27-Chemistry of IIuman Food. I. W. I.Liebig states that boiling flesh slowly effects a chemical change in its composition; and according to the length of time employed in boiling, and the amount of water used, there takes place a more or less perfect separation of the soluble from the insoluble constituents of flesh; the water or soup in which the flesh has been boiled containing the soluble matter, and the meat from which the soup was made, consisting chiefly of fibrous, insoluble matter, is nearly useless as nourishing food. Thus it is obvious that when the water in which meat has been boiled slowly, is thrown away, by far the greater part of the soluble or nutritious matter is wasted. A very different mode of cooking should be adopted when it is wished to eat the meat. 28-Stammering. B. R.-"What is the reason that stammerers can sing with such fluency?" Several causes combine to produce this effect. First, in singing, the accent is laid on the vowels only which are easy of pronunciation. Languages abounding in vowels are peculiarly fitted for singing. Secondly, there is at all times a sufficiency of air for articulation; all persons being aware that a full chest is indispensable to good singing. Thirdly, the modulation materially assists the stammerer. Fourthly, in the vast majority of songs, the words are articulated much slower than in common conversation; and, fifthly the stammerer is aware that he can at any time, if desirable, sing the air, without articulating the words of the song. 29-Punctuality. H. M.-The only way to cure the infirmity of a want of punctuality under which your friend is afflicted, is not to accept his excuses, unless some legitimate cause is assigned, and never to wait for him beyond the time appointed for meeting. This unfortunate want of precision is a constant source of annoyance to the delinquent and his friends. Some persons once offending in this manner occasioned an excellent rebuke. An appointment was once made with an astronomer to be at his observatory to see an eclipse. The good company, considering celestial and terrestrial engagements in the same light, attended the philosopher; and, after chatting some time, at last recollected their business, and begged to see the eclipse. "I am sorry," replied the doctor, "that I could not prevail on the sun and moon to wait for you-the eclipse was ended long before your arrival." 30-Lord Rosse's Monster Telescope.-H. L.-To describe this wonderful instrument would take a volume. The following account will give some idea of its magnitude. The diameter of the large speculum is 6 feet, its thickness 5 inches, its weight 33 tons, and its composition 126 parts of copper, to 54 parts of tin; its focal length is 54 feet. The tube is of deal; its lower part, that in which the speculum is placed, is a cube of eight feet; the circular part of the tube is, at its centre, 7 feet diameter; and, at its extremities, 6 feet. The telescope lies between two stone walls, about 71 feet from north to south, about 50 feet high, and about 23 feet asunder. This telescope commands an immense field of vision, and it is said that objects as small as one hundred yards cube can be observed at a distance of 240,000 miles by it in the moon. So that it may be expected that our satellite will speedily become well known to us. 31-To make an Eolian Harp. W. I. L.— This instrument should consist of a long narrow box of thin deal, about five or six inches deep, with a circle in the middle of the upper side, of an inch and a half in diameter, in which are to be drilled small holes. On this side, seven, ten, or more strings, of very fine gut, are stretched over bridges at each end, like the bridges of a fiddle, and screwed up or relaxed with screwpins. The strings must be all tuned to one and the same note, and the instrument be placed in some current of air, where the wind may pass over its strings with freedom. A window of which the width is exactly equal to the length of the harp, with the sash just raised to give the air free admission, is a proper situation. When the air blows upon these strings, with different degrees of force, it will excite different tones of sound; sometimes the blast brings out all the tones in full concert, and sometimes it sinks them to the softest murmurs. (See App. No. 34, Vol. II. First Series.) rooms. 32-Indications of Wholesomeness in MushG. T. H.-Whenever a fungus is pleasant in flavour and odour, it may be considered wholesome; if, on the contrary, it have an offen. sive smell, a bitter, astringent, or styptic taste, or even if it leave an unpleasant flavour in the mouth, it should not be considered fit for food. The colour, figure, and texture of these vegetables do not afford any characters on which we can safely rely; yet it may be remarked, that in colour, the pure yellow, gold colour, bluish pale, dark or lustre brown, wine red, or the violet, belong to many that are esculent; whilst the pale or sulphur yellow, bright or blood-red, and the greenish, belong to few but the poisonous. The safe kinds have most frequently a compact, brittle texture; the flesh is white; they grow more readily in open places, such as dry pastures and waste lands, than in places humid or shaded by wood. In general, those should be suspected which grow in caverns and subterranean passages, on animal matter undergoing putrefaction, as well as those whose flesh is soft or watery. 