24 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
TEE EOlUSEEdDlLID). 
For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
Freshly Ground Black Pepper. 
It is just possible that there may be such a 
thing as pure ground spices, but those who 
know the ways of the spice and drug mill s 
will not feelvery con¬ 
fident that what is 
sold as ground pep¬ 
per, for example, 
may not be largely 
ground ship-bread or 
other harmless sub¬ 
stances. Even where 
the pepper already 
ground is pure, its 
long exposure in the 
state of powder caus¬ 
es the loss of much 
of its aroma. The 
French avoid both 
adulteration and de¬ 
terioration by grind- 
Fig. 1.— exterior of pep- ing the pepper as it 
per mill. i s used. Instead of 
the pepper caster at the table they hand one 
the Pepper Mill, and the pepper is ground 
then and there as it falls upon the food. The 
engravings show the affair—about half size, 
in fig. 1, as it appears upon the table, and fig. 
2 in section shows the interior. At the bot¬ 
tom is a small iron 
mill, constructed like 
a coffee-mill in min¬ 
iature, the grinding 
surface of which is 
moved by a rod that 
passes up through 
the top where a screw 
regulates the fineness 
of the grinding. The 
mill is operated by 
moving the cover or 
projecting rim at the 
top, a half turn sup¬ 
plying quite as much 
pepper as one would 
care for at once. The 
delightful odor that 
is given off by the 
pepper at once attests its great superiority to 
the article ordinarily used. Here is one “ no¬ 
tion” that is not of “Yankee” origin, and 
one which our makers of such things may 
well adopt.—Since the above was in type we 
learn that the mills are to be made here. 
Fig. 2. —INTERIOR OF THE 
MILL. 
Home-Made Earth Closets. 
If we mistake not, the American Agricul¬ 
turist was the first journal in this country 
to call attention to Moule’s invention of the 
Earth Closet, and it has continued from time 
to time to advocate this method of treating 
a household waste that is often sadly neglect¬ 
ed. The use of dry earth in closets is not 
patented, it is only the machinery by which 
the earth is applied that is patented by several 
inventors. We have shown at various times 
simple methods by which all the benefits of 
the system are placed within the reach of 
every one. That there is still a necessity for 
a more general adoption of the earth closet, as 
everyone who travels much about the coun¬ 
try must be aware, and we are glad to know 
£r®m our correspondents that there is still a 
wide-spread interest in this most important 
sanitary matter. We have at hand sug¬ 
gestions from correspondents as to the 
use of dry earth; one for a closet within 
the house. “A. J. W.,” Lakefield, Ont., 
writes: “I am in perfect accord with 
‘ Among the Farmers,’ in regard to privies. 
The horrible vaults in use in this country I 
style fever holes. I send you a sketch of my 
plan which works admirably. One comer of 
my bedroom is partitioned off for a closet; 
the cellar is beneath. I therefore had a 
pier built of stone to support the box for 
the deposit. The box is fastened securely on 
a stone boat. When I wish to empty the con¬ 
tents, I back up my horse to the opening, 
raise the door which is hinged above, and 
draw away the stone boat and dump the con¬ 
tents. If those using the 
closet are careful to place 
a scoopful of earth in the 
box eveiy time, there is 
never the slightest odor or 
annoyance. I hope my 
rough sketch may prove 
useful to some other 
health-loving fanner like 
myself.” In the sketch, the 
partition between the closet 
and bedroom is not shown ; 
1 is a barrel filled with dry 
earth, which falls through 
a tin tube into 2, a box 
attached to the wall of the 
closet, and is provided with 
a scoop or ash-shovel; 3 is 
the box for the deposit, up-1| 
on a stone-boat; the recep- j 
tacle for this is separated! 
from the cellar by a tight earth-closet in 
brick partition ; 4 is a stone sectional view. 
foundation for the box ; 5 is a pipe for ven¬ 
tilation ; this opens into the space below the 
seat, and terminates near the eaves ; 6 is the 
door through which the box is removed. 
To Keep and Use the Apples. 
Apples are now abundant on many farms, 
and all can still obtain them quite cheaply. 
