will be found a much more useful appliance 
in this line of dairy implements. 
Domestic (h'ononu) 
boiling water and a little soda for from fif¬ 
teen to twenty minutes, not a moment 
longer, if so long, the greeus are sweet and 
exceedingly tender and wholesome, purify¬ 
ing the blood and promot ing health. A dish 
of badly cooked greens is enough to create 
a severe lit of indigestion in those who eat 
them. 
Why should the stems of hard white Cab¬ 
bages bo never cooked with tbo other parts 
of tho cabbage? Because they take twice 
as long to cook ns the soft parts, so that the 
latter is an unwholesome paste before the 
stalks are done, and if they are thrown 
away eit her before or after cooking them it 
is waste. The stems of cabbages that are 
crisp should have the soft green part cut 
from them to bo cooked by itself; the stems 
when stripped from tho green be tied in 
small bundles, cooked for from twenty to 
tweuty-flve minutes in plenty of boiling 
water, salt, and a little soda, and be served 
with butter sauce over them. Then a dish 
of soakalc is not more delioions. These 
cabbage stems may bo called “ oliardoons,” 
and will gratify the palates of all who taste 
them thus cooked. Young spring cabbages, 
of course, do not need this treatment. 
Why should Turnips be cut across the 
fiber in l ings of less than half an inch in 
thickness? For three reasons:—First, tho 
turnip need only be peeled very thin, in¬ 
stead of in the usual manner, thickly and 
wastefully; secondly, by so cutting them 
the fibers am cut across, so that however 
old the turnip is, it is never stringy; third¬ 
ly, they require only fourteen minutes to 
boil in plenty of boiling water and salt, and 
thus the delicate flavor of t ho turnip is pre¬ 
served, also they can he more easily mashed. 
The t hinner the circles of turnip are cut, 
the quicker they cook and the less fiber they 
will have.— Mrs. Warren, in Trcas. Lit. 
CHEAP AND SIMPLE MILK AERATOR 
RELATIVE RICHNESS OF MILK 
THE “ WHY ” IN VEGETABLE COOKERY 
Mn, B. B. Moon t of Norway, Herkimer 
Co., N. Y., formerly of tho North Fairfield 
factory, and well known as a skillful man¬ 
ufacturer of “ fancy factory ” cheese, writes 
us as follows: 
“An effective utensil for airing milk is 
an inverted three-quart tin basin with a 
socket attached to the bottom for a han¬ 
dle with which to force tho inverted basin 
to the bottom of tho can of milk. A few 
holes in the bottom of the basin will allow 
the air to escape after being forced into tho 
milk. Perhaps a better form of the vessel 
would be that of a prism with tho socket 
attached to the edge opposite the open side 
-the holes for the escaped the air to bo 
about two inches apart along the edge. I 
believe this machine is Un patented. It is 
cheap, easily cleaned, and, 1 think, will be 
effective for the purpose designed.” 
We give a rough sketch of tho implement 
suggested by Mr. Moon in Fig. 1. S. being 
the socket for the reception of the handle, 
and a, a, the holes for the escape of air. 
In the Rural New-Yorker, April 6th, 
Is an interesting article under the heading, 
“ How much Milk Required for a Pound of 
Butter." To my mind there are various 
points of interest that must be looked at, 
and taken into the account before we can 
understand! dgly settle this milk and butter 
question. It is a well known fact that the 
milk of a three or four year old cow will 
not make so much butter per quart as the 
milk of the same cow wheu seven or eight 
years of age. 
Again, as stated in the article referred to 
near its close, the milk of the same cow is 
richer late in the season than early in tho 
season when the grasses are more succulent. 
Again, on the same principle, it will be 
found that the milk of the same oow will 
vary much in richness iu different seasons, 
even when kept in the same pasture. Of 
this I had a striking proof in the summers 
of 1870 and 1871. In the summer of 1870 1 
had two t borough-bred Durham cows (moth¬ 
er and daughter, aged six and three years) 
that I hud to milk three times a day from 
the time they dropped their calves early in 
May, until after harvest, in 1871, the same 
cows in the same pasture gave only about 
two-thirds the amount of milk. To my 
surprise, at the close of the year, I found 
that the amount of butter made in 1871 ex¬ 
ceeded the amount made in 1870. In 1871 
we had very little rain; in 1870 a good Sup¬ 
ply. Hence, tho welter the season the less 
butter we should look for in proportion to 
the quantity of milk. Thou frequent hot 
days in rainy seasons have their influence 
in cutting down the product of cream. 
