890 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



LADIES' DEPARTMENT. 



DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 



Drying the Common Red Currant. — We 

 copy the following method from the last number 

 of the Ilorticulturist. Many of our readers will 

 find it just in time to give it a fair trial. The ed- 

 itor of the Ilorticulturist having examined the 

 currants prepared in this way, highly commends it. 



The currants should be quite ripe when gath- 

 ered, with the stems attached, and washed or 

 rinsed effectually and drained off. Then stem 

 them and wash them thoroughly, and to each 

 pound of currants add a quarter of a pound of 

 good Havana sugar ; then place them in a pre- 

 serving kettle over a fire until they come to a 

 scald heat, when they are turned out into white 

 earthen dishes, and exposed to the action of the 

 sun until, by evaporation they become hardened 

 on the upper side. Then they are turned over, 

 and there remain until they become so on the 

 other side, and so alternate until they become a 

 sort of leathery texture, when they are put away 

 in earthen jars or boxes until wanted for use. 

 Care must be taken to keep them from the dews 

 of night and rains during the process of drying ; 

 finally, the utmost cleanliness should be observed 

 from first to last. 



When used, enough hot water is required to 

 dissolve them or render them to any consistency 

 suitable for tarts, jelly, &c. At the same time, 

 more sugar is required to make them quite pala- 

 table, which must of course be governed by taste. 

 Currants in this way have kept well with us for 

 three years, and the presumption is that they will 

 keep for a longer time, if well cared for. 



How TO HAVE Tender Meat in Hot 

 Weather. — While referring to the flavor of fish, 

 I would point out a very simple plan for ensuring 

 tender meat, and baking it in the jungle. It is 

 not generally knowH that if the flesh of any ani- 

 mal is cooked directly it is killed, so promptly in 

 fact that the heat of roasting or boiling will warm 

 it before its own animal heat has left it, it re- 

 mains perfectly tender. Several days of keeping 

 or hanging are required only for the purpose of 

 removing that toughness and rigidity which new- 

 ly killed meat acquires when cooling. Suppose 

 then a wild fowl or a porcupine shot in the neigh- 

 borhood of the camp, which is always supplied in 

 the noon with a blazing wood fire ; the first thing 

 to be done is to cut and wash out the trail, or 

 gralloch the porcupine, while an attendant mixes 

 up some clay and water into a thick paste, which 

 is quickly smeared all over the animal, the quills 

 or feathers giving it a firm hold This strange 

 looking mud-pie is then laid in the fire, which 

 first dries and bakes the mud covering into a 

 seamless earthen vessel, which retains the juice 

 of the meat while baking ; some experience is re- 

 quisite to determine the time for removing the 

 dish and placing it on the table or the ground, 

 when a blow with the tent peg separates the case 

 with its quills and feathers, and gives access to 

 the carnal kernel within. — Dunlop's Hunting in 

 the Himalaya. 



To Remove Stains from the Hands. — 

 Damp the hands first in water, then rub them 



with tartaric acid, or salt of lemons, as you would 

 with soap ; rinse them, and rub them dry. Tar- 

 taric acid, or salt of lemons, will quickly remove 

 stains from white muslin or linens. Put less than 

 half a teaspoonful of the salt or acid into a table- 

 spoonful of water ; wet the stain with it, and lay 

 it in the sun for an hour ; wet it once or twice 

 with cold water during the time. If this does not 

 quite remove it, repeat the acid water, and lay it 

 in the sun. 



To Make Baker's Yeast. — Boil two ounces 

 of hops one hour in nine quarts of water ; take 

 seven pounds of mashed potatoes, when the li- 

 quor is milk warm, and add one pound of sugar, 

 two ounces of carbonate of soda, half an ounce 

 of spirits of wine, one pound of flour, and half a 

 pint of brewer's yeast to work it. 



"WOMAN AND HOME. 



There is a bundle of delight bound up in the 

 sweet word, home. The word is typical of comfort, 

 love, sympathy, and all the other qualities that 

 constitute the delights of social life. Were the 

 every-day enjoyments of many of our pious, intel- 

 ligent and affectionate families faithfully por- 

 trayed, they would exceed, in moral heroism, in- 

 terest, and romance, most of the productions of 

 the pen of fiction. The social well-being of so- 

 ciety rests on our homes, and what are the founda- 

 tion stones of our homes but woman's care and 

 devotion ? 



A good mother is worth an army of acquaintan- 

 ces, and a true-hearted, noble-minded sister is 

 more precious than the "dear five hundred 

 friends." 



Those who have played round the same door- 

 step, basked in the same mother's smile, in whose 

 veins the same blood flows, are bound by a sacred 

 tie that can never be broken. Distances may sep- 

 arate — quarrels may occur, but those who have a 

 capacity to love anything, must have at times a 

 bubbling up of fond recollections, and a yearning 

 after the joys of by-gone days. Every woman has 

 a mission on earth. There is "something to do" 

 for every one — a household to put in order, a child 

 to attend to, some class of unfortunate, degraded 

 or homeless humanity to befriend. That soul is 

 poor, indeed, that leaves the world without having 

 exerted an influence that will be felt for good af- 

 ter she has passed away. 



There is little beauty in the lives of those wo- 

 men who are drawn into the gay ch'cles of fash- 

 ionable life, whose arena is public display, whose 

 nursery is their prison. At home, in the inner 

 sanctuary of home life, woman appears in her 

 true glory. 



Everybody is interested to know how to drive 

 away mosquitoes. Camphor is the most powerful 

 agent. A camphor bag hungup in an open case- 

 ment will prove an effectual barrier to their en- 

 trance. Camphorated spirits applied as perfume 

 to the face and hands will prove an effectual pre- 

 ventive ; but when bitten by them, aromatic 

 vinegar is the best antidote. 



The finest composition of human nature, as 

 well as the finest china, may have flaws in it, 

 though the pattern may be of the highest value. 



