1898 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
towel, put on the rubber ring - , the glass 
cover, and the metal ring, and set it out 
of the pan on the table before filling the 
next jar. When all are filled, tighten 
the screw rings, wipe the jars dry and 
clean, and let them stand on the table 
until perfectly cold. Nothing hot or 
even warm should ever be put into the 
preserve closet, for fear of causing fer¬ 
mentation in the contents of the closet. 
Be sure that the place where canned 
goods are kept is both cool and dark, 
and that the jars are tightly sealed, and 
you need have no fear of their spoiling. 
Be careful that the rubber bands around 
the necks of the jars fit closely, other¬ 
wise air will get in where the band pro¬ 
trudes below the cover, and the tomatoes 
are ruined. Remember, too, to have the 
jars hot, and the tomatoes at the boiling 
point when they are sealed, and also 
that the jar be filled quite full. 
Pears for canning should be of a firm, 
white variety, not quite ripe. Peel care¬ 
fully, removing every particle of skin 
or blossom, quarter them, and remove 
the cores and then boil gently, a few at 
a time, in clear water until tender but 
not soft. Drain on a hair sieve, and then 
scald in a sj'rup made of a cup of sugar 
and a pint of water to every pound of 
fruit. Be careful not to let the fruit 
cook long enough to break it, but only 
A GREEN WINDOW AWNING. Fig. 204. 
to saturate it with the syrup. When 
done, fill each jar half full of pears, let 
the syrup boil a little longer, then fill 
the jars with it to the brim, and seal. 
Many housekeepers think it adds to the 
flavor of their canned pears to boil the 
parings and cores in water for about an 
hour, strain, and use the water in which 
they were boiled in making the syrup. 
SARAH E. GANNETT. 
VINE SCREEN FOR WINDOW. 
Awnings keep out the sun and heat, 
but let in the light. They are, therefore, 
the best protection for windows in Sum¬ 
mer. A kitchen window may frequently 
have an awning of vines, which gives 
both beauty and comfort. Such a design 
is shown in Fig. 204. The lattice work 
is largely made of laths, and so is very 
easily put together. Plant a vine on 
either side of the window, selecting 
quick-growing sorts, and the window 
will very quickly be shaded. If wood¬ 
bine be used, the trellis should remain 
up permanently. D 
FRUIT FOR WINTER PIES. 
To preserve green currants and goose¬ 
berries for pies in winter, gather the 
fruit when hard and green, but sound 
and full. Fill common black glass bot¬ 
tles, or stone bottles with it; shaking it 
down till the bottles are full. Tie tightly 
over the mouth of the bottle, a piece of 
bed ticking, and lay in a dark corner of 
the cellar till winter. They will keep 
for years, and be just as firm and fresh 
as when first picked. Huckleberries 
can be used the same way; they must 
not be too ripe. To preserve pie plant, 
stew as you would for the table without 
a particle of sugar, and can while hot, 
like any fruit ; it is delicious for winter 
pies, and will keep any length of time. 
I wonder whether the readers of The 
R. N.-Y. have utilized what we call cow¬ 
slip greens. They resemble in leaf the 
cultivated spinach, and they grow only 
near a brook. They are cooked just the 
same as spinach, served with hard boiled 
eggs and vinegar. The flavor is delicious. 
They are fit for use quite early. 
SARAH ISHAM COIT. 
R. N.-Y.—The cowslip mentioned is the 
Marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, called 
cowslip in many parts of the United 
States. _ 
EVERYDAY WISDOM. 
To make butter from one cow in warm 
weather, so that it shall be sweet and 
palatable, is quite an art. Frequent 
churning is necessary, and the cream 
should not be allowed to get too sour. 
At the time of putting the cream into 
the churn, a little soda put in will help 
the flavor, and assist the quick coming 
of the butter. A half teaspoonful or so 
according to the amount of cream will 
be sufficient. When the butter has been 
gathered, it may be washed a couple of 
times in some weak brine. The brine 
takes out the buttermilk ; then the but¬ 
ter should be salted, and after a couple 
of hours, it may be worked and packed. 
After the salt is dissolved, the quicker 
butter is worked and packed, the better 
it will be. 
Care should be used in putting away 
the sprinklers which have been used to 
sprinkle currant bushes and other plants 
with Paris-green or other mixtures. 
Fatal accidents have been known to 
occur from these vessels being handled 
by children. 
In painting kitchen floors, instead of 
putting the boards to walk on on sticks, 
it is better to lay down smooth boards. 
The paint is not marred so much this 
way. Mop newly painted floors when 
well dried with milk and water ; it im¬ 
proves the looks and the wear of the 
paint. AUNT RACHEL. 
