THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
i89i 
195 
PRUDENCE PRIMROSE’S DIARY. 
J ANUARY 12—The friend who has been 
visiting me is such a good listener, 
so interested in everything, never once 
forgetting to respond, that after she had 
gone I felt quite ashamed on thinking 
how much I had talked; nevertheless, 
I resolved to have her come again very 
soon. Most of us would so much rather 
air our own ideas and plans and experi¬ 
ences than listen to those of others. I used 
to have a little three-year-old friend who 
had a story about a pig, which she was very 
fond of relating. She would climb od my 
lap and tease me for a story; but no mat¬ 
ter in how sprightly a manner I began, be¬ 
fore a half-dozen sentences the impatient 
little listener would break in with, “Now, 
Edie tell a pig,” and off she would plunge 
into her pig story, even if I had sought to 
forestall interruptions by getting her to 
tell it before my own was begun. How 
often I have been reminded of this child 
when hearing people dismiss the remarks of 
others with ill-concealed impatience, to 
launch into lengthy expositions of their 
own views. I like to have my friends do 
half the talking ; else I have nothing to 
think over after they have gone. 
January 14—My two little abutilons are 
now six inches tall and always in bloom. 
The slips were given La Mhre last July; 
they stood in a pan of sand under the grape 
arbor nearly all summer before the roots 
started, but since they have heen brought 
into the house they have grown finely. Each 
bell lasts a week and we can not decide 
which is prettier, the pink or the red. The 
lobster claw and crab cacti are now flower¬ 
ing at the same time, and I have been im¬ 
proving this, my first opportunity, to com¬ 
pare the two, placed side by side. I find 
more difference between the blossoms than 
I had supposed there might be. The pink 
of the crab flowers inclines well toward 
crimson, and its stamens are a dull pink; 
while the lobster claw is a brighter rose- 
pink, shading to white, with yellow stam¬ 
ens. The latter has the receptacle terete 
while that of the crab is ridged; and the 
manner in which the side petals of the lob¬ 
ster-claw flowers are reflexed gives it quite 
a different form. Heretofore, the lobster- 
claw has only bloomed at Thanksgiving 
time; but last summer we tried the experi¬ 
ment of keeping all our cacti on a shelf out¬ 
side a north window, where they received 
no direct sunshine to scorch their house- 
grown leaves, and no water except what 
fell from the clouds. This treatment has 
resulted in the usual November flowering 
of the lobster-claw and now a second bloom. 
It is said that if a cactus will not blossom, 
it needs a season of drought, as the cactus 
in its native plains flowers after the dry 
season. Our large, pink and red cacti are 
now in the retirement of their winter-quar¬ 
ters, wrapped in newspapers and stowed 
away in a dark closet by the chimney. Last 
year I brought them out in March and gave 
them the best place in the sunniest window, 
and a frequent allowance of manure water. 
Small as they were—one was growing 
in a four-inch pot—buds and blossoms fol¬ 
lowed in a way that gave me a new idea 
of cactus culture. I keep them in small pots 
to dwarf their growth, for I greatly dislike 
a large crockful of ugly, graceless leaves in 
every stage of maturity and dilapidation. 
Even at their best, it is quite a gain to have 
them out of sight during four months of 
the winter, when the heliotropes, geran¬ 
iums, etc., need all the sunshine and 
petting. 
January 15.—To-day I made a pudding 
from a recipe found in a paper. It was 
very good and is called, “ Pudding of Long 
Ago.” Materials required are suet, wheat 
bread and apples all chopped fine. Take 
two cupfuls of bread crumbs, one of 
suet and two apples pared and cored. 
Mix together with three teaspoonfuls of 
sugar and a half-spoonful of salt; turn 
over it half a cupful of boiling water, and 
steam for 1 % hour. Mine was shut in a tin 
pail set in a kettle of boiling water. I have 
seen an agate iron dish about the size and 
shape of a three pint pail and hope some 
Please mention The R. N.-Y. to our adver¬ 
tisers. 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castorla, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castorla, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castorla, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castorla, 
time to own one. With the agate iron 
kettle we already have it would make a 
good double boiler, besides serving many 
other purposes. 
