83 
April, 1890. 
u. s. mraii. 
( All our readers are invited to write to the 
editor of this department in regard to any 
matters in which they are interested. Extracts 
from letters will be printed in this column 
from month to month.) 
Our first letter is from a wide-awake 
housekeeper in New York State. She says: 
‘ Can you tell me how to keep jelly from molding? 
My jelly Is Arm and hard and I always cover it with 
brandled paper; but every glass I’ve opened this winter 
has had a thick layer of ino'd on top. I’ve tried keep- 
ing it up stairs, down-stairs and in the cellar, and I'm 
about discouraged and most think I won’t fuss to make 
any next summer.” 
Have you tried waxed paper instead of 
brandied? Mutton tallow is said to be a sure 
preventive of mold. 
Next comes a Massachusetts woman who 
writes: 
“l live ‘way out in the country’ where ready money is 
scarce. Can’t you tell me how to earn some money? I 
can’t leave home, but I am well and strong and could 
work hard here If there was anything to do. ’’M rs. FLAB. 
Why don’t you keep city boarders next 
summer? There are a great many families 
who want to get “way out in the country” 
and are willing to pay a good price for 
board. If your house is large enough, you 
can make a snug sum in this way before 
next October. Remember that city people 
will want good bread and butter, plenty of 
milk, with some cream, and an abundance 
of fresh vegetables. They seldom care for 
many pies or rich cakes, preferring simple 
desserts, and fruits or berries. Try it, and 
let us hear how you succeed. 
A New Jersey correspondent says that 
she is troubled with little red ants every 
summer, and she wants to know how to get 
rid of them. 
Can any of our readers tell her? Also, 
can any one tell “Mrs. H. A. B.”of a better 
way to earn money at home? Perhaps some 
one who has had experience in keeping city 
boarders will tell us how profitable it is. 
“Lend a hand,” sisters, and let us help one 
another. 
The Spring; Cleaning:. 
Nowadays, there are so many directions 
given for house-cleaning that doubtless all 
Orchard and Garden housekeepers under- 
stand the best way of conducting this an- 
nual renovation; so we shall add only a few 
general suggestions. 
First, let us all remember that the inmates 
are of more importance than the house; then 
we shall not let the warfare with dust and 
dirt absorb our energies to the neglect of 
our families. But we shall try to simplify 
our methods of w irk in order that we 
may have more time to give to husband 
and children. The whole house must not 
be in confusion at once. Comfortable sleep, 
ing-places must always be ready at night, 
while an abundance of wholesome food 
should be provided at the regular hours for 
meals. Because the house is being cleaned 
is no ex< usf> for carelessness in these impor- 
tant matters. 
What Women are Doing:. 
There are four women supporting them- 
selves as dentists in New York City. 
A woman in Oregon rides horseback and 
carries the mail over a route twenty miles 
long, through the heart of the mountains. 
There are eight women holding positions 
as organists in important churches of Buf- 
falo, N. Y. 
There are three women architects in Buf- 
falo. 
A daughter of Wm. Morris, the poet, has 
started a regular business in embroidery and 
designing, giving employment to an increas- 
ing number of women. 
There is a successful mechanical draught- 
woman in the city of Brooklyn. 
Hundreds of women find employment as 
type-writers and stenographers, and the de- 
mand for first-class workers is greater than 
the supply. An inability to spell correctly 
shuts out many from this kind of work. 
In Harrisburg, Pa ., a woman has been ap- 
pointed deputy factory inspector. 
One woman has taken up the business of 
mending locks, trunks, bags, window fast- 
enings and the like, and finds herself con- 
stantly employed. 
A woman has bad charge of the Matinicus 
light north of the Penobscot river for twen- 
ty eight years. 
At least one woman earns a comfortable 
support ham me ling silver. 
Mrs. Josephine Shaw Lowell is commis- 
sioner of the New York State Board of Char- 
ities. 
Two sisters, under twenty-four years of 
age, are making money as jewelers in New 
York. 
