THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
jpomrstu drtonomn. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY 
MAPLE. 
changed. For such a woman to talk of her 
love and devotion to her husband is but an in¬ 
sult to him. Mart B. 
LOG-CABIN SKETCHES; OR, JESSIE SEA- 
BRIGHT’S DIARY-No. 5. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
MAT MAPLE. 
An Unwoven Rag Carpet. 
Mat 5th, 18 —. Very many of the long win¬ 
ter evenings I spent in sewing carpet rags. Of 
course, we had an occasional cast-off garment, 
but not enough to keep one busy. When my 
neighbors found that I was saving all my little 
scraps for a carpet, they thought it would be a 
nice idea to have 8ome of the rough, old cabin 
floors hidden from sight. And although it 
might be some time before they could have the 
rags woven, they would be loss trouble if they 
were cut and sewed and wound into snug ballB ; 
and as they offered me a share if 1 would pre 
pare them for the weaver, I accepted the propo 
sition at once. 
It was not the most pleasant work in the 
world, but then I was uot looking for dainty 
employment, away here in the wilderness. I 
was anxious to have my humble home a pleas¬ 
ant abiding-place ; and I was not afraid or 
ashamed to take hold of work, however lowly, 
so I could accomplish my purpose. Our floor 
was made of rough, unplaned boards—for 
pioneers are usually glad enough to get a roof 
over their heads, and seldom spend time for 
the niceties; for, of course, they will build a 
good house in a year or two at most—a pretty 
ideal, but seldom realized. The green lumber 
soon shrank, aud made wide spaces between 
the boards. So, no matter how much pains 
I might take with my floor, it would never look 
nice. And although there were many old 
giants in the forest close at hand, that would 
have made most charming flooring, yet they 
could not be utilized at present ; for the saw¬ 
mill was too far away to think of hauling logs 
to it, or of drawing lumber, except for pressing 
necessities. John sometimes asked why I was 
so much engaged in sewing carpet rags, when 
there was not a loom in the whole country 
round. How did I ever expect to get a carpet 
made under such circumstances ? “Wait aud 
6ee," was my invariable reply. And the balls 
continued to grow from evening to evening. 
But after I had secured a certain number of 
pounds for myself, I began slowly to unwind 
them from day to day, when Bertie and I were 
alone. My carpet was growing slowly but 
surely, and in pretty stripes. I was never 
lonely now, although there were weeks to¬ 
gether when Johu was away to work all through 
the day, and guests were not numerous, for the 
snow was too deep to permit of much pedes- 
trianism. My mind was as busy as my fiuger6. 
I was looking forward to the glad spring time, 
that at length arrived. 
And now my house-cleaning is all done; 
wall freshly' covered, with clean newspapers, 
and bordered with fresh evergreens; window 
panes glistening; the long curtains bleached 
as white as can be; lounge and chair covers 
washed, starched and ironed, look as fresh as 
new, aud my floor is nearly all covered with 
my new carpet, which is bright and neat in ap¬ 
pearance- And all the work of my own hands! 
To be sure, it will not wear for a quarter of a 
century, for it was knit garter stitch, on coarse, 
wooden needles, in breadths half a yard wide ; 
the dark stripe, was “ hit and miss;” while the 
fancy stripe wa6 of red, shading to a light pink 
in the center, with a dash of orange at the 
sides. I am quite sure it will wear long enough 
to pay me for all my trouble. 
You should have seen John’s eyes open wide, 
when he came in from the field just as I was 
driving the last tack in the carpet upon the 
floor. 
“ Who wove that carpet for you?" was his 
first inquiry, but not his first exclamation. 
“Mrs. Jessie Seabright, your honor,” was 
my reply. ' ‘ Isn’t it pre tty ?” 
“Why, yes! it's as handsome as a picture. 
But how did you weave it, is what I want to 
know'.” Aud w'hen I told him all about it, he 
said : 
“ Well! well! it is strange how many ways a 
woman will devise to make a cabin look al¬ 
most luxurious.” 
THE WIFE’S ECONOMY. 
