Willamette farmer., September 10, 1875, Page 3, Image 3

WILLAMETTE FARMER.
3
Qood HBV-TH
Eating.
As 80 muoh of man's happiness and useful
ness in life depends npon eating correctly,
and as the housekeeper has so ranch control
over this part of onr living, we have thought
that a few suggestions on tho science and att
of eating might not be inappropriate to this
department.
Every emotion of the heart, every operation
of the mind, every motion of the body, or of
any organ or member thereof, consumes power
which must be supplied by the food we eat;
and while it is of the utmost Importance that
onr food shall be wholesome, nutritious and
digestible, it is of scarcely less importance that
it be eaten correctly, at the right time and with
onr systems in the right condition.
As first in order we would say, never eat
when the body is exhausted. Under judicious
management, farmers and farmers' wives need
never have dyspepsia, for their plain, fresh
diet and free exercise should prevent that ter
rible disease; but statistics we think prove that
they are no more exempt from it than other
classes. That they are not, we think, is attrib
utable to the fact that they too often eat when
they onght to rest; when their powers are too
muoh exhausted to perform the functions of
digestion.
The housewife does her own work, or at
least assists about it, works hard to hurry up
dinner and have it ready promptly on time,
calif the men before dinner is ready, hurrying
to the last moment, and then, when she oueht
to lie down and rest, she sits down to the table
and eats; She is so muoh exhausted that
hunger has oeased, her organs of taste are in-,
active, ner salivary glands ao not penectly per
form their functions, she does not masticate
well, and .the rood enters a stomach not pre
pared to perform the work of digestion.
The farmer hurries from the field and his
severe labor, and while yet weary and ex
hausted; -'sits down' and swallows his food,
hurrying back to his labor. Is it surprising
that, after a few years, the digestive organs be
come impaired and so many farmers and farm
ers' wives have wrecked their health before
arriving at middle ape. Rural Home.
What is Perfect Sleep ?
Perfeot sleep is always dreamless, while
dreaming implies disturbed or an ajitated state
of brain and mind. This is not rest, or repose,
whioh is "nature's sweet restorer." When re
tiring with the hope for soundsleep, we should
reverently prepare ourselves for it. The'fol
lowing'from the 'Science of Health, seems ap
propriate here, and a fitting conclusion to
these curiosities:
"QoujO to Bed. We should never go to bed
with a hope for rest, sleep and perfect repose
until "all readv." The nreliminaries for rn-
tirement are all just aa important as are those
for the day's duties. We must not go to bed
with an overloaded stomach, in an anxious or
troubled state or mind, with cold extremities,
or without -.anticipating and responding to
the calls of i nature in all respects Standing
over a register, before a fire, or in a stove-
liuaieu rouui, is nut me utjst way iu get warm
fdr'a night's sleep. We should take such vig
orous exercise as will give quick circulation to
the blood, and not depend on artificial, but on
natural heat. - Attention to all these things,
followed by such devotional exercises as will
bring all the 'feelings, emotions and sentiments
into accord with the Divine will, subduing pas
sion, removing nairea, maiice, jealously, re
venge, and 'opening the portals of heaven
to all who seek rest, peace and sweet repose."
It is a happy custom with many to" conclude
the evening's proceedings by singing a sweet,
quiet hymn ''The Day is Fast and Gone,"
etc. which brings all present into delightful
union with each other, and with "Our Father
who art in Heaven." Ex.
Rpbblnq Wabts, night and morning, with a
moistened piece of muriate of soda, is said to
cause their disappearance without pain or a
scar resulting.
