Qass. Book._ / n u :>i Ubl>i THE IIOUSE-KIEPER'S GUIDE AND EVERYBODY'S H^JNTD-BOOK: CONTAINING OVER n^sTE H:XJlSriDI^E3D NEW AND VALUABLE R E C I F E S -•N THE MANUFACTURE OF FAMILY AND TOILET SOAPS, WASHING FLUIDS CEMENTS, LIQUID SOLDERS FOR MENDING TIN, IRON, AND STEEL, INKS, DYES, DOMESTIC MEDICINES, WINES, CIDER, CORDIALS, VINEGAR, PICKLES, PRESERVES, JELLIES, AND JAMS ; ON THE ART OF COOKING, AND ALMOST EVERY ART PERTAINING TO HOUSE- KEEPING AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY; TOGETHER AVITH DEPARTMENTS DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR FAR- MERS AND MECHANICS, GIVING VALUABLE INFORMATION UPON VARIOUS TOPICS CONNECTED WITH THEIR RESPEC- TIVE VOCATIONS. ^f BY SMITH & SWINNET, CHEMISTS, ETC. CINCINNATI, OHIO: ^■'OURTH EDITION— THIRTY-FIFTH THOUSAND. 1868. K\-' PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION, So RAPID has been the sale of this truly valuable little book, that the first edition of 3,000 copies was hardly out of press before a new one was called for to supply the increasing demands coining from every quarter, and a second edition of 12,000, and also a third, of 10,000, are now ex- hausted, and a fourth edition of 10,000 more is now demanded. It has been thoroughly revised, improved, and considerably enlarged eince its first appearance. Although the Authors have spent several years in collecting its material from various sources, in experimenting upon and improving recipes, and arranging them for publication, it is now gotten up and designed espe- cially for the benefit of Disabled Soldiers and Soldiers' Widows; through whose agency it is being sold, and to whom we give more than one-half the net profits. Its novelty, of combining such a multiplicit}' of practical recipes, and so much varied and useful information upon nearly all matters pertaining to housekeeping and domestic economy, commends it to all classes and conditions in society. In addition to several valuable ones of our own, we have added a large number of new ones, never before made public; for some of which we have paid sums ranging from $10 up to $50, expressly for our book — making it the most valuable collection of family receipts ever compiled in one volume. At least one hundred can be selected from the entire work, any one of which would be worth its price to any family; while some of them are worth ten times that amount. The Medical Department contains information of the most vital im- portance to every family in the land, while no economical housewife would be without the knowledge embraced in the Culinary Department, after having once been in its possession, for twice the consideration de- manded for the book. Its price, compared with that of other publications, may seem high; but when viewed in the light of its intrinsic value, and particularly with reference to the fact that we have given to the public several very import- ant recipes of our own, from which we were manufacturing and selling articles of great value, at large profits, it is not. The pages are large and the type small; and being solidly set, the book contains as much reading matter as is ordinarily included in two or three hundred pages. While the directions given in each receipt are sufficiently explicit for the comprehension of all, we have aimed at conciseness and brevity, in order to condense a large amount of information in as small a compass as is possible. By this means we are enabled to put the book to the Soldier at such a thrice as will yield him a large })rofit,'»flnd remunerate him for his trouble; )osides, in a measure, compensatmg him for his past services in behalf of his country. THE i_::THORS. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by Smith & Swinnet, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern Dis- trict of Ohio. THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE. SOAP AND WASHING KECEIPTS. Chemical Soap. — Take 2 pounds sal soda and 1 pound good stone lime (or 2 pounds slacked lime) and boil in 10 quarts of soft water; let it set- tle ; pour off the clear fluid and add 2 pounds of tallow (or its equivalent in soap-grease, \ pound borax and ^ pound of resin, and boil together till the grease is all taken up, then pour into a shallow box, and, when cool, cut into bars. Two hours' boiling will generally be sufficient. If y(Ai wish to make soft soap, add water to make it of the desired con- sistency, which Qi\n be ascertained by cooling in a saucer while boiling. Owing to the present high price of resin, it imxy be omitted till it becomes cheaper. Again: Common bar soap, cut fine, may be used in place of the tallow or grease, by using doubh; the quantity of water, and omitting the resin. Those who have lye soap already made, can make it go as far again, and wash with half the labor, by adding to each gallon 2 largo table spoonfuls of sal soda and 1 of borax, dissolved in a little warm water, then using same as chemical soap. Washing Fluid. — Take 2 pounds of sal soda, 1 pound good stone lime, and 2 J gallons soft water, and bring to a boil , when settled, pour off the clear fluid into a stone jug, and add 1 ounce of hartshorn and 1 ounce of borax, and keep it tightly corked. After boiling the lime and soda, for either the soap or washing-fluid, pour on water the second time; let it settle, and again pour off for scrubbing, &c. To Make Soft Soap. — Take 20 pounds of potash and dissolve, in an iron kettle, with 25 gallons of cold soft water, and let it stand three days, if the weather be warm, and five or six, if cool. When all is dissolved, take 20 pounds of clear grease, or its equivalent in rough grease, and cleanse it with white lye; then strain it through a tin cclander or sieve in a soap- barrel, and add the potash lye, carefully drained from the sediment; then pour on a few gallons of water, so as to obtain all the strength from the potash, and pour olf again, after it has settled, into the barrel. This makes a superior article of soap — of which any housewife may be proud. Directions for WasJdyig. — Soak your white clothes one half hour in the morning, (or, if very dirty, over night,) in a tub of lukewarm water, with 1 pint of the soap dissolved in lit : suds them out, wring and soap wristbands, collars, and dirty or stained places. Now have your boiler half filled with soft water just beginning to boil, then put in 1 common teacup full of the washing fluid, stir it up and put in your clothes, and boil for thirty minutes; now suds them out, rubbing on your hand a lit- tle au}^ place where there may be any dirt left; rinse, and all is done. This plan requires no wash-board for white clothes, saves one-half the soap, and more than one-half the laboi*, and docs not injure the clothea, 3 * THE H0USE-KP:EPER S GUIDE. but saves the wear and tear of rubbing on the board. These receipts alone are worth ten dollars to Sinj family. Directions for Washing Calicoes. — Calico clothes, before they are put- in water, should have the grease spots rubbed out, as they cannot be seen when the whole of the garment is wet. They should never be washed in very hot soap suds ; that which is mildly warm will cleanse them quite as well, and will not extract the colors so much. Soft soap should never be used for calicoes, excepting for the various shades of yellow, which look the best washed with soft soap, and not rinsed in fair water. Other colors should be rinsed in fair water, and dried in the shade. When calicoes incline to fade, the colors can be set by washing them in luke- warm water, with beefs gall, in the proportion of a tea-cupful to four or five gallons water. Einse thom in fair water; no soap is necessary, un. less the clothes are very dirty. If so, wash them in lukewarm suds, after they have been first rubbed out in beefs gall water. The beefs gall can be kept several months, by squeezing it out of the skin in which it is inclosed, adding salt to it, and bottled and corked tight. A little vinegar in the rinsing water of pink, red, and green calicoes, is good to brighten the colors, and keep them from mixing. Directions for Washing Woolens. — If you do not wish to have white flanjiels shrink when washed, make a good suds of hard soap, and wash the flannels in it, without rubbing any soap on them; rub them out in another suds, then wring them out of it, and put them in a clean tub, and turn on sufficient boiling water to cover them, and let them remain till the water is cold. A little indigo in the boiling water makes the flannels look nicer. If you wish to have your white flannels shrink, so as to have them thick, wash them in soft soap suds, and rinse them in cold water. Colored woolens that incline to fade, should be washed with beefs gall and warm water, before they are put into soap-suds. Colored pantaloons look very well washed with beefs gall and fair warm water, and pressed on the wrong side while damp. Directio7isfor Washing White Cotton Cloth. — Table cloths, or any white clothes that have cc^ffee or fruit stains on them, before being put into soap- suds, should have boiling water turned on them, and remain in it until the water is cold; the spots should be then rubbed out in it. If they are put into soap-suds with the stains in, they will be set by it, so that no sub- sequent washing will remove them. Table-cloths will be less likely to get stained up, if tht-y are always rinsed in thin starch-water, as it tends to keep cofiee and fruit from sinking into the texture of the cloth. White clothes that are very dirty, will come clean easily if put into strong cool ends, and hung on the fire the night previous to the day on which they are to be washed. If they get to boiling, it will not do them any harm, provided the suds is cool when they are put in; if it is hot at first, it will set the dirt in.' The following method of washing clothes is a saving of a great deal of labor: Soak the clothes in lukewarm soap suds; if they are quite dirty, soak them over night. To every three pails of water, put a pint of soft soap, and a table-sjwonful of tl>e salts of soda. Heat it till it mildly warm, then put in the clothes without any rubbing, and boil them an hour. Drain the suds out of them as much as possible, as it is bad for the hands; then add water until cool enough for the hands. The dirt will be loose, so that they will require but little rubbing. Kinse them thoroughly in clear water, then in indjgo-water. The soda can be procured cheap, by purchasing It in large quantities. Soda is an excellent thin^ to soften hard water. The soda suds will not do to wash calicoes in. It is a good THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 6 plan to save your suds, after washing, to water your garden, if you have one, or to harden cellars and yards when they are sandy. Directions for Clea7ising Silk Goods. — "When silk cu^^hions, or silk cover- ings to furniture, become dingy, I'ub dry bran on them gently with a woolen cloth till clean. Eemove the grease spots and stains. Silk gar- ments should have the spots extracted before being washed. Use hard Boap for all colors but yellow, for which soft soap is the best. Put the soap into hot water, beat it till it is perfectly dissolved, then add suffi- cient cold water to make it just lukewarm. Put in the silks, and rub them in it till clean ; take them out without wringing, and rinse them in fair lukewarm water. Kinse it in another water; and for bright yellows, crimsons and maroons, add sulphuric acid enough to the water to give it an acid taste before rinsing the garment in it. To restore the colors of the different shades of pink, put in the second rinsing water a little vinegar or lemon-juice; for scarlet, use a solution of tin; for blues, pur- ples, and other shades, lise pearlash ; and for olive greens, dissolve verdi- gris in the rinsing water; fawns and browns should be rinsed in pure water. Dip the silks up and down in the rinsing water; take the7n out of it without wringing, and dry them in the shade. Fold them up while damp; let them remain to have the dampness strike through all parts of them alike, then put them in a mangier; if you have not one, iron them on the wrong side with an iron just hot enough to smooth them. A little isinglass or gum arable dissolved in the rinsing water of gauze ehawls and ribbons, is good to stiffen them. The water in which pared potatoes have been boiled, is an excellent thing to wash black silks in; it stiffens and makes them glossy and black. Beef's gall in lukewarm water is also a nice thing to restore rusty silk, and soap-suds answers very well. They look better not to be rinsed in clear water, but they should be washed in two different waters. No person should ever wring or crush a piece of silk when it is wet, because the creases thus made will remain forever, if the silk is thick and hard. The way to wash silk is to spread it smoothly upon a clean board, rub white soap upon it, and brush it with a clean hard brush. The silk must be rubbed until all the grease is extracted, then the soap should be brushed off with clean cold water, and applied to both sides. The cleansing of silk is a very nice operation. Most of the colors are liable to be extracted with washing in hot suds, especially blue and green colors. A little alum dissolved in the last water that is brushed on the silk, tends to prevent the colors from running. Alcohol and camphene mixed to- gether is used for removing grease from silk. Franklin Soap. — 1 pound common bar soap, 1 pint alcohol, 15 drops citron elles, or other perfume, ^ ounce spirits of hartsliorn. Have your soap cut very fine, put all the materials in a clean iron kettle, and stir it slowly till all is dissolved. Let it just come to a boil, and then take it up in molds or bars. White Bar Soap. — Take 8 quarts water, 4 pounds common bar soap, ^ pound sal soda, 2 ounces alcohol, 2 ounces saltpeter, 1 ounce borax. Put all into an iron kettle, stir till dissolved, then boil for ten minutes. Almond Soap. — Take 1 pound of quick lime and pour on 3 quarts of boiling distilled water; add 1 pound of salt of tartar dissolved in 1 quart of water; cover the vessel, and when cold, filter through a cotton cloth; a pint should weigh exactly 16 ounces Troy; if more, add distilled water; if less, evaporate. Then add one-third of oil of almonds, simmer them together for some hours, or until the oil forms a jelly; when cool, whi«h may be tried by a small quantity, add common salt, then continue boiling 6 THE HOUSE-KEEPER S GUIDE. till the soap is solid ; when cold, skim off the water, and then pour into molds. Transpareyit Soap. — Transparent soap is made by dissolving hard soap in alcohol, then dr\Mng. Most all toilet soaps are made by dissolving com- mon hard soap with the essential oils of lavender, bergamot, rosemary, &c. Writing Fluid. — Take 1 pound nutgalls, bruised, half a pound of log- wood chips, and boil in 12 quarts soft water till evaporated to 8 quarts. Let it settle, then strain thi-ough a hsiir sieve, and add half a pound of green sulphate of iron, and 2 ounces sulphate of copperas, dissolved in a little hot water, 1 ounce crystalized sugar, and 3 ounces pov/iiered gum arabie, or half a pound of gum senega! dissolved in a little hot water. Let it stand exposed to the air for 24 hours, then bottle. This Ink can be depended upon for deeds and records. A cheap Ink, easily nuide, and good enough for family purposes, is made as follows: Bring 1 gallon soft water to a boil, and put in three- fourth ounce extract logwood, and boil two or three minutes ; then re- move from the fire and stir in 48 grains powdered gum arabie, 8 grains prussiate of potash, and 48 grains bi-chromate of potash. This ink can be made at a cost of five or ten cents for a single gallon, and as it does not spoil by freezing* it is best for school children. A lump of salt, size of a hazel-nut, dissolved in each quart of ink, will effectually keep it from molding; or 5 drops of kreosote added to each pint, will have the same efiect. Indelible Ink. — Nitrate of silver, 1 drachm ; rain water, 5 fluid drachms; mucilage gum arable (fresh) one drachm; dissolve the nitrate of silver in the rain water, then add the mucilage. For the preparation, add to each ounce of the mucilage five grains of baking soda. Paste a piece of dark paper all over the bottle, and keep in a dark place. Hed Ink. — Take a half ounce viol, and put in a tea-spoonful of aqua ammonia; gum arable, size of two or three peas, and five grains of good carmine; fill up with soft water, and it is soon ready for use. CEMENTS AND SOLDERS. Cement for Glass, China, Wood, Leather, l^-c. — Take Impound white glue, 1' ounce white lead, dry, and ^ pint soft water; put these in a tin dish, in- side an iron kettle filled with water, and boil, stirring with a stick till all is dissolved; then add J pint alcohol, and boil again till well mixed. Put in a bottle, and keep tightly corked. When required for use, set the bot- tle in a dish of water on the stove, and gradually heat till the cement is dissolved and of the consistency of cream ; then apply a thin coating u, one edge, put the parts immediately together, pressing firmly for a few moments, and set the article away a day or so to dry. The cement must be quite warm and thin when used; and, in cold weather, slightly warm the article to be mended, enough to take off the chill ; otherwise it will get cold before you can get the parts together, and form a thin coating like paper between the joints, in which case it will not stick. In mend- ing wood, and articles that are porous, don't press hard too soon, or you will press all out, except what the pores of the wood will absorb, leaving none to unite the bi'oken surfaces, but press slightly at first, then hard, after a few moments. Liquid Solder for Mending Tin, Iron, and Steel. — Take \ potind muriatic acid and drop in as many strips of zinc as it will dissolve, and, while boiling, ad4 \ ounce pulverized sal ammoniac. Wet the tin around the THE HOUSE-KEEPER S GUIDE. 7 hole to be mended with a drop or two of this fluid — first having scraped off the rust, if any ; then lay on a piece of soft solder or pewter, and hold a candle or lamp underneath till it is melted. If the hole be large, either cover it with a small piece of tin, then a piece of solder large enough to cover all when melted, or set the dish on a cloth to keep the solder from running through, and then use a hot iron to melt it. For mending iron and steel, wet the broken edges to be joined with this fluid, and then dip them into some filings of soft solder, and hold in a spirit-lamp, fii'mly pressing till the solder melts and oozes out of the seam, when the light must be blown out, and the article held perfectly still, till cool, Ajiother. — An amalgam of chemically pure copper, with mercury at a uemperature of 450 degrees, will unite broken metals, glass, china, porce- lain, &c., as strongly as hefore broken. At the expiration of ten or twelve hours it becomes sufficiently hard to take on a polish like brass or silver. BEVEEAGES. Spruce Beer. — Take 3 gallons soft water, 1\ pints molasses, 3 eggs, well- beaten, and 1 gill yeast. Mix together equal parts oil sjissafras, spruce and wintergreen, and put 50 dr(>ps of this mixture into two quarts of the water, boiling hot, and then put all together and let stand two or three hours, then bottle. For ginger flavor, take 2 ounces of ginger root, bruised, and a small handful of hops, and boil for half an hour in 1 gal- lon of the water, then strain and mix altogether. Good Ginger Beer. — Take 2^ ounces ginger, 3 pounds sugar, 1 ounce cream tartar, the juice and peel of two middling-sized lemons, 2^ pint good brandy, \ pint yeast, and 3^ gallons water. Bruise the ginger, and put it and the sugar into the water, and boil for twenty or thirty minutes; slice the lemons, and put them and the cream tartar in a large pan, and pour the boiling liquor on; stir it well, and, when milk-warm, add the yeast; cover it over and let it remain two or three days to work, skim- ming it frequently; tht-n strain it through a jelly-bag into a cask, add the brandy, bung it tight, and at the end of two or three weeks draw it oft', bottle and cork tight. If it does not work well at first, add a little more yeast, but be careful and not get too much, as it will taste of it. Lemon Beer. — Take 3 ounces ginger-root, bruised, 2''ounces cream tar- tar and boil for twenty or thirty minutes in 3 gallons of water. Strain and add 6 pounds coftee sugar on which you have put \ ounce oil of lemon, or \ ounce and three lemons all mashed up together, and add 7 gallons more water nearly milk-warm, then put in f pint of hop or brew- er's yeast, made into a paste, with 3 ounces flour. Let it work one night, and then bottle for use. Royal Dlani07id Sirup. — Take 1 gallon water, 6 pounds loaf-sugar, 6 ounces tartaric acid, and 1 ounce gum arable in another vessel. Beat up four tea-spoonfuls of flour, and the whites of four eggs, and add ^ pint of water in another vessel : when that in the first vessel is blood-warm, put in the contents of the other vessel, and let it stand three minutes. To Use It. — Take two or three table-spoonfuls of the sirup to a glass one-half or two-thirds full of water, and stir in ^ tea-spoonful of pulver- ized super-carbonate of soda. This is a cheap and delicious beverage, much better and healthier than soda water; easily made, and can be kept any length of time without deteriorating. Keep in a glass vessel, as metal of any kind would spoil it. 8 THE house-keeper's GUIDE. Portable Lemonade. — Tartaric acid, ^ ounce, loaf sugar, 3 ounces, essence of lemon, A drachm. Powder the tartaric acid and the sugar very fine in a porcelain mortar, mix them together, and pour on the essence of lemon by a few drops at a time, stirring the mixture after each addition till the whole is added, then mix thoroughly and divide into twelve equal parts, wrapping each up separately in white paper. When wanted for use, dissolve in a tumbler of cold water, and you will have good lemon- ade. Convenient for persons traveling, where they cannot procure drinks suitable to taste. WINES, CORDIALS, AND OTHER LIQUORS. Red Currant Wine. — Take cold soft water, 11 gallons; red currants, 8 gallons; raspberries, from 1 to 3 quarts. Ferment and strain. Mix raw sugar, 20 pounds; beet root, sliced, 2 pounds; and red tartar, in fine pow- der, 3 ounces. Put in one nutmeg, in fine powder, and add 1 gallon brandy. This will make 18 gallons. White Curra/nt Wine. — Take cold soft water, 9 gallons ; white currants, 9 gallons. Ferment and strain. Mix refined sugar, 25 pounds; white tartar, in powder, 1 ounce; clary seed, bruised, 2 ounces, or clary flowers, or sorrel flowers, 4 handfuls, then add white brandy, 1 gallon. This will make 18 gallons. Black Curra7it Wine. — Cold soft water, 10 gallons; black currants, 6 gallons; strawberries, 3 gallons. Ferment and strain. Mix raw sugar, 25 pounds; red tartar, in flne powder, 6 ounces; orange th^nne, 2 hands- ful; then add brandy 2 or 3 quarts. This will make 18 gallons. Strawberry Wine. — Take of cold soft water, 7 gallons ; cider, 6 gallons ; strawberries, G gallons. Ferment and strain. Mix raw sugar, 16 pounds; red tartar, in tine powder, 3 ounces; the peel and juice of 2 lemons; then add brandy, 2 or 3 quarts. » Raspberry Wine. — Take of cold soft water, 6 gallons; cider, 4 gallons; raspbei-ries, 6 gallons. Ferment and strain. Mix raw sugar, 18 or 20 pounds ; red tartar, in fine powder, 3 ounces ; orange and lemon peel, 2 ounces dry, or 4 ounces fresh. Then add 3 quarts brandy. This will make 18 gallons. Elderberry Wine. — Take of cold soft water, 16 gallons; Malaga raisins, 50 pounds; elderberries, 4 gallons; red tartar, in fine powder, 4 ounces. Mix ginger, in powder, 5 ounces; cinnamon, cloves, and mace, of each 2 ounces; peel and juice of 3 oranges or lemons. Then add 1 gallon of brand}'. This will make 18 gallons. Gooseberry Wine. — Take of cold soft water, 3 gallons , gooseberries, 3^ gallons. Ferment and strain. Now mix raw sugar, 5 pounds; honey, 1^ pounds; tartar, in fine powder, 1 ounce. Afterward put in bitter almonds 2 ounces; sweetbriar, 1 small handful, and brandy 1 gallon or less. (Jompound Wine. — An excellent family wine may be made of equal parts of red, white, and black currants, ripe cherries and raspberries, well bruised and mixed with soft water, in the proportion of 4 pounds of fruit to one gallon of water. When strained and pressed, 3 pounds of moist sugar are to be added to each gallon of the liquid. After straining, open for three days, during which it is to be stirred frequently; it is to be put in a barrel, and left for two weeks to work, when a ninth part of brandy is to be added,- and the whole bunged down. In a few months it will be a ujost excellent wine, inferior to none. Jilackbtrry Wine. — Having procured berries that are fully ripe, put them into a large vessel of wood or stone, with a cock in it, and pour THE HOUSE-KEEPERS GUIDE. 9 wpon tliem as much boiling water as will cover them. A? soon as tho heat will permit the hand to be put into the vessel, bruise them well till all the berries are broken. Then let them stand covered till the berries begin to rise toward the top, which they generally do in three or four days. Then draw off the clear into another vessel, and add to every ten quarts of this liquor 1 pound of sugar. Stir it well, and let it stand to work a Aveek or ten days, in another vessel. Take 4 ounces of isinglass, and lay it to steep twelve hours in a pint of white wine. The next morn- ing boil it upon a slow fire till it is all dissolved. Then take a gallon of blackberry juice, put in the dissolved isinglass, give them a boil together, and pour all into the vessel. Let it stand a few days to purge and settle, then draw it off, and keep in a cool place. Another Method. — Take ripe blackberries, press the juice from them, let it stand thirty-six hours to ferment (lightly covered, ) and skim off whatever rises to the top; then to every gallon of the juice add 1 quart of water and 3 pounds of sugar, (brown will do,) let it stand in an open vessel for twenty-four hours; skim and strain it, then barrel it. Let it stand eight or nine hours, when it should be racked off, bottled, and corked olose. It improves by age. Rhubarb Wine. — Peel and slice the stalk of the leaf, as for pies : put a ver}' snuill quantity of water m the vessel, only just enough to cover the bottom; cover the vessel, and gradually bring to a very slight boil ; then strain, passing all the liquid; to this liquid add an equal quantity of water; to each gallon (after mixed,) add 4 to 5 pounds of brown sugar; set aside, ferment and skim like currant wine; leave in the cask and in bulk as long as possible before using. All wine is iTest kept in casks. Another.— T'^kQ of sliced rhubarb, 2h ounces; lesser cardamon seeds, bruised and husked, J ounce; saffron, 2 drachms; Spanish white wine, 2 pints; proof spirit, ^'pint. Digest for ten days, and strain. This is a warm coi'dial, laxative medicine, good in weakness of the stomach and bowels, and for regulating and strengthening the whole viscera. Damson Wine. — Cold soft water, 11 gallons; damson plums, 8 gallons. Ferment. Mix raw sugar, 30 pounds; red tartar, in fine powder, 6 ounces; brand^', 1 gallon. Cherry Wine. — Cold soft water, 10 gallons; cherries, 10 gallons. Fer- ment. Mix raw sugar, 30 pounds; red tartar, in fine powder, 3 ounces; brandy, two or three quarts. Two days after the cherries have been in the vat, taktt out about 3 quarts, break the stones and return them to tho vat again. Peach Wine. — Cold soft water, 18 gallons; refined sugar, 25 pounds; honey, G pounds; white tartar, in fine powder, 2 ounces; peaches, GO or 80 in number. Ferment. Then add 2 gallons brandy. Put all together in the vat, except the peaches and brandy, and let remain one day; then break the peach-kernels and put them into the vat, and ferment; then add the brandy afterward. Apricot Wine. — Boil together 3 pounds of sugar and 3 quarts of water, and skim it well. Put in 6 pounds of apricots, pared and stoned, and let them boil till they become tender. Then take them up, and when the liquor is cold, bottle it. After taking out the apricots, let the liquor be boiled with a sprig of flowered clary. The apricots will make marmalade, and be very good for present use. Apple Wine. — To every gallon of apple juice, immediately as it comes from the press, add 2 pounds loaf sugar ; boil it as long as any scum rises, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool; let it work in the tub for two or three weeks^or till the head begins to flatten, then skim off the 10 THE house-keeper's GUIDE. head, draw it clear off and turn it. When made a j^ear, rack it off, and fine it with isinglass ; then add | pint of the best rectified spirit of wine, or 1 pint of French brandy to every 8 gallons. Grape Wine. — Cold soft water, 5 gallons ; black or red grapes, 40 pounds. Ferment and strain. Mix cider, 9 gallons; raw sugar, 20 pounds; bar- berry leaves, 3 handfuls; beet root, sliced, 2 pounds; red tartar, in fine powder, 4 ounces. Add white elder flowers, 6 handfuls ; or sassafras chips, 4 pounds; brandy, 1 gallon. This will make 18 gallons. Another. — Cold soft water, 6 gallons; any kind of grapes, 30 pounds. Ferment and strain. Mix treacle, 10 pounds; beet root, sliced, 1^ pounds; red tartar, in powder, 2 ounces; rosemary leaves, 2 handfuls; brandy, ^ gallon. This will make 9 gallons. Another. — Cold soft water, 8 gallons; grapes of any sort, 100 pounds. Ferment and strain. Mix raw sugar, 20 pounds; beet root, sliced, 4 pounds; barberry leaves, 4 handfuls; red tartar, in fine powder, 6 ounces. Add coriander seed, bruised, 2 ouirces ; brandy, 6 quarts. This will make 18 gallons. Ginger Wine. — Put into a nice boiler 10 gallons water; 15 pounds of lump sugar, with the whites of 6 or 8 eggs, well beaten and strained; mix all well while cold. "When the liquor boils, skim it well; put in ^ pound ginger root, bruised, a^id boil it twenty minutes. Have ready the rinds (cut very thin,) of 7 lemons, and pour the hot liquor on them. When cool, put it into your cask, with two spoonfuls of yeast; put a qLiart of the warm liquor to 2 ounces of isinglass shavings; whisk it well three or four times, and put all into the barrel, with 1 or 2 gallons good brandy, or pure spirits. Next day stop it up; in three weeks bottle it, and in three months it wiil be a delicious, safe beverage. OBSERVATIONS ON CIDER AND WINES. To make good cider, the following general, but important rules should be attended to. They demand a little more trouble than the ordinary mode of collecting and mashing apples of all sorts, rotten and sound, sweet and sour, dirty and clean, from the tree and the ground, and the rest of the slovenly process usually employed : 1. Always choose perfectly ripe and sound fruit. 2. Pick the apples' by hand. An active boy, with a bag slung over his shoulders, will soon clear a tree. Apples that have laid an}^ time on the soil contract an earthy taste, which will always bo found in the cider. 3. After sweating, and before ground, wipe them dry, and if any are found bruised and rotten, put them in a heap by themselves, for an inferior cider to make vinegar. 4. Always use hair cloths, instead of straw, to place between the layers of pummage. The straw, when heated, gives a disagreeable taste to the cider. 5. As the cider runs from the press, let it "pass through a hair sieve, into a large open vessel, that will hold as much juice as can be expressed in one day. In a day, or sometimes less, the pummice will rise to the top, and in a short tinie grow very thick; when little white bubbles break through it, draw off the liquor by a spiggot, placed about three inches from the bot- tom, so that the leq^ may be'left quietly behind. 