SEPT. 27 
MOORE’S RURAL N£W-¥©B«£B, 
<0 
ABOUT NIGHT CLOTHES. 
In the Rural New-Yorker of July 20. is 
“an illustration of a Neglige Basket a useful 
article for a bedroom as a receptacle for 
ladies’ and children’s night Clothes.” Now 
it seems to me that the only proper recepta¬ 
cle for a night garment of any kind, after 
being worn, is a hook or nail where the sun 
can shine upon it and the breezes can blow 
over and under und through and through it , 
carrying away whatever matter may- have 
been absorbed from the body during the 
night; that the old way of rolling up a night¬ 
dress so tightly' that it might be used as a 
formidable weapon of offense or defense, and 
tucking it under the pillow, or of folding it 
up and putting it away in the dark, out of 
sight, is unclean and unhealthful, and should 
have long ago become obsolete. 
A good deal is said of the manner and fash¬ 
ion and ways of caring for “ladies’ and 
children’s” night drosses; but where, are the 
men’s ? don’t they havo any, or are they un¬ 
mentionable i Iris self-evident that no person 
should wear a garment during the night t hat 
is worn during the day ; and if a “lady,” 
with scarcely enough exercise to produce a 
drop of perspiration, needs a clean, well-aired 
garment in which to sleep, how is it with a 
man who hag been hard at work all day in 
the dust and heat, with the sweat dripping 
from every pore I If a healthy, active child 
to whom sleep comes as easily' and naturally 
as to a pig or a kitten, needs a refreshing 
night dress, how is it with the man and father 
who has spent the day in his pent up store, 
office or counting-room in exhaustive mental 
labor and goes to bod worn out in mind ami 
body' and with every nerve unstrung f 
Though men havo wisdom, power and 
ability', though they are strong, helpful and 
independent, though they have office and 
greatness, sit in legislative halls and become 
M. C.’s, they do need and always should hove. 
-night-gowns. Geraldine Germane. 
That is true 1 Men do need and should 
have night-gowns. Every man does who 
knows “ what’s what ” and when he does lie 
does not do us nine-tenths of the women do 
who wear them, wear the garment he has 
worn all day under his night-gown. How 
many women are there who remove (ho 
chemise when they put on the night-dress ? 
But the men who do wear night-gowns make 
them substitutes for the day shirt—-hence 
they benefit -by the change, whereas the wo¬ 
man sutlers by the addition, 
-♦♦♦- 
SALT AND MILK RISING BREAD. 
For salt rising, take half a teaspoonful of 
salt to a pint of warm water and stir in flour 
enough to make a thick batter. The dish 
used, which with the spoon should bo thor¬ 
oughly cleansed and scalded, should be a 
little more than two-third3 full, und set in a 
warm place until the batter rises so os to fill 
it. The most common way is to put the dish 
of rising in warm water and set it where it 
will keep at quite a warm temperature ; but 
some use a cloth or a paper to exclude the 
cool air Instead of placing in water. The 
time in which the rising will sufficiently fer¬ 
ment is usually from five to seven hours, ac¬ 
cording to the degree of warmth and the 
kind of flour used. 
When “light,” take a quantity of flour 
corresponding to the amount of bread desired 
and stir in scolding (not boiling) water 
enough to scald one-third, then add cold 
water (or milk, which is better,) enough to 
cool the scalded flour so that, it will not scald 
the rising; put in the rising and stir all to¬ 
gether vigorously until you have a thick bat¬ 
ter and put in a warm place to rise. When 
light and puffy stir as thick as possible with 
a spoon, then mix with the hands until 
knCadable, cut off in loaves of a size to half 
fill your baking tins, knead thoroughly, shape 
to and put in your tins and again put in a 
wartu place to rise. When the loaves have 
doubled in size put in a moderately heated 
oven and bake from one-half to three-quar¬ 
ters of an hour according to size of loaves, und 
you will have bread as moist, spongy and 
eatable os fermented bread can be. Bread 
of unbolted flour can be made in the same 
way, but is better stirred to a stiff batter and 
baked in deep dishes instead of being knead¬ 
ed and baked in shallow tins. 
Milk rising and salt rising bread are the 
same, with the exception that one half a tea¬ 
cup of new milk is added to the rising for the 
former and is preferable to all water. As 
<, y°« value good bread and good health, never 
i \ P ut ginger, saleratus, or any of the other 
useless things that some people deem neces¬ 
sary, into your sponge or rising. o. ». 
- ++-* -- 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES. 
