed over the fire, serve separately in a sauce-boat. Cods' Heads. — In some places, fishmongers take the heads off their codfish before they cut up the rest of the fish to retail it by the pound. In that case, the heads are sold cheap ; and when they can be had for somewhere about twopence each, they are well worth buying. They are in season through the whole of autumn and winter ; and we have enjoyed many a cheap fish-treat with a dish of cods' heads, which contain several of the tit-bits prized by epicures — namely, the tongue,' the cheek-pieces, and the nape of the neck. The fishermen in the northern regions, who take cod in large numbers for salting (to do which they are obliged to cut off the heads), might be expected to throw them away, and waste them, in the midst of such abundance. But instead of that they turn them to the best possible account. The tongues and the neck- pieces, as well as the sounds, or swimming bladders of the fish, are cut out and salted. Even the fins are dried, to furnish glue. The only inconvenience attending cods' heads is, that if there are several, they require a large kettle to boil them in ; but they can be cooked one or two at a time, reserving the flesh from the second batch for next day's use. After taking out the eyes, wash the heads, drain them, and if you can let them lie all night with a little salt sprinkled over them, they will be none the worse for it. Put them into a kettle of boiling water, and boil from a quarter of an hour to twenty minutes, according to size. Dish them on a strainer, if you can, and help with a spoon. For sauce, oiled butter is good — i.e., simply set a lump of butter in a cup before the fire until it melts, and with a spoon pour a little of it over the fish on your plate. In some English counties, nice mealy potatoes are considered a necessary " sauce " for codfish. For sharp sauce, take a few table-spoonfuls of the cods' head boilings ; put them in a saucepan ^vith a lump of butter or dripping, and a table-spoonful of vinegar ; dust in a little flour, and keep stirring in one direction till they are all mixed smooth and come to a boil. Both these sauces go well with any boiled fish, and are very nice served with many sorts of vegetables. To these we will add a third, which will be found equally simple and good. For brown sauce, put a good lump of butter or dripping into a saucepan. Set it on a brisk fire, shake it round now and then, and keep it there till it is browned, not burnt. Take it off the fire, and stir into it a good table- spoonful of vinegar. When they are. well mixed, pour it into your sauce-boat, and serve. The mixing of the vinegar with the hot fat had better be done out of doors on account of the quantity of vapour that rises when they are put together. Although the reverse of an unhealthy smell, it may not be agreeable to the persons in the house. Any meat remaining on cods' heads after a meai should be separated from the skin and bone before it gets cold This rule applies to all other fish. Arrange it neatly on a plate, and dust a little pepper, and drop a little vinegar over It. It will furnish a nice little delicacy when cold or you may warm it up with potatoes, adding any sauce that may be left, m the way we have already directed for roach and bream ; or, after putting on it the cold sauce left, or a bit of biitter, you may sprinkle over it bread crumbs or mashed potatoes, and brown them before the fire or in the oven. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 69 THE AQUARIUM. FRESH WATER ANIMALS {concluded). As temporary residents tadpoles certainly claim a few- words of notice. They are easily obtainable in the spring, and their gradual development into frogs affords a lesson in natural history especially interesting to the young. They should be introduced in the proper tadpole stage, when they consist but of an oval body terminating in a pointed tail, which is actively used as a propeller. mon carp, Prussian carp, the roach, the tench, and the gudgeon ; the two first named being the most preferable. As it is important to know what to avoid, it should be mentioned that the stickleback, though an amusing little creature when kept with companions of its own kind, is too pugnacious to be admitted into a general collection ; and the same objection holds good with the perch. There is another animal that may be safely placed in a small vessel in company with those we have named, and that is the newt, of which there. are two kinds— the small DEVEL0P3\IENT OF THE FltOG. Then may be observed the gradual budding of the hind-legs, the ■ newt and the triton. They are both perfectly harmless and appearance of the head, and the ultimate change into 1 the latter is especially attractive on account of its bright yellow body, which is striped with black. An aquarium furnished with the creatures we have named will con- tain sufficient variety in form, colour, and habit to render it very attractive and interesting, and will need but little attention to keep it in order. Care should of course be taken that the water does not get too warm or too cold, and that no more food be given than can be consumed. The best food is' 'a little biscuit powder, kneaded up into pills about the size of pin- heads, and shreds of raw beef cut with a pair of scissors ; these should be drop- ped in alternately, when the fish will catch the bits before they sink to the bot- tom. This operation should not be per- formed more fre- quently than once a day. As it is not desir- able to disturb the contents of an aqua- rium oftener than can be avoided, two or three inexpensive instruments are required. To remove the stones at the bottom a pair of forceps should be obtained — a wooden glove- stretcher, to be purchased at any hosier's for a shilling, answers the purpose better than anything else ; to remove lighter matters, such as decayed leaves, morsels of food, &c., a glass tube open at both ends is the most effective. By putting one end of the open tube against the debris to be removed, and then placing the finger over the other end, any light substance can be lifted out of the water ; to take it out by any other method is no easy task, and often results in breaking it up and fouling the water. When the bottom of the aquarium becomes dirty from an accumula- tion of sediment, a syphon of india-rubber tubing may be used; by letting the tube draw the water from the lower part of the vessel the refuse will pass out without disturbing the weeds, and clean water can be introduced gently to make up for what has been taken out. It should always be borne in mind that an aquarium, properly managed, needs no change of water ; in warm weather, however, it is neces- sary to add a little water to make up for evaporation. The writer has kept both large tanks and small vessels for more than a twelvemonth without changing the water. An aquarium is more interesting and less troublesome than most other decorative objects that involve the support THE LOACH. the frog. On arriving at the final stage of its development it be- comes amphibious, and will climb on the cork island that should float on the surface of the aquarium ; then, of course, it requires its liberty, and should be placed in the way of finding a more conge- nial place of retirement. When the plants have become fairly es- tablished, and the beetles and snails have settled down in their new home, it will be time to con- sider what fish shall be chosen to complete the furnishing of the aquarium. For the sake of appear- ance precedence must be given to the golden carp ; two of these, not exceeding four inches long, will be sufficient for a cir- cular glass. The most interesting of the fish which may be kept in confinement is, how- ever, the minnow ; these little creatures will live for a consid- erable time — some- , times for years^n a healthy condition, and become so tame that they will take food from the fingers at the surface of the water, and follow the hand that feeds them round the glass. From six to a dozen of these will not be too many for even a small aquarium. Sometimes a disease will attack the min- now, and therefore, before being placed in the aquarium, they should be carefully examined. If a whitish fluffy spot be noticed near the tail, the fish should be kept in quarantine, or it will contaminate the rest, and a general mortality will ensue. This disease usually spreads gradually from the tail towards the head, till nearly half the body becomes coated with a woolly fungus, the fish moves with an awkward jerk, and then occasionally floats helplessly on its back, till in a few days it dies. The loach is also to be recommended as an inhabitant of the aquarium. It agrees well with the other fish, soon becomes tame, and invariably thrives ; its movements are somewhat curious, for instead of gliding about like the rest, it lies at the bottom, turns over the p.ebbles in search of food, and jerks itself round the glass with a spasmodic motion, resting occasionally on the rockwork that lies in its way. It is also useful in a sanitary point of view, for it picks up the stray morsels that may have fallen to the bottom, and thus prevents the water becoming fouled by decaying frag- ments of food that have been unobserved by its more lively neighbours. To the above may be added the com- THE TillTON. THE COMMON NEWT. of either vegetable or animal life. 70 THE TOILETTE. THE TOILETTE. I. — THE MANAGEMENT OF THE SKIN {continued).. Pimples and Rashes of the Face. — Infants at the breast, when they are much wrapped up or heated, suffer from the development — on the cheeks, neck, arms, body — of little, vivid red, soft, raised pimples, the size of pins' heads, sometimes scattered about, often congregated together, and accompanied by a little red blush. This eruption is called the " red gum," or " red gown," " tooth rash," and the like. It is a simple affair, due to congestion and slight inflammation of the skin, and it is a sign, as a rule, that the babe is kept too warm. Formerly, when infants were half smothered in clothes and close rooms, red gum was very common indeed. As regards medicine, it may be well to give a few grains of carbonate of soda, to correct acidity, two or three times a day — in the food is as good a way as any — and to use locally several times a day a simple lotion composed of a quarter of an ounce of oxide of zinc, a half tea-spoonful of glycerine, and six ounces of rose- water. A little borax and glycerine, or lemon juice and . water will also be of service. In young persons who are passing into adolescence, "pimples" on the face are common, in the shape of black specks, or red pimples, which are hard and raised, and often exhibit a central yeUow spot ; a little fatty matter may often be squeezed from these spots, and from its form it has been mistaken for a worm. The extruded mass is, however, only a plug of cuticle and fat which fills up the tubes of the little fat glands. The disease of which we are speaking is techni- cally called acne. Some persons think that acne is due to a superabundance of nutritive fluids in the body ; but this is not the case. About the age of puberty the whole glands of the body become active, and if anything inter- feres with the circulation through the skin, that is, makes it sluggish, the glands will not secrete their oily matter pro- perly, a,nd will become, therefore, choked up with secre- tion, and the collection of dirt from the external air upon the top of the choked-up gland appears as a black speck ; this is the simplest kind of acne. It will be seen that a vigorous use of soap and water, and rubbing with a fairly rough towel is best adapted to get rid of acne, because by these means the skin is roused from its torpor ; but in other cases the glands wiU not only be chpked up, but inflamed, the acne spots wiU be red and tender, and the face hot and uncomfortable. Here we must use soothing remedies. The same remark applies to those cases of face pimples which form a rosy rash in middle-aged females, or in those who drink. As regards the general health, there is frequently indigestion present, and the face may flush after every meal. This must be prevented, as the rush of blood to the face only aggravates the acne. ■ The best medicine is about half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, with a little ginger, in water, an hour before every meal, ajid aperients must also be regularly taken if in the least degree needed. After the indigestion is gone, the sufferer may take five drops of dilute nitric acid, five of dilute hydrochloric acid, and a tea-spoonful of tincture of gentian in water, twice a day. Arsenic may be required in severe cases ^ but it should only be taken under medical advice. The face should not be roughly used, but bathed with warm gruel and water night and morning ; soap should be avoided, and the following lotion should be applied several times a day with a piece of sponge ; it is a panacea for pimples of all kinds about the face : — Take of oxide of zinc powder sixty grains ; fine calamine powder, as prepared at Apothecaries' Hall, half-an-ounce ; bichloride of mercury, one grain ; gly- cerine, one teaspoonful ; and rose-water, six ounces. For use, sh^ke the lotion up, pour out, and dab on to the face, allowing the powdery substance to dry on, then brush off the superabundant powder with a soft handkerchief, so as to make the appearance passable. Everything that flushes or heats the face, especially beer, should, of course, be avoided. The same remarks apply to red blushes of the face. In the one case the disease is in the fat glands ; in the other, the skin substance. The same remedies are useful in each case. Skin Cosmetics.— This is the place to say a few words on the use of cosmetics. Some of them are harmless, some are dangerous, and most of them injurious to the skin. Cosmetics are used either to give a delicate ■ com- plexion or to heighten the colour, and they include soaps, lotions, powders, and creams. The whites are formed of m^nesia^ starch, bismuth (which hardens the skin), lead, zinc, white precipitate, &c. The red paints are rouge and carmine. The only admissible substances are zinc, magnesia, and starch (violet powder). But those who use these should be very careful to well wash their faces night and morning, so that no cosmetic powder may remain behind to choke up the pores. We would recom- mend to aU who " 7i/ill use something," the use at night of perfectly freshly prepared or well preserved elder-flower ointment, and the use of the following lotion as a cos- metic ; a little practice will soon enable the user to finish off the application with a brush in such a way that it cannot be seen : — Powdered borax, five grains ; oxide of zinc powder, two drachms ; finely powdered calamine powder, as made at Apothecaries' Hall, two drachms ; glycerine, eighty drops ; dilute nitric acid, four drops ; spirits of wine, thirty drops ; distilled water, four ounces. Some of the compounds sold under the name of milk of roses, bloom of beauty, and the like, contain lead or bismuth in large quantities, which may after awhile harden the face and injure the complexion. As we have already said, only the mildgst soaps should be used to the face. Dandriff or Scurfiness is a common and troublesome complaint affecting children and grown-up persons alike. The skin scales over very freely, bran-like pieces being constantly shed, and there is more or less itching ; occa- sionally heat and redness are present. The scalp is the part most usually affected. In some cases the scurfiness is a symptom that there is debility in the system or a slightly gouty tendency, when internal medicine is needed; but usually local applications suffice. When the scalp is rather tender, very irritable, and inclined to inflame, we know of no better application of a simple nature than an embrocation made of equal parts of olive oil and lime- water well shaken together. The scalp should be well cleansed with warm water, but without rough handling, and then the embrocation should be applied with a piece of sponge directly to the scalp. This may be done every night. In some cases the washing is only needed every other day; no soap should be used. This is for the irritable cases. % In the more indolent instances, where there is no heat of head, but mere scaliness, it may be best to apply at once some shght stimulant, either in the form of ointment or a wash, according to the taste of the user. The ointment should be made of five grains of the nitric oxide of mercury to the ounce of lard, or three drops of carboUc acid to the ounce of lard. The wash should be of the following ingredients :— Spirits of wine, two drachms ; spirit of rosemary, one ounce ; strong ammonia solution, a teaspoonful ; glycerine, a drachm ; and rose- water, six ounces. Where the disease is obstinate, medical advice must be sought. The lime-water and olive-oil embrocation above referred to may be scented according to taste, and is the best application for general use. It should be mixed in small quantities, because it does not keep long in warm weather. Eruptions. — ^These are very numerous, and occur over different parts of the body, and it would be an unprofitable task to describe them in any fulness. We shall therefore make some general observations upon them, and give a few plain directions how to treat the simpler and more CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 71 common forms. Whenever a child is feverish and really- ill, and any eruption shows itself, it should be kept very quiet and warm in bed. It is not difficult even for a non- medical person to see when a child is distinctly feverish, by the flushed face, the languid look, the headache, red tongue, quick pulse, and hot dry skin. If a rash shows itself about the face first, and there be much s-neezing, running of the eyes, and a little cough, we suspect measles. If the child "comes out" with a scarlet rash of uniform character, if the skin be pungently hot, the fever very marked, and there be sore throat, with a strawberry tongue, we suspect scarlatina. If the rash show all over the back first, and then above the face and head and other parts, a? little watery heads, it is probably chicken-pox. When modified srnall-pox occurs, there is a good deal of fever, and pains in the back, and the eruption appears first of all in the face, which is distinctly pitted in a day or two. All these cases require medical care. Red Blushes of various sizes occur about the bodies of children in summer-time, and are known as rose-rash ; they demand the employment of a slight aperient and the use of a httle weak spirit lotion, or, better still, smearing over with benzoated zinc ointment. Sometimes, on the legs of young people, raised red lumps of an oval shape appear ; they are painful, and they look like circles of erysipelas, or as if an abscess were going to form, but this is never the case. After they liave existed a few days the circumference assumes a bluish tinge, and then as the places disappear, hues similar to those seen in a bruise which is going away are noticed. These cases require rest, quinine, mild aperients, and the outward application of a little whitening and water. They soon get well with rest. Whenever a child about a month old is attacked with eruption about the soles of the feet and the parts adjoin- ing the bowels behind, and there be loss of flesh, with sore mouth and the " snuffles" (cold in the nose), it should be taken to a doctor. Very frequently mothers are distressed by the occur- rence of chafings and sore red patches in their infants about the buttocks, the bend of the thigh, the root of the neck, and the armpits, just, in fact, where two portions of skin come into contact ; the irritation is accompanied by great soreness and more or less thin discharge, which stains the clothes put to the child and gives, them an offensive odour. These chafings are frequently an ac- companiment of thrush ; in that case we should treat the thrush at once ; the best remedy for ordinary cases is a mixture made of chlorate of potash and honey. For. a child a couple of months old we should give as follows : — Chlorate of potash, ten grains ; honey, half a teaspoonful; hot water, an ounce. When cold, give a teaspoonful three times a day, and wash the mouth out after each time of feeding with a little honey and borax. When there is no thrush, and the child is weak and thin, or very fat and flabby, cod-liver oil and steel wine — five to ten drops .of the former and half a teaspoonful of the latter — should be given twice a day ; but the local treatment is the most important. When the chafings are slight the parts may be dusted over with fuller's earth, or, what is very much the best, equal parts of starch powder and the finely-prepared calamine powder made at Apothecaries' Hall which we have referreii to so many times before. The object is to keep the parts very dry indeed; night and morning they should be well washed with oatmeal gruel, but , gently handled, the powder being used afterwards. The child should be kept scrupulously clean and dry, its napkins changed on every necessary occasion, and the nurse • should be most careful that the napkins are not washed in soda. Whenever the child is changed, the powder should be dusted on to the sore places. In severe cases it may be advisable, when there is much discharge, to apply an ointment, and there is none better than the lead ointment of the old London Pharmacopceia, spread thinly on burnt rag, and changed twice or thrice a day. Where, how- ever, the case is severe, there is something radically wrong, and medical advice should be sought, as also in those cases in which the