ladies' department. 
323 
Casks' ^Department. 
TO MAKE HOMMONY. 
I have so often been asked for our Maryland 
receipt for making hommony, that I send it to 
your journal, as the surest method of making it 
public. Some gristmills have a way of pre- 
paring it beautifully, by making a trifling addi- 
tion to the machinery of the mill, which beats 
the hommony while the meal is being ground ; 
but many people still prefer the old negro way, 
and many mills have not the new machinery. 
I wish I could tell the quantity of water it takes 
for any given quantity of corn; but the negroes 
do everything by guess ; and when I asked the 
man who makes it best for me, the only answer 
I could get was, "jest 'xactly 'nuff, massa, oney 
don't let 'em make de corn too wet, dat spiles 
all." 
Take a gum-tree or oak block, "jest 'xactly 
big nuff," and burn or dig it out to the depth of 
twenty inches or two feet ; rub the hollow clean 
and smooth, and you have the mortar. A 
wooden pestle, equally rude, is formed, into the 
flat end of which drive gently, (for fear of split- 
ting it,) the sharp end of a large-sized wood cut- 
ter's wedge ; the broad end being thus ready for 
breaking and hulling the corn. The best corn 
must be carefully selected and shelled ; moisten 
it well by pouring boiling water over it ; when 
part is broken up and hulled, it should be taken 
out of the mortar, and fanned, again moistened 
with boiling water, and put in again ; this fan- 
ning and moistening, (always with boiling wa- 
ter,) and beating to be continued until it is free 
from husks. Spread it out to dry, and then sift 
it, first through a coarse seive, which will re- 
tain only the hommony, then through a fine 
one, which will retain the grits. The coarse 
meal that remains is excellent for cakes and 
puddings. *M.* 
ENGLISH vs. AMERICAN GIRLS. 
The English girl spends more than one half 
of her waking hours in physical amusements, 
which tends to develop and invigorate, and 
ripen the bodily powers. She rides, walks, 
drives, rows upon the water, runs, dances, plays, 
sings, jumps the rope, throws the ball, hurls the 
quoit, draws the bow, keeps up the shuttlecock, 
and all this without having it ever pressed upon 
her. mind, that she is wasting her time. She 
does this every day until it becomes a habit 
which she will follow up through life. Her 
frame, as a natural consequence, is larger, her 
muscular system much better developed, her 
nervous system in better subordination, her 
strength more enduring, and the whole tone of 
her mind healthier. She may not know so much 
at the age of seventeen, as does the American 
girl ; as a general thing, she does not ; but the 
growth of her intellect has not been stimulated 
by hot-house culture, and though maturity comes 
later, it will proportionally last longer. Eight 
hours each day, of mental application, for girls 
between ten and nineteen years, or ten hours 
each day, as is sometimes required at school, 
two hours for meals, one for religious duties, the 
remainder for physical exercises, are enough to 
break down the strongest constitution. — English 
Paper. 
TOMATOES FOR WINTER USE. 
Take the largest ripe tomatoes, which wash 
and drain ; cut them across, and lay them with 
the cut side up, in an earthen or wooden vessel ; 
sprinkle well with fine salt, and with alternate 
layers of tomatoes and salt; fill your vessel, and 
let it stand all night. In the morning, pour off the 
juice, with as many seeds as possible, and throw 
it away. Put them over the fire, boil slowly 
until reduced to a pulp, which rub through a 
seive, to get rid of the skins. Add to this pulp, 
Cayenne pepper enough to season it highly, and 
if necessary, more salt; boil slowly for two 
hours, or until quite thick; stir well to prevent 
burning. When cold, put it into shallow, earthen 
plates to dry in the sun, or a slow oven. When 
quite dry, put it into glass jars, and if kept in a 
dry place where it will be free from mould, it 
will be as good at the end of the year, as when 
first made. A piece half an inch thick and 
three inches square will season a gallon of 
soup. 
If wanted for sauce, soak it in warm water, 
add butter rubbed with crumbs of bread or 
flour, and stew for a few minutes before serving 
it. 
To Boil Hommony. — To one quart of hommony, 
put two quarts of cold water, and a tablespoonful 
of salt ; boil until the water is entirely absorbed. 
Take it from the fire, cover the pot closely, and 
set it on the hot ashes for fifteen or twenty min- 
utes, to soak. Serve it in a deep-covered dish, 
with butter cut into small pieces, on the top. 
Those who like cream with it, may add half a 
pint while on the ashes. It is whiter and bet- 
ter tasted when boiled in a pot lined with por- 
celain, or in an earthen pipkin. — Exchange. 
Home-Made Candles. — If you manufacture 
your own candles, immerse the wicks in lime 
water, in which a littte nitre, (saltpetre,) has 
been dissolved, and dry them before dipping. 
The light from such is much clearer, and the 
tallow will not " run." — Ibid. 
To Purify Molasses. — Boil and skim your 
molasses before using it. When applied for 
culinary purposes, this is a prodigious improve- 
ment. Boiling tends to divest it of its unpleas- 
ant, strong flavor, and renders it almost equal 
to honey. When large quantities are made use 
of, it is convenient to prepare several gallons at 
at a time. — Ibid. 
To Burnish Britannia Ware. — In burnishing 
Britannia ware, rub the surface gently, in the 
first place, with a woolen cloth, dipped in 
sweet oil; then wash in tepid suds, rub with soft 
leather and whiting. Articles burnished in this 
way retain their lustre till the last, if carefully 
used. — Ibid. 