BopEsjic Ecof,opy-
A Model Kilchent0
It is a cheerful room, sunny'in winter and
shaded in, summer.,. It has pictures ,on ,tbe
wall, whiter curtains'- at -"the windows, a-few
blooming house plants at the southern expo
sure; it,hus ji commodious r polished range or
cooking tove.Ta large kitchen table, a pantry,,
a sink with 'pump leading into it, and u waste
pipe leading from it; a small case of shelves for
books, a hanging lamp, a poor rag carpet,
hooks for hats and coats, shelves for tins, tho
scales and the dish pan. The pantry has a
window in it, shelves on two sides of it, the
lower one being broad enough to cover the
flour and meal barrels. Here tho housewife
finds everything required for meals, save such
articles as need to be kept iu the cellar. There
is a spice box in this pantry, a chopper, a
sieve, a colander all the conveniences re
quired in plain cookery, each in its ancro-
priate place.
A Bhelf behind the stove is a capital place to
set breadlo rise; or to hold the batter dish when
one is frying cakes, or to iron on iu cold
weather." The table in the corner by the sink
may be taken away and the cradle set there
when the. thermometer is'below thjrty-two deg.
There should be a lounge in the kitchen ot
every-woman who does her own work, that she
may, drop down on it and rest while waiting for
the tea kettle to boll, or the bread to take on
brown crust, or the men to come to dinner.
One can rest a great deal faster lying down than
Betting up.
The foregoing, taken from the Vermont
Farmer, contains many excellent suggestions,
to which, however, the following may be added:
The woodhouse should be connected with the
kitchen, so that one comer ot it could be par
titioned off for a bathroom; arranged so that a
good supply of tepid water could be obtained
from the kitchen by simply turning a faucet.
The wood box (and every kitchen should be
supplied with one) should project into both the
kitchen and the woodhouse. It should projeot
into the kitchen within a couple of feet of the
stove to a distance of eighteen inches, and
should be about three and a half feet in length,
eighteen inches in bight on the front side and
twenty-four on the side next the wall. This
box should have a close fitting cover, that would
exclude the cold in winter; the cover should be
fastened to the wall with hinges. The wood
box, whioh has no cover in the shed, is left
open so that as fast at the wood is split it can
be tossed directly into the box. This is a good
plan for saving steps, whioh will be duly ap
preciated by many good housekeepers.
Imjcuods Management op Dishes. A good
set of dishes will last for ages, if properly
handled. Wa have heard of an excellent house
keeper whose bridal dishes, thirty years old,
are io excellent condition to-day, although they
have been in use every week, more or less, dur
ing all the time alluded to. In a common
dinner service it is a great evil to make the
plates too hot, as it invariably cracks the glaze
on the surface, if not the plate itself. We all
know the result. It comes apart. Nobody
broke it. "It was cracked before" or "cracked
a long time ago." The fact is that when the
glaze is injured, every time the "things" ate
washed the water gets to the interior, swells
the porous clay, and makes the whole fabric,
rotten. In this condition they will also ab
sorb grease, and when exposed to farther heat
the grease makes the dishes brown and discol
ored. If an old, ill-used dish be made very
hot indeed, a teaspoonful of fat will be seen to
exuae irom tne minute assures upon its Bur
face. Strawbebbt Ice Cbeau. This dish forms a
delicious dessert on a hot day, and is easily
made wherever the berries and oream can be
had in sufficient quantities. Take a quart of
berries after they have been hulled, and
sprinkle over them one large coffee cup of fine
white sugar; let them stand two or three
hours, and then rmuh them up fine, and
squeeze out the juice through a strong cloth.
Add another large, cup of sugar to this juice,
and then stir in one quart of pure sweet cream,
or a pint and a half of cream and the beaten
whites of three eggs. Mix all together and
freeze, and when half frozen, turn in one pint
of freBh berries and freeze stiff. The juice
needs to be made very sweet or else it will
ourdle the cream.
A Good Dish tob Tired People. Beat two
or more eggs, the whites and yolks separately,
add a little sugar and, if you wish, crumb
crackers into the dish and eat. This will often
agree with the stomach when it rejects other
food; it is easily assimilated and can be taken
without an appetite and without hindering the
organs of digestion. Excessive mental or
bodily fatigue renders the stomach incapable
ror tne time ol perlorming its omoe, and tnls
simple dish will recuperate the strength until
the person is rested enough to eat heartily.