simple remedies named fail after perseverance. DOMESTIC SURGERY. FRACTURES, DISLOCATIONS, BURNS,, AND SCALDS. Fractures. — The treatment of broken bones is much too important to be entrusted to any but professional hands, but there are some points connected with the early care of such cases which may be advantageously insisted on. The great majority of fractures are what is technically called " simple," i.e., there is no wound of the skin com- municating with the broken bone ; the more serious cases, where there is a wound, and possibly laceration of the soft tissues of the limb, are termed " compound ;" and when the bone is broken into several pieces, the fracture is said to be " comminuted." In aU cases of fracture it is most important to avoid all rough nfianipulation of the limb, lest the "simple" fracture should become " compound," Jjy the end of the broken bone being thrust through the skin ; and as the muscles of the limb itself, jf excited to action, have a direct tendency to produce this undesirable result, the patient should not only abstain from all voluntary effort, but means should be, taken to restrain all involun- tary contraction of the muscles of the limb, as will be afterwards explained. The immediate effect of a severe injury likely to pro- duce a fracture is ordinarily a certain amount of faintness, and this need give no alarm if the patient is not losing blood at the same time. The only treatment required will be fresh air, with perhaps a little cold water sprinkled on the face, the head being kept low until the faintness has passed off, when a little brandy may be given if the patient continues exhausted. Since severe accidents usually happen in the open air, the'nextlrequisite will be to place the patient under shelter ;*and the method of conveying an injured person safely for some distance is a matter of no small moment. In the case of a broken arm the sufferer will naturally support the injured limb with the opposite hand in the position least I painful to himself When this has been ascertained,'and if there is any distance to travel before a surgeon can be seen, the arm should be supported both by handkerchiefs arranged so as to sling it, and also by a handkerchief or bandage bound — not too tightly — round the arm itself, so as to support the parts. A piece of card-board (such as is used for tying up gloves), or a piece of a common hat-box, four inches wide, may be advan- tageously placed on each side of the broken bone and secured with the bandage which envelops it. The patient may then be safely driven some miles , in a carriage ; and a four-wheel conveyance with good springs is to be preferred. If one of the bones of the leg is broken the patient is immediately rendered helpless, and the greatest care will be requisite, lest in moving him great pain should be inflicted. By far the most satisfactory way to carry a wounded man is on some form of litter borne by four bearers. A hurdle, or a small door taken off its hinges, is a very good substitute for a regular " stretcher," and either, with a mattress and pillowjwill form a very comfortable temporary means of transport. When neither of these is at hand, a blanket may be used to carry a patient in for a short distance, or if four poles can be procured and fastened together to form a frame-work, the blanket can be tied to the comers, as shown in the illustration, Fig, 15, and will 73 DOMESTIC SURGERY. then be much more efficient and easy to carry. Whatever method is adopted there are certain rules with regard to carrying a stretcher which should be carefully attended to : — A stretcher should be carried by four men rather than by two, and should always be carried by the hands and not on the shoulders ; the drawbacks to the latter proceeding are the difficulty of finding, on an emergency four men of the same height, so that a level position may be secured ; and also that any tilting of the stretcher may throw the patient off from such a height as seriously to aggravate his injury. Be- sides, the raising and ~ Fig. wheaten straw laid along each side of the broken limb, and bound to it by two or three handkerchiefs. In the case of a badly-sprained ankle, or a crushed foot, it will be sometimes convenient to carry a patient be- tween two bearers in a sitting position, or semi-recumbent. The first method is shown in the accompanying illus- tration. Fig. 1 6, the opposite hands of the bearers being interlaced under the thighs and behind the loins, and the patient putting his arms round the bearers' necks. This method is very trying to the bearers,, and could only be en- dured for a short distance. A patient is, much more Fig. 17. lowering of the burden is not an easy matter, and is apt to frighten the patient when un- skilfully performed. It is not advisable that the bearers of a stretcher should "keep step." If only two men are carrying a stretcher, and they march " in step," the load they are carrying will be swayed to the right and left side alternately, to the great discomfort of the pa- tient ; but if one advances his right foot and the other his left, the burden will be kept perfectly even. The same rule applies to the case of four bearers, only here the front and rear men of opposite sides should keep step and be out* of step with their companions. A temporary splint may be advantageously applied to a broken leg before the patient is moved on to the litter, as has already been advised in the case of a broken arm, and for this purpose nothing answers better than some clean easily carried in the semi-rc- cumbent position, if placed in the arms of two men, arranged as shown in the illustration. Fig. 17, their opposite hands firmly interlacing in front, and their other hands being placed on each other's shoulders, so as to support the patient be- hind ; thus the weight of the patient falls chiefly on the two arms behind him, and he can be carried for some distance without fatigue. Another way of carrying a patient is upon what is known among schoolboys as a " sedan-chair," each bearer grasp- ing his own fore-arm and that of his fellow about its middle, as shown in the . illustration, Fig. 19, and the patient grasping the bearers' necks, as shown before in Fig. 16. This is a convenient way to carry ladies over shallow streams, &c., in the course of country walks or at pic- nics ; and as on those occasions sprained ankles are not altogether unknown, a disabled member of a party may CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 73 thus be transported for a long distance with relays of bearers, the two working together being as far as possible of a height. Dislocations. — A dislocation, like a fracture, should al\va.ys be submitted to the care of a sur- geon as soon as pos- sible. When a bone has slipped from its socket the limb is use- less, and there is more or less pain, and the neighbourhood of the joint is deformed. A dislocation of the shoulder is at once the most common, the most painful, and the most readily reduced of these accidents, and we venture, therefore, to give a few hints for its treatment. . A fall into' a ditch is a com- mon cause of this accident, the elbow being caught on the bank and suddenly thrust upwards, when the head of the bone slips out of its socket and into the arm-pit, giving rise to ex- cruciating pain from its pressure upon the large nerves. This being an acci- dent which may happen to a rider when hunting, or when unable to obtain assistance, he may safely make an attempt to reduce the arm him- self, by using a gate for the purpose of a fulcrum, as shown in Fig. 1 8. Here, lifting his arm over the gate with the other hand, the patient grasps the lowest bar he can reach, and allows the weight of his body to hang on the other side of the gate until by the pressure of the top bar the bone is forced into its socket with a snap. Another method, which may be safely employed by a by- stander, is to seat the sufferer in a strong chair and to put the foot on the seat with the bent knee under the dislocated shoulder, as shown in- Fig. 20. The arm is then to be grasped and forcibly bent over the knee, when the dislocation will probably be reduced ; no more violent efforts are justifiable in the hands of non-professional persons, and in any case, even of redttced dis- location, the patient should be seen by a surgeon as soon as it is convenient, lest any other injury which he may have sustained at the same time should have been over- looked. Burns and Scalds. — Burns are probably not quite so frequent as scalds, but are much more alarm- ing at the time of their occurrence, and, if severe, are much more serious in their results than scalds. The slightest form of burn, viz., a superficial burn or scorch, Fig. 20, merely reddening without destroying the skin, may be pro- duced by a slight explosion of gas, or the ignition of some article of clothmg, which has been rapidly extinguished. Here the pain is severe for the moment,, but ,rapidly sub- sides as soon as the surface burnt is pro- tected. This can be. readily effected by dredging flour over the part, and wrapping it up in cotton wad- ding ; or, should the part burnt be one not" readily covered in this, way, e.g., the face, by painting it over with a. mixture of equal parts- of collodion and castor- oil, or with a solution, of nitrate of silver, such as the nitrate- bath of photography- When the burn is more severe, little blisters, rapidly form on the burnt part, and these vesicles, as they are, surgically termed, re- quire careful treatment.. If, as is sometimes re- commended, these ve- sicles are left to them- 15. selves, the contents, solidify, and a jelly-like mass is left, which has afterwards to be got rid of by poulticing, to the great discomfort of the patient ; or, even if this coagulation does not take place, the thin, scarf-skin or cuticle raised by the blister is apt to be torn away and leave a tender surface beneath. The best plan, therefore, is at once, to prick the blisters on one; side with ,a needle, or to make a small opening With a sharp pair of scissors, and then carefully to squeeze out the watery contents,, pressing down the skin gently but firmly with a piece of cotton wool. When this has been done, the case may be treated by any of the methods already given for slight bums, but it must be borne in mind that fresh vesicles may form after the first dressing, and hence great care must be taken, in the subsequent dressings, not to tear open the blisters un- intentionally. Scalds closely re- semble slight burns in both their symptoms and treatment, and need not, therefore, be treated of at greater length. Severe burns, such as arise from the clothes, taking fire— crinoline accidents, as they have been called — are very serious, both as regards the life of" the patient, and her future comfort, should she survive ; and medical at- tendance should be immediately obtained. Lacking thisj, however, it may be noted that the immediate danger t» the sufferer's life is due to the violent " shock" which the system sustains, as is shown by the faint, semi-con scious> and pallid condition in which the patient is left when the conflagration is extinguished. The proper treatment will 74 THE HOUSE. be to restore warmth and vitality to the' sufferer, and this can be beat done by wrapping her in a blanket, and placing her in bed (or before a fire, if it is winter),with hot bottles or bricks so arranged about the legs and trunk as to impart warmth without interfering with the burnt surface. In the case of a child (and of an adult too, if conveniences are at hand), a wavm bath 'is at once the most soothing and appropriate treatment, since the warm water (the temperature of which must be carefully maintained at 90°) soaks off all the charred clothing, &c., and leaves the burns in the most healthy condition for dressing. At Vienna, baths arc so contrived that patients suffering from burns or obstinate skin diseases, can spend days or even weeks in them, arid anywhere, with care and attention, the temperature of a bath could be kept up for some hours, at least. In addition to external warmth, a severely-burnt patient wiU bear the administration of some hot cordial drink, and then, pending the arrival of a medical man, no harm can possibly be done by enveloping the burnt parts with cotton wadding. Bums are dangerous, not merely from their immediate effects, but from the complications which are apt to fol- low in their train. Thus, in children especially, inflam- mation of the lungs is very apt to follow a burn about the trunk ; and again, ulceration of the bowel is found to be a frequent cause of death in these cases. The friends of a patient who has been burnt should, therefore, be careful to call the attention of the medical man in attendance to any cough or difficulty of breathing on the one hand, or to the occurrence of any diarrhoea on the other. With the best care, burns are, undoubtedly, very fatal accidents, and, as prevention is better than cure, it may not be out of place to urge the necessity for wire fire-guards over all fire-places to which children or females have access. Men, from the nature of their clothing, are much less liable to bums than women, unless, indeed, they indulge in the pernicious practice of " reading in bed " by candle-hght. Even when the first dangers of a severe bum are surmounted, the patient will have much to undergo in the healing of the wound, and here a fresh danger comes in — that of the contraction of the tissues in healing, so as to leave great deformity behind. Patients and their friends are sometimes more to blame than their attendant for terrible contractions of the neck, arms, &c., freque:\tly seen after bums ; and they do not carry out fully the surgeon's instructions, from not understanding their importance, and, being intent only upon healing-up the wound, cannot understand- the neces- sity for care and attention. It may be laid down as an axiom that the quicker a wound heals, the more it con- tracts, and it is evident, therefore, that the slower a wound can be made to heal, the less likely it is to leave unsightly contractions behind. In order to prevent contractions, it is often necessary to confine the patient to an irk- some position, so as, e.g., to stretch the neck, or to apply a splint to keep out the arm, and these should be cheerfully borne, when they are ordered by a competent medical man. It may not be inappropriate here to give a few hints as to the best method of extinguishing the flames, when a woman's or child's dress has unfortunately caught fire. If the sufferer has presence of mind enough to throw herself on the ground and roll over and over until thp by-standers can envelop her with some thick and non- inflammable covering, her chances of escape from serious injury will be much increased ; but, unfortunately, the terror of the moment ordinarily overcomes every other feeling, and the sufferer rushes into the open air — the very worst thing she could do. The first thing for a by-stander to do is to provide himself with some non-inflammable article with which to envelop the patient, and a coat or cloalc — or, better, a table-cloth or drugget — will answer the purpose. . Throwing this around the sufferer, he should. if possible, lay her on the ground and then rapidly cover over and beat out all the fire, keeping on the covering until every spark is extinguished. To attempt to extinguish fire by water is useless, unless the whole body of flame can be put out at one blow ; and for one lightly-clad female to attempt to succour another, when other persons are at hand, is simply to imperil two lives instead of one. In the case of a house on fire, it is to be remembered that death is more frequently the result of suffocation from snioke than from contact with flame, and every effort should be made to reach the open air by crawUng along the floor (where there is usually breathing space) so as to reach a window, or, if necessary, by enveloping the head in a thick shawl to exclude the smohe while making a msh along^ a passage or down a staircase. THE HOUSE. LIFE ASSURANCE. In furtherance of the promise contained in the article on " The House," in a previous number (page 39), we now proceed to explain the principles upon which life insurance, or more strictly life assurance, depends. It is usual to speak of the insurance of any doubtful event, such as fire or loss at sea, and of the assurance of an event certain to happen, as death. The theory of life assurance depends upon calculations based upon the uniform mortality which has been observed to prevail among large numbers of individuals, and upon the increase of money at compound interest. From the death registers, mortality tables are con- structed which tell us how many persons out of a certain number living at each age, die annually. From these tables the actuary computes what money payment —usually a sum or premium paid annually in advance throughout life— is sufficient to provide for the payment of a fixed sum, say ;£ioo, at death. Several tables are in use for this purpose, of which the principal are the Northampton, the Carlisle, and the English life tables. The following is a simple illustration of the manner in which the premium for a life assurance is deduced. Supposing, according to any table of mortality, that out of 500 persons, all aged forty years, five die in the year, and that it is required to provide ^500 for the families of those who die, the contribution of each of the 500 will clearly be a five-hundredth part of ;^5oo, or £1. In practice, how- ever, the premiums being invested at compound interest, a less sum than £1 would be required, viz., such a sum as invested at interest for the year would produce £,\ at the end of the year. An addition to the net prenaium thus deduced is then made by the office for the expenses of management, and to provide for the bonuses, the nature of which will be hereafter explained. Upon these two simple principles of mortality and interest, the whole theory of life assurance depends, and upon them contracts have been undertaken by the different companies in the United Kingdom alone amounting pro- bably to ;£40o,ooo,ooo sterling. Life assurance is an institution which has now been in operation for 160 years, the first company dating from 1706, and, notwithstanding the large ahiount of business transacted, it lias not been, we may say, until i86g, that discredit has been cast upon life assurance companies. It is almost essential for us to make a passing allu- sion to this matter, temporary panic appearing to have taken possession of the public in consequence of certain appeals to the Court of Chancery, which resulted in the compulsory winding up of one large company. It cannot, accordang-ly, be too clearly understood that the collapse in that case arose mainly from numerous ill- considered amalgamations with unsuccessful companiesj CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD- GUIDE. 