240 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Domestic drouomj. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MAPLE. 
HOUSE-MAIDS. 
As a class, are those who serve us, treated 
with due kindness? Are we not sometimes 
indifferent to their feelings, and to their com¬ 
fort? It is so natural, so easy to see faults, 
that the mistress is apt to overlook the good 
qualities that her maid possesses. The fact 
that she is obliged to labor, entitles her to 
some consideration. The “ maid of all work 
is often compelled to labor beyond her strength, 
and at unseasonable hours, as if the employer 
was determined to get full value for wages. 
The room that is assigned to the maid, is 
not always attractive and homelike. If there 
is a ragged spread in the house, it is thought 
good enough for her bed- If there is a broken 
chair, it is put into her room. A bit of broken 
looking-glass will answer for her. Perhaps 
there arc no conveniences in the apartment for 
making a thorough toilet; so she must make a 
dressing-room of the kitchen, which ought 
never to be nsed for such a purpose. And who 
thinks of putting a plant in her wiudow, or 
of banging a picture on the wall ? A bright 
painting of flowers, inexpensive though it be, 
would have a good effect upon her. In re¬ 
gard to meals, she is as a rule, easily pleased. 
She carries the fragrant tea aud coffee, aud 
the tender steak and hot vegetables to the 
table. The family partake leisurely of the 
well-ordered meal, she fasting and working, 
until her turn comes, when she must be satis¬ 
fied with the remnants. 
Domestics have rights that ought to be re¬ 
spected. If they wish to go to the church of 
their choice, on Sunday, they should be al¬ 
lowed, if possible, to do so. If they desire to 
go out for an evening in the course of the 
week, it is best that t hey be gratified, so that 
they are in, at the proper time tor retiring. 
Now lei us look at the other side. There 
are domestics who do not seern to appreciate 
kindness. Like over-indulged children, the 
more done for them, the more they expect, 
aud the less gratitude they show. But such 
instances are, I believe, rare. There are few 
persons who go out to service in kind families 
who cannot be impressed by a genuine inter¬ 
est shown in tbeir welfare, by those who em¬ 
ploy them. 
The management of hired service is an art 
that requires patience, firmness, and watchful¬ 
ness. The mistress of the househould should 
never allow herself to be taken advantage of, 
by yielding her views and ways to those of 
her maid. A very competent girl sometimes 
gets the idea that her services arc so valuable, 
that rather than lose them, her employer will 
give up her own authority, or iuerease the 
girl’s wages. Whon the house-maid reaches 
such a conclusion, her speedy dismissal will be 
the best thiug, all around. 
Two maids are more difficult to get along 
with than one alone. They rarely agree, as 
one may be ill-tempered, the other, a shirk. 
I would rather work harder myself, than to in¬ 
crease my cares by keeping two, except tem¬ 
porarily. Of course, only small private fami¬ 
lies can be so independent as to the number 
of domestics kept. 
A lady should kuow how to do all kinds of 
house-work, that she may be better able to in¬ 
struct those she employs. And not only that, 
but in case they leave her suddenly, she will 
not be perplexed or embarrassed like one ig¬ 
norant of domestic affairs. m. g. r. 
Lyons, Iowa. 
-■» »»- 
NASTURTIUMS (Tropseolums). 
