MARCH 3 
the Rubai, who contemplate building, will think 
favorably of an especial room for laundry pur¬ 
poses. It will prevent much annoyance to them¬ 
selves and their families, which will fully com¬ 
pensate for the expense. m. g. r. 
Lyons, Iowa. 
three minutes in boiling drippings; take from 
the basket and dry until crisp before the kitchen 
fire. It may be fried without a basket but re¬ 
quires more care in so doing. e. m. 
Our remoteness is not the only reason for it. 
Routes of access are long and expensive. It 
costs about as much to travel as before the 
building of the railway. The fairest aud best 
parts of the State were long ago gobbled up by 
land-grabbers, who hold immense tracts of land 
for a rise. A few of these monopolists have the 
State Government by the throat, and our taxes 
are the highest of any State in the Union. These 
would seem sufficient reasons for the stunted 
growth of the Commonwealth. There are still 
others. But we hope yet to rescue this coast 
from such domination. Specs. 
San Francisco, Feb. T, lsrs. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE 
A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING, 
“ I have heard of having a place for every¬ 
thing and everything In its place,” said a friend 
whom I was visiting, to me one day, “ but how 
t: at can be done in a closet likithis, is more 
than I can imagine." 
‘•Why?” I asked. 
“Because it is the receptacle of almost every¬ 
thing that is in constant use, and there is so 
much in it that everything is in piles, and I can¬ 
not keep it in any other way.” 
Ah, I thought, Is not that the very secret ? 
“I cannot J” Said closet opening off from the 
sitting-room was indeed the place for everything, 
and it bo chanced that I was sent one day to that 
closet to get some article. Yes, it was small; 
about four feet by ono and one-half, two shelves 
above, with nails for hanging articles under the 
lower shelf. There were from two to four gar¬ 
ments on each nail—well that might do if each 
end aud side had been appropriated to any par¬ 
ticular kind—but there were pantaloons for 
Papa, also for Freddie, dresses for Mamma, 
skirts and aprons for both large and small, baby 
clothes of all kinds, etc., &o. 
But the shelves, O, dear! they were filled to 
overflowing,and how? Why,with amass thatmust 
be over-hauled for anything one wanted to get. 
Really ray fingers tingled to teko every article 
out of that closet, and while I preached them a 
sermon on order, put in practice what I preached 
by replacing them in order. The closet was but 
a specimen of «ome other corners in that house. 
And yet this friend of mine is one I value. She 
is really a good woman and in many thingi a 
close economist. 
Perhaps some would call me notional, but 
there never seemed to me any reason why a 
closet should not be as well regulated as any 
other part of the house, even though crowded. 
Sheets seem to lie with so much greater ease in 
a pile by themselves, pillow-oasea, ditto ; with 
still auotber portion devoted to underclothes. 
Dresses should have their respective nails and 
skirts in order. Why not? Then when one 
wants any article she has but to turn in the 
If we are to economize 
DOMESTIC RECIPES, 
NOTES FROM CALIFORNIA, 
I have tried some of the recipes given in the 
columns devoted to the culinary art, and it oc¬ 
curred to me to send a few of my own “ ways ” 
in return. I wish the ladies would try my 
Apple Turnovers. 
Make a paste of sour milk or buttermilk with 
a little soda and salt, as for biscuits, except that 
more shortening is necessary. Rub the shorten¬ 
ing into the flour and add the milk ; then cut off 
a piece the size of a biscuit and roll out rather 
thin. Have ready dried apples stewed, sifted, 
sweetened and spioed to taste. Place a large 
spoonful on one half of the rolled paste and 
bring the other half over it, pinching the edges 
securely together. Fry in hot lard, turning 
them frequently to brown evenly. AIho if you 
will make up your soda biscuits for tea in pre¬ 
cisely the same fashion, and before putting into 
the oven wet the surface with milk, yon will find 
it an agreeable variation from the usual way. 
Cream Cake. 
Two cups of sugar; one cup of sour cream 
with a small teaspoonful of soda; two eggB 
and flour enough to drop smoothly from the 
spoon. 
Do the Rural ladies know that if wheat pan¬ 
cakes. intended for breakfast, are stirred the 
night before as if for baking (except the soda) 
and left until morning, they will be more tender 
than just-made batter. In the morning add 
the soda and bake as usual. 
Lydia Wood Baldwin. 
NOTES FROM TEXAS, 
rams are uvor. But the southwest wind is 
treacherous while it holds. Ten minutes is 
time enough to hurry up the dispiriting drizzle 
out of a cloudless sky, and another ten minutes 
converts it into a deluge that roars, and splashes, 
and drirts horizontal sheets of rain through the 
tightest roofs. But we console ourselves with 
the thought that our floods are more endurable 
than the winter climate with you, where the 
thermometer is kept busy registering the fitful 
temperature of each twonly-four hours. Here 
it stands, without much variation, at about 50°. 
