1.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



173 



room. Vines trained on stalies should receive the 

 same kind of treatment as those on trellises, except 

 that they must be pruned more sevcrclx.and it is well 

 to check the {growth In summer by pinchini; ofT the 

 ends of the youne shoots, from time trt time, in order 

 to keep them within prescribed limits. We know 

 that many of our vineyardists assert that the Ameri- 

 can vines must not be subjected to as close pruninpf 

 as the foreign varieties, but this is sheer nonsense, 

 as has been proved hundreds^of limes. 



Domestic Economy. 



Household Hints. 



Charcoal powder is excellent'for polishing^knives. 



If you flavor a rhubarb pic with nutmeg It wiU^im- 

 prove It greatly, and make it taste like a fresh apple 

 pic. 



To obtain a glossy skin : Pour upon a pint of bran 

 ffl'Je nt boiling water to cover it. Let It stand- 

 until cold and then bathe the face 'with it, only pat. 

 tins the skin with a soft towel to dry It. 



Black crape, when wet by rain, is almost certain 

 to spot. Lay the crape— whether a veil or piece of 

 blacK silk underneath the stains; then dip a soft 

 eamel's-hair brush in black ink, and carefully paint 

 the stains over with It, gently wipe off the supera- 

 bundant ink with a piece of silk, and the stains, as 

 the places dry, will disappear. 



The yellow stain made by the oil used on sewing 

 machines can be removed if, before washing in soap- 

 suds, you rub the spot carefully with a bit of cloth 

 wet with ammonia. 



When water has once been made to boil, the lire 

 may be very much lessened, as but little heat Is re- 

 quired to keep it at a boiling point. There is no ad- 

 vantage whatever in making water boil furiously; 

 the heat will escape in steam, without raising the 

 heat of the water. 



If any one wants vinegar to get sour qnick and be 

 sharp, put a good large handful of sugar In your 

 jug, and let it be kept in a warm place; In the sum- 

 mer out doors, where the sun strikes, is a good place. 

 If you put plenty of sugar in, you can once In a 

 while put a cup of water In also, and you will never 

 know it is there. 



Handle a wet hat as lightly as possible. Wipe It 

 as dry as you can with a silk handkerchief; and 

 when nearly dry, use a soft brush. If the fur should 

 stick together in any part, dampen it lightly with a 

 sponge dipped in vinegar, and then brush it till dry. 

 Put a stick or stretcher into a damp hat, to keep It 

 In proper shape. When a coat gets wet, wipe it 

 down the way of the nap with a sponge or silk hand- 

 kerchief. Do not put wet boots or shoes near the 

 fire. 



Few housewives feel that they hav^? done the cor- 

 rect thing when they bring fresh boiled potatoes to 

 the breakfast table, and for some unknown reason 

 they are unwelcome there, but sometimes one mis- 

 calculates In regard to the number needed for dinner 

 and breakfast both, and is obliged to boll them for 

 the latter meal. They may be prepared in a way to 

 be enjoyed even then, by draining off ail the water 

 in which they were boiled, and then putting in a 

 lump of butter and a little cream ; as you stir the 

 butter and cream in cut the potatoes In quarters, and 

 season with pepper and salt. Small potatoes are 

 best cooked In this way. 



An exchange says: How often we hear ;women 

 who do their own cooking say that by the time they 

 have prepared a meal, and it is ready for the table, 

 they are too tired to eat. One way to mitigate this 

 evil Is to take, about half an hour before dinner, a 

 raw egg, beat it until light, put In a little sugar and 

 milk, flavor It, and "drink It down ;" it will remove 

 the faint, tired-out feelins, and will not spoil your 

 appetite for dinner. Plenty of fresh air In the kitch- 

 en does a good deal to relieve this trouble, and you 

 do not take your dinner in "at the pores," as Dick- 

 ens' old Joey declared he look in the wine. 



