142 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[September, 



HORTICULTURAL. 



Reliable Pears. 



Which are they ami who will name them? How 

 many of the new peare are reliable ami desirable i We 

 know all about the reliable sorts, such as the Sckel, 

 Bartlett, Early Catharine, Windsor and Catillac. 

 They are always with us, seldom failing in giving us 

 a fair and generally an abundant crop. But what of 

 the modern pears — we mean not simply as to quality, 

 but as to quantity also ? We do not want only a good 

 pear, but plenty of them, and when we can come 

 across such a one we shall bring foith and commend 

 it to the notice of farmers, who like to raise such 

 fruits, as a man likes to follow such a brsiuch of 

 business as has "money in it." Well, some one asks 

 us to name a list of what may be called modern 

 pears possessing these very necessary and acceptable 

 qualities. To tliis we promptly reply und unhesita- 

 tingly give the following standards: 



1. Giffard — a very early ami excellent pear, a con- 

 stant bearer and strongly growing tree. 2. Ott's 

 Seedling, a small but good early pair, a seedling of 

 the Seckel, ripens gradually, and a very heavy bear- 

 er. In a dozen years or more it has failed only once 

 with us. 3. Bloodgood. 4. Kirtland, on which we 

 have grown heavy crops for some eight years up to 

 the present year, which has given us only a few 

 specimens. It is of good size, of a very dark russet, 

 aud generally good bearer, rather superior in flavor 

 to the Kirtland. 6. Anjou. This is large and fair, 

 and has much improved upon our premises; the tree 

 a strong grower and an abundant bearer. 7. Glout 

 Morceau. It seldom fails in a crop, is as ngly as 

 sin, but is a pear of prime quality in Jtinuary and 

 February. S. Manning's Elizabeth. This is a small 

 but excellent fruit and constant bearer. We have 

 not tested it fully or even moderately upon our own 

 premises, but the concurrent accounts we have of it 

 from credible informants satisfy us that it is entitled 

 to a place in the list. 9. Lawrence. All things con- 

 sidered this is the best of tlie entire list of both old 

 andjnew pears, so far as profit is concerned. It sel- 

 dom fails in yielding a good crop of handsome fruit, 

 which can be ripened any time during three months, 

 say November, December and January. Any farmer 

 having room and planting a hundred trees of the 

 Lawrence would find it a s.atisfactory inveptment. 



There are other new pears that produce occasion- 

 ally good crops, possessing the highest qualities, 

 such as the Tyson, (which cannot be beaten in qual- 

 ity to the popular taste), Boussock, Comice, Louise 

 Bonne de Jersey, Belle Lucrative, Urbaniste, &c., 

 but they do not come within the list of reliability and 

 desirability, and we have therefore omitted them. In 

 a few weeks we shall republish our select fruit list, 

 carefully corrected, in which is presented a list of 

 pears (standard and dwarf), apples and other 

 fruits worthy of cultivation, and from which a 

 choice can be made of the best varieties known to 

 us. — Gcnnantowii Telegraph. 



Garden Culture of Strawberries. 



The following directions are given Ijy Ellwanger & 

 Barry in their new strawberry catalogue : 



" To cultivate the strawberry for family use we 

 recommend planting in beds 4 feet wide, with an 

 alley 2 feet wide between. These beds will accommo- 

 date three rows of plants, which may stand 15 inches 

 apart each way, and the outside row 9 inches from 

 the alley. These beds can be kept clean, and the 

 fruit can be gathered from them without setting the 

 feet upon them. We find from experience that no 

 more convenient mode can be adopted than this. The 

 ground should be well pi'cpared by trenching or 

 plowing at least Is to 20 inches deep, and be properly 

 enriched as for any garden crop. 



"The season for planting depends upon circum- 

 cumstances. It may be done with safety from the 

 time the plants begin to grow in the spring, until 

 they are in blossom, and again in the fall, from the 

 time the young plants are sufficiently rooted until 

 the freezing of the ground. It is well, however, to 

 plant at a time when the plants will at once com- 

 mence growing. If planted in warm, dry weather, 

 as August or September, it is necessary to water the 

 ground thoroughly before jilanting, and then to shade 

 the plants until they have begun to root. The culture 

 subsequent to planting consists in keeping the ground 

 among the plan's clear of weeds, and frequently 

 stirred with a hoe or fork, to keep the runners close- 

 ly pinched until after the fruit is gathered, and to 

 mulch the ground among the plants before the fruit 

 begins to ripen, with two inches deep of cut straw or 

 short grass mowings from the lawn, or anything of 

 that sort, to keep the fruit clean and the ground 

 from di-ying. In exposed situations, or where the 

 winters are severe, with little snow for protection, a 

 slight covering of leaves or litter will be of great 

 service. This can be raked off and the beds dressed 

 at the opening of the growing season. A bed man- 

 aged in this way will give two full crops, and should 

 then be spaded down, a new one having been in the 

 meantime prepared." 



Send in your subsciiptions, as the printer wants 

 his pay. Do dot forget it, but attend to it at once. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



Making Wine from Grapes. 