FRUIT PROSPECTS. 
As an example of the rapidity of vegetable 
growth, the writer’s experience in planting three 
years ago may suffice. At that time it was de¬ 
termined to set an orchard by digging boles 
for two-year-old trees, three feet in width and 
depth. A bushel of bones was placed in the 
bottom of each hole for drainage, and to Bnpply 
food for the roots in after years. The trees 
were firmly staked and tied, Clean cultivation 
was given, without which there is no succoss 
here. They have uever been watered. The 
soil is black, gravelly loam; some of it aproaches 
adobe, Branches grew three, five, ten feet the 
first year. A little fruit set, but was hardly per¬ 
mitted to bear. The second year a few apples, 
pluinB, almonds aud peaches were borne. The 
third year, alter severely thinning, peach trees 
yielded three pecks ; Bartletts and Winter Nelis 
twenty pouuds per tree; and almonds, necta¬ 
rines, apricots and apples were quite a show. 
Only slips of grape vinos were planted. One 
turned off twenty pounds of fruit the third year. 
We never have fuarB of a failure of the fruit 
crop. Sometimes a late frost thins it out—noth- 
The fact is, the unvarying yield of 
frosts. By a little extra painstaking, giving 
them slight protection against occasional night 
frosts, we, no doubt, would be able to enjoy this 
luscious fruit during the greater part of the 
winter months. Our vegetable stalls are well 
supplied with all the hardy vegetables which 
had been started during the fall months. In 
flower-g&rdenB violets are, and have been, in 
their full glory since October. Narcissii, Jon¬ 
quils, Snowdrops, Leucojum vernum, etc., 
bloomed for some time; Hyacinths are begin¬ 
ning to do the same. Liliuni longifiorum 1 b 
sending up its fluwer-stalks ; Cyclamen Persi- 
ourn and Libonia floribunda stood unharmed a 
frost of six degrees below freezing. The first 
bush 1 noticed in full bloom, is Mahonia aqui- 
folia ; Forsythias and Spiraas follow suit. The 
Japan Medlar ia developing its fruit; no frost, 
as yet, has been hard enough to destroy it. 
Planting trees, vineB and flowers is the order of 
the day. 
Of the Jerusalem Artichokes, the Long Purple 
and Round White, I received from Rural Head¬ 
quarters last year, the former took the load, 
but, subsequently most of these plants buo- 
cumbcd to the hot season. The white ones 
came out later but stood their ground. On 
digging them I could find no perceptible differ¬ 
ence between the tubers of those few plants of 
the purple kind that braved the' season and the 
white ones. They all were white and roundish. 
Of their yield I am not prepared to give my 
judgment, since a brood of that pernicious little 
animal with bo many different names such as 
gopher, salamander, ground-rat, mole (though 
I never have seen a genuine mole in Texas yet) 
found their way into the patch where they 
helped themselves to the best tubers. 
Houston, Feb. 13. O. Marti. 
Oold-Slaw. 
We make cold slaw of our cabbage as follows: 
cut very fine and pack in a small jar ; sprinkle a 
little salt and pepper over it; take vinegar—a 
pint will answer for a small head; butter the 
size of a walnut; one spoonful of sugar or more 
if liked ; heat this to the boiling point; mix a 
well beaten egg in a cup of cream and pour into 
the vinegar, stirring briskly until it again boils; 
then instantly pour it over the oabbage aud 
cover tightly, pressing down with a little weight 
or plate. Tins Blaw is better when two days old, 
although it can be eaten at once or after a week 
if kept in a cool place. 
Flaky Fie Crust. v 
As some of our friends say that our pie crust 
cannot be excelled, I will tell you how I make it. 
It is to be supposed that every housewife knows 
how much or how little butter or lard she wishes 
in her crust. Out the lard or butter into small 
bits, about the size of a thimble and stir, not 
rub. with a little salt into the flour; mix with 
eool water as quickly as possible and roll out. 
Cream, sweet or sour, makes a nice mixing for 
pie-crust, but does not make it flaky like the 
above. 
Cracked Wheat. 
This excellent dish is often spoiled bv very 
one direction to get it, 
our time, this is one item of importance. 
At a neighbor’s, once upon a time, a certain 
pattern was wanted. Mother looked here and 
there, the girls searched closets aud cupboards, 
up stairs and down, and meanwhile the thought 
camo that I had heard before (his family never 
knew where to find anything. As they were a 
large family, with a great deal of work to do, 
how much time might have been saved for their 
more necessary work by simply having “ a place 
for everything and everything in its place !" 
