Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon - "The Poetical Works of Mrs. Leprohon (Mrs. R.E. Mullins)"

Various - "US Presidential Inagural Addresses"

Pliny the Younger - "The Letters of Pliny the Younger"

Charles Dickens - "Pictures from Italy"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: The American Woman\'s Home

C >> Catherine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe >> The American Woman\'s Home




_Strychnia_ demands also quick emetics.

The stomach should be emptied always after taking any of these
antidotes, by a warm water emetic.

In case of bleeding at the lungs, or stomach, or throat, give a
tea-spoonful of dry salt, and repeat it often. For bleeding at the
nose, put ice, or pour cold water on the back of the neck, keeping the
head elevated.

If a person be struck with lightning, throw pailfuls of cold water on
the head and body, and apply mustard poultices on the stomach, with
friction of the whole body and inflation of the lungs, as in the case
of drowning. The same mode is to be used when persons are stupefied
by fumes of coal, or bad air.

In thunderstorms, shut the doors and windows. The safest part of a
room is its centre; and where there is a feather-bed in the apartment,
that will be found the most secure resting-place.

A lightning-rod if it be well pointed, and run deep into the earth,
is a certain protection to a circle, around it, whose diameter equals
the height of the rod above the highest chimney. But it protects _no
farther_ than this extent.

In case of fire, wrap about you a blanket, a shawl, a piece of carpet,
or any other woolen cloth, to serve as protection. Never read in bed,
lest you fall asleep, and the bed be set on fire. If your clothes get
on fire, never run, but lie down, and roll about till you can reach
a bed or carpet to wrap yourself in, and thus put out the fire. Keep
young children in woolen dresses, to save them from the risk of fire.




XXVIII.

SEWING, CUTTING, AND MENDING.


Every young girl should be taught to do the following kinds of stitch
with propriety: Over-stitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching,
back-stitch and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning,
gathering, and cross-stitch.

In doing over-stitch, the edges should always be first fitted, either
with pins or basting, to prevent puckering. In turning wide hems, a
paper measure should be used, to make them even. Tucks, also, should
be regulated by a paper measure. A fell should be turned, before the
edges are put together, and the seam should be over-sewed before
felling. All biased or goring seams should be felled, for stitching,
draw a thread, and take up two or three threads at a stitch.

In cutting buttonholes, it is best to have a pair of scissors, made
for the purpose, which cut very neatly. For broadcloth, a chisel and
board are better. The best stitch is made by putting in the needle,
and then turning the thread round it near the eye. This is better than
to draw the needle through, and then take up a loop. A stay thread
should first be put across each side of the buttonhole, and also a bar
at each end before working it. In working the buttonhole, keep the
stay thread as far from the edge as possible. A small bar should be
worked at each end.

Whipping is done better by sewing _over_, and not under. The roll
should be as fine as possible, the stitches short, the thread strong,
and in sewing, every gather should be taken up.

The rule for _gathering_ in shirts is, to draw a thread, and then take
up two threads and skip four. In _darning_, after the perpendicular
threads are run, the crossing threads should interlace exactly, taking
one thread and leaving one, like woven threads. It is better to run a
fine thread around a hole and draw it together, and then darn across it.

The neatest sewers always fit and baste their work before sewing; and
they say they always save time in the end by so doing, as they never
have to pick out work on account of mistakes.

It is wise to sew closely and tightly all new garments which will never
be altered in shape; but some are more nice than wise, in sewing frocks
and old garments in the same style. However, this is the least common
extreme. It is much more frequently the case that articles which ought
to be strongly and neatly made are sewed so that a nice sewer would
rather pick out the threads and sew over again than to be annoyed with
the sight of grinning stitches, and vexed with constant rips.

If the thread kinks in sewing, break it off and begin at the other
end. In using spool-cotton, thread the needle with the end which comes
off first, and not the end where you break it off. This often prevents
kinks.

_Work-baskets_.--It is very important to neatness, comfort, and
success in sewing, that a lady's work-basket should be properly fitted
up. The following articles are needful to the mistress of a family:
a large basket to hold work; having in it fastened a smaller basket
or box, containing a needle-book in which are needles of every size,
both blunts and sharps, with a larger number of those sizes most used;
also small and large darning-needles, for woolen, cotton, and silk;
two tape needles, large and small; nice scissors for fine work,
button-hole scissors; an emery bag; two balls of white and yellow wax;
and two thimbles, in case one should be mislaid. When a person is
troubled with damp fingers, a lump of soft chalk in a paper is useful
to rub on the ends of the fingers.

