18G5.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
287 
flesh, and fowl,) sbould be cut across the grain of 
the muscular tihres. The exceptions to this rule 
are : very small animals, veryyouni^ lambs, saddles 
of mutton and of venison, sometimes tlie tender- 
loin of beef not taken out. It is commonly desir- 
able to take off the best cuts first, at any rate 
one should be able to do so. Thick, slashiuj slices, 
or big- sprawly pieces, are inelegant ; so also is 
helping too much bone with the meat. Fowls are 
easily carved if young, and cooked till tender, and 
the carver should be able (whether he exercises the 
ability or not) to touch any joint with the point of 
bis knife, and easily separate from the carcass every 
princii>al bone with the tlesh ujion it. We may 
treat upon the carvinjj; of particular jjieces of meat 
aud birds, with illustrations, at some future time. 
Something about Yeast. 
In making bread, yeast isadded to induce fermen- 
tation, for the reason that during the process very 
minute bubbles of carbonic acid gas are liberated, 
which, if the dough be baked at just the right time, 
expaud in baking and cause the bread to have that 
spongincss, so prized by good housekeepens. During 
the fermentation, a portion of the starch of the flour 
is converted into sugar, and if the heat arrests the 
fermentation at the proper point, the bread is not 
only light, but sweet. Curiously enough, fermen- 
tation is accompanied by the growth of a micros- 
copic plant, and, so far as we know, it is necessary 
to introduce some of this plant into the bread, in 
the form of yeast, or if we would make yeast, we 
have to procure some of the plant to start with in 
already made yeast. We hope at .another time to 
give a more minute account of the yeast plant and 
the changes it induces; we now only briefly state 
the facts. There are ou tile a number of letters ask- 
ing for directions to make yeast, and in the same 
hie a number of recipes for producing that impor- 
tant article for the household, but they all require 
the use of yeast to start them. We give below 
one of these several recipes, by " Miss Hattie," 
who gives no address. 
" Take a handful of hops, two or three potatoes, 
and boil in about a quart of water. When the 
potatoes are done, mash them and strain all on to 
flour enough to make a batter as thick, or thicker 
than for griddle cakes. If the flour does not all 
scald by this means, set it on to the stove a few 
minutes, and keep stirring from the bottom, put in 
a large spoonful of molasses and a half teaspoonful 
of ginger. When all is scalded, cool it to about the 
temperature of new milk, put in a tKilf or two 
thirds a teacupful of good yeast, cover and set in a 
warm place, and in a few hours it will be very light; 
then mix into this, as much good corn meal as can 
be got in by working with the hands, the harder 
the better ; work it into a long solid mass, as large 
as one's arm, then cut it off in cakes half or three 
quarters of an inch thick, put them on to your 
moulding board to dry, not flat down, but the edge 
of one just lapped on the other; put them in an 
airy place, not in the sun, nor where they will freeze. 
When dry on the top, turn them over, and in a day 
or two they will be dry enough to put into a bag ; a 
paper one will protect them from the flies. There 
will be enough to last two or three months. 
The next thing is, to make bread. Just before 
retiring, put perhaps a cake aud a half of the yeast 
to Boak in a little warm water and cover it. Wuen 
it is soft, put in your mixing bowl as much flour as 
is needed for bread ; then make a bole one side and 
pour in about a pint of warm water, stir it up, and 
stir in your yeast, cover it over with flour to keep 
in the gi»s, and prevent it drying. In the morning 
it will be ready to mix the first thing. Mix with 
warm water or milk, let it remain in the bowl to 
rise, as it can be kept warm better, and it will rise 
quicker in a mass. When light, " mould it over" 
and put it into pans, to rise the second time, and 
bake when light. Have the oven pretty hot at the 
beginning, aud be careful to not let it burn." 
8tc:iui.l'<>olcoil Ki-eutl.— W. Pease, of La- 
porte Co., Indiana, writes : "If the readers of the 
ArjrkidlurUl desire to have very white and light 
bread, with crust no thicker than a sheet of paper, 
and as white and soft as the centre of the loaf, they 
can have such by preparing it in the usual way and 
placing it on some dish that will set in the steamer, 
and when it I'ises sufficient for baking, instead of 
patting in the oven, place it in the steamer aud 
steam it thoroughly for about half an hour." 
