1SS.1.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



79 



Raising Potatoes By The Straw Process. 

 From my expfrieuce in raising potatoes uuiler 

 hiriw I helieve they could be raised in this way suc- 

 ( r^siiilly, and save the labor of cultivation. I had a 

 Mri ill plot ot ground broken and made mellow. 

 Til' potatoes were planted by tirst running a small 

 lunow, and then dropping the seed pieces in this 

 111! :o\v every eight inches, and covered by running 

 an illur furiow, throwing the soli in the first, and 

 then seed dropped iu this, so on until finished. The 

 ground was now covered with straw six or eight 

 Inches deep. I waited until I thought they should 

 be coming up, and then I examined them. I found 

 that the moles had ruined my patah . The compost 



I that had been worlted in the soil enticed earth worms 

 snd the moles, iu hunting for the worms, had eaten 

 all the seed. At least none came up. The next 

 spring I concluded to plant in a diQ'ereut way. I had 

 my ground broken up deep, working a rich and well 

 rotted compost thoroughly in the soil. The soil was 

 now leveled and smoothed. The seed pieces were 

 planted on top of the soil in straight lines ten indies 

 apart and eight inches apart in the lines. The 

 whole was then covered with about six or eight 

 Inches of straw. I found the moles would raise the 



i soil some, but did not molest the potatoes any. I 

 find that a liberal sprinkling of unleached ashes 

 about twice during the growing season is of great ad- 

 vantage. Many vines when stretched up measured 

 five feet, and the tubers were the finest I ever raised. 

 — Correspandetit Indiana Farmer. 



How to Get Early Potatoes. 



The best plan we have ever tried to get " new po- 

 tatoes" a few days in advance of the main crop, and 

 to be first in the race — which is one of the many 

 pleasures iu gardening — is to select medium sized 

 potatoes, and put them in a box of Sphagnum Moss, 

 or, if that cannot be obtained, saw-dust or common- 

 garden soil will answer ; place the potatoes seed end 

 np, and fill between them and under them with the 

 18, leaving only the tip of the potato exposed. 

 This will cause the leading eye to sprout, which 

 takes most of the nourishment from the tuber, and 

 consequently is much stronger than it would be if 

 the other eyes produced plants. These should be 

 started about a month earlier than the usual plant- 

 ing time. These boxes of tubers may be placed in a 



.-bed, or in any warm room, giving them all the 

 light possible. When the time has arrived for 

 planting out, remove the tubers as carefully as pos 

 Bible, in order not to injure the roots, and plant in 

 well prepared soil. Remove any except the main 

 ghoot, should any appear. By this method potatoes 

 may be had Irom one to two weeks earlier than by 

 the ordinary method of planting. 



Household recipes. 



Gems.— One small quart flour, one pint sour milk, 

 one teaspoonful each of soda and salt ; heat the 

 gem-pans hot, fill and bake. 



Omelette. — -Break six eggs, season with pepper 

 and salt ; add a tablespoonful of finely grated bread 

 crumbs. Beat the whole well together, and fry in 

 butter. 



Sugar Biscuit.— One quart of flour, one cup of 

 sugar, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two 

 tablespoonfuls of lard, two eggs, two-thirds of a pint 

 of milk. Sift together flour, salt, sugar and powder ; 

 rub in lard cold ; add beaten egg9 and milk ; mix 

 smooth and drop with a spoon on a greased baking 

 tin ; sift sugar over top ; bake iu a hot oven ten 

 minutes. 



Molasses Pies. — One-half cupful sugar, one-half 

 cupful molasses, yolks of three eggs, butter size of 

 valnut, one-half nutmeg. Put all together and heat, 

 then stir in the well-beaten eggs. Bake the crusts 

 partly done and pour in the mixture. Beat the 

 whites of three eggs, sweeten very little, and put on 

 top after the pies are done. 



CocoANUT Tarts are a pleasing addition to the 

 plain dinner for a family where there are children. 



Line small tins with nice light crust and fill with 

 this mixture : Dissolve a qtJarter of a pound of 

 sugar in a little water, add as much grated coeoanut 

 as you can stir In, and have well mixed with the 

 sugar. Let this simmer slowly for a few minutes, 

 then when it cools add the yelks of two eggs. Fill 

 the tins and bake for ten minutes ]ln a quick oven. 

