22 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
mings for the skirt are less profuse, and for many 
of the richest toilettes the skirts are entirely plain. 
Scotch plaids in all textures, are a distinctive fea- 
ture. The preference is given to blue and green 
combinations. The bright tartans are better adapt- 
ed for misses' and childrens' wardrobes. 
Bodices are made high, frequently trimmed ill 
jacket form, but always terminating in " postillion," 
"sash," or "rounded basque" ends. The "postillion" 
is a short jacket-back, eight to ten inches deep, aud 
narrow and straight at the sides : that is, about 
half the width of the side shape is made to form in 
with the centre of the back, aud laid in flat or plain 
plaits, as preferred. The " sash " waist proper, has 
two graduated ends cut on with the body, usually 
eighteen inches deep ; they are frequently cut of 
the same length in front. 
" Basque " ends are usually wedge or leaf shape, 
terminating sometimes quite long in the center, 
and the sides graduated from tb*t ; others barely 
give an opportunity for trimming at the bottom of 
the waist. The spring, or skirt part in the above 
named styles, does not extend to the side seams. 
Basques are being revived in improved styles. 
A becoming form for a plain basque is, to cut the 
skirt or spring six or eight inches in front, and ten 
inches in the back, and shape it in a rounded slope 
to the seam under the arm ; or in other words, make 
no spring at the sides, but let it be carried straight 
down over the hips in the form mentioned, and 
finished at the edge with chenille fringe six to ten 
inches deep. The sleeve to correspond, should be 
what is termed wide coat shape, with a narrower 
fringe set ou above the edge in a regular form, to 
indicate a cuff. The joining of the sleeve to the 
body is concealed by a row of fringe which is a be- 
coming and favorite style. 
Sleeves are made close at the hand, for traveling, 
and where simplicity and comfort are considered. 
Aside from these, they are open at the wrist and 
somewhat wider than they were, but not full. 
Where for variety they are full at the top, they are 
invariably sloped narrow at the hand, and left open 
at the back to display the undersleeve; hut all, 
though variously cut, assimilate, to the coat sleeve. 
The most popular cloaks are made of beaver cloth 
and plush, which if not superbly elegant, are, yet 
better, warm and comfortable. 
Bonnets have somewhat changed their shape, and 
very decidedly their style of trimming. The orna- 
ments arc now all massed on the top of the crown, 
aud the front, instead of flaring up, is made some- 
what lower and plain ou the outside ; the interior 
has the decoration placed a little on one side, the va- 
cant space beiug filled up with half a dozen quil- 
lings of illusion. Jockey hats are more than ever in 
favor with young people. The Spanish style, in felt 
and beaver, trimmed with velvet and plumes, but 
without any ribbon, and fastened with elastic 
instead of strings, is the one principally worn. 
Why So Much Poor Bread? 
Mb. Editor : — Can any reader of the American 
Agriculturist explain why it is that so large a num- 
ber of good housewives have so much " bad luck " 
in makiug bread ? I have traveled a good deal, and 
enjoyed eating at hundreds of tables. The re- 
sult of my experience and observation is, that not 
half of the families of the country, rich and poor 
included, even kuow what good bread is : they 
have never eaten enough to know the genuine, 
light, well-baked article when they see it. Of the 
other families, half at least have quite as much poor 
bread as good— about three bakings out of fire 
beiug defective from some cause — while only about 
one family in twenty have good bread always. 
Now why is it that those who are in all other 
respects excellent housekeepers, and never fail to 
have other work well done, yet fail here ? Need 
bread-making be such an uncertain process ? Is it 
necessary to have it too heavy to-day, too much 
raised to-morrow, over-baked ou the next day, aud 
under-baked on the following day ? If one out of 
twenty housekeepers always mauages to have a 
good, light, sweet, properly-baked article, could 
not the other niueteen do the same if they brought 
the same care and skill to bear? Bakers never 
think of failure : their bread is always expected to 
be light and good. If the learning of the trade 
makes the difference, would it not be worth while 
for every housekeeper, to learn the trade ? The 
process is not so varied, and docs not require such 
a degree of acquired mechanical skill, as to make a 
long apprenticeship requisite. I repeat the ques- 
tion at the head of the letter: "Why so much poor 
bread?" aud add another : Can nothing be done to 
remedy the difficulty ? Let your fair correspon- 
dents put their heads and pens together. When 
they succeed, the writer of this will be less inclined 
to remain a "crusty" Bachelor. 
