To festive mirth, and wit that knows no gall." England has for many ages been celebrated for its breeds of sheep; which yield wool of various qualities, suited to different branches of the woollen manufacture. If the reader will refer to page 143 in our present volume, he will find an interesting account of this highly useful animal. With regard to shearing, the subject of our illustration, the time for the operation will vary much with the state of the animal and of the season. After a cold winter, and the animal having been neglected, the sheep will be ready at an early period, for the old coat will be looseened and easily removed. The operation should never be commenced until the old wool has separated from the skin, and the new coat of wool is sprouting up. The coldness or warmth of the spring will also make a great difference. The usual time for shearing is about the middle of June, and the sheep-master will in a moment perceive when the fitting time is come. Custom has very properly required that the old fleece shall be cleansed before its removal, by washing the animal in some running stream. Two or three days are then allowed for the drying of the wool previous to its being shorn, the sheep being turned into a clean rick-yard, or field, or dry pasture, and remaining there until the fleece is dried, and in order that the new yolk, which is rapidly secreted, may penetrate through it, giving it a little additional weight and a peculiar softness. All the finer wools used to be brought from Spain, but in 1765, the Elector of Saxony imported into his dominions a few Merino sheep, which had a great influence on the wool trade. But the most remarkable circumstance in the recent history of wool, is the rapid increase in the quantity of wool imported from Australia. ARTIFICIAL FRUIT. THE first process is, forming the mould from which the cast of fruit is to be taken. This is done by mixing plaster of Paris with water, to the consistency of thick paint. As the mould of fruit cannot be taken whole, it is necessary to prepare it for the parts required. For an apple, orange, or pear, two parts will be sufficient; but in other cases, when the fruit abounds in irregularities, it is requisite to take the mould in three or more parts, otherwise it will be difficult to remove. In preparing an apple, &c., it is necessary to oil the surface of one half of the fruit, which, having done, place over it the plaster of Paris; as it sets, or dries, which it will do very quickly, smooth the edges to the exact half, with a knife, making at the same time several notches in the edge, in order that the two parts, when taken, may fit closely; when the plaster is sufficiently hardened, oil the edge with a camel's-hair pencil, and prepare for taking the mould of the second half, which is performed in the same manner; the two halves, placed together, will form a perfect mould, the plaster being readily removed by means of oiling. The next process is, taking the cast; the parts of the mould will be rendered more hard by immersion in cold water; all the parts must now be bound together with string. Prepare the wax by melting it to the consistency of cream, pour it into the mould at the aperture caused by the stalk, which must be increased should the orifice be not sufficiently capacious to admit the wax; when the wax is thoroughly hardened, the string must be removed, and the pieces of the mould taken from the fruit: a perfect cast of the fruit is thus produced. The colours used are to be obtained in powder, and delicately put on the wax by means of the finger, the lighter paris touched with a camel's-hair pencil. With some description of fruit, as an orange, grapes, &c., the colour may be put in the wax, and the bloom produced afterwards by the use of the powder. The stalks are formed and inserted at the top of the fruit. The leaves are produced by thin sheets of wax, punched out to the size required, with punches prepared for the purpose; these can be obtained at any tool warehouse. PUZZLE. A man was fishing on the river's brink Mont Blanc's white brow, his object gain'd, Gave a good spread, and welcome hearty. They drank his health, and call'd him brother, The claret finish'd, they had tea; The Lady had some flattery, As was her due; t'was but a fair Then came a question from the host, You have it; then add the head and tail To get the body's total length. Here then 's a sum to try your strength. To tell the fish's length from head to tail. CHARADE. Though found in secrecy and shy, You keep me constantly in pay. Nor even answer yea or nay. And if these facts you would deny, Do what you can, shift as you may, I still must finish your reply, Still I must help you to gainsay. Ans.-The Letter Y. ENIGMAS. 1. I'm one of two, and one of four; Ans.-The forewheel of a carriage. 