6. The cider must be drawn off into very clean, sweet casks, and closely watched. The moment the white bubbles before mentioned are perceived rising to the bunghole, rack it again. When the fermentation is completely at an end, fill up the cask with cider in all respects like that contained in it, and bung it up tight, previous to which a tumbler of sweet oil may be poured into the bung-hole. THE house-keeper's GUIDE. ll When cider has fermented for about one week in a cask, add half a pound of white sugar to every gallon; then allow it to ferment further until it has acquired a brisk and pleasant taste. An ounce of the sulphite of lime is then added to ever}' gallon of cider in the cask, and the whole agitated for a few minutes, and then left to settle. The sulphite of lime arrests the fermentation, and, in the course of a few days, the clear cider may be poured oft" and bottled, when it will retain the same taste that it had when the sulphite was added. About an ounce of the sulphite of lime added to a gallon of cider, in any stnge of fermentation, will pre- serve it from further change. A sparkling cider wine is produced by the nKjde described. The follcnving is another method of making cider wine: Take pure cider, as it runs from the press, and add a pound of brown sugar to every quart, and put it into a clean cask, which should be filled to within about two gallons of the top. The cask is then placed in a moderately cool cellar or apartment, and the cider allowed to ferment slowly, by the bung- hole being left open till it has acquired the proper taste and sparkles, when a small quantity is drawn. The cask is then bunged up tight. Grape wine should be allowed to remain for a long period in oak casks, after it is made, before it is bottled, otherwise it will be comparatively sour to the taste. This is owing to the great quantity of the tartrate of potash in the juice of the grape. When standing in a wooden cask, the tartrate is deposited from the wine, and adheres to the interior surfaces of the vessel, and it forms a thick and hard stony crust called "argol." This is the substance of which our cream-of-tartar and tartaric acid are made. In its crude state it is employed by silk and woolen dyers in pro- ducing scarlet, purple, and claret colors, in conjunction with cochineal and logwood. This explains the cause of wines becoming sweeter the longer they stand in casks in a cool situation. Wines may be made of the juice of the sorghum-cane, by permitting it to ferment for a short period in the same manner as has been described for cider, then closing up the cask tight, to prevent access of air. The fermentation of all saccharine juices is due to the combination, chemi- cally, of the oxygen of the air with some of the carbon in the sugar of the juice. A small quantity of alcohol is thus generated and absorbed by the fermented juice. Carbonic acid gas is also generated; when absorbed by the liquid and retained under pressure, this gas imparts the sparkling property of wine. When the saccharine juices are undergoing fermenta- tion they must be tasted frequently, for the purpose of arresting the fer- mentation at the proper stage, because there are two stages of fermenta- tion, called the viifous and acetous. The first is that in which alcohol is produced ; the second, vinegar. Many artificial wines have a slight vinegar taste, which is caused by allowing the fermentation to proceed too far. These hints will be useful to those who prepare light domestic winos These are now made very generally, and are held to exert a favorable influence in many cases of dyspepsia. Fort Wine. — Good worked cider, 20 gallons; good port wine, 5 gallons; good foreign brandy, one and a half gallons; proof spirits, 3 gallons. When all are mixed, color with elderberries, aloes, or burnt sugar. Peppermint Cordial. — Take 1 gallon proof spirits; 1 pound of loaf sugar; a little more than 1 pennyweight, Troy, of oil of peppermint, and one half gallon of water. Blackberry Cordial. — To 1 quart of blackberry juice, add 1 pound of white sugar, 1 table-spoonful of cloves, 1 of allspice, 1 of cinnamon, and 1 of nutm*-^. Boil all together fifteen minutes ; add a wine-glass of whisky, 12 THE IIOUSE-KEErER's GUIDE. brandy, or rum. Bottle while hot, cork tight and seal. This is almost a specific in diarrhea. One dose of a wine-glassful for an adult — half that quantity for a child — will often cure diarrhea. It can be taken three or four times a day, if the case is severe. LIQUOKS. As nearly all the liquors now used, especially those of a cheap grade, are manufactured from whisky and poisonous compounds, those who deal in such articles, especially druggists, should make their own. according to the following recipes : Brandy. — Take pure cologne spirits, 4 gallons ; best of French brandy, 1 gallon ; loaf sugar, half a pound : sweet spirits of niter, 2 ounces. Color with burnt sugar. Gin. — Pure cologne spirits, 4 gallons; Holland gin, 1 gallon; oil of juni- per, 8 scruples; oil of anise, 1-10 ounce. Rum. — Pure cologne spirits, 4 gallons, good Jamaica or St. Croix rum, \ gallon; oil of caraway, 1-16 ounce. These liquors are pure, and much better than those you buy ready manufactured — nine-tenths of which are made from bad whisky and nox- ious drugs. Those who are able, had better buy the pure foreign article from responsible parties; but at the present prices (from $8 to $12 per gallon) few are able to obtain it even for medicinal purposes; besides, in most cases of sickness, that manufactured according to the above, answers every purpose. The coloring matter is made as follows: Take any quan- tity of white sugar and mix with water till about the consistency of a thin mush; now put in an iron kettle or spider, and burn over a hot stove till it becomes of a deep-red black color, quite thick, and smells strongly from the burning. Add a little warm water, to prevent its hardening, and use this to color all kinds of liquors requiring any. Cherry Bounce. — Take 1 barrel pure spirits, and put in from one-half to one bushel black (wild) cherries, and 6 or 8 pounds loaf sugar. You can reduce the strength by adding pure well, rain, or distilled water. Black Clierry Brandy. — Stone 8 pounds of black cherries and put on them 1 gallon of brandy ; now bruise the stones in a mortar, and then add them to the brandy; cover them close, and let them stand from four to six weeks; then pour it clear from the sediment and bottle. Morella cher- ries, managed in this way, make a fine, rich cordial. Raspberry Brandy. — Take 1 gallon brandy, and \ gallon water, and put into a stone jug, jar, or demijohn, and then add 1 gallon raspberries, and 1 pound of loaf sugar, and let it remain for a week closely covered ; then take a piece of flannel, with a piece of Holland over it, and let it run through gradually. It may be racked into other bottles in a week after, and then it will be fine. Blackberry brandy may be made in the same way. Vinegar. — 1 gallon alcohol, 8 gallons water, 1 quart molasses, and a dozen white beans, done up in a brown paper, to form the mother. Let it stand two or three weeks in a warm place. This is equal to cider vinegar. Another. — To 3 gallons soft water, add 1 quart molasses, 1 pint'of yeast, and 1 ounce of cream tartar; let it stand four weeks in a warm place; then add as much sweetened water each week as you use of the vinegar. Cold tea is excellent to replenish vinegar, DYEING. To Dye Black. — Allow a pound of logwood to each pound of goods that are to be dyed. Soak it over night in soft water, then boil it au^hour, and THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 13 gtrsiin the wnter in which it is hoiled. For each pound of logwood, dis- solve an ounce of blue vitriol in lukewarm water, sufficient to wet the goods. Dip the goods in; when saturated with it, turn the whole into the logwood dye. If the goods are cotton, set the vessel on the fire, and let the gcods boil ten or iifteen minutes, stirring them constantly to prevent their spotting. Silk and woolen goods should not be boiled in the dye- stuff, but it should be kept at a scalding heat for twenty minutes. Drain tlie goods without wringing, and hang them in a dry, shady place, whero they will have the air. When dry, set the color, by putting them into scald- ing hot water that has salt in it, in the proportion of a teacupful to three gallons of the water. Let the goods remain in till cold; then hang them in a place where they will dry (they should not be wrung) Boiling hot suds is the best thing to set the color of black silk; let it remain in it till cold. Soaking black-dyed goods in sour milk is also good to set the color. Green and Blue Dye^fw Silks and Woolens. — For green dye, take a pound of oil of vitriol, anciturn it upon half an ounce of Spanish indigo, that has been reduced to a fine powder. Stir them well together, then add a lump of pearlash of the size of a pea; as soon as the fermentation ceases, bottle it; the dye will be fit for use the next day. Chemic blues are made in the same manner, only using half the quantity of vitriol. For woolen goods, the East indigo will answer as well as the Spanish, and comes much lower. This dye will not answer for cotton goods, as the vitriol rots the threads. Wash the articles that are to be dyed till pei-fectly clean, and free from color. If you can not extract the color by rubbing it in hot suds, boil it out; rinse it in soft water till entirely free from soap, as the soap will ruin the dye. To dye a pale color, put to each quart of soft warm water, that is to be used for the dye, ten drops of the above composition ; if you wish a deep color, more will be necessary. Put in the articles without crowding, and let them remain in it till of a good color; the dye-stuff should be kept warm. Take the articles out without wringing; drain as much of the dye out of them as possible, then hang them to dry in a shady, airy place. They should be dyed when the weather is dry; if not dried quickly, they will not look well. When perfectly dry, wash them in lukewarm suds, to keep the vitriol from injuring the texture of the cloth. If you wish for a lively, bright green, mix a little of the abovo composition with yellow dye. YelUnv Dyes. — To dye a bull-color, boil equal parts of arnotto and com- mon potash in soft clear water. When dissolved, take it frc>m the tirej when cool, put in the goods, which should previously be washed free from spots and color; set them on a moderate fire, where they will keep hot, till the goods are of the shade you wish. To dye salmon and orange-color tie arnotto in a bag, and soak it in warm soft-soap suds till it becomes soft, so that you can squeeze enough of it through the bag to make the suds a deep yellow; put in the articles, which should be clean, and free from color; boil them till of the shade you wish. There should be enough of the dye to cover the gt)ods ; stir them while boiling, to keep them from spotting. This dye will make a salmon or orange color, according to the strength of it, and the time the goods remain in it. Drain them out of the dye, and dry them quickly in the shade; when dry, wash them in soft soap suds. Goods dyed in this manner should never be rinsed in clear water. Peach leaves, fustic, and safiron, all make a good straw or lemon color, according to the strength of the dye. They should be steeped in soft fair water, in an earthen or tin vessel, and then strained, and th« dye sot with alum, and a little giuu Arabic dissolved in the dye, if you 14 THE house-keeper's GUIDE. wish to stiffen the article. When the dye-stuff is strtilned, steep the articles in it. Red Dyes. — Madder makes a good durable red, but not a brilliant color. To make a dye f>f it, allow, for Haifa pound of it, 3 ounces of alum, and 1 of cream-of-tartar, and 6 gallons of water. This proportion of ingredients will make sufficient dye for six or seven pounds of goods. Heat half of the water scalding hot, in a clean brass kettle; then put in the alum and cream-of-tartar, and let it dissolve. When the water boils, stir the alum and tartar up in it; put in the goods, and let them boil a couple of hours; tlien rinse them in fair water, empty the kettle, and put in three gallons of water and the madder; rub it line in the water, then put in the goods, and set them where they will keep scalding hut for an hour without boil- ing : stir them constantly. When they have been scalding an hour, in- crease the lire till they boil. Let them boil five minutes; then drain them out of the dye, and rinse them, without wringing, in fair water, and hj>ng them in the shade where they will dry. Slate-colored Dye. — To make a good dark slate-color, boil sugar-lcaf paper with vinegar, in an iron utensil ; put in alum to set the color. Tea grounds, set with copperas, make a good slate-color. To produce a light slate-color, boil white maple bark in clear water, with a little alum; the bark should be boiled in a brass utensil. The dye for slate-color should be strained before the goods are put into it. They should be boiled in it, and then hung where they will drain and dry. To Dye a Lively and Beautiful Drab. — Light-colored fabrics — cotton, silk, linen, or wool — such as gloves, stockings, &c., can be dyed a beautiful drab as follows : To a pint of rain water add six or eight grains of nitrate of silver; when it is dissolved, stir it well, and immerse the perfectly clean fabric. See that it is well and evenly saturated, for which use a stick, not a spoon, nor the hands. When thoroughly soaked, it may be quickly wrung out with the hands, they being instantly washed. In a pint of water dissolve one quarter of an ounce of sulphuret of potassium, place the goods in it, and saturate well; then wash in clear water, and it is finished. It is better that the first-named solution should be hot, and a little time taken for wool. Glass vessels must be used. A Few Hhd.H on Dyeing. — To those who wish to have certain fabrics dyed, the following information will be found useful as regards the colors they win take. Thus, if the material be black, it can only be dyed black; brown, dark green, dark crimson, dark claret, and dark olive. Brown can only be dyed black, dark brown, dark claret. Dark green: black, dark brown, dark green, dark claret, dark olive. Light green: dark green, black, dark brown, dark crimson, dark claret, dark olive. Dark crimson: black, brown, dark crimson, dark claret. Light crimson will take tha same as dark crimson. Claret : black, brown, dark crimson, dark claret. Fawn will take dark crimson, dark green, black, brown, dark claret. Puce: black, brown, dark olive, dark crimson, dark claret. Dark blue: black, brown, dark crimson, aark green, dark claret, dark olive, dark blue. Pale blue : dark crimson, dark green, black, brown, claret, puce, dark blue, dark olive, lavender, orange, yellow. Olive will dye brown, black, dark green, dai'k crimson, dark claret. Lavender: black, brown, dari crimson, claret, lavender, olive. Pink: dark crimson, dark green, black, brown (as all tints will take a black and brown, these colors will not be repeated), pink, olive, dark blue, dark puce, dark fawn. Kose, same as pink, but also orange, scarlet, and giraffe. Straw, primrose, and yellow will dye almost any color required; as also will peach and girafie. Gray will only dye, besides brown and black, dark green, dark claret, dark THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 15 crimson, dark fawn, dark blue. White silk, cotton, and woolen goods, can be dyed any color. As cotton, silk, and wool all take dye differently, it is almost impossible to re-dye a fabric of mixed stuff any color except the dark ones named. It will be observed by the above list that pale blue will re-dye better than any other color. MISCELLANEOUS. Arnica Hair Wash. — When the hair is falling off and becoming tliin from the frequent use of castor, macassar oils, &c., or when premature baldness arises from illness, the Arnica hair wash will be found of great service in arresting the mischief. It is thus prepared : Take elder water, half a pint; sherry wine, half a pint; tincture of arnica, half an ounce, alcoholic ammonia, one drachm — if this last named ingredient is old and has lost its strength, then two drachms instead of one ma}' be employed. The whole of these are to be mixed in a lotion bottle, and applied to the .head every night v/ith a sponge. W^ash the head with warm water twice a week. Soft brushes only must be used during the growth of the 3^oung hair. Lotian for Restoring the Color of Gray Hair. — Take half an ounce of sul})hur steeped in alcohol, and a quarter of an ounce of sugar of lead, mixed with ten ounces of rose water, in a phial. The phial should be shaken every time, the liquid is applied, which should be every evening, with a sponge, for about a week at first, then twice a week after the color of the hair is restored. The head should be covered with a close glazed linen cap after this lotion is put on. Pomatum for Growth of the Hair. — This pomatum, applied to the scalp, acts as a stimulant to the roots of the haii-, and as a nourisher to the hair itself, by stimulating the capillary vessels. In the immediate neighbor- hood of hair-bulb, the blood particles are more numerous and active. The ammonia, containing, as it does, nitrogen, one of the principal con- stituents of hair, horn, and nail affords one of its direct elements of for- mation, and hence its value as a nourisher. It is utterly impossible for the animal economy to create hair out of any oil, because oil is destitute of nitrogen, but if grease be combined with ammonia, which yields nitrogen, then great benetit will be derived from the pomade so made. All po- mades and oils that are used for the hair only act &% a polish, but afford no nourishment. The following is a simple form for making the ammo- niaeal pomatum: Take almond oil, a quarter of a pound; white wax, half an ounce; clarified lard, three ounces; liquid ammonia, a quarter fluid ounce; otto lavender and cloves, of each, one drachm. Place the oil, wax, and lard into ajar, which set into boiling water; when the wax is melted, allow the grease to cool till nearly ready to set, then stir in the ammonia and the perfume, and put into small jars for use. Never use a hard brush, nor comb the hair too much; apply the pomade at night only. Another Coloring for the Hair. — The following method is probably more simple, and safer than any other: Take equal parts of vinegar, lemon juice, and powdered litharge; boil for half an hour on a slow fire ; wet the hair with this decoction, and in a short time it will turn black. MiUi of Almonds^ for the Complexion. — This much admired and harm less cosmetic may be prepared thus: Procure a quarter of a pound of the best Jordan almonds, whieh blanch, by putting them into boiling water for three minutes, and afterward into cold water for the same tiiae lis THE house-keeper's GUIDE. the skin or pellicle will then slip off by pressure between the thuml) and finger. The almonds are now to be crushed in a mortar, and rubbed with a quarter of an ounce of the best white or curd soap. Continue the rubbing for a quarter of an hour, during which period gradually add one quart of rose water. When the whole resembles milk, strain through fine muslin. It is then fit for use, and may be applied to the skin with the corner of a soft towel, after washing. Those who are without a nmrtar must grate the almonds on a bread grater, and rub the ingredients together with clean hands. Fresh rain water, or plain distilled water, will answer in lieu of rosewater, where economy is studied. Powder for Chafed Skin. — This preparation is universally applied for drying the skin, after washing, especially at the joints, which, if left even damp at certain seasons, produces chaps and chafing, often followed, if neglected, by inflammation. Violet powder is best prepared by mixing three parts of the best wheat starch with one of finely-ground orris root: the latter adds to the drying power of the starch, and imparts at the same time an agreeable odor, like that of the violet; hence the name of the mix- ture. It is also prepared b}^ perfuming starch with essential oils wilhout the addition of orris root; but though the scent of the powder is stronger, and to some more tempting to use, it is far less beneficial in its appli- cation. The scent, acting as a stimulant to the skin, increases rather than abates any tendency to redness. Unperfumed powder is therefore best to use, dusted over the part with a little swan's down, commonly called a puff. For Wh.itenhig the Skin., and Removing Freckles and Tan. — Take one ounce of borax, two ounces of cologne, one quart of alcohol, and three quarts of rain water. Bathe three times a day in a solution of two tea- s})oonfuls in two table-spoonfuls of water. Ointment for Chapped Hands. — Take sweet oil, 3 ounces; spermaceti, 4 ounces, and pulverized camphor, 1 ounce. Mix them together in a clean earthenware vessel, by the aid of gentle heat, and apply it warm to the hands night and morning. Another \Q,rx good ointment for chapped hands is made with a little fresh newlj'-churned butter and honey. Cure for Bin duns and Cor 7i!^. — The tincture of iodine applied to bunions is said to afford great relief. A strong solution of peai'lash, applied to corns, will soften them so that they may be easily drawn out. To Remove Warts — Take ashes made from burnt willow bark, and mix with sweet cider, and apply several times, and they will soon dis- appear. Cure for Chilblains. — Apply a wash made of 1 part of muriatic acid and 7 parts of water. To Destroy Flies. — To 1 pint of milk add ^ pound of raw sugar and 2 ounces ground pepper; simmer them together eight or ten minutes, and place it about in shallow dishes. The files attack it greedily, and are soon suffocated. By this method kitchens, &c., may be kept clear of flies all summer, whithout the danger attending poison. Wash fur Fruit Trees. — Take 3 gallons of lye, from wood ashes, strong enough to just float an egg] 1 pint of soft soap, \ pound of niter, and a handful of common salt. The niter should be dissolved in warm water; then add the salt and other ingredients, and stir until thoroughly incor- porated. Apply it to the trunks and large branches of the trees with a common (painter's) brush. It should not be applied to very young branches, or the loaves. Remedy for CtircuHo in Fruit Trees. — Sawdust, saturated with coal- oil, and placed at the roots of the tree, will be a sure preventive. THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 17 Another. — It is said that tansy, bound upon the limbs of plum-trees, will be an effectual antidote against the ravages of this insect. To Take Out Stains. — Take half a pint of water, dissolve in it half an ounce of salt of sorrel ; add 2 ounces of spirits of wine. Shake them well together. Rub the liquid on the stains with a sponge. To Remove Stains from Broadcloth. — Take 1 ounce of pipe-clay, that has been ground line, and mix it with 12 drops of alcohol, and the same quantity of spirits of turpentine. Whenever you wish to remove any ^ stains from cloth, moisten a little of this mixture and rub it on the spots. Lot it remain till dry, then rub it oft' with a woolen cloth, and the spots will disappear. To Remove Black Stains from Scarlet Woolen Goods. — Mix tartaric acid with water, to give it a splendid acid taste, then saturate the black spot with it, taking care not to have it touch the clean part of the garment. Kinse the spots immediately in fair water. Weak pearlash water is good to remove stains of acids. To Extract Grease from Silks, Woolen Goods, Paper, and Floors. — Grate on them very thick French chalk, (common will answer, but it is not so good,) cover the spots with brown paper, and set on a moderately warm iron, and let it remain till cool. Care must be taken not to have the iron so hot as to scorch or change the color of the cloth. If the grease does not appear to be out, on removing the iron, grate on more chalk, heat the iron again, and put it on. Eepeat the process till the grease is entirely out. Strong pearlash water, mixed with sand, or the washing fluid used in washing, will remove grease spots from floors, if well scrubbed. Another Metliod. of Extracting Grease from Cloth. — Take h pint alcohol and add 10 gniins carbonate of potash, | ounce oil bergamot, and 1 ounce sulphuric ether; mix, and keep in a glass-stopped bottle. Apply with a piece of sponge, soaking the clotli thoroughly when the grease is not recent. The mixture emits a peculiarly fragrant odor, and being a fluid soap, chemically composed, will be found a perfect solvent for oily mat- ter. This, probably, is the best remedy extant for removing grease spots. Removincf Stai?ts. — Ox-gall is an excellent article for removing oil stains from delicate-colored fabrics. It often fixes and brightens colors, but will slightly soil pure white materials. Alcohol or strong whisky washes out stains of oil, wax, resin and pitchy or resinous substances; so also does spirits of turpentine, and generally without injury to colors. The turpentine may afterward be removed with alcohol or whisky. Common burning fluid, which is a mixture of alcohol and turpentine, (or camphene,) is an excellent solvent of oil, wax, tar, resin, etc., and it soon dries ofl^ after use. Ink stains, or iron mold, may generally be removed with the juice of lemons or of sorrel leaves. If these fail, oxalic acid is almost infallible. Moisten the stain spots with water and rub on a little powdered oxalic acid, which can be cheaply obtained at any druggist's. Wash ofl' the acid verj^ thoroughly, soon after it is put on, or it will eat the fabric. If children are present, remember that oxalic acid is poison- ous in the mouth, though not so on the hands, if not kept long upon them. Moistening a cloth and holding it a few minutes over the fumes of burning sulphur will bleach out most colors and stains. Be careful not to burn the fabrics. The fumes may be conducted to any particular spot b}' a paper roller, in funnel shape, (or a common tin funnel,) held over the fumes of sulphur burning upon a shovel. The sulphur fumes are spe- cially applicable to stains of fruit, and of vegetable juices generally. These may frequently be removed by dipping the fabric in sour milk and 18 THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE. drying it in the sun, repeating the operation several times if needed. All oily substances (except paint oils,) can be expelled from carpets by holding a very hot iron as near as it can be placed without burning. Porous paper, or common brown paper laid upon a grease spot and run over sev- eral times with a hot sad-iron (flat-iron,) will absorb the oil. Ox-gall has been used from time immemorial, by jobbing dyers, for re- moving grease stains from delicate colored woolen fabrics. It is mixed with cold water at the rate of about three gallons of water to the contents of one ox-gall. The fabric is immersed in this and squeezed between the hands, or slightly pounded until the stains are removed. The fabric must then be very thoroughly washed in cold water, for if any of the gall is left in it the odor becomes very ofiensive. Strong cold soap suds, or a bath of dilute aqua ammonia, is preferable to ox-gall in cleaning such fabrics. Oxalic, acetic, or any other acid must never be used to remove ink and iron stains from any kind of cluth but that which is white, because these acids will discharge pink, lilac, and other colors. The best way to use oxalic acid to remove ink stains from white muslin is to put some of the crystals of the salt upon the stain — making a small bag of the cloth between the lingers — and pour some hot water upon them until they are dissolved, when the stain will have disappeared with the crystals of the acid. A mixture of alcohol and turpentine (burning fluid) is excellent for removing grease and other stains from light-colored gloves and silks. Benzole is also equally as good; but when using these substances beware of coming near a fire or a light of any kind, as they are very inflam- mable, and many painful accidents from burning have occurred by their careless use. To Remove Resin Spots from Silk. — Many silk dresses receive stains from turpentine being spilled upon them. These stains are due to the resin which is held in solution by the turpentine, and which remains in the silk after the volatile or spirituous portion has evaporated. Alcohol, applied to the stains with a clean sponge, will remove the spots, because alcohol dissolves the resin. The silk stains should be moistened with the alcohol first, and allowed to remain soaked for a few minutes. Presh alcohol is then applied with the sponge, and with a slight i-ubbing motion. It is then wiped as dry as possible and afterward permitted to dry perfectly in the open air. Alcohol also removes grease and oil spots from silk and woolen dresses, but oil generally leaves a yellow stain behmd. A mixture of alcohol and the refined light petroleum, called benzone, is excellent for cleaning light kid gloves, ribbons, and silks. It is applied with a clean sponge. Persons who apply these liquors and mixtures to cleaning silks, gloves, &c., must be careful to do so in an apartment where there is neither fire nor lamp burning, under the penalty of an explosion. To Remove Grease Sjjots from Wool. — In removing the grease from wool, use a very weak alkaline solution as a substitute for soap, because if the solution is too strong it will act chemically upon the wool, tending to dissolve it, and thus impair its strength and luster. Solvent for Old Patty and Paint. — t?ofL soap mixed with a solution of potash or caustic soda; or pearlash and slaked lime mixed with sufficient water to form a paste. Either of these, laid on with an old brush or rag, and left for some hours, will render it easily removable. To remove the stains on spoons caused by using them for boiied egg, take a little common salt, moist between the thumb and finger, and briskly rub the stain, which will soon disappear THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 19 To Clean Paint. — Smear a piece of flannel in common whiting, mixed to the consistency of common paste, in warm water. Eub the surface to be cleaned quite briskly, and wash off with pure cold water. Grease spots will, in this way, be almost instantly removed, as well as other filth, and the paint will retain its brilliancy and beauty unimpaired. To Remove Ink Stains. — As soon as the ink is spilled, take a little milk and saturate the stain, soak it up with a rag. and apply a little more milk, rubbing it well. In a few minutes the ink will be completely removed. To Remove Mildew. — Wet the cloth which contains the mildew with Boft water; rub it well with white soap, then scrape some fine chalk to powder, and rub it well into the cloth; lay it out on the grass in the sun- shine, watching it, to keep it damp with soft water. Repeat the process the next day, and in a few hours the mildew will all disappear. To Keep Silk. — Silk articles should not be kept folded in white paper, as the chloride of lime used in bleaching the paper will probably impair the color of the silk. Brown or blue paper is better; the yellowish smooth India paper is best of all. Silk intended for dress should not be kept long in the house before it is made up, as lying in the folds will have a ten- dency to iuipair its durability by causing it to cut or split, particularly if the silk has been thickened by gum. Thread lace vails are very easily cut; satin and velvet being soft, are not easily cut, but dresses of velvet should not be laid by with any weight above them. If the nap of thin velvet is laid down, it is not possible to raise it up again. Hard silk should never be wrinkled, because the thread is easily broken in the crease, and it never can be rectified. The way to take the wrinkles out of silk scarfs or handkerchiefs is to moisten the surface evenly with a sponge and some weak glue, and then pin the silk with toilet pins around the selvages, on a mattress or feather bed, taking pains to draw out the silk as tight as possible. When dry, the wrinkles will have disappeared. The reason of this is obvious to every person. It is a nice job to dress light colored silk, and few should try it. Some silk articles may be moist- ened with weak glue or gum water, and the .wrinkles ironed out on the wrong side by a hot flat iron. To Prevent the Ravages of the Woolen Moth. — The ravages of the woolen moth may be prevented, in a measure, by the use of any of the following substances: camphor; and perhaps the most agreeable for wearing ap- parel, a mixture of one ounce of cloves, one ounce of rhubarb, and one ounce of cedar shavings, tied up in a bag, and kept in a box or drawer. If the substance be dry, scatter it in the folds of the cloth, carpet, blankets, or furs ; if liquid, scatter it freely in the boxes, or on the cloth or wrap- per, laid over and around it. To Remove Foul Air from Wells. — It is well known that many accidents occur to persons going down into wells to clean them, owing to the nox- ious gas in such places. To remove the gas before descent is made into any well, a quantity of burned but unslaked lime should be thrown down. This, when it comes in contact with whatever water is below, sets free a great amount of heat in the water and lime, which rushes upward, carry- ing all the deleterious gases with it; after which descent maybe mada with perfect safety. The lime also absorbs carbonic acid in the well. Disinfectants. — 1. 1 pint of the liquor of chloride of zinc, in 1 pailful of water, and 1 pound of chloride of lime in another pailful of water. This is perhaps the most effective of any thing that can be used, and, when thrown upon decayed vegetable matter of any description, will effectually destroy all offensive odors. 2. 3 or 4 pounds of sulphate of iron (cop- peras) dissolved in a pailful of water will, in many cases, be sufficient to ^^ THE house-keeper's GUIDE. AcLZ%u?T^,hf^^ '^'^"'''■'' ""'^ "po" i^e^ps of filth. stetD^lh^wTiv^^"? '^"''^ ''''^'^■^^' ''^"^ the tallow will not "run," if you To MlkTr lime water and saltpeter, and then dry them ' ^ for the dre^s to subs de hpf ;.. " Vt^ ^ f^^"?- ^'''' "" ^"^^^^^ °^ «" '^our ofe LriUe oHn ;. t "' or ismglass will answer as well as the egZs! to danger those La e^neWtLemTrni^ ^'''^'' '"^ ""^ ^"^^ ^^P°«^ inconvenience, particularly to th^.' but occasion very great expense and The bro'^kino ,.f I V^ t^°^^ ^^^ ''^^^ resident in the country pro^tfre^J to™™t°t1orc°,Vd? '^--S^bort'ood of bakers, „nd can not follows: boil 1 Dound flonr i J ""^ ■ °">y ni»ke a better substitute as 2 gallons water ibr an b„n.' if"'"'-,';''"''" ""S"''- "'"' » "«1« -«»!' ^ an'd it wi,r?rreiVL'Zinlt"t;tt;Z;n4'°"^ ^ PTO«-»,„<,i'ai«i„,i,s._lIany valuable paint-ings that are hung against THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 21 soiled walls of masonry, in churches and other buildings, are subjected to a damp atmosphere, and the canvas becomes moldy. Old pictures, which have become Ijlackened, are restored by washing them with dcut-oxide of hydrogen, diluted in eight times its weight of water. The parts touched must be afterward wiped with a clean sponge and water. Curing Rancid Butter. — A correspondent of the Rural Register gwo^?, the following recipe for curing rancid butter: For 100 pounds rancid butter, take 2 pounds fine white powdered sugar; 2 ounces saltpeter, finely pul- verized, and as much fine dairy salt as you wish to add to the butter to make it to your taste. The butter has to be thoroughly washed in cold water before working in the above ingredients. The amount used should be in proportion to the strongness of the butter. To Preserve Milk. — Put a spoonful of horseradish into a pan of mijk, and it will remain sweet for several days, either in the open air or in the cellar, while other milk will sour. Brilliant White%vash. — Take half a bushel of nice unslaked lime; slack it with boiling water, cover it during the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add to it a peck of clean salt, previously well dissolved in warm water; 3 pounds of ground rice, boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in boiling hot; ^ pound powdered Spanish whiting, and 1 pint of clean glue, which has been previously dissolved by firs't soaking it well, and then hanging it over a slow fire, in a small kettle, with a large one filled with water. Add 5 gallons of hot water to the whole mixture, stir it well, and let it stand a few days covered from the dirt. It should be put on right hot; for this purpose, it can be kept in a kettle or a portable furnace. It is said that about 1 pint of this mixture will cover a square yard, if properly applied with a brush, as in pahiting. It answ<;rs as well as oil paint for wood, brick, or stone, and is the cheapest. It retains its brilliancy for many years. There is nothing of the kind that will compare with it, either for inside or outside walls. Coloring matter may be put in, and made of any shade j'ou like. Spanish brown stirred in will make red or pink, more or less, according to the quantity. A delicate tinge of this is very pretty for inside walls. Finely pulverized common clay, well mixed with Spanish brown, before it is stirred into the mixture, makes a lilac color. Lampblack in moderate quantities makes a slate color, very suitable for the outside of buildings. Lampblack and Spanish brown, mixed together, produce a reddish stone color. Yellow ochre stirred in makes yellow wash, but chrome goes farther, and makes a color generally esteemed prettier. In all these cases, the darkness of the shade will of course be determined by the quan- tity of coloring used. It is difficult to make a rule, because tastes are very different ; it would be best to try experiments on a shingle, and let it dry. We have been told that green must not be mixed with lime. The lime destroys the color, and the color has an effect on the whitewash, which makes it crack and peel. If a larger quantity than five gallons is wanted, the same proportion should be observed. Zinc Wash for Rooms. — Mix oxide of zinc with common size, and apply it with a brush, like lime whitewash, to the ceiling of a room. After this, apply a wash, in the same manner, of the chloride of zinc, which will combine with the oxide and form a smooth cement with a Bhining surface. Preserving Butter. — Take two parts of the best common salt, one part of sugar, and one part of saltpeter, and blend the whole completely. Take 1 ounce of this composition for 1 pound of butter; work it well 22 THE house-keeper's guide. into a mass and close it up for use. Butter thus cured requires to stand three or four weeks before it is used. To Make Butter Yellow^ in Winter. — Just before the termination of churning, put in the yolks of eggs, and your butter will be as yellow as gold. Water-proof Oil Blacking. — Take 2 ounces yellow beeswax, shaved fine, and 2 ounces pulverized resin, and melt in ^ pound currier's oil (lard will do,) over a slow fire, then add ^ pound fresh tallow and con- tinue the heat till all are thoroughly incorporated. Apply this compound freely to all parts, the soles as well as the uppers, and dry in, by a mod- erate heat. Eepeat the process as long as the leather will absorb the grease, and you will not be troubled with damp feet. While this com- pound is sufficienth' water-proof, it does not, like India-rubber, and other compounds used for the same purpose, completely close the pores of the leather, making it impervious to the air, and thereby causing it to decay, but tends to preserve it to a period of double its natural wear. The process of alternately wetting and dr^nng leather (by going ;>ut in wet weather and then drying) causes it do decay much sooner than it otherwise would ; and if completely saturated with this composition two or three times before much worn, then- occasionally afterward, so as to fill up the pores, and keep out the water, it would last twice as long. Polish for Old Furniture. — Take 1 pint alcohol; 1 pint linseed oil; 1 ounce powdered gum arable; \ ounce tincture red saunders; \ ounce bergamot. Put it on with cotton flannel, then rub it hard with another dry piece. Another. — Dissolve beeswax in turpentine, and apply same way. To Prevent Flies from Injuring Picture frayyies, Glasses, etc. — Boil three or four onions in 1 pint of water; then, with a gilding brush do over your glass and frames, and the flies will not alight on the articles so washed. This maj^be used without apprehension, and it will not do the least injury to the frames. To Clean Silver and Britannia. — Use whiting, finely-powdered, and moistened with alcohol. To Make Cloth Fire-Proof. — Take 2\ pounds sugar of lead, \ pound litharge, and boil them for half an hour in 4 gallons water, whcji the liquor is allowed to settle. Any quantity of the clear fluid that will suffice to cover the cloth to be operated upon, is now taken, and the cloth immersed and freely saturated in it; then dried in the open air. The cloth is now immersed in a hot and moderately strong solution of silicate of soda, then thoroughly washed in cold water, and dried. Chil- dren's clothes prepared in this way will not take flre. Porous Water-Proof Cloth. — This quality is given to cloth by simply passing it through a hot solution of weak glue and alum. This is what is done by paper-makers to make writing paper, the very thing which constitutes the difference between it and blotting paper, only on cloth the nap like the fur of a beaver, will preserve the cloth from being wet through, »fi the rain will not adhere, but trickle off* as soon as it falls, and moisture •Yill not adhere at all. To apply it to the cloth, make up a weak solution of glue, and while it tg hot, add a piece of alum, about an ounce to two quarts, and then brush it over the surface of the cloth while it is hot, and it is afterward dried. Cloth in pieces may be run through this solution, and then wrung out of it and dried. By adding a few pieces of soap to the glue the cloth will THE HOUSE-KEEPER'S GUIDE. 