I*. K 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
KITCHEN WORK AGAIN. 
“ I hate to wash dishes, the worst of any¬ 
thing I ever have to do,” exclaimed Mrs. 
C -, one night at the tea table ; “ I’ve al¬ 
ways had it to do ever since I could stand up 
in a chair and reach into the dishpan. I've 
slways said my girls should never be tied to 
the kitchen table fts long as I had a hand to 
work with, or could raise a foot from the 
floor; and it’s very little they know about 
housekeeping T can assure you,” and Mrs. 
C- looked upon her dowdily dressed 
daughters with an air, which said very 
plainly, “I’ve made ladh s of my daughters, 
and I am proud of my wonderful achieve¬ 
ment.” 
“ Poor, foolish woman;” thought I, as I 
sipped my tea from a teacup faced with 
dried dough and a teaspoon dark with the 
stains of cheap tea, “all your life has been 
spent in doing disgusting kitchen work; 
made sc>, because never half done.” The 
poetry of washing greasy, doughy dishes, 
and blackened kettles had never been in¬ 
stilled into her mind. And her mental vision 
had not discovered the pleasure that shining 
china and glistening iron give to every truly 
artistic mind. 
“I al'ays do all the scrubbing tuyself,” 
she continued; “I never want my girls to 
break their backs, as I have mine, over a I 
floor; when I lived at home mother had to 1 
spin and weave and make clothes for a large 
family of boys and girls, and as r was the 
oldest daughter all the serubbin’ and cleanin’ 
fell to my lot. But r was perty sure to make 
quick work of the general part of it, ’speci¬ 
ally it' there was a book in the neighbor¬ 
hood. I was al’ays proper fond of readin’, 
and I al’ays said if my gals was as intellec- 
tooal as their mother they should have Urn 
privilege of enjoying their books without 
having’to stop jest in the middle of an in¬ 
terestin'story, to do the kithen work: and 
Fidelia Sanettik call pose bootiful po’try 
a'ready; and I expect she will write a book 
bye and bye, that will make the folks open 
their eyes with admiration.” 
least my eyes about me during all this long 
recital, and beheld the base boards blacken¬ 
ed with muddy water from the mop; the 
floors, apparently, had not seen soap suds 
forages, and the windows had the dust of 
the season upon them, Fidelia Hanettie 
wore what had been at some time a white 
muslin dress, but as I surveyed her then and 
there, it was dirt-colored; the sleeves were , 
half ripped out, and the skirt hung in loops, 
being partially pinned at the licit. It had a 
half yard trail, while the underskirts had 
been made when she wore short dresses. 
There were great holes in her stockings that 
made a flue exhibition above her slippers; 
and although her hair was dressed in the 
hightof the fashion, and her fingers loaded 
with rings, her linger nails were long and 
filled with dirt, giving her lingers the ap¬ 
pearance of mourners. Surely here was a 
fine specimen of the young lady that knows 
little or nothing of the domestic machinery 
and still less of nice personal haliits—all be¬ 
cause u mother had been left to slouch 
through the work in her childhood. There 
was uo systematic performance of work, no 
love for the beautiful in humble things 
taught—only a crowding through a certain 
amount of labor, to be somehow “ got along 
with” in the quickest possible munner. 
And so, to save the next generation from 
the toilsome drudgery, the mother drags 
through the disgusting details, bringing up 
her daughter in idleness and ignorance of 
the most important duties of life. Thus 
more misery is entailed upon succeeding 
generations. Oh, who wonders that there 
are so mauy miserable homes, within our 
otherwise glorious Union. May Maple. 
-*-*-*- 
A CHAPTER ON PORK. 
While waiting for some of the Rural 
cooks to give the desired information about 
steaks and roasts, we will write a chapter 
on pork, lest beef, mutton and fowl shall 
crowd then- plebeian neighbor into some 
neglected corner. If half the farmers will 
make pork a staple article of diet the your 
round, let it be cooked in the best manner. 
Once, we should have felt poverty-stricken 
indeed without a generous supply of nice, 
pig pork and hams to last through haying 
and harvest; but now, with the tri-weekly 
calls of the butcher, we view the bottom of 
the pork barrel in early summer with the 
greatest composure, well pleased if only a 
few of the best pieces are left for times of 
emergency. 
We have learned from experience that 
men folks as well as children are quite apt 
to want what they cannot get, and we feel 
very secure, if—when they tire of fresh 
meats, we are able to give them an occasion¬ 
al dish, of pork, though it should not come 
very oft en in the warm weather. 
