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THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ October, 



A Cheap Carpet. 



An Eastern lady eays : Have any of you a spare 

 bed chamber, seldom used, which you would like to 

 carpet at a little expense? Go to the paper-hanger's 

 store and select a paper lookine: as much like a car- 

 pet as you can find Ilavinff taken it home, first pa- 

 per the floor of your bed-room with brown paper or 

 newspapers. Then over this put down your wall pa- 

 per. A good way to do this will be to put a good 

 coat of paste upon the width of the roll of paper and 

 the length of the room, and then lay down, uuroUins 

 and smoothing at the same time. When the floor is 

 all covered, then size the varnish ; only dark glue 

 and common furniture varnish may be used, and the 

 floor will look all tlie better for tlie darkening these 

 will give it. When it is dry, put down a few rugs by 

 the bedside and before the toilet table, and you will 

 have as pretty a carpet as you could wish — a carpet, 

 too, that will last for years if not subject to constant 

 wear, and at a trifling expense. 



I, myself, used a room one entire summer prepared 

 in this way — used it constantly ; and when the house 

 was sold in the fall, the purchaser asked me to take 

 up the oil-cloth, as he wished to make some altera- 

 tions which would be sure to injure it ' 



How Do You Make Cider Wine ? 



This question is asked by a correspondent of the 

 Village Record ; and as it iS unanswered we will un- 

 dertake the task. The cider for this purpose should 

 not be made until December, when it should be bar- 

 reled and placed in a vault or other cool cellar, and 

 left to remain there until February or early in .March, 

 when it should be bottled, using champagne bottles, 

 well corked and wired ; the cork should be driven 

 down to an eighth of an inch of the mouth, so that 

 the wire can grasp it. Use good-sized copper wire, 

 which will require only once passing over the cork, 

 provided it is well secured around the neck of the 

 bottle. Then return the bottled cider to the cellar, 

 laying the bottles on their sides, and it will keep for 

 years. Be sure that the bottles are thoroughly clean, 

 which must be attended to just before the bottling 

 begius. Some persons — and it is the method of the 

 North Jersey "champagne" eider-makers— yiJ^o- the 

 cider through sand before putting away in barrels. 

 It is true this removes all sediment, but we cannot 

 perceive that it adds to the flavor or keeping qualities 

 of the cider. — Oermanlown Telegraph. 



Directions for Calcimining. 



Buy the best bleached glue if the walls are to be 

 while or some light tint (if dark it is immaterial), 

 and use it in the proportion of a quarter of a pound 

 to eight pounds of whiting. Soak the glue over 

 night In the morning pour off the water. Add 

 fresh water, put in a pail and set that in a kettle of 

 boiling water. When dissolved stir it into the whitinL'', 

 adding enough water to make it, after mixing, of the 

 same consistency as common whitewash. It maybe 

 tinted any color, and is applied with a whitewash 

 brush. If the color is rubbed smooth in a little 

 water, and then mixed with thewash, it will be more 

 even. If the walls have been previously whitewashed, 

 scrape away all that will come off, and wash with a 

 solution of white vitriol — two ounces in a pail of 

 water. The vitriol will be composed, forming zinc 

 white and plaster of Paris, to which the calcimine 

 easily adheres. It is important to dissolve the glue 

 in a hot water bath, for if scorched by too great heat 

 its tenacity is impaired or destroyed. 



Useful Recipes. 



To Pickle Gherkins : To every quart of vinegar 

 allow one ounce of bruised ginger, half au ounce of 

 whole black pepper, half an ounce of whole allspice, 

 four cloves, two blades of mace, a little horseradish. 

 Cover the gherkins with salt and water, and let them 

 remain three or four days, take them out, wipe per- 

 fectly dry, and put them into a stone jar. Boil for 

 about ten minutes sufficient vinegar to cover them, 

 with spices in the above proportions, pour it quite 

 boiling over the gherkins, coyer the jar with vine or 

 fresh cabbage leaves, and put over them a plate, set 

 them near the fire, and let them remain all night. 