Cliili Sauce. — This, which is an excellent 
relish with cold meats, etc., is thus made by 
Mrs. A. M. Vose, of Boston: 1.8 ripe tomatoes, 1 
onion and 3 green peppers chopped fine, 1 cup of 
sugar, 23-2 cups of vinegar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 
teaspoon e.ieh of all kinds of spice. Bottle for use. 
Green Corn Piidcllllg-. — Mary M. Tur- 
ner, Belmont Co., Ohio, sends a recipe for this sea- 
sonable dish as follows : " Take of sweet corn 14 ears 
— with a knife split the grains lengthwise of the 
cob. Then scrape out the pulp ; to this add 2 ta- 
blespoonfuls of butter, 1 uf sugar, 3 of flour, 3 
eggs, 1 pint rich milk, a little salt. Spice to suit 
taste. Bake from thirty to forty minutes. 
About Octtiugf a Fire— Matclies. 
In IGfiT, Phosphorus was discoveretl by a German chem- 
ist, and tlie pecuiiiir properties of ihis substance have 
led to an entire change in the method of kintlling a fire. 
The burning of any substance is caused hy the oxygen of 
the ail- uniting rapidly with it. Any thing for which oxy- 
gen has great attraction will take tire at a very kiw tem- 
perature ; some substances, as the metals potassium and 
sodium, will ignite as soon as touched by water or eve^ 
ice. for water is largely marie up of oxygen. Phosphorus 
lias a strong attraction for oxygen ; a moderate degree of 
heal, such for instance^ is caused by rubbing it, will 
set it on fire. In IGSO, one Godfrey Hanckwiiz intro- 
duced tills substance into London, to be used for kind- 
ling. A small bit of it was rubbed between pieces of 
brown paper, until it began to burn, and then a piece of 
stick previously dipped in .sulphur was ignited. Several 
other forms of using it were contrived, but the cost of 
phospliorus prevented their coming into general u^e. 
Another substance, chlorate of potash, when in contact 
with some other highly comhusiible substances, like sul- 
phur, sugar, or phosphorus, makes them take fire easily 
and burn very fast. Many years since a gentleman 
in England employed this to make malclies. The chlo- 
rate was mixed with sugar and other ingredients, the 
end of a stick was co;ited in the mixture, and when fire 
was wanted, the prepared end of the match was dipped 
in a small vial containing sulphuric acid. The chemical 
action of the acid caused ii to blaze immediately. These 
matches at first were sold at three or four dollars per box. 
A very ingenious, but costly modification of this method 
of getting a fire was called Vesuvi.ms. It consisted of a 
folded paper match, in one end of which was contained 
some powdered chlorate of potash and sugar, with a little 
piece uf small glass tube, in which was sealed up a drop 
or two of sulphuric acid. When this end of the match w:is 
struck a smart bio vv, or crushed beneath the foot, the glass 
tube broke, allowed the acid it contained to cotne in 
contact with the powder, and a fire was immediatpiy 
produced. Then came the lucifer match, coated with 
a mixture containing chlorate of poiash, etc., which 
was to be drawn rapidly through a bit of sand paper fur- 
nished with each box of matches. Some inventive ge- 
nius soon thought of pasting tlie sand paper to the bot- 
tom of the box; then another improved the compositioEi 
so that the match would kindle by being rubbed on any 
hard substance ; ami finally some one else disjjensed with 
the sulphur for the rn^ls of the match on account of its 
unpleasant fumes, and made the stick light more easily by 
dipping it in a wax-like substance called paraffine. 
The very latest inventio-n in this line, we believe, is 
a match that will take fire only when rvtbbed lightly on 
the bottom of the box or on specially prepared paper. 
It is called the safety match, and has some advant;igfs 
in not being so liable to cause mischief by accident, but 
it is not so generally convenient as the common sort. 
Great improvements have been made in the machineiy 
for getting out the splints or match sliclis, which were 
formerly split by hauil, and also in coiiting them wnh the 
preparation. The nurn!>er of matches consumeil is enor 
mous. One manufacturer in New Vork is said to have 
used within the last 13 years, 2.225.nyo feet of lumber, 
producing six bUHonSy five hundred millions of match- 
es. The lotal amount of malches manufactured in the 
Unite! States, isestimalcd at 35.T0O Oni dailv. worth $iO(iO 
at wholesale, and this is probably less thim the actual sum. 
