THE BUBAL 
serve hot or simply stew with a good steak, 
adding a scallion and parsley, salt and pepper. 
ALICE GOLDSMITH. 
HOME-MADE CRACKERS. 
Some one of the Rural readers asks for a 
recipe for making the old-fashioned home¬ 
made crackers. Having made bushels of 
them in my younger days, perhaps I might 
give directions that would aid inquirers. 
But first let me say that two of the most 
necessary ingredients to success in making 
them are strength and patience. 
It is dowh-right hard work more than any¬ 
thing else, that makes them tender and flaky 
and brittle, but when rightly made they have 
a flavor not found in those we buy, and they 
will keep fresh and good for many months. 
Take one and one-half pound of good sweet 
table butter of the very best quality: rub it 
into eight pounds of good flour till it is all 
thoroughly mixed together and looks like 
coarse meal. Beat well half a dozen eggs and 
rub them in well also. Then moisten the 
whole with tepid water—added a little at a 
time—kneading with the hands as you add 
till it is all worked up into a stiff dough, the 
stiffer the better, so that it will neither stick 
to your hands nor to the pan, and keep knead¬ 
ing and adding handfuls of flour till you are 
tired, and a good deal longer. Your dough 
will grow white and flaky and brittle in the 
process just as long as you have patience to con¬ 
tinue it. When tired of this gentle exercise, 
then sprinkle your roll board half an inch 
deep wi h flour, pour your dough out upon 
it, and roll it with the rolling-pin till it 
covers the board. Then sprinkle it deep with 
flour, aud knead it into a mass. 
Now comes the tug of war. Take a good 
clean axe; and’pound, aud pound, and kDead 
and pound and sprinkle on handful after 
handful of flour, and knead aud pound it with 
just as hard blows as you have strength to 
give. 
Let them fall thick and fast and heavy; 
first with the head of the axe, then with the 
broad side, changing often but always keep¬ 
ing the dough in a mass under the blows by 
frequent kneading, and always well sprinkled 
with flour. 
Keep pounding aud hit hard till you get 
tired, and then take fresh courage and begin 
again,and keep at it till your dough is as white 
as snow almost, and as brittle and flaky as if 
already baked. The longer and harder it is 
pounded, and the more flour thus beaten into 
it, the better the result will be. Then put the 
flaky mass back into the pan, cut off a section 
and roll it out just as thin as your strength 
and patience will let you and a little thinner. 
Cut with ajcutter to suit your fancy,and bake 
in shallow pans in a brisk oven but not hot 
enough to scorch or brown them. Continue 
till all are baked. As each pan comes from 
the oven put them in a warm place to dry. 
When all are baked set them in an oven not 
hot enough to bake, shut the door and keep 
them warm for horn’s, till there is no sign of 
moisture left in them. They will keep for 
months and be delicious. They will rise in 
baking till they are half an inch or more thick 
and need no soda or baking powder to raise 
them. 
I have made them by the same process of 
kneading and pounding and rolling, using for 
wetting nothing but good, sweet cream aud a 
few eggs. The cream should not be of the 
thickest, but good and rich. In such dough 
some salt should be added. In using butter, 
if it is very salty, a portiou of it should be 
washed out before using it. For any one who 
has strength aud patience, I think the result 
would pay for the labor. A bag of such 
crackers safely laid away in “the big chest” 
was one of the provisions made for sickness in 
the family or in the neighborhood in the days 
of our grandmothers. And those whose child¬ 
hood dates so far back, will remember what a 
treat they were, aud would choose them now 
in preference to the half-tasteless ones of 
to-day. c. r. colby. 
■ ■ • 
A CHAPTER ON CREAM. ' 
Away back iu May some one asked for 
recipes iu which cream takes the place of 
butter. I have some that are excellent, so 
will send them. 
COOKIES. 
One cup of thick, sour cream, two cups of 
sugar, one-fourth cup of butter, one egg, one 
teaspoonful of soda, two of cream-of-tartar. 
Flavor to taste and bake quickly. 
CREAM SPONGE CAKE 
Beat two eggs in a cup, till up with thick, 
sweet cream; add one cup of white sugar, one 
cup of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of-tar- 
i#r, afld ope half teaspoonful of soda, 
Tfl make a picher cake, use sour cream, all 
ft] £ other ingredients the same, 
FRUIT JELLY CAKE. 
jDfii'k part; Onerhalf cup of brown Rigar, 
yelks of two eggs, a small tablespoonful of 
butter, one-half cup of sour cream, oue-balf 
teaspoonful of soda, one-half teaspoonful of 
cinnamon, one-half of a nutmeg, one cup of 
flour, one cup of chopped raisins. Use scant 
measure of all the ingredients. 
