APB1L 13 
domestic (fconomg. 
ORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PREPARING CRACKED WHEAT. 
Noticing an inquiry in the Rural New- 
Yorker a few weeks since, in reference to 
the preparation of cracked wheat, I will 
give yon my method, which has given my 
own family, and those eating at my table, 
entire satisfaction, and, t might add, grati¬ 
fication too. Wash plump kernels of white 
wheat, (if possible t<> procure it), thorough- , 
ly; dry the same in the oven of your cook- r 
ing stove so as to heat t he wheat without 
parching it. Here lies the great secret of 
having a good article of cracked wheat, if 1 
the wheat has been well heated and thor- • 
oughly dried, you have but little trouble to < 
grind it in an ordinary cofYeo mill. If it has f 
been heated properly, the mill will out and 
crack the kernels without mashing them or 
flattening them out. 
After grinding your wheat, either fine or 
coarse, as you may prefer, it is ready for 
cracking. If possible procure a vessel to 
boil it in that will fit inside an iron pot, on 
the principle of a glue kettle. This will 
prevent burning, fill the outside vessel : 
with boiling water; set your vessel with 
the water to receive the cracked wheat, in¬ 
side, and Stir in moderately thin; stirring 
at. first, to keep out lumps; cook at least one ; 
hour, two is better. A very little experi- j 
ence will determine the proper consistency, 
and a most delightful and healthy dish will 
reward you for your trouble. Serve with 
milk, cream, sugar or sirup, as your taste 
may dictate. H. 
Atlanta, Ga. 
- — - 
ODDS AND ENDS. 
Graliam Bread.—If W. L. B., will try 
my recipe for making Graham bread, she , 
need look no further. After trying various 
rules I find none so good as my “Eureka," 
as I term it. Take two cups buttermilk; one 
half cup best sugar-house syrup; one tea- 
spoonful soda; half teaspoonful salt. Stir 
with a spoon to a stiff mass (not too stiff, 
else the bread will be too hard), pour into a 
three pint basin well buttered; put it in a 
steamer over cold water, which gives the 
loaf more time for rising. Steam three- 
quarters of an hour; then place it, in the 
oven just long enough to give it a rich, 
brown color. If the buttermilk is not of 
sufficient richness, 1 use a tablespoonful of 
thick cream. Graham bread raised with 
yeast is much improved by cooking the 
same way.—S. J. JD., Paliicsvtllc, O. 
Apple Charlotte.—Pare and slice your 
apples ; put a halt pound of white sugar to 
every pound of apples, and as much water 
as will be sufficient to stew. If the apples 
are very acid, add alir.tle more sugar; flavor 
with lime sirup; butter a dish, and line 
it with buttered bread; then put, a layer of 
apples, and one of buttered bread, and so 
on, until the dish is filled. The last layer 
should bo apples. Take the crust off the 
bread. It should be baked in a slow oven. 
Recipe for Cocoanut Padding. — I 
send one which is excellent: —Two small 
cocoanuts, grated; one quart new milk; 
four eggs; four ounces butter; six ounces 
sugar, or more if desired. Beat the sugar 
and butter together; put, in a dish and 
bake. Stir the pudding until it becomes 
scalding hot, to mix the cocoanut and cus¬ 
tard together, then let it brown.—J. B. G., 
Hickory Run, Pa. 
Cocoanut Pudding.—Mix a grated co¬ 
coanut with half pound powdered white 
sugar; add quarter pound melted butter; 
beat up six eggs, leaving out half the whites; 
then one grated nutmeg. Let all be well 
mixed. The dish to be liued with pie-crust 
of the following proportions: One pound of 
flour, three-quarters of a pound of butter, 
and a half pint of milk, or water. 
Macaroons.—Blanch three-quarters of a 
pound of sweet almonds, and the same of 
bitter almonds; beat them very fine; then 
add one pound aud a half of white sugar, 
the whites of six eggs, beaten to a froth; 
mix all well together, and drop on paper, 
and bake in a slow oven. Of course the 
paper is to be on tin sheets.— Olney Har- 
LESTON. _ 
Trifle.—Mix one pint of thick cream, 
half pint of milk, three gills of wine—Ma¬ 
deira or Sherry—six ounces of white sugar; 
then slice sponge cake and place in the bot¬ 
tom of the dish; moisten it thoroughly 
with wine or ratafia; then pour a part of the 
mixture over the cake, and whip up the 
rest to a stiff froth, and put on the top. 
Folding Napkins Tulip Shape.—'We 
give the last of our series illustrating how 
napkins are folded: F 1, first fold; F 2, 
the second; F 3, the third; F 4, the fourth; 
F 5, the fifth; and F the completed fold, 
Tulip shape. 