It is astonishing to see how well a family 
can live upon a small income when the wife 
and mother is handy, industrious and econom¬ 
ical. The husband may earn but teu or twelve 
dollars a lYeek, yet they make a fax better 
appearance tbau their neighbor who earns 
twice or thrice as much. This neighbor does 
his part well, but the wife is good for nothing. 
She will even upbraid her husbaud for uot 
living as nicely as her neighbor, w'hiie the 
fault is entirely lier own. The difference is, 
that the one wife is a neat, capable woman, 
while the other is a whirlpool, into which 
many silver cups might be thrown and the 
appearance of the waters would remain un- 
Coolfng Drinks. 
LEMON BEER. 
Put into a keg one gallon of water, two 
sliced lemons, one tablespoonful of ginger, a 
scant pint of good sirup, and one-half pint of 
yeast. In twenty-four hours it will he ready 
for use. If bottled, the corks must be tied 
down. 
SODA BEER. 
A very cooling summer drink may be made 
by adding to two quarts of water two pounds 
of white sugar, the beaten whites of two eggs, 
two ounces of tartaric acid, two tablespoon- 
fuls of cornstarch, mixed smooth in a little of 
the water. Put over the fire and boil two 
minutes. When cold, flavor with wintergreen. 
Bottle, and when wanted for use, dissolve in 
half a glass of cold water a third of a tea¬ 
spoonful ol soda, and then pour into it two 
tablespoonfuls of the bottled mixture. It will 
foam to the top of the glass. 
GINGER DRINK. 
Put to six gallons of water eight pounds of 
loaf sugar, the beaten whites of three eggs, 
and three ounces of the best ginger. Powder 
the ginger finely, and mix with a little water 
before adding it to the mass. Boil gently for 
three-quarters of an hour, removing auy scum 
which may arise to the surface. Let cool; 
add the juice of three or four large lemons 
and a teacupful of yeast. Put into a cask and 
bung it very tightly. It will be fit to use in 
ten days. 
RHUBARB TEA. 
Boil, or rather simmer, two pounds of rhu¬ 
barb for an hour or two in a quart of water ; 
strain iuto a pitcher, adding water to make up 
the quart. After it is cold, add the juice of a 
lemon, and sugar to sweeten. 
GINGER BEER. 
Ten pounds of sugar, nine ounces lemon 
juice, one half pound of honey, eleven ounces 
of bruised ginger root, nine gallons of water, 
and three pints of yeast. Boil the ginger half 
an hour in one gallon of water and then add 
the rest of the water and the ingredients and 
strain. Add the beaten white of an egg, one- 
half ounce essence of lemon and let stand 
four days when it may be bottled. 
GINGER POP. 
Boil t wo ounces of best, white Jamaica gin¬ 
ger root in six quarts of water for twenty 
minutes, strain, add one ounce of cream-of- 
tartar and one pound of white sugar. Put 
over the fire and stir until all of the sugar is 
dissolved aud then put into an carthern jar. 
Now put in one-fourth ounce of tartaric acid 
aud tire rind of one lemon. Let it stand until 
one can bear his finger in it with comfort and 
then add two tablespooufuls of yeast. Stir 
well, bottle and tie down the corks. Make 
a few days before wanted for use. 
WHITE SPRUCE BEER. 
Dissolve ten pounds of loaf sugar in ten gal¬ 
lons of boiling water ; add four ounces essence 
of spruce, aud when almost cold, add one-half 
pint of good yeast. Keep in a warm place, 
and the next day strain through flannel; put 
iuto bottles and wire the corks. a. e. m. b. 
Livingston Co., N. Y. 
Hoe-Cakes. 
The genuine Southern hoe-cake is made of 
corn-meal and water, with a little salt, and 
worked with the hands until stiff enough, so 
that it will neither run nor crack when patted 
down and made iuto little loaves an inch or 
two in thickness. Bake as already described 
as also in the ashes, when ie is called ash-cake 
It is as innocent of sweet or any other kind of 
milk as is the Potomac river, and is mighty 
poor food at the best. m. b. p. 
Pine-Apple Pie. 
