174 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[November, 



fiower stalks are decayed ; but they can also be 

 taken up in autumn, buried in sand in the cellar and 

 set out ill April. All these require a deep, rfch, 

 sandy or very light soil, and exci pt the Hyacinth 

 and theGladiolus, it is not necessary to take them up 

 and replant yearly. Indeed, we seldom replant the 

 Crocus and Snowdrop, except for the purpose of ex- 

 tending the bed. The Tulip should be taken up 

 about every third year ; the Lillie's every year, 

 Those taken up should be preserved in sand through 

 the winter, occasionally moistened a little in the cel- 

 lar or a pit and placed on shelves. They must be 

 protected against mice or they will play havoc with 

 them ; and this can be done by covering them with 

 sand or soil. — Oermantown Telearaph. 



Whitewashing Apple Trees— Scraping and 

 Washing. 



This very old mode, among tidy farmers, to make 

 their apple orchards look nice, but which for many 

 years has been next to abandoned, is coming into 

 vogue again, and discussions are being indulged in 

 as to the propriety of it. What we know about the 

 matter ourselves is that we do not think it makes 

 much difference, so far as the health or productive- 

 ness of the trees are concerned, whether they are 

 whitewashed or not. In other words we don't think 

 " it pays." It certainly has a tendency to close the 

 pores of the trunks as well as that it has an unatural 

 appearance. Some people believe that- the white- 

 wash causes the old bark to scale off and the hiding 

 place of insects to be disturbed, and this is about all 

 that is claimed for it, but how much better for every 

 farmer having an orchard, to scrape Ihe trees once a 

 year, or only every other year, and follow it with a 

 washing of whale oil soap or carbolic soap and water, 

 applied with a stout broom. This would be sure to 

 dislodge the insects, open the pores of the trees and 

 given them a natural healthy appearance. This 

 would do the work effectually, and leave no room 

 for doubt or discussion. 



Whatever aid the whitewashing of trees may be to 

 their health and productiveness, the best orchards 

 we ever saw, which bore full crops for a generation, 

 were not whitewashed, but scraped and washed with 

 '' soft" soap and water. And the best time for this 

 scraping and washing to take place is the end of 

 November or beginning of December, or it may be 

 done in the spring, not later than early in March 

 before the insects have begun their rounds. — Ger- 

 mantotim Telegraph. 



Vines on Houses. 



It Is generally supposed that vines make houses 

 damp, for which reason there are not nearly as 

 many cottages and houses beautified with vines as 

 there should be. It is only when the climbers are 

 allowed to cover the eaves and obstruct the gutters, 

 or find their way under the shingles, that they be- 

 come objectionable, and these conditions should of 

 course, be carefully guarded against. The Garden- 

 ers' Monthly's remarks in this respect are well taken: 

 " Vines should always be kept cut down below the 

 roof. It is a little trouble to do this once a year, but 

 we can not get even our shoes blackened without 

 some trouble. Those who know how beautiful and 

 how cosey looks a vine. covered cottage will not ob- 

 ject to the few hours' labor it requires to keep vines 

 from stopping up the gutter. Vines really make a 

 wall dry. The millions of rootlets by which they 

 adhere to the wall absorb water, and an examina- 

 tion will prove a vine-covered wall to be as ' dry as 

 an old bone.' One great advantage of a vine-cov- 

 ered cottage, not often thought of, is that it is cooler 

 in summer and warmer in winter than when there is 

 but a mere naked wall." — American Gardener. 



scorched and the leaves crumbled in the sun, the 

 row which rectived the mulching carried through 

 nearly double the crop of fruit. The material used 

 for mulching was old, half decayed buckwheat 

 straw, etc. 



To Blanch Celery. 



The Canadian Horticulturist tells how to blanch 

 celery : "To blanch easily and rapidly go on your 

 knees astride the row ; take the plant in one hand, 

 shake it and squeeze it close to get out the earth 

 from centre, holding in one hand ; with the other 

 draw the earth up to the plant on that side ; take 

 the plant in the other hand and draw the earth on 

 that side, after which let go of the plant and draw 

 the earth from both sides, pressing it against the 

 plant. After your row is gone over and blanched 

 finish up with a hoe. Two blanchings are enough. 