23 lee] mach softer. Goods in pieces may be run througrti a tnbful of weak g,u<5, .?oup, and alum, and squeezed between rollers. Tms would be a cheap and expeditious mode of prepiu'ing them. Woolen goods are pi-epared by brushing them with the above mixture, first on the inside, then with the grain or nap of the cloth, after which it is dried. It is best to dry this iiist in the air, and then in a stove room, at a low heat, but allow the cloth to remain for a considerable time, to expel the moisture completely. This kind of cloth, while it is sutficiently water-proof to keep out moisture and rain — being quite impervious to water — is pervious to the air. Many fishermen know that by boiling their pants, jackets, nets, and sails in a pot with oak bark and fish skins, and afterward drying them, they become waterproof. The composition mentioned above is of nearly the same nature as the fish-glue and oak bark, and, consequently, Uie same effects are produced. The composition is stated to be improved by adding about one-fourth the quantity of the sulphate of copper to the alum. Cloth made watui-proof in this mannier will resist the effects of water even if it is somewhat warm, but it loses its waterj'roof properties if boiled. Per- sons who are exposed to the inclemency of the weather wall find it to their advantage, as a means of preserving health, to prejjare their clothes in the way we have described. iSeveral ct)rps in the French arniy are provided with porous water-proof cloth tunics prepared in a similar manner. Tliey have been found very beneficial when the troops are in active service. Another. — Take 2^ pounds of alum, and dissolve this in 10 gallons of boiling water; then, in a separate vessel, dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 gallons of water, and mix the two solutions. The cloth is now well handled in this liquid until every part of it is penetrated; then it is squeezed and dried in the air, or in a warm apartment, then washed in cold water and dried again, when it is left for use. If neces- sary, the cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before being Washed. I'he liquor appears curdled when the alum and lead solutions arc mixed together. This is the result of double decomposition; the sulphate of lead, which is an insoluble salt, being formed. The sulphate of lead is taken up in the pores of the cloth, and it is unaffected by rain or moisture; and yet it does not render the cloth air-tight. Such cloth is also partially non-infiammable. A solution of alum itself will render cloth, prepared as described, partially waterproof; but it is not so good as the sul[)hate of lead, yuch cloth — cotton or woolen — sheds rain like the feathers on the back of a duck. To Sujteu Hard Water. — Dissolve 1 pound of sal soda in 1 gallon of boil- ing water, and to this add | pound of fresh burned and slaked lime; agitate these together, and allow the water to rest for sediment to settle. Tlie clear liquor is next poured oti" and forms a caustic ley. A little of this ley is now placed in a glass tumbler, and a few drops of hydrochlo- ric (muriatic) acid are added. If the liquor effervesces, a little more acid nuist be added. The acid is a test, and when the ley ceases to effervesce by adding a few drops of the acid, it is a sign that it is fit for use. This caustic ley will piecipitate sulphates and carbonates in hard water, and render the latter soft and fit for feeding into boilers, or for washing pur- poses. A certain quantity of this ley is requisite to treat a certain quan- tity of hard water, and the way to determine this is as follows : Take a gallon of hard water to be softened; add 1 ounce of the prepared ley to it, and allow the sediment to settle for ten minutes ; now add another ounce of th(! ley, and if no flocculent material, or precipitate, appears, it is a sign that one ounce of the ley will purify cue gallon of the hard water. 24 THE house-keeper's guide. The ley must be added until all the earthy impurities in the water are thrown down. From these data, a calcuhitiou can be made for thousands of gallons. Thus, for a 10-horse power boiler, 600 gallons of water Avill be required in 10 hours, and 3| gallons of this ley will be required to purify it. This should be done in a setting tank, and the purified water run off into a supply cistern for feeding the boiler. The water must not be rendered caustic, or it will act on the metal. Fleas on Dogs. — I have found the following receipt most effectual in kill- ing fleas on dogs, viz.: to rub them well over with whisky; it acts like magic, killing them insiantcr; if all are not polished off in one application, another will be necessary. To Brighten Brass. — The pickle which is employed for brightening brass is made with equal parts of nitric and muriatic acids, diluted with four times their bulk of water. Sulphuric acid, diluLed with three times its weight of water, and used hot, also makes a good brightening pickle for brass, which must be thoroughly washed in hot water afterward, and then dried in warm saw-dust. To Keep Metals from Rusting. — A most excellent oil to preserve the locks of guns and bright iron from rusting, ma}' be made as follows: Tai^e some refined petroleum, and add about ten percent, in measure, of castor oil, and stir together well, and it is ready for use. This is also a good lubricating oil for macliinery. To Brown Gun-Barrels. — Ttike tincture of iodine, and dilute with \ its bulk with water; apply it to the surface of the barrel with a clean rag; let it stand about six hours ; then brush the metal, rub it over with some beeswax dissolved in turpentine, and it is done. To Prevent Skippers in Ham. — Keep your smokehouse perfectly dark, and the moth which deposits the egg will nevar enter it. Smoke with, green hickory wood, and the flavor will be much better than by any other. To Preve7it Frost. — Frost can only occur where the atmosphere is dry and clear. Have a })ile of straw or any other refuse matter, on hand, near your garden or orchard, and when there is any sign of frost, wet it and set it on fire about sundown, and the smoke and wind which it will create will cflectually keep awa}' all frost, especially if the fires be built on several sides of the area to be protected. A Substitute /or Coffee. — Take a peck of r^o, and cover it with water, let it steep or boil until the grain swells, or commences to burst; then drain and dry it. Now roast to a deep-brown color, and prepare as other cofiee, allowing twice the time for boiling. This alone makes a very good coffee ; but if mixed with equal parts of carrots or beets, sliced thin and dried in an oven till brown, it will make an article but little, if any, inferior to the genuine. To Exterminate Rats. — Take about one-half a tea-cupful of potash, and wrap it in cotton batten, and place it in the holes in your cellars, and stop them up. Tliey will take the batten to build nests, and burn their feet with the potash, whereupon they will quit the premises instanter. Another. — Take equal parts of powdered nux vomica and oatmeal, and mix them thoroughly together, and put the mixture a short distance from the holes. Poison Balls for Rats and Roaches. — Put a drachm of phosphorus in a bottle along with two ounces of water: cork it, and plunge it into a ves- sel of boiling water till the phosphorus is dissolved; then pour it into a mortar along with 3 ounces of lard, and rub it briskly, adding some water, about half a pound of flour, and 2 ounces of sugar. The whole is THE HOLSE-XEEPER's GUIDE. 25 mad^. into a paste, and divided into balls about the size of marbles. This is laid down on the floor, or shelves, for rats, cockroaches, or other ver- min, who eat and are destroyed. For rats, cheese is better than sugar, and tallow better than lard. The cockroaches are fond of any thing sweet ; hence sugar is a bait for them. Potatoes will answer as well as the flour. These balls should be laid down at night, and carefully lifted in the morning, taking care not to let any be touched by a child. They should be locked up through the day. To Destroy Cockroaches and other Vermin. — An infallible means of de- stroying cockroaches, beetles, &c., is to strew the roots of black hellebore on the floor at night. Next morning the whole family of these insects will be found either dead or dying, for such is their avidity for the poison- ous plant, that they never fail to eat it, when they can get it. Black hel- lebore grows in marshy grounds, and may be had at all herb-shops. To Preserve Eggs. — Take 1 pint of good salt, 1 pint of slaked lime, and dissolve in 3 gallons of water. Put your eggs in this pickle, and keep them covered with it, and in a cool cellar. Another. — Put your eggs in a basket, sieve, colander, or in a piece of thin muslin, and dip them into boiling water, and let them remain till you can count twenty. This forms a thin skin inside the shell, which makes them impervious to the air. Now pack them with the little end down, and keep in a C()ol place. If packed in salt, after having been subjected to this treatment, they will keep good two years. Hoxo to Catch all the Fish you Want. — Take the juice of smallage or lovage, and mix it with any kind of bait. Bait your hooks and go to fishing, and you will catch all the fish you need. A few drops of oil of rhodium is also good. Another. — Take cocculus indicus, pulverize, and mix with dough; then scatter broadcast over the water. This will be seized with great avidity by the fish, which will so completely intoxicate them that they will turn belly up on the surface of the water by hundreds. Now have a boat ready, and pick up what you want, and put them in a tub of fresh water, and in a few minutes they will be all right again. How to Catch Wild Geese and other Wild Fowls Alive. — Soak wheat or other grain in strong alcohol or whisky, and strew it plentifully where they frequent, and it will intoxicate them so you can go up and catch them alive. Of course, they will have to be watched, so as to take them soon after eating. Sealing- Wax for Bottles, Fruit-Cans, ^'c. — Melt together 6 ounces resin, 2 ounces shellac, 4 ounces Venice turpentine, and color with lampblack. A Substitute for a Carpet. — Save all your old newspapers, and when you get enough for the purpose, make a paste, same as for putting on the wall, and lay them down, one by one, till your floor is covered. Let it dry; then lay down another coating in the same way. When again dry, get some good wall paper, of suitable color, and paste all over it. When dry, go over it with a good coat of varnish, and yoxx will have a nice covering for your floor, which will wear as long as a carpet, and look as well as oil-cloths. This is a cheap method of covering bedroom floors, and other rooms which are not much used. When required to be cleaned, wipe it oflf with a wot cloth. CULINARY DEPARTMENT. General Remarks on Bread. — In order to secure good bread, it is the best economy to purchase the best flour, even at a greater cost. Newly- ground flour, which has never been packed, is much superior to barrel- flour. Indian meal, also, is much the best when freshly ground. No one thing is of more importance in making bread than thoroughly kneading it. When bread is taken out of the oven hot, never set flat on a table, as it sweats the bottom, and acquires a bad taste from the wood. Take it out of the tins, wrap it in clean linen, and set it up on the end till cool. If it has a thick, hard crust, first wrap it with a wet cloth, then a dr}' one over it, and let it sweat till it becomes soft. Wheat Bread. — Take 2 quarts of wheat flour, half a cup of molasses, a tea-cupful of lively 3'^east, mixed up with warm water; let it stand in a Avarm place an hour and a half; if necessary, add a little saleratus ; bake an hour and a half. Salt-rising Bread. — Take a little warm water, with a little salt in it, and mix with enough flour to make about aquart of batter (it will rise quicker with a handful of meal stii-red in), and set in warm water, near the stove, where it will keep moderately warm. "When it rises and comes up, near the point of running over, mix your bread, place in tins, and set near the stove to -rise. When it comes up light, put in a hot oven, and bake till well done. Some prefer molding it over after it comes up, and then re- rising before baking. Brown Bread. — Put the Indian meal in your bread-pan ; sprinkle a lit- tle salt among it, and wet it thoroughly with scalding water. When it is cool, put in your rye, add 2 gills of lively yeast, and mix it with water as stifl^"as you can knead it. Let it stand an hour and a half, in a cool place in summer, on the hearth in winter. It should be put into a very hot oven, and baked three or four hours. Rye and Indian Bread. — Take about 2 quarts of Indian meal, and scald it; tlien add as much rj^e meal, a tea-cupful of molasses, half a pint of lively yeast. If the yeast be sweet, no saleratus is necessary. If sour, put in a little; let it stand from one to two hours, till it rises; then bake it about three liours. Light Biscuit. — Ten pounds flour, a pint of buttermilk, half a tea-spoon- ful of saleratus; put into the buttermilk a small piece of butter, or lard, rubbed into the flour ; make it about the consistency of bread before baking. Bread Biscuit. — Three pounds flour, half a pint of Indian meal, a lit- tle butter, 2 spoonfuls of lively yeast; set it before the fire, to rise over night ; mix it with warm Avater. Rolls. — Warm an ounce of butter in half a pint of milk, then add a spoonful and a half of yeast, and a little salt. Put 2 pounds Of flour in a pan, and mix in the above ingredients. Let it rise an hour, or over night, in a cool place ; knead it well, and make into seven rolls, and bake them in quick oven. Add half a tea-spoonful of saleratus just as you put into the baker. Short Rolls. — Take about 5 pounds of flour, and a piece of butter half the size of an egg, two spoonfuls of yeast, and mix it with warm milk; make it into a light dough, and let it stand by the fire all night; should it Bour, put in a little saleratus. Bake in a quick oven. 26 THE house-keeper's O'TTIDE. 27 PUDDINGS. Bread Pndding. — Take thin slices of bread (that which is a little dry is best) and put them in layers in your pan; now take a sufficient quantity of njilk, eggs, and sugar, which has previously been well beaten together, and turn on till the bread is all well covered, then put in a hot oven and bake till well done. By no means ever beat or stir your bread all up likemusa before it is baked, as it makes it heavy, and unfit to be eaten; but pour your milk, eggs, etc., on, and then bake without disturbing it. Add butter and fruit if you like. Baked Rice Pudding. — Take a large coffee-cup of rice, and gradually heat on the stove in three pints of milk, for an hour or more; now beat up 4 eggs with another pint of milk, in which you have put sugar, seasoning, etc., and stir in and bake in a quick oven, three-quarters of an hour. Baked Indian Padding. — First make your meal into a boiled mush, then add your milk, eggs, sugar, and seasoning, well beat together, and bake same as rice or bread pudding. AnotJier — Always Good. — One quart of milk, 4 eggs, 5 large tea-spoon- fuls of Indian meal, nutmeg and sugar to your taste. Boil the milk, and scald the Indian meal in it; then let it cool before you add the eggs. Bake three-quarters of an hour. Cottage Pudding. — One pint-bowl flour, one teacup milk, one egg, half teacup sugar, one teaspoon soda dissolved in the milk, two teaspoons cream tartar rubbed in the flour. Bake twenty minutes or half an hour. Sauce. Poor Ma.7i\s Pudding. — Two quarts milk, one cup uncooked rice, half cup sugar, piece of butter size of walnut, 2 teaspoons salt. Spice to taste. Bake 3 hours, and stir several times during the first hours. Apple Sago Pudding. — One cup sago, in water enough to swell it, i. e., about 6 cups. Put it on the stove and swell it. In the meantime stew 10 or 12 apples, mix with the swelled sago, and bake three-quarters of an hour. Eat with cream and sugar, or wine sauce. Wedding Cake Pudding. — Two-thirds of a cup of butter, 1 cup of mo- lasses, 2 cups of milk, 2 teaspoons of saleratus, 4 eggs, 2 pounds of raisins, stoned and chopped, 1 pound of currants, |- of a pound of citron. Flour to make a batter as thick as pound-cake; salt and all sorts of spices. Boil or steam five hours. To be eaten with wine sauce. Salem Pudding. — One cup suet, chopped fine; one cup molasses, one cup milk, one teaspoon soda, three and a half cups flour, two teaspoons cream tartar, one cup raisins, one teaspoon cloves, a little salt. Steam three hours. AVine sauce. Candies Apple Pudding. — Half pint milk, one egg, and flour to make a pretty stiff' batter; a little salt. Fill your pudding-dish with sliced apples, pour your batter over them, and steam three hours. Sauce. Green Coryi Pudding. — Take half a dozen ears of green sweet corn, (good size,) and with a sharp pointed knife split each row of kernels, and scFape from the ear. Mix with this pulp 2 eggs, well beaten, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 of butter, 1 saltspoon of salt, h pint sweet cream, (milk may be substituted, with an extra spoonful of butter,) and one dozen crackers, grated or pounded very fine. Mix well together, and bake three hours, if in a pudding-dish — or two, in custard cups. Use the corn raw. Baked Plum-Pudding. — Two quarts milk, ten soft crackers, eight eggs, one pound stoned raisins. Spice to taste. Bake from three to four hours. Sauce. 28 THE house-keeper's guide. Sunderland Pudding, No. 1. — One quart milk, four eggs, six tablespoon* flour, a little salt. Bake in cups twenty minutes. Sauce. Sunderland Pudding, No. 2. — One pint milk, one pint flour, three eggs, salt. (Quaking Plum Pudding.— Take slices of light bread, spread thin with butter, and lay in a pudding-dish layers of this bread, and raisins, till within an inch of the top. Add 5 eggs, well beaten, and a quart of milk, and pour over the pudding; salt and spice to taste. Bake it twenty or twenty-five minutes, and eat with liquid sauce. Before using the raisins, boil them in a little water, and put it all in. M?'s. Weston's Baked hidian Pudding. — Take 6 table-spoonfuls of meal, and stir molasses or sirup enough in it to have the meal all wet, and no more; that will sweeten enough: then take 1 quart of milk, and boil it; pour it boiling hot on the meal ; stir the meal while pouring the milk on to it, so as not to make it lumpy. Stir in 3 table-spoonfuls of wheat flour, wet with a little cold milk; salt and spice to the taste, and bake two hours; and it will be equal to any meal pudding with eggs and suet that can be made. Fig Pudding. — Half pound of figs, \ pound of flour, two eggs, ^ pound of suet, a little sugar, and a little wine, salt, and various spices. To be boiled in a tin shape for four hours. Mrs. Haniihis Pudding. — One pint sweet milk, 1 tea-spoonful soda, \ cup molasses, 2 cups Indian meal, 1 cup flour. Steam two hours. Birds-Nest Pudding. — Put into 3 pints of boiling milk 6 crackers, pounded fine, and 1 cup of raisins; when cool, add 4 eggs, well beaten, a little sugar, and four good-sized apples, pared and cored. To be baked and eaten with warm sauce. Carrot Pudding. — Half pound grated carrot, half pound grated potato, half pound suet chopped fine, half pound flour, spices of all sorts, salt, raisins, and citron to taste. Steam Ave hours. To be eaten with wine sauce. Corn Starch Pudding. — Let those who are fond of good dessert puddings get the Oswego Corn Starch, and make according to the directions accom- panying each package. An excellent diet for the sick. Tajpioea Pudding. Sis. table-spoonfuls of tapioca, one quart of milk, three eggs, sugar and spice to your taste; heat the milk and tapioca mod- erately ; bake it one hour. Mrs. Meacham's Boiled Indian Pudding. — Two cups Indian meal, two cups flour, one egg, half cup molasses, one teaspoon soda, two teaspoons cream tartar. Wet with milk till about as thick as cake. Steam three hours. Never lift the cover while it is cooking, or it will not be light. Sauce. Mrs. H.'s Berry Pudding. — Coffee-cup sweet milk, one-third cup mo- lasses, one egg, a little salt, a little saleratus, three and a half teacups flour. Beat all with a spoon. Flour, three pints berries, and stir in with a knife. Steam three hours. Sauce. Madame P:s Pudding Sauce. — Large coffee-cup powdered sugar, quar- ter pound butter. Beat together very light; then add one egg, but do not beat much after the egg is in. Stir in one glass of wine. Take off" the tea-kettle cover, set the sauce in, and let it melt till as thick as cream, stirring it occasionally. Hasty Pudding. — Boil water, a quart, three pints, or two quarts, accord- ing to the size of your family ; sift your meal, stir five or six spoonfuls of it thoroughly into a bowl of water; when the water in the kettle boils, pour into it the contents of the bowl; stir it well and let it boil up thick* THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 29 put in salt to suit your own taste, then stand over the kettle, and sprinkle in meal, handful after handful, stirring it very thoroughly all the time, and letting it boil between whiles. When it is so thick that you stir it with difficulty, it is about right. It takes about half an hour's cooking. Eat it with milk or molasses. Either Indian meal or rye meal may be used. If the sj^stem is in a restricted state, nothing can be better than rye hasty pudding and good molasses. This diet would save many a one the horrors of dyspepsia. A Good Sauce for Baked Puddings. — Take 1 pint of water, a large tea- cup of sugar, piece of butter size of a large Qgg^ a little nutmeg and es- sence of lemon, and bring to a boil. Now take a little flour, or corn-starch, (which is best,) well beat into a paste, and thinned, and stir in gradually, till of the consistency of cream, or as thick as you like; then add a large table-spoonful of vinegar or brandy. Sauce for Boiled Puddings. — Equal parts of butter and white sugar well beaten together, till it becomes light ; then seasoned with '"utmeg, and wine or brandy. PIES AND PASTKY. Common Paste for Pies. — Take a quantity of flour proportioned to the number of pies you wish to make, then rub in some lard and salt, and stir it with cold water; then roll it out, and spread on some lard, and scatter over some dry flour; then double it tv,5ether, and cut it to pieces, and roll it to the thickness you wish to use it. Good common Pie Qmist. — Allow one hand as full of flour as you can take it up for each pie; and for each three handfuls, allow two heaping spoonfuls of lard or butter; rub in a part, as directed, and roll in the rest. Cream, Crust. — This is the most healthy pie crust that is made. Take cream, sour or sweet, add salt, and stir in flour to make it stifl": if the cream is sour, add saleratus in proportion of one tea-spoonful to a pint; if sweet, use very little saleratus. Mold it as little as you can. Rich Puff Paste. — Weigh an equal quantity of butter with as much fine flour as you judge necessary, mix a little of the former with the lat- ter, and wet it with as little butter as will make it into a stifl" paste. EoU it out, and put all the butter over it in slices, turn in the ends, and roll it thin; do this twice, and touch it no more than can possible be avoided. Paste for a Good Dumpling. — Eub into a pound of flour six ounces of butter; then work it into a paste, with two well-beaten eggs and a little water. If you bake this paste, a large table-spoonful of loaf sugar may be added to it. Paste for Family Pies. — Eub into one pound and a half of flour half a pound of butter; wet it with cold water sufficient to make a stifl' paste, Work it well, and roll it out two or three times. Plain Mince Pies. — These may be made of almost any cheap pieces of meat, boiled till tender; add suet or salt pork chopped very tine; two- thirds as much apple as meat; sugar and spice to your taste. If mince pies are eaten cold, it is better to use salt pork than suet. A lemon and a little syrup of sweetmeats will greatly improve them. Clove is the most important spice. Apple Mince Pies. — To twelve apples chopped fine, add six beaten eggs, and half a pint of cream. Put in spice, sugar, raisins or currants, just as you would for meat mince j^ies. They are very good. 30 THE house-keeper's guide. Cherry Pies. — The common red cherry makes the best pie. A larga deep dish is best. Use sugar in the proportion directed for black- berries. Whortleberry or Blackberry Pies.— -Fill the dish not quite even full, and to each pie of the size of a soup plate, add four large spoonfuls of sugar, for blackberries and blueberries; dredge a very little flour over tho fruit before you lay on the upper crust, Apple Pie. — Peel the apples, slice them thin, pour a little molasses, and sprinkle some sugar over them; grate on some lemon peel or nutmeg. If you wish to make richer, put a little butter on the top. Cocoa Nat Pie. — One good-sized cocoa-nut peeled and grated, 1 quart of milk sweetened like custard, a piece of butter the size of a walnut in each pie; four eggs to the quart. Mince Pies. — Meat finely chopped, five pounds; good apples, Y pounds; sugar, 3 pounds; raisins, 3 pounds; currant jelly, 1 pound; butter, 4 ounces; mace or cinnamon, 1 ounce. When this is prepared, make a crust of two-thirds the usual quantity of lard, and one-third of fat salt pork, very finely chopped ; all of which should be rubbed in flour and wet with cold water. Bake in a slow oven one hour. Pi7ieapple Pie. — Pare and grate large pineapples, and to every teacup of grated pineapple, add half a tea-cupful of fine white sugar; turn the pineapple and sugar into dishes lined with paste; put a strip of the paste around the dish; cover the pie with paste, wet and press together the edges of the paste; cut a slit in the center of the cover, through which the vapor may escape. Bake thirty minutes. Augustas Lemon Pie. — Juice and grated rind of three lemons, 3 eggs, and three tablespoons sugar to a lemon. Bake in puff paste. Mrs. C's Pumpkin Pie. — Stew a large-sized pumpkin in about 1 pint of water till dry, sift through a colander; add 2 quarts milk scalded, 6 eggs, heaped tablespoon ginger, half as much cinnamon, 2 coftee-cup3 molasses, 2 coflee-cups sugar, 2 teaspoons salt. Bake in a pretty hot oven, one hour at least, Jane P.'s Le7no7i Cream Pie. — One cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 raw potato, grated, juice, grated rind of 1 lemon ; bake in pastry top and bottom. This will make one pie. Dedham Cream Pie. — Bake your paste not too rich, in a common pie \i\{iifi first. Boil 1 pint of milk; when boiling, stir in half cup flour, one cup of sugar, and the yolks of two eggs; beat well together. Cook long enough not to have a niw taste; add juice and grated rind of one lemon, and a little salt; beat the whites of the 2 eggs, with a cup of sugar, to a stift' froth; spread over the pie when filled, and brown in the oven. German Puffs. — One pint milk, five eggs, two ounces butter, ten spoon- fuls flour. Bake in cups. Sauce. RJtubarb Pie. — Take the tender stalks of rhubarb, strip off the skin, and cut the stalks into very thin slices. Line deep the plates with pie crust, then put in the rhubarb in layers, each layer to be covered with a thick coating of sugar. Put on your crust, press it down tight around the edge of the plate, and prick the crust with a fork, so it will not burst in baking, and let out the juices of the pie. Bake in a slow oven. Never stew rhu- barb for pies before baking. Custard Pie. — For a large pie, put in three eggs, a heaping table-spoon- ful of sugar, one pint and a half of milk, a little salt, -and some nutmeg grated on. For crust, use common pastry. Rice Pie. — Boil your rice soft ; put one egg to each pie, one table-spoon- ful of sugar, a little salt, and nutmeg. THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 3J Lemon Pie. — Take one lemon and a ha]f, cut them up fine, one cup of molasses, half a cup of sugar, two eggs; mix them together; prepare your plate, with a crust in the bottom; put in half the materials, layover a crust; then put in the rest of the materials, and cover the whole with another crust. CUSTAKDS. In making custards always avoid stale eggs. Never put eggs in very hot milk, as it will poach them. Always boil custards in a vessel set in boiling water. Boiled Custards. — Boil a quart of milk with a bit of cinnamon and half a lemon peel; sweeten it with nice white sugar; strain it, and when a lit- tle cooled, mix in gradualh' seven well-beaten eggs, and a table-spoonful of rose-water; stir all together over a slow tire till it is of proper thick- ness, and then pour it into your glasses. This makes good boiled custards. Another Way. — Take six eggs, leave out the whites, mix your eggs and sugar together, with some rose-Avater; then boil a pint of rich milk, and put in the eggs; let it simmer a minute or two, and stir it, to prevent its curdling. Baked Custard. — Two quarts of milk, twelve eggs, twelve ounces of sugar, four spoonfuls of rose-water, one nutmeg. Cream Ctistard. — Eight eggs, beat, and put into two quarts of cream; sweeten to taste; add nutmeg and cinnamon. Custard to turn out. — Mix with the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, u pint of new milk, half an ounce of dissolved isinglass; sweeten with loaf sugar, and stir over a slow lire till it thickens; pour it into a basin, and stir it till a little cooled; then pour into cups, to turn out when quite cold. Add spice as you like, to the beaten eggs. CAKE. Compositio7i Cake. — Two and a quarter pounds of flour, one and three- quarter pounds of sugar, one and a half pounds of butter, three pounds of fruit, six eggs, one ])int of milk, one cup of molasses, two glasses of wine, two glasses of brandy, two teaspoons saleratus. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, &c. Spice Cake. — One pound flour, one pound sugar, balf pound butter, four eggs, teacup cream, teaspoon soda, teaspoon cloves, one nutmeg, tea- spoon cinnamon, one pound raisins, one glass wine or brandy. Cream Cake. — One teacup cream, two teacups sugar, three well-beaten eggs, teaspoon saleratus dissolved in wineglass of milk, piece butter, size half an egg, flour to nuike as thick as pound cake; add raisins, and spico to taste; wine and brandy, if you like. Ginfjerhread. — One pound flour, half pound sugar, the yolks of three eggs, half pound of butter; ginger to taste. Laura Kee?ie's Jelly Cuke.