Pare and grate one good-sized pine-apple; 
cream, one cup of sugar, and a third of a cup 
of butter; beat the yelks and whites of five 
eggs separately. To the cream, butter and 
sugar add the yelks, then the apple, and lastly, 
the whites. 
Bake in open shells of paste. Eat cold. 
Canned Pine-Apple. 
Make a sirup in the proportion of three 
pounds of granulated sugar to three pints of 
water; boil five minutes, skim and add the 
sliced pine-apple ; boil until clear and tender. 
Have the cans hot, fill and se;.l as quickly as 
possible. Mrs. Kate Bradt. 
Baked Cup Custards. 
Scald one quart of new milk and pour it 
over the beaten yelks of five eggs; sweeten 
to taste, flavor with vanilla and stir in the 
whipped whites of two eggs. Pour into stone¬ 
ware cups, place in a pan of boiling water and 
bake until the custard is set. Make a meringue 
of the reserved whites and a little powdered 
sugar, and spread over each cup. Bake until 
of a delicate brown. Serve when cold in the 
cups in which they were baked. 
Miss Emllt Hall. 
Short-cake. 
Short-cakes, as made fifty years ago by 
an aunt of mine, were made by adding 
one-half pound of butter to one quart of 
tepid or warm water, with flour to make 
the dough just right to knead a long time— 
from one to two hours—as therein lay the se¬ 
cret of lightness. About one-fifth of the but¬ 
ter should be reserved to roll in just before 
putting the cakes to bake, which was done by 
placing the pie-tins against a long stick of 
wood lying on the hearth before the kitchen 
fire. The cakes were made three-fourths of 
an inch in thickness, or less, and about eight 
inches in diameter, and placed on the tins 
facing the. bright fire, which would soon roast 
one side a nice brown, when they were turned 
and roasted on the other side. The slashing 
an inch apart which these cakes received be¬ 
fore baking, made them break easily without 
mangliDg, when they were put on the table. 
I give this bit of New England cookery of 
years ago in answer to an inquiry. If we now 
must have short-cake, we can do no better 
than to mix with cream not too old. 
Minnesota. Aunt Flora. 
Brown Thickening for Gravies. 
Take half a pound of flour and sift it after 
drying it thoroughly on a newspaper before 
the fire. Melt half a pound of butter in a por¬ 
celain saucepan; skim the top and pour off 
all that is us clear as good salad-oil. Wash 
out the saucepan and pour in the melted but¬ 
ter and flour; stir over a quick fire with a 
wooden spoon. The stirring must he contin¬ 
ued until the whole mass begins to change 
color. As soon as of a light fawn color, take 
from the fire, throw in a large slice of onion— 
this will give the thickening a nice flavor— 
and keep stirring until it stops bubbling; 
take out the onion and turn into an earthen 
pot. When cold it has the appearance of 
light-colored chocolate, and very little will 
give a rich brown look to gravies. If rightly 
made it will keep good for weeks, and as 
brown thickening is almost a necessity where 
gravies and sauces are properly made, I have 
found it convenient to prepare two or three 
pounds of butter at a time. 
Mrs. Atkinson. 
Ertus of fgc ©toll 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Monday, May 6, 18 T 9 . 
Professor Comstock, of Cornell University, suc¬ 
ceeds Professor Riley, as Entomologist of the Agri¬ 
cultural Department, Washington. Twin Le Dues 
Is the latest news from that quarter. We have a 
strike here or upwards of s.ooo 'longshoremen, 
against a reduction In their present wages of 25 c. 
