1879.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



175 



Inspect Your Cellars. 



Many of our farmers who have no special place 

 built for wintering vegetables and fruit, store them 

 In the cellar of the dwelling-house. In order to keep 

 them from freezing there, the cellars are banked up 

 tightly in the fall. No ventilation is provided for, 

 and the only way for the escape of the noxious gases 

 arising from decaying vegetables, is through the 

 openings In the floor Into the living rooms above, 

 where it is dealing disease and perchance death to 

 the occupants. Is it surprising that diphtheria and 

 scarlet fever, and every other fever, result from such 

 total disregard of the laws of health? A person 

 will pay this inattention to sanitary measures, and 

 then if his children sicken and die he blames the 

 weather, or murmurs and grumbles at tlie dispensa- 

 tion of Providence — cannot conceive why God 

 should afllict him thus severely. The Almighty is 

 not to be blamed at all in such Instances; the fault 

 lies at the man's own door, or rather In his cellar, 

 and he ouje ht to condemn himself, and mourn over 

 his own neglect of duty, instead. 



Hints for the Kitchen. 



If your coal fire is low throw on a tablespoonful of 

 salt and it will help it very much. 



A little ginger put into sausage meat Improves the 

 flavor. 



In boiling meat for soup use cold water to extract 

 the juices. If the meat is wanted for itself alone 

 plunge in boiling water at once. 



You can get a bottle or barrel of oil off any carpet 

 or woolen stuff by applying dry buckwheat plenti- 

 fully. Never put water to such a grease spot, or 

 liquid of any kind. 



Broil steak without salting. Salt draws the juices 

 in cooking ; it is desirable to keep them in if possible. 

 Cook over a hot Are, turning frequently, searing on 

 both sides. Place on a platter ; salt and pepper to 

 taste. 



Facts About Flour. 

 Flour is peculiarly sensitive to atmospheric influ- 

 ences, hence it should never be stored in a room with 

 soui liquids, nor where onions or fish are kept, nor 

 any article that taints the air of the room in which 

 it is stored. Any smell perceptible to the sense will 

 be absorbed by Hour. Avoid damp cellars or lofts 

 where a free circulation of air cannot be obtained . 

 Keep in a cool, dry, airy room, and not exposed to a 

 freezing temperature nor to intense summer or to 

 artificial heat for any length of time above 70 to 72 

 degrees Fahrenheit. It should not come in contact 

 with grain or other substances which are liable to 

 heat. Flour should be sifted and the particles 

 thoroughly disintegrated and then warmed before 

 baking. 



A Cheap Ice House. 



In giving the following cheap plan for an ice house, 

 the Fruit Record leaves one without excuse on the 

 ground of expense. "If you have no house ready 

 draw one hundred or more blocks of ice ; pack them 

 close together in a solid block on the north side of 

 a building, where the drainage will be good. After 

 the ice is all packed together build up around it a 

 cheap board or rail fence, one foot away from the 

 ice, packing the space between the sides and ice with 

 straw ; over the top throw a few inches of saw dust, 

 and, putting over all a cheap roof, leave a good air 

 hole in the top. Ice may be kept in this way until 

 September or October." 



Rest After Eating. 

 The digestion of a horse is governed by the same 

 laws as that of a man; and as we know that it is not 

 best for man to go at hard work the moment a 

 hearty meal is eaten, so we should remember that a 

 horse ought to have a little rest after his meal, 

 while the stomach is most active iu the process of 

 digestion. Many a good horse has been ruined by 

 injudicious haste in working him with a lull stomach. 



Household Recipes. 



To Clean Wai.i, Papek.— Sometimes spots will 

 accidentally get upon papered walls that deface 

 them badly. If it should be a grease spot, a paste of 

 hot laundry starch, made very thick and spread on 

 while boiling hot, quite thick over the surface of the 

 spot, and left till dry, then rubbed off with a soft 

 cloth, will remove all the grease a'nd not deface the 

 paper. An ink spot, or other dark stain can be cut 

 out with a sharp pen-knife, pulled off, and a bit of 

 new paper matched and pasted over, which may 

 save the trouble and expense of repapering the whole 

 room. When the paper is dingy with smoke, take a 

 quart of wheat bran and tie up in a thin bag loosely, 

 and rub the walls with it quite hard. Shalieupthe 

 bran occasionally, and you will be quite surprised to 

 see how clean and nice it makes the paper look, well 

 paying for the labor of cleaning . When the edges of 

 the paper start up, a little paste or starch applied 

 with your finger to the under edge, and pressed 

 down with the surface smooth, will keep the walle 

 neat In appearance and well preserved. 



Stewed Pigeons.— Truss and season tlie pigeons 

 with pepper and salt, and having stulle.il them with 

 a mixture of their own livers, shred with beef suet, 

 parsley, bread-crumbs, marjoram and two eggs, sew 

 them up at both ends and put them into the jug, 

 breast down, with half pound of butter; cover up 

 the jug so that the steam cannot get out ; then set 

 hem in a pot of water to slew. They will take two 

 lOurs and more in doing, and they must boil all the 

 time. When stewed enough to take them out of the 

 gravy,skim off the fat , put iu a spoonful of cream, a 

 little lemon-peel, an anchovy shred, and a few mush- 

 rooms; add a little white wine to the gravy, and 

 liaving thickened it with butter and Hour, and dished 

 up the pigeons, pour the sauce over them. Garnish 

 with sliced lemon. 



