1879.] 
AMERICAN AG-RICULTURIST, 
25 
house-mother. At the beginning of the year, 
we naturally think of, and plan for improvements, 
and we belittle no others in claiming the first place 
for those that relate to the health of—indeed the 
life of — the household. Two of the greatest 
scourges of country life—typhoid fever and diph- 
theria—are by the highest authorities traced directly 
to the water we drink, and the air we breathe. The 
sources of contamination in both cases are the 
privy-vault and the sink-drain. In a matter of life 
and death we cannot be squeamish, but must speak 
plainly. Take the country through, outside of 
cities and places large enough for public sewerage, 
the condition of the privy-vaults is a disgrace to our 
civilization, a horror and a shame. If it were only 
an offense to our senses, this would call for a re¬ 
form ; but when we have the highest authority for 
the statement that it brings disease and death, why 
should we hesitate ? There is no evil more easy to 
reform than this — reform it out of existence ? 
Among all intelligent people, the privy-vault should 
be abolished. There is no need of discussing how 
far off the well must be to be safe from contamina¬ 
tion, or how far from the house to avoid its odors 
—it simply need not exist. A privy-vault is no 
more needed on a farm or other place than a pillory 
—both are relics of a semi-civilized life. Be done 
with it altogether. The writer speaks from 10 years’ 
experience, when he asserts that a privy-vault is an 
unnecessary nuisance. Dry earth or coal ashes are 
obtainable everywhere, and no consideration of ex¬ 
pense need stand in the way of abolishing eveiy 
vault on the continent, while every consideration 
©f health, comfort and decency demand the change. 
We have already shown how easily it is to establish 
an earth closet, and for the benefit of many new 
readers must do so again, but at another time, as 
this article is already too long. The disposal of 
the vault danger is the easier of the two. The 
sink-drain question must be left to another month. 
Macaroni and its Uses. 
In a notice of Miss Corson’s little work on “*25- 
cent Dinners,” it was stated as one good feature of 
the book, that it recommended Macaroni, and told 
how to cook it. This cheap and very nutritious 
food may be cooked in a variety of acceptable 
styles, and is a most excellent substitute for vegeta¬ 
bles. Potatoes are apt to be poor late in the season, 
and if macaroni be used instead, it will be found 
vastly more nutritious. Macaroni comes in boxes 
of about 25 lbs., and is sold by the box at an aver¬ 
age price of 15-18c. per lb. It is in long pipes, or 
tubes, sometimes several feet in length, being bent 
over and over; it is a little larger round than a com¬ 
mon lead pencil, and has a dull appearance, some¬ 
what like that of horn. It is imported from Italy, 
and though it has been made in this country, and 
perhaps is still made, it is, for reasons to be ex¬ 
plained presently, vastly inferior to the imported. 
Macaroni is really dried flour paste, but there is, 
as every housekeeper knows, a great difference in 
flour, and the kind best for bread is the poorest for 
macaroni, and vice-versa. Flour consists largely 
of starch. If we mix up some flour with water, to 
form dough, and tie a lump of this dough—say as 
big as a hen’s egg—in a piece of muslin, and then 
hold it under a stream of water, and work it as 
the water flows, the starch will soon be washed 
out through the meshes of the muslin, when the 
water runs clear, showing that the starch has been 
washed out, if we open the cloth there will be found 
a small quantity of a pasty stringy mass—this is 
gluten. It differs from starch in containing nitro¬ 
gen, and it will soon spoil. Starch is a /leaf-pro¬ 
ducing food, gluten is a yfesA-forming food, really 
the most nutritious portion of the flour. Our best 
wheats make flour with 7 or 8 parts in the 100 of 
gluten. Other wheats contain about twice as much. 
It is only wheats rich in gluten that make good 
macaroni, and while the flour of our wheats make 
the best and lightest bread, it is only the wheats of 
the south of Europe, especially some kinds raised 
in certain localities in Italy, that make the best 
macaroni. This is why it can not be made suc¬ 
cessfully in this country—our flour is in one sense 
too good. The proper kind of flour is made into 
a stiff paste with water, well worked by means of a 
wooden bar, and then put into a mould in which it 
is subjected to great pressure. The mould has 
holes in it, of the proper shape, and the paste is 
forced out through these as fine threads, when it is 
called Vermicelli, or as pipes or tubes, when it is 
Macaroni. It is dried by a heat sufficiently to 
slightly bake it, when it is ready to be packed in 
boxes. The same paste rolled thin, and formed 
by proper cutters into squares, stars, hearts, etc., 
is known as Italian paste. Vermicelli and Italian 
Paste are rarely used except in soups. It will be 
seen that macaroni is the most nutritious of all 
farinaceous foods, and one that should be more 
generally known and used than it now is. We may 
add here, that it is a most excellent thing for ex¬ 
plorers and other travellers—as we know from ex¬ 
perience. Those who go on hunting and other ex¬ 
cursions, which take them where vegetables are 
not procurable, will not miss these if there is a 
supply of macaroni. Old macaroni is sometimes 
infested by an insect which feeds within the cavity; 
upon holding the sticks up to the light this may be 
seen as a dark spot. In our first experience with 
macaroni, it seemed so hard and horn-like, that it 
was put to soak before cooking ; as a consequence 
it was spoiled. It should be put at once into bod¬ 
ing water. The following directions for cooking it 
are from “ 25-eent Dinners,” and abridged so far as 
they give matters already stated above. Miss Cor¬ 
son gives the following general directions under 
Macaroni. —Wipe it carefully, break it in what¬ 
ever lengths you want it, and put it into boiling 
water, to every quart of which half a tablespoonful 
of salt is added ; you can boil an onion with it if you 
like the flavor; as soon as it is tender enough to 
yield easily when pressed between the fingers, drain 
it in a colander, saving its liquor for the next day’s 
broth, and lay it in cold water until you want to use 
it/ When more macaroni has been boiled than is 
used it can be kept perfectly good by laying it in 
fresh water, which must be changed every day. 