—Ona teacup of sugar, one teacup of milk, two teaspoon of cream of tartar, one pint of flour, one teaspoons of soda, one egg, one tablespoon of melted butter; salt, spice, and bake in thin sheets; when baked, spread jelly of any sort between the sheets. This receipt makes one cake, in three small divisions. A Philadelphia Sponge Cake. — Take ten eggs, one pound sugar, half pound flour, and lemon juice, or extract, to flavor. Beat the whites to a stifl^ froth, warm and sift the flour; stir the yolks and sugar together, till light, and add the whites and flour, half at a time, alternatelv. Stir the whole gently, till bubbles ris^ to the surface. Bake in a modern oven. 32 THE house-keeper's guide. Cider Cake. — Two pounds flour, half pound butter, one pound sugar, teaspoon saleratus, dissolved in one pint of cider; fruit and spice to taste. A71 Excellent Plai7i Tea Cake. — 1 cup of white sugar, half a cup of but- ter, 1 cup of sweet milk, 1 egg, one-half tea-spoonful of soda, 1 of cream tartar, and flour enough to make it like soft gingerbread. Flavor with the juice of a small lemon. This makes one good-sized loaf. Another Fruit Cake. — 1| pounds of sugar, 1:^ pounds of flour, f pounds of butter, 6 eggs, 1 tea-spoon of soda, 1 glass of wine, 1 of brandy, and as much fruit and spice as you can aft'ord, and no more. Douglinuts. — 2 cups sugar, 2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon saleratus, 3 eggs, and a piece of butter half as large as a small hen's egg. Crullers. — 6 tablespoons melted butter, 6 tablespoons sugar, 6 eggs, and flour to roll. G'mycrhread Loaf. — 1 pound of flour, 1 pound of treacle, \ pound of butter, 1 egg, 1 ounce of ginger, some candied peel, and a few caraway- seeds, ground^ a tea-spoonful of soda. To be baked in a slow oven. The flour to be mixed in gradually; the butter and treacle to be milk- warm; the soda to be put in last. Let it stand half an hour, to rise. Corn-Starch Cake. — \ pound sugar, 4 ounces butter, 5 eggs, 1 tea-spoon- ful cream tartar, ^ a tea-spoonful of soda, ^ pound of corn-starch, \ a gill of sweet juilk. Short Cake. — 3 pounds flour, ^ pound of butter, ^ pound lard. 1 tea- spoonful of soda, 2 of cream tartar; mix with cold milk. For Strawberry (Jake, open these when first baked ; take out some of the crumb, and fill the inside with ripe strawberries, sugared; close, and bake the cakes five minutes longer. Railroad Cake. — A pint of flour, 3 eggs, 1 tea-spoonful of cream of tar- tar, half a tea-spoonful of soda, a table-spoonful of butter, a tea-spoonful of sugar ; bake th(; butter in a square pan twenty minutes. Mrs. Gauberts Coffee Cake. — 1 cup cofiee, 1 cup of molasses, 1 cup sugar, half cup butter, 1 teaspoon saleratus, 1 egg; spice and raisins to suit the taste. Soda Cake. — 4 eggs, 1 pint of sugar, 1 teacup of butter, 1 cup of sweet milk, 1 quart of flour, 1 tea-spoonful of soda, 2 of cream tartar. White Cake. — 3 cups of sifted flour, IJ cups of sugar, 1 cup of sweet milk, 1 egg, 2 table-spoonfuls of butter, 2 tea-spoonfuls of cream tartar, 1 tea-spoonful of essence of lemon. Beat the butter and sugar to a cream ; then add the milk (in which the soda should be dissolved), the e^g^ well beaten, and the essence. Mix with the above 2 cups of the flour; and lastly, add the third cup, in which the cream of tartar has been stirred; then bake in pans, or basins, in a quick oven. Mountain Cake. — 1 cup of sugar, 2 eggs, half cup of butter, half cup of milk or water, 2 of flour, tea-spoonful of cream tartar, half tea-spoonful of soda, nutmeg. Jumbles. — 1 pound of butter, 1 of sugar, 2 of flour, 3 eggs, half cup of «our milk, 1 tea-spoonful of soda; roll in white coflee sugar. This will iiiaKe a large uaich. If a small quantity be wanted, take proportionately less of material. Ginger Snaps — 1 cud of butter. 1 of suarar 1 c^i molasses, half cup of ginger, tea-spoonful of soda; mix stifl". A Small Sponge Cike. — One cup of sugar, half cup of milk, one egg, two tea-spoonfuls of ceain tartar, one of soda; butter, size of an egg. Whigs. — Mix half a pound of sugar with six ounces of butter, two eggs, tea-spoonful cinnamon. Ktir in two pounds flour, a teacup of yeast, milk enough to make a still' baiter ; when light, bake in cups. THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 3S Poor Man^s Cake. — One cup sugar, half cup butter, one cup sour cream, one egg, flour enough to make a good batter, lialf tea-spoonful saleratus. Fruit Cake. — 1^ pounds sugar, 1] pounds flour, f of a pound butter, 6 eggs, a pint sweet milk, 1 tea-spoonfal saleratus, 1 glass wine, 1 of brandy, and as much fruit and spice as. you can afford, and no more. Cup Cake. — 5 cups flour, 3 cups nice sugar, 1 cup of butter, 4 eggs, 1 cup of good buttermilk, with saleratus enough to sweeten it; 1 nutmeg. Cookies. — 1 cup of butter, 2 Cups sugar, 1 cup of cold water, ^ tea-spoon- ful of saleratus, 2 eggs; flour enough to roll, and no more. Soft Griugerbread. — 1 cup of molasses, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 egg, saleratus and cloves. Mix pretty stitt". Delicate Cake. — Nearly 3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, f of a cup of sweet milk, whites of 6 eggs, 1 tea-spoonful of cream tartar, ^ tea-spoonful of soda, 2 cup of butter, lemon for flavoring. CreajH Cake. — 1 cup of cream, 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs,_ tea- spoonful of saleratus; flavor with lemon. Sugar Gbigerbread. — 1 pound of flour, three-quarters of a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, 5 eggs; roll very thin on flat tins; do not grease the tins, but slip off' the cake, when baked, with a knife. Waffies. — 1 pound of flour, half pound butter, 4 eggs, 1 quart of milk, 1 tea-spoonful of yeast; boil the niilk ; stir in the butter; beat up warm, and rise them. Old Colony Cake. — Three eggs, one scant cup of butter, two and a half cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, three and two-thirds cups of flour, even tea-spoonful of soda; spice to taste ; sift a little powdered sugar over the top. Mrs Work' s Sponge Cake. — One coffee-cup flour, one coffee-cup sugar, four eggs, one lemon. Sponge Cake. — One pound powdered sugar, one pound flour, six eggs, beaten separately, grated rind of one lemon, and part of the juice; one tea-spoonful cream tartar, rubbed with the flour, half tea-spoonful soda, diss(dved in half tea-cupful cold water. Every-day Fruit Cake. — One cup butter, two cups sugar, two cups sour milk, two cups raisins, five cups flour, tea-spoonful saleratus. Salt, cin- namon, cloves, citron, and wine to taste. Rice Cake. — Three-quarters pound rice flour, half pound butter, eight fresh eggs, one pound sugar, half glass brandy. Mrs. Holmes^ Liberty Cake. — One cup butter, two cups sugar, one cup milk, one pint and a half flour, three eggs, salt and spices, three tea- spoons Babbit's yeast powders. Found. Cake. — One pound of flour, one pound of sugar, one pound of butter, eight eggs, three spoonfuls rose-water, mace or other spice. Measure Cake. — Four teacups of flour, two teacups of sugar, one and a half teacups of butter, one glass of brandy, four eggs, and one nutmeg. Soft Gingerbread. — Two teacups of molasses, one teacup of milk, two eggs, one teaspoon saleratus, and flour to make it thick. Fan7iie^s Cake. — Half a pound of butter, three quarters of a pound of sugar, one pound of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, one teaspoon of soda. Cloves, cinnamon, mace, to taste, with or without fruit, as you choose. Bake in a slow oven. 3 34 THE house-keeper's guide. BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. Mrs. Moulton's New England Brow7i Bread. — To four cups of Indian meal, and two of rye meal, add one quart of milk, (skimmed will do, if perfectl}' sweet,) one cup of molasses, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, and one dessert-spoonful of salt. Stir with a spoon, and bake without rising. Crackers. — One pint of water, one teacup of butter, one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream tartar, flour enough to make as stiff as biscuit. Let them stand in the oven until dried through. They do not need pounding. Pop Overs. — Four cups of flour, four eggs, four cups of milk, piece of butter size of two nutmegs, half teaspoon of salt, melt the butter. Bread Cakes. — Soak some crusts of bread in milk, strain them through the colender very tine, beat in four eggs, and a little flour, just suflflcient to thicken the substance; add one tea-spoonful of saleratus. Mix all to make a thin batter, and bake on the griddle. Artificial Oysters. — Grate as many ears of green corn as will make one pint of palp; add one tea-cupful of flour, half teacup butter, one egg, and pepper and salt to suit your taste. Dropped and fried in butter. Rye and Indian Johnny Cakes. — Two cups of rye, two cups of Indian meal, a small tea-spoonful of saleratus, a little salt, sufticient sour milk to make a stifl' batter. Bake in cakes on a griddle; split open and butter them; send to table hot. Pan Doddlings. — Three teacups of fine rye meal, three teacups of Indian meal, one egg, three table-spoonfuls of molasses; add a little salt and all- spice; suflicient sweet milk to form a batter stiff enough to drop from a spoon. Fr}' them in hot lard until a nice brown. Plain Corn Bread, but very Good. — One pint of sour milk, two eggs, one tea-spoonful of saleratus, a little salt; .make soft enough to pour out. Corn Bread. — One quart of sour milk, 2 tea-spoonfuls of saleratus. 4 ounces of butter, three eggs, three table-spoonfuls of flour, and corn meal suflicient to make a stifl' hatter. Fruit Fritters. — Make a batter of flour, milk, and eggs, of whatever richness you desire; stir into it either raspberries, currants, or any other fruit. Fry in hot lard, the same as pancakes. Mrs. Roberts^ Boston Brown Bread. — One heaping quart of rye flour, 1 do. of Graham flour, scanty quart of milk, same quantity of warm water, coflee-cup of molasses, one penny's worth of baker's yeast, or one coflee- cup of home-made yeast, teaspoon saleratus, dessert-spoon of salt. Grease an iron kettle, put in the mixture, and place immediately in a slow oven. Bake six or seven hours. Ground Rice Griddle Cakes. — Boil a quart of milk ; rub smooth a tea- cupful of ground rice, in a gill or two of cold milk, and stir it into the boiling milk; add a little salt, and while it is scalding hot, stir in flour enough to make the right thickness for baking. When cool, add a teacup of yeast, and four eggs. Let it rise light. Rice Griddle Cakes. — Put a tea-cupful of rice into two tea-cupfuls of water, and boil it till the water is nearly absorbed, and then add a pint and a half of milk. Boil it slowlj', until the rice is very soft. Muffins. — Melt half a teacup of butter in a pint and a half of milk; add a little salt ; a gill of yeast, and four eggs ; stir in flour enough to make a batter i-ather stitter than for griddle cakes. If kept in a moderately warm place, it will rise suflicientl}^ in eight or nine hours. Rye Cake. — Four and a half cups rye meal, three eggs, one and a half THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 35 teaspoons cream tartar, one teaspoon soda. jMix with milk, till about as thick as fritters; little salt. To be eaten hot. Wldoiv's Cake. — Two cups' of Indian meal, three cups of wheat flour, one pint of buttermilk, four table-spoons of molasses.. two tea-spoons of salcratus To be eaten hot, with butter, for tea or breakfiist. Bulled Bread. — Two cups of Indian meal, two cups of rye, one of flour, two-thirds cup of molasse.^, pint and a half of milk; a little salt, and a large tea-spounful of .^iiloratus; pour it into a long tin pail ; put it into h pot; have just enough water to keep it boiling; cover tight, and not boil into the pail, and keep it boiling three hours, and you will have a loaf of bread without any crust. Elce Cakes for Breakfast. — Put half a pound of rice in soak over night. Early in the morning, boil it very soft, diain it from the water, mix with it a quarter of a pound of butter, and set it away to cool. AVhen it is cold, stir it into a quart of milk, and add a very little salt. Beat six eggs, and sift half a pint of flour. Stu- the, egg and flour alternately into the ri tonic and diuretic, an excellent corrector of the bile, and an invaluable remedy in hepatic diseases. 5'assa/ras.— Steeped in water, it is an excellent wash for all kinds of humors. Ca?!mjo.- -Valuable for injections. In fevers, it promotes perspiration without raising the heat of the body. 5'a(7e.— Useful in fevers, and for worms in children. Good substitute for tea. Com/re?/.— This is mucilaginous ; valuable in coughs and all consump- tive complaints. . , , , 6'fl^ron.— Makes a valuable tea for children afflicted with the measles, chicken-pox, and all eruptive diseases. Coltsfoot— A. tea of this is good for hoarseness. Valerian.— Q00& in all nervous complaints ; a swallow or two taken occasionally will produce the same effect as paregoric, and is every way preferable to it. Wild Cherry-Tree Bark. — A tea made of this is said to have cured con- sumption, if taken in season. PROF. A. CURTIS, M. D., OMce at HilVs Drug Store, corner Fifth and Mace Sts,, CIW^CIJyJVA.TI, OHIO, Is prepared to treat all forms of disease, medical and surgical, in the best manner. His practice is purely physiological, embracing hygienic agencies, as pure air, proper food, and exercise ; and water, caloric, electricity, and galvanism, in their appropriate applications, as in baths, simple, medicated, and chemical. He uses innocent and powerful medicines, rejecting all poisonous sub- stances ; and all violence, as bleeding and blistering. In an extensive practice for thirty years, he has not lost a case of scarlet fever, measles, nor emall-pox, summer complaint nor dysentery, nor one of typhoid, remittent, intermittent, continued, nor bilious fever ; not a single case in parturition, nor in consequence of it, in which he was the only physician. He has cured, in a few minutes, without medicines or pain, many a severe case of disease, both acute and chronic, some of years duration ; and, by the aid of magnetism and chloroform, performed severe surgical operations without producing suffering or injury. He has lately performed, with complete success, some of the most difficult and dangerous operations. Among them are the removal of a diseased femur, a cancerous breast, a fungus hematodes or melanosis, from the cavity of the eye, and an ovarian tumor which weighefl over thirty pounds. In thirty years practice he has never lost a surgical patient. He does not promise to cure every case, but believes that he can cure all that are curable by any other practice or physician. Examinations free j charges for prescriptions moderate. Having able assistants at home, he can visit important cases at a dis- tance, where rail-cars can carry him without much loss of time. But it is better, if they can, that they come to him, as he desires to attend as much as possible to his friends in the city. He receives students, male and female, and teaches them the true science of life, and the divine art of preventing and curing disease. The Regular Lectures in the PnYsm-MKOiCAL College will commence on the 20th of October, and continue sixteen weeks. Dr. Curtis' s Medical Books for sale as above. MECHANICS' DEPARTMENT. Painting Glass Tra7tsparencies. — Provide a small muller and a piece of thick ground glass, five or six inches square, to grind the colors on ; also a small pallet knife, and a few bottles to put the colors in. For a red color get a little scarlet lake, and for blue a little Prussian blue. For green use purified verdigris ground with a quarter of its bulk of gamboge, and for brown use burnt umber, and for black, burnt sienna black. These colors are truly transparent. Having all these colors ready, grind them in the balsam of fir mixed with half its bulk of turpentine; mastic var- pish will do very well, but the balsam is the most beautiful. To coat the glass black round the painting, dissolve asphaltum in turpentine, and mix with lampblack. When the colors are all ground they must be put in separate bottles and sealed, and when they are to be used, a little bit is taken out at once on a piece of glass, just as much as is needed at once, as it quickly dries. If the color is too thick, it must be diluted with tur- pentine. To paint glass sliders, the subject must be designed on paper, and the paper put under the glass, and the glass painted above it accord- ing to the design of the paper underneath. Varnish for Wood Patterns. — The most simple varnish, combined with adaptation, is the following: One quart of alcohol and a quarter of a pound of gum shellac. This put into a bottle, and when wanted for use, mix up with a little lampblack to about the thickness of cream, and var- nish the pattern over, rubbing it into the grain of the wood, until a slight friction produces a polish. This varnish makes a smooth surface on the pattern, rendering it more easily drawn from the sand, and it fills up all pores, or worm-holes, that may be in the wood; consequently, a cleaner and smoother casting is produced. Crystal Varnish. — First, genuine pale Canada balsam and rectified oil of turpentine, equal parts; mix, place the bottle in warm water, agitate well, set it aside in a moderately warm place, and in a week pour otf the clear. Used for maps, prints, drawings, and other articles on paper, and also to prepare tracing paper, and to transfer engraving. Second, mas- tic, three ounces; alcohol, one pint, dissolved. Used to fix pencil draw- ings. Etching Varnish. — First, white wax, two ounces; black and Burgundy pitch, of each half an ounce; melt together, add, by degrees, powdered asphaltum, two ounces, and boil till a drop taken out on a plate will break, when cold, by being bent double two or three times between the fingers; it must then be poured into warm water, and made into small balls for use. (Second, linseed oil and mastic, of each four ounces; melt together. Third, soft linseed oil, four ounces; gum benzoin and white wax, of each half an ounce; boil to two-thirds. Flexible Varnish. — First, India-rubber in shaving, one ounce; mineral naphtha, two pounds; digest, at a gentle heat, in a close vessel, till dis- solved, and strain. Second, India-rubber, one ounce; drying oil, one quart; dissolve by as little heat as possible, employing constant stirring; then strain. Third, linseed oil, one gallon; dried white copperas and sugar of lead, each three ounces ; litharge, eight ounces ; boil, with cjonstant agita- 62 THE nOUSE-KEEPERS GUIDE. tion, till it strings well ; then cool slowly, and decant the ciear. If too thick, thin it with quick-drying linseed oil. These are used for balloons, gas-bags, &c. Vai-nish for Iron Work. — The beautiful, glossy, black varnish for iron work may be made by fusing one pound of amber in an iron vessel, and adding, while hot, one quart of boiled linseed oil and three ounces each of dark rosin and asphaltum, in powder. When the whole is thoroughly incorporated, take it olf ; and, when cool, add about one pint of tui-pen- tine. Several coats of this varnish are put on, and the articles are dried, after each application, in a warm oven. Another. — To make a good black varnish for ironwork, take eight pounds of asphaltum, and fuse it in an iron kettle, then add Ave gallons of boiled linseed oil, one pound of litharge, half a pound of sulphate of zinc (add these slowly, or it will fume over), and boil them for about three hours. Now add one and a-half pounds of dark gum-amber, and boil for two hours longer, or until the mass will become quite thick, when cool ; after which, it should be thinned with turpentine to due consistency. Varnish/or Iron Castings. — Heavy petroleum, mixed with coal tar, and applied warm, is an excellent varnish for iron castings. Black Japanning. — Black grounds for japan may be made by mixing ivory black with shellac varnish; or, for coarse work, lampblack, and the top coating of common seedlac varnish. A common black japan may be made by painting a piece of work with drying oil, and putting said work into an oven, not too hot; then gradually raising the heat, and keeping it up for a long time, so as not to burn the oil and make it blister. Tortoise-^hell Japan. — This varnish is prepared by taking of good linseed oil one gallon, and of umber, half a pound, and boiling them together un- til the oil becomes very brown and thick, when they are strained through a cloth, and boiled again until the composition is about the consistence of pitch, when it is lit for use. Having prepared this varnish, clean well the vessel that is to be varnished (japanned), and then lay vermilion, mixed with shellac varnish, or with drying oil diluted with good turpen- tine, very thinly on the places intended to imitate the clear parts of the tortoise-shell. When the vermillion is dry, brush over the whole with the above umber varnish, diluted to a due consistence with turpentine; and when it is set and tirm, it must be put into an oven, and undergo a strong heat for a long time. This is the ground for those beautiful tea-boards which are so much admired. The work is all the better to be finished in an annealing oven. Painting Japan Work. — The colors to be painted are tempered generally in oil, which should have at least one-fourtii of its weight of gum sanderac, or mastic, dissolved in it, and it should be well diluted with turpentine, that the colors may be laid on thin and evenly. In some instances it does well to put on water-colors, or grounds of gold, which a skillful hand can do, and manage so as to make the work as if it were embossed. These water-colors are best prepared by means of isinglass size, mixed with honey, or sugar-candy. These colors, when laid on, must receive a num- ber of upper coats of the varnish above described. Transparent Fainting on Linen. — Very tine muslin is the best material for painting upon ; and before you begin to paint, a straining-frame must be made, of beech or hard wood. It should consist of two upright bars mortised at each end, with holes, into which top and bottoni cross-bars, tenoned at the sides, can slide, much after the same pattern as the ordi- nary embroidery frame; but it is rarely required larger than suitable for a window blind. Along the inner edge of the frame a strip of webbing THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 63 is pev.*manent]y nailed, and to this the muslin must be sewed before it is stretched. Having stretched the muslin, it is ready for the first prepara- tion, which is sizing. The best size is that made from parchment cut- tings; you must have a pipkin, to hold about a quart of water. Having cut up the parchment into small strips, fill the pipkin with water, and put them to simmer, but not to boil. When this operation has gone on for a couple of hours, you will have suificient size, which should be allowed to cool, and then you will have a clear, transparent jelly. Remove the dregs from it, and boil in a clean pipkin as much as you will require; but recollect the more careful you are in the preparation of the size, the bet- ter will be the result of your workmanship. After the muslin is sized, it will be found to relax in the frame, and has, therefore, to be again fully tightened. A second, or even a third coating of size is to be applied, when the former is dry, and the muslin again stretched, if it slackens. After a couple of days or more, when the size is quite hard, it must be rubbed smooth with pumice-stone ; a smooth face may be obtained to the pumice-stone by grinding it on a stone flag with water. This operation of smoothing the size is very necessary, as the colors take better to the material than when this process is omitted. The muslin being now in a fit state to receive the paint, the subject of the design must be drawn upon it. In order to secure accuracy — for no " rubbing out" can be efl'ected on muslin — it is a common practice to draw the intended outline first upon cartridge-paper, with a bold stroke, in ink, so that when fixed to the back of the muslin with threads, it can be seen through the fabric, and the picture be traced out on the muslin with a dark pencil. Another way of tracing a design is to employ the pounce- bag and a perforated pattern ; thus, for instance, take a natural leaf, such as that of the vine or iv}', lay it upon a strip of cartridge-paper; then perforate the paper all round the leaf with a pointer, or a thick needle fastened into a handle. On removing the leaf, a few perforation may be made, to indicate the arteries. If several strips of paper are placed under the leaf at once, repetitions of the designs can be readily obtained. The best pounce-bag is made of a couple of folds of muslin tied up like a laundress's blue-bag, and filled with a finely-powdered charcoal. The perforated paper patterns being placed on the muslin, they are then pounced over, when the charcoal dust falls through the holes on to the muslin, and thus transfers the design of the leaf. If a border of leaves is required, it is only necessary to repeat the same leaf, but placed in dif- ferent positions — now left, now right, then overlapping each other. The same may also be done with a butterfly, or any similar object. Having perforated the design of a bii-d on the wing, it will not look like the same, if its position is considerably altered, now flying up in mid-air, now alight- ing on to a bough, then descending; the subsequent coloring of the leaves, birds, and butterflies being also modified, changes their general appear- ance, Transjerring Prints to Glass, Wood, ^c. — "When it is desired to transfer a steel, copper, or lithographic print to glass, the first operation is to coat the glass with dilute lac, or clear copal varnish. The print is then moist- ened with water, and while the varnish remains sticky, the paper is placed on the glass with the print side upon the varnish ; it is then pressed gently, to make it adhere. Several folds of white paper are now placed upon the back of the print, also a board, with a light weight thereon, to keep the print and varnish in contact till both are dr3\ After this the paper is moistened, and rubbed ofl" gently with the fingers, when the ink com- posiwir the print is left adhering to the glass. The several parts of the 64 THE house-keeper's guide. print may then he painted with appropriate colors, and then finished Avith a ground-coat over all. Prints may be transferred to wood in the same manner. The common mode of transferring prints to wooden blocks, for engraving, is to immerse a print for a short period in a solution of pot- ash, then place it upon the block and press it. The potash softens the ink on the paper of the print, and when placed upon the block of wood and pressed, the impression is made in the same manner as printing in the usual way. Prints are also transferred thus to stones for litho- graphic printing; also to plates of zinc for printing in a lithographic press. Many very elegant designs can be perforated by folding the paper once, twice, or four times ; thus, whatever pattern is perforated will then be repeated through the other sections. In this way corners and centers are formed. The design, thus placed in outline on the linen, is now to be colored. We, of course, presume that persons employing themselves thus will have some knowledge of art, and it is now that their taste can be displayed. The rules which govern art are applicable to transparent painting, but our observations are limited to the specialities required to put it in practice. A fine sponge forms a good tool to lay on the tints for clouds and sky, or distant hills, and coarse honey-comb sponge does well for luxurious foliage, rocks, &c. Plat hog's-hair brushes, the same as are used for oil-painting, do admirably for this work. Varnish colors, tem- pered with japanners' gold size and turpentine, are the best; the paints sold in tubes will be found convenient— copal varnish and pale-drying oil being used as a vehicle. Young persons who can draw, and are in want of a little occupation, either for amusement or as a means of income, can now, from these hints, turn their attention to transparent painthig; and there are too many ugly back windows to hide in every town for them to fear any lack of employ- ment. Colors for Stamping Muslin for Embroidery. — Lamp-black, mixed with a solution of gum arable or starch, will make a very good composition for stamping white muslin for embroidery. Prussian-blue, ground to powder, and mixed with a little boiled starch, answers for stamping blue on white muslin. All colors used for stamping should be of such a nature that they will wash out easily with soap and water; hence those fast colors, which are used to print on calicoes, are unsuitable. For stamping on a black ground — such as a piece of black cloth or velvet, common pipe-clay, mixed with a little starch, makes a white stamping composition. Lamp-black, mixed with resin in a molten condition, then cooled and ground to pow- der, with a little water, makes a good black for stamping. Collodion Fo9^mtd(B. — The following two receipts are from the Photo- graphic News: Those who are in the habit of experimenting in the prep- aration of collodion for photographs will, probably, like to try the follow- ing formula, communicated by M. Jeanrenaud to the Moniteur de la Pho" tographie. To counterbalance the drawback of complexity which seem3 to characterize it, is the strong recommendation of the author, who pos- sesses a high reputation. It is stated to give delicate results, to be very rapid and durable, improving rather than deteriorating with age. Here is the formula: Soluble cotton, 8 parts; pure ether, 800 parts; alcohol (sp. gr. 830), 250 parts; iodide of cadmium, 9 parts. Dissolve, and add to 35 ounces of collodion 25 of pure bromine. To 3 ounces of the collo- dion then add 12 drops of strong liquid ammonia. A deposit is thrown down, which may be redissolved by adding a few drops of glacial acetic acid. The 3 ounces are then added to the remainder of 35 ounces, and th« THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 65 whole left to settle for a fortnight. If it retains a straw color, it is fit for use ; if it be colorless, add a few drops of bromine. M. Jeanrenaud also gives a formula for dry collodion, as follows : Take ordinary collodion, and add to it 5 per cent, of a solution of ether, satu- rated with yellow amber; the sensitizing bath consists of from 7 to 8 per cent, of nitrate of silver, and 2 per cent, of glacial acetic acid; the plate is then washed in four or five waters. The development may be effected either by the ordinary bath of sulphate of iron, or with pyrogallic acid. When the plates are large, it is necessary to fix the film around the edges by means of some varnish, either with alcohol or chloroform. M. Jean renaud found plates, so prepared, as sensitive, after the lapse of a montLv as when first fixed. The time required is about double that of the wcv process, and, for landscapes, varies from three to seven minutes, accord- ing to the light and the season. Danimara Varnish. — "Gum Dammara," as it is called, is a resin, not a gum. It is employed for making varnish, by dissolving it in turpentine. The resin should be first well-dried, for, if it contains any moisture, it will tend to make the varnish opaque. A common way to prepare it is to boil the resin in the turpentine in an open vessel ; but if the resin is thoroughly dried, it will dissolve slowly in cold turpentine, and form a clear var- nish. A good way to prepare it, on a large scale, is to use an enameled cast- iron vessel, capable of containing about fifty pounds, for making twenty- five pounds of the varnish. The dammara resin is put into the vessel in a solid state, the proper quantity of turpentine (five parts to four parts of resin) is then poured in, and the whole put upon the fire. As soon as the boiling begins, the water, originally included in the resin, is dissi- pated in the form of vapor, and the resin acquires a softer consistence. When all the water is expelled, and the varnish boils quietly, the solution is completed, and the vessel may be removed from the fire. As long as traces of water exist in the varnish, its boiling is attended with a bub- bling movement; but as soon as all the water is got rid of, the varnish boils quite quietly. When the varnish is prepared, it is poured through a fine wire-sieve, and then allowed to settle sufllciently. If it be desired to give the varnish a tougher consistence, two or three per cent, of good bleached linseed oil (not boiled with oxide of lead) must be added to it before boiling. This communicates great toughness to it. Alloy for Journal Boxes. — Take seven and a-half pounds of pure copper and melt it in a crucible; then gradually add, in small pieces, ninety-two and a half pounds of zinc; when this is melted, and the two metals thor- oughly mixed, the alloy is to be run into molds for journal boxes. A patent was granted May 1, 1855, for this alloy, to Thomas Porth, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio. Babbitt Metal. — Take twenty-four pounds of copper, and melt it first in a crucible ; then add, gradually, twenty-four parts of pure tin and eight of antimony. Great care must be exercised in adding the tin to the cop- per. This composition is rendered softer by the use of a greater quantity of tin. It is first run into ingots, then melted and cast, to form the jour- nal boxes, &c. Fine Polishing Powder.