HorVpcdLjJUB.
The Fig Crop and How to Utilize it;.i
The fie 'crop was not so badly or so generally
injured by the April frosts ni'was at first antici
pated. The fig is a peculiar fruit the blossom
is within the fig itsejf, and to this circumstanoe
we owe the escape of the crop from destruction
this season.. The first crop is not generally
used foe preserving, as more money can be
realized from sales in a fresh state other fruit
being scarce' when the first crop is ripe. When
the second crop comes in, however, say in
August and September, we generally have a great
abundance of other fruits, especially grapes,
and figs are not relished, consequently a large
quantity of this second crop is allowed to fall
to the ground and lay under the tree and perish.
When we consider that we are annual consum
ers of thousands of dollars' worth of imported
preserved figs and that our figs, thus wasted,
can with but little labor be oonverted into as
good an article as thebest imported, this is a great
sname.
. How to Preserve Figs.
Many people suppose that there is some great
secret in preserving rigs, and that great skill is
required in their manipulation. To a certain
extent this supposition is trne, and yet when
this secret is known and the skill is acquired,
preserving figs becomes as simple and easy as
drying apples, peaches or any other fruit. In
the first place the fig must be thoroughly ripe
before picking to be dried. It need not be
actually shriveled or wilted, but if left on the
tree till this stage, does no harm. In picking
care must be taken not to jam or mash the
fruit, as this would induce decay and mould
before the juioes or water can be evaporated.
As soon as picked, the figs should be dipped
in a weak lye made of wood ashes, and then
carefully spread out on a scaffold so that the
specimens will not touoh each other too much,
for if one lies upon the other evaporation is to a
oertain extent retarded. The scaffold should be
near the ground and in a well exposed place, so
that the rays of the sun will fall directly upon
the fruit. A dark, heavy paper laid on the
boards to lay the figs on will be a good thing,
as it will act as an absorbent of the moisture
that sometimes oozes out. If the fruit can be
oovered nightly it will facilitate the dry
ing and add to the quality of tbe preserved
fruit, but this is not a necessity. They should
be carefully turned over every other day, for a
few dajs, or till they are thoroughly willed.
They may then be packed more closely to
gether, or even piled three or four deep, but
should be moved or turned ovor every other
day, so mat tne drying may be uuitorm. wnen
the water of the fruit is well evaporated and
tbe juices seem pretty thick, but before the
fruit begins to seem hard, they should be gath
ered up, placed in a perforated dish and dipped
in nouing water say tor nslt a minute, rms
will soften the skins and biingthe sugar of the
fruit to the surface, as on the foreign fruit, and
will at the samo time kill all the insect eggs that
may have been deposited during tho drying
process. They rhould again be exposed to the
sun until the waiter in which they were dipped
is fully evaporated, and then they are ready
for packing. In packing, boxes or vessels
from which all insects may be extinguished
should be used. Lav the fruit carefully down
in layers and press compactly together, and set
away in a dry place. In about two months'
time the necessary change will have taken
place, and the fruit will have the flavor and tbe
appearance of tbe best imported varieties, and
will be ready for market. People generally
make tbe mistake of drying the fig too much
before removing from the scaffold, and then
neglect to pack sufficiently closo, and the re
sult is simply a dried but not preserved fig.
Variety to Dry.
Tbe imported tig s generally said to be the
White Smyrna, but we have no white fig in this
State that will produce as good a preserved fig
as the large black California fig. This variety
is richer in sugar than any light variety we
have ever seen here, and is better for preserv
ing and a better bearer. It is a shame to let
the fig crop of California go to waste any longer,
wben we should and may produce and preserve
all tne figs consumed in the whole country, and
make money by it. Recora- Union.
