JULY 14 
447 
has less time for it I promised I would give 
mother’s recipes for good flour starch which 
is useful for so many things:—Put into an 
earthen bowl the amount of flour needed, and 
pour on cold water to make a thin, smuoth 
paste. Have some boiling water in a clean 
saucepan and pour the paste slowly in, stirring 
all the time till it is as smooth as the white of 
an egg. When it reaches a boil take off the 
tire, stir awhile and cover closely, this will 
prevent u scum rising to the top. 
When I hove lace to wash, 1 do not put it in 
the tub, and scrub with a wash-board or man¬ 
gle it with the machine. 1 t ike a bottle, cover 
with flannel and then with cotton, and wind 
the soiled lace around it, sew carefully every 
point with just a stitch, then put the bottle in¬ 
to warm soap suds and rub with a soft cloth 
the soiled places. Rinse carefully and then 
dip in a weak solution of gnui-arabic, and put 
in the sun to dry. Unsew the laco when per¬ 
fectly dry, and pick out carefully iustead of 
ironing: then press in a heavy book, and it 
will have a rich, "lacy” look, and stay clean 
longer than if ironed. 
Mother was a great hand at making cream 
cheeses, and sister Laura never thinks mine 
just as good; but I will copy the recipe from 
this old book. It is simple enough for anyone 
to try:—One quart of fresh cream,wanned by 
placing it in a vessel of hot water: add a ta¬ 
blespoonful of rennet, let it stand till thick; 
then break slightly, with a spoon, and place in 
a frame eight inches square, and four deep, in 
which Is placed a piece of cheese cloth. Press 
slightly; let it stat'd twelve hours; then put a 
liner cloth in the frame, on which is sprinkled 
a little fine salt. Do not. press much. It can 
be used in two days after changing the cloth. 
Mother thought these little cheeses very nice 
and city folks are especially fond of them. 
There is quite a joke here about my lemou 
pies. The young folks say—"There’s no one 
makes lemon pies like you, aunt Mubby,” but 
I think they do it just to please me—“Soft 
sawder” as Sam Slick used to say. I take the 
ye lks of three eggs, two cups of sugar, four 
powdered crack-el's, and heat them together 
>i rhling a cup aud a half of milk (there’s a dif¬ 
ference in cups, I mean a tea-cup) aud when 
all is beaten up squeeze the juice of three 
lemons into the mixture just before pouring it 
into the pie plates, where, of course, you will 
have nice puff paste, when baked beat tip the 
whites of the eggs with a little white sugar ? 
pour a little over each pie, and set back into 
the oven a few minutes to stiffen. It is easily- 
done, and they are u nice variety even in the 
Summer, for one gets tired of berry pies, aud 
their seasons do not last long. 
1 canned quite a lot of red currants this year 
just for pies. I think we do not half appreci¬ 
ate this fruit; it can be put up in any wide, 
mouthed bottles, and well corked, us the fruit 
is small, and comes out easily. It brings buck 
a flavor of the past Summer to get such pies 
iu January, and 1 always think it pays to 
gather up all we can of the present, to take 
yvith us into the future. 1 think too that 
toward Spring there is nothing better for ap¬ 
petite and health than the various fruits, if 
they retain their acids and their flavor, if 
strawberries and raspberries, and currants are 
plentiful, aud likely to go to waste, 1 always 
dry them, aud if 1 have too many, there are 
many glad to get them, and it is always a 
pleasure to have snob things to give away. 
They keep Well in tight [wiper liags. 
One of Mrs. “Every-day’s ’daughters looked 
iu the other moruiug. She was taking a beau¬ 
tiful hand bouquet to a young girl who was to 
be married in the evening. It was of white 
roses, heliotrope, aud oilier delicate flowers 
intermingled with ferns, and just suitable for 
a bride. Rut when the donor returned after 
presenting it with other little gilts, there was 
a look of disgust on licr expressive face that 
aroused my curiosity.—“Well,” she said, ill 
answer to my question. “ii 1 was going to lie 
married 1 yvould not have c abbaye boiling for 
dinner that day, tilling the purlor with its 
hateful odor,” I laughed ut her and said, “Oh! 
my dear, but everybody is not brought up to 
l»e so sensitive as you—or perhaps it is the 
bride’s favorite dish. I hope they boil it in 
two waters, it does make such a difference, is 
sweeter, and agrees with the stomach better.’’ 