The washericomen of Holland and Belgium, so 

 proverbially clean, and who get up their linen so 



beautifully white, use relined borax as washing 

 powder, instead of soda, in the proportion of one 

 large handful of borax powder to ahoui ten gaflons 

 of boiling water; they save in soap nearly half. All 

 of the large washing establishments adopt the same 

 plan. For laces, cambrics and lawns an extra quan- 

 tity of the powder is used, and for crinolines requir- 

 ing to be maile stiff a strong solution Is iieccssary. 

 Borax being a neutral salt, does not in the slightest 

 degree Injure the texture of the linen. Its elfeel Is 

 to soften the hardest water. 



Eggs vs. Meat. 

 Would It not be wise to substitute more egg for 

 meat In our dally diet? About one-third of the 

 weight of an egg is solid nutriment. This is more 

 than can be said of meat. There are no hones, no 

 tough pieces that have to be laid aside. A good egg 

 Is made up of ten parts shell, sixty parts white and 

 thirty parts yolk. The white of an egg contains 

 sixty-six per cent water, the yelk fifty-two per cent. 

 Practically an egg is animal food, and yet there is 

 none of the disagreeable work of the butcher neces- 

 sary to obtain it. The vegetarians of England use 

 eggs freely, and many of these men are eighty and 

 ninety years old, and have been remarkably free 

 from illness. Eggs are best when cooked four min- 

 utes. This takes away the animal taste that is of- 

 fensive to some, but does not harden the white or 

 yolk so as to make them hard to digest. An egg, if 

 cooked very hard, is dlQicult of digestion except by 

 those of stout stomachs; such eggs should be eaten 

 with bread and masticated very finely. An egg 

 spread on toast is food fit for a king. If kings de- 

 serve any better food than anybody else, which is 

 doubtful. Fried eggs are less wholesome than boiled 

 ones. An egg dropped into hot water is not only a 

 clean and handsome, but a delicious morsel. Most 

 people spoil the taste of their eggs by adding pepper 

 and salt. A little sweet butter Is the best dressing. 

 Eggs contain phosphorus, which is supposed to be 

 useful to those who use their brains much.— Poidtri/ 

 Roincw. 



Keep a Slate. 

 Where farmers keep hired hands and stormy days 

 abound, they are freequently at a loss to know how 

 to put them to work profitably. It is a good plan to 

 have a slate at the tool house, barn, or work-shop, 

 and to note down, during pleasant weather, what 

 work can be done in rainy weather. There are scores 

 of little jobs that suggest themselves that ought to be 

 done, and can be done as well in rainy weather as 

 fair weather. Such a slate would have upon it 

 something like the following; Clean out the cellar; 

 od the harness; mend harness; grease all the wagons; 

 repair the horse-stalls; file the saw; grind the tools: 

 assort the apples; make cider; make kindling wood; 

 repair the impleraents; shell corn. A hundred other 

 litlejobs could be suggested. Have it understood 

 that when a rainy day comes, whether you are at 

 home or not, the slate is to be referred to, and the 

 work done as there suggested. 



A Knit Bed Quilt. 



A very pretty bed cover, and a warm one too. Is 

 made from old bits of flannel, delaine or bright 

 prints. Strip them up, as If for a carpet and sew 

 them together, taking care to have them of uniform 

 width. Take a pair of wooden knitting pins, and 

 cast on eight stitches of the cloth strips; knit across, 

 backwards and forwards, eight times, so that it will 

 form an exact square block; then take another color 

 of cloth and knit on another square. Let the cloth 

 lie loose over the finger, so as to not have the stitches 

 too tight. Alternate the colors to your taste, knit- 

 ting the strips In blocks till it is two-yards and a 

 quarter long. Bind off the stitches on the last block, 

 and commence another strip, taking euro to have 

 squares of different colors come against each other. 

 Sew the strips together with strong thread, having 

 the corners meet. It makes a pretty contrast, and is 

 a very nice, warm, durable article of bedding, look- 

 ins much finer than It really is. 



Household Recipes. 



Fl.vnsei. Cakes. — To two ounces of butter add 

 one pint of hot milk to melt it, one pint of cold milk, 

 Ave egg», flour to make a stiff batter, one teaspoon 

 of salt, two tablespoons of yeast. Let It rise In a 

 warm place three hours. Fry on a griddle and serve 

 hot. 