7S whose business was acquired at an excessive cost, and from recldess disregard of the well-known fundamental principles of life assurance, which are based upon un- changeable and mathematical laws, that cannot be ignored with impunity. The public were very much indebted, in this matter, to the intelligence of the writers in the daily papers, by whom this great question, one of the gravest importance to a large portion of the community, w^as very generally taken up. Of their widely-expressed opinions on this point, these remarks are an echo. The writer of this article long before pointed out the mischief that must arise, if the unsatisfactory methods of business pursued by a particular class of life assurance companies were persevered in. The result proved that his view was correct. The absolute necessity of life assurance in the c^se, of persons whose incomes are dependent upon their lives — and this is so with the far greater portion of the^i population of this country — we assume to be admitted by everyone. There can be no doubt of the fact that no other method exists by which a. provision can be so well made for a dependent family, as by a policy of life assurance, for the moment the contract is executed, no matter whether death take place the next day or twenty years after, a capital sum is provided, which can be invested for the benefit of the family of the assured, or applied in any way for their advantage, according to the circumstances and require- ments of the case. No investment, in either a savings bank or a friendly society, will answer the same purpose — the essential peculiarity of a life policy being that the amount contracted for is paid at death, whenever that event shall happen, and, from the uncertainty of life, it does occur, over and over again, that claims become payable and are honour- ably met, very shortly after the policy is effected. So that a young man with a fixed income derived from a profession or other source, need not be deterred from marriage on account of it being impossible for him to make a due pro- vision for his wife and family — indeed, we may safely say that by means of life assurance, many marriages take place which otherwise prudence must have pre- vented altogether. The first thing to be done by a person who has made up his mind to effect an assurance on his life, is to fix upon an office. There are two descriptions of companies, viz., proprietary and mutual, the former being joint-stock or trading companies, and the latter private partnerships on a large scale — all the profits of the business belonging strictly to themselves, while, in the proprietary companies, only a certain proportion of the profits are divided in the shape of bonuses among the policy-holders, the remainder belonging to the shareholders. There are numerous good companies of both classes to be found. We feel a difficulty in pointing out how a selection should be made, and can only suggest that the applicant should make choice of an office which, above all things, regularly pubhshes full and intelligible accounts, showing clearly the amount of the liability and the sum in hand to meet it, and particularly how that sum is invested. Probably, one of the best tests will be the fact that the state- ments of the office fixed upon can be readily understood by the intending applicant ; for the accounts of many companies are so mystified as to be unintelligible to the general public. The prospectus of the company shoOld next be thoroughly studied. The date of establishment, though no guarantee in itself, still affords evidence of whether the company has stood the test of time. The names of the directors should be scrutinised, to see if they are men of business and of good standing in the commercial world. The rates of premium should then be consulted. These vary according as the Northampton, Carlisle, or other .tables are adopted as a basis. The Northampton table gives an unfavourable view of life at the younger ages —say, up to forty-five— and the premiums deduced from it are consequently higher than those that are based on the Carlisle mortality; while, on the other hand, the Northampton rates are decidedly favourable at ages above forty-five — the exact reverse being the case with the Carlisle table. The applicant would accordingly do well to select his office according to his age, provided always that the office charging the higher rate of premium does not offer, which it very possibly may, some compensating advan- tage ; for it must be borne in mind that the rate of premium is not the only point to be considered in the choice of an office— the amount of bonus addition likely to be allotted to the policy, and the character of the company for liberal conduct and honourable dealing being important elements to be taken into account. The bonus system will be explained hereafter. The annual premium per ;^ioo for a life of thirty varies in the different companies from £2 is. 8d. to £2 19s. 3d. ; at sixty, from £6 is. gd. to £7 15s. The rates without participation in profits are of course less. Life premiums are usually paid annually in advance. Some companies receive half-yearly or even quarterly payments. Assurances may also be effected by the payment of a fixed number of premiums, which are of course much higher than those quoted. Some companies grant endow- ment assurances, by which the sum assured becomes payable at death, or on the life assured attaining a certain age, and indeed, generally, contracts can be entered into with the large companies for the issue of policies to meet almost every conceivable requirement. The applicant, if at all lilcely to go abroad, should ascertain the regulations of the company with which he is in treaty as to foreign residence, for which an extra premium is charged, according to the healthiness or otherwise of the locality. The conditions in this respect of some companies are much more liberal than those of others. It is now very usual to allow free residence in any part of the world distant more than 33°; north or south of the equator, as well as in certain other healthy places within the excluded limits. Policies become void if the person assured die by his own hand, by duelling, or by the hands of justice, or if the premium be not paid annually within the thirty days of grace which are allowed from the date of the same becoming due. Tables showing the amount of bonuses declared will be found in the prospectuses of most of the offices, and though the past bonuses afford no just criterion of what the future results may be, still they are the best guides the public can have as to the prospects of bonus additions to their policies. It often happens that the assured, from unforeseen circumstances, are unable to continue their annual payments. When this is the case, a return of some portion of the premium paid is made, such return being called the surrender value of the policy. And here it may be desirable to point out that in such cases a return of only a small proportion of the premium paid (usually about a third, without interest) can be looked for, for though in the individual case no claim for payment of the sum assured has been made upon the company, still other policies effected at the same period having become claims, the excess of premium paid on the policy to be surrendered must be retained by the company to meet the losses occasioned by premature deaths. Loans, also, for amounts varying with the value of the policies, are advanced upon their security, usually at five per cent, interest. We propose to continue our remarks on life assurance in a future number. 76 ANIMALS KEPT FOR PLEASURE. THE POINTER ANIMALS KEPT FOR PLEASURE. II.— THE DOG: PRINCIPAL VARIETIES {continued). The Water Spaniel is a moderate sized animal, rather stoutly built, with a close curly coat, which is generally of a brown colour. As might be supposed, he is very fond of water, and appears to be specially adapted to that element, by an unusual secretion of oil in the coat. This, however, often causes rather a strong odour when indoors, and makes him less suitable for a domestic dog. The Setter is too well known to need description, and is so named from the habit, either natural or acquired, of crouching when he comes on the scent of game. Both this habit, and that of the pointer, have been thought to be originally the natural start of surprise at coming on a fresh scent,cultivated and Improved by successive training. The best setters are more or less liver-coloured, or mixed with white. The setter makes a capital pet dog, being very handsome in shape, docile, and intelligent. Like the little cocker, and in fact all the spaniels, it is also re- markably affectionate and mild in its disposition. For sportsmen who are noted pedestrians, or for shooting over wild moorland, setters are often better compa- nions than pointers ; their superior speed and dash, and harder feet, enabling them to keep on with vigour after the pointer would be exhausted. They should, however, be allowed to wet the body thoroughly every now and then, and to take a good drink at intervals, or they cannot stand the work. The little KingCharles zwdBlenheimSpaniels are known to every one. They certainly are little beauties, as far as looks go — and often are affec- tionate, , good tempered, and amazingly clever at learning tricks ; but too often also are such spiteful little wretches, as to be a nuisance to all save their fond owners. A great deal of this, however, we suspect to be owing to bad feeding and consequent indigestion. The Retriever is scarcely a distinct variety, being bred from any dogs likely to pro- duce a suitable animal. Itis often bred from the water- spaniel and terrier crossed, or a spaniel and poodle ; but the dog so well known under that name, is generally bred from the spaniel crossed with the Newfoundland. Hence it much resembles rather a small Newfoundland, but with a sharper muzzle, and a sharper look, having also longer legs and a more lively carriage. The hand- somest colour is black. By care some few strains have been perpetuated without a recent cross, and reared to nearly the size of a Newfoundland ; but there is always more silkiness in the hair than is usual in that breed. A good retriever is a wonderfully handsome and intelli- gent dog, very playful, and with a good temper nothing can exceed. The Pointer is a very characteristic dog, trained to ■^^^^\^t^^^ THE GREYHOUND. such perfection through successive generations, that a well-broken dog will, on the scent of game, stand with every member rigid, in the exact position in which it hap- pened to be at the moment. This habit has now become almost instinctive, so that a well-bred dog takes to it with little training ; and it is recorded that a brace of pointers have stood at "point" for nearly an hour and a half, without moving a muscle, whilst a sketch was made from which their portraits were painted. The pointer should have a rather large head in proportion, with a broad muzzle, the lips or flews slightly projecting. The neck is' very long, and set on at the shoulders in a very peculiar manner not found in any other breed, the shoulders being prominent, and higher than the head when the animal is in motion. The chest is well developed, something in the style of the hound ; but the tail, like the shoulder, is alto- gether peculiar. At the base it is rather thick, but lessens somewhat suddenly, and then continues with a scarcely per- ceptible taper to within two or three inches of the end, when it lessens to a very fine point. Some of the best judges affirm that this forma- tion of the tail is the proper criterion of good blood, and that its absence shows a cross ; but we are not sure this can be maintained. The pointer is intelligent, and of an extremely mild and affec- tionate disposition. When properly trained, and in good condition, it is always willing to work ; and no words of scorn are too deep and bitter for the conduct of those who can deliberately shoot the poor beast with small shot, not to kill, but to punish him for disregard to their very likely contradictory commands. No variety is so foully abused as the poor pointer, and no dog merits or needs it less, and the owner himself is mostly in fault. The Greyhoundis in shape the very ideal of light and winged speed, and when well bred, is of singularly grace- ful outline. All the bulk of the animal's body seems col- lected in the capacious chest, whilst the slender limbs are models of symmetry and grace. Our engraving will save the necessity for detailed description, but it is neces- sary to remark that inferior breeds of this dog are very apt to show an awkward and ugly droop at the loins, which not only spoils their speed, but also their beauty of form. The old English greyhound must have been a larger animal than the present breed, as it was used to hunt the stag, and even the wolf. Indeed, we are inclined to think that the original breed was the hairy or rough variety still known as the Scotch greyhound, but which is nearly extinct. This animal is both larger and more powerfully built than the English greyhound, and with very long hair. We saw recently a noble animal of this breed, which was considered the finest specimen in England, find had taken many first prizes. It was as tall at the shoulder as the largest mastiff, was " feathered " down to the toes, CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. n and of an iron-grey colour. Like the modern greyhound, the dog was good-tempered enough, but had an unmis- takably ferocious look about the head. The few who possess these dogs now are anxiously endeavouring to per- petuate them, and we trust their efforts may be successful. The greyhound is moderately^ affectionate and intelli- gent, but sometiijies snappish to strangers. As is well known, it is now only employed in coursing. The other hounds, such as the foxhound, the harrier, and the beagle, do not belong in any sense to the house- hold, being, as a rule, only adapted for the pack. They vary in size, but resemble each other remarkably in shape and qualities. We believe them all to have been originally derived from the bloodhound, crossed with the greyhound, but we question very much if there be not a dash of the bull- dog in some celebrated strains, though this has been denied by good authorities. Hounds are kept under the severest dis- cipline, but when not under the control of the huntsman, whipper-in, or other attendants, are highly dangerous to strangers. There are, however, individual dogs which have shown remarkable attach- jnent and docility. Of Sheep Dogs there are two kinds, the English rough sheep dog, which very much resembles a very large rough terrier without a tail, and the Scotch collie. The English dog is a very useful animal, having a splendid constitution and great intelligence; but the Scotch collie is a far superior breed, and is every year becoming _more highly prized in England. This beautiful breed' has a very fox-like muzzle, expressive but shy-looking eyes, sharp and graceful ears turning well over forwards, and generally a white line down the forehead between the eyes. There are both smooth and rough varieties — the latter is most admired — ^but his coat is different from that of the Newfoundland, the hair being closer and straighter, and not so long. The tail is very large and bushy, and when running is always carried high, though in repose it droops. The loins are beautifully arched, and the whole out- line remarkably sprightly and graceful. Down the legs the coat is short. The colour varies greatly. The true-bred collie is one of the most intelligent dogs in the world, and perhaps surpasses all others in quick resource and readiness of invention in cases of emergency. It is in minding sheep, however, that its capacities are best tested ; for having been trained to this work for generations, a well- bred collie takes to it " naturally," and needs compara- tively little training. A Scotch shepherd said his dog " could do anything except carry the hurdles," and the praise was not exaggerated. The Dalmatian or Carriage Dog is doubtless a hound, the well-known spotted skin having probably appeared accidentally from some cross. As a rule, they seem to care most for the stable, and hence are not adapted for domestic pets, though inoffensive and good-tempered ; but we have known individuals which have displayed con- siderable intelligence and affection. Many less rnarked varieties have been omitted from our list, and we will only add in conclusion that in choosing a dog, care should always be taken to ascertain his dispo- sition. Individuals of every race may be troublesome or even actually ferocious, and every person owes it to society not to keep a dangerous dog. In our next paper we shall enter upon the subject of training dogs. THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. WOODS USED IN HOUSEHOLD CARPENTRY. Having completed our survey of the most necessary tools, it will only be necessary to make acquaintance with the few sorts 9f wood we shall at first require, to be able to at once' proceed with a practical job. In starting, we feel that a few words on the all-important subject of seasoning may possibly save some of our readers much unnecessary trouble and vexation. When a living tree is cut down the pores or ve^ssels between the fibres will be found to be full of sap, and it is in the complete, though gradual extraction of this sap, that the success of the process of "seasoning" consists. If we look at the section across the grain of a tree, which is mostly nearly circular, we shall notice a number of annular rows of fibres, or rather the ends of them, and it is from between these rings that the sap has to escape. It stands to reason that the cells contained between the rings nearest to the surface will be the first to lose their moisture, and that the heart of the wood will continue wet long after the outside is ready for use. It is also well known that in the process of drying, wood contracts considerably ; but the inner fibres, being protected from the influence of the atmosphere by the outer rows, do not shrink in the same proportion. The consequence will be readily seen by 'reference to the diagram. Fig. 40, which shows the result which is almost sure to ensue if a log of green wood is merely left to take care of itself. It cracks in directions mostly radial. To prevent this, it is common to grease or wax the ends and sides of the log to defend it from the results consequent upon a too sudden exposure to the atmosphere. The effect is much more completely avoided, however, by having the logs split into quarters where the tree is of sufficient size to warrant it, although this plan is not economical. The only safe means to guard against the disastrous effects of too sudden drying, is to expose the wood very gra- dually to the influence of the atmo- sphere. It is considered that,inthe case of large timber, the process of season- ing is much facilitated by an immer- sion in water, which is said to dilute the sap anyhow ; it is of the highest importance that wood should be quite dry before being used, as, if it is not, the finished work will warp and shrink in a manner very unsatisfactory and dis- couraging ; none of our readers who are fortunate enough to possess access to plantations of grow- ing timber, must imagine they will be able to cut down a tree and use it at once to any advantage. It will be found much more economical to purchase just the required article from some respectable timber or hard-wood mer- chant, who will only supply it in a condition fit for immediate use. Shrinking does not take place to any sensible degree in the direction of the length of the fibre. The time allowed for seasoning should in no case be less than two years, and in the large hard woods must be even considerably longer. We have selected the following six woods as being at once the most likely to be used in household carpentry, and at the same time enough for our present purposes, and shall describe the more valuable and exclusively ornamental varieties as occasion requires : — Ash {Fraxinus). — The wood of this tree, which is a native of Britain and North Europe, is one of the toughest, 78 THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. most flexible, and elastic of home-grown timbers, and for this reason is eminently suited to all purposes requiring these qualifications, such as the construction of agricultural tools, wooden springs, frames of railway carriages, wheels, &c. ; but as it is of very slight durability, it is not suitable for construction of out-door work, or building purposes. Some specimens may be found dark and beautifully marked in grain, and are then much prized for cabinet work. Beech {Fagus sylvaticd) is a tree which attains con- siderable size in this country, the wood of which is of a reddish brown colour, and of very even texture and fine grain. It is much used in small turned work, handles for tools, common furniture, &c. ; but is unsuited for building purposes, owing to its liability to be attacked by a small worm and dry rot. It stands water well, however, and is comparatively cheap. Mahogany {Swietenid) is the most universally known and prized of the furniture woods, as its immense size and great soundness, its almost perfect immunity from dry rot, its freedom from shrinkage, and its beautiful appearance, render it the most valuable of all woods for domestic purposes. The finest in grain, or Spanish, is imported from Cuba, and is mostly cut into veneers, which are over- laid on common and cheaper wood. The Honduras is lighter in colour and weight than Spanish, but is better for solid work. Mahogany is also good for turning, and admits of a fine polish. Oak (Qitercus). — It is from the numerous varieties of oak that our strongest and most durable timber for heavy building purposes and ship-building is selected, the wood being of immense strength and large size, and peculiarly unsusceptible to the attacks of the weather. There are many different varieties, nearly all being found in the temperate zone. The growth of the oak is slow, and the wood is consequently hard and firm, and of great tenacity, the best being of a light brown colour. The darker kinds are softer and less durable, but being in most cases beautifully marked with crossings of lighter colour, called the flower, are much prized for ornamental purposes, especially in church architecture and carving. Oak is rather difficult to work, owing to its great hard- ness, but is susceptible of a splendid polish. Wheel- wrights use oak almost exclusively for the spokes of wheels, the rims or felloes being generally ash, and the naves elm. Pine (Pifius), — IJnder this head properly come all the varieties of the order Coniferce, such as fir, white and yellow deal, larch, &c. The different species of pine supply the largest part of the timber employed for build- ing purposes, on account of the immense size and straightness of the wood, the abundance of the supply, and the ease and facility with which it can be worked, combined with its durability and comparative strength. A large proportion is imported from Russia and Norway, and other mountainous countries produce great quantities. The durability of the pine tribe is in proportion to the quantity of resin and turpentine con- tained. Yellow deal, as it is called, is the best for carpenters, is even and straight in grain, and tolerably free from knots. Some varieties are entirely without these knots, such as St. John's pine, imported from Newfoundland, which may often be had two or three feet wide and forty feet long. This kind is very soft, however. The white kinds are harder and freer from resin, but less durable if exposed to variations of moisture. Larch is softest of all, but the grain is large and coarse, and, owing to the immense quantity of turpentine con- tained in it, is well suited for out-door work, such as fence-posts, buried work, &c. It is perhaps worth while here just to touch upon the | various technical terms applied to the sizes into which pine and other woods are cut. In its largest state generally about one foot square and of indefinite length) it is known as timber, and when cut into three slices, these are known as deals— deal being only the name for a certain size of pine, and not, as is erroneously supposed by many, a species of wood by itself. A smaller size than deals, about seven inches by two