260 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[J-ULT, 
as they began to turn red we used them freely on 
the table, and yet there are a great many ou the 
bushes that are growing dead ripe. Yesterday I 
picked several quarts of them, and made my cur- 
rant jelly. I intend to dry some of the nicest and 
largest of them for cake, and the rest will make 
me live or six gallons of wine. I shall be certain, 
in offering wine of my own manufacture to my 
guests, that it contains neither logwood nor Elder- 
berry, or any other dirty drug,and it will be perfectly 
harmless, as well as in the last degree palatable, if 
I succeed well. I have put up lifteen pounds of 
cherries. I prepared them in the Shaker style, 
taking out all the stoues and boiling my syrup 
down until it was quite thick. 
July X\th. — Yesterday afternoon I had my house 
full of company, and of course, took a great deal 
of pride in my tea-table. I have had so much plain 
cooking to do for the workmen, that it was a real 
pleasure to try my skill in cakes and custards. I 
find that good cake depends, first, Upon the quality 
of the materials, then upon the order in which 
the ingredients are mixed, and then upon thorough 
combination. When Eliza was here she told me of 
a contrivance for sale in New York, for stirring 
cake and bread. If Edward goes down to the me- 
tropolis next winter, I guess he will buy one for 
me. It consists of a funnel-shaped, tin vessel, large 
enough to bold two or three gallons, and fastened 
securely iu a hole in the shelf, or set iu a block 
which is screwed to the shelf. Iu the middle, and 
fastened to the bottom, is a round piece of wood 
about the size of a broomstick, terminating in a 
handle at the top. A small as well as a large quan- 
tity can be stirred iu this, and with vastly more ease, 
Eliza says, thau can be done in the ordiuary way. 
I think that this, and all other labor-saving in- 
ventions in woman's department, should be patron- 
ized. The time and strength I could save by having 
such a bread aud cake stirrer, I could invest in 
enterprises in and arouud the house that would re- 
pay the outlay. It is only within a few years that 
3 wringers, washers, sewing and knitting machines 
have been invented, but what a vast amouut of toil 
they have already saved, and the movement of in- 
vention in this direction is still onward. "When I 
get this bread-stirrer, we shall observe the differ- 
ence in the quality of the bread, for kneading a 
long time is essential to good bread. 
July lath. — The weather is very sultry and oppres- 
sive, aud I have had a great deal of trouble with my 
batter and cream. I find that when the thermom- 
eter is above 00°, it is very difficult to make a su- 
perior quality of butter without the best arrange- 
ments. So Edward suggests that during the re- 
mainder of this month, and the next, I make only 
enough butter for family use, aud make the rest of 
the milk into cheese. I have no practical experi- 
ence in this line, but fortunately our Irish dairy- 
man has been familiar from boyhood with the pro- 
cess, as conducted in the old country. Edward has 
bought me a neat little press, and. Farmer Jones' 
wife will let me have a reunet. It will impose 
some additional labor upon me, but Sue is doing a 
great deal of my housework, aud I have an ambitiou 
to master every department of domestic industry. 
July Vtth. — Amid all my other engagements I 
have not tieeu obliged entirely to neglect my flow- 
ers, and I am surprised to see how much can be 
accomplished iu keeping a flower garden in fine 
condition, by a little labor every day. My morn- 
ings have been so occupied that I have devoted a 
few moments every eveuing after tea, to my roses 
and verbenas. I make it a rule never to pass a 
weed without pulling it up, and I have placed it as 
a reward for rapid kitchen-work, that Sue shall 
have a half hour iu the garden if she will make 
lime for it. With such girls as Sue, whose inten- 
tions are always good, is it not best to stimu- 
late by rewards of this sort, as much as possible, 
and not discourage and dishearten them by con- 
stant faultfinding ? I make it a rule to praise lrer 
whenever she does a piece of work rapidly and 
well, and be as sparing of censure as I may. 