Besides this box, keep in the basket common scissors; small shears;
a bag containing tapes of all colors and sizes, done up in rolls; bags,
one containing spools of white and another of colored cotton thread,
and another for silks wound on spools or papers; a box or bag for nice
buttons, and another for more common ones; a hag containing silk braid,
welting cords, and galloon binding. Small rolls of pieces of white and
brown linen and cotton are also often needed. A brick pin-cushion is
a great convenience in sewing, and better than screw cushions. It is
made by covering half a brick with cloth, putting a cushion on the
top, and covering it tastefully. It is very useful to hold pins and
needles while sewing, and to fasten long seams when basting and sewing.

_To make a Frock_.--The best way for a novice is to get a dress fitted
(not sewed) at the best mantua-maker's. Then take out a sleeve, rip it
to pieces, and cut out a paper pattern. Then take out half of the waist,
(it must have a seam in front,) and cut out a pattern of the back and
fore-body, both lining and outer part. In cutting the patterns, iron the
pieces smooth, let the paper be stiff, and with a pin; prick holes in
the paper, to show the gore in front and the depths of the seams. With a
pen and ink, draw lines from each pin-hole to preserve this mark. Then
baste the parts together again, in doing which the unbasted half will
serve as a pattern. When this is done, a lady of common ingenuity can
cut and fit a dress by these patterns. If the waist of a dress be too
tight, the seam under the arm must be let out; and in cutting a dress an
allowance should be made for letting it out if needful, at this seam.

The linings for the waists of dresses should be stiffened with cotton
or linen. In cutting bias-pieces for trimming, they will not set well
unless they are exact. In cutting them use a long rule, and a lead
pencil or piece of chalk. Welting-cords should be covered with
bias-pieces; and it saves time, in many cases, to baste on the
welting-cord at the same time that you cover it. The best way, to put
on hooks and eyes is to sew thorn on double broad tape, and sew this
on the frock lining. They can be moved easily, and do not show where
they are sewed on.

In putting on linings of skirts at the bottom, be careful to have it
a very little fuller than the dress, or it will shrink and look badly.
All thin silks look much better with lining, and last much longer, as
do aprons also. In putting a lining to a dress, baste it on each
separate breadth, and sew it at the seams, and it looks much better
than to have it fastened only at the bottom. Hake notches in selvedge,
to prevent it from drawing up the breadth. Dresses which are to be
washed should not be lined.

Figured silks do not generally wear well if the figure be large and
satin-like. Black and plain-colored silks can be tested by procuring
samples, and making creases in them; fold the creases in a bunch, and
rub them against a rough surface of moreen or carpeting. Those which
are poor will soon wear off at the creases.

Plaids look becoming for tall women, as they shorten the appearance
of the figure. Stripes look becoming on a large person, as they reduce
the apparent size. Pale, persons should not wear blue or green, and
brunettes should not wear light delicate colors, except shades of buff,
fawn, or straw color. Pearl white is not good for any complexion. Dead
white and black look becoming on almost all persons. It is best to try
colors by candle-light for evening dresses, as some colors which look
very handsome in the daylight are very homely when seen by candle-light.
Never be in haste to be first in a fashion, and never go to the
extremes.

_Linen and Cotton_.--In buying linen, seek for that which has a
round close thread and is perfectly white; for if it be not white at
first, it will never afterward become so. Much that is called linen
at the shops is half cotton, and does not wear so well as cotton alone.
Cheap linens are usually of this kind. It is difficult to discover
which are all linen; but the best way is to find a lot presumed to be
good, take a sample, wash it, and ravel it. If this be good, the rest
of the same lot will probably be so. If you can not do this, draw a
thread each way, and if both appear equally strong it is probably all
linen. Linen and cotton must be put in clean water, and boiled, to get
out the starch, and then ironed.

A "long piece" of linen, a yard wide, will, with care and calculation,
make eight shirts. In cutting it, take a shirt of the right size as
a guide in fitting and basting. Bosom-pieces and false collars must
be cut and fitted by patterns which suit the person for whom, the
articles are designed. Gentlemen's night-shirts are made like other
shirts, except that they are longer, and do not have bosoms and cuffs
for starching.

