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THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 



Our Receipt for Curing Meat. 



As tlje season has arrived wheu curing m3at is in 

 order we publish, as of old, our famous receipt for 

 curing beef, pork, mutton, haras, etc., as follows: 



To one gallon of water take 1'4 tbs. of salt, Jo tb. 

 sugar, \i oz. saltpetre and }.i oz. potash. 



In this ratio the pickle can be increased to any 

 quantity desired. Let these be boiled together until 

 all the dirt from the sugar rises to the top and ie 

 skimmed otT. Then throw it into a tub to cool, and 

 ivhi-n cold 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 aud clean. Some 

 omit boiling the pickle and find it to answer well, 

 though the operation of boiling purifles the pickle by 

 throwing off the dirt always to be found in salt aud 

 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 me&t is unsurpassed for sweetness, delicacy and 

 freshness of color. 



Cough Mixture. 

 The whites of six fresh eggs beaten to a froth with 

 half a teaspoonful of fine white sugar; add juice of 

 four lemons, three tablespoonfuls pure honey, quar- 

 ter ounce of laudanum; beat all together, bottle and 

 cork tightly. Take a spoonful when the coughing 

 comes on; shake well before taking; crushed sugar 

 rolled fine with a roller is the best to use. 



Household Recipes. 



Pie Paste. — To prevent pie paste from soaking 

 the liquid contained in the filling of the pie, glaze 

 the under crust with a beaten egg. 



Useful Accomplishmknt.— To be able to solder 

 basins and pots and pans is an acoomplishment well 

 worth the trouble of boys and girls to acquire, and 

 the tools necessary for the work are few and inex- 

 pensive. 



Cle.^xing TiNw.iKE.— The best thing for clean- 

 ing tinware is common soda. Dampen 'a cloth and 

 dip in soda, and rub the ware briskly, after which 

 wipe dry. Any blackened or dirty ware can be 

 made to look as well as new. 



Rice Pudding. — One scant half cup rice, one-third 

 cup butter, two-thirds cup sugar, season with nut- 

 meg ; fill a three-pint basin or pudding dish two- 

 thirds full of milk aud water, half andhalf ; bake 

 slowly one and one-half hours. 



Indian Meal Pancakes.— Beat 4 eggs, add a 

 little milk and form into a paste with ten spoonfuls of 

 Indian meal ; add nearly a pint of milk and one lea- 

 spoonful of Royal baking powder; work smooth and 

 fry, rolling them up with butter, sugar, nutmeg and 

 lemon juice. 



Beefsteak Omelette. — Three pounds raw steak 

 and one slice salt pork, chopped fine ; then soda 

 crackers rolled, one egg, half a cup of milk, small 

 piece of butter, two teaspoonsful salt, one teaspoonful 

 of sage, half teaspoonful of pepper ; mix with the 

 hands ; pack in a tin and bake one hour and a half. 

 When cold slice thin. 



Cream Muffins.— An excellent and well-tried 

 recipe. One quart sweet milk — half cream, if you 

 can get it — one heaping quart of Graham flour, six 

 eggs, and salt to taste. Bake immediately in hot 

 muffin rings. Your oven should be hot, and the 

 muffins sent to the table as soon as they are taken 

 up. 



Delicate Cake. — Take half a pound of butter, 

 one pound of "Ugar, one pound of flour, half a pint 

 of sweet milk or water, four eggs. Beat the butter 

 and sugar to a cream, then add the beaten eggs, 

 then the milk or water, then the flour; mix thorough- 

 ly and put the batter into your pan; sift fine sugar 

 over the top and bake immediately in a moderate 

 oven. 



Japanned Ware. — Do not pour boiling water 

 over tea-trays, particularly if japanned, as it will 

 make the varnish crack and peel ofl". Wet a sponge 

 in warm wa'er and dampen it over ; then wipe off 

 with a soft cloth. If a tray becomes spotted, take a 

 bit of woolen cloth and dip into a little sweet oil, 

 and rub it as hard as possible, and the marks (if 

 effaceable) will disappear. 



SoOTT Chimneys Cured. — The accumulation of 

 soot in chimneys is a great nuisance, and may be 

 remedied by mixing considerable salt with the mor- 

 tar with which the bricks composing the chimney 

 are laid. Tbe salt acts by absorbing moisture when- 

 ever it is damp and rainy, and the soot, becoming 

 wet and heavy, falls into the Are below. This is an 

 English idea, and is said to give very satisfactory 

 results. 



Lemon Pies.— Beat four eggs very light, add to 

 them, gradually, a quarter of a pound of fine sugar, 

 whisk these together for a few minutes, strewing 



lightly in one ounce of corn starch flour; then stir 

 in by degrees three ounces of melted butter; beat the 

 whole well together, and stir in the juice and grated 

 yellow rind of one large lemon. Line your pie dish 

 with a good puff paste rolled thin, fill them two- 

 thirds full of the mixture, and bake for twenty 

 minutes in a moderate oven. 



