omestic Economy. DIET OF CHILDREN.-The other day, says the editor | ple, and in some cases of disease. Sleep becomes of a religious paper, we observed an infant seven months old, sitting on its mother's lap, munching away at a rich currant cake. wholesome only to the healthy when taken at those hours pointed out by nature; an excess of it produces lassitude and corpulency, and utterly debases and "Is it right for your child to eat such things?" we stupefics the mind. Corpulent people should sleep litinquired. "Will it not hurt him?" "Hurt him!" replied the mother; "why, he eats almost every thing. And he has never yet choked on any thing." It was true the child was not yet choked, though it seemed to us very doubtful how long even that catastrophe might be averted. But it was equally true, as its dull, heavy eyes, and pale cheeks too plainly showed, that this "eating every thing" was sowing the seeds of constant ill health, if not of early death. In too many families the diet of the children appears to be regulated on this principle, "it does not choke, therefore it does not hurt them." And the little creatures are allowed to eat, indiscriminately, whatever they please, unrestrained by their injudicious parents. We would like to direct the attention of mothers who act on this system, to the following remarks, which we find in an English paper. They are worthy of consideration. "The finest children I have seen in the United States were fed mostly upon bread, milk, eggs, and poultry. If parents would feed their children in this way, giving them little or no animal food, they would not be so liable to disease, nor would contagious disorders be so fatal as they are now, owing to the excessive use of animal food, and particularly pork." Want of due reflection on the subject, and, in many cases, mistaken indulgence, induces mothers to refrain from regulating the diet of their children. They may rest assured that a little proper attention to this point will greatly promote the health, and, as a necessary consequence, the comfort and happiness of the little ones intrusted to their guidance and care. TO MAKE SANDWICHES.-Rub one tablespoonful of mustard flour into half a pound of sweet butter; spread this mixture upon thin slices of bread; from a boiled ham cut very thin slices, and place a slice of ham between two slices of the bread prepared as above; cut the sandwiches in a convenient form, and serve. Some people chop the trimmings of the boiled ham very fine, and lay them between the slices of prepared bread. This is a good dish for lunch or evening entertainment. TO KEEP BACON HAMS IN SUMMER.-Pack them in a flour barrel, in clean, dry ashes or charcoal; head up the barrel and put it up stairs, where it is dry and as cool as possible. SLEEPING AFTER DINNER.-Dr. Combe, high authority on all matters of hygiene, says: "Sleeping after dinner is a bad practice. On awakening from such indulgence, there is generally some degree of febrile excitement, in consequence of the latter stages of digestion being hurried on; it is only useful in old peo tle and upon hard beds, while they should take abundance of exercise and live abstemiously, that their unhealthy bulk may be reduced." TO CLEAN PLATE GLASS.-Pulverize indigo very finely, moisten it with water till it assumes a plastic form, of the consistency of common paste. Dip a linen rag into this, and smear the surface of the glass; and wipe off briskly, when dry, with a dry cloth. Finely-sifted wood ashes, moistened with spirits, answers well as a substitute for window panes; but indigo not only removes the dirt, but confers a brilliancy and clear surface, equal almost to that of new glass. TOAST WATER.-Very few know how to make toast water right. Toast the bread carefully to a full brown, but not in the least burnt. If not enough toasted, it will taste raw; if too much, it must be bitter. Put it while hot into cold water, and it will be ders it insipid. almost immediately ready for use. Boiling water ren SORE THROAT.-If the throat be not very sore, a decoction of red pepper will cure it. To make it more palatable, sugar may be added, which will be no injury. If that should not produce relief, put a flannel around the neck, and keep it wet in front with volatile liniment. Let not a little smarting, which will be produced after a few applications, prevent a free use of it. A gargle of borax or tannin dissolved in warm water, to which honey is to be added, is an excellent remedy. TO PURIFY A SINK.-Sinks will in hot weather become foul. It is almost impossible for any one to prevent it, unless some chemical preparation is used. Dissolve copperas, one pound in four gallons of water. Pour it over the sink three or four times. It will completely destroy the offensive effluvia. FOR REMOVING GREASE-SPOTS.