4884 
fHE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
7 74 
are many. The wood is hard, compact, 
and capable of taking a fine polish, 
therefore can be used by cabinet makers. 
It makes a beautiful shade and ornamental 
tree, is very productive in its fruit, as 
well as its silk producing food. One acre 
of the best white mulberry, called the Rose 
Leon and Japouica, will feed from 80,000 to 
100,000 worms; not the poorer kind of mul¬ 
berry. bnt the best, as I have named. The 
common kinds produce a coarse and unsal¬ 
able silk. When we lay the foundation of 
silk culture, let it be with the very best silk 
worm breeds and best mulberry trees. Dwarf 
trees, planted four feet apart, comes in full 
bearing of leaves in three years; if they are 
kept trimmed low the leaves are more easily 
gathered. When purchasing either silk-worm 
eggs or mulberry trees, be sure to get them of 
reliable persons. The different Women’s Silk 
Culture Associations, which have been formed 
for the benefit of our people, are doing a 
great work. They are composed of ladies of 
intelligence and good standing in society, 
who are working for t he benefit of the people 
of our land. Any new enterprise needs 
the influence and help of our best citizens, to 
insure success, aud thus advance the right 
Our manufacturer* import largely from 
Prance thotr raw silk, which la prepared 
almost wholly by her women and children. 
We have everything necessary iu our own 
country to establish this industry at very 
slight expense. Tho Osage Orange can be 
used until the mulberry trees grow. In the 
meantime we can be gaining needed informa¬ 
tion. as silk culture is a business that should 
be well understood before we can expect to 
realise a profit. 
But we want our people to try silk culture, 
even if it is on a small scale at first; then, 
should they fail through lack of knowledge, 
it will stimulate them to further study, which 
eventually leads to success. 
MRS. M. C. BUCKNER. 
-• * ♦ 
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Design in Cross-stitcii. 
A WORD HERE AND THERE. 
The twenty-sixth day of the month, Octo¬ 
ber, which to rue, is the most beautiful, of the 
twelve gems, that glide into the pust until 
the crown for the year is completed; only to 
begin again bringing hbw joys, or pains, 
pleasures or sorrows, thereby giving us less, 
and gradually loss time, to prepare for the 
life beyond, unless we begin now, to day. 
A company of friends, laid an aged form 
under the sod this afternoon, one who bad 
clung long aud tenderly to life, but like the 
faded leaf that has done its work, and left 
the branch, falling to the grouud, 60 he, at 
last gently passed away, and vrt laid him to 
rest. “ W« all do fade as a leaf.” 
These sunny days! how spicy the air, how 
mellow aud blue and hazy, the glimmering 
landscape] It gives us a pleasant picture, tho 
memory of which will linger with, and cheer 
us when the dead white wall of Winter shuts 
us in, for in a little while, when the trees, 
robed so regally now are left alone, stretch¬ 
ing their bare arms to a pitiless leaden sky. 
The flowers are all takeu in now, geraniums 
stored in the cellar in boxes, with as much 
earth left on the loots as possible, so they can 
be watered occasionally, thereby living and 
having some ambition all Winter, starting 
much earlier in tb# Spring. I do not approve 
the plan of shaking the dirt from the roots 
and hanging up head downward, they may 
struggle through, but why tax them so hard, 
when the other way is just as easily accom¬ 
plished? 
For winter blooming I rooted slips in leaf 
mold, and then transplanted. Had a box 
made, which fitted in the windowsill, where 
they catch the western sunshius; and in this 
window garden I planted double scarlet 
geraniums in center, silver leaf and double 
pink on one side, white and salmon on tho 
other. They are now thriving beautifully, 
the soil being loose leaf mold, and in pots I 
have other varieties doiug equally as well. 
Perhaps this may not be just the place to 
mention it, but we think the tomatoes grown 
from the Run ax seed received last Spring, 
are the best we ever raised. Smooth, firm, ' 
equally ripe in all parts at the same time, and 
fine flavor, what more could be desired? Have 
canned, pickled, and preserved, and they are 
“ ever the same.” 
The “ buffalo moth,” which is described by 
a friend as looking “like an apple seed, with 
a rim of fur around one end,” have com¬ 
mitted great depredation in this vicinity, eat¬ 
ing the most costly carpets, and woolen 
articles of great value; and, like other kinds 
of moth, they prefer darkness to light; conse¬ 
quently ventilated, sunshiny rooms are not so 
apt to harbor them as those that are closed, 
for months at a time. Watch for them, they 
work quick and sure. Farmers’ wivestopen 
your spure rooms, Summer and Winter, to 
the fresh air and sunshine. KVA amks. 
