THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Dotnfstir (ftonoinji. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE 
SWEEPING. 
Every housekeeper or servant-girl thinks Bhe 
knows Iujvo to sweep. Be this as it may. there 
are few who pursue it in an enlightened and sys¬ 
tematic manner. There is no necessity for rais¬ 
ing a cloud of dust, enough to choke the sweep¬ 
er—to settle upon walls, furniture and carpet; 
for after some sweepings the car pet is dustier, 
that is, on the surface, than before it whs swept. 
Cover all articles of furniture t hat you can with 
papers or dusters ; throw open the blinds and 
open the windows. Remove cobwebs from ceil¬ 
ing and walls; brush down with a cloth—or bet¬ 
ter still, a feather-duster if you have one—pict¬ 
ure-cords, frames and curtains. Uso a pointed 
stick and a whisk-broom for - cleaning tho corn¬ 
ers of tho carpet; divide the room into four sec¬ 
tions ; remove tho furniture from one and sweep 
from the corner toward the center with a light 
stroke, drawing tho broom carefully along to 
avoid dust. Go over the oarjiot two or three 
times, increasing the strength of the stroke each 
time ; care must he observed, as tho dust in the 
center of the room is neared. After tho section 
is swept, replace the furniture and sweep the 
rest, likewise. In this wav. with a little care a 
large room may be swept with but little dust, and 
it will bo clean too. Many advise sprinkling the 
carpet with bran, entree-grounds or tea-leaves; 
but in our experience, we have found them, in 
one way or another, more bothersome than serv- 
iceablo. When a carpet, is very dusty, rock-salt 
or little bits of wetted paper strewn over it be¬ 
fore sweeping, answer very well; then, when all 
is cleaned, wipe off the carpet with a cloth wrung 
as dry as possible from a pail of warm water, to 
which a spoonful or so of ammonia has been 
added. Do not wipe more than half a yard with¬ 
out rinsing I he cloth; change tho water fre¬ 
quently. When a carpet becomes dusty, why 
not hike it up and shake it? It would surely be 
a saving of strength and labor, and we beliovo 
if housekeepers would shake those carpets wliich 
are in constant use four times instead of hut 
twice a year, they would find it not only an im¬ 
provement in cleanliness, hut a groat saving to 
their carpets. 
■ » ♦ ♦ - 
PITHS. 
13e spry. 
Do not waste. 
Eat without noise. 
Appreciate your home. 
Walk, not run, up stairs. 
Have your wits about you. 
Have all rooms well ventilated. 
Oat straw is best for filling beds. 
There is no luck in housekeeping. 
Place salt on t he plate, not on the table-cloth. 
Never wash dishes in cold and greasy dish¬ 
water. 
Children’s opinions should be respectfully list¬ 
ened to. 
Why invite persons to visit you whom you care 
not for ? 
Tho food goeB to tho mouth, not tho mouth to 
tho food. 
To exclude all light, is the secret of keeping 
dried fruits. 
No true lady will intentionally injure the feel¬ 
ings of others. 
Never stuff things away for the sake of putting 
them out of sight. 
The sitting-room should ho put in order every 
night before retiriug. 
In cake-making, beat the butter to a cream 
before adding sugar or eggs. 
It is poor economy to sweep carpetB with stubs 
and scrub with good brooms. 
It is out of taste to crowd rooms with furni¬ 
ture, uo matter how expensive. 
When cooking cabbage, a small pieco of red 
pepper in the water will, in a measure, kill the 
unpleasant odor. 
Give domestics all tho privileges possible. Bo 
kind yet firm, and treat them like human beings. 
Never find fault when irritated or angry. A 
quiet talk when all feeling has passed away, 
will do more towards a reform than a volley of 
thunder. 
- -- ♦ ♦ ♦ - -— 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Husk and Bread Cake .—Very nice rusk and 
cake may be made from bread dough when light 
enough to hake. For rusk, take two teacupfuls 
of the raised dough and work through it thor¬ 
oughly one cup of sugar, one-half cun of butter, 
aud two eggs ; add flour enough to make quite 
stiff; let it rise, and when light, mold into bis¬ 
cuits ; then, when again light, brush the tops 
with the yelk of an egg. or sift cinnamon and 
sugar over them aud place in the oven. For 
cake, allow two cups of dough, two cups sugar, 
one cup butter, three eggs, one-half cup sweet 
milk, one cup of chopped raisins, citron and cur¬ 
rants it you please; spice and brandy to taste ; 
one-third teaepoonfu! roda and two-thirds of 
cream-of-tartar; one-half cup flour, more or 
less. It is important that all should be well 
mixed with the light dough. Let rise half au 
hoar before baking. 