“Let all things be done decently and in or¬ 
der,” says Holy Writ. It certainly takes no 
more time—and allow me to think not tomuch— 
and very many times saves mortification and 
apologies. Ray Hulbubt. 
ing more, 
grapes, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, oranges, 
Ac., Ac., together with the mild climate, con¬ 
stitutes the main attraction California haB to 
offer immigration. 
RICH MINING STRIKE. 
Last summer a resident of Bald Hill, near 
Auburn, made a Bnug fortune iu three days. 
He was a proapecter. and, like most of the class, 
was wofully down at the heel, living from hand 
to mouth. One day, when bunting around over 
the hills, he strnck his pick into a little mound, 
which looked like an ant hill, and to his great 
delight he unearthed some chunks of rotten 
quartz which contained traces of gold. He 
sunk on the ledge, and, at overy stage of the 
descent, was rewarded by findiug more gold. 
He prooured help and took out fifteen hundred 
dollars’ worth at thirty feet depth. Further 
down, the chimney, or ledge, became richer, 
yielding lumps of pure gold, aud the interstices 
between the rocks were so rich that he began to 
wash it in a pan. The editor of the Placer Her¬ 
ald and Sheriff McCormick visited the mine 
next day and found him with a pan of the glit¬ 
tering stuff, which washed out over a thousand 
dollars. Other pans were sent up which washed 
still more. The next ilav he took out Sin non 
THE LAUNDRY 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORTS 
Oakland, Douglas Co., Oregon, Feb. 5. 
We have had a very fine winter so far. Have 
had no Bnow or freezing weather, and only a 
few frosty nights. Vegetables, such as cabbage 
beets, lettuce and radishes, grow out in the 
garden all winter. Strawberries are iu blossom 
now. Farmers have been plowing aud sowing 
grain all winter. Grain brings a good price 
here: whoat, $1; bailey, 75o.; oats, 50c.; pota¬ 
toes, 75o.; hay, $10 per ton ; apples, 50o.; but- 
ter, 37J^o.; eggs, 25c. per dozen. Stock is 
Cheap: horseB, $25<®125; good milch cows, 
$12@40; sheep, $1@2. Land is worth from 
$2.50@20 per acre. h. o. u. 
which is never found if stirred while cooking. 
The same may be said of oatmeal, only the lat¬ 
ter should be quickly stirred into boiling water ; 
cover closely and let cook for about twenty min¬ 
utes. Wheat may be cooked about the same time, 
although it bears cooking longer. 
Aunt Flora. 
Egg Toast. 
Beat four eggs; yelks and whites together 
thoroughly; put two tablespoonfula of butter 
into a sauce-pan and melt slowly ; then pour in 
the eggs and heat without boiling over a slow 
fire, stirring constantly; add a little salt and 
when hot, spread on siloes of nicely-browned 
toast and serve at once. 
To Fry Smelts. 
Wash, cut off the fins, and dry with a cloth ; 
melt a spoonful of butter and into it stir the 
beaten yelks of two eggs; salt and flour the 
smelts a little, dip into the egg and butter, roll 
in grated bread-crumbs and plunge into boiling 
fat; fry until of a bright, yellow brown ; Berve 
upon a napkin garnishe J with fried parsley. 
To Fry Parsley, 
This when done as it should be, is one of the 
nicest as well as cheapest of garnishinga. The 
parsley should be washed and dried in a cloth ; 
then if one ia the happy possessor of a wire 
basket, put in the parsley and hold from two to 
Whitney’s Point, N. Y., Feb. 18. 
Weather mild and Bleighing good. Wind in 
the N. N. W., but not very cold. Lumbermen 
very busy, Butter is selling here for 20@25o. 
per pound; eggs, 15o. per dozen ; oats, 35o. 
per bushel; potatoes, 35c. per bushel; bay, 
$7<®8 per ton; straw, $3 50@4 per ton. The 
ice crop is being harvested ; the average thick¬ 
ness is from ten to twelve inches. m. b. d. 
Wood Co., Ohio, Feb. 19th, 1878. 
We have had a very mild winter hereabouts : 
no snow until February. We have had two 
heavy storms this month. Stock is doing well, 
feed is abundant aud cheap. Indeed all kinds 
stock are at a low figure. Wheat looks very 
well. Hay sells at $6 to $8 per ton ; wheat, 
$1.15; oorn, 35c ; oats, 25c; potatoes S5o. n. 
Rural Grounds, Feb. 23. 
Frost entirely out of the ground. Constant 
rain and high winds. Bottomless mud. Warm, 
muggy- A freshet is feared. 