or three, are termed battens ; and deals ripped into three or four nearly square logs, of two inches by three, or three inches by four, are known as quartering. If sawn into slices of about one inch by nine to twelve wide, these sUces go under the name of planks, which being again sliced form boards. If sliced diagonally, from comer to comer, feather-edged or weather-boards will be produced. These are used for roofs and outsides of sheds to throw off the wet. Thinner slices than boards are leaves and veneers, each different thickness being reckoned by its size in inches, or parts of an inch. In the midst of the immense variety of size and quality it would be useless to attempt to give any idea about cost ; but pine may be obtained at any respectable timber-mer- chant's at a cost within the capacity of almost every purse, as it is the cheapest of all woods. Walmit ijuglans regia) is highly esteemed as a furni- ture wood, and is procurable of large size. The colour of the wood is grey, with brown or black blotches and streaks, which deepen in colour towards the centre of the tree. The grain is rather large and coarse, as the growth of the tree is comparatively rapid. Walnut is easily worked, and susceptible of a fine polish. Its principal consumption is for gun-stocks, for which it is admirably suited, owing to its light weight and durability. JOINTS. Having now the materials and tools before us, let us go through a short preliminary course of what may fairly be called carpenters' joints, as the very essence of carpentry is a thorough knowledge of how to build up of many pieces a fabric of the greatest possible strength, with the smallest outlay of material, bearing in mind the influence which humidity or over-dryness exerts over all kinds of wood. If our reader is new to the work, let him commence by taking a log of quartering, say three feet long, and planing it up square, testing its accuracy as directed in our remarks on the square. When he has accomplished this feat satisfactorily, he may saw the log in half with the tenon-saw, and will then have two logs eighteen inches long, with which to make the first and simplest joint in carpentry — the cross joint. The object will be merely to let the two pieces one into the other at right angles, until their corresponding surfaces are flush or level, that is to say, the part where the joint is made shall be no thicker than the log itself. The quartering, we will say, is three inches by two, and we will make the joint flat-wise. Lay down log No. i, and mark a line across it with the square and pencil or striking-knife ; from this line measure the width of the log to be let in, and also draw this line across with the square, and produce each of these lines round the narrow sides of the log. Set the marking-gauge to half the thickness of the narrow side, and mark on both sides with it between the two lines. The part thus marked off must be removed by sawing the lines across ' the grain, and then chiselling the piece out, thus leaving a gap in log No. I three inches wide and one inch deep. Take exactly the same course with log No. 2, and, if properly done, the two will fit exactly together, in the form of a cross. This joint may be varied, for practice, by placing the \a%% obliquely to each other, instead of at right angles, in' which case, the required angle must be got by the mitre bevel, instead of the square. Fig. 41 shows the finished joint. This joint is much used in wooden erections, especially in its oblique form, as will be seen hereafter. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 79 HINTS TO LETTER-WRITERS.— I. Most persons have to write letters, and it is desirable that in doing so attention should be paid to a number of details. There is no doubt that a well-written letter is often a great advantage to the sender, while it is always a pleasure to the receiver. The result is promoted by the proper choice of paper and envelopes, pens and ink. All these are so cheap and easily obtainable that there is seldom any excuse for the use of inferior materials, which are at once impediments to good writing, and indica- tions of neglect. The writer should endeavour to execute his penmanship in a free and legible hand, so as to be neither crabbed and inelegant, nor overloaded with flourishes. Some persons of distinction, we know, have been famous for their bad writing ; and it is a fact that they have found it very difficult to read it themselves. We do not think there is a valid excuse for this sort of thing, and we are sure that it can be avoided by proper attention and practice. The opposite evil of fine writing, which covers a sheet of paper with fancy curves and luxuriant flourishes, is almost as much to be deprecated. A somewhat compact hand, with every letter defined, is the best for all purposes. It need not be formal and precise, without character, " like copper-plate," in order to be good ; but it must be accurate and readable. Some persons think it beneath them to dot an i, to cross a t, and to distinguish between such letters as n and u ; but all who aspire to pleasing those they write to, and getting a good name, wiU be mindful of such matters. It may happen that the character of a young writer will be partly estimated by his regard to correctness in his letters ; and we all know how much may depend on the estimate formed. Spelling is a decided accomplishment, and of even more importance than graceful penmanship. Therefore let diligent heed be given to this, and let every word be spelt as accurately as in a printed book. When a letter is written in a scrawling and an irregular hand ; when the lines are at uneven distances, or not straight across the page, when the characters are ill- formed, the paper blotted, and the spelling bad, it has an air of decided vulgarity and negligence. Persons who really ought to know better, and who have had a good deal of instruction, sometimes fall into the error of using small letters where capitals are necessary. Thus they will write a small z, when speaking of them- selves, instead of using a capital /, and they will even begin proper names of persons and places with small letters if they do not happen to begin a sentence. There is another fault of which some are guilty, and it is to write a whole letter as if it were a single sentence. They run on from beginning to end, joining their words with ifs, ands, imts, and so forth, until their name at the conclusion winds up the whole. Of course such persons never think of their stops ; and, indeed, the use of stops, or punctuation, is very commonly neglected in otherwise well-written letters. The number of persons who carefully mark the stops in their epistles is very small indeed. The reason, or at any rate one reason, is, that it is difficult to teach the rules for the use of stops in actual practice. Such as master the art in any respectable measure, commonly owe it to reflection and habit. HINTS ON CARVING. Hare.— A hare is considered a difficult dish to carve, for unless very young the bones are hard to divide. The coloured plate. Fig. 8, shows the proper appearance of a roasted hare when brought to table. The head should be set to the left of the carver. If the hare is not very young, cut thin slices the length of the back from G to H, Fig. 8. Next remove the shoulders by inserting the knife between the shoulder and the side at the dotted line J, feel the joint, cut down through it with some strength, and treat it as the leg of a fowl is treated, only more vigorously. None of the adjoining meat is cut off with the shoulders or legs of a hare. Having removed the shoulders, insert the knife at the dotted line at K and take off the leg. Treat the other side in the same manner. The head is cut off by inserting the point of the knife at M, which must be fitted into a niche between the vertebne of the neck, and taking a circular stroke from M to N, when the back-bone has been divided through. Cut the lower from the upper jaw through the line O to P, Fig. 8. Then place the point of the knife up- right at Q, and split and cut open the head at the line visible in the centre of the skull from the nose to the ears. Many persons like the brain, ears, and cheeks. If the hare is young, cut off the shoulders, legs, and head, before touching the back, and then, instead of taking off slices, cut the back across the narrow way in several pieces at the lines marked R R R R, in Fig. 8. This is done by planting the knife upright, feeling for the niche between the bones, and splitting the back. The ribs are cut right through on either side lengthways, and separate pieces served. The back of a hare is considered the best, and the leg the next most choice part. The shoulders ai, not usually coveted, as they are apt to be dry. Never- theless some like them, and they are wholesome, and prudent carvers will find a use for them. Serve a little seasoning and one of the forcemeat balls with each piece. Rabbit. — A rabbit, roast or boiled, is carved precisely as the young hare is, the back being cut across in small pieces after the shoulders, legs, and head have been removed. The head is cut vip last. Every part of the rabbit is good. The back is considered the choice help, especially the centre piece. The shoulder is preferred to the leg. For rabbit pie, cut up the animal in the same way. If roast, serve the forcenaeat balls and seasoning with the meat ; if boiled, a little onion sauce. The kidney is con- sidered a delicacy. Each one may be cut in half and served separately ; and though not much to look at it will suffice for a relish, which is ail that can be looked for. Turkey. — A turkey generally appears on the board at Christmas, if at no other time. It requires more skill to carve a turkey than any other bird, excepting a goose, and on the carver's operations will depend how far the bird will go in point of economy. The breast is reckoned the best, and the wing the next in preference. Gentle- men are often partial to the drumstick, the slender part of the leg. Commence by cutting slices from the breast on each sidej as shown by the lines at A, in Fig. 9. If seasoned with herbs, the seasoning will be found in doing this ; a little seasoning is served with eveiy por- tion of the bird. If truffles or mushrooms have been used in stuffing, open " the apron," as it is called, by cutting a slit at C, and taking out the seasoning in slices ; next remove the wings at the dotted line D, precisely in the same way as from a fowl. Draw out the silver skewer, F, and take off the leg at the joint by inserting the knife between the leg and the side of the body at E, and parting the joint, which it requires some strength to do, without cutting off any meat with it. When separated, the leg ap- pears as shown in Fig. 10. There is a joint at the dotted line A, which must be severed, and the two pieces served separately. B is the drumstick, E the scaled leg of the bird which is part of the drumstick; C is called the cushion. The drumstick is often reserved till the bird is cold, and then grilled for breakfast. The rest must be carved as you would a fowl, dividing the breast, and cutting the back in half. Calved Head is a very delicate and by no meatis an So HINTS ON CARVING. uncommon dish, but it is noteworthy that it is far more economical if carved in the manner we are about to de-- scribe, than any other way. Commence by making long slices from end to end of the cheek, cutting quite through, so as to feel the bone throughout the entire stroke, ac- cording to the dotted lines from A to B in Fig. li. With €ach of these slices serve a cut of what is called the throat sweet-bread, which lies at the fleshy part of the neck end. Cut also slices at D, which are gelatinous and delicate, and •serve small pieces with the meat ; this greatly economises the joint. A little of the tongue is usually placed on each plate, and about a spoonful of the brains. The tongue is served on a separate dish, surrounded by the brains, and is cut across, the narrow ■way, in rather thin slices. Some persons like the eye. It ■is removed by a circular cut, marked by dots at E. First put the knife in slanting at F, inserting the point at that part of the dotted line, and more than does that from a leg on the skill of the carver, and it is also a joint which may be made to go much further by skilful cutting. Commence by thrusting in the fork at G in Fig. 12, firmly. Raise and half turn the shoulder over and upwards, holding it in this position by means of the fork; slash lightly in with the knife at A, but do not cut quite down to the bone ; the meat now flies open, leaving a gap, as if a thick slice had been removed. Cut a few slices thickly at the lines marked B, and then at the knuckle side at those marked H, making both slope so as to meet at D. Those to be helped to meat should always be asked whether they prefer the knuckle end or the thick end. The cut on the blade-bone, marked C in Fig. 12, is usually reserved till the joint is cold, and so is that at E. The circular cut. f removes the fat, a slice of which should be proffered with each piece of lean. Very many people think the mos't delicate cuts to be found underneath Fig. 12. Fig. 13. driving it in to the centre under the eye ; then wheel the hand round, keeping the circle of the dotted line with the blade of the knife, the point still in the centre. The eye will come out entire, cone-shaped at the under part, when the circle is completed by the knife. There are some gelatinous pieces round the eye, which are generally con- sidered very desirable. The lower jaw must next be removed by cutting through at the dotted line from G to H, to do which successfully the dish must be turned. Many persons consider the palate a dainty, and it should always be offered at table to the guests or members of the family. It is found under the head, of course, lining that part which forms the roof of the mouth. For the proper appearance of a calves' head when brought to table, refer- ence must be made to Fig. 4 in the coloured plate. Shotdder of Mutton, though costing less per pound, is not reckoned by some managers to be so economical a joint as a leg. Still, there are many persons who hold a contrary opinion, and a shoulder of mutton is a very frequent joint on a family dinner-table. - The palatable- ness of the meat served from a shoulder depends much the joint, which parts are represented in Fig'. 13. The cut at J is a thin slice of brown meat, followed by other slices cut in succession. From K to L, long slices can be removed, by cutting through to the bone. The longlines at N, and the short ones at M, indicate the situation of similar cuts. Taste varies so much in regard to which are' the nicest cuts on a shoulder of mutton, that indi- viduals should always be consulted before helping. Every part of a shoulder of mutton, except' the first cuts, should be carved in thin slices,. and even those are not made so thick as they are in a leg. The blade-bone is, in our opinion, the choicest cut of all (that marked C in Fig. 12), and may be eaten hot, if the remainder of the shoulder is hashed, instead of bringing it to table cold ; it is the better way to hash it, for the meat is insipid cold. A shoulder of larr.b is treated similarly ; so is a shoulder of veal, which is Sent to table with the under part turned to the carv^r,'who commences by serving the knuckle, and then c)jts as the under part of a shoulder of mutton is cut, aftej-^ards turn- ing the joint and carving the upper part^according to Fig. 12. '*' CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 8i GARDENING. THE WINDOW GARDEN. The practical result of good gardening is to keep up a show of blossom or ornamental foliage all through the .year, to effect which it is necessary to know the seasons Tvhen the various plants arrive at perfection. Suppeeing, therefore, we begin our year in winter, though few flowers -are blooming out of doors, yet our window garden may be gay enough, as may be seen from the following list of flowers which bloom at that season, all of which are available for our pur- pose : — Pompon chrysanthemum, tree carnation, Chinese primrose, polyanthus, single garden anemone, mignonette, musk, Neapolitan and Russian violet, wallflower, scarlet geranium, myrtle, camellia, China rose, heaths, daphme. Besides these there are many more, but as these require more attention and greater space for growth than most of our readers will be able to spare, we shall leave their names until a future number, and say a few words upon the culture of each of those given in our present list. Pompon Chrysanthemums are especially suit- able for winter window decoration, both on account of their size and variety of colour. Though naturally dwarf plants, they will admit of still further dwarfing, by having the points of the shoots " laid" at the end of August. In potting you will require rich light soil, give plenty of water afterwards, and when they have done flowering remove them into a yard or spare window, and protect them from sharp frosts. You can increase your stock by dividing the roots or suckers, in April or May. Tree Carnation. — Make cuttings in spring, repot in May, again in September ; pinch off the points of the early shoots when you first repot, so as to retard the flower-buds. Train upon a wooden frame or up the sides of the window. Chinese Primrose.— Sow in April or May under a square of glass ; pot and repot, twice, as the plants increase in size. Use sandy, fibrous, rich earth, and see that you have free drainage. When past flowering treat as chrysanthemums, and repot for the second season. Polyanthus takes a mode- rately large pot, rich loamy soil, and should be watered with liquid manure. Single Garden Anemone. — The roots of these and their bulbous brethren, are the bet- ter for being taken out of the "earth when flowering is over, and stored for the summer. This, however, must not be done until the foliage withers, ■^vhich shows that nature is resting. Good plants may be had by putting in the roots early in winter, and keeping the pots in a dark cool place until their leaves appear. Mignonette. — To bloom through the winter, select from the box or bed, and repot a strong woody plant, train it up a frame of sticks, and water sparingly. ^ Musk — grown either from seed, cuttings, or division of the roots. Keep very moist while growing, and dry while the plant is sleeping. Violets, Neapolitan and Russian. — Repot in May, ex- pose to the air as inuch as possible, either in a border, yard, or window-box. Use well-manured, rich earth, -watering freel% When the runners appear, nip them back, so as to conceritKite the strength in the main root. In September repot iritojight loamy good soil, and place in VOL. I. Fig. your window. Give all the air you can, and wash the leaves frequently. Wallflowers may be made to bloom in winter by cut- ting back in spring or summer, and from their perfume are always a favourite adjunct of the window garden. Scarlet Geraniums. — The sweet-scented and oak-leafed are the best for winter growing, and will go on flowering up to February. Of their treatment we shall have occ^ sion to speak under the head of pelargoniums. Myrtle. — 'No foliage is prettier and fresher. The plant will last for years, is easily propa- gated by cuttings, and although apt to grow too large for its share in a window case, can be kept within bounds by pruning. Sandy loam, mixed with heath and a little silver sand, is the best soil in which to grow myrtles. Repot once a year ; wash the foliage now and then, as soot smuts blister the delicate green leaves. Camellias. — Choose the double, which are the best flowering sort, and treat in the same way as the myrtle. A very simple way of striking camellia cuttings is by merely putting a spray (first nipping off the flower-bud) in a small medi- 1. cine bottle half full of water ; let the stalk just enter the water. Hang up the bottle in a light warm place, and in a short time you will have a well- rooted young plant to pot. China Roses. — Plant in midsummer, or even later ; use rich loamy soil, well drained. Strike at any time from cuttings. ' Heaths — being rather capricious in their growth, must be planted in heathy soil well mixed with silver sand and leaf mould, thoroughly drained, and kept free from wet. The pot must be rather small in proportion to the size of the plant. Give plenty of air, and protect carefully against hard frosts. Daphne — although not very ornamental, and apt to straggle in its growth, will nevertheless always find a place where sweet perfume is acceptable. Heath soil and loam, is the most suitable earth. Be careful to keep off frost, or even a sudden chill, and remove from the window at night. Indeed, we may here observe that this rule should apply to all winter flowers. The temperature falling so suddenly inside tlie room by the dying out of the fire, renders the plants extremely sensitive to the change in the outside atmosphere. If such a misfortune as a frost-bite occurs, remove the plant to a dark place, and let it recover itself; light will blister and ^. decay the surface affected by the frost. These flowers will have shed their beauty in January, when you should have your bulbs ready to fill their place. Of these the following will flower in January and February : — Hyacinths, narcissus, jonquils, tulips, cro- cuses, snowdrops, and scillas. The pretty effect a selec- tion of these will produce when well arranged, is shown in our illustration. Fig. 2. The treatment of these several sorts is much alike. Plant in soil mixed with leaf mould and well-rotted manure, early in autumn, say September. Keep in the dark until well rooted, which process