 Next day drain off the vinegar, boil it up again, and 

 pour it over them whilst hot, cover with fresh leaves, 

 and let it remain till cold, then take away the leaves, 

 and de closely down with bladder to exclude the air. 

 The vine leaves will make them green. 



Timely Remedies : If mosquitoes or other blood 

 suckers infest our sleeping rooms at night, we uncork 

 a bottle of pennyroyal and these insects leave in great 

 haste, nor will they return so long as the air in the 

 room is loaded with the fumes of that aromatic herb. 

 "If rats enter the cellar, a little powdered potash, 

 thrown in their holes or mixed with meal and scat- 

 tered in their runaways, never fail to drive them away. 

 Cayenne pepper will keep the buttery and store-room 

 free from ants and cockroaches. If a mouse makes 

 an entrance into any part of your dwelling, saturate 

 a rag with cayenne in solution and stuff it into the 

 hole, which can then be repaired with either wood or 

 mortar. No rat or mouse will eat the rag for the pur- 

 pose of opening communication with a depot of sup- 

 plies. 



For your winter wear don't think of bleached mus- 

 lin, but instead buy substantial unbleached and whiten 

 and soften it with chloride of lime before making up. 

 Then by next summer it will be whiter than though 

 the garments had been made of snow-white bleached 

 muslin. For fifteen yards of muslin take half a pound 

 of chloride of lime, tie it up in a bit of cloth and put 

 it in a tub with three pails of cold water. With a 

 stick move it about until it is dissolved, then take it 

 out and put your unbleached muslin, which has been 

 wet through and through, into the tub, and let it 

 stand an hour, moving it about occasionally that it 

 may be thoroughly soaked through with the lime 

 water. Then wring it out and rinse through two or 

 three warm waters and it is ready for the line. — Ohio 

 Farmer. 



It is generally conceded that chickens merely split 

 open and broiled are dry and unsavory eating. I 

 therefore give to the housekeepers of the TZwra/ my 

 recipe, which has been pronounced good by many. 

 Clean the chickens nicely; cut them down the back; 

 break the breastbone; wash, and wipe them dry; sea- 

 son them both in and outside with salt and pepper; 

 place them in a dripping-pan with a little water; put 

 it in a quick oven until they are a delicate brown on 

 both sides ; baste them frequently with butter; renew 

 the water as it evaporates. When the chickens are 

 done, remove to a Iiot dish; add a little more water 

 and a teaspoonful of flour to form the gravy. Serve 

 the gravy in a sauce-tureen, or in the dish with the 

 chickens. — Mrs. Ruatic, in Moore^s Ifnral. 



Pe.\ch cobbler is made in this way : Pare nice, 

 ripe, juicy peaches, lay them in a deep baking dish, 

 with plenty of sugar, and a tahlespoonfulof flour rub- 

 bed smooth in a little cold water. Cover the top with 

 a crust made of one teacup of sweet milk, a little salt, 

 one heaping tablespoonful of butter, one heapingtea- 

 spoonful of b.iking powder, worked thoroughly 

 through flour enough to make a soft dough. Rub 

 the butter through the flour; add the milk; mix 

 quickly; roll out an inch thick, and bake in a mod- 

 crate oven. To be eaten with cream and sugar. A 

 crust made as the above is far more wholesome and 

 digestible than ordinary paste made of water and 

 abominable lard. — Cor. Biiral New Yorker - 



Apple Tapioca Pudding : Soak one large cupful 

 of tapioca, until soft, in water enough to cover it : 

 butter the pudding dish, and have sliced into it some 

 nice juicy apples, more than half filling the dish. 

 Then addi some sugar, and a bit of butter. Over this 

 pour the soft tapioca that has been previously well 

 soaked in either milk or water. Add a little salt, 

 and sprinkle over the top a light grating of nutmeg. 

