296 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July 
THE HOTiEMML 
For other Household Items see “ Basket ” pages. 
Folding Table for Porch. 
Last summer we found our folding table on the 
kitchen porch, even more convenient than we an¬ 
ticipated when it was first put up. Various kinds 
of work, such as preparing vegetables and fruit, 
ironing, and the sometimes necessary scouring of 
tin things, can be done as well on a shady protected 
porch, as in the kitchen, and with much more com¬ 
fort, for it affords a pleasant retreat from the heat of 
the indispensable cooking stove. The table (fig. 1) is 
made of pine, 3 feet long, by 2i feet wide. The top 
is firmly fastened to the wall by two strong hinges. 
The support in front is nearly a foot wide, fastened 
on with a large hinge, so when the table is in use, it 
is under the top, and even with the front edge. 
When not in use, the table is hooked up against the 
house wall, as shown in figure 2, and is entirely out 
of the way. Such a table might also be found 
■—- —— -- very convenient in 
a small kitchen, as 
it could be let down 
when any extra 
work required a 
second table, and 
be easily put back 
when not required. 
Any one who has 
not yet the desira¬ 
ble addition of a 
Fig. 2.— THE TABLE FOLDED. 
back porch to the house, will find a folding 
table put up against the side of the house near the 
kitchen door, if on the shaded side, very useful 
in pleasant weather. 
A Drink for the Harvest Field. 
One who travels in the sparsely settled portions 
of Northern Mexico, is quite sure to make the 
acquaintance of Pinole (pronounced Re-no-lee). 
Those who go on long journeys on horseback, and 
herders of cattle, who may be weeks absent from 
their homes, are sure to have a supply of Pinole. 
It forms one of the principal rations of the Mexi¬ 
can soldiers on the frontier. The chief business 
of these is fighting Indians ; they have no baggage- 
wagons, but each soldier carries his rations for 
many days upon his horse, and these are mainly 
* sun-dried beef and Pinole. Having often found 
Pinole most acceptable on a long journey, it has 
occurred to us that it would be an excellent thing 
in the harvest field, or wherever a refreshing drink 
was required by those who need food rather than 
stimulants. It is often advised to use in the har¬ 
vest field oat-mcal stirred in water, and this is no 
doubt good, but Pinole is better. But let us state 
what Pinole is. Indian corn is parched, not 
popped, but thoroughly roasted quite through, and 
in doing this it should be carefully stirred, so that 
it will become equally and but slightly browned. 
This is then ground about as fine as Indian-meal, 
and mixed with sufficient sugar to suit the taste. 
It is usually flavored with cinnamon or other spices. 
When a tablespoonful of this Pinole is stirred in a 
cup of cold water, it is not only acceptable to the 
taste, but is really nutritious, and one can travel 
for a long time upon this alone. The corn is thor¬ 
oughly cooked, and is as useful a food as if made 
into bread. It is usually employed in this manner 
as a drink, but we have known it to be merely 
moistened, to make a sort of pudding, and eaten 
in that manner. One of the finest exhibitions of 
hospitality we ever met with was on the Mexican 
frontier. Seeing a cattle herder’s hut, we rode up 
to inquire the way ; the occupants of the hut, an 
old man and his old wife, were at dinner. They 
were squatted on the ground floor of the hut; 
their table service consisted solely of a gourd 
shell, in which some Pinole had been moistened, 
to make a sort of hasty pudding. There were no 
spoons, but they made use of their fingers, making 
alternate “grabs” at the moistened Pinole, and 
conveying it to their mouths. This was their whole 
meal, as it had been for several days, yet the 
heartiness with which we were asked to dismount 
and partake of the best they had, was most charm, 
ing, and made an impression that many years has 
not removed. The experiment with Pinole can be 
easily tried. Corn should be slowly and carefully 
parched ; it may then be ground in a clean coffee- 
mill, if no other mill is at hand. We dy not know 
the proportion of sugar, but that may. be easily 
learned by experiment, and the same may be said 
of the spices. Pinole has the advantage over oat¬ 
meal used in making a drink, in the fact that it is 
thoroughly cooked and the more readily digestible. 
Preserving Ice. 
--O-- 
We are frequently asked to give directions for 
constructing a refrigerator for family use. Several 
of the refrigerators offered for sale are constructed 
upon correct principles, and are very economical 
in the use of ice. A home-made ice-box will 
answer every purpose. In constructing an ice-box, 
the first point is to shut out heat from without. 
To do this the box must be double, and the space 
between the outer and the inner box filled with 
some non-conducting material; this may be saw¬ 
dust,charcoal,dry tan-bark,or any similar substance, 
and this material must be kept dry. Here comes 
the chief difficulty in making a home-made refrig¬ 
erator : the inner box must be water-tight, and 
consequently lined with metal; zinc is the best. 
