his pig-killing, and prevent “that unnecessary 
blot on her housewifely pride.” Well, it 
might have been best; but my father brought 
home a lot of fish, which my step mother re¬ 
fused to have cleaned in the kitchen. He did 
the work away from the house and in the 
rain. Within a few days my step-mother was 
a widow; but she maintained her reputation 
for neat housekeeping. Charity’s father 
might have spared her “that unnecessary 
blot,” and he might nave become wet and 
chilled, and a victim of pneumonia. But “that 
blot" seemed to have been of more conse¬ 
quence than the well-being of father, brothers, 
and hired men, “ who have no more brams 
than so many calves.” Judging from Char¬ 
ity’s complaint, she must have had chances of 
attending some school where she could learn 
“ to paint little things for Christmas,” and 
probably acquire other accomplishments, and 
become so refined that her father, brothers 
and neighbors appear to be “boors” in her 
sight. Such is the way of the world! Farm¬ 
ers’ daughters are sent off to school to become 
“ refined and accomplished," while they asso¬ 
ciate with intelligent people. The boys usually 
stay at home to toil for the “refining” of 
their sisters. Working 16 hours out of every 
24, side by side with ignorant aud vicious 
hired men, they have small chance of choos¬ 
ing their associates and consequently lack the 
polish of the drawing-room, yet “ those whom 
they profess to love ” will often, as in the case 
of Charity Sweetheart, if they can get an au¬ 
dience, proclaim to the world the shortcom¬ 
ings of the “ boors,” instead of endeavoring to 
imbue them with a little of that culture aud 
refinement so persistently held forth to the 
view of a long-suffering public. I have a 
daughter whom, if she is spared to me, 1 will 
endeavor to have educated in such a manner 
that she will not hold up to public ridicule 
her less cultured father and mother and 
brothers, after the manner of Charity Sweet¬ 
heart, whose name, by the way, is a gross mis 
uoiner. A max. 
♦ COOKING MUSHROOMS. 
MRS. WILLIAM FALCONER. 
I F you raise your own mushrooms, you can 
gather them when you please, and cook 
them as you please, and enjoy them in their 
most delightful condition. Bought mush¬ 
rooms are a very great luxury, for they cost 
$L.50 a pound, and are often poor enough at 
that. Canned mushrooms are immensely in¬ 
ferior to freshly-gathered ones. The small, 
short-stemmed, white-skinned mushrooms of¬ 
fered for sale in the leading fruiterers' stores^ 
are of the variety known as French mush¬ 
rooms; the larger, longer-stemmed, nroader- 
headed and darker colored kind that we also 
find offered for sale, is what is known as the 
English mushroom. Tne French mushromis 
are preferred in market, but the Euglish 
var.ety is the best-flavored, and by far the 
best for home use. 
But as we grow our own mushrooms, and 
have had them in quantity since the first of 
November, I will coufine myself to these. 
Mushrooms should be gathered when they 
are fuj grown, but either before the frill 
around the neck bursts open, or within a day 
after it opens. Over-young mushrooms are 
somewhat tasteless, aud those that are too old 
are tough. In gathering mushrooms do not 
cut them off, but pull them up by the roots; 
in this way they keep fresh much longer than 
they would do were they cut. As soon as 
gathered, cover them over with paper or 
cloth and keep them in a cool place to pre¬ 
serve them plump and fresh aud white. 
Rough handling, crushing or jarring bruises 
aud discolors them. 
The broad head or cap of the mushr om is 
the part mostly used, but the top or succulent 
part of the stem is also good to eat, although 
not so well flavored as is the cap. But any 
part of the stem that is woody, soggy, toiuh 
or discolored is uufit for use. In p - eparing 
mushrooms for cooking always peel the sk u 
off the top of the cap, but don’t remove the 
gills or underside, and also break out the stem: 
the stems part easily from the caps. We do 
not peel the stems aud seldom cook them to¬ 
gether with the caps; they are mostly sliced 
thiu aud cooked separately. The bottom part 
of the stems should be thrown away. 
