COMMERCIAL CHRISTMAS GREENERY. 
HE sprit of Christmas is in the air! we feel it 
everywhere ; it is even voiced by the toys in the 
special Christmas coiners of the great up-town stores, 
woolly toys, whose delightful “ ba-bas” mingle with 
the chorus of voices asking the price of this or that 
anatomical or mechanical wonder. The street corner 
venders do not need to utter it with gesture or voice ; 
do not the stands and armfuls of greens and gay tinsels 
and all manner of decorations and toys almost blare it 
out tunefully ? “Christmas is coming; it is almost 
here. Make ready the Christmas trees ; take with you 
some of our gayety and gorgeous show; it is the 
children’s time ; make ready ! ” 
At the basis of all, the tree and its decorations. Do 
you wish for once that you lived in the sunny South¬ 
land, where red bay and palmetto, holly and mistletoe 
may be had for the gathering, and where, for once, 
one might have enough decorations ? It would indeed 
be glorious; yet the spirit of Christmas needs hoar 
frost and sleigh-bells to bring out all its brightness 
and glow. Could the Christmas candles ever sparkle 
quite so joyously where the Christmas tide is always 
“ black ? ” Nay, we need a setting of glistening snow 
and of icicles ; we need the sharp ring of skate-heels, 
and of the church bells on frost-laden air. Oh ! we will 
gladly buy our Coristmas greens, if need be, rather 
than lose what seems to us the very genius of our 
Christmas day. How could even the feeling of gracious 
generosity to tiie poor flourish in its utmost degree, 
were it not for the cold to remind us how they must 
suffer if we neglect our plainest duty and our divinest 
joy ? Does thi Divine plan for humanity include pov¬ 
erty for some ? But none the less it includes brotherly 
love, and how dare we use our surplus in any other 
way than in rescuing our brother from his sore stress ? 
Let us go “downtown’’ in New York until we are 
two blocks above the North River, and look down 
Yesey Street. Have not the sellers of Christmas 
greenery taken leave of their senses ? Who is there 
to buy this streetful of country trees and shrubs and 
undergrowth ? Why ! A whole cityful of people 
almost mad with desire for it. See them crowd about 
the dealers ! Are Christmas trees to be had for the 
asking ? Somewhere they are, but here ! Price them; 
select the tallest, the most symmetrical, the deep¬ 
est and most even of tint. “ Ten dollars, did you 
say ?” But that must pay the month’s rent, perhaps. 
Here is another, not so large, not so handsome, but 
good. “ Five dollars ?” still too much ; we must have 
something left to buy presents, else the tree will be 
useless after all. “Two dollars?” Ah! that might 
do ; and it will really be a beauty when removed from 
the company of that $10-aristocrat. 
See the roping. Time was when we sat in the home- 
kitchen, or in the plainest basement corner of the 
country church, with a crowd of merry lads aEd lasses, 
and manufactured yards of the fragrant green stuff. 
And what ropes! The size of one’s arm they were, 
solid, symmetrical, beautiful; except where some care¬ 
less lass paid too much attention to the lad who 
bunched and made the material ready to her hand. 
Then there were weak places in the firm, strong rope. 
Merry times these; how we loved the Christmas 
decorating and rehearsing. Was it not almost better 
than the real, public appearance in fine oratorical and 
musical trim ? 
But now we buy our ropes and wreaths. We are far 
away from the country, where Christmas wreathings 
grow; we must buy. These are of the club moss, 
which grows in some parts all ready for trimming. 
Car-load after car-load it comes to the Christmas mar¬ 
ket. It may bring $3 per barrel. You think that is 
too much for a wild thing that may be torn up from 
the soil in great armfuls ? But the sorting ; the pack¬ 
ing ; the packages themselves; the carting ; the dis¬ 
tributing to retailers ; the risk that the stuff may not 
arrive in time; shall not all these count? We will 
not look at one side only, this Christmas-tide. Here 
are some that have been colored, too. Shall not this 
work count? You would rather not have this ugly 
attempt at improvement on Nature? Yes; but think 
how the poor love gay colors ; and when brilliant 
berries are scarce and high, these cheaper things may 
add brightness. 
