§40 
T 
C 
MAR0H§7 
seeds, etc. It is a sterling catalogue and will 
well repay an examination. The list of pota¬ 
toes comprises all the best, kinds, varying in 
price from three to four dollars the barrel. 
Free to Rural readers. 
Horse Sense. — A circular from C. S. 
Beebe, Racine, VVis.. descriptive of the Beebe 
Carts. If we may believe this circular, one 
of these light carts on the average farm will 
save a vast amount of horse flesh and make 
trotters out of the colts. 
The Cake and Feeding of Infants.— Doli- 
ber, Goodale & Co., 40 Central Wharf. Bos¬ 
ton, Mass.—This treatise, which sets forth the 
advantages of the well-known MeUin’s Food 
for infants, will be sent free to all who apply. 
It is both interesting and instructive. 
“Young People’s History of England.’’ 
By George Makepeace Towle. Lee & Shep¬ 
ard, Publishers, Boston. Price, cloth, $1.50. 
This is a very readable book of 360 pages. 
It presents clearly aud concisely the main 
facts in the history of England. To such as 
dislike statistical detail, this will prove a 
work of value and one of great interest. 
“Haphazard Personalities; Chiefly of 
Noted Americans.” By Charles Lawman. 
Lee & Shepard. Publishers, Boston, Mass. 
Price, cloth, $1,50. 
A work in which the author states: “It has 
been my fortune to make many friends 
among the uoted men of time, and it is to a 
portion of these that I have devoted this vol¬ 
ume.” Among the persons here referred to 
are Henry W. Longfellow, Washington Ir¬ 
ving, William C. Bryant, Henry Clay, Edward 
Everett, Park Benjamin, James Brooks, 
Lewis (kiss, Alex. H. Stephens. 
The Message of the Blue Bird Told to 
Me to Tell to Others. By Irene E. 
Jerome. Lee & Shepard, Publishers. Price, 
$ 1 . 00 . 
A beautiful illustrated Easter poem, charm¬ 
ing ie style and execution. 
HARPER’S MAGAZINE FOR APRIL. 
We are glad to see that this sterling maga¬ 
zine is devoting more and more attention to 
agriculture aud kindred topics. This depar¬ 
ture will be appreciated, as a great many 
readers of Harper’s are more or less intimately 
connected with farm life. The article on 
“Cattle-Raising on the Plains” will be read 
with interest. It fairly bristles with facts 
and figures, The meat trade of our country 
is assuming such mammoth proportions that 
all are interested in its development. The 
Eastern farmer should study the situation 
that he may the sooner understand t hat noth¬ 
ing but better stock and better care will 
enable him to compete with the West. The 
literary features of this number arc-? strong, 
including. “Their Pilgrimage,” Chas. Dudley 
Warner; “Spriugbaven,” by R. D. Blaclcmore, 
and “King Arthur. Not a love story,” by 
the author of “John Halifax, Gentleman.” 
Act iv. “She Stoops to Conquer,” “Plebian 
and Aristocratic Pigeons,” by F. Satter- 
thwaite; are beautifully illustrated articles. 
There are several poems with the usual Edit¬ 
or’s Easy Chair, etc. 
Domestic Cctmotraj 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY MATLE. 
FARM LIFE AND HEALTH.—II. 
PHILIP SNYDER. 
TVVO FARM NUISANCES. 
Two dangers which lurk about many farm 
homes, though sometimes causing viruleut 
sickness or death, often receive little thought. 
They are the hateful aud hideous barnyard 
and the family vault. Which is worst is hard 
to determine. 
Usually most of the water from the barn 
roof is discharged into the barnyard, aud 
there it stays until it either settles into the soil 
or is evaporated in the sun. Sometimes an 
open drain carries it off to some uncultivated 
spot; but that may be no improvement. 
