150 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
ALL ABOUT COOKING EGGS. 
TO BOIL EGGS. 
Put a pint of water into a small pan ; when 
boiling, put two eggs in, and boil according 
to size—from two and a half to four minutes. 
Fresh-laid eggs will not take so long, and if 
only just set, are excellent for clearing the 
voice. 
To boil them for toast, they require six 
minutes ; take them out, throw them in cold 
water, remove the shell, and cut them into 
slices ; put them on the buttered toast, a lit¬ 
tle pepper and salt, and serve. These are 
excellent with a little ketchup put on the eggs, 
then bread-crumbed, salamandered over, and 
serve. 
BAKED EGGS. 
Put half an ounce of butter into a small tin 
pan ; break four eggs in it, keeping the yolks 
whole, throw alittle pepper and bits of butter 
and salt over ; put in the oven, or before the 
fire, till set, and serve. They will take about 
six minutes doing. 
POACHED EGGS. 
Put in a small pan half a pint of water, 
half a teaspoonfull of salt, three of vinegar ; 
when boiling, break carefully in the pan two 
nice eggs, simmer for four minutes, or till 
firm, but not hard ; serve either on toast or 
fried bacon, or ham, or spinach, and on any 
minced and seasoned vegetable. 
MIXED EGGS. 
Break four eggs into a frying-pan, in which 
you have put two ounces of butter, a little 
salt and pepper ; set it on the fire, stir round 
with a wooden spoon very quickly, to prevent 
sticking to the pan; when all set, serve 
either on toast or dish. Fried bacon cut in 
dice, a little chopped onions, or mushrooms, 
may be added to the above 
EGGS AND BACON. 
Cut some bacon very thin, put into a frying- 
pan half an ounce of butter, or fat, lay the 
bacon in it; when fried on one side, turn over, 
and break one egg on each piece ; when the 
eggs, are set, put the slice under the bacon, 
and remove them gently into a dish. Ham 
may be done the same. 
EGGS CONVENT FASHION. 
Boil four eggs for ten minutes, put them 
m cold water, peel and slice thin one onion, 
put into a frying-pan one ounce of butter ; 
when melted, add the onion, and fry white, 
then add a teaspoonful of flour, mix it well, 
add about half a pint of milk, till forming a 
nice white sauce, half a teaspoonful of salt, 
and a quarter ditto of pepper ; when nicely 
done, add the eggs, cut into six pieces each, 
crossways ; toss them up ; when hot through, 
serve on toast. 
EGGS AND SAUSAGES. 
Boil four sausages for five minutes, when 
half cold cut them in half lengthways, put a 
little butter or fat in frying-pan, and put the 
sausages in and fry gently, break four eggs 
into pan, cook gently, and serve. Raw 
sausages will do as well, only keep them 
whole, and cook slowly. 
OMELETTES. 
Break four eggs into a basin, and half a 
teaspoonfull of salt and a quarter ditto of pep¬ 
per, beat them up well with a fork, put into 
the frying-pan one ounce and a half of butter, 
lard, or oil, which put on the fire until hot; 
then pour in the eggs, which keep on mixing 
quick with a spoon until all is delicately 
set; then let them slip to the edge of the pan, 
laying hold by the handle, and raising it slant- 
ways, which will give an elongated form to 
the omelette ; turn in the edges, let it set a 
moment, and turn it over on to a dish, and 
serve. [Exchange. 
Prosperity is no just scale ; adversity is 
the only true balance to weigh a friend. 
Never speak lightly of religion. 
GRAPES RIPENING EARLIER THAN FORMERLY. 
METHOD OF CULTIVATION MORE IMPORTANT 
THAN CLIMATE. 
In a recent conversation with Dr. Under¬ 
hill, of Croton Point, he informed us that 
both the Isabella and Catawba are evident¬ 
ly ripening earlier, from year to year. Ten 
to twelve years since the earliest bunches of 
Isabellas were ready for market about the 
first of October. The past season they were 
equally forward on the 12th of September, 
this season has, however, been a remarkable 
one, and some allowance is to be made on 
that account; but last year, and the year be¬ 
fore, the grapes were as mature about the 
18th of September, as formerly at the end of 
that month. 
Dr. U. thinks the Isabella may be cultiva¬ 
ted much farther north than has generally 
been supposed, by reducing the amount of 
fruit to the vine, so that there may be a 
greater flow of sap, and by this mens an 
earlier growth and maturity secured. He 
thinks much more depends upon the method 
of manuring, pruning and the general plan of 
cultivation, than upon climate, since they 
often ripen poorly even in Virginia and Ma¬ 
ryland, when improperly managed, and yet, 
in the same season, ripen well in Massachu¬ 
setts. 
