THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
tlomrsfir (Fronomp. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE 
PITHS. 
Walk straight. 
Wash grained wood-work with cold tea. 
A true wife ia a man'ii greatest blessing. 
Never leave vegetables soaking in water. 
Good manners are blossoms of good sense. 
To brighten stove-zincs, rub with kerosene. 
Try a very small piece of hard soap and a lit¬ 
tle butter in hot starch. 
It is not now fashionable for children older 
than two years to wear white dresses. 
Clean silverware once a week with soap and 
warm water and rub Well with flannel. 
-»■— ♦ - 
DEESS AT HOME. 
There are ladies who seem to think that it 
makes little difference what is worn at home 
when only tho members of their own family are 
present. They are willing to spend hours over 
their toilet when going out, or expecting com¬ 
pany ; but when only husband and children are 
to see them, any old, cast-off garment, no matter 
how soiled or torn, answers every purpose. For 
them they have no time. The hair is given a 
twist in the morning, and night-time too often 
finds it in the same condition. Thus, from 
morning until night, the wife and mother works 
around, a sorry sight to be snro. If a caller Imp- 
pens in, excuses must be made, and these are 
sometimes founded upon truth and sometimes 
upon falsehood. 
Some will argue : “ I cannot look as I should 
like to, with all the labor I have to perform. I 
must dress according to my work. If I change 
my dress in the afternoon, there is supper to get, 
milk to strain and skim, dishes to be washed, and 
preparations for to-morrow’s breakfast to bo 
made, so what is the use of soiling another 
dress i Tt. inskes little difference to the folks at 
home what I wear, and ten chances to one, if I 
did “ fix up" husband would not notice it.” 
My belief is that a woman must necessarily 
lose her self-respect, arid the respect of her hus¬ 
band and children, if she allows herself to be¬ 
come slack and untidy in her person. Now, 
would whole, clean clothes, a neat collar and 
pin, with smooth, * beoomingly-drossod hair 
hinder you in your labors one whit ? Would 
one-half hour each morniug devoted to arrang¬ 
ing your dross, ho wasted ? I think not, and 
my advice to married ladies, is to be less matter- 
of-fact, more willing to take trouble for their 
dear ones, caring less for outsiders and more for 
their husbands, children and homes. 
vinegar into a kettle with all the seasoning; let 
it come to a boil and pour over the ground veg¬ 
etables ; mix thoroughly, and your variety “cat¬ 
sup " is ready for use. 
My wife says while I am writing I may tell the 
lady readers of tho Rural how she makes pies, 
and thou perhaps some of them can suggest a 
better way. 
Pie Crust. 
Take a teacupful of good sweet lard, and one 
and one-half teaspoonfnl of salt to a quart of 
flour, with water enough to make a stiff dough— 
work just enough to mix well. 
Potato Custard Pie. 
Take good sized potatoes, either sweet or Irish, 
boil and as soon «s done, remove the sinus and 
rub through a sieve; add one-half dozen eggs; 
two teacupsful of sugar; beat well and add one 
quart of sweet milk »Dd flavor with lemon. 
This makes six pies. One large sweet potato is 
allowed for each pie—Irish potatoes in propor¬ 
tion. 
Sliced Sweet Potato Pie. 
Lmo the pie-tins with crust; slice boiled po¬ 
tatoes very thin, put in a layer of potatoes, 
sprinkle well with sugar and butter, then pota¬ 
toes and so on until the pan is full; fill spaces 
with water, add two tablospoonfuls of apple 
brandy and a teaspoonful of ground spice. To 
be eaten with a sauce. 
Cocoa-Nut Custard Pie. 
(Irate one cocoa-nut; add three eggs and one 
and one-half cup sugar; beat well, add the milk 
of the nut, one cup of sweet milk and a piece of 
butter the size of a. walnut. This is sufficient 
for three pies.—J. W. S., Owensboro, Ky. 
Dllgtmr Information. 
APOPLEXY. 
BY DR. GOODENOUGH. 
DOMESTIC EECIPES. 
Light Dumplings. 
In response to an inquiry in your paper for a 
recipe for light dumplings or pot-pie crust, I 
scud mine which I should like E. J. G.. Dans- 
ville, to try, as it is better than anyone else’s I 
have ever tried. For many years'I failed to 
have light crusts, but now I use this recipe, not 
only for pot-pies, hut for puddings too. The 
Crust for either is as follows; for every teacup- 
ful of flour used, allow oue teaspoonful of good 
baking-powder and a small pinch of salt; mix 
thoroughly through the dour, and use sweet 
milk to make it soft enough to drop readily 
from the spoon. 