Where it goes to nobody seems to know or 
care. It goes out of sight aud that is supposed 
to In- the last of it; but it isn’t. Subsoils are 
not uniform in texture; there are often veins 
of sand or coarse gravel, aud through them 
these barnyard decoctions may reach the fam¬ 
ily well or the drinking water of the live¬ 
stock. Every now and then there is a ease of 
typhoid fever in the country, and the light 
ami joy of some family goes to a premature 
grave, and the case is regarded as “a bitter 
dispensation of Providence.” But investiga¬ 
tions generally show that there is a cause for 
fevers, with which Providence has little to do, 
except through the laws of Nature. Provi¬ 
dence never designed that barnyard pollutions 
should go into the human stomach; nor is it 
easy to see that it approves highly of barn¬ 
yards. the sort of cleanlines they maintain be¬ 
ing a long remove from godliness. 
This is also to be said of this domestic mon¬ 
strosity known as the. privy. Why is it that 
people who are scrupulously clean in other 
respects can tolerate, within a few feet or rods 
of the house, such a reeking abomination, 
when a little care and forethought would 
obviate all its objections? The subject is 
almost too repulsive to write about, and j r et, 
—as Webster said about tb© Buuker Hill monu¬ 
ment,—“there it stands” and generally it is a 
prominent object in the landscape. What it 
is in detail I will not try to describe now'— 
what it should be is more agreeable. 
Ip the first place, hide it if possible with a 
hedge, trees, vines ora corner of some build¬ 
ing. In the second place, never, never dig a 
vault under it. Instead, put under it a mov¬ 
able water-tight box, of a size that one or two 
men can move, with a crowbar to assist; keep 
a long and narrow box of some deodorizer in 
the building, and at least once a day shovel 
some of this into the box. This may be dried 
muck, road dust, land plaster, coal ashes 
(never wood ashes), sawdust, finely cut straw, 
chaff, or almost anything that will absorb 
moisture aud odors. Then there w ill be little 
about it to offend: and when the box is nearly 
full, move it back far enough to shovel its 
contents out into a cart or wheelbarrow, and 
dump them where they will “do the most 
good.” Then no wells, or springs, or streams 
will be poisoned; no clothes will carry a 
perfume into the home; and no lungs will be 
filled with one of the vilest odors in creation. 
A death's head w f ould be the proper sign to 
put over the door of most country vaults. 
WHY REFORMS ARE SLOW. 
The so wage problem is a great one for cities, 
where the danger from innumerable water- 
closets connected with many miles of under¬ 
ground sewers, must be guarded against to 
escape the pestilence which “walketb in dark¬ 
ness.” In the country there is no serious diffi¬ 
culty about it, when plain, common-sense 
rules are observed. But away back in feudal 
days our revered ancestors w'ere barbarians, 
brutal, shiftless and “nasty,” and to wholly 
breed out, their blemishes, wonderful patience 
and persistence are ueeded. But it is a matter 
for astonish meat that a danger s j easy to rem¬ 
edy aud remove should linger so tenacious¬ 
ly, and that too in the face of such fearful re¬ 
sults as mark the h istory of thousands of fam¬ 
ilies aud almost, every neighborhood. The 
very existence of malignant level's is a warn, 
ing that something is wrong on the premises. 
EATING TOO MUCH. 