The size of the inner box having been fixed upon, 
make an outer box about four inches larger each 
way. The inner box should be lined with sheet- 
zinc, and have in the bottom an opening an inch in 
diameter, to which should be soldered a tube of 
the same material, 6 inches long, to carry off the 
drip from the melted ice. Two pieces of scant¬ 
ling should be placed on the bottom of the outer 
box, to hold the weight of the inner one, and pre¬ 
vent it from pressing upon the sawdust or other 
filling. A piece of coarse sponge placed in the 
tube at the bottom of the inner box, will allow the 
water to pass out, and prevent the warm air from 
entering. There should, of course, be ledges sol¬ 
dered at convenient places to the zinc lining, to 
allow of light wooden racks to be placed here and 
there, to hold the food and other articles. The 
A HOME-MADE REFRIGERATOR. 
best refrigerators, arranged for the most econom¬ 
ical use of ice, have a place for the ice at the top, 
but in a home-made affair, the ice may be placed 
in a large lump at the bottom. In using an ice- 
chest, care must be taken to introduce no articles 
that by their strong odor will injure butter, cream, 
or milk, if these are placed within it. Fish and 
meats will give an unpleasant flavor to butter. 
Where ice is plenty, a temporary refrigerator for 
such strong-smelling articles can be made by the 
use of a box or barrel, placing in it a lump of ice 
wrapped in a piece of carpet or a blanket, and 
putting in the articles by its side. 
Canning Fruits and Vegetables, 
American housekeepers are not aware of the 
great advantages they enjoy over their European 
cousins in the matter of canning. It is not many 
years since the representative of one of the leading 
London Journals, who was on a visit to this coun¬ 
try, found this one of the most interesting things 
that he noticed on his trip. Wherever he went he 
found the ladies of the household engaged in can¬ 
ning fruit—a thiug then unknown in England. At 
his request we wrote an account of the matter in 
detail, which was published in his journal. The 
American housekeeper accepts canning as a part of 
the regular household routine, aud it in a great 
measure takes the place of the old “preserving” 
time. To successfully put up fruits and vegetables, 
the great essential is glass jars, or cans, that are 
readily made air-tight. These are now supplied by 
manufacturers, several patterns of them, in a form 
so complete that there is little practical difference 
among them. The jars of the leading makers of 
the present day are well nigh perfect, and we 
do not know of any choice between them. 
Having the cans, or jars, the operation is simple. 
The fruit, whatever it may be, in a syrup just strong 
enough to properly sweeten it, is brought to the 
boiling point, and when the air has all been ex¬ 
pelled from it, it is at once placed in the jars, pre¬ 
viously warmed with hot water, and when these 
are well-filled, the cover is screwed down tight. 
Good jars, well filled with boiling fruit, and prompt¬ 
ly covered by screwing down the caps, will insure 
success. Many years ago, when canning was notso 
general as it is now, we showed how any common 
wide-mouthed bottle could be used, but at present, 
jars made for the purpose are so cheap, that it is 
not necessary to resort to any make-shifts. Among 
the first things to be put up in this manner is Rhu¬ 
barb. This, as shown in April last, p. 163, can be 
readily canned, and green Gooseberries may be 
treated in the same manner. Strawberries and 
Raspberries come next, and are better preserved in 
the same manner than by any other, but these, es¬ 
pecially the Strawberry, while vastly better when 
preserved thus than in any other manner, come far 
6hort of retaining their original flavor. Peaches 
are easily preserved thus, aud are nearly perfect,, 
as are pears, especially the Bartlett, apples and 
quinces. One who has put up the quince in this 
manner, will never preserve it according to the old 
pound for pound method. All the highly flavored 
apples, preserved by eannipg, make a finer apple 
sauce than can be produced in any other manner. 
The usual process is, to cook the fruit, of whatever 
kind, in a syrup made with four ounces of sugar, 
to a pint of water. When the fruit is cooked ten¬ 
der, transfer it at once to the jar, and add the 
syrup to fill up every crevice, if there are bubbles 
of air, aid them to escape, by the use of a spoon ; 
see that the jar is solid full of fruit and syrup, and 
up to the top, before the cap is screwed on. While 
fruits are easily preserved in the family, vegetables 
are more difficult. We have many inquiries about 
preserving green peas, green corn, and tomatoes. 
Those who make a business of canning, find green 
peas and green corn among the most difficult things 
to preserve. They can only be put up in tin cans by 
long boiling processes, not practicable in families. 
If auy of our readers have found a method by 
which either corn or peas can be preserved by any 
process practicable in the family, we ask them to 
communicate it, for the benefit of others. Last 
autumn we made an experiment with tomatoes. 
Thoroughly ripe fruit was cooked as for the table, 
omitting butter and all other seasoning, and put 
up in ordinary fruit jars. About 3 out of 12 
failed, but those which succeeded were vastly 
better than the tomatoes purchased in tin cans. 