We hope to impress upon our housewives at 
this time the desirability of planting nasturti¬ 
ums for pickles. This excellent salad-plant 
deserves more popularity than it has ever yet 
received, as we think a trial of it this season 
will satisfy most of our friends. The tender 
shoots and buds are a pleasant addition to any 
salad, while the flowers furnish high-colored 
garnishing tor many dishes. But it is of the 
young fruits preserved in vinegar that we par¬ 
ticularly write. Gather the fruit on a dry day 
when about two-thirds grown, with a part of 
the peduncle (flower stalk) attached aud diop 
into cold vinegar. When a sufficient quantity 
has been gathered to fill a bottle, pour off the 
vinegar, add a little salt, scald up, return and 
seal. They may be used for stuffing mangoes 
or peppers, with cabbage, cauliflower,, beans, 
little onions, etc., and they will be fouud a 
very good substitute, for capers m drawn but¬ 
ter. But as pickles these nasturtiums, proper¬ 
ly put up, are as spicy and appetizing as any¬ 
thing that we know of among the many veget¬ 
ables used for such purposes. As to culture, 
when the production of fruit is the first con¬ 
sideration, the Boil need not be rich. The 
dwarf varieties are best. These may be plant¬ 
ed in rows in the garden the same as peas, 
supported by a little brush on either side, or 
they may be planted in double or triple rows, 
in which case each row will sufficiently support 
the other. 
HOW TO POP CORN. 
Put in a pan a heaping teaspoonf ul of butter 
or clean lard, a good pinch of salt, and a small 
handful of pop-corn; cover and put over the 
fire. Butter or lard improves the popping qual¬ 
ities of the corn and it pops better than on the 
wire or screen hoppers. There are several 
other methods of popping corn, but this has 
given satisfactory results to those who have- 
employed it. 
-- 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Short-Cake. 
I did not “brew or bake forty years ago," 
but my good, old New-England mother did, 
aud I will give you her rule which I have 
always followed, for making short-cake. To 
one quart of flour add three teaBpoonfuls of 
good baking powder and one teaspoouful of 
salt; mix thoroughly and wet it up with good, 
sweet cream as soft as you can roll it out—it 
should be handled as little as possible. If it is 
to be used without fruit, the dough should be 
rolled a little more than half an inch thick 
and cut with a biscuit-cutter and baked in a 
very hot oven. But for genuine strawberry 
short-cake, I roll the dough a little thinner and 
to fit a round, tin pie-plate; place it on the 
buttered tin and batter the top ; place another 
layer on top of that and bake. The top layer 
can be lifted off w ithout cutting, to spread the 
fruit between. _ l. r. s. 
Dasty Carpels. 
If those ladies who do not use a carpet-sweep¬ 
er will sprinkle damp, coarse salt over a dusty 
carpet first before sweeping, they will find the 
dust much less annoying. Mrs. D. L. B. 
Nunda, N. Y. 
Asparagus Salad. 
Wash and eut off most of the white part; tie 
up in a cloth and boil until soft in salted water; 
take up, remove the cloth, turn over two-thirds 
of a cupful of good vinegar; sprinkle with 
pepper and salt and set where it is cold. Be- 
foreserviug arrange the asparagus so the heads 
all lie iu the eeuter of the dish, aud mix with 
the vinegar drained off from it, half a enpful 
of melted butter, the yelk of two hard-boiled 
eggs, and a teaspoonful of mustard, and pepper 
and salt if needed. Pour over the asparagus 
and serve. The water should be well draiued 
from the asparagus before the vinegar is poured 
over. This dressing is enough for oue good- 
sized bunch of asparagus. 
Salad Dressing. 
No. 1.—Stir a teaeupful of butter until very 
light; add to it gradually the bcateu yelks of four 
eggs; mix iu a teaspoonful of made mustard, 
a little pepper and a large teaspoonful of sail ; 
next stir iu slowly a teacupful of thick, sweet 
cream, and last, half a teacupful of clear vin¬ 
egar—a little more vinegar may be added, if 
the dressing is not thin enough. Pour over 
the salad just before it is served. 
No. 2.—The yelks of two hard-boiled eggs, 
rubbed fine and smooth aud beaten into the 
yelks of two raw eggs ; a teaspoonful of made 
mustard, salt and sugar, with a little cayenne 
pepper; add the freshest olive salad oil, drop 
by drop, beatiDg the meantime as long as the 
mixture continues to thicken, and then add 
vinegar till as thin as desired. Mary B, 
Garlic Taste in Butter. 