Mushrooms that have wilted by age or ex¬ 
posure before being cooked, will be tough; 
uudergrown young mushrooms, though not 
exactly tough, will be almost as tasteless as 
putty; mushrooms that are too old will be 
tough and black when cooked; mushrooms 
that are uudercooked will be tough; so will 
those that are overdone, and those that are 
allowed to get cold before they are eaten. 
Now, before cooking mushrooms, decide 
upon the minute when you wish to eat them, 
because of all vegetables mushrooms are the 
ones that must be eaten hot aud just as soon 
as they are cooked; that is, if one wishes to 
enjoy their "delicious aroma. And always 
serve them on hot dishes. 
Baked Mushrooms. —Feel and stem the 
mushrooms, rub and sprinkle a little salt on 
the gills, and lay the mushrooms, gills up, 
on a shallow baking tin. Place an inverted 
saucer or deep plate over them in the tin, ana 
put them into a brisk oven for about 15 
minutes. Then take them out, and dish them 
up on a hot plate, without spilling the juice 
that has collected in the middle of each mush¬ 
room. Send to table and eat at once. This is 
the commonest, and. in fact,every body's way of 
cooking mushrooms, and by it we secure the 
true mushroom aroma aud taste in their fin¬ 
est perfection. 
Stewed Mushrooms —Peel and stem the 
mushrooms. Take an enameled sauce-pan, 
put a lump of butter in it and melt it, then 
put in the mushrooms, and season with 
salt and pepper, a small piece of pounded 
mace (if you like it), then cover the sauce¬ 
pan tightly, and stew the mushrooms gen¬ 
tly until they are tender, which will be in 
about half an hour. Have ready some toast, 
either dry or fried in butter, as you like it 
best, spread out on a hot dish, then dish out 
the mushrooms on to the toast, keeping them 
gills side up, and pour the juice over them. 
Serve and eat hot. 
Mushrooms a la Cr£me. —Peel and stem the 
mushrooms, roll a lump of butter in flour and 
put it into the sauce-pan, then put in the 
mushrooms, and some salt, white pepper, a 
little sugar and some finely chopped parsley. 
Stew for ten minutes, then take the yelks of 
two eggs, beaten up with two large spoonfuls 
of cream, and add the mixture gradually to. 
the s ew; cook for about a couple of minutes 
longer, then serve in hot dishes. This is a de¬ 
licious dish, but the fine mushroom flavor is 
not as pronounced in it as it is in the plain 
bake or stew. 
Curried Mushrooms.— Peel aud stem 
about 20 mushrooms, sprinkle with salt, add a 
little butter, aud stew gently in a little good 
gravy or stock. Add four table-spoonfuls of 
cream and one tea-spoonful of good curry 
powder, previously well mixed, with two tea¬ 
spoonfuls of wheat flour. Mix carefully and 
serve on a hot dish with hot toast. A capital 
dish, and enjoyed by those who like curry. 
Soyer’s Breakfast MusHROOMS. -Place 
some freshly made toast,divided,on a dish, and 
put the mushrooms, stemmed and peeled, and 
gills up upon it; add a little p:pper and salt, 
aud put a small bit of butter in the middle of 
each mushroom. Then pour a tea-spoonful of 
cream over each, and add one clove for the 
whole dish. Put an inverted basin over the 
whole. Bake for 20 minutes, then bring to 
the table hot, and do not remove the basin 
till the dish is brought to the table, so as to 
preserve the grateful aroma. A most delight- 
ful dish. 
