4885 
587 
we have, when we know we have done a good 
deed, have accomplished a worthy object. 
zka mays. 
Domestic Ccottoimj 
CONDUCTED BY EMTI-Y MAPLE. 
HOUSEKEEPING ON PUGET SOUND. 
MARY' WAGER-FISHER. 
V. 
As I had no recipes for cooking to speak 
of, either in my head or out of it, I found a 
new iuterest in the Domestic Economy of the 
Rural, and I clipped out such recipes as I 
thought practicable, and pinned them up to 
the wall near the dining table which served 
for all table purposes. The quality of a Puget 
Sound plastered wall is usually so soft that a 
pin can readily be thrust quite through it, 
aud consequently to pin things to the wall 
came much into vogue. I kept the high, white 
walls of our lit tie parlor decorated the whole. 
Winter through with tho superb foliage of 
Berberis nervosa, while the culinary salon re¬ 
ceived its share of cedar boughs. 
Of course,time was too valuable for ornamen¬ 
tal cooking; but about once a week I was pos¬ 
sessed with a mania for matting experiments. 
As large a Mallard duck as the roasting pan 
would hold cost 25 cents, and as “ coon is 
coon,” so duck is duck, and needs to be scrap¬ 
ed and scrubbed and scalded with a ven¬ 
geance before it is fit to roust For stuffing 
I put crumbled bread in, crust and all, per¬ 
fectly dry, with a piece of butter and a dash 
of salt at intervals, and when basting the 
fowl, the stuffing also came iu for its share of 
juice. The duck, however, came out of the 
oven, the stuffing was always a success and 
never soggy. Anaximander said that onion 
and “yarb” flavor iu stuffing, made him taste 
it for 24 hours after eating it. Mary B's 
celery salad recipe was good, and equally 
good for cabbage, or for potato, or all three 
mixed. But I left out the mustard, for I think 
that if the stomach is to have a mustard plas¬ 
ter, it had best be placed on the outside! 
“ Auut Rachel's” sponge cake recipe was 
good—which I tried, as Anaximander’s favor¬ 
ite cake is sponge, although after eatiug half 
a loaf or less, he is ready to remark with 
gravity, that no cake is so good as good bread 1 
As the silver and china and glass, which 
means more pewter than silver and plain 
white ware not at all "china,” which consti¬ 
tuted our table-ware, seemed to have been se¬ 
lected for the accommodation of three persons 
and uo more, the "tug of war” came whpn I 
was possessed with the evil spirit to such an 
extent as to invite one or two persons at most 
to iliue or sup with us. After every such 
occasion, although we always had a roj ally- 
enjoyable and amusing time, Anaximander 
would say, "Now, Mary, for goodness’ sake, 
don’t ask auy more people here to entertaiu at 
table. It is perfectly absurd!” "Why, do we 
not have a good time?” "Oh yes, but—but 
its perfectly ridiculous with this outfit for 
housekeeping,’* 
But 1 kept on invitiug as my fancy led me, 
as I suppose I should have done if we had 
lived iu a dry goods’ box. But although our 
guesta had to stir their tea with the same 
spoon with which they ate their strawberries 
or other dessert, and sometimes do without a 
saucer under the coffee cup, because there 
weren't enough to go around, still affairs never 
went to such a pass as they did with the fam¬ 
ous Madame Mold of Paris, whoso • etimesin- 
vited so many guests that she could not seat 
them comfortably at table and would say 
complacently to one or two, "My dears, would 
you be l#iud euough to waft, ns there are not 
places enoughf” aud nobody ever took offense. 
But On® time, when two friends from a 
distant town iu the Territory—both lawyers 
and gentlemen of lino social position (one had 
visited us at our home near Philadelphia) 
came by invitation to spend Sunday with us, 
1 found myself iu a "box.” so to speak. To 
accommodate these two friends 1 stretched my 
powers of hospitality- to the utmost. The best 
I could do, under auy unusual circumstances, 
was to put all the dishes in the closet ou the 
table, and in case a saucer was imperatively 
needed, and there was not one more to be had, 
why a soup or a vegetable dish could do! Of 
course, there was no lack of merriment over 
my expedients, l used tho top of the sewiug 
machine for a side table to hold the last 
"coum while a turned up apple box at the 
side of my chair wus just the thing ou which 
to set the tea and coffee pots. When the nap¬ 
kins were exhausted we used towels. But on 
this particular occasion, after the table was 
set, Anaximander came in from the parlor 
saying, “Mr. S—is here,” naming the sou of a 
Yale College Professor, "and 1 think l must 
ask him to stay to dinner. Can you make 
room for him?” I was aghast at the thought 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
and blurted out “Impossible.” Then I quickly 
thought of a broken-down old steel knife and 
fork, and a pewter spoon in the closet—luckily 
I had four silver Bpoone, one of them a dessert 
spoon—which I had brought from home in our 
lunch basket—and I hurriedly whisked some 
ashes, from the stove on a board and with a piece 
of paper scoured them bright. Then I squeezed 
another plate in between those already laid 
and concluded some one could sit at table in 
a rocking chair or on top of two apple boxes, 
or on the end of a trunk—the laddie said he 
could sit on the top of a barrel!—and all the 
time I was wondering how I could say to the 
young man that I would be glad to have him 
stay and dine with us I Queen Elizabeth’s 
definition of a lie came to my mind “an in¬ 
tellectual way of meeting a difficulty:” sol 
went into the parlor and laughingly said to 
him, "Mr. 8., if you can eat with a tin spoon 
and be crowded like a sandwich, I am going 
to ask you to come in and dine with us.” 