July 20th. — Sue reports that the cucumbers are 
big enough to pickle. « I tell her that she may go 
out early every other morning and pick all that arc 
of the length of her forefinger; in that way I will 
prevent any from getting too large, and have my 
pickles of uuiforan size, which improves their ap- 
pearance and their value in market. Those that 
accidentally escape her notice aud reach a large 
size, we can use on the table, or let them ripen aud 
make them into sweet pickle, for which my sister 
Emel'me gave me an excellent receipt. 
A few of thern I shall pickle at once, but most of 
them will be put down iu rock salt until spring, 
when we shall hare abundance of vinegar, and 
time to prepare them for market. 
July 22(1. — I've been having some experience 
in sickness within a day or two. One of our 
workmen came iu at noon, with a terrible headache 
from the heat of the sun, amounting almost to sun- 
stroke. I made a pallet ou the floor for him, in a 
cool, dark room, upstairs, put a cloth wrung from 
cold water, over his forehead and eyes, and left a 
basin of cold water beside him, to be used in keep- 
ing the cloth cool and moist. Perfect, quiet and 
rest will restore him soouer than anything else. He 
was not very well in the morning, aud ate a light 
breakfast, theu, just before noon, he pitched on a 
big load of hay, with the thermometer at 96". Poor 
fellow ! I feel so sorry for him, and my sympathy 
seems to be as grateful to him as the cold water to 
his forehead. I have just carried him a glass of 
iced lemonade, which he received very thankfully. 
He says he has never beeu the same man since that 
summer at Vicksburg. Edward has told him not 
to worry about his loss of time, that a few days 
illness shall make no difference with his wages. 
July 27th. — My patient is recovering. His head- 
ache and giddiness lasted two or three days, during 
which time I gave him gruel, toasted bread, soft 
boiled eggs, and lemonade. Now that thehead- 
ache is gone, I have put him on a rich diet, for that 
is what he wauts to build up his strength. We 
got three or four pounds of sirloin steak, which I 
keep hung in the well, giving him a uice cut of it, 
broiled, twice a day, with just as much Graham 
bread and as many boiled eggs as he will cat, aud 
all the buttermilk he wauts to driuk. 
Leaves from My Journal.— No. V. 
PRIZE ESSAY BY MRS. E. M'CLEIXAN, OF OHIO. 
While seated at our sewing this morniug, I said 
to Lizzie : " I never told you of a visit we made to 
our friends many years ago. I don't often speak of 
it now, though in all its details it is as fresh iu my 
mind as the events of yesterday. Mr. Frisby was 
worn with incessant business, and Alice, the pet 
lamb of our flock, was 'teething and delicate. We 
proposed to take our own conveyance, aud thus at 
our leisure, visit friends scattered here and there in 
the beautiful Valley of the Connecticut. Carrie 
was now five, aud for these two little ones, I had 
all a fond mother's pride and ambition. How un- 
weariedly I labored by day and night, to have all in 
readiness for our outfit ! I remember especially oue 
afternoon, feeling really impatient, while hurrying 
to finish some garments, assisted by a sewing girl, 
when my husband came in and proposed that we 
should lay by our work and attend a church lecture. 
— Ah, how did the cares of this world choke the 
Word, till it became unfruitful ! But everything 
being in readiness, and quite to my liking, we com- 
menced the journey. It was iu June. Golden 
days, transparent in brightness and beauty. The first 
drive brought us to a friend's where we purposed 
to stop a while. That night Mr. Frisby was taken 
sick, and for two weeks lay prostrate with disease. 
Alice, the while, needed tender care aud nursing, so 
unlike her former playful self. When Mr. Frisby 
was able to ride, we started for my former moun- 
tain home. Its clear bracing air would cure both 
the sick ones, I said. But Alice still drooped, aud 
after three weeks lingering, painful sickness, ' slept 
that sleep that knows no waking.' We robed her 
in the white muslin I had so carefully wrought, 
and which she had never worn till now, and laid- 
her to rest by 'the graves of our fathers.' With 
sorrowing hearts we retraced our way. As we drew 
near home, the words of Naomi came to my mind: 
' I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me 
home again empty.' Then looking at the dear ones 
still spared, I exclaimed : Oh no, not empty, not 
empty/ The Lord hath dealt very mercifully with 
me. Blessed be His name. 
