284 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



stirred np smoothly in a liitle cold water ; boil, pour into a stone jar, when 

 cooled to blood-heat add half a pint sweet j^east ; when the whole mass is 

 light and opening-, cover the jar closely and keep it in a cool, dry cellar." 



My receipt for making bread is as follows: Take two quarts tepid water; 

 mash through a fine cullender into the bread pan six or eight good sized 

 potatoes, iising part of the water to aid the process; melt and add a large 

 bread-spoonful of sweet lard and half a pint of yeast; use flour enough to 

 make a thick batter. Do this at noon, and keep in a room of moderate 

 temoerature. At night the batter will be thorougidy liglit, when add suf- 

 ficient flour to make a dough just stifi' enough to admit of molding when 

 risen. In the morning divide into loaves, mold thoroughly and let them 

 stand in the baking pans in a warmer place than before, until the dough 

 feels soft and spongy when pressed with the finger. In baking maintain 

 an oven at moderate heat for one hour or more, according to the size of the 

 loaf Great care must be taken that the dough be not too stiff, nor the 

 oven too hot, nor the room too warm in which the process of rising is going 

 on. Very nice biscuit may be made of this dough, and it may be kept in 

 a veiy cold place several days for this purpose; but if something a little 

 extra be desired proceed as follows: To one pint of the well raised dough 

 add one pint new milk, one table-spoonful lard or butter, a little salt if the 

 lard be used, and flour enough to make a dough sufficiently stiff for bread; 

 let it rise in a moderate temperature till the whole mass is light — that is 

 full of air-holes — set in a cold place till about an hour before baking. Mold, 

 roll, and cut into biscuits, and let them remain in the baking pan near the 

 stove till well risen: bake about fifteen or twenty minutes. Some persons 

 object to tlie use of lard in bi-ead. It is not necessary with the finest 

 quality of flour, but in iny opinion is a great improvement when the medium 

 qualities are used. I have used yeast made as above five or six years, and 

 have never found any difficulty ih keeping it sweet except for a few months 

 one season when I lived in a house that had a damp, moldy cellar. As soon 

 as the latter was properly drained, sour yeast disappeared from my pre- 

 mises. 



Mrs. H. A. W. Marston, Lunenburg, Mass., gives directions similar to 

 the ab(jve, except in the use of ginger instead of hops. She adds " to four 

 potatoes after the mash is cool, not cold, one cup of sugar, one of flour, one' 

 of yeast, one table-spoonful of salt, one of ginger; butter, and keep in a 

 cool place. This yeast has kept sweet for months." 



The Reports of the Club. 



Mr. John B. Wood, Great Falls, N. H., thinks the reports of this Club are 

 doing more good to tliis country than the Agricultural Department at ^Vash- 

 ington. He says: " I think that every farmer should have the discussions 

 of the Farmers' Club to read. It is amusing to seethe facmer's wife glance 

 hastily over the discussions of the Club till she comes to the flower depart- 

 ment; then she reads slow and careful. This shows that she feels a deep 

 interest in the sultject. There are now but few farmers' houses where 

 flowers are cultivated. But this' state of things is soon to be changed. 

 AVomen are ambitious, and do not do work up. at the halves like most men, 

 and the time is not far distant when flowers around the cottage of the 



