MW. 6 THE BUBAL 
Any tank or reservoir for the retention of 
water should, therefore, be placed in such a sit¬ 
uation aa will expoee the water as much as pos¬ 
sible to the influence of the sun, and if kept 
constantly full the difference between the tem¬ 
perature of the water and that of the soil dining 
the summer will bo but slight. One more ro-., 
mark of sojne importance with regard to water, 
is that whenever root-watering is attempted, it 
should be done thoroughly, or uot at all; sur¬ 
face-watering only serves to keep the roots near 
the top, where, if allowed to get dry—which they 
soon do if watering be neglected for a time— 
they become scorched by the hot sun. and the 
evil effects of such treatment soon become vis¬ 
ible. Deep culture and thorough watering are 
two of the principal essentials to the successful 
growth of all kitchen-garden crops, and therefore 
both should receive more attention than they 
now do in the majority of places. 
--» ♦ » ■ 
WATER-CRESS CULTURE. 
Wherever there is spring water ninning in 
open ditches or small brooks water-cress may lie 
grown. The most favorable conditions for its 
growth, says the Toronto Globe, are a gently flow¬ 
ing stream of water from three to six inches 
deep, with a gravelly bottom, underlaid with 
loam, and fed by springs of uniform tempera¬ 
ture. On a neighboring farm rises a strong 
spriug, on which, some four or live years ago, 
water-cress seed was sown. Now there is a com¬ 
plete mat of plants, not near the spring only, 
but all along the stream for a mile or more, 
pieces of branches and roots having occasionally 
been torn off and carried down by the current to 
some quiet places where they took root. In the 
sheltered bays and nooks of this brook, where 
alternate layers of muck and gravel were washed 
on, the plants seem to luxuriate the most. 
Where similar conditions exist naturally but 
little labor is necessary to establish a water-cross 
bed sufficient for home use. bnt when more ex¬ 
tensive plantations, otherwise than along the 
margin of » brook, are to bo made, considerable 
labor may be required. If the land to bo de¬ 
voted to this culture does not contain enough 
gravel or coarse sand, this element must bo sup- t 
plied beforo planting; a covering of from three 
to four inches will be sufficient. Where the land 
is entirely and constantly overflowed all that is 
necessary is to cut off rooted branches of old 
plants and set them out in places where the 
water is about six inches deep, and to place a 
stone on each root to prevent it from being 
washed away. A small stream running through 
marshy ground, however, offers the best, oppor¬ 
tunity for a large plantation. 
In this case ditches three to four feet wide and 
as many feet apart should be dug rectangularly 
from the water cress as far as the water will 
follow: The depth of the ditches must be ar¬ 
ranged according to the medium level of the 
stream, in such a mauuer that tho water in them 
stands at no season lower than three inches, nor 
for any long time more than six inches. Bv 
moans of a dam with sluiceway the water can 
readily bo kept at a uniform level. At the bot¬ 
tom of each ditch the cuttings are placed about 
two feet apart each way, or closer if enough 
roots can bo had. Where old plants are net at¬ 
tainable seed may be sown in the shallowest 
parts of the ditches, and the plants grown there¬ 
from used for propagation, but of course a year 
more time will be required to establish a planta¬ 
tion from seed than from cuttings. Tho month 
of September is the heat time for sowing the 
seed aa well aa for planting. 
- ♦ - 
GREEN GAGE TOMATO-GREEN PROLIFIC 
CUCUMBER. 
In reply to your inquiry of recent date con¬ 
cerning the Green Gage Tomato, we cannot now 
tell the exact date of ripening of first specimens, 
aa we made no note of it at the time, but think 
they comparo favorably with most varieties in 
earlineea. We thought they ripened much more 
evenly than the Golden Trophy with which we 
compared them more particularly on account of 
resemblance in color. 
The Green Prolific Cucumber we have not 
grown ourselves, but, from recommendations of 
a friend who has, we entertain a very favorable 
opinion of it and have secured a quantity of 
seed. Tillinghast, Bro’s. 
La Plume, Pa. 
Domestic toiwrati. 
COOKS AND COOKING. 
It has been said that “ poets are born and not ' 
made,' 1 through education or otherwise, and the 
same axiom may be applied to cooks. 
The principles of cooking may be studied with 
care, and for a lifetime, and practical directions 
for compounding dishes, baking, boiling, and 
roasting, given without number; but with all 
these aids, a woman cannot become a good cook 
without practice, any more than she can become 
an accomplished performer on the piano by 
studying a book of exercises arranged for that 
instrument. 
There is a certain indescribable something, or 
intuitive knowledge, which assists one cook to 
have everything turn out just right, while an¬ 
other, by the closest attention, fails to produce 
any artiole in its greatest perfection. 