 A sprinkling of salt along the row has been found 

 to be of advantage at the time of blanching." 



^ 



Watering Plants. 



Ben Perley Poore says in the American Cultivator : 

 " Plants should never be watered in the heat of the 

 day in hot weathei", nor in the evening when there is 

 any danger of frost. When sunshine long-continued, 

 says Darwin, has stimulated the plant into violent 

 action, if that stimulus of heat be suddenly dimin- 

 ished by the effusion of cold water, or by its sudden 

 evaporation, death ensues, exactly as it has fre- 

 quently happtned to those who have bathed in cold 

 spring water after having been heated by violent and 

 continued exercise on a hot day. Very lately in this 

 city some very precious plants, by accident, were 

 not watered early in the morning, but at 11 o'clock, 

 when the pots and the earth were much heated ; the 

 consequence was the sudden death of six out of 

 eleven of them." 



Mulching Fruit Trees. 

 A member of the Oneida Community, writing on 

 the importance of mulching fruit trees and plants of 

 every kind, says that he mulched a row of the Fran- 

 conia raspberry and also one of the Philadelphia side 

 by side. The effect was very marked. While the 

 FranconlaB, which were not mulched, were literally 



Importance of Hoeing. 



An English gardener, Mr. Barnes, of Devonshire, 

 in giving an opinion of the importance of hoeing, 

 said he " did not agree with those who say that one 

 good weeding is worth two hoeings. I say never 

 weed any crop in which a hoe can be got between 

 the plants, not so much for the sake of destroying 

 the weeds and vermin, which must necessarily be the 

 case if the hoeing be done well, as for increasing the 

 porosity of the soil to allow the water and air to 

 penetrate freely through it." He adds : " I am 

 well convinced, by long and close practice, that 

 oftentimes there is more benefit derived by crops 

 from keeping them well hoed than there is from the 

 manure applied. Weeds or no weeds, I still keep 

 stirring the soil, well knowing from practice the 

 very beneficial efl'eets ithas." 



Household Recipes. 



Chicken Fritters. — Cut cold roasted or boiled 

 chicken in small pieces, and place in an earthen dish. 

 Season well with salt, pepper and the juice of a fresh 

 lemon. Let the meat stand one hour ; then make a 

 fritter b.atter, and stir the pieces into it. Drop, by 

 the spoonful, into boiling fat, and fry till a light 

 brown. Drain and serve immediately. Any kind 

 of cold meat, if tender, can be used in this way. — iV. 

 Y. Times. 



Jennt Lind Pudding.— Peel ten or twelve good 

 tart apples and slice them very thin, or chop fine ; 

 grate several thick slices of dry bread, or rub them 

 through a colander ; place in a pudding dish, well 

 buttered, a layer of apple, with plenty of sugar and 

 grated lemonpeel, or powdered cassia ; then a layer 

 of bread crumbs, with bitsof butter scattered over it; 

 fill up the dish in this way, and bake for three-quar- 

 ters of an hour; serve with whipped cream. — The 

 Household. 



Graham Gems. — One quart Graham flour, one 

 and a half teaspoonfuls sugar, one teaspoonful salt, 

 two large teaspoonfuls Royal Baking Powder, one 

 pint milk. Sift Graham flour, sugar, salt and pow- 



der together thoroughly, add the milk, mix into a 

 smooth batter as for griddle cakes. Bake in a hot 

 oven twelve minutes. 



Sally Lunns. — One quart flour, one teaspoonful 

 salt, two teaspoonfuls Royal Baking Powder, two- 

 thirds cup butter, four eggs, half pint milk. Sift 

 together flour, salt and powder, rub in the butter 

 cold, add the beaten eggs and milk. Mix into a 

 firm batter like cup cake, pour into two round cake 

 tins the size of pie-plates, bake twenty-five minutes 

 in a pretty hot oven, or until a straw thrust into it 

 gently comes out free of dough. 