is encouraged by having a saucer supplied with water below the pot. When the roots are thoroughly grown, which will generally take place in eight weeks, remove the- pots to the light, and the flower and foliage stems will soon show. Great 6 82 GARDENING. care should be taken to have the drainage act quickly, as although the plant should be well supplied with constant moisture, it must not get clogged with wet earth. If the flowers of the hyacinth begin to show before the stem has sprung up far enough to let them develop fully, you can force its growth by twisting a paper funnel and placing it over the plant ; flowers always seek the light, so the hyacinth will strain to reach the greatest light as shown by the aperture at the top of the funnel. By the time your bulbs have finished flowering there are many pretty spring flowers ready to blossom, so we will suppose you have been preparing a stock of prim- roses, violets,, ranunculus, anemone, Indian pink, forget- me-not, and lily of the valley. Of these, Primroses are perhaps the most popular, reminding as they do of country lanes ; they require no further care than good drainage, and to be planted in light soil mixed with leaf mould. Violets we have already described. Ramtnculus, Anemone. — These are treated in the same manner as the single anemone mentioned before. Indian Pink, Forget-me-not. — Sow in November, thin out if too thick, keep cool and dry. Lily of the Valley. — Take close, plump roots and pack tightly in the pot, shake in a light sandy soil, and place in a saucer constantly half-full of water. To follow the early spring show you have a large and very . beautiful family of flowers, known as annuals. , We scarcely need say that an '' annual " is a plant which is sown, blossoms, goes to seed, and dies in a year. Some annuals, it is true, may be made to live on for several years, but this is only by coaxing nature into an unusual course, by jjicking off the buds, or pruning back. The annuals suitable for our purpose are those not requiring artificial heat, and therefore designated hardy and half-hardy ; of these the following list will suffice to keep up the summer supply : — Mignonette, lobelia, mesembryanthemum, portulaca, balsam, cocks- comb, convolvulus, anagallis, calandrinia, nemophila, and mimulus. The treatment of these small-seeded annuals is alike. Sow in March or April under a pane of glass, thin, out, and transplant when large enough. They will then be ready to fill your window in June, or even the end of May, and continue flowering until the harder wooded perennials are ready. Of these, the favourite sorts suit- able to the window are : — Pelargoniums of various sorts, fuchsia, salvia, and calceolaria. ' For low-growing plants to fill up the case, you should keep up a supply of lobelia, musk, and moss. Mignonette never comes amiss for an odd corner, and the common wild mosses, grown in flower-pots, form a lovely relief to the bright colours of the geranium. Pelargoniums, usually known as geraniums, are pro- pagated by cuttings made from March up to the end of. August. The scarlet geraniums are not quite so suitable for window gardening as the large florists' geraniums, which grow luxuriantly in the house, and often, too, under the most adverse circumstances. In taking cuttings you should select well-ripened stems, removed as far as possible from the flowering shoot ; let them be about three inches in- length, and cut across a joint with two or three joints above ; the cutting should not be sunk deeply in the soil, an inch is quite deep enough. Pelargoniums requij-e forcing every year ; first you must prepare them for the operation by hardening the wood in the open air. When they have been out of doors three or four weeks, cut back the young shoots, giving the plant the form required ; this is the fittest opportunity for cuttings, as you then make a better selection, and do not damage the plant. After pruning, the plant should be kept pretty dry until the young shoots break away, then they must be repotted into sandy loam, leaf mould, and fibrous eartlj. Take care to nip off any decaying roots, water freely, and shade from the glare of sunlight. Plants repotted in February will flower in June, and yoU can go on, keeping up a con- tinuous show by nierely taking care to repot at proper seasons, beginning when the plant is young, or by nipping off the first young shoots, thus obliging the parent stem to send out fresh flower stems. Fancy or dwarf geraniums are much grown now, and if nicely pruned form lovely little shrubby plants. These require more water while sprouting, and should have smaller pots in proportion, while the addition of a little heath soil is a great advantage. The best time to make cuttings of any geranium is in March and April, and then you should ,take the little side shoots, and having struck repot them once or even twice during the summer. Before leaving the subject of propagation by cutting, we must impress upon the window gardener that to have a good strong plant to stand the winter he must strike his cuttings not sooner than March or later than June. ' Some of the fancy geraniums bloom almost continually. This is a grand object to achieve in a window garden, so we advise our readers to buy a plant of Gaines' scarlet, RoUisson's purple, or the Prince of Orange, a strong young plant, any one of which may be had for three or four pence at a nursery gardener's ; and here let us observe ■ that the first outlay is the last, as a good stock can always be kept up by propagation, or exchange. Those geraniums, which are kept in foliage all the winter require con- siderable care; the leaves will grow yellow and drop off if you do not keep them moist, which is best done by- syringing, or washing delicately leaf by leaf with a small , sponge or bit of flannel, an operation which can be easily ' done after the day's work, if you are careful to draw the : plant-case into the room, and avoid any chance of frost I catching the damp leaves. While plants are blooming,, ] care should be taken to keep them moderately moist j Fuchsia. — There is nothing more graceful or ornamental ' than this queen of window plants, and on the whole nothing more simple in its cultivation. Propagated like the pelargoniums from cuttings, the plants require much ; the same treatment, that is to say, repotting, pruning, ! and hardening. One thing, however, the fuchsia is more ! greedy of, and that is water ; you can scarcely water a i healthy plant too much, always understanding that the ' pot has a , quick and thorough drainage. Give all the air ■ possible, and when the lovely bells fall and. the leaves ' turn yellow put the plant out of doors to drink in life and vigour from the pure breath of heaven. Take care '■ however, that it does not get frost-bitten ; prune and \ remove into smaller pots for the winter^ in October or ' November, and set it somewhere where neither frost nor excessive damp can reach it. i In March, when the plant is shooting, you must form | it carefully. Slips pulled off close to the old wood in i April will strike well, and make neat plants for flowering in autumn ; the parent plant must be repotted in a slightly '< larger pot, and kept well watered by syringing the stem, I rather than deluging the root. ' i The best form in which to train a fuchsia is that shown ' in Fig. I. The plant throws out more graceful branches, , and takes up less room in the winter ; the stem will go on growing until it attains a considerable thickness. Liquid manure is good for fuchsias while they are preparing to, bud, but should not be given after flowering, and tke flowers should never be wetted, or they will drop /off before their time. y Salvias.— The scarlet, by proper managemenfe; may be contemporary with- the chrysanthemum as y^eW as the pelargoniums, and all the; precaution neces2^ary is to top your cuttmgs taken in early summer, agi^orce the plant to go, over its preparation for flowerjijfS^gain. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 83 DOMESTIC MEDICINE. DISEASES INCIDENTAL TO CHILDREN. In treating of the diseases which are incidental to child- hood, we shall content ourselves with noticing those of common occurrence. Now, as most of our ailments are the result of our own imprudence or misfortune, it might be expected that childhood would be free from disease ; but it is really the most dangerous part of hfe, if we exclude age, which has been called second ' childhood. The organisation of an infant is a very sensitive one, capable of being injured by many things, especially by improper food, by bad air, by cold, and by heat. In some large towns it is very difficult to rear children ; in Liverpool, for example, one child in every four dies before attaining the age of twelve months. It would be well if people would regard the constitution of a child as a thing requiring great consideration and care. Gene- rally speaking, the life of a child is endangered by affec- tions of its nervous system, such as convulsions ; or of its bowels, such as diarrhoea ; or of its breathing appa- ratus, such -as bronchitis ; but these are by no means the only dangers with which childhood has to contend. In these papers we propose to treat shortly of the following diseases of children : — r, convulsions ; 2, diarrhoea ; 3, dentition ; 4, bronchitis -and croup, and nervous croup ; 5, eruptive fevers ; 6, whooping cough ; 7, certain skin diseases ; and 8, worms. I. — CONVULSIONS. ' These are of common occurrence in young children, owing to the extreme sensitiveness of their nervous system ; still a child is not always convulsed when it is said to be so. Nurses are very fond of talking about "inward convulsions," which often mean nothing more than a few slight twitches about the muscles of the face, especially of the lips. Such twitches often precede or forbode an attack of convulsions, but are not themselves entitled to this name. When a real fit comes on it is too easily perceived. The twitching- of the face is no longer slight, but of the nature of a jerk ; the muscles of the trunk and limbs are alternately stiffened and relaxed ; and if the muscles of the chest and body are much affected, the child becomes blue from the way in which the fits interfere with respiration. Causes. — What are the causes of such fits ? They vary in different cases ; but they may be resolved into three or four principal classes. Fn-st, so7ne fault in the food of the child. The food may be unfitted to the tender wants of the infant. » It may be artificial milk instead of maternal ; or it may be bad milk instead of good. .And even in the case of a child fed with its own mother's milk it may happen that a sudden derangement of the mother's milk— -as, for example, by a fright — will occasion a convulsion in the child. Another error of diet, recognised as an occasional cause of fits in children, is giving too much food at one time — gorging the stomach. Another common cause of fits is the irritation -caused in sensitive children by the process of teething. It is amaz- ing how one or more teeth pressing on the gum may irri- tate and derange a child. Prolonged diarrhma, exhaust- ing a child, will be occasionally followed by a convulsion. Worms in the bowels are often a cause of convulsions in children ; and may be suspected to be the cause in any particular case if they have been noticed before the occur- rence of the fits. Our list of the causes of such attacks would , be incomplete if we did not specify bad air, such as is met with in close, iU-ventilated, unhealthy rooms. Formerly, in the Rotunda Lying-in Hospital, Dublin, a large proportion of the children used to die of fits. No less than a sixth of the children died within a fortnight, after their birth of the disease known as the lock-jaw of infants, in which not only the muscles of the jaw, but the other niuscles of the body are affected with a stiflfness. The children attacked with it almost invariably died. Dr. Joseph Clarke entirely abolished this disease in the Rotunda by securing the better ventilation of the wards by a system of shafts. We mention this disease, not only because it is of the nature of fits, but also because its complete extinction in the Rotunda is one of the most striking instances that can be brought forward of the good effects of fresh air. Treatment. — When a child is attacked with 'convul- sions, pending the arrival of the doctor, two or three things may be done by those in attendance. First, let them be advised not to be too excited or too officious. It is very alarming to see a child convulsed, but generally children do not die in fits, and the best service will be that which is rendered in quietness. The things which it is generally right to do are to admit plenty of air to the child's face and mouth, and to put it into a warm ibath in such a position as to give it plenty of air in breathing. The further treatment of the child will be best judged of by the medical man ; but if from any cause his arrival be delayed, the steps to be taken must depend on the probable causes of the attack. If the child should have taken doubtful ' food, this source of irritation must be rectified. If it have taken a large quantity of food, there would be little harm in trying to excite vomiting, in the interval of the fits, by tickling the mouth with a feather or with the finger. If the child be in an exhausted state from previous diarrhoea or other causes, a little simple food should be introduced, either breast-milk or fresh milk and water, or barley water, or^ if the child be very much reduced, a little very weak brandy and water sweetened wfth sugar. If the gum is red or swollen over a coming tooth, nothing gives such relief as lancing the gums ; this, of course, can only be done by a medical man. But the medical man is sometimes foolishly opposed by parents in this matter. We need scarcely remark that in the actual fit the child will not be able to swallow, and during this time the attendants should be careful to let it have plenty of air. Before leaving the treatment of children subject to convulsions, we should say the great duty of friends is to preserve such children from the causes of them, which we have specified, and in every way to, strengthen the children. It should be remembered that fits imply a morbid sensitiveness, which is often constitutional. By good food, by pure air, by plenty of sleep, and regular living on the part of the parent, such sensitiveness is diminished, and with it the chance of fits. ' II. — DIARRHCEA. This, like the preceding, is a very common ailment of children. It is the cause of much of the mortality of young children ; and where it is not fatal it often greatly weakens and injures the system. It is so common, and it injures a child so slowly and gradually, that it is on the whole too lightly regarded. We shall describe the general causes of it, and some domestic means by which it will often be remedied ; but if these fail we advise parents not to neg- lect to get medical advice for diarrhoea. A child with diarrhoea should especially not be neglected when it looks pale, when it is cold and clammy in the skin, and when it lies with its eyelids half closed. The diarrhoea of children may be divided for practical purposes into two classes : — I, that which occurs in very young children in the first few weeks or months of life ; and 2, that which occurs in children about and after the age of six months, during the period of teething. Both these forms of diarrhoea are most apt to occur and most difficult to cure during summer and autumn. I. The Diarrhoea of very Young Children. — This generally depends on error of diet, on artificial food, 84 THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. or on something faulty in the milk of the mother. The ■motions of the child are generally green in colour, and frequently passed. The child cries much, or gives other signs of uneasiness in the bowels. Very often some degree of vomiting exists along with this diarrhoea; Such a case as this is eminently one for good domestic management. It is impossible to lay down rules that will suit every case ; but wise women will find out what food agrees with a child and what seems to poison it. This kind of diarrhoea is often seen in children that are fed with the bottle, or in other artificial ways. And it is wonderful how such children will often improve as soon as a wet-nurse is got for them. The green motions become yellow, the wrinkled skin looks plump and fresh again, and the expression of the face alters from an aged, haggard look to a happy, well-fed appearance. Where a wet-nurse cannot . be procured, the best artificial food should be given, and of this, generally speaking, the best is that which is made of milk and water in equal proportions, or in the proportion of two-thirds milk to one-third water. It should be sweetened with a little sugar, and given at a temperature of go? to 95° Fahr. It is of the greatest inoment that the milk should be fresh and free from all acidity. In the way of domestic medicine, a tea- spoonful or two of lime-water may be given mixed with the food, or a teaspoonful of the following mixture may be taken two, three, or four times a day : — Chalk mixture 6 drachms. Water 6 „ , Bicarbonate of soda 6 grains. Where this diarrhoea depends on any temporary fault of the mother's health, this must be rectified by appropriate means, especially by simple diet and quietness of mind. If the diarrhoea is not quickly removed by domestic care and treatment, medical advice should be taken on the subject. 2. The DiarrJima of Teething Children. — Many children never cut a tooth without having some diarrhoea. If it continues long, or if it is associated with vomiting, or if tlie child is getting obviously thinner, then it should be regarded seriously, and the doctor should be sent for. The domestic treatment of it will consist in the most careful regulation of the mother's living, favouring good Tiiilk on her part ; where the child is brought up by the land, in giving suitable food, especially milk as above directed. If this produces vomiting, then give barley- ■water, or barley-water and mOk, until the stomach settles a little. If the child is very exhausted, and lies with its eyes half closed, then a little very weak brandy and water may be administered. For example, a teaspoonful of pale brandy may' be put into a wineglassful of water und sweetened.; of this a teaspoonful may be given fre- quently. If the motions are green, and the • skin hot and dry, two teaspoonfuls of the above chalk mixture may be' given every three or four hours. If there is sickness or sweating, the following mixture wiU often answer better : — Dilute sulphuric acid Compound tincture of cardamoms Simple syrup Water 12 mmnns. I drachm. i^ ounce. A teaspoonful or two teaspoonfuls to be taken (according to the age of the child) every three, fomr, or six hours. When diarrhoea occurs in older children than those of a year or two, it should not be checked immediately, especially if it have followed close upon some obvious error of diet. It may even be proper in this latter case to give a very small quantity of castor oil or Gregory powder. If the diarrhoea continues, then the above mixtures may be procured in twice the quantity, and a dessert-spoonful or a table-spoonful given every three or four hours. Generally speaking, it will be safe to begin with the chalk mixture, and if this is not effective the other may be tried. If the case is urgent, however, or the child delicate, or the summer very hot, it will be proper to take medical advice at first. Inflammatory Diarrhoea. — Sometimes, particularly in young children fed with the bottle in unhealthy large towns, diarrhoea resists all remedies, and changes its character ; the motions losing altogether the appearance of ordinary motions, becoming green and sour, consisting largely of slime, perhaps mixed with a little blood ; sometimes they resemble spinach or chopped vegetables. ■Vomiting is apt to set in. The little patient gets very pallid and thin, and soft and flabby. The case is not now one of simple diarrhoea. It requires the best medical skill, and should at once be removed from the sphere of domestic medicine. THE HOUSEHOLD MECHANIC. JOINTS {continned). The next kind of jointing we will try to describe is morticing. For simplicity, we will use logs of the same size as before, and will suppose that it is required to join the end of No. 2 log into the middle of the narrow side of No. I (Fig. 42), a T-shaped pjefce, of course, being the result. Plane up true, as before, and square a line, A B, on No. 2, at three and a quarter inches from the end, and continue the line all around the log. Now take the mortice-gauge (Fig. II, page 24) and set the two points to the width of the mortice-chisel, which should, in this case, be about three-quarters of an inch, and then adjust the pairof points to mark on the narrow edges of the log two parallel lines, each at an equal distance from its respective side. The - gauge is easily set by tapping with a hammer to about the right place, and then tested by pricking holes from one edge, and then reversing the action to the other edge, until the marks made from either side coincide, and when once set correctly, the screw should be .tightened, to prevent the points shifting. Mark the narrow edges of the log with these points from the square marks A and B to the end, and then across the end to join them, and remove the wood on either side' as far as these marks, as shown by the dotted lines, the cut in the direction of the grain to be taken with a rip-saw, and the transverse cut with the tenon-saw. It only remains to smooth off