1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



159 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



Household Receipts. 



An Excei-i.f.nt Desskkt. — .\o cxopllpnt dish for 

 deeeert, which ia a favorite one in a family of ourac- 

 qiiaiiitaiK-e, is marie of tapioca ami apples. The 

 apples al-e pfcpafed as for stewiiiK and plaeeil in a 

 deep dish with a proper quantity of tapioea whieh 

 has been slightly softened by soakinj;. Sugar is 

 added to sweeten it and to prevent the fruit from be- 

 coming too soft, and the whole is tlicn bal<ed in the 

 oven. Eaten with rrcam, either hot or eold, this is 

 a most palatable dessert. A preparation of equally 

 good quality may be n\ade by using jieaehes instead 

 of apples, and in winter canned fruit is quite as good 

 for the purpose as tlie fresh. 



Gkai-e Jei.i.v. — I'lace the grapes In a jar, and the 

 jar in a kettle of water ; let them boil until they are 

 all crushed ; strain through a stout cloth; if ripe 

 grapes, add one pound of white sugar to every pound 

 of juice ; if green add one pound and a half of sugar; 

 boil the juice just twenty minutes, and have the 

 iugar heating in the oven ; stir often to keep it from 

 burning ; when the juice has boiled the proper time 

 add the hot sugar ; when the nugar has dssolved let 

 the syrup boil up once ; remove at once from the 

 fire ■ have your glasses rolled in hot water and pour 

 in the scalding liquor ; when cold lay braudied paper 

 on top of jelly ; tie or paste stout papers over the 

 glass. 



Beef Soup. — Procure a good sliln of beef and 

 crack it three or four times ; put on to boil at nine 

 o'clock ; boil kard till eleven, then take out the meat 

 and be sure to get all the bones out ; then put four 

 turnips, four carrots, half a small head of cabbage, 

 cut all up fine in the chopping bowl ; put in a large 

 onion if the family like onions, and put the chopped 

 vegetables in the soup pot. At half-past eleven, if 

 dinner is to be served at twelve, put three or four 

 potatoes, sliced very thin, and sorn* milk dumplings 

 into the soup ; just before taking up season with salt 

 and pepper, and put in some parsley or summer 

 savery ; I like broth. If you make beef soup in 

 tomato season put in half a dozen ; there is nothing 

 nicer. 



Chicken Soup. — Wash two good fat fowls, and 

 put on to boil according to the size and age of the 

 fowls and the time you are to dine ; if at twelve put 

 some nicely washed rice, about a tablespoonful, into 

 the pot at ten, make some drawn butter, take out the 

 chickens, put them whole on a dish, pour the drawn 

 butter, well seasoned, over them, and four hard- 

 boiled eggs cut crosswise and laid over them ; send 

 to the table piping hot. Season the soup with pepper 

 and salt only. Veal or mutton makes an excellent 

 soup in this way. 



ViENN.t Rolls. — Have ready In a bowl a table- 

 spoonful of butter, made soft by warming a little 

 and stirring with a spoon. Add to one quart of un- 

 sifted flour two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking 

 powder, mix and sift thoroughly together, and place 

 in the bowl with the butter. With sweet milk ad- 

 ded form a dough of usual stiffness, stirring into the 

 milk first a half teaspoonful of salt. Knead the 

 dough and roll it half an inch thick, and cut with a 

 lapge round cutter ; fold each one over to form a half 

 round, wetting a little between the folds to make 

 them stick; place them on buttered pans, so as not 

 to touch each other ; wash over on top with milk to 

 give them a gloss, and bake immediately in a hot 

 oven about 1:0 minutes. It will do them no harm to 

 stand half an hour before baking, if it Is desired. 