 Bake until the apples are well done. Eat with cream 

 and sugar, (or sauce of any kind, if preferred) and I 

 think you will call this, as I have heard it called, 

 " The Queen of Puddings." Sago can be used the 

 same way. — Cor. Chicago Tribnii,e. 



To Boil Salmon : Put to each gallon of water six 

 ounces of salt; use only sufficient water to cover the 

 fish; tiring it quickly to the boil, and allow about 8 

 minutes to the pound. You will always know when 

 the fish is done by its separatingeasily from the back- 

 bone. Do not let it remain in the water after it is 

 done. Drain it, and if not wanted for a few minutes, 

 keep it hot by laying hot cloths over it. Serve on a 

 hot napkin, garnish with parsley and lemon, serve 

 with lobster or shrimp sauce. Plain melted butter is 

 usually sent in a tureen with it, and a dish of sliced 

 cucumbers. 



Let your readers try this for ridding sleeping 

 apartments of the pesky mosquitoes : Place a small 

 quantity (about a tablespoonful) of " insect powder " 

 in the middle of a plate or other vessel, and saturate 

 the powder with essence pennvroyal ; place it in the 

 room and set fire to it. The alcohol burns, carrying 

 with it the odor of pennyroyal, and afterwards the 

 smoke from the insect powder, which, together, is 

 " too many " for the little terrors, and they skip 

 without settling their little bills. — Cor. Indianapolis 

 Journal. 



The Practical Farmer says : "The only cause for 

 streaky butter ever occurring, in our experience, is 

 the insuflScient working of the salt through the mass. 

 Unless great care is used, butter is always of differ- 

 ent colors before the first working (after salting)* 

 Some portions will have little or no salt, and be of a 

 lighter color, and the dairy-woman should work so 

 as to mix these portions with that thoroughly salted, 

 or she will have streaky rolls or tubs of batter. A 

 very little care, when working the second time, will 

 prevent this result." 



Spiced Beef : Take some nice suet, or three or 

 four slices of pork; fry in pot until it is alight brown, 

 then lay in a piece of raw beef — brown it on both 

 sides; then cover it with water and let it stew over a 

 moderate fire five or six hours, according to the size 

 of the beef; add an onion, two bay-leaves, half u tea- 

 spoonful ol^ mace, a teaspoonful of whole cloves and 

 allspice mi.xed; pepper, salt and vinegar to taste; add 

 water as it boils away, so that there may be enough 

 to make a gravy when the meat is done. 



Stewed .Mushrooms : Peel and cut the contents 

 of two boxes of mushrooms, wash, pare, and boil 

 them, put in cold water, and when cool take out and 

 wipe dry. Put in saucepan with a lump of butter 



size of an egg and brown well. Add a pinch of flour, 

 salt and pepper, and a small bouquet of parsley. 

 Moisten with beef stock or tea and boil fifteen min- 

 utes. Then take the yelks of two fresh eggs, heat 

 and add half a tablespoonful of white-wine vinegar 

 when ready to serve. 



To Clean Steel : Dissolve half an ounce of cam- 

 phor in one pound of hog's lard ; take off the scum, 

 mix as much black lead as will give the mixture an 

 iron color ; rub the articles over with this mixture, 

 leave it on for twenty-four hours, then dry with a 

 linen cloth, and polish with a soft leather. Iron and 

 steel goods cleaned in this way will keep clean and 

 bright for months. 



Iced Apples : Pare and core one dozen large 

 apples ; fill with sugar mixed with a little butter and 

 cinnamon or nutmeg ; bake till nearly done. Cool, 

 and, if possible, without breaking, put the apples on 

 another dish. If not possible, pour off the juice; 

 have some icing prepared ; lay it on the top and sides 

 and set into the oven a few minutes to brown slightly. 

 Serve with cream. 



