630 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
DEC. 26 
Domestic Grotto rap. 
CONDUCTED ST EMILY MAPLE. 
MOP-HANDLE PAPERS.-No. 10. 
MAY MAPLE. 
It 
A Chat in the Kitchen, 
is not often one spends & happier 
week 
snug 
This 
in the golden autumn than I did at the 
little farm house of Cousin Jennie Gordon, 
same fair cousin is a really practical house-wife, 
never seeming to he in the least hurried or 
troubled about anything. Her work moves 
along like clock-work. It is said that there are 
born poets; then why may there not be bom 
housewives as well ? I believe there is one now 
and then, and that this fair relative of mine is 
such a one. If their oomforting mantles oould 
only spread far and wide over the sisterhood of 
farmers’ wives, there would be less complaining 
and fewer drudges. 
One morning I followed her into the kitchen, 
for we could not afford to “ stop our chatter” 
while she performed her usual morning duties; 
for she only kept a hired girl during the sum¬ 
mer months. Her own daughters, aged twelve 
aud ten, usually assisted her in the labors of 
love about the household; but they were visit¬ 
ing in a distant town. 
“ Now, Cousin May,” said Jennie, at the close 
of an animated discussion of a favorite author, 
“if you’ll excuse, I'll go on with a piece of work 
that I put down in the programme for one of 
the odd j ibs to be done to-day. You see I have 
certain parts of my work for certain days. Mon¬ 
day morning, before I leave the breakfast table, 
I write out in a little book kept for the purpose, 
my plans for each day of the week. And 
although my rule is noi as unalterable as the 
laws of the Medes and Persians, yet it helps me 
wonderfully towards the accomplishment of 
various tasks that might be otherwise neglected 
for a time, and then cause my work to be done 
in haBte. To-day the tin-ware is to be cleaned. 
I’ll be very quiet about it and we can go on 
with our reviews and oritioisms of fictions, 
poems and authors just as well as though wo 
were sitting in the parlor making cats and dogs 
on Java cauvas.” 
I found that by cleaning the tin she did not 
mean scouring it, but giving it a thorough 
washing with plenty of soap and water, using a 
brush instead of a cloth. She said that during 
the hurrying Beason the girls were not always as 
particular as they ought to be about washing 
the seams and hems of the pans, bread aed pie 
tins, dish-pans and tea-kettle. In putting the 
pans about the stove to dry, they frequently 
beoame so heated as to melt the resiu, and this 
caused the seams to be dark and gummy, an 
appearanoe not at all pleasant to the eye of a 
tidy housekeeper. She used a brush for this 
work, beoause a brush would do it more thor¬ 
oughly than a cloth; and in very obstinate 
cases a small, sharp stick would do good service 
in removing impurities. 
After the dishes were all nioely cleaned and 
put away in poetical order, that is, in long lines 
and short ones, in clusters and groups, Jennie 
took a large basket and went to the cellar, soon 
returning with the basket heaped full of Irish 
potatoes. 
*' Now don't think I am going to cook all theso 
for dinner;” said she. “I am only going to 
wash their faces and have them ready to use 
when I want them, for several days to come. 
You shall see how quickly I wash them ; the 
basket holds half a bushel.” 
She put them all into a tub that stood near 
the pump. Then after pouring plenty of water 
upon them, Bhe took an old broom and sorubbed 
them till they were as bright and shining as 
apples. When rinsed, they were put into a 
basket to drain, and the labor had occupied 
scarcely five minutes. “ There 1" said Jennie, 
as she wiped her hands as fair as in her girl¬ 
hood, “ if it be necessary to get a meal quickly, 
the potatoes can be boiled with their jackets 
The much prized ducks are called “ Mnskoka,” 
and are certainly very large and fine in shape. 
When dressed, their weight is about an average 
of nine pounds, and the tiavor and color are 
those of the wild black duck, while they are 
very heavily feathered and handsome in the 
rich color of their plumage. Muoh given to 
hiding their nests, they make them deep and 
soft with the fine down which they pluck from 
their breasts for a iiaing, aud which might be 
taken for 6ider-down. They roost like the 
chickens, flyiug up to a perch at nightfall,'and 
have to be kept with oue wiog clipped while 
young to prevent their flying away. Many a 
chase the children have had along the Umber 
after the old drake or some of the ducks, when 
their wings had grown again. But one of their 
peculiarities is that they do not seem to need 
the usual paddle, the necessity for which makes 
the common duck such a very disagreeable 
character. While fond of a bath, and of plung¬ 
ing into clean water after a shower, they will 
not seek the river in a dry time, but are content 
to share with the chickens a Bmall pau of water. 