In cutting chemises, if the cotton or linen is a yard wide, cut off
small half-gores at the top of the breadths and set them on the bottom.
Use a long rule and a pencil in cutting gores. In cutting cotton winch
is quite wide, a seam can be saved by cutting out two at once, in this
manner: cut off three breadths, and with a long rule and a pencil,
mark and cut off the gores; thus from one breadth cut off two gores
the whole length, each gore one fourth of the breadth at the bottom,
and tapering off to a point at the top. The other two breadths are to
have a gore cut off from each, which is one fourth wide at the top and
two fourths at bottom. Arrange these pieces right and they will make
two chemises, one having four seams and the other three. This is a
much easier way of cutting than sewing the three breadths together in
bag fashion, as is often done. The biased or goring seams must always
be felled. The sleeves and neck can be cut according to the taste of
the wearer, by another, chemise for a pattern. There should be a lining
around the armholes and stays at all corners. Six yards of yard width
will make two chemises.

Long night-gowns are best cut a little goring. It requires five yards
for a long night-gown, and two and a half for a short one. Linen night
caps wear longer than cotton ones, and do not like them turn yellow.
They should be ruffled with linen, as cotton borders will not last so
long as the cap. A double-quilted wrapper is a great comfort, in case
of sickness. It may be made of two old dresses. It should not be cut
full, but rather like a gentleman's study-gown, having no gathers or
plaits, but large enough to slip off and on with ease. A double-gown
of calico is also very useful. Most articles of dress, for grown persons
or children, require patterns.

Old silk dresses quilted for skirts are very serviceable, White flannel
is soiled so easily and shrinks so much in washing that it is a good
plan to color it. Cotton flannel is also good for common skirts. In
making up flannel, back-stitch and run the seams and then cross-stitch
them open. Nice flannel for infants can be ornamented with very little
expense of time, by turning up the hem on the right side and making
a little vine at the edge with saddler's silk The stitch of the vine
is a modification of button-hole stitch.

_Mending_. Silk dresses will last much longer, by ripping out the
sleeves when thin, and changing the arms and also the breadths of the
skirt. Tumbled black silk, which is old and rusty, should be dipped
in water, then be drained for a few minutes, without squeezing or
pressing, and then ironed. Coffee or cold tea is better than water.
Sheets when worn thin in the middle should be ripped, and the other
edges sewed together. Window-curtains last much longer if lined, as
the sun fades and rots them.

Broadcloth should be cut with reference to the way the nap runs. When
pantaloons are thin, it is best to newly seat them, cutting the piece
inserted in a curve, as corners are difficult to fit. Hose can be cut
down when the feet are worn. Take an old stocking and cut it up for
a pattern. Make the heel short. In sewing, turn each edge and run it
down, and then sew over the edges. This is better than to stitch and
then cross-stitch. "Run" thin places in stockings, and it will save
darning a hole. If shoes are worn through on the sides, in the
upper-leather, slip pieces of broadcloth under, and sew them around
the holes.

_Bedding_. The best beds are thick hair mattresses, which for persons in
health are good for winter as well as summer use. Mattresses may also be
made of husks, dried and drawn into shreds; also of alternate layers of
cotton and moss. The most profitable sheeting is the Russian, which will
last three times as long as any other. It is never perfectly white.
Unbleached cotton is good for winter. It is poor economy to make narrow
and short sheets, as children and domestics will always slip them off,
and soil the bed-tick and bolster. They should be three yards long, and
two and a half wide, so that they can be tucked in all around. All bed-
linen should be marked and numbered, so that a bed can always be made
properly, and all missing articles be known.



XXIX.

FIRES AND LIGHTS.


A shallow fireplace saves wood and gives out more heat than a deeper
one. A false back of brick may be put up in a deep fireplace. Hooks
for holding up the shovel and tongs, a hearth-brush and bellows, and
brass knobs to hang them on, should be furnished to every fireplace.
An iron bar across the andirons aids in keeping the fire safe and in
good order. Steel furniture is neater, handsomer, and more easily kept
in order than that made of brass.