Good bread makers we have, it is true, but 
they are far from boing common, although it 
would be difficult to find a woman who makes 
bread that w ill own her bread iB not quite as good 
as it is possible to make it. 
But there is a difference of opinion as to what 
constitutes good bread. Some consider lightness, 
even to a puffy condition, as the principal qual¬ 
ity of a good article; but this is certainly a great 
mistake, for good bread should be of an even, 
uniform texture throughout, no boles in it aa 
large as peas or marbles, for these t how want of 
proper kneading. 
Of course, good, light whito bread cannot bo 
made from poor flour, or out of heated and 
soured wheat, and tho man who provides such 
jfh article and expects his wife to make good 
bread, deserves to ho disappointed, as ho most 
surely will. 
There arc also conditions to be observed which 
cannot be laid down iu cookery books, or be known 
outside of each particular kitchen. These per¬ 
tain to tho water used, whether soft or hard, 
also to tho management of the fire, for if it 
fluctuates from a rod-hot stove one minute to an 
a I moot cold ono the next, the cooking will not go 
on in a uniform and regular manner. 
The Bcorcts of success in cooking are, knowing 
just what you want to produce, just howto do 
it, and then giving tho necessary attention to 
bring about the desired results, which caD only 
be obtained through constant practice. 
It will not do to get into a flurry and put in 
salt inplaco of BUgar, or to leave out cither in¬ 
gredient wboro all are required to complete 
the articlo in iiand; but careful attention to all 
t he smalt details arc positively necessary to pro¬ 
duce satisfactory results. 
A kitchen is a chemical laboratory, and the 
chemist who presides over it, must takoan inter¬ 
est in tho compounding of each dish produced, 
else thero will be no brilliant chemical results. 
Mbs. Rcstis. 
♦ ♦ ♦ - 
SELECTED RECIPES. 
Corn Meal Muffins.— Two eggs; two table- 
spoonfulB of whito sugar; three cupB of flour; 
twotoaBpoonful» of baking powder; one heap¬ 
ing tablespoonful of corn meal; one cup of 
sweet milk; one tablespoonful of melted butter ; 
a little salt. Sift the baking powder through the 
flour. Beat sugar and cggB together; add milk, 
corn meat and the flour. When all of the in¬ 
gredients are well mixed, bake in well-buttered 
gem-pans, in a quick oven. 
Another. —Two and a half cups of corn meal; 
one pint, of sweet milk; three eggs; two and a 
half teaspoonfuls of yeast-powder; three tea¬ 
spoonfuls of sugar; a little salt. 
Rice. Muffins. Half a teacup of boiled rice; 
a quarter pound of butter; a half teacup of 
sugar; one quart of sweet milk; half a teacup 
of yeast; one toaspooriful of salt; add Hour 
enough to make a thin batter; mix the ingred¬ 
ients very thoroughly (except the flour); then 
stir in the flour. Let this rise over night. In 
the morning, bake in muffin-rings. 
Muffins.— One quart of milk ; ono egg ; a lit¬ 
tle salt; half a cup of yeaat; a tablespoonful of 
melted butter: flour to make a thick batter; to 
be made late in tho evening and stand all night 
for breakfast, or, if you wish them for tea, mix 
them at noon, and keep the pan in a warm place 
and they will rise in a few hours. Heat the 
griddle, then butter it and the muffin-rings; put 
tho latter upon the griddle and pour in the bat¬ 
ter ; turn them once only. 
Soda Muffins. —One pint of water, or sweet i 
milk; one quart of flour; half a teacup of but- I 
ter; two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one 
of soda. Mix the cream of tartar thoroughly 
through the flour ; add soda to the milk, or wa¬ 
ter ; stir altogether, and bake immediately upon j 
a hot griddle, or set the raufim-rings in a pan 
and bake in a quick oven. 
By efMuffins .—Two cups of rye meal; one cup 
of flour; half a cup of molasses; half a cup of 
yeast; water to make a soft batter. Set to rise 
at night. In the morning, dissolve half a tea¬ 
spoonful of soda in a little water; stir it into 
the batter; put the cakes in small pans or muffin- 
rings. Let them stand fifteen or twenty minutes 
before baking. 
Scolloped Turkey.—Vick the meat from the 
bones of cold cooked turkey, without any of the 
skin ; chop it quite fine ; put a layer of cracker- 
crumbs on the bottom of an earthen baking-dish ; 
moisten them with a little sweet milk ; then put 
in a layer of chopped turkey, with some of the 
stuffing, and cut small bits of butter over the 
top; sprinkle with pepper and salt; then au- i 
WEW-¥©RKEB. n 
other layer of crumbs, and so on until the dish 
is full; add a little hot water to the gravy that 
was left from the turkey, aud pour over it. 
