38-3 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
suggestions to help the housekeeper answer the 
ever perplexing question " What shall we have to 
cat ?" There are articles mentioned which are only 
to be obtained when one is near a market. Still it is 
easy to substitute something else for those, and we 
doubt not that many will find them useful. — Eds.] 
Monday. — Breakfast.— Fried pork, fried onions, 
corn bread, baked potatoes, coffee Dinner. — 
Stewed mutton, boiled rice, stewed tomatoes, bak- 
ed potatoes, peach pie Tea.— Stewed pears, rye 
bread, ginger cookies, tea. 
Tuesday. — Breakfast. — Roast corn, mutton 
chops, baked potatoes, sliced tomatoes, dry toast 
....Dinner.' — -Baked pickerel, mashed potatoes, 
baked tomatoes, squash, batter pudding. ... Tea. — 
Baked quinces, egg puffs, pot cheese, mountain 
cake, tea. 
Wednesday. — Breakfast. — Mock oysters, scram- 
bled eggs, fried potatoes, hot rolls, coffee Din- 
ner. — Broiled chicken, boiled corn, baked sweet po- 
tatoes, pickled peaches, celery, bread, grapes, 
melons, peaches Tea. — Raised biscuits, baked 
apples and cream, smoked halibut, bread cake. 
TnuRSDAY. — Breakfast. — Fried sweet-breads, 
toasted bread, fried sweet potatoes, baked sour ap- 
ples, coffee Dinner. — Bean soup, beefsteak, 
boiled corn, baked Hubbard squash, boiled pota- 
toes, pickled peppers, squash pie Tea. — Stewed 
grapes, short-cakes, tea, cake. 
Friday. — Breakfast.— - Cold boiled pork, coffee 
cake, baked sweet potatoes, coffee.. . .Dinner. — 
Corned white-fish and cream sauce, mould of mashed 
potatoes browned, sliced tomatoes, boiled corn, 
Lima beans, peach Indian pudding Tea. — Rye 
and Indian bread, cider apple sauce, baked pears, 
crullers, tea. 
Saturday. — Breakfast. — Pork steak, boiled pota- 
toes, fried apples, corn dodgers, coffee.... Dinner, 
— Roast leg of pork, boiled sweet potatoes, cab- 
bage in cream, cider apple-sauce, celery, picealily 
or mixed pickle, poor man's plum pudding. . . . Tea. 
— Cold roast pork, pickled Dears, soft jumbles, fresh 
bread and butter. 
Sunday. — Breakfast. — Fried chicken, baked 
potatoes, bread and butter, coffee.... Dinner. — 
Mock venison, i. e., leg of mutton spiced, stuffed, 
and roasted, jelly sauce; celery, mashed potatoes, 
stewed tomatoes, Marrow sqnash, Eve's pudding, 
apples, grapes, popped corn Tea. — Soda biscuits, 
cold tongue, canned strawberries, silver cake, tea. 
Cleaning Coat Collars. 
"Mary," Rochester, Minn., writes: "Can you 
spare room in your columns to enquire if any thrifty 
housewife will tell us how to cleanse our husbands' 
coat collars? Soap and water, we all know, will do 
it ; but the men complain that this fades them. 
Will some one who knows show us a better way?" 
Coat collars becomie soiled by coming in contact 
with the hair, which is naturally oily, or is by some 
made so artificially. This slight greasiness upon 
the collar gathers flue dust, and the two together 
form a mixture disagreeable to look upon and diffi- 
cult to remove — especially if allowed to accumulate 
and harden. It is best to clean the collar frequently. 
Very strong alcohol or benzine may be used. In 
cither case do not work near a lamp, for fear of ac- 
cidents. If any of our readers can suggest any- 
thing better, we shall be glad to hear from them. 
Vinegar— Acetic Acid. 