— Tr of e&soT Yogel, of England, states, that the finest powder for polishing optical glasses and fine metals, is made by calcining the oxalate of iron. It is superior to the common polishing- powder for glass, made of lixivated colcothar. Consolidating Cast-steel. — Mr. J. M. Rowan, of Glasgow, proposes to consolidate cast-steel, or metal produced by the pneumatic process, by com- 5 66 THE house-keeper's guide. pressing it while still liquid, or nearly so, whereby it is rendered much better adapted for subsequent processes. A harmless green, for coloring confectionery, may be made as follows : Take thirty-two parts of saffron, and infuse it in seven parts of water, to which add twenty-six parts of the carmine of indigo in fifteen parts of water. The yellow saffron and blue indigo, when mixed, form a beauti- ful green color, which will combine with sugar solutions. A most excellent Furriiture Paste is made, by dissolving one part resin and one part beeswax in two parts of benzine. Refined Glycerine is a very suitable lubricator for clock-work. It does not freeze in cold weather. To Clean Brass. — Kub the surface of the metal with rotten-stone and sweet oil, then rub off with a piece of cotton flannel and polish with soft leather. A solution of oxalic acid rubbed over tarnished brass, with a cotton rag, soon removes the tarnish, rendering the metal bright. The acid must be washed off with water, and the brass rubbed with whitening in powder, and soft leather. When acids are employed for removing the oxide from brass, the metal must be thoroughly washed afterwards, or it will tarnish in a few minutes after being exposed to the air. A mixture of muriatic acid and alum dissolved in water imparts a golden color to brass articles that are steeped in it for a few seconds. Cleaning Tinware. — Acids should never be employed to clean tinware, because they attack the metal, and remove it from the iron of which it forms a thin coat. We refer to articles made of tin plate, which consists of iron covered with tin. KuUthe article first with rotten-stone and sweet oil, the same as recommended for brass, then iinish with whitening and a piece of soft leather. Articles made wholly of tin should be cleaned in the same manner. In a dry atmosphere, planished tinware will remain bright for a long period, but will soon become tarnished in moist air. Cleaning Silver-plated Articles. — White metal articles electro-plated witih silver are now very common, and great care is required in cleaning them when tarnished. No powder must be used for this purpoae which has the least grit in it, or the silver will be scratched and soon worn off'. The finest impalpable whitening should be emploj-ed, with a little soft, water, in removing the tarnish. They are next washed with rain water, dried and polished with a piece of soft leather, some rouge powder, or fine whitening, then finally rubbed down with the, hand, which forms a most excellent polisher. Black 071 Gun-Barrels. — The following mode of producing a black coating on gun-barrels is taken from Mr. Wells's " Annual of Scientific Discovery" for the present year: First, take chloride of mercury and sal ammoniac ; second, perchloride of iron, sulphate of copper, nitric acid, alcohol and water ; third, perchloride and proto-chloride of iron, alcohol and water ; fourth, weak solution of the sulphide of potassium. These solutions are successively applied, each becoming dry before the other is used. No. 3 is applied twice, and a bath of boiling water follows Nos. 3 and 4. The shade of color is fixed by active friction, with a pad of woolen cloth, and a little oil. The shade thus obtained is a beautiful black, of uniform appearance. This process is used in the manufacture of arms at St. Etienne, France. We regret that the proportions of the diflerent ingredients are not given. Several of our gunsmiths have made many inquiries as to the mode of producing the blue-black coating on the Whit- worth and other English rifles. Perhaps the above solution will eflect the object. The alcohol is used to make the application dry quickly. The perchloride of iron and the sulphate of copper in No. 2 should b« THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 67 used only in a moderately strong solution, and only about 10 per cent, of nitric acid added to the water. We hope that our gunsmiths will meet with success in usijig these solutions. No. 2, applied in three or four coats, will form the common brown coating for gun-barrels. After the last application has become dry, it is rubbed with a wire scratch brush, washed with warm water, then dried, and afterward rubbed down with a composition of beeswax dissolved in turpentine. Aluniinwn Bronze. — Experiments have been made at the Koyal Gun Factory, Woolwich, England, by Mr. J. Anderson, to test the compara- tive strength, &c., of aluminum bronze. Its average breaking tensile strength was found to be 73,185 lbs per square inch, while that of com- mon gun metal is but 35,040 lbs. Its composition is 90 per cent, of cop- per, 10 per cent., of aluminum. The purest copper that can be obtained, such as that of Lake Superior, is the best to employ. It requires to be remelted three times before it becomes fit for practical purposes. The specific gravity of this alloy is said to be about that of cast-iron. It is far more rigid than brass or common gun-metal. It prpduces good cast- ings; it can be drawn into tubes, rolled into sheets, and hammered like iron, and it is also capable of being soldered with brass. B7'onzing Metals. — The production of ditierent colors on the surface of metals, such as works of tine art, &c., is called bronzing. Mere surface- coloring is executed with metallic powders mixed and applied with a varnish. But the most perfect bronzing is produced by chemical action on the metal itself — its own surface being thus made to form the bronze color. Dr. Ure says, respecting this art: "Coins and metals may bo handsomely bronzed as follows: 2 parts of verdigris and 1 part of sal- ammoniac are to be dissolved in vinegar; the solution is to be boiled, skimmed, and diluted with water, till it has only a weak metallic taste, and, upon further dilution, lets fall no white precipitate. This solution is now made to boil briskly, and is poured upon the objects to be bronzed. These objects must have been previously cleaned and made perfectly free from grease,' and set in a copper pan. This pan, with the articles now in it, is put on a fire, and the solution made to boil for some time. The articles, if made of copper, will acquire an agreeable reddish-brown hue, without losing their luster; but if they are boiled too long, the coat of oxide upon them becomes too thick, and looks scaly and dull ; and if the solution is too strong, the copper becoines covered with a white powder, which becomes green on exposure to the air. The pieces thus bronzed must be washed well in warm soft water, and than carefully dried, or they will turn green. The antique appearance is given with a solution of three-quarters of an ounce of sal ammoniac and a drachm and a half of binoxalate of potash (salt of sorrel) dissolved in a quart of vinegar. It is applied with a soft rag to the surface of the metal, then allowed to dry. Several applications are thus made, until a coating of sufficient thickness is obtained. Copper acquires a brown color by rubbing it with a solution of the common liver of sulphm*, or sulphuret of potash. The Chmese are said to bronze their copper vessels by taking 2 ounces of verdigris, 2 ounces of cinnamon, 5 ounces of sal ammoniac, and 5 ounces of alum, all in powder, making these into a paste with vinegar, and spreading it upon the surface of the article, which should be pre- viously brightened. The article is then held over a fire, till it become uni- formly heated, then it is cooled, washed, and dried. It thus receives one, two, or several of such coats, until the desired color is obtained. An ad- dition of sulphate of copper to the mixture makes the color chesnut- brown. 68 THE house-keeper's guide. A good method of bronzing copper articles, such as tea-urns, to prevent them tarnishing, is described in most all the best treatises on chemistry. It is as follows: The copper is first cleaned, then brushed over with per- oxide of iron (general!}' colcothar) made into a paste with water or with a dilute solution of the acetate of copper. The article is then placed in a muffle in a furnace, and heated cautiously for some time, then taken out and cooled. Upon brushing off the oxide, the surface underneath is found to have acquired the desired hue. Another method of bronzing copper is to brush it over with a paste of black lead, place it over a clear fire till moderately heated, then brush it oft'. A very beautiful bronze is thus produced. The surface of the cop- per must be perfectly bright when the black lead is applied. A thin film of wax or tallow applied to copper, and the article placed on a clear fire until the wax or grease begins to smoke, produces a bronzed surface. In all these operations great care is necessary in managing the articles prop- erly when subjecting them to the action of heat. The following is a receipt which we have been told will produce a beautiful dark bronze on brass : To 1 pound of muriatic acid add 6 ounces of the peroxide of iron and 3 ounces of yellow arsenic; mix these together and let the solution stand for about two days, shaking it occasion- ally. The brass article, perfectly free from dirt and grease, is now to be immersed in it, and allowed to stand for about three hours, when it turns perfectly black. It is then lifted out, and washed well in soft water, and dried in sawdust. After this it is coated with a paste of black lead used for iron stoves, and when dry, it is polished with a brush. After this it may receive a thin coat of lac-varnish. Dull Black Color on Brass. — The Practical Mechanic's Journal (Glas- gow) states that the dull black so frequently employed for brass optical instruments, may be produced as follows: First rub the brass with trip- oli, then wash it with a dilute solution of a mixture of one part of neutral nitrate of tin, and two parts of chloride of gold; allow the brass to remain without wiping for about ten minutes, after which wipe it oft' with a wet cloth. If there has been an excess of acid, the surface will have assumed a dull black appearance. The neutral nitrate of tin is preparedly de- composing perchloride of tin in ammonia, and dissolving the precipitated oxide thus obtained in nitric acid. Staining Marble. — A solution of the nitrate of silver stains marble black ; a solution of verdigris applied hot stains it green ; a concentrated solution of carmine applied hut stains it red ; orpi:nent dissolved in am- monia stains it yellow; the sulphate of copper, blue; and a solution of magenta, purple. The marble should be warmed before any of these solutions are applied, so as to open its pores, and enable it to absorb more of the coloring matter. Marble may be stained according to beautiful designs with such colors. This art was more extensively practiced in Italy during former ages than it is at present. Hardeni7ig Wood for Pulleys. — After a wooden pulley is turned and rubbed smooth, boil it for about eight minutes in olive oil, then allow it to dry, after which it will ultimately become almost as hard as copper. Case-hardening /ro?i.— The hardness and polish of steel may be united, in a certain degree, with the firmness and cheapness of malleable iron, by case-hardening; it is a superficial cuiiveision of iron into steel. The articles intended to be case-hardened, being previously finished, with the exception of polishing, are stratified with animal carbon, and the box containing them luted with equal parts of sand and clay. They are then placed in the fire, and kept at a light, red heat for half an hour THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 69 when the contents of the box are emptied into water. Delicate articles may be preserved by a saturated solution of common salt, with any vegetable mucilage, to give it a pulpy consistence. The animal carbon is nothing more than any animal matter — such as horns, hoofs, skins, or leather — sufficiently burned to admit of \>eing reduced to powder. Tho box is commonly made of iron; but the use of it, for occasional case-har' dening upon a small scale, may easily be dispensed with, as it will answer the same end to envelop the articles with the composition above directed to be used as a lute; dry it, gradually, before it is exposed to a red heat, otherwise it will probably crack. The depth of the steel, induced by case- hardening, will vary with the time the operation is continued. A very speedy and most excellent method of case-hardening is effected by reducing some of the prussiate of potash to powder, and making it into paste, rubbing it over the finished iron while it is at a red heat, and then putting it in the fire again, and plunging it into water when the iron is at a blood-red heat. Another method consists in covering the polished iron with a paste of the prussiate of potash and flour, allowing it to dry, then placing it in a clear fire until it becomes red hot, when it is plunged into cold water. This may be repeated, to insure a greater depth of hard- ening. Enameling Cast-iron Vessels. — Reduce into fine powder and grind to- gether nine pjirts of red lead, six parts of flint glass, two parts of purified pcarlasli, two parts of purified saltpeter, and one part of borax. This is put into a large crucible about half full, and melted until a clear glass is obtained. This glass is then ground with water, and the cast-iron vessel is covered with a coating of it, and then heated in a muflle in a furnace. This will melt in a very short time if the furnace is at a good heat, and the cast-iron vessel will be covered with a very fine black enamel of a shining appearance. To make it tough, it should be put into an anneal- ing oven. Another very fine enamel for iron vessels is made as follows : Twelve parts of flint glass, four parts of pearlash, four parts of saltpeter, two parts of borax, and three parts of the oxide of tin calcined with common salt. This is treated the same as described above, and makes a white enamel. The cast-iron articles to be enameled are scoured bright with sand and dilute sulphuric acid, then dried, and the enamel past3 pat on with a brush, or poured on the surface, and the excess dripped ofl". This paste is dried slowly in the air, and the articles baked in a hot oven, until the paste fuses. The heat is gradually raised to the melting point. Silvering by Powdered Tin. — A quantity of pure tin is melted and poured into a box, which is then violently shaken ; the metal assumes, when cold, the form of a very fine gray powder. This is sifted, to separ- ate any coarse particles, and is mixed with melted glue. When it is to be applied, it should be reduced, by the addition of water, to the consis- tence of thin cream, and is laid on with a soft brush, like paint. It ap- pears, when dry, like a coat of gray water color; but when it is gone over with an agate brusher, it exhibits a bright surface of polished tin. If the glue is too strong, the burnisher has no effect; and if too weak, the tin crumbles off tmder the burnisher. A coating of white or gold-colored oil varnish, or lacquer, is immediately laid over it, according as it may be in- tended to imitate silvering or gilding. This kind of gilding is often used for covering wood, leather, iron, or other articles in constant wear. It is very ornamental. Composition for Welding Cast-steel. — Take ten parts of borax and one 70 THE house-keeper's guide. part of sal ammoniac; grind them together and fuse them in a metal-pot over a clear fire, taking care to continue the heat until all spume has dis- appeared from the surface. When the liquid appears clear, the composi- tion is ready to be poured out to cool and concrete, when it is ground to a fine powder and is ready for use. To use this composition the steel is put into the fire and raised to a bright yellow heat ; it is then dipped into the welding powder, and again placed into the fire, until it attains the same degree of heat as before, when it is ready to be placed under the hammer. To Tin Small Articles. — To tin small articles, prepare a solution of the chloride of zinc, which is done by feeding muriatic acid with scraps of zinc until it will take up no more. A strong glass bottle is the best vessel for this purpose. Let the solution settle, and then decant the clear, and it is ready for use. Next prepare an iron pot, of such size as will suit the purpose for the work to be done. Next put the pot on the fire, and put in a sufficient quantity of tin to cover the work. When the tin is melted, put in as much beef or mutton tallow as will cover it about one quarter of an inch thick, which must remain in a clear melted state, tak- ing care not to let it get on fire. The iron, or any other metal to be tin- ned, must be well cleaned, either by filing or scraping, or polishing with sand. Let the article to be tinned be then wet with the chloride of zinc and carefully immersed in the tallow and melted tin, and if the article be well cleaned, it will, in a very short time, be fairly and perfectly covered with the tin, when it may be taken out. To tin a piece of plated metal, say a piece of copper plated on one side with silver, prepare a paste, which may be of common pipe-clay, and a very little wheaten flour wet up with water. Then take a soft brush and lay an even coat of the paste over the silver side, and lay it in a warm place to dry; then, when dry, it may be immersed in the pot of melted tallow and tin, as already described, and the copper side will be covered with tin ; but the silver will be protected from the tin by the paste, which may be removed by washing in water. To Gild Steel. — Make a neutral solution of gold in nitro-muriatic acid (aqua regia), and pour into it a quantity of sulphuric ether; the ether will take up the gold and float upon the denser acid. The article is then to be washed with this auriferous ether (with a hair pencil) ; the ether flies off, and the gold adheres. To Silver Brass. — Take one part of chloride of silver (the white pre- cipitate which falls when a solution of common salt is poured into a solution of nitrate of silver or lunar caustic), three parts of pearlash, one of whiting, and one and a half of common salt, or one part of chlo- ride of silver, and ten parts of cream of tartar, and rub the brass with a moistened piece of cork dipped in the powder. Tinning Cast-iron Articles. — Many articles, such as bridle-bits, small nails, &c., are manufactured of tinned cast-iron. Saucepans, goblets, and other hollow ironware, are tinned upon their inner surfaces. They are first scoured bright with sand and dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid, then washed thoroughly in soft water and dried. They are then placed over a lire and heated, when grain tin is poured in, and the vessel moved so as to roll the molten tin over the surface. Some powdered rosin is added, to prevent oxide forming on the surface of the iron. Hollow ves- sels of copper and brass are tinned in the inside in the same manner. Tinniiig Iron. — Cast-iron articles to be tinned, are first scoured bright with sulphuric acid and sand, then washed in clean warm water, and dried. They are afterward coated with zinc, and a coat of tin is put THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 7l upon the top of the zinc, by dipping the articles in molten tin. When the tinning operation is finished, the articles are placed in boiling water, and allowed to cool slowly. Coloring Gold. — A solution of two ounces of alum, two of saltpeter and one of sal ammoniac is used for coloring gold. Another pickle, used for coloring gold, consists of nitric acid eight ounces, muriatic acid one quart, sal ammoniac two ounces, alum one ounce, and water two gallons. The articles of gold are dipped in this for a few seconds, then washed thoroughly in pure water, and dried. Pale, brass}- gold may be made to assume a deep reddish shade by using such a pickle or "dip." Preparing Kid Leather. — Yolk of egg is largely used in the prepa- ration of kid leather for gloves, in France, to give it the requisite soft- ness and elasticity. The treatment of the skins in this manner is called by the French glove-makers noiirriture. As a substitute for the yolk of ^gg^ the brains of certain animals, which, in chemical nature, closely resemble the yolk of eg^., have been used. For this purpose the brain is mixed in hot water, passed through a sieve, and then made into dough with flour and the lye of wood ashes. The glove-leather is also steeped for a short period in a weak solution of alum. The Indians of our forests employ the brains of deer and buffalo, mixed with a weak lye of wood ashes, and, after this, they smoke the skins; the pyroligneous acid of the wood in the smoke accomplishes the same object as the alum used by the French skin-dressers. Indian-prepared skins stand the action of water in a superior manner to the French kid. Furs dressed in the same manner resist the attacks of insects. It is believed that the carbonic acid in the smoke is the preservative principle which renders the skins tanned by the Indians superior to those tanned with alum and sumac in the usual way. The skins are rubbed with the mixture of the brains of the animals and the Ij^e, by the squaws; then dried in the open air. Three or four such applications are necessary before they are smoked in pits covered with the bark of trees. Tanning Nets, Sails, and Cordage. — The cloth of awnings and sails, also of nets and cordage, may be prepared in a simple manner to endure for a far greater length of time than is usual with such articles. Take about 100 pounds of oak or hemlock bark, and boil it in 90 gallons of water, until the quantity is reduced to 70 gallons; then take out the bark and steep the cloth, sails, or cordage in the clear liquor for about twelve hours; then take it out and dry it thoroughly in the atmosphere or in a warm apartment. The cloth should be entirely covered with the tan liquor, and should lie loose in it, so as not to press the folds too closely together. By boiling the cloth or cordage in the tan liquor, it will be ready in a shorter period. Sail and awning cloth, so prepared, will resist the action of riamp for years, in situations where unprepared cloth will decay in a few months. Glazed. Leather. — The basis for glazed, or what is called "enameled leather," is boiled linseed oil. The oil is prepared by boiling it with metal- lic oxides, such as litharge (oxide of lead) and white copperas (sulphate of zinc) until it acquires a sirupy consistency. Five gallons of linseed oil are boiled with four and a half pounds of white lead and the same weight of litharge, until the whole becomes thick like cream. This mix- ture is then combined with chalk in powder, or with yellow ocher, is spread upon the leather, and worked into the pores with appropriate tools. Three thin coats are thus applied, each dried before the other is put on, and wlien the last is perfectly dr^^, the surface is rubbed down with pumice-stone until it is quite smooth. A mixture of the prepared oil, with- 72 THE house-keeper's guide. out ocher or clialk, but rendered black with ivory-black and thinned with turpentine, is now put on in one or two thin coats, according to circum- stances ; then dried. The final coating consists of boiled linseed oil and copal varnish, thinned with turpentine, and colored with lamp-black. The apartment in which such leather is dried is maintained at a temperature ranging from 134 to 170 deg. F. White enameled leather is prepared in the same manner; but white lead and chalk are exclusivel}- used to thicken the oil. Copal varnish colored with lamp-black, will make very good enameled leather, if it is put on in several thin coats, and dried after each application. Sulphurized Oil for Wood. — M. Lapparent, inspector of timber for tho French nav}^, states that he prepared a paint for preserving timber, com- posed of linseed oil, sulphur, and manganese, which was found very effec- tual. The flowers of sulphur were stirred into linseed oil in about equal quantities, by weight, and about twelve per cent, of the oxide of manga- nese added. This was applied to some oak logs, which were buried in a manure heap for six months, when the wt>od was found to be uninjured — no fungi being formed upon it. Unprepared wood subjected to the same treatment was covered with fungi. Nitrate of Silver. — The nitrate of silver is prepared by adding small pieces of pure silver to nitric acid (aquafortis) until eflervescence cea«os. The solution then formed is clear and caustic. It stains the hair, skin, and almost all animal substances, black. When boiled for a considoralTle period, it deposits beautiful clear crystals. It is very poisonous. Stains of the nitrate of silver may be removed by the C3'anide of potassium. Cement for Mending Steam Boilers. — Mix two parts of finely-powdered litharge with one part of very fine sand, and one part of quicklime, which has been allowed to slake spontaneously by exposure to the air. This mixture may be kept for any length of time without injury. In using it, a portion is mixed into paste with linseed oil, or, still better, boiled in linseed oil. In this state it must be quickly applied, as it soon becomes hard. Cement for Joints of Petroleum Stills. — Take six pounds graphite (black lead), three pounds of dry slaked lime, eight pounds of the sulphate of barytes, and three pounds of boiled linseed oil, and mix them thoroughly together. The solid materials must be reduced to fine powder before being stirred among the linseed oil. If the above quantity of oil is not sufficient for making the cement sufficiently thin, add more, until the proper consis- tency is obtained. Linseed meal cake, reduced to powder, and mixed with water so as to make it into a paste, makes a good lute for stills which are not subjected to a temperature above 260 deg. F. Marine Glue. — Dissolve four parts of India rubber in thirty-four parts of coal-tar naphtha — aiding the solution with heat and agitation. The solution is then thick as cream, and it should be added to sixty-four parts of powdered shellac, which must be heated in the mixture till all is dis- solved. While the mixture is hot, it is poured on plates of metal in sheets like leather. It can be kept in that state, and when it is required to be used, it is put into a pot and heated till it is soft, and then applied with a brush to the surface to be joined. Two pieces of wood joined with this cement can scarcely' be sundered; it is about as easy to break the wood as the joint. Cement for Leather Belts. — A strong solution of isinglass is the best cement for joining leather bands. It may be kept from becoming moldy by adding to it some whisky and a little of the essential oil of cloves, or a little camphorated spirits. THE house-keeper's GUIDE. 73 Cement for Attaching Ornaments to Wood. — A cement composed of glue, chalk, and paper pulp, is sometimes used for making architectural or- naments, to be attached to wood. Another cement, used for the same purpose is composed of fine sifted chalk, beeswax, and resin. Use equal parts of resin and wax, then melt them, and add the chalk until the composition attains the proper consistency. A strong solution of glue and whiting makes a very good cement for ivory. Rubber Cement. — Shreds of India-rubber or gutta-percha dissolved in refined turpentine, or good naphtha, will make a good cement for rub- ber shoes, shoe soles, etc. Boot and Shoe Edge Blacking. — Bring half a gallon soft water to a boil, and put in three-fourths of an ounce extract of logwood, and boil three minutes; then remove from the fire, and stir in forty-eight grains bichromate of potash, eight grains prussiate of potash, and one hundred grains powdered gum arabic. Varnish Blacking for Harness, etc. — Take one gallon alcohol and put in half pound orange shellac, and let stand, tightly corked, till the gum is all cut; then put in a tin vessel, which is to be set in boiling water over the fire, and add one and a half pounds pine pitch, one gill sweet oil, one gill Venice turpentine, and two ounces lamp-black, and heat till all are well mixed and thoroughly incorporated; then remove from the fire, and continue stirring till cool. Get nent for Brick Walls. — Bricks are very porous, and absorb moisture freely; hence brick walls, exposed to long and severe rain-storms, fre- quently become penetrated, so as to dampen the plastering inside, which renders the room damp and unhealthy, besides injuring the wall. The best water-tight composition that can be employed for such a purpose, is a mixture of hydraulic cement and boiled linseed oil. To Gild Iron and Steel with Gold. — Make a solution of eight ounces of niter and common salt, with five ounces of crude alum, in a sufiicient quan- tity of water; dissolve half an ounce of gold, thinly plated and cut; then evaporate to dryness. Now dissolve in rectified spirit of wine, or ether, which will perfectly abstract the gold. The iron or steel is brushed over with this solution, and takes on a tine gilt resembling gold. To Silver Iron and other Metals. — Dissolve pure silver in nitric acid (aquafortis), and precipitate the silver with common salt ; make this pre- cipitate into a paste, by adding a little more salt and cream of tartar. Apply to the surface of the article to be silvered with a cork. To Staiii Wood a Mahogany Dark. — Boil half a pound of madder and two ounces logwood in one gallon water, and brush the wood well over with the hot li c*^ of Congress, in the year 1865, In the District Court of the United fe^tates for the Southern District of Ohio. 3 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE Savior of his Country. 2 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States, was born in Hardiu County, Ky., on the 12th day of February, 1809, of obscure and humble parents. His father, Thomas Lincoln, and his grandfather, Abraham Lincoln, after whom he was named, were natives of Rocking- ham County, Virginia, their ancestors having emigrated from Burks County, Pennsylvania. Further back than this but little is known per- taining to the genealogy of the Lincoln family. Abraham Lincoln, the grandfather of our present subject, removed to Kentucky in the year 1780, and settled on a small tract of land in the deep and almost impenetrable recesses of the forest, surrounded only by the stealthy savage, and the wild beasts which rop^med at will, un- molested by the hand of the white man, over a large area of the western country at that early period. Here im the gloomy depths of the forest, far remote from the nearest white settlements, and isolated from all society, except now and then a visit from a straggling "red-skin," eager, perhaps, for a favorable opportunity to get a crack at som6 "pale-face,' our hardy pioneer commenced (he erection of a hewed log cabin, for the shelter of his family, preparatory to clearing up his farm for its support. In this perilous and unprotected situation he was permitted to pursue, un- interuptedlj^, his usual avocation of hunting and tilling his scanty acres in corn and potatoes for a period of tour years, when, on a certain occa- sion he was hewing timber, about four miles from home, a bullet from the gun of treacherous savage put an end to his earthly career; and, thus, in the same manner as his illustrious grandson, he was snatched from the bosom of his family without a moment's warning, by the ruth- less hand of an assassin. Failing to return to his home as usual in the evening, the most painful apprehensions for his safety were entertained by the family during the lonely night, when on making search in the morning^ his scalped remains, mutilated by the tomahawk of the red- skin, weve discovered by the side of the tree on which he had been at work the preceding day. The widow, thus bereft of her natural sup- ■port. with no provision for the maintenance of herself and family but the scanty yield of a few acres of cultivated ground, still surrounded by a primeval forest, was compelled through sheer poverty to a separation of her family, composed of three sous and two daughters, and a removal to more hospitable and less dangerous (luarters, retaining only Thomas, her youngest son and the father of our martyred president. Owing to the straitened circumstances of his mother, Thomas was compelled to be a wandering farm boy, and thus grew up without the advantage of an education. In 180G, in the 2Sth year of his age, he married a Miss Nancy Hanks, also a native of Virginia, who became the mother of our present subject. Both were equally uneducated, being barely able to read; while Thomas could buuglingly manage his own signature, which was the ex- tent of his acquirements in the art of chirography. They subsequently removed to that portion of Hardin County which has since been formed into the county of Lareu, where Abraham, the youngest of three children, two sons and a daughter, was born, as we have before said, in the year 1809. His brother died in infancy, and although his sister lived to arrive at adult age and marry, she has long since been dead, so that Mr. Lincoln, at the time of his death, had neither brother nor sister living. In the autum of 1816, Mr. Thomas Lincoln having become thoroughly disgusted with the institution of slavery, for which he seems to have had an inherent dislike, and which had begun to assume considerable pro- portions in his neighborhood, determined to leave the State and seek a ABRAHAM LINCOLN. '3 Home in another clime uncontaminated by the effects of the peculiar in- stituation on his own class, north of the Ohio river. Having disposed of his Kentucky farm for ten barrels of whisky and twenty dollars in money he proceeded to construct a rude flat-boat, on which he placed his cargo of whisky and such other effects as could be immediately dis- pensed with by the family, and embarked down the Rolling Fork to the broad current of the Ohio, in quest of a market for his whisky, and with the intention of investing the proceeds in a new home in a free state. He swiftly glided down the rapid stream uninterruptedly till he reached the Ohio, where an accident happened to his frail craft which came near costing him his life, with the loss of all his effects, except three barrels of whisky and a few tools. A sudden gust of wind capsized his boat and spilled her captain, whisky and all, into the Ohio river, from which perilous condition he was rescued by some woodmen near by in a skiff, who were attracted thither by his lusty cries for help. Having righted his boat, with the assistance of his rescuers he placed the three barrels of whisky, together with his axe and some other tools fished from the water, aboard once more and proceeded on his voyage down the Ohio, no further mishap occurring to interrupt hisfprogress. His point of debarkation was at Thompson's ferry, on the north bank of the Ohio, in the State of Indiana, where he sold his boat and the re- maining three barrels of whisky, and set out in company with a man by the name of Posey, with whom he had fallen in at the landing, for Spencer county, distant about twenty miles through an unbroken forest, where he had some relations residing. Here he selected a site for his future home, and returned on foot to his family in Kentucky, and com- menced making preparations for their journey. Being able to muster three ponies, Mrs. L. and the daughter were placed upon one, little Abe on another, and the head of the family on the third, when they proceeded, Indian style, on theirway for their new home in the Hoosier State. Their route lay in an almost wholly uninhabited wilderness country through which they were obliged to travel, and after a wearisome journey of seven days, camping out by night, they arrived at their destination in their adopted State, north of the Ohio. The father at once commenced clearing a site for a homestead, and with the assistance of a neighbor erected a log cabin, 18 feet square, with only one room, into which the family moved and resided for many years. Two years after their re- moval to this place Abraham had the misfortune to loose his mother, but as his father was soon after married to an other very excellent woman, the void which had been created in the family circle was partially filled. This laay, to whom young Lincoln became strongly attached, on account of her kind and motherly treatment, is still living in the southern part of Illinois, and she continued to be the recipient of his favors down to the time of his death. Mr. Thomas Lincoln, with his family, continued to reside in his Indiana home for a space of 14 years — master Abraham during this time devoting himself to the employment common to back woodsmen, of hunting, of felling trees, splitting rails, etc., during the day, and devot- ing all his leisure hours during the evening to the improvement of his mind, by the perusal of such meager reading matter as a new and sparsely populated country afforded. Although he learned the rudiments of common arithmetic, together with reading and writing, from an itiu- erent school master who set up in his neighborhood for a short time, he declared that the aggregate of his schooling would not exceed twelve months ; bub like all great men in whom a thirst for knowledge is iuher- 4 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. eni, he improved every opportunity, from the imperfect and scanty means at his command, for the cultivation and developement of his intellectual powers. A story illustrating this desire for knowledge and his prover- bial honesty is told as follows: "A Mr. Crawford had lent him a copy ot Ramsey's Life of Washington. During a severe storm Abraham improved his leisure by reading this book ; at night he laid it down carefully, as he thought, and the next morning he found it soaked through with water. The wind had changed, the rain had beaten in through a crack in the logs and the book was ruined. How could he face the owner under such circumstances ? He had no money to offer as a return, but he took the book, went directly to Mr. Crawford, showed him the irreparable injury and frankly and honestly offered to work for him until he should be satisfied. Mr. Crawford accepted the otter, and gave Abraham the book for his own, in return for three day's steady labor in pulling fodder." His manliness and straight-forwardness won the esteem of the Crawfords, and indeed of all the neighborhood " During the last two years of his father's residence in Indiana, Abraham was employed as a flatboatman on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, at ten dollars a month; his employer being principally engaged in trading stores along the Mississippi and Louisiana plantations. It was during one of these voyages that our youthful hero and his only shipmate, the son of his employer, met with a fearful rencounter, by being attacked at the dead hour of night by a gang of half a dozen or more of black river pirates, who sought to cap- ture their boat, with the view, no doubt, of first murdering them and then robbing them of their stores. They were approaching the Cresent City, and had disposed of a portion of their cargo, when this noticeable incident in their voyage occurred. "Their boat was made fast to a lone- some shore, when some where near the middle of the night, young Lin- coln was startled from his slumber by a noise which aroused his appre- hensions. Awaking his comrade he called out through the darkness, in order to learn if any one was approaching the boat. A ferocious shout from several throats, in concert, was his answer, and the boat was im- mediately attacked by a party of seven desperate negroes from some of the neighboring plantations, who, doubtless, suspecting that there was money on board, had thought it an easy undertaking to overpower and murder the sleeping boatmen and possess themselves of the property they guarded. There was no time for parley. The robbers upon finding their stealthy approach discovered made a bold push for the coveted prize. Hardly had young Lincoln's call of inquiry passed from his lips before one of the rutfians sprung upon the edge of the boat, but no sooner did he touch the deck with his feet than he was knocked spraw- ling into the water by a blow from our backwoodsman's terrible fist. Nothing daunted by their comrades fall several more of the black river pirates leaped upon the boat with brandishing billets. But by this time the courageous boatmen had armed theuiselves with huge cudgels, to the serious detriment of the dark assailants Heavy and rapid blows fell upon either side, until the fighting-quarters became so close that the clubs were partially relinquished for a hand to hand fight. After a desperate struggle of several moments duration three more of the ruffians were tumbled into the river, and those who still remained on the boat took counsel of prudence and beat a sore-headed retreat shoreward, as best they might But, young Lincoln nothing disposed to rest satisfied with an indecisive victory was after them in an instant. Before the last three who had been plunged into the river had succeeded in crawling up the ABRAHAM LINTOLN. 