Rye-Meal Gems. —Two cupfuls of sour 
milk,two tablespoonfuls of molasses, salt, 
soda, and sifted rye meal to make a bat¬ 
ter that drops from the spoon, and lastly 
beat in an egg. Sometimes two table¬ 
spoonfuls of corn meal are added ; they 
stand up better. They are nice warmed 
over or cold, and make a laxative bread. 
Rye meal also makes a nice mush for 
breakfast; eaten with cream and sugar, 
it takes the place of oatmeal, and is 
nutritious and laxative. ray. 
ON THE WING. 
BITS OF TALK ABOUT FARMERS. 
Fruit and Lambs. —Readers of The 
R. N.-Y. will remember references to the 
peaches and hothouse lambs shipped by 
King & Robinson from their farm in 
Seneca County, N. Y. This is a farm of 
specialties, with fruit and lambs at the 
top. The district has an association of 
lamb raisers, who are ready to work to¬ 
gether in the interests of their industry. 
Last Winter, they got together to secure 
better transportation facilities from the 
express company, and as, united, they 
represented about 3,000 lambs, their re¬ 
quest was acceded to with alacrity. An 
organization, presenting a reasonable 
request at headquarters, usually receives 
courteous hearing from transportation 
companies, where isolated individual 
effort would receive little attention. One 
thing worth noting in Mr. King’s case is 
the extent to which corn fodder supplants 
roots in his sheep ration. There is a 
good deal of labor in feeding roots to a 
large number of sheep, especially if cut. 
Oats and peas, which have succeeded the 
fodder corn, and Alfalfa, which is mak¬ 
ing a fine stand, will both be cured for 
the sheep. 
An Ingenious Scarecrow —One poul¬ 
try yard visited near the shores of Cayuga 
Lake furnishes a home for 1,000 White 
Leghorns and P. Rocks, the latter being 
kept chiefly to supply eggs for sitting, 
where there is a demand for broilers. 
The Leghorns are the business birds for 
ordinary egg-producing. The young and 
half-grown chicks have big grassy runs. 
But it appears that the crows have a 
weakness for young chicks ; the owner 
of this yard does not view the sooty 
marauders quite as amiably as Mr. Sling- 
erland does. They carried off several 
chickens, and scared the remainder out 
of a month’s growth. Something must 
be done, and that something was devised 
by the feminine half of the poultry firm. 
She bought several balls of common car¬ 
pet webbing, and stretched this across 
the yards, from side to side, at intervals 
of four feet, and fastened it at each side 
to the five-foot netting which fences the 
yards. This gigantic spider-web is looked 
upon by the crows as some very uncanny 
trap, and they avoid its neighborhood 
entirely. No need to watch the chicks 
now. It is usually noted that crows are 
very much afraid of any novelty that 
they cannot understand. 
Infertile Eggs —“ What do you do 
with the infertile eggs tested out of the 
incubator ? ” “We used to boil them 
hard, and chop them up for the small 
chicks, but we have come to the conclu¬ 
sion that this is not a good plan ; the 
chickens did not seem to get along well, 
and we think they are better without 
them. We wouldn’t allow the older 
fowls to get hold of them, for fear of 
learning bad habits. The mash served 
to the young chicks is baked in the oven, 
in a flat cake, and then crumbled up ; 
we find this far more satisfactory than 
the crude mash.” 
Care in Egg-Shipping. —This Seneca 
County poultryman ships his eggs to 
New York and Philadelphia. The price 
received is usually a cent or two above 
outside quotations. How is this? Of 
course, they are fresh-gathered, from 
carefully-fed fowls, but there are plenty 
of equally fresh eggs which do not real¬ 
ize average price. The secret of the mat¬ 
ter is that they are perfectly packed. All 
are clean, sorted and graded. A market 
demanding large white eggs gets them, 
and nothing else ; there is no mixture 
of tints. This shipper says that he 
ships to a commission man because this 
middleman always does well by him. 
The middleman can, doubtless, recipro¬ 
cate. 
Beans and Wheat. —Here in Seneca 
County, between the lakes, there is a 
good deal of mixed farming, but there 
seems to be an increasing acreage of 
beans. This can hardly be called the 
bean district, but improving prices are 
encouraging this crop. Beans fit in 
finely with Winter wheat, seeding fol¬ 
lowing the bean harvest. In this county, 
sugar beets are not yet grown, for want 
of an outlet. There is no doubt that the 
farmers would willingly take hold if as¬ 
sured of sale for the crop. One man who 
grows beans had a high respect for the 
weeder. He says that those flexible 
fingers are just what they want in beans, 
first along the rows, before the little 
seedlings are fully through ; later across 
the rows. It sounds like heroic treat¬ 
ment. At Cornell, they don’t seem to 
admire the weeder ; used among barley, 
seeded two rows together and two rows 
vacant, this tool seemed to scratch over 
the surface in a futile way that did no 
good whatever. But among the beans, 
it is, evidently, a very useful tool 
The Fruit Crop. —Apples, pears, grapes 
and berries are largely grown along the 
lakes. Spraying and thinning are the 
salvation of the apple crop. “ Does it 
pay to spray?” one grower was asked. 