“Oh, I eat with a tin spoon every day!” he 
laughed, and one of our frieuds said iu the 
same mood, "You don’t ask me with what I 
can eat?” and he was informed that bis toler¬ 
ance would be put to test in the shape of a 
teacup which uo longer had any claim upon 
respectability, except from its apparent, anti¬ 
quity, for the lapse of years and many a 
rough whack had sadly battered its face. 
However, one could drink coffee from a gob¬ 
let as people do in restaurants in Paris—first 
putin a silver spoon, and the hot fluid will 
not crack the glass. When everything else 
gave out there was still a large china cup and 
saucer remaining, evidently souvenirs of past 
holidays, for the cup which was gilded and 
beflowered and bore the touching legend 
“Think of me”—its chief hold upon reverence 
—had lost its haudle, and the saucer was 
cracked from the middle in four directions, 
so that I handled it with fear and trembling; 
but despite my care, I pulled it quite apart 
one day when wiping it, greatly to my sor¬ 
row. To return to the dinner, we got through 
it with great glee, and when, after a long 
tramp in the afternoon, Mr. S. was asked to 
stay to tea and driuk a cup of cocoa, he ac¬ 
cepted with evident pleasure. 
ECONOMY NOTES. 
It is not economical to buy sweet potatoes 
by the quantity. 
You will find empty salt hags very conven¬ 
ient for straining starch, fruit juices, etc. 
Oue lady of my acquainance keeps them es¬ 
pecially for covering pots of butter. They 
are washed, cut open, laid smoothly over the 
butter and covered with a half inch of salt. 
The pots are then tied down with several 
thicknesses of paper. 
Use great care when pickling or preserving 
in a brass kettle. Scour the kettle just before 
using, and never let food stand iu it after it 
is cooked. 
To prevent milk from scorching on the bot¬ 
tom of a dish when heating, grease the kettle 
with n bit of butter before turning in the milk. 
Small wooleu articles can be kept safely 
from moths during the summer mouths by 
tying them up iu strong cotton bags. Be sure 
that the articles are free from the pests be¬ 
fore putting iuto the bag. 
If codfish is to be kept for any length of 
time, cover with a brine. 
The l>est way of removing tea and coffee 
stains from fine damask, is to immerse them 
at once in milk. 
To preveut drain pipes from stopping up, 
pour a hot solution of potash into the pipes, 
every month or two. 
Don’t cook tomatoes iu iron or stir them 
with an irou spoou. mrs. economy-. 
HELP BY THE WAY. 
“Did you notice the splendid rain we had 
last night?” inquired my husbaud. as I stood 
at the table preparing breakfast, my mind 
filled wiih the cares and duties of the uew 
day, and. 1 fear, feeling not altogether cheer¬ 
ful with the prospect before me. 
“No, I have uot taken time to look out,” 
was my ungracious answer. 
“Well then,” said he, drawing me to the 
open door-way, “take it now. Look at the 
river, at the green grass and trees, and our 
brimming water cask.” 
Need I toll my Rural sisters that I turned 
from that beautiful sight to my pressing duties 
with a lighter heart?—that those cheering 
words, that bright outlook, gave me some¬ 
thing to think of above aud beyond my labor? 
How many a husband goes out in the moruiug 
— milk pail, it may be, iu hand, but still 
around uud about him lies the earth in its 
beauty. He cau note the refreshing rain, 
which has fallen iu the night, can mirk how 
each plant aud (lower lifts its drooping head 
iu glad token of the blessed gift which falls 
from the good Father’s baud The kind hus¬ 
band brings with him, as he enters his kitchen 
door, a glimpse of this freshness aud bright 
ness, and tho’ the wife may sometimes think 
that her life is dreary and monotonous, still, 
with such sympathy sbe should never become 
discouraged, but take every opportunity to 
look above aud beyond, where "reroaineth” 
that “perfect rest” which will certainly be 
the reward of self-sacrifice and patience 
Ob, the blessing of a bright, cheery nature 
in the home! Could we nghtlv estimate its 
value in the training of our children, and iu 
all our domestic relations, how far more satis¬ 
factory would our lot in life appear. 
