222 
WHAT WOMAN MAY DO. 
fiabies SJ^actment. 
WHAT WOMAN MAY DO. 
Ladies of the Revolution. —At the close of our 
revolutionary war, when our grandmothers attended 
personally to household duties, from pleasure as well 
as necessity, a society was formed of ladies residing 
on farms near one of our principal cities, for the pro¬ 
motion of useful knowledge, and the encouragement 
of domestic manufactures. They met at each other’s 
houses alternately, once a month, to exhibit each her 
produce, and to suggest improvements. On that day, 
particularly, they were not permitted to wear any 
garment which had not been woven and spun on their 
own farms, nor place on the table any viand that they 
had not made or procured from home-grown produce. 
If the snow-white linen dress was not as delicate as 
the Irish loom could produce, or the fine blue and 
white checked apron to be compared with the Man¬ 
chester gingham, still they were beautiful fabrics, and 
were worn with more honest pride and pleasure than 
is generally felt by the modern lady while shining in 
the gorgeous silks of France. The day of meeting 
was looked forward to by this little society as one of 
heartfelt enjoyment, and a charming emulation was 
excited to procure the best receipts for preparing 
everything that came under their care on the farm or 
in the house. . 
The morning of the day of meeting was spent in 
comparing the articles each had brought, and in giv¬ 
ing and receiving instruction for future improvement; 
the dinner was equally an object of interest to all, for 
then came the husbands and brothers to compare 
whose beef, mutton, and hams were prepared with 
most care; or which of their fair friends excelled in 
the less useful though more elegant portion of the 
feast; and jellies, pastries, and preserves became ob¬ 
jects of deep interest; the foaming home-brewed 
beer, and the sparkling cider were decided unrivalled; 
and the wines of currant, gooseberry, and even grape, 
were judged and praised by the guests, amongst 
whom were often Charles Thompson, Thomas Jeffer¬ 
son, and Benjamin Franklin. 
While listening with glowing interest to the details 
of these happy days, related by one of the society’s 
brightest ornaments and most useful members, I have 
felt that the humblest topic might be made one of the 
deepest interest, and that nothing which can contri¬ 
bute to the comfort of others is beneath the attention 
of a cultivated mind. How eminently useful might 
such societies be made if extended through our coun¬ 
try ; and how pleasant the labors of the week or 
month, if each woman felt that she was working for 
something beyond mere animal comforts. 
Things that may be Learned at Social Meetings .— 
If at such meetings a few of the elementary works 
on botany, chemistry, and insects, could be read, how 
largely would it contribute to their information, use¬ 
fulness, and enjoyment. Every cook is a practical 
chemist in a small way, though she may not be 
aware of it herself; and while she is boiling soap, 
making yeast, or bleaching her linen, she is perform¬ 
ing some nice experiments in chemistry which require 
knowledge and practice to perform. How much 
lighter then would be the work of a house if each 
one knew something of the chemical properties of 
the ingredients they were mixing, and thus feel cer¬ 
tain that some experiments would succeed and some 
would not. A very little time devoted to well chosen 
books on this subject will give enough knowledge for 
household purposes, and when once in the right path 
of improvement, an intelligent woman will make 
many interesting and useful discoveries for herself. 
She will learn that in writing a recipe it is necessary 
to be very particular in giving not only the exact pro¬ 
portions of the ingredients, but the manner of mixing 
and the time when each should be added; for on tiils 
will mainly depend her success or failure: thus*, if 
she be going to make a light tea cake, she will under¬ 
stand why she had better mix the sour cream or 
cream of tartar thoroughly through the batter before 
adding the soda or saleratus, and that when mixed, 
the cakes must be baked immediately; or that the old 
notion of the necessity of stirring soup while boiling 
with a sassafras stick could have arisen from nothing 
but ignorance and superstition. It is a very common 
saying among good cooks, that they never care for a 
recipe, that they always go by guess, and that it is non¬ 
sense to be so exact in weight and measure. It may be 
so for them, because, from long practice and good judg¬ 
ment, they have acquired the habit of forming a correct 
guess at a glance; but wo to the poor family who is 
obliged to eat the sour, heavy bread, and badly pre¬ 
pared dinners of the cook who has not had the ad¬ 
vantage of such knowledge, and who equally dis¬ 
dains instruction. What young housekeeper has not 
felt the benefit of a clearly-expressed and well- 
worded recipe, above the common mode of giving 
one ? Take the following example from a book be¬ 
fore me: 
“ Sponge Cake. —Twelve eggs, their weight in 
sugar, half their weight in flour, some grated lemon 
peel, mix together, bake in paper cases or small tin 
moulds.” 
Now none but a good cook who knew how to 
make sponge cake could possibly succeed by these 
directions; and none but a very stupid one could fail 
if obeying the following : 
“ Another. —Take twelve fresh eggs, put them in 
the scales, and balance them with sugar; take out 
half, and balance the other half with flour; separate 
the whites from the yolks, whip them up very light, 
then mix them and sift in first sugar, then flour, beat¬ 
ing all the while, till both are exhausted; add some 
grated lemon peel; fill paper cases or small tin 
moulds, and bake them immediately in a moderate 
oven; if allowed to stand without beating they be¬ 
come heavy. This also makes an excellent pudding, 
with butter, sugar, and wine for sauce.” 
A Knowledge of Insects. —Some knowledge of in¬ 
sects and their habits is equally useful to a house • 
keeper. The woollen moth, the ham skipper, com¬ 
mon house fly, and cockroach, and a host of others, 
are pests that all suffer from and dread; yet no remedy 
is offered or attempted, because few appear to know 
their true histories, and are from ignorance unable to 
guard against them. The woollen moth is a small 
grey fly, on the wing principally at night, when it is 
in search of a proper place to deposit its eggs. This 
it finds in any woollen or fur material that may be 
exposed. The eggs remain unhatched a longer or 
shorter time, according to the warmth of the room 
they may be in. When hatched, they are little 
worms, which soon spin a sack of silk and particles 
of the material on which they feed, and so nicely 