«-• »■» '■ i ■ 
The Bread Question— Butter Costs More 
than Flour— Cheaper to Buy Bread 
than to Make It. 
Mr. Editor: As bread is literally, as well as 
figuratively, the " Staff of Life," I for one desire 
to see this subject occupy a larger space in the 
American Agriculturist for 1864. To start the ques- 
tion, I supply a little from my experience : My 
family consists of five persons. We keep a record 
of every expenditure, and here is the account 
of three items for the year ending Sept. 1,1S62: 
Meats, (average $1.84 per week,) $95.08 
Flour, 5 bbls. and 40 lbs 40 25 
Butter, (5, S J lbs. per week, average 23>rfc.) 05.81— $207.74 
Total for Flour and Butter $112.00 
My " better half" was in poor health, and her 
care much required by an infant, so that the baking 
was mainly done by the kitchen girl. Though 
otherwise a good girl, and well recommended from 
her last place as "a good bread-maker, etc.," the 
bread was not just right more than once in five 
times, if so often ; heucs butter in quantity, gravies, 
toasts, bread-puddings, etc., were continually re- 
quired to use up the poor bread. On looking over 
the matter, we concluded to try buying bread. Here 
are the figures for the year ending Sept. 1, 1863 : 
Meals, (average $1.03 per week,) $84.70 
Bread, (451 loaves al 10c, 324 loaves at 5c.) 61.30 
Butter, (4% lbs. per week, at 23c. average,) 56.81— $202.87 
Total for Bread and Butler $118.11 
During the second year we enjoyed better 
health, and certainly enjoyed our meals more, as 
we always sat down to the table with good bread 
before us. Less meat was desired, and less butter 
required to give the bread "a relish." The saving 
iu butter was only 14 ounces a week, but this made 
an aggregate saving iu the year of $9, after reckon- 
ing the increased cost. I have allowed nothing for 
cost of fuel in baking, of time, milk, salt, etc. As 
in the home baking system, it costs more for but- 
ter than for flour, and from considerations of 
health aud comfort, I believe it cheaper to buy 
baker's bread, when it is conveniently at hand and 
at a reasonable price, than it is to bake at home — 
at least where good home-made bread cannot be 
uniformly produced. Not a Baker. 
Soda versus Saleratus. 
The other day we saw at a store a lady looking- 
for "Saleratus." She said " she never used cooking- 
soda ; it was not half so good as Saleratus." She 
obtained a neatly-done-up package, labeled, adver- 
tised, and recommended highly, as "pure Salera- 
tus." We happen to know, by chemical analysis, 
that 'the so-called pure Saleratus was simply cook- 
ing soda (super-carbonate of soda) adulterated with 
salt to reduce the cost. Genuine Saleratus is a 
bicarbonate of potash, which is obtained from 
wood ashes by leaching out the carbonate of pot- 
ash, evaporating the water, purifying by burning, 
aud oi-carbonating it with carbonic acid. Cooking 
soda is bi-carbonate of soda prepared from com- 
mon salt by a chemical process, in which commer- 
cial chloro-hydrie acid is produced at the same 
time, so that the original cost of the soda is but 
3 or 4 cents per lb. As salt is abundant, and ashes 
are scarce, the soda will always be much cheaper 
than Saleratus.— The practical point is, that soda 
answers every purpose of saleratus. As an alkali 
to neutralize sourness in cakes, bread, etc., it is 
equally effective. As a source of carbonic acid gas to 
lighten up the cakes or bread, it is also just as good 
as saleratus. The resulting salts, left in the food 
by soda, are at least as simple aud uninjurious as 
those of saleratus. It is a mere notion, or waut of 
skill in use, that would lead any one to prefer the 
dearer and scarcer pure saleratus, to cooking soda. 