A young woman in Connecticut has been 
given a license as a dispensing druggist. 
Another Connecticut girl has completed 
a four years’ apprentiship to the machinist's 
trade, and she is said to be the best mechan- 
ic in the shop. She uses the planer, lathe, 
drill, or file, with ease and dexterity, but 
her specialty is tool-making. 
Over two hundred women artists exhibit- 
ed at the Paris Exposition last year. 
Label Everything:. 
In packing away clothingandotherthings, 
don't trust your memory in regard to the 
contents of trunks, boxes or packages, but 
label each one at the time it is put away. 
This will take you only a few minutes, and 
will save you hours of searching and much 
needless vexation. 
The Care of Carpets. 
Many people sweep carpets too often. You 
can save work and save your carpets by wip- 
ing them off with a damp cloth. This re- 
moves the dust without stirring it up. A 
few drops of ammonia in a pail full of wat- 
er will brighten the colors, while turpentine 
cleanses and disinfects at the same time. A 
housekeeper, of twenty years standing, 
claims to ha ve kept her house from moths 
and her family from fevers in this simple 
way. The proportion of turpentine she used 
was a tablespoonful to a quart of water. 
Once a month all her carpets were wiped 
off with it, special care being taken at 
the edges and in the corners. Of course as 
soon as the water becomes soiled, a fresh 
supply must be taken. Other housekeepers 
obtain the same results by the use of salt. 
Before putting down carpets, they sprinkle 
the bare floor with ordinary dairy salt, and 
once in two weeks throw coarse salt over 
the carpets, before sweeping. — M.C.Rankin. 
Seasonable Recipes. 
For baked halibut, lay the piece in salt 
and water for two hours, wipe dry and 
score the skin; bake for about an hour, and 
baste occasionally with hot water in w hich 
is a little melted butter. When it is done, 
take it out, add a little boiling water to the 
gravy in tue pan, if necessary. Flavor it 
with the juice of a lemon, and a little Wor- 
cestershire sauce, or failing that, with Wal- 
nut catsup. Do not pour around tbe fish 
but serve in a sauce boat. 
Stewed asparagus is good for a change: 
wash and cut in pieces the tender parts; 
the tough ends w 7 ill do to add to tomorrow’s 
soup stock. Just cover w ith boiling water 
and cook half an hour, drain, and put in a 
saucepan, pour over half a pint of cream, 
add a tablespoonful of butter, salt and black 
pepper; let it boil up once, and serve. As- 
paragus is one of the most valuable of foods 
in the spring, it purifies the blood, and es- 
pecially acts on the kidneys. 
Veal to be either palatable or w holesome 
must be well cooked. When roasting have 
the oven very hot at first, but cool off after 
fifteen minutes and cook slowly, allowing 
fifteen minutes to every pound, basting of- 
ten. When stuffed it is an improvement to 
add a small piece of salt pork finely chopped, 
to the ordinary bread crumb dressing and 
to season it with sweet majoram and 
thyme. 
For a change from ordinary boiled spin- 
ach, steam it by putting in a covered sauce- 
pan with a cupful of water, set over a mod- 
erate tire for twenty minutes; drain in a 
colander, pressing all water out, then chop 
very finely; put back in the saucepan with 
a tablespoonful of butter, salt and pepper 
and stir till hot. Have ready a heated dish 
with squares of toast buttered. Pack the 
spinach tightly in a cup to mould, and turn 
each mould out on to a piece of toast. Lay 
a slice of hard boiled egg on each one and 
pour drawn butter around the base. 
Potted fish makes a most appetizing 
supper relish; herring answer well for the 
purpose. While perfectly fresh, clean, rub 
with salt and pack in an earthen pot; add 
whole spices and culer vinegar to cover the 
fish when the pot is neaiay full. Tie on a 
paper cover to keep in all the steam. Bake 
in a moderate oven for three hours. They 
will keep two weeks in a cool place, and 
longer in a refrigerator. 
