Jnl©m@s n&k® 
i fete N§li@n 
FROM DAY TO DAY. 
The first sign of spring in the city, 
where grass is scanty and trees tardy 
in putting forth leaf, is the coming of 
the spring hat, and though March went 
out like a lion this year, with nipping 
winds and clouds of dust, the millinery 
display was as early as ever. It would 
appear as though the milliners put forth 
the newest modes in an experimental 
way, to see what buyers are likely to 
accept. The result of this is that many 
of the very early styles prove too eccen¬ 
tric or unbecoming for general favor, 
and are never seen after the early spring 
openings. Glaring colors and eccentric 
shapes are seen among these “ crea¬ 
tions”, and the woman who is persuaded 
to buy a hat early in the spring, with 
the expectation of wearing it during the 
entire season, usually has cause to re¬ 
gret her precipitancy. For this reason, 
if for no other, an economical woman 
will always try to arrange a last year’s 
hat for early spring ; this gives her an 
opportunity to choose, a little later, 
something that does not look too notice¬ 
able all summer. Then, too, the prices 
of the newer shapes are much reduced 
by June, as a rule. 
* 
Glaring color is the chief character¬ 
istic of the headgear thus far noted. 
All shades of violet and purple divide 
favor with tints of green, and these 
colors are often used in combination 
with exceedingly “ loud” effect. A hat 
of bright purple smooth braid, trimmed 
with a heavy wreath of brilliant green 
leaves, was an example to be avoided. 
Many hats of purple straw are seen, but 
there is a hardness about the color in 
this material that makes it invariably 
unbecoming. The same may be said of 
bright green straw, but soft moss or 
willow shades are very pretty, and they 
are admired when trimmed with velvet 
wood violets and their foliage. Pale or 
sallow women should beware of them, 
however, and try a dash of rose or 
cerise, now very fashionable. 
* 
The shapes shown so far have a tend¬ 
ency towards higher crowns, often cone- 
shaped, or tapering at the middle and 
flaring out again at the top. They are 
not to be tipped forward so much as 
last summer. The higher crown is noted 
in sailor hats, too, but otherwise this 
shape is little changed. Then there are 
some quaint little crumpled-up hats of 
rough straw, three-cornered in Colonial 
stvle, with a crown hardlv raised at all; 
they will be charming for the many 
women who look extinguished in a big 
hat. The large “picture hat” is very 
trying to many faces and, if attempted 
in inexpensive materials, it has a very 
cheap look. But many unbecoming hats 
could be rendered becoming by ar¬ 
ranging the hair carefully. If a woman 
brushes her hair smoothly back, fasten¬ 
ing it up in a tight “jug-handle” loop, 
a picture hat will sit upon it as inappro¬ 
priately as upon the sleek head of a 
Quakeress. First study the becoming 
arrangement of the hair, and then the 
hat to go with it. The most common 
fault in selecting a hat is the choice of 
something so elaborate that it over¬ 
shadows the individuality of the wearer. 
An extravagantly trimmed hat may look 
charming on the milliner’s block, but it 
is quite different on the wearer’s head, 
where it is allowed to become the domi¬ 
nant feature of the whole, instead of an 
attractive setting to show up the indi¬ 
vidual. It is always safe to select a be¬ 
coming hat for its simplicity, and to re¬ 
member that its effect out of doors is 
very different from its appearance in the 
milliner’s shop. 
GOOD FOOD FROM THE GARDEN. 
PAPER on the above subject was 
recently read before the Massa¬ 
chusetts Horticultural Society by Miss 
Anna Barrows, associate editor of the 
American Kitchen Magazine. Miss Bar- 
rows remarked that the increased facili¬ 
ties for obtaining meat from the West, 
and the cheapness of canned goods packed 
in California and the South, have made 
it unnecessary for us to exercise our in¬ 
genuity to prepare a variety of palatable 
dishes from the scanty store of products 
available to our ancestors. As yet we 
have not taken kindly to soups and 
salads, and have yet to learn the possi¬ 
bilities of vegetables in these directions. 
Regarding an increase in the use of 
vegetable food, the lecturer observed 
that for the majority of our people to¬ 
day, vegetarianism is hardly practicable, 
but its adherents increase rather than 
decrease. Vegetable substances are less 
quickly digested and less completely 
assimilated than animal tissues ; we are 
obliged to use animals to transfer the 
tough grasses into substances which can 
be digested by us. As our scientific 
knowledge increases, we shall doubtless 
find ways to prepare many substances 
now worthless as food. Animal food 
should not,however,constitute more than 
one-fourth of the whole amount eaten. 
Some of the most troublesome diseases, 
like intemperance, cancer and gout, are 
thought to have a direct connection with 
excessive meat eating. We are begin¬ 
ning to realize that a knowledge of the 
composition of each food is essential to 
its wise selection and preparation. Vege¬ 
tables and fruits afford all the five neces¬ 
sary food principles, but the proportions 
are hardly satisfactory for a perfect diet. 
