1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
87 
about that there is room, for a difference of opin¬ 
ion. All the raw materials of their extra fixings 
come from the farm—poultry, eggs, milk, cream, 
butter and cheese, and the line fruit's. They have 
better cooks, perhaps, though some of us out here 
have things about as nice, in that line, as it is safe 
for sinners to enjoy. I should be loth to swap my 
cook for the best you have got in your biggest ho¬ 
tel. 'When Mrs. Bunker gets on her checked apron 
and spectacles, and lays herself out on a soup or a 
roast, you see, common cooks might as well retire. 
In tlie matter of dress, we in the country are not 
quite so independent as we used to be, when there 
was a spinning wheel and a loom, in every house, 
and men wore the linen and wooleu made at home, 
because they had nothing else. But we clothe our¬ 
selves easier now, for we cau buy cloth a great deal 
cheaper than we cau make it. But if the war con¬ 
tinues, and prices keep going up, we may have to 
come back to homespun again, and then I guess the 
old folks will be about as independent as any body, 
for we know how to use the spinning wheel and 
loom. But that day is some ways off, I guess, judg¬ 
ing from the finery we see in theHookertowu meet¬ 
ing-house on Suuda)’. That two-story bonnet of 
Miss Almeda Georgiaua Bottom has done the work 
for our young women. They tittered at it at first, 
but it was no use laughing at the fashions. They 
had to cave in, and the meeting-house on Sunday 
now looks like a big flower garden. The old ladies 
who were freest in their remarks, I notice have 
bonnets as high as the highest. I suppose I should 
not have said so, but I couldn’t help asking Mrs. 
Bunker, as we started for meeting, if she would have 
the carriage top let down. 
Hookertown, ) Yours to command, 
February 20 tli, 1803. I Timothy Bunkeu Esq. 
Night Clothing of Children in Winter. 
“ Let me tell you what Charlie wore at night last 
Winter,” said an active young mother to me some¬ 
time ago, speaking of her three year old boy. “He 
had on, besides his flannel shirt and drawers which 
he wears iu day time, a pair of cotton flannel night 
drawers, two pairs of socks, a cotton flannel night 
gown, his double wrapper, and then a large shawl 
wrapped over the whole of it; for ” said she, “ I was 
afraid he’d freeze, for he would kick the covering off.” 
I thought it no wonder. Being bundled up in that 
way, the weight of an ordinary amount of bed¬ 
clothes was unbearable, and the child became rest¬ 
less, and soon began trying to rid himself of some 
of the incumbrance, and the sudden transition from 
an overheat to comparative cold, made a cold asure 
consequence. Let the little fellows be stripped of 
everything at night, excepting the flannel shirt worn 
next to the skin, then put on a soft night gown 
reaching to the feet; add to this barely bed-clothing 
enough to keep them comfortable, and they will 
cuddle down and go to sleep, and never offer to 
kick the cover off. They will shiver a little at first, 
but they will soon get over that, and sleep soundly, 
and awaken bright and lively. Mary. 
[In addition to the above, we suggest that it is 
advisable to change all clothing worn during the day, 
before retiring to rest. The under-garments having 
absorbed much perspiration, are good conductors of 
heat, and a person sleeping in them will feel, first 
an unpleasant chilliness, and afterward a disagree¬ 
able clammy sensation, as the clothing becomes 
warmer. If the supply of flannel shirts be scanty, 
or the extra washing be too much to allow two gar¬ 
ments per week, it would be an improvement over 
the common custom, to wear one for the night the 
first week, and during the day the second week; 
thus giving each a daily airing.—E d.] 
859 Pies! 
A correspondent writes to the American Ag¬ 
riculturist , that in his family, consisting of six 
persons, au account was kept of the number of 
pies eaten in one year; they amounted to six hun¬ 
dred and fifty-nine! [This is nearly one-third of a 
pie a day for each person. But how large were the 
pies ? If of the size of those sold by a Nassau-st. 
eating-house, cut into six pieces, at a sixpence 
each, they wouldn’t do much harm, (uorgood); but 
if like Savery’s pumpkin pies, or those our mother 
used to make “ out West,” where we raised “ some 
pumpkins,” the other items of board in the famny 
aforesaid would not cost much.— Query, apropos. 
