AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
21 
For the American Agriculturist. 
BREAD-MAKING—MY FIRST LOAVES. 
BY A LADY CONTRIBUTOR. 
How oft the incidents of youthful days recur to 
memory—called up from the silent chambers ot 
the past by association with some current event. 
Just now a trivial matter brought back very viv¬ 
idly a brief chapter in my girlhood’s experience, 
which I will note down with the hope that it may 
give a useful hint to some of my younger sisters. 
One Friday evening my step-mother said to 
me : “ Sarah, as I shall be very busy to-morrow, 
I would like to have you make the bread ; and, 
as your father is anxious to know what advance¬ 
ment you are making in domestic affairs, you may 
take entire charge of raising it.” 
Dear me, thought I; why cannnot Bridget help 
bake 1 it is only to keep me under her own eye, 
for I was always jealous of my step mother’s mo¬ 
tives, but I only answered, “ I will be down early 
in the morning and attend to it.” 
“ But your sponge must be set to-night, Sarah.” 
“ To-night, mother ! Do you make bread over 
night!” 
“ Yes, in cool weather I do and smiling, she 
added, “perhaps you will find there are some oth¬ 
er points about it you do not quite understand, be¬ 
fore your father pronounces you a good bread 
maker,” 
“ Well, I suppose you will tell me, or Bridget 
will,” I answered pettishly ; for I was ashamed to 
acknowledge that I could not set the sponge with¬ 
out instruction. 
“ I do not think Bridget can give you much in¬ 
formation about it, at least I have never trusted 
her to make bread, for she, like most of her class, 
seldom adheres to rules closely enough to have 
uniformly good bread and she proceeded with¬ 
out further asking : “ Sift the flotir, it will be ea¬ 
sier to handle, and will rise quicker than if it is in 
lumps from the close packing in the barrel. Make 
a sort of nest in the centre, large enough to hold 
a quart, into which throw a spoonful of salt, and 
then fill the cavity with boiling water.” 
Why, mother!” I exclaimed, “ I spoiled a 
whole batch of bread by wetting if up with boiling 
water before you came to our home.” 
“ Very likely,—but I only fill the cavity or nest 
with it; by doing so you harden the sides, so that 
they will not fall into the sponge until it is ready 
to be mixed. The heat of the water just warms 
the rest of the flour sufficiently to preserve the 
right temperature through the night. When it 
has cooled so that it will not scald, put in a gill 
and a half of yeast, for an ordinary baking, and 
stir in a little flour, but be careful not to disturb 
ihe sides with your spoon. Place the moulding- 
board over the tray, and cover it snugly with the 
bread cloth, as it is very necessary to keep it 
warm.” 
“ Well, I declare, there are as many rules as 
there are in a grammar lesson,” I replied in no 
very pleasant mood. 
“ And quite as important for a good result,” she 
mildly but firmly answered. 
I was irritated,—for a plan of mine for the eve¬ 
ning was upset; but I resolved to follow her di¬ 
rections to the letter, so that if the bread was not 
good it should be her fault and not mine. I was, 
besides, quite anxious to please my father, who 
was very particular in regard to good bread. 
In the morning I hastened down to the kitchen, 
but mother was there before me. When I lifted 
the cover from the bread-tray the surface appear¬ 
ed to be covered with beds of foam; and as I 
turned to ask mother if it looked right, she said : 
You have thus far been very fortunate—it is ready 
foi mixing. Now add about three pints ot warm 
water, with a teaspoonful of saleratus or soda, 
dissolved in it, work it well together, set it by 
the fire, a little out of the draft, and it will bo 
ready for moulding soon after breakfast.” 
I did as she directed, though annoyed by her 
close watching ; for I then thought she loved to 
rule—now, I know that care is necessary. 
Shortly after breakfast, or about two hours af¬ 
ter mixing the bread, I entered the kitchen and 
found mother beating eggs and sugar for her cake. 
As I lifted the cover, she pressed her finger upon 
the bread,it yielded quickly to the pressure,and as 
quickly the impression closed. “ That is a sign 
of lightness, it will be easy to mould,” she re¬ 
marked ; and I have often observed since, that 
light bread helps to mould itself, as a good bright 
needle seems to sew for you. I soon had it in the 
pans,following the rule to mould till it cleaves from 
hand and board. The oven was in good order,— 
for Bridget, like myself, was following directions. 
While the baking proceeded, I assisted mother 
with the cake ; and as the last loaf, with its light 
brown and crispy crust, gave out its pleasant odor, 
I bade the kitchen good bye for the day. I was 
relieved from anxiety about the bread, until I saw 
father returning from church the next morning in 
campany with Prof. Wilbur. Then, I was sure 
the bread would be discussed. 
Dr. S. gave us a very interesting discourse this 
morning,” remarked father, soon after their en¬ 
trance, “ upon the preparations for the Sabbath 
among the Israelites. His text was : ‘ Bake that 
which ye will bake to-day, and seeth that ye will 
seeth.’ ” 
“ Yes,” replied the Professor; “ I was interest¬ 
ed in his explanations and comments upon their 
baking; for,you recollect,they gathered their bread 
already prepared.” 
I looked at mother, and as T caught her eye, I 
saw she understood my wish—that we could gath¬ 
er ours in that way At the table the subject was 
resumed ; and soon came the remark from Prof. 
W., “I seldom find home made bread in the city, 
Mrs. S., you must be highly favored in your cook.” 