-Take the yolk of an egg and put a little of it on the spot, then place over it a piece of white linen, and wet it with boiling water; rub the linen with the hand, and repeat the process three or four times, at each time applying fresh boiling water; the linen is then to be removed, and the part thus treated to be washed with clean cold water. TO KEEP A STOVE BRIGHT.-Make a weak alumwater, and mix your "British Luster" with it; put two spoonfuls to a gill of alum-water; let the stove be cold; brush with the mixture, then take a dry brush and luster, and rub the stove till it is perfectly dry. Should any part, before polishing, become so dry as to look gray, moisten it with a wet brush, and proceed as before. By two applications a year, it may be kept as bright as a coach-body. Items, Literary, Scientific, and Religious. SLAVES IN VIRGINIA.-The entire number of slaves in Virginia, as ascertained by the assessment lists last year, is 511,154. Of these, nearly one-half are under twelve years of age, and not subject to taxation. The actual value of slaves, as estimated by the Auditor, is $313,148,275. The value, as estimated for taxation, is $81,954,000. The value not taxed, therefore, is $231,194,275. The value of all other property in the state, taxed at the rate of forty cents on the hundred dollars of value, is $123,560,907. On this amount, and at this rate, the revenue is $493,239; while slave property subject to taxation produces only $327,804. If slave property which is now exempt were taxed as other property, it would alone produce $1,252,592. The amount of slave property on which no tax is paid is nearly three times as much as that on which tax is paid, and nearly twice as much as all the other personal property. The injustice of this exemption is severely felt by non-slaveholders, who are thus required to pay nearly two-thirds of the cost of the government. MENDING CRACKED BELLS.-At a recent meeting at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr. S. A. Varley exhibited a cracked bell, the metallic continuity of which had been restored by simply soldering the crack with tin, so that the bell rang as perfectly as before it was injured. It was explained that tin had the property, when heated above its melting point to nearly a red heat, of rapidly dissolving copper. If, therefore, the cracked bell, after being soldered, was kept at a dull red heat, or nearly so, for a little time, the crack would become filled up with an alloy of tin and copper, of nearly the same kind of composition as the bell itself, and in absolute metallic union with it, and quite as brittle and as sonorous as the other portions of the bell. AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.-The receipts of this Society for the past year amounted to $434,956.62. The extent of the distribution of the Scriptures was 755,773 copies. Eighty-one new auxiliary societies have been formed in various parts of the country; 88 new life directors and 1,525 life members were added to the list. SEQUOIA GIGANTEA.-Seeds of this monster tree of California were wanted by British arboriculturists, and as the trees are too tall to be climbed, a young Irishman, expert with the rifle, was set to shoot down the cones. This kind of sport proving too slow, he, not having the fear of Judge Lynch before his eyes, cut down four of the smallest trees, and got 50,000 seeds, which were sent to England. Hence we may look forward to seeing the giant growing in the British parks and woodlands, and that at no distant date, for the tree is of rapid growth, though this takes place chiefly at night. There is a specimen near Cork already fourteen feet in hight; and another in Norfolk has ripened its seed. How many an event ful page of history will have been written before they are four hundred feet high! We are glad to hear that the United States authorities have taken measures to prevent any further destruction of the magnificent clump still left standing in California. odes will now, in all probability, have their desire SALMON IN AUSTRALIA.-Our brethren at the antipgratified as regards salmon, for a ship is on her way to Australia carrying thirty thousand salmon ora from a river in Wales. Care has been taken to preserve the natural condition as much as possible during the voyage; the eggs are placed in a cistern on a bed of gravel, and a stream of ice-cold water, to retard maturity, will flow continually across them till they arrive at their destination. This is a noteworthy example of involuntary migration, which some future colonial author, writing on the origin of species, will doubtless take into consideration. RELIGIOUS REVIVAL IN ENGLAND.