Year: 1869

wood is poor, your ashes will be poor and
you will not have good soap Take good
care of your. ashes, and one week before
the lye is required put them in the leach,
pounding them down solid. 1t is easier
done if they are dampened. Then pour
on water until they begin to driN, af-
ter which let them stand one week to srot;"
then hang on yonr kettles, and commence
running off lye for operations -. ....


By letting the ashes stand to ''rot," as it
Is called, the lye is STRONGER, and the soap
of better quality, and not so apt to
be ''livery." If the lye is too strong
weaken it; % if too weak. I boil
it. The proper strength can be told by
putting fresh egg into it, Tt should
throw the big end of the egg up above the
surface to show about the size of a silver
dime Gf any one nowadays can find one to
make the comparison.) If the lye is trife
weaker the egg sinks. With lye af this
strength, take pound of clear grease, or its
equivalent III common soap grease, to
each gallon of lye used, and set to boiling.
After the grease is ''eaten up, if the mix
ture will ''eat' or take the plume off
feather, put in more grease. If white
scum rises On top, skim it off, or put in
more lye. This scum is grease, and should





looks ropy as it runs off the stirrer. Ifnot
boiled too thick, all sediment will settle
while 1t is cooling, and prefer not to have
the lye poured IN.


A former writer gives her trouble with
grease that was too salt. [ think if she had
rightly known, her lye was too strong. I
never had trouble with salty grease, except
that it makes the soap hard. A lady once
put up her ashes with mine for making
soap. 1t was SO strong as to bear an egg
entirely above the lye. weakened mine
and had no difficulty. She tried an expert
ment, and boiled all day; still. as she ex-
pressed it, sit wouldn't come worth cent. :"
An old lady seeing it, told her to pour wa
ter int it. She added nearly as much wa
ter as there was compound in the kettle.
Instantly the soap came. Cor American
AgricuAawist. ...-


A Coon VARNIsH FOR Doors, SHOES AND
HARNESS. Put half a pound of gum shell
lac, broken up in small pieces, in quart
bottle or jug, cover it with alcohol, cork it
tight, Ito prevent the alcohol from evapo-
rating, which should be pure) and put 1t on
a shelf in warm place; shake it wen sew
eral times day; then add piece of gum
camphor as large as hens egg; shake it
well and in a few hours shake it again, aud
add one ounce of lamp black; if the alco-
hol is good it will be dissolved in three
days; then shake and use IT it gets too
thick, add alcohol-pour out two or three
teaspoonfuls in a saucer, and apply it with
a small paint brush. If the materials were
all good, it will dry in about five minutes
and if will be removed only by wearing off,
giving gloss almost equal topatent leather


The advantage of this preparation above
/, LI1,L = IL.
leather and make it hard, but remains on
the surface, and yet excludes the water
almost as perfectly. This same prepara-
ton is admirable for harness, and does not
soil when touched, as lampblack mixtures
do"


I will add here that as far as I have heard
of the above mixture being tried, it ans
wers all the purposes claimed for it. It
would be excellent for boot and shoe, as
well SIS harness makers.


MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY. few far
mers pay sufficient attention to the breed
ing and management of poultry, although
it is well worth while to do SO. The price
Of eggs and dressed poultry has been re-
munerative for several years, and no doubt
will continue to be so. The manure of the
poultry house, when properly managed
and applied to garden and field crops is
very beneficial. To the orchardist, poul-
try are necessity, for he wants them
for picking pup9e or larvae of
injurious insects, and saving
his fruit from destruction The apple worm
and the curculio have been nearly extermi-
mated in some orchards by the simple rem
edy or preventive of keeping poultry
about the trees. No remedy for the striped
bug, the destroyer of the melon and Gu
cumber vines, has been found equal to a
flock Of small chickens


Every farmer should have we'll arrane-
ed poultry house in some well-sheltered
nook, with door opening into the orchard
If the orchard is not very near the dwelling
house, the best plan will be to winter the
fowls i'll warm house in the barnyard and
to put up shed in the centre of the orch
ard to be occupied by them during sum-
mer.


MnCH Cows s-Milch COWS should be fed
night and morning regularly now, and
housed nights and in wet weather They
should not be obliged to depend too much
on the pastures; there is no reason why q
good flow of milk should be stopped now,
as it too often is by short pasturage, and
there IS no economy in feeding the moving
lands down to the roots of the grasses; be-
sides, herbage when frost bitten is less
nutritious than if it had not been exposed
to the frost, and substantial fodder is es-
sential for animals which are either grow
ing or producing At no season of the
year may pumpkins, root tops, immature
| cabbages, and even grain, be used to bet
ter advantage than now. An abundance
of good water is necessary, also q fire.
quent supply of salt. alt.-Massocbusetts
Ploatghnoan.


| WASHING SwEATED HoRsEs-A core.
spondent of, the London Field answers an
inquiry whether it is q safe practice to wash
! Sweated horses in cold water He saws he
has adopted it, and with beneficial results
both in summer and winter. After wash.
ing, the animal should be rubbed dry, as
! far as practicable, and the legs especially
Should the hair on them be too long to ad


nit of this being sufficiently done, fanne
bandages should be put on, and a wooden rus
thrown loosely over, but without the roller
In the course Of an hour the horse will be
tolerably dry, and should then have anoth.
er rub down, and be clothed in the ordina.
1y manner If horses were treated in 8
more rational manner than is often the
case, With pure air and scrupulous cleanh.
ness, disease would be far less common
| Exchange


10 DEED STRAPEo.-bO1l ClSIn Until tl6V
burst, then part or loosen them gently
with wooden fork, or otherwise, so the
seeds can sink to the bottom; then with a
spoon in your hand, pour and scrape out
of the vessel, leaving the seeds at the bot
tom. Then spread few of the grapes on
fiat dish. and with teaspoon remove the
remaining seeds. Then re-heat and can.


Corn VINEGAR-Bolt pint of corn until
it is a little soft; put it into jar; add a
| pint of molasses and four quarts of water
mix well together and set near the stove
Intwo daysit will be good beer; and in two
or three weeks it will be good vinegar
The same corn will do for six months.
When the vinegar is made, pour it off and
add molasses and water to the corn. In
this way you willhave a constant supply.
A CHEAP AND DELICIOUS PUDDING.-Take
four tablespoonfuls of -four, which mix
gradually into a quart of milk; add the
yolks, well beaten, of four eggs, reserving
the whites of the same until a moment be-
fore placing in the oven; grease your dish
and pour in the above mixture, and bake in