APRIL 17 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A GOOD PLATFORM. 
WHAT THE PATRONS PROPOSE TO DO. 
The following, which we find uncredited 
in an exchange, is sound, whatever its source 
or origin. It is good, orthodox doctrine, and 
commendable to all husbandmen, whether 
members of the Order or otherwise, and as 
wide in its application to latitude as the 
most cosmopolitan almanac : 
“We shall endeavor to advance our cause 
by laboring to accomplish the following ob¬ 
jects : To develop a better and higher man¬ 
hood and womannood among ourselves. To 
enhance the comfort and attraction of our 
homes, and strengthen the attachments to 
our pursuits. To foster mutual understand¬ 
ing and co-operation. To maintain inviolate 
our laws, and to emulate each other in labor 
to hasten the good time coming. To reduce 
our expenses, both individual and cor¬ 
porate, To buy less and produce more, in 
order to make our farms self-sustaining. To 
diversify our crops, and crop no more than 
we can cultivate. To condense the weight 
of our exports, selling lesson the bushel und 
more on the hoof and in fleece. To system 
atize our work, and calculate intelligently on 
probabilities. To discountenance the credit 
system, the mortgage system, the fashion 
system, and every other system tending to 
prodigality and bankruptcy. We propose 
meeting together, talking together, working 
together, buying together, selling together, 
and in general acting together for our mu¬ 
tual protection and advancement, as occa¬ 
sion may require. We shall avoid litigation 
as much as possible by arbitration in t he 
Grange. We shall constantly strive to se¬ 
cure entire harmony, good will, vital brother¬ 
hood among ourselves, and to make our Or¬ 
der perpetual. We shall earnestly endeavor 
to suppress personal, local, sectional and na¬ 
tional prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry, all 
selfish ambition. Faithful adherence to 
these principles will insure our mental, mor¬ 
al, social and material advancement.” 
--— 
THE GRANGE REFORM PLATFORM. 
1. The abolition of all degrees beyond the 
Fourth. 
2. The making of all Fourth Degree mem¬ 
bers eligible to any position in the grange, 
from Gatekeeper to Master of the National 
Grange. 
3. The removal of the National Grange 
headquarters to St. Louis. 
4. The abolition of Fifth Degree granges 
and substituting therefor the Business Coun¬ 
cil. 
5. The reduction of the dispensation fee 
to $1, and reduction of dues to the simple 
cost of salaries and office expenses for Na¬ 
tions. 1 and State Grange headquarters. 
(5. The return of all accutnmulated funds 
in National G range Treasury to subordinate 
granges. 
7. The thorough organization of the busi¬ 
ness features of the grange, by States and 
counties, as an absolute necessity for the per¬ 
petuity of the order. 
8. The County Council to constitute the 
business unit and the concentration of all 
surplus funds in the hands of the Council, 
where, under the immediate supervision of 
those who contribute it, it may be applied 
to practical business enterprises.— Kansas 
Farmer. 
-♦♦♦- 
f, THE NATIONAL GRANGE. 
The National Grange of the United States, 
at its last meeting, adopted resolutions of 
a public nature as follows : 
In favor of the Texas Pacific Railroad, 
That Congress be earnestly requested to ini¬ 
tiate such steps as may be necessary to repeal 
all laws taxing tobacco, and that Congress 
be requested to urge the general govern¬ 
ment to induce them to reduce the duties on 
tobacco ; in favor of better and cheaper 
transportation routes, and asking the right 
of way for a road from the Hast to the W est. 
The ritual of the order was not changed. 
No change is made as to the dues and foes. 
But one degree may be conferred on one per¬ 
son at one meeting. In favor of nsing the 
funds of the Grange for Christian purposes 
when necessary. The patrons, everywhere, 
were urged to contribute funds for the com¬ 
pletion of the Washington monument. 
Members of the National Grange were de¬ 
sired to take with them, to the next session, 
specimens of the leading products and miner¬ 
als of their respective neighborhoods. 
«£--.—_ 
-—-- 
NEWS AND NOTES FOR PATRONS. 
In Missouri every county is occupied with 
Granges. 
Patrons of Pawnee County, Nebraska, are 
establishing a Grange Bank. 
At Dayton. Ohio, there is a Grange busi¬ 
ness association with a capital of $50,000. 