Xriltlirulu«^7<!<» 01*51 IIl'I'O. 
It is related of Lord Nelson, that while walking out one 
morning lie met a little girl crying bitterly, and upon ask- 
ing her what was ihe maitt-r, she replied that she had 
broken her pitcher with which she had been sent for 
milk, anti was afraid she would be wiiipped when she 
returned home. Seeing that he sympathized with her, 
she held up the fragments and artles^ly said. *' Perhaps 
you can mend it. sir." " No, I can not do that," replied 
he, ''but I will give you sixpence to buy an<ptlier with." 
On looking in his purse, he found he had no change, and 
said, " I can not give it to you now, but if y»»u will be 
here at this time to-morrow, I will meet you and give 
you the money." She went home comforted, and told 
her mother the stoiy with such confidence that she was 
excused from punishment, on condition that the gentle- 
man should keep his word. Before the lime came. Lord 
Nelson received a letter asking him to go to a dit-tanl 
place to meet a person whom he greatly desired to see 
He hesitated, and thought that such a trifle as giving a 
little girl a sixpence ought not to keep him away, but 
then he had given his word and the little girl had implic- 
itly relied upon it. No, he would not disappoint her, so 
he sat down and wrote to his friend that "owdng to a 
previous engagement, '' lie should be unable to see him 
at that lime. Such an incident adds luster to the world- 
wide fame of one of England's most celebrated heroes. 
A I^oble l^xaiiiple. 
The Chiistian Begister relates the f(dlowing: A law- 
yer who was employed to examine the title to a parcel 
of land, found that one of Ihe previous holders of the 
tract had oidy conveyed a lease of it, ana consequently 
all who had taken their titles since— although they had 
paid a fair price— could have no lawful claim. The real 
owner of the land was a young man living at a distance, 
and who himself knew nothing of this possession. At 
the time the lease w as given, the land w;is worth only a 
few hundred dollars, but since then a maiuifHCturing 
tow n hatl been built ne;ir it, and its value had been great- 
ly increased. The lawyer upon finding the title defec- 
tive, visited the young man who was the lawful, if not 
the rightful owner. A^.Ier making his acquaintance he 
determined to tell him just how the mntler stood, and 
leave him to act as he should think proper. The young 
man heard the case and asked, " Wlnit do you wish ine 
to do?" "I would like to have you give a quit claim 
deed for the premises." — " Have you one prepared?"— 
"Yes," answered the lawyer, producing the paper. Af- 
ter carefully reading it through, the young man immedi- 
ately went wiih the lawyer to a Justice of the Peace, and 
signed the document. "Now," said he, " how much 
was this property worth ? I ilid not want to know be- 
fore, for fear that the value might be large enough to 
keep me from doing what I thought right in the matter." 
He was informed that the piopeity was estimated at fiom 
fourteen to twenlv thousand dollars. The young man 
who set such a noble example, which many we fear would 
find it difficult to follow, was Rev. Samuel Abbott Smith, 
late of West Cambiidge, Mass., and nls name is rightly 
recorded high in the catalogue of noble and honest men. 
Problems and Pmzzlc^. 
Our young readers will probably miss the usual variety 
in this department, and we very much regret tliat we 
have so liitle to offer in the way of puzzles, as there is 
no class of readers whose good opinion we more highly 
value, thitn we do that r.f boys ami girls. The deficiency 
hap^lens at this lime for the reason, that just as this 
paper was being miide up, the gentleman who manages 
the Boys and Girls Columns was taken suddenly ill, and 
the task fell to the care ()f anoihei-, who rather than rum- 
mage over the papers belonging to the department, 
and run the risk of making some blunder, makes this ex- 
planation, which he hopes will satisfy them. He can 
moreover confidentially tell them, that he has seen a 
number of nice things, which are nearly ready, and has 
no doubt that their part of the pHper will next month be 
enough better, to make up for any lack in the present one. 
^00 FOR 
No. ITS. Illustrated Rehus^ which gives good advice. 
No. 174. Illustrated Rebus, containin g still better advice. 
