4o6 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 4 
Woman and 
The Home. 
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FROM DAY TO DAY. 
Paraffin wax as a covering for jelly 
glasses is indorsed by many housekeepers. 
The wax is melted and a layer one- 
quarter inch deep is poured over the top 
of the jelly. It hardens quickly and 
is perfectly air-tight, preventing the 
jelly from molding or growing tough on 
the surface. It is easily applied and 
easily removed, and may be used over 
again. 
* 
One of our correspondents recently de¬ 
scribed her method of laundering goods 
of solid colors, on which starch would be 
likely to make unsightly patches. Dye 
was used to color the stai*ch. Somewhat 
similar is the use of a dyeing soap now 
sold. This soap may be obtained in 19 
different colors, and is especially ad¬ 
vised for cleansing delicate fabrics, such 
as light-colored Summer frocks, the soap 
being selected to match the color of the 
material. One of the peculiarities of 
this soap is that the dye does not stain 
the hands. It would appear very useful 
for renovating shirt waists in the case 
of a woman who perspires profusely, and 
thus bleaches her waists under the 
arms or above the elbow. 
* 
Woolen underwear has been, for so 
long, held up to us as the only hygienic 
garments, that it is rather a surprise to 
find it set aside for linen. A new mate¬ 
rial, very highly indorsed, is linen-mesh, 
as it is called, a strongly woven substance 
of open texture. The advocates of this 
material observe that, while wool is 
excellent for outside wear, owing to its 
slow conducting and absorbing power, it 
is entirely unfit for underwear, because 
it hinders a free evaporation, and ob¬ 
structs the elimination of the excretory 
products of the skin. Flax, on the con¬ 
trary, has high absorbent power, and 
dries out very quickly. Ordinary flax 
materials, however, are woven so 
smoothly and closely that there is little 
porosity and, being a rapid conductor 
of heat, after absorbing moisture, give a 
chilly feeling to the skin. The linen- 
mesh is so porous that it is entirely free 
from this objection, while the air col¬ 
lected in a porous garment, becoming 
warmed by the body, prevents the chilly 
feeling present when a smooth, close 
fabric is worn. In price, the linen-mesh 
garments are about the same as Jaeger 
woolen underwear. 
* 
Cooking lectures are among the at¬ 
tractions at some large New York stores, 
a well-known demonstrator being em¬ 
ployed for the purpose. These lectures 
are free to all—that is, to all who get 
within range, for the crowd is always 
thicker than at a well-advertised bargain 
sale. The lectures are really organized 
as a means of advertising gas stoves, but 
they are none the less interesting. One 
of the demonstrations given showed 
how, with the aid of a good gas range, 
a complete dinner could be prepared in 
one hour. This dinner included asparagus 
soup, fish au gratin, roast beef, aspara¬ 
gus, potatoes, stuffed tomatoes, peach 
charlotte and coffee. The gas range 
naturally effects a great saving of time, 
not only because of its strong, steady 
heat, but also because of the ease with 
which it is regulated. It will also be 
noted that the cooking demonstrator 
loses no time. Everything is done 
rapidly, but without any confusion. In 
one of the lectures, a cake raised with 
yeast was made—a richer edition of the 
familiar “ bread cake”—the flour being 
beaten in with the hands for 15 minutes. 
It was explained that an equal degree of 
success could not be looked for if the 
dough were beaten up with a spoon, be¬ 
cause the warmth of the hand, together 
with the thorough aeration thus given, 
caused the dough to rise while it was 
being worked, and thus hastened the 
process. The spectators at one of these 
demonstrations usually take copious 
notes, but after watching an adjacent 
listener take down directions for making 
a cake, from which she omitted both 
flour and eggs, we have serious doubts 
whether these directions always come out 
just right when put to practical test. 
A number of men are. also, to be seen at 
such a lecture, listening with eager at¬ 
tention. Whether they are disconsolate 
bachelors, endeavoring to lighten their 
hard lot, or married men preparing to 
instruct their wives, may only be guessed 
at; they are quite as deeply interested, 
to all appearances, as the women. 
* 
Darning machines of all varieties have 
been put upon the market at various 
times, and many of them have proved a 
snare and a delusion. Last year, we 
tested one widely advertised machine, 
offered very cheaply, to discover that 
the work was so coarsely done as to be 
fit for nothing but burlap sacking. This 
naturally caused a prejudice against 
anything of the sort, which has been 
greatly lessened by a darning machine 
exhibited at the Health Exposition. The 
principle developed is that of weaving, 
the needle taking the place of the shut¬ 
tle. The same principle is employed in 
all the darning-machines we have seen, 
but usually the teeth which hold the 
threads forming the warp are so coarse 
that the result is unsatisfactory. In the 
machine last named, the threads are 
held so closely together that it is possi¬ 
ble to darn such close fabrics as table 
linen with perfect neatness. Alternate 
threads of the warp are elevated by a 
tiny lever, while the needle is slipped 
under them, then slipped back again, 
and the next set elevated. During the 
darning, the material is clamped firmly 
to a padded block. Specimens of the 
work shown included plaid stockings, in 
which the darning carried out the pat¬ 
tern of the plaid with such fidelity as to 
be scarcely distinguishable. Merino 
underwear, often troublesome to mend, 
can be darned with exquisite neatness 
by using this machine. 
of equal parts of middlings and meal 
will make material for pancakes of very 
toothsome quality. In the same way, a 
mixture of these materials, (in propor¬ 
tions to be determined by trial) may 
give a good biscuit and other hot cakes. 