The Patrons of Washtenaw Co., Mich., 
have a nourishing Givvige grocery at Oak¬ 
ville. 
The Executive Committee of the Indiana 
State Grange recommends a reduction of 
dues. 
Reports from Massachusetts show that 
her seventy Granges are making good pro¬ 
gress. 
Patrons of Logan County, Ohio, have a 
joint stock company with a capital of 
$15,000. 
Missouri has 2,017 Granges. The largest 
one is D.urksville, 65)4, Randolph County; it 
has 179 members. 
The Texas State Grange agent is reported 
to have saved the patrons thousands of dol¬ 
lars the past winter by his efficient opera¬ 
tions. 
The Patron's Helper is of opinion that the 
Order in Iowa “ never was so strong, so faith¬ 
ful to its purposes, and so thoroughly in 
earnest ns it is now.” 
The Missouri State Grange has borrowed 
funds to relieve the distress among the mem¬ 
bers of ths Order who have suffered from the 
ravages of the grasshoppers. 
Hardin Countv, Ohio, in one year has ad¬ 
vanced from no Grange to twenty-seven 
Granges, which contributed $1,800 in money 
and stores to the locust sufferers. 
Notice that clause 22, page 21, of the 
“Parliamentary Guide”—“A Grange can¬ 
not confer one degree on one person and an¬ 
other degree on another person at the same 
meeting”—is inconsistent with the amended 
ruling of the National Grange, and so it is 
not to be regarded. 
Jomestiq (Bftntomg. 
AROUND THE TABLE. 
I-HORSE-RADISH, ASPARAGUS, LETTUCE. 
When one falls to wondering how the 
various articles of food now in use first came 
into use, curiosity Hies off on a t housand 
tangents,and in its conjectures become entna 
gled in a thousand possibilities. For in¬ 
stance, the other day at dinner we had horse¬ 
radish for the first time this season. A day 
or two later we had Roman lettuce, aspara¬ 
gus and rhubarb, and as one of our number 
wondered how horse-radish came to be used, 
a general wondering followed about all the 
other articles of food on the table, which 
resulted in such a scramble for the gratifica¬ 
tion of curiosity that, what with traditions, 
anecdotes and encyclopedias, enough infor¬ 
mation was brought together to prove at least 
entertaining if not instructive. 
Among the I Trucks and Romans, horse¬ 
radish was an especially despised root, the 
lowest class only eating it. There were five 
species of it—the Corinthian, Liothasian, 
Cleonian, A rnorean and UocBotian, of which 
the last alone, was regarded with favor. It 
had large, silky leaves, was tender, and had 
an agreeable taste. To improve the taste of 
the others, the*, inhabitants were accustomed 
to soak the seeds before planting them, in 
sweet or raisin wine. The species in usej vil.lt 
us to-day is iY us Uitinm Annoracra , and 
the man or maid who sheds river-: of tears in 
grating it for the tabic, may well gnash their 
teeth at the same time, as this spicy root at¬ 
tacks the enamel of the teeth with so much 
vigor that people who value those aids to 
beauty and digestion, may far better sacri¬ 
fice their spring-time longing for horse-radish 
than to gratifiy if. 
The ancients invested horse-radish with 
appropriate superstitious properties, of which 
one was 'Take, fasting, some pieces of this 
root, and the most inveterate poisons will be 
changed into inoffensive drinks. Another 
was, that to wash the hands in its juice 
would enable one to play with impunity 
with venomous reptiles. 
ASPARAGUS. 
As horse-radish is pungent, asparagus is 
mild ; and each, opposite as they are in 
taste, is almost equally grateful to the pal¬ 
ate in the spring time. One tires soon of the 
former, because »f its intensity, while the 
gracious mildness of the latter, its delicate 
sweetness and freshness, are like a poem to 
the taste. It used to be called sparrow-grass, 
and there are upwards of fifty species. Be¬ 
ing one of the most nutritious as well as de¬ 
licious of vegetables, accounts for its popu¬ 
larity the world over. The Greeks consider¬ 
ed it very useful in the treatment of in ernal 
diseases. One ancient writer, who was very 
fond of It, regretted that itshould be so hurt¬ 
ful to the sight, which loads one to wonder 
if there be any connection between aspara¬ 
gus and spectacles 1 
At Ravenna the Romans cultivated aspara¬ 
gus with most extraordinary results, the 
stems weighing three pounds each. The 
same us to-day, they allowed it to boil but a 
short time, as it was a favorite expression 
with Augustus, when lie wished a tiling 
accomplished quickly, “ Let that be done 
quicker than you would cook asparagus.” 
