The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-05-13
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

EAnM AND nVUOEuVhDs
CLEANING THE CELLAR.-Now, we do
not imagine that in the whole country
there is but one thoroughly renovated
cellar, but thousands of them, If you busy
people would only tell us about them SO
we may be pardoned for alluding to the
way ours is made suitable for dairy pur-
poses.
One day a neighbor caught us down
cellar right in the midst of our cleaning,
in a part of the house which we have
come to regard as more essential to the
well-being Of the family than the parlor;
and while we were giving the timbers
overhead and the nicely-painted walls a
good coat of whitewash, she expressed
her surprise that any one should be 80
foolish.
"Don't you have enough whitewash-
ing to do up stairs? Is 30 much extra
work necessary
: We mildly answered eyes" to the first
query, and emphatically eyes" to the
last; for in lieu of a cool room above
ground the cellar was to be our milk
room during the heat of summer, 80 no
unpleasant odor must linger to faint
cream or butter. Our work was soon
finished, and the freshly secured milk
racks and tables were in place, when two
comical figures, mistress and maid,
emerged from the cellar, well pleased
with their halfday's work.
After tea our friend followed us down
the stairway, and rewarded us with the
following comment:
Chow cool and light it seems! Why,
/ should like to stay here and skim the
milk myself"
This approval from the skeptic of an
hour or two ago was quite encouraging,
and here is the programme from the be-
ginning to the end: In the spring, just
as soon as the weather will permit, the
windows and outside cellar door are
opened, and all the decaying vegetables,
as we'll as empty barrels and bins, are
carried out. When it is warm enough to
remove the roots to some Outbuilding,
the men folks again lend us helping
hand, and the rest of the boards and
boxes are piled up somewhere out of
doors for further use. Nothing is left
that can harbor mold or undue moisture,
not even the vinegar barrel and jugs.
Only the rubbish on the cellar bottom
reminds us Of the generous store of good
things that went down in November;
and when the last vestige of that is
borne away by stout hands, we dismiss
our knights of the hoe with thanks, for
the rest of the task is comparatively
easy.
First, there is a thorough sweeping
overhead, down the walls, and about the
CRATES in the windows and upper half of
the doors. Then the gravelly ground,
which by use has become almost as
smooth and hard as floor, gets several
sweepings, till we are quite sure that no
decaying matter hides in the soil, when
Bridget carries the disabled spiders and
scrapings off to some far-away place.
After some dry lime, such as we find
partially slaked among the Jumps, has
been sprinkled on the ground close to
the walls and in the entrance to the
drain, we are ready for whitewashing,
Providing ourselves with an old brush.
for the process is damaging to a new one
and kettle of whitewash made of fresh
line, a handful of salt and sufficient boil
ing water to allow the mixture to be
spread on the stones, we give the boards
|
crevice in the wall, generous brushing
BY the time they are dry, and the air IL
purified by the action of the lime, the
cellar is perfectly sweet and clean, and
we aim to keep it so. If milk is spilled
it is wiped up Immediately, and occa
sionally dry lime is sprinkled under the
racks to prevent mold. With every
thing banished from the room that coult
impart an unpleasant odor, we spenC
many cheerful summer hours in oul
dairy.
THE SENSES OF BEEs.-We find tn,
following in Popular Science Monthly
The senses of bees were the next subject
of investigation, and we will give, il
brief, the results which Huber reached
The lenses Of the bees eyes are not ad
Unstable; and though they can see accu
rately to great distances, they seen
blind to objects close by. Bees dar
down to the door of their hives with ,
precision which is generally unerring
but if, from any cause, they miss th'
opening, they are obliged to rise il
the air, in order to take another Observa
ton.
If bees hear-which is doubtful
question, the old-fashion Hanging" Il
the contrary--they certainly hear only
what affects their welfare. Their sens
of taste is also far from perfect, fou
ditch water being often preferred by
them to limpid streams, or even dew
and ill-smelling plants having quite a
much attraction as sweet ones; it is TIT
quantity, rather than the quality O
their food, for which they care. They
are also fond of the secretions of tn,
aphides, the mich cattle of the ants.
Their sense of smell is very keen; tn,
presence of honey they detect even in tn,
most carefully concealed places. Honey
bees often, in scarce seasons, attack tn,
bumble-bees on their return from field
laden with honey, and force them to dis
gorge all they have collected. Its pres
ence in the honey-bag must have beef
detected by the sense of smell. The sea
of this sense is in the mouth this Hube
determined by presenting successfully u
all parts of the body, on camePs hal
pencils, odors especially repugnant Il
them. When held near the mouth, tn
bee started back as if annoyed. On on
occasion he mixed honey with camphol
which they especially dislike; they man
aged to separate and remove all tn
honey, leaving the camphor untouched
The sense which seems to be most pei
feet in these little creatures is that O
touch, and that seems to reside wholly il
the antenne. Greetings, caresses, an,
the communication of intentions, are al
ways effected, by one bee toward another
by crossing their antenn@. 1t must b
remembered that no light enters hiv
under ordinary circumstances. eth
bee," says Huber, constructs its conn
in darkness; it pours its honey into tn
magazines, feeds its young, judges o
their age and necessities, recognizes it
queen, all by aid Of its antenne, whicl
are much less adapted for becoming &C
quainted with objects than our hands
Therefore, shall we not grant to thi