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About Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887 | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1876)
rfc A, WILLAMETTE FARMER. is ITS ii fl? i ? .' . y . .! THe HofDE Circle. My School Days. By Jobh O. Wmrnu. Still alta the school house by the road, A ragged beggar sunning; Around it still ttia auaacb grown, And blackberry vine are running. Within tbe master's desk Is aeen, Deep scarred by raps official; The warping floor, the battered aeata, The Jack knlfe'a carved initial. The charcoal frescoea on lta walla; Its dc or'a worn alll betraying Tbe feet, that creeping alow to school, Went storming out to playing. Long J ears ago a winter's sun Shone over all at setting; Lit up its western window panes. And low eave'a ley fretting. It touched tbe tangled golden curls. And brown eyes full or grieving. Of one who still her steps delajed When all the school were leaving. For near her stood the little boy Iier childish favor tingled, Ilia cap was pulled down on bis face, Where pride snd shsme were mingled. FnfthlnR wl h restless feet the snow To rluht and left, he lingered. And restlo.Bly her tiny hands The blue check apron fingered. He saw ber lift her eye'; he felt Tho soft bands light caressing. And heard the trembling of her voice, As if a fault confessing, "Im sorry that I apolt the words I hate to KOIbove you, Becau e" the brown eyea lower fell "Hicause, you see, 1 loeyou." Still memory to the gray haind nfan That swett child face is showing; Dear girl! tbe grasBea on ber grave Have forty jears been growing t lie lives to learn in life's bird school; How ew who para above him Lament their triumph and bis loss Likja her because they love him. The Burdens of Life. We all have them to bear, and there in no escape. With some the burden is poverty, with others ignorance, or loneliness, or care, or neglect, or ill-health, or bereavement, and no two burdens are alike. Some carry n load of unsatisfied longing and of quenohless aspiration from the cradle to tho grave. This is the grandest burden ono can bear, us that of conscious fi'iilt is heaviest and most grievous. Sometimes wo are nolo to shift the weight from one shoulder to tbe other, but often it is as a joke on our necks that with all our effVirfs will Bti7 Id just the one place. Due attention to business, careiui investment and snrewd foresight enable many to rise from poverty to wealth, but In doing this they by no means get rid of that trouble to which all men are born panic! frighten and ruiu them, railroads be . come insolvent, b inks break, flood and fire and whirlwind desolate, insurauoe comp.inios fall. "And, when he thinks, good, easy man, full suroly His greatnes is a.rlpenlnjr, nips his root, And then he falls ." The burden of ignorance is another that may be sensibly lightened ho lous; as eoutiuued progress up the hfcbts of learning tfives ono the aonsoiousnss of advancement, but the higher we get the more do we see of the unknown anil the unknowable, tho further do we remove ourselvts from sympathy with tbe mass of our fellows. Mountain tops are cold and solitary, and, for the most purt, unfrequented. We change the place and keep the pun, and so we are forced at last to the oonolusion that the poet taught us long ago, though we wouldn't learn it, that: Not enjoyment and not aorrow ' la our ilestinrd fciid of way; nut to act that eacli tomorrow, l'lnd ua farther than to-day. Wo children, old nud young, are all at school; tasks are given us to perform, and' there is a dark closet or a hickory switoh, or keeping in after school for those who are idle or insubor dinate or stupid, Divine Providence takes us all in hand, and, rewarding the diligent, visits condign pnnishmeut sooner or later on all offenders and delinquents. There is no choice at all in the matter; tbe issue is obedience or disobedience, with reward or penalty. Not seldom do wo feel that the lesson is so hard we never can loam it, the task entirely beyond our strength; but wo are kept at it, and kept at it, until wo conquer or the master, discouraged with our dullness, gives us over to perpetual stupidity, Now, in such a case, what is the best thing to do? Isn't it to "buckle right down" cheerfully and patiently and persist ently to tho task assigned, until light breaks in somewhere, or the mister, seeing our tfforts. lends a helping haud? When this leBson is learned, rest assured there are more to come, in another branch perhaps, and if we don't wish to be kept down in the nriuury classes all our lives we must study. If what has been said is tine, what is the wisest, most politic, most prudent course for us to take? Shall we sit down aud refuse to carry the burdens laid ou our shoulders? Thus doing, they will crush us to the earth. The only sensible thing to do is to march on, walking firmly when we can, staggering when wo must, looking