152 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
May, 1858 . 
uielytra Spectabilis. 
e p, sent above, an illustration of a beau- 
• iful plant admirably adapted to adorn the entrance 
•o a house, as well as the door-yard, lawn, and 
flower garden. One of the prettiest objects we 
remember to have seen, was two of the Dielytras, 
set one on either side of the dwelling This 
'eautiful perennial, which was described some¬ 
what at length in our last volume, page 136, will 
soon begin to develop its brilliant and elegantly 
formed flowers, it being one of our earliest Spring 
blooming plants. It may be made to bloom finely 
during Summer, by cutting down the stems to 
within a-few inches of the ground, immediately 
after the early Spring flower has faded. This in¬ 
duces the dormant buds around the crown of the 
root Id start into growth, and though the spikes 
are not so large the flowers will be as abundant 
as in Spring. 
The Dielytra is suited to any soil or location 
where it can have a fair share of the sun. It 
shows best when grown~solitary, and on turf— 
and should rarely be planted in large beds or 
masses—a bed four feet in diameter, with seven 
plants in it, is as large as would look well. Planted 
singly, however, around a garden or yard, in any 
numbers, it is always pleasing—there is something 
so unique and graceful in the whole, that the eye 
is never tired of looking at it. On rich ground it 
often attains a large size, single specimens, ac¬ 
cording to English authors, extending over a space 
of more than ten feet in diameter, covered with 
an immense number of branching flower stalks, 
each having from four to six racimes.iike the one 
shown in the above engraving. The plants can 
now be obtained of most nurserymen for about 
25 to 50 cents, or perhaps more where large, su¬ 
perior specimens are called for. They may be 
transplanted in May, but better in April, especially 
if to bloom the first season. Autumn is still bet¬ 
ter, if for Spring blooming. 
It is perfectly hardy even as far north as Ca¬ 
nada, and as easily cultivated as the common 
pueony, which it somewhat resembles, except in 
the form of its flower. It is rapidly increased 
by dividing and transplanting the roots, either in 
Fall or Spring ; or, with care in the hands of a 
propagator, cuttings are made to strike freely. 
The species, recently introduced under the name 
of Dielytra eximia, and of which so much was ex¬ 
pected, has turned out unsatisfactory. It proves 
to be nothing more than Ihe old “ Pulmonaria 
eximia," an American plant, with dull red flowers. 
The individual flowers are very small, and the 
habit of the plant is coarse, and will not compare 
at all with speetabilis. For show, it is hardly 
worth cultivation. 
A Batch of Recipes. 
In the Drawer for In-Door-Work, we have a 
large accumulation of Recipes, &c., contributed 
by our subscribers. These we shall insert from 
time to time as we have room, without regard to 
the order of reception, and we hope our lady read¬ 
ers will keep the Drawer full. We print most of 
these about as received, endorsing or commend¬ 
ing only such as we have iried and proved. 
[An intelligent lady subscriber on Long-Island, 
(Mrs. Clementine H.) furnishes for the Agricul¬ 
turist, the first four of the following recipes, each 
one of which she has tried thoroughly and can 
recommend as very good.] 
Nahant Tea Biscuit. 
Put in one vessel: 3 teacups of flour, 2 of 
sweet milk, 3 eggs, a little salt, and beat all 
together for fifteen minutes. Dip into cups, mak¬ 
ing them half-full, and bake twenty-five minutes in 
a quick oven. [This we can commend. The eggs 
make the biscuits light enough, and save the use 
of soda and cream of tartar, so objectionable to 
many persons. Ed J 
Election Cake. 
Rub together 1 bowl of sugar, i bowl of butter 
and 1 teaspoonful of soda, and then add J pint of 
milk and 1 bowl of flour. When mixed well, add 
2 nutmegs grated, 1 bowl of currants, and cinna¬ 
mon or cloves to suit the taste. Bake in loaves. 
This cake will keep well for two or three months, 
or till “ after ’lection.” 