an hour. If they could get steady work, they’d 
accept the cutting-down, but most of them can 
get work only for two or three days a week. The 
loading of ships accordingly Is greatly delayed, 
while green-hands do the work so unsklllfully that 
there will be danger of the cargo shirting at sea, 
thus endangering the safety of the vessel and its 
passengers and crew. All quiet hitherto. Both 
parties still confident, of victory. We are to have a 
new telegraph company called the Union, with 
Jay Gould at its head. ’Twill gobble up an the 
smaU telegraphic fry not ulready swallowed by 
the Western Union. ’Twill reduce charges on 
messages and be a public benefactor generally, 
until the shrewd speculators that run the “ma¬ 
chine,” can see their opportunity for making a 
“pile,” by “bleeding” the ordinary stockholders 
or “sellingout” to their gigantic rival. April re¬ 
ports to the Department Of Agriculture show that 
an classes of farm animals came out of winter- 
quarters In unusually good condition. The dis¬ 
eases are not of very great extent or virulence, 
except among bogs In the south and West. Large 
losses from so-called hog cholera are reported In 
some counties, but In most of these cases the mor¬ 
tality may probaUy be traced to a bad sanitary 
condition and deficiency of feeding. Four counties 
In New Jersey, one In New York, one In Pennsyl¬ 
vania and one In .Maryland note the presence of 
pleuro-pneumonla; but the cases are believed to 
have nearly aU originated In the dairy stations of 
the cities. 
Openly hlppopliagy, or eating horse flesh, has 
not been practised to any extent In this country 
hitherto; but the health onicer of Jersey City lnts 
just,discovered that the makers of “fine country 
sausages ’In that burgh, have been very exten¬ 
sively mixing that kind Of meat with the other 
ingredients of the sausages designed for the mar¬ 
kets of this and the neighboring cities. New Or- 
leans has got rid of half a million or Its debt by 
going quietly into the market and buying up Its 
own bonds at 2t>o. on the dollar—a Justifiable case 
of shaving one’s own paper. 'Tlsa pity that one 
of the best enterprises lu the South has come to an 
unsuccessful end—a cotton factory started with 
high hopes In Atlanta, Ga., some time ago,has Just 
been sold out by the Lowell parties who sold it the 
machinery, but couldn’t get their pay. 
The Supreme Court has Just decided that a Juror 
In the South who may be challenged and asked 
whether he took part in the rebellion, Is justified 
In refusing, to answer and In the absence of proof 
of his participation therein, that he is competent 
to serve. Juilge Field went further and declared 
the law requiring a test oath from Jurors as to 
past conduct unconstitutional In time of peace. 
Judge Strong alone dissented from the opinion of 
the Court. The negro exodus from the South 
still continues, it is estimated that 8,60iK) ol the 
emigrants have arrived In St Louis since the open¬ 
ing of the year, most of whom were too poor to 
continue their journey to Kansas. Wayondotte 
Kansas, has B,500 of them encamped In the sub¬ 
urbs, sick, helpless and penniless, a burden, and 
menace to the community, vigorous efforts are 
being made here and there throughout the coun¬ 
try among old abolislonlsts and ardent, young 
Republicans to raise money to relieve the desti¬ 
tute and, stiU more, to add to their numbers. 
Fred Douglass, rinchback of La., and Senator 
Bruce of Miss., the three most prominent repre¬ 
sentatives Of the colored race, are strongly op¬ 
posed to the movement. 
AS feared by the Democrats and hoped for by 
the Republicans. Pres. Hayes has vetoed the bill 
passed by both Houses of Congress, appropriating 
money for keeping up the army, ilia chief ob¬ 
jection to It was that, It, was loaded with a “ rider” 
prolUblling under any dreuinstances the presence 
of U, S. troops at the polls on State or Federal 
election days, except to resist foreign Invasion. 
A Democratic caucus has Just decided to present 
this obnoxious “ rider” In the form of a separate 
bill. railroad” it through both Houses, and 
withhold action on the appropriation Bill until 
It Is seen whether the President will veto the 
measure thus presented. If he doesn’t,, the ap¬ 
propriation for the army will be granted, and the 
light renewed over that for paying the expenses 
of I. H. Courts. But should his backbone remain 
stlfr long enough to veto this bill also, then the 
present Indications are good for a lively struggle 
between the Legislature and executive branches 
of the government. 
There Is a rush of emigrants from southern Ar¬ 
kansas, Kansas and Missouri Into the Indian Ter¬ 
ritory, and another appropriation of Indian lands, 
like that which lately occurred in the Black Hills, 
Is very probable. The President has issued a pro¬ 
clamation strictly Jamming any occupation of 
lands tielonging to the aboriglnles, and ordering 
the military to expel those who have already set¬ 
tled there; General Pope has declared that he has 
troops enough to enforce the order; but the rush 
still continues, and it’s not likely that Pope will be 
more successful In driving back the Immigrants 
than he was in driving back the Confederates. 
