24. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jaxuaky, 
neal ; the carmine is deposited and afterwards dried. 
The principal use of cochineal for domestic pur- 
poses is iu coloring jellies, ices, etc. For these 
purposes it is prepared as follows : take an ounce 
of cochineal, au ounce of cream of tartar, one- 
fourth of an ounce of alum, and half a pint of 
water, put into a tin or glazed saucepan, and place 
over the fire until it boils ; let it staud until cold, 
and pour off the clear liquid. If the coloring is to 
be kept for a long time, dissolve enough white sug- 
ar in it to form a syrup, and preserve in bottles. 
This is the coloring generally used by confection- 
ers and pastry cooks, and is perfectly harmless. 
Carmine is used in the preparation of the finer 
kinds of red ink. It is very soluble in ammonia, 
and a much more brilliant red ink than is usually 
sold may be made by dissolving a few grains of 
carmine in a small quantity of water of ammonia 
(hartshorn of the shops), and adding a little gum 
Arabic to prevent it from spreading on the paper. 
The Table— Order and Ornament. 
That the appearance of the table affects our en- 
joyment of the food, no one will deny. Were this 
not the case, table-cloths might be dispensed with, 
and it would be a matter of indifference whether 
our plates were of tin or of china. How far we 
should regard the appearance of the table will de- 
pend in part upon one's tastes, and in part upon 
one's means. Ornamentation to a certain extent is 
pleasing, but this generally takes time — just the 
thing which housekeepers in general can least af- 
ford. Such things, except in the most simple form, 
are better left for the wealthy, who can pay for the 
necessary service. Still there are many thiugs per- 
taining to order and neatness that take scarcely any 
time in their execution, and which even the house- 
keeper who is her own cook and waiter can ob- 
serve, if her attention is called to them. At present 
we will refer only to "dishing up." So simple an 
article as mashed potatoes is capable of looking at 
its best. A shapeless, pudding mass, such as is often 
dumped into a dish, is far from being attractive in 
appearance. Smooth this down with a knife to a 
neatly rounded surface, and the whole look of the 
dish is changed. Set the dish in a quick oven, to 
brown the surface, and you have a work of art. 
Nothing is more distressing than to see a roasted 
fowl come to the table "flying" with outspread 
.wings, and legs looking as if the bird had kicked 
before the tire. A turning of the wings and a bit 
of string around the legs would have converted the 
ridiculous object into a respectably dressed fowl. 
Even so simple a thing as mutton chops may be 
neatly served or otherwise. Let one compare a 
dish of chops thrown into the plate "higgledy pig 
gledy," with one in which the small ends are all 
laid one way, with the broad portion slightly over- 
lapping, and the difference will be manifest at once. 
Other illustrations might be given, but these will 
indicate what we mean by neatness in dishing up. 
Such matters may seem trivial to some, but much 
of our comfort is due to the observance of trifles. 
Treatment of Hams. 
Mr. Stephen Bowman, Rensselaer Co., N. T., 
having in early life become dissatisfied with ordinary 
ham and bacon, tried to improve upon them, and 
at last concluded he could accomplish his purpose by 
smoking the tub iustead of the meat. He is satisfied 
with his plan, which he has practiced for fifty-two 
years, and communicates it substantially as follows : 
Place the tub over a small fire made of corn cobs, 
green walnut, or rock maple, and smoke for about 
four hours. For one hundred pounds of meat, use 
four quarts of salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and two 
pounds of sugar. Before the meat is put into the 
tub, rub a little salt in near the bones, and place 
a part of the salt in the smoked tub ; then put in 
the meat rather loosely, cover witli cold water, and 
put in the sugar, saltpetre, and the remainder of 
the salt. The hams will be ready for use iu three 
weeks. The above is for cold weather ; as warm 
weather comes on more salt is to be added, and if 
a stronger flavor of smoke is required, remove the 
meat and brine, and smoke the tub again. Beef 
may be put in the tub with the hams and in about 
six weeks taken out to dry. Mr. B. claims that this 
method is easier, cheaper, and better than the usual 
way, and that the hams are completely kept from 
the attacks of insects. Any portion of a cut ham 
may be returned to the brine. He states that he 
has kept hams in this way until October. 
An Irish Stew. 
On a cold winter's day an Irish stew is a very 
toothsome thing. Many compounds called by the 
name are not the real thing, and we have seen het- 
erogeneous mixtures of beef and various vegeta- 
bles served as Irish stew. Tou can no more make 
Irish stew out of beef than you can make pea soup 
of pebbles. Mutton is the basis; beef makes a 
good stew, but it isn't " raale Irish." Then this 
stew is not only good but economical, as the neck 
piece of mutton is the part generally preferred. 
Cut the neck into chops, and wash if bloody. Two 
and a half pounds of mutton require eight good- 
sized potatoes, four small onions, and a quart of 
water. Now in the cooking judgment is required ; 
the meat must be thoroughly done, so as to leave 
the bone readily, (for picking; is a part of the pleas- 
ure in eating the stew) and the potatoes must be 
cooked to that point at which they are just ready 
to go to pieces and have absorbed a good part of 
the gravy. So if the meat appears at all tough, it 
had better be stewed awhile by itself; then add the 
potatoes cut in thick slices, the onions, and pepper 
aud salt. It is to be served very hot, as it is apt to 
be very rich with fat, and mutton fat hardens 
readily. This is, of course, not a dish for those 
who cannot tolerate fat; but most persons who 
take much exercise in cold weather actually need a 
good share of fatty food. 
* i m mm^ — » * 
Household Economy. 