at the blue sky over our heads Instead of tho rough road beneath our feet, catching all the joy we can from bird Bongs, flowery perfumes, pleasant talk by the way with other burdened souls; aud keepiug evermoro steadfastly in view the day when we expect to hear "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things." Shall we not then resolve that "henceforth life shall not be shirked, life shall not be shunned, life shall not be picked over, as piggish boys pick over puddings for just the plums, but that this life, this one com won life, this good and finished life, which Ood has made good, shall be accepted, seized, held fast, embraced, anouored to, shall be accepted as a good and satisfying inheritance, tbe whole of it, and without amendment, or any approved wish, for amendment or chaugt?" JVitmne. The Death Kiss. Womau's lovo! is there anything like it? A Canadian's wife has Just died in Raleigh, and he has taken her to Can ada to bur; her under the native sod. She died in a land of strangers, but she left behind the name of a devoted wife. It was love in death. lie saw her sluking fast he knew it, :he knew it it was consumption. lie nursed her like a little child, the great strong man, and there they wore in tbe room together the night sbo died. She wanted to see oat, to gaze once more at the world outside; but he entreated her against it, and told ber that to take her up would make her worse; but she told him she was dying anyway, and he lifted her tenderly in his arm and walked with her about the room, holding her to his breast and showing her this object and that, pointing out every pleasant thing, and the kissiug him witb every breath till the last breath had gone, and the kiss died oold on bla cheek. When God made man. ha oat all of heaven in a woman' love, and told blru to win it, and be worthy of it. i ictoc bvirg JJtrald. A TJciuUTni report of a recent marriage cere Mony in Iowa: "Join your right hand. Do Sou wanton another.'' "Yes." "Well, then, av ou another. You are man and wile." House BuHding. One of the most readable articles in Scribner's Alagatine, for January, is contributed by John Butroughs, who takes a very common sense view of the subject he discusses. Be looks at the house also with the eye of the true artist, recognizing alt tbe accessories to beauty con tributed freely by nature, rocks, trees, hills, waters, and desires that in its construction and color it shall harmonize with these. He says: "If one's honse existed for its own sake, if it were an end in and of itself, there might be some fitness in the attempt lo give it poiitive beauty. But as the matter stands, only that human habitation satisfies my eye in which the aim of beauty or att as such is entirely swallowed up and lost sight of in tbe sugges tion of comfort, warmth, s abilitv, and I do not think that the house is beautiful, but invi ting and home-like. If the builder has addtd any intrinsic ornaments anything not in keep ing wilh the necessities of tbe construction (of course I would not confine him to tbe bare boneBofthe care;) if he lias clapped on an abominable French roof, which, inourclimate, answers so poorly the purposes of a roof, and suggests no shelter or hospitality; if he has thrust up a tower where there is no view to command; or if he has painted his structure one of those light, delicate ttuts. that is like nothing out of doors, and makes one feel as if the hou-e ought to be taken in out of the wet and the weather. I .see he has mode a bid for the admiration of the public, and that he had no deep want iu his heart to satisfy." Further on, he Bays: "What is a man's house but his nest, and why should it not bs nest-like both outside and in coarse, strong. negative in tone externally, and snug and will fea hered and modeled by the heart within? Why should he set on a hill, when he can command a nook under the bill or on its side? Why should it look like an observatory, when it is a conservatory and dormitory? The dome-tic spirit is quiet, informal, unceremoni ous, loves ease, privacy, low tones; the chim ney corner, theold arm-chair, tbe undress garb, homily cares, children, sinple pleasure, etc.; and why should it, when it seeks to house itself from tbe weather, aim at tbe formal, tbe showy, the architectural, tbe external, th superfluous? Let state edifices look stately! but tlie private dwelling should express privacy and coziness. But every man's homo is in some sort an fflgy of himself. It is not the snails and shell fish alone that excrete their tenements, but man as well. When you seriously build a house, you make public proclamation of your taste and manners, or your want of those. If the domestic instinct is strong in you, and if you have humility and simplicity, they will show very plainly in your dwelling; if you have the opposite oi these, false ptide or a petty ambi tion, or coldness and exclusiveness, they