1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



553 



BAKED APPLES. 



A homely subject enough, many will say ; but 

 an important one, nevcrlheless, in the edible 

 world, and its virtuous tendencies will bs evident 

 enough before we get through Vvith it. We are 

 disposed to no glowing eulogy on apples, either 

 raw, roast, baked, stewed, fried, puddinged, or 

 preserved. We propose to speak simply what we 

 know, what we have already lived on for weeks 

 past, and what we in all honesty recommend to 

 every good house-keeper — most emphatically to 

 those having families of children. 



A sweet apple, sound and fair, has a deal of su- 

 gar or saccharine in its composition. It is, there- 

 fore, nutritious ; for sweet apples, raw, will fat cat- 

 tle, horses, pigs, sheep, and poultry. Cooked 

 sweet apples will "fat" children, and make grown 

 people )lcs]iii — "fat" not being a polite word, as 

 applied to grown persons. Children being more 

 of the animal than "grown folks," we are not so 

 fastidious in their classification. But to the mat- 

 ter in question. In every good farmer's house 

 who has an orchard, baked sweet ap])les are an 

 "institution," in their season. Everybody, from 

 the toddling baby holding up by his father's knee 

 — children are decidedly a household commodity 

 — away back to "our reverend grandmother" in 

 her rocking-chair, loves them. No sweet-meat 

 smothered in sugar is half so good ; no aroma of 

 dissolved confectionery is half so simple as the 

 soft, pulpy flesh of a v.'ell-baked apple, of the right 

 kind. It is good in milk, with bread. It is good 

 on your plate, with breakfast, dinner, or supper 

 — we don't "take tea" at our house. It is good 

 every way — "vehemently good" — as an enthusi- 

 astic friend of ours once said of tomatoes. 



Now, for the kind of apple to bake, and the 

 choice of them in this, in the midst of the apple 

 season. Apples have tvi'o qualities;, one for eating 

 raw, out of the hand ; another for cooking, or ci- 

 der purposes. We cannot go into the explanation 

 of all these things at this time, but will recur to 

 it hereafter. Some varieties combine the perfec- 

 tion of the two qualities — those of eating raw and 

 cooking. Others are good for nothing until 

 cooked, or their juice expressed into cider. The 

 latter we let alone, for the present. We do not 

 even propose to describe the qualities of the best 

 apple to bake, only that they be sweet and rich. 

 We v.ill name a few kinds, and the seasons in 

 in wliich they are in perfection. They are all to 

 be found in market in their various times of eat- 

 ing or cooking. Some are already past the sea- 

 son ; but more and better ones are coming in for 

 this and the two coming months. We will, how- 

 ever, mention all that occur to us, past, present, 

 and to come, that those of our readers who in- 

 tend planting may profit, if possible, by our sug- 

 gestions. First, in season, v/e name the Bough 

 — early Sweet Bough some call it. It is among 

 the earliest — being ripe in August — as it surely 

 is the best of its season, large, fair, and yellow, 

 with a slight blush on the side. We cannot de- 

 scribe it at length, now. It grows freely through- 

 out most of the northern and middle States. 

 Next in season is the Golden Sweeting — a good 

 sized, yellow, fair fruit, with a long stem and 

 slightly oval shape. It is equal in flavor to the 

 Bough, and slightly richer. It ripens early in 

 September, when the Bough is done, and remains 



near, or quite, a month in season. It is a thrifty, 

 harder grower, and holds a wide range of climate 

 and soil as its habitat. Scon after this comes the 

 Jersey Sweeting — a large, red, fair apple, with drier 

 flesh than the last, but a good baking fruit. Suc- 

 ceeding this comes the Lyman's Pumpkin Sweet, 

 or Pound Sweet — very large, whitish-green in 

 color, and plashed with still lighter stri])es from 

 the stem downward. Not so delicate in flavor as 

 the first named, but excellent when ripe. Still bet- 

 ter than either of those we have named is the 

 English Belle-bonne — large, yellowish green, and 

 intensely sweet. It is the best baking apple we 

 know ; ripens in October, and will keep well cared 

 for, until January. No sweetmeat is richer than 

 this. We have known good molasses made from 

 it, and it is good eaten from the hand, or made 

 into apple-sauce, for which purpose no apple is 

 scarcely so good. It is not a common fruit. We 

 first saw it in New England. We have it in an 

 orchard, and would rather spare any variety we 

 have than this. Next to this is the Talman Sweet- 

 ing — a medium sized, whitish, round, winter ap- 

 ple. Its best qualities are not developed until 

 cooked, when it becomes a perfect sweetmeat. It 

 will keep into May, properly put up. 



These six are the best varieties of several ba- 

 king apples, which now occur to us. There are, 

 however, various local varieties of good sweet ap- 

 ples, which are grown in different parts of the 

 country, perhaps equally or nearly as good as 

 those — indeed, we know some such. But as we 

 did not intend writing up any particular variety 

 of apple for baking or cooking, when we com- 

 menced, we are content with recommending the- 

 use of the sweet apple in general, as a decidedly; - 

 valuable article of household economy, and leave 

 it at that. 



Tart or sub-acid apples are preferred by som« 

 for baking, but they are not so generally liked as 

 the sweet, nor are they so nutritious. But we 

 must stop, or we shall wander far into the details 

 of pomology. — N. Y. World. 



Rats. — A correspondent of the Oa.rdeners 

 Monthly says : "I tried the efl'ect of introducing 

 into the entrance of their numerous holes,, runs, 

 or hiding-places, small portions of chloride of 

 lime, or bleaching powder, wrapped in calico and 

 stuffed mto the entrance holes, and thrown loose 

 by spoonfuls into the drain from the house. This 

 drove the rats away for a twelvemonth, when 

 they returned to it. They were treated in the 

 same manner, with like effect. The cure was 

 most complete. I presume it was the chlorine 

 gas, which did not agree with their olfactories." 



A Sure Remedy for a Felon. — It is said by 

 somebody, who pretends to know all about it, that 

 the following is a sure remedy for a felon : 



"Take a pint of common soft soap and stir in 

 air slacked lime till it is of the consistency of 

 glazier's putty. Make a leather thimble, fill it 

 with this composition, and insert the finger 

 therein, and a cure is certain." 



We happen to know that the above is a certain 

 remedy and recommend it to any one who may be 

 troubled with that disagreeable ailment. — BvffaJ^ ■ 

 Advocate. 