Growth or Plums. About twenty years ago
I undertook to raise plums; my trees grew well
and produced a good amount of fruit. After a
few prosperous years tbe trees became covered
with tbe black wart, and tbe curculio destroyed
the fruit, so that ere long my trees were worth
less. Six or seven years since I purobased
twelve plum trees and set them in my hen yard,
where Irom one to four hundred fowls range ;
five of the twelve I succeeded in Soaking grow.
These commenced bearing fruit four yean ago,
since then every year, tbe large quantity as well
as the superior quality of the fruit has been a
theme of surprise to every one who has seen it,
so much so, that a nurseryman remarked:
"that in all his experience he never saw to
much fruit on any trees of their size." These
trees have always been free from warts; and the
fruit never injured by the curculio. I can attri
bute this success to no other source than my
hens, and this belief is confirmed; for I have
some other plum trees that are outside of where
my hens roam, which generally blossom well,
ana when the fruit is about half grown it begins
to wither and fall to tbe ground. Cor. Mast.
Ploughman.
THe DivnY-
Questions for Dairymen.
Every dairyman should have a printed list
of questions posted in some suitable place on.,
his premises where his family and those in his ,
employ, as well as his visitors, will have I
opportunity to read frequently. We give some
of them, but the list can be extended:
Do your cows feed in swamps and on boggy
lands?
Have you good, sweet running water conven
ient for stock, and is it abundant and perma
nent in not, dry weatnerr
Have you shade, trees in your pasture, or do
you think that cows mako better milk while
lying down to rest in discomfort in the hot
broiling sun?
Do you use dogs and stones to hurry up the
cows irom pasture at miiKing time, tnus over
heating their blood and bruising their udders?
Do you cleanse the udders of cows before
milking by washing their teats with their own
milk, and praotice further economy by allow
ing the dropping) to go into the milk pail?
Do you enjoin upon your milkers to wash
their hands thoroughly before sitting down to
milk, or do you think that unoleanliness in
this respect is not important for milk that is to
be treated forbntter making?
Wben a cow makes a misstep while being
milked, do you allow your milkers to kick her
with heavy boots, or to pound her over the
back and sides with a heavy stool, accompanied
by sundry profane remarks addressed to tbe
cow to teach. her manners?
Is tbe air about your "milk barn" or milk
house reeking with the foul emanations of the
pig sty, the manure heap, or other pestiferous
odors?
Good, fresh, olean water, and in abundance,
is one of the most important requisites for
milch cows, and it should be in convenient
places, where stock will not bo required to
travel long distances to slake tbeir thirnt. If
'springs and running streams cannot be had in
pastures, a good wen, witn windmill and
pump, makes an efficient substitute, and the
wabte water may, if necessary, be conducted
back into the well, so as to keep up a constant
supply of good, fresh water. WUlard's Butter
Hook.
Dairy Houses.
Proper dairy houses being Indispensable' for
the ,best condition .of tbe milk, the Western
Rurpl gives the following description of a dairy
house, as published in tbe New York Times, in
addition to what has already appeared in our
columns upon this subject:
The dairy house is built about four feet below
ground; it is airy, high, light, dry, cool, and de
tached from any other building. It is smoothly
plastered inside, and well ventilated. No im
pure air of any kind reaches it from without,
and every thing within is tbe perfection of clean
liness and neatness. It is furnished with open
racks of lath all around it, a bench beneath a
northern window, and a table in the center.
The pans, whioh are shallow ones of tin, hold
ing about ten quarts each, are filled to three iu
ches in depth, und are placed on the tshelves of
the racks. The shelves are made of laths, so
that the oool, fresh air of tbe milk room reaches
all parts of the pan, and speedily reduces the
milk to the desired temperature. This is kept
at about fifty-five degrees all the year round by
means of a current ot ooldair, which is brought
into the room through pipes from the adjoin
ing ice house in summer, and by a stove in
winter.
