Vol. X No. 9, 



AWD HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



69 



)lie following rucipe for niakiiii; okra soup, by Mr 

 Legale, the acooiii|)lislieil editor of tliat work. 



OKRA SOUP. 



We liave seldom met witii Uiis most excellent 

 soup out of tlie viciiiiiy of Charleston, and we be- 

 lieve a knowledge of the proper mode of cooking, 

 will render it a favorite wherever it can lie culti- 

 vated. We strongly recommend it, as being most 

 excellent and nutritious: 



The pods are of proper size when two or three 

 inches long, but may be used as long as they re- 

 main tender, which is judged of by their brittle- 

 liess — if good (that is fit for use) they will snap 

 asunder at llic ends, but if they merely bend, they 

 are too old, have become woody and must be re- 

 jected, for a few of such pods will spoil a dish of 

 Boup. I will now proceed to give you directions 

 for making the soup. I have taken definite quan- 

 tities, so that the proper portions of each may be 

 clearly understood by you, smaller quantities may 

 be used, but the proportions ought to be observed, 

 as well as the length of time for boiling. 



Take one jieck of okra pods, which must be 

 very tender, and of which you will judge by the 

 rule already given, cut them across into very thin 

 slices, not exceeding 1-S of an inch in thickness, 

 but as nmch thinner as possible, as the operation is 

 accelerated by their Ihinness. To this quantity 

 of okra add about one-third of a peck of tomatoes 

 which are first pealed and cut into pieces. This 

 quantity can be either increased or (linunislied, as 

 may suit the taste of those for whom it is intended. 

 A coarse piece of beef (the shin is generally made 

 use of) is placed into a digester with about two 

 and a half gallons of wnter,and a very sm ill quantity 

 of salt. It is permitted to boil for a few moments, 

 when the scum is taken olT and the okra and to- 

 matoes thrown in. These are all the ingredients 

 absolutely necessary and the soup made is reing-rk- 

 ably fine; we, however, usually add some corn, 

 cut ofl" from the tender roasting ears, (the grains 

 from three ears will be enough for the above quan- 

 tity) — we sometimes add about a half pint of Lima 

 or Saba Deans — bpth of these improve the soup, 

 but not so much j§^o make them indispensable, 

 so far from it that few add them. The most ma- 

 terial thing to be attended to is the boiling, and the 

 excellency of the soup depends almost entirely on 

 this being faiilifully done, for if it be not enough, 

 however well the ingredients may have been select- 

 ed, the soup will be very ijiferior and give little 

 idea of the delightful flavor it possesses, when 

 properly done. I have already directed that the 

 ingredients be placed in a digester. This is 

 decidedly the best vessel for boiling this or any 

 other soup in, but should there be no digester, then 

 an earthenware pot should be preferred, but on no 

 account make use of an iron one, as it would turn 

 the whole soup perfectly black. The proper col- 

 or being green, colored with the rich yellow of the 

 tomatoes. The time which is usually occupied in 

 boiling okra soup, hfve hours — we put it on at 9 

 A. M. and take it off about 2 P. M. during the 

 whole of wiiich time it is kept briskly boiling, the 

 cook at the same time stirring it frequently and 

 mashing the difi'erent ingredients. By the time 

 it is taken oft" it will be reduced to about one half; 

 but as on the operation of the boiling being well 

 and fiiithfully executed depends its goodness (a^ 

 I have already remarked) T will state the criterion 

 by which this is judged of. The meat separates 

 entirely from the bone, being 'done to rags,' the 

 whole appears as one homogeneous mass, iti which 



none of the ingredients are seen distinct — the ob- 

 ject of this long boiling being thus to Incorporate 

 them — Its consistency should be about that of thick 

 porridge. 



.1luri;e Peach Orchard. — A Mr Jones at Shrews. 

 buiy, N. J. about 35 miles from New York, has 

 we presume the largest |)each orchard in Ameri- 

 ca. One is a mile and a half long, and contains 

 110 acres ; the other contains 40 acres : in both 

 there are about 22,000 trees. They were com- 

 menced about 9 years since, and the profits are 

 fast raising the enterprising owner from poverty to 

 W(-alth. It is said, he last year refused §7000 for 

 the peaches on the trees. The crop the present 

 year is not so abundant ; but the price in market 

 is sufliciently increased, to affovd him a handsome 

 income. About two weeks since, Mr Jones, with 

 some of his neighbors, sent a cargo of 400 bas- 

 kels to the New-York market, which readily sold 

 at .$2 a basket. A basket contains a little short 

 of a bushel. Some of his better peaches have 

 since sold quick at $5 a basket. The soil of these 

 nrcliards is worth very little for any other purpose, 

 and is poorer than the pine plains in this vicinity. 

 The trees, however, are well manured, and the 

 ground kept clean from weeds and grass. The 

 trees appeared in the best condition, and it was 

 difficult to find a diseased one among them. 



We gathered the foregoing facts from a gentle- 

 man of this town, who has lately visited these 

 orchards. — Springjield Republican. 



From the Western Ploughboy. 