will show also. A man seldom builds better than he knows, when he assumes to know any thing about it." Tapestry. In early English mansions tbe walls of apartments were usually covered witb tapestry. In those days there were not so many broad plain surfaces on the walls, and the rooms were lower than now. There was more wood work; large ornamental fire-places, dados, cor nices and window recesses occupied much of tbe walls, and they were often entirely or partly panneled in oak. The furniture waH mas sive, while trophies of the chaseand tbe battle field held a prominent position, and tapestry oompleted the mural decoration. That the wall was beautifully painted seems proba ble, for tbe number of churches having mural imitiu is bo groat that a list of such has been published by the science and art depart ments of South Kensington. Tnese specimens oi wan painting nave been, tor tne most part, discovered under many coats of color after ages of neglect. Tapestry weaving is said to have been intro duced into England in tbe time of Henry VIII. by William Sheldon, who brought workmen from Flanders about 1510; but probably the art was merely revived at that period, for so early as 1302, Lord Arundel bequeathed to his wife Fhilippa the hangings in his hall recently made in London. However, tapestry seems to nave been brought to great perfection in tbe mlddlo of the sixteenth century, and about that time were not uncommon in the houses of the middle classes. Stamped, painted and gilded leather has long been in ue as a wall decoration. It is said to have been invented by the Spaniards, though introduced into England by the Flemings In the reign of Henry VIII. Frankness in Loe. One of tho most essen tial things in all lovo affairs is entire and per fect frankness. Both parties Bhould be frank true to themselves and truthful to each other. How many uneasy, troubled and anxious minds, how many breaking and how many broken hearts there are to-day in which con tent and happiness might have reigned supreme but for want of frankness 1 Repentance inevit ably comes for all these things, but it of ton comes too late, and only when the evil produced is incurable, in love, as in everything else, truth is tho strongest of all things, and frankness is but another name for truth Then always be frank. Avoid misunderstandings ; give no reason or oorasion for tbem. They are more easily shunned than oured ; they leave scars upon the heart. You are less likely to be deoelved yourself whoa you never deceive others. Frankness is like the light of a clear day in which everything may be plainly per oeived. The Best Food. Dr. Everett, in a lecture on " Best Food for the Best Bodies," says that " ohildren under Blxteen years of age should be reared largely on brown bread and milk ; then they will possess pearly teeth, bril liant eyes, and healthy complexions." The doctor is also of opinion that, " little women should go out of fashion. Phyrtoal diminu tion can be avoided by tight methods in the use of food. At tbe recent meeting of the Baptist asso ciation at Eden, Me., there were two candidates voted for as moderator, Rev. Mr. Fish, of Brooklyn, and Rev. Mr. Bartlett, of Sedgwick. Tbe chairman counted the votes and deolared them thus: " Brethren, all that comes to our net is Fish except a pair, and that is Bartlett." He has five girls, and he says they Bha'n't have no fellers around them, so he takes each one in turn every Sunday afternoon and rubs her teeth with an onion, and, as he quietly re maiks; " None of 'em ever haa a beau a second time." Could anything be neater than an old dar key's reply to a beautiful yonng lady whom he offered to lift over the gutter. " Lor, missus," aaid he. "I'a naa.1 lo lifiino barmlanf annr." A GurrutuiN who ha the power of moving hit scalp was amusing his Utile niece with the trlok lately, and aha expressed bar surprise by exclaiming "Ma, jtut aee uncle wluk his hair." Babies. We do not know whether the following is original with the London Sanitary Record, in which we find it, but we feel that we are doing a service to tbe babies in reprinting it : These noisy parents of the race to be would, if they could, frequently tell stories of a great amount of needless suffering which Is entailed upon them by tbe thoughtlessness of their " good natured friends." When they first wake up, it is no uncommon thing to have a candle flared before their eyes, to amuse them with the "pretty red light;" then, perhaps they are jumped, screamed or whistled at, tossed up in the air so violently that their nerves are thoroughly shaken. At other times the infants are poked in the ribs, unclean fingers are thrust into their mouths, whether the poor things like it or not, or they may be tickled into spasms, or " bo-peeped" at so vigorously as lo thoroughly scare tbem, if it does not in daca St. Vitus'dance. Should the poor, help less victim scream, which