the roughness left by the saw,and this part of the joint, which is called the tenon, is finished. In the middle of log No. i mark round the log, with the square, two lines, A B, a B, at a distance from each other equal to the width of No. 2, viz., three inches, and mark the narrow edges, A A, between these lines with the gauge in the same position as before, and as the logs are of equal thickness, the marks will fall in the middle in this case, as on No. 2. If we now look at our marks, we shall find we have two parallel lines, a a, three-quarters of an inch apart, and thre'e inches long. Turn the log completely over, and make the same gauge marks on the bottom, and a corresponding oblong slit mark, 6cde, placed exactly opposite A, will be the result. Next lay the log on the stool or bench, and fix it in the most convenient manner (it is usual with carpenters to sit on the work to keep it steady), and take the chisel, and holding it with the edge at right angles to the length of the hole to be cut somewhere between the two gauge lines, and the blade quite upright, hit it a smart blow with the mallet. Now, with the chisel, take a cut a little further either way, but always keeping the flat side of the blade towards the end you are approaching, and gradually advance about one- eighth of an inch at a cut, to the end of the required slit, or mortice, as it is termed. When the line A is reached,' the tool is reversed from the place where the cut com- menced till it comes to the B. Once below the surface the blows of the mallet must be smart and swift, and the CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. B chisel will be required to be used obliquely sometimes, in order to prize out the slips, which would otherwise clog the hole. About the, depth of two cuts shovild reach the centre of the block, when the log must be turned over, and worked from the other side, until the two holes meet in one and so form the mortice. Even though the wood to be morticed were very thin, it would be necessary to commence from both sides, or the edgesi of the work, supposing the chisel to come right through from either side to the other, would be splintered and uneven from being forcibly bulged out. The oblique ends, E F, of the hole are afterwards cut from the top of the log, to make room for the wedges, h i, in No. 2. Clean out the ragged parts insjde the mortice, with a wide, thin-bladed chisel, and drive in the tenon ; from the under side, it should project about a quarter of an inch through, the top. Now drive in the wedges, H l, lightly, saw off all that projects above the surface, and plane smooth. If the directions have been attended to, and the work accurately done, the joints should fit exactly, with- out play or looseness, and the shoulders should come well up to the under side of the block. Should it be required to remove the tenon from the mortice, before finally wedging , up, , the ^ mor- ticed block. No. I, must be tapped on the side from which the tenon enters it. The weight of the block and the force of inertia will cause it to jerk out a little at each tap. Any at- tempt to force it out from the top would spread the fibres in the tenon, and rivet it more firmly in its place. This joint will tax the powers of the novice, but will be found capital prac- tice, and in after work we shall have constant need of it, as it is about the most important joint in carpentry. The correct pro- portion for the thickness of the tenons is rather more than one- third the total thick- ness of the morticed log,butthedrawingis purposelymade with the tenon larger for distinctness. Forthe best work, two tenons are used, as Fig. 43, ranged .side by side on the end of the log, and fitting into two corresponding mortices, in which case the lines ABCD are sawn down with the half-rip saw, the. space e being removed with the mcfr- tice-chisel. It is often necessary to join beams together end-wise, and in Fig. 44 we show one of many methods of doing this. The ends of the logs A and B are shs^ped as there shown, leaving a .space at C where the diagram is shaded, and into this space the rectangular piece C is ng'42- Fig. 45- driven tightly, thereby closing the joint well up at the angles F G, which are the holding part pf the joint. At D and E, as shown by the dotted lines, holes are bored with an auger, and wooden pins driven in, making all secure and immovable. It must be remembered that no joint, however well constructed and executed, is so sound and strong as the same size of solid wood, and, therefore, piecing should be avoided, if consistent with efficiency. We next come to dove^ tail- ing, which, though not by any means dilficult, will, neverthe- less, require considerable care and dexterity to produce accurate work. We will suppose we re- quire to make, a box two feet long, one foot thick, and one foot deep, of inch material For this, we shall want ten feet six inches of inch board, twelve inches wide, but, as deal is only usually nine inches wide, we shaft have to glue up three inches more, to make the right width. Cut up the planks into" lengths of two feet one inch each, and strip down ten feet three inches wide, and cut also into the same lengths. Plane, or shoot, as it is called, one edge of each width, perfectly, true, "and square carefully, testing the accuracy with the squar^ and straight-edge, and then with a brush smother the planed edges with hot glue rather thin. Now place the pieces edge to edge, and press evenly and smoothly, so as to force out all the superfluous glue, sliding the edges a little across each other. Be very care- ful to bring the pieces back flush and level. It will be- necessary to leave these boards for some hours under pres- sure, and when perfectly dry, if properly done, the glue joint will be stronger than the wood is itself. The essence of success is the com- plete exclusion of the excess of glue. These pieces must be carefully planed up smooth, and the edges shot and squared. Next square up the end's, and reduce the length of two pieces to two feet and a quarter of an 'inch for the front and back, and of two for the ends for one foot and a quarter of an inch. The quarter inch is for a slight overplus it is usual to leave until the joint is finished, when it is planed off true. Now rule off on the end of each of the four pieces, and on both sides, a space equal to the thickness the wood is reduced to and the above overplus. These marks, eeee, will show the exact size of the interior of the box, when complete. The dove-tail joint, Fig. 45, consists of the pin A and the dove-tail B^he pins being usually made first — and should be on the end or short side of the Fig. 45. 86 COOKING. box. Take the mitre-bevel, and set it to about 60° or 70", the exact angle is not important, and set ofT on the edge of each end of A, the two outside pins, and any con- venient number of pins between them, the bevel being reversed to mark the two sides of each pin. Produce the bevel round both faces of the board, with the square, as far as the gauge lines e e. Now fix the board firmly in the bench, end up, and with the dove-tail saw (Fig. 24, page 43) cut the gashes c c c. Lay the board fiat on the bench, face downwards, and take a "sharp chisel and a maUet, and give a cut exactly on the square line, e, between each pin. Turn the piece over and cut from the other side gauge-line until the pieces between the pins are removed, taking care that the pins should not be injured in the process. Care- fully square the spaces with the chisel, without using the mallet, and trim off the roughness left by the saw on the pins. Next take the front or back (2) of the box and lay on the bench inside uppermost, and place on it the end a on edge, with its inside edge touching the square mark e, and with its top and bottom edges flush with those of 2. Now, with the point of the striking-knife, mark off the bevels on the edges of each pin, and produce the lines with the square across the end of B and to the square mark on the other side, with the mitre-bevel. Saw the lines h h with the dove-tail saw, and remove the spaces / i by chiselling out across the square line, and K K by sawing. The pins on the ends of A will then exactly fit the dove-tails in B. The four comers of the box require to be treated in the same way, the pins being worked on each end of the shortest side^or end, and the doye-tails on each end of the longest or side of the box. Glue in firmly, and, after the work is dry, carefully plane off the project- ing ends. The appearance of the joint will then be as shown in Fig. 46, in which the end grain of the wood is shaded. The bottom, which should be of thinner wood, may be nailed or screwed on, and the top should have a ledge round the front and end edges which will shut over the body. A narrow slip of wood (about three inches) nailed round the bottom and nicely bevelled or mitred at the corners, will much improve the appearance of the work and add to its strength. For small common work, it is a very frequent practice to mitre up the edges to an angle of 45° and glue them together, and then, when dry, to make little saw cuts obliquely, alternately inclined upwards and downwards, and glue thin slips of veneer into these niches. This method is much easier than dove-tailing, and is tolerably strong. It is known as the mitre and key-joint. There are several modifications of the dove-tail joint, such as Fig. 47, v/hich shows only from the side, and notin front. rig. 47. — THE LAP DOVE-TAU^. J This arrangement is used for drawers in cabinet work. The mitre or secret dove-tail has the pins and dove-tails worked on a beyelled edge, aind when joined up, neither can be seeiiat all. These, however, are required chiefly for the higher class of cabinet work. , Jn our next paper we shall give instructjons for making and fixing a carpenter's bench. = ' COOKING. FISH [continued), plain soups. Plain Broiled Mackerel. — Moderate-sized fish are the most convenient for broiling. Open them at the belly the whole of their length. Remove the head ; you may leave the tail — it will make the dish look more important. In districts where fish is a rarity, it is common to leave every fin, even on fried fish — ^that is, on fish truly fried by plunging them in boiling fat — for the sake of improving their appearance ; it m&es them look half as big again. When the fish is opened, and laid flat on its back, you may remove the bone ; but leaving it will help ydu to handle it, and sa.ve all tearing of the flesh. Dry the inside of the fish with a napkin ; sprinkle it with a little pepper and salt. Grill the inside of the mackerel first. After turning it, while the back of the fish is exposed to the fire, lay on the upper surface a few little bits of butter. These will melt and enrich the fish while the broiling is being completed^ As soon as done, serve at once. No special . sauce is .usually served with broiled mackerel. Those who like it can add a few drops of catchup, or other flavouring. When broiling is not convenient, mackerel so split open can be fried. In that case, the tail-fin is best cut off. The fish must be well dried on both sides, between the folds of a napkin, and then rubbed with flour before frying. Patting butter to it afterwards is needless. No sauce is absolutely required, but anchovy sauce may be sent up with it. Potted Mackerel. — Clean the fish in the way directed for plain broiled mackerel ; cut off the heads and tails, and divide each fish across into three pieces, so as to have the shoulder's, the middles, and the tails. After washing, let them drain. Have an earthen pot, a pate dish, with a cover of the same material. A common glazed deep stoneware pot, with a wooden cover, will do in case of need. At the bottom put a layer of mackerel ; season with salt, ground pepper, whole pepper, bay-leaf, and cloves. Then put m more mackerel, and season again, and so on, until all is in its place. Over this pour a little more vinegar than wiU cover the mackerel. If, however, the vinegar be very acid, or if it be desired to keep the fish for any time, tiie vinegar must be diluted with cyder, water, or beer ; because, in either case, too strong vinegar would dissolve the fish, instead of allowing the flesh to remain firm, which it will do if the strength of the liquid is nicely adjusted, even after the back-bone has become so soft as to be eatable. Cover the dish or pot with its lid, and set into a slow oven for an hour or two— if very slow, it may pass the night there. Mackerel so potted, and closely covered, will keep good for a week or a fortnight, or longer. It may be eaten .with a little of its own liquor poured ovei: it, to 'which a little salad oil is a great addition when people are not frightened by the words "eating oil." With the accom- paniment of a well-dressed salad, it makes a nice cool supper dish after a fatiguing evening's work. It is economical, because; the mackerel can be bought when they are plentiful and cheap, and kept in this way till their season is over. .Potted mackerel, too (being classed with hors d'ceuvres, works of supererogation, side dishes kickshaws), may be presented even at weahhy tables as a supplement to any meal. ' Pickled Herrings, Fi-eneh Way (exceUent cold).— Towards the end of the herring season, the fish is pften very cheap ; but it is better to pay a trifle more before they are shotten. Choose herrings which, retaining their shape, are plump, and not too bloodshot about the eyes— t.e., which have not been crushed together in large heaps either ih the fishing-boats, or in casks, or baskets. If many of the scales come off, it is a sign they have so suffered. For this reason, when you live near the coast, the fishings of small boats are oflen to be preferred. The CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 87 herring is one of the fishes which die ahnost instantly they -are out of the water. Comparatively few people have seen a live herring. Scale your herrings ; draw • the entrails, leaving the milts and roes in their place ; cut off their heads, wash them, wipe them dry with 3. cloth ; salt them four-and-twenty hours in an earthen vessel. Then put them into a well-tinned Or enamelled saucepan with whole pepper, cloves, sliced onions, and bay leaf. Pour over the fish enough vinegar and water to cover them, set them on a brisk fire, and let them boil two minutes. Take them off the fire, and let them get nearly cold in the saucepan before you put them into the covered dish in which they are to be kept for use. Arrange them in tliat I with care not to break them ; '^ pour the liquor over them^ put on the lid, and set them in a dry cool place. Sprats j and pilchards may be pickled in the same way ; indeed, all that is directed for herrings, is applicable to the latter of those fishes especially. ' Fresh Herrings, Broiled. — Frying herrings is a needless expenditure of fat ; their flesh is quite oily enough in itself I to broil them, and they will need no butter to be eaten I with them, particularly if they are salted for a night, which renders them firmer, and improves their flavour. Scale the jiish, draw the entrails without opening them ; score them -crosswise on each side in two or three places, cutting the flesh down to the backbone, but not dividing that. Heat your gridiron, and, then lay your fish upon it over a clear fire, into which (if of coal cinders) you have first thrown a little salt. While the fish are broiling, raise them gently now and then to prevent them sticking to the bars. .When well done on one side, turn them to the other , without breaking the skin. Although they should not be dried up, they require thorough cooking, especially if they have roes and milts. Serve on a hot dish, immediately they are taken off the gridiron. They need no sauce, but a little salt and a hot mealy potato are proper accompaniments. Siamese Herrings, Broiled as Twins. — Scale your herrings, cut off their heads, open them at the belly the whole of their length, froih the tail upwards. Flatten' them ; with great care, draw out the backbone, and remove any little bones that have not come away with it. Sprinkle the inner surface of each fish with pepper, salt, and a dust of flour. Then place them togethet in pairs, pressing the two inner 'surfaces into as close a contact , as you can. Lay them on the gridiron ; when the undermost fish is broiled, turn them with a pair of tongs or between a couple of spoons without separating them. When thoroughly broiled and served on their dish, each person can have a pair of herrings still holding together, as his rightful portion. Red Herring. — Lay a red herring in a deep dish, pour boiling water over it, and let it' lie there five or ten minutes, according to the degree of dryness and saltness. Take it out of the water, peel off the skin, open it at the belly, and by laying hold of the head, carefully draw out the backbone and every little bone that springs from it. Lay the herring-flesh on a board, and cut one-half of it into long narrow strips or fillets, the whole length of the fish, the other half into small squares. Make some ■buttered toast ; cut each round of toast into quartets. In the middle of each quarter lay a square of herring-flesh, encircling it with one of the narrow strips. This will give you mock anchovy toast. Slice bread and butter ; lay squares and fillets of herring iipon it ; place another slice of bread and butter over it, and you have mock anchovy sandwiches. Put a few bits of herring-flesh into a mortar ; pound them well. Put them into a saucepan with a lump of butter, and some flouf and water. Keep stirring in one direction till they are mixed thoroughly and smooth. When it boils,' you obtain mock anchovy sauce, to be eaten with beef steaks or fieh. N.B. If this and similar sauces oil in the making, the; introduction of a small quantity of cold water will set all to rights. The same pounded herring-flesh nxay be used in a similar way to essence of anchovies, for heightening the relish of several brown soups — hare; soup for instance. PLAIN SOUPS. Boil some water in a saucepan, with a clove of garlic chopped small, and a small quantity of salt. Cut very thin slices of bread into a soup-tureen, pour over them a table-spoonful of good eating oil, grate a little nutmeg over them, and, when the water boils galloping, pour it over the bread. This, which is the genuine Provenijal water boiled, does not read like a very substantial mess ; nevertheless, a hundred thousand families in the south of France have nothing else but this for breakfast, and enjoy good health, notwithstanding. You may make, the same kind of thing, only better, thus : If you dislike,, or have not, garlic, chop two or three onions into a, saucepan of new milk, or skimmed milk, or even butter-milk. Put slices of bread and, butter into your soup-tureen, grate nutmeg on them, and poui: your boiling milk over them. Let the tureen stand to soak three or four minutes before the fire, before serving. Instead of buttering the bread, you may use unbuttered slices, and, to make up for the deficiency of oily matter, boil some finely-chopped suet with the milk, which will be found a very tolerable sub- stitute. Cabbage Soup (from " Wholesome Fare, or the Doctor and the Cook"). — Please, try this. Wash thoroughly, and shred very finei-^as if for making pickled cabbage — the hearts of one or two summer cabbages, or of a very delicate savoy, according to size. ' Slice and mince some carrots, turnips, and two or three leeks, all very fine, and mix these chopped vegetables well together in a salad- bowl. Have ready a good broth ; pork or beef-boilings will do, when not too salt— the great point is that the meat should not have been too long in salt ; not more, say, than three or four days — French cooks prefer a variety ai meats boiled together; for instance, a piece of lean beef, a knuckle of veal, a small piece of salt pork, and a bit of the neck or shoulder of mutton. These meats should not be cooked so much as to render them uneat- able, either cold or warmed up in a stew, or even served hot at the same dinner at which the soup appears. (Thus, the beef, served in the middle of a stew made of sliced carrots, turnips, and onions fried brown, will be welcomed as a dish of beef a la 7nodes the veal, covered with a little parsley and butter, will be excellent boiled knuckle of veal ; the neck of mutton, masked with caper or nasturtium sauce, accompanied by mashed turnips, will give you the Welshman's notion of heaven ; and the pork, cold, will be delicious for breakfast, or to cap a thumb-piece in the field.) For these purposes, they are invariably used in France, instead of being thrown out to the dogs, as broth- meat; too frequently is in England. When the meat is enough done, according to your judgment, take it out, make the broth boil galloping, and then throw in your bowlful of well-drained shred and chopped vegetables. Let them boil on, without the lid, till the cabbages, &c., are quite- tender, but not cooked to a mash. While the vegetables are boiling, slice and chop one or two large onions ; fry them, in butter or dripping, to a rich brown. If more convenient, tliey may be prepared beforehand, and Set by, cold, till wanted.; Add them to the soup, and mix them up with it. Meagre Cabbage Soup, for abstinence days, is made in the same way as above, using water instead of broth, ~and often adding to the cabbage a large handful of chopped sorrel — an excellent anti-scorbutic and purifier of the blood. A larger quantity of fried onions is used, and, at the time of adding them to the' soup, a small basinful of grated crumb of bread is also incorporated with it, to make it more noiirishing. 