272 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
April 8 
[ Woman and Home ; 
From Day to Day. 
THE STAY-AT-HOME. 
There’s dress an’ hood to buy f’r Jane— 
A pair o’ pants f’r John, 
A -whole outfit f’r Buster Bill, 
An’ Winter’s cornin’ on. 
But baby Nan, the stay-at-home, 
Jis laughs, an’ never knows 
That all on earth she has to wear 
Is ole made-over clothes. 
There’s books to buy f’r them at school— 
It makes a pore man sick 
To hear ’em holler “ joggafy ” 
An’ “ mental ’rithmetic.” 
But, thank the Lord! the stay-at-home 
Is mighty hard to please; 
Jis gets the fam’ly almanac 
An’ reads it on her knees. 
An’ writin’-books an’ drawin’-books— 
They never seem to think 
How much it costs to buy Sich truck, 
An’ pencils, pens, an’ ink. 
But little Nan, the stay-at-home, 
She knows her daddy’s pore; 
Jis gits a charcoal pen an’ writes 
Her lesson on the floor. 
There’s boots to buy for Buster Bill, 
An’ boots to buy f’r John, 
An’ shoes f’r Jane an’ ma an’ I, 
Till all my money’s gone. • 
So Nan, the last, the stay-at-home, 
Is left to do without; 
Jis wears her homemade moccasins, 
An’ crows, an’ crawls about. 
’Pears like that all I rake an’ scrape 
Won’t hardly sadisfy 
The pressin’ needs o’ Bill an’ John 
An’ Jane an’ ma an’ I. 
But baby Nan, the stay-at-home, 
Is full o’ sweet content; 
Jis cuddles up in daddy’s arms 
An’ never wants a cent. 
—George Weymouth, in April Century. 
* 
Miss Helen Gould has been presented 
with a fire department badge of gold, in 
recognition of her aid to Windsor Hotel 
sufferers. This enables her to pass the 
fire line, at any time or place. 
, * 
A Bbooklyn Pug dog was recently 
buried in a satin-lined casket of ex¬ 
pensive make, receiving an expensive 
funeral. London has several dogs’ ceme¬ 
teries, but we do not know of any in this 
country. 
* 
Thebe will not be any “ Woman’s De¬ 
partment ” at the Paris Exposition next 
year. Women exhibitors are to be re¬ 
ceived on the same conditions as men, 
and in open competition with them. 
This will be commended by women as 
well as men. 
* 
The determination with which the 
Filipinos fight is partly explained by 
their belief in protective charms or amu¬ 
lets. The belief is prevalent among 
them that Aguinaldo possesses a charmed 
existence, and many of his followers 
carry little charms beariug his name or 
picture, in the firm assurance that they 
will keep off American bullets. 
* 
The New York Sun states that women 
of Pretoria, South Africa, have been in¬ 
vited to compete for an appointment 
worth $4,000 a year. The post is that of 
professor of mining in the State Girls’ 
School. The fact that a woman is to fill 
such a place is remarkable, but no more 
so than the fact that there should be any 
professor of mining in a girls’ school 
anyway. 
* 
In selecting the Summer shirt waist, 
the average woman who is past girlhood 
should be chary of choosing pink. A 
pink waist looks very pretty in the shop, 
but when worn, it often gives a yellow 
tinge to the complexion. Pink may 
often be worn in a hat or bonnet by 
women who should never attempt it in a 
waist. Women with light hair and blue 
eyes should be careful, also, in selecting 
a pale blue waist. Blondes usually think 
this color must be becoming to them, 
whereas in reality it is decidedly trying. 
A dark-haired woman has a much wider 
range of choice. 
* 
The Bureau of Nature Study at Cor¬ 
nell University suggests special school 
work to be sent as an exhibit to the 
Paris Exposition. One of the subjects 
suggested for such work is maple-sugar 
making, to be displayed by maps and 
drawings. Such work would, it is con¬ 
sidered, form a valuable part of the 
public-school exhibit. 
* 
The correspondent of a Washington 
paper was taking dinner one day at a 
mountain farmhouse on the headwaters 
of the Cumberland River, and the woman 
©f the house, who had four children 
playing around the front of the estab¬ 
lishment, was inclined to repine at her 
hard luck in having so much work to do. 