There is another point to be taken into 
the account before tho main question can 
be settled understandingly. Suppose here 
are two cows that give each twenty-five 
quarts of milk per day, the milk of one 
weighing twenty-five lbs., and that of the 
other only twenty-three pounds, which 
cow has furnished the richest milk ? With¬ 
in the last ten years I have found only one 
man, with whom I have conversed, ortho¬ 
dox on tills point; all, With that singlo ex¬ 
ception, have said “The heaviest milk Is the 
richest .” If poor milk is lighter than rich, 
why do we not find tho cream at the bottom 
of the pan? T, L., Sen. 
Menomonee Falls, Wis. 
Why should Seakale never be boiled in 
plain boiling water, but in milk and water 
and salt; or, instead of milk, a little bacon 
fat, butter,lard, or beef dripping?—Because 
kale requires to be cooked in soft water and 
be kept of a good color. Soda would soften 
the water, but turn the kale black. Equal 
parts of milk and water may be used, but 
then milk is expensive, while by using a 
little.fat in tho water the kale is equally 
good, and is not greasy when served. 
Why should Celery for sauce or for stew¬ 
ing be boiled in a little milk, butter, ami 
salt, and with sufficient water to very little 
more thau cover it? —Because it requires 
soft water to cook it in, and the milk and 
water in which it is cooked will, after the 
celery is dressed, serve for sauce if it be 
thickened with one or two tahlespuonfulsof 
corn-flour mixed with a little milk, and ad¬ 
ding it to the celery and liquor it, is in. It 
is then converted into a thick sauce, and 
served as such, or if for stewed celery the 
latter can remain in the sauce till wanted, 
then be placed iu a dish, and the sauce 
strained over it. 
Why should Carrots not be split for boil¬ 
ing?—Because the flavor is entirely lost by 
splitting them. They require boiling in soft- 
water; soda would blacken them. Borne 
fat, as dripping or other fat, should be put 
in the water when it is put on cold; when 
it boils fast put iu two ounces of salt, and 
the carrots whole or cut across, not split, 
and boil them two hours after they have 
boiled up. These directions are for boiling 
carrots in winter. 
Why should summer Carrots not be 
scraped?—Because the delicate flavoring 
would be spoiled. They should be washed 
clean, bo put into boiling water with a lit¬ 
tle fat and salt, be boiled from fifteen to 
twenty minutes, then be strained and 
thrown into cold water. With a clean cloth 
rub off the outside skin, and throw each 
carrot as it is done into hot water till the 
moment of serving. 
Why should Parsnips not be split for 
cooking them?—For tho same reason as for 
carrots—splitting destroys the flavor. They 
should be boiled as directed for carrots, but 
only for t wenty minutes, half an hour, or an 
hour, according to the size—the largest only 
an hour. 
Why should Soda be boiled with greens, 
cabbages, broccoli, and turnip greens?—Be¬ 
cause the oil which all these Vegetables con¬ 
tain, more or less, t he soda extracts, and 
leaves the greens sweet and wholesome; but 
the water is, after boiling the greens with so¬ 
da, most unwholesome, perhaps poisonous. 
How wrong, then, it is to eat greens not 
cooked with soda. A pieoe of soda, filbert, 
size, is- sufficient for a very large saucepan 
of boiling water. Turnip greens have scarce- 
ly any oil iu them, but ai-e, nevertheless, 
much more wholesome for eating when 
cooked with a little soda. From the seed of 
cabbage the colza oil is manufactured. 
Why should Vegetables be washed in 
rather warm water first, then in cold, to 
cleanse them from sand and insects?—The 
hot water, which must bo hotter than tepid, 
causes the insects and sand to fall out at 
once. Insects do not always dislike, cold 
water and salt, but the hot water kills 
them. It must be understood that only a 
small handful of greens or one head of cab¬ 
bage at a time must be washed, and then 
instantly thrown into the cold water, which 
crisps and thoroughly cleanses them. Spin¬ 
ach, leeks, celery, and seakale are thus ren¬ 
dered very clean, and, moreover, are very 
rapidly cleansed. It is worso than useless 
to attempt to cleanse vegetables iu salt and 
water, The hardness which salt creates in 
the water prevents all cleansing properties. 