Mrs. A. Griswold, Albany, N. Y., will please 
accept thanks for the following : 
English Plum Pudding. —Three cups of broad 
crumbs, one cup brown sugar, three eggs, one 
cup nicely-chopped beef-suet, nearly one cup 
sweet milk, two cups chopped raisins, two tea¬ 
spoons baking powder, one cup flour; a little 
salt,; cinnamon, doves and nutmeg to taste. 
Steam or boil three hours. 
Corn-Starch, Cake. —Two cups white sugar, 
one cup butter, whites five eggs beaten to a 
froth, one cup sweet milk, one teaspoonful soda 
and two of eream-of-tartar, two cups of flour aud 
one of corn-starch ; flavor to taste. 
Tee Cream Cake. —Two cups white sugar, one 
cup butter, whites eight eggs beaten to a froth, 
one cup sweet mi,k, oue cup corn starch, two 
cups flour, two tcaspoonfuls baking powder ; 
flavor if you wish. 
Gold Cah —To be made tho same time the 
above is. One cup sugar; throe-fourths of a 
cup butter, yolks eight eggs, oue-half cup sweet 
milk, one and oue-half cups of flour; two )leap¬ 
ing teaspoonfule baking powder ; flavor. 
Orange Cake. One cup sugar, oue-half cup 
butter, whites three eggs, one-half cup sweet 
milk, one-half cup corn-starch and one of flour, 
two tcaspoonfuls baking powder. Bake in lay¬ 
ers. For Jelly, heat white of an egg to a stiff 
froth ; stir in two-thirds of a cup powdered sugar 
and juice and grated riud of an orange. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS. 
Canton, Ohio, Sept. 6. 
This is the county-seat of Starke County, 
which is considered the best wheat-raising coun¬ 
ty in the State. Wheat, will average with us 
18 to 20 bushels per acre, aud is above an aver¬ 
age. It brings, here, $1.20 per bushel. Oats 
are extra heavy, averaging 40 bushels to the 
acre, and selling for 25c. Rye, 5$@GQc.; Old 
corn for homo use, 70 cents. Rye and Flax are 
extra good crops, hut there is very little of either. 
Corn will not yield us more than half a crop. 
Late planting, heavy rains in June, and drought 
in July are tho causes. x. 
Alliance, Ohio, Sept. 
IIainy to-day, which will help eorn a little, but 
we canuot expect more than one-half an average. 
Wheat, oats, rye, flax aud barley thresh out fine. 
We have nothing to complain of here. b. 
iTiTscBimo, Pa., Sept. li. 
Oub exposition is now fairly going, but is not 
up to expectations. The home industries do 
not come out as expected and consequently our 
galleries are only about ono-half filled. The 
display of Agricultural machinery is also very 
small. Business is looking up here; our mills 
are starting up and everything looks better than 
it has done since 1871. This is not au agricul¬ 
tural center, and wo have to depend on the Iron 
aud Coal interest for everything. k. 
Walton, Pa„ Sept. 10. 
This is a market garden aud fruit region. We 
only grow enough graiu and grass for home con¬ 
sumption ; our market crops have been very 
good, and we have a fair apple crop. Grapes 
are extra fine. h. 
■-♦♦♦ - 
JlARBORTON, N. J., Sept. 5, 1677. 
We have had an unusually fine summer. Tho 
rains have seemed to come just when they wore 
needed, and not at other times. Pastures have 
been fresh and groen all the season. Wheat 
aud oats are tiiroiug out a good yield of grain of 
good quality. Potatoes give a largo yield. Fruit 
is but a partial crop. Prices are : Wheat, $1.50 
@$1.75; corn, G5@75c;oats, 40o. ; potatoes, 50c. 
per bush. Hay, $12@$15 per ton. Butter, 
25c. per pound. Peaches, 75o.@$l,60 per 
basket. D. J. Blackwell. 
Houston, Tex., Sept. 3. 
We have very hot, dry weather here. Almost 
everything is parching, and pretty nigh burning 
up. To-day, I stuck a thereinometer, which in 
the shade marked 95°, outside in the ground 
when it suddenly went up to 1C3°. We arc 
anxiously awaiting the wonted rains of this sea¬ 
son to enable us to start our fall and winter 
gardens. g. m. 
■ 4 * * 
Wellington, O., Sept. 8, 1877. 
While looking about the bushes in our gar¬ 
den to-day, I found some second-growth rasp¬ 
berries— three dozen, of them on one spike, nearly 
all of which were perfect in form, the most of 
them turning red, and four fully ripe. If any 
of your readers have anything that will go ahead 
of this, I should like to hear about it. c. f. j. 
