106 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
obliged to hang flannels where they would freeze 
before drying. I have tried it, but found it no bet- 
ter than ray usual method of washing and rinsing 
in hot water. Less soap is needed to wash clothes 
clean with hot suds than with cold. The water 
used should not be boiling hot. I fancy that the 
secret of washing flannels without shrinking them 
is to wash and rinse them without too sudden 
changes in their temperature. Fullers try the op- 
posite when they wish to full their cloth— from hot 
to cold, or from cold to hot. Rubbing also tends 
to "full up" or shrink flannels. The soap used 
should not be rubbed into the cloth, but made into 
a suds sufficiently strong to cleanse the garments 
without much rubbiug. 
A Dangerous Practice. — A guest arrives. He 
appears well dressed and tidy. He stays over night, 
and occupies the regular " best chamber," with its 
clean sheets and pillow-slips. The mistress of the 
house does all of her own work, or she has a scant 
supply of bedding, and it seems hard work to en- 
large her usual week's washing by those scarcely 
soiled sheets. So she puts them on the children's 
beds, thinking they will never know the difference, 
and it wou't hurt them at all. In nine cases out of 
ten this may be true— but the tenth case! I do not 
care to mention to " ears polite " the diseases that 
may be communicated in this way, and sometimes 
by the most respectable persons, who have been 
contaminated in the same way perhaps. 
Scalded Bread. — An excellent breakfast dish 
is made by pouring boiling water over pieces of 
stale bread— enough to soak them soft. Better than 
steamed bread, and preferred to toast by mauy. 
Cream (or Milk) Gravy.— I thought I would 
say a good word for " white gravy," as children 
often call it. With them it is a great favorite as a 
dressing for potato. It is better for them than 
butter or meat with warm potatoes. Pork fat can 
not be compared with it at all on the score of health- 
fulness. Those who use fat pork often make this 
gravy in the same spider where the pork has just 
been fried, thus seasoning it with pork. We make 
it of milk, thickened with flour, and seasoned with 
butter and salt. For a pint of gravy you want a 
large spoonful of flour, stirred smoothly into half 
a teacup of the cold milk. Let the milk be boiling 
when this is added, and kept constantly stirring, or 
the gravy will be lumpy. If cream is used instead 
of milk no butter is necessary. The milk should 
be stirred while coming to the boil to keep it from 
burning. It is less likely to burn if a little butter 
is melted in the 6pider before pouring in the milk. 
Red Strings tied ou tools used by children aid 
one to keep track of these implemeuts. For in- 
stance, here is a small hammer with a string of 
scarlet cord through its handle. An old case- 
knife hangs by a string of red braid put through a 
gimlet hole in the handle. Two lead-pencils have 
red cord tied around one end. A knot of scarlet 
braid on one bow of the scissors makes it no diffi- 
cult task to find them when lost. Children need 
" a place fbr everything," in order to learn to keep 
thrtjjs iu their places. 
Cooking the Egg-Plant. 
In the season of egg-plants we have numerous 
inquiries about cooking them. These usually come 
so late, that before the answer can reach our read- 
ers the season is over. To be in time we give the 
following, and housekeepers can just " stick a 
pin" iu their Memories to remind them to refer to 
this article \vh n the proper season comes round. 
It will interest our housekeepers to know how 
wide their circle is. This letter comes from a 
very distant member, Mrs. H. C. Phillips, at Sauti- 
pore, in India. We are always glad to hear from 
these far-away friends, and so we are sure are those 
housekeepers who live nearer to us. Mrs. P. writes : 
I notice au inquiry at to the best method for 
cooking the Egg-plant— or Bijou, as it is called 
here. The Bijou should be used while the seeds 
are quite tender and the vegetable will readily yield 
under the pressure of the fingers. Throughout 
this part of India, no vegetable is more highly 
prized or more generally used by all classes than 
the Bijou. It is served up in a variety of ways, 
some of which would not suit a Western palate. 
The best way is to cut them iu slices a half au 
inch thick, spread them on a plate, strew a little 
salt over them, and allow them to stand ten minutes 
for the sap to escape. Turn them over iu a well- 
beaten egg, and then in flour, and fry them iu very 
hot butter or lard, as you would fresh fish, which 
they resemble when thus cooked. 
Another way : Roast them as our mothers used 
to roast potatoes, though it does not require half 
the time. Remove the skin while hot, mash, and 
season with butter, pepper, and salt. Mauy here, 
instead of butter, use mustard oil, and add un- 
cooked onions, leeks, and cayenne peppers chopped 
fine, also a little roasted fish pounded fine. 
Still another method: Cut the vegetable, stem 
and all, into halves. Bail them, and when quite 
soft, carefully scrape the inside from the skin ; 
season to suit the taste, and return to the skins, 
filling them even full. Arrange them on a plate 
with the stem extending over the edge, then strew 
them with some nicely toasted bread-crumbs. The 
Bijou is also cut into pieces the size of an egg and 
put into curries. 
Table Etiquette. 