The chemical reader will understand, also, why 
soda goes further than the potash saleratus. The 
equivalent of the potash saleratus (KO,2C0 2 ) Is 
39+8+44=91; that of cooking soda (Na0,2C0 3 ) 
is 21+8+44=73,— so there are as many neutralizing 
soda elements in 73 ounces of pure cooking soda, 
as iu 91 ounces of potash saleratus. The same 
may be said of the gaseous carbonic acid. There- 
fore, while soda costs less, yet 5% lbs. of it go as 
far in cooking, as 6}{ lbs. of the saleratus. (In 
the ordinary method of manufacturing, the bi-ear- 
bonating is not very perfect, but considerable por- 
tions of simple carbonate remain. The commercial 
articles are therefore properly termed super-car- 
bonate of soda, and super-carbonate of potash.) 
"Ham and Eggs"— Get the Eggs Pirst. 
If there is any better breakfast than " ham and 
eggs" to brace a man up for heavy out-door work 
in these cold days, we don't know what it is, — 
always provided, that the ham was good originally, 
that it has not been salted, smoked, or cooked to 
death, and that the eggs are not done to a crisp, but 
are simply hardened in the fat so as not to run. 
Ham, if barely cooked enough not to taste raw, 
and then well masticated, or cut very fine if the 
teeth are too tender, is both digestible aud nourish- 
ing. Lean meat furnishes lean meat — that is, the 
muscles of the body with which we work. The 
fatty portion supplies carbon to keep up the inter- 
nal fire of the system most needod when it is cold 
without. The nitrogenous albumen and the oil of 
the eggs, answer the same purposes. So much for 
the housekeeper aud cook. Now to get the eggs — 
and the housewife must look after this, too, if the 
" men folks" don't, or won't. 
Hens will lay about as well in Winter as in 
Summer, if '.' circumstances" permit. To produce 
eggs well, fowls must be comfortable, and must have 
animal food. When the ground is open, and worms 
and insects abound, they get their own material. 
They must have gravel to keep their grist-mills iu 
good working order, and lime to make the shells. 
Sometimes a hen drops a shell-less egg, but she 
is ashamed of the skinny, unprotected thing, aud 
seldom does it twice. Sometimes she will drop an 
egg where its life is sure to be frozen out, but her 
instinct teaches her better, aud she stops doing so, 
if possible. Here is the whole secret of having 
plenty of eggs all Winter, — we have tried it long, 
and so have others, with good success always ; aud 
as eggs will sell well this year, owing to the high 
price of meats, we advise attention to the matter : 
1. Give the fowls some warm, thoroughly shel- 
tered place of retreat, aud keep it clean. Take out 
all the droppings at least once a week : they arc ex- 
cellent guano, worth half the cost of the food. (We 
have a nice, plastered, warm room iu the suuny 
south-east corner of the second story of the barn, 
provided with roosts and laying-boxes having the 
entrances turned so as to be out of sight of the rest 
of the poultry. Heus are modest animals, always 
seeking hidden places for nests. A narrow enclosed 
stairs leading up from the barn-yard, is freely used.) 
2. Let them have unfrozen water always accessible. 
Semi-fluid eggs cannot be made out of dry grain. 
3. Hens are not gluttons. Let them have grain iu 
abuudance, and they will eat only what they need. 
4. Provide a wide box of gravel, earth, sand, 
ashes, and old plaster or finely-broken oyster 
shells, for them to roll in, and to pick out such 
materials as they require. 
5. Give them two or three times a week, if not 
daily, a moderate supply of fresh meat, (never any 
salt.) Nothing comes amiss — bits of cartilage, in- 