New Braska. 
The emigrant from the East, however thor¬ 
ough his culture, will scarcely criticise the above 
orthography. lie finds tho Bame class of people, 
but much else is decidedly new. Grand old 
forests give place to grand plains, hills and val¬ 
leys. Eyes exultantly swoop over a broad area, 
hut cars h re sadly at a discount. Our sons learn 
the folly of trying to gain attention of a per¬ 
son with tho voice forty rods away, hut do not 
despair of signaling him if within a mile or two. 
Asthmatic breathing gives place to full inspira¬ 
tion, tho appetite glows alarmingly keen and 
one feels that if ho were unobserved, ho could 
jump higher than his father’s barn-yard fence. 
The fauna and and flora present hut few fa¬ 
miliar specimens. One is surprised to ride for 
many miles with luxuriant crops growing on 
either hand, all unbanned, though not so much 
as a single wire separates thorn from the high¬ 
way. Down in the shaded, watered dell largo 
heids are feeding, kept securely out of the grow¬ 
ing crops by tho inevitable hoy, pony and dog. 
The practicsl farmer just settling on liis “ claim " 
will find farming here a new business, and I pro- 
prose to run over next week and have a friendly 
chat with him. r. h. o. 
-*-*-♦- 
Dakota citv. Neb. 
You must know the failure of crops in this 
country has made everything dull during the 
past few years. But this season we have been 
blessed w ith splendid harvests, and money will be 
easier to get. h. e. b. 
-- 
Eagle Bridge, Itenssalacr Co., N. Y. 
Croi's are good in this section. Potatoes large 
crop ; applos scarce ; pears, plums aud grapes, 
plenty. 
-- 
Central City, Neb. 
Our crops are splendid ; our people are happy, 
and prospects are brightening. n. r. p. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
I). E. M., Blacksburgh, Va. —la there a pro¬ 
cess of packing beef or canning in successful 
operation, mid to whom can I write to ascertain 
the mode of operation ? 
Ans. —There is. Write to Wilson’s Packiog 
Co., Park Place, N. Y r . 
M. IP. A'., Pevely, Mo. —Have you auy book 
which treats of fish-culture ? If so, what is the 
price of one ? 
Ans. —Address Forest aud Stream Publishing 
Co., New York. 
An Old Subscriber. North East —One pears, 
oh! our dwarf pears, what shall we do for our 
pears to arrest this dreadful blight ? 1’lease to 
tell us all you cau of this blight that is raging 
through all of Western New York and North¬ 
eastern Pennsylvania. It commences in the end 
of all the young twigs or shoots, works down¬ 
wards iu the limb, and finally into the body of 
the troo. I have tried many remedies. I find, 
on close examination, that there is a worm in 
each, and iu every shoot thus affected, eating 
downwards in tho center or pith of the twig, and 
their name is legion. 
Anh.—T here is no known remedy for blight. 
Cut off the diseased part as soon as it is detected. 
I. IP., Janesville. Bock Co. , TVis.—Acceptable 
with thanks. 
W. J. F., Castile, N. Y .—Inquires about po¬ 
tatoes as feed for horses, and as to their nutri¬ 
tive value compared with graiu. Also, whether 
the earth adhering to them is liable to prove in¬ 
jurious. 
Ank. —Potatoes may be fed to horses iu mod¬ 
erate quantity either with grain or cut hay, with 
advantage. But steaming greatly improves them, 
and increases the nutritive effect. The root, 
however, that iH best of all adapted to horses, is 
the carrot. Yet neither should be fed constantly 
nor in largo amount. The relative value of po¬ 
tatoes for feeding to stock, as compared with 
grain, is mainly a question of chemistry, so far 
as appears from the figures on record. There is 
considerable difference in the results given by 
scientific men on this point; but the latest and 
most reliable figures reported come from Ger¬ 
many. According to these, the nutritive value of 
potatoes as compared with oats, is in the ratio of 
25 to 70. That is to say, if 100 lbs. of potatoes 
contain 25 lbs. of nutriment, then the same 
weight of oats would contain 70 lbs. The other 
cereal grains differ from potatoes in their feed¬ 
ing value still more than oats. Thus buckwheat, 
SEPT. 22 
for example, is rated 8 per cent, more nutritions 
than oats; aud the other grains, as compared 
with potatoes at 25 per cent,, are given as 
follows:—Barley, 82 per cent.; rye, 90; wheat 
and coni, 95. Yet, after all, it must be admitted 
that these nutritive elements, as reported by the 
chemist, do not entirely agree with the experi¬ 
ence of farmers, and the safest way for the lat¬ 
ter is to test them carefully by ropeated trials, 
rather than adopt them too confidently at the 
start. 
