or nine days in the vat or tub, turning it 
every day from the bottom. Then put it into 
the cask, and, as it works over, observe to till 
it up, if not liquor enough, with sugar and 
water. Skim il. well while it is boiling. Af¬ 
ter it. has done working add a little brandy. 
Anot her i: —To five pounds of parsnips add 
one gallon of water; the parsnips are first 
scraped and then well boiled. When they 
are done strain them through a eoivo: add to 
each gallon <>(' liquor three pounds of lump 
sugar, one orange, and one lemon. Then boil 
the liquor with the sugar and oranges and 
lemons twenty minutes, Put it into a tub. 
Domestic (Bcownnir 
BEANS AND VINEGAR 
DAILY RURAL LIFE 
As “there is a little to be learned by every 
fool,” 1 willingly give what litt le 1 know of 
beans and cider. Seventeen years last Sum¬ 
mer I was visiting an old friend of mine in 
Troy. 1 told how we lost our vinegar by 
turning the barrel on the end to have a new 
hoop put on, and had been out since. She 
said to me, “ Put a pint of white beans in a 
barrel of cider and you will have vinegar in 
a short time. 1 came home and the first 
thing I set about was to procure vinegar; we 
had been out of it three years; my barrel was 
uot full; I remembered of hearing cider would 
turn sour if a little water bo added; so I put 
iu a pail or so, feeling a littlo in doubt as to 
the l<eans, like Mr. Nelson. 1 think I took a 
bit of paper and wet it. with molasses—but 
cannot tell definitely; set the barrel on the 
South side of the house in the yard. 
A neighbor came along; seeing it, I told 
what I had done; he said, “give it a kick 
once iu a while; that is the secret.” So my 
barrel got three or four kicks; before hold 
weather T hail vinegar sharp enough to al¬ 
most, cut your throat, and with a large qnan- 
tit.yof mother in the bottom. So you have ray 
experience, secret and all. One thing more: 
Taking a very economical fit I saved my 
apple parings, cooked them, pressed the juice 
into a keg and added a few leaves; now it 
tastes quite like vinegar. Mrs. North. 
From the Diary of a Centleman near New 
York City. 
CHOICE HARDY SHRUBS. 
Pec. 24 — B. S. H., Atchison, Kansas, 
writes and asks me if I will give him the 
names of a dozen choice shrubs suitable for 
green-house culture; also a similar list, for 
garden culture. In complying with this re¬ 
quest I find it a difficult task to confine 
myself to so small a number, inasmuch as 
the species and varieties in cultivation are 
almost innumerable, and those that please 
one person may not another; then the vari¬ 
eties of hardy shrubs that succeed here may 
not be adapted to the soil and climate of 
Kansas. 1 will take it for granted that my 
correspondent does not desire to indulge in 
rarities which ore very expensive, therefore 
I will name only those sold at moderate 
prices. 
TWELVE WINTER BLOOMING SHRUBS. 
Abutilon vcxillarium rlcgana —A half-climb¬ 
ing shrub, bearing a profusion of scarlet, 
orange, and pink flowers. There are also 
many other species and varieties, varying in 
size and color of flowers as well as habit of 
the plant, all desirable. 
Azalea ovala alba. —Flowers pure white. 
Azalea purpurea plena. —Flowers double, 
deep crimson. 
Bouvardius.—There are several varieties in 
cultivation which are indispensable. II. IcF 
antha is a dazzling scarlet; II. Jlorebunda, 
orange scarlet; 11. Hogarth, rich scarlet, 
large racemes of flowers; if. L)avid»oi\il, 
pure white; D. Vreelandii , similar to the 
last, but distinct. 
Camellia fimJbriata.— Flowers very large, 
edge of petals delicately fringed. 
C. alba plena. —Old double white, but one of 
the best. These two are considered the most 
valuable for cut flowers; but the colored 
sorts arc equally ;is beautiful, and one can 
scarcely go amiss in making a selection, as 
our florists propugate only the. best, there 
being hundreds of varieties to select, from. 
They all succeed best, in rather a low tempe¬ 
rature and partial shade. 
Cuphca ptatycc.ntra. —Small, slender, ever¬ 
green shrubs, extensively used for bedding 
out iu Summer, but far more valuable for its 
flowers in Winter. Flowers small, scarlet, 
tipped with white; often called “Cigar 
plant.” 
Fuchsia serratifolia.— Flowers large scar¬ 
let; leaves dark rich green and very large; 
an excellent early Winter blooming species. 
Gardenia fiorida. —The single variety is the 
best for green-house culture. Flowers white; 
very showy. 