The following comes from a correspondent in 
Massachusetts, who signs herself " W." : 
How often do we see a hostess overstep the 
bounds of true courtesy as she presides at her 
table by urging her food upon her guests ! " Now 
do take a piece, it is very simple, it will not harm 
you in the least." " Why do you not eat ? " "Isn't 
that good?" " Tou do not eat anything ! " This lat- 
ter remark is not unfrequently made when a visitor 
has eaten as much or even more than others, but 
as she does not choose to partake of all that is 
placed before her, the hostess seems to consider it 
incumbent on her to urge, and question her rea- 
sons, which oftentimes places the guest iu a very 
unpleasant position. Now, are not visitors sup- 
posed to have common-sense ? They are often 
treated as though they lacked all knowledge of 
their own appetites and desires. This continuous 
urging and discussing of food implies either that, 
or that they distrust the willingness of the hostess 
to have her food partaken of. This would be a de- 
cidedly uncomplimentary opinioii for the visitor to 
possess, consequently very uncourteous in the 
hostess to insinuate the existence of such by her 
excessive importuning. 
The food denominated very simple and harmless 
is frequently compounded of the most deleterious 
ingredients. Not that prevarication is intended, 
but there is often an unconscious ignorance of its 
harmful qualities, and the guest must either ruu 
the risk of being made uncomfortable for several 
hours, by giving her stomach food for which it is 
not capable of cariug, or incur the evident displea- 
sure of the hostess. This is no imagination or ex- 
aggeration, but fact. Even if it be a simple dish, 
who can tell better than ourselves whether we can 
eat it with impunity or whether we desire it? The 
questions "Is it not good?" and "Why do you 
not eat?" arc such that if truthfully answered 
might sometimes occasion embarrassment to the 
visitor and deep mortification to the hostess. Sup- 
posing the visitor refuses food for sanitary reasons, 
she does not wish to solicit the commiseration of 
those around her by making a parade of her weak- 
nesses. Ou the other hand, imagine the feelings of 
the hostess if the visitor replies to her questions, 
"Is it not good?" and "Do you not like it?": 
"No, I do not like the molasses sweetening iu 
your pie ; I prefer to eat this cookie instead ; " or, 
"Tour cake is not well baked, consequently is not 
palatable to me." Now, does the lady of the 
house expect or wish her visitors to criticise the 
food, or cavil to this or that because it does not 
happen to suit their t:iste ? If so, a more discre- 
tionary way would be to avoid the publicity of the 
table. If she desires praise, would it not be muck 
plcasanter for her guests and more creditable to 
herself to dispense with her questions, and await 
the option of the guests for compliments? If de- 
serving, they will generally be given by actions, if 
not in words. Not that the visitor should flatter, 
but when circumstances will admit, compliments 
may be bestowed, which will give a happy gratifica- 
tion to the hostess, and add not a little to her ease 
— for deserving praise helps wonderfully. Simply 
passing food, with a single invitation to partake, 
ought to be sufficient, without any urging. Of 
course, if one kuows her visitor's peculiar taste, 
she will endeavor to cater to it ; and if not, to as- 
certain it iu the most delicate manner possible, 
and not because her food is refused demand an ex- 
planation, or express surprise by looks and excla- 
mations if she discovers a palate that does not co- 
incide with her own. Doubtless, a frequent cause 
of the many queries is au earnest desire to please, 
and out of it has grown this thoughtless habit. 
But it is one which should be overcome, for in the 
adherence to it a hostess can never become an 
adept in the presidency of her table ; for she de- 
feats her aims, torturing instead of entertaining. 
It should be the aim of the host and hostess to- 
make each gathering at the table pleasant, that the- 
mind may be diverted and digestion assisted. Do 
not make the current prices of the market the 
subject of your conversation, or find fault with 
the oven or the cook. If the result of your 
teachings or your own personal efforts does not 
equal your desires, resolve to try again ; but defer 
until away from the table all conversation that may 
be necessary to effect the desired change. An ex- 
cuse may sometimes be needful ; if so, make it in 
the briefest and most pleasant mauner possible, 
after which avoid further allusions to the subject. 
Avoid all unpleasant topics ; choose those iu which 
all cau participate or be interested, and then make 
merry, tempering your solicitude for your friends' 
appetite by a little reasonable judgment — remem- 
bering the maxim, " Every one to his taste." 
The Cost of Bones and of Cooking. 
Somebody in Englaud has been making a calcu- 
lation of the wastes of meat as we usually buy it 
and cook it. He weighed a leg of mutton before 
cooking, 9 fi>s. 10 oz. Then he roasted it and 
weighed it again, 6 fi>s. 12 oz. Then he took out 
the bone and weighed it again, 4 lbs. 13 oz. This 
was the net result — exactly one half waste. The 
Warren Cooker would have saved much of the loss 
shown at the fifst weighing, but the bone is "a 
hard nut to crack," and makes the cost of a meat 
diet more than we at first suppose. By the above 
showing, a leg of mutton, at 83 cents per ft>., gives 
us clear meat (including fat) at a cost of 50 cents 
per R. This, when a pound of wheat flour, con- 
taining more nutriment, costs less than i cents. 
Samp or Hominy. 
"Thorson" writes as follows : "The names samp 
and hominy are differently applied in different locali- 
ties. Both terms are given to a sort of coarse Indian 
meal or cracked corn, and to whole corn with the 
hull removed. This whole corn is the kind I refer 
to. It retains the shape of the grain, but the thin 
hull has been removed by beating. It has one 
greatfault— it is cheap ! It costs me by the bag six 
cents a pound, and I do not know where else the 
same amount of food can be had for the money. 
The samp is soaked for a day, and then cooked in a 
farina-boiler for some hours, or until quite soft 
Served hot, dressed with butter, etc., like potatoes, 
it is fine at breakfast or dinner. Put when hot 
into a bowl or other mold, and allowed to cool, it 
may be turned out like blanc-mangc, and like that 
eaten with sugar and cream. If it were only fifty 
cents a pound, how popular it would be I " 
