460 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[October, 1875. 



three cups flour and three teaspoons of baking pow- 

 der, rubbed well into the flour. Flavor with lemon. 

 To make the cream for this pie, take the yolk of one 

 egg, half a cup of sugar, two teaspoons cornstarch. 

 Set the dish in a kettle of boiling water until it be- 

 comes a little thick, and then spread it between the 

 layers of the cake. Use the white of the egg to frost 

 the top. 



Cider may be purified by isinglass, about one 

 ounce of the latter to the gallon. Dissolve in warm 

 water, stir gently into the cider, let it settle, and draw 

 off the liquor. 'Cider may also be preserved sweet 

 for years, bv putting it up in airtight cans, after the 

 manner ofpreserving fruit. The liquor should be 

 first settled and racked off from the dregs, but fer- 

 mentation should not be allowed to commence before 

 canning. 



To Clean Straw Matting and Oil-Cloth : 

 Wash the matting twice during the summer with 

 salt and water, say about a pint of salt dissolved in 

 about a pailful of warm, soft water, drying the mat- 

 ting quickly with a soft cloth. The salt will prevent 

 it from turning yellow. After oil-cloths are scrub- 

 bed and dried," they should be rubbed all over with a 

 cloth dipped in milk. You've no idea how brightly 

 the colors come out. 



Rock Cream : Wash a teacupful of the best rice, 

 and boil slowly until quite soft, in new milk; add 

 white sugar to'taste, and then pile it on a dish. Lay 

 on, in different places, lumps of jelly or thick pre- 

 served fruit. Beat the whites of five eggs to a stifl' 

 froth, with a little sugar and flavoring. When well 

 beaten add a tablespoonful of rich cream, and drop 

 it over the rice, imitating the form of a rock of snow. 



RiceBlakc Mange : One pint of new milk, two 

 eggs well beaten, four tablespoonfuls of ground rice, 

 flavor with lemon or rosewater, sweeten to taste ; 

 let it boil in a porcelain kettle, and when cooled a 

 little, turn into a mold or dish, and when wanted 

 turn it out, mix a little cream, sugar and flavoring, 

 and pour around it; ornament it with bits of red cur- 

 rant jelly. 



To Clean Walls and Ceilings of the soot or 

 black arising from coal oil lamps, smoke, etc., sweep 

 off as clean as possible with a broom, and wash down 

 ■with a strong soda lye, which is to be removed after- 

 ward with water, to which has been added a little 

 hydrochloric acid. When dry, the plastering can be 

 whitewashed, kalsomined, or papered. 



Useful Hints. 



Improvement in Out-Door Closets. 



Prof. Beal, of the Michigan Agricultural College, 

 gives some excellent practical hints on the construc- 

 tion of closets, which are worthy the attention of 

 farmers and others out of the reach of sewerage. 

 Country closets as now constructed are often a nui- 

 sance and a source of disease. Prof. B. says : Several 

 closets at the Agricultural College are built on ground 

 slightly sloping, with the back side toward the foot 

 ofthesjlope. No pits or holes are dug. Along the 

 back side are doors turned down horizontally and 

 hung on hinges by the upper edge. The doors usu- 

 allv hang down to the ground, and may be easily 

 raised to remove night soil when necessary. A small 

 room in the same building is filled, in dry time, with 

 dry muck, loam, or dust from the road. Clay is bet- 

 ter than sand. Every day, or every other day, or 

 twice a day, a small quantity is shoveled into each 

 closet. Copperas-water, lime, plaster, or other de- 

 odorizers, are also used in addition to dry earth. 

 Every few weeks, or even once or twice a year for a 

 small family, the night soil is carted away to the 

 compost heap. 



If cared for as above there is almost no unpleasant 

 odor ; nor is it more disagreeable to cart away than 

 so much manure from the barnyard. The advan- 

 tages of some such mode are : The closets may be 

 cheaply made and kept nearly free from unpleasant 

 odor ; they may consequently be placed much nearer 

 the house, or even connected with it ; there is no pes- 

 tilential fllth filtering into adjacent w-ells, or other- 

 wise causing "mysterious epidemics" in the family; 

 the compost heap is increased in value. Something 

 like this, or better than this, must some day become 

 the universal custom in all the best private houses, 

 schools, railway depots and hotels. 



Slops from the kitchen can be run upon a heap of 

 dirt which may be occasionally shoveled over and 

 changed after it has absorbed a good deal of filth. 

 It is" then well worth removing to use as a fer- 

 tilizer. It is better than running underground into 

 a pit where the odors generally find some way of 

 escape, often into the kitchen, on account of some 

 defect or stoppage of the pipes. 



The use of dry earth is vastly better than to wash 

 the filth into a sewer, thence into a river to contami- 

 nate the air and water. A little mouse, a dead frog, 

 or squirrel, or a few dead worms, will spoil the water 

 of a well so everyone will smell it and refuse to drink 

 it. The same subjects are completely deodorized by 

 a small shovelful of dry earth. 



The best way to mark fruit trees is to procure 

 strips of sheet zinc, eight inches long and a half an 

 inch wide, and write the name with a pencil. Bend 

 the strip around a limb once or twice. Labels of 

 this sort will be legible for ten years. 