2. Sustaining well the tyrant's part, RIDDLES. 1. Go to the hunter for my first, to the boat man for my second, and to the ploughman for my whole. Ans.-Fur-row. 2. I am a border when complete; behead me, I'm a border still. Ans.-Hedge edge. 3. If you could make R and S see, what flower would they name? Ans.-R and S with two eyes (two I's), make I-R-I-S. 4. A little higher than my whole, and I run over your glass; behead me, I run round your glass. Ans-Brim rim. THE EDITOR AND HIS FRIENDS. [APPENDIX.] Editor's Address:-London, 69, Fleet-street. The Editor of "The Family Friend." In commencing the Fourth Volume of our NEW SERIES, let us, as usual, impress upon our Friends that our Appendix is devoted not merely to Editorial answers to Questions put by Correspondents, but to useful Facts, Hints, and Suggestions, supplied by Correspondents themselves, -as Friends of our great Family. We cannot too highly prize the many useful treasures communicated to our first Series by numerous co-operators, and we earnestly invite not only a continuance but an increase of this friendly feeling, which prompts the possessor of any useful and practical information to publish it through our pages for the benefit of others. All letters of inquiry should be written as briefly and legibly as possible; and but one Query should be submitted by one Correspondent at a time. Correspondents should avoid troubling the Editor for information which may be easily obtained by reference to works usually accessible. Thus, the meaning and pronunciation of English Words; the dates of well-known events, &c., &c., &c., are not fair matters for Editorial interrogation, since all parties, with less delay and trouble than would be occasioned by addressing the Editor, may obtain the required information for themselves. Inquiries which are merely of individual interest will seldom be replied to; and queries of a trifling character, unless they are of a nature to afford amusement, and thus relieve the more solid matter of the Appendix from the disadvantages of dulness and monotony, will seldom be regarded. Legal and medical questions, except such as relate to established general principles of jurisprudence and medical science, must necessarily be set aside. We assume that every paragraph inserted in the Appendix should be useful to many persons, which would not be the case if matters of a merely local or private nature were introduced. 1-Periods of Incubation. A. T. M. A swan sits 42 days; parrots, 40 days; geese, 30 days; ducks, 30 days; hens, 21 days; pigeons, 10 days: canaries, 14 days. The temperature of hatching is 104° Fahr. 2-The Last Census. A. R.-According to the last census, the population of Great Britain, and Islands in the British seas, on the 31st of March, 1851, was 20,936,468. Of this number, 10,192,721 were males; and 10,743,747 females. 3 -The Extent of the Surface of the Earth. W. L. T.-The earth has an area of about 197,552,160 square miles, of which fifty millions constitute the dry land, and the remainder is covered by water. Batchelor. T. K.-Batchelor, or Batchellour (Basse Chevalier), was anciently a lower or inferior kind of knight to barons and bannerets, which were then reckoned the chief or superior knights; hence the term Knight Batchellour. 5-Economy in Coals. J. B. P.-Some coals burn quicker than others, and leave a white dusty ash in the grate; when this is the case, you should rake out the dust, which chokes the lower part of the fire-place. Sift the ashes and small cinders, and having mixed them with fine coal, wet them thoroughly till they are like mortar, then throw the mixture on the back of the fire. By adopting this plan, you will effect a considerable saving in the expenditure of the coals. 6·Spontaneous Combustion. A. Several other correspondents have addressed us, doubt. ing the possibility of the spontaneous combustion of the human body. It has frequently been doubted, nevertheless it is perfectly true that cases have occurred. In 1828, a memoir was read before the Académie des Sciences in France, which established the fact. The name of the author has escaped our memory, but he adduced fifteen cases of its occurrence, and stated the following as the principal circumstances attending it: 1. The greater part of the persons who have fallen victims to spontaneous combustion, have made an immoderate use of alcoholic liquors. 2. The combustion is almost always general, but sometimes is only partial. 3. It is much more rare among men than among women, and it attacks principally old women. 7- Hoaxing. M. A. F.