' Several letters show us that the composition of 
vinegar is not understood. One asks : " Does 
acetic acid assist in making cider vinegar, or is it 
hurtful ?" — Vinegar owes all its value to acetic acid, 
and is that acid in a diluted state more or less im- 
pure. As vinegar is made by the process of fer- 
mentation, it comes from the conversion of alcohol 
into acetic acid. It may be made directly from al- 
cohol, or from solutions containing sugar, which 
will produce alcohol. Cider and other fruit juices, 
as well as solutions of molasses and sugar, have the 
sugar they contain first converted into alcohol, and 
this, by another fermentation, produces acetic acid. 
So acetic acid is the very ingredient which makes 
the liquid vinegar, and in the diluted form in which 
it there exists is not only not hurtful, but is gener- 
ally considered a wholesome condiment. Acetic 
acid may be produced iu other ways than by fer- 
mentation. That which is used in the arts is largely 
prepared by the distillation of wood. This is, how- 
ever, rarely, if ever, used to make table vinegar. 
The colorless vinegar known as "wine vinegar," 
so much used by the pickle makers, is prepared 
from dilute alcohol, usually in the form of whiskey. 
It is quite as wholesome as any other vinegar, but 
far less agreeable than that made from cider, as it 
kicks the pleasant aromatic qualities derived from 
the fruit " E. K." is troubled by her vinegar 
turning almost black after it is takeu from the bar- 
rel. There has probably been some iron in contact 
with it — may be some nails driven through the 
6ides of the barrel in fastening the hoops. A smaf 
amount of iron would discolor the vinegar. 
The Pickle Questions. 
Judging from our letters, we are a pickle-eating 
community. The purport of the many letters — all 
from the West — is, " How can we put up such pick- 
les as are brought from the East ?" Our answer is, 
Tou cannot readily do it. These "boughten" 
pickles differ from the home-made mainly in appear- 
ance ; they are of a fine green color, put in bottles 
with a handsome label, and in perfectly clear vine- 
gar. Iu flavor they are altogether inferior to those 
which can be made in the family. We were once 
in a pickle factor}", and saw an enormous copper 
caldron full of pickles ; the proprietor told us 
that they were kept there at a heat hardly comfort- 
able to the hand, with the necessary changes of 
water until every trace of salt was extracted, when 
they would be of a beautiful green and ready for 
the vinegar. We do not know that this is the 
practice of all pickle factories, but this was that of 
a large and successful one. The vinegar used was 
the "wine" or whiskey vinegar, referred to in an- 
other article. Pickles prepared in this way are 
very showy upon the table, but we prefer the hon- 
est home-made thing, even if it is not quite so 
green. We add two recipes from correspondents. 
Mrs. A. Coffinberry, St. Joseph's Co., Mich., says : 
"For one barrel of pickles take three pails of 
pure rain-water, three quarts of salt, and one pound 
of alum. Dissolve the salt in the water; dissolve 
the alum in a separate vessel and mix with the 
brine. The pickles should be washed clean before 
being put into the brine, and stirred briskly with 
the hand every day until fermentation takes place, 
and a white scum begins to form on the surface of 
the brine; then spread over the pickles a cloth, 
place on this a board nearly fittiug the barrel, and 
on the board a weight sufficient to keep all covered 
with the brine. When more pickles are added, the 
cover and cloth must be removed and thoroughly 
washed before being replaced. When the barrel is 
full, the cover and weight may he replaced and left 
to stand for use. I have kept pickles iu this man- 
ner perfectly sound and crisp for two years. Pick- 
les kept in this way need no soaking ; they may at 
any time be takeu from the brine, washed, and put 
immediately into vinegar. 
"I have had excellent pickles on my dinner ta- 
ble three hours after they were removed from the 
brine. If from any peculiarity of the season, or 
from any mismanagement, any of the pickles should 
be found to soften, at once remove all from the 
brine and make a new one, and I will guarantee 
that they will keep for years, if desired. If the 
brine should evaporate so as to leave the pickles 
uncovered, make a weak brine of salt and water, 
and pour enough over them to keep them well 
covered." 
