488 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Oct. 



OLD HABITS. 



A gentleman one day overtook a traveller mov- 

 ing very slowly along under the great inconvenience 

 of a heavy stone in his pocket. 



"My friend," said the gentleman, as he observed 

 the stone weighing his coat down on one side, and 

 greatly impeding his progress, " why do you trav- 

 el with such a heavy burden at your side ? I per- 

 ceive you walk with much difficulty." 



" What! this stone in my pocket," said he, " I 

 would not part with it for anything." 



" Would not ! why ?" said the other. 



" Why ?" said he, " because my father and my 

 grandfather carried it before me ; they got along 

 very well with it, and I wish to follow their steps." 



" Do you derive any benefit from it ?" 



" None that I know of, only keeping up the old 

 custom," said he. 



" Did they derive any ?" asked the other. 



" I don't know, only they always carried it," said 

 he, " and so will 1." 



The gentleman walked on saying to himself, " I 

 love, indeed, to see the good old customs of our fa- 

 thers honored, if it were only out of respect to 

 their memory; but, really, if my father had carried 

 a stone in his pocket, I think I should pay greater 

 respect to his memory in laying it aside, and say- 

 ing nothing about it, than by carrying such a testi 

 mony to his frailty with me through life." 



As he still walked on, he began to think, " now 

 this man, unwise as he seems, is not more so than 

 many others, perhaps not more so than myself." 



So he began to cast about in his mind, what hab 

 its he had which were no better than stones in his 

 pocket. " Here, in the first place," said he, "is the 

 use of tobacco, chewing, smoking, taking snuff,' 

 old habits — what use are they to me ? mere stones 

 in my pocket — worse than that, they injure my 

 health, render mc disagreeable, and the very oppo' 

 site of neatness. I'll away with them all. Here is 

 my snuff-box — stay — it bears my father's name 

 Well, the snuff may go to the four winds. The 

 box I will lay aside, but tobacco in any of its forms 

 I will use no more. Thanks to a protecting Provi- 

 dence, my father left no tippling habits to ruin me, 

 and stain his memory. Now there is one stone 

 thrown away, and if I have any more bad habits 

 kept up for custom's sake, how much soever I may 

 become attached to them, I desire they may share 

 the same fate." 



One of the Boys. — One day, while learning 

 my Virgil, I continued to carry on the business of 

 pounding some rocket mixture ; but, as ill luck 

 would have it, the master discovered my twofold 

 employment, and immediately took away the mix- 

 ture from me in considerable wrath. I watched 

 where he put it ; it was on the window-sill of a 

 room which was always kept locked ; the window, 

 though not glazed, had close iron bars through 

 which nothing could pass ; the case was hopeless ; 

 I could not recover my rocket mixture, but a hap- 

 py thought struck me. I was resolved that no one 

 else should enjoy the spoil which I regarded as so 

 valuable. I had a burning-glass in my pocket, and 

 I thought of Archimedes and the Roman fleet ; the 

 sun was shining, and I soon drew a focus on the 

 gunpowder^ which immediately blew up. It was 

 well that the house was not set on fire ; as for me, 

 I was reckless of all consequences. — Memoirs of 

 Crosse, the Matlieniatician. 



LADIES' DEPARTMENT. 



DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 



How TO Make Black Currant Wine. — Pick 

 and squeeze the currants when fully ripe. To one 

 gallon of juice add six quarts of water, and to each 

 gallon of this mixture add three and a half pounds 

 of brown sugar. Mix well together and strain. Put 

 it into a cask, and let it be ventilated till it shall 

 have passed the active or vinous fermentation, when 

 it may be well corked. As it will improve by age, 

 it may be well to let it stand undisturbed for years 

 unless wanted for medical purposes. 



Elder Wine Flavored with Hops. — A lady, 

 disliking the taste of spices in home-made wines, 

 was induced to try the effect of flavoring elder wine 

 with hops. The result is one of the most grateful, 

 wholesome and valuable beverages. Its color equals 

 that of the finest claret ; and it produces no acidity 

 after drinking, as many home-made wines do. The 

 following receipt for the same has been kindly com- 

 municated for the benefit of the readers of the 

 Lady^s Book, and will, I think, answer fully, if tried 

 skilfully and fairly. The berries, which must be 

 thoroughly ripe, ai-e to be stripped from the stalk, 

 and squeezed to a pulp. Stir and squeeze this pulp 

 by passing through a cane sieve or basket, to every 

 gallon of juice, add half a gallon of cold spring wa- 

 ter ; boil nine gallons with six ounces of hops for 

 half an hour ; then strain it, and boil again with 

 three pounds of sugar to the gallon, for about ten 

 minutes, skimming it all the time ; pour it into a 

 cooler, and whilst lukewarm, put a piece of toasted 

 bread with a little barm on it to set it to working; 

 put it into a cask as soon as cold ; when it has done 

 working, cork it down, and leave it six months be- 

 fore it is tapped ; it is then drinkable, but improves 

 with age exceedingly. — Godey's Lady's Book. 



Cup Cake. — Five cups of flour, three cups of 

 nice sugar, one cup of butter, four eggs, one cup of 

 good buttermilk, with saleratus enough to sweeten 

 it, one nutmeg. 



Cookies. — One cup of butter two cups of sugar, 

 one cup of cold water, half a teaspoon of saleratus, 

 two eggs, flour enough to roll, and no more. 



Soft Gingerbread. — One cup of molasses, one 

 cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one of buttermilk, 

 one egg, saleratus and cloves. Mix pretty stiff. 



Cream Cake. — One cup of cream, one cup of 

 sugar, two cups of flour, two eggs ; teaspoon of sal- 

 eratus, flavor with lemon. 



Delicate Cake. — Nearly three cups of flour, 

 two cups of sugar, three-fourths cup of sweet milk, 

 whites of six eggs, one teaspoon of cream tartar, 

 lemon for flavoring. 



Crackers. — One pint of water, one teacup of 

 butter, one teaspoon of soda, two of cream of tartar, 

 flour enough to make as stiff as biscuit. Let them 

 stand in the oven until dried through. They do 

 not need pounding. 



Cutting Pantaloons. — For boys from eight to 

 sixteen years old, it is a good way to cut their pan- 

 taloons with only one seam in the leg. The cloth 

 can be doubled over so there is no outside seam. 

 It takes no more cloth, looks just as well, saves time 

 for a farmer's wife, who h;is a multiplicity of cares 

 and chores at all times.— Cor. Ohio Cultivator. 