Mrs. H. M. R. writes : " I have commenced fix- 
ing an old calico dress to-day. It was worn off at 
the edge on the bottom, aud on the edge of the 
wristbands. I ripped it off the waist, took off the 
facing, unhemmed the posket-kole, and run a seam 
the entire length of the skirt where it was ; then 
made a new one in another breadth, in the eud that 
was at the bottom before, and mended such little 
"nicks" as happened to be in the skirt. I ripped 
out the sleeves from the waist and put the right 
sleeve into the left armhole, and vice versa. This 
brings the worn side on the top of the arm, where 
it will get but little more wear. Then I put new 
bands on the wrists, and the dress is ready for the 
wash-tub, which will take out all the wrinkles at 
the top of the skirt, and it will be ready for the 
facing, which should be turned bottom upward 
also. What I did to-day took about three hours, and 
it will take three or four more to finish by attaching 
the skirt, bottom upwards, to the waist, and make it 
ready to wear after it is ironed ; then I shall have a 
dress that will wear more than half as long as a 
new one, iu place of one that would have lasted 
only a few weeks at most, if it had not been fixed. 
The dress should not be worn too long before the 
change is made. When the edge of the wristbands 
is worn off is the right time, if the cloth is good, 
and do not buy any other. 
I always make my afternoon aprons for house 
wear of two widths of calico a yard long, and 
when they are a little over half worn, rip the seam 
in the middle aud sew the edges together, which 
can be done in a half hour, and it will increase the 
wear of the apron at least one-third. I serve my 
sheets in the same way ; of course the hems must 
be ripped a little way to admit of sewing it nicely 
at the ends, and then sewed down again the last 
thing. I usually cut the bindiugs of the aprons iu 
two, and fix them as nicely as possible by ripping 
it a little way, moving the gathers so as to make 
the apron a little narrower, and turn the binding in 
and sew it firmly." 
About Soups. 
It is not easy to understand why soups are held 
in so little favor with Americans generally, while 
with most other people they form an important 
article of food. It is an economical dispositi'ui 
to make of pieces of meat not otherwise easily 
made useful, and even very cheap meat may be 
converted into palatable and wholesome food. 
The French, from the richest to the poorest, 
have their Put aufeu, which literally would be "pot 
on the fire, "but it is the name used to designate the 
universal sonp. The directions for this vary; we 
give one of the most economical : Put in a pot, 
which is kept for this purpose alone, four and a 
half quarts of cold water and three pounds of rump 
beef, with whatever remains of poultry or cooked 
meat may be at hand. Put upon the fire until it 
boils, and then place where it will simmer gently, 
removing the scum as it rises; add two carrots, two 
turnips, two leeks or small onions, a head of cel- 
ery, and three or four cloves. Let it simmer for six 
hours, adding water to supply the loss by evapora- 
tion. The whole story is meat and vegetables 
simmered slowly together, and it may be varied in 
many ways by using different vegetables, etc. The 
meat and vegetables are removed and the clear 
soup served, after which the meat and vegetables 
are served plain, or the meat is dressed with tomato 
or other sauce. Sometimes a tough fowl is put 
into the soup pot and cooked until tender, and then 
put into the oven and browned. The broth thus 
made serves for a variety of soups; with vermicelli, 
maccaroni, rice or barley, it gives soups of those 
names. By using a variety of vegetables cut fine it 
makes vegetable soup. Roast au onion until it is 
thoroughly brown and boil it iu the broth, and you 
have brown soup, or use a little of the following 
Browning for Soups.— Many of the rich- 
looking soups owe their attractive appearance to 
burnt sugar, which is prepared as follows : Put 
three tablespoonfuls of brown sugar and an ounce 
of butter into a small frying pan and set over I he 
fire; stir continually until it is of a bright brown 
color; add half a pint of water, boil and skim, and 
when cold bottle for use. Add to soups at discretion. 
Ox-fail Soup is an exceedingly rich prepa- 
ration, highly relished by most persons, especially 
in cold weather. Two ox-tails are cut in pieces at 
the joints, and with carrots, onions, turnips, pep- 
per and salt, are slowly stewed in three quarts of 
water for three or four hours, or until the meat 
parts readily from the bone. A little thickening 
of flour is usually added. The flavoring is also 
varied by the use of cloves, catsup, etc. 
Cold Cream or Rose Water Oint- 
ment is a most useful application, especially in 
winter, when chapped hands and cracked lips are 
prevalent. The best way is to buy it iu small 
quantities of the apothecary, but in country towns 
it is seldom found fresh, and wheu rancid it is use- 
less. It may be readily made in the family. The 
ingredients are one ounce of rose water, two 
ounces of oil of almonds (sweet), half an ounce nf 
spermaceti, and a drachm of white wax. Of course 
a less quantity, but in the same proportion, may be 
used. Put the oil, spermaceti, and wax, in a bowl^ 
set this in a vessel of water, and heat until the in- 
gredients are all melted. Remove from the tire, 
and add the rose water in small quantities at a time, 
constantly stirring witli a wooden knife whittled 
out for the purpose, until cool. It needs a great 
deal of stirring, and when properly made will be 
pure white and perfectly smooth. The addition of 
a small quantity of glycerine will make what is call- 
ed " glycerine ointment," — a very soothing appli- 
cation to burns and excoriated or inflamed surfaces. 
-»-. I U •-• 
Apple Sago Pudding.— By M. E. El- 
liott. — Core as many sour apples as can be placed in 
the bottom of a quart pan; fill the center of each 
apple full of sugar, add a little salt and one cup of 
sago ; fill up the pan with water. To be eaten with 
sugar and cream (or milk) for sauce. Bake until 
the apples are done. An excellent pudding. 