The salt may kill tbe insects (it does not al¬ 
ways do this), but they stick on hard and 
fast; the hot water makes them fall out at 
once, aud the cold water crisps and blanches 
them. 
Why should Savoy Cabbages, white-heart 
summer cabbages, and cabbages that have 
been a long time growing, be cut across the 
ribs of the leaves, and not lengthwise? Be¬ 
cause all cabbages that have been a long 
time coming to maturity have extremely 
tough filters; if these are cut lengthwise oue 
has to chop the fibers with tho teeth in eat¬ 
ing them, and. moreover, such cabbages 
take a longer time to boil, and are often 
served a tasteless, overdone, watery mass. 
If such greens be cut across the stems, in 
circles of two inches in width, be washed in 
warm water, then in cold, aud be boiled in 
PIG. 2. Ji-JG. I. 
We are inclined to think that a better form 
of the implement would be that of an in¬ 
verted bell, something like that of frig. 2. 
It would present less sharp corners to clean, 
and is more equally balanced, thereby being 
more readily forced down into the milk. 
This is an implement, which any I insmith 
can make aud will cost only a few shillings; 
it Is very simple, is within the reach of 
every dairyman, and if, as Mr. Moon says, 
it is efficient in airing milk, will commend 
itself to every one who desires to improve 
the quality of his milk and keep it iu good 
order priqiaratory for the factory. * 
COFFEE VS. HUSBANDS AND WIVES, 
In a late Rural New-Yorker, a lady 
asks “ how to make good coffee, t o please my 
husband?" Allow a dcssort spoonful of 
Coffee for each member of the family; put. 
in a little egg; then pour on some cold 
water, and let it stand for a minute or t wo; 
then pour on boiling water. Do not let it 
boil long. Now, this will make good coffee, 
but as to pleasing her husband, l fear she 
will find that a llfo-loug question. 
This coffee query suggests two scenes: 
First, T fancy a cosy dining-room; break¬ 
fast table neatly set, and a large family 
seated around it. A kind, gentle wife and 
mother is pouring out the coffee. She pass¬ 
es a cup to her husband; bo tastes it, then 
pushing the cup hastily from him, says: 
“ Mary, I do wish you would learn how to 
make coffee; this is not. fit to drink." 
Poor woman! She says nothing, however, 
but as soon as breakfast is over, she writes 
to Rural. readers to know "how to make 
coffee to please her husband." 
Again, 1 fancy another family seated at a 
breakfast table. The husband is sipping 
his coffee, and speaks highly of it, then says: 
“ Wife, 1 expect friend Brown here next 
week. A capital fellow, with but one weak¬ 
ness, and that is a liking for good coffee; so 
if you want to impress him favorably, give 
him No. 1 coffee to driuk." This wife smiles 
assent, and she, too, writes to know “ how 
to make very excellent coffee." 
If all husbands would kindly suggest, in¬ 
stead of demanding, changes or improve¬ 
ments in cookery, there would be less of 
this “incompatibility of temper" that 
causes so many husbands and wives to be 
divorced. If wives would but thankfully 
receive suggestions from their husbands, 
instead of getting angry, and saying “they 
reckon they know how to keep house,” 
fewer husbands would be driven from their 
homes to the bar-room. 
Oh, ye girls who contemplate matrimony! 
either banish the thought from your minds 
(as you will, if you are wise), or devote your 
whole time and talents to the 6tudy of do¬ 
mestic economy 1 Yourromautic lovertells 
you he cares naught for “ meat nor drink " 
while he possesses your love; but be will get 
over that after you give him a few “ wash¬ 
day dinners." 
Young men who are about to become mar¬ 
tyrs, practice eating sour bread and drink¬ 
ing weak coffee, so that you may be better 
prepared for tranquilly entering the mar¬ 
ried state! Would that all were as free 
from care as mo, for I will be 
“An Old Maed.” 
COMPOSITION OF CONDENSED MILK, 
The London Lancet gives the following 
as the average composition of samples of 
condensed milk furnished in tho London 
market. It Bays:—“ Condensed milk is now 
prepared on such a large scale and by so 
many different manufacturers that, there 
can be. no doubt of it s utility or of the largo 
demand which exists for such an article. 
