63o 
THE RURAL'NEW-YORKER 
September 2 
From Day to Day. 
Those Juicy pies that mother makes, 
With light and flaky crust, 
Will bid defiance bold for aye, 
To any pastry trust. 
—Philadelphia North American. 
* 
Many a housekeeper has noticed, 
when stewing rhubarb, how greedy for 
sugar this sauce is, if the sweetening is 
added while the sauce is hot. In a re¬ 
cent bulletin issued by the Rhode Island 
Experiment Station, Prof. Card observes 
that the acid present in the rhubarb acts 
upon the sugar, changing it into glucose, 
and the higher the temperature the more 
rapidly does this change go on. If the 
sugar is added to the sauce when it is 
entirely cool, preferably just before use, 
far less sweetening will be required. 
* 
A friend in Canada speaks of making 
jelly from the fruit of the Japan quince, 
which, though small, is well-flavored. 
This reminds us of the fact that some of 
the most delicious jelly we have tasted 
was made from the fruit of the Red 
haw, known also as Black or Pear thorn 
(Crataegus tomentosa), a common wild 
shrub of the Midule West. The jelly 
was very clear, of a rich deep ruby color, 
with a flavor that suggested a composite 
impression of crab apple and quince. If 
we were given the opportunity of choice 
between crab apple and Red-haw jelly, 
we would prefer the latter. 
* 
A woman in New York State recently 
met with a painful accident, the result 
of a lack of knowledge of common 
things. She desired to slake some lime, 
so she put it in a heavy bottle, filled 
the bottle with hot water, and corked it 
tightly. Naturally the lime set the 
water boiling, generating a quantity of 
steam. The bottle burst with a terrific 
report, pieces flying in all directions. 
The woman was badly lacerated on the 
face and neck, one gash just missing the 
jugular vein, and her eyes were serious¬ 
ly burned by the flying lime. She nar¬ 
rowly escaped with her life, and all this 
suffering is due to ignorance of some 
simple facts in everyday chemistry. 
* 
We heard recently of a bicycling party 
on a country run who were very much 
attracted by a beautiful plant they saw 
growing in one garden patch. This 
plant had tall stalks of dull green over¬ 
laid with silvery bloom, which upheld 
soft globes of frosty green and delicate 
purple. Every one halted to admire the 
decorative effect along the fence. Final¬ 
ly one of the girls asked the gardener 
what those beautiful things were. He 
looked around in amazement and asked 
her what she meant. 
“Why, those lovely plants along the 
fence. I never saw anything like them 
before.” 
The man with the hoe smiled a pitying 
smile. “Them?” he asked, with a 
pleasant chuckle. “Them’s onions gone 
to seed!” 
* 
Years ago. North Berwick, Maine, 
was famous for the wonderful sponge 
cake sold at its railway restaurant. This 
cake was invented by Mrs. Briggs, 
whose husband managed the restaurant, 
and it was said to be lighter, sweeter, 
and more delicate than any other sponge 
cake ever made. This cake was sold at 
its place of origin, and was shipped to 
distant cities, but Mrs. Briggs kept the 
secret of its making a profound mys¬ 
tery, and nothing is now known about 
it except that she used a churn for beat¬ 
ing up the eggs. She also excelled in 
making a special variety of custard pie, 
and this was nearly as famous as her 
sponge cake. It is many years since 
Mrs. Briggs passed into another world, 
and the secret of her cooking has gone 
with her, but her reputation has sur¬ 
vived her. Mrs. Briggs is not the only 
culinary artist whose reputation is 
founded upon cake. There is a firm in 
England that has been famous for more 
than a century, as makers of wedding 
cake; they not only supply English 
brides at home with many-storied, elab¬ 
orately-frosted erections, but also ship 
them, securely packed, to all parts of 
the world. Many an English bride goes 
out from home to a distant bridegroom 
awaiting her in Asia or Africa, or Aus¬ 
tralia, taking an elaborate English-made 
bride-cake with her trousseau. 