The disagreeable garlic taste iu butter, which 
in spring time in many sections almost spoils 
butter otherwise good, may be destroyed by 
putting into the pail, each time before milking, 
as much pulverized saltpeter as will lie on a 
five-cent silver piece. Mrs. James Tieman. 
-♦♦♦- 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 
Vanilla and Coffee Extracts. 
Mrs. J. I)., Brooklyn , wishes to know how 
the above extracts are made. 
Ass.—Tor vanilla: cut one ounce of fresh 
vanilla beaus into thin shavings and triturate 
with two ounces of loaf sugar ; put iuto a bot¬ 
tle and pour over teu ounces of deodorized al¬ 
cohol of 95 deg-, aud four ounces of pure wa¬ 
ter; cork and set in a warm place for ten or 
twelve days, shaking occasionally. This makes 
a very good domestic extract, and answers for 
all cooking purposes. As for coffee extract, 
we are sorry to say that although we have dil¬ 
igently tried to find out the process, it Beeras 
to be a secret which those possessing it are un¬ 
willing to disclose. 
To Bleach Wax. 
Mrs. H. iMke desires to know how the ordi¬ 
nary yellow beeswax can be made white. 
Ans.— Slice the wax into thin flakes aud 
spread on sacking or any coarse cloth stretched 
on frames resting on posts, or anything to 
raise them from the ground. Stir the wax 
frequently, and sprinkle occasionally with soft 
water. The wax should bleach in from three 
to four weeks. Should the flakes, upon break¬ 
ing them, still appear yellow inside, it will be 
necessary to melt them again, flake and expose 
as before. 
(Continued from page 237.) 
Grafting Fruit Trees, Etc. 
C. T.. MillersviUe , Ohio, asks 1, can Pearl 
Millet be cut with a machine ; 2. full informa¬ 
tion about grafting fruit treeB ; 8, doe6 soaking 
corn in any kind of solution keep the wire- 
worms and cut-worms from spoiling it; 4- 
which are best for seed—large or small pota¬ 
toes. 
Ans. —1. No, not, if left until it has attained 
its full growth. 2. There are several methods 
of grafting fruit trees, which may all be suc¬ 
cessful if skillfully executed. The method in 
common use is the so-called cleft or split graft¬ 
ing, which is especially adapted to Pelargoni¬ 
ums and plants known as soft-wooded, but it 
is altogether too barbarous for fruit trees. 
What is known as bark grafting is not so vio¬ 
lent an operation, and is, if anything, more 
successful. By this method grafting should he 
done as soon as the hark is loose. The stocks 
may be of any size and age, and the clous 
should be young, vigorous shoots of the pre¬ 
vious year’s growth. Cut off the stock with a 
saw from four to ten inches above grouud, and 
at a smooth spot make a longitudinal slit, in 
the bark, from the top of the stock downward 
about an inch aud a half. With the handle of 
a budding-knife, or with a piece of hard wood 
similarly shaped aud very smooth, loosen the 
corners of the bark a little at the top. On the 
bird end of the cion, and diagonally through it, 
make a clear, smooth cut, about an inch and a 
half long. In shape the lower end of the cion 
will thus approach that of a wedge, gradually 
tapering to a point, and having a clear, flat 
surface on one side, and the bark on the other. 
Now shorten it in to two or three vigorous 
buds, and it is ready. Next insert it under 
the bark of the stock, in the slit previously 
made, with the cut surface against the wood of 
the stock, pressing it down firmly, then wiud 
some yam about it to hold it in place, aud 
cover the whole with grafting wax to exclude 
the air. Rc-grafting old fruit trees is done in 
the same manner, but it Is not advisable to re¬ 
move all the branches in one year. Leave two 
to four, according to the size of the tree, to 
draw the sap. If it is desirable to graft before 
the bark can be loosened, or if the young stock 
is very small, prepare the cion as before, 
but instead of putting it under the bark, cut 
away the bark and wood of the stock, with a 
smooth cut, over an area similar to the cut on 
the cion. Now tie the cion to the stock, being 
careful that bvrk fits to bark, at least on one 
side, and cover it with grafting wax as before. 