is tbe only protest it c'sn make, it is libelled by being called frac tious, and perhaps dosed with soothing syrup. Other kind friends of tbe baby will, in the most thoughtless manner, kiss and hug the poor little victim, even when suffering them selves from sore throat or colds, and so entail an unknown amount of evil on the child, sim ply from want of the commonest thoughtful- ness. If some of these boisterous nurses and friends would remember that a very little vio lent excitement goes a long way with infauts, they would save tbem much needless suffering both in the present and in the future ; rest and quietness are tbe cnltl things iney require, and yet seldom get, especi lly in a large fam ily, or where there are m iny friends who take ttitir turn to tickle and amuse the victim into a sort of hysterical spasms, and then think him or her happy. Again, in playing mnsio to ihem, tbe most noisy and startling tunes are generally selected, to the acute torture of the sensitive tjmpannm, instead of those airs which are most Boothing and gentle. These are a few of many needless sufferings to which children are thoughtlessly exposed. An other very oommon source of torture is care lessness in wheeling tbe perambulator. In street crossing, these vehicles are more often than not allowed to bump down tbe full bight of tbe cutb stone, and then driven full tilt against the opposite curb. Such shocks try se verely the Bpine and nerves of the tender in fants, who are unfortunately consigned to the mercies of a careless nurse. We once heard of a baby who was reported to have said, "how stupid parents are 1" and if that infant prod igy should live to be a hundred years old, it would never say a truer thing of the majority oi fathers, mothers and relatives in general. How to Succeed. Tbe young man who thinks he can carry his boyish pranks into the serious business of life, is not a man, and defrauds himself, and his employer. "After work, play " That should satisfy the most sanguine. "Business before I leasnre," is tbe motto of tbe prudent man, wboe guide is experience, and it is sufficient for the novitiate in active life. But it is despicable to see the young man just starting oat in life so wedded to his for mer enjoyments as to place them above present duties. Yet this is often the case. The young man, who to steer bis own bark launches forth on the sea of life, too often looks back on the pleasures be leaves behind; and, forgetful of present duties, steers haok to past enjoyments. There is no royal road to success any more than to knowledge. He who wonld succeed must work; and, after all, there is more real enjoyment In work, which has a worthy object, than in nlav. or.nleasure. intended to kill time. We remarked a few days ago to a business man whose present means are amply sufficient, but who worked really harder than any of bis nu merous employees, that he ought to "take it easy." Said he: "1 am never so happy as when I have more than I can do. I may wear out In working, but I dread to rust out In idling." He was right. His work was a part of himself, a part of his life, and it was always faithfully done. To apprentices, especially, this earnestness and interest in their work is necessary, if success is ever to be attainted. Co-operation of the Wife. No married man ever prospered in the world without the co operation of his wife. If she unites in mutual endeavors, or rewards his labors with an en dearing smile, with what confidence will he resort to his daily toil, meet difficulty and encounter danger, if he knows that he is not spending nis strength in vain, but that bis labor will be rewarded by the sweets of home. Solicitude and disappointment enter the history of every man's life ; and he is only half-provided for his voyage who finds but an associate for happy hours, wbile for his months of darkness and distress no sympathizing partner is pre pared. How Yankee Potatoes do in England. The Standard, of Coventry, England, states that laBt spring one pound each of the Snowflake and Eureka potatoes, two new American varieties, were planted in tne gardens at uapestnorne, the seat of Mr. Bromley Davenport. M. F. On the 13th of September the Snowflake was lifted, when it was found that the one pound had produoed the surprising weight of 633 pounds. A week later the Eureka was lifted, and it was ascertained that the pound of seed potatoes had produced 1,082 pounds, the largest yield on record. Three hundred of the tubers weighed 3G9 pounds. My Motheb. How mnay sweet and holy recollections do these few words recall to those wbohave been blessed with tbe never ending af fection of a mother 1 No change of fortune, no loss of influence, not even tbe loss of char acter itself can destroy a mother's love. Her love can soothe the pangs of sickness, and turn aside the arrows of misfortune. The name of mother is among the first words that fall