Does the brief pleasure in eating pies pay for the 
trouble and expense of making them, and the dull 
feelings arising from trying to digest the conglom¬ 
eration, yclept mince-pies, or the lard mixture called 
“ short pie-crust ?”—Ed.] 
- - -®- --— <*■>—-- --- 
Adulterations in Coffee. 
In ordinary times, roasted and ground coffee, es¬ 
pecially that sold at low prices, was liable to adul¬ 
terations. Now that the price of the berry has in¬ 
creased there is still greater inducement to mix 
foreign substances with it. We have before us a re¬ 
port of an examination made in London upon 34 
samples of coffee, of all grades, and 31 of these were 
found to be adulterated. It is not to be supposed 
that Yankee dealers are any less ingenious than 
those over the water, and we have no doubt, from 
what we have seen of coffee bought ready ground, 
that adulteration is largely practised here. The 
articles used to mix with the coffee are often 
harmless in themselves, but arc a fraud on the 
purchaser, as he pays for a cheap and worthless ar¬ 
ticle at the price of a genuine one. The articles 
commonly mixed with coffee are chicory, peas, rye, 
and other grains, beans, and old ship biscuit. These 
may be mixed with coffee to a considerable extent, 
and it will still have the peculiar odor. To de¬ 
tect these adulterations with nicety, requires the 
skillful use of a microscope, but there are some 
rough tests-which any one can make use of. Pure 
coffee, when put into cold water does not color it 
very rapidly, while the articles with which it is 
adulterated, readily give up their coloring matter. 
If then, water mixed with a sample of coffee, 
soon becomes dark, the presence of foreign sub¬ 
stances may be suspected. The fragments of the 
coffee berry are quite hard, and remain so for some¬ 
time after being wet with cold water. If a little 
be placed on a plate and moistened, and the separate 
particles tried with a pin or needle, the pieces of 
chicory, bread, etc., will be found to be very much 
softer than those of the coffee. The true way to be 
safe against adulterations is to buy the raw berry 
and roast and grind it. Then, if any 7 mixture is 
needed, or desired, it can be added much more 
cheaply than to pay for it as coffee. 
■--•-< —.->-o-- 
Scalded Emptyings, or Yeast. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist , by 
Mrs. David Brush, Suffolk Co., L. I. Take sweet, 
light rye. dough, roll out and cut into pieces about 
three inches square, and dry on platters well floured, 
as quickly as possible, without baking them, turn¬ 
ing them frequently. When thoroughly dried, put 
them in a small muslin bag, and keep in the flour 
barrel. When you wish to make emptyings, take, 
at night, one of the dried pieces, break it up and 
pour on tepid water enough to soak it. In the 
morning, drain it off and pour on a teacupful of tep¬ 
id hop water, and thicken with rye flour and a half 
teaspoonful of ginger, to about the thickness of 
cream, and let it stand in a warm place until light. 
The next morning boil about 3 handfuls of hops in 
water enough to have 3 quarts left. Strain this, and 
pour it scalding hot on rye flour enough to make a 
very stiff batter; add one handful of salt. When the 
lumps arc stirred out, let it cool until the finger can 
be borne in it. Then pour in the leaven you raised, 
mix thoroughly, set in a warm place uutil light, and 
carry to the cellar. It is ready for use at any time, 
wants no working up, and will keep six or eight 
weeks in cold weather, and three or four weeks iu 
Summer. A heaped tablespoouful mixed with the 
bread or spongers the allowance for each loaf. By 
its use you will never fail to have sweet, light bread, 
as the writer knows by an experience of 16 years. 
The leaven cakes will remain good for one or two 
years if kept as dry as flour should always be kept. 
