404 
AMERICAN AG-RIGELTURIST. 
[NoVEMHEn, 
Yin would rather have been excused from telling 
Ills previous cogitations; but Fanny “insisted.” 
“ Pour me a cup, then, and if you arc willing to 
risk a spoiled supper, you shall know.” 
“What is the mj'stery?” said Fanny, as she 
passed the fragrant cup of tea to her husband. 
“ No mystery at all. I was only drawing a com¬ 
parison, as I sat by the kitchen fire, between Tom 
Hughes’ home, manner of living, in fact house¬ 
keeping arrangements generally, and our own.” 
“And w?io is ‘above half right? ’ ” asked Fanny 
quickly — *' surely not Tom and Clara—CTerything 
at loose ends—perfect carelessness, not to c.all it 
slackness, stamped on everything, out of doors and 
in. Such a yard and garden! Sweet flowers, to 
be sure, but overrun with weeds—walks neglected 
—borders broken, or altogether lost; and inside, 
oh! dear, I could never describe it! ” 
“ I know! I know ! But comfort is what I was 
looking at, Fanny, comfort ! ” And Mr. Marvin 
laughed in spite of himself, at Fanny’s blank look. 
“More confusion than comfort, I should s.aj’! ” 
“Well, it’s allone feels about it. Too much 
precision is apt to be chilling; ” and visions of 
linen-cased chairs and ottomans, gauze-covered 
pictures, and darkened windows in his own perfect¬ 
ly kept parlors, would rise up in contrast with the 
ifleasaut freedom of his friends’ less pretentious 
and more commonly used rooms. 
“Oh, you got wet to-night, .and bec.ausc I didn’t 
rush, as Clara w'ould have done, and hurry you into 
the parlor, wet boots, dripping coat, umbrella and 
all, to ruin the carpet and marble hearth, you sat 
and had all these fimeies over the kitchen fire.” 
“ Fanny! ” and Mr. Marvin’s voice assumed a 
harsher tone than usual, “you would know my 
thoughts—a man isn’t re.sponsible to his wife for 
having them, I take it; so don’t be oircnded if I 
revealed them at your own request. I believe I 
love neatness and order .as well as any man, but I 
do not love to be cramped .and hampered at every 
turn, afraid to step here, or sit there. A little 
more use .and a little less ceremony, a little more 
wear and tear, and a little less formalitjg wouldn’t 
it seem more homelike, Fanny ? ” 
“This ‘letting down’ of things I never could 
bear,” was the quick reply. “ Now tell me, candid¬ 
ly, Edward, would you be willing I should let Alice 
and Arthur bring their blocks and dominoes into 
the parlor, to build forts and railroads with, on the 
carpet, or let Susie h.avc her dolls and tea-set there; 
or thump over the piano-keys with her merciless, 
fat lingers for the sake of a perfect jargon of noise,, 
instead of keeping them in the nursery, .and allow¬ 
ing them only to come in the p.arlor when properly 
dressed and at suitable times ? ” 
“ Candidly, yes; I would really like it! Dear 
little things, let them be happy in every room and 
any room, and not have a parlor seem to them, as 
Sunday used to seem to me. I should not give 
them an inkst.and, uncorked, to play with, nor al¬ 
low rude games, nor have them make the piano a 
‘ stamping ground ; ’ but anything short of this, 
which could afford pleasure, let them enjoy.” 
“And what a beautiful noise there would bo 
when the door-bell should ring—bustling about 
putting back chairs from Arthur’s train of cars, 
and stopping to shake him into quiet because he 
cried that his train was ruined, picking up this, and 
straightening out that, until you meet your friend 
with a face flushed to fever heat, and a hearty W'ish 
that parlors might never be nurseries.” 
Edward laughed; and Fanny, unappcascd,went on 
“And would you have the blinds open .all d.ay. 
and the sunshine in, spoiling everytiiing ? •’ 
“Rallier brightening and sweetening everything.” 
“ And the covers off the furniture, and all worn 
and threadbare in a month ! Only yesterday Clara 
was darning a place in her sofa, where copper toes 
and high iieels no doubt often came down with suf¬ 
ficient force to please the grc.atest advocate of free¬ 
dom and unrestrained use ! And then you w'ould 
like such a garden as Tom’s! Faded pea-vines, 
clinging to the dead brush, .and Dahlias blooming 
from out the t.auglcd mass. Hoses and Spearmint, 
Asters and Asparagus growing in lover-like prox- 
hnitv—while the walks are gracefully arched with 
strong weeds, lacing themselves across the way in 
a very free and e.asy manner! ” 
Mr. Marvin Laughed again in spite of himself, as 
he thought of his own carefully kept yard and gar¬ 
den, where one weed would be plucked up as an 
intruder, avhere not a dock or dandelion, or pre¬ 
suming plantain had for years dared to lift their, 
heads, and where every walk was as precisely 
straight (since Fanny' had been the mistress, at 
least) .as the line that divided the glossy tresses of 
his wife’s h.air. On the whole, he h.ad grown very 
fond of order; but there were times when his soul 
felt trammeled, and iu his rebellion he felt disposed 
to knock around, overset, and break up stiffness 
out doors and in, with a vengeance! 