Use green wood for logs, and mix green and dry wood for the fire; and
then the wood-pile will last much longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, and
oak wood are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad, because it snaps. Do
not buy a load in which there are many crooked sticks. Learn how to
measure and calculate the solid contents of a load, so as not to be
cheated. A cord of wood should be equivalent to a pile eight feet long,
four feet wide and four feet high; that is, it contains (8 X 4 X 4 =
128) one hundred and twenty-eight cubic or solid feet. A city "load"
is usually one third of a cord. Have all your wood split and piled
under cover for winter. Have the green wood logs in one pile, dry wood
in another, oven wood in another, kindlings and chips in another, and
a supply of charcoal to use for broiling and ironing in another place.
Have a brick bin for ashes, and never allow them to be put in wood.
When quitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across the
andirons, nor on its end, without quenching it. See that no fire adheres
to the broom or brush, remove all articles from the fire, and have two
pails filled with water in the kitchen where they will not freeze.


STOVES AND GRATES.

Rooms heated by stoves should always have some opening for the admission
of fresh air, or they will be injurious to health. The dryness of the
air, which they occasion, should be remedied by placing a vessel filled
with water on the stove, otherwise, the lungs or eyes will be injured.
A large number of plants in a room prevents this dryness of the air.
Where stove-pipes pass through fire-boards, the hole in the wood should
be much larger than the pipe, so that there may be no danger of the
wood taking fire. The unsightly opening thus occasioned should be
covered with tin. When pipes are carried through floors or partitions,
they should always pass either through earthen crocks, or what are
known as tin stove-pipe thimbles, which may be found in any stove store
or tinsmith's. Lengthening a pipe will increase its draught.

For those who use _anthracite_ coal, that which is broken or screened is
best for grates, and the nut-coal for small stoves. Three tons are
sufficient in the Middle States, and four tons in the Northern, to keep
one fire through the winter. That which is bright, hard, and clean is
best; and that which is soft, porous, and covered with damp dust is
poor. It will be well to provide two barrels of charcoal for kindling to
every ton of anthracite coal. Grates for _bituminous coal_ should have a
flue nearly as deep as the grate; and the bars should be round and not
close together. The better draught there is, the less coal-dust is made.
Every grate should be furnished with a poker, shovel, tongs, blower,
coal-scuttle, and holder for the blower. The latter may be made of
woolen, covered with old silk; and hung near the fire.

Coal-stoves should be carefully put up, as cracks in the pipe,
especially in sleeping rooms, are dangerous.


LIGHTS

Professor Phin, of the _Manufacturer and Builder_, has kindly given us
some late information on this important topic, which will be found
valuable.

In choosing the source of our light, the great points to be considered
are, first, the influence on the eyes, and secondly, economy. It is
poor economy to use a bad light. Modern houses in cities, and even in
large villages, are furnished with gas; where gas is not used,
sperm-oil, kerosene or coal-oil, and candles are employed. Gas is the
cheapest, (or ought to be;) and if properly used, is as good as any.
Good sperm-oil burned in an Argand lamp--that is, a lamp with a
circular wick, like the astral lamp and others--is perhaps the best;
but it is expensive and attended with many inconveniences. Good kerosene
oil gives a light which leaves little to be desired. Candles are used
only on rare occasions, though many families prefer to manufacture
into candles the waste grease that accumulates in the household. The
economy of any source of light will depend so much upon local
circumstances that no absolute directions can be given.

The effect produced by light on the eyes depends upon the following
points: First, _Steadiness_. Nothing is more injurious to the
eyes than a flickering, unsteady flame. Hence, all flames used for
light-giving purposes ought to be surrounded with glass chimneys or
small shades. No naked flame can ever be steady. Second, _Color_.
This depends greatly upon the temperature of the flame. A hot flame
gives a bright, white light; a flame which has not a high temperature
gives a dull, yellow light, which is very injurious to the eyes. In
the naked gas-jet a large portion of the flame burns at a low
temperature, and the same is the case with the flame of the kerosene
lamp when the height of the chimney is not properly proportioned to
the amount of oil consumed; a high wick needs a high chimney. In the
case of a well-trimmed Argand oil-lamp, or an Argand burner for gas,
the flame is in general most intensely hot, and the light is of a clear
white character.