Sauce for Pudding.— Put half a pint 
of sugar into a saucepan, add the yellow 
rind of a lemon, grated, and one gill of 
water. Boil five minutes. Take from the 
fire, add juice of the lemon, and it is ready 
for use. Serve sauce cold and pudding hot. 
January 16.—A friend in the city has 
been suffering under an affliction of rats. 
They not only ate up and carried off every¬ 
thing eatable left exposed in the pantry 
and cellar, but gnawed up soiled linen in 
the wash-basket, enjoyed a salad off the 
fernery, and carried off two pounds of dates 
one evening from the dining room table 
while the gas was burning and people were 
astir. Every new trap was evaded after 
one or two had been killed in it. After 
treating them to poison and having one die 
under the dining-room floor, it was de¬ 
cided that live rats were less dreadful than 
dead ones. Fortunately before the baby 
was carried off or the sleepers attacked in 
their beds, some one recommended smoking 
the traps to remove the odor of dead rats 
and human hands. At last accounts 18 
rats had been caught in less than a week 
and the family were indulging bright hopes 
of ultimate victory. 
BEAUTIFY THE GROUNDS. 
P ERHAPS some lady has as little time 
and as poor ground to work upon as 
I had ; to such I would like to tell some of 
my makeshifts. 
Our dooryard was covered with hardpan, 
thrown out when the cellar was dug ; this 
I had removed to the depth of 18 inches or 
two feet, and the holes filled with rich gar¬ 
den soil. Of course I mean where I wanted 
the beds, the rest was left undisturbed. 
Seeds and bedding plants have done nicely 
in the beds thus prepared. 
I wanted to fence a path running in an 
oblique direction from the front gate to 
the kitchen door; this I had bordered on 
the outside, or that toward the high road, 
by a rough fence of posts driven into the 
ground, and latticed up with common lath. 
At the foot of this fence, in a bed prepared 
as above, I planted running roses, wistaria, 
Virginia creepers, and some prairie hop 
vines. These, trained closely over the 
fence, formed a beautiful border. On the 
side next the house I planted a hedge of 
roses, which are not only pretty and fra¬ 
grant, but allow an unobstructed view of 
our vine barrier. 
Our old-fashioned porch was much bet¬ 
tered by planting a strong grape root at 
each side ; it forms a grateful shade in 
summer, its thrifty, over-lapping leaves 
proving a protection from any but a very 
heavy rain which may beat in at the sides. 
We have a thick, high willow hedge at 
one side of the house reaching to the road; 
a long, narrow bed was made at the foot of 
this, entirely shaded from the afternoon 
sun, but getting all the forenoon light, and 
sowed with many varieties of pansies. The 
situation seemed to suit their needs ex¬ 
actly, for they could not thrive better any¬ 
where. Another bed, close to the front 
door and exposed all day to the sun, was 
planted with double petunias rooted in the 
house ; they made a brilliant display. An 
old apple tree in the field close to the house, 
which was nearly dead, and which John 
had many times threatened with removal, 
I “ begged off,” and transformed after a 
few years of waiting into a thing of exceed¬ 
ing beauty. This was done by planting at 
its foot, in the rich meadow soil, a number 
of wistaria roots; they fairly rioted 
through the branches; and when they are 
in bloom one might travel many miles 
before finding anything more beautiful. 
FLORENCE H. 
A REVIEW. 
H AVING been a life-long reader of The 
Rural, even since the days when 
“father used to take it,” I have often felt 
myself under obligation to acknowledge the 
benefit received from Its columns; but have 
seldom taken occasion to do so. Hence, it 
was with no small degree of interest I read 
the “ Plea for our Rural Daughters” some 
months since. My heart went out in sym¬ 
pathy for the writer, and I hoped that 
others would take up the subject. We want 
our daughters to have the benefit of those 
helpful, uplifting influences that were so 
precious to us in early years. Admitting 
the fact that rural residents, the farmers’ 
wives, daughters or sisters more especially, 
are largely isolated from the means of in¬ 
tellectual culture and mental attainment 
accessible to the dwellers in large towns, I 
claim that there are still opportunities for 
improvement—I had almost said self-cul¬ 
ture—not to be under-valued. Among 
these, and by no means last, I place the 
family paper. 