Good Yeast.— Boil a handful of hops and 
eight good-sized potatoes, pared, in one gal¬ 
lon of water. The hops should be tied loosely 
in a rag. When the potatoes are done mash 
them thoroughly or grate them, first pouring 
off the liquor into another vessel. Four the 
liquor over the potatoes again when mashed, 
adding one-half cup of sugar and one-fourth 
eup of salt. Let it, boll a minute but stir to 
prevent sticking. Use no flour, as it, is more 
liable to sour when flour is used. Pour off 
into an earthen vessel to cool, and when 
nearly cold add one cup of good yeast . In a 
few hours it is ready for use. This yeast 
will keep sweet one month in the hottest 
weather, if covered closely and placed in a 
cool cellar, mid It makes splendid bread if 
properly managed. Bread should not lie 
salted where this yeast is used. If preferred, 
this yeast or a part of it, may be made into 
cakes and dried which will last six months— 
though it is better to make fresh as often as 
once in three months—by adding fresh com 
meal until a stiff dough is obtained. Work 
into a smooth roll and slice with a knife into 
cakes one-half inch thick. Dry in the open 
air but shaded from the sun. 
Nine Griddle Cakes .—T have lately learned 
that good shorts—not the coarser kind—is 
better for griddle cakes than line or even 
buckwheat flour. I make. them ns follows 
Six cups rich buttermilk—loppered milk will 
do with a little cream—three teaspoons even 
full of soda to neutralize the sour milk; a, 
little salt, two eggs. Stir into this enough 
Shorts to make a thin batter as for other 
griddle cakes, and fry as usual. Rubbing 
the griddles with (Try salt, and wiping off 
carefully before oiling will prevent trouble 
hi turning. Corn griddle cakes and buck¬ 
wheat cakes are very nice made in this wav. 
though veast is usually preferred for the 
latter.—jcuA M. W. 
Excellent Grown Bread. —.Six cups of sour 
milk, including at least one-half cup of thick 
cream, three even teaspoons of pulverized 
soda ; one-half cup of sugar, a little salt. 
Stir into n very stilt batter by adding equal 
parts of white cor i nvnl and rye floor, or 
Graham flour in the absence of rye. Pour 
info a deep "n basin, previously buttered, 
•and steam thr, ■ • hours, after which bake one 
hour in a very moderate oven. The water 
should be boiling when it is put on to steam 
or else it. is liable to adhere to the dish. 
flier Budding. —Ore eup of rice, which 
should be soaked overnight in enough water 
to cover it; six eggs, one cup white sugar, 
five quarts sweet, milk. Bake two hours, 
stirring often till nearly done, flavor with 
nutmeg. 
■- 
SELECTED RECIPES. 
Hickory Bark for Coloring, -Hickory bark- 
will color a beautiful bright yellow that will 
not, fade by use. It. will color cotton and 
wool. Have the bark shaved off or hewed 
off, and chopped in small piece*, .and put in a 
brass kettle or tin boiler with soft, water 
enough to cover the hark, and boil till the 
strength is out; t hen skim out, the chips and 
put in alum. Have it pounded pretty fine. 
For a pailful of dye I should put in two good 
handsful, and wet the goods in warm water 
so t here will be no dry spots on them ; wring 
them as dry as vou can, shake them out ond 
put them into the dye. Have a stick at hand 
to push them down and stir them immedi¬ 
ately’ so they can have a chance all over 
alike. If the color is r.ot deep and bright 
enough, raise the goods out, of the dye, lay 
them across a stick over the kettle, and put 
in another handful of alum. Blir it well and 
dip again. It will want to be kept in the dye 
and over the fire to a scalding heat about an 
hour, hut, keep stirring und airing so they 
will not spot.— Mother, in Colman’s Rural 
World, 
Tomato Sauce. —The following recipe 
comes all the way from AustraliaTake 
forty pounds of tomatoes, wipe clean, and 
boil or bake till soft ; then squeeze through 
a sieve that will retain the- seeds and skins. 
Boil for an hour in order to get rid of some 
of the watery portion, and then add half a 
gallon of best brown vinegar, one and a-half 
pounds salt, two ounces cloves, three ounces 
allspice, two ounces cayenne pepper, three 
pounds white sugar, four ounces garlic and 
two .ounces black pepper. Boil a sufficient 
time ; two haul's will usually suffice, but the 
sauce will not, be boiled enough until it has 
become tolerably thick, and all the watery 
appearance has gone. Bottle without strain¬ 
ing in perfectly dry bottles, and cork them 
securely when cold. The garlic must, be 
peeled, bruised, anrl tied up in a bag ; all the 
spice must be ground ; the quantities may be 
increased or diminished according to taste. 
We have kept sauce made from this receipt 
three years. 
