down weeds at or under the surface, and to open the surface of the ground, so as to render it pervious to heat, air, and moisture, and to draw up or accumulate the soil about the stems of plants; and, lastly, to form a hollow gutter or drill, in which to sow or insert the seeds of plants. The use of the hoe for any of these purposes requires dry weather. The best hoe, when deep stirring the soil between drilled crops is performed, is the Spanish hoe, fig. 1, or the Vernon hoe,

P7

fig. 2. The flat, or common hoe, is only useful in cutting down weeds; and, as it is used in general, it performs little more. Hoeing between rows of crops is sometimes performed by what is called a hoe-plough, which is a small plough having a share with double fins, drawn by one man and pushed by another. The Dutch hoe is very useful for this service, and may also be efficiently used for the purpose of cleaning walks, or scraping turf or mud from roads or courtyards.

HOG.-See PIG.

HOLLY.-A hardy evergreen shrub, of

will thrive only in a strong deep, dry, loamy soil. If grown as single ornamental shrubs, they should not be overshadowed by other trees; and if the land is manured, so much the better. The best way of forming hollyhedges is to procure large plants from some nursery; but a less expensive mode, although requiring more time, is as follows:-Gather a sufficient quantity of holly berries when ripe; then dig a hole three or four feet deep, and throw the berries in, crushing and mixing them with some fine soil at the same time; close the hole with the soil taken out, and throw some litter, or other Covering, over the whole, to prevent the wet or frost penetrating. Take them up and sow them in March. They will produce fine little plants the first season, and will arrive at perfection in about three years. The best time for cutting hollies is early in the spring, about the end of February, before they have commenced shooting. Never clip them with shears, but cut them with a very sharp knife.

HOLLYHOCK-This plant requires good old garden soil, well trenched over to the depth of two feet, with plenty of thoroughly decomposed manure, such as old cucumberbeds, or nightsoil mixed with the earth. If the subsoil is wet, they will thrive remarkably well in the summer, but in the winter, wet is very injurious to them when old plants are allowed to remain; to prevent which remove the mould to the depth of one or two inches round the neck of the plant, and fill up with white sand, about six inches round the stem, level with the surface. It is simply to preserve them from wet, insects, and slugs, from which, in the winter, they are apt to suffer very much, if not killed. Young plants should be planted every year, as you would dahlias, if you wish to secure tine flowers. They may be propagated by single eyes in July and August; also by uttings in the spring, placed on a slight bottom heat. Young plants raised from ummer cuttings are best preserved by repotting them in October into large pots, the irger the better, in light, rich, sandy earth, and placed in a cold frame-thus they will row during the winter. In March or April turn them out into the open ground, and they will bloom as fine and as early as it planted in the autumn. Plant them not less than four feet from row to row, and three feet apart in the row; if grouped in beds, not nearer than three feet each way. They wwill grow well in the shade of distant trees, but by no means must the roots interfere. In May, when the spikes are grown a foot high, thin them out according to the strength of the plant; if well established and very trong, leave four spikes: if weak, two or three. The perfection of this flower consists in the petals being of thick substance, the iges smooth and even. The florets occupying the centre must be compact, closely rranged, rising in the middle to a halt lobular form, with a stiff guard petal exrending about half an inch, or in proportion to the size of the centre ball, so that the different parts of the flower have a uniform

which there are several varieties. The holly appearance. Second-the arrangement of

the flowers on the spike should be regular, not crowded together into a confused mass, nor loosely hanging with open spaces between each flower, but so disposed that the shape of each may be distinctly seen, and fully blown, the uppermost covering the top; and nothing can add more to its beauty than a few small green leaves between the flowers, which give it an elegant and graceful appearance. The third point is colour-the brightest, strongest, and most distinct stand first; but it is desirable to obtain all imaginable shades. Stake them before they get too high, and secure them well in by tying, and they will grow erect. The most robust grower does not require a stake higher than four feet from the ground. If the weather is dry, they must be watered with a solution of guano, or any other liquid manure, poured carefully round the roots, avoiding pouring it on or too near the stems. To grow the flowers fine, cut off the lateral shoots, thin the flower buds, if crowded together, and take out the top of the spike, according to the height desired, paying attention to the usual height and habit of the plant. Observe, by topping it you may increase the size of the flower, but at the same time shorten its duration of flowering, and perhaps disfigure its appearance.