The average farmer and farm laborer are 
chargeable with tw r o other failings, which in¬ 
jure health and shorten life, both heir-looras 
of the highly barbarous feudal ages just re¬ 
ferred to. They eat too much and bathe too 
little. Some of the food is objectionable as to 
the quality, but the quality is less harmful 
than the quantity. The fanner’s out-door life 
gives him a vigorous appetite, and not enough 
restraint is exercised against an excess. His 
table drinks too (which may be classed as part 
of his food) are also objectionable, being very 
generally strong tea and coffee. The drink 
failing is particularly prevalent among the 
females. When a person regards strong tea 
or coffee as an absolute necessity for a meal, 
it is, iu itself, a bad sign. Au appetite for an 
unhealthy stimulus is fastened on the stomach 
and the path to disease is short and easy. Na¬ 
ture’s simplicity is gone, aud in its place are 
nervousness, chaugiug moods, and a tendency 
to enjoy other stimulants, such as the most 
highly seasoned foods and condiments, and, 
not infrequently,intoxicating drinks. Children 
yet in arms are brought up to tea and coffee 
and the whole range of condiments, along 
with pie and cake to any extent, and their 
tender stomachs are disorganized at, au early 
age. Then when a dangerous disease sets in— 
dyspepsia, heart-burn, frequent eolie, flatulen¬ 
cy, nausea, etc., the child is “weakly,” un¬ 
able to work, aud an early death is regarded 
as “au install table dispensation of an all-wise 
PrO\ klcnce.” There are thousands to-day 
half broken-down, prematurely old, complain¬ 
ing that “food does them no good,” or that it, 
“distresses them,” and who are running after 
the doctor, or swallowing qua/dt medicines, 
who could yet be cured by a proper system of 
diet. Home, it is true, are too far gone, and 
j T et hardly one iu a thousand will listen with 
patience to a kind remonstrance against his 
hud habits. 
THE DELIGHT OK BATHING. 
As to neglect of bathing, that is due to a 
non-appreciation of its great importance. 
The face and hands are washed w'ith commen¬ 
dable regularity, but the body—well, how r 
many times a year do the average farmer, 
or farmer’s sons, or even his daughters, give 
themselves a sponge bath from head to foot 
in cold water, rubbing first with a towel and 
then with the hands until there is a glow. 
There is “no time,” it will be said; perhaps “no 
need of it,” aud certainly there are not many 
conveniences. But nothing is better to guard 
against colds, which are the besetting danger 
of farm life, and which so often lay the foun¬ 
dation for consumption. If the face is enliv¬ 
ened and cleaned, and one’s lassitude banish¬ 
ed by a morning ablution, the body will be 
still more so, and admirably fitted for the 
day’s work or exposure. After a day of 
severe toil, particularly if the work has been 
dusty, a bath before retiring takes away all 
outer impurities, as well as the stiffness out of 
the joints, and prepares one for delightful 
s'eep. Begin with Summer aud continue in 
the Winter, even if we must, break ice in the 
pitcher, to get at the water. There is no dan¬ 
ger of catching cold in such an exercise; it 
will ms-pire to lively work and that will soon 
bring a glow to the skin, and when one jumps 
into his clothes he feels like a new man. A 
narrow- income is no excuse for neglect; 
water costs nothing; an old piece of carpet or 
several newspapers on the floor will absorb 
the little water that falls, aud a towel or two, 
and then the hands will make a delightful fin¬ 
ish to an exercise foolishly dreaded by thous¬ 
ands. Accustom the children to it, and teach 
them how to do it expeditiously. It is worth 
more than a life insurance policy, and costs 
next to nothing. 
Vineland, N. J. 
A DELIGHTFUL DINNER. 
DAINTY TIDBITS TEMPTINGLY PREPARED. 
MENU. 
Soup a la Ronnp Femme. 
Rolled Bass Caper Sauce. 
Sweetbreads with Cauliflower. 
Roast Ducklings. 
Salad. 
Blue Cake with Peaches. 
Cut a good-sized onion into very thin 
rounds and fry in a little butter or fat taken 
from the top of soups; do not allow it to brown- 
and when half done throw in the finely out 
leaves of a tender head of lettuce, a handful 
of sorrel also cut small; add pepper, salt and 
a little nutmeg, ami keep stirring until the 
vegetables are nearly cooked. Then put in a 
teaspoonl'ul of sugar ami a cupful of veal 
stock; let this boil until it is reduced one-half, 
add a quart of veal stock; give one boil aud 
keep w'arrn until the time of serving. Mean¬ 
while prepare a dozen aud a half very thin 
slices of bread, about an inch wide and two 
inches long, taking care that they have a 
crust along one of their sides; dry these in the 
oven. Free the soup from fat; set it to boil, 
and then take from the fire and stir in the 
yelks of two eggs beaten up with a gill of 
cream. Pour the soup over the slices of bread, 
and serve. This extremely wholesome soup 
deserves to be better known in America. A 
French lady suffering from fatigue refreshes 
herself with sorrel soup. In all cases where 
eggs are added to a soup they must be well 
beaten and stirred in very slowly or they wall 
curdle. Do not allow the soup to boil after 
they are in. 