88 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN. Fig. 16. THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF . CHILDREN. II. — CLOTHING FOR INRANTS {continued). The fashions change in regard to babies' clothing as well as in the > toilettes of the more mature, but usually less often and less conspicuously. The greatest altera- tion that has been made for some time is a very sensible one, and affects the length of the little ones' toilettes. Robes that once reached absurd proportions are curtailed to the length of a yard ; nothing is to exceed this ; the yard may even include the bodice. Of course, the petti- coats and flannels are all shorter in proportion. In our last number we promised another description for a chemise and a flannel. The chemise we now describe is cut precisely like the first, but. sleeves are added. In- stead of hemming round the open sleeve edge, as before described, the little sleeves are added in, and help the better to cover the baby's arms. For the sleeve, cut a piece of the cambric four inches wide and eight inches and a quarter long. Hem it along the upper edge, then upite. Unite the edge A B to the edge c D, Fig. 24, in a kind of loop, as shown in Fig. 18. When laid down flat on the table the loop takes the form of Fig. 19. E is run and felled into the chemise. F is the outer edge of the sleeve already hemmed. Two other ways of making sleeves are shown by Fig. 16. The first, a finely-drawn piece with a gusset ; the second, as a frill drawn at one end only ; both are edged with lace. Another way of making the baby's flannel is shown in Fig. 23, which represents the back of the little garment, and Fig. 21, which displays the front. The back has either three or four box-plaits in one with the back breadth of flie skirt. The front of the bodice is made of two plain pieces wide, enough to wrap over one another, and joined by a band (which also goes over the plaits behind) to the skirt in front, which wraps over and ties on one side. The dotted line L shows how far the body, of the flannel fcJds over on the under side. M shows where the under skirt ends, and^ is but- toned to the upper one. The third way of making a flannel, very suitable for summer, is given in Fig. 28. A strip of flannel six inches deep and fourteen inches long, from G to G, is cut away to points each side, H and H. This is bound all round. The skirt is plaited and set on Fig. M. ^ig. 18,' Fig. 17. 7 Fig. 21. from I to I. There are semicircles for armholes cut and tape straps added at K and K. The dotted lines show the portions meant for the back, and to wrap over in front. The points are folded round the baby's body, and tied by strings sewn on at H and H. Another necessary item wiU be twelve yards of good linen diaper, a yard wide. It will cost about one shilling and sixpence a yard. Cut twelve squares from this, hem them round, and fold four times. , For a pilch to wear over the squares, take a square of flannel, fold it shawl-shape, and cut it in half. Take off the two shawl ends, marked by the dotted lines N and n; in Fig. 22, and .gather it into a band, as in Fig. 17, about' fifteen inches long. Button it at R and R, and add a'loop at O also to fasten on to the buttons at R. The House Cloak or Flannel Wrapper. — A yard of flan:-; nel twenty-seven' or twenty - eight] inches wid^ wjl| be required. This' must be shaped I to an exact square of twenty - eight inches. To cut a square of any-: thing always fold your material across, as shown in Fig. 13, bring- ing the material where it is cut across equally to the selvage at B. The fold comes at the dotted line C C, and when folded the mate- rial resembles Fig. 15. Cut it off at the dotted line D D D, you then have a square exact. To cut the baby's wra-pper, keep your square folded, as s)iowa in Fig. 15, and cut it out as- shown in the plain line in Fig. 30, the dotted line indicating the folded square. To ornament the fiannel, work it all round the edge in scallops with blue or scarlet crochet silk, and work a dot in every scallop. To scallop the edge cut a card out, like Fig. 31, cutting Tioles for the rounds. This can be done by tracing the outline on the card fir^t Then with a red chalk .pencil mark the scallops and holes all along the edge of the flannel. Run them over with cotton after- wards button-hole the edge in silk, and work the large dots m satin stitch. On the wrong side of the flannel square, at the dotted line marked S, in Fig. 30 put on a ribbon case, and run in a string to draw the hood round, the babys neck. This flannel squaxe is worn over the dress in the house during the month; and afterwards when the child is aarried from room to room. In an- other number we shall describe some babies' frocks and petticoats. The Baby's Cloak.— W. has been very usual lately, and more fashionable, to drape a baby in a simple deep cir- cular cape out of doors, in preference to the old cloak Fig. 19. Fig. 23. Fig 24. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 89 with its cape. There is no essential difference in the pattern needed. The cape is merely a cloak without its second cape, and with the trimming differently arranged. If a yoiing mother has not a pattern for the purpose she can easily make one herself. In the first place, let her take one or two old news- papers — we will suppose she takes The Echo — and tack three of them together neatly with needle and thread, as shown in Fig. 20. The centre of these united papers must be ascertained by doubling them. Then spread them out upon a table that has a cloth upon it. Pin the end of a yard measure securely to the centre, through the cloth at the top of the paper. Then take hold of it where the figure thirty-six inches denotes the yard, and move it from end to end of the paper, holding a pencil in the same hand to mark its movements. The yard measure is pinned at A in Fig. 29, and moves from B to G at the other end, the thirty-six inches, or yard, marked on the tape, and then again from B to G. The line in the centre, it will be observed, is exactly straight, being rendered so by folding the paper after the circular line is made. Having marked the half circle thus de- scribed with a pencil, allow it at the line C and G, each side of the centre B, five inches shorter,accord- ing to the dotted line D D. Pencil this nicely off as shown in the illustra- tion, l^owcut out the pat- tern with scissprs ; fold it together, and give the comers the little slope or curve marked at E and E. "When a cloak is to be made it is cut just the same, but a cape is formed two-thirds of the size, at the dotted line marked F, and a collar at that marked A. For a baby's circular cape a collar is added, but the trimming is put on the neck like a collar, and of the same shape. Either cloak should measure in the longest part, that is, from the neck to the edge in the centre of the back, not more than one yard ; a circular cape rather less. Having obtained anaccurate pattern it is easy to cut the material. Two yards of cashmere at 3s. 6d. or 4s. a yard is required. White is the most esteemed, and scarlet the most durable Fig. 29. of colours. Cashmere washes well, and dyes equal to new. A very pretty circular cape can be made of white cashmere, trimmed with bright, light blue llama. A desiga for this IS given in Fig. 26. The llama is put on broadly ; It must be cut to the curved shape of the qloak, and joined in breadths ; it encircles the lower edge, and is rounded off towards the front. Up the front several handsome blue ribbon bows are sewn on, and the cloak secured beneath them by hooks and eyes. The llama should be tacked on flat after the breadths are joined, and very fine cotton should be used for the pur- pose. Turn in the upper edge, and sew it down with a narrow white silk braid. A handsome cloak may be lined throughout with white sarceneit ; but it is very general^ and far less costly,, to use fine white cambric for the purpose. Having tacked on the blue trimming, and neatly run it into the: braid at the edge,, put the lining upon the cloak face to face, and tack it round, leaving the outside of both visible. Run ' it nicely together at the edge, and then turn it inside out, so that the right side of the cloak is out- wards. A trimming, like a collar, of the blue has, of course, been placed on the cape as well as the broad edge. Add the bows, and the cloak is complete. It is very easy and very sim- ple to make; The trim- ming may be of silk instead ,of llama, and quilted in- stead of plain ; no braid is then needed, ^■^-i. In cutting: the newspaper pattern, we should call the reader's attention to the fact that it must be; doubled after cutting to see that both sides are alike. Indeed, it will be as well to cut it in half from A to B at the dotted line down the centre. The cashmere is cut in two pieces, the seam coming down the back of the cloak, unless it is wide enough to get the whole cloak, without a seam. Pin the pattern thoroughly on the material ; double, before cutting. To make a cloak, as before named, the same direction^ must be followed, and the cape and collar cut on a similar plan, but smaller. The cloak is trimmed down the front. 90 INMATES OF THE HOUSE- LEGAL as shown in Fig. 25, the trimming becoming wider, and rounded off at the end. The cape is ornamented all round, and so is the collar. The cloak may be of white, grey, scarlet, crimson, or blue cashmere, and the trimming of sarcenet, either white, or of the same colour as the cloak, lined with a little wadding, and quilted. The wadding is tacked to the silk, and the quilting done, the silk being shaped and the breadths joined before it is applied to the cloak. In iising a sewing-machine keep the wadding uppermost. Fig. 27 offers a pretty design for a baby's cloak ; the edges scalloped and' pointed, and trimmed with a small tassel at every point. It is decidedly best to buy the baby's hood. The cap worn under the hood is a caul with a full lace edge. The lace must be removed to wash it, and requilled each time. A boy's hood is distinguished from a girl's by a rosette. A hood, as soft as possible, is a better covering for a baby than any fancy kind of hat, however pretty it may look. The stif&iess of a hat is unsuited to the tender softness of a baby's head; neither is it any protection, to the child. Caps are only worn under hoods, and not indoors. In Fig. 26, under the cloak, a pretty design is given for a handsome frock. It is made witli two flounces and work between; one row over the first flounce and two over the second. The flounces may be worked, or of plain fine muslin edged with work or lace. Fig. 14 is a design for a body to wear with this skirt. The braces match the flounces. The stomacher is embroidered ; and bows tie the shoulders. INMATES OF THE HOUSE— LEGAL. III. — LAW OF WILL-MAKING. IVhai is a Will .?— A will or testament is the legal expres- sion of a man's wishes in respect of matters that he desires to have attended to after his death. If the dispositions to be made by a wiU are very compHcated or numerous, the wisest plan is to have the will drawn by a lawyer, whose charges it is far better to incur than to run the chance of the will being disputed or set aside after the testator's death. But in cases of simple bequest, whether of land or movable goods, and even in difficult cases if the testator is quite sure he can express his meaning simply and clearly, there is not any need for the intervention of a lawyer. Sudden necessity, remoteness from professional help, desire to keep within one breast the particulars as to pro- perty and to bequests^these and other causes might render it desirable that one should know how to make a will for oneself. How to Make a Will. — There is not any prescribed form in which a will must necessarily be made, and when an unprofessional person is going to make a will he must carefully get rid of^the idea that any form is possible. Let him write his wishes down as simply and easily as if he were writing a note, avoiding the use of all technical ex- pressions, and aiming only at making himself intelligible. Many persons have frustiated their own intentions by in- troducing into wills made by themselves technical terms of the exact meaning of which they were ignorant, and which had to be construed according to the technical sig- nification. Formerly it was of the highest importance that wills should be so worded that no other meaning than that intended should by any possibility be placed upon them. Then it was almost indispensable that the services of a lawyer should be retained. Now, however, a will is construed according to the evident intention of the testator, however badly he may have expressed him- self, so that the simpler the wording of the document the better. The whole law of wills was remodelled on this principle in the first year of the reign of her present Majesty. The only conditions imposed upon testators are conditions which are meant solely to guard them against the mischief of fraud, and to prevent their being subjected to undue influence in the making of wills. They are : — 1. The testator must be of sound mind,, and not less than twenty-one years of age. 2. His will must be written, the only exceptions to this rule being soldiers and sailors, who may, in conside- ration of the service in which they are engaged, make verbal assignments of their property. , 3. The will must be signed by the testator, or some one acting for him at his request, in the presence of two witnesses, both present at the time, who must also attest the testator's signature. The testator's signature must be placed at the end, or at the side of the will, or, indeed, in any place where it will be apparent on the face of the will that the signature was intended to give effect to the writing signed as his wilL The signature will, not give effect to any bequests underneath or following it, or inserted after the signatiire is made. These are the only essential conditions. With regard to tjie last it is sufficient if the signature is made under the required circumstances, which can be sworn to by the witnesses, but it is better to have a. memorandum to the effect that the conditions have been complied with. Such a meniorandum saves much trouble. The usual form of it runs thus : — Signed by the testator, John Hopkins, and acknowledged by him to be his last will and testament, in the presence of us present at the same time, and subscribed by us in the presence of the said testator and of each other. Who may Make a Will. — Any man or unmarried woman of sound mind, and of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, may make a will. Ordinarily, married women cannot make wills, because they have not anything to bequeath, their property, by a rule of law, becoming the property of the husband on marriage. Where, however, a woman has property settled upon her for her own use and benefit, with power to dispose of it by will, she may dispose of the same by will made in the same way as any other will. Witnesses to a Will.— :Av.y one capable of understand- ing what he is about, and able to write his name, may witness the signature of a testator ; but it must be remem- bered that a witness cannot receive any beiufit under the will. Should a bequest have been made to him it is taken away by the mere fact of his being a witness, and the portion he would have taken goes to the residuary legatee. If, therefore, it be intended to give anything, let it not be to him who is to witness the signature. An executor or trustee may be a witness, subject to the above rule about bequests. The witnesses may be as many more than two as the fancy suggests, but two there must be. They must both, and at the same time, see the testa- tor sign the wQl ; and they must, unless there be good reason why not, sign a memorandum to the effect that they have done so. There is- not any precise clause of attestation, but it will be as well to use that abeady given. Unwritten Wills.— The only persons who are allowed to make wills orally are soldiers actually engaged on some expedition, or sailors actually at sea. To them it is per- mitted to make wills orally in consideration of their being, by the nature of their calling, constantly in the face of death, which may surprise them at any moment. So far as sailors, however, are concerned, there is a rule of the Admiralty that any will disposing of pay, prize money, or anything else which would have to pass through the Admiralty Office, shall be reduced to writing, either by the testator, or some one writing at his request. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 91 i' IVAai may be Bequeathed by Will. — Anything and everything that a man possesses or is entitled to may be bequeathed by will. Formerly this was not so. It was a rule of law, founded on the Roman code, that a man could not leave the whole of his property away from his family. The Roman law obliged him to leave a fourth, at least, to those who were naturally dependent upon him, and the English law gave to the children ofa testator their " reasonable part," which was calculated with reference to the man's position in the world. Now, however, a man may do just what he likes with land or money, with this one restriction— he may not bequeath land, or money to be spent in buying land, to any religious or charitable institution. If he do, the dead hand (or mortmain) shall recover the bequest for his family. The object of these restrictions is to prevent people from making death-bed dispositions, perhaps under undue influence, in favour of charities to "Uie disherison of their lawful heirs. A gift of land to a charity must be preceded by a licence from the Crown authorising the gift, and must be by deed executed in the presence of two witnesses twelve calen- dar months before the death of the donor, and enrolled in the Court of Chancery six months after its execution. Money, however, may be left to a charity or a religious institution so long as it is not directed to be spent in the purchase of land. Codicils, or " little writings," are the expressions of a man's wishes conceived after his will is complete. By their means he can revoke the whole or part of his will, make fresh dispositions, or re-arrange the dispositions already made. They aire made in exactly the same way, and under the same conditions, as wills, but instead of being described as " the last will and testament," they are called " codicil " or " codicils " to " the last will and testa- ment." Revocation and Nullification of Will. — ^A will is con- sidered to be revoked by another subsequently dated, and is of course so by any codicil, memorandum, or writing made as and for a fresh will, in which the former will is expressly declared to be revoked. The only act by which, ipso facto, a -will is nullified, except as above, is by the marriage of the testator. Formerly a number of events, as the birth of a child, an alteration in the condition of a lilan's estate, nuUified a will ; marriage is now the only revoker. Probate ofa Will. — ^When the will-maker is dead his executors, if they mean to act, should prove the will; to do this, they must make an inventory of all the property of the deceased, and have it valued. Knowing the total amount of the property, they should go to the registrar of the Probate Court (local registries exist all over the king- dom), before whom they must swear to their belief in the signature to the will being the signature of the testator, and that the amount of the property does not exceed the sum estimated. If the will be not disputed this is suffi- cient proof, the will is given up to the Court of Probate, and an official copy is made of it, which is delivered to the' executors, and is called the probate copy. This is the warrant for the executors to act in the administration of the estate. Probate duty, which varies according to the amount of the property, is charged and paid before the delivery of the probate copy. If the will be disputed i-t must be Tproye6.^ in solemn form; the witnesses to the will, and any other witnesses whom it may be thought neces- sary to summon, are examined and cross-examined in the Court of Probate, and the will is admitted to proof or not, according to what may appear. A will once proved in solemn form cannot be disputed afterwards ; the executors to a.wiU proved only in common form are liable to be called upon at any .time within thirty years to prove it in solemn form. Executors and Trusiees.