papers, &c. Have the dinner, tea, or whatever meal your husband partakes of, ready for him by the time he comes home; the num ber of unhappy contentions which have been caused by a disregard of this rule, is beyond conception. Endeavour to discover your husband's tastes and predilections; and, having discovered them, miss no opportunity of administering to them. Learn to discern his character and disposition, so that you may regulate your conduct in such a manner as not to offend or displease him. Do not scold your servants before your husband; this is a common method by which bad housewives endeavour to excuse their own shortcomings. Contrive, from time to time, new pleasures and fresh gratifications; these are certain to be appreciated, and may be projected by an ordinary exercise of judgment and intelligence. Suffer no one, not even the nearest relative or dearest friend, to interfere in the management of your domestic concerns; do that which you consider to be right, and it is almost certain to be so. Discourage the visits of mere gossips, who, by uselessly monopolising your time, prevent you from paying proper attention to your domestic duties. Remedy all defects of the household the moment that they are perceived; HOME.-The word "home" brings with among these may be mentioned smoky it a certain charm to English ears, and chimneys, creaking doors, shaky windows, awakens associations of domestic peace, stubborn locks and bolts, and rickety furcomfort, and happiness. There are, how-niture; the existence of these defects form a ever, exceptional cases, where, owing to the existence of some discordant elements, home is the reverse of enjoyable, and a man is driven to seek for comforts elsewhere than in his natural abiding place. It is an undoubted truth that the happiness of home depends upon the management and tact of the housewife, and her guiding principle should be to create, if possible, such charms and pleasures in the home over which she presides, as shall not be attainable elsewhere. When this subject is examined more closely, it will be found that the proper management of a home is as much the business of a wife, as the going forth to labour is that of the husband; and it is, therefore, the duty of every woman, as it should be her pleasure, to provide home enjoyment for a man as a recognition of his just claims, and a recompense for his daily toil. This duty is not only based upon broad principles, but it also consists in the exercise of many trifling acts, and the performance of many minor offices, which depend upon the peculiar circumstances in which a wedded pair happen to be placed. Among the numerous golden rules, however, which go far to secure domestic happiness, the following may not be inappropriately enumerated:-Keep the house clean and tidy, and the rooms snug and comfortable. Never create a commotion in the household while your husband is at home; but defer all domestic operations, such as washing, removing furniture, &c., until he goes out, and bring your labours to a conclusion before he returns. Do not interfere with your husband's arrangement of any articles of use, or alter the disposition of his books,

fruitful source of discomfort and grumbling. Provide articles of constant requirement in time; the neglecting to send for this or that until the very moment when it is wanted, occasions waste of time, inconvenience, and commotion. Be always cheerful and good tempered; do not make any little ailments, with which you may be visited, the theme of your conversation; and endeavour to bear the crosses and vexations of life with resignation, equanimity, and fortitude. To husbands we would say, regard your home as the place where both duty and inclination should lead you; do not suffer yourself to be weaned from it by fleeting and unstable attractions abroad, for these cannot conduce to any permanent pleasure, and are calculated to be productive of much unhappiness to you and yours. Forget all business cares when you enter your home, and enter cheerfully into such amusement and conversation as you think are calculated to please. Show that you appreciate the efforts which are being made to promote your comfort, by a few words of encouragement and gratitude, timely spoken and tenderly expressed. Avoid fault-finding and a display of petulance and ill-temper. at any little accident or irregularity. Remember that perfection is an impossibility, and a good housewife is sufficiently grieved by a domestic misadventure, without needing your reproach by way of aggravation. Endeavour to conform your habits to the arrangements made, and do not scruple to make any little personal sacrifices that may conduce to the comfort of the household generally. Do not intermeddle with the purely domestic regulations of the

house; as, for instance, giving orders directly contrary to those already given by your wife; such a step as this is not only offensive to her, but is calculated to engender confusion and disrespect among the servants. If you have any complaint to make against the domestics, let it be made through the medium of your wife, and not by you directly; the less a master speaks to a female servant the better will he be served and respected. Second the efforts that are made for order and regularity, by being orderly and regular yourself; thus, instead of throwing articles of wearing apparel, or books and papers about in all directions, put them in the place usually appointed for them. Do not occupy yourself too much in reading newspapers or books, or in any other exclusive and selfish pursuit. Entertain company occasionally, and have a few friends now and then to grace your fireside; it is possible for two persons with the best intentions and the most amiable of tempers, to fail in amusing and interesting each other, if constantly left to their own resources. Lastly-and this applies equally to husband and wife-do nothing surreptitiously, and discountenance anything like separate interests. Repose the strongest faith and confidence in each other, and strive to avoid any act or deed which can in any way disturb this mutual reliance.

