THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Detail in Pie-Making. 
“Why do you do that? I never saw 
anyone put Hour in the bottom of a pie 
before,” exclaimed my neighbor who 
had just “dropped in” in the morning, 
and whom, perforce, I was entertaining 
in the kitchen. 
It was my turn to exclaim. “Indeed, 
why 1 supposed everyone did it; Mother 
always did!” I said blankly. 
“Did she? Well then, it must be right, 
for your mother’s pies were nearer per¬ 
fection, both as to taste and appearance 
than any I ever saw. And did she al¬ 
ways rub the sugar and flour together 
like that?” 
“Yes, she said it prevented the form¬ 
ing of doughy lumps that are inevitable 
when flour is sprinkled over the top, 
and made a smooth jelly of the fruit 
juice.” 
“It sounds all right. What are you 
doing now—putting butter in it?” 
“Mother did,” I answered simply. We 
both laughed. 
“Well, I am an older housekeeper than 
you, but I confess I’ve learned several 
things while watching you make that 
pie,” she said as she watched it taken 
from the oven, bubbly, brown and flaky 
as to crust, savory as to smell. 
And that, together with an atrocious 
piece of pie lately served me by an oth¬ 
erwise good cook, set me to thinking 
that it is the little touches that make or 
mar a pie, and that a good crust, while 
important, will not make a perfect pie 
without the observance of detail in con¬ 
struction. 
To begin with, Mother’s crust, while 
not extravagant, was rich enough and 
suits very .well the average purse and 
palate. For one pie she used a large 
coffeecupful of flour, sifted with one- 
fourth teaspoonful each of baking pow¬ 
der and salt. Into this she rubbed a 
half cupful of lard and a quarter cupful 
of butter (or all cottolene) with just 
enough ice water to mix it. The dough 
was lightly handled and rolled out 
quickly. 
Her formula for an apple pie was 
something like this: The under crust 
was first brushed over lightly with white 
of an egg and allowed to stand while 
the rest of the work went on; this to 
keep the juices from soaking into the 
crust before baking. Next a half cup¬ 
ful of sugar was put in, along with a 
half to a tablespoonful of flour, accord¬ 
ing to the degree of juiciness of the 
apples, and a generous pinch of cinna¬ 
mon or allspice according to choice. 
These were rubbed smoothly together 
to insure a jelly-like consistency of the 
finished pie, without the unpalatable 
doughy lumps. The fruit is then added, 
the remainder of the sugar poured over 
(a cupful in all for very sour apples), 
the top dotted thickly with butter, and 
unless the apples are very juicy a des¬ 
sert spoonful of water added. The edge 
of the under crust is now moistened with 
water, the top applied and the two 
pinched neatly together; the whole 
brushed over with rich milk to insure 
an even golden-brownness, and a tiny 
funnel made of writing paper twisted 
and pinned into shape inserted in the 
air hole cut in the top. These details 
observed you may now put your pie into 
the oven with a certainty that it will 
come out a thing of beauty, with none 
of its savory juices burning to a crisp 
in the bottom of the oven. 
For very young apples, however, she 
always used instead of tbre water, a gen¬ 
erous tablespoonful of spiced vinegar 
(left over from any spiced sweet pickle) 
with a little more flour. This lent the 
flavor and juiciness that young apples 
invariably lack. Or if apples had been 
kept some time and were shriveled and 
insipid, she found the same treatment 
a vast improvement. Lacking the spiced 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs.Wins- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
631 
vinegar she sometimes used lemon juice 
with an additional sprinkling of sugar 
and spices. Other fruit pies were made 
in a similar manner, always taking into 
consideration the qualities of the fruit 
as to acidity and juiciness. For canned 
fruits already sweetened, such as 
huckleberries, elderberries and the like, 
which were very juicy and required no 
extra sweetening, she usually rubbed 
the flour (in same proportion of a 
spoonful to a pie) in a bit of the juice, 
and added it with whatever spices were 
necessary to the rest of the fruit, and 
set it over the fire until the flour was 
cooked, adding a little butter. When 
cold the mixture was filled into the pre¬ 
pared paste, egg-brushed as before. For 
custard or pumpkin she usually pre¬ 
pared the paste by setting the pan on 
top of the stove until the crust was 
nearly cooked through, then adding the 
custard and putting it at once into a hot 
oven. This prevented a certain soggi¬ 
ness unpleasantly characteristic of simi¬ 
lar pies we have known. 