* 
Another “easy work at home” fraud 
was recently arrested in New York for 
fraudulent use of the mails. He called 
himself the “Standard Art Manufactur¬ 
ing Company,” and the work offered 
was that of coloring photographs. Of 
course, he required a deposit from his 
victims, $4 being the first demand, and 
equally, of course, they were never paid 
for their work, and could never secure 
the return of their deposits. It is a safe 
plan to avoid addressing such advertis¬ 
ers, who are among the most despicable 
of all swindlers. Another similar con¬ 
cern, which was recently exposed in 
Maine, offered work in making neckties 
at home. Its managers demanded a de¬ 
posit of $1.50 for material worth about 
25 cents, then refused to accept the work 
done, or to return the deposit. 
• 
The recent rise in the price of meat 
will be an important matter to many 
housewives. The retailers say that they 
lose money, even at the advanced price, 
and the housekeeper finds the increase 
a serious matter. On the farm, the meat 
bill is diminished by the poultry yard, 
with the addition of an occasional calf 
or shote, but the town housekeeper has 
no such way of diminishing expense. 
Last Winter, we told about the economy 
of putting away the family pig, and this 
Fall we intend to discuss the best way of 
taking care of beef slaughtered on the 
farm; that is one way to avoid tribute to 
the meat trust. According to statements 
made by the retail butchers, the pack¬ 
ers are giving better rates to foreign 
buyers than to those in this country; in 
other words, we are to pay tribute to a 
powerful organized industry, so that 
they may extend their foreign trade. In 
the meantime, it will be necessary care¬ 
fully to study any way of cooking meat 
that will give the greatest amount of 
nutriment at the least cost. 
* 
A “crown roast” of mutton sounds 
like a new dish; it is, however, merely 
a new idea in serving the rack, which, 
if roasted flat, makes an ungainly joint. 
The ribs must be chopped through where 
they join at the back; they are then 
curved into a circle, the tips of the ribs 
upmost, and roasted like any other 
joint. The meat must not be over¬ 
cooked. It is easy to carve such a joint, 
like separating chops. Rack and shoul¬ 
der of mutton have quite a distinct 
flavor from the leg, and make an excel¬ 
lent change. The shoulder, which is 
the cheapest mutton roast, is difficult to 
carve unless the bones are removed be¬ 
fore cooking, and it is much improved if 
the cavity from which the blade-bone 
has been removed is filled with dressing. 
A simple dressing of bread crumbs, 
flavored with thyme, is excellent for this 
purpose, and English cooks usually 
serve with it onion sauce made by add¬ 
ing boiled and chopped onions to plain 
drawn butter. There is a vast difference 
in relish between a plain, rather scraggy 
shoulder of mutton, carelessly roasted, 
and the same joint boned, stuffed, and 
served with savory sauce. Every cook 
knows that even a choice and expensive 
dish may be spoiled in the cooking, but 
many housekeepers overlook the fact 
that a cheap dish is often entirely de¬ 
pendent on good cooking for its relish. 
We cannot afford to cook badly. 
* 
A woman is mail carrier and stage- 
driver between Tillamook City and Hob- 
sonville, Ore. The district she travels 
over is the wettest in the State of Ore¬ 
gon, the annual rainfall for 1898 being 
117 inches. The roads are bad, often 
mud up to the hubs, occasionally varied 
by a fallen tree or a washout She takes 
her 40-mile journey six days a week, for 
the sum of $312 a year. There are a 
good many men in Government employ 
who do less for their money than this 
Oregon woman. 
Rural Recipes. 
some suggestions for products of gar¬ 
den and field. 
Some of the following recipes, from 
the Chicago Record, will, doubtless, be 
new to others, as well as to us. The 
stuffed baked apples would, we think, 
be improved by peeling as well as cor¬ 
ing, though they would take longer to 
bake than when unpeeled: 
Blueberry Rolls—Make a biscuit dough 
with one quart of flour, one tablespoon¬ 
ful of salt, one teaspoonful of sugar, two 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one cup¬ 
ful of blueberries and enough sweet milk 
to mix into a soft dough. Pinch off 
pieces of the dough and mold into long 
rolls with the hands. Place some dis¬ 
tance apart on greased pans, brush with 
milk and bake in a hot oven. 
Stuffed Cucumbers—Pare and split cu¬ 
cumbers and take out the seeds. Spread 
half a tablespoonful of butter on the 
bottom of a pan, fill the halved cucum¬ 
bers with sausage meat, place them, 
meat side up, in the pan. Add two table¬ 
spoonfuls of water, and put them in to 
bake, adding more water if necessary. 