KoLi.s. — Take a piece of brcail dough a little 

 larger than a pint cup, and knead Into It one or 

 two tablcs|X)ons of butter; roll out and spread with 

 butter; roll up and cut off pieces the size you wish, 

 roll thin in the hand and place in the pan, let rise 

 and bake. The crust will be nicer If they are rubbed 

 with butter before baking. 



Meat Pie.— Cut up some pieces of good tender 

 raw beef or mutton, season with pepper, salt, and, if 

 liked, one fluely-minced onion; boil a half doeen 

 good-sized mealy potatoes, mash smooth and wet, 

 with milk enough to form a dough to make the crust, 

 salt to please tbe taste, roll nut half an Inch thick, 

 and line a buttered dish large enough to hold the 

 meat; lay In the meat, add a teacup of water, or less, 

 if the pie is to'be for a small family, then roll out a 

 thick crust of the potato, covering the top of the 

 pie at least an inch thick, and bake about an hour 

 and a half. 



Horse Radish Saocb. — Two tcatpoonfnls of 

 made mustard, two of white sugar, half a tcaspoon- 

 ful of salt, and a gill of vinegar; mix and |>aur over 

 grated horse radish. Excellent with beef. 



Pi.Ais Rich Cake.— .Mix with one-half pound of 

 ground rice one-half pound of pounded SHgar and 

 the grated rind of half a lemon, whisk thoroughly 

 two large eggs, whites and yolko together; mix these 

 with the other ingredients and bake In buttered tin. 

 This cake is best eaten fresh; after about three days 

 it becomes dry, as it contains no butter; but for using 

 at once it is nice and inexpensive. 



Potato Puddino.— Ode pound of mealy pota- 

 toes; mash them In perfectly smooth, avoiding too 

 heavy a pressure; mix while hot four ounces of 

 butter, five ounces of sugar, six eggs, a little salt, 

 and a liberal allowance of grated lemon peel. Pot 

 in a buttered dish and bake in a moderate oven for 

 forty minules. It should be turned out and served 

 with a layer of sifted sugar. When cold it cats like 

 cake and may be served as such. 



Mutton Haricot.- Take a loin of mutton, cut It 

 into small chops, season with ground pepper, all- 

 spice and salt; let it stand a night and then fry it. 

 Have good gravy, well seasoned with Hour, butter, 

 catsup and pepper. If necessary. Boll turnips and 

 carrots, cut them small, and add to the mutton, 

 stewed in the gravy, with the yolks of hard-boiled 

 eggs, and forcemeat balls. Some green pickles will 

 be an Improvement. 



Rice Chicken Pie.— Cover the bottom of a pud- 

 ding dish with slices of boiled ham; cut up a broiled 

 chicken and nearly fill the dish; add chopped onion 

 if you like, or a little curry powder, which Is better; 

 then add boiled rice to fill all interstices and to cover 

 the top thick. Bake It for one-halfor three-quarters 

 of an hour. 



Cheap SPoyoE Cake.— Three eggs, two tablc- 

 spoonfuls of water and a teacupful of sugar mixed 

 together; a teacupful and a half of flour, two tea- 

 spoonfuls of baking powder, and a pinch of salt 

 stirred thickly in; season with a teaspoonful of es- 

 sence of vanilla, or half a lemon; bake In a quick 

 oven. It can be baked in Jelly-cake pans, and have 

 pastry cooks' cream, lemon, icelng, or chocolate be- 

 tween . 



Cold Spiced Beef. — A five-pound piece of tender, 

 juicy beef, without fat, from the rump or tender 

 side of the round. One pint of cold water, half a 

 pint of vinegar, tvo teaspooufuls of ground cloves, 

 one teaspoonful of pepper, two teasjioonfuls of salt, 

 two or three onions; mix the salt and spices well into 

 the beef, press It into a deep dish and pour the 

 vinegar over It; let it stand twenty-four hours in a 

 cool place, turning it occasionally. If it absorbs all 

 the vinegar add more; put It In a stew pan with the 

 water and onions, and let It simmer slowly three or 