FOREIGN, 
There ts a reign of terror In Russia After the 
attempt to assassinate the czar the other day, the 
police Increased their zeal In making arrests of all 
those suspected of Nihilism. The jails are thronged 
with prisoners of all ranks, but chiefly of the mid¬ 
dle class. Vast numbers arc banished weekly to 
the mines and desolate steppes ol Siberia. An as¬ 
semblages of the people after dark are prohibited 
In St. Petersburg. The Czar and Ids chief officers 
go about surrounded by strong guards, and fears 
are lively of a popular Insurrection at. any time. In 
Germany' the chief agitation is still ovpr the tariff 
question. Bismarck Is vigorously pushing the Im¬ 
position of duties on foreign goods In order to pro¬ 
tect home Industry, while the advocates of free 
trade, are earnest In their opposition to such a 
measure. The latest advices Indicate the proba¬ 
bility of a tax on the Importation of grain from 
this country and the prohibition of cattle Importa¬ 
tions from this side of the Atlantic. 
’1 ho Bulgarians have elected as King, Prince 
Alexander of Baticnberg, a German princeling, 
whose chief merit appears to consist In his 
being the nephew of the Empress or Russia. Great 
agitation still continues In Eastern Roumalla, the 
object of which Is to force a union of that Turkish 
Province, with the brand new kingdom of Bul¬ 
garia. Such a union Is only a question of time 
anyhow. Greece has got all she asked for from 
the Porte except the town of Zanlna, and her 
persistent demands will probably secure that too 
Distress, especially among the agricultural class¬ 
es, is stillthc chief feature of Great Britain’s do¬ 
mestic affairs. Col. Pea son, who was beset by the 
Zulus In Africa, has been released from his dan¬ 
gerous position, and with the rest, of the English 
forces, has retreated rroin Zululand. Cctywayo 
and his chiefs are suelng for peace, and a speedy 
settlement- Is not unlikely. Yukoob Khan Is also 
disposed to come to terms out In Afghanistan, so 
that the cessation of foreign wars will probably 
soon leave the government time to attend to home 
affairs. 
Herman. 
VARIOUS. 
Portable gas Is sold and delivered in England 
like milk. People In the country and in villages 
receive It In copper vessels from large cities This 
method is additionally popular from the fact that 
it dispenses with the erratic and depraved meter. 
one hundred and sixty-two authentic cases of 
living burial are put on record by the eminent 
French physician, Dr. Josat. The period of un¬ 
consciousness before burial, in these cases, lasted 
from two hours to forty-two. The causes of ap¬ 
parent death were these: Syncope, hysteria, apo¬ 
plexy, narcotism, concussion of brain, anesthesia 
lightning, and drunkenness. 
College-Bred Congressmen— Including sena¬ 
tors and representatives, the prominent colleges 
are represented in Congress by graduates as fol¬ 
lows: Harvard 6, Yale 6, Bowdoln 6, Union G, 
Dartmouth 5, Princeton 4, Brown University 4 ,’ 
West Potot Military Academy 5, Michigan Univer¬ 
sity 4, williams 1, Hamilton 2, Rutgers i, Dickin¬ 
son G, Western Reserve 2 , Antioch 2, Oberiln 2 , 
Miami 8, Kenyon 2, Asbury University 3, William 
and Mary % University of Virginia V, University of 
Alabama 4, University or Georgia 8, academic edu¬ 
cation 116, common school education 43 . 
Facts about the city of London are always In¬ 
teresting, and we find a few In the Cornhlll Maga¬ 
zine. London Is spread over about 7,000 square 
miles. There Is one death there every six minutes, 
and one birth every four. The growlh of the popu¬ 
lation Is at the rate of 76,000 a year, or 206 each 
day. The total length of streets In London Is about 
7,ooo miles; there are built every year about 9,000 
new houses, by which the length ol the streets la 
