Domestic Cawomi} 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
DOURA, OR RICE CORN. 
I am glad to see public attention attracted 
to the cultivation of Doura Corn, as it is called 
in its native country, Arabia, and “Rice 
Com ” as it is known by many in the United 
States. Last Spring we were able to obtain 
only about a quart of seed, which planted half 
an acre. Had it been dropped like corn it 
would have gone much farther. The ground 
was marked off with a three rowed coin- 
marker, three feet three inches between each 
row, which made a track two inches deep. 
The seed was sown in a drill and covered with 
a harrow; when up, it was chopped out 18 
inches apart and one stalk in a hill. After¬ 
ward it was harrowed once and plowed twice. 
Part was put on the poorest soil we had, 
where the soil was washed for the purpose of 
experiment, but still it bore a good crop; on 
rich land it yields from 100 to 150 bushels pet- 
acre. After the first heads matured, the 
branches, which came out freely from the 
joints of the stalk®, bore others till cut off by 
frosts. It is almost unaffected by a drought 
which ruins other crops, and it makes very 
good fodder, either sown broadcast for that 
purpose or to turn cattle on after harvesting 
the grain. All animals are very fond of the 
grain, particularly pigs and chickens; it is 
convenient, as it does not need shelling, besides } 
combining the properties of Indian corn and | 
wheat. 
For family use it cannot be too highly rec- ; 
ommended, and while it resembles neither 
corn-meal, buckwheat nor Graham flour, it 
will take the place of either. The meal makes 
delicious mush after the style of oat meal; 
light, tender pancakes, and excellent hot 
bread made w ith egg, sour milk, a little short¬ 
ening, salt and soda, like the Northern johnny- 
cake aud Southern “egg bread." Sweeten 
and flavor the same mixture, aud it is a deli¬ 
cious plain cake. It is also as nice as cracked 
wheat cooked in the same manner, and equals 
rice in soup, but will not cook as quickly as 
the latter. My experiments in the way of | 
preparing it were cut short by the loss of the 
meal in a fire which destroyed our house and 
nearly its entire contents; but I do not doubt 
it would be equally good raised with yeast 
and mixed with rye for bread, 1 never had 
it ground into flour—only meal; the miller 
says twice as much can be ground in the 
same time as corn. Ours w as the white varie¬ 
ty, which bears considerably less and ripens 
later than the red, but is preferred for house¬ 
hold use, because it is light-colored, I suppose. 
I do not know that the weevil is more fond 
of this grain than of any other, but it is more 
exposed to the pest’s attacks. We protected 
ours perfectly by sprinkling about a table¬ 
spoon ful of Persian Insect Powder in each 
sack of seed, and to keep the meal I laid over 
it a cloth dusted with the same. As this pow- 
der is not in the least poisonous, and has little 
taste, in future I shall not hesitate to mix 
enough with the meal to presei-ve it. The 
above precaution is probably only necessary 
at the South, where the grain weevil is more 
destructive than in northern latitudes. I have 
found this will keep insects from all kinds of 
seeds. Twenty-five cents’ worth, bought of 
the druggist in bulk, will destroy and prevent 
an immense amount of insect life; if kept in a 
tight tin box it is good some time—mine was 
effective after two years. s. s. T. 
Saline Co., Ark. 
-- 
THE KITCHEN CLUB DISCUSSES DIET 
FOR INVALIDS, AND WINTER 
AILMENTS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
When the Kitchen Club met at Hillside, 
last week, nearly every member was suffering 
from a cold in some form or other. Sneezing 
was the order of the day; coughing was a fre¬ 
quent accompaniment to the conversation. I 
gave for the latter a recipe from Mrs. Hen¬ 
derson’s cook book, that has proved of great 
use. It was elecampane, one ounce; spike¬ 
nard, one ounce; eomfrey root, one 
ounce; hoarhound tops, one ounce; add 
two quarts of water, and steep them five 
hours in a porcelain vessel, adding enough 
boiling water, as it boils away, to keep the 
vessel full as at first. At the end of this time, 
strain; add a pound of loaf sugar, and boil 
till reduced to one quart. Givea dessert spoon¬ 
ful before each meal and before retiring. 
Keep in a cool place, or add a little spirits to 
prevent spoiling. One lady remarked she 
thought it a pity the herb teas of our grand¬ 
mothers’ time were so little thought of now, 
and another asked the Doctor’s wife how best 
to tempt an invalid who refused to eat. The 
Doctor’s clever helpmeet smiled, and said; 
“Now no one is to be offended, or suppose 
anything personal is meant, if I answer this 
question. In the first place, never ask a pa¬ 
tient will he have this or that. Cook a small 
quantity and try. Place it on the daintiest of 
dishes so as to surprise the sick person into 
noticing its tasteful arrangement. Let it be 
served promptly, and not too much; also be 
sure to have it hoi or c old, never lukewarm. 
