78 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[May, 



and burying all but the tip in the lard. It will burn 



all night — a shady, dim light — and in our case 



prove a real comfort. Some of these homely facts 

 are well worth remembering. 



French Bread. 

 As a rule the French bread is always sweet and 

 good, and two things contribute in a great degree to 

 this — that ie the manner or form of baking. They 

 never make a thick loaf; no matter what the size or 

 shape, it is always thin, and more than two-thirds 

 crust. They bake their bread until it is perfectly 

 cooked. The loaves being so thin, tlie heat strikes 

 through very soon after they are placed in the oven ; 

 hence all lii imntaiion is stopped, while in the case 

 oflar;:r Inaxr.^ I, a iiirntation goes on after the bread 

 has lnaii in tlir.iiii for some time, and of course 

 much of I In- s« crincss is lost. Then in baking so 

 long, and having so much crust, there is a peculiar 

 sweetness given' which can be obtained in no other 

 way. — American Miller. 



To Destroy House Insects. 

 To thoroughly rid a house of red and black ants, 

 cockroaches, spiders, bed-bugs, and all crawling 

 pests which infest our homes, take two pounds of 

 alum and dissolve it in three or four quarts of boiling 

 water. Let it stand on the fire until the alum disap- 

 pears, then apply it with" a brush while nearly boil- 

 ing hot, to every joint and crevice in your closets, 

 bedsteads, pantry shelves, and the like. Brush tlie 

 crevices in the floor of the skirting or mop boards, if 

 you suspect that they harbor vermin. Cockroaches 

 will flee the paint which has been washed in cool 

 alum water. If, in wasliing a ceiling, plenty of alum 

 is added to the lime, it will also serve to keep^ insects 

 at a distance — ficientiflc American. 



Cleaning a Brussels Carpet. 



As the season is now approaching when carpets 

 must be handled, the following will prove of interest: 

 First have the carpet well shaken, then tack it down 

 in the room where it is to remain ; sweep it as thor- 

 oughly as possible; take a pail of hot water, put in 

 two tablespoonsful of pulverized borax : wash the 

 carpet all over the surface, using a flannel cloth. 

 For grease spots or very dirty places, use a scrub- 

 brush freely and a very little soap, taking care to 

 rinse the soap off well after scrubbing ; change the 

 water quite often ; rub the carpet well with a dry 

 cloth after washing, and open doors and windows so 

 as to dry the carpet as quickly as possible. 



Household Recipes. 



Potato Noodles. — Grate one dozen of boiled 

 potatoes, add two eggs, a little salt, half a cupful 

 of milk, enough flouK to knead stifle, then cut in 

 small pieces, tlien roll long and round, one inch thick; 

 fry in plenty of lard to a nice brown. 



To Preserve Gum Solutions. — A few drops of 

 cloves, alcohol, or acid will preserve a quart of the 

 mucilage of gum arable or gum tragacanth from 

 turning sour. A small quantity of dissolved alum 

 will preserve flour paste. 



Ham Dressed in Claret. — Take a glass of 

 claret, a teaspoonful of sugar and a teaspoonful of 

 chopped onion ; place in a frying-pan ; when the 

 claret boils place in the rashers of ham, not cut very 

 thick ; cool well and serve with the sauce. This is 

 a most appetizing Qish. 



Velvet Cake.— Three cupsful of sugar, one and 

 a half cupsful of butter stirred to a cream, six cups- 

 ful of flour, with two teaspoonsful of Boston yeast 

 powder well mixed in the flour. Flavor with essence 

 of lemon. Four eggs, the yelks and whites beat 

 separately, and add last. 



Ice Cream Cake. — One cupof butter, two cups of 

 sugar, one cup of milk, three cups of flour, whites of 

 five eggs, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder ; 

 bake in thin layers ; tl;ree small cups of sugar, dis- 

 solved in a little water, and boiled until done for 

 candy ; cool a little, and pour over the unbeaten 

 whites of eggs, and heat together a half an hour. 



Whith Fruit Cake.— One cup of butter, two 

 cups of sugar, one scant cup of sweet milk, whites of 

 five eggs, one grated cocoanut ; one pound of 

 almonds, blanched and cut fine ; one pound of 

 citron, cut into very thin pieces ; three and a half 

 cups of sifted flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls of 

 baking powder. Flour the fruit and add the last 

 thing. 



Lemon Pie. — Grate the yellow rind of two lemons; 

 beat together the rind, juice, ten tablespoonfuls of 

 loaf sugar, and the yelks of four eggs, until very 

 light, then add two tablespoonfuls of water. Line a 

 large plate and fill with the mixture ; bake until the 

 paste is done ; beat the whites stiff and stir into 

 them two tablespoonfuls of sugar, spread it over the 

 top and bake bright brown. 