Mushroom Soup.— Take a good quality of 
mushrooms, peel and stem them. Stew them 
with a little butter, pepper and salt, and some 
good stock still tender; take them out and 
chop them up quite small, prepare a good 
stock as for any other soup, and add it 
to the mushrooms aud the liquor they 
have been stewed iu. Boil all together, and 
serve. If white soup is required, use white 
button mushrooms and a good veal stock, 
adding a spoonful of cream or a little milk as 
the color may require. This is a nice soup and 
tastes well. But it always seems to me a pity 
to cut up good mushrooms. If the mushrooms 
are very young, they r have but lit'le flavor; if 
they are full grown, they darken the soup, 
aud if they are a little brown in the gills at 
the time when they are used, the soup will be 
disagreeably black. If after preparing but 
before cooking the mushrooms, you pour some 
boiling water over them aud into this drop a 
little vinegar or lemon juice, and then drain 
them off through a colander you can prevent, 
to a great extent their darkening infiu *nce 
on the soup, but always at the expense of 
their flavor. 
children yours, soul and body, until they are 21 
years of age?” I don’t think God so intended, 
and I do not wonder that a son should 
rebel against such treatment, and seek differ¬ 
ent employment and strange masters. 
How I wish I were yet living in the coun¬ 
try,and could join in the “Ladies’ Potato Con¬ 
test.” I would enjoy it without the hope of 
a prize, for I dearly love to work amongst 
flowers and vegetables. 
A nice way to cool mush you wish to fry 
next morning, is to rinse an empty baking 
powder can or cans, in cold water, and fill 
them with the warm mush. When it is cold, 
turn it out and cut in slices: hot mush dropped 
on a well greased,hot griddle is excellent. 
Minnie Grey’s “mission” is indeed a blessed 
one, and though the world at large may never 
hear of her, those little ones she is now so 
kindly helping, will in after years “ rise up and 
call her blessed.” I have often wondered 
why it is that those who need to understand 
sewing most (the very poor) are so often en¬ 
tirely ignorant of it. Speed the day when we 
shall have more sewing and choking schools! 
EMMA D W. 
HERE AND THERE. 
bread; another method. 
The easiest and best method of bread mak¬ 
ing, that I know of, is to let the baker make 
it, and if you buy yesterday’s bread at four 
cents per loaf, it is neither very expensive nor 
very dry, and is far more wholesome than 
fresh bread. When I make bread myself, 
however, this is the way I do it:—1 sift 
warmed flour, with a pinch of salt, in a deep 
bowl, and use half a cake of compressed yeast 
or half a cup of liquid yeast for two loaves. 
I mix at night with warm water, using only 
enough to permit kneading at once I work 
it again in the morning once—or twice if de¬ 
sired—and let it rise till it is light, and bake 
rather quickly. I think the success of bread¬ 
making depends much more on the liveliness 
of the yeast than on any other one thing. 
RENA ROSS. 
T HE Rural seems to be better than ever 
this week, (Jan 13.) there are so many 
items which call forth responses from many a 
heart. 
After perusing “Reader’s” remarks on train¬ 
ing up children to take an interest in their 
parents’ business,can any one wonder that boys 
who have beeu treated in that shabby way wish 
to leave the farm? Yet I know the picture is 
not overdrawn,as I have heard of similiar cases, 
aud have thought such fathers worse than the 
old-time slave masters, at the South; for, as 
a general thing, whatever a slave might earn 
by extra work or accumulate by the generosi¬ 
ty of visitors, was his own, aud he was at 
liberty to spend it as he chose. 
I would ask such parents. “Are your own 
queen’s podding. 
“What a delicious pudding,” thought I, as 
I tasted of the dessert at my friend's din¬ 
ner-table on New Year’s Day. Afttr tbe 
feast was over and all things were in apple-pie 
order, and we were ready to visit in a good 
old-fashioned way, I thought of “our’ Ru¬ 
ral’s Domestic Department, and asked how 
that pudding was made. Said Mrs. S, “I 
take about a quart of good, rich, sweet milk, 
and, I think, half a pint of bread crumbs, 
minus the crust. Milk and bread are scalded 
together, and cooled enough to work through 
the colander. This I do with my hands. In 
this way the bread is worked smooth, and is 
thoroughly mixed with the milk. To this 
mixture are added the yelks of four eggs and 
the whites of two, about two-thirds of a cup 
of sugar, and one spoonful of butter. I beat 
the ingredients together very thoroughly, for 
tbe success of the pudding depends much on 
the beating. I flavor with nutmeg. I bake 
it in a very moderately hot oven, much as I 
would a custard pie, which, you know, should 
never come to a boil. 