‘‘What does make it smell so awful!” queried 
my listener. 1 said, 1 hud heard, liecause the 
essential oil becomes dissolved, and that a bit. 
of charcoal boiled in the water took away the 
odor, ami t hat a pinch of coffee .burned on the 
stove cleared the air at once. It is a true, if 
a rather crude saying, that “what’s one man’s 
meat is anothers poison” and 1 thought it 
spoke well for the comfort that bride would 
take iu practical things, and ordinary work 
when she did not object to cabbage for dinner 
on her wedding day. For one canuot live on 
nectar ami ambrosia, aud country people see 
so much of stern reality that they bo oiuo ac¬ 
customed to mauy things, that they might not 
otherwise learn. It is no use to make faces 
at the helled cabbage, pv to seere the duties 
that seem so commonplace—Life is made up of 
such things, from January till December we 
are busy with details, that are not at all allied 
to lilies. We can’t all be “Blessed DamozeLs” 
and must “do our duty in that state of life, in¬ 
to which it has pleased God to call us." 
-♦ »» - 
FARMER’S WIVES AND THEIR DRESS. 
A late writer iu the “ Domestic Column *’ 
speaks of the usual style of dress of farmers’ 
wives as compared with that of women whose 
husbands work by the day. I have often no¬ 
ticed the same thing, and the reason w hy the 
day laborer’s wife will outshine her neighbor 
w ho would be more aide than herself to dress 
well, is because a farm is an insatiable thing 
aud will absorb all the money and labor its 
owner is disposed to lay out on it. There is 
always a fence to be built, a ditch to be opened 
or buildings to be erected or put in repair 
sufficient to take all the income from the crops 
if the farmer sees fit to invest it in that way; 
but the man who works by the day has no 
such place to invest his money in and therefore 
has more iu his pocket. I think it is better for 
a farmer’s wife to use reason iuall things eveu 
in economy; it is a duty she owes herself and 
family to pay some attention to dress aud ap¬ 
pearances for her own sake. She can do that 
without being unjust to her husband’s iuterests 
if be is a good farmer. 
There is no reasou why she should draw 
ridicule oil herself and the large class to which 
she belongs by appearing abroad in Noah’s 
Ark’s bonnets or other ancient styles. It is 
time that conscientious women began to see 
that the entire sacrifice of their refined tastes 
to the material welfare of their husbands 
which so many make, is not good for any of 
the parties concerned. Aunt Rachel. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
BERT BISCUITS. 
We bad a very critical cook at our house 
for the last week, and she praised my biscuits 
as the best she had ever eaten. I felt so proud 
that I am anxious to give the receipe to other- 
ors. I don’t really know whether to take all 
the credit to my deft mixing aud handling, or 
to allow- some of it to the new baking powder 
we have got from the city-. I think we had 
better have the honor. One quart of sifted 
flour, two teaspooufuls of Uorsford’s linking 
powder, half a teas[ioonful of salt, shake all to¬ 
gether dry, mix with milk to make dough stiff 
enough to handle lightly, shape and put into a 
hot [tan, and iuto a hot oveu as soon as mixed. 
Do not handle the dough too much, or put 
the biscuits upon each other wheu cooked. 
M. H. M. 
PEARL BUTTONS. 
It is customary when buying buttons for 
little girls’ aprons aud dresses to invest iu 
pearl. 
They are more expensive, but are always 
nice, easily matched for size and color, aud 
may- be transferred from one garment to an¬ 
other when convenient, aud you are not left 
with odd numbers of buttons, of all sizes and 
colors, on your hands. Aunt Rachel. 
COUSIN JOHN SPEAKS. 
1 think its about time we men folk took up 
the cudgel in our own behalf, for, between 
one thing and another, w-e do get terrible ra¬ 
tings. The women "go for us” about our 
clothes. Well, we're not dandies—that’s a 
fact. Then they write essays about the way 
we cut, ami devise for our benefit something 
coarse in the way of tablecloths. Then they 
call us dull for not keeping tbe knives sharp, 
and blame us for the untidy door-yards, and 
for being mean about the spending money. 
Now, my wife (when I get one) will not have 
cause to complain I’ll just say , “ Here, soul 
of my soul, take the “ worldly goods,” aud if 
you've any left over for toba-” but, hush ; 
this is the economy- department. Breathe not 
the name of what ends in smoke. I like to see 
our “wives and daughters 11 say it collect¬ 
ively | speak their minds openly, it docs us 
good. It goes to the inmost soul of a man, to 
be reading his agricultural journal, and turn¬ 
ing to that page which tells of somebody’s 
good dinners on paper, to find out just how- 
mean he is. Keep at us ladies. By- such bright 
aud shining guidance we expect to rise yet to 
“ perfection’s sacred hights.” Cousin John. 
BUTTER. 
In thousands of farm homes there is at pre¬ 
sent one all absorbing industry at this season 
of the year—the production of butter for the 
market, and so much depends upon those who 
have charge of the dairy, tlat it affects the 
welfare of the whole country as well as them¬ 
selves, To las careful that the milking is done 
cleanly, that no bad odor is absorbed by the 
milk, that no impurity comes in contact with 
it. No strainer can separate particles of dirt. 