Lagrrstramia In&tda alba. —This is a va¬ 
riety of the well-known Crape Myrtle of the 
Southern Suites, where it usually blooms hi 
Autumn; but when cultivated iu pots iu the 
Northern Slates, it is one of our finest early 
Winter flowering shrubs. Flowers pure white 
and produced in great abundance. 
Punic a nano. — Non - dwarf Pomegranate. 
Flowers beautiful orange-scarlet; very hand¬ 
some. 
Hoses. —These must come iu under the 
head of green-house shrubs; but the list is so 
extensive that I dare uot attempt to make a 
selection of less than a dozen, and this has 
already been done many times and the names 
given in the Rural New-Yorker. 
TWELVE HARDY SHRUBS. 
In this list 1 shall name the most hardy as 
well as beautiful 
Amygdalm pumila.— Double rose-colored 
almond; an old and well-known plant. 
Amygdalus pumiki alba. —Double white 
flowering almond. 
Azaleas, nudiflora and viscosa. —Both na¬ 
tives of the Northern States and scarcely 
surpassed by any exotic species. 
Calycanlhus flortdus. — The well-known 
sweet-scented shrub. Flowers dark choco¬ 
late color. 
Deutzia crenata plana. —Flowers double 
white, tinged with rose color; superb. 
Deutzia gracilis—A very small shrub, with 
long spikes of pure white flowers; a splendid 
plant for forcing in Winters 
Forsyth id viridisshna. Flo wers yellow, 
produced very early in the Spring, before 
the leaves. 
Japan Quince (Cydonia .laponicu).— Flow¬ 
ers large, deep scarlet; produced early in 
Spring. 
Primus triloba.—A beautiful shrub, with 
double flowers of a deep pink color. It suc¬ 
ceeds best when worked upon plum stocks. 
Spiraea Reevesii.— Flowers pure white, in 
Hand iron Pen Wiper— no. 2. 
and when cool add a littlo yeast and let it 
work for a few days. It must then be put 
into a barrel, and as soon as the fermentation 
has decreased considerably put it into a sw eet 
baiTeL The wine will be materially im¬ 
proved if ft littlo brandy, at the rate of a 
quarter of a pint to the gallon, is added, ihe 
wine materially improves with, age, and it 
should not therefore be tapped too soon. 
BOSTON BRnWN BREAD. 
A lady wishes the recipe for Boston brown 
bread. I copy the following from a paper 
published in a city near Boston. 1 have not 
triod it, for I almost invariable boil my brown 
broad, which we think is excellent, and hus¬ 
band says is superior to Boston bread:—Four 
cofltee cupfuls of sifted Indian meal; two cups 
coarse flour, either wheat or rye; one.tea¬ 
spoonful salt; one tea-cup molasses, and 
boiling water enough to make it as thick 
as griddle-cake batter. When nearly cool 
add half a cup yeast, either home-made or 
distillery. Put the mixture into an iron bak¬ 
ing dish, cover tightly, let it stand in a warm 
place till it cracks over the top (which should 
be smoothed over with wet bauds before it is 
placed to rise). Bake it five or six hours in a 
moderate oven, which will not burn the crust 
to a cinder.—Mrs. P. C. C. 
TO COOK PORK. 
Fry a few slices of pork until they are well 
done. Make a batter of two eggs, three 
table-spoonfuls of milk, half a teaspoonful 
salt, and flour enough to make a thick batter. 
Into this put the pork, cover with batter, 
then put the pol k so covered into the fiying 
pan over a quick fire until the batter is nicely 
done. If any batter be left, fry (without any 
{Kirk) in the hot grease. Be. sure that it is 
nicely done through or it will be heavy. To 
be served immediately after cooking.—R. w. 
NO ODLE SOU P. 
Make common beef soup. Then for the 
noodles, break three eggs into flour, add a 
little salt, mix with the haml-s knead hard, 
and roll very thin; sprinkle on flour and roll 
together, and cut off line as possible; shake 
out and throw iuto your soup kettle—cook 
ten or fifteen minutes. No rice is needed in the 
soup.—Mrs. P. C. C. 
