tree; no after pruning can ever make a Bartlett 
pear of a tliorn seedling. 
Better we should let the grown husbands pretty 
much alone, It they be selfish, they will assuredly 
he selfish, still; If kind and good they owe their 
dispositions to something more than their own 
endeavors, and woman can better employ her time 
and thoughts, her voice and pen, In touching the 
mothers of unborn millions, the one true way of 
making kin 1 and considerate husbands or wives 
for some future time. 
Many farmers' wives work hard, it Is true, so do 
the wives of all men who are not financially above 
the need or manual labor, 
I have lived ou a farm, 1 have also lived to cities, 
both great and small, and l know that few women 
of limited means are as happy, live as easily and 
pleasantly, as the wives of farmers. Through the 
large, roomy houses, with all the living rooms on 
the first floor, floats the sweet Hummer breezes, 
ladened with the scent of new-mown hay, or spiced 
from the long orchard reaches, and the red 
checked babies, revel In pure atr, fresh fruit, and 
cool, pure milk, unmixed with chalkor water. All 
places have disadvantages* as well as advantages, 
but we sometimes waste uncalled lor pity, 
Maude Mkhidith. 
OUR GIRLS AND EOYS. 
Miss Clark:— 1 have recently chanced lo hear 
the remark made that the present training of boys 
and girls was one of the crowning evils of modern 
times. That neither were brought up to much of 
anything but fashionable Idleuess, with some 
smattering of the "accomplishments,” but little 
of the downright drilling to the pursuits of every¬ 
day life. 
The remark was further made that parents were 
bringing them up in an atmosphere above severe 
labor, while the cultivation necessary to lit them 
for easier pursuits was not yet practicable. 
But while this may be a very prevalent belief, 
may I not ask what Is being doue to advance that 
cultivation ? is it wrong for parents and children 
to struggle for that cultivation ? 
Because a portion fall In accomplishing it, shall 
every boy and girl be doomed to drudgery until 
the millennium brings the grand time? 
I would not entirely relieve t he son or daughter 
from the parent's dally duties, but if lu connec¬ 
tion therewith, the daughter may havomustc, and 
an opportunity to develop what ever taste she 
may have for the little creations In art, or for any 
original composition, or a knowledge of botany, 
floriculture, and of making her own dresses and 
bonnets, may she not. be advancing a step with no 
evil effects upon her womanly character? 
The common schools do not teach the boy much 
of practical workmanship, and If in addition to 
his dally task he has tools and instruction in their 
use, and Is given a broader knowledge of Intel¬ 
lectual affairs, so tar as the study of natural his¬ 
tory and file physical sciences, as well as an ac¬ 
quaintance with business, may lie not be advanc¬ 
ing a step from the past ? 
Should the children be kept from attempting to 
advance for fear that they may turn lo easier pur¬ 
suits? ii I, 
GIRLS’ MANNERS. 
Ik our little glrs greet their brothers and sisters 
and perhaps even their parents boisterously ; If, 
Instead of “ Good morning,” they cry, "Halloo, 
papa! Halloo mamma!” and call to playmates in 
the streets In the same rough manner, who will 
be surprised if this style follows them as they 
grow up and appear as young ladles ? Referring 
to this unladylike manner and mode or address, a 
gentleman writes that, passing two pretty, well- 
dressed, styltsh-looking young ladles In the public 
streets, he was surprised to hear one greet tile 
other with, “ Halloo, Hid!" and the other respond 
“ Halloo, Tude !" to her friend's greeting , and Ue 
remarks : “It was just what two lounging young 
men might have said, or stable boys, for that, mas¬ 
ter. It might not have been so much out of the 
way for the latter, but I confess It sounded very 
odd and offensive in what I supposed to bo two 
well-bred young ladtes-as much so as If 1 had 
heard two beautiful, gay and rose-colored birds 
begin to swear. It was so unnatural, so out of 
place. It may be ‘ the style» ror young girls or 
ladles to greet each other with a 1 Halloo j> but I 
can’t like it or get used to 11.” These things may 
seem but a trifle, but they make all the difference 
between nice things and very common tilings.— 
Christian Union. 