The young are very subject to the attack of the 
iiy, which is only to be guarded against by 
not allowing them to return to their nest after 
hatching out, hut plaoiug them in clean quar¬ 
ters, when they grow with wonderful rapidity. 
In the matter of cooking, they can be used in 
all the ways in which tame duoks are prepared, 
but if preferred, they make up very well as a 
Salmi of Wild Duck. 
First—Partly roast the duck; out it into 
joints and Biices; pul refuse bits of fat or skin 
into a saucepan with a cup of gravy; two onions 
fried in butter; pepper and salt to taste, a pinch 
of cloves and nutmeg, parsley, marjoram and 
sage chopped fine. Boil one hour, skim when 
cool, and return to the saucepan with a piece of 
butter the Bize of a walnut; thicken with 
browned flour ; let it boil a few minutes ; put 
in the pieces of duok, after which it must not 
boil, but the saucepan should be placed in a 
dish of boiling water. Fry bread in some of the 
gravy; cut it into squares; lay them on a hot 
dish; place the pieces of duck neatly in the 
center and pour the gravy over all. 
-- 
MINCE PIE. 
One pound of finely-chopped, boiled beef—that 
from the neck is beet; one-half pound of grated 
sour apple, a pound of raisins, stoned and ont 
tine, a pound of currants, one-fourth of a pound 
of suet, and the same of citron, both chopped. 
One teacup each of jelly, sugar and molasses, 
the juice and grated rind of a lemon, one grated 
nutmeg, a teaspoonful each of salt, ground cin¬ 
namon, nance and cloves; two quarts of cider 
boiled or net- Mix thoroughly, put in a porce¬ 
lain kettle and Bet in the back of the stove. Lit 
the mixture Bimmer for one hour, stirriDg it 
often. Fack in a stone jar and keep in a cold 
place. 
Most cooks weaken their mince pies with too 
many apples. Pies made according to this re¬ 
ceipt will bo found very rich and fine, and the 
the fewer eaten, the batter. m. g. b. 
Iowa. 
- - ♦ ♦ ♦ - .—■— 
QUESTIO NS AN SWERED. 
Pop-Corn Balls. 
Geo. G. Doctor wishes directions for making 
pop-corn balls. 
on ; otherwise, I can take a few in a dish, and 
sit with you in the parlor to pare them, if I 
choose, aud there will be no danger of soiling 
hands or clothes. I'll tell you, May, if you 
ever go to housekeeping, hang a brush in every 
corner of your kitchen and pantry, and you will 
find t a labor-saving machine in a hundred 
ways.” 
-*■♦»• - 
[Note,— owing to the fact that It was round 
necessary to present our Poultry Number some¬ 
what. earlier than was at first Intended, th© 
following article by Mrs. Jack and several others, 
were received too late ror that Issue.— Eds ] 
OUR DUCKS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
“ Who would have thought it!” sail the fam- 
ly epioure. as the delicious, dark meat of one 
of onr much prized ducks fell in rich slices 
beneath the carver’s knife. “ There is as much 
meat on one of those immense fellows as on a 
turkey,” said another critic, and so, of course, 
for the benefit of visitors we had to state the 
cause of these remarks. 
Ans—P op the corn, rejecting that which did 
not open nicely, and put into a large pan or on a 
dean table—there should be a scant half bushel. 
Add a little water to a p,ound of granulated 
sugar and boil until the mixture, when tried in 
oold water, is waxy; stir in five tablespoonfula 
of gum-arabio solution, of about the thickness of 
molasses—made by dissolving the gum in boiling 
water—and pour over the corn. With a Bpoon 
or stick stir until ail of the kernels are coated 
with the mixture. When cool, flour the hands 
and press into balls. Flavor the sugar mixture 
with whatever you choose. 
Dried Citron. 