Tomato Lily.— Take one peek green toma¬ 
toes, cut them in slices and sprinkle with 
salt; put them in a jar and press them tight; 
let them remain over night. Next morning 
drain through a cullender; add lo them 
twelve onions, sliced, one and a-half ounces 
black pepper, a teaspoon of red popper, one 
ounce mustard, one-fourth pound mustard- 
seed, one pound brown sugar, one ounce 
cloves, one ounce allspice. Put in a kettle, 
cover them with good vinegar, and boil till 
tender. 
Scientific amt Useful 
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 
Rev. H. C. Hovey communicates the fol¬ 
lowing to the American Journal of Science 
(nr August: 
A thunder storm passed over Kansas City, 
Mo., on the afternoon of Sunday, June 15th, 
1-173, the results of which, so far as a single 
stroke of lightning is concerned, the writer 
has taken pains to verify by personal exam¬ 
ination and the testimony of eye-witnesses. 
When the storm arose, a number of per¬ 
sons were walking on the broad platform of 
the amphitheater, in the fair-grounds adja¬ 
cent to the city. The proineruiders, either ‘n 
ignorance, or negligence, of the la ws govern¬ 
ing the passage of electrical currents, sought 
refuge from the rain under neat h the leafy 
branches of some oak trees which shade the 
locality. Under the tallest of these oaks, ill 
teen feet from the point where its trunk 
passes through the platform, and within 
three or four feet from tlio overhanging 
boughs, stood Miss Nora Ritenour and a 
young gentleman who had accompanied her 
to the grounds. An electrical discharge 
sought them out, on its way from the clouds 
to the earth. She was killed and ho was 
crippled; while the shock was felt for a 
hundred yards from the fatal point of im¬ 
pact, jarring buildings, and benumbing and 
prostrating human beings, so an to prevent 
spectators for a few moments from coming 
to the aid of the chief sufferers. W hen they 
did so, they found to their horror, that the 
body of the young lady was actually under¬ 
going combustion, making it necessary to 
extinguish the flames by pailfuls of water. 
On inspecting the remains it, was found that 
the first point of contact was the chin, whore 
a red mark was left ns if by a violent blow. 
J ho rest of the head showed no external 
injury except that the hair was burnt to a 
crisp. From the chin tho electrical fluid 
sought tho body, breaking tho nock, and 
burning tho breast and abdomen through 
anil through. Its exit was by the right, foot, 
leaving only a well marked groove along the 
limb ; but tearing the shoo into shreds. Death 
must have boon instantaneous ; and was 
probably void of sensible pain, if one might 
judge from the placid features, and the 
natural and agreeable expression of the eyes. 
It semns ns if the stroke must first have 
traversed the adjacent oak, but the most 
careful examination discovered n<> disturb¬ 
ance of its branches, or injury done to its 
sturdy trunk. On leaving tho body of Miss 
Ritenour, the ent ire discharge passed through 
the plank on which she stood, piercing it like 
a musket ball, tho upper side of the perfora¬ 
tion being smoothly depressed, while under¬ 
neath it was jagged and enlarged. From 
the plank tho bolt leaped two feet to abeam, 
along which its path was divided ; being 
marked by a fissure leading in opposite direc¬ 
tions to the two poets by which the beam 
was supported. These posts were of white 
pine, thoroughly seasoned, and about one 
foot in diameter. One was merely split 
from lop to bottom, while the other was 
utterly splintered. To this latter piece of 
timber, boards had been nailed ; and lo each 
nuil head, In passing, the electrical fluid 
paid most discriminating attention, splitting 
the boards as if with the edge of an axe. 
Tho ground at the foot of these posts was not 
visibly disturbed. No traces of fire were to 
be seen on the dry, inflammable pino wood, 
although the living object, on which tills 
memorable thunderbolt concentrated all its 
fury, was so fearfully burned. 
-- 
SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL NOTES. 
A New Paper Bay. —Miss Maggie Knight 
of Holyoke, lias originated and successfully 
patented a square bottom paper hag, which 
is without doubt destined to supersede all 
other styles for the general use of grocers and 
others, the invention securing far greater 
convenience in handling, und additional 
strength. Miss Knight has now further in¬ 
creased tho value of her discovery by invent¬ 
ing a machine for folding the bags, which 
lias also been patented, and the first, large 
machine iB now building at the Aines Co.’s 
machine shop in Chicopee. The machine is 
designed tc do the work of thirty girls, cut¬ 
ting, folding, pasting, drying 30,000 per day, 
with the assistance of two girls as tenders. 
When the fact is taken iulo consideration 
that about half a billion of these sharp bot 
tom bags were made and used in this coun¬ 
try last year, the importance anti probable 
financial results of these patents will be more 
readily appreciated. 