A wine is mainifactured from gi'ape juice after the 

 fashion of currant wine, which is sometimes very 

 agreeable. The grapes should be picked when per- 

 fectly ripe, on a dry day, all the unripe, decayed and 

 imperfect berries being discarded. Crush them in a 

 small press (not too severely) if one is at hand, or 

 it can be done by the hand in a large tub ; let the 

 mass remain in this state for forty-eight hours ; then 

 strain oft' carefully ; add two quarts of soft water to 

 one of juice, and one pound of best yellow sugar or 

 " rock candy ;" put in a thoroughly cleansed keg or 

 barrel, so that the vessel is full, leaving off the 

 bung in order that fermentation may have vent and 

 tlirow out the impurities ; fill up with reserved juice 

 to keep the vessel always fidl. At the end of two or 

 three weeks, when the first fermentation is over, 

 rack off, drawing the liquor carefully off by keeping 

 it constantly running and removing it into a scalded 

 out tub ; then scald out the vessel again and return 

 the liquor, leaving the bung rather loosely in its 

 place, for the second fermentation. When that is 

 over bung up tightly, and let remain for at least six 

 months, or altogether, using as it may be wanted. 

 It is better if racked o8' at the end of six months or 

 longer and put into from two to five-gallon demi- 

 johns, though the usual bottles will answer very 

 well. Unless you want excellent vinegar, be sure to 

 add the sugar or rock-candy. — Germantown Tel. 



Pure Milk for Sickly Children. 

 One of the greatest troubles in families where 

 there are weakly children, or where the nursing ar- 

 rangements are not good, is the obtaining of pure 

 and wholesome milk. Where a cow is kept by the 

 family this trouble is easily met, but in cities and 

 large villages it is often found almost impossible to 

 get a pure and fresh article. Milk from one cow is 

 often particularly desirable for infants in hot weather. 

 A farmer in Connecticut has adopted a method by 

 which purity and exclusiveness in family supplies of 

 milk are secured. He has a quantity of clear glass 

 bottles made, each holding a quart or two quarts, 

 and so shaped as to pack readily in boxes like those 

 used for ale and mineral water that is hauled about 

 the country. These bottles are filled and shipped to 

 the city every morning, where they are received and 

 delivered to customers by an agent. On each bottle 

 is pasted a slip of paper bearing the number of the 

 cow whose milk it contains, and the day and hour 

 when it is milked. Thus a family can always be 

 sure of getting the fresh product of a certain cow. 

 It is a plan which has been practiced in France for 

 some years with much satisfaction, and it should be 

 successful here. Those who are interested can learn 

 all th3 details from an article in Scribner for July. 



Hints for Washing Day. 



Aunt Hattie says in the Agriculturist : 

 The evening previous to wash day I boil in 2 gal- 

 lons of soft water i oz. each saljsoda and sliced bar 

 soap until dissolved. Put fine white clothes in one 

 tub, the coarse ones in another. To the water in the 

 boiler add enough cold water to make it luke warm, 

 pour over the ciothes, cover the tubs with a blanket. 

 In the morning add a pail of hot water to the fine 

 cloths, rub them well from this, rub again in fresh 

 water, boil :^0 minutes, suds, rinse in blue water, 

 hang out to dry. Treat the coarse clothes the same 

 way. My colored clothes are washed, rinsed and 

 starched before hanging out. 



In starching muslins, shirt bosoms and wristbands, 

 after the shirt bosom has been dip])ed and wrung out 

 as dry as [lossible, I use boiled starch rubbed in and 

 patted well with the hands. This is a secret known 

 to all good laundresses and it is almost impossible to 

 keep the iron from sticking unless this precaution is 

 observed. I always use cold starch for shirt collars. 

 Mix thoroughly tA-o teaspoons of starch in half a 

 cup of water, dip the collar, wring, rub, pat, spread 

 on a clean towel, and when all are done, roll up the 

 towel aud iron in about an hour. 



Stormy Days on the Farm. 

 Where farmers keep hired men, and stoi'my days 

 abound, they are frequently at a loss to know how 

 to put them to work profitably. It is a good plan to 

 have a slate in the tool-house or the barn, and note 

 down during pleasant weather what can be done 

 in rainy weather. There are scores of little jobs 

 which suggest themselves which ought to be done, 

 and can be done as well in rainy as in fair weather. 

 Such a slate w'ould have upon it something like the 

 following : " Clean out the cellar ; oil and mend the 

 harness ; grease all the wagons ; repair horse stalls ; 

 file saws ; grind tools ; sort apples ; make kindling 

 wood : repair the implements." A hundred other 

 like joli could be suggested. 



Keeping Grapes Fresh. 



I have seen grapes taken from the vine, and the 

 stem where it was broken otf dipped into red sealing- 

 wax, the grapes then packed in cotton and placed in 

 a large pasteboard box. They were in flue condition 

 at Christmas time. 



Household Receipts. 



Rub magnesia or French chalk on greasy silk rib- 

 bon, hold near the fire, and brush off g'rease. 



To Remove Wax feom Cloth.— Soft soap spots, 

 warm slightly, wash. 