[There is nothing that we have found to be 
so sure a protection from moths, in fain and 
clothing, as Insect powder. We have put It in 
the fur trimming ou cloaks, were not careful 
to keep it from the quilted silk liuitig, either, 
aud have never been disappointed upon 
removing the coverings in the Fall. Muff and 
boa luivo been packed away iu this powder tor 
years, with a fresh application each Spring. 
Eds.] 
Domestic Cconomt) 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
PITHS. 
A Step-ladder is a handy thing at house¬ 
cleaning time; but be sure that it is strong 
and safe. You can have a good, strong, (inn 
ladder made by any carpenter for $2. 
Farmers’ wives see more of their husbands 
than most other wives do of theirs. 
Query; Do farmers’wives think more of 
their husbands than the wives of those who 
follow other occupations? That depends. 
The true secret of contentment lies deeper 
than the mere possession of wordly happiness, 
and surely is to be found not in apathetic in¬ 
difference. or in artificial excitement, but 
rather in the diligent discharge ol’ duty iu 
that state of life to which we are called. 
Fruits, properly eaten,are the natural cor¬ 
rectives for a disordered digestion. They 
should not be oaton, however, at. the end of a 
meal.wheu the stomach is already taxed, or at 
night, when the digestive organ* are enfeebled. 
For chilblains, apply a poultice of raw 
cranberries. It will usually give relief iu 
the most distressing cases 
Cultivate any display of affection your 
children show for each other. 
Buy a rattan rocker or square chair, cush¬ 
ion and trim with satin ribbon aud bows. 
It will prove an acceptable Christmas gift to 
any lady. 
It U aggravating for a woman to cleau a 
floor aud then have her husbaud or the “boys’’ 
walk over it and leave muddy tracks wherever 
he or they step. Rubber boots are worse 
than leather, for they leave tracks when ap¬ 
parently clean. 
In Germany women do tho heaviest of the 
out-of-door work. Think of an American 
woman beiug hitched up with a cow to a 
plow, or before a wagon drawing a heavy 
load, while the womau'i husband or some 
man guides the plow or walks beside the 
wagon doing only the lightest of tho work. 
There are worse things evidently than being 
an American farmer’s wife. 
Without love women would fulfil none of 
the purposes of their existence; they would 
be as fruits without flavor—flowers without 
sweetness. 
- ■ 
LEAVES FROM A WESTERN HOUSE¬ 
KEEPER’S JOURNAL. 
ANNI* L. JACK. 
“There is not anything In the house but 
•alt pork,” l heard the cook say to Aunt Dor- 
cas. “Oh, that is all right,” aud she gave a 
jolly little laugh, and said, “I’ve lived too 
long away from markets and fre»h meat not 
to know how to make a meal, or a dozen, out 
of salt pork. Once on a time I cut it iu thick 
chunks, and fried it in its own grease over a 
hot fire af ter parboiling; but no w f cut it as tb in 
as possible, take off the rind, and steep it first 
in clean, soft water, about milk-warm. Ic re¬ 
quires rather slow cooking, and, when done, 
can bosetin the oven to keep warm.” And 
all the time Aunt Dorcas wa-i working while 
she talked, and then prepared a gravy of 
milk and flour and some of the grease from 
the meat, in a clean frying-pan. She toasted 
some stale bread, and dipped it in the gravy, 
using it as a garnish for the meat, frying a 
few eggs to lay between. “In this way a 
little pork goes a long way,"said she. “Child¬ 
ren prefer the toast, egg aud gravy to the 
meat.” Then she cut up some apples and 
fried them as we do Saratoga potatoes, re¬ 
moving the cores, but not peeling the apples. 
It made altogether a palatable dinner, and, 
as she predicted, the children liked the toast 
and gravy with their baked potatoes better 
than the meat. 
One day she cooked what she called “fur- 
mity" in the place of barley or rice. It was 
made by steeping wheat for 24 hours, then 
boiling it gently in soft water for six hours. 