Macaroni Soup t Into a pan of fast-boiling water 

 throw four ounces of macaroni, add one ounce of 

 butter, and an onion stuck with a few cloves. When 

 the Macaroni has swelled to its full size and become 

 tender, drain it, and put it into two quarts of clear 

 gravy soup; let it simmer for seven or eight minutes, 

 and it will be ready for the table. Serve grated Par- 

 mesan cheese with it. 



Tomato Catsup : Cut the tomatoes in slices, lay 

 them in the kettle, sprinkle salt upon them, boil 

 three quarters of an hour, and strain through a 

 sieve ; to six quarts of juice add two quarts of vine- 

 gar, one ounce of cinnamon, one of cloves, one of 

 nutmeg, and a half an ounce of cayenne pepper, 

 ground ; then boil fifteen minutes. 



Quince Jelly : Slice the quinces without paring . 

 or coring. Put them intd a preserving kettle and 

 just cover with water ; put over the fire and boil 

 until soft. Remove from the s'ove and strain off the 

 liquor. To every gallon allow four pounds of white 

 sugar, and boil very fast until it becomes a stiff jelly. 



Domestic Yeast : Roil one pound of good flour, 

 a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, and a little 

 salt, in two gallons of water for one hour. When 

 milk-warm bottle it and cork it close. One pint of 

 this yeast will make eighteen pounds of bread. 



A good coating foi* outside brick work is made by 

 mixing clean river sand 20 parts, litharge, 2 parts, 

 quicklime 1 part, and linseed oil sufficient to form a 

 thin paste. It is also useful as a cement for broken 

 stone, drying exceedingly hard. 



Dry buckwheat flour, if repeatedly applied, will 

 remove entirely the worst grease spots on carpet or 

 woolen cloth, and will answer as well as French 

 chalk for grease spots on silk. 



A decoction of black walnut leaves is claimed to 

 have the merit of keeping flies from horses if liberally 

 applied. 



Applied Science. 



Destruction of Earth-worms on Grass-plots, 

 Walks, etc. : Sprinkling grass-plots, garden-beds, 

 etc., with' clear lime-water, in damp weather, when 

 the worms are near the surface, in most cases several 

 times, is said to be destructive of the worms, while it 

 is rather beneficial than otherwise to the vegetation. 



Best Shape for Fruit Trees : The majority of 

 a convention of German pomologists expressed a de- 

 cided preference for the pyramidal form for fruit 

 trees. The advantages claimed for it are the mini- 

 mum of shade, greatest strength, avoidance of severe 

 wounding of the tree, production of better fruit, and 

 at the same time fewer disadvantages from storms, 

 weight of snow, e.xc3ss of fruit, theft, etc. 



Fall in the Value of Amethysts : According 

 to the .Jonnial of .Applied ficlence, the large number 

 of amethysts that have been thrown into the mar- 

 ket since 1872, from Brazil, has caused a great 

 depreciation :n their value. The first lots sent to 

 Europe brought from flve to six hundred dollars, 

 per arroba, of o2 [lounds weight ; but as the quantity 

 iucreased the price rapidly receded, and finally de- 

 creased to absolutely nothing. At present no offer 

 can be obtained for any lots on hand. 



Improved Mode o? Closing Barrel Hoops : 

 It is claimed that the ends of hoops on barrels may be 

 securely joined with great economy of time and labor 

 on the following plan, devised by Cattin : A small 

 plate of sheet metal has two slits punched in it, in 

 such a way that the hoops may be drawn through 

 them readily in one direction, and are prevented from 

 slipping out by the sharp edges of the plate cutting 

 into them. The surface is rendered smooth by a 

 blow with a hammer on the projecting ends of the 

 hoops. 



Soldering Platinized Glass Surfaces to 

 Metals : It has been found by Dr. Ronzgcn that 

 glass can be more firmly affixed to metals by coating 

 it with platinum, and soldering, than it can be by 

 cement. Tiie tinning of the platinum surface is very 

 easily effected by means of a soldering iron and chlor- 

 ide of zinc. The excess of platinum coating maybe 