5 bank, Abraham had pounded two of them on the shore almost to death with a ponderous cudgel. The first negro who had been knocked into the water fled from the avenging boatman in utter dismay, in fact, all of the "land-forces " of the enemy were speedily scattered in panic- stricken rout, when the victors paid their respects to the marine rein- forcements, dealing heavy blows upon the luckless darkies before they were well out of the water. Feeling that it was a case of life and death, doubting not that the negroes meant to murder them, the young boat- men fought with desperation ; while the negroes driven at bay were scarcely less determined ; Abraham's strength is said to have been almost superhuman on this occasion ; but both he and his comrade were badly bruised by the negroes' cudgels before the latter were compelled to beat a final retreat. Though aching from the blows which they had received, the next immediate care of the victors was to unfasten their craft and push her far out in the stream, as a precaution against further attacks, but none other were made." How little did those benighted black men think that the man whose life they sought would become the future liberator of their race ! A similar circumstance occuriiig to most of youths, of his age, would have so prejudiced their minds against the negro that the lapse of no time would have been sufficient to eradicate the antipathy. Not so, however, with the broad and comprehensive intellect of Abraham Lincoln. He knew that there were good and bad among all classes, races and colors, and that, perhaps, the very institution which a narrower and less com- prehensive mind would have justified from so trival an occasion, if from no other motives, was the cause of rendering tliem brutal and ferocious. About the time that Abraham arrived at age, news of the wonderful fertility of the western prairies began to spread throughout Indiana and Ohio, and many settlers were attracted thither. The movement became contagious, and Mr. Thomas Lincoln not being exempt from it sinfluence determined to sell his Indiana homestead and remove to the broad and rolling prairies of Illinois. Accordingly, in the month of March, 1830, all arrangements having been completed, he set out with his family in quest of a new home in the Sucker State. The jc urney, this time, was performed by means of ox-teams, and fiteen days were consumed in the transit. Their point of destination was Macon county, in which they halted, on the north bank of the Sangamon river, about ten miles from Decatur, in a westerly direction. Here they erected another log-cabin, into which the family removed and resided. The next improvement was to split the rails and fence and break ten acres of ground, in which master Abraham assisted, these being the identical rails which subse- quently became so famous in history. On this small patch of ground they raised a large crop of sod-corn the first year, which, with the game procured by Abraham's rifle was their only sustenance through a long and rigorous winter, which was the most severe of any that had ever been known in that climate. In the following spring Abraham hired himself out to a man by the name of Oflfult, to assist in building a flat-boat, on the Sangamon river, About seven miles northwest of Springfield, on which he made another voyage to the Cresent City. Being much liked and highly respected by his new employer, he was engaged by him, after his return from New Orleans, as a clerk in a store and mill at New Salem, 111., where he remained till the breaking out of the Black-Hawk war in 1832, when he joined a volunteer company, of which he was duly elected captain. His 6 PORTllAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. company was immediately marched to the expected scene of conflict in the northern part of the state, but as its time of enlistment (30 days) expired before any engagement ensued, it was disbanded and the men sent home without the honor of participating in a battle with the "pesky red-skins." A new levy, however, was soon called for, and Capt. Lincoln not being content with his first campaign, and being anxious to serve his country in some capacity, re-enlisted as a private. Time passed on with- out any i oticeable incident till the term of their enlistment again expired, and they were disbanded before the termination of the war. Still deter- mined to serve his country till the end of the war, and being desirous of participating in a battle, young Lincoln enlisted a third time with tlie same results so far as a battle was concerned. The war being over, he returned to his home and began to look about for something to do, when, greatly to his surprise, he found himself nomi- nated, by his friends, as a candidate for the State Legislature. He accepted the nomination, and notwithstanding the issue was averse to him, he had the gratifying compliment of receiving two hundred and seventy-seven votes out of the two hundred and eighty-four cast in his own town, Ntw Salem. This is said to be the only instance wherein he was ever bea'^en in a direct issue before the people; but, taking into con- sideration the fact that he had been a resident of the county only nine months, and that there were eiglit aspirants for the same ofhce, the result was not to be wondered at. The large vote polled lor him in his own town, where he was best known, shows his extreme popularity, and had he been as well known throughout the county the result of the election would doubtless have been in his favor by an overwhelming majority. We next find him officiating as post-master of the town, and the joint proprietor of a small stock of goods which he and his partner had purchased on credit. This proving a profitless speculation, he soon retired from the mercantile business, and commenced the study of law, in the practice of which he afterwards became very proficient. He continued his study, by borrowing books, about one year, at the end of which time he formed the acquaintance of one John Calhoun, (afterward the president of the notorious Lecompton-Kansas Constitu- tional Convention, )by whom he was persuaded to take up the study and practice of surveying. He soon found plenty of business in his new pro- fession, which he continued to prosecute profitably for upwards a year, when he was again nominated for the Legislature of Hlinois. Having become well known throughout the surrounding country, by means of his profession, as surveyor, and now being very pojDular, he was this time elected by a large majority over his competitor. This was his first poli- tical preferment, and his rise from this time was rapid and uninterrupted. In this, as in all former positions, he must have been a faithful and in- dustrious servant ; for he was three times re-elected to the same office, in which he served from 1834 to 1842 — a period of eight years — during which time he devoted himself dilligently to the study of the law. Hav- ing obtained a license to practice in the courts in 1836, he removed to Springfield in April, 1837, and commenced practice as a partner of the Hon. John T. Stuart. During the exciting presidential campaing of 1844, Mr. Lincoln, being an old-line Whig, ''stumped" the State of Illinois for Henry Clay. His name headed the Whig electoral ticket, in opposition to that of John Cal- houn, which headed the Democratic eleciorsbl ticket. Calhoun was regarded as the ablest debater of his party in that State and he and Mr. iiincoln ABRAHAM LINCOLN. T stumped the State together. It was in these debates that Mr. Lincoln first demonstrated his ability as a clear-headed, augumentative debator, and he came out of this canvass the acknowledged champion of the Whig party in that State. During this campaign, at a convention held at Van- dalia^ the old capital of the State, an old man carried a banner with this device : " Abraham Lincoln, President in 1860." "This is a well attested fact," says the writer, "but what was the pro- phet's name we have not been able to learn " If this be true, as we have no reason to doubt, it was remai'kably pro- phetic, as it was some sixteen years before Mr. Lincoln's name was ever thought of by any one else in connection with the Presidency. In 1846 Mr. Lincoln was elected a Representative to Congress from the central district of Illinois. He Avas the first Whig who had ever been elected to represent the State in Congress — his six colleagues all having been elected under Democratic reign. Although Mr. Lincoln's Congres- sional career was brief, he always took an active part in all measures which came before the house for its deliberation — voting either ^)?-o or con upon all questions. In 1849 he was a candidate before the Illinois Leg- islature for U. S. Senator, but that body being strongly Democratic, elected Mr. Shields in his stead. For four or five years succeeding this period Mr. Lincoln devoted himself almost exclusively to the study and practice of his profession, being but little engaged in public aifairs. But the desperate political struggle which ensued in 1854, on the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, again brought him into the political arena in de- fense of freedom and the right; and it was mainly through his influence and labors that Illinois elected her first Republican Legislature, which gave her in return Lyman Trumbull, a lawyer and statesman of no ordi- nary ability, for United States Senator. Mr. Lincoln was a candidate for the same office, the Republicans invariably casting their votes for him on every ballot, while the anti-Nebraska Democrats united on Mr. Trum- bull Mr. Lincoln fearing that the latter would withdraw from Trumbull and unite upon some one else of less ability, and whose anti-slavery record was not so clear as that of Mr. T., begged of his friends to desert him and cast a solid vote for Mr. Trumbull. Although the sacrifice was a dear one to them, they finally, through Mr. Lincoln's personal appeals yielded, and thus elected Mr. Trumbull. It was in this year tliat the anti-Nebraska (afterwards the Republican) party offered Mr. Lincoln the nomination for governor, but he declined, saying, " No, I am not the man ; Bissell will make a better governor than I, and you can elect him on account of his Democratic antecedents." Bissell was accordingly put ia nomination and elected. The next important event in the history of Mr. Lincoln, which contri- buted very materially to his growing celebrity, and which was the cause of bringing him out more prominently before the American people as a representative man, was his canvassing the State of Illinois, in the cam- paign of 1858, in connection with Steplien A. Douglass; though this was not the first time that he had measured his strength with the Little Giant. Their first meeting in debate took place in Springfield, 111., in October, during the campaign of 1854, in which it is said that Mr. Lincoln came out gloriously triumphant. A similar passage was tried at Peoria, but « PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. Mr. Douglas came out of this so badly worsted, that he afterwards " failed to come to time," by keeping out of the way during the remainder of the campaign. But it remained for the great senatorial contest of 1858 to engage the herculean strength of these two representative men in deadly conflict for the mastery of a principle. Judge Douglas was the universally acknowledged champion of Demo- cracy, and was considered by far the ablest man of the party ; while the position which Mr. Lincoln held in the Republican ranks, was but little inferior. It, therefore, wag not at all surprising that the eyes of an entire con- tinent of people, who were then standing upon the brink of a mighty revolution, which might at any time launch them upon an unknown political sea, without either chart or compass, were turned to the scene of conflict, to await the result with breathless anxiety. The day of election finally arrived, and although Mr. Lincoln received the popular vote, indirectly, the direct vote, whicli was cast by the Legis- lature, was in favor of Mr. DougLis who was thereby returned to the Senate by a majority of eight. The contest, however, was not merely to decide who should represent the State of Illinois in the National Councils, but it was for the ascendency of a principle, and that principle involving the stability, nay, the very existence of our republican institutions, for the able manner in which Mr. Lincoln disposed of his antagonist, and his popular dogma of " Squatter Sovereignty," we must refer the reader to the published reports of those debates, as the limits which we have set for this work will not admit of even a summary of the powerful argu- ments by which he carried his points on those memorable occasions. As an instance, however, of his eloquence and patriotism, we will here sub- join the following tribute which he paid to the Declaration of Independ- ence, during that campaign: "Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great land-marks of the Declaration of independence;, if you have listened to suggestions which would take away its grandeur and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions, if you have been inclined to believe that all men are not created equal in these inalienable rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come back — return to the fountain whose waters spring close to the blood of the revo- lution. You may do anything with me you choose, if you only heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat me for the Senate, but you may take me and put me to death. While pretending no indifference to earthly honors, I do claim to be actuated in this contest by something higher than an anxiety for ofiice. I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man's success. It is nothing ; I am nothing ; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that immortal emblem of humanity — the Declaration of American Independence " After the close of this senatorial contest, and before the opening of the Presidential campaign of i860, Mr. Lincoln visited several other States, where he made a large number of speeches, which were received with great enthusiara ; but the crowning effort of his life was made at the Cooper Institute, in New Yoik, in February, 18G0 With this speech he ended his labors in that direction, and remained quietly at home till after his nomination and election to the Presidency, when, on the 4th of March, 1861, he entered upon the eventful life of the past four years, with the history of which all are familiar. Never did a President of the United ABRAHAM LINCOLN. ' 9 States come into power under such perplexing and embarrassing circum- stances as those which surrounded the Government at the advent of Mr- Lincoln's Administration. Six of the Southern States had already passed oi-dinances of secession, while several others were on the eve of doing the same. Fort Sumter was completely beseiged by a gordian line of batteries, nearly surrounding it on all sides, and cutting off its garrison from all reenforcements and supplies, while several other forts, arsenals, navy yards, &c., had already fallen into the hands of the enemy. The United States Treasury had been robbed and plundered of the last dollar and copper coin by the sneak-thieves of Mr. Buchanan's Cabinet. John B. Floyd, Mr. Buchanan's Secretary of War, had completely dismantled and stripped all the Northern forts and arsenals of all ordnance, arms, ammunition, &c., and had them shipped to the South to be used in the destruction of the Government. The small standing army had been dis- persed along the frontier of Texas and to other remote territories beyond the immediate control of the in-coming Executive, while the few ships belonging to the Navy were scattered to the remotest quarters of the globe. United States Senators and Represe^ntatives had sat in mid-night conclave in the Legislative Halls of the Nation, concocting treason for the overthrow and subversion of the Constitution which each had solemnly sworn to uphold and support. The Cabinet of the preceding adminis- tration, with two or three honorable exceptions, was reeking with damna- ble treason of the foulest dye, while nearly every branch of the Govern- ment was administered by the hands of its enemies instead of those of its friends, and even the Chief Executive himself, either paralyzed with fear, or purposely conniving with the treason-mongers of his own crea- tion, looked quietly on and saw the noblest work of man -a republican government — disappear, as he supposed, beneath the dark waters of oblivion, over which the mighty waves of rebellion and despotism, for aught that he cared, might roll for ages unborn. Bold, defiant treason, disrobed of all habiliments of pretended loyalty, stalked abroad in mid-day through the highways as well as the by ways of the National Capital, hissing fiery intonations of hatred to the Union through a thousand serpent tongues, and breathing bitter imprecations upon the heads of its supporters. An impenetrable gloom, like a funeral pall, hung over the future of the Nation, and the stoutest hearts quailed with fear before the impending storm which none, save a providential hand, could then avert. Such were the circumstances under which the aiministration of Abraham Lincoln came into power and assumed control of the Government. The events of the first term of his administration —his re-election to the same office in 1864, and the dreadful tragedy of the 14th of April, 1865, which terminated his life on the succeeding day, must here be omit- ted, as they belong to a more detailed history of himself and the war to which the student is i-espectfully referred. The only fault, if any, that can be found with the Administration of Mr. Lincoln, was that he was too mild and lenient with traitors, and not sufficiently vigerous in the prosecution of the war. True, his ene- mies — the Copperheads of the North — charged him with being a tyrant, and with wielding the military power of the Government with despotic Bway, for the advantage of himself and party, and to the c/isad vantage and oppression of his political opponents; but the very fact of their hav- ing been allowed to go about the country spouting treason from every rostrum, and abusing the Administration in the most unmeasured terms, was a sufficient refutation of these charges, and gave the lie to the foul 10 PORTRAITS AND BTOOR \PniES. mouths and hypocritical hearts of those who uttered them. Many of hi« friends, with more impulsive temperaments than that which Mr. Lincoln possessed, were impatient at the dilatory manner in which the war was conducted during the first two years of its progress, and judging from a material stand-point, they were correct in their estimates; but when the whole situation is viewed from a more interior perception of the nature and causes of the difficulty and the results necessary to be brought about, it will readily be acknowledged that all has been for the best; or in other words, that the hand of a special Providence, whose purposes were far above the comprehension of all human wisdom, has guided the Nation through the perilous storm of the past four years, and shaped its desti- nies in accordance with the great fundamental principles of Human Rights, inherent in all men, of a/Z colors, and ot all nationalities. The curse of human slavery was not only a foul blot upon the other- wise bright escutcheon of the Nation, and a libel upon the Declaration of Rights, which preceded American Independence, but it was a canker of immense proportions, gnawing at the very heart of the Nation, and des- tined, sooner or later, to absorb its vitality, but the question of how to dispose of four millions of h«man beings, held in abject servitude to the will of the master, who was bound to the institution by all the selfish ties of his nature, without disrupting the Union, was one which baifled the skill of the wisest statesmen. To have made war direclty upon the institution, with the avowed purpose of exterminating it, would have thrown the responsibility of all the blood-shed, crime and unutterable horrors growing out of it, upon us of the North, from which all, but the most reckless of hot-headed abolitionists, would have shrunk appalled ; yet nothing short of a hostile collision between the two antagonistic sections and conditions of society, would accomplish the result. It there- fore became necessary to verify the old adage of " Whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad." That the friends of the Government might be in the right and clearly acting on the defensive, it was necessary that its enemies should be instigated to strike the fir^t blow. That such was the case the writer of this not only believes, but he also believes that " Old Crazy .John Brown," so-called, was merely an instrument in the hands of a Higher Power to probe this purulent sore, and bring the morbific matter to the surface before it should strike in so deep as to destroy the vital organism of the patient. The Government had become so corrupt under so called Democratic rule, that had things been allowed to proceed uninterruptedly for a few years longer, it would have fallen to pieces of its own inherent rottenness, and consequently been past all cure. The war, ostensibly commenced in the interest of slavery, was one, nevertheless, on the part of a Higer Power, for the destruction of the institution and the purgation of the Government Now had Mr. Lincoln been possessed of a military genius and the strong iron will and individuality of an Andrew Jackson, he would have brought the entire strength of the Government down upon the rebellion at once, and wiped it out, in which event the status of slavery would not have been disturbed, as the public opinion of the North would not have sustained the President, in case of any attempted interference in that direction, in so radical a measure. Under this adjustment of the National difficulties, the dough- faces of the North, in order to placate the slave-drivers of the South, lest they might be instigated to a renewal of hostilities, would not only have yielded their liberties, but even their manhoods to the behests of their Southern masters, who would have become more imperious and domineer- ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 11 ing than ever before. The only efiFectual plan which supernal wisdom could devise, was to prolong the war under the most cruel and barbarous practices of the rebels, till the people of the North should be educated, aa it were, into the idea of exterminating slavery, root and branch, and till the haughty and overbearing spirit which itengendered. should be com- pletely cowed and whipped into submission ; and nothing short of great tribulation to the people of the North, and complete physical prostration of the people of the South would accomplish this result, and how well it has been done, let the proceedings of the recent conventions of Mississippi and South Carolina, two of the most rabid of the late Confederate States, attest. A greater reformation of the political, social and moral status of the United States has taken place within the last four years, under the scourge of cruel war, than could have been accomplished in centuries without it, so that what at first appeared to be a great National calamity, has proven to be a great National "blessing in disguise." True, the iron heel of relentless war has left its foot-prints in deep scars all over the land, and nearly every family has been called upon to mourn the loss of a victim to its remorseless hand; but war, with all its horrors, is not the greatest calamity which can befall a nation. It is better to suffer the amputation of a limb, than that the entire body should perish with it. So far, then, as the general results of the war are concerned, they could not have been bettered. Not that Mr. Lincoln, or any other living man, foresaw the results and shaped the course of the Old Ship of State accordingly; but, as has been intimated, a Higher Power was at the helm, and no fitter instrument than Abraham Lincoln could be found as an agent in the hands of that Power to carry out its general designs. Again: had Mr Lincoln adopted the rigorous policy pursued by Mr. Davis in his dominions, respecting the free expression of opinion, and put a padlock upon every man's lips, the consequence would have been that as soon as the fortunes of war were decided in our favor, every cop- perhead of the North would have sworn that he was just as good a union man as his neighbor, and had alivays been in favor of coercion; but every man having been allowed to freely express his opinions, the enemies of the Government — the Vallandighams, the Woods, the Seymours, the Voorhees, etc — unwittingly committed themselves, and are now — they and their posterity — indelibly stamped with the "Seal of traitor on their brows," and, consequently, under the ban of all respectable society, and forever excluded from holding any office of profit or trust under the Government, with decentlj'^ civilized people for constituents. One of the objects of the war, as we have already stated, was to purge the Govern- ment of all corrupt and dirty politicians of the North, as well as to break down the slave aristocracy of the South, and nothing could have contributed so effectually to this end as the mild course pursued by the Administra- tion with respect to its enemies in the North, so that in this arrange- ment, also, we clearly perceive the wisdom manifested in selecting a man of Abraham Lincoln's kind and genial nature lor such an occasion. That the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln was also Providential, is the humble opinion of the writer. Not that a kind Providence insti- gated the minions of slavery to the fiendish and cowardly act, but it was in their wicked and rebellious hearts to do so from the beginning, and the same guardian hand which had protected him so far, might, as on former occasions, have interfered so as to have averted the calamity. Why then, it may be asked, was not this power brought into requisition, 12 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. that his life might have been spared to the nation, and he permitted to reap the reward of his labors? Tlie war was virtually ended, and the angel of Peace was about to smile again upon the Nation, and oh! how cruel that he, who was about to extend the olive branch of peace and fraternal love to his bitterest enemies, should thus be stricken down and snatched in such a manner from the field of his labors. Where, oh, where was that protecting hand which had guided his every step through the fiery ordeal from which the Nation was just emerging? Had the Gods abdicated their Thrones and abandoned the control of the Universe to blind Fate that anarchy and misrule might reign Supreme? Why permit the enactment of this dreadful tragedy which plunged an entire Nation into the profoundest grief, and sent a reverberating echo of thrilling horror to the remotest parts of the civilized world? We answer, for wise and benevolent purposes, that good might come out of, or through evil. Abraham Lincoln had finished his work, and when the hour came where- in he could serve his country better in death than in life, then, and not till then, was the enemy permittad to carry out a long cherished design. The military power of the rebellion was broken, and in the work of reconstruction, a hand of sterner justice was needed to hold the reins of government, lest the fruits of victory, so dearly won, might, in a great measure, be lost through mistaken kindness. But this was not all* Another victim, still, was required as a sacrifice upon the altar of Free- dom. There was no crime, however revolting, which the rebels had not been guilty of during the progress of the war ; but the murdering in cold blood of the good, the noble, the kind-hearted President of the people was demanded as the last crowning act of INFAMY to place the institution of slavery, in whose interest the deed was committed, under the ban of the whole civilized world, /or all time to come. The sentence has been passed, and nearly every man in the South, identified with the interests of sla- very, now feels that the blood of that great and good man is upon his own head, and this, in no inconsiderable degree, tends to humble his pride and render him obedient to the powers that be. It was for these, and perhaps other kindred reasons, that the lamented President was permitted to be removed from earth's scenes to a brighter and more exalted sphere of existence, where his pure spirit now commingles, in council, with those of Washington, Jeiferson, Franklin, etc., who are not dead to the interests of their country. Should the reader differ with us in opinion, theologically as well as politically, we would ask if he believes in an Overruling Power, wliich, acting either directly or through intermediate ar/ents, shapes and controls the destinies of nations? If so, we would suggest that that Power has neither looked quietly on, maintaining a position of "armed neutrality," and let things take their own course during the mightj^ events of the past four years, fior left its work half done. ANDREW JOHNSON. ' Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth President of the United States, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, December 29, 1808. His father died while he was yet scarcely advanced beyond infancy, and the family was thus left in extreme poverty At ten years of age Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. Here a casual circumstance gave direction to his whole after life. Among his master's customers was an eccentric gentleman who habitually visited the shop and read aloud from books or newspapers to the journeymen. The boy soon learned to read from this gentleman, and after the long day's work was over he regularly devoted two or three hours to study. Upon the expiration of his apprenticeship he was seventeen. He then left Raleigh, and pursued his trade for two years at Laurens Court House, South Carolina. Thence he returned to Raleigh, and very soon afterward moved westward with his mother to Tennessee, and at Greenville again appears as a tailor. Here he mar- ried, and a choice of a partner proved exceedingly fortunate for his future prospects. He knew now how to read. But his wife taught him writing and arithmetic. It was in 1829 that Mr. Johnson held his first ofiBce-that of Alderman. He was elected Mayor in 1830, and served in that capacity three years. In 1835 he was sent to the State Legislatui'e. His politics were those of the party then known as Democratic. His first speech was against a 14 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. measure for internal improvement In 1841 he was elected to the Sta<^ Senate, and two years afterward representative in Congress. In regaid to the admission of Texas into the Union, the Mexican war, the Taritf v^f 1846, and the Homestead Bill, Mr. .Johnson took very strong Democratic ground. In 1>51 he was chosen Governor of Tennessee, to which office he was re-elected in 1855. In 1857 he was elected to the United States Senate for the full term, which ended in 1863. Mr. Johnson's record during the revolutionary period, out of which we are now passing, at first may he said to have fluctuated in certain respects, but it was never for a moment doubtful as to the necessity of the Union. In a speech of his delivered December 19, 1860, while he was defiant against the threat of Southern States to force the Border States into the Confederacy, he also gave some ambiguous utterances as to the insult which would be offered to any State by the threat of coer cion from the North. But in that speech his argument against secession was very strong as affecting Southern interests. He predicted that dis- union must destroy slavery ; that a hostile or even alien government upon the border of the slaveholding States would be the natural liaveu of rest to the hunted slave. He said that if one division was allowed another would follow, "and," said he, "rather than see this Union divi- ded into thirty-three petty governments, with a little prince in one, a potentate in another, a little aristocracy in another, a little democracy in a fourth and a republic somewhere else- a citizen not being permitted to pass from one State to another without a passport or a commission from his government- with quarreling and warring among the petty powers, which would result in anarchy — I would rather see this govern- ment to day — I proclaim it here in my place — converted into a consoli- dated government." In a speech made March 2, 1861, he said : "Show me those who make war on the Government and fire on its vessels, and I will show you a traitor. If I were President of the United States I would have all such arrested, and, if convicted, by the Eternal God I would have tliem hung ! " On the 4th of March, 1862, after the capture of Nashville by the National forces, Mr. Johnson was appointed by the President Military Governor of Tennessee, with the rank of Brigadier General. The accept- ance of this position necessitated, of course, the resignation of his situa- tion in the Senate. As Military Governor Mr. JoHiNson was both just and firm. If he exacted a very rigorous test-oath from the disloyal, it was bejause he was convinced that, in justice, all government must be in the interest of loyal men. If he exacted from ricli secessionists large sums of money for the support of the poor citizens who had been impoverished by the rebellion, it was because those men were responsi- ble for the poverty which was thus alleviated. As to Mr. Johnson's future policy, his explicit statements leave us no tojIo. for doubt. Except in the abolition of slavery, the States are to retain the character which belonged to them before the war. We are pledged, according to the requirements of the Constitution, to secure to these States a republican form of government. In reply to the question, What constitutes a State ? Mr. Johnson answers, " Its loyal citizens." It is into the hands of these that the work of reconstruction will be committed. Mr. Johns )N comes into power through a most melancholy occurrence, but he has entered upon the duties of his office with a dignity and firm- ness that elicits at the same time the confidence of the American people May God spare his life and guide his steps ! ' TJ. S. GRANT. