1883] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



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of six egge, beaten very liglit, seven tiiblespoonfuls 

 of flour anil one pint of 6weet niilk. Stir tliese all 

 togellier briskly anil bake in cups. 



Lobster Patties.— Cut a pint of lolieter meat 

 Into (lice and stir it into balf a pint of cream sauce. 

 Season witli cayenne popper, a little grateii nutmeg 

 and lemon peel to iaste. Stir it over tint lire until it is 

 well heated, then fill pate-shells witli the hot 

 mixture. 



Venison Patties. — Cut cold roast venison into 

 dice, and heat about a pint of it in half a pint of 

 thickened gravy. Or season it any way you choose 

 and moisten it, then stir it over the lire until scalding 

 hot. Fill pate-shells, and serve as hot as possible. 



Pkeparino Cokuants. — To swell the currants 

 forcakes, after they are picked and cleaned, pour 

 boiling water over them and let them stand covered 

 over with a plate for two minutes ; drain away the 

 water, throw currants an a cloth to dry them, and do 

 not use until they are cool. 



Bkoiled Sweet Potatoes. — Thinly pare large 

 fine sweet potatoes. Cut them lengthwise into thick 

 slices and broil them over a clear hot fire. When 

 crisp and brown put them upon a hot platter, 

 sprinkle pepper and salt over them, and add butter 

 cut into small [lieccs. Serve fresh and very hot. 



Fruit PunniNo — Take sour cream and saleratus 

 enough to sweeten it, add a pinch of salt, and mix 

 thick enough for biscuit. Koll out thin, and spread 

 any kind of fruit that has been canned, omitting the 

 juice, or preserves, or marmalade, or dried fruit that 

 has been soaked, and stewed and cooled before. Koll 

 the crust up carefully so that the fruit will not, drop 

 out, close up the ends, and lay it on a white towel 

 that has been wrung out of scalding-hot water and 

 floured. Pin the towel loosely around the pudding 

 leaving plenty of space for it to swell; then put it in 

 a kettle of boiling water, with a plate at the bottom. 

 Keep boiling constantly until done. 



French Pancakes. — Take two eggs, one table- 

 spoonful of sifted sugar, two tablespoonsfuls of 

 flour,half apint of new milk. Beat the eggs thorough- 

 ly and put them into the bowl with the butter, which 

 should be beaten to a cream; stir in the sugar and 

 flour, and, when these ingredients are well mixed, 

 add the milk. Keep stirring and beating the mixture 

 for a few minutes; put the batter on buttered plates 

 and bake in a quick oven fifteen minutes. Serve with 

 sliees of lemon and powdered sugar on with layers of 

 cakes and layers of marmalade or preserves between 

 them. 



Shrimp Sai.ad.— Peel the boiled shrimps, and when 

 thoroughly cold (those bought in cans aie very nice) 

 arrange them in a circle upon leaves of fresh lettuce. 

 Pour a mayonnaise sauce in the centre and serve at 

 once. Sometimes a tablespoonful ol chopped parsley 

 is added to the dressing for this salad. 



Pickled Tongue.— A good-sized tongue requires 

 to boil at least three hours. It is a good plan to soak 

 It over night in cold water. To cook it put it on in 

 cold water and let it come to a boil. Some cooks 

 change the water when it is half done; if this course 

 is taken, be sure that the fresh water is boiling before 

 the tongue is placed in it. 



Rice Bread makes a pleasant variety at the 

 breakfast table. Take one pint of well cooked rice, 

 half a pint of flour, the yolks of four eggs, two table- 

 spoonfuls of butter melted, one pint of milk and half 

 a teaeupful of salt; beat these all together; theu, 

 lastly, add the whites of the four eggs, which you 

 have beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in shallow pans 

 or in gem tine. Serve warm. 



The Holstein Breeders. 



The annual meeting of the Holstein Breeders' 

 association of America was held in Syracuse, IIG 

 members being present. The President, E. A. 

 Powell, of Syracuse, made an address giving infor- 

 mation in regard to "the rapid advance made by the 

 Hol»tein6, the great beef and milk breed of the 

 world, In the United States during the last year." 



The Secretary's report showed an Increase of 2,007 

 animals in the registry during the same perioil. 

 Liberal appropriations were made for premiums for 

 beef and butter, to lie awarded at the stock shows in 

 Chicago and Kansas City, and at I he national fair for 

 dairy products. 



Live Stock. 



A Thick Straw Bed for Breeding Sows. 



Thick straw lor bedding breeding sows is, it is con- 

 tented by those using it, superior to any other 

 material for both mother and pigs. The uncut 

 straw should be spread into a bed of at least one foot 

 thick ; two feet would be still better and safer, par- 

 ticularly in cold weather, when the pigs could nestle 

 well in it and keep warm. With such a bed, pigs 

 could be furrowed pretty safely in March, instead of 

 waiting until April and May. This would be a con- 

 siderable advantage, as they could be made heavy 

 porkers earlier in autumn, and bring a higher price 

 at that time than later in the season, as young fresh 

 pork is then easily sought for. 



Some suppose that pigs just farrowed would be 

 easily smothered in a deep bed of straw ; but it is so 

 porous that the air freely circulates, and furnishes all 

 that is required for healthy breathing, while it acts 

 as a soft cushion both over and under the young pigs, 

 and thus prevents the sow, when she lies down, from 

 pressing them to death. This bed also elevates her 

 dugs on the lower side, which often lie so close to a 

 naked floor that the pigs cannot get hold of them ; 

 thus both dam and oflTspring suffer — the former from 

 not haying her milk seasouabi}' withdrawn, and tile 

 latter from lack of necessary nourishment. 