 Cover the top with a meringue made of the whites 

 of the eggs and two tablespoonfuls of powdered 

 sugar. Brown in the oven. If you do not care to 

 take quite so much trouble put the whites and yelks 

 both in with the coeoanut and sugar. 



Pakloa Potatoes. — Miss Parloa cuts cold i)ota- 

 toes in cubes, dips them slightly in flour for Duchess 

 potatoes, which are baked in the oven on a greased 

 dish for twenty minutes. Escaloped potatoes are 

 pre|)ared by cutting cold potatoes in thin slices, and 

 baking them in a cream sauce with a layer of bread 

 crumbs on top. For Lyonnese potatoes take three 

 tablespoonfuls of butter, put in a frying pan, and 

 when the butter is melted, a tablespoonful of chopped 

 onion is fried in it till it is of a pale straw color, 

 when a quart of potatoes, cut in dice, are added, 

 thoroughly seasoned with salt and pepper. When 

 they are hot a tablespoonful of chopped parsley is 

 sprinkled over them, and the whole cooked two 

 minutes longer. 



Fish Toast.— Take cold boiled flsh of any kind, 

 pick it into flakes and heat in enough milk to moisten 

 it ; add a bit of butter, and season with pepper and 

 salt. When it is hot, pour it on slices of liuttercd 

 toast, and garnish with hard-boiled eggs, cut iu 

 slices. 



Nut Cake.— Two cups of sugar, one cup of 

 butter, three cups of flour, one cup of cold water, 

 four eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls 

 of cream of tartar,. and two cups of hickory nuts 

 carefully picked out aud added last of all. 



Mock Lemom Pie.— One-half cup of sugar, yolks 

 of two eggs, one-half cup of sweet milk and one-half 

 cup of water; beat the eggs, add the rest, beat all 

 together, aud place in a crust the same as for a 

 custard pie. When done, beat the whites of an egg 

 to a stiff froth, add a tablespoonful of sugar, and 

 one teaspoonful of extract of lemon, spread over 

 the pie, return to the oven and brown. This makes 

 a small pie. 



Fisn Pie. — Take olf the skin, and remove the 

 bones of any odds and ends of cold flsh that may be 

 possessed ; add to this an equal weight of cold 

 mashed potatoes and any cooked rice that may be 

 over from a dish of curry. Season with pepper and 

 ^alt, and place the mixture in a well-greased dish 

 with some lumps of dripping at the top, in the oven, 

 and bake until it is a light brown color. 



A Rich Dish. — A delicate and delicious dish is 

 made by boiling one-quarter of a pound of rice in one 

 pint and a-half of milk ; to this add two ounces of 

 sweet almonds blanched, with two ounces of white 

 sugar. Boil until the rice is tender. Do not stir the 

 rice, but shake the kettle in which it boils. When 

 done serve it in cups which you have first wet with 

 cold water. Leave a space on the top of each cup so 

 you may put a spoonful of jelly with cream poured 

 around it, or whipped cream and powdered sugar, or 

 meringue made of the white of an egg and of sugar, 

 or a chocolate frosting like that for cake. This 

 simple dish admits of great variety in its decoration 

 or in the sauce in which It is served. 



Eggs om Toast. — Six eggs, one cupful drawn 

 butter (drawn in milk), slicesof ftale bread (toasted 

 and buttered), chopped parsley, pepper and salt. 

 Heat a cupful of milk to scalding ; mix in a large 

 teaspoonful of butter, a teaspoonful of flour wet 

 with cold water aud rubbed smooth, and stir until it 

 is as thick as custard. Add chopped parsley, pep- 

 per and salt to taste. All this should be done in a 

 thin vessel set in boiling water and over the flre. 

 Have ready the toast (not forgetting to pare the 

 crust from each slice before it is toasted), buttered 

 and laid in close rows upon a hot dish. Pour a table- 

 spoonful of hot water on each piece. Beat the eggs 

 very light, and stir fast In the drawn butter until 



they are a rich yellow sauce, almost stiff enough to 

 stand alone. Heap upon the toast and send hot to 



table. 