Chicken Cheese.— Boil two chickens till tende'r. 

 Take out all the bones, and chop the meat fine; 

 season with salt, pepper and butter. Boil down the 

 liquor the chickens were boiled in, until there 

 remains only enough to make the chopped meat 

 quite moist. Put the meat into a mold of any shape 

 that is desirable or convenient. When cold, turn 

 out and cut into slices. It is excellent for picnics, 

 or for a lunch when traveling. 



Mince Pies.— The following receipt for mince 

 pies, which are now in season, is confidently recom- 

 mended after using it for many years : Boil a fresh 

 beef tongue tender, let it get cold, then chop it fine 

 with one pound of suet, half peck of apples, two 

 pounds of currants, picked and washed very care- 

 fully ; pound of citron sliced, half an ounce each of 

 powdered cioveh, nllspice, cinnamon and ginger, 

 three pints of sweet cider, one pint of Madeira wine, 

 half a pint of tiiaudy with enough sugar to sweeten 

 to your taste. Tliis will make a large jar full. 



To CuKF, Hams.— This receipt is 50 years old, and 

 I think it is the' best. To each 30 pounds of green 

 meat make a mixture of one-fourth of a pound of 

 brown sugar, and a dessert spoonful of ground 

 saltpetre; rub this well by hand into the meat; then 

 with coarse salt cover the bottom of a barrel, say, 

 to half an inch; put in hams, and cover with half an 

 inch of salt, aud so on until the barrel is full; hams 

 should remain in a cool place four weeks; when 

 salted, wipe and dry them, and get some whole 

 black pepper, which you must grind yourself, and 

 pepper thoroughly, especially about tlie hock and 

 bone' let the hams lie for two days; then smoke for 

 eight weeks.— Old Man. 



Oat-Meal Pudding.— Put in a basin a fourth of 

 a pint of cold milk and mix into two ounces of finely 

 ground oat-meal, then add to it a pint of boiling 

 milk— mixing it this way prevents lumps; put it on 

 the fire and let it boil 10 minutes; have some dried 

 bread-crumbs, and, taking oflT the oatmeal, mix in 

 the crumbs until the whole is rather stiff; chop two 

 ounces of suet; cut up as fine as possible one small 

 onion, beat up the whites and yolks of two eggs and 

 a sprinkle of sage and marjoram, and mix these with 

 the cold poi ridge; butter a pan, put in your mixture, 

 and bake for an hour. When roast beef is scarce, 

 oat-meal pudding, with a little gravy, ekes out the 

 feast for many a— Poor Scot. 



Pumpkin Pudding.- Take one pint of pumpkin 

 that has been stewed soft and pressed through a 

 colander; melt in half a pint of warm milk, one 

 quarter pound butter and the same quantity of 

 sugar, stirring them well together; one pint of rich 

 cream will be better than milk and butter; beat eight 

 eggs very slight, and add them gradually to the 

 other ingredients alternately with the pumpkin; then 

 stir in a wine-glass of rose water and two glasses of 

 wine mixed together, a large teaspoonful of powder- 

 ed mace and cinnamon mixed, and a grated nutmeg. 

 Having stirred the whole very hard, put it into a 

 buttered dish and bake three quarters of an hour. 

 If you try it once you will try it again. — Polly. 

 Wliilemarsh, Monlijomery county, Pa. 



Tea Biscuit.— Sift four pounds of flour into a 

 large wooden bowl ; make a cavity in the centre of 

 the flour, and stir in slowly one pint of lukewarm 

 milk, with half a pint of good yeast, using just 

 enough flour to make the yeast and milk into a batter 

 of the consistency of rich cream. Cover this over 

 and let it stand for two hours; then cut up one 

 pound of good butter into one pint of warm milk, 

 with a little salt; now mix all the ingredient togeth- 

 er, work well, dust the top with flour and let stand 

 one hour, after which make the dough into biscuits, 

 about the size of an egg; butter the baking tins and 

 lay the biscuits in rows about three inches apart; 

 place in a warm situation to rise, and, as soon as 

 light, bake them to a nice brown, in a hot oven; as 

 soon as they are taken from the oven wash over the 

 tops with a soft brush dipped in milk. 



Orange Pudding. — Peel and slice three or four 

 oranges, aud lay in a pudding dish with one-third 

 cup of sugar; make a custard of one-pint of milk, 

 the yoks of three eggs and one spoonful of corn 

 starch; and one-third cup of sugar; when coald pour 

 over the oranges; beat the whites of three eggs and 

 one-third cup of pulverized sugar to a stiff froth and 

 pour over ; put in the oven a few minutes to brown. 