Mr Euitor — In your last Ploughboy, I observ- 

 ed an interrogatory; 'has no gentleman in St 

 Louis, the Buffalo Berry ?' — There is one in my 

 garden, aboutfour yearsold, which has not yet pro- 

 duced a single berry. Dr Farrar has several of 

 these shnibs older, and perhaps may bear this year. 

 If you know of any persons who wish to cultivate 

 the grape, such as the ' Cape,' ' Red Madeira,' 

 Arkansas, and a grape of good character, from El 

 Passo, a village, between Santa Fe and Durango, 

 they may have them from me, gratis, next Novem- 

 ber. I should have timely notice, through you. 

 I have been obliged to distribute most of my col- 

 lection. The balance on hand I wish to give those 

 who will make good ii,sc of them, and divide with 

 their neighbors. 1 wish our agriculturists should at- 

 tend more to many articles you have named in your 

 valuable paper. The gooseberry and currant make 

 valuable and cheap wines. The English make 

 more champaigne wine from their gooseberries, 

 than the French from their grapes, and a most el- 

 ei'aiit imitation. I would engage 100 slips of the 

 larae English gooseberry next November, on the 

 same terms as the grape slips, to any person who 

 will engage earnestly in the business. They are 

 the genuine kind for making champaigne wine, 

 ereen and delicious when ripe, and as large as 

 iiickory nuts. Some of the bushes have now up- 

 wards of half a bushel on each. They do not 

 ijrow PS large as the wild, or native bush, nor are 

 they as hardy as in England. A. 



St Louis, July 1, 1831. 



From the Geneaee Farmer. 



BARLEY. 



Never, perhaps was there a more pitiful display 

 of ignorance, than in the harvesting of this article 

 last season. Thousands of bushels were ruined for 



the lack of a little knowledge, easily and cheaply 

 obtained. No woniler our farmers are discourag- 

 ed ill tiieir attempts to raise barley. Generally they 

 do not grow more than half a crop, and nine 

 chances in ten but they will suffer this to take 

 serious injury in harvesting. 1 do not mention 

 this as a reproach, but as a misfortune. To many 

 of our farmers, barley is a new article, and its cul- 

 ture not at all mxlerstood. 1 have given to the 

 readers of the Genesee Farmer, a few practical 

 directions upon the preparation of seed barley, 

 time of sowing, &c. I stand jiledged to give 

 them good and sufficient rpasons for the treatment 

 recommended. But my object in this treatise is 

 not to redeem that plelge, but as it is the season 

 for harvesting barley, to make a few brief remarks 

 upon that head. 



It is true, that last year was an uncommonly 

 critical season for ])roducing barley, and with a 

 t'liw exceptions ;ho whole crop ofthe country was 

 more or less injured. To this the lengthened vis- 

 ages of our brewers will sufficiently testify. The 

 damage consisted chiefly in blighted barley or 

 what is commonly called ' black ejids ;' these 

 are produced either by the grain being badly lodg- 

 ed, so much so, as not to allow the wet to escape 

 from it, or from suffering it to remain too long up- 

 on the ground, when the least dampness will not 

 only discolor the whole, but will blight at least a 

 part of it. The latter is a very common way in 

 which barley receives injury ; and it does seem 

 truly a pity, that when the bountiful hand of 

 Proviilence has spread over our fields a luxurious 

 abundance, we should suffer that bounty to be 

 lost. Now the great-secret of harvesting this crop 

 properly, is to cut it, not when too green, hit be- 

 fore it is fully ripe, and your barley will come 

 out a blight yellow color when it is threshed. It 

 should be well dried before it goes into the barn 

 else the fermentation will be so great in the mow 

 as to injure the life of the grain. If there be any 

 patches in your field which are lodged, the grain 

 which comes from them will do well for your pigs; 

 but as you liope to obtain the first jirice in mar- 

 ket, do not mix it with your standing barley ; cut 

 and keep it separately. There is no doubt that 

 barley allowed to stand in the field until it gets 

 fully ripe (if it can be harvested,) without receiv. 

 ing any dampness, malls more freely than when 

 cut earlier; but in our climate, this is extremely 

 difficult, and if it does get wet the damage is so 

 fatal, that as a general rule, it is best to harvest it 

 before it be fully ripe, when a little wet weather 

 will not affect it, and the only precaution necessa- 

 ry to be taken, is to have it perfectly dried before 

 it goes into the barn. 



Albany and Schenectady Railroad. — A gentleman 

 from the West, who passed on the new rail road 

 to Albany, informs us that the passage is made in 

 a few miiuue-i more than aii hour, and that com- 

 |)etitioii has already reduced the price from fifty to 

 twenlyfive cents for each passenger. Many vis- 

 iters to Saratoga Springs now go and return that 

 way ; and all speak in unqualified terms of the 

 ease, the celerity and the pleasure of this mode 

 of conveyance. The inclined plane, at the wes- 

 tern termination, is nearly completed } and will be 

 prepared for use in about two weeks. — The em- 

 bankment of this place is about one hundred feet 

 high. It commands a beautiful view of the val- 

 ley of the Mohawk and the city of Schenectady. 

 Traveller. 



