1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
287 
flesh, aud fowl,) should be cut across the grain of 
the muscular tibres. The e-Kceptions to this rule 
are : very small animals, very young lambs, saddles 
of mutton aud of venison, sometimes the tender¬ 
loin of beef not taken out. It is commonly desir¬ 
able to take off the best cuts first, at any rate 
one should be able to do so. Thick, slashing slices, 
or big sprawly pieces, are inelegant; so also is 
helping too much bone with the meat. Fowls are 
easily carved if young, and cooked till tender, aud 
the carver should be able (whether he exercises the 
ability or not) to touch any joint with the point of 
his knife, aud easily separate from the carcass every 
principal bone with the flesh upon it. We may 
treat upon the carving of particular pieces of meat 
and birds, with illustrations, at some future time. 
Something' about Yeast. 
In making bread, yeast is added to induce fermen¬ 
tation, for the reason that during the process very 
minute bubbles of c.arbonic acid gas are liberated, 
which, if the dough be baked at just the right time, 
expand in baking and cause the bread to have that 
sponginess, so prized by good housekeepers. During 
the fermentation, a portion of the starch of the flour 
is converted into sugar, and if the heat arrests the 
fermentation at the proper point, the bread is not 
only light, but sweet. Curiously enough, fermen¬ 
tation is accompanied by the growth of a micros¬ 
copic plant, and, so far as we know, it is necessary 
to introduce some of this plant iuto the bread, in 
the form of yeast, or if we would make yeast, we 
have to procure some of the plant to start with in 
already made yeast. We hope at another time to 
give a more minute account of the yeast plant and 
the changes it induces ; we now only briefly state 
the facts. There are on file a number of letters ask¬ 
ing for directions to make yeast, and in the same 
file a number of recipes for producing that impor¬ 
tant article for the household, but they all require 
the use of yeast to start them. We give below 
one of these several recipes, by “ Miss Hattie,” 
who gives no address. 
“ Take a handful of hops, two or three potatoes, 
aud boil in about a quart of water. When the 
potatoes are done, mash them and strain all on to 
flour enough to make a batter as thick, or thicker 
than for griddle cakes. If the flour does not all 
scold by this means, set it on to the stove a few 
minutes, aud keep stirring from the bottom, put in 
a large spoonful of molasses aud a half teaspoouful 
of ginger. When all is scalded, cool it to about the 
temperature of new milk, put in a half or two 
thirds a teacupful of good yeast, cover and set in a 
warm place, and in a few hours it will be very light; 
then mix into this, as much good corn meal as can 
be got in by working with the hands, the harder 
the better ; work it into a long solid mass, as large 
as one’s arm, then cut it off in cakes half or three 
quarters of an inch thick, put them on to your 
moulding board to dry, not flat down, but the edge 
of one just lapped on the other; put them in an 
airy place, not in the sun, nor where they will freeze. 
When dry on the top, turn them over, aud in a day 
or two they will be dry enough to put iuto a bag; a 
paper one will protect them from the flies. There 
will be enough to last two or three months. 
The next thing is, to make bread. Just before 
retiring, put perhaps a cake and a half of the yeast 
to soak in a little warm water and cover it. Wuen 
it is soft, put in your mixing bowl as much flour as 
is needed for bread ; then make a hole one side and 
pour in about a pint of warm water, stir it up, and 
stir in your yeast, cover it over with flour to keep 
in the gas, aud prevent it drying. In the morning 
it will be ready to mix the first thing. Mix with 
warm water or milk, let it remain in the bowl to 
rise, as it can be kept warm better, and it will rise 
quicker in a mass. When light, “mould it over” 
and put it into pans, to rise the second time, and 
bake when light. Have the oven pretty hot at the 
beginning, and be careful to not let it burn.” 
Steam-Coolced. BSi*ea,iil.—W. Pease, of La- 
porte Co., Indiana, writes ; “If the readers of the 
Agriculhirht desire to have very white and light 
bread, with crust no thicker than a sheet of paper, 
aud as white and soft as the eentre of the loaf, they 
can have such by preparing it in the usual way aud 
placing it on some dish that will set in the steamer, 
and when it rises sufficient for baking, instead of 
putting in the oven, place it in the steamer and 
steam it thoroughly for about half an hour.” 