Cheap Pudding. — Peel and core four or five 

 apples, according to the size, cut them in slices, and 

 lay them in a pie-disb ; sprinkle them with sugar 



(pounded), and then put a thin layer of apricot or 

 other jam. Take two ounces of sugar and a small 

 piece of butter ; stir it over the Are until it boils, and 

 then pour it into the pie-dish with the apples and 

 jam, and bake until done. 



To Wash Silk Stockings. — The best way to 

 wash all silk stockings is to make a good lather of 

 curd soap and rainwater; use it nearly cold, and 

 then wash, rubbing as little as possible, and doing 

 each stocking separately. Rinse in clear, soft water ; 

 squeeze out the wet as much as possible in a soft 

 cloth, do not wring the stockings ; wrap each one in 

 a dry cloth, and when almost dry rub them with a 

 piece of flannel, always the same way. A small 

 quantity of liquid ammonia should be added to the 

 lather when black stockings are to be washed. 



Baked Fish. — Take any nice fish, boil it, remove 

 the bones, and chop considerable parsely very fine, 

 with one small onion. Have about as much bread- 

 crumbs as fish. Take a pudding-dish and butter it, 

 then lay in a layer of bread-crumbs, then a layer of 

 fish, ending with bread-crumbs. Mix your parsley 

 and onion with salt and pepper through your bread- 

 crumbs. Put lumps of butter over the top, a very 

 slight grating of nutmeg, and pour over it all sweet 

 cream or very rich milk, till it rises nearly to the 

 top. Bake in a quick oven till it has a nice, rich 

 brown crust. 



Apple Preserve. — Peel, halve and core six large 

 apples, selecting those of the same size, having pre- 

 pared a syrup made of one pound of granulated 

 sugar and a pint of water ; when it boils drop in the 

 apples with the rind and juice of a lemon and two 

 or three cloves. As soon as they are tender «are 

 should be taken that they do not fall to pieces. 

 Take the halves out one by one, and arrange, con- 

 cave side uppermost, in a glass dish. Drop a bit of 

 currant jelly into each piece, boil down the syrup, 

 and when cool pour around the apples. This makes 

 a very nice preserve for tea. 



Live Stock. 



Treatment of Cows at Calving. 



Cows in good condition should be watched carefully 

 for any symptoms of fever ; for its progress is so 

 rapid in some cases as to aijbrd little time for treat- 

 ment. The early symptoms are, dullness, ^languor, 

 red eyes, hot head and horns, a strong pulse, some- 

 times uneasy movements of the hind legs, the cow 

 then lying down, placing its head on its flank, or 

 striking its horns on the ground. Sometimes the 

 symptoms are only fever, rapid pulse, and quick and 

 strong breathing, with loss of power over the limbs, 

 want of sensation, torpor of bowels and bladder. 

 One of the best things to do in case of an attack, is 

 to apply moderately cold water to the whole body ; 

 and this is best done by placing a woolen blanket 

 around the cow, from udder to foreleg, and pouring 

 water between the blanket and the body, wetting the 

 body and blanket thoroughly, covering with a dry 

 blanket if. the weather is cool. Matting or old car- 

 peting is good to place around the body ; place it 

 under, and bring the ends together over the back. 

 If the cow is down, roll her over on the blanket, 

 having first wetted it, and also the side of the cow. 

 This wetting will produce a fomentation and gradual 

 cooling of the whole surface of the body, modifying 

 the fever, and usually producing relief in a short 

 time. If it is that form of the disease in which there 

 is great heat of the head, pour ice-cold water upon 

 the head between the horns, at the same time that 

 water is applied to the whole body ; and as in most 

 cases the udder is swollen and hot, this should be 

 treated with the water-bag, which is useful in garget 

 and fever in the udder. This bag may be made of 

 oil-cloth, or, better, India rubber, large enough to 

 enclose the udder, coming up to the body, flaring at 

 the top, held up by a strap over the back, and filled 

 with soft water of a moderate temperature — say 65 

 degrees. This will soon allay the irritation in the 

 udder, and the water can be changed when it be- 

 comes warm. Give at the same time copious injec- 

 tions of blood-warm water, which will assist in re- 

 lieving the bowels and intestines. It is well to chafe 

 the back and hips gently. We have seen these 

 applications work well, even when the cow was 

 unable to rise, and had passed beyond the bleeding 

 stage. 



We give this rational treatment, because it may be 

 applied by the dairyman himself, with great hope of 

 success, when he cannot have the skill of the veteri- 

 narian, and will save many more cows than any 

 attempt of the dairyman himself to apply veterinary 

 medicines. — National Live-Stock Journal, Chicago. 



Color in Jerseys. 



It is well known that for some time past the more 

 prominent breeders of the Island of Jersey have 

 been swayed against their own best judgment by the 

 prejudice against parti-colored cattle, on the part 

 especially of English buyers. To such an extent is 

 the color mania carried that it is said that no breeder 

 in Jersey would raise for his own use a bull which 

 had any material amount of white in his color. On 



the other hand, bulls that are fit only for the 

 shambles are kept at the head of some of the choicest 

 herds, solely on account of their prepotency in re- 

 gard to solid colors ; and cows have the preference 

 as breeders, not because of the presence of those 

 qualities that have given the race its world-wide 

 celebrity, but simply because of the absence of white 

 hairs. 