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, Comniaudev-in-Chief of the United States forces, was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, on the 27th day of April, 1822, and is consequently forty -three years of age. He entered West Point in 1839, and graduated in 1848, with Franklin, Reynolds, Steel, etc. Having entered the fourth Infan- try, he obtained his full commission at Corpus Christe, in 1845, and served at all the battles under Taylor. His regiment subsequently joined General Scott, and young Grant figured conspicuously at all the battles of the old hero's campaign. For Molino del Rio he got a brevet of First Lieutenant, and for Chaupultepec one of Captain. He subsequently obtained his full rank as Captain, and accompanied his regiment to Oregon. In 1854 he resigned his commission, and took up his residence at Galena, Illinois. On the outbreak of the rebellion he tendered his services to Governor Yates, and was shortly afterward appointed Colonel of the Twenty-tirst 111. regiment. On May 17th, 1861, he was commissioned Brigadier Gen- eral, and filled various commands in Missouri and vicinity. After the capture of Fort Henry, February 6, 18l52, a new district was created, 16 PORTRAITS A.ND BIOGRAPHIES. under the denomination of the District of West Tennessee, and General Grant was assigned by General Halleck to the command of it on the 14th of that month. He was in command of the Union forces at Fort Donel- 8on from February 13 to the 16, 1862, and his noted correspondence with General Biickner gave him the sobriquet of Unconditional Surrender Grant. For the success of that action he was created Major-General of Vol- unteers, dating from February 16, 1862. After the attack and failure of General Sherman at Vicksburg, December 27, 1862, a regular plan of operations had to be worked out, and many schemes were planned and attempted, to get into the rear of the rebel strong-hold, either from above or below, among which may be particularized the Yazoo Pass expedition, the Big Sunflower expedition, the Vicksburg Canal, the Lake Providence Canal and Gre?-t Union River, and several others; but the one that has most successfully contributed to the grand result was the moving down of Grant's troops overland by way of the Loui- siana shore, running transports and gun-boats past the Vicksburg bat- teries, and so carrying the men across the Mississippi to Bruinsburg and landing them under cover of the gun-boats. These maneuvers took up time, but with the exception of the last, were mere feints to draw off the attention of the rebels from his main move- ment. With three out of his four corps of troops, he advanced into the heart of the rebel State, took possession of its capital, and beat the rebels in four pitched battles. Having captured the place, and leaving the brigade of General Mower to destroy the property of the Rebel Govern- ment, General Grant, on the morning of the 14th of May, 1863, took up his march for Vicksburg. On his way thither, he fought the battles of "Champion's Hill," and "Black River Bridge," capturing nearly two thousand prisoners and thirteen guns in the former action, and seven- teen guns and over two thousand prisoners in the latter. On the 18th of this month he pitched his camp near Vicksburg, and laid siege to the town, which he continued, pressing the rebels closer each succeeding day, till finally, on the fourth day of July, over six weeks from the time he arrived in front, he had the satisfaction of seeing the place fall into his hands, with its entire garrison of over thirty thousand prisoners. For his heroic conduct on this occasion, President Lincoln made him a Major-General in the regular army, and he subsequently received "a vote of thanks" and a gold medal from Congress for meritorious conduct on various occasions. The same Congress, on the nomination of the President, made him Lieutenant-General, and having received his com- mission on March 9, 1864, as Commander-in-Chief of the United States forces, he immediately transferred his own head-quarters to the Army of the Potomac, leaving General Sherman as his vicegerent to carry on the Western Campaign. No sooner was he in command than he set to work to re-organize and re-enforce Meade's Army in the most effective manner, for the most momentous and decisive campaign of the war. His Corps Commanders, as well as all subordinate officers, were care- fully selected and judiciously distributed, and all things being in readi- ness, the grand Army of the Potomac once more received the word of command: 'Forward to Richmond.' But this time there was to be no "child's play," for Grant drove Lee, step by step, within the fortifica- tions of Richmond, where he held him with a tenacious grip, till he was obliged to evacuate that strong-hold, and finally compelled to capitulate for the surrender of his entire army. WILLIAM T. SHERMAN. Major-GejSteral Willtam T. Sherman was born in Ohio in 1818, and is consequently forty-seven years old. He graduated at West Point in li^'40, in the same class with General Thomas, and was promoted to a first lieutenancy in 1840. He served in California during the Mexican war, and was brevetted captain for meritorious conduct. At the commence- ment of hostilities with the South, he offered his services to the Govern- ment, and was appointed Colonel of the Thirteenth Infantry, which regiment he commanded in Bull Run. Afterward appointed a Brigadier General he succeeded General Anderson in command of the Department of Ohio, from which he was subsequently removed, because he said that 200,000 men would be needed to fight the rebels successfully in Kentucky. This statement — afterward found to be true — was at that time suggestive of insanity. At the battle of Shiloh, he took so prominent a part that Halleck reported to the War Department that the final success of the battle was mainly due to him. Having been promoted to a Major-Generalship, he was placed in command of the Fifth Division of General Grant's Army, and took an important part in the seige of Vicksburg. In February, 1864, General Sherman left Vicksburg on a big raiding expedition through the State of Mississippi and into the interior of Ala- 18 PORTRAITS AND -BIOGRAPHIES. bama. General Smith, with a large cavalry expedition, left Memphis, Tennessee, at the same time with the view of co-operating with Sherman and ultimately forming a junction with his forces, but being overpowered by the concentrated cavalry forces of the enemy, he was compelled io return to Memphis, and this necessitated also tlie retreat of General Sherman before the object of his expedition was fully accomplished. Although General Sherman's expedition failed to reach Selma, Ala- bama — its objective point at the time of leaving Vicksburg — it was by no means one barren of results, for it turned out to be the most destruc- tive to the enemy of any which had occurred during the progress of the war. The army marched 400 miles in 24 days, penetrating to Meri- dian, Mississippi, where it destroyed the rebel arsenal, stockade with valuable machinery for the manufacture of small arms and all sorts of ordnance stores, and burned twelve extensive government sheds, a large number of warehouses filled with military stores and ammunition, sev- eral great mills with 20,000 bushels of corn, and nearly every building in any way occupied for war purposes. The towns of Enterprise, Marion, Quitman. Hillsboro, Lake Station, Decatur, Briton, and others, devasta- ted; while depots, flour-mills, cotton, bridges, &c., at all points along the route, were either destroyed or rendered useless to the enemy. Nearly one hundred miles of railroad were completely destroyed or damaged beyond immediate repair, together with locomotives, cars, &c. Besides all this, nearly ten thousand slaves were liberated, nearly six thousand of whom accompanied the expedition back to" Vicksburg. The entire loss of the expedition did not exceed fifty men in killed and wounded. On the 5th of May, 1864, General Sherman, with an able corps of com- manders, commenced his great campaign in the State of Georgia, which culminated in his unparalleled raid through that State and the Carolinas, and the final capitulation of the rebel forces in North Carolina under Gen- eral Johnston, which gave the finishing blow to the Rebellion. Nearly a whole year was consumed in consummating the objects of this raid through the heart of the Southern States, but it probably done more towards crushing out the rebellion than the same array could have accomplished in thi-ee years in any other position. True, Grant had already adminis- tered a mortal wound to the enemy in the capture of Richmond and Lee's Army, but his ability to accomplish this result in the time and manner in which it was done, was, undoubtedly, owing to Sherman hav- ing greatly weakened the Confederacy^ by cutting it twain, and to the fact that Johnson drew heavily from Lee's army to check the onward march of Sherman in the direction of the doomed Capitol. Had the combined forces of Grant and Sherman been concentrated in front of the enemy before Richmond, its evacuation by the rebels would probably have been necessitated months before, but in that event, Lee would have fallen back a short distance and again fortified, thereby necessitating another assult by our forces upon a second stronghold, which would have been defended with the same tenacity by the enemy, and thus he would have contested every inch of ground from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico. It, therefore, is not saying too much for General Sherman, nor detracting from the well earned reputation of his illustri- ous Superior, when we assert that to bis genius more than to that of any Other general, is the country iialebted for the overthrow of the military power of the rebellion. Indeed he is, toithoui exception, the greatest military genius of the age, but of this, more anon in a future work, embracing phrenological characters as well as biographies of all the leading generals. PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN. Major-General Philip Henry Sheridan was born of Irish parentage in Perry County, Ohio, in 1831. He was appointed to a cacletship at West Point in 1848, and graduated there in June, 1853. In the same year he was appointed Brevet Second-Lieutenant in the First United States Infantry, and ordered to duty at Fort Duncan, Texas, where he remained about two years. Early in 1855, he was promoted to a Second- Lieutenancy in the Fourth United States Infantry. In July of that year, he went to California in charge of a body of recruits, and was appointed to the command of the escort of Lieutenant Williams, engaged in survey- ing a route for a proposed branch of the Pacific Railroad from San Fran- cisco to the Columbia River, Oregon. Detached at Vancouver's Island, in September, 1855, he was assigned a command of a body of dragoons which accompanied Major Raine's expedition against the Yakima Indians. In an engagement with them, April 28, 1856, Lieutenant Sheridan acquitted himself so gallantly as to be mentioned in general orders. On the I4th of March, 1861, he was promoted to a Captaincy in the Thirteenth Infanti'y, and from that position he gradually advanced until June, 1862, when he became commander of the Second Brigade of tho Cavalry Division, Army of the Mississippi, having served with great gal- 20 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. lantry in some of the heaviest engagements in the Southwest. In July, 18(i2, he defeated the rebel General Chalmers before Corinth, and was at once promoted to the grade of Brigadier-General. He participated in the battles of Perryville, where he held the key of the Federal position, and repulsed two desperate charges of the rebels. General Sheridan was in command of a division at the battle of Stone River, and distin- guished himself in a most remarkable manner, for which, on the special recommendation of General Rosecrans, he was made a Major-General. In April, 1864, General Sheridan was transferred to the Army of the Potomac, and on the 29th of the same month he was installed as Chief of Cavalry. On the 9th of May following, he commenced his great cavalry raids in Virginia, his first expedition being the capture of Ashland, Va., where he destroyed two trains of cars, several locomotives, engine-houses, Confederate store-houses, and six miles of railroad. At Yellow Tavern, on the Fredericksburg and Richmond Railroad, he was intercepted by the rebel Chief, J. E. B. Stuart, who started from Richmond with a large lot ce of fresh troopers, boastful and confident of success ; but after a fight of great severity, in which the enemy suffered severely, Sheridan com- pletely scattered the rebels in every direction, and killed their notorious leader. On the 6th of August, 1864, General Sheridan was assigned to com- mand of the armies of West Virginia. He immediately commenced a vigorous campaign against the rebel General Early, who had been hav- ing things all his own way in the Shanandoah Valley, His first skirmish with the enemy was on the 8th, ten miles from Winchester, and on the 11th, a part of his cavalry met a body of rebels near Martinsburg, which, after a short engagement, was put to rout. On the Pith, Sheridan's advance came upon Early's army, at Cedar Creek, which retreated toward Strasburg, but Sheridan vigorously pursued, and compelled him to retreat still further westward. On the 19th of September, near Win- chester, General Sheridan attacked Early, who had recently been largely re-enforced, and captured 2,500 prisoners, 5 guns, 9 battle-tigas, and com- pletely routed the enemy, who fled in dismay. On the 22nd, he again met the enemy at Fishers Hill, and cari-ied his worKs by gallant char- ges, taking 16 guns, 3,000 prisoners, and thoroughly routing him. In a subsequent raid through the Shanandoah Valley, he destroyed 200 well-filled barns, 70 mills filled with grain, killed over 30,000 sheep for his army, and herded several thousand head of cattle. On the 17th of October, during a temporary absence of Sheridan, his army was sur- prised early in the morning by Early, and driven back four miles with the loss ot 20 guns. The General being at Winchester, heard the roar of battle, mounted his horse and started full speed for the scene of conflict. lie met his army retreating in great disorder, but he quickly united his corps, changed position of his forces, and at 3 P. M. attacked the enemy, capturing 43 guns, a large number of prisoners, wagons, ambulances, &,c. The enemy fled in great tumult, and Sheridan, pursuing, came up the next day with his retreating forces, and scattered them in every direction; Early's whole losses exceeding 10,000 men and over 300 wag- ons. Having completely cleaned the rebels out of the Shanandoah, Gen- eral Sheridan rejoined the Army of the Potomac, and rendered valuable assistance in the siege and capture of Richmond and the subsequent cap- ture of Lee, whom he headed off by several days' forced marches. Gen- eral Sheridan is a thorough soldier and ranks amon^ the ablest generals of the army. JOSEPH HOOKER. Major-General Josei-h Hohker was born in Massachusetts in 1817, and is consequently 48 years of age. At the outbreak of the war with Mexico he accompanied Brigadier-General Hamer as Aid-de-camp, and was brevetted Captain for gallant conduct in several conflicts at Mon- terey. In March, 1847, he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General, with the rank of Captain At the National Bridge he distinguished him- self, and was brevetted Major ; and at Chaupultepcc he again attracted attention by his gallant and meritorious conduct, and was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel, At the close of the war with Mexico he withdrew from the service, and soon afterward emigrated to California. The outbreak of the rebellion found him there, and he was one of the first of the old West Pointers who offered his services to the Government. He was one of the first batch of Brigadier-Generals of Volunteers, appointed by President Lincoln on the 17th of May, 1861 ; and was, on his arrival, placed in command of a brigade of the Army of the Potomac, and subsequently of a division. When the Army of the Potomac moved to the Peninsula, General Hooker accompanied it in charge of a division. In the contest at Wil- liamsburg his division bravely stood the brunt of the battle, the rank of the Excelsior Brigade actually being mowed down as they stood up in line At Fair Oaks the men again showed their valor, and the General his fighting qualities. In the various minor contests Hooker took his 22 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. part, and bravely went through with his share of the seven clays' fights, When M'Clellan's army was placed under the command of General Pope, we find the names of "Fighting Joe Hooker" and General Kearney mentioned together in the thickest of the struggle; and again at South Mountain and Sharpsburg he seems to have been second to no one. At the latter fight he was shot through the foot and obliged to leave the field ; but for this accident, he thinks he would have driven the rebels into the Potomac. On the 25th day of January, 1863, General Hooker superseded Major-General Burnside in command of the Army of the Potomac. His first engagement with the rebels after assuming command of the army, was with Lee's forces at the battle of Chancellorsville, on the Rappahannock, on May 2d, 1863. The battle raged furiously on both sides from the 2d to the 4th, and Hooker being overpowered and driven back by the forces of Lee, was compelled to return with a loss of ten thousand in killed and wounded. On the 27th day of June, follon;ing. General Hooker was relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac, and subsequently transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, where he commanded a division in its advance into the State of Georgia, greatly distinguishing himself at the battles of Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, etc. In the spring of 1864, General Hooker was assigned to the command of the Department of Ohio, with headquarteis at Cincinnati, where he remained till the summer of 1865, when he was transferred to command in New York in place of General Dix, whom he superseded, the latter having resigned his commission as Major-General. At the present winting (Oct. 4, 1865) we see by announcement in the Cincinnati Commercial, that he has just been married to a Miss Olivia Groesbeck, of Cincinnati, 0., which, says the Commercial, is the first time he has ever surrendered. In person. General Hooker is very tall, erect, compactly, but not stoutly built, extremely muscular, and of great phj'^^sical endurance, of a bright complexion, a fresh, ruddy countenance, full, clear, mild eyes, intellectual head, brown hair, slightly tinged with gray — and altogether oue of the most commanding officers in bearing and appearance in the army. In social intercourse, he is frank, unpretending, and courteous, remov- ing embarrassment from even the humblest personage that approaches him. It is only when at the head of his command and in the storm of battle that he arrays himself in the stern and lofty aspect of a command- ing military chieftain Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to know how he obtained the historic name of " Fighting Joe Hooker " On one occasion, after a battle in which Hooker's men had distinguished them- selves for their fighting qualities, thus adding to the favor of their com- mander, a dispatch to the New York Associated Press was received at the office of one of the principal agencies announcing the fact. One of the copyists, wishing to show in an emphatic manner that this com- mander was really a fighting man, placed over the head of the manifold copies of the dispatch the words " Fighting Joe Hooker." Of course the heading went to nearly every newspaper office of the country, through the various agencies, and was readily adopted by the editors and printed in their journals. The sobriquet was also adopted by the army, and he is now universally known by it. Thus, an unpretending, innocent copyist, unaware that ho was making history, prefixed to this General's name, a title that will live forever in the annals of the country ! GEORGE H. THOMAS. Major-Gbneral George H. Thomas was born in Southampton county Virginia, in July, 1816, and is consequently forty-nine years old. He was appointed from that State to West Point in 1836, graduated on July 1st, 1840, and was appointed to the Third Artillery. In the following year he distinguished himself in the war against the Florida Indians and was brevetted First Lieutenant for his gallantry. He accompanied General Taylor to Mexico, and at Monterey won the rank of brevet Cap- tain. At Buena Vista, again, he distinguished himself nobly, and was brevetted Major. On the close of the war he returned home, and in 1850 assumed the responsible post of Instructor of Artillery and Cavalry at West Point. At the outbreak of the war. Major Thom.as was one of the five Virgini- ans whose honor would not suffer him to rebel against his country's flag, and in May, 1861, he was appointed Colonel of the Fifth Cavalry the Colonel, Robert E Lee, and the Lieutenant-Colonel, having joined the rebels. In August, of the same year, he received the appointment of Brigadier-General of Volunteers and proceeded to the west, where fjr 24 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. some time he had an independent command. It was he who, when all around seemed black and liopeless, restored joy to the hearts of loyal people by the victory of Spring Mill, in Kentucky, the first of the bril- liant series of victories which ended with the se>en days' fights before Richmond. He was subsequently appointed to the command of a corps in BuelTs army. When General Buell was superseded by General Rosecrans, General Thomas assumed command of a corps in the Army of the Cumberland, and on the removal of General Rosecrans, he was appointed to the command of the army. At the Battle of Chicamauga, his skill and the unfaltering courage of his troops, saved us from an irreparable disaster, and he is justly entitled to be considered the hero of those bloody days. When General Sherman cut loose from Atlanta, he left General Thomas with a large force in the rear to take care of Hood, who had flanked Sherman's army at Atlanta, and was making a detour in the direction of Nashville. While Sherman was creating great havoc with the rebels in the inte- rior of Georgia, they consoled themselves with the idea that Hood at the same time Avas "thundering away at the gates of Nashville." This, however, turned out to be poor consolation to them, for the superior gen- eralship of Thomas drew Hood into a snare from which it cost him nearly one-half his entire army to extricate himself. Thomas fell back before i ood from Pulaski, Tenn., in the direction of Franklin, and Hood, taking this as an indication of Thomas' inability to cope with him, vigorously pursued and gave fight at the latter place on the 30th of November, which resulted in his being repulsed with a loss of 5,000 killed and 1,000 prisoners. Thomas immediately fell back again to Nashville with the view of drawing Hood on, and commenced to fortify, and Hood, not being satisfied with the results of the last battle, pursued and invested the city. Thomas waited till every thing was in complete readiness, when, on the morning of December 15th, the whole force under his command, was formed ready for action by 6 A. M., according to orders of the day pre- vious. The difi'erent corps commanders made a simultaneous attack on the enemy's whole line, drove him from his position, capturing 1,200 prisoners, 16 pieces of artillery, several thousand small arms, and 40 wagons, with comparatively small hiss on our side. On the morning of the 16th, Thomas' forces continued in pursuit of the enemy toward Franklin to his lines formed, during the night at Overton's Hill, about five miles from Nashville; and at 3 o clock P. iM., the enemy's forces were again assaulted with the same disastrous results to Hood as on the day previous. The enemy fled precipitately, leaving his dead and wounded on the field. Our captures this time amounted to 3,50 ' prison- ers, 40 pieces of artillery, and several thousand small arms. The uext morning, Thomas still pursued Hood to Franklin, driving him beyond and capturing 1,800 of the enemy's wounded and 200 of our own at the Hospital there, and a lai-ge number of prisoners, guns, &c. The enemy fled toward Columbia, where he tried to rally, but was forced again to retreat, leaving his artillery, a full battery, wagons, arras and ammuni- tion, &c , his forces being thoroughly routed and scattered in every direc- tion. Hood continued his flight, hotly pursued by Thomas' forces, till the 28th, when he finally succeeded in making his escape across the Tennes- see River, his losses having amounted to over 15,000 men, inc'uding seven generals, and nearly 1000 officers of all grades, 72 cannon and 32 battle- flags. This was one of the most complete and overwhelming victories of the war. AMBROSE EVERITT BURNSIDE. Major-General Ambrose Everitt Burnside was born of Scotch parents, at Liberty, Union county, Indiana, on the 23d of May, 1S'J4, and is consequently in his forty-second year. He entered West Point in 1812, graduated in 1847, and was appointed to the artillery. He accom- panied Bragg's Battery throughout tlie Mexican war, and with it entered the city of Mexico. At the close of the Mexican war Lieutenant Burn- side was detailed for duty against the Apaches in New Mexico, and served some two years in frontier warfare. In 1852 he was appointed to the command of Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, and while there he married Miss Bishop, of Providence. In 1853 he resigned his rank in the army, and devoted his time and energy to the manufacture of the famous rifle which bears his name. When Buchanan was elected to the Presidency, his Secretary of War, Floyd, agreed with Burnside to arm a large portion of the army with his rifle, and induced him to establish extensive factories for its manufacture. The works were no sooner com- plete than another gun-maker offered Floyd pecuniary inducements to break his contract with Burnside, who was ruined in consequence As- signing all his property to his creditors, Burnside went to New York without a dollar, sold his sword and uniform in Chatham street, and went West in search of employment * He found it in the oflice of the 26 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. Illinois Central, where, as soon as his energies and capacity became known, he received a salary of $2000 a year. Of this sum he paid one- half regularly to his creditors, until, by the help of a timely legacy, he was enabled to liquidate his debts in full. The outbreak of the rebellion found him at work in the office of the Illinois Central, at New York. His oppinions on the state and prospects of the country had been frankly expressed, not only to his friends here, but to the leading citizens of New Orleans, which city he visited in Feb- ruary, 1861. He told the Southerners that they were going to plunge the country into a terrible war, in which they would be crushed, and, like Banks, he constantly strove to impi'ess upon the minds of his Northern friends his belief that the war was no such child's play as Mr. Seward and others wished us to believe. When the call for troops was issued on 15th April, he tendered his services to the Governor of his adopted State— Rhode Island - and was appointed Colonel of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. At the head of this and other regiments, with the rank of Brigadier-General, he fought, and fought well, at Bull Run. He wept bitter tears that night at the result, which, in his opinion, might have been avoided by better management. On the appointment of General M'Clellan to the Supreme Command, Burnside was appointed Brigadier-General, and was charged with the duty of brigading the new levies as they arrived at Washington. In November, 1801, General Bl'bxside set sail with his expedition for North Carolina. His brilliant triumphs at Roanoke, Newbevn, and Fort Macon are matters of history ; they proved him to be not only an able and skillful but a lucky General. His administration of affairs in North Carolina was characterized by judgment and sagacity. After the six days' battles before Richmond, Burnside was summoned to the aid of the Army of the Potomac, and arrived at Newport News with the bulk of his army. He was soon after dispatched to Fredericks- burg, and, subsequently to the defeats at Centreville and Bull Run, was given the command of a corps in the Army of the Potomac. He led the advance in the march of that army through Mai-yland, and at the battle of Antieiam commanded at the post of danger -the Bridge. The final charge which carried the Bridge was led by the General in person. On the 5th of November, l!-G2, General Burnside succeeded General IM'Clellan in command of the Army of the Potomac, and on the 12th of December, following, h;iving transferred his Army to the Rappahannock, he made preparations to advance on the rebel works south of Fredericks- burg. He succeeded in laying his pontoons, on which he crossed to the south bank of the river and took possession. On the morning of the 14th, Burnside advanced upon the rebel fortifications to the south of the city. The ground here is in the form of a plateau, from a quarter to half a mile wide, on the firt^t of which stands the city; on the third or upper one was the rebel position, fortified with great skill and strength, and commanding every approach. The middle one was the principal battle-ground. Several charges were made by the Union troops, but they failed to make any impression on the works of the enemy, and night found the two armies in the same position as in the morning. Both armies maintained their respective positions with continual skir- mishing along the lines till the night of the 15th, when General Burn- side withdrew his forces and recrossed to the North bank of the river. The Union losses in this battle amounted 1,512 killed, about 6,000 wounded, and nearly 1,000 prisoners. QUmOT A. GILMOEE. Major-General Quinct a. Gilmore was born in Ohio about, thirty- eight years ago. He entered the Military Academy at West Point ia 1845, and graduated in 1849, at the head of a class of forty-three mem- bers. He WHS appointed to the Engineers, and was promoted to a First Lieutenancy in 1856, and to a Captaincy in 1861. From 1849 to 1852 he was engaged on the fortifications at Hampton Roads ; from 1852 to 1856 he was instructor of Practical Military Engineering at West Point, and during this time he designed the new Riding School on the crest of the Hill. He served from 1856 to 1861 as purchasing agent for the depart- ment in New York, where he made many friends. In 1861 he was assigned to the staflF of General Sherman, and accompanied him to Port Royal. General Sherman appointed him Brigadier-General of Volun- teers— a rank which the President made haste to coniirm. General Gtl- MORE had entire charge of the siege operations against Fort Pulaski, and it was to his skill that the success of the bombardment was due, It wa8 very truly said of him : " The .results of the efforts to breach a fort of such strength and at such a distance confers high honor on the engineer- ing skill and self-reliant capacity of General Gilmore. Failure in attempt made in opposition to the opinion of the ablest engineers of the (27) 28 PORTRAITS AND BTOQRAPniES. army would have destroyed him. Success, which in this case is wholly attributable to his taleut, energy aad independence, deserves a corres- ponding reward." That reward he won. On the failure of Admiral Dupont's first naval attack on Charleston, he was superseded by Admiral Dahlgren, and General Hunter, v/ho was in command of the land forces, was superseded by General Gilmore. The latter at once commenced his attack on Ciiarlesron, proceeding to land oa Morris Island and advance on Fort Wagner with his customary energy and caution. Having planted his guns in the most^ advantageous positions, he completely battered down the walls of Fort Sumter, and continued to rain down fire and shell upon the doomed city up to the time of its final evacuation, which was necessitated by Sherman's approach in the rear. The following extracts show the mad and fanatical delusion which possessed the minds of those who first raised a parricidal hand against the Government, and the awful retribution which followed : From the Charleston Mercury, Jan. 10, 1861. — "The expulsion of the steamer. Star of the West, from the Charleston harbor yesterday morning was the opening of the ball of the revolution * * * We would not recall that blow for millions. * * * The haughty echo of her cannon has ere this reverberated from Maine to Texas, through every hamlet of the North, and down along the great waters of the Southwest. And, though greasy and treacherous rulfains may cry on the dogs of war, and traitor- ous politicians may lend their aid in deceptions, South Carolina will stand under her own palmetto-tree, unterrified by the snarling growls or assaults of the one, undeceived or deterred by the wily machinations of the other. And if that red sea of blood be still lackiag to the parch- ment of our liberties, and blood they want, blood they shall have, and blood enough to stamp it all in red. For by the God of our fathers, the soil of South Carolina shall be free." From a letter to the New York Tribune, Feb. 20, 1865. — "The wharves looked as if they had been deserted for half a century— broken-down, dilapidated, grass and moss peepin-g up between the pavements, where once the busy feet of commerce tuode incessantly. The warehouses near the river; the streets as we enter them; the houses, and the stores, and the public buildings- we look at these and hold our breaths in utter amazement. Every step we take increases our astonishment. ]Sv pen, no pencil, no tongue can do justice to the scene. No imagination can conceive of the utter wreck, the universal ruin, the stupendous desola- tion. Euin! ruin I ruin! above and below ; on the right hand and the left; ruin! ruin! ruin! everywhere and always — staring at us from every paneless window ; looking out at us from every shell-torn wall ; glaring at us from every battered door and pillar and ve'anda; crouch- ing beneath our feet on every sidewalk. Not Pompeii, nor Herculaneum, Dor Thebes, nor the Nile, have ruins so complete, so saddening, so plain- tively eloquent, for they speak to us of an age not ours, and long ago dead, with whose people and life and ideas we have no sympathy what- ever. But here, on these shattered wrecks of houses — built in our own style, many of them doing credit to the architecture of our epoch— we read names familiar to us all; telling us of trades and professions and commercial institutions, which ever> modern city reckons up by the hun- dred ; yet dead! dead ! dead! as silent as the graves of the Pharaohs, ua dese.'ted as the bazaars of the merchant princes of Old Tyre." JOHN A. LOGAN. Major-General John A. Logan was originally known to the public as a member of Congress from Illinois, and in that capacity was associ- ated with the Douglas school of politicians. He was originally a strong proslavery man, and cast his influence in favor of all Southern measures up to the time of the breaking out of the rebellion ; but when the time arrived at that point where it became necessary to choose sides for or against his country, he did not hesitate as to which side his duty called him. Like Stephen A. Douglas, who had also been guilty of catering to the interests of slavery, he said, when the naked issue of disunion was forced upon us, that there was but one course for all loyal men to pursue, and that was to meet the issue manfully and fight it out to the bitter end. When secession was first broached, with the threat to blockade the great highway of the Mississippi, Mr. Logan said that "the men of the North-west in that case would cleave their way with their swords down the Mississippi Valley to the Gulf of Mexico." It happened to be Mr. Logan's privilege not only to witness but also to participate in the execution of this threat. He resigned his seat in Congress at the out- (29) 30 PORTRAITS AND BlOGRAl'HIES. break of the war, and having raised the Thirty-first Illinois Regiment, became its Colonel. He behaved with great gallantry at Fort Donelson, where he was quite severely wounded in the thigh, but yet retained his post on tlie field; on-the surgeon s advising him to leave the field, he simply oidered that his wound be attended to secretly, and then ad- dressed himself again to duty, arguing that he had fired twenty two rounds since his hurt, and that he could fire at least as many more now that the wound had been dressed. The next month he was made a Brig- adier-General ; and in the autumn, when the army of the Tennessee was reorganized, he was appointe*vNs>'x:?