White part: One cup of white sugar, one- 
half cup of butter, one-half cup of sweetmilk, 
one and one-half cup of flour, whites of three 
eggs, beaten and added last, two teaspoonfuls 
of baking-powder, one teaspoouful of lemon. 
Bake in two jelly tins. 
MOLASSES SPONGE CAKE. 
One cup of sour cream, one cup of molasses, 
one egg, a small teaspoonful of soda dissolved 
in hot water, a teaspoonful of cinnamon or 
ginger, two small cups of flour. 
APPLE SHORTCAKE. 
Fill a square bread tiu three-quarters full of 
sliced sour apples. Take half a cup of sour 
cream, half a cup of buttermilk, one teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda, salt and flour to make a very stiff 
batter; spread over the apples and bake. Eat 
with sugar and cream. 
STEAMED PUDDING. 
Two cups of buttermilk, two tablespoonfuls 
of thick, sour cream, one egg, one teaspoonful 
of saleratus and a little salt. Add dried or 
fresh fruit. Steam two hours. 
These are my favorite recipes. I think it 
economy to use cream instead of making it 
into butter aud using the butter. E. G. L. 
LEATHER MITTENS. 
Do any of the Rural sisters find a demand 
for an unlimited supply of pancakes, and yet 
feel that the article, as ordinarily made, is 
unwholesome? I have long felt so, aud at 
last hit upon a way of making them which I 
think is not objectionable. Mix the batter 
fresh every morning, adding a little corn 
meal for shortening, and have the rest Gra¬ 
ham flour, or it may be iu part white flour. 
Add as much salt as you think proper; mix 
quite thin with cold water (milk is best, but 
water will do); bake at once on a very hot 
griddle and they will be light. 
I find about this time the boy’s warm knit 
mittens begin to need mending, to make them 
last the winter out. Take the tops of ladies 
worn-out shoes and cover the front of the 
hand aud thumb, where most of the wear comes. 
They may be patched with any woolen cloth 
and still when covered with leather look quite 
well. Lighter ones for school may be covered 
with backs of old kid gloves. Once I made a 
pair of mittens cut out of heavy woolen cloth 
covered with the tops of old boots—a pair 
that happened to be soft. First I washed the 
leather with soap and warm water, then oiled 
it. A leather needle is an important help in 
doing such work. One can be had at most any 
harness maker’s, they are three-sided with 
cutting edges. aunt susan. 
It is far better to find out one of your own 
weaknesses than ten of your neighbor’s. 
Downing likened a room without pictures 
on its walls to a room without windows. 
Be content with enough. You may butter 
your bread so thick that you can’t eat it. 
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AYER’S PILES are the best. They regu¬ 
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thousands. 
Ayer’s Pills,* 
Prepared by Dr. .T. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass. 
Sold by all Druggists and Dealers in Medicine. 
BROWN’S FRENCH DRESSING. 
The Original. Beware oi Imitations. 
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Reeommended by professional and business men. 
Price $ 1 . 00 . Sold by druggists. Send for circulars. 
WELLS RICHARDSON & CO., Proprietors, 
BURLINGTON. VT. 
Gray’s Botanical 
Text-Books. 
At once the Most Complete and the Best Botanical 
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Send for our New Descriptive Pamphlet of Gray’s 
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Books for Introduction or Examination furnished 
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IVISON, BLAKEMAN & CO., 
759*755 Broadway, New York. 
149 VVabawli Ave., Chicago. 
S3 75 STEAM COOKER 
! FREE ! 
Wewant an active and intelligent man 
or woman torepresent us in each town. 
To those who are willing to work we 
promise large profits. Cooker and 
Outfit free. Apply at ouee for Terms. 
ur» t max , isitt.V «■ ro p c<<lr ^ v 
G0L» MEDAL, PARIS, 1878. 
BAKERS 
Warranted absolutely pure 
Cocoa, from which the excess of 
Oil has been removed. It has 
times the. strength of Cocoa mixed 
with Starch, Arrowroot or Sugar, 
and is therefore far more econonn 
ca costing less than one cent & 
cw;. It is delicious, nourishing, 
strengthening, easily digested, and 
admirably adapted for invalids a* 
well as for persons in health. 
Sold by Grocers eve rywhere. 
