Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-08-08
OLYMPIA. WASHINGTON TER.
FRIDAY. AUG. s. 1879.
Scrap Books.

book, h!led WITH Just sucn Hhahu-
script and printed matter as is liable
TO be of inestmable utility when
least expected and on the shortest
notice. We do not mean those un-
wieldy..volumes that cumbcr the par
lar tables aud are flied with senti-
mental poetry and diluted prose.
Day-dreqmers may delight to pore
over such reading matter, but 1t Is
not in our province to recommend
them to the families of intelligent
farmers and mechanics. We would
suggest that every household keep
a" blotter' in which everything can
be quickly and conveniently written
or pasted. that may be wanted for
future reference. Daily and weekly
newspapers are teelning with useful
recipes which are often the result
of years Of experience in al! the de-
partments of practical life. As
geneial thing, these papers are mis-
laid OF torn to pieces rs soon as read
and the valuable information they
contain is thrown to the winds.
Now it would be an easy matter to
clip from such Iapels important
Items, paste them in strongly
bound book, and thus, in the course
of year, compile an encyclopedia
of most useful information. Where
the scraps cannot be cut from the
papers or other printed matter III
which they are found, few mo-
ments, only, suf1ices to copy them
in a plain round hand that every
body can read. The copies in
manuscript should be made with
due reference to the shape and size
of the book in which they are to be
pasted, and while the volume is fill
ing up, every article should be care
fully indexed and PACED in alpha
betical order. In regard to the
kind of matter that goes into such a
scrap book, the maker is left to his
or her own discretion. A farmer
would require one class of articles, a
mechanic another, and q merchant
or business man still another.
The better way would be to make
a due selection that would appertain
TO most of the common concerns OF
everyday life. Among those for
mulas which would be most often
referred to, might be noted some of
the best methods for calculating in
terest. short and practical rules in
the various cases of mensuration,
business and legal forms, recent and
interesting court decisions, as we'll
as a vast array of statistical matter,
one single item of which would
often pay ten times the cost of
making the whole book.
1t is the practice of some farmers to
keep q record of annual price-lists
appertaining to the various pro-
ducts of the farm; the cost of seed,
planting aud sowing, cultivation,
harvesting, and finally, the Let and
gross amount received at the end of
the year. A complete history Of the
live stock kept on the farm con be
kept in similar manner. 1t would
often rebound much to the interest
of mechanics, also, for them to be
able to turn, at any moment, to the
recorded details of important trans
actions and thus receive valuable
suggestions as 10 the wisdom or folly
of embarking in any new undertak.
ing. Some people are called eccen-
trio on account Of their mania for
filing and preserving old almanacs.
Such eccentricity may be cried down
by some, but there is a deal of wis
dom in it after all. 1t costs moth
ing to keep old books and papers
and but very little to compile scrap
books. A spacious bookcase, pro-
vided with pigeon holes convenient
~ lettered or numbered, is all that is
required to suhserve, the interests of
a large household, and in case of
fire, the whole establishment can be
easily removed to place Of safety.
A scrap-book and journal can be
easily kept in every family and "
feel safe in ASSERTING that tie great
est difficulty in the work WI l,
found 10 he making proper sclte-
tiCn OF su"h i'rnS aud e,elt, p;