There is nothing more diilicult to make and 
serve nicely than beef tea, and few invalids 
care for it after one trial. Yet it is so nour¬ 
ishing we cannot afford to ignore it, as it can 
be given by the spoonful at regular intervals 
to weak patients, and so becomes almost a 
medicine. A good recipe is the following; 
Cut a pound of perfectly lean beef into small 
pieces, put them into a wide mouthed or 
pickle bottle, cork tightly, and place in a pot 
of cold water, in the bottom of which a sau¬ 
cer or plate has been placed. Apply heat 
gradually, and let it boil slowly for two or 
three hours, when the juice can be poured off 
and carefully seasoned. Never leave food in 
a sick room after the meal is over, and be 
sure that everything is fresh, and seasoned 
properly. Oat-meal porridge (not gruel, but 
of thicker consistency), is often relished by a 
convalescent, and stands first in nutritive 
powers. Always remember, in making up 
any of the grains, that the water must boil 
and be salted before Stirling in the meal, 
otherwise it becomes a waxy paste. Rice- 
water and rice jelly, nicely flavored, are in¬ 
valuable in summer disorders, as are many of 
the prepared foods." But our time was up, 
and the talk had to come to an end. 
■» ♦ ♦- 
HINTS. 
Boiled wheat flour or bran is far better 
than soap for washing delicate calico and 
muslin. 
Make a paste of whiting and water, and use 
instead of soap upon nice paint. Rub on with 
a flannel cloth and rinse off with tepid water 
and a clean cloth. 
A paste of whiling and vinegar is excellent 
for cleaning tin-ware, nickel-plating, etc. 
Old-fashioned mirrors that have been stored 
in some out-of the-way place on account of 
their tarnished gilt or painted wooden frames, 
are now prettily framed in cretonne, woolen 
stuffs, plush, or velvet, to match the furniture 
or carpets of the room in which they are to be 
placed. The material may be tacked on plain 
or fulled, forming a puff around the gloss. 
Mrs. Wright says: Avoid nicknames in ad¬ 
dressing people. It is very vulgar to be bawl¬ 
ing Bill, Ben, Sue, Nell, after your acquaint¬ 
ances; no lady would permit it—no gentleman 
would be guilty of it. 
♦ ♦ »- 
A FORGETFUL MAN. 
As I sat thinking, to-night, my mind turned 
upon my neighbor, and I am going to tell you 
what befel her a few days ago. 
As she is in delicate health, she has to be 
careful wlmt she does ; but, with the excep¬ 
tion of washings and ironings, she does her 
own housework. Her husband is in business 
down-town, and this Winter has usually taken 
his dinner at a restaurant. On this morning 
I am telling you of, Mr. White said to his 
wife, as he was starting off, “We will go to 
the Delaware Union to night, and you be sure 
and be ready when I get home, so we can go 
right back." At first she said she did not feel 
able to go; but, as it was a gathering from 
his native State, and he wished her to go, she 
told him she would be ready. So off he went 
to his day’s work, and she to her’s; but re¬ 
membering the prospect for the evening, she 
knew she must save her strength, so did her 
work as easily as possible, in fact, “slighted ’’ 
it a little. By-and-by one of her neighbors 
came in and invited her to go with her to a 
concert, down-town, that evening, which was 
expected to be very fine, but she declined, 
feeling a wee bit of regret. The day passed, 
and knowing Mr. White would be in a great 
| haste to get back, she made her preparations, 
getting all ready but putting on her cloak and 
j bonnet, all the time feeling quite happy, as 
she had not been out with her husband for a 
I long time. When he got home at night he 
usually read his paper, and talked a while, 
and then considered t he day at an end. Well, 
the time passed aud she cast frequent glances 
at the clock, wondering why William didn’t 
come. Finally she dropped off asleep, end 
was wakened by her husband’s footsteps. His 
first words were, “ Why ! how nicely you are 
dressed to night. What is the reason ?" She 
replied: “You invited mo to go downtown 
this evening with you, and I am all ready.” 