The best way to preserve a knowledge of the varie- 

 ties of trees in an orchard, is to make a pencil map in 

 a fruit book, showing a draft of the place. If a tree 

 dies or is removed, rub out the name in the map, and 

 insert that of the new tree in its place. 



When a sewing machine is gummed up so it runs 

 stifl" and hard, ."T little kerosene oil will clean it out 

 in a few moments. 



A wash composed of a teaspoonful of powdered 

 borax to a pint of rain water is excellent for remov- 

 ing dandrufl' from the hair. 



Scratches in horses may be cured by using a wash 

 twice a dav of a teaspooful of powdered blue vitriol 

 dissolved in half a pint of water. Keep the feet 

 clean. 



The best scouring powder in the world for keepmg 

 tinware bright, is" the fine, white, soft ashes from 

 hard or soft coal. The polish produced is remarka- 

 bly bright and permanent. 



A screen or blower of wire gauze, from .36 to 40 

 wires to the inch, placed in front of range or stove 

 fires, will prevent, it is said, smoke coming into the 

 room when the chimney fails to draw well. 



A cement, impermeable by air and steam, and es- 

 pecially well adapted to use for steam or gas pipes, 

 is made of powdered graphite 6 parts, slaked lime :5 

 parts, sulphate of lime 8 parts, and boiled oil 7 parts, 

 well kneaded. 



Some weeds can be killed and prevented from grow- 

 ing in garden paths by watering the ground with a 

 weak solution of carbolic acid, 1 part pure crystal- 

 ized acid to 2,000 parts water. Sprinkle from a 

 watering pot. 



Brown bronze dip, for coating hat hook« and simi- 

 lar small hardware articles, is made of iron scales, 1 

 pound; arsenic, 1 oz. ; muriatic acid, 1 lb.; zinc, 

 solid, 10 ozs. The zinc should be kept in only when 

 the bath is used. The castings must be perfectly 

 free from sand and grease. 



A good test for gold or silver is a piece of lunar 

 caustic, fixed with a pointed stick of wood. Slightly 

 wet the metal to be tested, and rub it gently with 

 the caustic. If gold or silver the mark will be faint ; 

 but if an inferior metal, it will be quite black. 



To prevent condensation in a steam pipe laid under 

 ground, place it inside another larger pipe, filling the 

 intervening spaces with pulverized charcoal. The 

 outside pipe should be water-tight. 



A Farmer's Library. 



In a town in Western New York, as long ago as 

 180.5, a " Farmer's Library " was organized, the first 

 instalment of books, according to the American Rvrnl 

 Home, from which we get our facts, being carried 

 from Canandaigua on the back of one of the origi- 

 nators. The membership fee was SL.'JO, with an an- 

 nual fee of fifty cents. The library grew to number 

 1,.500 volumes. Agricultural works, history, poetry, 

 fiction, etc., were collected, and well read. Of late 

 years, however, the library is being neglected. 



In a more western State, many years ago, a library 

 was established in a somewhat similar way, except 

 that a considerable number of volumes were given by 

 a gentlemen interested in the enterprise. The library 

 grew to have a few hundred volumes, and generally 

 well selected. For a time it was well used, but the 

 interest gradually decreased, although the use of the 

 books was allowed any one at a merely nominal cost, 

 until two boys were the only ones who made use of 

 the library. One of these two boys was the writer of 

 this, and his boyish head often wondered why it was 

 that half a score of farmers' sons would sit by the 

 hour in the country store in which the library was 

 kept, engaged in idle talk, rather than in reading the 

 books which had given him so much pleasure. At 

 last the books were divided among the half-dozen or 

 so of members who had kept up Iheir fees, and so 

 ended an effort which ought to have succeeded well. 

 — Western Rural. 



LITERARY AND BUSINESS NOTICES. 



The Nurseryman's Directory : This publica- 

 tion which was aimounced through the columns of 

 The Farmer some months ago, has reached us since 

 our last issue. It is a reference book of the nursery- 

 men, florists, seedsmen, tree dealers, etc., for the 

 United States, alphabetically arranged by States and 

 post-offices. This enterprise was projected and car- 

 ried through by D. W. Scott & Co., Galena, Illinois. 

 It is a neat octavo volume of 212 pages. There has 

 never been a complete directory of this important 

 interest printed, and while Messrs. Scott & Co. have 

 made a very creditable beginning, there is much to 

 be done yet before the work is complete and reliable, 

 especially in the orthography of proper names. We 

 base this judgment upon the character of the reports 

 from Lancaster county and such other parts of this 

 State as we are familiar with. We find names cred- 

 ited to Lancaster which are so marred by bad report- 

 ing or bad typography that the owners would scarcely 

 recognize them. For example, Geo. W. Schroyer is 

 put down Geo. W. Schulemeyer. Now, inasmuch as 



Geo. W. is and old printer and a good one — having 

 for many years been foreman in this office — this ex- 

 traordinary Teutonic enlongationofhis surname must 

 be very provoking — especially as George don't drink ■ 

 beer. It looks as if whoever reported the list had 

 been trying to get two family names, Schroyer and 

 Myers, together, and didn't know just how to flx it. 

