226 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
This is the best sauce to go with the gruel (which, 
for children several mouths old, I make rather 
thick—so that it will hardly pour from the dish like 
a fluid), a small spoonful of gruel and then a little 
taste of scraped apple, or other fresh subacid fruit. 
Be slow and patient in feeding. The time of wean¬ 
ing is a matter that requires judgment—usually at 
the age of front nine to fourteen months. It is 
seldom as well for mother or child to continue nurs¬ 
ing longer, but it may be better than to wean the 
baby just as the hot season is coming on. A teeth¬ 
ing baby is peculiarly liable to bowel diseases, and 
these are often induced or aggravated by milk that 
is passing or just past the point of perfect sweet¬ 
ness. In deciding the time for weaning a child, 
take into account the probabilities in the way of 
obtaining regular supplies of suitable food for it, 
and the condition of the mother’s health. No double 
drain upon her maternal resources, physically, 
should be allowed. It is a common mistake to 
suppose that a woman must eat more than usual 
uring the nursing period. Nature has made other 
revision for the emergency, and any gormandiz¬ 
ing on the part of the mother, deranges her own 
stomach, vitiates her blood and the infant’s sup¬ 
plies drawn from it, and so harms both mother and 
child. The mother’s food should be plain and 
wholesome. It seems to me a sad pity that most 
mothers are so much addicted to the use of stimu¬ 
lating drinks, as tea and coffee. If the supply of 
food for baby is small, any other warm drink would 
increase its flow just as well as tea—malt or barley 
coffee, even better. Warm water alone, as warm 
as you take tea (not lukewarm—that sickens), an¬ 
swers every purpose. But usually no warm drink 
is necessary. 
At first the new baby will need to take food more 
frequently than it will a few months later ; though 
it will sometimes sleep five or six hours at a time, 
even during the day. It grows best while asleep ; 
but never give soothing syrup nor any narcotics; 
and do not force sleep upon it when it seems to pre¬ 
fer wakefulness. If the room is reasonably quiet, 
Nature can manage the business. Comparatively 
few mothers consult the clock at all in reference to 
nursing their babes, but offer food the first thing 
when baby cries. This is unwise, as hunger may 
be the least of baby’s troubles. Those who do give 
a rule, usually tell us to let the intervals between 
nursing be from two to three, or even four hours. 
I now feel pretty sure that there are very few ba¬ 
bies that can go more than two hours, at first, be¬ 
tween their meals—unless they sleep past the time. 
Some cannot go so long. It is simply outrageous 
to make the little things suffer from hunger, when 
Nature calls so imperatively for building material 
for their growing bones and muscles. I think 
more babies than one have been wronged in this way 
by conscientious mothers who have been taught 
that the intervals between nursing should never be 
less than three or four hours. Watch the little one ; 
study its natural language. See how it opens its 
little mouth, like a young robin, and turns it this 
way and that, witli a sweet, blind faith that the 
necessary nutriment will be supplied. This hint 
should be sufficient. Why oblige your little guest 
to scream for what it needs ? Generally the baby’s 
instinct is your best guide. Wait for its pretty 
hint that it is hungry and then heed it. If you neg¬ 
lect this, it can do nothing better than cry ; and if 
you feed it whenever it makes any sign of discom¬ 
fort, it will soon forget its natural language. Ten¬ 
nyson was not quite right when he wrote “ And 
with no language blit a cry,” referring to “an in¬ 
fant crying in the night.” Every true mother who 
has a fair chance with her baby, discovers and soon 
learns to interpret various little signs on its part. 
Most persons pay no attention to anything short of 
downright crying, and then are too stupid or care¬ 
less to study the meaning of the cry, but offer it 
the breast at once to hush its crying, wheu, per¬ 
haps, the child is suffering from too much food al¬ 
ready. If babies have wind colic, it is because of 
imperfect digestion. The food may be of poor qual¬ 
ity, or may be given in too large quantities, or too 
frequently. Do what you can in the way of pre¬ 
tention, and for cure—turn the baby upon its 
stomach with your warm hand or a warm flannel 
under its bowels, and gently pat it on its back. 