from a child's tongue ; the first idea that dawns upon the raiud ; the first and most lasting tie iu whioh affection can bind the heart of man. Absence cannot chill a mother's love, nor vice destroy a mother's kindness. Lived it Down. An honest blacksmith was once grossly insulted, and his character infa mously defamed. Friends advised him to seek redress by means of law, but to one and all he replied: "No; I will go to my forge, and there in six months I shall have worked out such a character, euoh a name as all the judges, law courts and lawjera in the world could never give me." He was right. It ia by honest labor, manly courage, and a conscience void of offense, that we assert onr true dignity, and prove oar honesty and respectability. " Mi dear," said a rural wife to her hus band, on his return from town, " what was tbe sweetest thing you saw in bonnet in the city?" The ladies' faces, my love." Honest and courageous people have very Utile to lay about either their courage or their honesty. The sun baa no need to boast of hi brightness, nor the moon of her effulgence. Yoityq Folks' CoLilpfi. Children and Their Homes. Children, yon all love your homes; I take tbat for granted, that is, if that home is at all loveable. Now what do you do to make that home pleasant? Children are too apt to regard the keeping of a home as a dnty inoumbent upon their parents, without realizing tbat they have as much to do with its formation almost as the parents themselves. Home is not perfect without the help of every member of the household It has been beauti fully likened to a harp if all the strings are attuned in barmony sweet melody is the result; but if one is out of tune it jars harsh discord upon the senses. The parents' duty is to fur nish a home where the comforts of the body are provided; where tbe mind is educated and the soul is trained and guided by pure teacb logs and holy example. The children's duty is to rtspond to the efforts of their parents to echo, as it were, the attention and affection shown ihem. Do tbe wee ones', whose little hands are too tiny to more than pluck the blossoms by tbe wayside, remember tbat they can learn to help keep home tidy by picking np the little ihin&s that will Ret strewn about? Whose hands so gentle in toothing away mamma's neaducne or papa s trown, hs tne lit lo one mat knows not its own strength?,-The little boy and gill can do m iny little tasks deftly for boys, it is no lessening of dignity,to learn to be handy about the house and help mother in her numerous household tssks. The manliest man I ever kmw personally, takes laughing nride in his knowledge of bouse work, sained when he was a (boy, the help of a mother who boasted of five boys younger than himself. Then do not hesitate to engage in the many duties that await you in tbe home; and girls, save your mothers every step you can. Be light of heart and quick of foot, that your presence may bring real heart sunshine into tbe home circle. Be true daughters, true sis ters, making all who enter tbat home circle love aud rely upon you. Do not be afraid of work, lest you brown or harden jour bands; do not cast upon your mother a tak because "she can do it quicker," or yon "are just going out for a little walk." It is she who needs the respite most; it is you who cm give it her. Home is not a rose lined paradise, where all can sit aud sing sweet melodies, unruffled by a cloud of care. Home is a place to love in and a place to labor in. The tasty rooms will grow unlovely, the ornaments will gather dust, and the myriad duties of home life will become dis tasteful and monotonous unless there is an earnest spirit that gives you courage to eo on. day after day, with these same unchanging tasks. That courage comes from a higher love than love of self aud when the right love fills tbe heart, the commonest tasks become glori fied and invested with a beaaty we never saw before . Thn remember, girls and boys, to do your part toward making a home. It is a duty that rests upon each one of you, and unless you ful fil it conscientiously you will lose many moments of rapture and will rob the future of many pleasant and joyous memories, and also tbe consciousness of having done right. Young Folks' Monthly. A Word for the Boys. Commodore Farragut at Ten. The late Commodore Farragut, who served his country so well and so bravely during the late war, and who stood at the head of tbe United States navy, used to tell us the following story of his experience when but a boy of ten: Would you like to know how I became what I am ? It was all owing to a resolution I formed when I was a bov but ten years of age. My father was sent down to New Orleans with tne little navy we then had, to look after tbe treason of Burr. I accompanied him as cabin boy. I had some qualities tbat I thought made a man of me. I could swear like an old salt; could dtink as stift a glass of groa; as