AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
217 
ter, for although it may seem unimportant, I am 
well assured that it is not. Our usefulness de¬ 
pends much on small matters, and whatever cus¬ 
tom, and good society have made important, is 
really so, if we would be at home in good society. 
To use the knife, instead of the fork, betrays want 
of association with refined life. 
Above all do not use the lips to wipe your knife, 
as I, not long since, saw done by a young gentle¬ 
man (1). I suppose this did not mar the beauty 
of his dinner, but I am sure it did of mine. While 
I would say to the young, do not put the knife to 
your mouth any sooner than you would put it to 
your throat, which simply means, don’t do it, I 
would at the same time say, never allow yourself 
to be troubled because your father or mother 
choose to retain the habits of their childhood. 
They have a right to do so, and no child has a 
right to treat them with any less respect or rev¬ 
erence because of it. Young persons are too apt 
to forget this, ami to fail sadly in rendering to 
their parents the honor that is their due. 
Clear, smooth, white table linen is of the ut¬ 
most consequence. No table can look well with¬ 
out it. If table linen is starched, it should be only 
very slightly. If ironed, when quite damp, thor¬ 
oughly ironed, it is glossy and stiff enough. Nap¬ 
kins are now considered essential, and should be 
found upon the table for breakfast, dinner and 
tea. They are very convenient at all times, to 
say the least. They should be large enough to 
protect the dress, and yet not as large as towels. 
It is quite desirable to have ivory, or other rings, 
numbered or marked with the initials, so that 
each person may have his own from meal to meal, 
unless clean napkins are used at every meal, and 
this makes too much washing, except where an 
establishment is so large that a laundress is at¬ 
tached to it. Soon after being seated at table, and 
before handling anything else, the napkin is quiet¬ 
ly taken from the ring, opened and spread over 
the lap, and when there is occasion to wipe the 
mouth, the napkin should be used. A handker¬ 
chief is made for another purpose. At the close of 
the repast, if a ring is furnished, the napkin should 
be neatly folded and put through the ring. If 
there is no ring, it may be folded and laid by the 
side of the plate, or thrown loosely by it, accord¬ 
ing to the general style in which a family live, 
the number of domestics, &c. It is easy by a 
little observation to learn what is expected of 
you. I have been thus particular in regard to the 
use of a napkin, because I have seen those who 
did not seem to have any idea what it was for, 
and consequently did nit use it when chancing to 
dine in families who would quite as soon think of 
leaving off the table-cloth as the napkins. 
Do not pull the dishes askew as you help from 
them, and if I happen to dine with you, please do 
not flood my plate with gravy without asking if I 
like it, for you would almost certainly spoil my 
dinner, and my taste is like that of many others. 
In waiting upon table have the water poured 
at the right hand of the one helped ; everything but 
water should be passed to the left. As the glass 
stands at the right of the plate it is convenient to 
fill it there. It should not be lifted to be filled. 
In hot weather it is well to have a bit of ice put 
in each glass before filling it with water. In 
some families the bits of ice are set upon the ta¬ 
ble in a glass or china dish, to be used in water or 
milk as desired, and this certainly has a refresh¬ 
ing look on a warm Summer day. Bread and 
other things are passed to the left, because it is 
more convenient to receive them. If passed to 
the right it is very awkward to take them, unless 
with the left hand and that no one ever thinks of 
doing 
The lady of the house should not finish her din¬ 
ner before her guests, but should continue to eat 
till they lay down their knife and fork. It is ex¬ 
tremely awkward for a visitor to find he is keep¬ 
ing a whole family waiting for him, and true po¬ 
liteness requires that we should make our friends, 
even in the smallest matters, as comfortable as 
possible. 
When you have eaten all you wish, put your 
knife and fork side by side upon the plate, in close 
and loving union—with the handles at the right; 
and do not push the plate from you, but let it stand 
where you have used it. 
Never use your own knife or fork to help your¬ 
self to salt, butter, vegetables or anything else. 
It is an abomination. 
When you rise from the table do not put the 
chair back against the wall, or push it under the 
table, but leave it where it is. 
When jelly or sauce is used at dinner it does 
not require a small plate, but should be put on the ■ 
dinner 'plate. 
Have the salts full, and the top nicely smoothed 
by passing a knife over it. Leave no salt scat¬ 
tered on the top of the glass. Be careful not to 
forget salt-spoons. 