GRAPE BORDER FOR OPEN CULTURE. 
We have just finished a border, and as it 
fills up our ideal of what a border ought to 
be, we will give our method of proceeding, 
and items of expense, for the benefit of all 
lovers of grapes. It is undoubtedly true, 
that you can grow grapes in any soil that 
will grow corn ; but grapes, in their perfec¬ 
tion, can only be grown so far north as New- 
England, with extra care. We think perfect 
grapes at any reasonable cost, are much 
cheaper than the poor, sour, mildewed ar¬ 
ticles one often sees under the names of 
Catawbas, and Isabellas. Well ripened 
grapes are always saleable, at good prices, 
while a poor article can neither be eaten nor 
sold with profit. 
The part of the garden selected for a bor¬ 
der had recently been cleared of stones, and 
for tw*o successive years, had been trenched 
and heavily manured. It slopes about two 
feet infifty, so that a drain, laid parallel with 
the surface, would carry oft' all the water. 
It is so situated that the water from the sink- 
drain can be turned on to the upper end at 
pleasure, and be made to run the whole 
length of it. 
On this slope we cut a ditch four feet 
wide and four feet deep. In the bottom we 
found gravel and sand which was screened for 
the purpose of mixing with the water-lime. 
The pebbles also furnished excellent pack¬ 
ing about the joints of the tile. When the 
ditch was properly graded at the bottom, we 
drew a line from one end to the other, very 
“ taught.” This served as a guide to perfect 
the grade Avhefe it was not even, and to lay 
the cement. The cement we prepared by 
mixing a bushel of water-lime with two 
bushels of sand. The mixing was done in a 
dry state, and then about a pail full made 
into morter at a time. 
Taking a straight-edged board, three 
inches wide by six feet long, we placed it 
flat-wise immediately upon the line, and 
commenced laying the mortar and smoothing 
it with a common trowel. When we had 
put down cement the length of the board, 
we immediately put down the horse-shoe 
tile upon it; moving the board along the 
next six feet, we repeated the operation, and 
so on, until the whole sixty-five feet of the 
border was finished. The foundation of the 
border was now laid, the lower end of the 
drain emptying on to a terrace below, and 
the upper end communicating with a chim¬ 
ney, so as to give a constant circulation of 
air after the ditch was filled up. The next 
step was to guard the joints of the tile 
against the dirt which would naturally 
work into the crevices. We put around 
each joint enough of sifted pebbles to com¬ 
pletely cover it, making a strainer. As an ad- 
ditional precaution, and to furnish lime for 
the plants, we put in a load of oyster-shells, 
completely covering the tile. 
The next step was to furnish food for the 
vines for a long series of years. We pro¬ 
cured from a butcher’s yard a half ton or 
over of fresh bones,the heads of beeves, 
calves, and sheep, with scraps of wool, hair, 
and skin, and laid them immediately upon 
the oyster-shells. On the bones we put a 
layer of corn-stalks and salt hay, as a still 
further protection to the drain. We then 
filled in a few inches of the earth that had 
been thrown out of the ditch. The next 
item of food for the vines was a layer of 
charcoal cinders, taken from the privy vault. 
This was covered with muck, two or three 
inches deep. Coarse stable-manure was 
laid upon this, then a layer of surface-earth, 
then stable manure, &c., and finally surface- 
soil finished the border. 
We planted two Catawbas and four Dianas 
in this border, mixing crushed bones and the 
saturated charcoal cinders with the soil about 
the roots of each plant. 
A border thus thoroughly prepared, we 
think, will have several advantages over or¬ 
dinary planting. It will pass off the excess 
of water in the Spring, and raise the temper¬ 
ature of the soil so that the vines will start 
earlier, and the fruit will come to maturity 
several days sooner. We think Catawbas 
can be grown further north, in this way, than 
in undrained soil. 
The constant circulation of air through the 
drain will be a good safeguard against 
the drouth of our Summers. The grape is a 
gross feeder and often suffers from the 
drouth. 
Liquid manures can be applied in any 
quantity without damaging the roots of the 
vines. The soap-suds from the sink-spout 
can run upon the border, through the Sum¬ 
mer, furnishing the vines with potash, and 
giving fruit and foliage the greatest luxuri¬ 
ance. Potash is a specific fertilizer for the 
grape. We think, also, the drain will be a 
great safeguard against the mildew. 
It will, perhaps, be thought that this is too 