Soft Custard. — One pint of milk, a small pinch 

 of salt, two large tablespoonsful of sugar and a 

 handful of peach l«aves put into it, a dessortspoonful 

 of vanilla, bitter almond, or any flavoring that may 

 be preferred ; let all come to a boil ; skim out the 

 peach leaves and stir into the tioiling milk two fresh 

 eggs that have been previously well beaten. Care 

 must be taken to stir this mixture rapidly all the 

 time, so that it does not curdle ; and it must betaken 

 from the fire as soon as it begins to thicken. Very 

 nice to eat with raspberry shori-cake or pie, or black- 

 berry pie. 



Pea Pancakes. — Cook a pint of peas, more than 

 you would require for dinner ; while hot put them in 

 a wooden bowl, a lumj) of butter and a little pepper 

 with them, and mash to a salve with a [mtato pcsMe 

 or "masher;" in the morning make a batter of either 

 wheat flour or corinncal, with eggs and soda, as for 

 fritters; stir in the pea jam until it is thoroughly 

 incorporated with the batter, ami cook like any other 

 griddle cake. They make a beautiful aud palatable 

 breakfast dish. 



CuicKEN Sandwiches. — Stew a chicken until very 

 tender, season with a little salt. Take out the bones 

 and pack the meat firmly in a deep dish, mixing the 

 white and dark nicely together. Pour the broth in 

 which the chicken was stewed over it ; there should 

 be just enough to cover the meat. When it is cold, 

 cut in smooth slices and place between slices of good 

 bread or biscuit. 



Frosting with Gelatine. — Dissolve a large 

 pinch of gelatine in six tablespoonsful of boiling 

 water; strain, thicken with sugar and flavor with 

 lemon. Enough for two cakes. 



LIVE STOCK. 



Acreage Required for a Cow. 

 flow much land is required for the support of a 

 cow ? This (lucstion depends for an answtrr so much 

 on the circumstances of the soil as not to atlruit of a 

 very definite answer. In a dairy competition in 

 .letferson county. New Vork, in IS.'i?, thu llr.sl prize 

 dairy, of sixteen cows, was kept on thirty acres of 

 land ; the second pr<*inium dairy of eighteen cows, 

 on sixty acres ; the third dairy of tldrtecn cows, on 

 thirty acres; the fuiirfh of twenty-nine cows, on 

 fifty-five acres; the fifth of twenty-eight cows, on 

 ninety acres. -Mr. .Schull, of Little Falls, New York, 

 estimates tliat the land in pasturage and hay re- 

 quisite for the support of a cow is three acres ; and 

 this is the estimate of .\Ir. Carrington for moderately 

 good dairy farms in F.ngland. In Helgiuni ten acres 

 of land suppt)rt two cows, one heifer and one year- 

 ling, or calf; but when the calves are sold off young, 

 and cows in full milk are only kept, the proportion 

 is two cows to seven and a half acres. Coleman 

 estimates three acres of jtasture as rctpiisite for a 

 cow in Berkshircc-ounty, Mass., while U>r some cows 

 two acres of p;t.8furage are sutlicient. Mr. Farring- 

 ton, in the report of the Aiperican Dairymen's Aeso 

 ciatfon, thinks that, on an average, four acres are 

 required per cow, for summer and winter keep; 

 while .Mr. X. A.Willard thinks that in Herkimer 

 county. New York, one and a half to two ai'res of 

 pasture per cow will answer, and in some exceptional 

 cases one acre. 



The Management of Horses. 

 They should be fed in proportion to their work. 

 An idle team may be wintered upon good hay alone ; 

 when working lightly a feed of grain at noon will be 

 sutlicient, with hay morning aud night. With heavy 

 work, ten quarts of ground corn and oats, and 

 chaffed straw or cornfodder, will be good feeding, 

 and in many cases for small horses less will do. 

 Good grooming is necessary for health in winter. 