IJicE Snowballs.— Ingredients— six ounces of 

 rice, one quart of milk, fiavoring of essence of 

 alnr.onds, sugar to taste, one pint of custard. Mode 

 —boil the rice In the milk with sugar and a flavoring 

 essence of almonds, until the former is tender, 

 adding if necessary a little more milk should it dry 

 away too much; when the rice ie quite soft put It 

 into teacups, or small round jars, and let it remain 

 until cold. Then turn the rice out In a deep glass 

 dish, pour over a custard, and on the top of each ball 

 place a small piece of bright colored jelly. Lemon 

 peel or vanilla may be boiled with the rice instead of 

 the essence of almonds, but the flavoring of the 

 custard must correspond with that of the rice. 



Rolls.— Two quartsof flour, one-half cup of sugar, 

 a piece of butter or beef drippings the size of an egg. 

 Scald one pint of sweet milk and let it cool, then 

 make a hole in the middle of the flour and pour in 

 the milk and half a cup of yeast, a teaspoonful of 

 salt, and set to rise in a warm place over night or 

 until very light. Then knead it and let it rise again. 

 When well risen cut the rolls half an inch thick, 

 shape round, spread over each round a little melted 

 butter, and double over so the roll is a half circle, 

 then let rise very light and bake. Place the rolls in 

 close contact in the baking.pan so they may keep in 

 shape. 



Miss Parlon's Recipe for Anrel Cake.— The 

 whites of eleven eggs. One cup of flour after sifting, 

 one teaspoonful of cream tartar. Sift the flour and 

 cream tartar four times. Beat the eggs to a stiff 

 froth, and then beat in one and one-half cup of sugar 

 and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Add the flour and 

 beat lightly but thoroughly. Bake in an ungreased 

 pan, slowly, forty minutes. The pau should have a 

 thin strip projecting above each corner, in order that 

 when it is turned over to cool the air may circulate 

 freely under it. Cut it out when cool. 



Rabbit Cdtlets. — Prepare the rabbits as you 

 would lor a stew ; cut the different limbs into the 

 size of cutlets — such as the shoulders cut in half, 

 also the legs, with the ends of the bones chopped 

 off. Have'ready some bread-crumbs and the yolk of 

 an egg beaten up. Drop each cutlet into the egg, 

 and then coverwithbread-crumbs, as for veal cutlets. 

 Fry them a nice brown, and when you dish them 

 pour around them some rich, brown gravy, which 

 may be flavored with tomato sauce if approved, and 

 put around them rolls of fried bacon. 



Welsh Rare Bit.— Slice bread half an inch thick, 

 and toast it very slightly on both sides, cutting oif 

 the crust. Then slice some rich cheese not quite so 

 large as the toast, upon which lay the cheese in a 

 toaster before the fire. Watch it, lest it burn or grow 

 hard. Butter each piece slightly, and use in eating 

 it mustard, pepper and salt. 



Apple Jelly.— A very nice, firm, rich jelly made 

 from the parings of-apples and the cores. Cover 

 them with water and let them boil until the water 

 has wasted a little, and the appleskins are very soft; 

 then strain them and add an equal quantity of sugar 

 as there is liquid. 



To Clean Black Lace.— Take the lace and wipe 

 off all the dust carefully with a cambric hankerchief, 

 then pin it out on a board, inserting a pin in each 

 projecting point of lace. Wash it alTover with table- 

 beer, and do not remove the pins until perfectly dry. 

 It will look fresh and new. 



GiNOER Snaps. — One cup lard, one cup sugar, 

 one cup molasses, one-half cup water, salt, onetable- 

 sponful ginger, one tablespoonful cream tartar, one 

 tablespoonful soda, roll very thin; bake quick and 

 you will have delicious ginger snaps. 



Hair Invigorator. — Bay rum, one pint; alcohol, 

 half a pint; castoroil, half ounce; tincture of cantha- 

 rides, half ounce; mix them well. This mixture 

 will promote the growth of the hair and prevent it 

 from falling out. 



A Nice Tea Cake. — One-half cup of butter or 

 cream ; one of sugar ; one egg ; one-half cup of 

 thick milk oi buttermilk ; a teaspoonful of soda ; a 

 handful of currants. Use flour to make the proper 

 thickness. 



Lemon Cake. — One cup of sugar, four eggs, three 

 tablespoonfuls of sweet milk, three tablespoonfuls of 

 melted butter, three tablespoonfulsof baking powder 

 and one cup of flour. 



Baker's Gingerbread.— Three-quarters of a 

 pound of flour, one quart of molasses, one-fourth of 

 a pound of butter, one ounce of saleratus and oue 

 ounce of ginger. 