MAUDE E. SMITH HYMEKS. 
Flowers for Winter. 
A few well-cared-for plants arranged 
tastefully in the window will give the 
family far more pleasure than the 
heterogeneous collection that some 
housekeepers insist in putting in every 
available spot. One of the most satis¬ 
factory Winter plants I have grown is 
the Bermuda Buttercup Oxalis. Three 
bulbs cost 10 cents. They were planted 
in a shallow crock (which fitted a 
bracket) 10 inches in diameter and four 
inches deep in center. The bulbs were 
planted the latter part of September, 
and placed in the cellar till growth be¬ 
gan; then they were placed in a sunny 
bay window. The large clover-like 
leaves grew rapidly. There is apparent¬ 
ly no insect which troubles them. By 
Christmas they were in blossom. At 
one time I counted 17 clusters, each from 
three to four inches across, fully open, 
of beautiful yellow blossoms nearly as 
large as a silver quarter. The flower 
stems were over 12 inches in length. 
Aside from those in full bloom the 
plants were full of bud clusters. The 
plants had three distinct seasons of 
blossoming. A friend who had bulbs 
the same as mine planted six in a deep 
six-inch crock. Her plants were care¬ 
fully tended, yet never equaled mine 
either in thrifty growth or in number 
and size of blossoms. Hence we con¬ 
cluded that a few roots in a shallow 
dish would give the best results. This 
plant is not common with us, and yet I 
know of no other root that will give 
the amount of bloom of a rich warm 
yellow like the Bermuda Buttercup 
Oxalis. Late in the Spring, when its 
foliage dies, you will And your three 
bulbs have increased to a dozen or more. 
The Schizanthus or Butterfly flower 
with its orchid-like blooms grows read¬ 
ily from seed sown the latter part of 
September or first of October. It 
costs five cents for a paper of mixed 
seeds. It has finely cut foliage; the 
flowers, as name implies, are oddly 
shaped, beautifully colored and marked. 
I started but one crock; my blossoms 
were different shades of violet, with 
most attractive markings; the beauty of 
orchids for a small price. A friend to 
whom I gave seed started but one to a 
crock, whereas I had several in a crock 
of similar size. My plants grew vine¬ 
like, and blossomed freely; hers were 
stocky, needing no support, blossomed 
freely and with much larger flowers. I 
readily concluded that the best plan was 
to sow several seeds in a crock, then 
when growing well to pull up all but 
the thriftiest. I also raised from seed 
the California poppy, recommended for 
Winter blooming. The plant grew fine¬ 
ly, its foliage resembling a fern, but it 
did not blossom. However, it was not a 
failure on account of its fern-like ap¬ 
pearance. 
Hyacinth bulbs are expensive and 
sometimes uncertain as to blossoming, 
so many of us hesitate to grow them. 
There are several other bulbs that can 
be bought for three cents apiece whicn 
are sure bloomers. Personally, I have 
always had good success with Narcissus, 
also Allium. The latter bears large clus¬ 
ters of flowers reminding one of cherry 
blossoms, the separate flowers being 
smaller, to be sure. There is a white 
and yellow variety. Other cheap bulbs 
are advertised that will doubtless bloom, 
but I am giving actual experiences, and 
so do not mention them. Watch for the 
advertisements of the seedsmen who 
offer bulbs and seeds for Winter bloom¬ 
ing. A few new plants will add greatly 
to your Winter’s pleasure. The chil¬ 
dren were greatly interested to see the 
Bermuda Oxalis fold its clover-like 
leaves and go to sleep in good season 
every night. helen o. Andrews. 
Rural Recipes. 
Pear Chips.—Four pounds of Duchess 
or other hard pears sliced thin, four 
pounds of sugar, the juice of three 
lemons and grated rind of one, one ounce 
of dry or green ginger root chopped fine 
and one-half tumbler of water. Cook un¬ 
til clear, then seal in jelly glasses. 