See that its feet are warm. If this does not relieve 
it, feed it warm water with a spoon. This is the 
best remedy for colic, or for pain in the stomach. 
It is the warmth of the catnip tea that gives relief, 
so leave out the herbs altogether. If the babe is 
suffering from colic, it will draw up its legs and in¬ 
cline to double itself together. 
Try to give the baby good habits of sleep. At 
first it will probably fall asleep without any coax¬ 
ing, while lying on the bed beside its mother. Keep 
this up if you can. When you are tending it in 
your arms and it shuts its eyes or seems sleepy, lay 
it gently down, and do not even pat it, or with not 
more than one or two little pats. When night comes, 
have a quiet, well-ventilated room. If you keep a 
lamp burning, set it in the next room or where its 
rays will not fall directly upon the bed. If this is 
not your first child, you will probably put out the 
light. Do not have a kerosene lamp turned low, 
as the exhalations are not only disagreeable but 
poisonous. Now make up your mind to let the 
baby alone as much as possible during the night. 
If it nestles and seems to be waking, turn it over 
gently and it will probably take another nap. But 
don’t think your baby can do everything your 
neighbor’s baby can. 
Not long ago I told yon “ A baby should be 
taught, on the start, to take food but once during 
the night, and may be weaned from night nursing 
altogether when quite young.” This has caused 
me some “twinges ” since, and I see no way of re¬ 
lief but to confess that I failed myself in the at¬ 
tempt to wean baby from night nursing before 
I weaned her entirely. I was sincere when I said 
it could be done. I had been told that babies three 
months old might be so taught, and my own little 
nestling used sometimes to sleep from evening twi¬ 
light until morning twilight, without a meal or a 
request for one, when only three months old. But 
that was in the month of August. As the nights 
grew longer, it went to bed earlier and began to 
call for refreshment before daylight. Still, I had 
hopes until it was more than six months old, that 
I should succeed in teaching it to sleep all night 
wit hout food. I would not force such a matter, for 
I believe that babies know more about these things 
than Doctors do. It now seems to me that a whole 
night of average duration is too long for a nurs¬ 
ling to go without taking nourishment. The chief 
cause of failure with early spring chickens is said 
to be the long nights without food. Those 
who take a lantern and feed the early born, little 
chickens at midnight, succeed in raising them. 
Before insisting on bringing our little ones to any 
very strict rules for bathing, sleep or diet, let us 
consider the case of the Yankee farmer who was so 
eminently successful in teaching his horse to live 
on nothing but bean straw. Strangely enough, 
just as he was rejoicing over his complete success, 
the horse died! 
There can be no square, definite rule for bringing 
up children, for no two require exactly the same 
treatment. Parents should try to become thor¬ 
oughly acquainted with each one. The mother 
may begin the study of the new-comer at once, as 
she lies with that mysterious little bud of humani¬ 
ty so near her. For a good mouth, at least, she 
ought to rest from household labor and household 
cares. Say what you please about Indian women 
and about our grandmothers ; our condition is dif¬ 
ferent, and we must conform ourselves to it. I 
have known of so many cases of weak backs and 
horrible female weaknesses that dated from some 
overtaxing of the strength during the first month 
after confinement, that I think women can hardly 
be too careful at such a time. They should not be 
ambitious to get well soon , but to get well thor¬ 
oughly. For three months after confinement a 
mother should not attempt any very hard work, 
though she may go about her business, moderately, 
after the first mouth. Her first business is the care 
of baby. 
Dear young mother! Thank God and take cour¬ 
age ! Motherhood has its pain and sorrow, but it 
has also the sweetest and purest pleasures. 
