A Treatise on Domestic Economy; For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School

Style, or Stile, the part of the pistil between the germ and the stigma.

Sub-carbonate, an imperfect carbonate.

Sulphates, Sulphats, Sulphites, salts formed by the combination of some base with sulphuric acid, as Sulphate of copper, (blue vitriol, or blue stone,) a combination of sulphuric acid with copper. Sulphate of iron, copperas, or green vitriol. Sulphate of lime, gypsum, or plaster of Paris. Sulphate of magnesia, Epsom salts. Sulphate of potash, a chemical salt, composed of sulphuric acid and potash. Sulphate of soda, Glauber's salts. Sulphate of zinc, white vitriol.

Sulphuret, a combination of an alkaline earth or metal with sulphur as, Sulphuret of iron, a combination of iron and sulphur.

Sulphuric acid, oil of vitriol, vitriolic acid.

Suture, a sewing; the uniting of parts by stitching; the seam or joint which unites the flat bones of the skull, which are notched like the teeth of a saw, and the notches, being united together, present the appearance of a seam.

Tartar, a substance, deposited on the inside of wine casks, consisting chiefly of tartaric acid and potash. Cream of tartar, the crude tartar separated from all its impurities, by being dissolved in water and then crystallized, when it becomes a perfectly white powder.

Tartaric acid, a vegetable acid which exists in the grape.

Technology, a description of the arts, considered generally, in their theory and practice, as connected with moral, political, and physical science.

Three great Jewish yearly festivals, see Festivals.

Three-ply, or triple ingrain, a kind of carpeting, in which the threads are woven in such a manner as to make three thicknesses of the cloth.

Tic douloureux, a painful affection of the nerves, mostly those of the face.

Tocqueville, (Alexis de,) a celebrated living statesman and writer of France, and author of volumes on the Political Condition, and the Penitentiaries, of the United States, and other works.

Trachea, the windpipe, so named (from a Greek word signifying rough) from the roughness, or inequalities, of the cartilages of which it is formed.

Truckle-bed, or trundle-bed, a bed that runs on wheels.

Tuber, a solid, fleshy, roundish root, like the potato. Tuberous, thick and fleshy; composed of, or having, tubers.

Tucks, (improperly tacks,) folds in garments.

Turmeric, the root of a plant called Curcuma longa, a native of the East Indies, used as a yellow dye.

Twaddle, idle, foolish talk, or conversation.

Unbolted, unsifted.

Unslacked, not loosened, or deprived of cohesion. Lime, when it has been slacked, crumbles to powder, from being deprived of cohesion.

Valance, the drapery or fringe hanging round the cover of a bed, couch, or other similar article.

Vascular, relating to, or full of, vessels.

Venetian, a kind of carpeting, composed of a striped woollen warp on a thick woof of linen thread.

Verisimilitude, probability, resemblance to truth.

Verbatim, word for word.

Vice versa, the side being changed, or the question reversed, or the terms being exchanged.

Viscera, (plural of viscus,) organs contained in the abdomen and in the chest.

Vitriol, a compound mineral salt, of a very caustic taste. Blue vitriol, sulphate of copper. Green vitriol, see Copperas. Oil of vitriol, sulphuric acid. White vitriol, sulphate of zinc.

Waffle-iron, an iron utensil for the purpose of baking waffles, which are thin and soft cakes indented by the iron in which they are baked.

Washleather, a soft, pliable leather, dressed with oil, and in such a way, that it may be washed, without shrinking. It is used for various articles of dress, as under-shirts, drawers, &c., and also for rubbing silver, and other articles having a high polish. The article known, in commerce, as chamois, or shammy, leather, is also called wash-leather.

Welting cord, a cord sewed into the welt or border of a garment.

The West, or Western World. When used in Europe, or in distinction from the Eastern World, it means America. When used in this Country, the West refers to the Western States of the Union. Western Wilds, the wild, thinly-settled lands of the Western States.

White vitriol, see Zinc.

Wilton carpet, a kind of carpets, made in England, and so called from the place which is the chief seat of their manufacture. They are woollen velvets, with variegated colors.

Writ of lunacy, see Lunacy.

Xantippe, the wife of Socrates, noted for her violent temper and scolding propensities. The name is frequently applied to a shrew, or peevish, turbulent, scolding woman.

Zinc, a blueish-white metal, which is used as a constituent of brass, and some other alloys. Sulphate of zinc, or White vitriol, a combination of zinc with sulphuric acid.

1

Miss Martineau is a singular exception to this remark. After receiving unexampled hospitalities and kindnesses, she gives the following picture of her entertainers. Having in other places spoken of the American woman as having "her intellect confined," and "her morals crushed," and as deficient in education, because she has "none of the objects in life for which an enlarged education is considered requisite," she says,—"It is assumed, in America, particularly in New England, that the morals of society there are peculiarly pure. I am grieved to doubt the fact; but I do doubt it." "The Auld-Robin-Gray story is a frequently-enacted tragedy here; and one of the worst symptoms that struck me, was, that there was usually a demand upon my sympathy in such cases."—"The unavoidable consequence of such a mode of marrying, is, that the sanctity of marriage is impaired, and that vice succeeds. There are sad tales in country villages, here and there, that attest this; and yet more in towns, in a rank of society where such things are seldom or never heard of in England."—"I unavoidably knew of more cases of lapse in highly respectable families in one State, than ever came to my knowledge at home; and they were got over with a disgrace far more temporary and superficial than they could have been visited with in England."—"The vacuity of mind of many women, is, I conclude, the cause of a vice, which it is painful to allude to, but which cannot honestly be passed over.—It is no secret on the spot, that the habit of intemperance is not infrequent among women of station and education in the most enlightened parts of the Country. I witnessed some instances, and heard of more. It does not seem to me to be regarded with all the dismay which such a symptom ought to excite. To the stranger, a novelty so horrible, a spectacle so fearful, suggests wide and deep subjects of investigation."