Encouraged by the words of our leader in 
Woman’s Work, I have ventured these re¬ 
marks; in closing, I want to thank Farmer’s 
Girl for her excellent article on page 55. She 
has taken a step in the right direction. 
Broome Co., N. Y. A RURAL MOTHER. 
MEATS. 
V ERY handsome and palatable dishes 
can be made of cold meat. Any 
kind of meat can be used ; for convenience 
let us say veal. Peel and slice very thin 
two large onions and two apples, fry these 
in hot fat until very tender, then rub them 
through a wire sieve. Put the pulp thus 
obtained into a saucepan with a dessert¬ 
spoonful of curry paste, one of curry pow¬ 
der, and another of ground rice; add a 
teacupful of stock, a teaspoonful of grated 
lemon rind, and a sufficient seasoning of 
salt. Bring to a boil, and stir until quite 
smooth, then add the veal cut in small, 
neat pieces, of a convenient size for serv¬ 
ing. Simmer gently for half an hour, then 
place in the center of a hot dish, pour the 
sauce over, and surround with a wall of 
boiled rice. Serve as hot as possible. 
Spiced Beef.— A very good dish : Take 
a thick piece of beef from the rump, with a 
little fat, put it in a saucepan with an 
onion stuck full of cloves and some lard. 
Let it brown thoroughly, turning it con¬ 
stantly, then remove it to the side of the 
fire, add a little water and let it stew for 
two hours. Thicken the gravy a little 
before serving. 
Beefsteak and Kidney Pie.— Take 
four pounds of the best rump steak and 
four sheep’s kidneys, flour them well, pep¬ 
per and salt them, cut the meat into inch 
pieces, place together in a deep pie dish, 
with an onion cut up small; add water 
enough to half fill the dish, make a suet 
crust by using one-fourth pound of finely 
shred suet with half a pound of flour; roll 
out about an inch and a half thick, and 
cover over the top of the pie dish, pricking 
a few holes in the crust Place in the 
oven for an hour and a half. Bake slowly 
at first. FLORENCE. 
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“ When we fl.nd a paper that has back¬ 
bone enough to tell the truth, let us 
have backbone enough to help It along."— 
L. W. LIGHTLY. 
|ittjsaltan*0uss! 
Advertisers treat all correspondents 
well if they mention The Rural New- 
Yorker. 
For Boils, Pimples 
carbuncles, 
scrofulous sores, 
eczema, and all other 
blood diseases, 
take 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
It will 
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dyspepsia, nervous 
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From the “Pacific Journal.” 
“A great invention lias been made by Dr. 
Tutt of New York. He has produced 
Tutt’s Hair Dye 
which imitates nature to perfection; itacts 
instantaneously and is perfectly harmless. * 
Price, SSI. Office, 39 & 41 Hark Place, N. Y. 
BECAUSE THEY ARE 
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Illustrated, Descriptive and Priced 
SEED ANNUAL] 
I For 1891 will be mailed FREE i 
to all applicants, and to last season’s! 
[Customers. It is better than ever., 
Every person using Garden, 
Flower or Field Seeds, 
should send for it. Address 
D. M. FERRY 4. CO. 
DETROIT, MICH. 
I Largest Seedsmen in the world ] 
275 ACRE FARM. 
ertile, warm early soil. 
Good Grass Land. 
Good Butter Farm 
Good Truck Farm. 
Good Fruit Farm. 
Good Poultry Farm. 
eposit of Pink Granite. 
Deuosit of Fine Molding Hand. 
Twenty seven miles from Boston. Six good manu¬ 
facturing village markets within seven miles; one 
mile from railroad station, post-office, etc. 
for sale at low price. 
May be divided Into two farms. Two houses, 
Address "FARM,” care The Rural New-Yorker. 
General Advertising Rates of 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
TIMES BUILDING, NEW YORK. 
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