SOCIABILITY OF COUNTRY PEOPLE.’ | We give herewith two illustrations show- 
Those who are compelled to live in the jug how to make a dainty ornament for a 
country during the Winter or stay there lady’s (or even gentleman’s) desk. For the 
from choice should eudeavor to have some , pen-wiper (Fig. 1) a little wooden stand is re- 
social amusement in which all can take a quired. finished at the top with a. point. This 
part. A little relaxation now and then from point is kept rough no that the bristles when 
the regular routine of every-day employment tied on it firmly will not slip. Geta quantity 
is often a great relief and benefit to the 
scholar as well as laborer. Of course to have 
any attempt at getting up amusements for a 
whole neighborhood successful, everybody 
must not expect to bo pleased with the entire 
arrangement, because tastes differ, but by 
yielding a littlo to others’ wishes ivc may, 
upon the whole, have a very social time and 
pass the long Winter evenings pleasantly and 
profitably. For the past half dozen years or 
more the most intelligent portion of the com¬ 
munity in which I reside have joined hearts 
and hands in their endeavor to have some 
kind of social amusement during the Whiter 
in which all could take part and be mutually 
benefited. Sometimes it has been an inter¬ 
change of visits to each others’ residence, the 
time being passed in a social way, varying 
the amusements to suit the tastes and incli¬ 
nations of all. One peculiar feature of these 
social gatherings (L say peculiar, because 
such things were not practiced when I was a 
boy) is that the children, from the ages of 
five or six years and upward, always go with 
their parents. The results are that the 
young misses and masters of this neighbor¬ 
hood know how to behave with becoming 
dignit y and modesty both in company and 
out of if. 
This Winter we have a course of lectures, 
one to be given each week; and as this would 
be rather an expensive amusement for a 
dozen or two families if noted lecturers were 
engaged, we confine ourselves to a cheaper 
article, although the quality may be just as 
good. Prof. George H. Cook, the State 
Geologist of New Jersey, gave os a very 
entertaining lecture this week upon agricul¬ 
ture, and he handled his subject in such a 
masterly manner that even those who knew 
nothing of farming and cared less about it 
were exceedingly well pleased. Wc have 
men among us who ride particular hobbies— 
it may be fislung, hunting, farming, or some 
particular branch of natural history or lite¬ 
rature—and these are the men we invite to 
take the platform and entertain and instruct 
those whose have not made those tilings a 
specialty. Now, my object in telling these 
neighborhood secrets is to incite others to do 
the same tiling. There is sc-arcety a neigh¬ 
borhood anywhere in the older settled por¬ 
tions of the country that could not support 
some such system of social entertainments to 
the great benefit of all who participated. If 
we do not wish our children to run after 
strange gods, we must furnish them an in¬ 
centive for going in an opposite direction, 
and it will often benefit parents to keep them 
company. 
A PRETTY TEXAS PLANT. tion for a larger quantity. Boil the parsnips 
The very pretty prickly evergreen plant after they are sliced thin until they become 
sent by J. IIeverchon, Dallas Co., Texas, is soft. Then squeeze them through a seive, and 
the Flydalea affmis. We should be pleased put your sugar thereto, and boil three quar¬ 
to receive a good dried specimen or flower ters of an horn - . When nearly cold put to it 
and some seeds of this plant. a small quantity of yeast; let it stand eight 
of bristles like those used in hair brushes. 
The band is made of crimson cloth, worked 
with loops of gold and blue alternating like 
the design (Fig. 2). Between these loops a 
vandyke of black silk thread is worked with 
gold in the center. The edge of the cloth is 
pinked out with scissors. 
TO MAKE APPLE BUTTER. 
Take five gallons of cider fresh from the 
press, boil to one gallon; one bushel of apples 
pared and quartered; for a kettle that will 
hold a pail full and a-half, throe quarts of the 
boiled cider. Clean the kettle, if brass, with 
a little salt aud vinegar, and then scour bright; 
put some clean straw, if you like, in the bot¬ 
tom, to prevent it from burning; it can very 
readily be taken out when the sauce is done 
if proper care is taken uot to disturb it while 
the sauce is cooking. Put it on as soon as 
possible in the morning, not putting the ket¬ 
tle full at first, but adding it gradually as the 
apple cooks, stirring it carefully so as uot to 
disturb the straw. Cook it for awhile on the 
front of the stove, or till you have added all 
the apple; then remove to the back and cook 
it slowly till bed time; then If proper care 
was takeu in the selection of the fruit, hav¬ 
ing it as nearly as possible of the same quali¬ 
ty, aud also proper attention paid to the 
cooking, you will have a. delicious sauce that 
will keep for months as nice as when first 
cooked.—S., Still River, Mass. 
DOMESTIC INQUIRIES. 
“Constant Reader” asks how to clean 
porcelain kettles after they have become 
browned by use. 
Will some of your numerous readers be 
good enough to furnish us (through the 
Rural) with the best recipe they know of for 
making yeast powders.—C ook. 
I wish some one would give a method of 
polishing any article after having plated it 
with silver.—w. 
Rosie White asks how she shall wash black 
ribbons. 
Drying Citron.— Sarah E. Barnes asks for 
a recipe for drying citron as it is bought; also 
how to make rose water. 
To Pickle Onions— S. W. Belts writes: 
PARSNIP WINE 