Bleaching Flowers. —P. D. asks : By what 
means flowers, loaves and other vegetable 
matters are deprived of their colors, that is, 
bleached or whitened, for introduction into 
what 1 think are called “skeleton bouquets ? 
Answer:—Expose the flowers for a few min¬ 
utes to the fumes of burning sulphur in a 
close vessel, care being taken to prevent the 
heat from reaching them.— Set. American. 
Squeaking Bonis and Shoes.—To prevent 
the soles of boots or shoos from squeaking, 
says the Shoe and Leather Chronicle, rasp, 
the outsold and insole, and every other piece 
of leather that comes in contact in friction 
by t he action of the foot. Then apply freely 
good wheat or rye paste. Tf this is well 
attended to from heel to toe, the boot or shoe 
will not squeak. 
A New Hygroscopc. —An instrument for 
indicating a decided change in the relative 
quantity of moisture of the atmosphere is 
now used in Paris, consisting in strips of 
paper which have been dipped in a cobalt 
salt solution, containing common salt and 
gum arable. In dry weather this prepared 
paper is blue, and in wer, it is rose red. 
To Soften Hard Water, —You can soften 
the water by adding carbonate of soda— 
washing soda as long as a whitish precipi¬ 
tate in formed. Let it settle and draw off 
the clear water above. Sometimes simple 
boiling will render the water after settling fit 
for washing. 
It is a curious fact that cats cannot survive 
when kept about a lead pipe manufactory. 
The experiment has been tried frequently at 
one of tho largest manufactories in New 
York, and in every instance the cat has 
gradually lost flesh, and died within three 
months. 
§»gi|nti[ Jnf’arawtioit. 
A COUGH REMEDY. 
Wm. Jones, M. D., in the New York Medi¬ 
cal Review gives, he sayB, “ a cough remedy 
that ha.i been more or less henefleial for 
consumption than anything I have ever 
used.” It is as followsWild Cherry Bark, 
2*{jibs.; Ipecac Root, 5 ozs.; Blood Root, 6 
ozs.; Squill Root, 3 ozs.; Liquorice Root, 1J^ 
ozs.; Cochineal, J.j oz.; Anise Seed, 8 ozs.; 
Fennel Seed, 3 ozs.; Orange Peel, 4 ozs.; 
Acetate of Morphia, 3 drams ; Alcohol, 2 
gallons; Sulphuric Acid, % oz.; Water, 2 
gallons ; Pulv. Sugar, 10 lbs. 
Directions for making:—Grind all the arti¬ 
cles to a course powder, except those directed 
to be bruised and pulverized, and put them 
ail LO the alcohol, except tho wild cherry 
bark, the water, the sugar, and the sulphuric 
acid. Let them stand one week, shaking or 
stirring twice a day. Then, having kept the 
wild cheriy harlt two days in a covered 
vessel, with water enough upon to wet it 
thoroughly, place it iu a purcolater, and run 
two gallons of water through it. Add this 
to the alcohol and other ingredients. Let 
t he whole stand three days longer, stirring 
as before ; then draw oil and filter through 
paper. Now, add the sugar, aud lastly the 
sulphuric acid. When a more quieting effort 
is needed, a little more morphia may be 
added ; if a more expectorant influence is 
required, or you wish to control the pulbe, 
add a few drops veratrum viride tincture. 
The dose for an adult person is from one to 
two teaspoon fuls three or four times a day. 
Should this not meet your approbation, leave 
it where it is. It has served me better than 
any preparation L have ever used. 
-■ 
TAKING DOWN 8T0YES. 
I noticed in the Rural New-Yorker, re¬ 
cently, an article by an “Editor out of 
Harness.” One thing he speaks of is the 
taking down of stoves and not putting them 
up again till winter sets in. 1 say don’t take 
them down at all unless it is necessary to do 
so to clean them ; and then put them up 
again ; do not poke them into tile storeroom 
or attic ; it is trouble enough getting them 
up and down the staii-s, without the loss of 
comfort which a cheering fire gives on some 
of the chilly, damp, misty days which we 
often have iu this portion of the country. 
“How they look !” I heard a housewife say, 
when the subject was spoken of. Wife, 
mother, don’t, be over-nice when your health 
and the health of your family is concerned ; 
for this matter does concern your health 
when a person is compelled to live in a room 
where there has been no fire for three or six 
months, that person is breathing air that 
certainly breeds disease. I have but little 
more to say on this subject; but, hou*e- 
keepers, when you clean your house, don’t 
take down your stoves. A Reader. 
Westfield, N. Y. 