“No! Fanny, I would never have broken bor¬ 
ders and weed arches, nor sofas turned into a play¬ 
ground; but I would have less fear of a little use, 
and more open, sunny, genial freedom. I would 
r.ather bequeath to my grcat-grand-children worn 
furniture, threadbare carpets, and tarnished silver, 
than portraits wrinkled into r.ailroad-maps, from 
care-lines made by the constant strain to keep these 
things fresh, whole, and bright. There are alw.ays 
extremes in everything. I would have only a 
pleasant mean. If I had but one room below and 
one above, with a four feet wide yard in front, I 
would not, like poor Sam Wilt, have melon rinds 
and refuse apples, broken glass and bits of earthen¬ 
ware, occupying half the space, and broken chairs 
and useless tr.aps filling every inch within. No, I 
would show that a little room could be made com¬ 
fortable, and at all hazards homelike.” 
“ Well, you are ‘ above h.alf right,’ ” said the will¬ 
ful little Fanny, “ and you’ll see if I don’t prove it!” 
And sure enough Mr. Marvin found, in less than 
a week, a sun-lighted parlor, wuth uuc.ased furni¬ 
ture ; and actually heard from its cheerful recesses 
the merry voices of children who are ever the first 
to .appreciate the blessedness of a true home. Fan¬ 
ny had. “a mind of her own,” but she waas proud 
to yield gracefully when convinced that her hus¬ 
band was “above half right.” 
-- —mt» - 
Original Contributions to the American Agriculturist. 
Hints on Cooking, etc. 
Mova.via.si. ISecipes.—[Rev. E. E. Reinkle, 
Pastor of the Moravian Church at Olney, Ill., writes a 
very pleasant letter on the Agriculturist and its work, 
which it would be gratifying to print, had we room for 
one in a tlinusand of such agreeable epistles. Wishing 
to make a return for good received, and contribute what 
he can to the general good, lie sends a variety of well 
tried recipes, in use mainly if not only in Moravian com¬ 
munities. VVe shall print them as we have room from 
time to time. First vve select tiie following fourij 
Stocic Yeiist (which will keep 
six monlhs, if hung up in a bag in the air :). In pint 
water, boil for 5 minutes a handful, (about a gill,) of good 
hops. Strain this still boiling hot over a pint of flour 
into which there has just been grated a raw potato the 
size of an egg. .4fter standing until just lukewarm, stir 
into it a teacupful of good yeast or of dissolved leaven 
kept over from the last baking, or of “ rivels ” dissolved 
by soaking in cold water. Allow it to rise twice, stir¬ 
ring it down each time. This will lequire 2 to 3 hours. 
Now take flour, or better, equal parts of corn meal and 
flour, and with the hands rub in enough to work the 
whole mi.xture into quite dry fr.agments. (These are 
known in old fashioned cookery as “rivels.'’) Spread 
these bits, or rivels, thinly on clotlis laid on trays or 
boards, and leave them to dry—occasionally turning them 
over with the hands. These dry much sooner than yeast 
cakes, and are less apt to sour. In baking hreal, use a 
small teacupful of the rivels to eacli 4 quarts of flour. 
'ffo maScc Y«s4.st at B-'irst (without stock 
of any kind to start witli). T.-ikc 1 tablespoonful of mo- 
hasscs—thin, raw New Orleans molasses is best—1 t.able- 
spoonful of flour, and 1 tablespoonful of w.atcr. Mix and 
allow it to stand a day or more in a warm place, near 
but not on the stove, until it ferments. Then use this 
with tlie hop water flour, and potato dissolved, as above, 
for “ Slock Yeast,” and go on and make up the rivels 
with flotir and meal as tliere described. You will there¬ 
after have some yeast, or rivels, to start with. This 
recipe will be invalualilc wliere no yeast of any kind 
can be had to begin with. 
Ba«iBS4“-3aia<ilc ESvead.— (Note all 
tlio particularst Take 1 quarls of good flour- Scald 
one teacupful of it witli boiling water, and then mix 
with it a teacupful of the “ rivels,” or slock yeast, above 
described, and previously dissolved in cold waiter. When 
cool add a pint more of the flour and a little lukewarm 
water to make a batter or “sponge.” When this is well 
leavened (in about 2 hours), add the rest of the flour, 
and 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of salt, and lukewarm wa¬ 
ter enough to form the dougli. Knead tlioroughly, 10 to 
15 minutes, according to the strength applied, and allow 
it to stand about 2 hours, or until “ light.” Make into 4 
loaves, merely rounding without kneading the dougli. 
