4887 
THE RURAL HEW-YORKIR. 
“If, therefore, we begin our attempts to im¬ 
prove men through the instruction of their in¬ 
tellect, we shall end where we begin, having 
blown a bubble which bursts as soon as blown. 
No amouut of intelligence ever saved any 
people, and the most costly educational sys¬ 
tem is consistent with and sometimes actually 
found in the most corrupt social state.”... 
The resurrection is the silver lining to the 
dark cloud of death, and we know the sun is 
shining beyond. 
Extreme caution prevents any great suc¬ 
cess; but it avoids any serious mistakes. 
Caution limits a person's sphere and nar¬ 
rows the life; it is, therefore, usually personal 
in its effects..... 
Imprudence on the contrary broadens the 
sphere and adds to experience, but it leads to 
serious mistakes, too often involving otners in 
its consequences. 
Extreme caution and imprudence are to be 
avoided, but of the two the former usually 
results in a more uniformly successful life 
than the latter. 
Domestic (^conoimj 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
The question of help in the household is a 
serious one and one that bids fair from the 
present outlook to become more complicated. 
And to our mind the fault is not all on the side 
of the maid servant, either. There are two 
sides to this question like all others, and we 
would gladly open our columns to all domes¬ 
tics having access to the paper. There are 
two classes: those who are contented and 
those who are dissatisfied. We should like to 
hear from both. 
We also solicit correspondence from the 
heads of families as to their views of the 
cause of so much dissatisfaction with help. 
KITCHEN TALKS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
“Are you always in the kitchen for your 
talks?” said a guest, as she put the Rural on 
the table. “No,” i answered, “i am as often in 
the parlor, or on the terrace or out in the 
garden. But I believe in the kitchen for a 
housewife, though not to the excess that some 
men do.” “Yes,” said the Amateur Cook, “I 
actually heard a man say the other day that 
he did not sec any good iu a parlor.” 
“Well,” I answered, “it is generally sup¬ 
posed that the existence of such a room, a 
withdrawing apartment from kitchen and din- 
iug-room, is a mark of civilization, and ap¬ 
peals to the social nature. Not until refine¬ 
ment had made great advances was it thought 
necessary to have such an apartment. Our 
word is from the French "parler" to speak, 
as it was considered a room tor conversation. 
It is a place where the kitchen is kept from 
view; a resting place many a time if the 
home is as it should bo I often thiuk when a 
few friends assemble in such a room of the 
verse: 
• Friend may hold fellowship with friend 
And gravest of the grave unbend, 
While passes ’round the merry Jest 
Inspired by presence of the guest.' 
For the presence of strangers does inspire one 
to brush off the dust—often rust—that gath¬ 
ers about our menial vision with the round of 
every 7 -day duties. Then the parlor comes into 
usefulness, when wo cun 
‘Stir the lire, and close the shutters fast; 
Let full the curtains, wheel the sofa ‘round,’ 
as wrote poor Cow per. 
It is a ivtilled feeling that prompts us to 
keep a room for guests, but it should not be 
filled with bric-a-brac too delicate for the use 
of the family. Lot it have a homey look, if 
you would have it attractive, and not be too 
fragile for use. Chairs that are too flue to sit 
upou, fancy work that will cling to the back 
of one's dress or coat, or be forever slipping- 
down, sofas that, are covered with satin tidies, 
embroidered or hand-painted, are very un¬ 
comfortable and embarrassing. If 1 hud 
such a parlor and was obliged to keep it, I 
would have a cozy corner in the kitchen and 
stay there, where cretonne and an easy-ebair 
would bo comfortable. But a bright, home- 
parlor is pleasant, and a delightful help to 
social life.” 
“You have put in quite a pica for the par¬ 
lor,” said the Amateur Cook, “and 1 am glad 
to find it has a defender. For to me it is one 
of the pleasantest of memories, oven iu my 
childhood day r w. There stood the beautiful 
Christmas tree laden with its generous fruit, 
and the room was glorified with sweet memo¬ 
ries of the Christ Child as we sang carols that 
moruiiig. Uow often 1 was called iu to see a 
guest, with orders to don my prettiest frock 
before I went into the parlor! There never 
was any mustiness, or discomfort there, and 
our Sabbath evening hymus are a memory 
that will always last, and when after an ill¬ 
ness I was carried to the parlor sofa, it was a 
beautiful haven of rest—far from bh<? kitchen 
where was cooking the beef tea I did not want 
to take. So trim it with flowers, weave it a 
wreath of immortelles, let the children use, 
but not abuse it, let the older children find it 
a resting place after a weary day, but do not 
bani-b, or draw it from its retirement. Let 
it be still the apartment for social intercourse 
and peaceful rest.” 
HOW TO SECURE GOOD BREAD. 