Then take two well-beaton eggs, two tablcspoon- 
fula of milk, ono of melted butter, a little salt, 
and cracker-crumbs so much as will rnako it 
thick enough to spread Over the top ; put bits of 
butter over it, aud cover with a plate ; bake an 
horn in a moderato oven ; remove the plate a few 
minutes before serving to let tbo top brown 
nicely. 
Chicken O'oquettes. —Mince cold cooked chick¬ 
en ; season with pepper, salt, a littlo nutmeg and 
chopped parsley. Take a. largo tablospoonful of 
butter, two of flour, one-half glass of cream; 
mix, and stir in the minced fowl; let it boil well; 
then pour it into a dish aud put aside to get ookl 
and set; then divide it into parts; form thorn 
into small halls, or egg shapes; dip each in well- 
beaten egg ; then in fine cracker-crumbs, and 
fry a light brown. Serve, ornamented with pars¬ 
ley. 
Turnips Stewed in Butter. —Wash tho turnips, 
aud wipe them dry; pare, and slice them half an 
mob thick, and divide the sliced into small pieces ; 
dissolve an ounce of butter for each half-pound 
of turnips; pat them into the butter as flat as 
they can be, and stew them very gently for three- 
quarters of an hour; add a seasoning of salt and 
white pepper, when half done. When thus pre¬ 
pared, they may be dished over fried or broiled 
mutton chops. 
/ urnips in Gravy. —To a pound of turnips, 
sliced and cut into dice, pom* a quarter-pint of 
voal gravy; add a small lump of sugar, some 
salt and pepper; boil them till tender, but not 
broken; lift them out into a dish; add to tho 
gravy a cun of cream, a tea spoonful of corn¬ 
starch, made smooth in a little cold water and 
a small lump of butter ; let it boil up; then pour 
over the turnip and send to tho table immedi¬ 
ately. 
Oyster Fritters.— A pint and a half of sweet 
milk, one pound and a quarter of flour, four 
C KK 8 - Tho yolks of tho eggs must he hoaten 
very thick, to which add the milk and flour; stir 
tho whole well together, then beat the w hites to 
a stiff froth and stir them gradually into the 
batter. Tako a spoonful of the mixturo, drop 
an oyster into it, and fry it in hot lard. Let 
them bo a light brown on both sides. 
Tho oysters should not bo put into [tho batter 
all at omuv, as they would thin it. 
Ijjftitnit Information. 
DRINKING-WATER. 
At the meeting of tlio British Association, 
Professor Wanklyn read a paper " On the Effects 
of tho Mineral Substances iu Drinking Water on 
the Iloalth of tho Community.'’ Ho said: Inas¬ 
much as by tho help of subsidence, reservoirs 
and wholesalo filtration, the water supply of 
towns may be sufficiently cleansed from organic 
impurity, tho selection of an appropriate water 
supply now resolves itself in the selection of 
water unobjectionable from a mineral point of 
view, and tho question. What are tho sunitary 
effects of the small quantities of mineral sub¬ 
stances iu drinking-water? meets the chemical 
adviser whenever ho is called on to choose be¬ 
tween different sources of supply. At present 
wo are very much in the dark on these questions, 
and are obliged to fall hack on the system of 
giving the preference to water, the mineral char¬ 
acter of which is not in any way unusual, reject¬ 
ing for town supply, water of unusual mineral 
character. It is time, however, that better 
ground should be provided; and, with tbo object 
of placing the question on a firmer basis, I am 
endeavoring to get up a kind of register of the 
chief water supplies, and, in the course of time 
hope that peculiarities of bodily constitution 
may be connected with peculiarities of water 
supply. 
At first sight, when first taking up the subject, 
both the chemist aud the physician are inclined 
to protest against the notion that appreciable 
effects may follow from tho slight mineral dif¬ 
ferences in waters. Bnt a nearer view of the 
subject alters that frame of mind completely. 
The fluid taken daily by an adult man may be 
roughly set down at half-a-gallon, and at that 
rate the mineral matter imbibed in a fortnight 1 b 
quite appreciable. On the other hand, the I 
amount of mineral matter in different articles of 
food is much smaller than might at first sight las 
imagined. In wheaten flour it is ft.fi per cent, of 
which the greater part is phosphate of potash. 
The mineral contents of the drinking water are 
not by any means overwhelmed by the mineral 
matter in ordinary dietaries. One of the ques¬ 
tions which has often been asked is, whether it 
is better to drink hard water or soft water. The 
reply which has been given is that at present we 
cannot tell, but that apparently the system can 
accommodate itself to either, and that a soft 
water drinker is sometimes disordered when ho 
begins to drink hard water. One of the charac¬ 
teristic difficulties met with in these inquiries is 
that, unlike our cows and hoi’Bes, wo are not 
confined to our water supply. In Glasgow, for 
instance, persons who drink beer receive tho 
hard water of tho breweries. 