HINTS. 
A sweet temper is to the household what sun¬ 
shine Is to trees and flowers. 
Tue young lady who can peel a potato in five 
seconds is as useful as the young woman who 
speaks five languages Is ornamental. 
New Paint.— Newly painted rooms are very un¬ 
pleasant for many days, but If a handful ut hay be 
strewn ou the floor upon which is sprinkled a little 
chloride of lime, after a couple of hours the offeu- 
slve smell will have entirely disappeared. 
Varnished furniture —This may be finished 
off so as to look equal to the best French polished 
wood, In the following manner: Take two ounces 
of trlpoil, powdered; put It Into an earthen pot, 
with just enough water to cover It; then take a 
piece of white flanna', lay it over a piece of cork or 
rubber, and proceed to polish the varnish, always 
wetting it with the trlpoil and water, it will he 
known when the process Is finished, by wiping a 
part of the work with a sponge, and observing 
whether there Is a rair, even gloss. When this is 
the case, take a bit of mutton suel and fine flour, 
and clean the work. The above process Is suita¬ 
ble to other varnished surfaces. 
Rice Glue.—M ix together rloe-flour and cold 
water to a thick paste, pressing out all the lumps 
with a spoon, and making It very smooth. Then 
dilute It with a little more water (altogether you 
may allow a gill of water to a tablespoonfut of 
rice-flour) and boll It slowly as loug as you would 
boll starch, stirring it frequently. When done, 
set it to cool. I rge li, for pasting fine paper, and 
tor any little ornmontal articles made of paste¬ 
board. It Is a very nice and durable cement. 
The water In whloh rice has been boiled for the 
t able will afford a cement for slight purposes. 
How to Cover the Blok.— Never use anything 
but light blankets to cover the sick. The heavy, 
impervious counterpane Is bad, for the reason 
that It keeps the exhalations from the pores of the 
stek person, while the blanket allows them to 
passthrough. Weak persons are Invariably dis¬ 
tressed by a great weight, of bed-elotlies, which 
often prevents their getting any sound sleep 
whatever. 
To Frbsuen a Black Lack Harbb.— in a half 
teacupful hot water put one teaspoonful of the 
magical mixture; brush the dust from the lace and 
place on a cleau towel; dip a small sponge In the 
water and squeeze partly dry, and then gently and 
slowly sponge both sides of the barbe without get¬ 
ting It very wet; fold lu the towel about 20 min¬ 
utes, aud then place between thin, tissue-] Ike 
learn her secret, and this is the way she tells 
us to make 
Good Yeast (lakes. 
At night make a sponge of Hour, a pint of 
warm water and two yeast cakes that you are 
certain arc sweet and good. In the morning 
boil for one-half hour two quarts of loose hops 
in water enough to cover them; then strain 
out the hops and iuto the scalding liquid stir 
all the corn-meal that it will wet up. Wheu 
the meal is luke-warm mix in the bowl of light 
sponge and let it staud from one to two houis 
to rise. When light, pinch off little pats, shape 
them into cakes aud lay them on the molding 
board to rise again. When light, set the board 
in an open window or other airy place, and 
turn the cakes quite frequently for two or 
three days, until they are thoroughly dry ; then 
pack away in paper bags. 
For Bread. 
At night make a sponge with a yeast cake 
and two quarts of fresh milk that has been 
scalded and partly cooled. In the morning 
(early if possible)stiffen the sponge with flour, 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
Dried Uenn* for Winter Use. 
Pick when tender : wash and string them : 
then throw them into boiling water and let 
them boil up. Skim out and dry them as even 
as possible. When wanted for use, throw 
them into boiliDg water and cook until tender, 
seasoning in the usual manner. One teacup¬ 
ful of the dried beans will be sufficient, for a 
family of five. 