M. H. E., A'ew Lebanon, A. Y., asks how to 
to dry citron and have it look like that in market. 
Ans. —Boil the dtron in water nntil clear and 
tender ; make a sirap in the proportion of one- 
half pint of water to a pound of sugar; put in 
the pieces and boil until tha sirup has penetrated 
them; take out, spread on plates and dry slow¬ 
ly, turning often aud sprinkling with powdered 
sugar each time. Paok iu jars with sugar be¬ 
tween the layers. 
Skins from Peaohes. 
Mrs. J. W. L., asks for some speedy way of 
removing skins from peaches. She has heard 
of lye being used for that purpose, bnt does not 
know of the process and asks for enlightenment. 
Ans.—Y es, iye is us§d, but we do not know as 
to itB strength. If peaches are placed iu a wire 
basket and plunged first into boiliDg water for a 
moment and then into cold, it will enable you to 
rub off the skins with ease. Any of our friends 
who has had experience with the lye solution, 
we will be pleased to hear from. 
Alonzo Wolf, Pa., says, please give directions 
for a good vinegar and also for a secret ink. 
Ans.— 1. Oar correspondent does not state 
whether he wiBhes directions for eider vinegar 
or for a “ made" vinegar. If for the former, 
the process will be hastened by adding mother 
of vinegar, as it is called, to the cider. Some¬ 
times the cider is too strong, remaining in a state 
too Bonr for cider and not sour enough for vine¬ 
gar. In such a case add of warm water one- 
fourth as ranch as there is cider, and of molas¬ 
ses, two quarts to the barrel, A cheap vinegar 
is made by filling up the vinegar barrel, before 
it is quite empty, with r gallon of molasses to 
every eleven gallons of soft water. A quicker 
vinegar oan be made by allowing a quart of mo¬ 
lasses and a pint of yeast to every three gallons 
of warm rain-water. In making any vinegar, 
bear in mind that the process is accelerated by 
keeping it where there is a moderate degree of 
heat and in filling the cask or barrel only half 
full, thereby allowing a free access of external 
air. 
2. Lemon J uioe, onion J nice or a weak solu¬ 
tion of oil of vitriol, common salt or saltpeter 
will turn brown or yellow when exposed to the 
tire. A dilute solution of chloride of copper be¬ 
comes yellow at a moderate heat and disappears 
on cooling, while a weak solution of ohloride of 
cobalt and ohloride of nickel is turned a bright- 
green. Use these liquids the Bame as ink, only 
the pen must be clean. 
IF. S. T. wishes to know how to keep cider 
sweet for a long time with but little expense. 
Ans.—I t is desirable to make the cider late In 
the season. The barrel must be perfectly 
sweet and clean. To a barrel allow seven 
pounds of white sugar. Let it ferment until it 
is safe to drive in the bung. Draw off in Feb¬ 
ruary or March into a olean cask ; dissolve one- 
third pound of gelatine in a quart or more of 
warm cider; when dissolved aud cold, add to the 
other oider, mixing thoroughly; bung tightly, 
and bottle in April or May. Or, when it oomes 
from the press, rack once a week for four 
weeks, put in bottles, cork tightly and place the 
bottles on their sides in sawdust, Another 
method recommended its, to add sulphite, not 
sulphate, of lime. When the oider is in lively 
fermentation, add one-fourih pound of white 
sugar to each gallon; let the fermentation pro¬ 
ofed until it has the taste to suit; then add 
one-fourth ounce of sulphite of lime to each 
gallon. Dissolve the sulphite in a little cider 
before pouring into the barrel. Agitate briskly 
for a few minutes and after a day or two when 
the cider has become clear, draw off and bottle 
or remove the sediment and return to the same 
cask. If kept in the barrel it will retain its 
taste as a still cider, and if bottled oarefully it 
mil beoome sparkling. 
Cream Crackers. 
E. 8- G. wishes a recipe for cream crackers. 
Ans.— One pint of sweet cream ; six eggB ; a 
little salt aud flour euough to make a stiff dough; 
beat the eggs separately, and pound the dough 
for fifteen or twenty minutes. Roll thin ; cut 
into any shape you please and bake in a moder¬ 
ate oven. 
JSUattin| for % fomtg 
FOLLOW THOU ME. 
