456 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



the place above all others in the state for his business, and he there- 

 fore removed to that place, where for some fifteen years he lived, 

 devoting all his time to his horticultural pursuits. 



S. L. PIERCE. St. Paul, Minn. 



The writer of the above in a letter accompanying the sketch, says: "The 

 subject of this paper was my elder brother, although through a childish freak 

 I got into the habit of spelling my name as you see. ' Mike was to nie in my 

 early youth a prodigy of wisdom, and it was his assiduity in procuring books, 

 when books were bard to get, that enabled me to make a start in the acquire- 

 ment of a taste for such things. As I review his early career, and remember 

 the wonderful readiness with which he grappled the most difficult subjects, 

 I am confident that had he entered a profession, he would have been a leader 

 in it." Sec'y. 



HINTS ON COOKING. 



MRS. WM. DANFORTH, RED WING. 



Cooking is an art to be acquired by those who take an interest in 

 it and are willing to study the best methods. Although we know 

 that our inothers were all the best of cooks, we do not think now of 

 going to work in the haphazard way of olden time, when it was a 

 sign of a poor housekeeper ever to consult a cookbook. Progress 

 is still being made, and I am sure the next generation of women, by 

 having availed themselves of the cooking schools which are in all 

 the large cities, will understand much more about the principles of 

 cooking and the chemistry of food, as regards health, than is at 

 present known. 



Every housewife is interested in having a goodly amount of 

 canned fruit and jellies, sweet pickles and sour pickles, to last 

 through the year. The cans for fruit should be sterilized before 

 being filled, the rubbers and covers perfect, and when putting them 

 away two pound paper bags may be drawn over them to exclude the 

 light. 



It is a good plan to prepare grape juice and raspberry shrub, to 

 be added to cold water for a summer drink. In preparing grape juice 

 or unfermented wine, wild grapes are the best, if they can be ob- 

 tained. To ten pounds of grapes use three pounds of sugar. After 

 picking from the stems and washing the grapes, put them in a por- 

 celain kettle with just enough water to keep them from burning. 

 Bring them slowly to the boiling point, stirring occasionally. Strain 

 through a muslin bag. Put the juice over the fire with the sugar 

 and bring to a boil and skim. Seal while hot in glass jars. 



Raspberry shrub is made by covering the berries with vinegar 

 and letting them stand twenty-four hours. Then strain and add a 

 pint of sugar to each pint of liquid, boil ten minutes and bottle 

 while hot. 



I will add a well tested recipe for spice cake: 



One scant cup of butter, one cup of sugar and one-half cup of 

 molasses, one cup of sour cream, one cup of currants, one cup of 

 raisins seeded and chopped, two cups of flour, one even teaspoon 

 of soda, spice to taste — cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. 