Holly and mistletoe ! Will this combination ever be 
improved on ? See the darkness and the brightness, 
the gloss and the brilliance of the holly. Mark the 
contrast with the white, many-berried Southern mis¬ 
tletoe. You thought the mistletoe was English, and 
Druidical, with a fantastic and romantic odor? How 
mistaken ! Our “ English ” mistletoe comes from 
Normandy, they say, and grows on nothing more 
worthy than the poplar tree. The mistletoe of the 
oak of the Druids belongs with the traditions of the 
past. But why should we bemoan ourselves ? Our 
Southern mistletoe, Phoradendron flaveseens, bears 
many more berries to make up for its lack of romance, 
and your prettiest cousin is as kissable under it as she 
could possibly be under the English viscum album. 
What’s in a name ? 
Forida moss; you have always wanted some of that? 
Its tint is lovely for a background, and did you know 
that the odd stuff bears lovely pink flowers ? Not 
now, of course! You could never describe its grace 
as it hangs in long trails from the forest trees. But 
do not take this; you will be disappointed. This 
grace is as the bloom of the peach or the grape ; it 
vanishes at the touch of even a careful hand, and you 
can never “arrange” the wilding so that you will 
be satisfied. The engulfment of the commercial bar¬ 
rel in which it traveled has been as sacrilege. 
MYBA V. NOBYS. 
FOR THE FEAST, AND AFTERWARD. 
T is always a matter of surprise to me when I see 
directions for baking turkey begin, “ Boil the tur¬ 
key till tender.” The best cooks now never boil a tur¬ 
key before baking ; nor do they let the fowl lie in salt 
till ready to cook. When a fowl lies in salt, the bottom 
of the vessel is covered to some depth with a pink, 
viscous fluid. This is the very zest and essence of the 
meat, which salt promptly draws out. If the bird be 
left till stiffened and cold, this “ nutritive fluid of the 
tissues” is retained and the meat rendered j uicy and 
tender. This is true of meats of all kinds. What 
would we think of the man who salted down his meat 
before the animal heat was out of it ? That he was 
ignorant of or wilfully violating one of the simplest 
gastronomic rules. Still, this is what nearly every 
housekeeper in the land is doing who kills and dresses 
her own fowls. Good eating is wholesome eating, and 
nobody can make meat wholesome that is bereft of its 
nutritive qualities. 
The successful cook seasons all her dishes with 
plenty of good, sound, practical knowledge, at least of 
the simplest laws of the chemistry of food ; and there 
is nothing in which we need this knowledge, this prac¬ 
tical observation, not necessarily book knowledge, 
more than ia the preparation 'of meats. The effect of 
salt when rubbed on fresh, raw meat is to shrivel the 
fiber, so contracting it as to cause the juices, not the 
blood, but the “ savory constituents of the flesh,” to 
exude. The meat is impoverished and becomes inca¬ 
pable of healthful -nutrition. Boiling, too, has the 
same effect, though plunging into boiling water over¬ 
comes it in a measure ; the outer tissues being seared 
by the intense heat, the soluble j uices are imprisoned 
and the fiber kept rounded, moist and tender. 
After dressing the turkey, wash thoroughly in very 
cold water to remove every sign of blood, and let it 
stand unsalted until morning. Some think that in 
very cold weather turkeys are better if kept two or 
three days, or even longer; to “ripen,” as the old 
Virginia cooks of vivid, childhood memory, used to 
say. In the morning, rub it all over inside and out 
with melted butter. Dress to suit the taste. Stuff 
the turkey full, breast and body, put it into a pan in 
which there is 1% pint of boiling water, and set it 
into a hot oven. Watch closely, and as soon as it has 
browned delicately all over, decrease the heat and 
bake steadily, basting at intervals with the boiling 
water in the pan which should be renewed, but not 
increased, as it boils away. 