Pin your fish in a piece of clean muslin if 
you have no fish-kettle. Cover with cold 
water to which you have added a little vine¬ 
gar and salt. Allow' eight minutes to the 
pound after the w'ater begins to boil; make 
some drawn-butter sauce, stir iu a spoonful of 
capers or pickled nasturtium seeds, and send 
to table in a sauce-boat. 
Sweetbreads are sometimes an expensive 
dish in the city, hut a farmer w'ho kills his 
own veal may enjoy the luxury cheaply. 
Trim the skin and cartilages from them and 
put over the fire iu cold water containing salt 
and a little vinegar. As soon as the water 
boils, take them out and press between two 
jjlates with a weight on top. When cold, egg 
and bread crumb them, dip in l>eaten egg and 
cracker crumbs, and fry brown in boiling 
dripping. Dish them iu a circle on a hot 
platter with a mound of cauliflower in the 
center; pour a cream sauce over all. If cauli¬ 
flower is not iu season, send green peas to 
table iu a separate dish. 
A very tasteful dressing for roast, ducklings 
is made by frying a minced onion in butter, 
and adding half a cupful of thick stewed 
tomatoes ami t w o Clips of bread crumbs. If 
they are really ducklings, they w ill roast in 
from 30 to 40 minutes. Thicken the gravy in 
the pan and add the jiblets which have been 
stewed and minced. Serve with current 
jelly and green pea© when in season. 
Rice cuke with peaches can lie made with 
the canned fruit. Boil some rice, using half 
milk, and w hile it is hot stir in a tank-spoonful 
of butter, tw o of sugar and one egg for each 
cupful of boiled rice. Butter a punning dish, 
put in a lialf-iuch layer of rice, then a layer 
of peaches and so on until the mold is nearly 
full. Bake for 30 minutes; turn out, upon a 
dish and serve with wine sauce, palmetto. 
ABOUT YEAST. 
A friend gave me some of her yeast. 
Never before did such a little deed so much 
lighten my work, and consequently do me so 
much good. She gave me what looked like a 
white potato ball She said, “Mash as much 
more boiled potato fine, and mix with it; add 
one teaspoonful of salt, and two teaspoonfuls 
of sugar, let it stand a few hours, and your 
yeast is ready to use. Take half the yeast to 
make your bread; with the remainder start 
the yeast the same way again; keep it in a 
cool place in Summer, and where it will not 
freeze in Winter, and you will always have 
good yeast,.’’ It did not look like yeast, but it 
smelt nice and as my friend said it was good 
it must be so. I tried it and found the mak¬ 
ing of bread and the keeping of nice fresh 
yeast on hand a much easier task than it 
ever had been since I became a housekeeper. 
One heaping coffee-cupful of the potato 
yeast and three quarts of warm water make 
my four-gallon bread-pan full of risen dough. 
I knead it (not too hard), at the first mixing in 
the evening and often bake breakfast biscuits 
from it. Like all other dough that is exjiected 
to rise, it must be kept warm, but not too 
warm. 
I asked my friend where she got the yeast. 
“Oh. Mrs. Dash gave it to me,” she replied. 
“She doesn’t know who started it. so I tell folks 
it must have been made when the world was; 
and that’s as far as I can go,” she laughingly 
added. I have since found out how to start 
it. or it would be. no use to tell of my yeast. 
Moisten some mashed boiled jiotatoos with 
baker’s yeast, add one toaspooniul of salt and 
two of sugar and let it rise, divide it and add 
potato and sugar and salt as lief ore, and after 
a time it will become as dry as if nothing but 
potato bad been put in It,. I prefer to use 
nearly all my yeast every time, tor, as I bake 
only once in three or four days, a little 
yeast can raise the whole meantime, and it 
helps keep it sweet. 
