CENTURY OF SAYINGS to help our A Price 1s. cloth. London: 5, Bishopsgate Without. 66 Enquire Within (2183, 2323, 2956, Doings. By A MAN IN THE CROWD. 3015,) all the instructions upon the various processes of making bread and yeast that can be required, including all the excellent hints given in the letters of correspondents to the Times newspaper, during the discussion of the subject. Respecting the cost of the Domestic Wheat Mills, the following is stated: We were led to expect a work in which would be found recorded opinions of sages whose lives extended over the past century. But we find that the century of sayings" means no more one hundred" aphorisms by the 66 than " cheapest made, will cost . author, some of them being old truths No. 1. Placed against a post, the "Men of toil and thrift succeed in their business, and at length make a holiday in their coffins." "So scarce a commodity is good sense, that the world has made up its mind to live without it." "Wisdom and genius are twin sisters, always quarrelling." "There are occasions when a brave man may, without shame, act the coward." The latter is a paradox; for he who, from conviction, dares abstain from doing that which defective laws enforce, is not, therefore, "enacting the coward;" he is, in fact, performing the braver part. The book contains some good sentiments, but it has, nevertheless, disappointed us. 2. A larger one, ditto, on stand, 3. Ditto. 4. Ditto. 5. Ditto. 6. One ditto, with flour-dress- If your means will not allow you to With a small mill, such as Nos. 1 or 2, and 3 and 6, you may pass through it, from about a peck to a bushel per hour; as the flour, or more properly speaking, the meal, will fall under into a receiver, or either a common plate or wooden box made for that purpose, without any separation of the bran. You will have to use a small sieve to sift it, so as to eject the bran; but with No. 6 mill. you will find in the receiver below, your flour readily separated into first, second, and third sorts-the bran coming out at the side. Some persons will prefer to mix the whole together, so as to make what is called household bread, far preferable, and much more nutri tious, than if made entirely of first-rate flour. In support of our recommendation to families to bake their own bread, it may be stated that in the year 1804, the town of Manchester, with a population of 90,000 persons, did not contain a single baker! WATER 1. BALL-TAPS FOR CISTERNS.-The copper and brass balls attached to the taps of water cisterns being considered injurious in their effects upon the water, it is desirable to find a suitable substitute. Gutta percha globes, which may easily be made, if they are not already obtainable, will answer the purpose. And if earthenware cocks were used instead of the metal ones now employed, the improvement would be still greater. 2. HOW TO TEST A MEERSCHAUM PIPE.-Draw a silver coin across it; if pure, there will be no line; if spurious, the gypsum necessarily used will take a mark from the silver like a pencil on paper. Imitation pipes are imported and sold as new Meerschaum. 3. CARROT PLUM PUDDING.The mother of a family having tried the following receipt, and finding it answer very well, thinks as eggs are at present so very dear, and plum puddings in great requisition, that the Editor of the Interview would honour her by inserting it in his valuable publication : CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING WITH CARROTS INSTEAD OF EGGS.-One very large carrot boiled soft, and beaten into a pulp, six ounces of suet chopped fine, five table-spoonsful of flour, two ditto of sugar, one quarter of a pound of currants, one quarter of a pound of raisins when stoned; to be boiled four hours. 4 WILLS. - We are favoured by an eminent legal functionary with the following:-I hold that whenever two persons save money by their joint industry, the survivor is equitably entitled to the benefit of survivorship; and that any man who does not take the proper step for securing this benefit to his wife, in the event of her being the longest liver, is guilty of a fraud upon his nearest relative and best friend. And the fact of there being children makes no difference-the woman being as competent and as likely to provide properly for them in case she outlives her husband as the man, if the responsibility should fall upon him. Every married man ought therefore to make a will; and I do not know a better form THE WILL of J. B. of [grocer]. I give all my real and personal estate and testator, in the presence of us, who each other, subscribe as Witnesses, J-B C-D 5. ERRORS IN SPEAKING.-Instead of "you shall give me a separate maintainance," say 66 you shall give me a separate maintenance," Instead of "an automata," say Instead of " 'a phenomena," say phenomenon." 66 an an 66 a Instead of 66 a memoranda," say "a memorandum." (See Enquire Within, 1346 to 1601.) 6. BIRD'S NEST PUDDING.-Take four or five good sized apples-pare and scoop out the cores of each, without making a hole through. Fill up the cavities with sugar. Place the apples in a small baking dish, into which there have been previously put two table spoonsful of sago mixed with a pint of water sweetened, and flavoured with a little nutmeg, or essence of lemon. Bake until the apples are done. For a large pudding the materials must be proportionably increased. This excellent receipt is said to be by a Quaker lady of America, and is given in Mrs. Horsell's Penny Vegetarian Cookery Book, in which is much valuable infor mation. The pudding is economical and delicious, and is a great favourite wherever it is once tried. There are indeed families upon whose table it appears at least weekly, the year round. 