The cream is skimmed, after the milk has
stood thirty-six hours, into oaken casks of forty
gallons each. Tbe churning room adjoins the
milk room. The churns are casks similar in
every respect to those in which the cream is
stored. The churning is done by a small horse
power run by a small pony, which, by means of
a rooking shaft, operates a common upright
dash. The churning is made to occupy at least
half an hour. It is held here that first class
butter cannot be made in five minutes, by any
of tbe rapidly working churns. The butter is
worked by a lever fixed to an inclined table, and
the buttermilk, as it is worked out, is absorbed
by a sponge enveloped in a clean linen cloth
and dipped in pure ioe cold water.
Mares and Foals.
The separation of foals from their mothers,
says an exchange, is attended with some risk
and trouble. To tho foals it is a trying ordeal,
especially if they have not previously been
ustd to eating corn, Restlessly seeking for
their missing dams, they do not feed well, and
lose strength and nVh. Left out In the open
fields in their imperfectly nourished state, they
sutler from oold and inclement weather.
Every autumn we ree soma succumb to inflamed
lungs, whilst still mora die from povetty of
blood diarrhoea usually being the prominent
symptou. Such losses are inexcusable, and in
a great part preventable.- Unless foals have
got use to eating oats or other concentrated
food, when weaned they thould be kept in a
yard or roomy box for several days, until they
have forgotten their mothers, and become ao
customed to their change of food. Whiltt thus
iu comparatively close quarters it is a good plan
to halter foals, tie them up, and lead them
about. Such lessons ihus early given save
much after trouble and enable tbe colt to be
caught or handled at any time. Within a week
the cults may be again allowed to run at gross
during the day, but night and morning tbey
should regularly have a serving of oats and
chaff. Ordinary yards and boxes are unsuit
able places for foal', unless, like young
thoroughbreds, they are systematically exer
cised for two or three hours daily. To ensure
size, strength and muscular development, colts,
whether for agricultural or other purposes,
must have constant exercise. Inaction dwarfs
and enervates, tbey get topbeavy, weak on the
limbs and soft in tbeir feet, whilst time and
training rarely make up for eucb early misman
agement. Henoe, alike for future usefulness
and for health, it is desirable to allow foals
plenty of room when first weaned, and through
out'the winter to have a run daily for several
hours. In grass countries they are generally
left on tbe pastures; but if they are to reach a
high value, whether for draft or saddle purposes,
they should have a comfortable shed for shelter,
and be fed as already advised twice daily. In
stock management, as in many other things,
what is worth doing is surely worth doing well.
Moreover, with the present advanced price of
good horses, it pays to make the best of young
animals.
Brood mares at tbis i eason also demand in
telligent attention. For some days after the
foal are taken away from them, the milk of
course continues to be secreted, and must be
drawn away at first onoe daily and by and by
at longer Intervale. Good mothers troubled with
an excessive secretion, with tenderness or hard
ness of the odder, or becoming feverish or oth
erwise out of sorts, should have a dose of sloes.
Maxes separated from their foals should be re-
I strlcted to dry food. For several weeks, es
, pecially if they have been living on Rrass, they
are not in condition for hard or long continued
exertion. Exchange.
Wolf Teeth in Horses. A correspondent
of the .Rural World say: William Home, a
HittailnniiH . rC laHABVlllA Win nAO V-A
conlly mde aBn examination of'one thousand
horses, with a view to settling the question as
to whether the so-called wolf teeth are injurious
to the eye. Out of 1,073 animals examined, he
found thirteen blind in both eves: seven blind
in one eye only; thirty-seven having affection of
one or both eyes; six of that number being
nearly blind. The whole number of wolf teetn
found was 216; only one of the number hod a
false molar, and only one animal with a
wolf tooth showed any symptoms of disease of
the eye. Dr. Home regards this as settling tbe
question positively that these teeth do not do
any injury whatever to the eyes, and this con
clusion is certainly justified by his statement of
fitots.
American Beef in England.