33-Luminous Plants. X. Y. Z.-Potatoes kept in a cellar in a growing state sometimes become so luminous, that we can read print by their light. The dictamnus albus (white dittany) spreads around it in dry summer evenings an atmosphere which, when a taper is brought to it, burns with a bright blue flame. Some plants give out a sparkling light, probably of the nature of electricity; such is the case with the flowers of calendula (marygold), tropæolum (Indian cress), lilium bulbiferum, and chalcedonicum (lilies), tagetes (French marygold), helianthus (sunflower), and polyanthus. Others give out a calm, steady light, of a blueisn, greenish, or yellowish-white colour, such as dematium violaceum Pers. schistostega osmundacea, W. and M., philolaca decandra, rhizomorpha pinnata, Humb. The luminous appearances in the galleries and shafts of mines are often to be traced to rhizomorphous plants. The milky juice of some plants is very luminous, and, when in a state of incipient decomposition, branches, trunks, and roots of trees become luminous. 34-A swarm of Bees. EMMA. A Swarm of these industrious insects is estimated to contain from ten to twenty thousand, in a natural state, and from thirty to forty thousand in a hive. 35-Never wipe a Steel Pen. J. S.-When not in use, keep the implement standing in a wine glass containing a little coarse sand, or small pebbles, and a sufficiency of water to preserve it moist. 36-Real Economy. P. D.-We do not think it real economy to purchase what are called "cheap" articles of any description; for example, rice at threepence per pound will scarcely go half so far as rice at fivepence per pound. 37-The Female Figure. R. G. L. Not so. All judges of the beauty or perfection of the human figure are agreed upon the fact, that a highly-braced or, in plainer language, a tightlylaced figure never can be really graceful. 38-Picture Frames. L. A.-These elegant ornaments would not become tarnished so soon, if they were more frequently wiped than they usually are, with a soft silk handkerchief, and the intricacies of their mouldings or carvings dusted carefully with a little brush of floss silk. 39-Smoking. W. M.-Smoking invites thirst; and there is little risk in advancing, that whatever superinduces an unnatural indulgence in the use of liquids is, itself, and without farther question, injurious, even if the liquids resorted to are of the most innocent description; but, in point of fact, the cigar-smoker will usually appease his thirst by means of liquors in themselves his enemies! 40-Courtesy to Travellers. R. S.-Every little service rendered by a travelling companion should be either civilly declined, or courteously accepted, and it should be the duty of every lady not to let a gentleman do too much for her, or she herself tax his generosity too far. It is always creditable to a gentleman to give up his place in a full coach whenever a lady enters; but no female should ever claim this concession as a right. 41-To improve Water for Drinking. B. The following plan may be adopted for this purpose:-Let the water, when boiled, be put into a common barrel-churn, where it may be agitated to any degree that may be wished for. In the course of its being thus agitated, it will absorb atmospheric air, and other elastic fluids with which it may come in contact. It will then become a liquor, safe, palatable, and wholesome; to be obtained with little trouble and expense; and accessible in its utmost perfection, to the poorest individual. 42-The Sky-lark. A FIELD-HAUNTER.-In its wild state the lark begins to sing in the first five days of spring and ceases about the close of July; this, however, is not always the case as some continue till the end of September. The beauty of its song consists of several strains composed entirely of trills and flourishes, frequently interrupted by loud whistling. It is numbered amongst the few birds which sing flying; and the loftier its flight the more elevated would appear to be the tone of its voice, which may be heard sometimes when it is scarcely discernible amongst the ether wherein it is poised. In the country it very seldom sings on the ground. 43-Water as a Beverage. W. J. C.-Water drinkers are in general longer livers, are less subject to decay of their faculties, have better teeth, more regular appetites, and less tendency to disease than those who indulge in a more stimu lating dilutant than their common drink. This liquid is undoubtedly not only the most fitted for quenching thirst and promoting true and healthy digestion, but the best adjutant to a long and comfortable life. Its properties are thus summed up by Hoffman: "Pure water is the fittest drink for all ages and temperaments: and, of all the productions of nature or art, comes the nearest to that universal remedy so much sought after by mankind, and never hitherto discovered: an opinion in which he is supported by most scientific and intelligent men. 44-Assurance Societies. LEX.