Brine for Cucumber Pickles. 
Three large wooden pails of water; four 
quarts of salt; three-fourths of a pound of 
alum; one half pound oft-racked black pepper. 
Boil the ingredients in a part of the water 
and skim off all that rises to the surface. 
Wash and scald the cucumbers, leaving them 
in the water in which they have been scalded, 
until perfectly cool. Mix the remaining water 
with the other ingredients and pour over the 
cucumbers, Wheu you wish to use them, you 
have only to take them out of the brine and 
pour boiling water over them, letting them re¬ 
main until the water becomes cool, then throw 
brown paper; put it on a woolen blanket, and 
press with a half cold Iron; or you may press 
between the leaves of very large books and 
place heavy weights on them. 
To Remove Uandrukk.— Tills Is a natural secre¬ 
tion, but becomes a cutaneous complaint by neg¬ 
lect, Take an ounce of powdered borax, a piece 
of unslacked lime the size of a chestnut, and a 
tablespoonful of spirits of ammonia; put them 
into a quart bottle and All It up with boiled or 
pump water, After twelve hours apply thl i wash 
to the scalp. Ladles can apply It best with a line 
sponge. Ulnae with tepid water. After a few 
applications the scales will disappear, the hair 
become soft and brilliant, and young hair will be 
seen to start out. Dandruff should be cured grad¬ 
ually, so as not to produce sick headache or dizzi¬ 
ness by Its sudden suppression. 
BREAD MAKING. 
ELINOR BROOKS. 
Veteran housekeepers are weary of so often 
seeing directions for bread-making, sometimes 
forgetting that there arc new recruits constantly 
enlisting iu our rauks to whom the subject is 
most interesting 
Au old friend tells me that iu hur newly mar¬ 
ried days she shed more tears over her failures 
in bread-making than oyer all her other house- 
keepiug troubles together. During a late visit 
to her she gave some discouraged young house¬ 
keepers a laughable history of her trials in 
that line. 
After becoming ashamed of her frequent 
failures she had sometimes slyly hidden away 
the solid loaves—ouce in the deep grass of the 
meadow where soon after wiih u mowing ma¬ 
chine the hired man cut through a moldy mass 
and at first thought he had made a valuable 
discovery of a new species of mushroom. She 
knew very well that it would not require many 
such blunders to stamp "Jack’s wife" as a 
shiftless, extravagant “piece” in the eyes of 
her critical new relatives; so the next time, 
after hours of anxious wailing aud watching 
for the stubborn loaves to rise, she resolved to 
hide them where they never would be found 
again, and after the men were all safely off to 
their work she fed the heavy unbaked mass to 
a couple of flue pigs which were her husband’s 
especial piide just, then. When night came, 
at the time the pigs were usually squealing for 
their supper she was frightened to find they 
were nowhere in sight, aud her guilty con¬ 
science instantly suggested the fear that the 
sour dough hud swollen aud killed them, per¬ 
haps ruptured their stouiaehs. Her husband, 
tired with a hard day’s work, never noticed 
their absence aud was soon asleep, Luther anx¬ 
iety was too great to allow sleep, and at mid¬ 
night it became so unendurable that she stole 
away from the side of the unconscious sleeper 
and searched the pasture over iu the mooulight, 
but could find no trace of the missing pets. 
Imagining Jack's consternation and grief when 
he should find their bloated remains she be¬ 
came thouroughly alarmed, and. hastening to 
the house, roused him aud confessed her dread¬ 
ful secret, imploring him to go out and find 
them and see if there could uoi bo something 
done for them before it was too late. His 
shouts of laughter on hearing her story startled 
the whole household from their slumbers aud 
so reassured the anxious woman that she lay¬ 
down and slept in peace. The pigs were found 
next day safe in mischief in a ucigubor’s po¬ 
tatoes. 