 Ground gypsum spread upon the floors will prevent 

 the pungent odor common to stables. This vapor of 

 ammonia is hurtful to horses' eyes and the frequent 

 cause of oidithalmia, and resulting in blindness, with 

 which so many horses are troubled. Throw a few 

 pailsful of water upon the floor first, and then scatter 

 around a shovelful of the gypsum. Fresh air should 

 enter the stables at the bottom and the foul air e8ca[)e 

 at the top. Make small sliding doors for ventilation 

 and cover them with wire netting on laths, to exclude 

 vermin. — Agriculturist. 



Raising Colts. 



There is a crude notion prevailing that hardships 

 make young stock hardy. A colt that is weaned in 

 the fall, as is commonly the case, should not be 

 allowed to become poor in its first winter. It is true 

 that it will often improve so rapidly in spring that 

 its wretched condition during the winter will seem 

 really to have been an advantage to it, but this is a 

 grave mistake. If the same condition were imposed 

 during the whole period of growth the effect would 

 be very perceptible. Although the summer may in 

 some degree remove the effect of winter, no animal 

 so treated ever becomes what it might have been in 

 size, symmetry of form and usefulness, by generous 

 treatment. I believe that there is profit iu breeding 

 nice carriage and draft horses. As a general rule it 

 costs no more to raise a good colt than a poor one, 

 while the former will bring two or three times as 

 much as tlie latter. I have seen colts that were ke]it 

 in a stable dark as a cellar. A dark stable is a poor 

 place to keep a colt. — Ohio Farmer. 



The Guernsey Cattle, 

 Of course from the island of (Juernsey, in the Eng- 

 lish channel — arc looming up as something super- 

 excellent. They partake largelyof the good qualities 

 of the Jersey and Alderney,and this Is saying enough 

 for them. The eliannri cattle have long enjoyed 

 much popularity in jiortioni of the United States, 

 and well they deserve to. In beauty, symmetry, 

 richness of milk and excellence of butter they are 

 unsurpassed. There are many other breeds pro- 

 ducing much larger amounts of milk and even but- 

 ter, but the (piality ami color are far inferior. For 

 home consumption they cannot be equaled. 



Within a few weeks failures to the amount of 

 over a million of dollars have been recorded among 

 the stock-breeders of the famous blue-grass country 

 of Kentucky. The truth is the blue-grass products 

 were of a fancy kind — blooded horses. Shorthorned 

 cattle, and prime whisky — and the hard times de- 

 creasi'd their value. There is always sale for steers 

 at ?.iO to $(50 each, or for substantial farm horses at 

 twice that price, but there are few customers in this 

 country now for yearling Shorthorns at $2(1,000 each, 

 or race horses at fancy values. 



Advicf.9 from Bengal to England state that cattle 

 are dying in such numbers there from epidemic dis- 

 ease that strcamB are choked with the carcasses. 



POULTRY. 



Hen Hints. 



The following llenis of Interest to |V)uItry keepers 

 are collected from the I'outtri/ Wnrltt : 



Clear rye kraii, aloni'. should never be fid to fowls, 

 on account of Its swcdiing ami caking, in mass, In 

 the ero|i ami proving fatal to chicken life, not lufre- 

 qin-ntly. It will thus sodden ami Increase In bulk 

 very rapiilly before digesting— eauhing rupture of the 

 croji— If any great (pmnlity has beeneatiii. A nelgh- 

 lior, we recollect, in a hurrii'd way mixed a large pan 

 full with water and plaeeil the mess before a nice 

 flock of three-quarters grown chickens, leaving (hem 

 to enjoy the feed at their leisure, lie drove away In 

 his wagon, and after an absence of a lew hours re- 

 turned to find his birds scattered about, dead, In his 

 yards. It is very good when mixed with wheat bran 

 and oatmeal, or eornmeal. But by Itself it should 

 not be fed to fowl stock 



Fiiw Is drink water freely, but they know just how 

 mueli they need, and when they have access to the 

 fluid clean, sweet and fresh they Imbibe no more than 

 is good for them. It is, therefore, unnecessary to 

 mix your dough to thin and sloppv at the morning 

 feeding. Have the meal well scalded, and feed the 

 mixture to the stock stiff and dry eoniparalively. 

