1Q4 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
I April, 
is it in nature. Every blade of grass, every corolla, 
however fine its texture and delicate its tint, 
answers a purpose, is made for some eud, and must 
fiillill that end. But in the dress of woman, it is 
required that the eye be satisfied at any cost; con¬ 
sequently health is disregarded, comfort and use 
unthought of. Yet, notwithstanding this supreme 
regard—in fact, because of it—we get not even 
be.auty itself; for that apparel is beautiful which 
sets off the face and figure to advantage, and how 
will our common fashions stand this test ? How 
would they look in sculpture ? A few persons have 
features and forms so fine that no style of dress 
could make them look otherwise than attractive, 
while some others have such exquisite taste that, 
whatever the style, under their manipulations, it 
seems the most graceful possible to be worn ; but 
the v.ast majority of women of all stations fail 
utterly of grace in their daily dress, and, gaining 
neither of the other two desiderata, they thus se¬ 
cure no other end above that of the semi-eivilized 
—the simple one of having the body covered. 
“ One would suppose in the oppressive number of 
interests at the present day—amid all there is to do 
and to learn ; all there is to see and to hear; all 
the people there are to help, and all the books to 
read—woman would like that which is so strictly 
personal as their own garments, to combine the 
greatest amount of health, comfort, and beauty 
with the least outlay of time, labor, and expense. 
Instead of that, they have an attire which sacrifices 
health, is entirely inconsistent with comfort, as 
boys and men understand comfort, and at the same 
time requires, to make it presentable, the greatest 
possible expenditure of thought, work, and money. 
Is this a consummation devoutly to be wished? 
“If woman h.ad alwaj’s w’orn a suitable dress, no 
sane man would ever think it worth his while to 
speculate whether, such and such alterations chang¬ 
ing it entirely, it would not look better. He would 
take it for granted that an ideal dress might be de¬ 
vised for some ideal being that would show off 
fabrics finely, but he would recognize that—given 
a being with a head and body, two arms and two 
legs, intended to talk and walk and sew; to cook, 
to wash, to sweep; to nurse the sick, to tend the 
store, to keep the house; to go up and down stairs, 
to run, to sk.ate, to walk out in rainy weather; in 
short, in the pursuit of some avocation, to use 
every muscle of her body, and use it to the best ad¬ 
vantage—no other style would answer the purpose, 
and he would never .ask for any other, but would 
rest content with that forever, only requiring that 
it should be so modified as to be made as becoming 
as possible to each wearer. As it is, no thought is 
given to the real requirements of the case. Does a 
milliner sit down and consider that, the purpose of 
a bonnet being to shield the head from the elements, 
and shade the eyes from too great a glare of light, 
she must first devise a frame which will accomplish 
these ends, and then select such materials, such 
colors, and such ornaments as, combined, will har¬ 
monize with each other, and suit the complexion, 
figure, etc., of the person for whom this special 
head-gear is designed? Not at all; but she says, 
“ People are tired of last year’s shape, and we must 
have a change.” So she pulls out here and pushes 
in there, has her cape twice as large, or takes it off 
altogether; makes the “ ears ” longer or shorter, 
and the whole more distressing and useless, if pos¬ 
sible, to the head than before ; and forthwith every 
woman rushes to buy a bonnet after the new pat¬ 
tern. Ex uno disee omTies. When women shall have 
learned in time to put the objects of dress in their 
right order, there will be seen a greater revolution 
in the form of their apparel than the world has 
yet dreamt of in its philosophy.” g. 
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Tainted Meat, Fish, or Poultry.— 
The following directions in regard to the use of 
charcoal, in cookery, arc given by “ Perscrutatio”: 
“When meat, fish, etc., from the heat of the 
weather, or long keeping, are likely to spoil, 
powdered charcoal, sprinkled over it, will not 
only stop the progress of putrefaction, but it will 
iweeteu that which has already become tainted. 
If meat, or fish has acquired an unpleasant flavor, 
or docs not smell perfectly fresh, when prepared 
to boil, by tying up a few pieces of charcoal in a 
small cloth, and putting them into the pot while 
boiling, it will remove everything disagreeable. 
The addition of a teaspoonful of saler.atus, instead 
of the charcoal, will remove any unpleasant taste 
or smell, unless it is very bad. Poultry some¬ 
times becomes tainted by being kept too long; 
to make it sweet and good, put some powdered 
charcoal in a piece of cloth, and put it in the inside 
of the fowl for sometime before cooking: it will 
draw out all the bad smell, as may be perceived by 
smelling the cloth, which is often most offensive.” 
Management ot Carpets. 
All kinds of carpets will wear much longer if 
fine straw be spread evenly on the floor, about half 
an inch thick, before they are fastened down. 
When they lie on the bare floor, the gritty dust 
works through them to the floor, and as they are 
pressed down on and among it, they will be worn 
out much more than when kept up from it by 
straw. To aid in drawing carpets close up to the 
base board, preparatory to nailing them, drive 8 or 
10 sm.all nails into a piece of wood, allowing them 
to extend .about three-eighths of an inch beyond 
the surface, similar to a we.aver’s stretcher, and file 
them to a sharp point. With such an instrument 
as this, having a long handle, one person can thrust 
the side of a carpet up close to the base board, and 
hold it with ease, till it is nailed. There is some 
scienee also in the manner of sweeping carpets 
correctly. Instead of inclining the handle of the 
broom forward, and rolling the dirt along and 
pressing it mto the carpet, by bearing down on the 
broom, the handle should be held nearly erect, and 
the dirt brushed along, by touching the carpet very 
lightly. In this way, both broom and carpet will 
be worn less, and the sweeping be done better. 