-There is no abatement in the religious revival throughout the British empire. The very frequency of awakenings leads to their being less noticed, as ceasing to possess the novelty that once drew to them so large a share of public attention. On the whole, we believe that the characteristics of the revival in England differ from those in Scotland and Ireland in this, that there is less of excitement, and no physical prostration, but the new life chiefly manifests itself in a deeper interest in prayer meetings, and in more earnest attendance on the means of grace. The change in this respect is most remarkable. Not in London only, but every-where throughout the country, wherever public places are opened for the preaching of the Gospel, the mass of the population, who had utterly lost the habit of church-going, are now found to attend the services that have been opened specially for them. And it is gratifying to observe that there is no attempt on the part of professing Christians to confound these services with the regularly-appointed means of grace. As a rule, the churches in the neighborhood of the theaters continue to be attended as before. The reason is, that the theater services are looked at in their true light, as a special means for reclaiming the outcast and the wandering, and not as intended for the edification of those who are already in the habit of attending the sanctuary. There is always a sprinkling of such persons, no doubt drawn by the interest of the unwonted speeta cle; but perhaps it would be found, on inquiry, that even of the well-dressed and apparently well-to-do people in these theaters a large proportion consists of persons who, equally with their poorer neighbors, have ceased to attend the house of God. Of such a class London contains, probably, a larger proportion than any other town in England. CONDITION OF NAPLES.-It was supposed that the subjects of that kingdom had reached the lowest depths of misery and oppression under the late King. It is now asserted that under his successor their wretchedness has become still more aggravated. The lower orders are flattered and petted, and through them and the army, the middle classes, all men of intelligence and thought, are at the mercy of spies and the police; and families live in daily terror of their principal members being carried off, to be immured in the Neapolitan dungeons. The English Government seem to be in expectation of an outbreak; for a British squadron has been ordered to the Bay of Naples to protect the lives and property of British subjects. In such a plight are the kings who ally themselves with the man of sin. Mr. Jarvis, purchased fourteen hundred head, and sent them to this country. A portion of the pure, unmixed Merino blood of these flocks is to be found in Vermont at this time. Such was the origin of the immense flocks of fine-wooled sheep in the United States. BRITISH WESLEYAN LITERATURE.-British Methodism has scarcely any periodical literature, and but one weekly paper-the Watchman-with an average circulation of about 4,000 each issue, for a membership of about 400,000, and about three times as many stated hearers; 4,000 papers for 1,600,000 persons. The price of the Watchman, being about $6 a year, prevents its circulation among the poorer classes. For the great mass of the people, a cheap, spirited weekly serial is the urgent want; and it is, it must has not before now met this want. Other denominations are in the same unenviable position, but this is no excuse for the disciples of John Wesley. TURKISH EVANGELIZATION.-Late intelligence from Turkey is of a checkered description. There is an unwonted awakening among the Mussulman popula-be confessed, a marvel that the Wesleyan conference tion-more Mohammedans have apparently been converted to Christ within the past few months than at any former time since the first appearance of the false prophet. May these be the first droppings of the shower! But combined with that-it may be in consequence of it—the spirit of persecution is abroad in that country, and the promises of toleration are, in too many instances, forgotten. Still, there is abundant cause for devout thankfulness, that the Gospel is winning its widening way even in the domain of the Moslem. HOPE FOR HUNGARY.