Live-stock steamers for the shipment of cat
tie from Texas to England have, aocording to
American papers, been loading at ualves
ton with Texas cattle. More than a month
ago it was officially stated by the secretary of
an isnglisn company tnat a cargo ol cattle from
Texas was daily expected at Southampton, but
we have heard nothing more of tbe consign
ment. On Jane 3d, however, the steamer Do
minion landed at Liverpool with forty-eight fat
cattle from Canada, and the animals are said to
be in good condition, and to have stood the
sea voyage well. And on Thursday last it is
reported that at the Birmingham market there
were a few American bullooks exhibited (part
of the Dominion cargo, we presume) and which
hod "come to hand in first-rate condition."
The Nashville Union appears to be in
ecstasies on the question of cattle importation
from the United States, and says: "This is a
new outlet, and may become one of immense
importance to the South.' When' Georgia and
South Carolina were British colonies, cattle
and beef were sent from Savannah and Charles
ton to London. In recent timeB, King Cot
ton has ruined the stock-raising business 'tem
porarily in the"bettollmate'"6nthB'"continent
for that industry a mistake that, will be reme
died some of these' days,' for" 'two 'dollars will
come to the landholders as easily Irom grass
that needs no tlllago,, producing meat, horses
and wool, as one dollar ,from any cultivated
orop1. "There are 600,000,000 acres' south of
Mason and Dixon's line adapted 'by Nature to
grass. The idea of keeping oattlo on a thous
and hills and having hundreds of miles of ver
dant meadows along such rivers as the Ten
nessee and Cumberland, to supply any number
of steamships with all tho, beeves they can take
away now seems Utopian to many, but it will
win in the end." We trust for the sake of the
millions of beef eating people of tbis country
that the new Bcheme may not be Utopian. As
we remarked some time ago, tbe question of
importing cattle alive and healthy across the
Atlantic is easily solved, bnt win it payr
Protection Against Flies.
If any information or suggestion can be
given which will tend to reduce the discomfort
arising from tbe prevalence of house flies, that
information or suggestion will benefit at least
one-half the people of this country, particu
larly at this season of the year, when the pests
are'being armed and equipped for the summer
campaign. On this subject there are a few
things worth publishing and knowing. One is
that the eggs of flies are never laid or hatohed
in the house, and scarcely ever in the shade.
There are a few favorite localities where the
eggs are deposited, which can be easily dis
covered. One is upon the lower side and along
the main rib of the leaves of certain kinds of
trees and shrubs. If the leaves curl, and upon
examination a mass of minute insects are found,
of color from dusky brown to black, and flies
small to full grown are about the treo, one may
know that that tree or shrnb is the hatching
place for flies. A small tree is sufficient to
produce millions of them. I have at different
times been compelled to dig up a oeautuui purple-leaved
beeberry and an English cherry of
the yellow Spanish variety for the reason that
they were breeding around for flies, and in too
close proximity to my house, which tbey were
yearly filling with this filthy insect. Another
favorite place for depositing their eggs is where
the now from a Bins: is allowed to stand and
grow putrid on the surface of the ground.
Where favorite food is furnished them and
licht is freelv admitted thoy will bo attracted a
long way, but in dining rooms and kitchens all
sweet and moist food should be secured as soon
as tbe table is left by the family and tbe light
excluded. If theso few suggestions are heeded
the annoyance of flies und the consequent
reputation of a slovenly bouse can be easily
avoided to a great extent. This will pay good
interest, first in a reputation for cleanliness,
and secondly in being relieved of a nuisance
which is often past human endurance.
A Sinodlab Specimen. The Erio (I'enn.)