^^'w GEORGE STONEMAN. Major General George Stoneman was born in the State of New York about the year 1825.* He graduated at West Point in Jul^'^, 1^46, and entered the dragoons as Second-Lieutenant. He rose steadily in hia profession, and when the war broke out was Captain. The resignation of Southern traitors facilitated his advancement, and in May, 1861, he became Major of the Fourth Cavalry. General McClellan realized his merit, and in September, 1861, he was appointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers, and given the command of all the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. In the advance of the army upon Richmond, from Yorktowu he commanded the vanguard, and conducted his column with judgmen'.. and vigor. His services during the campaign were conspicuous, and *Some of these biographies are indefinite and not wholly reliable as to dates and facta, but they are as nearly so as can be mnde from the present imperfect sources of informa- tion pertaining to them. lu the forthcoming work, to vhich we have alluded, this will be remedied by obtaining, as nearly as possible, all the data direct from the subjects of the sketches themselves, which will make them perfectly reliable in this particular. Each sketch will then be enlarged to eight or ten pages, including phrenological descrip- tions of characters, as indicated in the outlines of the portraits. (37) 38 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. raised him high in publio esteem. We believe he went, nearer to Rich- tnond than any other man in the army. In the campaign in Maryland, and that under Burnside, he commanded a corps, giving continued satis- faction to the President and the people. In the spring of 1863, he per- formed a feat which cast all the famous raids of the rebel Stuart com- pletely in the shade. He made a complete circuit around Lee's army, destroying his communications with Richmond', and creating general consternation in the rebel Capital, which his men approached within two miles. A dispute between General Hooker and General Stoneman for a time, kept the latter in the back-ground; but he was subsequently ap- pointed to the management of the new Cavalry Bureau, at Washington, and has continued to enjoy the favor and confidence of the Government. He was subsequently made a Major-General and transferred to the com- mand of the Cavalry Department in the West. On the 27th of July, 1864, General Stoneman started out, with 5,000 men, to cat the rebel communications on the Macon Railroad. He suc- ceeded in burning a large number of cars and locomotives, and in tearing up some 18 miles of the track, causing only a temporary damage, how- ever. On his return he was surrounded and captured, with a portion of his command, 700 in number, by General Iverson, heading a force of 1,600 Confederates. He lost 2 guns, and had to yield up 1,000 captured horses. Seeing the desperate state of affairs, Stoneman permitted two- thirds of his force to escape back to the main army, while he held the enemy in check for a short time. Some of the regiments cut their way thi-ough, while one escaped intact ; but the most of those who escaped found their way back to camp unarmed and afoot, losing everything in their hasty flight. This casualty occurred in consequence of the failure of Stoneman to form a junction with M'Cook (who was sent on the same mission with 4,000 men) at Lovejoy's Station, on the Macon road. M'Conk, through some mismanagement on the part of one or the other of the com- mands, having failed to unite his forces with those of Stoneman, according to instructions, was, on his return, surrounded by Ransom, and also badly cut to pieces, but made good his escape with 1,200 of his men, without falling into the hands of the rebels, as did the less fortunate Stoneman with 700 of his command. General Stoneman was taken a prisoner to Macon, Georgia, but being shortly afterward released or exchanged, he was reinstated in his old command, and, when Sherman left Atlanta for his Southern tour, was Bent out on the railroad leading from East Tennessee into Virginia, for the purpose of destroying the road and depots, so as to cut off the retreat of the rebels from Richmond in that direction The first we hear of him is at Bristol, which place he captured, with a train of over 2 M) hogs for Lee s army, 5 locomotives and a railroad train of stores. Abingdon next fell into his hands, then Saltville, where he destroyed property, including buildings and salt, to the amount of $2,000,000. These salt works were the largest in the world, turning out over 5,000 bushels a day. This was one of the most successful raids of the war ; 11 foundries, 90 flouring and Baw mills, 30 bridges, 10 locomotives and 100 cars were destroyed ; 20 pieces of artillery, several thousand head of stock, 900 prisoners, and several hundred negroes were captured. The army marched 400 miles in 18 days. JUDSON KILPATRIOK. Major-General Judson Ktlpatrick, the g;reat Cavalry Raider, was born near Deckertown, Sussex County, New Jersey, on January 14, 1836, and is therefore only twenty-nine years of age. He was admitted to West Point, where he graduated in ISt^l, and entered the United States army as a Second- Lieutenant of Artillery on May 6, just after the war broke out. A week aftei', he received a commission as First-Lieutenant. He entered the war as Captain of a company in Duryea's regiment (the Fifth New York,) and was severely wounded in the battle of Big Bethel, June 10, 1861. As soon as he recovered he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and afterward Colonel of the Harris Light Cavalry. In Pope's Virginia campaign his regiment formed part of the late General Buford's brigade. He took part in the Maryland campaign under General Pleasanton, and in Burnside's campaign he particularly distinguished himself at Fal- mouth. He participated in Stoneman's raid, commanding a brigade, and traversing two hundred miles in five days, capturing over three hundred prisoners. For this success he was made Brigadier-General of Volunteers, bis commission dating from June 13, 1863. At Aldie, Middleburg, aod (39) 40 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. Hanover, Kilpatrick distinguished himself in the movements preceding the battle of Gettysburg : he also commanded a division in that battle, and was engaged in the pursuit of the rebels to the Potomic. Afterward he went to New York Ciiy, where he commanded the Cavalry forces during the riots of the summer of 1863. In Sherman's grand "march down to the sea," General Kilpatrick was in command of the cavalry forces, and rendered valuable assistance to the success of the undertaking by his bold dashes, hither and thither, which kept the enemy completely foiled as to* the whereabouts and objective point of the main army. He con- tinued to render valuable service to the country down to the close of the war, and is ranked among ihe ablest cavalry commanders of the army. ALFRED PLEASANTON. General Alfred Pleasanton, one of the most gallant Cavalry officers of the array, was born in the District of Columbia about the year 1821, and is consequently forty-four years of age. He graduated at West Point on July 1, 1844, and entered the First Dragoons. In November, 1855, he was transferred to the Second Dragoons, and accompanied Gen- eral Taylor on the expedition to Mexico At Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma he distinguished himself and was brevetted in consequence. He obtained his First-Lieutenancy in 1849, and in his company (in the Second Cavalry) in 1865. At the outbreak of the rebellion he received a Major's commission, and on July 16, 1862, he was commissioned Briga- dier-General of Volunteers. He was appointed to the Army of the Potomac, and served throughout the Peninsula campaign with distinc- tion. When General Stoneman took command of a division, before the battle of Antietam, General Pleasanton succeeded him in command of all the cavalry of the army, and discharged the duty of pressing on Lee's rear on his retreat. He has since filled various cavalry commands in that army with gallantry and success. JOHN BUFORD. General John Buford, another familiar name associated with the cavalry department, was born in Kentucky about the year 1827, but removed with his family to Illinois at a very early age. He was appointed from that State to West Point, and graduated in 1^148, entering the Sec- ond Dragoons as Second -Lieutenant. He served in his regiment until the outbreak of the rebellion, when he was transferred to the Inspector General's Department, with the rank of Assistant Inspector-General. In 1862, he obtained permission to go on active service, and got a cavalry command in the army of the Potomac, at the head of which he gallantly distinguished himself. The names of Stoneman, Kilpatrick, Pleasanton, Buford and Custer will stand out prominently in the history of the war as able and gallant Cavalry Commanders. DAVID GLASGOW FARRA6UT. Rear Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, the Naval Hero of the war, was born near Knoxville, Tenn., about the year 1803, and is now sixty- two years of age. His father was an officer in the army, well known to General Jackson by whom he was much esteemed. When only nine years of age, little David determined to be a sailor, and was taken by Commodore Porter on board the Essex as midshipman. He shared the fortunes of that famous craft in her memorable cruise in the Pacific, and took part in the battle off Valparaiso. A person who was familiar with the facts tells the following story of the boy's behavior on that occasion : He was ordered by the Commodore, while the contest was at its height, to go below and bring up some friction-tubes that were needed for the guns. While descending the ward-room ladder the Captain of the gun, directly opposite, was struck full upon the face by an 18-pounder shot. He fell back against young Farragut and they both tumbled down the hatchway The man was a stout, heavy fellow, and it was fortunate for the young midshipman that his full weight did not fall upon him as they reached the deck. Commodore Porter seeing him covered with blood an 42 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. inquired, " Are you wounded ? " "I believe not," was the reply. "Then where are the tubes?" asked the Commodore. The words brought him to his senses, and he immediately went below and got them. When at last it was determined to surrender the brave little brig, the Commodore sent Master Farragut to throw overboard the signal-book, in order that the ^nemy should not come into the possession of our code, it being reported that the signal-master could not be found. After a protracted search the lad discovered the book upon the sill of one of the ports, and at once threw it overboard. A few minutes afterward the recusant signal-master appeared, and excused himself for being absent from his post, by stating that he had been over the side to extricate the book from the wreck, where it had been lodged ; but the falsehood cost him dearly. During all this time young Farragut bore himself like a man, nevei shedding a tear till he saw the American colors hauled down, and then he sobbed like a child. From this heavy grief he was soon aroused, how- ever, by hearing an English middy (a young midshipman, like himself,) exultingly shout to his men, "Prize-oh, boys! here's a fine grunter, by Jove ! " He knew the young reefer alluded to a young porker that had been petted by himself and all the sailors, and had helped to beguile away many a weary hour; therefore he energetically laid claim to the animal. "But," said the young Englishman, "you're a prisoner and your pig, too." " AVe always respect private property," said Farragut, and he seized the squealing bone of contention, and asserted that he should retain possession until compelled to yield to superior force. Here was sport for the older officers, who called out, "Go in, little Yankee; and if you can thrash ' shorty ' (a soubriquet for English middies) you shall have your pig."' " Agreed," said Farragut, and the lads went at it iu pugilistic style. "Shorty" soon failed to come to time, and the victor walked off with the pig under his arm. He afterward said that he felt, in mastering the young Englishman, that he had wiped out the disgrace of being captured. On another occasion ho was placed in command of a prize-vessel, when only thirteen years of age. The original captain of the prite became very turbulent, and threatened to interfere with the navigation of the ship. Farragut reported him accordingly to the Essex, upon which the man excused himself by saying that he only meant to "frighten the boy." "Ask him, Sir," replied Farragut to his Captain, "how he succeeded." The boy resumed command of the prize and took her safely into port. At the close of the war young Farragut was sent to school, and thence into the navy. His life, for the next forty years, Avas the usual routine of a sailor's in peace-time, with its alternations of sea and shore duty, furlough and foreign station. He spent some time in South America, and, it is believed, took part in some of the revolutionary contests which are indigenous to that country. He married his wife in the South, and settled at Norfolk, Virginia, where he purchased some little property. The rebellion found him living there, surrounded by Southerners, whose sympathies were all with the rebels. How he left Norfolk, the following extract from the New York Times tells : "On the 18th of April he left NoTioik, just the night before the navy- yard was burned, and no better proof of his loyalty can be given than the fact of the premeditated attack upon the navy yard at Norfolk being kept a secret from him. The morning before leaving Norfolk he was expressing very decidedly his opposition to the course of the Southern COMMODORE FARRAGUT. 43 people, when he was told by some of the leading men and naval officers, residents of the place, that he could not remain there with such senti- ments. "Then I will go where I can live with just such sentiments," was his reply ; and he accordingly went home and notified his family that they must get ready to leave for New York in a few hours. He arrived in Baltimore to learn that the railroad track had been torn up the day before, and ha,d great difficulty in getting a passage for himself and family in a canal-boat. This was accomplished, however, after a few hours delay, and they managed to arrive safely at New York. He immediately sought a house at Hastings, upon the Hudson, in which to place his family, removed from the excitement of the times, so that he could be assured of their safety when he was called upon to go forth and battle for his country. With that same freshness of feeling and devotion that he possessed when a midshipman on board the Essex, he obeyed the call. Had^ Admiral Farragut remained in Norfolk one day longer, he would have been imprisoned, as was the fate of one Union officer, to whose disgrace, be it said, that, after remaining a few hours in prison, he yielded to the Southern coercionists and joined their navy. The Ad- miral s.iys he does not deserve so much credit for his prompt action in this matter, as, having had some experience in the revolutionary coun- tries of South America, he was well posted as to what might be expected from revolutionary times. For some months after the outbreak of the war, Captain Farragut was without a command, partly because the Department had no vessels. At lengtli) when the expedition against New Orleans was resolved upon, he was selected to lead it. He entered the Mississippi River early in March, I8(i2. On the 17th of April, Porter's mortar-fleet began the bom- bardment of Forts Philip and Jackson, and on the 24th, Commodore Far- ragut, with his entire fleet, ran past the forts, encountering a fire almost unparalleled in severity, a fleet of gun-boats, including several iron-clads, fire-rafts, obstructions and torpedoes innumerable. An idea of the bril- liancy of the exploit may be formed from the fact that some French and English officers, who had been to New Orleans, laughed outright at the bare notion of running the batteries, and indulged in characteristic sneers at the insanity, as they pleased to term it, of the project. It was done, however, as every one knows; and at a late hour on the 25th of April, 1862, the Commodore anchored ofi" the city of New Orleans, and sent word ashore that all rebel flags must come down. The rebel Commodore Barron, who was captured at Hatteras Inlet, was a prisoner at Fort Warren, and heard the recital, from a newspaper, of Farragut's victorious entry at New Orleans. Profoundly interested, and forgetting his treason, and remembering only the glory of the service with which his own name had been honorably associated, Barron ex- claimed vehemently, " Yes, yes ; I tell you nothing can stand against our navy." Farragut's performances at Mobile Bay, in August, 1864, were no less brilliant than those of Forts Philip and Jackson notority of 1862. At sunrise, on the morning of the 5th, he moved up Mobile Bay, past Fort Morgan, with his whole fleet, his vessels lashed two abreast, each acting consort to the other. The Monitor Tecumseh, proceeding to the left of the fleet, struck a torpedo and went down. The infernal machine exploded almost directly under the Monitor, whose side was lifted six feet above the water, when she settled down so rapidly that only five of her crew, who tumbled out through her port-holes, escaped. She sank at the very 44 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. ■ conimencement of the action, carrying down with her one hundred of her crew, including her gallant commander, Craven. After this result, it was not to be wondered at that Commodore Farra- GUT had previously expressed his dislike to ''fighting in an iron kettle," as he termed it, for iu a casualty of this nature, there appears to be no chance of escape from the Monitors except through the port-holes. The rebel gun-boat Selma soon struck her colors to the 3Ietacomet, but the most spirited naval engagement of the war, was the conflict with the Tennessee, which was only rivaled in interesi by the fight between the Monitor and the 3Ierrimac, early in 1862. After the Selma had sur- rendered, and the Morgan and Gaines had been driven under the guns of Fort Morgan, Farragut ordered the whole Federal fleet to engage the Tennessee, and to close in upon her as rapidly as possible. The order was none too quickly given, as the ram was uninjured by our fire, and in the rear of our fleet, threatening seriously to interrupt our progress. FARRAGur was lashed to the maintop of the Hartford, and gave his orders through a speaking trumpet. At the time of the engagement he ',v;is passing the water batteries under Fort Morgan. The tire of all the v( .'eels seemed to have no eff'ect on the ram. When the order was given 1o run her down, the 3Ionongahela, Lackawanna and Brooklyn, all butted agiinst her. Although the Monitors appear to have made but little im- pression in butting the Tennessee, further than to make the splinters fly inside the heavy iron and wooden armor of the vessel, they, finally, foi-CL'd her to surrender. The Manhattan sent a solid 1 0-inch shell through her side at a distance of twenty-five yards. The Chickasaw, also, did splendidly with her 11-inch guns. The Winnebago was less rapid in her movements. Probably the chief causes of the surrender of the ram were the wounding of Admiral Buchanan (her commander, and probably a relation to the ex-President,) and the injury done to her rudder chains. The vessel was otherwise uninjured, and she was the most powerful ram then in exstence. Her length was 200 feet, her breadth 48, and her draught 14 feet 8 inches. From the time of the brilliant exploit at New Orleans, Admiral Far- ragut (for he was immediately p''omoted to that rank) was actively engaged down to the close of the war. He run almost every battery on the .\lississippi River, silenced a number, and onlj' left the river when the)-e were no more to silence. The part he took in the reduction of Port Hudson, as well as that at Mobile Bay, was most important; and had he been placed in command of the naval forces which were first sent to attack Charleston, he would doubtless have fought his way past all the forts and batteries, and steamed defiantly up to the gates of the haughty city. Of all our Naval Commanders he ranks, without question, as the first — the naval hero of the war. One who knows him well writes of him thus : ' fi'rom his childhood. Admiral Farragut has been remarkably self- .ant and determined, and although of very amiable disposition, never ■would consent that others should do for him what he could do for himself. Industry is a decided trait in his character. When not on active duty he has always been a student, and while in foreign ports never neglected to acquire the language of the people. At one time he spoke the Spanish, French, Italian and Arabic with great fluency — the latter language he acquired when he was 18 years of age, during a residence of 9 months in Tunis. In connection with his Arabic, the following anecdote is related. On approaching some islands in the Mediterranean, the captain of the JOHN A. WINSLOW. 45 ship remarked on deck that lie did not know how they were to converse with the people, as they had no interpreter At that moment a boat came along side with some of the natives, and an officer replied, 'Cap- tain, we have an officer on board who seems to speak all languages intu- itively: he is doubtless in league with the * old boy ; ' but suppose you send for him, and see if he can not communicate with these people." So Lieutenant Farragut was called for, and told in a peculiar manner that he must show if what he was accused of was true. He looked into the boat, and seeing an old Arabian woman, immediately commenced conversing, and transacted for the ship all the trading. Imagine the surprise of all on board, as Farragut did not tell them that it was Arabic he was speaking, and so he kept up the joke for some time, amused to hear them ofteu repeat ' that he was indebted to the devil for such a gift.' " JOHN A. WINSLOW. Captain John A. Winslow, the hero of the Kearsage, was born in Wilmington, No7'th Carolina, in 1811, and is consequently 54 years of 46 PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES. age. His father was a Northerner, descended from the old Plymouth stock of WixsLOWs; his mother was a Southerner. He was educated at Dedhara, Massachusetts, and entered the Mavy as midshipman at the age of fourteen. Daniel Webster secured for him his position. His family reside at Roxbury, near Boston. He was placed in command of the Kearsage as soon as that vessel arrived off the European coast Before his conflict with the Alabama he had some apprehensions, and repeatedly advised the Naval Department to increase the force off Cherbourg, but said he would do the best he could. We believe he has since been made a Commodore. The following account of the destruction of the Alabama, alias "•290," which had so long been the scourge of our commerce and the terror of the seas to all American craft, on June 19th, 18G4, off the coast of France, is given : '•The Alabama, Captain Semmes, arrived at Cherbourg on the Hth, from a cruise in the Indian Ocean. In accordance with the French law of neutrality, she was warnnd to leave that port. On the morning of the 19th she steamed out of the harbor, having previously sent a challenge to Captain Winslow. The Kearsage stood off for about three leagues, so as (o be sure that the action should take place clear of French maratirae jurisdiction; she then turned to meet the enemy. The force of the two vessels was, as nearly as possible, equal. The AInhaina opened fire at 11 o'clock, at long range, the Kearsage reserving her fire until they ca.ne closer. During the action both vessels moved in a series of circles, gradually diminishing, and having a common center, so that each kept her starboard battery bearing upon her opponent The fire of the Alaba- ma was more rapid, that of the Kearsage more accurate. The commander of the Karsage had taken the precaution to protect in a measure, some vital points of his vessel, by suspending the iron anchor-cliains over the eide of the ship. In less than an hour, the Alabama was in almost sink- ing condition, and the commander attempted to run toward the shore, in order to reach French water; the Kearsage crowded all steam to cut her oft', and, coming within 400 yards, delivered a broadside, which rednced the enemy to a helpless condition. Captain Semmes finding his vessel going down, struck her flag, ordered his crew to jump overboard, and sent a boat, with an officer, to surrender his vessel, and ask assistance to save his crew. Meanwhile an Knglish yacht,, the Deerhound., owned by a Mr. Lancaster, had come out of Cherbourg to see the fight. He was hailed from the Kearsage, and requested to assist in saving the crew of the Alabama. His boats picked up about forty, including Captain Semmes and most of his officers; the boats of the Kearsage saved sixty. The Alabama lost seven killed on board, seventeen drowned, and twelve wounded. The loss of the Kearsage was three wounded only one mor- tally. The vessel was scarcely harmed. Meanwhile, the commander of the Deerhound put off for the English coast, with the men whom he had jicked up. Captain Semmes was landed in England, and received with much warmth." The Alabami was built in England, and sailed from Liverpool fcr the Azores. July 29, 1862, where she took her armament on board. Captain Ralph Semmes assumed command August 24, 1862 This pirate vessel captured and destroyed about eighty ships and barkB belonging to mer- chants of the United States, including the U S. gun-boat Hatieras. Captain Winslow, nn his arrival in Boston, after this exploit with the Alabama, was honoied with a public reception, and was presented with a Bilver service by the citizens. MAJOR-GENERAL WEITZELL. A RECEIPT WOllTH MOUE THAN THE PRiOi. .: i. jJOOK TO lYERT HOUSEWIFE IN THE COUNTRY. now to make tomato preserves better than peach or any other fruit pretervea extant. Tr% u a^A $te. Take the small, round yariety ©f tomato (either red or yellow, and from three-'f- ur; ho to one inch in diameter), and wash them clean in cold water, taking care to not break the ■kin ; to every ten pounds of tomatoes take ten pounds of good, clarified sugar ; make your sugar into a sirup, by the addition of a little water, and gently boiling till the sugar is all desolved, then pour over the tomatoes and let them stand over night; next day put them carefully into your preserving kettle, and gently boil them over a slow fire for sev- eral hours, or till the juice has formed a thick, rich sirup, which can be ascertained by cooling in a saucer. When about half done, add two ordinary sized lemons, sliced fine and nearly or quite half an ounce of good white ginger root, bruised or cut up fine, and also one-fourth of a pound of good plump raisins, and boil till done. Some receipts say scald and peel the tomatoes, and boil twenty minutes, etc. Pay no attention to such instructions, but make according to the above directions, and you will have a preserve more delicious to the taste than the best peach or damson will make. We have preserves in the house made according to this receipt, (the tomatoes costing 25 ctsapeck), and poach preserves made from the best flavored peaches (costing §5 per bushel) as well as those made from the damson plum, and all, without exception, pronounce the tomatoes the best. If every housewife knew how cheaply and easily she could make up a batch of these preserves, preferable to any fruit preserves, she would never be without them. Don't be afraid of making too many the first time, for if you make a less quantity than will last you the season, you will afterward regret it. To can fruit and preserve the original flavor ivithout the liability of spoiling —This process is BO little understood upon scientific principles, and consequently attended with so much risk, that the majority of people prefer to pay three or four prices for their canned fruit, sooner than take the responsibility of putting it up themselves. The process, however if properly understood, is perfectly simple, and attended with no risk whatever. We put up this season 32 cans of peaches, which cost us 18 cts a can, and they turn out as fresh and nice as they were the day they were put up, and as good as the best Baltimore peach at 75 cts a can. At the same time a lady friend, not understanding the process, put up one bushel, and they are now (No\. 15th) all soured and spoiled. If the following directions be complied with, we will guarantee to pay lor all you may lose by reason of spoiling : Peaches. — Take good, juicy freestones, neither too hard nor too soft, pare and quarter them ; put them into a vessel, and to each peck (before paied) sprinkle in layers as you pare them, one pound of white sugar and let them stand over night, so as to make a sirup. The next day turn off the juice into your kettle, and when it is hot put in the peaches' (without a drop of water, as their own sirup will be sufficient), and boil till the peaches are hot and well scalded all through, but no longer, as too much cooking destroys their fresh flavor. Have your cans or jars ready, and while your fruit is still over the stove, fill up as soon as possible and seal them up as fast as you fill them, taking care to have the ca^is full, and the srup over the top of the fruit so that none of the pieces will project above. Cut pieces of white paper, just fitting the inside of the caps, and lay over first, then put on your caps and wipe the mouths of the jars or cans perfectly dry, and turn over the wax boiling hot bo it will adhere to the jar and maVe it perfectly air-tight. When the jars are nearly cold, turn them down, and if there should be any airbubbles, or other indications of their not being air-tight, heat the blade of an old case-knife, verv hot and go over the wax, so as to be sure and shut up all the holes. All kinds of small fruits- blackberries, raspberries, plums, etc.— are put up by heating in the same way. Also tomatoes, but the latter must be scalded, peeled and thoroughly cooled, with the addition of a little salt and pepper. To open fruit jars.— B.o\(iL the mouths of the jars in hot water for a few minutes, with a atrip of cloth or a string held over the caps to keep them from falling down, and the wax will soften enough to loosen from the jars without getting any inside. Stone or glass jars are better than tin cans for fruit or tomatoes, as the acid contained in either will dissolve the lead, which will give an unpleasant flavor to the fruit, besides being posi- tively injurious. How to Cook Tomatoes.— Tnt your tomatoes into boiling water and scald till the skin begins to shrink or shrivel ; take them out, and, when cool, (if you are in a hurry, put them into cold water), peel off the skin and cut out the core at the but-end, where the stem joins, as it will neither cook soft nor digest when taken into the stomach. Having Nvell dressed them, put them back into your pot or stew-pan, and cook for half or three quarters of an hour, or till they have pretty well stewed dow». Do not add any water, as their own water will be sufficient. Season with butter, salt, pepper, and a little sugar, just enough to take off the rank, acid taste, but not so as to make them in the least degree Bweet, as this destroys entirely the flavor peculiar to them. Some prefer the addition of a little bread, finely crumbed, just before they are done. Suit your own taste in this respect. A nice way to cook green com. — Take a sharp knife and cut down the outside of the kernels all around as thin as you can cut them, then cut down the second time in the same way; now turn the knife and scrape all off the cob as clean as you can, and put the corn into a skillet, with a little water, and cook till thoroughly done. Season with butter, pepper and salt, and you will have the most delicious dish you ever tasted in the way of green com. These receipts are entirely original, as now published, and are worth more than the price of the book to every house-kteper In the United States, " no matter," as the Spring Md Beimbliean says, " how maay receipt or cook-books you may hare." jj-t-o- I I