A more crestfallen-looking man you never 
saw. A busy day at the store had made him 
tired, aud a friend’s voice at night asking him 
to go to a gi eat political meeting put his en¬ 
gagement entirely out of his head. It was 
then too late to think of going, and so ended 
a day very differently from what was planned 
in the morning. Not a hard word was spoken 
on either side, but Mr. White says he will 
never forget again, and Mrs. White thinks 
she will be a little surer she is going out before 
she spends a whole day in getting ready. I 
am sure I should not have borne it so good- 
naturedly. Fanny Clover. 
-- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
SOAP-STONE GRIDDLE. 
Being unable to get the desired effect from 
the use of fine salt, I used fine sand and 
soapine, which made the griddle as smooth 
as new. Sapulio soap would do as well. 
BUTTERMILK BREAD. 
We do not like yeasty bread unless it is 
made of Hatlett’s flour, and as we do not 
always have that, and think Royal and other 
powders too expensive, wej think our milk 
bread quite as wholesome, and it looks almost 
as nice. Recipe as follows:—One even tea¬ 
spoonful of English soda sifted in one quart 
of flour. After rubbing in butter and salt 
add one pint of sour buttermilk, slowly stir¬ 
ring all the while, adding flour to keep the 
mixture dry. Knead end bake in a hot 
oven immediately. You must use your own 
judgment about soda for the milk, but after 
a little practice you will never have yellow 
bread. 
Snow is three feet deep in the woods; the 
weather cold and windy—bad weather for 
gossips. Mary R. Hopkins. 
FRIED CAKES. 
One cup of buttermilk, one cup of sour 
cream, one cup of sugar, one egg, one tea¬ 
spoon of saleratus. 
COOKIES. 
Two cups of sugar, one cup of sour cream, 
a piece of butter the size of a hen’s egg, a 
little salt, one egg, one teaspoon of saleratus. 
HARD-TACK. 
One cup of sugar, one and-a-half cup of 
molasses, one egg, one tablespoon of vinegar, 
one teaspoon of ginger, one teaspoon of sal¬ 
eratus, six cups of Hour. 
BUTTERNUT CAKE. 
One and a half cup of sugar, one half cup 
of butttr, three-quarters of a cup of sweet 
milk, one cup of butternuts, one teaspoon of 
cream of-tartar, one-half teaspoon of salera¬ 
tus, whites of four eggs, two cups of flour. 
FRUIT CAKE. 
One cup of sugar, one half cup of butter, 
one-half cup of sour milk, one cup of raisins, 
one egg, two cups of flour, one teaspoon of 
saleratus, iwo tablespoons of molasses. 
PICNIC CAKE. 
Two cups of sugar, one-half cup of butter, 
one cup of milk, three eggs, three cups of 
flour, two teaspoons of cream-of tartar, one 
teaspoon of saleratus. 
SWEET CREAM CAKE. 
One cup of sugar, one cup of flour, one-half 
cup of sweet cream, two eggs, one teaspoon of 
cream-of-tartar, one-half teaspoon of salera¬ 
tus. Season to taste. 
These are all excellent recipes. They have 
been thoroughly tested in our family. 
Rose-Bud. 1 
DOUGHNUTS. 
One cup of white sugar, six tablespoons of 
melted butter, tw-o eggs, one and a half cup 
of sweet milk, a little salt and a little nut¬ 
meg, three even teaspoons of creain-of-tartar 
and one and-a-half of soda, mixed with the 
flour, flour enough to roll and cut well. If 
there is too much flour they w ill be harder. 
Fry to a nice brown in hot lard. 
If some are desired for the tea-table, cut in 
little round cakes, as near one inch in diame¬ 
ter each way as possible; as soon as cooked 
through, take them from the kettle one at a 
time, and drop in a small bowl in which is a 
tablespoonful of pulverized sugar, roll them 
around quickly and put on a plate, proceed 
in this maimer, adding a little fresh sugar as 
needed, until all aie coated with a thin, fine 
coat of white. These are ornamental us well 
as useful. Mrs, W. C. H. 
YEAST AND BREAD. 
Take one-and-one half yeast cake which 
you know to be good, soak in a teacup of 
warm w ater, thicken and set to rise as for 
bread. Take a two gallon jug, put in it half a 
teacup of salt, also the same of sugar. Peel 
13 large potatoes, put to boil in two quarts 
of water, when done mash and strain through 
a colender on the sugar and salt. Fill up the 
jar w'ithiu a couple of inches of the top with 
cold water. When the yeast is light (as it 
should be wheu this is done) put it in, stir 
thoroughly, set it in a warm place until a 
thick, white scum rises on the top; then put in 
a very cool place; it is ready for use. When 
you wish to make bread, stir this mixture 
well from the bottom, and allow one pint for 
a small loaf. No other wetting is used. Of 
course, you can vary this quantity to suit a 
large family. I mix my sponge over-night, 
leaving it in the pantry to rise. It is always 
light when I get up, at six o’clock in the 
morning. I knead it well, leaving it in the 
pan to rise again before I make into loaves. 