Have ye looked for My sheep In the desert, 
For those who have missed their way f 
Have ye been in the wild, waste places 
Where the lost and the wandering- stray ? 
Have ye trodden the lonely highway. 
Tbs foul and darksome street? 
It may he ye’d see iu the gloaming, 
The print of Chrlst’e.wounded feet 
Have you folded close to your bosom 
The trembling, neglected lamb. 
And taught to the little lost,one 
The sound of the Shepherd's name t 
Have yo searched for tho poor and needy 
With no clothing, no home, no bread? 
The 8on of man was among them. 
He had nowhere to lay his head ? 
Have ye carried the living water 
To the parched and thirsty soul ? 
Have ye said to the sick and wounded, 
" Christ Jesus makes thee whole?" 
Have ye told my fainting children 
Of the strength of the father’s hand? 
Have ye guided the tottering footsteps 
To the shores of the *• golden land ?” 
Have ye stood by the sad and weary. 
To smooth the pillow of death. 
To comfort the sorrow-Btrioken. 
Aud strengthen the feeble faith ? 
And have ye felt, when ihe glory 
Has streamed through the open door, 
Aud flitted across the shadows, 
That X had been there before ? 
Have ye wept with the broken-hearted, 
In their agony of woe ? 
Ye might hear me whispering beside you. 
’Tis a path I often go. 
My disciples, my brethren, my friends. 
Can ye dare to follow me f 
Then wherever the master dwelleth. 
There shall the servant be. 
JACK AND JILL. 
An Authentic Aooount of the Adventures 
of These Nursery Favorites. 
Jack and Jill went up a hill 
To get a pall of water; 
Jaok fell down and cracked hla crown 
And Jill came tumbling after. 
Now Jack was the son of a nobleman who lived 
In a strong castle far across the sea. He once 
had a little sister, hue she went to live with the 
angels when she was only three years old. Jaok, 
aB you ma uppoae, was very lonely after that, 
for he was the only child In this great house, and 
his heart was so sad that he would creep away by 
himself and cry aloud to his sister Effie to come 
back and play with him once more. Then his 
papa bought for him a beautiral white pony, and 
calling his gray-haired steward, told him to teach 
Jack how to ride, and always to keep bis own 
hand upon the bridle until he could keep bis seat 
properly. Now Jack was not a very obedient 
boy, for since his slstet's death no one bad ever 
crossed his wlshe 3 , and his will bad grown to be 
altogether too big for such a small body. He 
thought It looked very silly for him to be on the 
pony’s back with the steward holding the bridle, 
walking round and round the yard; yet while his 
father stood near, he dared not disobey his order. 
By and by papa mounted hts own horse and rode 
down tho Bleep mountain side, and was soon out 
of sight. Then Jack told the steward to let go 
his hold upon the bridle, and beoause be would 
not ooey him, ho raised his whip to strike the old 
man a blow, but missed his aim, hitting the pony 
Instead, who gave a great spring, thus clearing 
himself from the steward, then dashing through 
the open gates, ran down tho mountain at full 
speed. Little Jack was nearly thrown, but by 
grasptng hold of tho pony's Ihtck mane he man¬ 
aged somehow to keep Ills scat. Tho pony kept 
going faster and faster, till It soemed to the poor 
boy as If he was flying. He began to scream for 
his papa and mamma, and at last faint through 
fear and so much weeping, became dizzy—his 
eyes closed, his numb little fingers let go their 
hold upon the pony’s mane, and with a hard 
thump he fell to the ground, wnile the pony, with 
no longer a burden upon his back, sped on like 
the wind. 
In a few moments a poor old woman chanced 
to come that way, and seeing a little boy lying 
by the roadside, drew near, thinking it might be 
a fairy prince—for fairies were quite common on 
this mountain. But she .soon saw It was no 
fairy boy lying there so still and pale. She went 
to a spring near by and got some water In Jack’s 
cap and sprinkled It In hla face. In a tew mo¬ 
ments he opened his eyes, but his bead was so 
much hurt that he did not know what had hap¬ 
pened to him or how ho chanced to be there. 
