California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



W 



the success of this resolve. Dr. HiiU says 

 that nothing should be placed on the tea-ta- 

 ble but bread and butter and tea, and advo- 

 cates letting the tea alone, or substituting 

 some other drink less injurious in its effects. 

 So far as my observation has gone, I fin d 

 that in families where children are allowed to 

 eat meat, potatoes and other similar food, 

 they, as well as the older members, often- 

 times fretful when they get up in the morn- 

 ing. If such food is placed on the table and 

 partaken of by the elders, it is difficult to 

 prevent the children from following the exam- 

 ple set before them. The lady referred to 

 above said that when first married her hus- 

 band wanted hearty food at night, but after 

 reasoning the matter, he yielded to her ideas 

 on that subject. There is not a harder work- 

 ing man in the State. 



Another neighbor places upon the supper- 

 table such food as is found upon the dinner- 

 table. Often roast mutton or beef with all 

 the accompanying dishes are eaten in the 

 evening, The parents are fretful, impatient 

 and quick-temjjered, and often complain of 

 not sleeping well; the children are no better 

 off. Can you see the difference and the rea- 

 son for it? The wife in the latter case is an- 

 xious to have only light articles of diet on 

 the table in the evening, but her husband 

 says he cannot work as hard if he does not 

 have hearty food every meal. He does not 

 work half so hard as the first mentioned gen- 

 tleman. Wonder how he can stand so much 

 bard work. I feel like telling him to read 

 Dr. Hall's "Health by Good Living." I sup- 

 pose he, like many others, would pronounce 

 it all a humbug that any one could work hard 

 on lighter food than is usually found on a 

 farmer's table. We often have made our sup- 

 per all of oat-meal or graham flour hasty 

 pudding and milk. Corn-meal during the 

 warm weather is not so good. I am remind- 

 ed by the above that several who do not like 

 graham bread very well think better of it 

 when made as follows: 



NICE GKAHAM EEEAD. 



The batter is mixed with half white and 

 half griham flour, and kneaded out with 

 white flour. I believe this is the way it is 

 made at Dr. Jackson's water-cure establish- 

 ment. I like better to make the batter with 

 graham flour entirely and then knead out 

 with white flour. 



Not long ago a lady friend gave uie a cooky 

 to taste, telling me it was made with graham 

 flour. It would hardly suit the taste of an 

 epicure, but I thought it very good; a little 

 dry, perhaps, but healthful. She told me 

 she often made ginger-bread with this flour. 

 I do nut know if that would be good or not, 

 but I (hi think that graham bread should be 

 found on the table oftener than it is. 



First Letter. 



BY BUSY BEK. 



I never wrote anything for a paper in my 

 life, but I feel so interested in the California 

 Ageiculrist, that I want others to write, and 

 if all hold back because they never wrote be- 

 fore we sho\ild have too few new hints. I 

 think almost anything one can say upon 



riCACTICAL SUBJECTS 



Interesting; especially about children- -their 

 management, clothing and food. I look for 

 every suggestion with interest, and have no 

 doubt many others do the same. Mothers 

 and housekeepers could send forth many val" 



uable suggestions through the columns of the 

 Ageicultueist, and do a great deal of good. 



I see several letters from the little folks. I 

 read them to my little ones, who are too 

 young to read, and they arc highly pleased. 



Now I must give "Snip" a hint about 

 what to do for 



VEEMXN ON chickens. 



I have used sulphur and almost everything 

 on my chickens, and I do believe there is no 

 such thing as getting entirely rid of vermin 

 on them. I find the best thing is tobacco. I 

 sprinkle it thickly on all the nests, and I find 

 wherever it is there is no vermin. I also 

 sprinkle it wherever a hen hovers her chicks 

 at night. I think a good strong wash made 

 of it and applied to the roosts and around in 

 the cracks ami on the floors of the chicken- 

 house would be beneficial, though I have 

 never tried it. My husband says the chick- 

 ens use more tobacco than he does, and I ven- 

 ture to suggest it probably does them more 

 good than it does him. 



A Few Suggestions and Recipes. 



Canning Grapes. — I have been canning 

 some mission grapes, and a little care has 

 made them quite eatable. I put in consider- 

 able sugar, cooked them quite a while, then 

 skimmed nearly all the seeds off and feel re- 

 paid for my trouble. 



Grape Pies. — The next time you make 



grajje pies put a large tablespoonful of flour 



for each pie into the fruit before putting it 

 into the pie-plate. 



Canning Quinces. — I hardly ever cook 

 quinces till done when I put them up, because 

 it takes so long. If they are cooked thor- 

 oughly when canned, they should be boiled 

 in clear water until nearly done. Then put 

 in the sugar and boil till the fruit is a delicate 

 pink color. Aj^ples or pears are nearly always 

 canned with quinces, but we prefer them sep- 

 arate. 



Quince Jelly. — To make this I use only 

 the skins and cores. Boil them in clear wa- 

 ter — a pint of water to a pound of fruit — un- 

 til perfectly soft. Drip over night and put a 

 jiiound of sugar to a pint of juice. Do not 

 jjut the tin covers on your jelly glasses till 

 the jelly has formed. Snip. 