For puddings; place the apples, or whatever 
fruit you choose, in a flat, yellow-ware dish with 
the crust on top of the fruit. Lot it steam in a 
stcamoi fifteen or twenty minutes, according to 
the size or quantity made. 
For the pot-pie : butter the dish and pour the 
batter into it and steam until done. When 
served break or tear off with a fork. The meat 
and gravy eau he poured over tho crust, or it 
may be dished by ((self, as one chouses. 
If the water in the kettle under the steamer 
boils when the batter is put over and is kept 
boiling, and the crust is cooked d me and no 
more, I feel assured that E. J. G.. or any one 
else, will have a light pot-pie or puddiDg crust. 
—Mrs. Mary Olin, Penn Yan. 
Pickles and Pies. 
My “better half” has just finished making 
chow-chow, and this is how she made it: One- 
ha'f bushel of green tomatoes ; six head .- of good 
cabbage; two dozen cucumbers; two dozen 
onions; one-half dozen green pejpus; two 
horse-radish roots, an inch thick and rix inches 
long; four tablospoonfuls of ground cinnamon ; 
two of mace; four of white mustard ; two of 
celery seed ; two pounds of sugar and one pint 
of salt, ('at all stems and specks from the to¬ 
matoes, and see that tho others are sound and 
cli an. Grind all the vegetables, through a 
sausage mill, except the onions, which should 
bo ground in the morning and added, then tie in a 
coarse cloth and hang up to drip over night 
Next morning pour two gallons of good apple 
The term apoplexy is derived from two Greek 
y words which signify to strike down or stun, and 
i- ' s applied to a sudden fit of insensibility caused 
by some diseased condition of the brain. 
', Attacks of this malady vary both in intensity 
ii and in the appearances they present; but in 
r well-marked cases the following symptoms are 
1 visible : .the patient loses, more or less sudden¬ 
ly, all consciousness and the power of voluntary 
i motion; givoB no signs of seeing, hearing, or 
- feeling; his face is flushed; his pulse slow ; his 
r breathing stertorious or snoring, like that or a 
r p° rscm 111 a deep hut troubled sleep, accompanied 
with pulling of the cheeks during expiration; 
while the pupils of the eyes are insensible to 
light as well as contracted or unequal. In lees 
violent cases the symptoms are more moderate. 
Partial consciousness sometimes remains; a 
slight power of motion muy be retained in one 
side, or, at least, in some part of the body ; the 
Hpeech, instead of being entirely lost, is unin¬ 
telligible or incoherent muttering. 
Unfortunately death has sometimes resulted, 
or at auy rate been made more certain from this 
disease, simply through the absence of timely 
attention to the sufferer, because the bystander’s 
have mistaken tho symptoms for those of intoxi¬ 
cation. Ibis misfortune happened, some years 
ago, to an acquaintance of mine. While on a 
journey he was stricken down amid strangers, 
and in place of receiving pity and help, lay in a 
railroad depot, for up wards of an hour, the dying 
butt of the contempt or jeers of those who wit¬ 
nessed bis sad plight, but who, in spite of the 
respectability of his appearance, ignorantly mis¬ 
took his ailment for drunkenness. At last a pass¬ 
ing doctor recognized his perilous condition, and 
Good Samaritan-like, took him homo and gave 
him the best of care. Assistance, however, 
came, alas! too late. Neglect had sealed his 
doom, although Fate might, perchance, have 
' otherwise relented, and he died within a couple 
of hours. 
Various morbid conditions of tho brain are 
capable of producing attacks of apoplexy. Of 
these the most common is a fulness of blood in 
the head, either remaining in the blood-vessels, 
or, more frequently, poured out in, or upon, the 
brain by their rupture. The blood-vessels of i 
this organ, liko those of other parts of tho body, i 
are liable to become weakened either through « 
accidont, disease, or after middle life. Those t 
changes affect the minute vessels that conuect t 
the arteries and the veins, and which are called 1 
capillaries, as well as the larger vessels, render- 1 
ing their texture fragile aud at the same lime 1 
unparing their power to carry healthy nutrition i 
throughout the brain. On this account its sub- ] 
stauco in their immediate vicinity, becomes i 
degenerate aud softened. Kaviug thus lost, in > 
a measure, the natural support of the surround- r 
ing tissues, and their own walls being enfeebled L 
by disease, they are liable to burst, upon any c 
unusual pressure, and the blood escapes either a 
into the ventricles of the brain or upon it. 1 
Where the hcemorrbage is very slight, little dis¬ 
turbance is like]j to follow, but where a large 
hlood-ve->psel has been ruptured, or where the 
blood has been extravasated, or let out, in or 
around, the Lnqiortant structures at the base of 
the brain, the j ressure causes a fit of apoplexy, 
which is often fatal either in a few hours or 
after a couple of days during which a fever 
often comes on. Sometimes, however, the patient 
recovers, and the effused blood is either gradual¬ 
ly absorbed or enveloped in a minute sac formed 
by the surrounding brain substance. But in 
such cases some degree of weakness or paralysis 
is pretty sure to remain, at least for some time, 
and the mental faculties, rIbo, are generally 
more or Jess impaired. Moreover, tho nutrition 
of the brain is so impeded as to render a recur¬ 
rence of the fit probable, and the danger to life 
increases with each successive attack. 