Federal Cake. 
Warm a pint of milk and stir in one tablespoon- 
ful of lard. Add one beaten egg, and flour enough 
to make a stiff baiter, and one cup of yeast. Put 
in the pan in which it is to be baked, to rise. One 
hour’s baking required. Serve hot—with butter 
of course. 
mountain Cake. 
Rub 1 lb. sugar with i lb. butter. Beat together 
6 eggs, one teacup of sweet milk, and £ teaspoonful 
of soda. Mingle thoroughly 1 lb. of flour and 1 
teaspoonful of cream of tartar. Then stir the 
whole of the above quickly but thoroughly togeth¬ 
er, and bake in loaves immediately. 
Another Mountain Cake. 
Mrs. E. H. Hoffman, Wayne Co., Ohio, en¬ 
closes the following two recipes in a letter to the 
Agriculturist: Mountain Cake. —Stir to a cream 
1 cup butter and 2 cups of white sugar ; add the 
whites of 0 eggs beaten to a stiff froth ; 1| cups 
of butter-milk ; 3 cups ofsifted flour ; i teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda ; 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar ; flavor 
to taste and bake in a moderate oven. It looks 
nice cut in slices. Domestic Cake.— To £ lb. 
sugar and £ lb. butter beaten to a cream, add 1 lb. 
flour and half a nutmeg grated ; work to a smooth 
paste ; roll to half an inch in thickness, and cut 
into square or round cakes ; bake in a quick oven. 
Corn Starch, Delicate Cake. 
This we have tried ‘ at home ’ and like it. A 
‘ friend’ gives the following ‘ prescription ’: Beat 
1 cup butter, with 2 cups sugar, to a cream ; add 
1 cup sweet millc’in which is dissolved a teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda ; beat the whites of 7 eggs to a stiff 
froth and stir lightly with the above. Mix thor¬ 
oughly together 1 cup of corn starch, 2 cups of 
flour and 2 teaspoonfuls of cream oftartar. Then 
mingle the whole of the ingredients, beating quick¬ 
ly but thoroughly, and flavoring with essence of 
lemon or rose-water. Bake immediately in a 
deep dish. 
Poor Man’s Cake. 
“ A Cottage Girl,” Dauphin Co., Pa., prescribes : 
•‘Put into 3 lbs. of common bread dough £lb but¬ 
ter and £ lb. sugar. Then mix in 1 lb. currants 
and 1 lb. ‘candied peel.’ ” 
Loaf Catie. 
A Litchfield Co., Ct., correspondent offers the 
following: With 3 cups of milk, 1 cup of sugar and 
£ cup of yeast, make a thick batter and let it stand 
over night. In the morning add 2 cups sugar, 1£ 
cups butter, 1 egg, and spice to liking. 
Po'k Cake. 
Mrs. M. C. M., Stoughton, Mass., gives the fol¬ 
lowing recipe : £ lb pork chopped fine ; i lb. rais¬ 
ins ; 1 cup molasses; £ cup of sugar; ± cup of 
boiling water; 1 teaspoonful cream oftartar; £ 
teaspoonful soda; £ teaspoonful each of cloves, 
cinnamon and nutmeg. [We suppose some flour 
is needed to thicken it, and even then we should 
suppose the mixture a pretty strong one for a 
weak stomach, or for any other—though, perhaps, 
no more so than the majority of “ Suet Pud¬ 
dings.” Ed.] 
Indian Griddle Cakes. 
Contributed for the Agriculturist by a subscri¬ 
ber at Mansfield Center, Ct. Mix 1 quart of new 
milk, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 3 beaten eggs, 1 
tablespoonful of salt, and Indian meal enough to 
make a stiff batter ; beat the whole well togeth¬ 
er and cook on a griddle the same as other grid 
die cakes, but with not quite so quick a heat. 
Muffins. 
S. L. Ward, Bristol Co., Mass., gives us. the 
following: 1 cup sugar beaten with 3 eggs; a 