 This feed should, generaJIy, be composed of both corn 

 and rye meal, with vegetables — say one-third each. 

 In our own practice we have found this preferable, 

 both for the birds and as an economical provision for 

 the old or the growing stock. A littl** pepp«r ticca- 

 sionally in this dough, aud always salt, will Improve 

 the mess. 



Calves' and sheep's lights and livers, wklch can 

 always be obtained in the market-houses for a few 

 cents ajiiece, are valuable to feed fowls, for two 

 reasons. They are devoid of bones, and they closely 

 resemble insect diet. We advise the cooking of any 

 sort of meat food always. These "harslets" (or those 

 of swine) should be boiled, seasoned with salt and 

 pepper, and fed, say twice a week, to fowls where 

 they can be had handily. For laying hens, when 

 confined in winter, this change of food from constant 

 grain-feeding is excellent. For young stock, where 

 the chickens are confined tosmall runsor close cages, 

 this meat, chopped up and mixed three limes a week 

 H tth their soft food, will help the younglings won- 

 derfully. 



Care of Poultry. 



The care that poultry is entillsd to, to make It 

 profitable, is not near so much as one would think. 

 It is just like any other business — it needs daily at- 

 tention, not only one day iu the month, but each and 

 every day. 



If you expect a cow to be profitable you attend to 

 feeding her regularly, give her good, comfortable 

 quarters, to protect her from cold, storms, etc. 



Now the poultry should have as favorable treat- 

 ment as any other stock. Construct houses, not too 

 large, as you will permit too many to crowd together. 

 They should be about S feet wide and 1(! feet long, to 

 accommodate each a llock of fifty fowls, fronting to 

 the south, with large windows, so placed that the 

 fowls may enjoy as much sunlight as possible. Have 

 it perfectly ti:.'ht and dry, excepting means for ample 

 ventilation, without a possibility of a direct draft 

 reaching the fowls at night after going to roost. A 

 fowl will take cold while asleep as easily as a per- 

 son. Keep the roosting apartment clean ; sprinkle a 

 liitle air-slaked lime and dry ashes under the perch ; 

 have the house thoroughly whitewashed Inside three 

 or four times a year. 



See that they have free access to plenty of pure, 

 fresh water at all times ; don't force them to drink 

 the drainage from the baruyani ; many cases of 

 cholera have been caused by this. A few drops of 

 sulphate of iron put In their drinking vessels occa- 

 sionally will be a benefit. Sprinkle the [icrches with 

 coal oil and scatter sulphur In their nests and dust- 

 ing boxes. 



.Many fowls die from severe colds received by roost- 

 ing in cx|K)sed places. Of course every fowl that 

 dies, it is said, had the cholera, when probably half 

 of them were affected in this way. — I'uiillry Arijut. 



We commend the above short article to the careful 

 perusal of our farmer friends. It is short and to the 

 point. We have often read articles filling two or three 

 pages, containing not so much gooil, practical com- 

 mon sense advice as the above.- ItV«/cr« AijricuUnritl. 



Charcoal for Fowls. 

 There is one thing which nature does not supply 

 and which civilization renders quite necessary to 

 fowls. It is eharcoal. Charcoal made of wood does 

 not answer the purpose; it has no laslr for food, Is 

 not attractive to the fowl and Is seldom eaten. But 

 If anyone will put an ear of ripe corn Into the fire 

 until the grains are well charred, and then shell off 

 the corn and throw II to the llock lie will see an eager- 

 ness devclojied and a healthy constitution brought 

 about which will make a decided improvement. AH 

 pale combs will become a bright red, that busy song 

 whieh precedes laying will be heard, and the average 

 yield of ejjgs will begreally Increased. — lltrmaulown 

 Telegraph. 