‘ r I run this here whole farm,” she said 
in a tone which indicated that she was 
ready to resign. 
“ How many acres have you?” he in¬ 
quired. 
“ A hundred and forty ; 20 in wheat, 60 
in corn, 10 in medder an’ paster, an’ the 
balance scatterin’ an’ woods.” 
“ Got any stock ? ” 
“ Ten head uv cattle, two cows, six 
hogs, and work critters fer the place.” 
“ Do you run the whole business ? ” 
“Indeed I do ; every hide an’ hair uv 
it,” she sighed. 
“ Don’t you hire some help ? ” 
“ In course, but ’taint hired help that 
takes the load of’en a body.” There was 
philosophy in that statement, and the 
newspaper man paused a minute. 
“Haven’t you got a husband?” he 
next asked with a good deal of sympathy. 
“ Yes,” she responded very slowly, 
“ but I have to run him, too.” 
* 
Owing to the southern freeze, people 
in the cities, who are, ordinarily, able to 
buy southern vegetables early in the 
Spring, will have to forego such luxuries, 
for they are very high in price. At this 
season, it seems difficult to make all the 
Winter vegetables palatable. Dried peas 
and beans, like dried fruits, are the 
better for soaking full 24 hours, being 
washed before they are put to soak. 
After this long soaking, they do*not re¬ 
quire so long a cooking, and have a 
fresher taste. Carrots, which are now 
strong in flavor, are improved by first 
boiling, then cutting in slices and frying 
in beef drippings or butter, like parsnips. 
They are, also, nice when minced and 
mixed with canned peas. This mixture, 
arranged in little pyramids around roast 
beef, is described in a French bill of fare 
as boeuf a la jardiniere. Rice with to¬ 
mato sauce, the Italian risotto, forms a 
pleasant change in vegetable dishes. The 
rice is plainly boiled in water, so as to 
avoid mushiness, and tomato sauce flav¬ 
ored with onion poured over. The onions 
should be browned in the frying pan 
with a little fat, the tomato seasoned, 
poured over them, and stirred until boil¬ 
ing, then poured over the rice. A similar 
tomato sauce is a very good medium in 
which to warm over cooked meat, which 
should simmer slowly in the sauce until 
tender. With a garnish of boiled celery 
stalks or boiled okra, this is called 
Egyptian stew. 
The bill for the establishment of a 
bureau of domestic science in the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture at Washington 
has failed in Congress. Secretary Wil¬ 
son is disposed to encourage such instruc¬ 
tion in the agricultural colleges, and to 
further investigations in the same line 
at the experiment stations. Prof. Grind- 
ley, of the University of Illinois, is much 
interested in this work. Writing to 
Senator Cullom, he observes : 
We are now studying the best methods for the 
preparation of meats for the table, determining, 
also, the losses involved and the changes pro¬ 
duced in the different metbods of cooking. The 
information that is being obtained as a result of 
these investigations will be of much practical 
value to the people of the State. The citizens of 
Illinois have become much interested in our in¬ 
vestigations, and are constantly asking for more 
definite information upon this and allied sub¬ 
jects. It is highly desirable that these and simi¬ 
lar investigations be continued and their scope 
extended, as they may be in case proper pro¬ 
vision be made for the purpose. 
* 
An old English custom, still observed 
at the great public school of Westmin¬ 
ster, is tossing the pancake, or “pan¬ 
cake greeze ”, as the boys call it, which 
occurs each year upon Shrove Tuesday. 
The whole school assemble in the great 
schoolroom, where a number of boys, 
one chosen from each class, stand in a 
row, ready to struggle for the pancake. 
The doors are opened, and the cook en¬ 
ters, preceded by a mace-bearer, and car¬ 
rying a frying-pan. The pancake is 
hurled over the bar, from which a cur¬ 
tain used to hang, dividing the upper 
and lower school. There is a general 
rush for the pancake, until the head¬ 
master gives a signal to stop; the boy 
who secures the pancake is then con¬ 
ducted to the Dean, who presents him 
with a guinea. This custom is a very 
old one. _ 
Pork-Pie Making. 
