1883.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER- 



127 



is called In the market, Is a variety of kale, a cab- 

 bage tliat does not liead. This is cullivaleil in the 

 same manner as spinach. If a farmer finds that he 

 has more spinach than can be consumed at home, a 

 few barrels of it will meet with a ready sale at the 

 nearest market. — American Agricnltnrhl. 



Preparing Fruit for Market. 



" Farmers are cheats," we heard a city man re- 

 mark the other day. " I do not buy a basket of 

 strawberries that has not the biggest and best on 

 top, and when the peach season comes I get a dozen 

 or two of flue poaches at the top, while the rest of 

 the basket is filled with small, preen and gnarled 

 fruit ; they are all cheats." The very ne.xt day after 

 hearinc this remark we were among the fruit com- 

 mission houses, and in one place saw some young 

 men, who had bought several crates of berries to 

 peddle. They had a lot of smaller baskets, to which 

 thev transferred the berries from the larger ones 

 they had bought, and as they filled ihese they topped 

 them with the largest berries with surprLsing dex- 

 terity. We concluded that all the clieatiug, in straw- 

 berries at least, was not done by the farmers. That 

 there is much " deaconing " (the market phrase for 

 topping) of peaches and other fruits, we do not doubt, 

 yet the tendency is all in the other direction. Take 

 peach growers, for example, those who are regularly 

 in the business, and expect to continue it, strive to 

 make their brand upon a crate or basket a guarantee 

 of honest packing. This is insisted upon at all the 

 meetings of peach-growers ; only recently we re- 

 ceived the transactions of a fruit-growers' society 

 in North Carolina, in which this point, honest pack- 

 ing, was dwelt upon at great length. " Honesty is 

 the best policy," is not a proverb of the highest 

 moral tone, as it implies that it pays to be honest, 

 but the peach-growers are willing to adopt it. In 

 packing peaches the first point should be to assort 

 them, making as many grades as the con- 

 dition of the fruit requires. When brought to the 

 packing shed, the fruit is at once thinly spread in the 

 shade, in order that it may cool as much as possible. 

 In assorting, any that are at all soft are put aside, to 

 be left at home; then two or three qualities, extras, 

 firsts and seconds, are made, and with the best gi'ow- 

 ers, the packages of each are alike all through. It 

 is allowable to turn the colored sides of the top layer 

 uppermost, in order that the fruit may appear at its 

 best, but not to select large specimens for the top 

 layer. Those who send peaches to market for the 

 first time, will find it to their advantage to observe 

 this rule. In packimg grapes for market the box is 

 opened at the bottom, fine large bunches are laid in 

 and the box filled up with smaller bunches. This is 

 done In order that the fruit, when the top is taken 

 off, may present a good appearance, and if the filling 

 is done with good fruit, even if not the most select, 

 there is no harm done. But if, as is sometimes the 

 case, poorly-ripened fruit, and e*en loose berries are 

 used to fill up, the grower will in time find that his 

 brand is not in demand in the market. The fruit- 

 grower, who expects to continue in the business, can 

 not afford to pack bis fruit dishonestly. — American 

 Agriculturist. 



Pumpkins Among Corn. 