-After a long and obstinate resistance of twelve years-during which he encountered one terrible rebellion, and all but drove the people, crushed and broken as they were, into a second-the Emperor of Austria has at last given way, and promises his Hungarian subjects a restoration of their ancient Constitution, as it existed previous to 1848. As an earnest of his pacific intentions, he has recalled his relative, Prince Albrecht, and has sent General Benedek, a Protestant, to be their Governor, with power to undo all the work of centralization which has wrought so much misery and proved so useless, and to restore the old constitution of things in Church and state. Whether this concession be not even now made too late, is a question which a few months will determine. MAINE. The state of Maine has increased in value seventy-five per cent. in ten years, now valued at $175,000,000. Maine is reputed a slow state, also geographically in the rear of the westward-facing Union, like the helm of a ship. Its motto acknowledges this fact, but states it proudly, "Dirigo "—"I do the steering." GROWTH OF WOOL.-The history of the growth of wool is very curious. Fifty years ago not a pound of fine wool was raised in the United States, in Great Britain, or in any other country except Spain. In the latter country the flocks were owned exclusively by the nobility or by the crown. In 1694 a small flock was sent to the Electors of Saxony as a present from the King of Spain, whence the entire product of Saxony wool, now of such immense value. In 1809, during the second invasion of Spain by the French, some of the valuable crown flocks were sold to raise money. The American Consul at Lisbon, GEORGIAN AND SOCIETY ISLANDS.-Sixty-three years ago the London Missionary Society freighted the "Duff" with a band of thirty missionaries, who made a quick and safe passage to Tahiti. Some of this band died, others were discouraged-for they had plunged into midnight darkness-and in a year only six were left. Now in these groups, including eleven islands, there are 7,678 native Christians, every vestige of idolatry has disappeared, the Sabbath and its ordinances are respected, the Bible has been translated into all the dialects of these islands, popular education is well and thoroughly cared for, three collegiate institutions are in operation, all native teachers and preachers are supported by the Islanders, and during the last year they contributed about $5,000 to the cause of foreign missions. ARTESIAN WELLS.-The Artesian well at Reading, Pennsylvania, which has been some time in progress, feet, being the third in depth in the United States. for the large brewery, has reached the depth of 1,700 One at Columbus, Ohio, is 2,340 feet, and one at St. Louis, 2,282 feet. This one at Reading is all the depth through solid rock. A LARGE PUBLISHING HOUSE.-About six hundred persons are constantly employed in the great publishing establishment of the Harpers, in New York. Many of them have been with the firm for a long time. There are now employed on these premises eleven men, whose aggregate term of service is 308 years; eleven more, 226 years; eleven more, 220; and still another eleven, 174 years. These facts tell a pleasing story. APPLES.-At a lecture in New Haven it was stated that the apple crop of this country was worth, in 1859, $26,000,000. Ten counties in western New York averaged $200,000 each, Niagara yielding $250,$6,000,000; of New England, $4,000,000. 000 worth. The entire crop of the Empire state was THE MORMONS.-The Mormons now number 120,000, including the different parties in the Church. The number in Utah is put down at 38,000. Of these 4,617 men are said to have 16,500 wives. Literary Notices. (1.) EARLY METHODISM WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE OLD GENESEE CONFERENCE, FROM 1788 TO 1828. By George Peck, D. D. New York: Carlton & Porter. Cincinnati: Swormstedt & Poe. 12mo. 512 pp.-Attention has latterly been called to the early history of Methodism, and particularly with regard to its introduction and diffusion. The question of its Centenary in this country has been fully discussed in our Church papers, and much interest has been felt in its settlement. This, with the almost simultaneous publica tion of several works in biography of the early pioneers in the Church, has kept attention awake; and the present volume will add to the general interest in his torical studies. It contains sketches of interesting localities, exciting scenes, and prominent actors, interspersed with brief anecdotes, and descriptions of the most entertaining character. In the prosecution of the work, the author gathered up whatever facts or fragments he could collect, and arranged them so skillfully as to produce a harmonious whole. The diligence with which this labor was performed may be seen upon opening the volume. Such books are useful; and the Church of to-day can better appreciate its privileges and position by knowing how the Church of yesterday labored and suffered in planting the seeds of Divine truth in a wild and untilled soil. This is an attractive volume, and deserves a wide circulation. (2.) RUTLEDGE. New York: Derby & Jackson. Cincinnuti: Robert Clarke & Co. 12mo. 504 pp.