Now about, the cooking Though it is 
better boiled and eaten when cold, let ns be¬ 
gin with the frying, since two-thirds of Hie 
people who use it at all seem to prefer it 
that way, only the leanest parts being re¬ 
served for boiling. Out the slices just thick 
enough to fry through quickly and cover 
them with cold water, which should bo al¬ 
lowed to heat slowly on top of t he stove, bub 
not boil, lle-lf a cupful of sweet, milk added 
to the water hastens t he froahcr.ing—besides 
giving a nice flavor to the meat, When you 
would have, it taste very much like fresh 
pork, soak the slices in cold water over 
night or a few hours before cooking; but it 
does not brown as readily as when the water 
is brought nearly to the boiling point. 
.Just before the water boils, take out the 
pork, and where much of it, is used during 
the year, it, is good economy to save this 
water in some dish kept for the purpose. 
I When it is cold, remove the fat, which al ter 
being boiled again to expel the water, makes 
excellent soap grease. When you are ready 
to fry the meat, have a brisk tire,, rub the 
spider over with a slice of pork, then dip 
each one in flour and fry quickly to a, light 
■ brown, but, do not, leave your post I ill the 
! last one is sa fely on the platter, Never pour 
the least fat on the meat, but sprinkle it. with 
a little pepper, and if you wish to have it 
look very nieev-spread a small quantity of 
butter Oil each piece. A fler draining out the 
fat, which, if not scorched, is better than 
lard for some uses, dip into the hot spider a 
few spoonfuls of sweet, cream for a gravy 
which some prefer to that t hickened with 
flour. 
Most children like white gravy, which we 
make with a heaping tablespoonful of Ilnur 
stirred into a bowl of milk and cream, with 
salt and pepper to suit the taste—but no fat 
except, what is mingled with the flour loft in 
the spider after frying ; but when the gravy 
boils, a, piece of butter us large as a walnut, 
is put in before it is served. 
These directions may seem almost un¬ 
necessary, but, just leave an inexperienced 
girl to fry the pork, and ten chances to one, 
it will come to the table in the. form of burnt 
scraps swimming in fat, or so raw that you 
turn from it in disgust. We do not consider 
it very healthy food, but it can be. made in- 
viking, even to the city friends who some¬ 
times ask us to cook it for their especial 
benefit. 
Our chapter is in danger of being too long, 
so the hints about pork stews, broiling, 
roasting and boiling must be left till another 
t' rae - Ruth Lee. 
- ■*■*-*■ —- - 
DOMESTIC BREVITIES. 
'Vo Have Whitewash, Always at Bawl .— 
Housekeepers are often obliged to delay 
house-cleaning in spring and fall because 
they have no lime at hand to whitewash 
with, and it is nob always convenient for 
men to leave their work to go after it • 
neither is it always to be lmd. I have found 
it convenient to get more lime Haul 1 wish 
to use up at once, and slake it with boding 
water the same as usual, and set it away in 
a jar or other convenient vessel in the cellar; 
cover it up to keep out the dust, and let it 
remain until T wish it for use again. It will 
keep any length of time. The only precau¬ 
tion to tie observed is to keep the lime cov¬ 
ered with water to the depth of several 
inches, and look at it occasionally to see that 
the water has not been absorbed by the 
lime, and put on more if needed. If it gets 
dry vour labor has been in vain, it is very 
handy to have lime thus prepared, aa it, is 
ready to use for anything, and is just as nice 
to whitewash with as if it was just made — 
Farmer’s Wife. 
iqiiitl Jnfformittioit. 
SELECTED RECIPES. 
Hpgienie Custard f'ic .— Two tablespoons 
or Utah.am flour, and one teaspoon of 6orn 
starch stirred smoothly into one-half pint of 
milk lo winch add three well beaten eggs, 
another half pint of milk, one tablespoon of 
sugar, and a little lemon juice il desired. 
A ll stirred together and poured into a well 
buttered plate or pie tiu and baked in a 
quick oven. The flour will settle to the but 
tom and form a flue crust without, shorten¬ 
ing. A spoon of desiccated cocoauut adds 
much to its deheiousness. 
Apple Dumplings. — Make crust as for 
raised Graham biscuit, enclosing a tart an- 
me. pared, cored, and cut in halves. Boil 
hard tor one-half hour. To be eaten with 
cream or milk and sugar. 