Although some farmers reject the long and well- 

 sustained practice of planting pumpkin seed among 

 corn, on the ground that it detracts as much from 

 the corn product as in the profits it adds to the stock 

 of provender, still it is the general method pursued 

 to get a crop of pumpkins. Besides, from our own 

 experience and observation, we have had and seen as 

 good crops of corn with as without the pumpkins. It 

 may appear at first thought as if the land could not 

 sustain two full crops of anything; but this is not 

 so in all cases, as in those where the two crops do 

 not require the same manurial stimulants, inasmuch 

 as a portion at least that one will take up will not be 

 required by the other. Of course, it requires very 

 good land to raise pumpkins ; but even in this case, 

 though an extra crop of manure may be needed to 



be applied to the corn ground where pumpkins are 

 to be planted, there will be a saving in the element 

 of time, and, instead of one croi> from the land in a 

 year, we gather two. The objection that some make 

 that llie vines shade the ground while the ground re- 

 quires all the heat it can get, is not well founded, as 

 the corn Itself furnishes perfect shade without the 

 vines, which really can add little more to injure the 

 crop. It is far more probable that the objectors 

 to this double crop who fall in getting all they want, 

 owe their lack of success to poor land, or negligent 

 cultivation, and we suggest that they should change 

 their system by manuring and cultivating more, and 

 then wait and see. — Ocnnantown Tdeijraph. 



Household Recipes. 



To MAKE Coffee. — Mix the coffee with one egg 

 (not beaten), then add half a pint of cold water; mix 

 thoroughly; put in the coffee Uoiler and pour on one 

 quart of boiling water, and let it boil fifteen or twen- 

 ty minutes, then set it where it will not boll, and add 

 half a gill of cold water. After standing a moment 

 or so, it will be ready to serve. The strength of the 

 coffee will of course, depend on the quantity used. 

 For very strong coffee use half a pint of ground cof- 

 fee. 



Chocolate. — Heat together half a pint of milk 

 and half a pint of water until they nearly boil. Scrape 

 into this, while on the fire, an ounce of Chocolate, 

 stirring quickly till dissolved. Then boil two min- 

 utes. 



Snow Cake.— One and a quarter tumblers of pul- 

 verized sugar; one tumbler of flour; whites of te^ 

 eggs, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, one teaspoon- 

 ful lemon extract. Beat the the whites to a stiff 

 froth, mix the sugar. Hour, and cream of tartar well 

 together and stir in the whites of egg squickly and 

 put at once in the oven to bake. 



Icing for Cake.— For a large cake, sift a half- 

 pound of white sugar with four spoonfuls rose water 

 and the whites of two eggs beaten and mixed well; 

 and when the cake is about cold, dip a feather in the 

 icing and cover the cake. Set it away in some dry 

 place. 



CocOANCT Cake. — Three eggs (the whites of two 

 of thenf for frosting); two-thirds cup of sugar, two- 

 thirds cup of sweet milk, one and two-thirds cups of 

 flour, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, half tea- 

 spoonful of soda. Bake in three round tins, spread 

 frosting on each layer, and sprinkle cocoanut in the 

 frosting. 



Corn Starch Cake. — One cup of butter, three 

 cups flour, one cup of corn starch, whites of twelve 

 eggs, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half tea- 

 spoonful soda. Flavor with lemon. This will make 

 two large loaves. For one loaf use one half the 

 quantity of each ingredient. In cool weather it will 

 keep nicely for some time. 



Gold Cake. — Yolks of three eggs, one cup of 

 brown sugar, three-fourths cup of butter, half cup 

 of sweet milk, two cups of flour, one teaspoonful of 

 cream of tartar, half teaspoonful soda Season with 

 nutmeg. 



Cup Cake. — One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, 

 five eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one 

 teaspoonful of soda, three full cups of flour, one cup 

 of milk. 



Wedding Cake. — One pound of butter; one 

 pound of sugar ; one pound of flour; twelve eggs; 

 three pounds raisins ; two pounds currants ; one 

 pound citron; spice highly; half cup biandy ; use 

 brown sugar. This will keep for months, or a year, 

 if well baked. 



Corn Buead.— One quart buttermilk, two eggs, 

 one-fourth ounce saleralus, two ounces butter ; stir 

 in meal until the mixture is about as thick as buck- 

 wheat batter. Bake in square tin pans about an 

 inch thick, half an hour, in a hot oven. 



Silver Cake.— The whites of three eggs ; one cup 

 of white sugar ; half cup of butter; half a cup of 



sweet milk ; two cups flour ; one teaspoonful cream 

 of tartar ; half teaspoonful corn starch ; half tea- 

 spoonful lemon extract. 



