THE GENESEE FARMER. 



863 



f alius' ^tprtmtut. 



TASTE IN lOWA-ONCE MORE. 



Messrs Editors: — In the September No. of the 

 Fanner, 1 notice a stricture on a lady's opinion of 

 the West in the June No. I do not wish to enter 

 into a discussion, much less a dispute wilh my legis- 

 lative friend, C. F., and T am willing to accord to the 

 farmere of Iowa all credit for what they have done 

 and are dcuig; for our s^^allant state. I have no doubt 

 there are liionsiMids v.-ho have made just the improve- 

 ments necessary lo secure to their families the com- 

 forts of life. Within my own town I can number 

 some excellent farmers of substantial means, whose 

 industry and thrift are unquestionable; but where 

 are the flower gardens and shrubbery which should 

 adorn every farmers dwelling ? echo only answers 

 ■where. It is true I have not travelled very extens- 

 ively over the State, but I havelheen to Washington 

 and found it a busy thriving little place— but it is 

 not of towns I would speak. I was talking with a 

 lady not long since on this very subject, and she re- 

 marked that men, and women too, lost their taste for 

 such things (flowers and shiubbery) after coming 

 here. They found so much to do to 'get ready to 

 live that every thing else was neglected. I have no 

 doubt this is true, and it is for this very reason that 

 I appeal to them to begin again to cultivate the 

 taste. C. F. enumerates some things of which I com- 

 plain, and I think justly, and some things of which 1 

 did not complain. I wish he would stir up the State 

 a Uttle on the subject of bridges, for though they 

 have one noble one (which by the way there is a con- 

 tinual quarrel about) we are very deficient in plain 

 structures for the use of the people. I believe I did 

 not complain of the want of hogs, for no one who 

 has ever traveled from Muscatine to Washington 

 would be guilty of the error, but he admits that far- 

 mers are careless and waste some of the bounties 

 which should be saved — that a few bushels of grain 

 every year go back to dust. We can only hope that 

 the scarcity of feed in the winter of '56 — 7 will con- 

 vince farmers of the necessity of saving their few 

 bushels which are annually wasted for their unfor- 

 tunate cattle. Thousands of cattle, horses and hogs, 

 perished from starvation, and want of suitable shelter, 

 which these wasted bushels might have saved, and 

 how many stacks of straw are annually burned, which 

 might be converted, by proper management, into com- 

 fortable sheds and stables for shelter. I cannot call 

 a man a good farmer who suffers his stock to lie ex- 

 posed to our western storms in winter, for a merciful 

 man is merciful to his beast. 



Now I do not wish to present to my friend C. F. 

 an apple of discord — but I will give him an excellent, 

 veritable apple, grown by my side, if he will visit me, 

 and he may eat it under the shade of pome boautiful 

 locusts which surround my humble home, and I shall 

 not have to visit my neighbors, to get a very fair sup- 

 ply of this excellent fruit. By the by, I will tell you 

 ■ something of this orchard of mine. Eleven years ago 

 this small orchard of 30 trees was planted on unbro- 

 ken prairie by the former owner, consequently had 

 never grown wood or fruit, but 4 years ago when we 

 took possession, the ground was broken up, and I 

 Vith my own hands, washed the trees as high as I 



could reach every spring and fall, with strong soap- 

 suds, made with the refuse of tlie soap boiling. The 

 trees started to grow most vigorously, and last year, 

 and this, produced (luite a number of bushels of ap- 

 ples. Two trees of a vciy early variety fruited this 

 season, and I had the pleasure of taking the first ripe 

 apples of the season into Washington. C. F. reminds 

 me of the old Dutch settlers on the Hudson, N. Y., 

 as a precedent for large laud owners, the Van Rcnns- 

 selaers and others of time honored memory — peace be 

 to their ashes — for I claim them for my kinch-ed, and 

 my ancestors. But they had trouble enough, I ween, 

 from their large landed possessions, and I would ad- 

 vise no farmer to own more land than he can culti- 

 vate well: if a man own two hundred acres, and can 

 cultivate v/ith all the help he can get but one hund- 

 red, would he not benefit himself and his country 

 more by seUiug his extra one hundred acres to some- 

 body who would till it, thus producing a large sur- 

 plus of grain for market, rather than letting his land 

 lie useless producing nothing ? But the length of my 

 article warns me to let the subject drop for abler and 

 wiser heads than mine to discuss. 



I hope to be able ere long to give you our experi- 

 ments with the Sorgho molasses, we have some very 

 fine canes varying from 12 to 15 feet in height — we 

 are only waiting for the seeds to ripen a little more — 

 the fall has been remarkably favorable — no frost as 

 yet in this part of the state, a luxuriant growth of corn 

 well ripened and mostly secured. Yiola. 



Clay, Wasldngton co., Ioiva,Oct. Wth, '57. 



ORIGINAL DOMESTIC KECEIPTS. 



For Washing. — Gut into small pieces a pound of 

 bar soap; put it into a tin pan or iron pot, with one 

 quart water. Keep it hot, but not boiling, till the 

 soap is dissolved, and stir in two large spoonfuls of 

 powdered borax. When cool, it will again harden, 

 and you will have double the quantity of soap, and 

 better for washing all kinds of clothes. The labor 

 of rubbing is very much diminished. 



Four spoonfuls of borax added to each gallon of 

 soft soap, when first made, will greatly improve the 

 soap for washing, and also prevent its eating the 

 hands, as new soft soap is apt to do. 



To Make Washing East. — Take one half lb. of 

 hard soap, cut fine and dissolved; one half lb. of 

 soda; dissolve each by itself) and when so done put 

 them together, and boil, adding one tea Cupful of 

 strained lime water. Put this in to boil the clothes. 

 Boil them twenty minutes. 1'his will serve several 

 boilers full. The clothes must be previously soaked, 

 and soap rubbed on the stained spots. You can 

 wash the finest material with this, and colored clothes 

 boiled in this will not fade. 



To Remove Stains from the Hands. — A few 

 drops of oil vitriol [svlphuric acid) in water will 

 take the stains orTrr.it, dark dyes, stove blacking, 

 itc, from the hands, without injuring them. Care 

 must, however, be taken not to drop it upon the 

 clothes. It will remove the color from woolen, and 

 eat holes in cotton falnncs. 



To Make Crackers. — Two cups of flour, one cnp 

 of butter, (or half lard and half butter,) two cups of 

 water, two tea-spoonsful of cream of tartar, one tea- 

 spoonful of soda, and a little salt. They require only 

 a common kneading, and are very nice. 