No milk pan can be wholesome that is not 
properly washed and scalded. I had an enthu¬ 
siastic dairymaid once w-ho not only washed 
the odder of the cows, but dried them with a 
soft cloth at each milking, and the breath of 
the clover lurked in the cream and butter 
from such a dairy. Keeping cream too long 
before skimming is sure to injure the textnre 
aud flavor of the butter, aud destroy its 
sweetness. Every department needs watching 
carefully, aud demands both time and 
strength. I do not wonder at the remark of 
some young people, that they wished the 
butter grew- on trees, as it does in Central 
Africa. But even there the nuts have to be 
gathered and dried in the sun, then beaten 
very fine, boiled in w ater, and, when cold, 
the “butter” is skimmed off and made into 
little pats. After all, our way is the best, and 
certainly no more labor is required than must 
be exercised in tbe process of procuring “ but¬ 
ter” from the “tree.” Mrs. Housewife. 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
J. W. S.—“ Rhubarb vinegar" can be made 
in the same way- as cider vinegar. It requires 
to be well mashed and to have a slight sprink¬ 
ling of brown sugar to assist, fermeutatiou. 
Let in the sun for twelve hours to hasten the 
process. Follow directions for making cider 
vinegar. 
M. H. J. inquires what fennel is, and its 
uses. 
A NS —It is a warm aromatic herb cultivated 
in gardens to be used as a sa uce for fish. Medic¬ 
inally it is a carminative in cases of colic and 
flatulence. 
Farmer's wife wishes to know what the 
curry of the cook book is that we write 
about. 
Ans.— It is a compound of hot Indian spices 
largely cooked in the East to counteract the 
consequences of a vegetable diet. It is injuri¬ 
ous if extensively used in cold climates, but a 
pleasant adjunct to some meats. It is made 
by mixing four ounces of coriander, two of 
Cayenne pepper, two of black pepper, and one 
half an ounce of tumeric, all blendea and 
sifted. 
G. W. L. asks why broiled meat is so juicy 
and tender. 
Ans.—T he action of the fire seals up the 
pores through w hich the juice might escape, l 
Never prick broiling meat with a fork, or the 
juice escapes. 
Mrs. M.art L. is recommended to try sea 
bathing, and asks if we believe in its magical 
effects l 
Ans.—N o—not “ magical,” but bracing and 
invigorating. 
A. M. wishes to know- something about citric 
acid. 
Ans. —It is the acid which gives fruits of the 
citron family their peculiar sour taste. It may 
lie extracted from many fruits and vegetables, 
as oranges, currants, gooseberries, strawber¬ 
ries raspberries, whortleberries, tamarinds, 
onions, and potatoes. The red alderberry is so 
rich in it, that it is proposed to substitute it 
iu part for berries and lemons, from which the 
acid is now wholly prepared. In the long pio- 
cess of putrefaction, a gallon of lemon juice 
makes about eight ounces of crystals, which is 
the ultimate form in which pure citric acid is 
obtained. Citric acid is much used at sea as a 
preventive of scurvy, though the raw lemon 
is thought to lie as efficient. It is also valuable 
iu rheumatism, and is made into refreshing 
effervescent drinks, aud is a means often used 
to arrest vomiting. In the arts it is also valu¬ 
able to calico printers. 
Aunt Rachel asks how to cook “Golden 
Wax beans. 
Ans. —We cook them as other stringless 
beans. They- are tender and very delicious, 
and, having a light colored seed, do not dis¬ 
color the water like the ordinary “black” or 
“ butter beau.” 
J. W. V., Ash Grove, Mo., wishes to know¬ 
how to secure dry fruit from “ worms J” 
Ans.— By “ worms,” we suppose is meant 
the larvae of dermestes lardarius—so dreaded 
in keeping bacon—also the invader of cabinets 
where insects are kept. It is a formidable 
enemy, and ruination to furs and woolens. 
Experiments have proved that tallow candles 
are obnoxious to the pests, but, as they are 
hardly admissible among dried fruit (nor is 
snuff, popper or camphor), it is best to take 
the fruit wheu freshly dried and put It into 
paper bags. Leave rather loose and tie seeurely 
at the mouth. If the bags are tight aud strong, 
aiul hung iu a cool, airy place, it is certain to 
keep out the dermestes. 
HorstordS Acid Phosphate 
A Valuable Nerve Toulc. 
Dr. 0. 0. Olmstead. Milwaukee, Wis., 
says: “ I have used it iu my-practice teu years, 
and consider it a valuable nerve tonic.”— Adv. 
IJinplfmeats anti Paelunent. * 
THE ROSS ENSILAGE 
AND FODDER CUTTERS. 