if I had doubled (Jape Horn, and could smoke like a locomotive. I was great at cards, and fond of gambling in every shape. At the close of the dinuer, one day, my father turned everybody out of the cabin, locked the door, and said to me: "David, what do you mean to be ?" I "I mean to follow the sea." ' "Follow the sea 1 Yes, be a poor, miserable, I drunken sailor before the mast, kicked and cuffed about the world, and die in some fever hospital in a foreign clime." "No," I said, "I'll tread the quarter-deok, and command, a3 you do." "No, David; no boy ever tread the quarter deck with such principles as you have, and such habits as you exhibit. You'll have to change your whole course of life, if you ever become a man." My father left me and went on deck. I was stunned by the rebuke, and over whelmed with mortification. "A poor, miser able, drunken sailor before the mast, kicked and cuffed about the world, and die in some fever hospital 1" "That's my fate, is it ? I'll change my life, and change it at once. I will never drink an other drop of intoxicating liquor; I will never gamble." And, as God is my witness, I have kept those three vows to this hour. A New Papeb Peooess. It is said that, by a new process recently patented by Eastern par ties, it is proposed to manufacture wrapping papers out of green grass or hay. The inventor claims that if grass is used, he can make good paper without cooking the materia, and the natural color of such paper will be dark brown suitable for hardware trade, etc. By this prooess he claims a saving of five dollars per ton, in fuel alone. If hay is used, it will have to be cooked, and we infer the cost will be about the same as for straw paper, A seen votted servant girl in Troy told the milkman the other day that he gave his cows too much salt. " How do you know that? " said the lactealist " Sure I kin tell be the milk that they drink too muoh water entirely," said tbe girl. The milkman drove off in a hurry. It is a fact, peihaps not generally known, that any acknowledgment by a oouple of pro per age that thv take noon thnmnlY tv, . eponsibilities of man and wife, made publicly or before two or more competent witnesses, and subsequently dnly recorded, is a legal mar- "They say a woman can't keep a secret," remarked a Division airt vnman t.. a.-. band, " but Martha J ones told me in oonfi. dence last night that she is to be married aoon. and I haven't even told you." Why do neonle call far nlu. f .'.I-- --i did anybody ever hear of one eaJlino 'far. whole one ? We can never surprise Nature in a corner; never And the end of a thread ; never tell where to set the first stone. Zftnerjon's ssays. ' UseUl lf,fOrfAT,ON' Rising in the World. Experience continually contradicts the no tion that a poor young man cannot rise. If we look over the list of rich men we find that nearlv all of them began life worth little or nothing. To any person familiar with the mil lionaires of the United States a score of exam ples will occur. On the other band the' sons of rich men, who began life with the capital which so many poor young mn covet, frequently die beggars. It would probably not be going too far to say tbat a large majority of fcuch mon eyed individuals either fail outright or gradu ally eat up the capital with which they com menced their career. And the reason is plain. Brought up in ex pensive habits, they spend entirely too much. Educated with high notions of personal im portance, they will not, as they phrase it, stoop to bard work. Is it astonishing, therefore, that they are passed in tbe race of life by others with less capital originally, but more energy, thrift, and industry? For these virtues, after all, are worth more than money. They make money, in fact. Nay, after it is made, they enable tbe possessor to keep it, which most rich men pronounce to be more difficult than the making. The young man who begins life witb a resolution always to lay by part of his income is sure, even without extraordinary ability, gradually to acquire a sufficiency, especially as habits of eo nomy, whioh the res olution renders necessary, will make that a competence for him whioh would be quite in sufficient for an extravagant person. It is really what we save, more than what we make, which leads us to fortune, He wno enlarges bis expenses as fast as bis earnings iutrase must always be poor, no matter what hi abili ties. And content may be had on compara tively little. It is not in luxurious living that men find real happiness. Scientific American. Sbabfeninq Edoe Tools. The grindstone should not be less than two feet or eighteen inches in diameter. It should revolve to meet the tool (except when grinding very fine or del icate tools). In grinding a chisel for instance, it should be held firmly on the stone without moving, until a slight wire edge is felt ou the other side, which may easily be told by pass ing the thumb