106 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
as well as the rest of us. Aud I suppose they have 
no small job on their hauds in undertaking to keep 
their men up to their best estate— husbands, broth- 
ers, sous, etc." 
Well, ray letter bag has spilled itself all over my 
table, and I pick up another scrap. 
" I went last evening to the wedding of an ac- 
quaintance. Three hundred guests, a great deal of 
elegant dress, I he house beautifully trimmed with 
flowers and vines and autumn leaves. It was all 
beautiful to look at, and I should have enjoyed it 
very much if I had not been obliged to make my- 
self tired and sick with three days' work on a arm 
to wear. Is it not too bad ? I was as simply dressed 
as any one there too. This question of dress vexes 
me sadly and refuses to take any reasonabl e shape. 
One must either leave society altogether or conform 
in a measure to its laws, it seems ; and the very 
simplest one can do requires a great deal of time 
and a great deal of hard work, and is most uncom- 
fortable when you have done. I rebel against it, 
but I don't see my way out of it until we are out of 
this world. I sometimes wish I could go into the 
wilderness to live, but I should want and should 
need music and cultivated society, etc.'' 
Another one writes: "Before I had children I 
used to think how much I should enjoy teaching 
them. I would search the woods with them for 
flowers, go on mineralogical excursions with them, 
etc., but I find so little time and get so tired, I have 
uo vivacity or enthusiasm left sometimes." 
And here is a brief but cheerful letter, written at 
nearly midnight, by a woman who lias three chil- 
dren under five years of age, and none old enough 
to give any real help, a baby sick with gathering in 
its head, a husband with a broken arm, a decrepid 
octogenarian mother-in-law, another invalid relative 
boarding with her who can not even make her own 
bed, and three different hired girls, one at a time, 
wiUiin three weeks. 
There are other letters, and almost all speak of 
trials of one kind or another, but not of trials only. 
Most of us are aware that this is.only the u common 
lot" of humanity. The "burden of the race" is 
upon us. Each of us must suffer in some way until 
we become so wise and Christian that we all unite 
to take care of each. 
Some persons seem to have no trouble and no 
care, but often theirs is the saddest possible lot ; 
and one who realizes that this life is given for the 
education of the soul, or is simply a primary school, 
would sooner take the lot of the patient Christian 
washerwoman who, with her half-dozen children 
crowded Into a single room, still has a heart to feel 
for every human child, than have all the luxuries of 
the wealthy and hatred therewith. 
There are people who are dying because they can 
not get work enough to support themselves, and 
there are as many more, perhaps, who are killing 
themselves by overwork, unable to get the help 
they need. Pain and Poverty have victims every- 
where. The flesh is weak, and these things are 
hard to bear; but a perfect tnist in the goodness of 
Ood makes the spirit willing to endure, however 
nature may cry out in pain. 
My letter-bag again. Aud here is a long letter 
from the best school-master our house acknowl- 
edges at present, or, perhaps I might say, our best 
interpreter of divine things. I quote : 
" The distinctive glory of mail (over animals) is 
personality or character, the power of transeend- 
iug his organization and realizing divinity; and he 
attains to this personality or character, not by any 
foolish doing, but by wise and patient suffering : 
that is, by subjecting his self-will, or will of the 
flesh, to the welfare of his neighbors, whenever it- 
self prompts injustice to them." 
Here, then, is a hearty hand-shake of sympathy 
for every one who "means to do the best she can 
and trust God for the rest," aud pity for all who 
arc less wise. May none of us make such a wretched 
failure oflife as to be wearied by our personal bur- 
dens out of all sympathy with the universal pro- 
gress of our race, or so cowed in disposition aud 
broken iu spirit by our losses and crosses as to be 
of little use to humanity. May none of us be lifted 
up with pride because of our transient successes in 
material things, or selfishly rejoice in our personal 
prosperity with no care for those less "fortunate." 
Children's Reading-Books. — Johnny must have 
a new Reader. His old oue has been destroyed, or 
he has just come into a district where a different 
series of Readers is used. He read very indifferent- 
ly iu the Third Reader, and is far from being fitted 
to try anything more difficult. But his father is 
"penny-wise," aud reasons thus: It will not be 
long before the boy will read well enough for the 
Fourth Reader, anyhow, and I may as well getone 
now and save the expense of two books. So Johnny 
has a new Fourth Reader, and annoys the teacher 
every day by his blundering attempts to express 
ideas by reading, which are entirely beyond Ms 
comprehension. 
In a graded school this could not happen exactly 
so, for the boy would be obliged to read with such 
class aud in such book as his teachers decided upou. 
Tet in almost all schools a child's progress in read- 
ing is tested too much by his ability to call words 
correctly, rather than by his power to express the 
ideas and language of the author 'in an easy and 
natural manner. In country schools it is not un- 
common to find children who read at home, from 
choice, ouly the simple stories written for children, 
at school rattling off or stumbling; through extracts 
from the mature writings of the best authors 
which can hardly be explained to their undeveloped 
minds, eveu if the teacher should have time to make 
careful eommeuts on each paragraph. 
No child treated iu this way can be«ome a really 
good reader. He begs his parents for a new book, 
"because," he says, "I have real this old book 
through three times!" Must parents do not see 
that this is no excuse for a higher Reader. A good 
teacher makes her pupils practice reading the .same 
lesson over and over again until the ideas in it be- 
come perfectly familiar, aud are easily expressed 
by the young reader; and if a reading book has 
simply been " read through " three or four times its 
beet use has not yet been foundv 
Parents who have the responsibility of purchas- 
ing school-books for their children without any 
particular advice from the teacher, except in regard 
to the series of books used, should take care in se- 
lecting reading-books to get snch as the pupils can 
understand as they go along. But it is better to 
take counsel of the teacher before purchasing. 