It is then set away for future use, and when 
wanted is covered with milk upon the stove 
and allowed to simmer. Half an hour before 
it is wanted, stir iu a couple of well-beaten 
eggs, a little allspice and sugar to taste. **It’s 
a nice dish," said nuut; "and where we grow 
so much wheat it is always handy to keep it. 
boiled aud ready for use. One can’t always 
be running to tho store for rice, and the child¬ 
ren always liked funnity the best.” 
“Did you ever steam eggs?" she asked one 
morning before breakfast, and she took up a 
pie plate, buttered it, aud broke some eggs on 
it, then seasoned thorn with salt and pepper 
and a little butter. Then she set the plate in 
a steamer, and cooked till set. They were 
done to a turn, and would be a good dish for 
a delicate appetite. “Eggs aud chickens are 
plentiful out West, dearie,” she said, “aud 
we try aud cook them with as much variety 
as possible.” 
RAW OYSTERS. 
Raw oysters can be eaten without fear by 
most persons suffering from indigestion Of 
course they are not to be eaten swimming in 
Worcestershire sauce or tomato catchup Salt, 
if necessary, and add a few drops of vinegar 
or lemon juice. A worthy physieiuu snysthut 
raw oysters, eaten under medical supervision, 
will give relief not only to dyspeptics, but to 
those suffering from pulmonary and nervous 
affections. From our own experience, Iu case 
of indigestion, we think tho remedy worthy 
of trial, at least by sufferers from this depres¬ 
sing malady. 
PRESERVING GOOSEBERRIES. 
Our contributor, Dr. Hoskins, says: “The 
principal objection of cooks to the use of 
gooseberries, especially in hotels, where, if 
they use any they must use many, is the slow 
work of picking off stems and dry blossoms. 
Some of my large hotel customers have ceased 
doing this, regarding it as unnecessary, the 
pies being just ns acceptable without this 
work. 
A considerable demand for green goose¬ 
berries is for bottling, and if it were generally 
known that this fruit can he perfectly pre¬ 
served tho year round iu common bottles, 
with pure water, requiring only to be well 
corked and kept iu a cool place, many more 
would be called for. All that is required is to 
examine well that no jammed or crushed 
berries go into tho bottles, that pure cold 
spring or well water is used for filling bottles, 
and that, they are well corked (they need not 
be sealed), and kept in a cool cellar. Thus 
prepared, they keep perfectly, and are an ac¬ 
ceptable and very cheap material for pies 
during the Winter.” 
-«♦« 
ECONOMY NOTES. 
At our house for the past three weeks, we 
have been eating tomatoes that were picked 
off full-grown but green, the night before our 
first heavy frost. Iu this way 1 prolong the 
tomato season a month. 
I wanted to shell some snap-beans that had 
been left on the bushes until after frost. The 
pods wore so brittle that I despaired of getting 
enough shelled for dinner. I noticed a few 
pods that were wet by the dew opened with 
out trouble, so I poured boiling water over 
them, enough to cover, set them aside for a 
short time, when I was aide to shell them in 
a third, or less, of the time it would have 
taken me had I shelled them dry. 
I have a green and white matting 6n my 
dining-room floor. Every week or two I 
scrub all soiled places with a brush and boil¬ 
ing water, strong with sa t, and wipe dry 
with a cloth. This treatment restored it to a 
respectable condition after some youngsters 
had stained it sadly with grapes. 
MRS. ECONOMY. 
- 
HINTS ON SOUP MAKING. 
The cooking utensils must be scrupulously 
clean. Pound the bones into small pieces. 
Cover with cold water. Cook long and slow¬ 
ly. Boil the day before wanted, that, is, with 
out the vegetables, turn into an earthen-wure 
dish, and tho next day remove every particle 
of fat that has risen to the surface. Strain 
if you like. Rice, barley, celery, parsley, 
onion, carrots, or any vegetables that you 
add, should not bo boiled with the moat and 
water longer than an hour before serving, as 
loDg boiling of vegetables with tho stock is 
apt to give the soup a rank taste. Should any 
vegetable require a longer boiling, cook it by 
itself and then add to the soup. Pass the soup 
through a seive, or serve with the vegetables 
cut iu small pieces. Too many vegetables iu 
your soup will convert it into a stew. When 
adding pepper and salt, rather put in too little 
than too much. Those members of your family 
who like their soup highly peppered or salted, 
cau season it at their pleasure. The same 
may he said about addiug Worcestershire or 
pepper sauces, catchup, soyti. etc. White soup 
is made from tho meat of veal or fowl. The 
second water in which a piece of corned beef 
has been boiled, with the addition of a few 
cracked bones and bits of fresh meat, forms 
the foundation of a soup that is very much 
liked by the members of my family. Some 
persons think that the addition of a small ham 
bouo to beef soup is an improvement; but 
with the exception of putting hnm bones iu 
bean soup, I cannot say that the flavorof ham 
given to any other soup, improves it for my 
palate. __ mrs. c. 