-Hoaxing is a low habit, and devoid of wit and decency; therefore by all means avoid it. You acted very wisely in not joining the parties practising such a shameful hoax, and as you no doubt anticipated, they were detected and punished. The first hoax on record was practised in the reign of Queen Anne. A well-dressed man rode down the King's-road, from Fulham, at a most furious rate, commanding each turnpike-gate to be thrown open, as he was a messenger conveying the news of the Queen's sudden death. The alarm instantly spread into every quarter of the city; the trained bands, who were on their parade, deserted from their exercise, furled their colours, and returned home with their arms reversed; the shopkeepers began to collect sables, when the jest was discovered, but not the author of it. 8-Loss of Property by the Fire of London. D. P. M.-The booksellers lost a considerable amount by the fire; and it has been estimated that the loss of books in St. Paul's Cathedral, Stationer's Hall, public libraries, and private houses, could not amount to less than £150,000. The city within the walls, was built on about 4600 acres, and contained about 15,000 houses, besides churches, chapels, schools, halls, &c. It is calculated that 12,000 houses were burnt, and reckoning the average annual rent of each at £25, and calculating the twelve years purchase, that would make £300 for each, or £3,600,000 for the whole. There were 87 parochial churches burnt, besides St. Paul's Cathedral, the Exchange, Guildhall, the Customhouse, Companies' halls, and other public buildings, amounting to about £1,800,000. goods of private individuals, reckoned one with another, is computed at £1,800,000, and there were also about 20 wharfs of coals and wood, valued at £1000 a piece. The total loss has been set down at about £7,335,000. The 9- Ginger. R. C. W.-The ginger plant is a native of the East Indies, and is said to derive its name from a mountainous district, called Gingi, which lies to the cast of Pondicherry. It has become acclimated to the West Indies, where it puts forth its yellowish aromatic flowers in September. The ginger used for preserving is dug up, when the stem shoots do not exceed five or six inches in height; but when it is intended to be dried, the rhizomes, or roots, which are fleshy and irregularly shaped, are dug up in January; at least, such is the practice in Jamaica, where the plant withers in December. A great amount of care is necessary in the preparation of dried ginger; the best rhizomes are selected, scraped, scalded, and afterwards dried in the sun, as to make the white ginger, which is then packed in bags, each containing about one hundred weight. The black ginger is not scraped, but it is scalded previous to being dried in the sun. Good ginger should be beavy, sound, and firm; but if it breaks easily, is tough, or stringy, or soft and worm-eaten, it is bad, and should be rejected. 10-Bouquets. S. G.-You are not the only lady who has made a complaint with regard to the manner in which her bouquet has been arranged by gardeners and nurserymen; but, generally speaking, florists and nurserymen display great taste in the disposition of the flowers in a bouquet. We cannot do better than transcribe the remarks of a correspondent in the "Cottage Gardener," for your study,-the more especially as they are the result of practical experience and common sense. He says, "There are many ways of planting a flower-garden, and as many methods of arranging flowers in a large nosegay; but with the exception of wedding nosegays, which should always be made of the whitest flowers, the arrangement of the flowers may be reduced to three heads. First, to make choice of flowers all of one colour, or nearly so, and then using a small quantity of other flowers that will make a strong contrast with the ground colour. Secondly, shading the flowers from the centre to the sides; and, thirdly, quartering the circle with four kinds of colours that harmonize well together, or with two colours in contrast,-one quarter of the nosegay being of the same flowers as the quarter opposite to it,-or, better still, the colours to be the same in each pair of quartering, but the flowers to be from two different kinds of plants. Thus, one quarter of some pea-flower of a given colour, and the quarter opposite to it to be of peaflowers also, but from a different plant. The size of the individual flowers to be as nearly alike as can bo; then the other two quarters may be of composite flowers in the same way. This is the most difficult kind of nosegay to make well. When you have a choice and abundance of flowers, shading them is the easiest way, and, when flowers are very scarce, the mixed nosegay is the safest to attempt; but it should never be without a ground colour, if artistic cffect is at all attempted. To get a half-dozen of mixed flowers bundled up together any how, and go into good company with such a nosegay in these days, is looked upon as a certain mark of something I dare not write-certainly not s mark of high breeding." |