My object in bringing this question up is to call 
tlio attention of fashionable physicians to au ex¬ 
cellent. opportunity wlilch has arisen, and which 
it would be ajiity not to embrace, of studying 
tlio effects of hard water in a very exaggerated 
shape. I have, however, found a water which 
contains about lftft grams of real carbonate of 
lime per gallon, and which is now being drunk 
in high society. The T;innus water, according to 
Mr. Taylor's analysis, contains in one gallon: 
Carbonate of lime, 97.3 grains; carbonate of 
magnesia, 12.3 grains ; chloride-of sodium, 180.0 
grains; chloride of potassium, 17.5 grains; sul¬ 
phate of soda, 4 5 grains. 1 have, in tlio main, 
verified that. Accordingly Tannus water may 
be said to contain about 1111) grains of carbonate 
of Hrno and 2(J0 grains of common salt per gallon. 
At the. present moment Tannus water, being 
largely advertised, is presumably largely drunk at 
Court and in aristocratic circles, and fashionable 
physicians have an opportunity of observing the 
effect of drinking a water live times as hard as 
the typical hard water of tho country. 
In the course of tho discussion which followed, 
Dr. Carr observed, with respect to Kent water, 
which was very hard, that it contained a large 
percentage of lime and was very wliolesomo for 
young persons. Tho children of Kent were sin¬ 
gularly stmight-legged, arid it was well known 
that lime roadily assimilated in the system and 
created sound lame. Prof. Wanklyn said that 
Kent water was, as a rule, as pure organically as 
distilled water. Hard water was, it. was true, 
good for children, as they required lime in var¬ 
ious shapes ; but it was very doubtful whether 
later in life hard water was so good for tlmso 
who partook of it. In repiy to Mr. Groom Na¬ 
pier, Prof. Wanklyn said ho had heard that hard 
water induced goitre, but he could not say that 
was so without further inquiry. 
- -♦ » »- 
CIDER DRINKING. 
We irro not disposed to lectnro our renders 
upon what they shall cat or drink, still itisquito 
probable that what the Golden Rulo says about 
cider drinking among farmers is a littlo tootmo 
for the happiness of their families. 
It is a pity that tho farmer's best friend among 
the fruits—tho sturdy aud faithful apple—should 
bo primarily responsible for so vilo a drink aa 
hard cider; especially when tlio process of alco¬ 
holization can be so easily arrested, and leave a 
harmless aud pleasant drink. But iu many sec¬ 
tions the custom still prevails of putting away 
in tho cellar several barrels of cider, to ferment, 
and harden, and take unto itself the very spirit 
of uglinoBB and sin. Hard cider, well stuck to, 
will make a pretty decent man mean enough to 
strike his grandmother. It seems to saturate 
some natures all through with sullenness, and 
make them crabbed, ugly, and devilish. Whis¬ 
key crazes a man, but the insanity passes off 
with the effect. The “steady” cider drinker, 
however, is made chronically cross,—sour and 
surly like the beverage itself. Many a Now Eng¬ 
land farmer who supposes himself to bo a 
“friend of temperance,” and perhaps rails un¬ 
charitably at. wine-bibbers, and i urn-drinkers, is 
made a brute to his wife, a tyrant to his children, 
a camel task-master to ids help, by his pota¬ 
tions of villainous bard cider. Steam the evil 
spirit out of it, or doctor it into quietness, or 
better yet keep it in tho form of apples,—bat 
don’t let your cider ferment and thou drink it as 
a harmless beverage, 
-♦ ♦ »--— 
WHY WE COUGH. 
An Italian investigator has been studying the 
causes of coughs, and has come to the conclu¬ 
sion that they are the result of the presence of a 
parasitic fungus in the air-passagoH. In Severe 
cases the parasite multiplies and takes posses¬ 
sion of the lung-cells. Quinine is said to possess 
tho power or stopping the microscopic fungi, 
and, is therefore, recommended us a remedy. 
The Italian doctor has successfully used a com¬ 
position of tho chloralhydrato of quinine, ono 
part; bicarbonate of soda, one part; gum arable, 
twenty parts. Tho soda is intended to dissolve 
mucus; tho gum arabio to increase the adher- 
enco of the powder on the biotuddal passages. 
Tho blowing in of the powder should take place 
during a deep inspiration of the patient, so that 
it may penetrate the windpipe, the chief seat of 
the microscopic fungus. Tho remedy, whatever 
may be the truth of the theory on which it is 
founded, has the merit of simplicity, and if its 
application did little good, it could not do much 
harm. 
We will add to the above that a gentleman in 
this city who is subject to severe attacks of Hay- 
fever cured himself the past summer by snuffing 
quinine.— [Ed. Rural. 
□J 