PRETTY THINGS SEEN AT A FRIEND’S 
HO USE. 
Katy B. is an industrious, vivacious little 
friend of mine, with plenty of leisure nud 
some pocket tnonoy at her commaud. She has 
a mania for “fancy” work and home decora- 
tion. During a recent visit at her house, I 
jotted down a few notes on her handy-work, 
thinking they might prove of value to some 
of the Rural girls. 
In the center of their dining-room table she 
kept a pot of Maiden-hair Fern, with a strip 
of garnet plush bound around the pot 
and neatly sewed together, so that the joiuing 
scarcely showed. The green and garnet 
against the white cloth, p oduced a very pleas¬ 
ing effect. 
I noticed iu the parlors vo or three vases 
holding cut flowers—rose uds, Lily of tho 
Valley, smilax and fern fronds. Upon close 
inspection, I found that the smilax aud ferns 
alone were real, the flowers being artificial. 
The “witch” told me that her bouquets de¬ 
ceived most, of her friends, and I did not won¬ 
der, for the flowers were so perfect, as to al¬ 
most defy detection, as they were mingled 
with the greens. I thought it quite an idea 
for those who could not afford cut (lowers in 
W inter. 
Katy showed me a uovel pin cushion she 
had just finished, aud which was destined to 
be a Christmas gift to her mother. She had 
made four satin bags—two light blue and two 
canary color—which were about five inches 
in length and three in width. She had fringed 
out the tops, filled them with bran, tied them 
up with narrow ribbon (the blue bags were 
tied with canary color, aud the euuary with 
blue), making a bow and short ends. On oue 
bag she had painted in fancy letters, “Oats;” 
on another, "Rye;” on the third, “Wheat;” 
on the fourth, “Coro.” These bags were 
piled oue against the other and fastened with 
glue ton plain, wooden placque, which was 
about the size of a small pie H - ’>e. She had 
left a space on one side of t' e placque where 
she had scrawled: 
“This I* the mat 
That lay In the xa 
That Jack built." 
Two tiny, white silk mice, one peeping out 
from the bags and the other on the edge of 
the placque, gave the finishing touch to this 
bit of “fuss and feathers.” aunt jane. 
— «»♦ 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
POTATO balls. 
Prepare and nicely season the same as you 
would for mashed potatoes. While hot, form 
into balls about the size of an egg. Butter a 
fiat pan, and plueo the balls on it. Brush over 
with beaten egg, aud brown in the oven. To 
remove from the tin, slip a knife under and 
slide on to a hot platter. Hard boiled eggs 
cut in slices, and parsley,are a pretty garnish. 
A breakfast or lunch dish. a b. 
SWEET POTATO PIE. 
Pare, boil and masb. Take a quart of tho 
potato, a quart of milk, four beaten eggs, 
sugar to taste, a little salt, and cinnamon or 
nutmeg, as liked. Bake the same as you would 
squash pies. 
JUMBLES. 
Three cupfuls of sugar, two of butter, five 
of flour, one beaten egg, half a touspoonful 
of soda dissolved in a few drops of warm 
water, and any flavoring liked. Roll thin, 
sprinkle with granulated sugar, cut iu round 
cakes, and cut a small piece from the center 
of each, or press a raisin or bit of citron into 
each center. A little more flour may be 
needed when rolling out. city cook. 
POTATOES FLAVORED WITH ONION. 
Fry a large spoonful of minced onion in 
two or three spoonfuls of beef drippings and 
butter mixed. When lightly browned, add 
cold sliced potatoes, seasoned and cut into 
small pieces as you stir them. When heated 
through they are ready to be eateD. 
COUNTRY COOK. 
Kloraford’n Acid Phosphate, 
For Wakeful lies*. 
Dr. Wm. P. Clothier, Buffalo, N. Y., says; 
“I prescribed it fora Catholic priest, who was 
a hard student, for wakefulness, extreme ner 
vousness, etc. He reports great benefit.— A c v. 