Thus without long and weary pilgrimage, 
Through devious paths of pain, and tears and sin. 
Her little feet have reached the Home of Rest 
And stand forever safe on Zion's hill." • 
Sabbath. — "Our Father" knew what these rest- 
less, grovelling, grasping natures needed, and gave 
us this sweet day, forever pointing from the dust 
and din of earth to heavenly mansions and immor- 
tal life. The sermon this morniug was from those 
words of Jesus : " She hath done what she could." 
Precious testimony, to that grateful penitent, whose 
costly offering was esteemed a sacrifice of love. I 
saw the tears gather in Lizzie's eyes, and believe I 
read her thoughts. To the young nonsekeeper 
whose time aud strength are taxed tt> the utmost iu 
her own little circle, those ever recurring ques- 
tions, "What shall we eat,, what shall we drink, 
and wherewithal shall we be clothed," seem to be 
absorbing every other. Her life appears so barren 
of fruit to the Saviour's praise, that despondency 
may wrap its dark folds about ber heart and shut 
out the bright light and hope of heaven. How- 
little does she estimate at its real value the simple 
routine of her daily life ! To make one more happy 
home in the land, one more center of healthful sav- 
ing influence, from which may go forth "streams 
to make glad the city of our God" — are not angels 
even " ministering spirits" iu such a work as this ? 
I passed a humble home to-day, aud though en- 
tirely a stranger to its occupauts, decided iu my 
own mind that it was bright and happy within. 
That fine running rose, " The Queen of the Prairie," 
had been trained over one side of the house, till it 
had surrouuded the chamber windows. It was 
loaded with roses. Every spot of grouud was turn- 
ed to the best account. Vegetables were more 
forward than I had seen before, with flowers here 
aud there interspersed. Under an elm tree was a 
rude swing for the children; a martin box sur- 
mounted the wood-shed, while about the whole 
place was that indescribable air of order and thrift, 
which we so surely connect with true enjoyment. 
We are having a heavy rain. I have had a feather 
bed and pillows put out on the grass. . The feathers 
are getting heavy, the pillows somewhat yellow. 
IS the rain is long enough, it will do them as much 
good as the com in the meadow. They will need 
turning over two or three times, and take some 
days to dry, but will then be about as nice as new. 
Feather beds are out of date now, but for old people, 
iu cold weather, they are a comfort, aud, renewed iu 
this way, aud properly aired, need not be unhealthy. 
Sour milk is au excellent bleacher. Place-thc 
garment in an earthen bowl or wooden pail, and 
cover entirely with the milk. Let it remain two or 
three days, taking pains now and then to shake it 
thoroughly. Then after washing aud boiling, it will 
be found of the purest white. For table-cloths and 
napkins, that have become stained and yellow, this 
is a good cure. Iron rust needs more severe treat- 
ment, and can be removed with oxalic acid dissolv- 
ed iu water, and applied to the spot in the strong 
sunlight. It is a powerful poison, and will take 
the color out of anything on which it is carelessly 
dropped. Mildew I had supposed past remedy, but 
have tried the cure found iu the Agriculturist for 
September, 1S66. Stir }£ lb. of chloride of lime iu 
a gallon of cold water. After settling au hour, 
pour off the clear liquid, aud soak the mildewed 
cotton or linen in it two hours; wash well and ex-- 
pose to the sun — and it works like a charm. I only 
fear that leaviug a garment of delicate material so 
long iu the solution of lime, may rot it ; but of this 
I cannot yet judge. The same fear has been ex- 
pressed in regard to the oxalic aeid, but I have 
often used it without the least injury to the linen. 
Green Com Pnddiiig. — Grate the corn 
off from 6 ears, aud mix with }4 pint sweet milk, 
% cup sugar, 1 .tablespoonful flour, 2 eggs beaten, 
1 tablespoonful butter, aud add a little salt. 