For full description of grafting, see lengthy 
illustrated article In Rural of March 15, 1878. 
3. A correspondent of the Rural writee us that 
he has nsed the following solution with entire 
satisfaction as a preventive against the wire- 
worms: 4 ounces of saltpeter, and 4 ounces of 
copperas dissolved in water. This is enough 
to soak one bushel of corn. 4. We should 
prefer medium-sized potatoes for seed. Small 
potatoes have seldom such vigorous buds as 
the large ones, and do not give the plants so 
good a start. 
Sick Heifer. 
.[. W., Smith's Grove, Ky,, says: “A heifer 
was turned out with the herd iu the morning 
apparently well, but came home at night be¬ 
hind the herd, and looking dazed out of her 
eyes. During the night she lost the use of her 
limbs and moaned piteously al. intervals 
through her illness—she had a capricious ap¬ 
petite, stools gradually changing from hard to 
soft aud from that to diarrhea with no appar¬ 
ent cause. Her death occurred in eight days 
after first illncsB ; there was some blood mixed 
with her last voidings of excrement, and froth 
about her mouth the morning after she was 
taken sick. PostHuortem examination showed 
yellow gall bladder aud tallow stained with 
the same color; lungs were pretty large with 
dark spots iu and on them. Please diagnose 
the disease. 
Ans.—T his is one of tho.se eases in which 
our correspondent has not been sufficiently 
careful in his enumeration ol symptoms and 
appearances. The frothy mouth, diarrhea, 
bloody excrement, yellow gall and tallow, and 
paralysis, point to disease of the digestive 
organs and liver, but nothing is said of the 
post-mortem uppearauce of these organs with 
the exception of the gall. We are told that 
the lungs contained dark spots, but we doubt 
if the essential disturbance was there, as in 
inflamed lungs, animals retain the use of their 
limbs and remain standing. A professional 
man examining such a case, would determine 
the condition of each set of organs, and very 
soon decide the nature of the trouble. We are 
inclined to think it a case of the so-called 
wood-evil or red water of cattle, said to be 
caused by eating the young shoot of resinous 
trees or irritating plants. It often occurs in 
cattle which pasture on rich, wet land, and 
may be avoided by drainage or by keeping up 
the animals aud feeding on good food till grass 
lias taken a good start in spring. 
Wood ashes, Bone-dust, Barnyard Manure. 
F. R. 0., Wiarton, Canada, asks, 1, how 
much hard-wood ashes per acre should be ap¬ 
plied to small fruits: 2, would it be well, as an 
application for Strawberries and Raspberries, 
to plow coarsely ground bone well under, then 
bow the. ashes with some fine bone dust and 
plow both four inches under, and then 60 W a 
little superphosphate to give the plants a start; 
3, which will pay better—a good article of 
grouud bone at ¥25 to $30 per ton, or barn¬ 
yard manure at 70c. per two-horse load. 
Ans. —Ashes may be used in any quantities 
from 10 to 40 bushels per acre for any crop. 
Ashes are useful, so far as their potash is con¬ 
cerned, for all crops, and never come amiss. 
Bone dust should uot be plowed under deeply 
nor should any manure. It is best to keep all 
manure near the surface, more especially those 
that are fine; these should be harrowed in 
after plowing. Stable manure at 70c. per two- 
horse load is the cheapest fertilizer to be pur¬ 
chased. 
Mozambique Current. 
A. V. AT, St. Stephens, Ohio, asks 1, which 
way does the water flow through Mozambique 
Channel: 2, are there two currents, one upper 
and one lower, and do they flow iu opposite 
directions ; 3, if so, what causes them to do so. 