-These societies arose from an old Saxon law, which ordains, "That every freeman of fourteen years old should find sureties to keep the peace, or be committed. Certain neighbours, consisting of ten families, entered into an association, and became bound to each other to produce him who committed an offence, or to make satisfaction to the injured party. That they might the better do this, they raised a sum of money amongst themselves, which they put into a common stock, and when one of the pledges had committed an offence, and had fled, the other nine made satisfaction out of this stock, by payment of money according to the offence." This was the origin of mutual assurance, and was found to be so advantageous that it afterwards became compulsory, and has left its relics in the law, which yet makes the hundred liable for damage done by tumultuous assemblies. 45-The Way to Wealth. B. T.-The rules of Poor Richard, as you observe, are excellent, but requiring great nerve as well as philosophy to be followed up with an equivalent of success to that which distinguished the eminent individual who first embodied them, and put them before the world. The attainment of riches, however, to a certain extent, is open to all by industry and frugality, coupled with a proper use of our time-for time, well employed, is certain to bring money, and this well spent is as certain of accumulating. Above all things acquire habits of punctuality, and to do this we would say, make a regular estimate of your time by laying down, as far as possible, what you must do in every particular hour, and you will, in a single month, acquire habits of punctuality which will be, even, astonishing to yourself, and gain for you a character for accuracy that cannot help raising your credit in whatever sphere of life it may be your lot to move. 46-Tea. A. B. S.-Every kind of knowledge which appertains to an article of such great and continual consumption as this, ought to be looked upon by the domestic economist, as in the highest degree valuable, and we appreciate the highly practical character of those minds which desire this species of information through the medium of our columns. The principal varieties of Black Teas, are Bohea, Congou, Campoi, Souchong, Caper, and Pekoe. This last being the best is prepared from the unexpanded leaf. Bohea is in the lower grade of Black Teas. The varieties of Green Teas are Twankey, Hyson-skin, Hyson, Imperial, and Gunpowder. This last stands in the place of Pekoe, being also composed of the unopened buds of the spring crop. These are facts which ought to be borne in the mind of every housekeeper, and applied in ascertaining, as far as possible, the quality of the tea she may be in the daily or weekly habit of purchasing. 47-Plants in Rooms. S. W. B.-The reason why plants fade so soon, is because due attention is not paid to them. The mere supplying with water is not sufficient. The leaves should be kept perfectly clean. "If as much washing were bestowed, in London," says Dr. Lindley, upon a pot plant as upon a lap-dog, the one would reThe main in as good condition as the other. reasons are obvious. Plants breathe by their leaves and if their surface is clogged by dirt, of whatever kind, their breathing is impeded or prevented. Plants perspire by their leaves; and dirt prevents their perspiration. Plants feed by their leaves; and dirt prevents their feeding. So that breathing, perspiration, and food, are fatally interrupted by the accumulation of foreign matters upon leaves. Let any one, after reading this, cast an eye upon the state of plants in sitting rooms or well-kept greenhouses; let him draw a white handkerchief over the surface of such plants, or a piece of smooth white leather, if he desires to know how far they are from being as clean as their nature requires." 48-The Woodland Heroes of the People's Ballads. P. R.-It is Keats, not Cowper, who makes the leafy month of June so fresh and green in connection with, "Yet let us sing, Honour to the old bow-string! 49-Number and periods of Meals. T. H.Dr. Coombe observes, that "the number and periods of our meals should be in proportion to the real wants of the system, as modified by age, sex, health, and manner of life, and as indicated by the true returns of appetite." It is well to have fixed periods for our meals; which should not exceed three for grown up people, although five is generally the number. Children require feeding more often than adults. The best time for breakfast is as soon after rising and dressing as possible, and the meal should consist of a light diet and coffee. It is improper for delicate persons to exercise either body or mind much before breakfast; it produces exhaustion and languor. Luncheon is not a necessary meal, except when the period between breakfast and dinner is too long. It should consist of a light diet, and be partaken of about five hours after breakfast. Dinner should be taken about one or two o'clock; and after partaking of the most digestible food, it is advisable to rest, if possible, for a short time, and then take a little exertion. You remember the old couplet, "After dinner sit a while, After supper run a mile." Tea should consist of a light nutritive diet, with a moderate allowance of tea or coffee, and be partaken of about six o'clock in the evening. Suppers are unnecessary to persons that dine late, and at any time injurious except to those who take much exercise. 