Soda, Saleratus, Quick Yeast, Baking- 
Powders, etc., for Bread-Making. 
The question is asked us, how one may know 
that too much alkali is used in bread, rolls, or 
biscuit, made with soda and other alkaline car¬ 
bonates. Bread which is yellow at all, or has 
that peculiar “soda-biscuit odor” (to us intensely 
disagreeable), has either too much alkali, or not 
enough of acid. Cream of tartar, buttermilk, 
sour milk, molasses, or sour dough, each contain 
an acid which, when it unites with the carbonate 
of soda, sets carbonic acid gas free; and when well 
stirred into a dough of just the right consistence, it 
puffs it up uniformly and makes it light. The art 
of the cook is shown in putting in just enough, and 
never too much soda for the acid which she adds, 
or which the dough contains. One teaspoonful of 
soda should, in a fresh dough for bread, or a batter 
for cakes, always be used with two teaspoonfuls of 
cream of tartar. When sour milk, or molasses, 
or anything else of the kind is used, the proportion 
must be guessed at; but always guess so that the 
soda will be more than neutralized, for a little acid 
will not be perceived, while an excess of alkali 
gives rise to dyspepsia and indigestion. The prin¬ 
ciples upon which depend the rising of dough have 
been often explained in these pages. Now, there¬ 
fore, we only say, avoid as poison yellow bread, 
or that which has the alkaline odor. Even vinegar 
may be used to neutralize soda, when other prefer¬ 
able acids can not be readily obtained. 
Tallow Candles. —If people must use 
tallow candles, in these days (nights rather) of 
bright kerosene, the follorying, from our corres¬ 
pondent “ of Macoupin Co., Ill., may throw 
some light (star-light) on how to make good ones. 
Mr. Star writes: “In return for hints about hard 
soap, I will suggest an improvement in making 
‘tallow candles.’ Double the wicks, as is usually 
done, and twist until tolerably tight, then w.ax them 
with beeswax, so they will not untwist. They are 
then ready for the mould. I claim that the candles 
will last much longer, and will give a brighter and 
better light, resembling sperm candles. Impurities 
in the tallow will not affect the light, as is usual.’’ 
Practical Odds and Ends. 
Contributed by Subscribers to the American Agri- 
euUurist. Please send plenty more of the same sort, 
Hard Pdttt around broken window panes is 
quickly softened by pouring kerosene oil on it. 
Putty is made by mixing “ whiting” with linseed 
oil, to the consistence of dough. Every farmer 
should keep a supply. 
The Cement used to fasten glass lamp burners 
in place, is made of calcined plaster and water. 
Mix them thin and apply quickly, as it “ sets ” soon. 
This plaster is the same as used by masons, stereo- 
typers, etc. 
A Soldering Iron, which is not iron but copper, 
is a convenient money-saving implement. Practi¬ 
cal instructions for its use were given in the Agri¬ 
culturist, Vol. 18, page 342. (Nov. number, 1859.) 
Frozen Cream should be placed near the fire, 
gradually thawed and then allowed to become very 
warm, not hot, then churn it, and bring the butter 
easily. The churn should be warmed to prevent 
chilling the warm cream. 
To Prevent Flannel Shrinking.—P ut it into 
cold water, place over the fire, and boil half an hour. 
To Remove Fruit Stains.—D ip the st.ained part 
into boiling water, and hold it over the fumes of 
burning sulphur, until the stain changes color, then 
wash in clear water. Boiling water alone will re¬ 
move many fresh stains, especially of cooked fruit. 
Hints on Cooking, etc. 
Sweet A5>ple Syrup. —Contributed by 
Elizabeth Carlton. Nicely wash a quantity’ ol 
sound sweet apples, put them in a steamer and 
cook until tender. Then press out the juice and 
boil it until quite thick. For many uses it will be 
found greatly preferable to New Orleans molasses. 
Potato Soup. —Peel and slice 6 large pota¬ 
toes, boil them 20 minutes in 2 qu.arts of water. 
Then mash them finely in the water, salt to the 
taste, stir in a heaping tablespoonful of flour, well 
beaten in a tcacupful of cream, and add about 2 
ounces butter. Let it cook until the ingredients 
are well incorporated together. 
Clieese Omelet. —Butter the sides of a deep 
dish, cover the bottom with thin slices of cheese 
place upon this very thin slices of bread, well but¬ 
tered, a little red pepper and mustard, another layer 
of cheese, and, just before put in the oven, beat the 
yolk of an egg in a cup of cream and pour into the 
dish. Bake half an hour, or until nicely browned. 
Craclcers.—Contributed by E. Allen, Lake 
Co., O. Take 3 teacupfuls of sweet milk, 1 of but 
ter, 13 of flour, 4 teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, 
2 teaspoonfuls of soda. Dissolve the soda and a 
little salt in the milk, put the cream of tartar into 
the flour, and also rub the butter into the flour, 
then mix with the milk. Roll very thin, prick very 
thickly, cut into squares, and bake in a quick oven. 
Potato Yeast. —Contributed by a subscriber, 
who says she “ can safely recommend it, as she 
never uses saleratus for raising bread, nor has any 
sourTo % of a cup of hops, add 1 quart of 
water; when boiling, pour it on one cup of raw 
potato, grated; to that add }4 cup of sugar, cup 
of salt, and when cool add 1 cup of yeast to raise 
it. The salt in the yeast seasons the bread enough. 
Prying Sqnasli or Pumpkin.— If 
squashes are wasting by dec.ay, remove the seeds, 
pare, slice, and put in a kettle with a little water. 
Boil until the water is out, then slowly simmer 
and stir to remove all the moisture possible 
without burning, and spread the paste half an 
inch thick on buttered plates. At first these can 
