322 
ladies’ department. 
Cables’ ^Department. 
DRESSING A SALAD. 
Two large potatoes, passed through kitchen sieve, 
Smoothness and softness to the salad give; 
Of mordant mustard add a single spoon, 
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon ; 
But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault, 
To add a double quantity of salt; 
Four times the spoon with oil of Lucca crown, 
And twice with vinegar procured from town; 
True flavor needs it, and your poet begs 
Tlte pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs ; 
Let onions’ atoms lurk within the bowl, 
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole. 
And, lastly, in the flavored compound toss 
A magic spoonful of Anchovy sauce. 
Oh, great and glorious ! Oh, herbaceous treat ! 
’Twould tempt a dying anchorite to eat; 
Back to the world he’d turn his weary soul, 
And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl. 
Rev. Sidney Smith. 
SMOKE-HOUSES. 
The Westphalia method of smoking hams, no¬ 
ticed inthe5th vol. of the Agriculturist, p. 346, cannot 
he too strongly recommended to every person who 
cares his own bacon; and I have observed with 
great satisfaction, during a recent visit to the Key¬ 
stone-State, that it is not very uncommon in Penn¬ 
sylvania. tn several farm-houses I saw that the 
smoke-house was a room in the garret through 
which the flue of the kitchen-chimney passed, 
which was neither ceiled nor plastered, but care¬ 
fully white-washed every fall, before the meat of 
the winter’s killing was ready to he put into it 
There was no outlet but the door, and a small trap¬ 
door in the roof, which was crossed by rafters, into 
which hooks were driven for the meat to hang upon. 
None was suffered to hang against the wall, as that 
side would receive no smoke, and become damp and 
sodden. The smoke, which is almost cold when it 
reaches so high, was admitted through a hole in 
the chimney a foot or eighteen inches from the 
floor, and passed freely through the cracks in the 
roof, where the house was low, as in two or three 
instances, the danger from fire was guarded against 
by ceiling the room, and leaving small loop-holes 
for the escape of the smoke. 
The only disadvantage, if it be one, in this way 
of smoking meat, is, that it requires nearly double 
the length of time to cure it that it does in the com¬ 
mon way. Frequently, however, it is left in this 
room until it was wanted for use, or is taken down 
only during the hottest part of the summer, where 
the roof is not shaded, and there is danger of its 
being over-heated. The flies do not trouble it 
while the room is kept perfectly dark, and more or 
less filled with smoke, as it must be daily from the 
kitchen-fire. Our Maryland smoke-houses, though 
built on a very different plan, produce the same ef¬ 
fect, and I believe none will dispute the fact that 
Maryland, and her sister Virginia, produce hams 
superior to those cured in any other State in the 
Union ; and when two years old they are thought 
by epicures to equal the Westphalian. Some at 
tribute this to the custom of allowing the hogs to 
run in the woods until late in the fall, where, by 
feeding on acorns, nuts, and roots, the flesh ac¬ 
quires the peculiar flavor of wild meat; but com¬ 
pare a real Maryland or Virginia ham with those 
from any other State where the same liberty is 
given to the hogs, and the difference will be ac¬ 
knowledged to be in the manner of curing and smok¬ 
ing the meat—not in the treatment of the animals. 
Our smoke-houses are generally built of logs, 
rudely plastered outside with clay, and thatched 
with straw. The hams are hung upon hooks driven 
into the rafters. The'fire of chips, which is cover¬ 
ed with saw-dust to prevent a blaze from rising, is 
made in the middle of the floor, and the smoke, after 
having done its duty, is permitted to escape freely 
through the innumerable cracks and openings in the 
walls and thatch. E. S. 
Eutawali. 
Female Education. —It was a judicious reso¬ 
lution of a father, as well as a most pleasing com¬ 
pliment to his wife, when, on being asked what he 
intended to do with his girls, he replied; “ I intend 
to apprentice them all to their excellent mother, 
that they may learn the art of improving time, and 
be fitted to become, like her, wives, mothers, heads 
of families, and useful members of society.” 
Equally just, but bitterly painful, was the re/nark 
of the unhappy husband of a vain, thoughtless, 
dressy slattern : “ It is hard to say it, but if my 
girls are to have any chance of growing up good for 
anything, they must be sent out of the way of their 
mother’s example.” 
Peach-Pickles. —Take one gallon of good vine¬ 
gar and add to it four pounds browm sugar; boil 
this for a few minutes and skim off any skum that 
may rise ; then take clingstone peaches that are 
fully ripe, rub them with a flannel cloth to remove 
the down upon them, and stick three or four cloves 
in each ; put them into a glass or earthen vessel, 
and pour the liquor upon them boiling hot. Cover 
them up and let them stand in a cool place for a 
week or ten days, then pour off the liquor and boil 
it as before; after which, return it boiling to the 
peaches, which should be carefully covered up and 
stored away for future use. 
How to Prepare Superior Mince-Meat for 
Pies. —Take stoned raisins, currants, sugar, and 
suet, of each 2 lbs.; Sultana raisins, boiled beef (lean 
and tender), of each 1 lb. ; sour or tart apples 4 
lbs. ; the juice of two lemons4 the rind of one 
lemon chopped very fine; mixed spice % lb.; can¬ 
died citron and lemon-peel, of each, 2 oz. ; brandy 
one gill; and chop the whole very fine. The pre¬ 
paration may be varied by adding other spice or 
flavoring, and the addition of eggs, or the substitu¬ 
tion of chopped fowl or veal, for beef, according to 
fancy or convenience. 
Facts Useful to be Known. —Water, when 
hot, dissolves more salt, sugar, &c., than when it 
is cold. Hence the utility of pouring hot salt and 
water over articles to prepare them for pickling; 
and hot syrup upon preserved fruits; for the salt or 
sugar that would crystalize as the liquid cooled, is 
taken up by the fruit, &c., which by being heated 
also, absorbs more than it could be made to do if it 
were put on cold. 
Horse-Radish may be kept during winter, by 
grating it while green, and corking it up in bottles' 
filled with strong vinegar, set in a cool place. 
