94 



THE LANCASTER FARMEf^. 



[ June, 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



Selecting Meats, 



In eelectino; beef to roast, if it be for a small 

 family, tlie rib is by far the best and most tender 

 cut ; havesome of the bone removed, then make your 

 butcher skewer the beef. The best beefsteak for 

 broilinjris porter-house. The best beef for a la mode 

 is the round ; have the bone removed and trim oft' all 

 the gristle. For corned beef the round is also the 

 best. For a mutton roast choose the shoulder, the 

 saddle, or the loin and hunch. The lei? should be 

 boiled. Small rib chops are best for broiling ; those 

 cut from the leg are generally tough. Mutton cutlets 

 to bake are taken from the neck. For roast veal the 

 loin, breast or shoulder is good. Veal chops are best 

 for frying ; cutlets are more apt to be tough. In 

 selecting beef take that which has a loose grain, 

 easily yielding to pressure, of dark red coIor,.6mooth, 

 with whitish fat ; if the lean is purplish and the fat 

 is yellow it is poor beef. Grass fed is the lightest, 

 ox the best, and next the heifer. Perhaps the nicest 

 mutton roast is a small leg, the bone taken out and 

 the cavity stutfed with forced meat. The best beef 

 roast is (for three) about two and a half or three 

 pounds of porter-house. Sirloin ranks next. A rump 

 roast is very nice. Two to three pounds is a very 

 great plenty for three. In chops, we think, that 

 from the hind leg of mutton best, unless you can get 

 a "meaty" sirloin. The same in pork, about one and 

 a quarter to one and a half pounds is sufflcieut ; 

 beefsteak about the same quantity. Porter-house is 

 cheaper than sirloin, having less bone. Kump steak 

 and round, if well pounded to make them tender, 

 have the best flavor. 



The Uses of the Lemon. 



Few people know the value of lemon juice. A 

 piece of lemon bound upon a corn will cure it in a 

 few days; it should be renewed night and morning. A 

 free use of lemon juice and sugar will always relieve 

 a cough. Most people feel poorly in the spring, but 

 if they would eat a lemon before breakfast every day 

 for a week — with or without sugar, as they like — 

 they would find it better than any medicine. Lemon 

 juice, used according to this receipt, will sometimes 

 cure consumption : Put a dozen lemons into cold 

 water and slowly bring to a boil ; boil slowly until 

 the lemons are soft, then squeeze until all the juice 

 is extracted ; add sugar to your taste and drink. In 

 this way use one dozen lemons a day. If they cause 

 pain, lessen the quantity and use only five or six a 

 day, until you are better, and then begin again with 

 a dozen, a day. After using five or six dozen the 

 patient will begin to gain flesh and enjoy food. 

 Hold on to the lemons, and still use them very freely 

 for several weeks more. Another use for lemons is 

 for a refreshing drink in summer, or in sickness at 

 any time. Prerpare as directed above, and artd water 

 in sugar ; but in order to have this keep well, after 

 boiling the lemons squeeze and strain carefully ; 

 then to every half pint of juice add one pound of loaf 

 or crushed sugar, boil and stir a few minutes more 

 until the sugar is dissolved, skim carefully and bottle. 

 Tou will get more juice from the lemons by boiling 

 them, and the preparation keeps better. 



Cellars. 



Cellars are a nuisance in hygienic point of view, 

 but as they are, under present circumstances, a ne- 

 cessity in household economy, they should be so con- 

 structed as to avert, as i'ar as possible, their effecis. 

 These arise from dampness and from gases, which 

 ascend to the rooms atmve, and affect tlie health of 

 the family. To prevent this, let the ceiling of the 

 cellar be plastered, and let the plaster extend to and 

 connect with the cellar walls, so that no dampness 

 or odors can pass between the partitions or walls of 

 the house or through the floors. Let the cellar be 

 thoroughly aired and dried as frequently as the 

 weather will admit, and cleaned often. Let no 

 vegetable or other matter begin the process of decay 

 in it, and if it is discovered to have done so, remove 

 it at once, and purify the air by the opening the 

 cellar windows. A cellar should never be dug in a 

 wet soil. Better put up with a thousand inconveni- 

 ences than run the terrible risk of living daily over 

 such a breeder of miasmatic poison. 



^Vork Baskets. 



Take wrapping twine or carpet warp, and com- 

 mence at the centre of the bottom and crotchet round 

 and round, thick and close, in short double crochet 

 stitch, keeping it widened so it is flat, and when you 

 get it as large as you want it make the sides in shell 

 work. Starch it very stitf and dry it in the oven, 

 with the door open. Dry it over a flower pot, vege- 

 table dish, or anything you like. They are very con- 

 venient to Bet on a sewing machine and hold a 

 thimble or thread. If wanted very elaborate varnish 

 with black varnish and trim with scarlet worsted or 

 ribbon. Anyone familiar with a crochet-needle can 

 readily make one from the above description. An 

 extra nice, soft dish-cloth can be made of candle- 

 wicking, loosely knit or crotcheted on large Afghan 

 needles. 



Household Receipts. 