Good Biscuits.— One teaspoonful sale- 
ratus to each cup of cream; a little salt. 
Mix quick and bake quick. For light bis¬ 
cuit, use one quart of sponge, one cup thick 
sweet cream or butter, to shorten it that 
'.1 
LffiMiwftinii . 
NlMiilSifiiii!iiirii.T I'w'iw 
amount, and one teaspoonful of saleratus.— 
L. E. K. 
Rice Pudding.—Scald a quart, of milk, 
with four spoonfuls of soft-boiled rice, and 
a few sticks of cinnamon; after which, stir 
in a quarter of a pound of butter and six 
ounces of white sugar; eight eggs, beat up 
light, and added when the mixture is cool. 
To be baked in a deop dish. If you overbake, 
it will run to whey. 
Frost Cake.— Will some of your numer¬ 
ous readers please give their best mode of 
SOUND-PROOF FLOORS AND PARTITIONS. 
Having occasion to put up a sound-proof 
or deafened partition, when a foundation 
frosting cake—amount used, etc.?—T. P., 
Ithaca, N. Y. 
-- 
Domestic Inquiries.—Can some of your 
correspondents inform me how to remove 
from Brussels carpets stains caused by the 
overflowing of the saucers of house plants ? 
Figure 1. 
for a brick wall would have been in the way, 
I adopted the plan shown in Fig. 1, which 
proved successful. It will be seen that it 
consisted simply of a double set of studding, 
one set placed so as to receive the lathing 
from one side—aud the other set between 
and about one inch further out so as to re¬ 
ceive the lath from the other Bide, making 
the wall of one room entirely independent, 
of the other. The additional cost was not 
more than the cost, of the extra studs, as 
(he work in setting the two Bet, was not 
greater than trimming up the single set. 
Imperfect studs do as well as perfect ones. 
The cultivator is kept running between 
the rows often enough to keep the weeds in 
subjection. Sometimes furrows are plowed 
on either side of the rows, as wind-breakers 
for the plants, aud then cultivated down 
again after a few days. The last cultivation 
they receive is to plow a furrow on either 
side, direotly against the rows, to keep 
them from falling down. 
Several varieties of early peas are grown 
there. The early llanoock took the lead 
among the Burlington Co. truckers, while 
we resided among them. 
Late peas are grown in the same way, 
the Blackeyed Marrowfat (Canada Seed) be¬ 
ing the variety grown. This variety usually 
pays muoh hotter than early ones. The 
early crop comes into picking along with 
strawberries, and it is a difficult matter to 
get pickers to pick peas when they can get 
berries to pick. * * 
Ransom, Pa. 
—j. Q.How shall I make brine —pro¬ 
portion of salt to water—for pickling cucum¬ 
bers.—L. W.What is t he cheapest and 
easiest method of making hard water soft, 
for washing clothes? — R. P. S.Who 
will tell me the beBt. method of cooking 
Salsify, or Vegetable Oyster, so as to siinu- 
Figurb 2. 
Fig. 2 shows the same idea applied to 
floors; and this is a cheaper and better 
method than either of the usual methods of 
deafening floors. It makes the ceiling whol¬ 
ly independent of the floor above, and the 
plastering is not cracked by the spring of 
the joists. J. E. S. 
Syraouse, N. Y. f March 20, 1872. 
•-- 
PRAIRIE HOMES. 
Mr. Howell’s plan (see Rural New- 
Yorker, March 23, page 193,) of how to be¬ 
gin and finish a prairie home is worthy of 
attention and imitation, so far as it suggests 
economy and convenience, adapting itself 
to the needs of the immigrant with a small 
family and means. L recommend it to their 
notice, and would like to suggest some cor¬ 
rections. First, Instead of Rcvon feet be¬ 
tween floors, eight feet iR as low as a living 
room should be. Second, the walls of a 
room, where windows are inserted, should 
not beff^ss Mian two and one-half inches in¬ 
stead of one inch; in the latter case they 
would be worthless. Third, there should 
be material enough to cover it—800 feet be¬ 
sides the timber Is not one-half enough, and 
here comes the disappointment. After the 
frame is ready, it will require of l^-inch 
plank to inclose the building, 800 feet; of 
inch boards to line it, 450 feet; of 1% stuff 
for lower floor, 240 feet; roofing boards, 240 
feet; for upper floor, 160 feet; for veranda, 
250 feet. Total. 2,140 feet, instead of 800 
feet.— Wm. Barron. 
NOTES FOR BUILDERS. 