But they will soon begin to decay, unless good 
keepers, and great care be exercised—such 
care as few can give. An experienced ma¬ 
tron, of much skill, in response to a request 
from the American Agriculturist, supplies the 
following : We keep our apples in the coolest, 
dryest place we can, where they will barely 
escape freezing. I have them looked over 
very frequently, and take out eveiy one at all 
likely to decay because of its kind, or from 
bruises, and preserve these either in the form 
of apple sauce or apple jelly. 
Apple Sauce : This I prepare just as any 
one else does, I suppose, all ready for the 
table. That is, I pare and core the apples, 
remove eveiy particle of skin, core, and dark- 
colored portion, and cook well in only as 
much water as is needed, and add sugar as de¬ 
sired. All the sauce not wanted for the table 
or pies within two or three days, I put at once 
into the common fruit bottles and close them 
the same as for canned fruits. I thus have 
on hand a stock of sauce that will keep a 
month or a year, and be always ready on the 
instant for the table or for pies. 
Apple Jelly is very acceptable in our 
family, and is easily made and kept. To make 
this I prepare the apples as above, adding a 
little more water in cooking than for ordinary 
sauce. When thoroughly cooked I strain it 
through a flannel bag (a cotton one will do). 
The clear juice I boil 10 to 15 minutes, and 
add 12 to 16 ounces of white sugar to each 
pint of it, according to its tartness. Then 
boil 15 to 20 minutes more, or until a little, 
cooled in a spoon, shows that it will stiffen. 
It keeps well for any length of time in bowls 
or tumblers, or in any cups, with paper pasted 
over to exclude the air. We like it flavored, 
either by stirring in lemon extract after the 
last bo ilin g, or lemon juice may be used, 
though this thins it somewhat and may pre¬ 
vent its jellying without more boiling. In¬ 
stead of lemon flavor, some prefer putting 
cinnamon sticks in when boiling. 
Apple Butter is made by boiling down 
new cider to about one-fourth its bulk, and 
then adding sliced apples, and cooking slowly 
with careful stirring until they are thorough¬ 
ly done. If sweet apples are used, the addi¬ 
tion of a few quinces greatly improves the 
flavor. This requires no sugar, and is one of 
the most economical as well as most health¬ 
ful of all preserves for children. If kept in a 
cold room there is no danger that it will spoil. 
Home Topics. 
BT FAITH ROCHESTER. 
How to Treat Frost-Bites. 
If any part of the body gets frozen, the 
very worst thing to do is to apply heat 
directly. Keep away from the fire. Use 
snow if you can get it; if not, use the coldest 
possible water. Last winter our little boy of 
five years froze his feet while out coasting at 
considerable distance from the house. He- 
cried all the way home, and the case seemed, 
pretty bad. I brought a big panful of snow 
and put his feet into it, rubbing them with 
the snow. But my hands could not stand 
the cold. I was alarmed to see him keep his 
feet in the snow so long, but he could not 
bear them out of it. It was half an hour be¬ 
fore he would take them out, and then the- 
pain was all gone, and when I had wiped 
them dry and rubbed them a little, he was 
entirely comfortable, put on his stockings 
and shoes, and went to play. He never after¬ 
wards had any trouble with his feet on ac¬ 
count of this freezing. His sister got her 
feet extremely cold, and put them at once to 
the fire. Her case at first was not so bad as 
her brother’s, but .the result was much worse. 
Her feet were very tender all winter, and she 
suffered from chilblains. Her toes had a 
swollen purple look, and she had to take a 
larger size of shoes. 
Winter Butter. 
How difficult it is to get good winter-made 
butter. Often I know by the taste just where 
the difficulty lies. Butter-makers sometimes 
let the cream stand too long before skim¬ 
ming, and one can hardly believe, from the 
taste, that their butter is really fresh. Some¬ 
times a bitter flavor comes from lack of care 
in keeping the rising cream undisturbed. 
The pans are dipped into, and in skimming 
for butter the second rising over a part of 
the pan, which has a somewhat bitter flavor, 
goes in with the better cream, and spoils the 
taste of the whole. Then the cream may be 
kept in the jar too long before churning, 
while the butter-maker waits for enough 
cream to accumulate to make it worth while 
to chum. It would be better in this case to 
bring the butter by stirring it in the jar with, 
a ladle or pudding stick, if enough cream. 