Ans. —1. It is a tvarm, northeasterly current, 
following the coast of Africa towards the south¬ 
west. 2. There is but one current. The South 
Equatorial current flows across the Indian 
Ocean, with the southeast Trade Wind, from 
Australia to Madagascar, striking this island 
on the east and northeastern shores. Here it 
divides iuto two branches, one following the 
eastern shore of the island towards the south, 
the other, flowing by the northern point of 
Madagascar, is augmented with a branch of 
the North Equatorial current, and both form 
the powerful Mozambique current through the 
channel of the same name. Near the Cape of 
Good Hope it unites again with the branch 
that flows east of Madagascar, and finally in 
about the 40th parallel 8. L., it is turned by the 
cold Antartic Drift current, and influenced by 
it and the there prevailing southwesterly winds, 
again flows towards Australia, whence it start¬ 
ed- 3- Currents flowing in opposite directions 
are seldom very strong. The main cause is that 
the warm water, being lighter, flows away on 
the surface, while the heavier cold water flows 
in an under-current to take its place. These 
may be augmented by the wind and peculiari¬ 
ties iu the ocean bed. 
Cnlarrh. 
A. S. B.. Wythe, Va. } asks whether there is 
any sure cure for nasal catarrh. 
Ans.— We cannot say positively that any 
special mode of treatment will affect a cure iu 
all eases. A friend of ours was sadly afflicted 
with the ailment, and of all the “sure cures” 
he tried, the most efficacious cousisted of 
crushed cubeb berries smoked in a pipe. They 
can be bought at any good druggist’s. The 
be6t way in all such cases is to consult a physi¬ 
cian of established reputation, who will be 
able to prescribe with a full knowledge of all 
existing conditions. It is seldom advisable to 
experiment on one’s-sclf with unknown nos¬ 
trums without competent, advice. 
Grain for Orchard, etc. 
J. H. S., Shelby Center, N. Y., lias seen a 
Double Furrow Plow in the columns of the 
Rural a few years ago, and asks where he now 
can get one. 2. He is thinking of seeding 
down his apple orchard and would like to 
know what kind of grass he had better put in. 
Ans. —1. Apply to R. H. Allen & Co,, 189, 
191 Water St., N, Y. 2, put in a mixture of 
June glass, 5 pounds; Orchard grass, 8 pounds; 
Perennial rye-grass, 3 pounds; Red top, 3 
pounds ; White clover, 2; Timothy, 4 pounds. 
L. B.. MaoiUe, N. Y., asks whether we have 
tested the new early field corn Queen of the 
Parairie, which it is claimed is the earliest in 
cultivation. 
Ans.— We have known of this variety for a 
year or so. We have never tried it. To say 
that it is the earliest in cultivation is to say 
what is not proven at all. 
M. L. R., Morrisowille, N. Y., having found 
that the Paris-green purchased from local deal¬ 
ers last year was poor stuff, intends clubbing 
with some of his neighbors in their purchases 
this year, and asks the name of a reliable 
dealer. 
Ans.— F. W. Devoe & Co., 101 Fulton St., 
N. Y. 
(}. w., Bay Shore, L. I., asks where can he 
get a white Cheshire or Suffolk boar old enough 
for service. 
Ans. —Try W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Phila¬ 
delphia, Pa., or Thos. Cooper, Coopersbury, 
Pa., who will give all information. 
-- 
Breeder* of Flue Oatry St ock 
Should at ouce Investigate the perfect creamer 
advertised tu another column. It, will enable them 
to realize the largest possible yield per cow, and 
thus enhance the value ot their stock, as well as 
Increase the value of the product , 
Maker* of Gilt 10due Butter 
Or those that desire to become such should use 
the i’kkfkct okbamer, advertised In another col¬ 
umn. butter made by Its use, is always rated Gilt 
edge, and commands ready sale and an extra price. 