After a while the old woman asked him if he 
thought ho could walk, and he said lie would 
try; so he stood up, and, with a good deal of help 
and many times sitting down to rest, tney at last 
came to a low, brown hut, where the old woman 
lived with her little grand-daughter Jill. Jill’s 
blue eyes were full or wonder when she saw 
Jack, though she made him very welcome, giv¬ 
ing to him her own little stool by the one win¬ 
dow in the hut. 
Jack grew well fast, but he could not remem¬ 
ber Ids name or the place where he came from. 
He thought that .1111 was his own clear little sis¬ 
ter Elfie, and 80 crazy was hla poor head (hat he 
really believed this mean, low hut was the home 
of the angels. Ha would sit and look In Jill’s 
blue eyes and call her Effle. and tell her how 
much he hud missed her. and how glad he was 
to be with her again. Both the old woman and 
Jill grew to be very rond of him as the days and 
weeks wonc on, until the mountain was white 
with snow and the cold winter winds made dis¬ 
mal music round the low, brown but. They were 
very comfortable Inside; the fire was always 
bright upon the heanh and there was plenty of 
oatmeal from which to make gruel, with a goat 
to glvo them frrah milk. To be sure, It was not 
like the dainty fare Jack used to have In Ids 
father’s castle, but he had forgotten all that? and 
was very happy and contented with what he 
had. 
One cold morning, when the rain the night be¬ 
fore had turned the snow Into lee. little Jill took 
her pall to goto tho spring for water to niuke 
the gruel for breakfast, and Jack Insisted upon 
going also. 
They bad to climb quite a steep hill to reach 
the spring, and when they were nearly there 
Jack fell down, nnd bis head struck the Ice so 
hard that his crown was cracked—indeed there 
Is one old lady who insists to this day that It 
was broken- but she is mistaken. Then ho slid 
down to the bottom of the hill, and having hold 
of Jill’s hand, of course sbo kept on wltbhlm also. 
When they stopped Jack’s eyes were round as 
saucers. 
“ Who are you.” he cried to JUl, “and how came 
I here?” 
(You see, that Just as a thump had driven 
away Jack’s wits, a harder crack had brought 
them back again) 
Then Jill told him how that many months be¬ 
fore her grandmother bad found him by the 
road-aide, and that he could never tell them his 
name, or where he used to live. 
“Butlean now,” he cried. “My home Is a 
big grand castle; my papa the splendtdest man, 
and my mammal—oh. so lovely—but how oan 
I get word to them where I am ?” 
“I don’t know,” said Jill, “let’s go and ask 
grandma.” 
Then they went both to the but. and Jack told 
the old women who hts father was. 
“ Indeed, I know him well once," she cried, 
“for 1 was many years a servaut In his father’s 
house, and I will soon let him know where you 
are.” 
You may be sure Jack was very glad to think 
he should soon see his dear parents, and waited 
with great Impatience for them to come for him. 
And It was not long before he was clasped In their 
arms, with kisses and tears of Joy. Nor did they 
forget, those who had given their little son lore 
and tender care when he so much needed both— 
for they took the old woman and her grand¬ 
daughter bick with them to always live at the 
castle, mul utter one year they loved blue-eyed 
Jill so much they concluded to adopt her as their 
own little daughter, which made Jack very 
happy. He promised never again to disobey— 
yet I cannot say whether or not he did. Let us 
hope, however, that he kept hla promise, aud 
also that he begged the old steward’s pardon 
for trying to strike him. Be that as it may, I am 
sure that neither he nor Jill ever forgot the time 
when: 
Jack fell down and cracked hla crown. 
And JUl came tumbling after. 
Springfield Republic. 
PUZZLER ANSWER8.—Deo. 14. 
4 HIDDEN o Kinds or Ehtme.-I. Dirge: 2, bar; S. 
ale: 
Ballad ; I. Song : 5. Dean : 6. Epigram! 7, Reuulein 
8, Poem; y. Epopoo : lO.Ode: 11, Epic; 12, Cantata; 
18, Parody ; U. Elegy: 16, Hyum; 16. Canticlej 17, 
Madrigal; 18. Black ver*e; 19, Palinode; 20, Dog¬ 
gerel ; 21, Roundelay. 
Central Puzzle.—N ew Hampshire. 
Fractional Puzzle.—C ornelian. 
Double Aorobtio.-I nitials, “ The Widow’* Son 
final*. “The Gold Brink.” 
