1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



251 



carious yellow flowers, wliicli is easily raised 

 from seed every year, and is quite pretty for a 

 frame. 



And now, after all these brilliant and graceful 

 objects, let me say a few words in favor of more 

 modest and neglected vines. Take first the Hop : 

 when well-cared-for it grows luxuriantly, and 

 with its large, deep-green leaves makes tine dra- 

 pery for a lattice. Its ripening clusters of blos- 

 soms are a pretty contrast for other flowers in gar- 

 lands or boquets, and are useful in medicine 

 and cookery. When the scales of these, — the 

 liops, — are filled with their bright yellow dust 

 they should be cut from the vine, and carefully 

 spread upon clean papers, in a close room, till dry 

 to the touch ; and then packed tightly and kept in 

 a dark closet till needed. All houseepers know 

 the value of the ftniit of this old-fashioned vine, 

 but seldom pay attention to the beauty of its foliage. 

 Take an ofi'set from a thrifty vine, and set in rich, 

 moist soil : train it over an arbor, or a lattice, or 

 around a pole, — it is handsome in any situation. 



The Tomato may be trained upon a fence or the 

 side of a building. Fasten its branches with small 

 bands of leather or canvass. The plant makes a 

 fine show, and growing thus bears an abundance 

 of fruit. Then there is the family of Gourds and 

 Cucumbers. Their foliage is good, and the fruit 

 often singular in its form and of a bright color. 

 The Mock Orange is especially beautiful, resem- 

 bling that fruit so closely both in shape and color 

 as to deceive the most scrutinizing. Like the to- 

 mato these need good soil. They can be made 

 a very effective ornament for dilapidated fences 

 and clumsy out-buildings. 



It seems strange that any home should be with- 

 out vines when there are so many handsome and 

 hardy varieties all ready for use. But as soon as 

 women become convinced of the need of out-door 

 work to improve and perpetuate their health and 

 loveliness, they will see that the cultivation of 

 these graceful plants, being the easiest and sim- 

 plest of out-door work, is just the employment for 

 their first efforts in horticulture ; and will get so 

 accustorhed to their presence that no dwelling 

 will appear complete unless its sharp angles and 

 ungainly proportions are softened and shaded by 

 their luxuriant beauty. 



[The subject of the next chapter will be "Woman's 

 Work among Garden Plants."! 



For the New England Farmer, 

 TREATS FOR THE LITTLE FOLKS. 



Mr. Editor : — I often find in your articles of 

 Household Economy receipts for making cake and 

 other aricles of food for grown-up people, but I 

 have never seen anything of the kind that was ex- 

 pressly designed for children. Now, I have not 

 forgotten the pleasant surprises which my broth- 

 ers and myself used to find sometimes on coming 

 home from school, in the shape of turnovers, 

 fancy cakes or candy which our mother had pre- 



pared on purpose to please us. I do not believe 

 in coaxing children to be good— especially by re- 

 wards administering to the indulgence of their ap- 

 petites, — but a little harmless entertainment that 

 is just fanciful enough to suit their childish tastes 

 may often brighten up a rainy holiday, or a tedious 

 confinement within doors from ill health, or may 

 add to the enjoyfnent of a birthday festival Hav- 

 ing a few receipts that have done good service in" 

 this way, and supposing there may be others of 

 my way of thinking, I take the liberty to send 

 them to you for publication, if you think them 

 worthy your notice. 



Trifles, 

 Beat one egg and a teaspoonful of sugar together, 

 and then stir in as much flour as will make a stiff 

 dough. Roll it very thin, and cut it into round 

 cakes about the size of an old-fashioned silver dol- ' 

 lar. Fry them in hot lard. When they turn over 

 they are done. Take them up ; and put jelly in 

 the centre when they are cool. 



'Wonders. 

 Beat a quarter of a pound of sugar and the same 

 quantity of butter together, then add three eggs 

 whisked to a froth. Mix them well, tand season 

 with nutmeg, then stir in flour till the mixture is 

 stiff enough to roll. Roll it as thin as for cookies. 

 Cut it into pieces two inches square. Make four 

 gashes across it, leaving an edge all round half an 

 inch wide ; then cut another gash across the mid- 

 dle to divide the three strips made by the first 

 gashes, and twist and roll and curl them as fanci- 

 fully as you please. Then fry them in boiling 



lard. 



Marvels. 



Dissolve one teaspoonful of soda or saleratus in 



a cup of milk ; season with nutmeg or cinnamon. 



Make it stiff with flour. Roll it very thin, cut 



them round, as large as a cookey, and fry them. 



Sift sugar over them while hot. 



■Whims. 

 Rub flour and bulter or lard together as for pas- 

 try ; then beat one egg with as much sugar as it 

 will moisten, for fifteen minutes. Dissolve as 

 much soda as will lie on a dime in a tablespoonful 

 of milk, and mix it with the egg and sugar. When 

 it is well mixed add half a teaspoonful of essence 

 of peppermint or checkerberry. Stir in the short- 

 ened flour till it is thick enough to roll. Then roll 

 it upon a buttered tin as thin as for cookies and cut 

 it into strips four inches long and one half an inch 

 wide, and bake eight or ten minutes in a moder- 

 ate oven. 



Snow-balls. 



Beat one and one-half cup of sugar with three- 

 fourths of a cup of lard and two eggs. Add two 

 cups of milk and three-quarters of a cup of yeast 

 and a little cinnamon and flour to mould. Let 

 it rise. When it has risen to be very light, roll 

 it thin and cut it into cakes about the size of trifles ; 

 lay three raisins on each and roll them into a ball. 

 Fry them in hot lard, and when done roll them in 



