1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



187 



HORTICULTURAL. 



The Snyder Blackberry. 

 A cnrrpsponileiit of tlie Frnit Recorder, living In 

 Bureau county, III., has been erowinff this berry for 

 five years, aiiii ijives it the followini,' eharueter : It is 

 a slronL', thrifty, sturdy grower, but stron;: as it is, 

 it. is none too niueh so to liolil up the trrcat l)uriien of 

 fruit it liears, even when not piuelieil in. Kven when 

 nei;lcetec1 (lurini; sfO'^'iiT •'""' "'"' afterward short- 

 ened in lull one-half, they hear sueh enormous erops 

 that frecpiently the plants will lie on the irround. In 

 Vifcor anil stoekiness and liardiness of plant, unfail- 

 ins: and unequaled fruitfulness, it stands first. In an 

 experience of over twenty years with all the poi)ular 

 kinds of blackberries I have never seen any that 

 would produce one half as mueli, even after a niihl 

 winter, when the more tender kinds were in frood 

 condition. It has now been before the public twenty- 

 six years, and wlien persons are fortunate ciioush to 

 get the jrenuinc Snyder it receives only praise. No 

 one speaks ill of it, and I have no doubt, that it is 

 more important and profitable as a blackberry than 

 the Kichmond as a cherry, the Wilson's Albany as a 

 strawberry, the Concord as a sf'H'^') "f ^'0' other 

 leadinir representative fruit whatever, to its family, 

 to my knowledge. 1 think it would be well for every 

 one first to try the Snyder before trying any un- 

 known kiud, whatever its pretensions. 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



White Willow for Hedges. 

 A farmer in LaSalle county, Illinois, gives the fol- 

 lowing description of the white willow as used by 

 him for hedges. A cutting was planted by me in 

 1S4(!, which is bow over four and a half feet in 

 diameter. It is steadily growing in favor in this 

 vicinity, where the first hedges of it were made 

 before I'^.'iO, being especially adapted for use on wet 

 soils, and by using stakes five and a half feet long, 

 from one to three inciies in diameter, set l-S inclies 

 deep, a fence is readv for use. True the yield of 

 other crops grown under the hedge is lessened, but 

 the value of a fence, shelter afforded to grow'ing 

 crops, and the great amount of poles furnished every 

 few years make these hedges to a coneiilerablc ex- 

 tent on every prairie farm here a paying inveslment. 

 They are being very generally planted as shelter 

 belts around orchards and stock yards, giving good 

 satisfaction. As a people it seems to me we are apt 

 to grudge trees and hedges the use of land tor healthy 

 growth ; many feel dissatisfied if they caiuiot grow 

 full crops of grain in an orchard. The while willow 

 is one of the most valuable soft-wooded trees to 

 plant for timber, especially on wet soils, being com- 

 paratively durable, even for fence posts, if seasoned 

 before setliug. 



Care of Fruit Trees. 



Young fruit trees, for the first two or three years 

 after transjilanting, should before bard winter sets 

 in be protected against mry undue quantity of iftiter, 

 especially in low situations. This can be best d(Jne 

 by making a small hillock of dirt around the stems 

 suftieient to throw off the water and not let it settle 

 about the roots. We have known young trees to be 

 killeil by constant immersion in watei through most 

 ol thewinler, and have frequently known them to be 

 stunted, from which many of them never entirely 

 recovered. On the other hand, in auininer these 

 trees should have the soil slightly bowled out around 

 them, ill order that they may have a more abundant 

 supply of water than they would otherwise obtain. 



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Pear Blight. 



As soon as 1 discover pear blight, the leaves turn- 

 ing dark, I take a iienknife and slit the outer bark 

 on all the limbs as high as I can well reach, and thus 

 down the trunk. The first time I tried this remedy 

 was teuyears ago. Every limb recovered, and I have 

 repeated it as often as the limbs have been affected. 

 My trees are fine and healthy now. The theory is, 

 poisoned sap escapes where the slit is made ; but the 

 slit must be made as soon as there is any appearance 

 of bliirht. 



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Covering Strawberries. 

 Protect your vines in winter by covering the ground 

 between tlie rows with cornstalks, bringing them 

 close to the vines, and laying bean-poles across, to 

 keep the stalks in place. This has long been fol- 

 lowed in some of the Western States, and we give it 

 now to remind those who have not other material at 

 hand that cornstalks will answer the purpose. 



New Mode of Making Butter. 



Adam 8. Loewen, of Reading, has a machine for 

 making butter which is of novel construction and 

 works wonderful rcKults. His machine in an ordi- 

 nary egg healer, holding about two cpiarls, and he 

 uses a powder whicli be calls the "magic butler 

 maker." The powder resembles white flour, and he 

 colors the butter with a harmless coloring matter, so 

 that when the butter is made it is of a beautiful yel- 

 low color, resembling tbe best Lancaster or (;iiesler 

 county butter. In three minutes from a pint of milk 

 and a pound of butter, by the use of the egg beater, 

 he makes two pounds of choice yellow butter, which 

 In sweetness of toste is equal to any oll'cred for sale 

 in the Heading markets. Mr. Loewen says that the 

 process which he has will reduce the cost of butter 

 fully forty per cent., which is a considerable saving 

 when butter is selling at sixty cents a pound. 



