August, 1889. 
163 
ORGH RRD Jrn p D E N 
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Family Picnics. 
There are more people away from home 
during the month of August than any oth- 
er month in the year. Hotels and hoarding 
houses are crowded, and every farm-house 
that will open its doors, is pretty surg to be 
filled with city folks. It is wise, for all who 
can, to rest in August; for by that time the 
summer heat has become tiresome and 
enervating; and work, of every kind, is a 
burden. 
But there are large numbers of people 
who cannot get away; and if they have 
pleasant country homes, they should not 
consider it a misfortune. Certainly they 
are far more comfortable than in a crowded 
hotel, and probably they have better food, 
air, and drainage. For those of the home- 
stayers who are house-keepers, we have a 
few words of advice. 
Don’t attempt great things during Au- 
gust. See that the family has good whole- 
some food, with plenty of vegetables and 
fresh fruit; but do not tire yourself out in 
providing a great variety of dishes, nor in 
making elaborate desserts. Fresh, light, 
simple food is the best for hot weather, 
while that which is rich and heat-generat- 
ing ought not to be tolerated. 
As often as possible, take a “field-day,” 
when the whole family shall turn gypsies 
and spend the day on some breezy hill-top, 
or by cool mountain-brook or lake. Life 
in the open air is beneficial to people of all 
ages, and nothing makes children happier 
than such an outing. A picnic is a de- 
lightful way of celebrating family birth- 
days, which ought never to be allowed to 
pass without some notice. 
In August, there are many days when a 
housekeeper cannot accomplish anything 
beyond the inevitable three meals and yet 
she is tired out before night. These are 
just the days for picnics. 
Let the arrangements he as simple as pos- 
sible. always remembering that you go for 
a rest and a change, and not for a feast Do 
not take many dishes, for they are trouble- 
some and heavy to carry, and very few are 
really necessary. Squares of thick white 
paper serve admirably as plates: and as no 
one will object, on a picnic, to taking a 
chicken bone or pickle in the fingers, with 
sandwiches and buttered rolls, knives and 
forks may be mainly dispensed with. Pro- 
visions should be carefully packed, each 
kind of food by itself, as more depends upon 
the dainty and appetizing appearance of 
the dishes than upon their number and va- 
riety. 
No one thing is so universally popular as 
the sandwich, and though ham or tongue 
is usually liked best, any kind of meat may 
be used, provided it is chopped fine and sea- 
soned before being put on the bread. From 
the following list of articles appropriate for 
picnics, it will be easy to select and arrange 
a tempting menu. 
Brown bread, corn muffins, buttered rolls, 
Vienna bread, ham sandwiches, smoked 
tongue, roast chicken, pickled salmon, sar- 
dines, pickles, marmalade, fresh fruits, 
melons, lemonade, gingerbread, macaroons, 
chocolate cake, angel cake, ice cream, cof- 
fee.— M. C. Rankin. 
A Rustic Stand. 
A beautiful rustic stand may be made of 
the balls of the gum tree, glued closely to- 
pound of sugar, put it in a porcelain-lined 
kettle and cook slowly for ten minutes then 
seal air-tight in a glass jar. 
Canned fruit should be examined a week 
or two after it is put away; if the liquid 
has settled and shows no air-bubbles; if the 
tops are slightly indented, showing there is 
no air inside to resist the outside pressure, 
you may be sure it is all right; but if you 
find the opposite conditions, discouraging 
as it may be, relentlessly open and re-cook 
them and take for present use, as they 
would never be satisfactory if returned to 
the jars. 
Surplus juice that exudes from fruit when 
canning, if sealed up in bottles, makes an 
agreeable addition to mince pies, or is equal- 
ly valuable as sauce for puddings. 
gether upon a box, as shown in the illus- 
tration. They may afterward be varnished 
if desired, or gilded, or bronzed, but are 
quite as handsome without either. If made 
now and planted with begonias, etc., it will 
make a beautiful ornament for the parlor 
by winter. 
A Good Cooker. 
The most satisfactory household utensil 
recently put on the market is Parker’s 
Cooking and Preserving Crock. We speak 
from experience. The earthen crock is so 
suspended in its tin casing that the hot air 
passes all around it, cooking its contents 
evenly and thoroughly without burning 
them. It is excellent for preserving, or 
making jelly, for soups, or cooking rice, or 
oatmeal. Rice puddings may be baked in 
it in a shorter time and with much less fire 
than is required for baking them in the 
Do not use alum in preserving and pick- 
ling, for although it may give firmness and 
crispness to the fruit and vegetables it is 
highly injurious to the stomach. 
Household Kecipes. 
The sweetness of corn is often destroyed 
by too long boiling. It is only necessary to 
“set” the milk, and five minutes hard boil- 
ing will do this, counting from the time it 
begins to boil. The water should boil hard 
before it is dropped in. Some persons think 
the flavor is retained better if it is boiled in 
the husks. The outer husks should be re- 
moved, leaving only the tender inside ones, 
and the silk pulled out from the ends, and 
it should be boiled for ten minutes instead 
of five. Nothing so utterly destroys the 
sweetness of corn as heating before it is 
cooked; it should therefore not be trans- 
ported in large quantities, and if it cannot 
be cooked at once be spread out singly on a 
cold cellar floor. 
Cork Fritters made thus are delicious 
and perfectly wholesome. Grate half a doz- 
en ears of young juicy corn, a little salt, and 
one egg, white and yolk, beaten seperately, 
adding the white last. Heat until very hot, 
either a frying pan, or a cake griddle, and 
put into it merely enough lard to grease it. 
Drop a spoonful of the corn in a place, 
bake a moment until brown, turn, and 
when browned on that side, serve im- 
mediately. Try these. 
Parker's Piiilosophicai. Cooker. 
oven. It may be obtained by writing to .J. 
C. Parker, the inventor, at Havrede Grace, 
Maryland. 

Notes on Preserving. 
Pineapple for canning or preserving is 
best to be shredded in pieces with a silver 
fork after it is pared, and the eyes removed. 
It is little more trouble than grating and is 
more delicate and less apt to be discolored. 
To every pound allow three-quarters of a 
TO MAKE HUCKLEBERRY PUDDING: One 
pint of molasses, a teaspoonful each of 
salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves; half 
a pint of warm water (in which dissolve 
a teaspoonful of soda) , a quart of huckle- 
berries, and flour enough to make it of 
the consistency of soft gingerbread. Boil 
two and a half hours in a bag, or bake two 
and a half hours in a moderate oven, cov- 
ering the deep basin in which it is baked 
until it is nearly done. For the same: — 
one cupful of sugar, half a cupful of butter, 
and one egg beaten together to a froth; just 
before bringing to the table add a teacupful 
of boiling milk, and grate nutmeg over the 
top.— A bby Speakman. 
