Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1875 — AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC.

—An English wfiter says: There exists no satisfactory evidence or proof that Italian either breed or work better than common bees. -—ln order to takte out sewing-machine oil, wash with cold water and soap. Wetting. jt with hot water leaves an indelible stain.— Exchange. —Four thousand eight hundred and forty square yards make an acre; a square mile, 640 acres. To measure an acre, 209 feet on"each side make asquare acre within an |incl}. Where glasses are used for hyacinths the dark-colored ones should be selected, and these placed in the dark till the roots fill tiie. base of die glass. The .water should be changed xinde a week and not allowed to freeze. • . —To make water sponge-cake take one tunjbler of sugar, into which rub the yelks of two... teggs? Beat the whites by themselves and add them the last tiling. One tumbler flour, one-half tumbler cold water, one and one-half teaspoons of baking powder. Bake in two tin pie plates about fifteen or twenty minutes.

—The following is one way to cut a bottle in two: Turn the bottle as evenly as possible over a low flame for about ten minutes. Then dip steadily in water; and the sudden cooling Will cause a regular crack to encircle the side at the heated place, allowing the portions to be easily separated.— Scientific American. ’ --Generally speaking it is better to apply limo in the compost with straw, leaves and other waste of the farm, or else to spread it broadcast in a slacked form. Lime can be applied iu the fall unslacked ilnd allowed to remairuofl the surface over winter or plowed in very shallow. We should not hesitate to apply in the fall in its crude form, breaking up the larger lumps. It will soon slack and gradually work into the soil. If applied, in the spring we should prefer to have it furslacked.—Ma»sach usetts Ploughman. —Gen. Colquitt, of Georgia, in a recent address, said: “To remove stumps from a field all that As necessary is to have one or more sheet-iron chimneys some four or five feet high. Set tire to the stump and place the chimney over it so as to give the requisite draft at the bottom. It will draw like a stove. The stump will soon be consumed. With several such chimneys of different sizes the removal of stumps may be accomplished at merely nominal labor and expense.— Maryland Farmer.

—Stove rooms that are not properly ventilated are ruinous to growing plants. The whole atmosphere in the conservatories of florists is always kept so moist .that a person when entering observes the dampness. Yet such an atmosphere is congenial to tender plants. Most growing plants become sickly and “ drawn up” in the parlors of our first-class houses, while in those of less pretensions we frequently see them vigorous and flourishing. In houses without “modern improvements” the air is not heated until its.capacity for moisture is such as to greedily take it from the plants, as well as from'the persons who dwell there; nor are the windows sealed so tightly that the plants cannot have a breath of fresh air ftofa without. If people will make a climate in their houses like that ,of a desert they must ebntent themselves with such plants as are naturally adapted to arid regions.— Gardeners' 1 Monthly.