The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1855-09-05

iacCoflIy account tor the universal improv-
idence of civilized, christian communities.
Mans natural improvidence is the grand
obstacle to bis progress in domestic econo-
my. lie IS slow to see this improvidence
TO ma Ike 1t the subject of serious thought
and, therefore, he remains, from age to
age, the same poorly housed, poorly clad
and poorly fed animal that he was in the
days of Abraham. How to reach a
higher standard Of comfort without ar
Increase of labor, is the problem to be
solved. One of its phases may be tbus
plainly and truthfully stated:
This article is written IN the house Of n
tenant farmer in the District of Columbia
an" both ne and his wife are native
| Americans.
Their economy permits several chickens
to roost on the heal.boari over the bed
on which they sleep, every night; the ex.
cuse being that foxes catch their chickens
II not brought into the sleeping room.-
| domestic guano is a valuable article: but
ITS deposit, by dung-hll fowls, on or in
ones bed, Is carrying household economy
to length that but few will follow.
The reckless breaking of door hinges
ana windows, wagons, carts, harness, plows
harrows, culiivators, axes, shovel, spades.
hoes, and other tools and implements Of
t'IIage and husbandry. rrovokes a lecture
on bad economy. Habits of negligence and
wastetulness in this matter causes the loss
OF millions every year. No other spirit
| appears so industrious as that Of destruc
ton, both IN doors and out, especially if
tile owner of the premises is much of lis
time out Of the country.
An absent man may find it difficult. if
not impossible to enforce rules of good
economy; but one who IS able to stav on
his larm the year round, is happily ex.
empt from all the evils of ebscnteeism.-
lie has but to study rural economy in all
It's bearings on his interest and duty TO
master the science, and govern his estate
accnrdinn tn lie hnSt ~-n"~~y, M -.
town or country, is to be substantially
rich, comfortable, and independent, with
whatever means one may possess. One
may be nominaIly well to-do in the world
yet if largely indebt, it may spoil his sys.
tenn OF economy in escaping sacrifices and
maEe-shltts for time, and lead him into
evil practices, in spite of his better iude-
ment. Families living in cities, who 90 to
market and purchase at the highest retail
prices, almost every meal they eat, aptly
illustrate one feature of poor domestic
economy. They are the victims of popu-
lar pride, begotten by Poverty on the har-
lot Fashion. Pride, poverty and fashion
are patient elements of discord in the do
meslic circle, as every reader will bear
witness. They affect American agriculture
IN thousand ways to the equal injury of
the soil and those who own and cultivate
1t, The man who is tie slave ofpride, of
fashion, or Of poverty, endures a degree
of bondage more calling and exacting than
any other. lie really has not time left
at his disposal for study and wise thinking
Hence, his inability to sever the chains
that bind his limbs, and to shake off the
incubus that sits ever on his breast when
he lies down to sleep and forget his trou
bles. The il ner man must be educated
in greater freedom from the tyranny of
fashion, which is the living embodiment of
the ignorance Of the past, before, our do
meStc habits can lie easily reformed.
In seasons Of plenty, like the present,
vegetable and animal food in the greatest
abundance should be well bured and stored
away to meet future wants. Dried meats
potatoes, beets ,punkins, peaches and other
fruits may be kept for years.
In 100 pounds of Irish potatoes, As
dug from the earth, there are about Is
pounds Of water. In sweet potatoes and
in esculent roots, and most fruits, the per
centage Of water is still larger. The best
lean meat taken from An OK, a sheep or a
hog, is nearly three fourths water; and
one can best remove the excess of water
from the curds obtained or how OBJ
tainable from milk, from butter, vege-
tables, fruits, cereals and meats, to pre-
serve them, involves many interesting
questions in rural economy. Curds have
long been pressed into solid che,s, to pre-
serve them for future use; and in supply
ing the English and French armies at the
seige of Sebastopol with much needed veg
etables, the hydraulic press is successfully
employed. Cooking, drying and pressing
are important arts in domestic economy.
The nutritive properties of 100 lbs, Of
turnips may, by SIMPLY sllcing and dry
ing them, be condensed into 10 lbs. Cab
bages may be consolidated from five to
one. Garden vegetables and fruits are no
longer to be regarded as peculiarly perish
able commodities. Horticulture is to sup
ply its great staples for export, like those
of cotton, tobacco, rice. corn and wheat.
The science Of feeding mankind is in its
infancy, and, therefore, likely to grow and
improve as human wants stimulate the
inventive genius and researches of the
age. Pure solidfed milk is now carried
round the globe for daily use Of the COM
mon sailor, Dissolved in distilled water
lie may have fresh peaches, too, with
his milk the year round a. he circumnavi-
gates the round world. L.
Southern Csitiuator.