over the opposite Bide to tbat which Is being ground. When this is felt, turn the chisel over and prooeed in tbe same manner until tne wire edge is transferred to the oppo site side. It should now be whetted on an oilstone, taking care not to hold the ool too upright, or it will do more harm than good. It Bbould be whetted first on one side, then on the other until the wire edge appears off; now take a piece of deal, free from grit, and draw the edge of the tool across the grain; if it has been properly whetted the wire edge will tow be properly removed. Gouges are only ground on their convex surfaces. They Bhonld be ground until a wire edge can be felt by passing the finger along the inside of the gouge. This can be removed witb tbe oilstone and deal. While grinding gouges they should be con stantly turned from right to left, or the edge will be full of notches. Tools for soft wood Bhonld have a long bevel edge to make them cut keen. About a half-inch bevel is best. Am. Cabinet Maker. A "Dozen" in the Potteby Tbade. As the derivation from tbe French douzaine implies, it is generally presumed that a dozen implies twelve things, but in the Staffordshire potteries and in the earthenware trade (queensware in Philadelphia, crockery in other places) a dozen to this day represents that number of any special article whioh can be offered at a 'fixed price. That is, tbe price is fixed and the num ber to tbe dozen varies. For instance, the pitchers, which are called "hies" in the trade. are sold as 2, 3, 4, C, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 pieces to each dozen, the price for a dozen being con stant. The ordinary pitcher, holding a quart, is a twelve, or twelve to the dozen, while a pint pitcher is twenty-four to the dozen, and is so called when dealing in that size. Few of the articles of the trade are sold in dozens of twelve, plates being almost the only ones, and some of them are sold at sixty to the dozen. Besides these curiosities in figures, the potters have peculiar names muffins, twiflers, etc tbat make up a trade language of themselves. The quantities for dozens are, we think, yet preserved in the wholesale, or package trade. Condensed Beeb How Made. Mr. Look wood describes, in the Journal of the Society of Arts, his patent solid or condensed beer. Beer is taken at its best condition; its alcohol is separated and saved by a method of gentle distillation in vacuo, and the residue is con densed in a vacuum pan, like milk; when finished, it is enclosed in hermetically sealed packages, the alcohol first being added to it again, and acting as a preservative. The fer mentation, which was present in the beer when it was taken, is suspended by tbe heating, and the oondensed beer remains sound in this con dition, apparently for any length of time, as some exists that has now been kept for nearly two years. When re-made by adding water, it is not wort, but real beer, having all its flavor and alcoholio strength, and lacking only effer vescence, which can be quickly imparted by reviving the suspended fermentation for a short time in order to develop sufficient car bonic acid gas to give it the teqnired briskness; or it is fit to drink immediately, if charged with carbonic acid gas, like (erated water. Utilizing Cindeb Fixes. Quite a business hag sprung np at various points in the oountry in the working of the cinder piles of blast fur naces. For several years iron made in a cupola from cinder piles has been in use in Pittsburg, and we believe other localities, and is known as Buckeye iron. It is very close, but gives good results in the puddling furnace, espe cially in mixtures with red short irons. Iron is being made on this plan at Cleveland, at Indi anapolis, at Chicago and Cincinnati, and we understand in various other places. There is a vast amount of such waste in all onr iron smelting districts; many thousands of tons have been used to fill up bogs and hollows, and to make roads, but the amount yet within easy reach is still immense. SoMETHiNa New rs Piano Oonstbuction. A German tailor at Des Moines has invented a curious sort of piano, tbe hammer of which strikes bells instead of strings. There are in this piano sixty-six bells, varying from two inches to thirteen inches in diameter, all so adjusted that each bell shall give its perfect tone in response to tbe touch of the performer's hand on the key. hoard. Pulmonic Candles. There are now manu factured in England, candles containing in their substance some of those gum resins and balsams, especially benzoin and storax. which have been found useful in chronic pulmonary and allied maladies. These "pulmonio can dlea yield, on combustion, a pleasing fra grance, and at the same time give a good light. Mtf?BIrTo rwa nk taini from white marble, make a paste with a little chloride of lime and water, and rub it into the stains; afterward sponge with aoap and water. A