Apoplexy is nearly as common among women 
as men. umong the lean as tho stout, and is 
most frequent between forty and sixty, but it 
may occur at any period of life, eveu iu child¬ 
hood. Sometimes there is a hereditary ten¬ 
dency to it, which is usually fouod to accom¬ 
pany a stout build, a short neck and a florid 
complexion. Diseases of tho heart and kidnevs, 
accidental injuries to the brain, tho exhaustion 
of old age aB well as of excessive labor and 
anxiety nro also predisposing causes. The Im¬ 
mediate cause is generally cither immoderate 
eating or drinking, especially the use of alcoholic 
liquors, severe exertion of mind or body, violent 
emotions, much stooping, exposure to tho sun, 
suppressed menstruation, overheated rooms,' 
sudden shocks to the body, and whatever tends 
to cause an unusual rush of blood to the head, 
or to obstruct its passage from it. 
It may relievo much needless anxiety to know 
that attacks of this disease occur, in nearly all 
cases, without warning; and that giddiness, 
ringing in the oars, a flushed countennnco, 
flashes of light before the eyes, bleeding at the 
nose, and pains in the head, commonlv con¬ 
sidered premonitory symptoms, are, as a rule, 
according to most of the latest aud best authori¬ 
ties, not to be thus interpreted. 
During an attack little can be done in the way 
of treatment, whiJe unconsciousness lasts, be¬ 
yond keeping the body of the patient quiet, his 
head raised, removing all the clothing that may 
press on tho neck or chest, aud applying cold to 
the head. Blood-letting, once common in t.liix 
disease, is now almost entirely abandoned, ex¬ 
cept occasionally where the lit occurs in stout, 
plethoric persona. On tho return of conscious¬ 
ness, the utmost care and quietness should bo 
observed, aud in all cases, the services of a 
skillful physician should be sought at the earliest 
possible moment. 
Srinitifk ani Ststful. 
PHOSPHOEUS AND PHOSPHOEIC ACID. 
oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. It is a never- 
failing constituent of cultivated plants in various 
combinations. 
Pure phosphorus is hardly susceptible of any 
useful application in practical agriculture, al¬ 
though its compounds are essential to the growth 
of all cultivated plants. Of these compounds 
phosphoric acid ts the most useful, both in its 
direct effects in contributing to the fertility of 
the soil and as a means of e ffecting various phos¬ 
phoric combinations. It is a compound of oxy¬ 
gon and phosphorus in the proportion of five 
equivalents of tho former for one of the latter, 
and is prepared in several ways. At a moderately 
high temperature, sny 148'-'. phosphorus, com¬ 
bining with the oxygen of the air, burns with an 
intense brilliancy, throwing off dense white 
smoko which ip a strong acid that readily be¬ 
comes liquid by absorbing atmospheric moisture, 
for which it has a strong attraction. When under 
certain conditions—for a detailed account of 
which there iH not space here—the oxygen and 
phosphorus fumes combine in the above pro¬ 
portions, phosphoric acid is the result. Usually, 
however, it is prepared by the aelion of sulphuric 
acid on burnt bones. The sulphuric acid having 
a strong affinity for tho lime in tho bones, unites 
with it and forms sulphate of lime or gypsum, 
while the phosphoric acid in tho bone-phos¬ 
phates is thus set free, and being readily solu¬ 
ble in water, is easily separated from the gypsum 
by washing the latter, and obtained in a dry 
form by the evaporation of the acid liquid which 
is in this way prepared. 
l’hosphorio acid has a sour taste, no smell, 
and may be heated to a white heat without vola¬ 
tilizing. It is oue of the most important fertil¬ 
izing compounds, as it is a constant constituent 
of all plants Hint form the food of man aud 
beast. It enters into the composition, therefore, 
of nil fertile (toils, and is very widely distributed 
in various combinations throughout inorganic 
nature. Its importance in agriculture may bo 
inferred from tho fact that it constitutes nearly 
one-half the substance of the ashes of wheat, and 
more than one-third those of barley and oats. 