L. IT. Scofield, Bloomington. Minn., wishes to 
know how to plant turnips in drills, when, and 
how deep to plow, what kindof fertilizers to use, 
aud how to apply them ? 
Ans. —The eommon field turnip is usually sown 
broadcast; hut those who have tried both meth¬ 
ods flud that drilling very often pays tho best. 
For the best and most prolific kind, drilling is 
very essential, and greatly increases the yield. 
For feeding to stock, the Rutabaga is entirely 
tho most valuable kind, giving the largest yield. 
The driliB should be about two feet apart, and 
tho plants from (1 to 8 inches in tho drills. The 
best time for planting Rutabagas is tho last week 
in May or the first week in June, and the shorter 
the interval between plowing and planting, tho 
quicker and more rapid will ho the early growth. 
The depth to plow depends on the variety of the 
turnip and the character of the soil. For the 
flat varieties and on light soil, shallow plowing 
is often tho best; but for Rutabagas, especially 
on heavy soil, you can hardly plow too deep. To 
keep the ground clean, well aerated and thor¬ 
oughly pulverized, always pays well for this va¬ 
riety of turnip, and often secures a large yield 
even without manure. But for the highest and 
Rest results, liberal manuring is important and 
cannot safely bo neglected. Bone flour or su¬ 
perphosphate rnay be drilled in with tho seed at 
tho rate of 2(10 or 300 pounds per acre with great 
advantage, and a dressing afterwards with ashes, 
plaster and salt, will tell powerfully on the yield. 
Many farmers claim that great advantage results 
from steeping tho seed before planting, as it 
tends to give the turnips a quicker start, aud 
thus keeps them ahead of tho weeds. Bear iu 
mind, that if any part of tho manure is applied 
before planting, it must he very thoroughly 
mixed with the soil by repeated harrowing or 
cultivating, or both. All fertilizers or manures 
thus worked into the Boil, if not too deep, are 
more than doubled iu value. 
A. J. N. —1. How shall I treat an Abrobavino 
that has never blossomed ? It has beeu growing 
slowly all summer, but does not flower. 2. Is it 
worth caring for in the house ? I have never 
seen it pictured in tho catalogues, and have no 
idea of it. 3. I had a plant given me called a 
Maltliea. Has it another name, and how should 
it be treated ? 4. I had Borne roots of Sweet Vio¬ 
lets given me. They have grown until the pot is 
very full, but do not bloom as they should. They 
hud freely and go to seed, but do not open. Will 
they, whou the weather is cooler ? 5. What is 
the name of the plant, of which 1 send a leaf ? It 
bears a blossom something like heliotrope. 
(1). Abroba viridiflora is a tuberous perennial, 
better adapted for the conservatory than the 
open air. It bears little flowers and small scar¬ 
let fruit, and belongs to tho Gourd family. 
(3) . We do not know what Maltliea is. Ma- 
thiola (Tou week’s stock); Altlnea and Malva 
(different sorts of Mallows) are the nearest. Send 
us a leaf, if you please. 
(4) . Very likely. 
(5) . Please send us a flower. As a general 
thing, we cun not name plants from a leaf alone. 
J. S. B.—Ou Juno 27 I was induced, by seeiug 
au advertisement iu tho Rural New-Yorker, to 
send a post-office order for 33 to the Western 
Gun Works of Chicago, III-, for a revolver. On 
July 5th, received a postal card, informing me 
that they had received the order, but that owing 
to au immense demand, they wore a few days 
behind in filling orders, but that mine was en¬ 
tered on their ship, ing books, aud the article 
would be promptly sent in its turn. After wait¬ 
ing a long time and not receiving the article sent 
for, or hearing from them, 1 wrote again, and 
received notice, on September 10th, that they 
had been sold out ou Aug. 20 under foreclosure 
of a chattel mortgage. 1 know, therefore, that 
I have been swindled out of my money, and 
feel worse in the matter because I have beeu a 
subscriber to the Rural for a number of years, 
and thought it would not admit an advertisement 
of that kind unless from good, reliable pnrtieB. 
On Aug. 2d, 1877, a new Company w T as started 
under the name of Excelsior Gun Works, No. 77 
Lake St., Chicago, Ill., and the notice informed 
me these would send a revolver upon receipt of 
$2, if sent during the month of September. 
Now, cau the Rural inform mo if they are re¬ 
sponsible parties and whether they will do as 
they say, or is it another game to beat me out of 
32 more ? 
Ans.—T he first advertisement came to us iu a 
reputable way, and we had no reason to suspect 
he respectability of the establishment. We ad- 
t 