I have no time to make trials of these 
materials, but your readers will find 
that mixtures of middlings and meal 
will be a good field for experiment. 
Mich. Agl. College. R. c. kedzie. 
RHODE ISLAND JOHNNY CAKE. 
Will you give the recipe for the famous Rhode 
Island corn bread ? When seen upon the tables 
in that State, it has much the appearance of the 
wheaten loaf in color and shape. I presume the 
meal is made from the Rhode Island white flint 
corn, so much esteemed for that purpose, s. c. b. 
Wayne County, Mich. 
S. C. B. has, evidently, allowed corn 
bread, sometimes called corn cake, to 
usurp the worldwide reputation which 
belongs only to the Rhode Island Johnny 
cake. According to one authority, white 
flint corn properly grown in the fields of 
Narragansett, and ground by a certain 
slow-running stone mill made from fine¬ 
grained native granite, which turned out 
a product with a fine, flat, soft grain 
instead of round and harsh, produced a 
corn meal worthy the name of ambrosia. 
Corn Cake —as made by our good South 
County cooks.—Two cupfuls (of the kind 
described, made from Rhode Island white 
flint corn, etc.), one cupful of flour, one 
cupful of sugar, two cupfuls of sweet 
milk, four eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, 
and two of cream of tartar. Stir thor¬ 
oughly, and bake in a biscuit pan in a 
good oven until done, usually about one- 
half hour. This makes a loaf about 1% 
or 2 inches thick, and although not the 
far-famed “ Johnny cake,” commands 
attention and respect wherever pre¬ 
sented. 
The Only J ohnny Cake. —Descendants 
from some of the early settlers in Nar¬ 
ragansett claim the following to be the 
method of making this : Take a portion 
of the before-mentioned meal, more or 
less according to the size of the family, 
season with salt, and moisten well with 
sweet milk; then stir quite thin with 
cold water. The consistency should be 
such that, when a spoonful of the batter 
is dipped upon a smoking-hot. well- 
greased griddle, it can be easily spread 
out into a cake as thin as a wafer, say 
one-eighth inch thick. When properly 
browned, it should be turned and brought 
to just the right shade, and immediately 
transferred to the table and the plate of 
the consumer. Only White-clover honey, 
White-clover butter or maple syrup made 
from the first run of sap, is suitable to 
place upon this ambrosial production, 
and I assure S. C. B. that the memory of 
such a feast will linger long in the 
memory of even a well-fed man. 
Renowned Johnny Cake. —Take a por¬ 
tion of the before-mentioned meal suit¬ 
able for the size of the family, and add 
a little salt and sufficient boiling water 
to scald, swell and moisten the whole 
into a stiff, very thick dough. It should 
be thoroughly stirred during the process, 
so that every particle of the meal may 
be scalded. Add enough sweet milk to 
reduce the mass to a rather stiff batter. 
Have a griddle on the stove where cook¬ 
ing will be continuous, but not the smok¬ 
ing hot stage. Have the griddle well 
WHEAT MIDDLINGS IN PLACE OF 
FLOUR. 
WILL THEY ANSWER FOR PANCAKES AND 
HI8CUIT8 ? 
Can you tell of any instance where wheat mid¬ 
dlings have been used with satisfaction as 
human food ? The rise in the price of flour has, 
evidently, driven many Americans to hunt for 
cheap flour substitutes, and some of our readers 
would like to use wheat middlings for making 
pancakes, biscuits, bread or waffles. How would 
wheat middlings compare in feeding value with 
some of our other ordinary foods? Is it possible 
to use the middlings so that they will not make 
sticky or heavy pancakes and biscuits ? 
I regret to say that I am unable to give 
you any information regarding the use 
of middlings as a human food. In the 
patent roller process of flour making, 
no middlings are produced as were 
formerly made by other processes. There 
are, no doubt, many local mills which 
produce middlings that could be used in 
the way suggested. There is a dark 
grade of flour known as Red Dog, which 
might be more generally used than at 
present. This is the lowest grade of 
flour produced; it has a high per cent 
of protein, but its gluten does not expand 
so well as the gluten in the higher grades 
of flour, hence it is not generally used. 
HARRY SNYDER. 
Minnesota Experiment Station. 
Mrs. Cleveland’s 
Number <june> 
will contain the first photographs 
of Mrs. Cleveland taken since she 
left the White House—together 
with a series of anecdotes of 
Mrs. Cleveland contributed to 
The Ladies’ Home Journal 
bv her most intimate friends. 
10 cts. a Copy 
$1.00 per Year 
I have used middlings for food, and 
found them to be as sustaining as wheat 
flour. This was many years ago. They 
made a sweet, but dark-colored loaf, 
which w'as sticky because the cerealine, 
so abundant in the outer portion of the 
wheat kernel, acts like diastase in 
changing starch into sugar. By mixing 
the middlings with corn meal, this 
stickiness can be modified. A mixture 
The Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia 