Col. Waring, in an account of his late visit, tells 

 us that almost invariably in examining a herd the 

 farmer or agent by whom he was accompanied would 

 point out su'-h and such an animal as being "very 

 good ;" "the best in the herd;" "the finest animal 

 in Jersey," etc., etc. — animals which obviously were 

 good for very little indeed. And on his calling atten- 

 tion to the superiority of another in the same field, 

 he was answered, quite as a matter of course : "Oh I 

 yes, for the dairy that cow is worth ten of these, but 

 look at this one's color ! — not a white hair on her." 

 All this will sooner or latJr bear its legitimate fruit. 

 And it is not at all surprising that its deteriorating 

 effects are already beginning to be felt. Intelligent 

 observers, on visiting the Island, are struck with the 

 inferior characteristics everywhere manifest. Good 

 animals are, of course, to be found in every herd, 

 but the percentage of poor animals is alarmingly 

 large, and, what is worse, is on the 

 National Live Stock Journal. 



The Difference. 

 Mr. A. A. Crane, a farmer residing at Osco, Henry 

 county, Illinois, called at our office a few days ago, 

 and gave us some facts and figures in regard to his 

 business that are interesting. He had just come to 

 the city with a lot of cattle and hogs, which he had 

 sold as follows : 100 hogs, average weight, 496.3 lbs., 

 at 84.35, brought ?2,i.58.90. 14 head of cattle, 

 averaging 1,483^ lbs., g5, $1,038, making a total for 

 the hogs and cattle of S3,196.90. By a reference to 

 the market reports of the same day we find that a 

 large majority of the hogs sold changed hands at 

 less than $3.85. Taking $3.85, however, as the 

 average, we find that Mr. Crane received ?J48.15 

 more for bis hogs than the average price for the day 

 for an equal number of pounds. On the same day 

 the quotations for fair to medium fleshy steers were 

 |4 to $4.35. Taking the latter figure, we find that, 

 by having good steers, Mr. Crane realized 65 cents 

 per hund.-ed more on his ^i0,760 lbs., making a differ- 

 ence of §134.94 ; and on the hogs and cattle together, 

 the difference in favor of good animals, in good con- 

 dition for market, over the average of the day for 

 the same number of pounds, was $383.09 — a very 

 handsome showing in favor of good stock and good 

 feeding, over the slip-shod methods prevailing so 

 generally among farmers. We might say further, 

 that the price obtained by Mr. Ci-ane for his cattle, 

 although 65 cents above the average price of the 

 day, for fair steers, was 30 cents below the highest 

 price of the day — $5.30 having been paid for a fancy 

 lot of steers averaging 1,.555, for the English mar- 

 ket. — National Live-Stock Journal, Chicago. 



Stallion Shows in Spring. 



The awarding of a prize for "the best stallion" 

 in any given class at a county fair held in the autumn 

 does good undoubtedly. It furnishes horse breeders 

 with an opportunity of seeing good horses. If the 

 prize is for the stallion and a showing of'his colts it 

 gives an opportunity for seeing those which have 

 proved their excellence as sires. But there is no cer- 

 tainty that any direct future good will come from 

 such a prize, beyond its stimulating effect. Often 

 the winner is not owned in the county, or, if he be, 

 he is often sold or removed for the next season. 



Would not awarding pi izes to the best stallion to 

 make the next season in the county do much more 

 good ? Our cirumstances are so different, we cannot 

 well adopt the plan which has proved so successful 

 in Scotland — of having representatives of various 

 societies annually come to a great national stallion 

 show and pay handsome premiums to secure the 

 standing of their choice of stallions in their districts, 

 with a fixed service fee, but there is nothing to pre- 

 vent a more general holding of spring shows of stal- 

 lions, thus giving breeders an opportunity for com- 

 parison and selection ; and the plan of offering prizes, 

 with condition of the season being made in the 

 county, would be an advisable step. As the taking 

 of the prize would give some reputation and help in 

 receiving a good patronage it might be well to in- 

 clude in the condition a moderate sum as the maxi- 

 mum fee for service. — National Live Stock Journal. 



■Worms in Hogs. 

 Before adminstering a vermifuge it is alwayi 

 proper to relax and clear the intestines of accumula- 

 tions of ingesta. For this purpose give to each hog, 

 in the morning, an hour before feeding, according to 

 the size of the animal, from two to four ounces of 

 castor oil, mixed with one drachm of oil of turpen- 

 tine. Next day, and once daily during a week, ad- 

 minister remedies which combine in themselves the 

 properties of a tonic, a bitter, and an astringent. 

 For this purpose we recommend the sulphate of iron 

 and gentian root, in doses of one scruple to half a 

 drachm of the powdered sulphate of iron, and one to 