I MILK AS A DIET AND ITS EFFECTS 
ON THE SYSTEM. 
There is a considerable difference of opin- 
iou on the subject of a'milk diet. It is sur- 
i rounded with a rtoes of whims, or prejit 
dices and of mistaken Ideas, which are based 
. more on individual fancies than upon certain 
fact. To one a glass of milk imbibed is be¬ 
lieved to be a sure provocation of a billions 
attack, to another, a disordered stomach, to 
a third, drowsiness, and so on, through such 
a category of simple though disagreeable ail¬ 
ments that, we look aghast at the farmer who 
drains cup after cup of tile fresh, pure liquid, 
time and again during the day, am) wonder 
at the resisting powers which his organiza¬ 
tion must possess. The truth is, however, 
that milk is not unwholesome. On the con 
Lrary, it contains good substantial bone, 
muscle, flesh a nd brain producing substances 
which, assimilating quickly, art, rapidly in 
building up the body. Natural!,}, wo assert, 
it is nourishing ; that it docs bring on certain 
troubles is nevertheless true, but the cause 
is in the individual stomach, not lu the milk, 
provided, of course, t he latter be fresh and 
sweet. The Com mereial Advertiser of recent 
dale had some excellent remarks on tins .sub¬ 
ject which are well worthy of repetition. 
“Milk diluted with one third lime-water,” 
it is said, ‘will not cause any one biliousness 
or headache, and, if taken regularly, will so 
strengthen t he stomach as to banish t hese 
disorders. Tt, may be taken with acid of 
some kind when it docs not easily digest 
J he idea that. Uiillc must not be eaten with 
pickles is not, an intelligent one, as milk 
curdles in the stomach nearly as soon as il, is 
swallowed. When milk is constipating, as 
it. is frequently found to be by persons who 
drink freely of il in the country in the sum 
mer time, a, little twit sprinkled in Audi glass¬ 
ful will prevent the difficulty. When it has 
an opposite effect, a few drops of brandy in 
each goblet, of milk will obviate its purgative 
effect. As milk is so essential to the health 
of our bodies, it is well to consider when to 
take It, and how it is a mistake to drink 
milk between meals, or with food at the 
table. In the former case it will destroy the 
appetite ; and in the latter it is never proper 
to drink anything. After finishingeae1 1 meal 
a goblet of pure milk should be drank ; and 
if any one wishes to grow fleshy, a pint taker, 
before retiring at night will soon cover the 
scrawniest bones. In cases of fever and sum 
mer complaint, milk is now given with excel 
lent results. The idea that milk is ‘feverish’ 
lias exploded, and it is now the physician’s 
great reliance in bringing through-typhoid 
patients, or those in too low a state to be 
nourished by solid food.” 
-»•»» --- 
EXCITEMENT AND SHORT LIKE, 
L he deadliest foe to man’s longevity is an 
unnatural and unreasonable excitement. 
Every man is born with a certain stock of 
vitality, which cannot be increased, but 
which may bo expended or husbanded rap- 
i ( Hy> he deems best. Within certain 
limits he has his choice, to move last or slow, 
to live abstemiously or intensely, to thaw his 
little amount of life over a, large space, or 
condense it into a narrow one ; but when his 
stock is exhausted he has no more. He who 
lives abstemiously, who a voids all stimulants, 
takes light exercise, never overtasks himself, 
indulges no exhausting passions, feeds his 
mind and heart on no exciting material, has 
no debilitating pleasure, lets nothing ruflle 
his temper, keeps his “accounts with God and 
man duly squared up,” is sure, barring acci¬ 
dents, to spin out his life to the longest limit 
which it is possible to attain ; while he who 
intensely feeds on high-seasoned food, wheth¬ 
er material or mental, fatigues his body or 
brain by hard labor, exposes himself to in¬ 
flammatory disease, seeks continual excite¬ 
ment, gives loose rein to his passions, frets at 
every trouble, and enjoys little repose, is 
burning the candle at both ends, and is sure 
to shorten his days, 
---- . 
BED TIME. 