The Roman cooks chose the finest heads of 
asparagus and dried them. When wanted 
for the table they put them in hot water 
and boiled them a few minutes, a p’an good 
enough to be followed the present day. 
Asia is said to be its native soil, but very 
early travelers—in the second century—men¬ 
tion asparagus growing wild in Africa (Getu- 
lia) of excellent quality, and twelve feet in 
hight. But these sumo explorers found up¬ 
on the mountains, above the plains, the plants 
growing to the hight of twenty cubits—and 
there arc eighteen inches in a cubit! Think 
of one stalk being enough for a family of six 
with sharp appetites. L’ahmicntier, a cele¬ 
brated French agriculturist who died in 1S14, 
gives the following suggestion :—“ When it 
is found impossible to eat nil the asparagus 
you have cut or wish to cut, place the stalks 
by the thick ends in a vessel containing about 
two inches of water, or else bury them half 
way up in fresh sand. By means of these 
precautions, asparagus anay be preserved for 
several days, la cooking asparagus it is bet 
ter to arrange tile stalks in bundles, with the 
heads all one way, so that when done and 
taken from the water they may present a 
tidy appearance upon the platter, which 
should first be covet ed with a napkin large 
enough to allow the edges to be turned over 
and cover the asparagus, if the cut end of 
the stalks he somewhat tough, all the. better 
for convenience in eating, as they are held 
in the fingers by that end. When good olive 
oil can lie had, that, mixed with salt, popper 
and a little vinegar, forms a delicious sauce ; 
otherwise a hot, white sauce may be served. 
LETTUCE. 
That people with gardens do not, every¬ 
one of them, sow lettuce seeds, so as to have 
it fresh and tender throughout the entire sea¬ 
son, is simply inexplicable. It is most de¬ 
licious, one of the best known remedies 
against wakefulness, so excellent for the 
stomach as to be eaten oftentimes ns a cura 
five for headache, and so beautiful to see 
that a garden without it looks like wall paper 
without a border. It has been in use since 
time immemorial. The Hebrews ate it with 
the Paschal Lamb, The Greeks were very 
fond of it, and ate it at the end of the repast, 
while the Romans ate it at the beginning of 
theirs, dressed with eggs, in order to excite 
their appetites. Arjktoxe, a philosopher 
and epicurean, cultivated a patch of it. in his 
garden that excited the envy of all his 
neighbors, and it was long before the mys¬ 
tery of his success was made known. In¬ 
stead of water he hud used sweet wine to 
moisten his plants. 
AriCICS, that king of ancient cooks, has 
left on record his method of making a lettuce 
salad :—“Take,” says he, “ the leaves of let¬ 
tuce ; let them be boiled with onions, in 
water wherein you have put some nitre; 
take them out, squeeze out the water, und 
cut ibem in small pieces ; mix well some pep¬ 
per, alisander, parsley seed, dried mint and 
onions. Put this mixture to the lettuce, 
and add to the whole some gravy, oil and 
wine.” 
The most delicious and dainty way of en¬ 
joying lettl/ce is to make a sauce of olive oil, 
salt, and a little vinegar, and dip the leaves 
in it as eaten, crisp and unbroken. People 
who eat lettuce dressed with vinegar and 
sugar have a very meaner conception ef its 
real deliciousness. The difference is equal to 
that of eating a baked potato with sweet 
cream, and eating one dressed with sugar. 
—M. a. E. w. 
SELECTED RECIPES. 
Molasses Cuke.—Take two cups of molas¬ 
ses and one-half cup of shortening, and add 
as much flour as you can stir in ; then add 
two cups of boiling water, in which you 
have dissolved one large teaspoonful of sale- 
ratus. 
Sponge Cake.— Three eggs, one cup of 
flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, 
one-half teaspoonful soda. 
3W 
255 
irirjicntq Jnformittion. 
BATHING CHILDREN. 