It is not possible for language to give representations more false in every item. In evidence of this, the writer would mention, that, within the last few years, she has travelled almost the entire route taken by Miss Martineau, except the lower tier of the Southern States; and, though not meeting the same individuals, has mingled in the very same circles. Moreover, she has resided from several months to several years in eight of the different Northern and Western States, and spent several weeks at a time in five other States. She has also had pupils from every State in the Union, but two, and has visited extensively at their houses. But in her whole life, and in all these different positions, the writer has never, to her knowledge, seen even one woman, of the classes with which she has associated, who had lapsed in the manner indicated by Miss Martineau; nor does she believe that such a woman could find admission in such circles any where in the Country. As to intemperate women, five cases are all of whom the writer has ever heard, in such circles, and two of these many believed to be unwarrantably suspected. After following in Miss Martineau's track, and discovering all the falsehood, twaddle, gossip, old saws, and almanac stories, which have been strung together in her books, no charitable mode of accounting for the medley remains, but to suppose her the pitiable dupe of that love of hoaxing so often found in our Country.

Again, Miss Martineau says, "We passed an unshaded meadow, where the grass had caught fire, every day, at eleven o'clock, the preceding Summer. This demonstrates the necessity of shade"! A woman, with so little common sense, as to swallow such an absurdity for truth, and then tack to it such an astute deduction, must be a tempting subject for the abovementioned mischievous propensity.

2

So little idea have most ladies, in the wealthier classes, of what is a proper amount of exercise, that, if they should succeed in walking a mile or so, at a moderate pace, three or four times a week, they would call it taking a great deal of exercise.

3

The writer omits the name of this Institution, lest an inference should be drawn which would be unjust to other institutions. There are others equally worthy of notice, and the writer selects this only because her attention was especially directed to it as being in a new State, and endowed wholly by an individual.

4

From two Greek words,—καλος, kalos, beauty, and σθενος, sthenos, strength, being the union of both. The writer is now preparing for the press, an improved system, of her own invention, which, in some of its parts, has been successfully introduced into several female seminaries, with advantage. This plan combines singing with a great variety of amusing and graceful evolutions, designed to promote both health and easy manners.

5

This work, which has gone through numerous editions, and been received by the public with great favour, forms No. lxxxv. of the "Family Library," and No. lvii. of the "School District Library," issued by the publishers of this volume. It is abundantly illustrated by engravings, and has been extensively introduced as a school text-book.

6

The individual here referred to,—Alexis St. Martin,—was a young Canadian, of eighteen years of age, of a good constitution, and robust health, who, in 1822, was accidentally wounded by the discharge of a musket, which carried away a part of the ribs, lacerated one of the lobes of the lungs, and perforated the stomach, making a large aperture, which never closed; and which enabled Dr. Beaumont, (a surgeon of the American army, stationed at Michilimackinac, under whose care the patient was placed,) to witness all the processes of digestion and other functions of the body, for several years. The published account of the experiments made by Dr. B., is highly interesting and instructive.

7

The writer would here remark, in reference to extracts made from various authors, that, for the sake of abridging, she has often left out parts of a paragraph, but never so as to modify the meaning of the author. Some ideas, not connected with the subject in hand, are omitted, but none are altered.

8

Shooting into a long, small, stalk or root.

9

Without formality, or useless ceremony.

10

Rolls of paste, or pastry, or sugarplums.

11

According to the English fashion.

12

Nice things or dainties, such as sweetmeats.

13

The universal practice of this Nation, in thus giving precedence to woman, has been severely commented on by Miss Martineau and some others, who would transfer all the business of the other sex to women, and then have them treated like men. May this evidence of our superior civilisation and Christianity increase, rather than diminish!

14

The excellent little work of Miss Sedgwick, entitled 'Live, and Let Live,' contains many valuable and useful hints, conveyed in a most pleasing narrative form, which every housekeeper would do well to read. The writer also begs leave to mention a work of her own, entitled, 'Letters to Persons engaged in Domestic Service.'

15

See his 'Physiology of Digestion considered with relation to the Principles of Dietetics,' issued by the Publishers of this work.

16

The writer is not an advocate for total abstinence from animal food. She coincides with the best authorities, in thinking that adults eat too much; that children, while growing, should eat very little, and quite young children, none at all.

17

The following electuary, by a distinguished physician, is used by many friends of the writer, as a standing resort, in cases of constipation, or where a gentle cathartic is needed. One recommendation of it, is, that children always love it, and eat the pills as "good plums."

Two ounces of powdered Senna; one ounce of Cream of Tartar; one ounce of Sulphur; mixed with sufficient Confection of Senna, to form an electuary. Make this into pills, of the size of peas, and give a young child two or three, as the case may be. Taking three pills, every night, will generally relieve constipation in an adult.

18

Many houses are now heated, by a furnace in the cellar, which receives pure air from out of doors, heats it, and sends it into several rooms, while water is evaporated to prevent the air from becoming dry. The most perfect one the writer has seen, is constructed by Mr. Fowler, of Hartford. This method secures well-ventilated rooms, and is very economical, where several rooms are to be warmed.

19

Those, who are amateurs in architecture, in judging of these designs, must take into consideration, that this is a work on domestic economy, and that matters of taste, have necessarily been made subordinate to points, involving economy of health, comfort, and expense. Still, it is believed, that good taste has been essentially preserved, in most of these designs.

20

His 'Farmers' Companion' was written expressly for the larger series of 'The School Library,' issued by the publishers of this volume.