After boiling the macaroni, you can use it accord¬ 
ing to any of the following directions. Half a pound 
of uncooked macaroni will make a large dishful. 
Macaroni, Farmers’ Styxe.— Boil half a pound 
of macaroni as above, and while you are draining it 
from the cold water, stir together over the fire one 
ounce each of butter and flour, and as soon as they 
bubble, gradually pour into the sauce they make, a 
pint of boiling water, beating it with a fork or egg 
whip until_ it is smooth ; season it with a level tea- 
spoonful of salt and a level saltspoonful of pepper, 
and put the macaroni in it to heat ; then cut an 
onion into small shreds, and brown it over the fire 
in a very little fat; when both are done, dish the 
macaroni, and pour the onion out of the frying pan 
upon it. It is excellent; and ten cents will cover 
the cost of all of it. 
Macaroni with Broth. —Put half a pound of 
macaroni, boiled as above and washed in cold water, 
over the fire with any kind of broth, or one pint of 
cold gravy and water; season it to taste with pep¬ 
per and salt, and let it heat slowly for an hour, or 
less if you are in a hurry ; then lay it on a flat dish, 
strew over it a few bread crumbs, which you will 
almost always have on hand if you save all the bits 
I speak of in the article on bread ; then set the 
dish in the oven, or in front of the fire to brown. 
It will cost less than ten cents, and be delicious. 
Macaroni with White Sauce. —Warm half a 
pound of macaroni, boiled and washed in cold water, 
as above, in the following sauce, and use it as soon 
as it is hot. Stir together over the fire one ounce 
each of butter and flour, pouring in one pint of 
boiling water and milk, as soon as the butter and 
flour are mixed ; season it with salt and pepper to 
taste, and put the macaroni into it. This dish costs 
less than ten cents, and is very good and wholesome. 
Macaroni with Cheese. —Boil half a pound of 
macaroni, as above, put into a pudding dish in 
layers with quarter of a pound of cheese, (cost four 
cents,) grated and mixed between the layers; sea¬ 
son with pepper and salt to taste ; put a very little 
butter and some bread crumbs over it, and brown it 
in the oven. It will make as hearty and strength¬ 
ening a meal as meat, and cost about twelve cents, 
A Convenient Small Toaster. 
A toasting-fork is not a convenient affair to use 
over a stove fire, the position in which it must be 
held exposes the hands unpleasantly to heat, and 
there is danger that the slice will fall off. The en¬ 
graving shows a small toaster, which we find bet¬ 
ter than a fork. It is made 
of copper wire, a little larger 
than a common knitting 
needle, bent into the form 
there shown. The broad 
part is 5 inches across each 
way; the wire being bent in 
the form of a Maltese cross, 
is much firmer than a simple 
square or circle would be. 
Below this part the ends of 
the wire are twisted together 
for about an inch, and lie 
side by side until they enter 
the handle; this straight 
portion is 7 inches long, and 
fits into a wooden handle of 
about the same length. 
There are two pieces like 
this—but one, to avoid con¬ 
fusion, being shown—set 
into the handle in such a 
manner as to spring apart an 
inch or more; a common 
curtain ring slides upon the 
straight portion, to bring 
the two halves together and 
hold the bread. It takes 
two and a quarter yards of 
wire, which should be cut in 
bread toaster. halves, and the bending to 
form the cross should begin in the middle of each. 
This toaster may be made in a very short time, and 
is a neat present for a boy to make his mother. 
Coal Fires—Practical Hints. 
So much of comfort, health, and economy, de¬ 
pends upon the proper management of coal fires 
during winter, that we offer a few common-sense 
suggestions which may be new to some of the read¬ 
ers of the American Agriculturist , who have not 
given thought to the subject.—-In renewing a fire in 
a stove or furnace, it is customary to dash in a lot 
of coal, entirely covering that already on fire. The 
result is a cold spell, cessation of cooking, etc., for 
half an hour, more or less, depending upon the 
kind of coal, its size and quantity, the draft, and 
the amount already ignited. Often the fire vexa- 
tiously goes out. This can be avoided by piling all 
the fresh coal upon only half or so of that already 
on fire. The burning portion will partially main¬ 
tain the heat, will keep up a draft, and rapidly 
extend through the fresh coal. When that is well 
on fire, it can be spread over the whole, or, if need¬ 
ed, more coal can be put in on the other side, leav¬ 
ing the new coal well burning. In this way a con¬ 
tinuous heat can be maintained, with far less risk of 
extinguishing what we have. This may seem a 
small matter, but it will often contribute a great 
deal to comfort, and often save weak or sickly or 
damp persons from taking or increasing a cold. In 
the kitchen it may save the spoiling of good cook¬ 
ing or baking. In large steamships, a steady pow¬ 
er is kept up by having several fire-boxes under the 
same boiler, and replenishing only one at a time. 
When a coal fire is almost out, it can be started 
afresh by first adding a little fine coal over the fire, 
with a bit or two of dry wood if needed, and cov¬ 
ering all around it with coal enough to concentrate 
the draft upon the little fire remaining. 
Starting Coal Fires. 
In starting a fire, a great point is to concentrate 
the draft. If kindling wood is abundant and cheap, 
a large quantity may be thrown in and fired, and 
when well ignited, the coal thrown on freely. But 
usually it is better to put a little kindling in a pret¬ 
ty compact heap in one place , at the middle of the 
grating; when well started, put over it a little 