Mr. Loewen exhibited the effect of bis powder in 

 the production of butter at the Kar/le ofliee, and his 

 representations were found to be correct. The milk 

 .Mr. Loewen used was taken fresh from a cow owned 

 by Mr. Dietrich, in Elm street. Mr. Loewen says 

 the butter will keep just like other butter, losing 

 none of its weight. lii less than two minutes and a 

 half he made the butter in his ex|)eriment. 



One method by which the value of hops is ascer- 

 tained, is by rubbing a few of the pods iu the palm 

 of the hands and observing whether by this friction 

 a small yellow dust is produced, while a clammy, 

 resinous substance, exhaling a most fragrant odor, 

 is perceptible, and at the same time whether the 

 hops are of a fine, bright yellowish olive-green color. 



Roots, says the Practical Farmer, have become a 

 necessity. Even the owners of work and driving 

 horses in the large cities annually buy hundreds of 

 bushels of carrots, mangel wurtzels, turnips, etc., to 

 be fed in connection with grain food to their horses, and 

 they are assured of tbe profitableness of using them. 



A Household Fruit Dryer. 

 A Michigan man has invented a fruit evaporator, 

 which is a simple addition to the houBeholil stove. It 

 is said to do its work rapidiv and skillfully, and to 

 be readily handled. The dryer is a long tin pan, 

 which may be from three to six, eight or ten feet 

 long, as may suit the convenience of the room in 

 which is the kitchen stove ; in width it is made so 

 that it covers one end of the surface top of an ordi- 

 nary cook stove, as it rests on and operates by the 

 heat of the stove. The machine may te kept at 

 work all the time the cooking or baking is going on, 

 as it occupies but two holes. This long tin pan, as it 

 may be named, has a tight compartment orchamber, 

 which is partly filled with water, and on the top sur- 

 face of this compartment is placed the fruit or vege- 

 tables prepared for drying. The liot water and steam 

 in the lower compartment dries the fruit without 

 danger of burning or crisping. A peek or half 

 bushel of fruit may be dried in from one to two 

 hours. The fruit when dried and packed is then in 

 perfect conditon to put away beyond the reach of 

 anything that will injure it. 



Receipt for Curing Meat. 



To one gallon of water take l'^ lbs. of salt, '^ lb. 

 of sugar, }4 oz. of saltpetre, and '„ oz. of potash. 

 In this ratio the pickle can be increased to any quan- 

 tity desired. Let these be boiled together uniil all 

 the dirt from the sugar rises to the top and is skim- 

 med ofl". Then throw it into a tub to cool, and when 

 cool pour it over your beef or pork. The meat must 

 be well covered with picKle, and should not be put 

 down for at least two days after killing, during 

 which time it should be slightly sprinkled with 

 powdered saltpetre, which removes all the surface 

 blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. Some 

 omit boiling the pickle and find it to answer well, 

 though the operation of boiling purifies the jiickle by 

 throwing off the dirt always to be found in salt and 

 sugar. If this receipt is strictly followed it will re- 

 quire only a single trial to prove its superiority over 

 the common way or most ways of putting down 

 meat, and will not soon be abandoned for any other. 

 The meat is unsurpassed for sweetness, delicacy and 

 freshness of color. 



^ 



Oatmeal in the Household. 

 In Great Britain children of all ranks are raised on 

 an oatmeal diet alone, because it causes them to 

 grow strong and healthful, and no better food can 

 possibly be found for them. It is also quite as de- 

 sirable for the student as the laborer, and for the 

 delicate lady as for the hard-working sister ; indeed 

 all classes would bo greatly benefited by its use, 

 and dyspepsia, with all its manifold annoyances, can 

 be kept at a safe distance. Oatmeal is most sub- 

 stantial food ; it is equal to beef or mutton, giving as 

 much or more mental vigor, while its great desidera- 

 tum consists of one's not becoming weary of it, for i' 

 is as welcome for breakfast or tea as is wheat or 

 Graham bread. It can be eaten with syrup and 

 butter or hasty pudding, or with cream and sugar, 

 like rice. It is esiiecially good for young mothers 

 upon whose nervous forces too great a dciiiand has 

 been made, when they lose the equilibrium of the 

 system and become depressed and dispirited. Oat- 

 meal requires to be cooked slowly, and the wijtcr 

 should be boiling hot when it is stirred in. 

 ^ 



Household Receipts. 



MatbeWoktu I'RESEUviX(i. — The Medical Hom$ 

 has the following recipes, which may be of value : 



A tea made of peach leaves is a sure remedy for 

 kidney difficulty. 



A tea made of chestnut leaves, and drank iu the 



place of water, will cure the most obstinate cbbo of 

 dropsy in a few days. 



A tea made of ripe and dried whortleberries, and 

 drank in the place of water. Is a sure and speedy 

 cure for a scrofulous difliculty, however bad. 