Put the loaves into tin pans, or straw baskets, and let 
them rise again about 1 hour to recover any shrinking 
in handling ; then bake in a moderately heated oven so 
as not to scorch the top.—To test a hot oven, throw in a 
littie flour, and,if too hot it will scorch the flour to a 
crisp immediately. The teacupful of scalded flour, put 
at fust witli the rivels or yeast, makes the crust both soft 
and tenacious.... To Keep Hread well where there 
is no cellar, wrap it in a clean towell as soon as cooled, 
and put it in a tin box, or in a large covered tin pan ; or, 
better still, in the top of a refrigerator if you have one... 
For ESread in Winter, proceed as above, but in¬ 
stead of rivels, use a teacupful of sponge from the last 
baking, kept covered during the interval; and in scalding 
the first teacupful of flour, use water in w^ich a pinch 
of hops (with 3 fingers) has first been boiled. This will 
make the leaven very active. 
Fine “ Osristmas Caltes.”—[Good for 
“Thanksgiving,” and all other times.] Will keep for 
monlhs in winter, and for weeks in summer if put in a 
tightly covered tin pan as soon as cold ; Take 1 quart 
molasses (good, thick, dark syrup. New Orleans molasses 
will not answer at all), 1 lb. brown sugar, lb. lard, 
lb. butter, and dissolve all together on a stove, stirring 
well.—We always add exactly, 2 grated nutmegs, 1 oz. 
ground cloves, 1 ounce ground cinnamon (thin bark), and 
ounce mace, stirring all well together. Some add .a 
little ginger, allspice, or orange peel, or use less of the 
other spices named. Stir in well, flour until the dough is 
stilf. Now let it stand .over night at least. Keeping 4 or 
5 days if not convenient to bake all at once, will not in¬ 
jure, but rather improve it. Roll about 3^ inch thick, and 
cut out into any shapes desired, with a tumbler, cake 
jagger, or fancy tin moulds. Grease the baking tins well. 
i*a Fritters — WJiy?—Make a 
rather thick batter of flour, milk, and a little salt. Add 
for each pint of milk used, a teacupful of newly fallen 
snow, and at once drop the batter into fat previously made 
hot. Eat with sugar, flavored with lemon juice. [These 
directions have come so often, and from so many differ¬ 
ent sources, that there seems to be something in them, 
though one would suppose the pure snow could be no 
better than an equivalent of wader. Probably the air car 
lied in by the porous snow and distributed all through the 
cold batter by stirring, is retained sufficiently to produce 
lightness, as the hot fat instantly crusts over the outside. 
This looks plausible, and the recipe can be easily triei! 
when the snow comes. Success will depend upon having 
the fat ready hot, and cooking before millions of little 
air bubbles can unite and escape. 
'I'lia.nBcsi^iving: Pudding'. — T.ake 2)^ 
quarts of milk, 4 crackers, 4 eggs, lb. butter, 4 table, 
spoonfuls of sugar, !>/ teacupfuls of raisins, and spice 
to the taste. Bake Dj hours with a moderate fire.— 
Mrs. E. II. Randall, Worcester, Mass, 
Molasses Cake—Sol't CSinger Cake. 
— Molasses Cake: cup cream, )i cup sour milk, 1 
cup molasses, 1 teaspoon saleratus, 1 tablespoon ginger, 
or other flavoring, a little salt and flour to make the whole 
rather soft. It is light and good.- Soft Ginger Cake-. 
1 cup sweet milk, 1 cup molasses, 1 tablespoon butler or 
melted lard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soda, 2 teaspoon¬ 
fuls cream of tartar, flavor with ginger or any other 
spice.— Mrs. ilf. Ingalls, Muscatine, Iowa, 
rrSie CUeap Cake Frosting, to be 
made with corn starch thickened with pulverized sugar, 
which came recommended by a subscriber, and is pub¬ 
lished in some other journals, we have tried and it did not 
work well. It would not thicken up enough, 
E>roi> Cakes. — 1 cup Bour cre.ain, 1 cup but¬ 
ter, 2 cups sugar, 4 beaten eggs, jk tea.spoonful soda, 
spice to taste, and flour enough to make it stilf enough 
to drop from the spoon.— Mrs, Samuel P. May, 
SBread tSriddle Cakes—(Good way to 
use stale bread :). Crumb the bread and add sour milk 
enough to soften it, and let it stand over night. Then 
mash fine with a spoon, add a beaten egg and a teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda for each quart, with flour enough to make the 
batter considerable thicker than for common griddle 
cakes.— — As fast as baked, put on a plate over a basin of 
hot water, covering them closely with a large bowl or 
oilier dish This keeps them warm and moi.tt.— Uiraudt, 