The third point which demands attention is the _amount of heat_
transmitted from the flame to the eyes. It often happens that people,
in order to economize light, bring the lamp quite close to the face.
This is a very bad habit. The heat is more injurious than the light.
Better burn a larger flame, and keep it at a greater distance. It is
also well that various sized lamps should be provided to serve the
varying necessities of the household in regard to quantity of light.
One of the very best forms of lamp is that known as the "student's
reading-lamp," which is, in the burner, an Argand. Provide small lamps
with handles for carrying about, and broad-bottomed lamps for the
kitchen, as these are not easily upset. Hand and kitchen lamps are
best made of metal, unless they are to be used by very careful persons.

Sperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc., have been superseded to such an extent
by kerosene that it is scarcely worth while to give any special
directions in regard to them. In the choice of kerosene, attention
should be paid to two points: its _safety_ and its _light-giving
qualities_. Kerosene is not a simple fluid, like water; but is a
mixture of several liquids, all of which boil at different temperatures.
Good kerosene oil should be purified from all that portion which boils
or evaporates at a low temperature; for it is the production of this
vapor, and its mixture with atmospheric air, that gives rise to those
terrible explosions which sometimes occur when a light is brought near
a can of poor oil. To test the oil in this respect, pour a little into
an iron spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm to
the touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set on fire by means
of a flame held a short distance above the surface of the liquid, it
is bad. Good oil poured into a teacup or on the floor does not easily
take fire when a light is brought in contact with it. Poor oil will
instantly ignite under the same circumstances, and hence, the breaking
of a lamp filled with poor oil is always attended by great peril of
a conflagration. Not only the safety but also the light-giving qualities
of kerosene are greatly enhanced by the removal of these volatile and
dangerous oils. Hence, while good kerosene should be clear in color
and free from all matters which can gum up the wick and thus interfere
with free circulation and combustion, it should also be perfectly safe.
It ought to be kept in a cool, dark place, and carefully excluded from
the air.

The care of lamps requires so much attention and discretion, that many
ladies choose to do this work themselves, rather than trust it with
domestics. To do it properly, provide the following things: an old
waiter to hold all the articles used; a lamp-filler, with a spout,
small at the end, and turned up to prevent oil from dripping; proper
wicks, and a basket or box to hold them; a lamp-trimmer made for the
purpose, or a pair of _sharp_ scissors; a small soap-cup and soap;
some washing soda in a broad-mouthed bottle; and several soft cloths
to wash the articles and towels to wipe them. If every thing, after
being used, is cleansed from oil and then kept neatly, it will not be
so unpleasant a task as it usually is, to take care of lamps.

The inside of lamps and oil-cans should be cleansed with soda dissolved
in water. Be careful to drain them well, and not to let any gilding
or bronze be injured by the soda coming in contact with it. Put one
table-spoonful of soda to one quart of water. Take the lamp to pieces
and clean it as often as necessary. Wipe the chimney at least once a
day, and wash it whenever mere wiping fails to cleanse it. Some persons,
owing to the dirty state of their chimneys, lose half the light which
is produced. Keep dry fingers in trimming lamps. Renew the wicks before
they get too short. They should never be allowed to burn shorter than
an inch and a half.

In regard to _shades_, which are always well to use, on lamps or
gas, those made of glass or porcelain are now so cheap that we can
recommend them as the best without any reservation. Plain shades,
making the light soft and even, do not injure the eyes. Lamps should
be lighted with a strip of folded or rolled paper, of which a quantity
should be kept on the mantelpiece. Weak eyes should always be especially
shaded from the lights. Small screens, made for the purpose, should
be kept at hand. A person with weak eyes can use them safely much
longer when they are protected from the glare of the light. Fill the
entry-lamp every day, and cleanse and fill night-lanterns twice a week,
if used often. A good night-lamp is made with a small one-wicked lamp
and a roll of tin to set over it. Have some holes made in the bottom
of this cover, and it can then be used to heat articles. Very cheap
floating tapers can he bought to burn in a teacup of oil through the
night.


TO MAKE CANDLES.

The nicest candles are those run in moulds. For this purpose, melt
together one quarter of a pound of white wax, one quarter of an ounce
of camphor, two ounces of alum, and ten ounces of suet or mutton-tallow.
Soak the wicks in lime-water and saltpetre, and when dry, fix them in
the moulds and pour in the melted tallow. Let them remain one night
to cool; then warm them a little to loosen them, draw them out, and
when they are hard, put them in a box in a dry and cool place.