Chili Saitce.—This, which is an excellent 
relish with coid meats, etc., is thus made by 
Mrs. A. M. Vose, of Boston: 18 ripe tomatoes, 1 
onion and 3 green peppers chopped fine, 1 cup of 
sugar, 2X cups of viuegai-, 2 teaspoon* of salt, 1 
teaspoon each of all kinds of spice. Bottle for use. 
Cri'eeii Corn Pudding'.—Mary M. Tur¬ 
ner, Belmont Co., Ohio, sends a recipe for this sea¬ 
sonable dish as follows : “ Take of sweet corn W ears 
—with a knife scrape the gr.aius lengthwise of the 
cob. Then scrape out the pulp ; to this add 2 ta- 
blespooufuls of butter, 1 of sugar, 3 of flour, 3 
eggs, 1 pint rich milk, a little salt. Spice to suit 
taste. Bake from thirty to forty minutes. 
BtDYS tk 
Ahont Octting; a, Fire—iHatehei*. 
In 1667, Phosphorus was discovered by a German chem¬ 
ist, and tlie peculiar properties of this substance have 
led to an entire change in the method of kindling a fire. 
The burning of any substance is caused by the oxygen of 
the air uniting rapidly witli it. Any thing for which oxy¬ 
gen has great attraction will take fire at a very low tem¬ 
perature ; some substances, as the metals pota-ssiiim and 
sodium, will ignite as soon as touched by water or even 
ice, for water is largely made up of oxygen. Phosphorus 
has a strong attraction for oxygen ; a moderate degree of 
heat, such for instance as is caused by rubbing it, will 
set it on fire. In 16S0, one Godfrey Hanckwitz intro¬ 
duced this substance into London, to be used for kind¬ 
ling. A small bit of it was rubbeil between pieces of 
brown paper, until it began to burn, and then a piece of 
stick previously dipped in sulphur was ignited. Several 
other forms of using it were contrived, but the cost of 
phospliorus prevented their coming into, general use. 
Another substance, chlorate of potash, wlien in contact 
with some other highly combustible substances, like sul¬ 
phur, sugar, or pliosphorus, makes them take fire easily 
and burn very fast. Many years since a gentleman 
in England employed this to make matches. The chlo¬ 
rate was mixed with sugar and other ingredients, the 
end of a stick was coated in the mixture, and when fire 
was wanted, the prepared end of tlie match was dipped 
in a small vial containing sulphuric acid. The chemical 
action of the acid caused it to blaze immediately. These 
matches at fii'st were sold at three or four dollars per box. 
A very ingenious, but costly modification of this method 
of getting a fire was called Vesuvlans. It consisted of a 
folded paper match, in one end of which was contained 
some powdered ciilorate of potash and sugar, with a little 
piece of small glass tube, in which was sealed up a di'op 
or two of sulphuric acid. When this end of the match was 
struck a smar t blow, or crushed beneath the foot, the glass 
tube broke, allowed the acid it contained to come in 
contact wu'th the powder, and a fire was immediately 
produced. Then came the lucifer match, coated with 
a mixtui-e contaming chlorate of potash, etc., which 
was to be drawn rapidly through a bit of sand paper fur¬ 
nished with each box of matches. Some inventive ge¬ 
nius soon tliought of pasting the sand paper to the bot¬ 
tom of the box ; then another improved the composition 
so tirat the match wouid kindle by being rubbed on any 
hard substance ; and finally some one else dis[)ensed with 
the .'Ulphur for the ends of the match on account of its 
unpteasairt fumes, and made the stick light more easily by 
dipping it in a wax-like substance called paraffine. 
The very latest inventio.n in this line, we believe, is 
a match that will take fire only when rubbed lightly on 
the bottom of the box or on specially prepared paper. 
It is called the safety match, and has some advantages 
in not being so liable to cause mischief by accident, but 
it is not so generally convenient as the common .sort. 
Great improvements have been made in the machinery 
for getting out the splints or match slicks, which were 
formerly split by hand, and also in coaling them with the 
preparation. The number of matches consumeil isenor 
mous. One manufacturer in New York is said to have 
used within the last IS years, 2.225.000 feet of lumber, 
produotrrg six billinns. Jive hundred millions of match- 
e.s. The total amount of rnatclies manufactur'ed in the 
Uniter! Slates, is estimated at .75.700 000 daily, worth $7000 
at wholesale, and this is pr obably less than the actual sum. 
or a. 