-This is a neatly-printed volume, containing a story of love and its confession after long months of weariness and concealment. It may be interesting to its readers; but whether its perusal would be of any real advantage is another question. (3.) RAINBOW AND LUCKY STORIES-SELLING LUCKY. By Jacob Abbott. New York: Harper & Brothers. Cincinnati: Rickey, Mallory & Co. 16mo.-A very neat story, designed for children. The author is well known as one of the most attractive writers for the young; and in this volume he is fully equal to himself. (4.) PLATO'S APOLOGY AND CRITO, WITH NOTES. By W. S. Tyler, Professor of Greek in Amherst College. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Cincinnati: Rickey, Mallory & Co. 12mo. 180 pp.-The style of Plato is so rich as to be difficult for a student to read; and hence the value of such a help as this book affords him. The selection from Plato is a most judicious one. The Apology is the defense which was written for Socrates to pronounce before his judges; and the Crito contains a record of the last conversations which the old philosopher held with his friends in the prison, just prior to his execution. The text of the volume is clear and beautiful, and the preface and notes pertinent and well written. The writings of Plato are full of beauty, and his sentiments sometimes seem almost inspired. He was the poet-philosopher of ancient Greece; and it is his genius which has embalmed the memory of Socrates, his great master. We know of no portion of Plato's writings superior, for the elegance of its style and the dignity of its thoughts, to the Apology or the Crito. We should be pleased to see this book introduced into our colleges. (5.) LIGHT IN THE VALLEY; or, the Life and Letters of Mrs. Hannah Bocking. By Miss M. Annesley. New York: Carlton & Porter. 16mo. 170 pp. Cincinnati: Swormstedt & Poe. With portrait.-Works of religious experience are useful. They show how nature is subdued by grace, and how the spiritual mind gains ascendency over the carnal, triumphing over temptations, doubts, and fears, and standing at last firm against every opposing influence. Every young convert meets with trials of his faith, and to know how others met them and conquered, is a weapon of defense to him in the hour of his need. The present book will be a help and an encouragement to those who are striving after the divine life. Mrs. Bocking was a woman of strong faith and consistent piety; and the narrative embraces an outline of her religious life and labors. (6.) THE AMERICAN LIFE ASSURANCE MAGAZINE AND JOURNAL OF ACTUARIES. Volume I. New York: Gilbert E. Currie, 79 Pine-street.-Persons interested in the subject of Life Assurance will find in this work a full detail of its economy and benefits, with abstracts of the reports of various Assurance Societies. The tables which are published in its pages are carefully prepared, and the bills of mortality, especially, are of great value to the political economist and statistician. The influence of various occupations as affecting the general health, the probability of life in any employment, and the effect of habits, modes of living, and condition in society are carefully noted, so that even the moralist may derive instruction from its pages. This magazine is the first and only periodical devoted to Life Assurance in this country. The design of the work is to promote a more general appreciation of this subject, and to diffuse a better knowledge of its prinIn this the magazine will ciples and advantages. probably be successful. BLE. (7.) CHRISTIAN PERFECTION, AS TAUGHT IN THE BIAn Essay, containing the substance of Mr. Fletcher's last Check to Antinomianism, with additions and oppendixes. By Rev. Samuel D. Akin, A. M. Nashville, Tennessee: J. B. M'Ferrin, Agent. 12mo. 304 pp.Fletcher's Essay on Christian Perfection has always been well received, and is considered a standard work on the doctrine of personal holiness. It has revived the spirits and comforted the hearts of hundreds of readers, and we are glad to see the issue of this new edition. Mr. Akin's additions are serviceable in elucidating the text, and will help to a better understanding of the writer's views. Editor's Table. THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF 1860 AND ITS DOINGS. THE mind of the whole Church has, to a great degree, been occupied during the past two months with the General conference and its doings. It is certain that no session of this body, since the origin of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, has elicited deeper interest or attracted more largely the public attention. The simple fact that twenty-one reporters for the secular