We all know, among our friends, house¬ 
keepers who seem to be “born, not made” for 
their work. Their whole domestic machinery 
seems to run by magic. Their pies are never 
soggy; their cukes never fall; there are no 
canned-corn explosions in their cellars; their 
bread never fails to be the “tender, toothsome 
loaf.” To all such readers of the Rural, this 
little experience wiil be of no interest. But 
there may be others who find it easy to go by 
rule. Yet other readers may have bad uo 
early trniniug as housekeepers. Perhaps, 
like myself, they were tossed from the school¬ 
room to the cook-room, and expected to be 
satisfied wi’h a different rauge. For their 
eneournguneut I wish they might have seen 
my fitst bread. It was six years ago, ami I 
can shut my eyes and taste it yet! Tulk 
about victory! in my battles with Hour aud 
yeast, water aud milk aud sugar aud .-alt, I 
realized the terrible reality of the wish that 
“Blueber or night would come.” I so hated 
to give up the battle. But I conquered at 
last. Now, I shall tell y r ou my exact method, 
and if followed it would give you bread 
that would be devoured even by the genus 
tramp. 
Lute in the evening I put a yeast cake into 
sufficient water to soften it. Into three pints 
of warm water I stir sufficient flour to make 
a rather stiff batter, then add the yeast, aud 
beat (beat, not stir,) for at least 10 minutes. 
It is then closely covered and set in a warm 
place to rise. As my flour is kept in a cold 
room, enough is brought out, sifted and set 
by the stove. In the morning the sponge is 
light and the flour is warm. I then add to 
the sponge one pint of warm water, one table¬ 
spoonful of salt, the same of sugar, and mix 
in flour until the dough will not adhere to the 
hands. I then knead firmly and quickly 
(without stopping) for live minutes. Cover 
closely and set in a warm place to rise. When 
light, I make iuto small loaves, put into 
well-greased tins, aud cover to exclude the 
air. 
I then prepare a hot fire and so regulate it 
as to get a steady heat in the oven to last an 
hour. If the oven cools a little at the last, it 
will do no burm. When ready for the 
oven it bakes in three-quarters of an hour— 
brown (>aper being put over the loaves for 
the first, fifteen minutes to prevent a hard 
crust. Sometimes we like to use potatoes. In 
that case, just after supper, 1 take one pint of 
mashed (>otato and mix with one dissolved 
yeast cake aud set in a warm place until even¬ 
ing. then proceed as before. The only change 
I ever make is to use cold water for the 
sponge during hot weather. 
The brisk beatiug of the sponge—the quick, 
firm kneading of the dough, the subjection to 
gentle heat in rising, and the careful heating 
of the oven have combined to give me the 
best of bread from good material. 
Tbe yeast must be fresh—better to throw 
away your sponge iu the morning if sour or 
heavy, than to attempt any “doctoring” with 
soda. 
The very best flour is the cheapest. What a 
shame for farmers to use a poor grade of flour 
when their cows will eat the poor grain 
aud pay for it iu butter. It seems 
to me that more strength is required 
in bread making than is usually thought. 
Unco in a spirit of chivalry my brother put 
his hands in the dough, and oh, what a 
kneading it had. Yet that very bread was as 
good us you expect to cut with your Thanks¬ 
giving turkey. I hare in mind a spiteful 
little woman who hates all drudgery, aud yet 
bus to sell bread for a liviug. She attacks 
her sponge with all the savage enthusiasm of 
the modern Anarchist, but her bread is the 
very best. 
Let no one give up. Good bread-making is 
within the reach of us all, aud once learned is 
never forgotten, i’ass the bread, please. 
gettie leech. 
MORE LIGHT ON TElE FRUIT-JAR 
TROUBLE. 
I use Masou’s jars with porcelain-lined 
caps. I have never had any experience with 
the glass tops, but think if they are screwed 
on with metal rings, as 1 have seen them, they 
might be treated the same as the porcelain- | 
lined caps. I screw the caps on the empty 
jar without the rubber, and press the edge of 
the cap down all round with a chisel or stiff 
knife until it fits the jar at every point. After 
the jar is filled and sealed, while it is still hot 
1 press the edge of the cap down again, mak¬ 
ing it lib down tight on the rubber. I have 
used the same cap several years and never 
have had the fruit spoil. 
. MRS. BETTIE THOMAS. 
I would say to “Troubled Housekeeper” that 
if she will take a sharp file and file these 
raised edaes down she will not be troubled 
with her fruit working. mrs. mcd. 
My sister-in-law who read “A Troubled 
Housekeeper’s” complaint of ber fruit jars,said 
she had found the same difficulty with bers, 
but her husband removed it by filing the glass 
that was in the way. He filed it off smoothly 
with a small file and the jars worked perfectly 
after that. 
If one turns the jars upside down, when 
filled, the leaks are detee ed before the fruit 
spoils. My sister-in-law also says if the fruit 
is rich the jelly will sometimes seal the jars 
without emptying them. mrs. f. b. brock. 
AN ANSWER TO BESSIE BROWN, ON 
“MY COMPANY DINNER.” 
It is very easy to sit dowu and write how 
to get a company dinner, when one has every¬ 
thing to get a dinner with fit for a king. Cu¬ 
cumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, peas, salmon 
trout! For my part I would like to see how 
Bessie Brown would get up a “company dinner” 
out of salt pork, old potatoes aud water. I 
fruit and juice all together a minute or so be¬ 
fore removing to the jars, or whatever the 
quinces are to he kept in. If out iu stone jars, 
paste paper spread with the white of an egg 
over tbe top and set away in a cool place. Use 
three-fourtbs of a pound of sugar to a pound 
of fruit. AUNT RACHEL. 