Another method of preventing the sow from over- 

 lying her pigs, is to spike joists 4 to Ij inches thick 

 all around the pen, about inches high from the 

 floor, shaving off about one inch of the lower corner, 

 so as to prevent cutting the sow. If the pigs are 

 theu behind her when she lies down, they can run 

 under this projecting joist, ami thus save themselves 

 from being crushed. A half-round stick would 

 answer the same purpose as the joint. Hemlock for 

 either should not be used, as this wood abounds in 

 slivers. 



Poultry. 



Horses. 



Horses should come through the winter in good 

 flesh, and be in fine trim for the hard work of spring. 

 Horses' feet need special care at this time of slush 

 and mud. Wlien the horses are brought in from 

 work, they should be rubbed down, and the feet and 

 legs thoroughly dried. If left covered with mud, 

 the skin may soon become diseased, and cracked 

 heels or foot fever may result. Look well to the 

 horses feet. 



Cows. 



Any cow that is out of condition will need the best 

 of care now. Warm barn slop, with a little ginger, 

 is excellent. If the animal is poor and weak, there 

 is danger of feeding largely of rich food. Calves In- 

 fested with vermin are known by their rough coats. 

 A mixture of lard and sulphur rubbed along the 

 back, with a teaspoonful of sulphur and molasses 

 once or twice a week ; is effective. 



Sheep. 



Ewes should have dry and clean pens and yards, 

 with a plenty of good, wholesome food. If the wool 

 is falling a few ounce doses of equal parts of sulphur 

 and cream of tartar will relieve the irritation of the 

 skin. 



Swine. 



Breeding sows should be separated from other 

 pigs, and provided with warm, dry pens, bedded 

 with leaves or straw. A rail fastened to the wall, 

 eight inches from the the floor, will prevent the 

 young pigs from being crushed. It is well to feed 

 the sow some raw linseed oil a few days before the 

 pigs are born. 



The Dust Bath. 



Those knowing the value of dust bath for fowls, 

 summer and winter, consider It essential to success- 

 ful poultry keeping. And how few of our poultry 

 keepers who give their fowls a chance to revel in a 

 lu^ap of loose earth, sand or ashes during their con- 

 (inement in winter ? 



The dust hath Is to poultry nature's cleanser and 

 renovafer and is as necessary for cleansing the 

 feathers of fowls from vermin and effete matter as a 

 cool pure water bath is to the person of cleanly 

 habits. 



I'oultry with free range in summer will be able to 

 help themselves to a dust bath if they have to roll In 

 the newly-inade flower or vegetable beds. With 

 fowls in confinement the means and material must 

 be supplied. A dry mass of fine sand or road dust, 

 line loam or coal ashes will do. This mass of dry 

 materials should be under a shed to protect it from 

 rain in summer time, and ii] the sunniest corner of 

 the hen house in winter. 



If we watch the habits of all wild game birds, we 

 can see them in the open clearings and on the country 

 roads, at early sunrise, dusting themselves as rapidly 

 as possible; and if we give our domestic fowls a 

 chance, we can see an Instinctive desire in the young 

 as well as the old to sei'atch, and pulverize the earth 

 in lumps, and will then adjust their feathers, and 

 by the rapid action of their claws are enabled to dust 

 thoroughly, and by shaking rid themselves of lice. 

 The dust bath is m.ade more effective by putting a 

 handful or two of sulphur and carbolic powder 

 through the mass and mixing them together. — 

 American Poultry Journal. 



The Secret of Raising Turkeys. 



One of our most successful breeders remarks upon 

 this point : One great secret of raising turkeys is to 

 take care, and take care all summer; and even then 

 you cannot always raise them, for sometimes they 

 will not lay, or they will not hatch, or something 

 will befall them. Sometimes we raise turkeys with- 

 out much care, when the season is specially favora- 

 ble, but generally the raeasureof care is the measure 

 of success. A boy ten or twelve years old, with a 

 little direction from his father, can easily take care 

 of 200 young turkes's, and he cannot earn so much 

 money on the farm In any other way. It Is an old 

 maxim that if a thing is worth doing it is worth 

 doing well. Some may think this constant care is too 

 much trouble to raise turkeys. This is a free coun- 

 try, and you can omit any part (or the whole) of 

 these suggestions. If you know a better course, by 

 all means pursue it. This painstaking has made 

 turkey raising about as sure as any other branch o^ 

 farm Industry. I have usually kept from eight to 

 eleven hen turkeys for breeders, and have 

 raised from ninety nine to one hundred and thirty- 

 seven In a summer. In IStiS I sold my turkeys for 27 

 cents a pound, they amounted to ?280.40. In 1809 I 

 sold for 2.5 and 27 cents per pound, gross amount of 

 sales, ifo.SO.lS. That year I kept an account of 

 expenses and calculated the net profit at 8213.58. 

 In 1870 I sold for 25 cents a pound ; amount of sales, 

 8311.:!2. In 1.S71 I sold for 18 ceuts a pound ; gross 

 amount of sales, $281!. 13. I would rather raise tur- 

 keys and sell at 15 cents a pound, than to raise pork 

 and sell at 10 cents a jiound. Perhaps In fattening 

 pork j'ou can save the manure better, but the turkey 

 droppings, if gathered and saved every week and 

 kept dry, are worth half as much as guano, and are 

 certainly worth a cent a pound. 



The turkey crop is steadily increasing In value, 

 not more by the increased number of farmers who 

 niake this a specialty in their poultry-raising, than 

 by the increased attention and skill of those who 

 have long been In the Inisiuess. Care in selecting 

 stock for breeding brings ample rewards. The pros- 

 pect was never better than now for the extension of 

 the business among the farmers who have a good 