Grape Jam. — Mrs. W. E. Patten and 

 Mrs. S. P. Hellengren, of Dry Creek, 

 have been very successful in making 

 grape jam from the following recipe: Stem 

 enough grapes to make five gallons of juice — 

 about lUO pounds will be sutHcient. Squeeze 

 out the juice through a colander, and then 

 boil it slowly till it is reduced to two and 

 one-half gallons. These operations will take 

 one day. Then take the same amount of 

 grapes and boil them in another vessel till 

 they burst open and the seeds settle to the 

 bottom. Pour oft' into the first vessel, being 

 careful not to let the seeds escape. Boil the 

 mixture two days. This jam will last for 

 ■^■cars, improving with age. — Jiusskm River 

 Flag. 



Unfermekted Wine. — Various churches in 

 this country are introducing unfermented 

 wine to take the jilace of the fermented, com- 

 miinly in use for churcli jiurposes. The Jtmr- 

 nal (if AjipUrd Clii-mitilri/ describes the method 

 of manufacture as follows : In order to jire- 

 parc it, the grapes should bo allowed to 

 thoroughly ri]jen. They are then picked, and 

 the stems and all green and rotten grapes re- 

 moved. The grapes are then crushed and 

 pressed in the usual manner. The juice may 

 bo put directly into bottles, or it may first bo 

 concenlrated somewhat by boiling and then 

 bottled ; in either case the bottles are i]ut in 



hot water and brought to the boiling point, 

 where they are maintained for half an hour. 

 At the end of this time remove them from the 

 fire and cork them tightly, while still hot, 

 wiring in the corks. Then replace them and 

 continue the boiling another hour. Glass bot- 

 tles are better for this purpose than tin cans, 

 though the latter may be used. An analysis 

 of a specimen jirepared in New Jersey gave 

 the following result : Alcohol, none ; sugar 

 and extract, 23,00 ; ash, 40 ; water, 7G,00— 

 total, 1000,00. This had probally been con- 

 centrated somewhat before bottling. The 

 flavor was fine. Some acid tartarate of pot- 

 essium had crystalized out. 



We have examined grape juice put up the 

 same as fresh fruit is put into glass bottles 

 and jars. It keeps equally well and is excel- 

 lent to use as sauce in cooking or with other 

 fruit, or as a drink. We every season put 

 up several jars of fresh grapes for family use 

 and like them altogether better than the juice 

 separately. Tartarate of potassium always 

 collects in crystals on bottom of the bottles 

 and jars both of fruit and juice. 



Coal oil lamps will be much safer to use, 

 if the bowl is loosely filled with raw cotton 

 or tow before putting in any oil. In case of 

 explosion or falling on the floor, the burning 

 fluid cannot fly all over everything. 



Always fill a coal oil lamp every day before 

 using. The bowl should never be allowed to 

 get empty and be lighted in that condition, 

 for the vacant sj^ace is always full of explos- 

 ive gas. 



Never, under any circumstances whatever, 

 try to kindle a fire by pouring coal oil into a 

 stove from a can. Thousands of persons 

 have been Vjurned to death in this way, and 

 still the papers chronicle other victims to the 



actice. 



An egg-producing feed for fowls, highly 

 recommended by a fancier who has tried it, is 

 wheat and white peas, ground and mixed to- 

 gether as stiS'as possible the night before and 

 used only as a morning feed. 



As a drop of water falling from the house- 

 eaves weareth and holloweth the hard stone, 

 :iot by force, but by often falling ; even so a 

 scholar proveth learned, not by power or 

 strength, but by much diligence and great 

 reading. 



The fact that the foot hills and some other 

 portions of California are well adapted to the 

 cultivation of the sumac tree is attracting at- 

 fention, the leaves of that tree being an article 

 of commerce, as they are valuable for tan- 

 hing purposes. 



A benevolent gentleman from Vermont ap- 

 plied to a Boston gentleman for aid in send- 

 ing missionary to Turkey. The reply was as 

 follows: "I have invested much in Vermont 

 securities, and lost many thousands by the 

 acts of your railroad men, sustained by the 

 people and the courts. I have also lived in 

 Turkey, and had much intercourse with her 

 people. I would far rather give my money 

 to send Turks as missionaries to Vermont.'' 



The 7orco State Leader tells a story of a well 

 known life insurance agent, who approached 

 Hammond, the revivalist, on the subject of 

 insuring his life. Hammond said he could 

 not afl'ord to turn his attention to such a tem- 

 porary and worldly subject, but if the agent 

 could insure his soul it might be worth while 

 talking. The agent slowly shook his head 

 and said it was impossii)le ; his company did 

 not carry any fire risks ! 



Now that the evenings are getting longer, 

 it is a good time to discuss the mei-its of the 

 difl'<'rent agricultural papers and select the 

 best, and to urge one's neighbors to suliscribo. 



