182 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
LMat, 
somewhat. Leave a tuft of green at the top, and 
place in a tumbler or arrange tastefully on a plate. 
These are little matters, hut let the housekeeper 
who cares for the appearance of her table try both 
ways of serving water-presses and radishes, and we 
have no doubt which will permanently be adopted. 
A Perforated Lamp Shade. 
[Mary, Roxabelle, O., writes a very pleasant, gos- 
sipy letter; we can publish ouly that portion which 
describes her method of making a lamp shade. Ens.] 
While Brother Henry was home during vacation 
our store-bought lamp shade gave out, and for his 
PERFORATED LAMP SHADE. 
temporary convenience he begged some pasteboard 
and cut out and sewed up a piece, the size and 
shape of the old shade. This, indeed, was a shade. 
The board was so thick it permitted no rays of light 
to pass through it, and the reflection only served 
to make " darkness visible " throughout the rest of 
the room. Such, gloom was not to be borne, so 
four oblong openings were cut in the shade ; next 
fancy-colored tissue paper was pasted on the out- 
side, and, the edges of the openings being finished 
with gilt paper, pictures were inserted on the un- 
der side as transparencies. Two of them were 
scenes from Central Park; one, the head of Wash- 
ington; and the last, but nut the least attractive, 
a gay young lady, fairly dazzling at night with di- 
amonds, caused by the lamp-light shining through 
the holes pricked for that purpose. White tissue 
paper was pasted on the under side of the shade, 
and the lower edge bound around with gilt paper. 
In the four alternate spaces, flowers were then 
pricked. But this one is not my chef d'asnvre. I 
have just finished one for the college brothers, 
which, though simple, is really quite elegant. This 
last I made out of six equal sized pieces of Bristol 
board, of (he shape shown in the engraving. These 
pieces are to he joined near the top and the bottom 
by ribbon passed through holes stamped for the 
purpose; afterwards the lamp shade can be set on 
the brass rim as common ones are. Around the 
lower edge I traced by means of impression paper, 
a wreath, vine, tendrils, leaves, and clusters of 
grape.-, and at the to]) a plain, narrow braiding 
pattern. In the centre of each piece I traced 
some design, such as a butterfly, oak branch, leaves 
and acorns, ivy vine, a full-blown rose with stem 
and leaves, a grape vine, and lastly a bouquet of 
various kinds of flowers and leaves. Then, with 
the Bristol board resting on a cushion, began the 
slow and ted' >us work, prick, prick, prick, with 
various size. 1 needles, using occasionally a knitting 
needle am' .'en a stiletto, until all was completed. 
Upon holding the paper up to the light, the vari- 
ous designs were developed in uususpected beauty. 
The pieces are to be lined on the inside with 
white tissue paper, and then joined together. 
Household Talks. 
BY AUNT HATTEE. 
Edward and I drank tea with a few other invited 
friends, at Mrs. B.'s last evening. It was the first 
time we had had the pleasure of partaking of 
a meal at her house, as she has been in the neigh- 
borhood only about three months; however, I have 
met her several times at the little introductory tea 
parties that are always given here whenever a 
stranger comes to settle among us. As this was 
her first tea drinking, and perhaps because she 
came from the West, I expected quite an elaborate 
supper, but was, I think agreeably, disappointed. 
It was what we call a decidedly plain table. The 
spread was extremely brilliant aud beautiful, crim- 
son being the prevailing shade of color, and the nap- 
kins of the finest damask, and of alabaster white- 
ness ; the gilt-edged china was tasteful and pretty ; 
the knives, forks, and spoons, were of silver; 
the flowers, of which there were two or three small 
bouquets, were fragrant and delicious. For the 
refreshing of the inner man was provided, a cup of 
baked custard for each, deliciously white raised 
biscuit, one kind of plain fruit cake, (I make a cake 
very much like it, if not the same, and will give 
the recipe,) puff pastry tarts with jelly, canned 
peaches, shaved beef, small cucumber pickles, gra- 
ham bread iu slices, butter, sugar, cream, and green 
tea. That was all, but there was plenty of it, aud 
everything was made in the most perfect manner, 
and Edward declared afterwards that it was the best 
company supper he had ever eaten, and that Mrs. B. 
was the most sensible woman of his acquaintance. 
Plain Fruit Cake. — Put into the cake bowl a 
small teacupful of butter, aud two larger teacup- 
fuls of white coffee 6ugar. If the butter is hard, 
allow the bowl to stand in the oven or near the 
fire, until it is nearly melted ; then heat to a foam. 
Separate the yolks and whites of four or five eggs, 
and beat each thoroughly, the whites to a stiff froth, 
as usual ; add the beaten yolks to the cake, and two 
heaping teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar dissolved in 
a small teacupful of milk, which may be a little 
60ur. If flavored with lemon, it may be put in 
now. Beat the batter as long as your patience will 
allow, adding flour as you do so, in small quanti- 
ties, until stiff enough. It is well to always stir or 
beat the batter one way. Now put iu half a pound 
of stoned raisins, half a pound of currants, and 
a quarter of a pound of chopped candied peel. 