Skin and trim the feet; place them, with the giz¬ 
zard, liver, neck and short pinion bones, which should 
always be removed from the turkey, on the stove to 
boil in a closely covered vessel. Boil until the meat 
on the bones is reduced to shreds, and there is about 
a pint of the liquor; strain, mince the gizzard and 
liver finely and add to it. Rub into half a teacupful 
of sifted flour enough softened, not melted, butter to 
make of a creamy consistency, brown in a skillet, add 
to it the strained liquor and giblets, stirring rapidly 
all the time, and pour all into the pan with the 
turkey. Now give it a good boil-up, take the turkey 
up on a dish and serve the gravy in a gravy boat. If 
these directions are closely followed, your turkey 
will satisfy the palate of an epicure or tempt that of 
an invalid. 
Steamed Turkey and Oysters a la Bechamel — 
Prepare the turkey in all respects as for baking; 
make a delicate white dressing of biscuit crumbs. 
The biscuits should be very light and thoroughly 
done, but not brown, and allowed to get perfectly 
cold before crumbling. Make this dressing very rich ; 
add a little salt and white pepper. Stuff the turkey, 
making it as round and compact as possible ; place it 
in a steamer with a pan under it to catch the drip¬ 
pings. Steam until it can be easily pierced with a 
straw in all parts. A fat young hen turkey is best for 
steaming, as it is smaller and plumper than a gobbler. 
When the turkey is thoroughly done make a pure, 
rich bechamel sauce, slightly thickened and salted, to 
which add the liquor from a sufficiency of fresh oysters 
for dinner, and the drippings from the turkey ; let it 
come to a boil. Put in the oysters letting them re¬ 
main on the fire only long enough to heat thoroughly 
and become plump. Dish the turkey and oyster sauce 
separately, but serve together. Cooked oysters should 
always be served as hot as possible on hot plates. 
Boned Turkey. —While the turkey is still warm, 
begin with a very sharp pointed, narrow bladed knife 
at the neck, and carefully separate the flesh from the 
bones, scraping, rather than cutting it away; loosen¬ 
ing it in turn from breast, back and points. When 
well separated, give the neck a pull, and the entire 
skeleton will slip out quite readily. 
Make quite a large quantity of dressing of dry loaf 
bread. Grate the bread and soak the crust in warm 
sweet milk, mix with a quarter pound of butter and 
six or eight hard boiled eggs rubbed through a coarse 
sifter; add herbs and spices as are liked. Season 
quite highly as it is to be eaten cold. Stuff the turkey 
while warm, limbs and body, compactly, pressing as 
nearly into the original shape as possible ; tie with a 
fine thread wound about the body sufficiently to re¬ 
tain the shape. Let the prepared fowl remain in a 
very cold place until morning, then proceed in all 
respects as in directions for baked turkey, omitting 
the gravy. When it is quite done and cold heat some 
good acid jelly, apple is best, mixed with a small 
quantity of dissolved gelatine, suspend in a jelly bag 
over the turkey and let it drip on it so as to form a 
transparent coating over the whole. When served cut 
in very thin slices across the whole. 
During Christmas week, when quite a variety of 
meats has been prepared, a macedoim of meats may 
be made. The various meats finely minced, mixed 
with meat jellies ; the bones, feet and all trimmings 
from the boned turkey boiled a long time with a little 
dissolved gelatine added, serve admirably for this pur¬ 
pose. The mixture should be highly seasoned with 
made mustard and sauces, and packed in a pan to con¬ 
geal, each kind of meat in a different layer and sea¬ 
soned differently. 
A freshly cooked steak for breakfast, smothered in 
finely minced turkey or chicken, is particularly g od 
and appetizing. 
And when the bare remnants of the Christmas meats 
are left with not enough of any one for a dish, pick 
and scrape the bones, mince the meat, season with pep¬ 
per, salt, a tablespoonful of Chili or Worcester sauce, 
and moisten well with gravy or cream. Put this into 
a rather deep pan. Mash, cream and season nioely 
boiled, mealy potatoes, rub them through a sieve over 
the meat till the pan is full. Sprinkle with fine cracker 
crumbs, strew with bits of butter, bake till well 
browned, and serve hot from the pan in which it was 
baked. Upon trial of this, I think all will decide that 
it is almost the daintiest dish of the Christmas feast. 
S. ARMISTEAD N. 
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