When baked, beat the whites of the two 
eggs to a stiff froth and add three or four 
spoonfuls of granulated sugar for the frosting. 
Spread a good layer of jelly upon the pud¬ 
ding, and over this spread the fronting, and 
set in the oven till it browns, which takes but 
a very few minutes if the oven is hot. To be 
eaten with cream aud sugar." 
It was only a bread pudding after all, and 
yet there was not a trace of bread visible to 
the eye, nor could the tongue detect a single 
crumb. may maple. 
gHi$ccUatuau$ ^dvrrti.stnQ. 
Your Toilet 
Is incomplete without 
a bottle of 
AYER'S 
Hair Vigor. 
2^ It preserves the hair, 
C/) keeps the scalp clean, 
and is everywhere the 
favorite dressing. 
“ I have used Ayer’s 
Hair Vigor for pro¬ 
moting the growth 
of the hair, and think 
it unequaled. For 
restoring the hair to its original color, and 
for a dressing, it cannot be surpassed. — 
Mrs. Geo. LaFever, Eaton Rapids, Mich. 
“I was rapidly becoming gray and bald; 
but after using two or three bottles of Aver s 
Hair Vigor mv hair grew thiek and glossy 
and the original color was restored. I have no 
hesitation in recommending this dressing. 
— Melvin Aldrich, Canaan Centre, N. H. 
Prepared by l>r. .T. C. AyerScCo., I.owell,Mass. 
Sold' by Druggists and Perfumers. 
W.R&COS 
IMPROVED 
BUTTER 
COLOR 
IF YOU REALLY WISH 
to use the very best Butter 
Color ever made; one that 
never turns rancid, always 
gives a bright, natural color, 
and will not color the butter¬ 
milk, ask for Wells, Richard- 
son 4 -Co's, and take no other. 
Sold everywhere. 
More of It Used than of 
all other makes combined 
Send for onr valuable circu¬ 
lars. Wells. Richardson 
I Jfc Co., Burlington, Vt. 
GOLD MEDAL, PARIS, 18YB, 
BAKER’S 
Warranted absolutely pure 
Cocoa, from which the excess of 
Oil has been removed. It has more 
than three times the strength 
of Cocoa mixed with Starch Arrow- 
root or Sugar, and is therefore far 
more economical, cost ing less thcin 
one cent a cup. It is delicious, 
nourishing, strengthening, easily di¬ 
gested. and admirably adapted for in¬ 
valids as well as for persons in health. 
Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
I. BAKER & CO., Dorchester, Mass. 
RUPTURE 
telSioal'YEIectricTRUSS 
■ Warranted Bkrt Truss made, to CURTS 
"all Curable caaesorRefnnd Money. Only 
fWnnine Eleetrle Trass in World. Perfect 
ji/ Ketalner.Gives instant relief, speedy cure 
/Kase and Comfort day and night.This New 
‘Invention combines science,durabilitynnd 
r power. Price*:* &$5. Illus.pamphlet free. 
THE SANDEN ELECTRIC CO., HhuuIwiitA; l-.’ibst.. SEW YP.RK 
bright, active agents wanted 
to sell the Rich Book 
‘ DELIGHTFUL STORIES” 
Or Home Talks out ol the Wonderlul Book. 
This work contains 100 Delightful Naratives of the 
most wonderful occurrences lu the Sacred Volume, 
very attractively Illustrated. Success of agents is 
astonishing One lady has sold nearly 3 , 1 'Ou copies 
a'one. Low Price. Big Terms to Agents. Apply to 
HUBBARD BROS., Philadelphia and Chicago. 
YOUK OWN 
Bone, Meal, 
OysterShells, 
- *■ Corn, -in the 
(FAVilson’3 
ient). 