Scalloped Squash.—Two cupfuls of 
boiled squash run through a colander, 
and then let cool; two eggs, a table¬ 
spoonful of melted butter, half a cup of 
milk; pepper and salt; half a cupful of 
bread crumbs. Beat eggs, butter and 
milk and squash light; season; pour in¬ 
to a buttered bake dish, sift crumbs over 
it and bake, covered, half an hour; then 
brown lightly. 
Huckleberry Pancakes.—Sift together 
over night two cupfuls sifted flour and 
two scant cupfuls of sour milk; beat 
well. In the morning stir in one tea¬ 
spoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of salt, 
two cupfuls huckleberries dredged with 
flour, and the yolks of two well-beaten 
eggs. If the batter seems too thin, add 
a little more flour and fold in the stiffly 
beaten whites. Bake on a hot griddle 
well greased. These cakes may be made 
without eggs, and will be more tender. 
Huckleberry Blanc Mange.—Heat one 
quart of milk in a double boiler, reserv¬ 
ing one-third of a cupful with which to 
mix three tablespoonfuls of cornstarch. 
Add one-half a cupful of sugar and a 
pinch of salt. When the milk is scald¬ 
ing hot, stir in the corn starch, and cook 
for five minutes. Pour this on the well- 
beaten whites of two eggs and beat thor¬ 
oughly. When cool pour a little of it in¬ 
to a wetted mold, strew over this fresh 
blueberries, then another portion of the 
blanc mange, then more of the blueber¬ 
ries (using a pint in all), finish with the 
blanc mange and set on ice to harden. 
When ready to serve turn out on a flat 
glass or china jelly plate and serve with 
either whipped or plain cream, slightly 
sweetened. 
No story is the same to us after the 
lapse of time; or, rather, we who read it 
are no longer the same interpreters.— 
George Eliot. 
WHAT DO THE CHILDREN DRINK? 
Don’t give them tea or coffee. Have you tried the 
new food drink caUed GRAIN-O? It is delicious 
and nourishing and takes the place Of coffee. The 
more Grain-0 you give the children the more health 
you distribute through their systems. Grain-0 is 
made of pure grains, and when properly prepared 
tastes like the choice grades of coffee but costs about 
H as much. All grocers sell it. 15c. and 25c. 
Some Coffees 
are Glazed 
with a cheap coating. 
If glazing helps coffee 
why aren’t the high- 
priced Mochas and Javas 
glazed also? 
Lion Coffee 
is not glazed. It is per¬ 
fectly pure and has a 
delicious flavor. 
Tho Healed package insures uni¬ 
form quality and freshness. 
Making Soap with 
Banner Lye 
The best soap in the world can be 
made in ten minutes from Banner Lye 
and the grease or fat that you can sup¬ 
ply from your kitchen. 
No trouble; no boiling; no large ves¬ 
sels needed. It is not ordinary old- 
style lye; it is Banner Lye. 
Easy and Thorough 
Cleaning and Washing 
of clothes, dishes, milk-rooms, milk- 
cans, -pails, -bottles, butter-jarsi, dairies, 
everything. 
Banner Lye does 11 and does 
it quickly and til" way It 
should be done. I makes 
cleanliness a new word.There 
is more “dirt' than you can 
see in a dairy- and that dirt 
often wastes your material 
by injuring its keepiug qua¬ 
lities. 
Banner Lye Is also the 
quickest and most horough 
disinfectant Costs only a 
a few cents, but ispreferable 
to the more costly articles 
sold for that purpose It is 
odorless and colorless 
Not old-style lye, but Ban¬ 
ner Lye. 
Write for booklet, “ Uses of 
Banner Lye,'' and give us your grocer's or druggist’s 
name should he not have it. 
The Penn Chemical Works Philadelphia USA 
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A Farm for You 
California 
The Santa Fe will take you there 
Any day in September or October 
for only $33 from Chicago, or $25 
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Corresponding rates from East generally 
—tickets good in tourist sleepers or chair 
cars—enjoyable ride on the shortest, 
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Also one fare, plus $2, round trip to Great 
Southwest, first and third Tuesdays, 
August, September, October. 
Exceptional opportunities for homeseek- 
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Write to Geo. C. Dillard, Gen. Agt. 
Santa Fe, 377 Broadway, New York, 
for California land folders. 
Cheap Excursions 
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