1. BAKER & CO.. Dorchester, Hass. 
For the Carriage, Sleigh, Office or House. Keeps 
warm ten hours. Safe, handsome, and cheap. 
TilE CENTENNIAL CO., 
Box ’.250, Rye, N. Y. 
AGENTS HEnE 
and farmers with no experience make $j‘J.50 an 
hour during spare time. J.V. Kenyon, Glens Falls, 
N. Y., made $18 one day, Sfti.SO one week. 
So can you. Proofs and catalogue free. 
J. E. Shkpakd & Co., Cincinnati,O. 
UAMF STUDY.’ Book-keeping, Business 
■■ * *• Forms,Penmanship,Arithmetic.Shorf- 
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BRYANT & STRATTON’S, Bulialo, N. Y. 
PARKER’S GINGER TONIC 
The Best Cure for Coughs, Weak Lungs. Asthma, Indi- 
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Weak Lungs. Rheumatism, Female Weakness, and the 
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60c. at Druggists. HISCOX & Co., 103 William Street, N.Y. 
ON 30 DAYS’ TRIAL. 
THIS NEW 
ELASTIC TRUSS 
Has a Pad different from all 
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ack the intes- 
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. durable and cheap, bent by mail ui 
gUGLESTO.N TRliHtj tfl,, ffejsige, Mb 
to PISO’S CURE FOR 
CURES WHERE ALL ELSE EAILS. 
Best Cough Syrup. Tastes good. Uso 
e. Sold' 
in time. 
Id by druggists. 
N CONSUMPTION 
I believe Piso’s Cure 
for Consumption saved 
my life.—A. H. Dowell, 
Editor Enquirer, Eden- 
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The best Cough Medi¬ 
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Consumption. Children 
take it without olijection. 
By all druggists. 25c. 
V PISO’S CURE FOR 
H 
CURES WHERE ALL ELSE EAILS. 
Best Cough Syrup. Tastes good, 
e. Sold ' 
iu time. 
MMIKSTCI Si 
Id by druggists. 
Use 
immm 
Cold Watches 
We will pive to the "First 
j lOO persons tellinp us 
I the Longest Verse in the Bible., 
I before May 15th, the fol-' 
[lowing valuable presents: To 
| the first person giving thtf cor- 
I rect answer n Soli«l 44ol<I 
1 Hiiiitiiig<'nH( k \Yntrli 
|evit)uHoli<l Gold ('hain 
■ worth to the second a 
| Solid Gold Ch:v to¬ 
ll jiiu Watcli worth 
j to the third a Solid Sil¬ 
ver Hun t i'li’p Oa»e 
] W nt c It. worth S5 O ; 
I to each of the next a 1 land- 
I some SllverN lckclW atch 
1 (all stem-winding and stem-set- 
| tint:); and to each of the next 
| T5J an Elegant Rolled <>rol<t 
I Finger King set with ten 
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I enclose &•*»<% (stamps, postal-note or silver) for which we will 
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I THE HOUSEHOLD PI LOT, one of the best monthly publica- 
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Ural Gtote. 
NET INTEREST 
GUARANTEED BY THE 
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Call at office or write for particulars. 
Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Co., 
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tree Guide Books, Maps, or truth about Land 
Write O. M. CROSBY’, 99 Frankliri St., New York 
FOR SALE—4 IIARGAUV. 
Nursery and Fruit Farm of 45 acres, one mile 
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(who wishes to retire) in 1857. Apply to 
JOHN IWcGRKDY. 
IIiiv.levvood Nursery, Springfield, 111. 
Will rent if not sold. 
HO, FOR THE SOUTH. 
I offer my fruit and stock farm for sale at a bar 
gain: 149 acres vineyard and large orchards, well 
fenced two story house, 9 rooms. 3 cellars: 2 fine cis¬ 
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apply to JOSEPH GOODM»\. 
Hernando. Mists. 
LAST OPPORTUNITY! 
For CHEAP EXCURSION To 
ALIFORNIA 
/$72 from 9t. LoiiU via Iron maintain Route 
$60 from Hannas City Missouri Fadflr tty 
Tickets are good for six months, limited to sixty days 
for going passage with stop over privileges at pleas¬ 
ure within limit of west-bound passage. Special ex¬ 
cursion trains leave 8t. Louis via. Iron Mountain 
Route. February lflth and Kansas City via. Missouri 
Pacific Railway. February 17th. tV" All coupon 
offices in the United Sthtes and Canada will sell tick¬ 
ets to Los Angeles. San Diego and San Francisco 
for this EXCURSION. -! — w iii f m mmnm 
