1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
529 
.id, ^ummmroo 
Fen-other Household Items see “ Basket" pages. 
Salmon—Good and Economical. 
Fresh Salmon are a superb table fish, very 
nutritious, but of late years so scarce as to be 
used only by those able to pay from 25 cents 
to $1 a pound, according to the season and 
locality. The great canning establishments 
on the Pacific Coast are changing all this * ; 
and if the Fish Commissions are properly 
aided by the General and State Governments, 
our Eastern rivers will ere long again furnish 
them in abundance. We now get, at our 
country grocers,'8-ounce cans of nice fresh 
salmon for 18 cents retail, while sirloin beef 
costs 20 to 25 cents per lb., and pound for 
pound is less nutritious. The canned salmon 
is very convenient to keep on hand for 
emergencies, and even for common food. 
This fresh, canned salmon is usually cooked 
enough for immediate use, but may be treated 
in various ways. The following two excel¬ 
lent recipes are given to the American Agri¬ 
culturist by the Lady of a member of the 
U. S. Fish Commission at Washington . 
Cream Salmon. —Take out the contents of 
a pint can, and remove all bits of skin and 
bone, drain off the fluid, and mince the fish 
fine. For a white sauce, boil a point of milk, 
thicken with 2 tablespoonfuls of corn starch, 
and add 2 tablespoonfuls of butter, with salt 
and pepper to one’s liking. Prepare 1 pint 
finely powdered bread crumbs. Put a thin 
layer of crumbs in bottom of a pudding 
dish, then a layer of the minced fish, then a 
layer of the white sauce. Repeat these layers 
for the whole, ending with crumbs. Then 
bake in the oven until the top crumbs are a 
handsome brown. This is a delicious and 
nourishing dish for breakfast or tea, and is 
served as a fish course at dinners. 
Salmon Croquettes.— Prepare the fish just 
as above. Mix it thoroughly with an equal 
quantity of boiled rice, adding a little melted 
butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Mould 
into small sausage-shaped forms, and roll 
them first in finely powdered crackers, then 
in beaten egg yolk, and again in the cracker 
crumbs. Fry in hot fat like doughnuts. A 
palatable, nutritious food, easily prepared, 
and as the egg prevents the entrance of much 
fat they are readily digestible. 
Comfort from Newspapers. 
Many years ago, in one of the severe win¬ 
ters when there was much hardship among 
the poor, a city paper suggested that old 
newspapers, spread over the bed, would form 
an excellent substitute for blankets and cov¬ 
erlets. This brought upon the journal a great 
deal of harmless ridicule from other papers, 
but it brought comfort to many a poor fami¬ 
ly. In the matter of bed-clothing, especially, 
we are apt to associate warmth with weight, 
and do not consider that there is no warmth 
in the coverings themselves, but that they 
merely prevent the heat of the body from 
passing off. Whatever is a poor conductor of 
heat will make a warm covering. Paper it¬ 
self is a poor conductor, but still poorer are 
the thin layers of air that are confined when 
* Columbia River, Oregon, ships over 26,000,000 lbs. 
canned salmon this year ; Sacramento River. 7.680,000 
lbs.; and other Pacific Coast rivers euough to make up 
48,000,000 lbs. ^ 
two or three newspapers are laid upon one 
another. A few newspapers laid over the bed 
will keep one much warmer than some of the 
heavy, close-woven blankets. We do not pro¬ 
pose newspapers as a substitute for blankets 
and comforters, but it is one of those make¬ 
shifts that it is well to know. In travelling- 
one may, by the aid of a few papers, secure 
a comfortable rest in a thinly-clad bed, and 
if we can not afford to give a destitute fam¬ 
ily a blanket or a comforter, we may show 
them how to increase the usefulness of their 
thin coverings by stitching a few layers of 
newspapers between them. It may be well to 
remind those who grow window-plants, that 
by removing them away from the window, 
and arranging a cover of newspapers over 
them, they may be preserved from harm in 
severely cold nights. With the plants as with 
ourselves, it is not so much that cold comes 
in, as that the heat goes off, and often a slight 
protection will prevent the escape of heat. 
The Shepherdess’ Work Basket. 