Saratoga Oraiiam Muffins. — Take three cups 

 of sour milk, one-half cup of molassqs, three small 

 teaspoonfuls of soda and a little salt. Put the mo- 

 lasses in the sour milk and add the soda and salt. 

 Mix in one quart of graham flour, and bake in mutrm 

 tins. 



Sponge Cake. — Beat three eggs two minutes, add 

 one and a-half cups of sugar ; beat five minutes ; one 

 cup of flour with one teaspoonful- cream of tartar, 

 beat two minutes ; one-half cup of water with one- 

 half teaspoonful of soda, juice of half lemon, beat 

 one minute ; one cup of flour, beat two minutes. 



Hop Yeast Bread. — Take one yeast cake, dis- 

 solve in a cup of warm water, with a tablespoonful 

 of sugar ; two quarts of the best flour, one large 

 tablespoonful of lard mixed well with the flour. 

 Then pour in the yeast cake, with sufficient warm 

 water to make a moderately soft dough. Knead 

 well. Set it in a warm place to rise until morning, 

 then knead well again. Make into loaves or rolls, 

 and put into the. pans, letting it rise again an hour or 

 so. It is ready then for baking. Follow the above 

 recipe, and you will never fail to make good bread. 



Muffins. — To one quart of milk add two eggs 

 well beaten, a lump of butter half the size of an egg, 

 and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Stir in 

 half pint yeast. Let them stand until perfectly 

 light, and then bake on a griddle, in tin rings made 

 for the purpose. Tliese are merely strips of tin 

 tliree-quarters of an inch wide, made into rings from 

 two and a half to three inches in diameter, without 

 bottom, the ring being simply placed on a griddle, 

 and the batter poured in to fill it up. 



Ginger Cake. — One cup of sugar, one cup of 

 butter, one cup of molasses, one cup of milk, four 

 eggs, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one tea- 

 spoonful of soda, four cups of flour. 



Corn-Cakes. — Take one quart of corn meal and 

 two tablespoonfuls of common wheat Hour (not pre- 

 pared); add salt to taste, and mix thoroughly with 

 a sulKcient quantity of buttermilk to form a batter. 

 Next melt a heaping tablespoonful of lard, stir it 

 with the batter well, and bake on a hot griddle, 

 pouring them thin. 



Best New England Johnnv-Cake. — Take one 

 quart of buttermilk, one teacup of flour, two-thirds 

 teacupful of saleratus, one egg (beat, of course). 

 Then stir in Indian meal, but be sure and not put in 

 too much. Leave it thin, so thin that it will almost 

 run. Bake in a tin in any oven, and tolerably quick. 



Rice Pcdding. — One quarterof a pound rice; one 

 quarter of a pound butter, one quarter of a pound 

 sugar, five eggs, a pint and a half milk, a teaspoon- 

 ful mixed spice. Boil the rice till very soft, and set 

 it away to get cool. Stir the butter and sugar to- 

 gether till very light; add the spice. Beat the eggs 

 and stir them gradually into the milk. Theii stir the 

 eggs and milk into the butler and sugar alternately 

 with the rice. After it is baked, grate nutmeg over 

 the top. 



Entomological. 



The Grape Vine Plume. 



A caterpillar with a very long name (Picrophorun 

 perisccliditctylus) works in an interesting manner 

 upon -the grape vines. About the time the third 

 cluster is forming on a vigorous shoot, the young 

 leaves at the extremity may be found fastened to- 

 gether, making a cavity in whicli one or more cater- 

 pillars find a retreat. The mature insect is a moth 

 of a tawny yellow color, with a very rapid flight. 

 The wings are split up into fealhcr-like lobes, and 

 on this account the insect is known as the Grape 

 Vine Plume. The larv;e hatch soon after the grape 

 leaves begin to expand. At flrsl the caterpillars are 

 nearly smooth, but after each change of skin the 

 hairs become larger and more numerous. They feed 