Live Stock. 



Straw as Food for Cattle. 

 To form a strictly fair comparison between the 

 diflerciil descriptions of straw it would be ne.:e8eary 

 that each kind of straw should be cut at exactly the 

 same stage of maturity. But, on the other band,'la 

 practice we And that for the sake of the grain it is 

 usual to allow one crop to attain a greater degree of 

 ripeness than another. In the case of wheat, for ex- 

 ample, It Is better to cut the crop before It is quite 

 ripe — and this is the custom of most good farmers. 

 It is In this case quite feasible to take advantage of 

 the superior conditions of the straw, in a slightly 

 unripe condition, without In any way Injuring or de- 

 teriorating the quality of the grain. But barley Is 

 usually considered more suitable for the purposes of 

 the malster when In a well ripened condition, and 

 l>arley is therefore usually allowed to stand ripening 

 in the field for a comparatively longer period than 

 wheat — and barley straw is, therefore, usually riper 

 than wheat straw. Oats, again, are usually cut in 

 an earlier stage of ripeness even than wheat, since 

 the pendulous grain Is liable to be taken out by the 

 wind and so lost, if the crop is allowed to ripen too ' 

 much. 



Wheat straw, in an average condition, neither 

 under nor over ripe, was found on analysis, by Dr. 

 Voelcker, to contain between 1 and 2 per cent, of 

 fatty matter, from 2 to 3 of nitrogenous compounds, 

 about 4 to 6 per cent, of sugar and mucilaginous 

 matter soluble in water, and about 30 per cent, of 

 fibre In a sufficiently soft state to yield to the action 

 of digestive liquids. Oat straw.ls somewhat similar 

 iu composition, as far as the proportions of oil and 

 nitrogenous compounds are concerned, but it con- 

 tains more sugar and extractive matter, and a much 

 larger proportion of digestible fibre. While in the 

 case of wheat straw rather more tlian one-fourth of 

 the fibre is digestible, in the case of oat straw con- 

 siderable more than one-half of the fibre Is soluble 

 in solutions corresponding in strength to the gastric 

 juices. Oat straw is, therefore, as a rule, superior 

 in feeding value to wheat straw, inasmuch as It con- 

 tains a much larger proportion of digestible, fat- 

 forming and heat-producing principles. Barley straw 

 contains more nitrogenous matter than either wheat 

 or oat straw, but in the ripe state, in which It is 

 most often harvested, it contains but a very small 

 proportion of sugar, more than nine-tenths of the 

 fibre it contains being iu a perfectly indigestible 

 form. When less ripe, however, barley straw Is of 

 a much more digestible nature, and on account of Its 

 superior value as a flesh-former it must, in that case, 

 be considered as better fodder than wheat straw. It 

 is, however, rarely that barley straw is harvested in 

 such a condition as to be equal in feeding value to 

 good oat straw. 



It Is interesting to consider, side by side with straw 

 of the cereals, the so-called "straw," or more proper- 

 ly speaking, the haulm, of peas. Pea straw con- 

 tains from U to 9 per cent, of nitrogenous compounds 

 and about 2 per cent, of oil, about 8 per cent, of 

 sugar and soluble extractive matters, and about GO 

 per cent, of fibre, of which nearly one-third may be 

 regarded as digestible. Its composition more nearly 

 resembles that of hay than does that of any of the 

 common cereal straws, and it is a justly-prized arti- 

 cle for both sheep and cattle. 



Feeding Cattle. 

 The theory of good stock is very simple and the 

 mode apparently would suggest itself to any feeder 

 who proposed to pursue the most profitable course, 

 which is that the animal should be kept constantly 

 in a growing, thrifty condition by having a full diet 

 of nutritious food adapted to the growth and building 

 up of the young animal frame. Muscle and bone are 

 the constituents of all growing animals, while fat is 

 the surplus accumulation of the matured beast. Fat 

 is an unwholesome product of the young of all 

 species, and adds nothing to the well-being and good 

 health of the old. But the breeder of stock who 

 allows It to stand still or not gain steadily in flesh, 

 without over feeding to fatness, is losing sight of his 

 own profit. J. D. Gillet, of Elkhart, Illinois, who 

 exhibited the fat prize ox at the fat cattle show held 

 at Chicago, last December, gives his mode of feeding 

 young animals. He says : 



"I feed my young cattle just enough to keep them 

 strong through the winter months. After they are 

 two and a half years old, commence feeding corn 

 winter and summer until I send them to market. 

 Attend to them closely and keep them improving 

 from the time they are fed on corn to the time they 

 leave the farm. 'Generally feed eight to twelve 

 months on corn. Intend from this time to feed one 

 year younger and send one year sooner to market. 

 Think I can get my steer at thirty months old to 

 weigh 1,700 lbs. This course will pay much better 

 than to keep them until thirty-six to forty-tw» 

 months, and get an average of 2,000 to 2,100 lbs 

 out of the cattle." 



This Is a very brief and plain direction — so plain 

 that It would seem that even a wayfarer could not 

 err, and yet those who keep their stock, young and 