Some time ago, there was an article in The 
U. N.-Y. on pork-pie making. I cannot find the 
copy, which I would very much like to have. I 
hope you will be able to supply me with the de¬ 
sired information. t. f. 
New Jersey. 
Ans. —It is impossible to supply the 
issue desired, but we can give T. F. a 
reliable recipe for making pork pies, 
supplied by an experienced English 
housekeeper. Being what are known 
as “ raised pies ”, the chief point in 
which they differ from other meat pies 
is the paste used. Proportions for this 
pastry are 1)4 pound of flour, 10 ounces 
lard, one-quarter pint of water, salt as 
desired. Sift the flour and salt into a 
bowl, making a hole in the middle. 
Place the lard and water in a saucepan, 
and bring to the boiling point, stirring 
continually. When brought to a boil, 
begin to stir the lard-and-water mixture 
into the flour. When the liquid is all 
stirred in, knead in any flour remaining 
dry, and continue kneading the dough 
as thoroughly as though making bread. 
The paste is set aside for a short time, 
until it cools enough to become stiff ; it 
must not be too stiff, or it will break in 
the working. When the crust is in fit 
condition for working, the pie is not 
made in a dish or plate, but the cook 
models the piecrust just as a potter 
makes a dish, building bottom and sides 
by skillful pats and pinchings until the 
crust is just the right thickness. The 
rolling-pin is used only in rolling out 
the top crust or lid. 
The meat (fresh loin of pork with a 
proportion of fat) is cut into dice, well 
seasoned, and packed solid into the 
crust. The top crust is floated over a 
shallow dish of cold water, to moisten 
it, and then placed over the meat, pinched 
firmly to the walls. A hole is pierced in 
the top, and the pie baked in a steady 
oven; a pie containing three-quarters 
pound of meat requires one hour to bake. 
About 10 minutes before removing from 
the oven, brush the crust with the yolk 
of one egg beaten up with one table¬ 
spoonful of cold water ; this gives a rich 
brown glaze. 
These pies are always eaten cold. 
Boneless chicken pies, made in the satre 
way, are excellent. They are often orna¬ 
mented with wreaths of flowers and 
leaves, cut in pastry, and some English 
towns enjoy a special fame for their 
manufacture. They are exceedingly 
rich, and a terror to the bilious ; still 
they are held in high esteem by our Eng¬ 
lish cousins, though Dickens once de¬ 
scribed the variety of pork pie sold at a 
railway restaurant as a leaden sarcoph¬ 
agus of pastry, containing, apparently, 
the remains of a defunct star-fish. 
Homely Dainties. 
Harper’s Bazar observes that, when 
we think of homely dainties, some of us 
turn with pleasant recollection to tie 
sugaring off of our childhood and youth. 
Maple syrup has a woodland flavor of its 
own far surpassing in subtle delicacy 
those more pronounced suggestions of 
taste which please the palates of epi¬ 
cures. In the days when we liked maple 
syrup, we were young and strong, and 
full of joy simply in being alive. There 
was the excitement in tapping the trees, 
of seeing the syrup fall into the troughs, 
of boiling it to just the right point, of 
eating it while still it was soft, and cool¬ 
ing it, perhaps, in the snow that lay 
around on the hillside. Maple syrup 
and buckwheat cakes are, perhaps, not 
considered dainties to be included in the 
menu of a gourmand, but who that was 
ever a farmer’s boy in New England, has 
forgotten the relish he once had for that 
substantial fare ? 
Another homely dainty beloved of all 
children is molasses candy, and a candy- 
pull is a fete sure to give pleasure to all 
unspoiled small people. It requires a 
certain amount of skill to twist and pull 
the adhesive mass until it becomes soft 
and flexible, but there is no end of fun 
to be had while the work is doing, and 
the pleasure of eating is not one to be 
ignored. 
Other homely dainties are the crisp 
ginger snaps rolled out to a fine paste, 
and cut into perfectly round shapes. The 
puffy crullers, thrown into boiling fat, 
and drawn out at the precise moment 
when they are crisp and brown, sprinkled 
with sugar, and served to a hungry 
Ralph Waldo Emerson, 
in his Essay on Elo¬ 
quence said in speak¬ 
ing of a man whom 
he described as a 
Godsend to his town. 
"He is put together like 
a Waltham \Wtch.” 