We should never go to bed with a hope for 
rest, sleep, and perfect repose, until “ail 
ready.” The preliminaries for retirement 
are till just as important as are those for the 
day’s duties. We must not goto bed witli 
an overloaded stomach, in an anxious or 
troubled state of mind, with cold extremities, 
or without anticipating and responding to 
the culls of nature in all respects. Standing j 
over a register, before a lire or in a stove- I 
heatedJ°om,ri not the best way to get warm 
for a night’s sleep. We should takrSuoh 
vigorous exercise as will give quick circula¬ 
tion to tlie blood, and not depend on artificial, 
but on natural heat. Attention to all these 
things, followed by such devotiona l exercis¬ 
es as will bring all the feelings, emotions and 
sentiments into accord with the divine will, 
subduing passions, removing hatred, malice, 
jealousy, revenge, and opening the portals of 
Lie, a veil to all who seek rest, peace and sweet 
repose. II, is a happy custom with many to 
conclude t he evening’* proceedings bysing- 
| mg a sweet, quiet hymn, “The day is past 
mnl gone,” etc., which brings all present in 
delightful union with each other and with 
“ Our Father which art in Heaven.”—Science 
of Health. 
---- 
HYGIENIC NOTES, 
Worth a Hundred Dollars.— The following 
directions, carefully observed, will prevent 
those c-uticular and osseous abominations 
known as felons: 
“As soon as the disease is felt, put directly 
over the spot a fly blister, about the size of 
your thumbnail, and lot it remain for six 
hours, at the expiration of which time 
directly under the surface of the blister, may 
be seen the felon, which can instantly be 
taken out with the point Of a needle or lan¬ 
cet.” 
,, ! >r - T -Snow Beck of London, after care- 
1 n vest i gallon, declares “ it is certain that 
the protective influence of vaccination be¬ 
comes impaired during the period between 
in fancy a. iif I maturity.” lu order to main tain 
the protective Influence during life, it, is es¬ 
sential to repeat the vaccination after the 
individual reaches maturity. 
BEAN WEEVILS. 
I inclosed find a box of beans containing 
b igs, or annuals of seme kind which destroy 
an the beans we grow here. The querv in 
my mind is. Whence do they come ? j was 
told that beans planted as late as August 
wo.ihl Dot bo buggy ; but these are, as you 
^ y Hr '''' * im| ld they arrive safely.— 
VVM. B. Weeks, Nor folk, Va. 
The small, grayish beetles Infesting your 
beans are. the well known Bean weevil 
(Bruch us obsohtus of Sav, it. j* closely 
allied to the common Pea weevil, (JJ, «fs?’ 
biN.v,) and the eggs are deposited in the same 
manner that is, upon the pods while grow¬ 
ing in the field. The eggs hatch, and the 
larva penetrates the soft beans. The hole 
made soon closes, leaving no sign of injury 
The grub eats out for itself a small cavity 
within which to undergo its various trans¬ 
formations,remains within the bean until the 
following season, when the mature beetle 
comes forth in time to attack the growing 
crop. We doubt the efficacy of early or late 
planting, because weevils arc constantly 
emerging from stored beans throughout tlie 
summer, if infected beans are stored in a 
warm room, the beetles will frequently ap¬ 
pear in January, while under opposite con¬ 
ditions they may not come out until July or 
August, us in the specimens you send. To 
prevent the increase t f this insect the beans 
should be stored in air-tight barrels or other 
vessels as soon as gathered, and some pieces 
of gam camphor sprinkled in among them 
and then close up the vessel for a month or 
two or until every grub is killed, A few 
spoonfuls of kerosene oil is also said to an¬ 
swer the same purpose, although we have 
never tried it ourselves. 
A LARGE CARNIVOROUS BUG. 
T send to-day by mail a specimen inclosed 
in a morphine bottle. You will please give 
the name, and such other information as you 
deem necessary, through the Rural.— S. F 
I’Ortune, Dodge Co.. Ky. 
The insect Bent belongs to the Hemiptera, 
oi t rue bugs, ami it is til ©Rcduvius a ovenar- 
ias of Say, or PHonot.us novenarim of Un- 
lkr. This formidable-looking bug is about 
an inch long aud of a brownish, liver color, 
covered with very short hairs ; head cylin¬ 
drical, projecting an eighth of an inch be¬ 
yond the thorax. The antemne are three- 
jointed, and the middle joint longest, the 
last very slender and thread-like. Ou the 
fop of the thorax there is a high crest, orna¬ 
mented w ith eight or nine teeth. This insect 
is quite common throughout the middle and 
Southern States, it is carnivorous, feeding 
upon smaller insects which it attacks, suck¬ 
ing out their juices; therefore, it should be 
considered as a friend to man. 