How much better to gather all the sunshine, 
instead of brooding in the shadow. We who 
have kind frieuds should accept tbeir proffered 
kindness, so that, in our own turn we might 
bless others less fortunate, mrs. s. b. eaton. 
RANDOM THOUGHTS. 
The bread question seems to be a prominent 
one in the Rural for July 18. Whv is there 
somuchsaidon this subject? I know that 
many persons make very poor bread, but l 
could never find a good reason for it. Bread¬ 
making has always been a very simple matter 
with me, only demanding care, as all other 
things do to insure success. Perhaps I ought 
to say I am careful always to get good flour. 
Lately 1 have been unable to attend to this 
part of my duties, and my oldest daughter 
took the bread in hand, having only the 
simplest directions, and her bread and rolls 
are delicious. 
I use Fieischman’3 Compressed Yeast, sift 
my flour, adding a heaping tablespoonful of 
salt for each loaf, and using one pint of water 
for the same quantity. I dissolve the yeast 
in some of the water, and stir it and the re¬ 
mainder of the water Into the salted flour, 
making a thick batter; sprinkle flour thickly 
over this and cover the pan with the molding 
board. This is done over night. In the morn¬ 
ing, I knead it down as soon as I can—using 
as little flour as possible—put it into the bak¬ 
ing tins, aud cover with a clean towel. When 
light, I bake it and do not know what it is to 
have a poor batch of bread. 
This season we are enjoying an oil stove, 
ami what a treasure it is, doing all kinds of 
cookiug so well and quickly. Bread and cake 
bake to perfection in the oven, and then it is 
so little trouble, I would not part with it for 
a good deal, and often wonder how I have 
got along all these years without one. 
1 lately heard of a new thing to use in starch 
to give a gloss when inmed. A little kerosene 
oil is added to the made starch. The shirts 
certainly looked beautiful when ironed, when 
the starch had been made in this way. 
My flowers from the Rural seeds are prov¬ 
ing treasures indeed. The Sweet Williams 
from last year's seeds are beautiful, and f 
shall plant many of the seeds as soon as they 
ripen, to have them flower next season. 
AUNT EM. 
MOLD ON PRESERVED FRUITS. 
Can any one tell me bow to prevent mold 
on preserves? I had several jars spoil from 
this cause last vear. although carefully re¬ 
moving every speck, and then scalding the 
fruit, it had become so thoroughly impreg¬ 
nated that I was obliged to throw it away. I 
have bad this occur on fruit doDe up pound 
for pound, also on what we called canned. 
s M.C. 
[To prevent mold gathering upon jellies 
and fruits preserved pound for pound, we 
have always put a piece of writing paper 
dipped in alcohol next the conserve, and then 
made them quite air tight by pasting several 
thicknesses of paper over the top. Fruits so 
treateitmust be kept in a cool, dry place. We 
have always supposed that mold on canned 
fruits was the result of imperfect sealing, or 
that the heat in cooking the fruit, was not 
great enough to destroy the spores of the 
mold plant. We shall be glad to hear from 
others on the subject.— e. m ] 
The Fight 
against that feeling of indolence and de¬ 
bility, common to every one in the 
spring and summer months, is of no avail 
without the aid of Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. 
By its use, impurities are expelled from 
the blood, and new life is infused into the 
' > ..*•>■ It stimulates and strengthens all 
the digestive and assimilative organs. 
C. A. Whcckr, Hotel Clitiord, Boston, 
Mass., says: “A few bottles of Ayer’s 
Sarsaparilla, taken in the spring, make me 
feel well and strong the whole year.” 
C. J. Ilodem. r, 145 Columbia st.. Cara- 
bridgeport. Mass., says: “ I have gone 
through terrible suffering from dyspepsia; 
but I have cured myself, and saved a 
great deal of money in doctors’ bills, by 
the use of 
Ayer’s Sar 
•aparilla.” It will help you. 
Renewed 
strength and vigor follow the use of 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. Mrs. Ann H. Farns¬ 
worth, a lady 79 years old. So. Woodstock, 
Vt., writes; “After sutiering for weeks 
with prostration, I procured a bottle of 
Ayer's Sarsaparilla, and before I had 
taken half of it my usual health returned.” 
Thos. M. McCarthy. 36 Winter st., Lowell, 
Hass., rites: “ I have been troubled, for 
years, with nervousness, and pains about 
my heart, especially in the morning. I 
also suffered greatly from debility. I huve 
been cured by Ayer’s Sarsaparilla, and 
am now able to do very hard work.” 
Henry H. Davis, Nashua, X. H., writes: 
" I have found relief from that feeling of 
languidness, prevalent during the spring, 
by taking Ayer’s Sar- 
saparilla. 
I have taken It for years.” 
Prepared by Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass., U. 8. A. 
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