 To be eaten cold. Another style — Stew six' large 

 apples and pass through a seive; rub together a quar- 

 ter of a pound of butter and half a pound of sugar; 

 stir in the apples while hot. After taking the skin 

 and white pith from two large oranges, chop very fine 

 and add to the other ingredients; beat the yolks of 

 six eggs very light and add; reserve the whites for 

 for the meringue. Bake in a rich paste. Flavrr the 

 meringue frosting with orange juice and a little fine- 

 ly grated rind. 



Live Stock. 



Choosing Stock for the Farm. 



This is a very important matter. The great variety 

 of soils and of stocks enables us to make a close 

 adaption of the two, and here is the foundation of 

 profit. The kind of stock must be governed also by 

 the variety of feed economically attainable, by the 

 ability of the owner to house and care for them, and 

 by the market to be supplied. If for beef, milk, but- 

 ter, cheesse, the breed must be exactly suitable to 

 these points as well as those referred to above. Many 

 serious mistakes are maade for want of due previous 

 consideration, and changes cannot be made without 

 great loss of both time and money. 



It is better to aim at some one point, some especial 

 market and then select to suit as near as possible; but 

 one point is essential— an animal that will utilize the 

 most food. To secure this the stock must be healthy, 

 hardy, quiet and of large frame, so that when neces- 

 sary to be fattened off' there shall be room for meat. 

 If th s is not provided for a final loss — more than 

 covering all previous profit — is a sure thing. A quiet 

 animal will eat more, will assimilate closer, retain 

 flesh easier, and fatten much quicker than one of un- 

 easy disposition. 



Of all the stock kept by farmers in this country it 

 is safe to say that three-fourths of it is not really 

 profitable, and one-fourth is not as valuable as it 

 ought to be, or as it might be made to be. — S. Unfits 

 -1/rt«art, in Gerrnantown Telegrapfi. 



Feeding Cows. 



No rule can be made which will apply to all cows. 

 Overfeedins for one would be semi-starvation for 

 another. One cow, with a large frame and strong 

 digestive powers, may need fifty or sixty per cent, 

 more food than another which is small and dainty. 

 The latter should have food of a good quality, and 

 it should be given in as easily digestible form as 

 possible, but neither one should be fed beyond its 

 power to digest and as.similate the food. Cows 

 which have an abundance of fresh air and regular 

 exercise will eat and digest more food than they 

 would if they were kept closely confined in their 

 stables. Regularity of feeding and plenty of pure 

 water also tend to keep the cows in good health, 

 and allow them to use a liberal quantity of food 

 without injury. Many men will buy a cow, feed her 

 all the meal she can bear, and in two or three years 

 sell her for beef. Up to a certain point high feeding 

 pays, but it does not pay to try to make a cow pro- 

 duce fourteen pounds of butter per week when she 

 is not capable of yielding more than ten. Old cows 

 will bear this forcing process much better than 

 those which are young, and in all cases high feeding 

 should not be commenced before cows are six years 

 of age . 



Mixed Foods. 



A mixture of feeding substances is always con- 

 ducive to the health of animals. It operates as a 

 change of food, and it is more convenient to mix 

 several substances aud to use them together, than to 

 feed them separately. For horses, the basis of the 

 grain feed should be oats or barley. It might be 

 remarked here that barley is too much neglected as 

 a feeding substance ; it is nutritious and healthful 

 even as a single food, while mixed with corn it re- 

 duces the heating character of the latter. Equal 

 parts of oats, barley, corn, wheat or rye bran and 

 linseed, ground together form a perfect food for 

 horses, containing no element of nutrition in excess, 

 and having the laxative effect of the oily linseed to 

 keep the digestive organs in perfect order, the skin 

 loose, and the coat smooth and glossy. For cows, 

 the linseed may be changed for cotton seed meal, 

 which has an excellent influence upou the milk and 

 character of the butter. 



A Few Suggestions to Horse Trainers. 



Never try to beat a colt into doing a thing, 

 for if nervous he may turn out a vicious horse, and 

 if stupid he may become stubborn. Remember that 

 by patience and gentleness he can be got to do any- 

 thing that will not hurt him. When the horse shows 

 signs of shying at an object do not beat him, but 

 lead him up to it, allowing him to stand and look as 

 he comes closer, and after he examines it a few times 

 he will not fear anything of the kind again. In pass- 

 ing by hedges with a colt throw in stones and stop 

 him until he takes no notice of the noise. Before 

 putting on any article of harness let your colt smell 

 it, and" then rub it against his head, neck and body. 

 Alwayt start a horse with the voice, never with the 

 cut of the whip. In starting turn a little to one side; 

 in stopping' when going up a hill do the same. 



Hay as Food for Hogs. 



Says the Nebraska Farmer : "But few men are 

 aware of the fact that hay is very beneficial to hogs, 

 but it is true nevertheless. Hogs need rough food 

 as well as horses, cattle or the human race. To 

 prepare it you should have a cutting box (or hay 