Some mothers, writes a physician, think 
when their children get beyond two or three 
years of age the frequent entire bath can bo 
dispensed with. If some of the main facts 
of physiology were well known and under¬ 
stood, every one would perceive that cleanli¬ 
ness of the skin is one of the conditions of 
good health. It happens when bathing is 
disregarded that the lungs, kidneys or 
bowels have more than their apportionment 
of work. If these are strong und healthy, 
they may bear the tax with little apparent 
injury, but, in most cases, a lowering of the 
vitality and tone of the system ensues. Largo 
bath tubs are pleasant and convenient, but 
not indispensable to the proper cleansing of 
the skin. A speedy sponging of the body in 
pure water, followed by friction in pure air, 
is all that is necessary. 
When disinclined to use water I find 
thorough application of the flesh brush to 
the whole person an admirable substitute ; 
especially ou retiring, it relieves nervousness, 
equalizes the circulation and induces quiet 
sleep. Mothers, above all, should see that 
their children are well bathed. If their 
skins are kept active and healthy there will 
not be half the danger from fever, cold and 
eruptive diseases. If your little one is cross 
or troublesome, and finds no occupation that 
pleases him, try the effect of a bath ; some¬ 
times it is magical, and, if tried, he will go 
to sleep aud awaukeu bright, cheerful ami 
happy. Do not, though, as I have seen some 
parents do, plunge a child into water, when 
he screams and shrinks from it, thinking 
you ure doing a good deed. Nature must be 
the guide; if your child has a nervous con- 
stitution a shock of this kind is only exhaust¬ 
ing and injurious. 
SLEEPLESSNESS. 
™To take, it hearty meal just before retiring 
is, of course, injurious, because it is very 
likely to disturb one’s rest, and produce 
nightmare. However, a little food at this 
time, if one L hungry, is decidedly bene¬ 
ficial ; it prevents the gnawing of an empty 
stomach, with its attendant restlessness and 
unpleasant dreams, to say nothing of prob¬ 
able headaches or of nervous and other 
derangements, the next morning. One 
should no more lie down at night hungry 
than he should lie down after a very full 
dinner ; the eonsequenee of either being dis¬ 
turbing and harmful. A cracker or two, a 
bit of bread and butter, or a cake, a little 
fruit—something to relieve the sense of 
vacuity, and so restore the tone of the 
system—is all that is necessary. 
We have known persons, habitual sufferers 
from restlessness at night, to experience 
material benefit, even though they were not 
hungry, by a very light luncheon before bed¬ 
time. In place of tossing about for two or 
three hours asforrnely,lhoy would soon grow 
drowsy, fall asleep, and not awake more 
than once or twice until sunrise. This mode 
of treating insomnia lias recently been 
recommended by several distinguished 
physicians and the prescription has general¬ 
ly been attended with happy results.— Scrib¬ 
ner for March. 
-♦♦♦-- 
THREE EMINENT PHYSICIANS. 
As the celebrated French physician, Des¬ 
moulins, lay on Ills death bed, he was visited 
and almost constantly surrounded by the 
most distinguished medical men of Paris, as 
well as other prominent citizens of the me- 
troplis. Great were the lumcntations cf all 
at the loss about to besustainad by the pro¬ 
fession, in the death of one they regarded as 
its greatest ornament; but Desmoulins 
spoke cheerfully to Ids practitioners, assuring 
them that he had left behind three physi¬ 
cians much greater than himself. Each of 
the doctors, hoping that his own name 
would be called, inquired anxiously who 
was sufficiently illustrious to surpass the 
immortal Desmoulins. With great distinct¬ 
ness the <lying limn answered. “They are 
Water, Exercise and Diet. Call in the ser¬ 
vice of the first freely, of the second regular¬ 
ly, and the third moderately. Follow this 
advice, and you may well dispense with my 
aid. Living, l could do nothing without 
them ; and dying, I shall not be missed, if 
you make friends of these, my faithful coad- 
i utors ” ___ 
Asthma Remedy. —Gather brakes, by 
some called ferns, m the woods, dry th c m, 
place them under the sheet, and sleep on 
them. Add a few fresh ones, vpry few 
weeks, and do not abandon it as soon as a 
little better : continue a year or more. This 
is an old Indian remedy 
|J 
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