Pickled Cabbage.— Cut fine, put in jar with al- 

 ternate layers of salt ; next day draw off, aud add 

 vinegar and spices. 



Stains in Light Goods. — Chloroform is very 

 useful in removing great stains from light silk and 

 poplin. French chalk is also very good. 



To Restore Colors, &c. — Hartshorn will re- 

 store the color of woolen garments without injury. 

 Turpentine removes grease or paint fromcloth — ap- 

 ply till paint can be scraped off. 



Tomato Toast. — Prepare the tomatoes as for 

 sauce, and while they* are cooking, toast some slices 

 of bread very brown, but not burned; butter them 

 both sides and pour the tomato sauce over them. 



Milk Punch. — Pour two tablespoonfuls good 

 brandy into six tablespoonfuls milk. Add two tea- 

 spoonfuls ground loaf sugar and a little grated nut- 

 meg. An adult may take a tablespoonful of this 

 every two or three hours, but children must take less. 



To Clean Black Lace. — Squeeze softly and of- 

 ten In skimmed milk, when it seems clean put it in 

 clean skimmed milk, squeeze again, lay it on sheets 

 of stiff paper, draw out scollops and edges with 

 fingers, cover with stiff paper and a heavy weight 

 till dry. 



Spiced Cantaloupe. — Slice and pare half-ripe 

 cantaloupe, and lay it over night in vinegar and 

 water, with a good sized lump of alum in it ; for 

 every pound of fruit take half a pound of sugar and 

 half a pint of vinegar, simmer them together and 

 then remove the scum ; then put in the fruit and 

 cook as other preserves. Use spices according to 

 taste. 



"^Something Always Ready to Mend China. — 

 Mix a little lime with the white of one egg ; to use it 

 take a suflicient quantity of the egg to mend one 

 article at a time ; shave off a quantity of the lime, 

 and mix thoroughly ; apply quickly to the edges and 

 place firmly together, when it soon sets and becomes 

 strong. Calcined plaster of Paris will answer in the 

 place of lime. 



Spiced Peaches. — Take nine pounds of ripe 

 peaches; rub with a towel and halve them; take four 

 pounds of white sugar and one pint of strong vine- 

 gar, one teaspoonful of cloves, cinnamon and mace, 

 boil a few minutes ; then put in a few peaches at a 

 time and stir till clear ; take them out and lay on a 

 dish in the sun ; boil the syrup till quite rich and fill 

 the jars, first with fruit and then with syrup. Cher- 

 ries are nice done this way. 



Oatmeal Pudding. — Mix two ounces of fine 

 Scotch oatmeal in a quarter of a pint of milk ; add 

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

 stir over the fire for ten minutes ; then put in two 

 ounces of sifted bread-crumbs ; stir until the mix- 

 ture is stiff, then add one ounce of shred suet and 

 one or two well-beaten eggs ; add a little lemon 

 flavoring or grated nutmeg. Put the pudding into a 

 buttered dish and bake slowly for an hour. 



Gall Soap, for washing silks, ribbons, etc., is 

 prepared as follows: Heat to 60 degrees, in a copper 

 vessel, I pound cocoanut oil, then stir in half pound 

 caustic soda and add half pound white 'Venetian tur- 

 pentine heated quite hot in another vessel. Cover 

 the kettle, heat gently i hours, then increase the 

 contents until they are perfectly clear, then add one 

 pound ox gall and stir in Castile soap till the mass 

 will yield but little to the pressure of the finger. 

 Cool and cut up. This soap will not injure the most 

 delicate colors. 



Black Cake. — Two pounds of currants, two 

 pounds of raisins (after washing both currants and 

 raisins, when they arc dry dredge with flour), one 

 large spoonful of ground cinnamon, one large spoon- 

 ful of ground mace, four nutmegs, one gill of 

 molasses, one gill of brandy, one gill of rose water, 

 if you choose ; sift one pound of flour into one pan, 

 and one pound of sugar into another ; add to the 

 sugar three-quarters of a pound of butter, and stir to 

 a cream ; beat six eggs light and stir into the butter 

 and sugar alternately with the flour, then add, by 

 degrees, fruit, spice, and liquors, and stir bard ; 

 bake in a moderate oven about four hours ; let it re- 

 main in the oven to cool. 



Tomato Catsup. — The following recipe will be 

 found to give a superior article : Tomatoes, half 

 Inishel ; salt, 6 ounces ; allspice, ground, 6 drachms; 

 yellow mustard, ground, 5% drachms ; black pep- 

 per, ground, o ounces ; cloves, ground, 6 drachms ; 

 mace, 'A drachms ; cayenne pepper, ground, 2 

 drachms; vinegar, 1 gallon. Mix. Cut the tomatoes 

 to pieces ; boil and stew in their own liquor until 

 quite soft. Take from the fire, strain and rub through 

 a middling fine hair sieve, so as to get the seeds and 

 skins separated ; boil down the pulp and juice to the 

 consistency of apple butter (very thick), stirring all 

 the time ; when tliick enough add the spices, stirred 

 up with the vinegar ; boil up twice, remove from the 

 fire, let cool, and bottle. 