A GOOD waterproof cement maybe made by mixing 



glue 5, rosin 4, red ocherS parts, with a little water. 



A TRANSPARENT MUCILAGE of great tenacity may 



be made by mixing rice flour with cold water, and 



letting it gently simmer over the Are. 



Filling for Cracked Ceiling. — Whiting mixed 

 with glue water, or calcined plaster and water makes 

 a good putty for filling cracks in plastered ceilings. 

 For rice griddle-cakes and waffles, use the cold 

 rice left from dinner, add milk, salt and butter suffi- 

 cient to make it the required consistency for either 

 griddle cakes or waffles. 



Here is a receipt for a nutritious drink for either 

 invalids or giants : Beat up a new-laid egg, pour on 

 it half a pint of boiling milk, sweeten to taste, and 

 flavor with lemon-peel, nutmeg or vanilla. Serve 

 cold in a glass. 



Tuo.SE who are troubled with moths, note the fol- 

 lowing in anticipation of the spring : Gum camphor 

 or Keating's Persian insect destroyer, placed in the 

 drawers, or distributed throughout the places the 

 moths frequent, will prove effectual insecticides. 



To CLEAN PAINT suiear a piece of flannel with 

 common whiting, mixed to the consistency of com- 

 mon paste, in warm water. Rub the surface to be 

 cleaned quite briskly, and wash off with pure cold 

 water. Grease-spots will in this way be almost in- 

 stantly removed, as well as other filth, and the paint 

 will retain its brilliancy and beauty impaired. 



A PRACTICAL authority on house-painting states 

 that paint applied to the exterior of buildings in 

 autumn or winter will endure twice as long as when 

 applied in early summer or in hot weather. In the 

 former case it dries slowly and becomes hard like a 

 glazed surface, not easily affected afterwards by the 

 weather, or worn off by the beating of storms. 



When meats are broiling on a gridiron, over hot 

 coal, the sudden heat applied sears the outside, wliich 

 shuts in the juices, and the rapid application of heat 

 soon cooks the meat through, if in moderately thin 

 pieces. It is then tender, juicy and palatable. Those 

 who never broil their fresh meat, fish or poultry do 

 not know the excellence of a properly cooked dish of 

 animal food. 



Clam Soup. — Boil one peck of clams in two quarts 

 of water about twenty minutes, or until the shells 

 open; pour into a pan until cool enough to handle, 

 then shell the clams, cutting off the head and the 

 black spot on the side of the belly ; strain the liquor 

 on to the clams ; put them back and bring to a boil ; 

 skim and add cracker crumbs, a small bit of butter, 

 and a quart of milk ; let it scald and serve hot. 



Dried Peach Brown Betty. — A layer of peach 

 sauce in the bottom of the pudding dish, a layer of 

 bread crumbs about an inch thick, sprinkled with 

 sugar ; another of stewed peaches, and a second 

 layer of bread crumbs and sugar, with enough thin, 

 sweet cream poured over the lop to wet the upper 

 layer of crumbs. Bake from half an hour to an 

 hour, according to the heat of the oven. This is to 

 be eaten with good milk, but sweetened cream will 

 not spoil it. 



Mutton Soup. — Take the fore-quarter of mutton, 

 cut out the bone from the shoulder, and put it down 

 to boil in two quarts of water ; as soon as it boils 

 skim it well ; set it where it will keep simmering for 

 an hour ; then add the meat, also more boiling 

 water ; skim again as soon as any scum arises ; grate 

 one good sized carrot, chop three onions, three yellow 

 turnips, and some celery quite small, and add to the 

 soup ; boil slowly five hours ; soak a cupful of rice 

 or barley, according to taste, in some tepid water, 

 and add with the meat ; season with the grated rind 

 of a lemon, a little chopped parsley, salt and pepper, 

 and a sprinkle of nutmeg. 



Pea Soup. — Use half a pint (cost three cents) for 

 every two quarts of soup you want. Put them in 

 three quarts of cold water after washing them well ; 

 bring them slowly to a boil ; add a bone, or bit of 

 ham, if you have it to spare, one turnip and one 

 carrot peeled, one onion stuck with three cloves (cost 

 three cents), and simmer three hours, stirring occa- 

 sionally to prevent burning ; then pass the soup 

 through a sieve with the aid of a potato masher, and 

 if it shows any sign of settling, stir into it one tea- 

 spoonful each of butter and tlour mixed together 

 dry (cost two cents) ; this will prevent settling ; 

 meantime fry some slices of stale bread, or use dry 

 bread to serve with. The soup should boil down to 

 two quarts, and should cost ten cents. 



Clam Chowder. — Boil one peck of clams in two 

 quarts of water about twenty minutes ; then fry two 

 or three slices pork in a spider ; when well done place 

 in kettle, then half the clams on the pork ; slice six 

 good sized potatoes and one onion on the clams ; 

 sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour, and pour over 

 them part of the pork fat, then the remainder of 

 clams and as many more potatoes, with) another 

 sprinkling of pepper, salt and flour, and the remainder 

 of the fat ; pour the liquor in which the clams were 

 boiled over them, and if it does not cover the potatoes 

 add a little water ; cover close and boil until the 

 potatoes are well cooked ; then moisten a dozen 

 crackers, put them in and pour a quart of milk over 

 them, allowing it to become scalding hot, when it 

 will be ready for the table. 



