The Placer herald., 1870-08-13
HOUSE AND FARM.

DREssINa FOR THE HAR.-The Boston
Journal of Chemistry calls attention to the
different preparations sold by druggists for
dressing the hair. 1t tells US that all of the
oils and greasy pomades with euphonious
names. are manufactured from lard oil and
simple lard. Bears, grease is the most filthy
Of all the animal fats, and it is safe to say
that the genuine stuff is but rarely or never
sold by the druggists. Castor oil and cologne
spirits make a good and cheap dressing. The
oil derived from the castor bean possesses
peculiar proprieties which admirably adapt it
for use on the hair. The Journal concludes:
A cheap and very good dressing is made
by dissolving four ounces of perfectly pure,
dense glycerine in twelve ounces of rosewater.
Glycerine evaporates only at high tempera-
tares; and therefore under its influence the
hair is retained in moist condition for long
time. As class, the vegetable oils are bet
ter for the hair than animal oils. They do
not become rancid and offensive so rapidly;
and they are subject to different and less
Objectionable chemical changes. Olive oil
and that derived from the cocoanut have been
largely employed; but they are far inferior in
every respect to that from the castor bean.
Do not use any oils whatever, is the best
advice. Those men and women having the
finest and glossiest hair, simply use soft wa
ter, washing the head every few days with
pure CASTLE soap. But as we do not expect
everybody to subscribe to this formula, it is
well to caution the general public against the
indiscriminate use of preparations sold for the
hair. r,n
The fact that the fig crop this year is so
enormous, as to depress the market ito an
improbable figure for the ripe fruit, has call
ed forth suggestions that the surplus might
be proftably dried and packed, provided the
raodus operandi were understood. In re-
sponse to this suggestion the Scientific Press
gives the following recipe
Allow the fruit to remain on the trees unit
it becoms dead ripe" then pick and dry
upon boards or mats, care being taken that
no rain fall upon it, as a few moments OF
rain will spoil the same. Care should also be
taken that the drying process is not carried
too far. while the pulp is yet moist and
pliable, the fruit should be snugly packed
Ground boxes or ''drums, are preferably and
stored in a moderately dry place about four
months, during which time the gummy or
mucllaginous pulp will be partially converted
into grape sugar, portion of which will find
its way through the pores of the skin to the
surface. During this process the peculiar
flavor of the fresh dried fig, so unpleasant TO
some tastes, will gradually disappear by the
chemical action which takes place. No sugar
or any other substance, should be added to
the fruit. The most of the California produc-
ed figs which find their way to this market
are dried two much before being packed.
SUGAR BEET VS.. MANGEL. A correspon-
dentof the Agricultural Gazette says that, as
a rule the sugar beet does not grow as large as
the mangel, and therefore to ensure the same
weight per acre more must be grown To
make this plain, he presumes that in an ord
mary crop of large mangel there will be from
sixty to eighty roots to the perch. Now, in
sugar beets there should be about two hun
dred roots to the same area. This increase
of the individual roots will compensate for
their lightness, and the gross yield of the
sugar beet will probably be as great as that
of the mange. Already they are running
each other pretty close in the Lavenham dis
trict. The heaviest crop ofshugar beet this
year weighed in the gross thirty-one tons,
acre. The best crop of mangels weighed one
ton less, or thirty tons per acre. Without
tops the mangels reached twenty-four tons
per acre, and the sugar beets twenty-one and
half tons. The number of mangels per
perch was one hundred; of sugar beets, two
hundred. Rural Ne1U Yorker.
CHEAP MosoUTo BAR.-There is cheap
mosquito bar in vogue among the plantation
hands and boatmen in some parts of the South
which answers every purpose to the letter it
is common coal oil. A small quantity of oil.
is dropped upon piece of cotton, and then
squeezed out as dry as possible; after which
the cotton is rubbed over the face and hands.
No mosquito will alight where the scent has
been left. | have tried it and then exposed
myself to clouds of them on various occasions
without experiencing the least annoyance
Thousands of them would hover within an
inch of my face, and sing by the hour, but
none dare touch. h.-Eutomologist.
CHICKENS do not require feeding till about
twenty-four hours old, and then they may
be fed corn meal wet sparingly. Soaked
pieces of bread are better for the first few
days; and boiled eggs, mixed with little
corn meal, moistened, are still better, espec-
ally for the first day or two otter commencing
to feed. After the chickens are old enough
to oat meal ground coarse, it is better to feed
such, than that which is so fine as to be liable
to bake in their crops; and when older feed
barley, buckwheat, or cracked corn, and
give them wide range to catch insects, and
they will seldom become diseased.
To KEEP IcE.-Tne following mode is
recommended: Make a double pocket of
strong woolen cloth, no matter how coarse
and faded it is. Have space of two inches
or SO between the inner and outer pockets,
and pack this space as full as possible with
feathers. You have no need to use geese
feathers; hens feathers are just as good.
With pocket thus constructed and kept
closely tied at the mouth, few pounds of
ice may be kept week.
az SAY fellows remark ad an iGIar 70