“ Well, we know it doesn't pay not to 
spray,” he responded. “ Let a man de¬ 
cide that he can’t afford time to spray, 
and he will later, put in far more time 
attempting to kill caterpillars than he 
would in giving two thorough sprayings, 
and have a lot of wormy fruit besides. 
Last season, I had 96 to 98 per cent of 
perfect apples. I don’t need any further 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It it the Best.— Adv. 
455 
persuasion as to the desirability of spray¬ 
ing.” 
An Orchard Mulch. —Comment was 
made on the fact that this orchard, full 
of thrifty 27-year-old trees, was not cul¬ 
tivated, but left in grass. Sheep are 
pastured on it, though the animals are 
not turned in soon after spraying, for 
fear of accident. The spray is the 
familiar mixture of Bordeaux and Paris- 
green, and cases of death among the 
sheep are reported, where the animals 
have been turned in soon after a heavy 
spraying. When the work is carefully 
done, very little of the spray splashes on 
to the ground, but there would appear 
to be risk, if the sprayer is “hustling” 
to get through. It is considered that the 
grass is of benefit during a Summer 
drought, and some orchardists here even 
advocate the placing of a hay or straw 
mulch under the trees in midsummer. 
One danger in this would be the en¬ 
couragement of the roots too near the 
surface. 
As to Money in Plums. —One general 
farmer, who has a number of plum trees, 
observed with much truth, that fruit for 
a distant market cannot be looked upon 
merely as a side line. The man who 
makes money in fruit must devote his 
energies chiefly to that crop, ne tried 
the experiment of shipping 100 baskets 
of plums—chiefly Egg and Lombard— 
last season, and when accounts were 
settled, those plums were just 56 cents 
in debt to the shipper ! It was noted, 
however, that young plum trees have 
been set out in most poultry runs. The 
hilly fields sloping down to the lakes 
make ideal orchards and vineyards, but 
grape growers complain bitterly of low 
prices, and apples appear to be giving 
more satisfaction than other crops. 
Blackcaps and raspberries have been 
contracted for by the canning factories 
at four and five cents a quart, respective¬ 
ly, and the price appears to give satisfac¬ 
tion. Cuthbert is the raspberry of the 
section. Red Cross currant is praised, 
especially for a home market; in addi¬ 
tion to its other good qualities, it needs 
comparatively little sugar. e. t. r. 
50c. Ingrain Carpet 
75c Brussels Carpet 
Our Lithographed Car¬ 
pet Catalogue showing 
goods in hand-painted colors is mailed 
free to any address. If samples are de¬ 
sired, send 8c. stamp. This 
month all Carpets sewed 
FREE, and if your order 
amounts to $9.00 and overon 
Carpets, Rugs, Lace Curtai ns 
and Portieres, we prepay 
freight to any point in the 
U. S. Our 112-page catalogue 
of general Housefuruishings 
is also yours for the asking. 
$10.95 
buys the finest imported 
Clay Worsted Suit, cut and 
made to your order and ex- 
pressage paid to yourstation. 
Catalogue and samples of 
above and other bargains 
mailed free. Address exactly 
as below. 
Julius Hines&Son: 
Dept. 320 
BALTIMORE, MD. 
Frank B. Barkley Mfg. Go,, 
you a Bicycle or Sewing Machine direct from factory 
WE SAVE YOU $12.00to$25.00 
|000. We sell Iflrh Grade Hleycles for Lena 
0- a"""" m 1 h»n Any Other Concern in the Warid. 
1898 Lad lea* or Gent’s Models, $18 up. 
{leftover of 1897 models at less than 
cost; others at $ 8 , $10, $19 and $15. 
'Write for Free I Unit rated Catalogs* 
_ of Bleyelea and 8nndrle«. Address 
Devi. 139 VITTOH MFG. CO., 80 to OSHmrketSt.,Lhle.no. 
Plant Breeding. 
Bv L. H. Bailey. (Cross-breeding and Hybrid¬ 
izing, revised and enlarged.) Contains the 
Facts and Philosophy of Variation; the Phil¬ 
osophy of Crossing Plants; Specific Means 
by which Garden Varieties Originate; De¬ 
tailed Directions for Crossing Plants. Cloth, $1. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York, 
