1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



107 



right, Freddy," he said, "and you can just 

 go on drinking your milk again. The cow 

 eats grass, and that's what makes it. Now if 

 the cow didn't eat the grass, you'd have to, 

 you see. That's what the cow's for." 



Freddy resumed his evening draughts. To 

 his mind the only alternative was eating grass, 

 and from that he shrank. 



How observant children are, and how their 

 ears prick up at an insinuation that anything 

 is going on which they are not particularly de- 

 sired to see or hear ! 



A little fellow — a "minister's son," by the 

 way — sat on the floor one afternoon, playing 

 with his blocks, when some ladies called on 

 his mamma. Very soon the conversation 

 turned (I am sorry to say) on a bit of scandal 

 that was in the village. Remembering sud- 

 denly that the child was in the room, and not 

 knowing exactly how much he might under- 

 stand of what was being said, an abrupt pause 

 was made in the conversation. 



There sat the little fellow, busy with his 

 blocks, and in reality not heeding a word of 

 what was being said. But no sooner did the 

 pause come than he turned round, and rolling 

 on the floor, laughing as though his little sides 

 would burst, shouted: "Go right on! that's 

 just such as I like to hear every day !" 



HOW TO BOIL POTATOES. 



Was it not Lord Sefton or some other 

 equally celebrated epicure who, being on the 

 committee of a club deciding on the choice of 

 a new clief, after the most abstruse subtleties 

 of art had been exhausted, put this simple and 

 staggering question, "Can you cook a potato ?" 

 Whether the chef fainted or challenged Lord 

 S., tradition — being, indeed, often rather hard 

 of hearing — has not condescended to relate. 



But Lord Sefton was right ; no doubt in 

 the mere boiling of a potato the profoundest 

 chemical laws are evolved, and a Faraday 

 might have lectured upon the process as em- 

 bracing all the mysteries of the kitchen. It 

 involves the discovery of the powers of steam 

 and the laws of caloric, though all these are 

 known by implication to every good and 

 thoughtful cook. 



Choose your potatoes carefully ; the yellow 

 are more worthy than the red, and the red 

 are more worthy than the white. Potatoes 

 are best of a moderate size, without specks, 

 heavy, and clear in the rind. They should 

 not be washed until they are pared and pre- 

 pared for cooking. Boil, Dr. Kitchener 

 (what a fortunate name for a writer on gas- 

 tronomy !) says, potatoes of the same size to- 

 gether; otherwise the smaller ones will be 

 boiled to pieces before their larger brethren 

 are softened at the core. Above all things, 

 do not fill your sauce-pan more than half full ; 

 and remember that it is especially important 

 not to put more water than will cover the po- 

 tatoes about 'an inch, so that, allowing for 



waste in boiling, they may still just be cov- 

 ered. 



Set them on a moderate fire till the lid of 

 the sauce-pan •begins to trot and bump ; then 

 lift the pot off the fire to the hob, there to 

 simmer as slowly as possible till the potatoes 

 will admit the prongs of a steel fork. Mod- 

 erate-sized potatoes take about twenty min- 

 utes' boiling. The cracking of the coats is no 

 proof of their being done, as some potatoes, 

 when boiled too fast, will open before they 

 are half done; when the fork test satisfies you 

 pour off the water, uncover the sauce-pan, 

 and set it by the fire for fifteen or twenty 

 minutes, so as to let the moisture pass off in 

 steam. The potatoes will then come to table 

 dry and mealy. 



DKA-WING-HOOM FUHNITQKE. 

 Harper'' s Bazar gives the following descrip- 

 tion of the prevailing styles of Drawing-Room 

 Furniture : — 



Furniture for drawing-rooms is copied from 

 the Louis Seize period. This differs from the 

 Pompadour style in heavy, broad, straight, 

 sofas, and chairs with low square backs, stuffed 

 and tufted throughout, the wood of the frame 

 visible only at the feet. Gilded wood is great- 

 ly used. The most showy suits are of gilt or 

 whitewood covered with satin of a solid color, 

 such as pale blue, light green, or fawn color. 

 The cherry -colored satin is found to be most 

 generally becoming. Pear-wood stamed to 

 represent ebony is combined with gilt, throw- 

 ing it into bold relief. Tasteful designers de- 

 plore the elaborate use of gilt, and only com- 

 mend it when associated with other woods. 

 It has always a tawdry look, and is soon tar- 

 nished. The fashion will not be a permanent 

 one. 



Satin and the terry reps thickly tufted are 

 used for upholstery. Brocatel is entirely out 

 of fashion. The beautiful tapestries are ia 

 better keeping with the Louis Quinze styles, 

 but have never been properly appreciated in 

 I his country. 



An elegant drawing-room lately furnished 

 has a moquette carpet, pearl color, strewn 

 with garlands of flowers. The furniture is up- 

 holstered with light blue satin, tufied and 

 edged with a tri-colored cord, chi rry, blue 

 and drab. Curtains of the same satin with a 

 tapestry border, in which these three colors 

 ehter. Lace shades beneath. The long mar- 

 quise sofa consists of a French conjidunie, or 

 sofa for two, with marquise arm-chairs attached 

 to the ends. Variously shaped satin chairs 

 are about the room, and upright reception 

 chairs of all gilt in bamboo pattern. 



Ebony cabinets are low and flat topped, and 

 are inlaid with marquetry of the Algerian 

 Tuya wood, the purple amaranth and gilt. 

 The cover is of the colored Spanish marble 

 brought from the Pyrenees. A cabinet of 