50-How to get up a Washing. MARY.Really, Mary, your question is of such a "tough" nature, that we tremble for our reputation in trying to answer it. To ask any Editor, "How to get up a Washing" is of itself something out of the way; but then to append to it with only two servants," and again "without neglect of other duties," notwithstanding the very excellent tendency of its practical end, would be too much for us, had we not a "friend" whose universal knowledge in all matters of domestic economy always serves us in our need. This "Friend has a family of six persons besides the two servants-the most important item by-the-way- and rethus in refergulates her establishment ence to the matter of which you inquire. On Monday she makes the housemaid do her up stairs work, then collect the linen, sort it, and after tea in the evening, unite with the cook in washing all the articles TwICE over, then put them in tubs covered with boiling water. This our "Friend" calls "lying in scald." At five on Tuesday morning, "the scalded" are put through another sud, rinsed and hung on hedges, there to be blown by the winds and pricked by the thorns until they become a beautiful white. This done with the "whites," the coloured things are then attacked and finished by noon, when the housemaid goes to her usual work, and the cook clears away all in the washhouse. Well, after the "Family" dinner is over, which is not sooner than four, "the whites" are brought in and it is the evening's work to "fold" and prepare them for "mangling" and "ironing." On Wednesday while the housemaid, is upstairs, the cook has arranged all things for dinner and attends to the ironing in which she is joined by her "coadjutor" about noon-perfectly clean and neat, and ready to answer the door or wait the table as agreeably and smilingly as possible. In the evening the mangling process commences, and on Thursday the whole is completed.-There Mary! what do you think of that?-There being no needlework demanded from the servants, these inestimable members of the community, have, by the excellent order and method of our "Friend" no fewer than two or three evenings in the week to sew for themselves, an advantage which many are deprived of from the want of rigorous regulations in those who are not as we are, real "FAMILY FRIENDS." 51-Flight of Insects. N. O.-No; the mechanical principle by which this is effected is precisely the same as that which acts in the flight of birds; but there is a considerable difference in the mechanism employed to effect the same object, which arises from various causes,-as the form of insectal bodies, the number of their wings, &c., &c. 52-Chess. B. C.-Mr. Harrwitz, our chess editor, has just returned from a tour in Germany, and has recommenced his profession of teaching chess. While at Vienna he played several smart games with first-rate players. These games will appear in our pages. He played blindfold only once during his absence. Private letters may be addressed to Mr. Harrwitz, at 14, Surrey-street, Strand; but chess contributions should be addressed to our office. 53-Water Filtering. R. L.-True, in travelling you cannot drink of common streams without the risk of swallowing some minute particles of mud or sediment; but if you adopt the following simple plan you will find it serve all the purposes of a filter, and give you water as clear as crystal. Throw into about a quart of water a small pinch of alum, and leave it to stand a few minutes, and although the water be pretty highly surcharged with mud, you will find it, within the time we have mentioned, become astonishingly transparent. 54-Self-denial. G. M.- We are not prepared to go fully into the merits of the dispute between you and your friend; but be assured that Sir W. Scott was right when he said there was never anything great achieved, without having been worked out by self-denial,-and that there is nothing so incompatible with true greatness as drunkenness. Conybeare is equally expressive with the great novelist on this subject, when he says "Self-denial is a virtue of the highest quality, and he who has it not and does not strive to acquire it, will never excel in anything." 55-The King's Bench. T. S.-The name is derived from the bench upon which, in ancient times, the kings sat in person and delivered their judgments; and on this account it was always removed with the King's household. As a piece of furniture, even in the palaces of kings, benches were in use long before the introduction of chairs, and any elevated seat was usually denominated a bench. That such was the case, we have a confirmation in the old poem. entitled "Ploughman's Crede," where it is affirmed of "An halle for an hygh kynge, an household to holden, With brode bordes abouten ybenched." 