Graham Muffins. — One quart Graham flour, two 

 tablespooufuls sugar, two eggs, half teaspoonful 

 butter, one tablespoonful baking powder, a little 

 salt ; moisten and mix thoroughly with a little 

 milk. Bake in patty pans at once, in a quick oven. 



Corn-Meal Muffins. — Three eggs well beaten, 

 whites and yolks separately, two heaping cupfuls 

 Indian meal and one of flour, one teaspoonful soda 

 and two of cream tartar, add a teaspoonful of lard 

 melted, three cupfuls milk, one teaspoonful salt ; 

 beat well and bake quickly in rings. 



New England Pancakes. — Mix a pint of milk, 

 four teaspoonfuls fine flour, seven yolks and four 

 whites of eggs, a very little salt ; fry very thin in 

 fresh butter; between each strew sugar and cinna- 

 mon. 



Johnny Cake. — One quart Indian meal, two-tea- 

 spoonfuls Gillett's Baking Powder, one-third tea- 

 spoonful salt ; mix well ; add sufficient milk and 

 water to make a batter ; pour into a greased tin, 

 bake at once in quick oven. 



Common Cake. — Four cups flour, two cups sugar, 

 two cups sour milk, one tablespoonful butter, one 

 teaspoonful salaratus, few raisins and a small quan- 

 tity nutmeg. 



Dover Cake. — One cup butter, two cupfuls 

 sugar, one and a half pints flour, one teaspoonful 

 Royal Baking Powder, one cup milk, a teaspoonful 

 extract cinnamon or orange. 



French Puffs.— Three cups flour, three teaspoon, 

 fuls melted butter, three eggs, white and yolks 

 beaten separately and very light, three cups milk, a 

 saltspoonful of salt. 



Mrs. P.'s Ginger Cakes.— Half pound butter, 

 half teacup cold water, an ordinary bowlful of mo- 

 lasses, teaspoonful ginger, teaspoonful salaratus. 



Velvet Cake. — Mix the yolks of three eggs with 

 a quart of new milk, add i. teaspoonful salt and 

 enough flour to make a batter, whip in the whites of 

 three eggs. Bake at once. 



Chocolate Charlotte Rousse. — Heat one pint 

 of cream to boiling, add half cupful powdered sugar, 

 three tablespooufuls of grated chocolate rubded in 

 milk, half an ounce of gelatine ; when these are 

 thoroughly dissolved, add slowly the yolks of four 

 eo'gs well beaten. Set in a pan of water five minutes, 

 stirring until hot, not boiling ; take it out and beat 

 to a froth, adding the whites of the eggs. Put your 

 sponge in your moulds, fill with this mixture. 



Duchesse Cake.— One and a half cups butter, 

 one cupful sugar, six eggs, one teaspoonful Royal 

 Baking Powder, mix with one pint flour, teaspoonful 

 extract cinnamon. Rub butter and sugar to light 

 cream, add eggs two at a time, beating well between 

 each ; mix into medium thick batter, bake thirty 

 minutes, take from the oven and ice. 



Mountain Cake. — One cup butter, two and a 

 half cupfuls sugar, three whole eggs and three 

 yolks, pint of flour, one and a half teaspoonfuls 

 Royal Baking Powder, one cupful milk, one tea- 

 spoonful extract vanilla, one cupful currant jelly, 

 two cupfuls sugar, three whites of eggs. 



Fine Fruit Cake. — One cup brown sugar, <)ne of 

 sweet milk, one of butter, one of molasses, one tea- 

 spoonful baking powder, one and a half pounds 

 raisins chopped, one nutmeg, a little brandy. This 

 will make two loaves, and if kept in an earthen pot, 

 covered, will keep a month. 



SCET PuDDlNO. — Three cups flour, two teaepoon- 