The results below agree as nearly as can bo 
expected with others made recently in the 
laboratory. The sample was perfectly 
sweet, sound and free from lactio acid:” 
Moisture.. 25.JO 
Fat. 31.78 
Caseine. 15.17 
Milk sugar. lii.24 
Cane sugar. 29.415 
Ash. 2.30 
CONCERNING CURD MILLS AND MILK 
COOLERS. 
WrLLyon please give me your opinion of 
the Curd Mill. Ih it a good mill? ilow is 
it operated? Will a cooler of this sort be 
sufficient—viz:—Take a barrel wit h a scroll 
of pipe on the inside. While the barrel is 
full of cold water, let the milk run through 
the scroll. About the bellowe-cooler and 
the aerator, liow are they made? — B. G. 
Kenyon, Benton Co., lawn. 
The curd mill is a very useful appliance 
in the dairy. It is of especial service when 
the cheese is to be made from milk that has 
not been kept in good order, or that hap¬ 
pens to be faulty from a variety of causes 
liable to occur in hot weather. When the 
curds are packed in the vat, after t he Ched¬ 
dar method, the curd-mill is indispensable, 
since by its use the mass is broken up pre¬ 
paratory for salting with much more readi¬ 
ness and uniformity than can be done by 
hand. In addition to Improving the tex¬ 
ture.' of the cheese by the use of the mill, 
the grinding of the curd and exposing its 
particles to the air at tills stage is thought 
to have a favorable influence in promoting 
a good flavor to the chccso. 
Curd mills are made with single and 
double cylinders, aud are usually worked by 
baud, the mill being placed across the vat. 
Some of the mills have a heavy balance 
wheel, which facilitates their operation. 
Recently a curd mill has been invented 
■which cuts the curd into small cubes. It 
oonsists of a triangular box, with two sides 
formed of knives in checks, with a gang of 
knives in checks working backward and 
forward in the box, and moving on a pivot 
at the aculc angle of the box. This ma¬ 
chine requires much less power in its ope¬ 
ration than the cylinder. 
Milk can lie thoroughly cooled by pouring 
it through a scroll of pipe arranged in a 
barrel and surrounded with cold water. A 
milk cooler of this kind can be made very 
cheaply, and without much trouble, but is 
somewhat objectionable on account of the 
difficulty of keeping it clean; besides it 
does nut give a chance to air t he milk, which 
is important for the escape of animal odor, 
thus assisting in the. better preservation of 
the milk, The aerator and cooler combined 
100.00 
DAIRY NOTES. 
Skimming Milk for Cliooso. — Wm. 
Branding says“ Does tho English cheese 
contain more butter than ours? On the 
contrary, <>ur cheese, by analysis, shows 
richer in butter than theirs. When the 
American eheeso reaches t he ot her side of 
the water, if poor in manufacture, e\er so 
porous and spongy, or ever so poor in flavor, 
it is not poor in butter, but is richer in that 
quality than tho goods wo are striving to 
imitate or excel. This would seem to indi¬ 
cate that the excess of butter might be 
saved, and the quality secured by good 
milk, careful manufacture and curing. It, 
is a question with some, whether all the 
cream will work into the cheese if it once 
becomes separated from the milk. I have 
had opportunity for some observation, by 
working up the milk twice a day, as com¬ 
pared with once, and have had as good re¬ 
sults In both quality and quantity in the 
latter easo as the former, atid in both cases 
bail, us far I could see, an equal amount, of 
cream rise on the whey vats." 
Selling Creamery Butter Early.— II. 
Cooley, Greene, says:—“A strong* argu¬ 
ment, for the early sale of creamery butter, 
is found iu the fact that the very best but¬ 
ter rapidly loses flavor, and at sixty or nine¬ 
ty days old would hardly be recognized as 
the same that it was when first made. Few 
families use more than ten pounds of new 
butter before it deteriorates in flavor per¬ 
ceptibly. Our patrons soon learn this fact, 
and call for their butter in smaller quanti¬ 
ties and oftener. The particular aroma 
which is especially sought after is essential¬ 
ly characteristic of new butter. 
Brine for Cueumbers.—My rule is one 
pint of rock salt to one pail of water.— Del¬ 
la M. F., Coldwatcr, Mich . 
Domestic Inquiries.—L. II. O. asks 
how to brighten up soiled black kid gloves. ’ ’ 