How to Cook Green Peas, 
Pick the peas in the afternoon, let them stand 
until time to prepare next day’s dinner, or, if not 
convenient to shell them, until the day after. Put 
the shelled peas into a large kettle of water with a 
piece of pork, and let them cook until they are 
boiled out of their skins.—That is how not to treat 
peas, and yet it is the style in which many treat one 
of the most delicate of vegetables. Every hour 
that passes between the picking and the cooking of 
peas is attended with a deterioration in their quali¬ 
ty. Those who buy peas must submit to having 
them stale, but those who raise them have only 
themselves to blame if they do not enjoy them at 
their best. Peas should be boiled in just water 
enough to cover them. It should be salted and 
boiling when the peas are put in. Allow them to 
boil uncovered. The time required varies with the 
age of the peas, from 15 to 25 minutes. Peas that 
require longer boiling, or need the aid of a lump 
of soda to make them tender, are not to be consid¬ 
ered as green peas. When the peas are done, skim 
them from the water or drain oil a colander, and 
place them in a vegetable dish with a good lump of 
butter. The English frequently cook mint with 
their peas, and the French stew them with onions, 
butter, and parsley. These additions disguise the 
delicate flavor. Peas need only salt and butter; 
sweet cream is an acceptable substitute for butter. 
Strawberry Short>cake.—We believe 
that the Strawberry Short-cake is an American in¬ 
stitution. It is in its season the popular dish at the 
restaurants, most of them announcing it by pla¬ 
cards, and some of them advertising the “ Original 
Strawberry Short-cake.” We have always looked 
upon it as an ingenious device for spoiling straw¬ 
berries ; but as we are probably in the minority, we 
consult the wishes of the majority by giving the 
following recipe, which comes well recommended : 
“ To 2 teacupfuls of sour milk add 1 teaspoonful of 
soda; wheu this is dissolved, add 1 cup of butter 
or lard, and flour enough to make a soft dough. 
Roll into thin cakes large enough to fill the pan in 
which they are to be baked. Dust a frying-pan 
with flour, place in the cake and bake over the fire, 
turning as soon as the underside is done. Split the 
cakes while hot, and butter well. Lay on a plate a 
half of the cake, put on it a layer of well-sugared 
strawberries, put another half of a cake, more 
strawberries, and so on until there are five or six 
layers, and serve.”... .Another says: “Mix the 
dough with-buttermilk as for short-biscuit, roll so 
that it will be from 1 to 2 inches thick when baked, 
and bake in an oven. Mash the strawberries 
slightly and add sugar to your taste, and water, to 
make juice sufficient to moisten well the cake; 
split the cake while hot, butter each part well, and 
pour the strawberries, etc., upon the under half 
and cover with the upper.” 
Lyonnaise fi'otaioes.—Prof. Blot gives 
the following : “ If you have not any cold potatoes, 
steam or boil some, let them cool, and peel and 
slice them. For about a quart of potatoes, put 2 
ounces of butter in a frying-pan on the fire, and 
when melted put as much onion as you please, 
either sliced or chopped, into the pan, and fry it 
until about half done, when add the potatoes and 
again 2 ounces of butter; salt, pepper, and stir and 
toss gently until the potatoes are all fried of a fine, 
light-brown color.” 
Canned lUiubarb.—Rhubarb in tarts and 
pies, or eaten as a preserve, is highly esteemed in 
the spring. It fills, acceptably, the gap which occurs 
after apples are gone, and before fresh fruits come. 
Rhubarb can be enjoyed in winter by putting it up 
in cans, the same as peaches and other fruits are 
preserved. As soon as strawberries and other fruits 
make their appearance, there are few calls made 
upon the rhubarb patch, and much is allowed to 
go to waste which might be preserved for winter 
use. The stalks are prepared as for making pies, 
—stewed tender, sufficiently sweetened, and put 
in jars or bottles while hot, observing the same 
precautions as are necessary in canning fruit. 
