December, 1889. 
237 
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ORCHARD GRRDEN 
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How to Cure a Ham. 
To cure hams and shoulders treat them as 
. follows as soon as possible after the meat 
is thoroughly cold. Place them on a board in 
the cellar with the skin side down. Mix 
thoroughly, by rubbing together, the follow- 
ing mixture which will be the proper pro- 
portion for twenty-five pounds of pork, and 
must, of course, be increased or diminished 
according to the amount of meat : o: ' 
pound of fine salt, half an ounce of pulver- 
ized saltpetre, and one ounce of brown 
sugar. Rub the hams well with this, push- 
ing some in at the hock. When you have 
rubbed in all that is possible of the mixture, 
if there is any left rub them with it again 
at the end of a week, and let them lie for 
two weeks, then hang in the smoke-house, 
and keep a smoke from hickory or apple 
chips for two or three days. The house 
should be cool and dark, and the chips 
never allowed to blaze, but be smothered in 
sawdust. For keeping until warm weather 
wrap them carefully in paper before the 
flies come, then tie them tightly in a strong 
muslin bag, leaving out only the string to 
hang them by. 
Seasonable Hints and Recipes. 
Muffins left from breakfast are good for 
luncheon, if split open and toasted. __ 
The green parts of celery neither look nor 
taste well if put on the table uncooked but 
make excellent stews and flavoring for 
soups. 
* The drumstick of a turkey is greatly 
improved by removing the tendons which 
always becomes hard and bony in baking. 
Cut carefully through the skin below the 
leg joint, but do not cut the tendons; bend 
the leg at the cut by pressing it on the edge 
of the table and break off the bone. Then 
pull out the tendons one at a time, with the 
fingers. 
For cinnamon rolls, scald a pint of sweet 
milk and melt in it a cup of butter ; add a 
teaspoonful of salt, two quarts of flour 
and half a cup of yeast. Let it stand one 
night. In the morning add two eggs and 
half a cup of sugar, roll out, cut in shape, 
sprinkle with tiny bits of butter, sugar and 
cinnamon, and let them stand an hour 
before baking. 
Christmas Plum Pudding;. 
The following recipe for English plum 
pudding is the one that took the two-guinea 
prize offered by the Queen, out of five hun- 
dren recipes sent her. Clean, wash, and 
dry a pound of currants. Stone a pound of 
raisins; mix these thoroughly with a poui.d 
of suet, finely chopped, three-fourths of a 
pound of stale bread crumbs, a quarter of 
a pound of brown sugar, the grated rind 
of a lemon, a quarter of a pound of wheat 
flour, half a pound of finely minced 
candied orange peel, and half a grated nut- 
meg; beat five eggs, add to them half a pint 
of brandy, then pour them over the dry in- 
gredients, and thoroughly mix. Pack them 
into greased small kettles or moulds, (this 
will make about six pounds,) and boil for 
six hours at the time of making, and six 
more when wanted for use. Serve with a 
sauce made by rubbing to a cream a quarter 
of a cup of butter, with a cup of powdered 
sugar, beat till light, add one at a time, the 
whites of two eggs, beating until frothy, 
then add, drop by drop, either a teaspoon- 
ful of vanilla, or a table -poonful of brandy. 
Heap on a fancy dish, grate on a little nut- 
meg and stand in a cold place. 
A DAINTY dessert: pare, core and cook a 
dozen apples in a syrup marie of a cupful 
of sugar and two of water. When they are 
tender, lift them out and cover them with 
a thin layer of beaten white of eggs. Sift 
granulated sugar on this and let it brown 
slightly with the oven door open. Let the 
syrup boil away till it will be a firm jelly 
when cold; cut it in squares and lay it on 
and about the apples. Eat with sugar and 
cream. 
Egg shells will settle coffee as surely as 
the whole egg, but do not impart as much 
richness and flavor. 