Do not touch your hair while at table, nor pick 
your teeth—and above all do not suck them. That 
is enough to drive a person of refinement away 
from the table. It is worse than going round 
Point Judith, to hear such a sound. The very 
thought of it is nauseating. 
It is not customary to put butter upon the din¬ 
ner-table. It is not needed with meat and gravy. 
Bread is to be eaten with meat—not bread and 
butter. Bread and butter is for dessert. With 
baked potatoes, however, butter is necessary—and 
it might be put upon the table where stand the 
dishes marked A. That, too, is a suitable place 
for any extra dish—as radishes, in their season. 
Other condiments, as French mustard, Worces- 
tershire-sauce, which do not find a place in the 
caster, can stand there. Vases of flowers are al¬ 
ways beautiful upon the table, and exert a most 
refining influence. 
I have written so particularly that I have not 
made much progress. I have remembered “ A 
Young Housekeeper’s ” request for “ minute di¬ 
rections,” and hope my suggestions may be such 
as she desires, even if she finds many of them 
unnecessary for herself. As rapid eating is nei¬ 
ther consistent with good manners, nor good di¬ 
gestion, I must leave my friends at the table, to 
wait for the dessert—which will be ready next 
month. Anna Hope. 
*-- . . ■ 
Cultivating and Cooking Spinach. —To inqui¬ 
ries of Mrs. M. W., Howard Co., Iowa, we reply : 
Sow spinach seed at almost any time and in any 
place. When large enough for “ greens,” pick, 
wash, and boil fifteen or twenty minutes in water, 
skimming off any scum that arises, and, when soft, 
drain in a colander. Serve up with butter, pepper 
and vinegar, as may be desired. It is quite cus¬ 
tomary to put upon the plate with it, boiled eggs 
cut in pieces. We ki ow of no better way than 
the above. Others may have some better way ; 
if so, let our readers know it. 
A certain lady we wot of is so high-minded that 
she disdains common sense. She is not the only 
one of that sort. 
I say, fellow, how can I get at this liquid with¬ 
out drawing the cork, or breaking the bottle 1 
“ Push the cork in." 
Preserving Fruit Fresii. 
We have often, hitherto, condemned thft 
practice of preserving fruits by boiling them 
down with sugar to an indigestible mass. W'e 
have had through the season, and have now, an 
abundant supply of tomatoes, cherries, peaches, 
blackberries, strawberries, huckleberries, pears, 
and other fruits, which are as fresh and good as 
they were when first gathered, and they have been 
kept thus with even less expense than in the old 
mode of making them into “ preserves.” These 
have been kept, mainly, in what are called self¬ 
sealing, or air-tight tin cans. The fruits were 
slightly cooked, and prepared as if for table use, 
and then sealed up perfectly air-tight, as de¬ 
scribed below. After several years’ experience, 
we shall use the tin cans chiefly this year, with a 
few wide-necked glass bottles. We present here¬ 
with an outline of one of the cans. 
They are made of various sizes, holding from 
a quart to a gallon.* In the upper end is a large 
opening, into which a cap is inserted with a screw, 
We have used those made by Wells & Provost, 
and by Ketcham & Co., about equal quantities of 
each kind, and find them both efficacious—not 
having lost a single can of fruit out of nearly one 
hundred put up. These cans are somewhat costly 
at first ($2.50 per dozen for quart sizes), but the 
saving in sugar, the better keeping of fruit, and 
the number of years they can be used, render them 
in the end cheaper than the old-fashioned mode, 
and they are infinitely better, both as regards taste 
and heajth. As stated on page 152, May number, 
these cans are too bulky for convenient transport¬ 
ation to a distance, and hence it is more economi¬ 
cal to obtain from the manufacturers a quantity 
of the covers ready fitted with the screws, and 
have them put on to the main body of the can, 
which can be made by any good tin-worker. The 
covers can be closely packed, and the transport¬ 
ation is small compared with that of the full- 
sized cans. 
MODE OF PUTTING UP THE FRUIT. 
As each manufacturer furnishes full directions 
for doing this, we hardly need occupy two or 
three columns with details. We will, however, 
give some hints drawn from our own experience. 
The fruits to be preserved are to be taken as 
near perfect ripening as may be, but not over ripe, 
nor in the least stale. 
For all kinds of berries, take the clean dry fruit, 
* The engraving above is only a general outline. Most 
cans of recent make have a wider opening than the on* 
here shown, which is a desirable improvement. 