press, in different parts of the country, were upon the floor "taking notes" and reporting daily, speaks volumes. The associated press of the country also received a telegraphic summary of each day's proceedings. Multitudes, especially in the Methodist communion, hung with intense interest upon its deliberations and the results. This awakening of general interest resulted from two grand causes. The first is that the Methodist Church has come to be recognized as wielding an immense-a preponderating power among the elements that are to shape the character and determine the destinies of this great land of ours. Secondly, it was well known that questions of vital moment to the Church and country-questions affecting the radical structure of Methodism, would come up for discussion and adjustment. How the General conference met these responsibilities, what is the present condition of the Church, and what its future prospects, are questions in which our readers are deeply interested. We can best answer them by a sort of résumé of the transactions of the body. ORIGIN OF GENERAL CONFERENCES. The first conference of this kind was held in Baltimore, commencing December 25, 1784. It was called in consequence of Mr. Wesley having suggested the necessity of those whom God "has so strangely made free," organizing in order to greater efficiency of action. He put no restrictions upon them as to the mode and form of organization; but left them "at full liberty simply to follow the Scriptures and the primitive Church." At this time there were only eighty-three traveling preachers in the whole Church. Out of these sixty were present at "the Christmas conference," as it was called. At this conference it was unanimously agreed to organize themselves into an independent Church, assuming the Episcopal form, and making the Episcopal office elective. They adopted a of Discipline" for the government of the Church. This was the germ of the "Discipline," so widely known as the Magna Charta of Methodism. "Form Thomas Coke, LL. D., and Francis Asbury were elected bishops. Dr. Coke had been ordained by Mr. Wesley before he sailed, and now, assisted by two elders, he consecrated Mr. Asbury to the same office. Twelve were elected and ordained elders, and three deacons. This was the first General conference. It is a sin gular circumstance that the record of its proceedings, if any was kept, has been wholly lost; so that the Methodist historian is compelled to gather its transactions from other sources. Reliable material for this, however, is found in the "Form of Discipline" adopted by the body, in "The Large Minutes," as they were called, and in the notes of the men prominent in the transactions of that day. SUCCESSIVE GENERAL CONFERENCES. From 1784 to 1792 the modifications of the Discipline were made by Mr. Asbury, with the consent of the annual conferences, but, so far as we can discover, without any special rule of authority. In 1792 the second General conference was held. It met in the city of Baltimore, commencing on the first day of November. Among the exciting topics of this conference was one introduced by James O'Kelly, that the appointments made by the bishops should be subject to an appeal to the conference. This elicited a very earnest and exciting debate, which lasted three days. Then the resolution was lost by a very large majority. It does not appear that the proceedings of this conference were ever published, and if any record was made it has been irrecoverably lost. The third General conference convened in Baltimore, October 20, 1796. At this session an address was received from the British conference, highly fraternal in its character. Out of three hundred and thirteen traveling preachers one hundred and twenty were present and participated in the proceedings. The General conference of 1800 met in Baltimore on the 6th day of May, and adjourned on the 20th of the same month. The fourth General conference was held in the same place, commencing May 7, 1804. Out of the three hundred and eighty-three preachers, only one hundred and seven were present to legislate for the whole Church, and that too without restriction of any kind. The last conference of this kind was held in 1808, commencing May 6th. There were present one hundred and twenty-nine members, of whom Laban Clark, Nathan Bangs, Joshua Soule, Henry Smith, Henry Boehm, still survive. It was determined that the next General conference should be held in the city of New York, commencing May 1, 1812; and also that it should be a delegated body, consisting of one for every five members belonging to the annual conferences respectively, to be chosen by seniority or by ballot. Thenceforward conferences have been held as follows: |