Have a suitable tin for baking, and grease with a 
little butter; lay a clean sheet of paper on the bot- 
tom of the pan, and butter it a little also ; just be- 
fore placing in the oven add a teaspoonfiil of car- 
bonate of soda, dissolved in a tablespoonful of 
warm (not boiling) water ; stir in quickly but thor- 
oughly. Now the egg froth orfoam should be stirred 
in lightly, but intimately, as its chief use is to coag- 
ulate, and to help the flour to sustain the cake after 
it is risen in the oven. Pour iuto the tin and bake 
in a moderate oven ; do not open the oven door 
oftener than necessary after the cake is in. Wait 
at least ten or fifteen minutes before doing so. It 
will take from half an hour to an hour to bake, but 
it will be necessary to try if it is done by running 
into it a thin skewer or straw. If the instrument 
comes out clear, the cake is baked sufficiently. I 
have always observed that cake with raisins and cur- 
rants takes a longer time to bake than that which 
is without fruit, though I have not yet solved the 
problem. Be sure to stone the raisins carefully. 
Puff Pastry Tarts. — Take a quarter of a pound 
of very hard and firm lard, and a little over a quar- 
ter of a pound of butter, also very cold and hard. 
Sift three quarters of a pound of the very best 
white flour; cut the lard into very small bits, but do 
not chop, or mash, or heat it at all, and mix gently 
iuto the flour. Then add gradually about a gill of 
ice-cold water ; you must bcthejudge of the quan- 
tity of water, however, as it is difficult to give an 
exact rule, but the paste should be soft aud yielding, 
though not at all sticky. Mix as little as possible, 
hardly touching it. A marble slab is the best to 
roll it on, but if one is not at hand, use the com- 
mon rolling-board. Roll thin, and drop the butter 
iu small bits all over it, pressing lightly in order to 
fix it. Fold three times and roll again, and fold 
again the same ; roll again, always from you, aud 
fold; now again and fold. It is now ready to be 
rolled and made into cakes of the desired shape ; I 
use a little gingcrsnap cutter about an inch and a 
half in diameter. Make very thin, and keep cold 
until put into the oven, which should be very hot. 
Do not look at them under five minutes. They 
should not brown, aud when well risen are done. 
When desired for the table, put a small piece of 
firm jelly in the center of each one, and arrange 
tastefully in a pyramid shape, on a round [date. 
They give a very pretty effect to an evening table, 
besides being delicious to eat. 
Salads.— Cabbage chopped fine and mixed with 
an equal quantity of celery, also chopped fine, 
makes an excellent salad where lettuce cannot 
be obtained. We are having fresh green lettuce 
now every day. It is rather expensive for so 
large a family, but Edward aud I both agree that 
it is cheaper to pay the gardener than the doctor, 
and salads and vegetables in the spring of the year 
are as necessary to health as are comfortable homes 
and clothing in the winter. 
Parsnips wc get from our own garden. We never 
have them dug in the fall, as I find that they are 
not wanted at my tabic until after the frost is out 
of the ground, and some kind of a vegetable 
change is desired. They seem also to keep better 
in the ground than in the cellar, the frost not hurt- 
ing them at all, but rather the contrary. I scrape 
and halve them, boiling very tender. Lay length- 
wise, side by side, in a small dish, and put a trifle of 
butter, and pepper and salt over them. 
Dandelion Leaves. — Gather large, green, and 
healthy looking leaves, wash, boil tender, and sea- 
son the same as spinach, or send to table without 
chopping, allowing each one to season to taste. It 
is a pleasant vegetable, and is valued by many. 
Ladies' Fingers. — Use any kind of light sponge 
cake batter. Take a sheet of buttered paper aud 
with a spoonful of the batter draw a shape on the 
paper the length and size of your finger. Make an 
even number, bake until crisp and slightly brown, 
remove from the paper, and join two together by 
means of a little good jelly. They may be cemented 
with frosting, or with white of egg alone, if desirable. 
To Boil Peeled Potatoes. — Wash, and as fast 
as peeled, throw into cold water and let them stand 
until twenty-five minutes before wanted for the 
table. Have ready a tea-kettle of boiling water, put 
the potatoes into a pot, (a large saucepan is best), put 
the pot on to a brisk fire, and cover the potatoes with 
water from the tea-kettle; some add salt, but I re- 
serve it until after the water is poured off. Boil 
twenty minutes, try with a fork, and if they split 
they are done ; keep on the lid and pour the water 
from them as dry as possible ; return the kettle to 
the fire for a minute or two, but not long enough 
to endanger burning. I throw in now a little salt, 
and take hold of the handle and toss the kettle in 
such a way that the potatoes will be thrown up 
aud down. When they look white and floury, they 
have been shaken sufficiently, and may then bo 
dished for the table. This way of boiliug peeled 
potatoes is the best, but some housekeepers may 
object to it because it not only involves the trouble 
of shaking the pot, but of cleaning it afterwards, as 
some of the floury portion adheres to the- bottom 
and sides ; and ifthisisnot removed while moist, 
it dries, aud of course is hard to clean. If the ket- 
tle is filled with water immediately after the pota- 
toes are removed, the difficulty will be obviated. 
Furs and Moths.— "J. F. W." Put the 
furs in a box so tight that moths cannot get in to 
lay their eggs. Few boxes are safe for this, 
but they all may be made so by pasting strips of 
paper over every joint, including the crack between 
the lid and cover. Paper bags made of strong pa- 
per, without even a pin-hole, will answer; after the 
furs are put in, paste the mouth of the bag securely. 
Aromatics of various kinds are more or less repul- 
sive to the insect, but the only sure way is to see 
that there are no moths in the furs, and then, beat- 
ing them well, put them where none can get In. 