After all of auntie’s trials aud failures she is 
a noted bread maker, and is especially famous 
for good yeast-cakes, with which she supplies 
many of her neighbors, who much prefer them 
to any store yeast cakes that can bo found. She 
only makes them twice in the year as they 
keep perfectly good for six months aud more. 
As good yeast is the first aud most important 
element of good bread, we are all trying to 
stirring it iu at first with a spoon, th'-n using 
the hands, kneading Lu flour until the dough 
no longer sticks to the fiugers, and then knead¬ 
ing with as little addiUoual flour as possible 
for twenty minutes. 8et to rise again, then 
knead again just as long as you can afford 
the time. The longer it is kneaded the more 
tender and fine-grained the bread will be. 
After the second kneading place it in the bak¬ 
ing-tins and let it rise until it nearly doubles 
in size; then bake from forty minutes to one 
hour according to thu size of the loaves. 
Snlt Yeast Bread. 
Many housekeepers who really prefer salt- 
risiug bread seldom make it on account of the 
extra care they think it needs, saying that 
“ one has to keep a fire all day for that kind of 
bread. 1 ’ But Lhat is a great uiislake, It can 
be easily managed so that it can be baked in 
the forenoon. Late in the evening a half pint 
of warm water, a salt-spoonful each of soda 
and salt should be stirred into a thick batter 
with canaille or coarse flour—which always fer¬ 
ments sooner than fine flour. Cover thedish con¬ 
taining the yeast with a saucer or small plate, 
then set it In a kettle of warm water and cover 
the kettle closely so as to confine the steam. 
When one has a reservoir attached to the stove 
it is a good plan to set the dish of yeast in 
it. In the morning there will be no apparent 
change in the yeast, but after stirring iu a 
little warm-water and more flour, and reheat¬ 
ing the water in which it stauds, it will soon 
show signs of fermentation, aud iu about two 
hours will be ready for spouglng. The sponge 
should be made with milk and should stand 
about au hour; then it may be molded for the 
pau6, being careful not to add too much flour 
as it easily absorbs enough to make it too stiff. 
Unlike hop yeast bread. It requires but vsry 
little kneading (the less the better), and there¬ 
fore this is au easier method of making bread 
for women who are not strong. 
- -- 
NURSING CHILDREN 
1 don’t believe iu the way mothers take 
care of their children now-a-days. Lots of 
little creatures die just because they are dosed 
aud doctored to death. I suppose parents love 
their children as well now as they did when I 
was young. But seemingly, more are sick and 
die now than then, and I do believe it is all 
mismanagement that makes the difference. 
This feeding children upon pie and cake is a 
grave mistake. If they happen to have the 
stomach-ache or colic, a doctor is sent for and 
more serious Illness follows. Mothers ought 
to know what should lie given to their chil¬ 
dren both for food and medicine. If they 
would only study the comfort of the little ones 
they would save much suffering. I will give 
a few simple remedies for every-day use. 
Croup, 
Take a soft flannel cloth, a quarter of a yard 
loug aud a fiugcr wide ; spread a thin coating 
of lard over it, and sprinkle yellow snuff over 
the entire surface. Lay it over the chest, the 
lard and snuff next the skin. Spread another 
rtuuuel over it. This will loosen the tightness, 
and give relief. Grown-up people, as well as 
little folks will find it an excellent remedy for 
tightness or congestion of the luugs. 
Burdock Leaves. 
For a sudden attack of pleurisy, nothing 
will give relief more speedily than burdock 
leaves applied to the seat of pain. If green, 
boil them, and steep iu vinegar and apply hot; 
if dried leaves are used, remove the stems aud 
sleep iu vinegar till soft and hot. Have enough 
prepared to change as they grow cold. A few 
minutes’ application will remove the pain. 
Some hot ginger tea should be drank to allay 
the internal heat. 
For Worms. 
When children have symptoms of worms, 
sage tea will general! y give relief. A drop or 
two of spirits of turpeutiue rubbed across the 
stomach will prevent their rising iu the throat. 