-^The persons appointed by a testator to be his executors, Or to be trustees in any trust provided for in his will, may, if they choose, renounce the office, either at the time of their appointment becoming known, or afterwards. In such cases the Court of Chancery, administering the prerogative of the Crown as father of the country, takes the vacated places, and the will is administered by the officers of the Court. If the executors accept office,. they are to all purposes the repre- sentatives of the deceased testator. They may even before receiving probate do all necessary offices for the deceased ; thus they may incur charges for burying him, and for supplying the immediate wants of his family ; they may seal up his papers and take possession of all his goods, for the purpose of protecting them. Having received probate, they may do all things that their testator might himself have done ; they may bring actions to recover debts due to him, and they are the proper defendants in actions for debts, &c., due from him. It is their duty, within a reasonable time, to get in the whole of his estate, and to pay, 1st, the reasonable, funeral expenses, and the cost of proving the will; and, debts due to the Crown for taxes, &c. ; 3rd, debts due on judgments obtained at law, or on decrees made by the Court of Chancery, and debts due on recognisances ; 4th, debts on bonds, covenants, and the like, not under seal, and debts for rent of any kind ; 5th, simple contract debts, that is to say, debts on contracts written but not sealed, and debts incurred with- out any writing to prove them, as tradesmen's bills, or wages ; 6th, the legacies ; 7th, the residuary legatee. An executor is bound to pay away the estate in the order mentioned. If there should not be enough to pay all, he must pay the higher classes of claimants as far as the money wiU go, leaving the rest ; and he is personally responsible to a higher class creditor if he has paid, through neglect or inadvertence, a creditor of the lower class, and have not money left to pay the higher claim. If he have complied with these conditions in administering the estate, he is protected against all the world on proving his plea of plene administravit. It is competent for an executor to renounce after he has begun to administer. In that case he must account for what he has done so far to the Chancery Court, which will then take over the charge for him. Intestacy — Aaministration. — A man dying without a will is said to be intestate. In such case, and in the case of a will being set aside as having been made when the testator was insane, or under undue influence, the Court of Probate will grant power to the widow, or the ne;xt of kin, to administer the estate, according to certain known rules, of law. The court must be satisfied as to who is next of kin, and also as to the amount of the intestate's property, then it will on application grant letters of administration. Landed property will go to the heir- at-law, and personal property will be divided accord- ing to directions laid down in an Act of Parliament called the Statute of Distributions. Where a widow and children are left, one-third of the personal property goes to the widow, and two-thirds go to the children ; where there is a widow and no children, half goes to the former, and half to the next of kin ; where neither widow nor. children, the whole goes to the heirs of the intestate's father, who divide it equally, females as well as males. In dividing personal property the law makes no distinction of sex, but gives to all equal shares. Where a man dies intestate, and no claimant at all appears, the Crown, as the ideal owner of everything in the kingdom, or belonging to any subject of the same, puts in its claim, and takes the whole of the property. Where a person dies under circumstances that cause his property to be forfeited, as when he dies by the hand of the law, for treason or murder, any will he may have made is void, and the Crown fakes his goods. On petition, however, the family of such a man are allowed the property. 92 HOUSEHOLD DECORATIVE ART. HOUSEHOLD DECORATIVE ART. II. — DIAPHANIE. DiAPHANlE is the art of imitating the most .beautiful and costly stained glass by the inexpensive and exceedingly simple process of transferring a species of chromo-litho- graph in transparent colours to the surface of an ordinary pane of glass, and may be used not only as an embel- lishment, but as a method of shutting out, and hiding an unsightly view, such as black waUs, chimneys, &c., so fre- quently eye-sores in a town residence. ' The art was first practised in France ; the originalmethod consisting in printing the sub- ject in colours upon tissue- paper, which paper was per- manently fixed upon the glass, by which means the light was intercepted, and the brilliaiicy and transparency of the co- louring destroyed. This sys- tem has been im- provisd upon, and by the method now practised, the colours them- selves are trans- ferred to the sur- face of the glass, while the paper is removed, leav- ing a most per- fect imitation of stained glass, upon which neither the vio- lence of the sum- mer sun nor win- ter frost has any effect. Nor is the art applicable only to windows; it may be used to ornament fire- screens, lamp- shades,, Chinese lanterns, and fancy panes in conservatories, and is in fact available for every purpose in which the combina- tion of transparency and orna- ment enter. The designs used for diaphanie are produced by a new process of lithography, and are mostly copies from well- known and valuable subjects ; these you purchase in sheets, and arrange at pleasure, taking, care, however, not to mix up designs belonging to different periods. Numbers of beautiful designs are sold at all the paint and oil warehouses, where there ^f4 CN /L/xV T* \ J J V u^^ ^^ ^ xj^ Fig. 2. ^^f^^ to ^^^^^^ w ^ iSK^wftjyiK] fi m ^o^^ w ii^-^B^ 1 i p^.^^?Sg\ ^M ' Fig- 4- is always to be found an extensive choice of subjects, sacred, mediaeval, and picturesque, according to the device and subject required. The simplest plan of pro- ceeding is to have a pane of glass to work upon the exact size of that in your window ; this, with the design, a few- sheets of lead-foil, a bottle of each transferring varnish, clearing liquid, washable varnish, a roller, and a flat brush, is all that is required.* In the first place, the artist must be very sure that the pane of glass is free from imperfections, such as specks and bubbles, and scrupu- lously cleansed; of course, if it be already fixed in window frames, you must take it as you find it. Being assured the glass is all right, lay it flat upon a folded cloth ; then trace the outline with a pencil line; those portions where the border ground- work and sub- ject join to serve as a guide for the laying on the lead-foil and the designs which should have previously been cut out. The lead-foil should be cut into! strips the width of one-eighth of an inch, though they'may be a little wider or narrower, accord- ing to the size of the window you desire to ^31 5^. decorate, or to vl LM the taste of the operator. The lead -foil is to give the effect of the white glass which forms the borders of most coloured glass windows, and when put on the glass it looks quite trans- parent. In making the pattern, the de- signs may be cut out and arranged ■ to show the ef- fect of the com- position. Next lay the glass upon the pat- tern ac(SOrding to the method shown in Fig. i, and cement upon it the tin-foil previously- cut in strips to the proper width; gum is found to be the best cement for laying on the tin- foil. For circles and other shapes the straight strips of foil are cemented, and when nearly dry, stretched with the fingers of one hand, and pressed down with the thumb of the other. No attention need be shown to the creases which may coine in the foil, as the smooth handle of a knife or paper Fig. 3. cutter, slightly wette^l and rubbed over them, flattens and • Rollers of the best desorii>tion, :s. 6a. . tnuisferring varnish (per bottle), IS. and IS. 6d. ; clearing liquid (per bottle), is. €d.; Washable rarnish (per bottle), Is.; brush, 2d., CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. makes the foil flat and even. Having arranged and allowed the foil to be firmly fixed, you can proceed with the laying on of the designs, which should be a little larger than the foiled spaces made ready for their recep- tion, so that the foil may overlap the edges. We cannot enjoin on the beginner too much neatness and care in this opeiration. In laying on the designs ; the uncoloured part of the paper must be made quite damp with a sponge ; then put on the glass and the painted surface a thin coating of the cement. Care must be taken that no air bubbles remain between the glass and the prints, and the papers must be kept damp while the operation is being carried on, for if the cement be allowed to dry, the transparency will be destroyed when the clearing liquid is used. It is a good plan to commence rolling in the centre and working out- wards, by which method any superfluity of varnish will ooze out at the edges, and not damage or destroy the surface of the picture. The work having advanced thus far, it shoidd be carefully laid aside for two days at least, or even for three, after which you may begin to remove the paper. The next operation is to remove Jhe paper ; this is done by once more wetting it, then rubbing it gently and evenly with the hand, a sponge, or piece of cloth, the work being kept damp all the while, and great circumspection used, lest by undue pressure any blemish be caused ; this must be specially guarded against when, the greater part of the paper having been removed, the painted surface alone is exposed to the hand or cloth, and is liable to scratch or rub off. After the glass has been allowed to dry thoroughly, a thin coating of the clearing liquid is to be applied, and when this has become dry and hard, the work should be re-foiled, over the edges of the trans- ferred picture, following the lines of the first foiling, and proceeding in the manner described before ; after which, one or two coatings of the washable varnish completes the work, which must dry and harden thoroughly before it is inserted in the frame-work of the window. This same art may be applied for the adornment of ■window blinds, &c., upon muslin or silk. The operation consists in stretching either material tightly on a frame, taking the sheets of design, laying the plain side upwards to receive the diaphanous liquid which is put on with a brush ; when dry, another coating should be given. A coating of cement should now be applied to the coloured side of the paper, taking great care to press it equally ■with the roller. There is now nothing left to the com- pletion of the transparency but to varnish it. If the picture be misty, the diaphanous, or clearing liquid, should be used again. Ordinary engravings can be printed on glass in the same manner as the painted designs. The engravings which are to be used should contain no size. ' The plain side of the picture should be damped with a sponge. Apply to the other a coating of washable varnish ; then warm the glass, lay on the print, press with the roller, and place it at some distance from the fire to dry. The next process requires great care, or the beauty of the engraving will be injured. Damp the print again with water, and rub off the super- fluous paper after this, and when the miniature has been absorbed, apply the clearing liquid with a camel's-hair brush; and lastly, when it is thoroughly hardened, the ■washable varnish can be applied, and the work is then finished. If the learner of the art of diaphanie pays close atten- tion to the exact rules laid down in this article, there will be no difficulty in becoming proficient in this very elegant art, by which every house may be iniproved in its de- corations. . Of the diagrams with which this paper is illustrated. Figs. 2 and 3 are designs suitable for a hall window. Fig. 4 shows two patterns for groundwork or bordering. COTTAGE FARMING. I.— DRAINAGE {continued). Ix draining roads, a drain at each side is more effectual than one in the middle. If the road is broad, and the ground wet below, an additional drain in the middle may be necessary ; but if there is much traffic on the road, so that the surface becomes consolidated and close, the water will not sink to the middle drain, and hence, if with- out side drains, will flow at the sides, wash away light material, and keep the road unsightly. But with a drain at each side, as shown in section, Fig. i, the road may be kept dry without either flowing or stagnant water, if attention is properly paid to the side-drainage by the removal of silt and the cutting close of the grassy edge. Thus, in the section, a 3 is the ground on either side, c the middle of the road, m and n the two sides, and e e the two drains, filled with porous material to the top im- mediately below the grassy sward at each side. As fast as the rain falls upon c, it flows to in and «, and thus percolates into the "drains before it has had time to accu- mulate. Another plan, well adapted for a cottage road, is a light tramway of stone sunk an inch or two inches below the general surface, the two trams serving the double purpose of ways for the cart-wheels, and for rain-water. When the meadow is flat, with a moist or wet bottom, it is naturally very liable to rut in the spring time while carting and top dressing are in progress ; or if you have wet weather, then in harvest time. To obviate this as much as possible a road is formed across the middle, but of such a character, as to yield grass and hay in as great abundance as the rest of the field. This is done by open- ing two drains, as in Fig. i, and digging out a shallow spit, the turf having been previously removed by a banking or paring tool. Brickbats, broken stones, gravel, and any rubbish capable of supporting the cart-wheels and horses' feet are carted in, and laid in such a manner as to en- courage the roots of the grass to penetrate downwards. This is rolled, or made flat and smooth, and the turf relaid and copiously watered, if the work has been done in the summer time. Such a road, although it would not stand much continuous carting, is amply sufficient for the purposes of the meadow. Levelling.— Th.\s, in small farms, is generally done with the barrow and spade, during such spare time as the cottager may have. Stagnant waters being highly in- jurious to cattle, and unsightly and cumbersome to the ground, should be removed by draining off and filling in the pond. It will be seen if the earth formerly dug out to form the pond has been laid on the margin ; if so, you have the material to fill in at hand. This also applies to superfluous ditches and hedges, there being sufficient material to do the work of levelling, without seeking it from a distance. In the case, however, of filling in a ravine, the cottager must look out for a knoll or ridge as near as possible to the sphere of operations, and attend carefully to the following rules : — Take all the rich earth from the bed of the ravine and throw it up on either side, for coming back, as surface soil ; do this also with the upper layer of soil on the ridge, and then cart or wheel into the bottom of the ravine the under strata and the ridge, and having done this, spread the two surface layers again uppermost, in order to give the richest soil to yield grass. If the ground thus to be levelled is of a regular shape, make a trench four feet wide, throw the top spit to the opposite side, and then dig out the bottom-to the depth required, and wheel it into the ravine you wish to fill up. Place the top spit of the second trench at the bottom of the first trench, leaving the grassy side uppermost, then wheel out the bottom of the second trench to the proper depth of the ravine, turn down the top spit of the third trench into the bottom of 94 COTTAGE FARMING. the second one, the grassy side, as before, being upper- most, and so on until the levelling is complete. Claying Peaty, Open, Porous, Gravelly, and Sandy Lands greatly improves their productiveness — " Lay clay on sand And you buy land" is an old farming proverb, founded upon successful prac- tice. When from 200 to 400 cart-loads of clay per acre are applied to lands lying in grass or heath, it is better to break them up to aeration until the clay is thoroughly incorporated with the staple. They may then be laid down to grass if desirable, but it is more profitable to keep such soils under arable husbandry. Chalking and Marling.— A very great breadth of mea- dow land is subject to permanent improvement by the application of chalk and marl ; and whenever the cottager has the command of such, every opportunity should be embraced to apply them as , required. Like clay they, in some cases, are lying at a lower level than the meadow ; in other places, at a higher level ; sometimes so close at hand as to render the expense of cart- ing a secondary consideration ; then at others, so far off, that liming the land may come cheaper. The object of their application is to supply lime to the land. Marl is of an extremely diversified character ; but we shall treat of this when we come to Arable Husbandry. Liming is best done by a compost made of vegetable mould and quicklime, and when lime is naturally deficient in the soil, it may often be more cheaply and efficaciously applied in this manner than in the form of artificial com- pounds, in which lime is the chief element. Fencing is another important point, where every foot of ground is so much lost or gained. The favourite live- fences are not well adapted for cottage farms, for which, in our opinion, there can be nothing so'good as stone or brick walls, where they can be had. At the outset walls cost more money than many other sorts of fences, but their many advantages soon make them pay. Firstly, they are ready for use as soon as they are built ; secondly, the grass grows healtliily close up to them ; thirdly, if properly tempered mortar be used in the building, they will not harbour insects or vermin. Taking these advantages, it will be seen that a stone or brick wall is an investment of capital which increases the annual productive value of the farm, apart from its purpose as a substantial durable fence. A thorn hedge takes more space, and requires to be protected, at the outset, by two i-ail fences — one on each side. These harbour insects, which, as the rails decay, attack the young hedge, and in process of time kill plant after plant, leaving those gaps which are the torment of the farmer's life, and occupy a most unreasonable time in fining up ; so much, indeed, that it is in the aggregate doubtful whether the stone and mortar wall is not' the cheapest even for the short leased farm. Subdivision is best effected by a wire fence, although partially dependent upon the nature of the boundary line, number of acres, and the object to be followed in keeping the land in grass or arable. Liquid Manure. — Great economy of time and capital has been attained by the new systems employed for the application of liquid manure — viz., i, irrigation ; 2, warp- ing ; 3, the liquid manure cart ; and 4, the hydrant hose and jet. Irrigation, according to the modern acceptation of the word, is now generally understood to mean the application of town sewage to meadow or arable land on the principle of gravitation ; but the practice itself is identically that of the old plan of applying river water to grass land. In point of fact, the more closely the modern sewage practice com- phes with the details of the old water practice, the more suc- cessful it proves. According to the plan described and illustrated in most old works on agriculture, the land was laid up into ridges somewhat higher at the crown than at the sides. Thus, Fig. 2 may be taken as an illustration of one ridge, of which ab\s the crown, and c dwA ef the two sides, a is the highest end of the ridge, c e the headland, and b the lowest end or footland. Along the headland the water is conveyed in an open ditch, not shown, and down the crown of each ridge a channel is opened with . the spade or plough as shown at a b, and into this the water for irriga- tion is directed. As the ridge has a slight inclination, the water does not flow out of the channel << ,3 at a right angle, but obliquely. It need hardly be said that the water does not flow in parallel lines, the object of the waterman in charge of the work being to spread the water as evenly over both sides of the ridges as possible. Town sewage is now being applied in a similar manner; but as the solid portion of the sewage cannot be equally distributed, it is better to filter it out, and apply only the clarified liquid or soluble portion of the sewage. The chief objection to this plan, as now practised, is the waste of fertilising element in the application, as water flowing in an open ditch in con- tact with the atmosphere rapidly purifies itself of animal and vegetable matter held in solution. In this respect the practice is capable of much improvement, -as will be shown under the improvement of a subsequent practice — viz., hydrant hose and jet. Warping. — ^^Flowingwater is capable of conveying a large per-centage of its weight of solid matter, as clay, in a state of suspensi on , which it deposits ' equally over land into which it has been directed andallowed to subside. Thus, if a small farm is surrounded with a tempo- rary embankment, and water carrying clay in suspension pumped or turned in from a higher source, so as to fill the enclosure to the top of the embankment, and if the water is then allowed to settle, it will deposit the greater portion of the clay equally over the surface of the small farm. The pure water is then drawn slowly off) and the work is termed warping. In this manner from six inches to a foot in depth of clay tnay be laid on poor fenny soils, so as wholly to change their character, and tjie work is one in successful operation, and increasing in adaptation with recent improvements in hydraulic machinery and ap^ paratus. On small farms it is generally done by contract ' at so much per acre for a given depth of warp. Warping is also applied to dry, gravelly, and sandy lands by irri- gation. In this case the water is drained off' below, and the warp remains upon the surface ; and when one ridge is done, the muddy water is turned on to another. The channel a b. Fig; 2, has to be clayed to prevent the water sinking. The porous soil gradually fills up fromi,a b, c d, and e f. This work may likewise be done by con- tract, by means of movable pipes, hydrants, and hose, or by fixed pipes, &c. In a future number it is our intention to give further illustrations of this subject. CASSELL'S HOUSEHOLD GUIDE. 9S ANIMALS KEPT FOR PROFIT. III. — INCUBATION OF POULTRY. Much disappointment in the hatching and rearing of young bro