Mother evidently wishing to evade any further re¬ 
marks on my account, replied : “ That she con¬ 
sidered it a very important article of diet eithe" 
in country or city, in consideration of family 
health.” I trembled, for I saw father had caught 
my secret, and I knew he would not consider my 
blushes “Well done, Sarah, you have won the 
laurel, this is excellent bread. You must send 
your receipt to Mrs. Smith, who says her girls 
spoil all the flour they touch.” I left the table, 
for I could not “ sustain the honors.” I forgot, 
from that day, that my father’s wife was my step¬ 
mother ; and as she entered the sitting-room a few 
moments after,. I kissed her as kindly ars she 
had watched over me. and my first bread-making, 
and the green-eyed monster, jealousy, never re¬ 
sumed her former place in my mind. 
Conceit. —The improving man may start in 
life with a great stock of conceit, but it grows 
less and less as his knowledge increases. 
You may gain knowledge by reading, but you 
must separate the wheat from the chaff by 
thinking. 
Keep your temper in dispute. The cool ham¬ 
mer fashions the red hot iron. 
Stockings that need darning look worse than 
darned stockings. 
WHERE IS TIMOTHY BUNKER, ESQ, 
Last mouth, Espuire Bunker promised to furnish his 
“ notions” direct from headquarters, if we were bound to 
have them, and so we neglected to send our special re¬ 
porter to Hookertown. He will be up that way before 
next month, if Mr. Bunker don’t speak for himself in 
season. 
Books. —Notices of new Books may appear in our next. 
THE GOAL REACHED, AND NOT REACHED. 
Towards the close of last year, we set down two ob¬ 
jects to be accomplished : fir s Mo start this year, and con¬ 
tinue through it, with just the best paper in the country ; 
and, second, to very greatly enlarge its sphere of useful¬ 
ness by advertising and other agencies The latter point 
has been fully gained, and we have even exceeded our 
highest hopes in this respect. But a great increase of 
subscribers, and consequent increase of Dusiness—far be¬ 
yond what he had provided for—has prevented our ac¬ 
complishing much that we had proposed in the Editorial 
department. 
We have secured the assistance of several new edito¬ 
rial contributors, who have not all got the harness fitted on 
yet—the best thinking, practical men, are not always the 
most ready writers. But these matters will soon be ad¬ 
justed, and we shall be able to introduce a still greater 
variety of plain and practically useful articles, as well as 
of original illustrations. 
SUNDRY MATTERS. 
We have no disposition to implead our readers to go 
out of their way to promote the circulation of this journal 
for our sake, though we know many friends who have 
often done this, and we are duly thankful therefor. The 
Agriculturist has fully paid its own way, and we com¬ 
mence a new year free of all incumbrance, with a large 
paying list of subscribers, and a little surplus for any 
casualty. Our ambition is to make this paper just as 
valuable as possible, and we care little for the specific 
amount of pecuniary profit it may afford, though we have 
in view a certain capital farm which we hope ultimately 
to call our own, if the profits of our labors in our present 
sphere shall ultimately suffice to accomplish that end. 
Those of our readeis who believe their friends and 
neighbors will be benefitted by perusing the pages of this 
paper from month to month, will, we trust, use their 
efforts to enlist them as readers the present year, for 
their own good. 
We find upon our books over four thousand Post 
offices where there is now but a single subscriber. Would 
r.ot a new spirit of improvement be awakened in the 
neighborhood of all such offices, if each of these singie 
subscribers should by a little effort increase Ihe number 
of readers of the Agriculturist to half a dozen, or a dozen, 
or more ? 
The extra December edition was all exhausted by 
Baker’s Dozen subscribers, some two weeks since. The 
type of this (January) number will be stereotyped, and 
such extra editions be struck off as may be called for. 
Itrfm 
GOOD BOOKS FURNISHED. 
vVe are continually asked about books on various sub 
jeers, where they are to be got, price, &c. The following 
are ei"' good if not the best in the several departments • 
American Farm Book, a plain, comprehensive practical 
treatise on the various crops, and farm operations gener¬ 
ally-$1. Buist’s Family Kitchen Garden—75 cts. Allen’s 
Rural Architecture—$125. Quinby’s Mysteries of Bee 
Keeping Explained—$1. Chorlton’s Grape Grower’s 
Guide—60 cts. Eastwood’s Manual for cultivating the 
Cranberry—50 cts. The Stable Book—$1. Dadd’s Horse 
Doctor—$1. Norton’s Scientific and Practical Agricul 
ture—60 cts. Nash’s Progressive Farmer—60 cts. Stock 
hardt’s Chemical Field Lectures—$1. 
We do not solicit orders, nor make book-selling a part 
of our business, but when any of our readers desire an f 
one of the above named books, or any other agricultural 0 [ 
horticultural work, which they can not get conveniently 
near at hand, they may send the price to this office, and we 
will see that the book or books desired are mailed to 
them, post-paid .—Publisher of Agriculturist. 
EXPIRATIONS OF SUBSCRIPTIONS. 
When the time paid for by any subscriber expires a 
printed notice is sent to that effect in the last paper for¬ 
warded. Nearly all those “ whose time was up” at the 
closeofl856, have already renewed. The few exceptions 
may not have observed the printed slip in the December 
number. Anyone receiving this number with a red mark 
around this paragraph, will understand that their subscrip 
tion expired in December, and that notice to that effec t 
was then forwarded to them, but no renewal has reached 
us. ___ 
MINNESOTA. 
Particulars regarding the rising Town of NININGER 
and vicinity can be obtained of G. 0. ROBERTSON or 
CALEB ADAMS, No. 135 Water-st., New-York. 