Yellow Pick 1c. — " H. E. E.," Angelica, 
N. T., sends us the following : 
"A 5-gaIlon jar two-thirds full of the best vinegar, 
2 lbs. of ground mustard, 2 lbs. of white mustard 
seed, 1 lb. of black, do., \i lb. of race (root) ginger 
pounded fine and tied in a bag, 2 oz. of celery seed, 
15 cents' worth (probably 2 oz.) of turmeric iu a 
bag, tarragon and mace, green and red peppers to 
the taste, 1 doz. lemons cut in rings, horse-radish 
cut in rings; alum, size of walnut ; and all kinds 
of vegetables, such as small beans, radish pods, 
nasturtiums, small ears of green corn, cauliflower, 
small cucumbers, large cucumbers cut iu rings, 
cabbage quartered, scalded in weak brine, and laid 
in the sun to dry aud bleach. The jar is to be kept 
in the sun as much as possible, and stirred every- 
day ; also rubbing the turmeric bag. The vegetables 
should be put into brine for 24 hours before putting 
them into the pickle." 
* l M«Wi — •-•. 
How to Use Sour Bread. 
It has been well said that "accidents will happen 
in the best regulated families," and sometimes the 
bread is sour. Sour white bread is very poor eat- 
ing, and besides it is not healthful, though exactly 
why, we will leave, the doctors to tell. We know, 
from well-recognized symptoms, it is not healthful 
diet, and never cat it, though we eat with relish 
the German Schwartz Brod, which, iu perfection, 
should be distinctly sour, but not much so. How- 
ever, we welcome the appearance of sour white 
bread, for we can fall back upon rye, which, after 
all, is our standby, for a day or two, and we know 
what nice puddings and cakes are in store for 
us as the sour bread is gradually worked up. 
If the bread cannot be used immediately, it 
should be sliced as soon as it is stale enough, and 
dried thoroughly in an oven which is cooling off or 
not hot enough to scorch it at all. It may require 
to be put in the oven two or three times before it 
is dry enough to keep. 
Baked Bread Pudding. — To a pint of bread 
crumbs add a pint of milk and let them soak thor- 
oughly ; add a second pint of milk, four well-beaten 
eggs, and salt, sugar, and spiee to taste, together 
with soda enough to correct the acidity of tho 
bread (half a teaspoonful is usually enough ); bake 
half an hour. The number of eggs is arbitrary. 
Boiled Bread Pudding. — Soak in the same way 
bread crumbs in milk until perfectly 6oft, using only 
enough milk to 6often them, add three beaten eggs 
with salt and a little soda; it should be quite stiff; 
raisins are an agreeable addition ; boil iu a cloth 
three-quarters of an hour, and serve with hot wine 
sauce. 
Griddle Cakes. — Soak the bread as before di- 
rected, having an excess of milk; thicken with 
flour; sour milk maybe employed with advantage, 
but is not necessary; add soda and salt dissolved 
in milk, being careful not to get in too much soda. 
Hints on Cooking, etc. 
Carrot Pic— By Mrs. M. B. D., Suffolk Co., 
N. T. — Scrape the skins from the carrots, boil 
them soft, and rub through a sieve. To a pint of 
the pulp, put three pints of milk, six beaten eggs, 
two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, the juice of half 
a lemon, and the grated rind of a whole one. 
Sweeten aud salt it to taste, and bake in deep pie 
plates without an upper crust. 
Onions mid Tomatoes. — Tomatoes are 
susceptible of being cooked in many ways. To 
the writer's notion the glorification of tomatoes is 
to cook them with a little finely chopped onion. 
Of course there are many who do not tolerate onion 
under any circumstances, but let those who like 
both onions and tomatoes try it. The flavor of 
each, the onion and tomato, seems to modify the 
other, and the result is, to our individual notion, 
what James Russell Lowell described poetry to be 
— "a touch beyond.' 
Soda Sponge Cake. — By Mrs. R. E. 
Griffith, Chester Co., Pa. — 1 egg, 1 cup of sour 
cream, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of soda, J^ tea- 
spoonful of cream of tartar, 3 cups of flour ; flavor 
to taste. I sometimes put y, cup of dried currants 
and the 6ame of citron or raisins in place of flavor- 
ing; either way it is very light and nice while fresh. 