^ ^ __ ,. ., ,.,. ...... mad e 
in keeping Poultry. Also POWER MILLS and 
F \ RAIL FEED JUILLS. Circulars and testimonials 
sent on application. WILSO N BRO&. Eas ton. Piw 
GRIND 
mrahani Flour a wriu.iu uh 
«HAND(YIILL (] Patent). 
4JvJ IOO j unseen L more^madt 
$200 
PlUCil AWAY For the Largest 
UIVCI 1 1 SpanishKing On¬ 
ions grown from seed procured 
_ _ _ from us. Full particulars tree. Ad¬ 
dress THE HOUSEKEEPER, -Minneapolis. Minn. 
RAZORS ifi POCKET KNIVES 
If you have forgotten the name of the tlrm adver¬ 
tising Razors and Pocket Knives by mail, write at 
once to ALLING vV LODGE, Madison, Ind. 
LOOK 
HERE 
AGENTS 
and farmers with no experience make S‘i.50 an 
hour duringspare time. J.V. Kenyon, Glens Falls, 
N. Y., made SIS one day, S76.50 one week. 
So can you. Proofs and eatalocue free. 
J. E. Shepard A Co.. Cincinnati. O. 
ROUGH-COATED COLLIES. 
Pups sired by our best stud dogs, full pedigreed, 
and entitled to registry. Prices Low. Personal 
inspection request* cl. 
W. ATI,EE BURPEE & CO.. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
msm 
FARMS and MILLS SOLD 
jland exchanged. Free Catalogue. 
. B. CHAFFIN A CO. .Ricnmond, Va 
987 
Hidden Xante and Motto Cardu, Scrap PVtores, PnrxLw, Game*. trfeks I* 
Magic, od« pack of K«cort Cards, an! Ivya buopl* Book of genuine Ca< 
loot pictoraa..) All toe a 2 oeol aurnit. BauauC Card Co., Cadu, Oh*e 
75 CARDS. S Mar I C U Rorao Canfa. 2S Escort OuA SS flirw 
VbsUog Cards v.r seal out. 
_ Cation Caria, and flwwt Sample Book of Hidden Sato* 
only 10 ceou. Steam Card NVorka. Suites 1^ Oh-o. 
I 7-41 nilk Fringe and Ualien Name Card*. Somp Picture*, 
I Game*. Ac., this Gold Band R>og and AgsaU Sample Book of genuib* 
Cards (not pkt«r«.) All only -I ceoU. Star Importing Co., Cadis. Okm. 
2 nri|TQ for Catalogue of hundred? of useim Arti 
uCH I O clesless than Wholesale Prices. Apts. am> 
DeaJersselllarsre Quantities. CHIC AtiO SCALE CO. • Ch*eas« 
General Advertising Bates of 
THH RURAL NEW - YORRER. 
34 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. 
The following rates are invariable. All are there¬ 
fore respectfully informed that any correspondence 
tsith a view to obtaining different terms will prove 
futile. 
Ordinary Advertisements, per agate Unetthis 
sized type. 14 lines to the Inch). .30 cents 
One thousand lines or more,within one year 
from date of first Insertion, per agate line, 25 “ 
Yearly orders occupying 14 or more lines 
agate space. 25 
Preferred positions . .25 per cent, extra 
Beading Notices, ending with “Adu.,” per 
line, minion leaded.••• I® cent* 
Terms of Subscription. 
The subscription price of the Rural New Yorrks is 
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“ “ Six months. 1 
Qreat Britain. Ireland, Australia and 
Germany, per year, post-paid. *3.04 (lzs. sa. 
France. ®-04 (16V, fr. 
French Colonies.. 4.08 29), fr 
Agents will be snppUed with canvassing outfit ca 
application. 
BS 44* ftsV-offc.* at New York OStv- S? W,. 
"NT* FSG-V 
PEERLESS DYES 
Are lhe BEST. 
Sold by DaueaKia. 