Giants anil Little Giants, “Specials” 
For Ensilage, Stock 
Raiser* X Dnlrytnen. 
Our 1*88 Ensilage Cut - 
ter* are now ready. 
They are the finest we 
have ever produced, 
and gvnranfeeil the 
best In the market, bo 
not wait nntd you 
want to use a colter 
before you order.for 
we have already hook¬ 
ed many orders for 
eany •lettvery. If our Cutters are not represented In 
your vicinity please write us for prices. Send for our 
Illustrated circular to E. W. K OSS JC f O.. 
Mentlun Rural New Yorker. Knltnn. N. V. 
Eighth & Howard Sts,. St. Lout* Mo. I . S. \ . 
26.999 NOW IN USE. 
All petvns say •h-rirroots are die best, v.'e ask y°u to -l- 
amine our Improved Keller I'e.lilve Force F evil.Grain, 
Seed and FertUlsiate Urtll m , mr llay Hake* tt.ey 
are as g,xM a. I ae I est. and :au be salu as cl. rap. All are war. 
ranted. Circulars resiled free Newark Machine OO-, 
Newark. Ohio. Easter" non House, Hagerstown, lid. 
STAR GANE MILL 
The only Double Mill made In 
the West. Twenty different, 
styles and sizes, suited to 
every capacity, from one- 
third of an acre to thirty -live 
acres per dny, prices ranging 
from-sar. to *6,000. 
STUBBS’ EVAPORATOR. 
I. A. Hedges, after testing it 
with others, says It is the Best 
Evaporator made. It took the 
only premium awarded for 
at the Sc Louis Fair In lkv>. 
work 
Z3T Full stock of 8UGAR MARERV SUP¬ 
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J. A. FILLI) An CO., 
Improved Cornell Corn Sheller 
FOR lSS’i. 
Willshell more corn with 
less labor than any other 
machine In market. 
The only Shelter made 
that uses 
SPIRAL SPRINGS FOR 
THE PRESSURE BAR. 
Every Machine War¬ 
ranted to do as good 
work as 
ANY SHEILER MADE. 
Ask to see the Cor¬ 
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you will buy no other. 
Address orders to 
TREMAX. 
WATERMAN * CO.. 
Ithaca. N. Y. 
DOUBLE HARPOON 
■ HORSEH 
No Farmer can afford to be without it. 
It will KWK its cost many times. 
QCCT IN TflK WORLtFS Send 
DLO I for Descriptive Catalogue./><■•> 
Pannock Maf gCo- Keane-.t Square, Chester Co.?* 
THE PERKINS 
WIND MILL 
Is the Strongest and Best 
Self Regulating Wind Mill 
made. Full Instructions for erecting 
sent with the tirst mill. All Wind 
Mills warn in led. For Circulars 
and Prices address 
The Perkin* Wind IlilliV A.vCo., 
Agents wanted. .Hislmivuku, I ml. 
CHiLLENGE WIND MILL. 
Victorious at all fairs. Over 9,iXt) In 
actual use in every State and TYrri- 
terv of IheU. S. It Da section wheel, 
has l.cvn made by us for ttl jeurs: in 
all that time not one has blown 
down without tower breaking—a 
record no other mill cati show. We leave It tu the 
public to determine their men is. Mills sent on A) 
davs’ trial. Best Feed Mills, Cora Shelters, etc., etc. 
Catalogues free. CHALLENGE WIND MIL! a FEED 
MILL Co., Batavia, 111. 
THE. Old RELIABLE. HALLADAY 
STANDARD WINDMILL, 
rrx39 ddt ntse:. 
Sup-dor to nay other muk 
17 Ktei 1 ts 15 3 . Fox i: 
Adopted by U.S. gov¬ 
ernment at forts and 
arrisons and by all 
cading railroad com¬ 
panies of this and 
other countries 
Also the Celebrated 
I X I FEED 
MILL, 
which cah bt ruo by ftfijf |>o»rer \x *a.i aar&Me. 
\V ill grin.*. Any Ividi of v-.ia.ll <nln inlo fedd at th* rv;« of 6 to ib 
biuheU r*»r hour, according toquril'ty aud oixe of mill used Send 
for Catalogue and PriceA«Mre$a ^ 
U. S. Wind Engine & Pump Co., Batavia. 
THE UNION HORSE-POWER 
Union Thresher Separator and t leaner, 
Prouiliuu Farm Grist .Hill, Feed Cutters, 
etc, IfU"Write for Descriptive CutaWue KIIRK 
U,I„ IKIYKU A 111(0., t’hlluilulnbiui Pa 
Has the Largest Track Wheels. P0USLE GEARED. 
bio Kods.l'hiUcd Hearings 
rami LEVEL TREAD 