These remarks are not adapted to all localities, but 
parents do well to consider the matter. 
Soups, etc. — A New Euglaud sister writes me 
some excellent suggestions about making soup, 
which I give to the readers of the Agriculturist iu 
her own words. 
" I have just put a bone on to boil for a soup, 
and that reminds me that I have seen nothing iu 
your articles about soups. We use them a great 
deal, not buying meat especially for them, as the 
cook-books say, but making them out of what 
many throw away. In the first place, I never 
boil 'any fresh meat for any purpose but I put in 
enough water to have a nice soup of the liquor. 
" Tlieu, whenever I roast a piece of meat, I cut off 
at the table all that will slice nicely, and afterwards 
put into a kettle of cold water the bone with what- 
ever attaches to it, and let it simmer slowly on top 
of the stove till the meat will all slip from the 
bones readily. This meat I look over, separating 
the good meat carefully from the gristle (giving the 
gristle to the heus — the bones also are pounded up 
and given to the hens) and the good meat I pick in 
bits or chop fine, season with butter, salt, pepper, 
summer-savory, or thyme, moistening it in a spider 
with some of the liquor in which it was boiled. 
Toast a slice or two of bread, and lay on a platter, 
moisten tlie toast with a little water and put the 
meat upon it, and it makes a very palatable dish 
for breakfast. 
" The liquor for soup I strain, set away until cool, 
aud then remove all of the fat. This I do with all 
soups. Sometimes I make a soup by putting two 
or three onions sliced fine into the liquor, season- 
ing with summer-savory, salt, pepper, and thicken- 
ing with rice or macaroni. 
11 Sometimes I make a bean-soup of it ; and some- 
times I make a vegetable soup, taking a carrot, a 
turuip, a parsnip, four or five potatoes, and a 
couple of ouions, slicing all flue, and boiling slowly 
for an hour or two, or eveu three hours. 
" Before serving, I usually take out the vegetables, 
mash fine in a pan, ind return them to the kettle. 
Most housekeepers omit this, I guess. 
" Just now we had been chipping off beef from this 
bone. It was frozeu stiff, so it was chipped off 
like dried beef, put into the spider with a little salt 
and butter, aud partially cooked. Theu milk or 
water was added (we always use milk) and thick, 
ened with flour like dried beef-gravy. We add an 
e^g when we have it. 
" This bone will boil all day, aud when the meat 
is done to rags I shall carefully look it over, strain 
the liquor, aud proceed as described above. If one 
wants the soup to look clear, it must only come to 
a boil, then simmer on the top of the stove. Hard 
boiliug makes it look muddy." 
Many thanks to the experienced housekeeper 
for this explanation of her way of dealing with 
fresh beef. Observe the economy "throughout I 
may say that liberality or charity goes hand-in- 
haud with economy iu her household. I often think 
of her explanation to me that it was by such careful _ 
economy of all materials that they were able to 
Lave anything to give away. She also tells me their 
way of keeping fresh meat all winter, even iuto the 
month of April, without spoiling. 
The beef is cut into pieces convcuient for hand- 
ling — iuto baking and boiling pieces, etc. Then it 
is exposed to the cold until frozen solid. Each 
piece is then wrapped carefully by itself in clean 
paper, aud it is all packed away iu sweet hay 
enough to prevent its thawing when warm spells 
come on. It keeps as safely as in an ice-house. 
Sometimes she takes out the pieces and exposes 
them to the cold fresh air for a little while, fearing 
that they may get musty. Of course, "corned " or 
pickled beef can not compare with this fresh beef. 
Recipes. 
The following recipes have been sent us by Mrs. 
H. S. P., who states that she has tried them : 
Oinger-Suaps. — One pint of molasses ; two 
thirds of a cup of butter; one teaspoouful of 
ginger ; a small half-cup of sweet milk ; one meas- 
ure each of Horsford's preparation. Mix well in 
flour enough to roll out. 
Soft <jiin«erbi-ead.— One and a half cup 
of molasses; two thirds of a cup of sour milk ; 
half a cup of butter ; one teaspoonful of soda ; 
oue teaspoouful of ginger. 
Sweet Sauce (for all kinds of puddings).— 
Half-cup of butter; oue cup of sugar; one cup of 
milk. Stir the butter and sugar to a cream ; boil 
the milk, and while boiliug stir in oue teaspoouful 
of corn-starch previously mixed iu a little cold 
milk ; pour the milk while boiling over the butter 
and sugar. 
Steamed Pudding.— Two cups of sour 
milk ; two cups of flour ; two cups of corn-meal ; 
half a cup of molasses ; two small teaspoonfuls 
of soda ; little salt. Steam one hour and a quarter. 
Delicate Cake.— The whites of five eggs 
beaten to a froth ; two cups of white sugar ; half 
a cup of butter; oue cup of milk; three cups 
of flour, and one measure each of Horsford's 
preparation mixed well in the flour. 
Mountain Cake.— Two eggs ; one cup of 
sugar; half a cup of butter; half a cup of sweet 
milk ; two cups of flour; one teaspoonful of cream 
of tartar; half a teaspoouful of soda. A little nut- 
meg and fruit improves it. 
Apple— Jam.— Weigh equal quantities of 
sugar and good sour apples : pare, core, and 
chop the apples fine ; make a good clear syrup 
of the sugar; add the apples, juice and 
grated rind of three lemons, and a few pieces of 
white ginger. Bnil it until the apple looks clear 
and yellow. On no account omit the ginger. 