Dispatch says that when Dr. Gormer, of that
city, was in the great West a few months ago
he was presented at Cannon Ball river, Dakota,
with a ball about three inches in diameter,
covered with dust, and having the appearance
of being partially fused on a portion of the sur
face. He threw it into n box if relics, and
thought no more of tho matter until a week or
two ago, when bo was overbanling tho pile and
discovered the ball. Taking it to a machine
shop he thought he would smooth up tho ragged
edges a little; but upon putting it upon a
grindstone be discovered that the ball was not
iron, but a material harder than hardened steel,
end that the atone had little effect npon it, and
that it would scratch glass readily. Ho boa
come to the conclusion that it is an tcrolite.or
meteoric stone, nearly round, and resembling a
cannon ball, with tbe exception that it is
heavier than iron,
Dbivino Tacks. A correspondent of the
Building News writes to that journal as follows:
" I had to put a number of small tacks into a
piece of work I was engaged upon, and the po
sitions into which they were to be driven were
so awkwardly situated that I found the great
est dtmouity in getting mem into tneir proper
places. After many unsuccessful trials I hit
upon the following plan, which answered per
fectly. I magnetised a common brad punch,
and then by simply plaoing tacks one after an
other on the end of the little bar magnet thus
formed, I found I could insinuate tnem into
their places with a facility and urace which I
could not even dream of wben trying any other
plan. This dodge may not be new, but it saved
me a lot of time, and may in a like manner
prove useful to some other of your readers."
Oil. Instead or Steam. An enaine is said to
have been invented in Paris which is driven by
the alternate expansion and contraction of oil
in oylinders, the liquid being expanded and
contracted by alternate streams of not and cold
water. How the inventor provides for econ
omy ot beat and meets the lose of momentum
which must result from tbe want of, instantane
ous action on the part of his primary force, is
not stated.
Domestic Motors.
No sooner Is one human want supplied than
another springs up to take its place. We have
now our washing machines, our sewing ma
chines and our patent knife cleaners, but 'still
unsatisfied we cry out for a small engine to
work these useful servants and to be of use in
many ways that will appear when once such
an engine has been invented. At flr-t a ght it
may seem a simple matter and one that would
rail for nut mnch exercise of tbe inventive fac
ulty, but the tact is that it will be by no means
an easy matter to fulfill all the conditions re
quired to be fulfilled by a motor of this nature,
and this may be argued to some extent by the
lailure of several attempts already made in this
direction. We find the conditions clearly .and
briefly stated by a contemporary. They are as
follows:
In the first place, then, a domestio motor
must be safe that is, it must be absolutely
free from risk of explosion, or fire. In the
second place, it must be generally applicable.
In the third, it must not be likely to g.-t out of
order. Fourthly, it must be perfectly under
control, and lequire no special skill to manage
it. Fifthly, it must be cleanly in .its opera
tion; and lastly, it must be cheap. Ono or
two minor r. quirements might be Btated, but
we believe we have enumerated all that are
essential.
It is manifestly not impossible to accomplish
all that is here demanded, and nnder oertain
circumstances it would be by no means diffloult.
For instance, here in Montreal where we have
a constant supply of water under pressure it
would be no very difficult matter to use it for
the purpose. Small turbines might be built
and pieced in rooms where power was needed
they would take up but little room and would
be the beau ideal of a domestio motor; cheap,
noiseless, perfectly Bafe, under perfect control
and absolutely clean and free from smell. This
motor, however, would not be available
in ail towns or in country plaoes. For
these an engine of some other kind would
have to be divised.
Wo have already, in these columns, described
a petroleum motor designed to occupy a posi
tion Bomewhat analogous to that we are now
considering, but as yet it Is not sufficiently
tried to enable any deiislon on its merits to be
arrived at Small steam engines are now being
constructed in London for driving sewing ma
chines. These little engines are on tbe oscil
lating principle, and are said to be extremely
simple, and well made. Steam is supplied by
little vertical boilers, heated by a Bunsen
burner or ;ng. No chimney is required, and
the exhaust steam is oarried off by india-rubber
pipes. Although tho pret-sure used is low and
tbe boilers small, tbe arrangem nt cannot 'be
S renounced qnito free from danger; and the
eat and smell inseparable from the use of
steam and the difficulty f satisfactorily dis
posing of tho exhaust must always tell against
the popularity of this, or any other form of
steam engine, as a motor suitable for drawing
room use, although it would, no doubt, prove
serviceable in tailoring establishments, and
other places where a considerable number of
sewing maohines have to be worked; and it
would probably do good seivice in small laun
dries. Hot air seems to be tbe favorite motor at
present suitable to the circumstances. It would
be a sate, noiseless motor aid tbe hot air" dis
charged could easily be got rid of or even ren
dered serviceable in ventilation. These hot air
engines could be made very small and yet quite
poweriui enougn lor tne purpose, and tne cost
need not be great. Once a pattern engine has
been oonajruoted and proved to be successful it '
can be reproduced at small cost, especially if
the demand should grow, as it would in all
probability, to dimensions rivaling those of
the present sewing machine trade. Mechanics'
Magazine.