 Perhaps Pennsylvania theology could do it better 

 than Galena tyjjography. Then A. D. Rohrer is put 

 down Bohrer; Solomon" Sprecher is put in the seed 

 business instead of Wm. D. Sprecher; John B. Erb 

 is located in Luni Valley instead of Lime Valley — 

 though we know .lohn don't grow his fruits and bcr 

 ries by lunar influences ; he is too progressive for such 

 moonshine. Cyrus N. Herr, Strasburg, is put down 

 Heiut ; Casper Hiller, Conestoga, is changed to Caper 

 //(■(((■)■, though the firm name is right under the head 

 of Lancaster; Manheim is printed Manheine; Pearsol, 

 in the firm name of the publishers of The Farmer, 

 is spelled three different ways and the compositor 

 didn't happen to hit the right way in either, although 

 he had the printed copy before him. But with all 

 these defects the Nurserymen's Directory will supply 

 a want long felt by this important interest, and all 

 omissions can be supplied and corrections made in 

 the next edition. The publishers announce that they 

 will issue an Appendix in February containing all 

 changes, corrections, &c. If our Lancaster county 

 nurserymen, florists, etc., will send their names, post- 

 office address and business to the publishers of The 

 Farmer, we will see that a complete and correct 

 list is furnished for this appendix. Every man in- 

 terested in this important industry should feel a pride 

 in having such a work complete and reliable. We 

 know the difficulties attending the first eflbrts to 

 compile a directory, even of a local character, and 

 when it is considered that this covers the entire na- 

 tion, Messrs. Scott & Co. have made a very creditable 

 initial step. 



The Semi-Tropic al: A monthly journal bearing 

 this suggestive title comes to us from Jacksonville, 

 FloridaVwhich is a publication of which the land of 

 orange groves and perpetual summer may well 

 be proud. It is an octavo of 66 pages, the paper and 

 typography of which is fully equal to the best publi- 

 cations of "its class to be found in any of the States. 

 Its editorial articles and contributions are first-class, 

 and the general tone which pervades it is thoroughly 

 national and patriotic. An article on the Centennial 

 is so sensible and so catholic in a political sense that 

 we regret we have not room for it in this issue. Re- 

 ferring to the late war and its cause, the writer says: 

 " Out "of this anguish of hearts and destruction of 

 wrong has sprung the glorious light of a new birth— 

 a new revelation, and a greater than Washington has 

 arisen, in that as he freed us of others, Abraham Lin- 

 coln has freed us of ourselves, and wiped out the only 

 stain upon our national escutcheon, in eradicatingthe 

 evil of slavery which was foisted upon us by our 

 fathers of New England— so history will write it be- 

 cause she will love to do so— and through all future 

 time, while free men live, will the name of Abra- 

 ham Lincoln be cherished in sacred reverence." We 

 bespeak for the Semi-Tropieul many northern friends 

 and patrons. Charles W. Blew, publisher, Jackson- 

 ville, Florida. Terms, ?3 a year. 



The Musical Casket : Among the many cheer- 

 ino- evidences of construction in the south are the nu- 

 merous excellent publications which are springing up, 

 devoted to the social, literary, and agricultural inter- 

 ests of the people. The latest which has reached us 

 is a neat monthly of *ight pages, bearing the above 

 title, published at Singer's Glen, Virginia, by the Glen 

 Publishing Company. It is a model of typography 

 and literary and musical taste. The editor says it 

 will be his constant endeavor to furnish to the readers 

 of his little monthly good, wholesome, entertaining 

 literature of that class which leaves no sting behind; 

 that casts no stain upon the character; that encour- 

 ages worth, honesty, integrity; that is evangelical in 

 its character, promoting godliness, sobriety, virtue; 

 that will foster a love for the good and beautiful in 

 literature and song; that will make the reader better 

 for its perusal. It is the organ of character notes in 

 music, and an advocate of' congregational singing. 

 We wish it success. Subscription, 40 cents a year. 



The Southern Cultivator : And here comes 

 Georgia's most practical and substantial contribution 

 to the agricultural literature of the day, in its vener- 

 able Monthly Magazine for the Plantation, the Gar- 

 den and the "Family Circle. It is an octavo of 44 

 pages, filled with alily written and carefully selected 

 articles concerning the whole range of the practical 

 wants of the farm and the garden and the household. 

 Tlic Viiltlralor is an established institution of the 

 suimy South, being in its thirty-second year. W. L. 

 Jones, publisher, Athens, Ga. g2 a year. 



Moore's Rural New Yorker is one of the oldest, 

 most widely quoted and most valuable of the many ex- 

 cellent agricultural journals which come under our 

 notice. It is running its twenty-second volume, and 

 is conducted by its founder, D.D. T. Moore, assisted 

 by an able corpsof editors in the variousdepartments, 

 among which we recognize our old friend, Andrew S. 

 Fuller. It is published at Rochester at $2.65 a year. 

 The National Granger is the title of a large 

 eight-page weekly, published at Louisville, Ky., the 