Grandmother. 
them into spiced vinegar if you like, aud they 
will be ready for eating in a day or so. 
Making Vermicelli. 
One quart of flour; one level teaspoonful of 
salt; two eggs, and a very little water. Mix 
and divide into five equal parts ; then roll out 
very thin aud spread upon a clean napkin to 
dry, but do not allow them to become brittle 
by overdrying. Prepare this about three 
hours before meal time, and about one bout 
before you wish to use it, take the partially 
dried sheets of dough and lay them upon the 
kneediug board, flouring well the upper side 
of the sheets. Then roll them from you so as 
to form a flat roll about one and a-balf inch 
wide. Take a short, thin knife and cut very 
fine across the roil; after you have cut them 
all In this manner, take them up carefully and 
shake them apart, leaving them to dry again, 
until about five minutes before you wish to 
serve the dish. Have ready any good soup 
stock, boiling-hot; throw in the Vermicelli ; 
cook five minutes, stirring constantly. This 
quantity of Vermicelli is snllicien t for a large 
kettle of soup. 
Layer Unite, 
One cup of butter ; two cups of white sugar; 
one cup of sour milk, four eggs, one teaspoon¬ 
ful of saleratus, three cups of flour. Take one 
half of the butter and put Into it two table- 
spoonsful of molasses, one teaspoonful of 
cloves, cinnamon and allspice, one nutmeg 
and one cup of chopped raisins. Bake in jelly 
tins, using the dark part for three of them, 
while, the light part will only require two tins. 
Mrs. E. II. Saroent. 
To Clean a Sponge. 
The quickest and cheapest method tor clean¬ 
sing a sponge, is to wash it (squeeze and 
kuead) iu strong salt water. Mrs. W. V. A. 
Corn Fritters. 
Grate corn from the cob uutil you have oue 
quart, add two teacups of sweet milk, two 
beaten eggs, oue teuspoonful of soft butter, 
oue teaeupfnl of flour, having a teaspoonful of 
yeast powder mixed with it. Season with 
pepper aud salt aud fry upon a griddle like 
batter cakes. 
Corn Pudding. 
Take the grated corn of a dozen large ears, 
add a quart of milk, three beaten eggs, two 
tablespoonsful of melted butter, a tablcspoon- 
ful of sugar aud a small teaspoonful of salt. 
The eggs should be beaten separately and the 
whites stirred in the last. Pour into a baking 
dish, cover and bake au hour. Remove the 
cover and browu before serving. 
Pencil Figs. 
Remove the skins, halve, take out stones 
and to eight pounds of the fruit allow three 
pounds of brown sugar. Put over a slow fire- 
do not add water—and cook until the sugar 
penetrates aud they have a clear appearance. 
Take out, spread on plates aud dry in the sun. 
Save the sirup and sprinkle on a little while 
drying. Pack in boxes in layers with a little 
powdered sugar between. Marv B. 
Ripe Tomato Pickles. 
Do not scald, pare with a sharp kaife. Put 
iuto a jar and pour over hot, spiced vinegar. 
Cover over with paper dipped in floui paste. 
L. D. 
-- 
Note from Mrs. B.—I am afraid I shall not 
be able to write again for some time, as this 
month we expect to commence building a new 
house, and I shall be very busy. I think you 
will be gratified to learn that we are following 
the house plan given in Rural of May 22d, 
(except that we have modified it somewhat to 
suit our taste and rneaus.) I search the Rural 
anxiously for any hints there may be on build¬ 
ing. Would be very glad to have the "sisters” 
give any improvements or convenience they 
may know of for pantry, kitcheu, or. indeed, 
for any part of the house, as I am a novice in 
house-building, aud am exceedingly anxious 
not to make auy serious mistakes iu the con¬ 
struction of the home wherein I now hope my 
future life will be spent. 
Hop Bitters gives good digestion, 
good circulation and buoyant spirits. 
active liver, 