Delicious Fir, Candt Is made by boiling one 

 pound of white sugar with one pint of water. When 

 it hardens in cold water pour it over flgs which you 

 have split and placed on buttered plates. Just before 

 you take the candy from the flre add a small lumpof 

 butter and one tablespoonful of vinegar. If you pre- 

 fer It, the flgs may be chopped and be mixed with 

 candy. 



A Gooi) recipe for a loaf cake Is contributed by a 

 " constant reader." Four cups of sifted flour, three 

 cups of powdered sugar, four eggs, one cup of sweet 

 milk, one glass of colorless wine, one imtmeg grated, 

 a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a small teaspoonful 

 of soda dissolved in a little hot water ; stir it briskly, 

 so that the Ingredients will be thoroughly mixed be- 

 fore putting into the tin. 



.Minnehaha Cake.— One cup sugar, half cup 

 butter, half cup of milk, two cups flour, two eggs, 

 two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Bake in layers. 

 Take half cup of chopped raisins, hall cup sugar, 

 quarter cup water, white of one egg ; beat to a froth . 

 Stir sugar, raisins and egg well together and boll 

 till quite thick. When cool place between the 

 layers of the cake. 



Delmonico Pudding.— One quart scalded milk, 

 three tablespoonfuls cornstarch, moistened with a 

 little cold milk ; stir into the boiling milk the yolks 

 of six eggs, well beaten, four tablespoonfuls sugar ; 

 stir all together. Take It off the fire, flavor and put 

 into pudding dish. Then beat the whites of the eggs 

 to a stiff froth, spread over the top, and brown in the 

 oven. 



Fairy Cake. — Two cups sugar, cup cream, one- 

 half cup butter, two and one-half cups flour, four 

 yolks of eggs, one white of egg, two and one-half 

 teaspoonfuls oPbakiug powder. Bake in Jelly cake 

 tins, and spread with icing made as follows : Three- 

 fourths pound pulverized sugar, whites of three 

 eggs ; begin adding sugar as you heat the whites 

 and cover the whole cake. Flavor cake aud icing 

 with lemon. 



Watermelon Cake — White part : Two cups 

 sugar, two-thirds cup butter, two-thirds cup milk, 

 three cups flour, five whites of eirgs, one tablespoon- 

 ful baking powder, lied part : One ciip red sugar, 

 one-third cup butter, two cups flour, one-third cup 

 milk, one cup raisins (whole), five whites of eggs, 

 one tablespoonful baking powder. Roll the raisins 

 in powdered sugar, stir them into the red part of the 

 cake, put it in the pan and pour the white around It. 

 The cake may be Iced with yellow icing, if desired. 



Orange PuDDiN<i. — One pint of milk, the yolks 

 of two eggs, and grated rind of two oranges, two 

 good tablespoonfuls of cornstarch wet in a little cold 

 milk, and sweeten to taste, very little salt. Heat 

 the milk almost to boiling, then stir in the starch 

 and cook till it thickens. Cut six oranges in small 

 pieces and put them into a deep dish. Cover with 

 sugar. When the custard is cool, pour it over the 

 oranges. Beat the whites to a stiff froth together 

 with a little sugar, aud spread it over the whole. Set 

 iu oven, if you like, just to brown. 



Velvet Pudding.— Five eggs, beaten separately 

 one teaeupful white sugar, four tablespoonfuls 

 cornstarch dissolved in a little cold milk and added 

 to the yolks and sugar. Boil three pints of sweet 

 milk, iK)uring in the yolks and sugar while it Is 

 boiling. Remove from the flre when it has 

 become quite thick. Flavor with vanilla and pour 

 into a baking dish . Beat the whites of the eggs to a 

 stiff froth, with half a teaeupful of white sugar. 

 Then pour It over the top of the pudding and return 

 it to the stove until it is slightly browned. Eat with 



English Plum Pudding.— Three i?ounds flour, 

 six pounds currants, six pounds raisins, three pounds 

 brown sugar, two and one-half pounds beef suet, 

 two cups bread crumbs, one-half pound citron, one 

 spoonful grated carrot, two ounces cinnamon, two 