Wants a House Divided. —A house 30 
by 40 feet, with L attached, 20 by 30 feet, 
forming a half square, making two fronts, 
standing on southeast corners. Good fenc¬ 
ing on north and west. Will some of your 
subscribers inform me how best to divide it 
off into rooms convenient for a family of 
eight or ten persons — making the kitchen, 
pantry and bath-room in L part; sitting- 
room, parlor, library, bed-room, closets, 
etc., on the first floor in upright part. I 
have built several dwellings for myself and 
was never fully satisfied with the arrange¬ 
ment thereof—hence the question.— A Sub¬ 
scriber. 
Sflte (gardener. 
GARDENERS’ NOTES. 
Dividing Asparagus Roots.—I wish to 
inquire if asparagus roots can be propagated 
by division of the roots; if so, at what time 
should it be done?—,T. P. P., Cold Water, 
Mich, 
It is possible to divido old asparagus 
stools and make each division produce new 
shoots; but it is not advisable to do so, be¬ 
cause seedling plants are preferable. Early 
spring is the best time to divide old plants, 
if it is done at all. 
Trophy Tomatoes,—Last season I raised 
magnificent tomatoes of this variety from 
seed obtained of Briggs Bros. 1 have 
never had finer fruit from any species, 
though I think my Tlldens were quite equal 
to them. Neither kind rot in this latitude, 
with ordinary advantages. — Mrs. Bowen, 
Sycamore Dale, West Ha- 
Hen Manure for the Garden.—A cor¬ 
respondent asks the best mode of using hen 
manure on a garden. The best mode we 
have ever adopted in applying it is to put it 
in barrels, add water, leaohing it, and ap¬ 
plying it to plants in liquid form. 
Sage Culture.—C. E. C., Winnebago Co., 
Wis., asks some of our readers who have 
experience to state what kind of soil is best 
for Bage culture, and what is the average 
price per pound realized in its production. 
Mushroom Spawn. — T. H. Youngman 
is informed that good spawn may be ob¬ 
tained of almost any first-class seedsman 
advert isinv: in our columns. 
GROWING PEAS. 
Having had some experience in growing 
peas, among the Jersey truckmen, near 
Philadelphia, I herewith give their method 
of procedure. For an early crop, the ground 
is plowed just as soon as the frost is suffi¬ 
ciently out to got a plow in the ground; 
then marked out, four feet apart, with a 
one-horse plow, about seven inches deep; 
next, fine manure is scattered along the bot¬ 
tom of the furrows, from the tail of a cart, 
late the real oyster? — Sarah P ..... Is taking three rows at a time. After this is 
there any preparation for cleaning painted done, the seed is scattered on the manure, 
work, that housewives know will not injure 
the luster thereof? My sitting-room is 
painted with zinc paint and has a luster. I 
do not want to U9e anything that will de¬ 
stroy it.— Mrs. F. W. S. 
and covered by horse and plow, the plow 
being partially turned over on the mold- 
board side. A practiced hand will do this 
nicely. 
NOTES FOR SPORTSMEN. 
Inquiry About Rifles.—I would like to 
have some of the readers of the Rural in¬ 
form me as to the best kind of a rifle for 
target and sporting purposes. Is a muzzle- 
loader, without a false muzzle and starter, 
superior to a. breach-loader in point of ac¬ 
curacy ? Can any one inform me about the 
performance of the Maynard rifle? Is it 
more accurate than F. Wesson's metallic 
cartridge? Does it (the Maynard) ever get 
worn in the working parts so as to allow the 
barrel to wobble and get out of line with 
the stock? A little variation will make 
quite a difference in the shooting at long 
range, when the rear sight iB attached to 
the stock, and the sights cannot be trued 
unless the barrel is secured firmly to the 
stook when ready to fire.— f. a. c. 
To Make a Partridge Trap.—Make a 
box three feet long and a foot and a half in 
hight. Make the sides of lath. Make a 
door on top two and a-half feet in length, 
and suspend or hang it by a wire through 
the center of the door. Then put grain on 
the top of the trap and door so that the 
game must alight there to get it. When the 
part ridge steps on the door it turns so sud¬ 
denly that the bird is not able to escape. 
Try it.—J. N. B., Champaign, HI. 
To Tell Good Powder.— Place on a 
sheet of clean writing-paper, about three or 
four inches apart, two small heaps of pow¬ 
der, and upon firing one with a heat ed wire, 
if it explodes with a good report, and if no 
sparks fly off to ignite heap No. 2, and if no 
specks are left on the paper, it may be con¬ 
sidered as good powder. But if this fails, 
the ingredients are impure, or they have 
been mixed in the wrong proportions.— 
HUNTEB. _ 
To Catch Brook Tront and “ Horned 
Dace."—C harlie, a lad ten years old, asks 
sportsmen to tell him what taokle to use, 
and how to fish for brook trout and “ horned 
dace.” 