It seldom happens that I have to boil pota¬ 
toes on purpose to renew the yeast; even cold, 
baked potatoes wilt do to use, the greatest 
objection being that they do not readily mash 
fine, but, that is overcome by putting the yeast 
into some of the water and straining it 
through a colander into the flour. It makes 
no difference whether the veast. is used in 
that way or mixed dry with the flour. I have 
seldom added soda to my risen bread since I 
have used this yeast. When I was obliged to 
do it, it w'as because other work kept me from 
attending to the bread when it was light 
enough to put into the pans. Mrs. Stowe 
once wrote that “the bread should rule the 
kitchen.” 1 have found that baby’s claims 
are ahead there, aud sometimes the bread 
must w'ait tiil the butter lias had “the cool of 
the morning.” Nearly every housekeeper 
finds the bottling of liquid yeast very trouble¬ 
some. These who do not, live near a baker 
must keep their own supply of yeast, and I 
am sure no one can produce a more economi¬ 
cal or satisfactoiy way of doing so Mian the 
one I have just written about. My friend 
makes a thin baiter in the evening, and adds 
the rest of the flour in the morning, and the 
dough rises very quickly: but those who have 
a great deal of work i<> do find it a great help 
to have the bread made as nearly us possible 
iu the comparative leisure of the evening. 
Bread made with Lins yeast, does not require 
much kneading, at least not with our fine 
Colorado flour. I keep my yeast in a bowl 
with a saucer turned over it. s. e. h. 
DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
CROQUETTES. 
Put two tablespoonfuls of butter iu a fry¬ 
ing-pan,and when it is very hot,, fry in it, until 
brown, a teas{Kionful of chopped onion; 
stir this constantly to prevent scorching. 
Now ruh in a tablespoouful of flour till it is 
smooth, add two cupfuls of chopped meat of 
any kind, pepper and salt, and a teaspoonful 
of‘minced parsley, or the same quantity of 
dried parsley rubbed tine. Stir this mixture 
about with a knife until nice and brown, and 
a teaeufiful of broth, a gill of cream, and a 
beaten egg; take at, once from the hot part of 
the tire, and stir for a few minutes where it 
will keep hot without cooking. Flour a bowl 
aud press t.he meat in firmly; set,away to get 
cold; when wanted for use, mold them in a 
tiny cup or wine glass, roll in cracker dust or 
bread crumbs, then iu beaten egg, again in the 
crumbs, and fry in boiling fat. Have the fat 
really boiling, aud they will be dry and 
creamy inside. lav them on a sieve turned 
bottom up iiefore the fire, or in a warm oven 
for two or three minutes, put a folded napkin 
on a hot dish, and send to table. In cold 
weather they may be kept in a covered bowl 
for several days and be ready for frying at 
any time, which is a great advantage in case 
of unexpected company. m. m 
VEAL CROQUETTES. 
Scald half a pint of rich milk, and stir in a 
large cupful of dry bread crumbs, half a cup 
ful of butter, and two cupfuls of boiled veal 
chopped very fine; season with salt, a quarter 
of a grated nutmeg, rod pepper nud a teaspoon- 
ful of grated onion. Take from the fire, and 
when slightly cool, stir in a beaten egg. 
Butter a dish and lay the mixture upon it in 
separate tablespoonfuls until quite cold; then 
roll in beaten egg and crumbs and fry. 
L. J. B. 
FRYING AND BAUTKINU. 
To saute is to fry by immersion in boiling 
fat; in frying only a little fat in the bottom 
SjBiiMfUanfOiw 
When Baby vu rick, we gave her Caetorla, 
When the was a Child, she cried for C as tori*, 
When she became Mias, she dong to Castoria, 
Whan iha had ClUldren, she gave them Gas tori*. 