■ • » ► ■ ■ —. 
WHAT MAKES A BUSHEL. 
For the benefit of those who are not thoroughly 
posttd in such matters, wo publish a statement 
showing what constitutes a bushel: Corn, 
shelled, 58 pounds ; rye, 50 pounds ; Irish po¬ 
tatoes, 60 pounds ; barley, 40 pounds ; wheat, 
00 pounds; Corn on tho cob, 70 pounds; buck¬ 
wheat, 52 pounds ; oats, 02 pounds; sweet- 
potatoes, 50 pouudB; onions, 57 pounds ; beans, 
62 pounds; bran, 20 pounds ; clover-seed, 45 
pounds ; timothy-seed, 60 pounds; flax-seed, 
50 pounds; hemp-seed, 45 pounds; blue-grass, 
14 pounds; dried apples, 2l pounds; dried 
peaches, 83 pounds of peeled and 30 of nnpeeled. 
BY ENOCH SPENCER, 
Among the curious aud useful discoveries hit 
upon by the alchemists—those unscientific chem¬ 
ists of olden times—in their illusivo search for 
some medium by means of which the baser 
metals might be transmuted into gold, that of 
phosphorus is certainly not the least interost- 
ing, especially to the progressive agriculturist of 
these days. It was Braxdt of Hamburg who 
chanced upon this non-metallio, elementary sub- 
stanco in 160‘J, in the solid residue left on evap¬ 
orating urine, whilo attempting to obtain a 
liquid capable of transforming silver into gold. 
Since then various mere oleauly methods of 
obtaining the element have been devised, aud 
now-a-duys it is chiefly prepared from bones by 
a somewhat long and intricate course of treat¬ 
ment iu which the use of fire and sulphuric acid 
plays a prominent part. 
Phosphorus is a soft, translucent, semi-trans¬ 
parent solid, of the consistency and appearance 
of bees -wax ; in color, white which assumes & 
pale yellowish tinge when exposed to the light. 
It melts at a temperature of 111 3 Fahrenheit, 
aud boils at 550 ’. It is exceedingly inflammable, 
taking fire often by the heat of the hand, aud 
readily kindled by a blow or friction. It is from 
this property it has received its name, which is 
derived from two Greek words, signifying, in 
combination, the light-hearer, and it is this pe¬ 
culiarity also that renders it useful in the manu¬ 
facture of those modern household necessities_ 
1 ncifer-matcheB. When exposed to air at ordinary 
temperatures, it emits a white smoko, which is 
luminous iu tho dark, and as it is insol¬ 
uble in water, it is generally preserved iu it. 
It never occurs in nature in a pure state, but is 
found combined with other substances, chiefly 
with lime, potash, uud soda, aud these combiua- 
nations are termed “ phosphates.” It seems to 
be an indispensable requisite to a healthy con¬ 
dition of the human brain, bones, flesh, blood 
and nerves, in all of which it is found in a pecu¬ 
liar state of orgauio combination with carbon, 
The poisonous property of brine, in which 
pork or bacon has been pickled, when fed to pigs, 
is known by nnfortunato experience to many 
and, years ago, was mentioned by the celebrated 
veterinarian Youatt. Quite a large number of 
cases are on record in which swine have died 
in consequence of & small quantity of such 
brine having t» cm mixed with their feed, under 
the mistaken impression that it would answer 
tho same purpose and be equally beneficial as 
the admixture of a small quantity of salt. And 
for one case in which death has occurred from 
this cause, there are scores in which pigs have 
suffered more or less severely. 
EUEAL SPECIAL EEP0RT8. 
Houston, Texas, Oct. is. 
Until a day or two ago we had some very hot 
and dry weather—delightful to the cotton 
planter, for picking his fleecy staple, disgustful 
to the gardener, anxious to get a stand for his 
winter garden. Since then we have had frequent 
heavy rains—regular ground-soakers. No indi¬ 
cation of frost yet. Thermometer ranging in 
the eighties. Some Pear trees iu full bloom. 
Blacksburgh, Va., Oct. 13. 
We who occupy the rich grazing domain of 
southwest Virginia are taking a lively interest in 
the practical communications of a writer who 
“ remains iucognito.” We wish he would give 
us a thorough description of the way the grass 
fields of England aro managed, the capacity of 
the same per acre, the kind of grass that is 
grown most profitably, the chemical element of 
the soil etc. Especially would we like to know 
whether cattle and sheep can be grazed on the 
same farm at tho same time, and just how the 
combination con be effected most successfully. 
Shaking off the lethargic stupor of a century’s 
duration, we begin to realize the conditions of a 
happy existence in this mundane sphere. The 