For luncheon or supper an excellent dish 
is a turkey ragout made of the remains of 
the Christmas dinner. Pick the meat from 
the bones, slicing it finely and removing all 
the skin, put the bones, shin, some slices of 
onion, sprigs of parsley, and two stalks of 
celery, with my gravy that may have 
been left into a saucepan, cover with cold 
water, and stew gently for an hour; strain 
them into an earthen bowl. Return the 
saucepan to the fire with a tablespoonful of 
butter ; when melted put in the same 
amount of flour, and stir till brown ; then 
pour the gravy in, stirring all the while. 
Season with salt and pepper, add the meat 
and let it heat, not boil. Pour on a flat dish 
and garnish with points of toast. 
Try this well-tested recipe for jumbles : 
Beat thorouglily together half a pound each 
of butter and sugar ; then three eggs well 
beaten without separating whites and yolks; 
grate into it half a nutmeg, and stir in a 
tablespoonful of rose water ; then mix in 
three-fourtlis of a pound of flour. Before 
rolling out dust the baking board well with 
granulated sugar, instead of flour, and roll 
out as thin as pasteboard ; cut into rings 
by using first a large cutter, then taking 
out the centres with a small one. Bake 
until a light brown in a moderate oven. 
While corn meal is new try this delic- 
ious corn bread. Beat three eggs, whites 
and yolks together until very light, then 
add a pint and a quarter of milk, a cup of 
cold boiled rice, two cups of corn meal 
(white), a heaped tablespoonful of butter, 
melted, and a teaspoonful of salt. Beat 
very well, then stir in two heaping teaspoon- 
fuls of Royal baking po ■ der, pour into 
greased shallow pans and bake in a moder- 
erately quick oven for thirty minutes. 
Cheese Cake is a popular old-fashioned 
dessert Use a cup and a half of fresh, 
sweet cottage cheese, press it through a col- 
ander, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, a 
teaspoonful of melted butter, half a cup of 
sugar, the juice and rind of a fresh lemon, or 
if that is not at hand a teaspoonful of va- 
nilla extract, and last, three eggs, beaten 
very light. Beat all together uniil smooth ; 
line a deep pie dish with plain pie crust, fill 
and bake in a quick oven for half an hour. 
Scalloped potatoes. — Pare and boil as 
many potatoes as needed, and when nearly 
soft, slice them and put a layer in a baking 
dish, sprinkling salt, pepper and bits of but- 
ter over them, then a layer of bread crumbs 
seasoning the same way. Repeat these lay- 
ers until the dish is nearly full; cover with 
milk and bake slowly for an hour; cover 
the dish at first but remove toward the 
close to let brown on top. 
Household lore, 
A teaspoonful or more of powdered borax 
thrown into the bath tub before bathing 
will give a velvety softness to the water, 
and at the same time rest and invigorate the 
bather. Persons troubled with wakeful- 
ness or nervousness will be benefited by 
this bath. 
To remove old ink stains from polished 
mahogany and cherry, add a few drops of 
nitre to a teaspoonful of water, dip a feath- 
er into it and touch the spots with it. When 
the stain disappears rub the spot at once 
with a cloth wet in clear water, then dry 
and polish it to prevent a white mark com- 
ing in place of the stain. 
To clean silver and gold jewelry add a 
teaspoonlul of ammonia to a cup of warm 
water. Scrub it with a soft brush and 
throw it in dry sawdust. Lave till thorough- 
ly dry, then shake or brush with a dry brush 
to remove saw dust. 
Thro w jelly bags, pudding cloths and 
strainer cloths into clear, warm water im- 
mediately after using them. As soon as 
you have leisure, wash them through sever- 
al waters; if they are greasy use borax. 
Scald them, rinse well, and hang to dry. 
When thoroughly dry, fold neatly and put 
in their proper places. 
Oilcloths should never be washed in hot 
soapsuds, they should be first washed clean 
in warm water then rubbed with a cloth 
wet with milk. The same treatment ap- 
plied to a stone or slate hearth. 
Polishing silver frequently wears it away, 
and it would not be often required if the 
silver were carefully washed, rinsed in very 
hot water, then rubbed dry on a fine, clean 
towel. Plain surfaces require polishing 
with a fine chamois skin, but it is rarely 
necessary to use powder. 
Persian powder is rendered more effec- 
tive by being mixed with borax. 
Beecham’s Pills cure bilious and nervous ills. 
