1863. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



231 



EXTHACTS AND KEPLIES. 



HOW TO MAKE CORN BEER. 



Will you or some of your subscribers inform me 

 through your paper how to make corn beer ? G. 

 Eaat Uardxcick, Vt., June, 18G3. 



Remarks. — In reply to a similar inquiry, we pub- 

 lished the following directions about three years ago : 



To two gallons of water add one quart of dry corn, 

 one pint of molasses, one tablespoonful of ginger. 

 Let it stand in a cask or demijohn, and in one week it 

 is fit for use. The same corn will answer for several 

 brewings, bnt the cask should be scalded each time. 



Roxbttrij, Vt., July, 1860. W. II. Walhridge. 



The crop prospects in New York are encourag 

 ing. The weevil, which for several years back 

 has been so destructive in the wh^at-producing 

 counties in Central and Western New York, has 

 in a measure disappeared, and once more broad 

 fields of wheat gladden the eye in those counties, 

 and give promise of a fine yield. In the counties 

 adapted more especially to grazing and dairy pur- 

 poses many farmers are practicing the best means 

 of enriching their pastures and meadows, improv- 

 ing their stock and adopting the most approved 

 system of cheese and butter-making — so that, 

 with a fair season, we may look for a large product 

 in the State. 



LADIES' DEPARTMENT. 



THE BABY -WALKS ! THE BABY "WALKS ! 



Joy fills the house ; the baby stands 



Alone upon her feet. 

 With quivering lip she lifts her little hands. 

 And wonderingly doth gaze into her mother's face ; 

 Thus timidly she starts upon life's fitful race. 



How many hopes, how many fears. 



How many smiles, how many tears 



Hang o'er her dangerous walk through coming years ! 



Almighty God ! to Thee the child is given ; 



Guide home her weary steps at last to heaven. 



Chrisiian Inquirer. 



DRESSING -WITH TASTE, 



Tt is strange that with all the time American 

 \romen bestow upon dress, so few know how to 

 prepare a simple toilet with taste. To be well- 

 dressed, means, with most, to wear rich material, 

 made up in gorgeous style, and with all the usual 

 accessories of lace and jewelry, to add to the mag- 

 nificence of the general effect. Never was a 

 greater mistake. To be well-dressed is only to 

 have attire suited to time, place, and circumstan- 

 ces, made in a becoming manner. This attire may 

 be a shilling calico, or a rich silk, and yet in eith- 

 er, if it is adapted to the conditions we have men- 

 tioned, a woman may be said to be well-dressed. 

 Where household duties have to be performed, 

 and the care of children devolves partly upon the 

 mistress of the house, a neat dress, fitted grace- 

 fully to the figure, is much better for morning 

 •wear, than the faded remains of more pretentious 

 costume. Nothing looks more forlorn than to see 

 a would-be lady performing household offices, of 

 not the most refined character, in an old torn or 

 dirty silk dress, or a soiled and draggled open 

 wrapper. One of the secrets of dressing well, is 

 to dress appropriately ; another, to be careful of 

 the details, the minutiae of the toilet. Thorough 

 personal cleanliness, glossy, well-brushed hair, 

 neat shoes and stockings, are as essential to a 

 good personal appearance as the material and 

 fashion of the dress. Indeed, a lady who is par- 



ticular in these minor matters can hardly ever be 

 said to be ill-dressed, as this delicate refinement 

 will not only excuse faults, but naturally show it- 

 self in the good taste which will guide her selec- 

 tion, no matter how small the cost may be. Some 

 persons have an extreme hornpr of being "caught," 

 as they call it, in a morning dress. Why they 

 should be so sensitive on this point, it is difficult 

 to say. If it is clean, and adapted to the work in 

 which they are engaged, there is no shame in 

 wearing it, and, above all, it ought to be remem- 

 bered that no attire is good enough for the family 

 which is not good enougli for mere acquaintances 

 who may chance to favor you with their society. 

 It is much better to be caught in a ])lain morning 

 dress, than to be caught very mnch over-dressed, 

 as some unlucky individuals are, at a small party. 

 In one case there is real cause for mortification, in 

 the other there is none. 



DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 



A Delicate Dessert. — Lay half-a-dozen 

 crackers in a tureen, pour on enougli boiling wa- 

 ter to cover them. In a few minutes they will be 

 swollen to three or four times their original size. 

 Now grate loaf sugar and a little nutmeg over 

 them, and dip on enough sweet cream to make a 

 nice sauce, and you will have a simple and deli- 

 cious dessert that will rest lightly on the stomach, 

 and it is easily prepared. Leave out the cream, 

 and it is a valuable recipe for "sickroom cookery." 



BoiLlXG Potatoes. — This is a formula : Let 

 each mess be of equal size. Let the water boil 

 before putting the potatoes in. When done, pour 

 off the water and scatter three or four table- 

 spoonsful of salt, cover the pot with a coarse 

 cloth, and return it to the fire for a short time. 

 Watery potatoes are made mealy by this process. 

 How simple is the process, yet how few under- 

 stand it. 



Syrup for Cooking. — In making gingerbread 

 with sorghum molasses, mix the soda with the mo- 

 lasses ; then warm, stir till light, then mix with 

 flour in the usual way, whicli will make light 

 bread. 



Raspberry Vinegar. — Pour 1 quart vinegar 

 on 1 quart fresh-picked raspberries ; the next day 

 strain it through a sieve on another quart of rasp- 

 berries, and so on five or six days ; then to every 

 pint juice add 1 pound white sugar, set it in ajar, 

 which must be placed in a pot of boiling water, 

 until scalded through. Bottle. 



Ginger Beer. — 1 gallon cold water, 1 pound 

 white sugar, i ounce race ginger, 1 sliced lemon, 

 1 teacup yeast. Let it stand all night to ferment ; 

 then pour it oft' without stirring, bottle it, and add 

 1 raisin to each bottle. 



How TO HAVE Good Luck in Soap Making. 

 — Be sure your lye is strong enough to well bear 

 up an egg. Put your grease, (about three gallons, 

 to a twelve gallon kettle,) over the fire to melt. 

 When it is thoroughly hot, begin stirring in your 

 lye slowly, not more than a pint at once, being 

 careful to keep your grease boiling all the time, 

 and you will have no trouble making soap. It 

 sometimes comes before the kettle is filled up with 

 lye, and never takes more than a few hours' boiling. 



Substitute for Cream. — If you have not 

 cream for cofi'ee, it is a very great improvement to 

 boil vour milk, and use it wNi'p *- 



