78 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
days until the water has become saturated 
with lime, and the carbonic acid of the air 
has diminished its causticity somewhat; the 
eggd are then carefully immersed in the 
liquid. Some stir up the lime from the bot¬ 
tom, so as to form a milky mass. This is 
not necessary, and does not leave the eggs 
as clean and neat as is desirable. A small 
layer of lime in the bottom of the cask is 
sufficient to keep the water saturated. Some 
packers add a small quantity of salt to the 
lime “to keep the pickle sweet.” This is, 
perhaps, generally advisable, as it will do no 
harm if the quantity be small; and by many, 
salt is believed to be beneficial. We have 
known eggs kept for a length of time by 
simply placing them in a weak brine, but the 
salt penetrates and somewhat injures the 
quality; other packers add about an ounce 
of cream of tarter to the lime water for each 
twelve dozen eggs. This is said to keep the 
lime from adhering to the shells, thus pre¬ 
serving them in a neater condition. 
Eggs are usually sent forward in barrels, 
packed in oats. To make them secure, 
about one quart of oats is required to each 
dozen, or say two and a half bushels to a 
barrel containing seventy-five to eighty doz. 
We saw some* barrels packed in this way 
opened to-day, which were forwarded from 
Ohio and Indiana, and, notwithstanding jolt¬ 
ing on carts and in loading upon railroad and 
canal, scarcely one in a hundred was broken 
or cracked. We saw one barrel opened 
which was limed last spring, packed in oats in 
September, and received here on Saturday. 
The shells were nearly as clean as before 
pickling; there were but sixteen which were 
not translucent when held to a candle, and 
but one egg, out of 930 in the barrel, which 
was broken. 
TESTING EGGS. 
The process of testing eggs is very simple, 
though not generally understood. Take 
them into a dark room and hold them between 
the eye and a lighted candle or lamp. The 
least variation from perfect soundness will 
be clearly shown by a lack of uniform trans- 
iucency. With a very little practice, any 
one can accurately inspect eggs as fast as he 
can pick them up, three in each hand, and 
pass them before the candle. If this simple 
method of testing eggs was adopted by all 
dealers, we should have a hundred times less 
defective eggs sent to this market, and there 
would not be so great a difference between 
fresh and western eggs, as our market quo¬ 
tations now show. 
To Poach Eggs. —Have on the fire a frying- 
pan with water fast boiling, break each egg 
into a separate cup, slip them carefully into 
the boiling water ; when the white is quite 
set, the eggs are done. Take them up with 
a slice, and serve on buttered toast or bread 
and butter. Fried eggs are done in the same 
manner, only instead of water a little fat is 
used, or a rasher of bacon. 
A parent who strides a child in anger, is 
like a man who strikes the water; the con¬ 
sequences of the blow are sure to fly up in 
his own face. 
BROOM CORN ITEMS. 
Mr. Solyman G. Hamlin, of West Glen- 
ville, Schenectady Co., N. Y., writes to the 
Commissioner of Patents : Broom corn for 
many years has been cultivated to a consid¬ 
erable extent with us, especially on the “flat 
lands ” lying along the Mohawk River, and 
is considered a profitable crop. The princi¬ 
pal objections to growing it on “upland” are, 
that it make s no fodder or manure, except the 
stalks, which are but of little importance, 
either as a fertilizer or for feed. They are 
generally consumed in the field after the brush 
is taken off. 
The usual method’of cultivation is to plow 
the land in the spring, harrow it until the soil 
is pulverized and mellow, and then roll it 
down smooth with a revolving plank or log 
roller. The seed is sown with a drill as early 
in the spring as the condition of the ground 
will admit, in rows, at the distance of three 
feet apart, and from six to eight inches apart 
in the drills. As soon as the corn is above 
ground, a narrow space of ground on each 
side ofthe row is scraped with the hoe, to pre¬ 
vent the weeds from hindering its growth, the 
remaining space being left for the cultiva¬ 
tor, which is frequently run to keep down the 
weeds. The cultivation is finally finished 
by running the plow twice to each row. 
The brush is cut while green, and as often 
as convenient. As it grows from eight to 
twelve feet high, the tops are first bent or 
lopped to one side and cut, with seven or 
eight inches of the stalk left on. Each stalk 
composes a brush. 