56-Negro Expresses. B. R.-Barbarous as they are, however, they have their means of intercommunication as well as we. Their mode of transmitting news is a very simple, yet a very effective one: for example, when information of great moment is to be conveyed from one tribe to another, one of their swiftest runners is despatched, and when he is" used up" his message is intrusted to another, and thus speeded on without a moment's delay. Should a river intersect the course of the runner, he shouts his news across, and being caught on the other side by another messenger, it is still further sped on. In this manner intelligence finds its way along the coast of Africa with amazing celerity. 57-Advantages of London. J. J. P.-Much of what you say is true, but then, you must bear in mind that there are many advantages arising from living in the metropolis, with which the country cannot supply you; for example, the prices of food in London are little, if any, higher than what they are in the country, whilst the housekeeper can, at all times, procure the precise quantity of the desired article that is wanted. House-rent is, certainly, higher; but this again is counterbalanced by the fact of clothing and most domestic articles being cheaper than they usually are in the country. In regard to children, the benefits as far as regards education, of residing in London are immense, as every accomplishment may be received at a comparatively speaking, trifling expense with what such could be obtained in the country. 58-Male Costume. M. S.-We believe you are right; for, on reflection, we really think a modern man seems an odd kind of figure, when minutely inspected from "top to toe:" but his dress is, after all, nothing so absurd as it was in the time of Edward IV., during the period of the longpeaked shoes. A lord or great personage in those days would have had a point to his shoes even two feet long, which extravagance it was found necessary to restrain by a sumptuary-law, forbidding them to exceed two inches. In the present day, extraordinary as some of our extravagancies are sometimes, we have fallen far short of anything like this. Every article now-a-days in male attire is regulated by some attention to proportion; and he who does not like a coat may, if he be a man of courage, wear a jacket,—even in the face of fashion. 59-Rapid Authorship. C. D. There is nothing extraordinary in the effort of which you speak. Similar performances are done every day by our living journalists and periodical writers. You are mistaken also, when you suppose that time has much to do with the greatness of a production. What costs men of less originality and power to do, Byron and Scott did with ease. At the beginning, however, they studied both hard and well. Horace's celebrated maxim, Festina lente (make haste slowly) was up to the very letter, adopted by Byron after the castigation which his Hours of Idleness" brought upon him from the "Edinburgh Review." Beckford, if our memory serves us, composed his "Vathek," at one sitting, but then that extended to three days and two nights of hard labour. Voltaire wrote his "Zaire" in twenty days, and Sheridan, who was by no means a rapid composer, was writing the last act of his "Pizarro" whilst the players were representing the piece on the stage. 60-Trees. J. S.-They are the most beautiful objects in nature. We ourselves have slept beneath them unprotected save by their branches in the wild, deep, and pathless forests of the New World, by night as well as by day, and when all was as still as a desert. They are the most beautiful of the many beautiful objects of poetry. A purling stream is nothing to a waving tree! The one soon becomes monotonous: the other, never, from the endless and interminable intertwinings of its boughs. We love trees, and have loved them from our boyhood. All the pomp and circumstance of wealth, power, and art, are as nothing in our eyes, however beautifully and artistically blended or combined, to a solitary old oak spreading its arms in the midst of " pastures green." Cherish your love of trees, but beware of grove-worship, for if excessively indulged in, it is perhaps, the strongest passion which can lay hold of the human mind. 61- Method. T. B. In our opinion, so much depends upon method in any pursuit, that without it, success might be considered as a sort of anomaly, even in the common affairs of every day life. It is said that "Brevity is the soul of Wit," and we say, "Method is the soul of Business." Without it nothing goes on well. Three of the chief things which tend to make any trade or profession easy and profitable, are method, application, and despatch; and without the first, the second will be as unprofitable as the third will be impossible. Be your calling what it may, study to acquire method in it. Despatch one thing before another, and be not continually running from one thing to another, which is a sort of wild-goose-chase work, out of which little and seldom satisfaction comes. Ponder well the kind of employment in which your mind is engaged; endeavour to impress yourself well with its usefulness so as to insure some valuable end in life, and this will be a powerful stimulus to seek method in carrying it out. 62-Rhubarb. R. A.