LIVE STOCK. 



Raising Pork. 



I wish to give your readers my plan of raising 

 pork cheaply, and if any brother farmer has a better 

 way I should like to know it, as I am open to con- 

 viction and anxious to learn how to make the most 

 money out of my hogs in the shortest time and at the 

 least expense. My plan is to secure as good a breed 

 of hogs as possible (my preference is for the Poland 

 or Magics). During the summer I allow them 

 plenty of range on a good pasture of mixed grasses — 

 blue grass, timothy, white and red clover — and 

 plenty of pure water, and good sheds to sleep or lay 

 in out of the rain and heat. I feed the young pigs 

 shelled corn soaked pretty freely, if I have it. The 

 older hogs get no corn from June 1 until corn begins 

 to harden, say Sept. 1. I gradually increase the 

 feed, and am careful to keep plenty of salt, ashes 

 and slaked lime in a trough where all can have 

 access to it. About October 1st I will turn my entire 

 herd of 200, little and big, into my field of red Bra- 

 zilian artichokes. Of these 1 have seven acres, and 

 I think they will supply the herd with all the food 

 they want until winter closes the ground, and when 

 spring opens will supply them with food until the 

 middle of May. During this time my stock hogs 

 will get no other food ;"but the fattening hogs wUl 

 have in addition a feed of corn at night. 



Artichokes have been used here several years, and 

 those who have used them longest like them best. 

 In fleld culture we have no trouble to eradicate 

 them ; in fact it is necessary to use a little caution, 

 or the hogs will root them out so there will not be 

 enough left in the ground for seed. But during the 

 winter is when we all fail in handling hogs. The 

 long months with one kind of food, and that a kind 

 that makes but very little bone or muscle, virtually a 

 fat producing food only, the best article to lay on 

 fat with, but not the best to build up the constitution 

 and give health and strength. I have this year 

 raised an acre of mangel wurtzcl and sugar beets, 

 also half an acre of turnips; these I will put where 

 I can get at them in the winter, and when the weather 

 will permit I will feed them freely. The swine eat 

 them eagerly, even now, and I feel sure that such a ' 

 change of diet occasionally in the winter will be a 

 great benefit. I shall aso cut a few acres of clover 

 (second growth, cure it carefully, salt it well, and 

 feed it during the winter, perhaps cut short and 

 moistened. I will have quite a number of late pigs ; 

 these I intend to feed during the winter with one 

 good feed each day, all they will drink of warm 

 swill made of two parts bran, one part shorts, and 

 one part meal, and at night a feed of corn. Now, 

 with this bill of fare and variety of diet I hope to 

 secure health for them and profit to myself. A part 

 of this is yet to be tried, and is an experiment with 

 me, and I am aware some of your readers will say, 

 will require too much Labor; but I think I will be 

 well paid for my laljor ; at least I have never found 

 the successful stock raiser that either shunned labor 

 or care, and, if your readers desire it, .at some future 

 time, I will give them the benefit of my experience.— 

 E. F. Brockwatj, in Prairie Farmer. 



Balking. 



As to matter of balking, no general direction can 

 be given or rule established. If tlie education of the 

 colt has been conducted in accordance with correct 

 principles, he will not balk. Balking on the part of 

 the colt is, for the most part, the result of the train- 

 er's ignorance or passion. Yelling and whipping on 

 the part of the trainer or driver, overloading, sore 

 shoulders, or ill-fitting collars— these are the causes 

 that make horses balk. But if you have a horse or 

 colt that balks, while one cannot, without a personal 

 knowledge of the subject, tell you what to do we 

 can tell you what not to do — never whip. If he 

 won't go let him stand still and think over it. He 

 will vei-y often think better of it, and after a few 

 moments' reflection and a few tosses of the head, go 

 on of his own accord. Or, if this does not answer, 

 get out of the wagon and pat him and talk to him. 

 A horse is very susceptible to kindness ; and we 

 have known more than one vicious horse gentled 

 into good behaviour by a few pats from a lady's 

 gloved hand on the moist neck and veined muzzle. 

 Sometimes it is well to loosen a strap or start a 

 buckle. We have known the mere fact of uncheek- 

 ing and rechecking the animal to answer the pur- 

 pose. It took his attention off in another channel, 

 changed the current of his thought and broke up 

 his purpose and determination to resist. 



^ 



Arab Maxims for Horse-Keeping. 



1. Let your colt be domesticated and live with you 

 from his tenderest age. When a horse he will be 

 simple, docile, faithful and inured to hardship and 

 fatigue. 2. Do not beat your horse or speak to him 

 in a loud tone of voice; do not get angry with him, 

 but kindly reprove his faults; he will do better there- 

 after, for he understands the language of man and 

 its meaning. .3. If you have a long day's journey 

 spare your horse at the start ; let him walk frequent- 

 ly to recover his wind. Continue this until he has 

 sweated and dried three times, and you may ask Q\ 