Mr. Elihu Smith, of Sunderland, Frank¬ 
lin Co., Mass., in a communication to the 
Board of Agriculture of that State, describes 
a plot of one acre and nine rods, on which 
broom corn had been raised the two pre¬ 
vious years. During fall and winter 20 
cords of muck mixed with 5) cords of sheep 
manure was drawn out and placed in a heap 
in the field. In April, 18 bushels of ashes 
was added to the heap and the whole mixed 
and turned over. The 1st of May, the heap 
was shoveled over a second time, and May 
15 th, the manure was spread upon the plot 
and harrowed in. The field was then planted 
with a Woodward’s corn-planter, and 100 lbs. 
of superphosphate of lime put in the hills. 
The land was cultivated and hoed four times. 
The third crop thus raised on the acre and 
nine rods yielded 1,025 lbs. of brush which 
sold for 10 cents per lb. Also 67 bushels of 
seed 40 lbs. to the bushel—which sold for 
one cent per lb. Total yield $129.30. 
Expenses—plowing, harrowing, and plant¬ 
ing $2,50; manure, $12; hoeing, $7; har¬ 
vesting, scraping and cleaning seed, $10 ; 
interest on land, $7—Total, $38.50. 
This leaves a net profit of $90.80 or $85.96 
per acre, a fair showing, though we think the 
expenses are placed rather low, especially 
for the manure. The kind of soil should 
have been; stated. 
Mr. M. F. Myers, of Kingston, Luzerne Co., 
Pa., states that the average yield of seed in 
that region is 50 bushels per acre, which is 
worth 50 cents per bushel. He has known 
$85 per acre paid for the crop in the field 
before it was harvested. 
For the American Agriculluirst. 
BARING BEETS AND TURNIPS-JELLY CARE 
-TARING CARE OE THE FLOWERS. 
I have seen it recommended in your paper 
to bake beets, instead of boiling them. I 
wish to add my testimony in favor of the 
method. Being washed with as little of the 
skin cut as possible, we bake them till done, 
when the outer skin is removed, and the beets 
served up according to taste. The sweet 
juices which inevitably escape while boiling, 
are retained and concentrated, and one who 
has never eaten them would be surprised at 
the superior flavor. 
The ruta baga or sweet turnip is equally 
improved by the same method of cooking. 
Not being fond of, and therefore not eating 
the latter vegetable, I can not speak in its 
favor from personal experience, but the 
unanimous opinion of the turnip-loving 
members of the household is, that boiled tur¬ 
nips should be eschew r ed by all good cooks 
and housekeepers. 
Let me tell you a way I have of making 
jelly-cake, that will keep moist and good for 
weeks and months. Take three eggs, beat 
them thoroughly ; add one cup of sugar 
and one cup of flour. Stir these well to¬ 
gether, and add one teaspoonful cream 
of tartar, and half a teaspoonful soda—the 
latter to be dissolved in a very little water. 
Bake in two pie tins, as evenly and quickly 
as possible, taking much care that it does not 
bake too hard around the edges. A sheet 
of writing paper laid over the top will often 
prevent it from burning, or browning too 
much. Have ready a clean towel or cloth, 
and when the cake is done, slip it out bot¬ 
tom side up on the cloth ; then spread the 
uppermost side quite thickly with currant 
or other tart jelly, and commencing at the 
end, roll it up, when it will be a round com¬ 
pact roll. When used, slices are cut from 
the end. I never have seen the above in 
print, and give it hoping that it may prove 
new and interesting to some of your lady 
readers. 
Cold weather is coming, girls, cover up 
your tender roses, bring in your hydrangeas, 
and see that all your plants are well cared 
for. I have often seen tender plants pre¬ 
served through severe winters, by being 
covered with saw-dust, straw, or the like, 
and protected still further, by a large box in¬ 
verted over the whole. * * Libbie. 
Thank you Miss “ Libbie,” for your valu¬ 
able hints. Will not you and a hundred 
others furnish similar items in such quanti¬ 
ties, that we can select two or three pages of 
the most new and valuable for every num¬ 
ber 1 
We are not at liberty to answer your 
question as to the real name of “Anna Hope.” 
When she, like, yourself, takes a nom de 
plume —(an assumed name) we are bound in 
honor to print that name only. We are 
wicked enough to excite farther curiosity by 
saying that “ Anna Hope ” is a niece of one 
who was at his death one of the greatest 
statesman of our country. She is herself 
the wife of one now occupying a public sit¬ 
uation of high character. Precisely the 