-The botanic name is Rheum, and is supposed to have been given to Rhubarb from its superior medicinal qualities; and its specific name, Ponticum, as coming from the Pontis; its other names are derived from the habits of the plant. What is known as True Rhubarb is chiefly raised in China, where it is prepared for exportation. It is principally bought by the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Turks, who, as far as possible, monopolise the trade and reap a large profit from it by sending it to various parts of the world. In a medicinal point of view, Rhubarb has for centuries been held in the highest estimation, its mild cathartic properties being commonly considered as one of the safest and most innocent of the substances of its class. In this country the varieties of the Tart Rhubarb, by which name it may be justly styled, form an object of considerable profit to the market gardener; whilst to the more humble cottager it cannot be too strongly recommended as a wholesome vegetable, whether used in tarts, puddings, or baked whole in a dish. 63-Frogs. G. A. B.-It ought to be remembered, before so strongly expressing your disgust at the practice of the French, that the frog is a remarkably clean feeder, and partakes no more of the nature of the toad, to which its resemblance causes such a prejudice, than the eel does of the snake. It is besides only the hind-legs of the animal that are used in cookery, and these are, if possible, more delicate than those of woodcocks, to which they bear a very close resemblance. But France is not the only country which has incorporated this animal amongst the annals of its cookery books. The United States have, in some parts, their frogs, and the inhabitants esteem them as a dish, very highly; and we have seen it somewhere suggested that rearing and feeding frogs for the London markets might be made a profitable adventure; although, for ourselves, we doubt whether the Leonine propensities of John Bull would readily descend from the dig nity of roast beef to the delicacy of frog fry. 64-Red Snow. M. A. L.-Yes. We believe it was the researches of Mr. R. J. Shuttleworth that chiefly established the fact of the colouring matter being composed of organized bodies of different forms and natures, some vegetable, but a much larger proportion animal. When the snow was placed in vessels of earthenware, it gradually melted and deposited the colouring matter on the sides and bottoms of the vessels in the form of a deep red powder. On being placed under a very powerful microscope, it was found that many of the organized bodies were of a bright red, approaching to blood colour, others crimson, and some of opaque red. Those. however, which mainly contributed to impart the tinge to the snow were small infusory animals of a reddish brown hue and of an oval form. with They were nearly opaque, and in vast numbers, performing their movements extraordinary rapidity, and chiefly in a hori zontal direction. Thus it would appear that even in Arctic Regions, where the temperalife, there exists among fields of perpetual snow, ture might be supposed to be inimical to animal an infinite number of microscopic beings constituting as it were, a new world for discovery and investigation only waiting for the higher perfection of scientific instruments to bring it fully and certainly before the eyes of the world. 65-Weeds. ELIZABETH.-We sincerely sympathise with the distress which these "prolific ugly things," as you express it, occasion you by the foul disfigurement they give to your beautiful little garden, which, without them, would be such a Paradise. But, candidly, Elizabeth, why not use a little industry, or albeit make it a recreation yourself, in denuding that beautiful spot of the unprofitable things which would seem to be the source of so much pain; "When Adam delved, and Eve span, Where was then the gentleman?" and truly it is no unworthy or unlady-like employment for a creature, however delicate or gentle, to bestow a little time and care on the most delicate and gentlest of all Nature's creations, by destroying, with her own hand, the “ugly things" that are trying to choke the beautiful ones. Let us commend to thee old Tusser's lines, and counsel thee to keep them in thy tender remembrance, good Elizabeth : "In May, get a weed-hook, a crotch, and a glove, And weed out such weeds as the corn doth For weeding of winter corn, now is the best, fret, The fitches put downward both rye and the wheat; The brake and the cockle be noisome too much, Yet, like unto boodle, no weed there is such. Slack never thy weeding for dearth nor for cheap, The corn shall reward it ere ever ye reap; |