7. OMELETTE WITH ONIONS. -This omelette is a great favourite in France, where the prejudice against the most nutritious and wholesome of all vegetables-the onion tribe-a prejudice so destructive to the sipidity of many English dishes-is utterly unknown. Those who do like onions, and have the courage to confess it, will find the omelette aux ognons a valuable addition to their culinary repertory: Its preparation is very simple. To an omelette of three eggs add half a good sized onion mixed almost to a powder, and a table spoonful of chopped parsley. The shredding of the onion to a sufficient degree of fineness is the most important thing, as from the short time required to cook an omelette it would otherwise remain untouched by the fire. And the lumps of the precious vegetable in its raw state are not recommended even to its most enthusiastic admirers. The onion may be boiled (or partially so) previously for fastidious tastes. But the omelette will thereby lose in flavour and crispness. -B. 8. FOR A CUT, BRUISE, OR ABRASION OF THE SKIN. Take tincture of arnica, or wolf's bane, dilute with 20 parts of water, or 30 parts where skin is broken; apply the liquid with linen rag wrapped round cut, &c. If this should be too strong, dilute it with more water. 9. OPAQUE WINDOWS.-Allow me to give you a very simple mode of obscuring the glass of windows, and accidentally found out by me. In operating in photography I was annoyed by opposite neighbours staring at me; yet desirous of losing no light, I found the following mode effectual:-Cover the glass very equally with one or two coats of paste; when dry take a small rag of cotton cloth, dipped in a varnish made of Canada balsam and turpentine, and go over the paste; it will become clear, and yet no person can see through; be sides, this method preserves the paste from decomposition.-H. H. 10. JOINING IVORY AND WOOD, &c.-I send you the following, with which I became acquainted accidentally, and which is, I believe, a profound secret except to the trade. It is a wellknown fact to persons having pianofortes and articles inlaid with ivory, &c., that when subject to variations of temperature, much inconvenience and annoyance are experienced (especially in pianos) by the ivory keys and pieces inlaid coming off, defying the ordinary carpenter's glue to fix them on again. The following is the composition which should be used to obviate the evil: Fine Russian isinglass is dissolved in strong acetic acid (pyroligneous acid) until the consistence of a strong firm glue is obtained, which is used in the usual manner. 11. THE USES OF THE BEECH TREE.-In Enquire Within (2445) we have pointed out the usefulness of the leaves of the beech tree in forming beds for the poor. The nuts of the beech yield plentifully an oil which is of great value in burning, and for various manufacturing purposes; while the nut-cake from which the oil is pressed, is excellent for feeding pigs and poultry, and the oil also possesses some medical properties, similar to those of the oil of almonds, but its medical quality requires a closer examination than has yet been bestowed upon it. If any enterprising persons were to take the subject up, there is a clear road to a great success. There are, even within fifty miles of London hundreds of thousands of acres of full grown beeches, and it is estimated that one beech will bear as much as fifty bushels of beech nuts! 12. CHEAP HOT-BEDS.-In many situations by far the cheapest and not an inconvenient hot-bed or plant-preserving frame may be made by building the sides with sods six or eight inches wide, driving small stakes through to stiffen them. These sod walls may be either built solid or with holes left, à la Macphail, for leaf or other lining to be added, when desirable. Upon the top of these walls lay a frame of wood (we use only the larch slabs) halved into each other, and with screeds nailed on their sides to form the top frame slide, to receive and keep in their places either grass or other coverings. Simple as this may be, for a few pence you have a mushroom, plant, or cucumber receptacle far more capable of keeping out frost, than wood, brick, or stone. This useful suggestion is from an old correspondent of The Gardeners' Chronicle to the editor of that paper; and the editor gives his opinion that the plan is excellent. 13. SAFE ADMINISTRATION OF CHLOROFORM.-It is the opinion of medical men generally that in most cases in which deaths have resulted after the use of chloroform, it has been administered in too strong a dose. There are differences of opinion as to the precise operation of chloroform upon the human system in cases wherein death occurs. But it is generally agreed that chief attention should be paid to the breathing of the patient, and that the medical practitioner should not rely wholly upon the indications of the pulse. 14. SALT AS A MANURE.Mrs. Prideaux, of Plymouth, says that the properties of salt chiefly useful in agriculture are-1. The supply of its constituents, soda and chlorine. 2. Attraction for moisture and resistance of freezing. 3. Sharpness, without being acid or alkaline; solubility and penetration of porous matter. 4. Promotion of putrefaction when used sparingly, though the contrary when used freely. 5. Mutual decomposition with lime and some of its compounds, as well as some other salts, giving rise to other and often more active fertilisers. And he sums up the benefits resulting to the farmer from the use of salt as follows: -1. In the soil-retention of moisture and softness; general penetration and digestion of all the materials of vegetable food to enrich the root-sap; and destruction of vermin and of seeds when used freely. 2. On other manures-the destruction of all vermin, weeds, roots, and seeds; the digestive action just de scribed; mutual decomposition with lime and its compounds, to the advantage of both; and an improvement in the efficacy of ammoniacal manures, whilst it greatly reduces their cost. 3. In the plant-improvement in the taste, wholesomeness, and nutritive power, and earlier maturity. 