How to Make Soft Soap. 
Contributed to the American Agriculturist by 
“ Ann Eliza,” Cold Spring, N. Y. : Take 5 lbs. pot¬ 
ash, 5 lbs. grease, and 16 gallons of water. Break 
the potash in pieces the size of walnuts — if large, 
it will not dissolve so quickly. Put it in a clean 
tight barrel, melt the grease, and pour it in. Any 
grease will answer, as skimmings, old lard, etc. 
Have the water hot, and pour half of it immediate¬ 
ly into the barrel, stirring it until the potash is dis¬ 
solved, which will require from twenty to thirty 
minutes. Then add the rest of the water, stir again 
uutil thoroughly mixed, and afterward occasionally 
for three or four days. This will make about a 
half barrel of white soap, hard enough to cut with 
a knife. Should the potash be very strong, it some¬ 
times requires more water, which may be known 
by small crumbling pieces remaining in the lye 
at the end of four or five days. In breaking the 
potash, .be careful to prevent it from adhering to 
the clothing, as it would soon spoil the texture. 
How to Make Hard Soap. 
Seeing in a recent number of the American Agri¬ 
culturist the call for Housekeepers’ contributions, I 
send directions for making a soap that we have 
used for years : Take 3 lbs. of unslaked lime, and 
6 lbs. of soda, and put in 5 gallons of water. 
When they are dissolved, pour off' the water from 
the top, (throwing the sediment away,) and add to 
it 6 lbs. of fat. Boil till thick, pour iu a tub, and 
when cold, cut in bars and dry. It is injured by 
freezing before drying. D. Taylor. 
--«= » « -- 
Hints on Cooking', etc. 
CJootl way to Cools Eggs.—Contrib¬ 
uted to the American Agriculturist , by “ Mary.”—Put 
into a spider not quite as much lard or meat drip¬ 
pings as for frying eggs in the ordinary way. While 
it is heating, break the eggs into a plate, and when 
it is hot slip the eggs into the spider evenly—not 
all on one side, or the grease will slip out from un¬ 
der them, and they will stick to the spider. Sprinkle 
them with pepper and salt, pour in nearly a teacup¬ 
ful of hot water, cover them quickly with a closely 
fitting lid, let them steam three or four minutes, 
when they will be found nicely whitened over the 
top, like eggs which have been cooked by breaking 
them into boiling water, and much more palatable 
than those poached without grease. 
IPate «!e Veam. - Contributed to the Agricul¬ 
turist, by a subscriber at Montrose, Pa, Take four 
pounds of the tender part of a leg of veal, chop 
raw, and with it mix six or eight small crackers 
rolled fine, two eggs, a piece of butter the size of 
an egg, slice of salt pork chopped fine, and enough 
salt and pepper to season well. Mix all -well togeth¬ 
er, and mold into a loaf form; put small pieces of 
butter over the top, and grated bread; put on a dish 
with very little water, and bake two hours; when 
cold, cut in thin slices for tea, or use as a side dish 
at dinner. [This is similar to “Minced Veal” rec¬ 
ommended in the Agriculturist, and which we find 
both convenient and palatable.— Ed.] 
Giing'er !=maps.—“ A Young Housekeeper,’' 
receutly sent to the office of the American Agricul¬ 
turist, some excellent samples of this cake, with 
the following directions for making: Take 3 cups 
molasses, 1 cup lard, 1 tablespoonful ginger, 1 tea- 
spoonful salt, 3 teaspoonfuls soda. Let these ingre¬ 
dients boil up once, then add flour until stiff enough 
to roll out, and bake in a quick oven. 
lloininy Pudding.—It may not be known 
to all the readers of the Agriculturist, that pudding 
made of hominy is quite as good as that made of 
rice, and far cheaper. After having cooked the 
hominy by boiling in the usual way, add eggs, milk, 
sugar, and flavoring if desired, ns in making rico 
pudding. We have tried it, and know it to be good. 