It is relateil of Lord Nelson, tliat while walking out one 
morning lie met a little girl crying bitterly, and upon ask¬ 
ing her what was the matter, she replied that she had 
broken her pitcher with which she had been sent for 
milk, and was afraid she would be w hipped when she 
returned home. Seeing that he sympathized with her, 
site held up the fragments and artlessly said, “ Perhaps 
you can menri it, sir.” “ No, I can not do that,” replied 
he, “but I will give you sixpence to buy another witli.” 
On looking in his purse, he found he had no change, and 
said, “ I can not -give it to you now, but if you wiil be 
here at this time to-morrow, I will meet you and give 
you the money.” She went home comforted, and told 
her mother the story with such confidence that she was 
excused from punishment, on condition that the gentle¬ 
man should keep his word. Before the time came. Lord 
Nelson received a letter asking him to go to a distant 
place to meet a person whom he greatly desired to see 
He hesitated, and thought that such a trifle as giving a 
little girl a sixpence ought not to keep him away, but 
then he had given his word and the little girl had implic¬ 
itly relied upon it. No, he would not disappoint her, so 
he sat down and wrote to his friend that “owing to a 
previous engagement,” he should be unable to see him 
at that time. Such an incident adds luster to the world¬ 
wide fame of one of England’s most celebrated heroes. 
A WoMe Fxample. 
The Christian Register relates the following; A law¬ 
yer who was employed to examine the title to a parcel 
of land, found that one of the previous holders of the 
tract had only conveyed a lease of it, and consequently 
alt who had taken their titles since—although they had 
paid a fair price—could have no lawful claim. The real 
owner of the land was a young man living at a distance, 
and who himself knew nothing of this pos.'ession. At 
the time the lease was given, the land was worth only a 
few hundred dollars, but since then a manufacturing 
town had been built near it, and its value had been great¬ 
ly increased. The lawyer upon finding the title defec¬ 
tive, visited the young man who was the lawful, if not 
the rightful owner. ASter making his acquaintance he 
determined to tell him just how the matter stood, and 
leave him to act as he should think proper. The young 
man heard the case and asked, “ What do you wish me 
to do ?” “ I would like to have you give a quit claim 
deed for the premises.”—“ Have you one prepared?” — 
“Yes,” answered the lawyer, producing the paper. Af¬ 
ter carefuily reading it through, the young man immedi¬ 
ately went w ith the lawyer to a Justice of the I’e.ice, and 
signed the document., “ Now,” said he, “ liow much 
was this property wortli ? I did not want to know be¬ 
fore, for fear that the value might be large enough to 
keep me from doing what I thought right in the matter.” 
He w as informed that the property was estimated at from 
fourteen to twenty thousand dollars. The young man 
who set such a noble example, which many we fear would 
find it difficult to follow, wa.s Rev. Samuel Abbott Smith, 
late of West Cambridge, Mass., and his name is rightly 
recorded high in the catalogue of noble and honest men. 
FroWemst atnd. FujeKlest. 
Our young readers will probably miss the usual variety- 
in this department, and we very much regret that -we 
have so little to offer in the way of puzzles, as there is 
no class of readers whose good opinion we-more highly 
value, than we do that of boys anil girls. The deficiency 
hapiiens at this time for tiie reason, that just as this 
paper was being made up, the gentleman who manages 
the Boys and Girls Columns was taken suddenly ill, and 
the task fell to the care of another, who rather than rum¬ 
mage over the papers belonging to the department, 
and run the risk of making .some btunder, makes this ex¬ 
planation, wliich he hopes will satisfy them. He can 
moreover confidentially tell them, that he has seen a 
number of nice things, which are nearly ready, and has 
no doubt that their part of the paper w ill next month be 
enough better, to makeup for any lack in tlie present one. 
£B (j/iuL So/n/ 
FOR 0 
No. 173. Illustrated Rebus, which gives good advice. 
4- 
a'a of d B mm 
No. 174. Illustrated Rebus, containing still better advice. 