T. G. T. 4 
HASH AND HASH. 
I have made and eaten hashes of all kinds. 
I thought, and was considerably surprised 1 
when a friend who was visiting us asked me 
why I did not add beets to my corned-beef 
bash. 
“Beets?'’ I said, with a look of incredu¬ 
lity. 
“Yes, beets," she replied. “Make a hash 
of two parts boiled potatoes, one part boiled 
beets and one part cold corned beef. Chop- 
fine, mix; season with butter and pepper, add 
a little hot winter to keep from burning, and 
just before you take from the fire turn over a 
third cupful of vinegar with a teaspoonful of 
made mustard mixed with it. Mix thorough¬ 
ly and serve.” 
“ You will find this a very appetizing dish," 
said my friend. Aud 1 mean to try it the very 
next time we have corned beef. Mary B. 
WASHING THE BUTTER- BOWL. 
In reference to an article Ly Mrs. E. K. B. 
in a late Rural, I wish to say that dairymen. 
the most thorough ,prefer a solution of sal-soda 
in the water they cleanse butter utensils with, 
to soap, as it has no disposition to sour if not 
quickly rinsed off. Clean sand, in scouring 
wooden utensils, always cleans the milk de¬ 
posit from it easier than soap-suds. 
Mrs. J. R. Gaston. 
-- 
Note.— Rugs and Bugs in Rural of Feb. 
25 should have read Rugs ami Rugs. 
SOME OF THE NEW GRAPES. 
GEO. W. CAMPBELL, SECRETARY. 
As the season is approaching when many 
1 persons will wish to plant some of the newer 
^varieties of grapes, a few words as to their 
general character may be acceptable. 
“The Pocklington, bow do you like it?”has 
been asked of me so often, I avail myself of 
the columns of the Rural New-Yorker to 
give a more general reply than I could in 
separate answers to individual questioners. I 
will any 1 like its large size, both in bunch and 
bury; the hardiness, health and Concord char¬ 
acter of the vine, both in growth and foliage;, 
and I like it especially for those qualities which 
promise to make it both valuable and profit¬ 
able as a shipping and market grape. When 
fully ripe its color—a handsome golden yel¬ 
low—is quite attractive, the clusters are very 
large, the skin of the berries, although thin, is 
quite tenacious, and this grape will bear hand¬ 
ling and shipping, with ordinarily good care, 
much better than the Concord, or any of its 
seedlings within my knowledge. Then I think 
it w ill prove one of the best keepers. For two 
successive years I have kept clusters of the 
Pocklington in the ordinary temperature of a 
living-room for three months, and found them 
neither to decay nor lose flavor, and they 
gradually dry into raisins. In flavor I find it, 
when fully ripened, move sugary and richer 
than the Concord; but, unfortunately it baa 
even more of what is called the “foxy” odor. 
This I do not like in the Pocklington or any 
other grape; and although there are many 
persons who relish this “native aroma,” aud 
"delightful perfume,” to others it is specially 
unpleasant, and it is only to the former class 
that the Pocklington will be entirely accept¬ 
able. In brief, my opinion of the Pocklington 
is, thut while it is not of the best quality, it is 
still good enough to be generally popular as a 
vineyard and market grape; and I believe it 
will be largely planted, and take its place as a. 
standard and useful variety. 
Tub Prentiss is also prominently before the 
public as a new white grape. Although I have 
for several years hud opportunities of exam¬ 
ining the fruit, I have bad but little personal 
experience with the vine, its character and 
habits of growth; and it is upon just these 
points that the value and the success or fail¬ 
ure of the Prentiss depend. The clusters and 
berries are of only medium size, but compact 
and handsome; quality quite good; not high- 
flavored, but pleasant and free from offensive 
foxiness. The vine is a profuse bearer, and 
frt m the limited experience I have, and the 
testimony of others who have grown it in this 
State, I can say it appears both vigorous and 
healthy. From it resemblance to the Rebecca 
in the appearance aud quality of its fruit, I 
was at first inclined to cluss it with that vari¬ 
ety ; but I am satisfied, upon further trial and 
observation, that while the fruit is equal to 
that of the Rebecca, the vine is more vigorous, 
more productive, and probably more hardy. 
I think the Prentiss may be safely regarded as 
promising, and worthy of trial in all reason¬ 
ably favorable grape-growing sections. 