A [ilastcr made of fie^li slaked liinc' and fresh tar, 

 is a sure cure for a cancer, which, with all its roots, 

 will soon come out. 



LoBSTi-:ii SAfCK. — Pound the spawn and two an- 

 chovies ; pour on them two spoonsful of gravy; 

 strain all into some melteil butter ; then put in the 

 meat of tbe lolistcr, cut up ; give It all one boil, and 

 add a sipieeze of a lemon. 



To Makk a Pii.vrii. — Take a quart of lemon Ice, 

 add tlie white of three eggs, well beaten, with rum, 

 brandy (in the proportion of tliree parts of rum to 

 one of brandy), and water to taste till the ice liqui- 

 fies ; then add a small teacupful of infusion of strong 

 green tea strained, and half a pint of champagne. 



To Cli!AN White Firu. — Take a clean piece of 

 flannel, and with some heated bran ruli the lur well, 

 when it will be quite renewed. The bran should be 

 heated in a moderate oven, for a hot oven w ill scorch 

 the bran and will brown the fur. Oatmeal is prefer- 

 able to bran, if procurable with no husks. Dried 

 flour will also answer the purpose. 



To Keep Moths Away. — Moisten a |.iiece of paper 

 or linen with spirits of camphor, and put it into a 

 bureau or wardrobe, licpi'at two or three times 

 during a fortnight, and moths will keep away. So 

 says a good housekeeiier. 



Antidote fou roi.>*oN. — Hundreds of lives might 

 be saved by a knowledge of this single recipe. A 

 large teaspoonful of mustard mixed in a tumbler of 

 warm water, and swallowed as soon as possible, acts 

 as an instant emetic, sulliciently powerful to remove 

 all that is in the stomach. 



Whitewash that wii.i, not Itin Off.— Mix up 

 half a pailful of lime and water, re aily to put on the 

 wall ; then take oue-quarler of a pint of Mour, mix it 

 up with water, then pour boiling water on it sulli- 

 cient to thicken it ; then ])Our il , while hot, into the 

 whitewash, stir all well together, and il is ready for 

 use. 



To Wash Sii.k.— Silk will wash as follows : .Mix 

 quarter of a ]iouiid of honey, quarter of a pound of 

 soft soap, and a uill of gin; h>y each brcaiitb of silk 

 0111 wooden table, scrub il well with a brush and 

 this mixture, then diji it successively in two pails of 

 soft water; do not w ring it, but hang it thus lo dry, 

 and iron between paper when suiiicieutly dry. 



Beefsteak a La Paiusienne.— Take a piece of 

 steak about three (juarters of an inch thick. Trim 

 it neatly, sprinkle it with pepper, diji it in oil and 

 broil it over a clear fire. Turn it after it has been on 

 the fir. a minute or two, and keep turning it until 

 done ; eight or ten minutes will do it. Sprinkle with 

 salt and serve with a small quaniity of finely-minced 

 parsley and a piece of butter mixeil together, and 

 jilaccd over or under the steak, tiurnisli with fried 

 potatoes. 



Apple Custakii.— Take half a dozen tart, mellow 

 apples, pa'-e and quarter them, and take out the 

 cores; put them in a pan, with half a teacup of 

 water ; set them on a few coals ; w hen they begin to 

 giTW soft turn them into a |iudding dish aiitl sprinkle 

 sugar on them ; beat eight eggs with rolled brown 

 sugar ; mix tlicni with three pints of milk ; grate in 

 half a mil meg, and turn the whole over the apples ; 

 bake the custard between twenty and thirly minuies. 



Housekeepeus, when putting away your jellies, 

 cover them with flnely-pulvcrizcd sugar. It will 

 prevent them from moulding. 



If your fiat irons arc rough, rub them with fine 

 salt. Scotch snutr put iu holes where crickets come 

 out will destroy tlicin. 



To preserve the polished surface of Implements 

 laiil aside until spring from rusting, make a paint of 

 boiled oil and whiting, and place them in a dry shed. 

 When brought out for use the next spring no rust 

 will be found on them. 



The best remedy for bleeding at the nose, as given 

 by Dr. (ileason, is the vigorous motion of the jaws, 

 as if in the act of mastication. In the case of a 

 child, a small wad of paper should be put in the 

 mouth, and the child instructed lo chew il hard. It 

 is the motion of the jiws that slops the flow of blood. 

 This remedy is simjile but it has never been known 

 to fail. 



A Good Plain Pie Cuist. — Sift one quart of 

 flour iii.o a bowl ; chop into the flour (using a chop- 

 ping knife) one-half pound of good, firm lard ; chop 

 until very fine; pour in enough ice wati-r to make a 

 stiff douuh, and work it in with your hands; flour 

 your hands ; work vour dough into shapes ; handle it 

 quickly and as liille as possible; fiour your jiaslry 

 board; and roll out your dough very thin; always 

 roll from you; have ready one half iiouud of good 

 butler that has been washed iu two or three old 

 waters to rid it of sail ; spread the dough with but- 

 ter ; Iblil it up, then roll it out thin again ; spread 

 again with butter ; fold again and repeat the opera- 

 tiou until the butter is all used up. 