Delicious. This recipe was copied from 
a cook book used by Mrs. Millard Fill¬ 
more in 1868. 
Baked Apples Filled with Nuts.— 
Wash and core ten large, tart apples. 
Chop fine a cupful of walnut or pecan 
meats, mix with four tablespoonfuls of 
brown sugar, fill the cavities, place them 
in a baking dish and pour iy 2 cupful of 
hot water around them and bake quick¬ 
ly. When done, remove all the apples to 
a dish, except one of the softest; mash 
this to a pulp (first removing the skin 
with a fork); add to the juice in the pan, 
add a dash of nutmeg, a pinch of salt, 
and a lump of butter the size of a wal¬ 
nut. Pour all over the apples. Sift pow¬ 
dered sugar over the top and serve cold 
with cream. 
Farmhouse Pudding.—Butter the table 
pudding dish lightly and cover the bot¬ 
tom with very thin buttered slices of 
wheat bread, from which the crust has 
been cut. Over this layer spread one of 
hot stewed blackberries; cover with 
more thin bread and butter, and then 
more berries. When the dish is filled 
and cooled put on ice and serve with 
sweetened cream. Don’t despise its sim¬ 
plicity, but try it. One quart of berries, 
half a pint of water and three-quarters 
of a cup of sugar. 
Cream of Wheat.—Use double boiler. 
To one quart of boiling water add a level 
teaspoonful of salt and sprinkle in slow¬ 
ly, stirring the while, a very scant half¬ 
pint of cream of wheat. Cook for 15 
minutes (longer will not harm) and 
pour into small bowls, into each of 
which a ripe, cold banana has been thin¬ 
ly sliced. With sugar and cream this is 
a delicious breakfast dish. 
Canning Corn.—This is Mrs. Gesine 
Lemcke’s recipe: As soon as the corn i3 
picked cut it from the cob, pack the 
corn in glass jars, putting in as much as 
they will hold, put on the covers, wrap 
each jar in a towel or have small bags 
made of canton flannel and put each jar 
in a bag. Place them in a kettle of cold 
water, let them come gradually to a boil 
and cook one hour; then take out the 
jars one by one, open each one a second, 
close at once, return to the water bath 
and cook two hours; then draw the ket¬ 
tle to side of stove and let the jars cool 
in the water. They may then be taken 
out and set in a cool place. 
Lemon Pie.—Sweet Fern says that 
she likes the following tested recipe for 
lemon pie: Let the paste come well over 
the edges of a deep, round tin, prick 
holes in the bottom with a fork, and 
bake in a quick oven. These crusts 
may be made at a previous baking, and 
used as needed. Fill with lemon jelly 
made as follows: For two pies three cup¬ 
fuls boiling water, two cupfuls sugar, 
six heaping tablespoonfuls cornstarch 
moistened with a little water. Cook till 
smooth, take irom the fire, and stir in 
slowly the beaten yolks of four eggs, 
then the grated rind and juice of one 
good-sized lemon. As it is not cooked 
much, the pies are never made bitter. 
Pour the mixture in the baked crusts, 
and spread over the tops the stiffly 
beaten whites of eggs and four table¬ 
spoonfuls of sugar. Set pies in oven bot¬ 
tom (with the door closed and not too 
quick a fire), until they are nicely 
browned. We find the meringue is not 
dissolved or the crust soaked percepti¬ 
bly, even the second day. 
_“The hands and minds that have 
not been trained to resolute action and 
thought by some hardships and draw¬ 
backs, are weak to perform their tasks 
when the necessity comes for them to 
take up the burdens of life which must 
come sometime to all who do their duty 
conscientiously and fearlessly.” 
THE AMERICAN WALTHAM WATCH 
Company guarantees every watch=move= 
ment it turns out against any defect in 
material or construction. That guaranty 
holds good the world over. One 
WALTHAM movement, the ‘‘RIVERSIDE” 
is within the reach of every one; it will 
keep accurate time and will last a lifetime 
Any retail dealer will supply this 
movement in any quality of case desired 
either for ladies or gentlemen 
For sale by all retail jewelers 
4 
“ The Perfected American Watch,” an illustrated book of interesting 
information about watches, sent free on request. 
American Waltham Watch Co., waltham, mass. 