-ftlisccllrtncous <3uUertt$inc( 
That Feeling 
Of exhaustion expressed in the words 
“all run down,’’ indicates a thin and 
depraved state of the blood, reacting 
upon the Nervous System. Nothing 
will reach this trouble with more speed 
and certainty thau Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. 
“I was all run down,” writes Mrs. 
Alice West, of Jefferson, W. Va., “ be¬ 
fore I began to take Ayer’s Sarsaparilla, 
and now I am 
GAINING IN STRENGTH 
every day. I intend using it till my 
health is perfectly restored.” 
" Being very weak and despondent 
after an illness which caused frequent 
loss of blood. I tried Ayer's Sarsaparilla, 
and two bottles have restored me to my 
former health,” writes Miss Blanche S. 
Brownell, 4 Boy la ton Place, Boston. 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla, 
Prepared by Dr. J. O. Aver &Co.,Lowell, Mane. 
Bold by all Druggists. Price $1; six bottles, $5. 
BROWN’S FRENCH DRESSING. 
The Original. Beware ol Imitations. 
AWARDED HIGHEST PRIZE AND ONLY 
don’t think the salmon trout and the vegeta¬ 
bles would march on to the table for her quite 
so easily, if she lived where I do, and I guess 
she would see more than one day when there 
wasn't auy fresh meat in the house. If she 
lived where the milk goes to tbe factory aud 
where no one is allowed to take out cream 
except for the coffee, she would find some 
difficulty in putting in a gill of cream here 
aud a gill of cream there. I guess she wouldn’t 
slip out of the room and do everything in a 
twinkling, if she had three sickly children to 
take care of, cows to milk night and morning, 
three extra men folks, and a thousand other 
things that are to be done on the farm. I 
wonder who she thinks is going to pay for the 
fireworks to bribe youngsters to pick a quart 
of mushrooms, especially when there isn't any 
to pick? Her ways sound well in print, but I 
find that everything in the eatable line doesn’t 
grow already cooked on our bushes. 
EUNICE WEBSTER. 
GROUND RICE PUDDING. 
Add four tablespoonfuls of ground rice to 
one quart of boiliug mils, stirring till thick¬ 
ened ; then beat in three eggs, a small cup of 
sugar aud a little salt. Bake like a custard. 
MARBLE CAKE. 
Light part—three-fourths cup of white 
sugar, one-fourth cup of butter, one-fourth 
cup of sweet milk, whites of three eggs, one 
and one-fourth cup of flour, one teaspoonful 
of baking-powder. Dark part—One cup of 
brown sugar, one-fourth cup of butter, one- 
fourth cup of sour milk, one-half teaspoouful 
of soda, yelks of three eggs, one aud one- 
fourth cup of flour, a little cloves, cinnamon 
and nutmeg. Put iu a layer of dark, then of 
light, until all is used. 
LAYER CAKE. 
Cue cup of sugar, one teaspoouful of bak¬ 
ing-powder, one-fourth cup of butter, one egg, 
oue-hulf cup of sweet milk, one and three- 
fourths cup of flour. Bake in three layers. 
ROLL JELLY CAKE. 
One cup of sugar, three eggs, one cup of 
sifted flour, one teaspoouful of baking-pow¬ 
der. Bake in a small dripping pan for 15 
minutes. Do not move while baking. Spread 
with jelly and roll while hot. 
PICKLED EGGS. 
Boil eggs very hard and after s lieiug cover 
with vinegar iu which salt ami pepper have 
been mixed. a reader. 
LEMON FIE. 
One cup of sugar, two lemons, grated, whites 
of two eggs, one spoonful of flour, one of but¬ 
ter. 
JUMBLES. 
Four eggs, two cups of sugar, one of butter. 
Flavor with lemon or wintergreeu. Two 
small teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. 
TO PRESERVE QUINCES. 
Pare aud quarter the fruit; boil the parings 
a half hour aud strain off the liquor. Put one- 
fourth the sugar and all the fruit iuto ibis li¬ 
quor; add sufficient water to cover it. Cook 
until tender; tlnu take out the quint os. add 
the rest of the sugar to the liquor and boil un¬ 
til thick. Slice two or three lemons, accord¬ 
ing to the quantity of fruit, aud stir in while 
boiling when it is nearly done. Scald the 
MEDAL, PARiS EXPOSITION, 1878 
Highest Award New Orleans Exposition. 
pure milk. 
k WARREN 
rtfilLK BOTTLES 
A . Patented March 23d, 18£e 
JL \ Adapted for the Delir. rj 
of MI:k ,n aU ( 1Uts 
uTCI and Towns. 
A LOHQ-NEEDED want 
AT LAST SUPPLIED. 
A. V. WHITEMAN, 
*|P la Murray St \"FW ynuv 
W. L. DOUGLAS 
ran 
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