15. TO PREVENT THE EVIL EFFECTS OF LEAD CISTERNS.To every 100 square feet of lead surface let there be firmly attached one square foot of sheet zinc, cut up into about sixteen or twenty pieces, and disposed equally over the "flat," or superficies of the cistern, gutter, &c.; or let the lead be studded with broadheaded zinc nails, say eight for a foot square. Where " pipes" have to be dealt with, zinc wire or thin strips of the metal should be inserted a little way, having a perfect contact with the lead at some part. The efficacy of this suggestion depends upon the fact, that zinc is always electro-positive to lead when these metals are brought together in the presence of moisture; consequently the lead could never be dissolved, its office being to conduct away the electricity developed by the slow action of water upon zinc. Both metals should be kept tolerably clean, by washing them three or four times a year with weak brine. To prevent the ill-effects of water impregnated with lead upon the animal economy, four or five drops of sulphuric acid in half a pint of pure water, may be taken now and then. White of egg (not boiled, but) mixed with warm water, is the best antidote in severe cases of lead poisoning.-W. L. S. (in the Builder). 16. ALLEGED ADULTERATION OF CIGARS. It appears by the testimony of Dr. Hassall before the Parliamentary Committee that, contrary to general opinion, cigars and cheroots are but little subject to adulteration; the cheap penny cigars even consisting, in the majority of cases, entirely of tobacco; although, no doubt, of tobacco of very inferior quality. Cigars are, however, now and then met with, especially on racecourses, at fairs, &c,, made up of hay and brown-paper. That, notwithstanding the generally received opinions, opium was not detected in any of the twelve samples of Manilla cheroots analysed. Fifty-eight samples of cigars were examined. (See the important article upon adulterations, Enquire Within, 2387.) 17. LAWS RELATING TO THE ADULTERATION AND SALE OF BREAD.-Bakers, or sellers of bread, are bound to have fixed, in some conspicuous part of their shop, a beam and scales, with proper weights for weighing bread; and a person purchasing bread may require it to be weighed in his presence. Bakers and others sending out bread in carts, are to supply them with beams, scales, &c., and to weigh the bread, if required, under a penalty of £5. Bakers, either journeymen or masters, using alum or any other unwholesome ingredients, and convicted on their own confession, or on the oath of one or more witnesses, to forfeit not exceeding £20, and not less than £5, if beyond the environs of London; and not exceeding £10 nor less than £5, if within London or its environs. Justices are allowed to publish the names of offenders. The adulteration of meal or flour is punishable by a like penalty. Loaves made of any other grain than wheat, without the city and its liberties, or beyond ten miles of the Royal Exchange, to be marked with a large Roman M, and every loaf so exposed. Any ingredient or mixture found within the house, mill, stall, shop, or other premises, of any miller, mealman, or baker, which, after due examination, shall be adjudged to have been placed there for adulteration, shall be forfeited, and the person within whose premises it is found punished; if within the city of London and its environs, by a penalty not exceeding £10, nor less than 40s., for the first, £5 for the second, and £10 for every subsequent offence. And if without London and its environs, the party in whose house or premises ingredients for adulteration shall be found, shall forfeit for every such offence not less than £5, and not more than £20. | Is it not surprising that, with these laws in existence, and with the facts admitted that bread is generally adulterated with alum and other noxious substances, the magistrates do not punish the offenders? 18. MAKING TEA.-It has been long observed that the infusion of tea made in silver or polished metal teapots is stronger than that which is produced in black, or other kinds of earthenware. This is explained on the principle, that polished surfaces retain heat much better than dark, rough surfaces, and that, consequently, the caloric being confined in the former case, must act more powerfully than in the latter. It is further certain, that the silver or metal pot, when filled a second time, produces worse tea than the earthenware vessel; and that it is advisable to use the earthenware pot, unless a silver or metal one can be procured sufficiently large to contain at once all that may be required. These facts are readily explained by considering, that the action of the heat retained by the silver vessel so far exhausts the herb as to leave very little soluble substance for a second infusion; whereas the reduced temperature of the water in the earthern pot, by extracting only a small proportion at first, leaves some soluble matter for the action of a subsequent infusion. The reason for pouring boiling water into the teapot before the infusion of the tea is made, is, that the vessel being previously warm, may abstract less heat from the mixture, and thus admit a more powerful action. Neither is it difficult to explain the fact why the infusion of tea is stronger if only a small quantity of boiling water be first used, and more be added some time afterwards; for if we consider that only the water immediately in contact with the herb can act upon it, and that it cools very rapidly, especially in earthenware vessels, it is clear that the effect will be greater where the heat is kept up by additions of boiling water, than where the vessel is filled at once, and the fluid suffered gradually to cool. When the infusion has once been completed, it is found that any further |