The New Arctic Expedition.
The first obstruction which the expedition-is
likely to experience will be caused by the great
ice-park which annually forms in Baffin's bay.
This is known as the great central park, and
consists of anoient floe-ioe, and of more recent
ice, varying from six to eight feet in thickness.
Much of this is broken every year by the
swell from the south, or dissolved by the warm
current which sets into tbe bay; but tbe great
middle puck, as it is termed, always presents a
formidable barrier to tbe whaling lieots whioh
frequent Baffin's bay although thoy rarely
fail in breaking through it sooner or later, ac
cording to the season and the strength and
compactness of tho ice, which extends from
side to side of tho bay for a distance of from
180 to 200 miles.
To the north of this formidable obstruction is
that open sea called tbe North Water, and
which It is tbe object of the whalers to reach as
early as poBible, for there tho whales of which
tbey are in search abound, and tbe i-ooner tbey
come npon their haunts the greater is their
success. The ice ot Baffin's bay is not to be
compared with that which forms in tho seas
north of Nova Zernbla und Switzbergen, where
tho edge of tho pack has been found twenty
four feet thick, and sheets of from thirty to
forty feet tbiok are not uncommon.
Jialliu's bay has baen tbe scone of frequent
disasters to whalers. In 1830 occurred a very
terrible catastrophe. A gato from the south
southwest drove a whole fleet into Melvillo
bay, nipping the ships against the land-floe.
Aa tbe gale increased the floes overlapped each
other and bore down with accumulated force
upon the devoted fleet, when a scene of
indescribable horror ensued. In tho epaoe of a
quarter of an hour many fine vessels wore
shattered to peices-theico tearing open their
sides, many were squeezed flat, others literally
turned inside out. The few which escaped did
so only by cutting docks in tbe land-floe tor
their protection. 'ihe total loss to the owners
was estimated at jCH3,000. Eclectic'
Fun in Animals. It is well known that
lambs bold regular sports apart from their dams,
which only look on composedly at a little dis
tance to watch, and perhaps enjoy tbeir pro
ceedings. Monkeys a:t in tbo same manner,
and so do dogs, tbe friskioess of which resem
bles that of children. Mr. Leigh Hunt onco
told Dr Hobert Chambers that be bad observed
a young spider sporting about its parents, run
ning up to and away from it in a playful man
ner, lie has likewise watched a kitten amus
ing itself by running along past its mother to
whom she always gave a little pat on the cheek
as she passed. The elder cat endured tbe pats
tranquilly for a wLlle; but at length beaoming
irritated, she took an opportunity to hit heron
spring a blow on tbe side of the head, whech
sent tne little creature spinning to tbe other
side of the room, where she looked extremely
puzzled at what hod happoned. An irritated
human being would have acted in precisely Ihe
same manner.
If mosqnltoes or bloodsuckers infest our
sleeping rooms at night, we uncork a bottle of
the oil of pennyroyal, and these insects leave
in great baste, nor will they return while1 the
air In the room is loaded with tbe fumes of that
aromatio herb. If rats enter the cellar, a little
powdered potash thrown into their boles or
mixed with meal and scattered in their run
ways never fails to drive them away, Cayenne
pepper will keep the battery hi storerooms
free from ant and cockroaches.