We some time ago saw a design for an ea¬ 
sily made and neat work basket, to which 
the makers gave the 
name of “Shepherdess.” 
Thinking that it may 
afford a useful hint to 
those who have not 
completed the list of ar¬ 
ticles they intend to 
make for Christmas 
presents, an -engraving 
is here given. The 
THE SHEPHERDESS’ WORK BASKET. 
foundation is a cheap, but strong straw hat, 
one of a girl’s or child’s size being most suit¬ 
able, taking care to select one with a graceful 
brim. The edge is to be trimmed with box- 
pleating of any color that may be fancied, or 
that one may happen to have. The various 
articles for the furnishing of the bag are to 
be made and covered with material of a 
color similar to, or harmonizing with, that of 
the edging, over which white-dotted Swiss- 
muslin should be placed. There ought, of 
course, to be a pin-cushion, a place for the 
scissors and the like, besides a number of 
bags or pockets of different sizes, all of which 
are to be of strong material for a foundation 
and very firmly fastened in place around the 
brim. To finish the basket, put on a broad 
ribbon handle, of a color to match the rest; 
this should be sewn securely to the hat, and 
be tied in a bow with long ends. This handle 
answers to carry it by, and also to hang it in 
a convenient position against the wall. It al¬ 
lows of a great variety in the material for 
the lining and other interior fittings; taste¬ 
fully and strongly made, this forms a pretty 
as well as useful present at a slight outlay. 
About Raising- Healthy Women, 
Perfect health is very rare, especially 
among women. Yet the difference between 
young men and young women, in this respect, 
is hardly as great as it was 20 years ago. Is 
not this because Fashion has allowed to 
women and girls greater liberty in out¬ 
door exercise, for some years' past ? Also, 
because Fashion has slightly mitigated the 
barbarities of the feminine costume ? Women 
dress more warmly in winter than they used 
to do, girls wear thicker and more solid shoe3, 
and looser waists, and all indulge more in cro¬ 
quet, skating, and other open-air exercises. 
Many things go to the making of a “ per¬ 
fect woman, nobly planned,” but good health 
is the foundation necessary for the perfection 
of all other gifts and graces. If we judge 
by results we must conclude that the old 
methods of bringing up girls were a mistake, 
especially among those who paid most atten¬ 
tion to what is called education. One danger 
to growing girls has been and still is 
Playing the Piano, 
The ill health of many a woman is 
especially due to excessive practice on the 
piano or other musical instrument, dur¬ 
ing her early girlhood. This practice 
exhausts vitality very rapidly. The close 
attention necessary to keep the time and 
discipline the fingers, and read the music 
correctly, makes a great demand upon 
the nerves. It is a very common thing 
to have near-sightedness developed by a 
course of music lessons. The spine suf¬ 
fers, not simply from the long sitting 
without a rest to the 
back, but because of 
nervous exhaustion. 
To add music lessons 
to the regular course 
of study in our public- 
schools, or to a “reg¬ 
ular course ” in any 
school, is to do that 
which is very likely to 
result in an enfeebled 
consitution,or broken- 
down health. Either 
the music lessons 
should be confined to 
vacations, or given 
when the Miss is kept from school, or the 
music lessons should be short and few, and a 
very moderate amount of school work pur¬ 
sued in addition. The years between twelve 
and eighteen are years of especial peril, as the 
physical system is then passing through great 
and important changes. Excessive piano¬ 
playing is one cause of “St. Vitus’ dance,” 
In Order to lieep Hirls Healthy, 
dress them warmly in cold weather. In our 
cold northern climate, it is still an uncom¬ 
mon thing to find little girls (or girls of any 
growth), with their limbs warmly clad. Last 
winter I went to one of the principal stores 
in our State Capital, searching for woven 
merino undergarments for a girl of ten. I 
found none among the all-woollen goods 
which were long enough to reach to the ankle. 
They all were intented to stop short just below 
the knee. I have since seen these garments 
in cheaper grades (nearly all or entirely of 
cotton), of ankle length, and probably the 
fine all wool ones are sold in most cities. 
But I purchased flannel, as I had done be¬ 
fore, and made the under garments at home. 
There should never be any gap between this 
