ladies’ department. 
67 
Casks’ SDepartimni 
CHEAP LUXURIES. 
Sunshine and showers, which beautify all 
nature, may be enjoyed by nearly all for noth¬ 
ing. An invigorating scene at sunrise or the 
gorgeous American sunset are equally ffheap. 
In winter, the luxury of a few house planTs may 
be enjoyed for a trifling expense. “ A flower 
in your window sweetens the air, makes your 
room look graceful, gives the sun’s light a new 
charm, rejoices your eye, and links you to na¬ 
ture and beauty. You really cannot be alto¬ 
gether alone, if you have a sweet flower to look 
upon, and it is a companion which will never 
utter a cross thing to anybody, but always look 
beautiful and smiling. Do not despise it be¬ 
cause it is cheap and everybody may have the 
luxury as well as you. Common things are 
cheap, and common things are invariably the 
most valuable. Could we only have a fresh 
air or sunshine by purchase, what luxuries these 
would be; but they are free to all, and we think 
not of their blessings. There is, indeed, much 
in nature that we do not yet half enjoy, because 
we shut our avenues of sensation and of feeling.” 
In summer, a rose bush under your window, or 
a honeysuckle climbing over the door, and 
making the whole house fragrant with their 
flowers, cost nothing, and yet what a luxury of 
enjoyment they afford. 
Fried Potatoes.— This good old-fashioned 
dish, which used to delight us in boyhood, has 
gone so much out of use, that the following di¬ 
rections for preparing it may not be amiss :— 
Take good sound potatoes and pare off the skins, 
and cut them into slices; have a pan of hot 
lard ready, immerse them in it, and fry them 
over a brisk fire until a portion of the batch 
becomes partially crisped; drain off* the fat 
through a colander, and serve them as hot as 
possible, seasoned with a little salt only. They 
must be eaten hot, or they are worthless. Sweet 
potatoes cooked in the same way are delicious. 
A Fine Hash. —Take any cold game or poul¬ 
try that you have—you may mix several kinds 
together—some sausages, of the best sort, will 
be an improvement. Chop all together, and 
mix with it bread crumbs, chopped onions, and 
the yolks of two or three hard-boiled eggs. Put 
it into a saucepan with a proportionate piece 
of butter, rolled in flour. Moisten it both with 
gravy or warm water, and let it stew gently 
for half an hour.— Exchange. 
To Make Maple-Sugar Custard. —Make a 
crust as for a custard in the ordinary way. 
Take of maple sugar, one pound; butter, half a 
pound; milk, one pint; one egg; one nutmeg; 
and a tablespoonful of flour. Spread the 
sugar over the crust, and then the butter on top 
of that; beat up the egg with the nutmeg and 
milk, which pour over the sugar; dredge or 
dress on the flour with grated nutmeg, and bake 
in an oven or stove. 
Valuable Washing Recipe. —Add one gill 
of alcohol to a gallon of soft soap, and mix 
intimately. Apply the soap to the clothes in 
the usual way and let them soak some hours 
in the suds; then rinse out with very little 
labor of rubbing. We obtained the above from 
Mr. Cornish, steward of the Insane Hospital at 
Hartford, who says there is not an inmate of the 
establishment but what has reason enough to 
appreciate its value. 
Frying Fresh Fish. —Never put them into 
cold fat. Let the lard, butter, or oil be first 
heated to a degree just short of burning, and 
then plunge in the fish—the greater the quan¬ 
tity of fat, and the quicker the fish are cooked, 
the better they will be, as they give off their 
own fat instead of absorbing that in which they 
are cooked. 
Blowing out a Candle. —There is one little 
fact in domestic economy which is not gener¬ 
ally known, but which is useful as saving time, 
trouble, and temper. If a candle be blown out 
holding it above you, the wick will not smoul¬ 
der down, and may, therefore, be easily lighted 
again; but if blown out downwards, the con¬ 
trary is the case.— Exchange. 
To Clean Silks. —Take a quarter of a pound 
of soap, a teaspoonful of brandy, and a pint of 
gin; mix all well together. With a sponge 
or flannel spread the mixture on each side 
of the silk without creasing it; wash it in two 
or three waters and iron it on the wrong side. 
Thus treated, it will look as well as new.— 
Exchange. 
Dyspeptic Boarding House.— The best board 
in the world for dyspeptic young ladies, is said 
to* be the ivash board. It gives them strength 
of muscle, an exuberance of spirits, a good ap¬ 
petite for their meals,'and supercedes the ne¬ 
cessity of painting their faces. 