HOMEOPATHY.-A system in medicine of comparatively recent introduction, which professes to cure diseases by minute doses of medicine, capable of producing in healthy persons affections similar to those which it is intended to remove. Books: Laurie's Domestic Homoeopathic Medicine, 58., and 16s.; Jahr's Pharmacopoeia, 128.; Newman's Family Assistant, 5s.; Jahr's Handbook, 12s.; Henrique's Dictionary, 4s. 6d.; Pulte's Physician, 7s. 6d. ; Mother's Guide, 1s. 6d.; Curtis's Practice, 45.; Dunsford's Remedies, 9s.; Hamilton's Guide, 58.; Curie's Principles, 5s.; Sampson's Truths, 5s. 6d. HONEY. The sweet substance elaborated by the bee from the juices of the nectaries of flowers, and deposited in the cells of wax, forming the honeycomb. The nature of honey is very much influenced by the species of flowers from which it is obtained, and the vegetation which supplies the bees with food. The honey afforded by bees that have access to wild thyme, lavender, rosemary, and some other flowers, abounding in aromatic and essential oils, is of the first quality while it is said to be very bad when the bees are located near to fields of buckwheat. The common honey of Britain being chiefly derived from agricultural crops or wild plants of the leguminous kind, such as clover, beans, gorse, and broom, is, when pure, of excellent quality; the Hampshire honey is reckoned the best in England. New honey appears a uniform transparent syrup, varying considerably in colour from nearly white to a yellowish brown, intensely sweet to the taste, but always having more or less of a peculiar flavour and an aromatic odour; and, besides its sweetness, it has a sharp acidulous taste, which becomes sharper with age, at the same time that

the colour grows deeper. Virgin honey is
that which is made in a new clean hive by
bees that have never swarmed. In taking
honey from the hive, pressure is generally
employed, by which a larger quantity of
honey is obtained, but at the same time
particles of wax, and the intrusion of the
bee maggot deteriorate its quality and
flavour. As an article of food, honey is
found to be wholesome, if moderately em-
ployed; but when indulged in freely, it
proves to be laxative, and in some habits
produces colic. The custom of giving an
excess of honey to children is to be par-
ticularly discountenanced, as a most injurious
practice. As a medicine, honey is employed
in the preparation of oxymels and gargles;
it is also employed as a vehicle for ad-
ministering nauseous and unsightly medi-
cines. In affections of the throat and lungs,
it is frequently found to be remarkably
If fermentation should take
efficacious.
place in honey, it is no longer calculated for
ordinary use, and is only fit to be converted
into mead or vinegar.

HONEY CAKES.-Take a pound and a half of dried and sifted flour, three-quarters of a pound of honey, half a pound of finely powdered loaf sugar, a quarter of a pound of citron, half an ounce of orange peel, cut small, half an ounce of ginger, and half an ounce of cinnamon. Melt the sugar with the honey, and mix in the other ingredients; roll out the paste, cut it into small cakes of any form, and bake on tins in a moderate Flour, 1lb.; honey, lb.; sugar, 1lb.; citron, lb.; orange peel, toz.; ginger, toz.; cinnamon, joz.

oven.

HONEY-DEW.-An exudation either from the leaves of plants or from insects, and which proves highly injurious to vegetation, by covering the surface of leaves with a thick glutinous substance, and causing, by its adhesiveness, dust and other filth to accumulate upon them, till their pores are at last completely sealed up, and their functions become suspended. The formation of honey-dew may be in a great measure prevented by applying salt and water to the soil where the plant is growing, one ounce of sea salt (chloride of sodium) to a gallon of water is sufficiently powerful for this purpose. When honey-dew has really appeared, the only remedy is to syringe and wash the leaves of the plant as soon after the discovery as possible.

HONEY SOAP.-Cut into thin shavings, two pounds of common yellow or white soap; set it over the fire with just enough water to keep it from burning: when quite melted, add a quarter of a pound of honey, and stir the mixture till it boils; then take it off and add a few drops of any agreeable perfume: pour it into a deep dish to cool, and then cut it into squares.

HONEYSUCKLE.-A twining plant, of which there are several varieties; all the sorts may be propagated by layers or cuttings. Each cutting should have four joints, and only one joint should be left above ground; they should be taken off in autumn, and