Fats and proteins need reinforcement, 
and this is accomplished by the use of 
butter, oil, eggs and meats. A large 
part of the vegetables displayed in our 
markets are overgrown, wilted or care¬ 
lessly prepared. Those which suffer 
most from this treatment are radishes, 
cucumbers, green peas, beans, corn and 
summer squashes. The public must be 
educated to appreciate quality rather 
than size, to recognize the facts that 
wilted southern vegetables never equal 
natives in flavor, and that gain in size 
usually means a corresponding loss of 
flavor. The housekeeper knows little of 
the comparative merits of the vegetables 
in the market, and often is no wiser than 
the New Jersey family who used 14.8 per 
cent of the whole sum spent for food, for 
oranges and celery, which furnished but 
1.4 per cent of the total full value. 
Discussing the preparation of vege¬ 
tables for the table, Miss Barrows said 
that there is usually some one best way 
to cook each vegetable, but where one 
kind only is available, it is necessary to 
serve it in a variety of ways. This, per¬ 
haps, explains why the average cook¬ 
book gives more recipes for the potato 
than for all other vegetables. Almost 
any vegetable may appear in due combi¬ 
nation with milk, butter, and eggs in 
soups, fritters, croquettes, souffles or 
salads. Suitable utensils are essential; 
vegetables should not be cooked in iron 
kettles when any others are obtainable ; 
strainers, ricers and presses are desir¬ 
able. Strong flavors frequently are due 
to careless preparation. Careful trim¬ 
ming and thorough washing are essen¬ 
tial. Wilted vegetables are improved by 
soaking. Salad plants need especial care 
in washing to remove parasites as well 
as hellebore or Paris-green. By cutting 
in small pieces, the time of cooking may 
be hastened. Use soft water, and boil 
till tender. If uncovered, the color is 
better preserved and the odors are less 
pronounced. Salt should be added when 
the cooking is partly completed. Soda 
may be used in small quantities to aid 
in softening the water. As a rule with 
all sweet, well-flavored vegetables, the 
water should be allowed to evaporate at 
the end instead of draining it off. Vege¬ 
tables may be warmed over if care is 
taken in the process. 
In the home garden, we look for the 
real luxuries in the vegetable line. The 
best land is none too good for a garden. 
The garden should be planted to fit the 
family as carefully as a library should 
be selected. It has been worth while 
to study fermentation thoroughly, be¬ 
cause an immense amount of capital is 
invested in breweries. Cattle foods are 
investigated, because they are a large 
expense to the farmers. Might not an 
equal profit accrue from a thorough 
study of changes which take place in 
vegetable foods between the garden and 
the table ? 
AN EASTER DINNER. 
Quick Egg Soup. 
Chicken Stew. Potato Souffl6. 
Rusk. 
Pickled Cabbage. Egg Salad. 
Easter Eggs. Caramel Custard. 
Coffee. 
Quick Egg Soup —To one quart of 
boiling water, allow a lump of butter 
the size of an egg, rolled in flour, one cup¬ 
ful of sweet cream, salt and pepper to 
taste. Beat three eggs with a fork until 
the yolks and whites are slightly broken, 
stir them into the boiling mixture, let 
stand a moment and serve hot. To be 
eaten with crackers. 
Chicken Stew. — When properly 
dressed and cut up in pieces for stewing, 
place in a kettle in which is some hot 
butter (part lard or fresh meat fryings 
may be substituted). Have a blaze 
under the kettle, and keep turning the 
pieces of chicken until well browned 
(not scorched). Add a small quantity of 
boiling water and let simmer for some 
time, until perfectly tender, and the 
water nearly boiled away. Cover with 
rich sweet milk, when it comes to a boil 
thicken with flour stirred smooth in a 
little cold milk. Season to taste with 
salt and pepper. 
Potato Souffle — Boil four good- 
sized, mealy potatoes, pass through a 
sieve ; scald half a cupful of sweet milk 
and a tablespoonful of butter, add 
to the potatoes with a little salt and 
pepper, and beat to a cream, add the 
yolks of four eggs, beating them in 
well. Beat the whites separate, adding 
to the potato mixture without much 
stirring. Have ready a buttered bake- 
dish large enough to allow the souffle to 
rise. Bake 20 minutes in a brisk oven, 
serve at once and in the same dish in 
which it is baked. 
Rusk. —Two cupfuls of raised dough, 
one cupful of sugar, half a cupful of 
butter, two well-beaten eggs, flour 
enough to make a stiff dough ; set to 
rise and when light, mold into high 
biscuits and let rise again. Sift sugar 
over the top and bake. 
Pickled Cabbage. —We usually pickle 
a large jar of this in the fall, as it makes 
a nice relish through the winter and 
early spring. Chop cabbage as for cold 
slaw. Have some hot, spiced and sweet¬ 
ened vinegar over the fire in a granite 
kettle. Pour in a small quantity of cab¬ 
bage, let just scald up, then dip with a 
colander dipper into a stone jar, which 
I usually have standing on the stove 
beside the kettle. Scald more cabbage, 
dip into jar, repeating until sufficient 
quantity is pickled. Pour hot vinegar 
over the cabbage in jar, enough to cover 
it well. Place over it a plate and on 
this a weight to keep the cabbage well 
under the vinegar. 
Egg Salad. — Equal parts of hard 
boiled eggs, cold boiled potatoes and raw 
onions chopped fine together. Moisten 
with melted butter and vinegar. Season 
with salt and pepper. 
Easter Eggs —Pour the contents of 
eggs through a half-inch hole in the 
large end, wash and drain the shells 
carefully, and set them in a dish of salt 
to fill. Now make a plain corn starch 
blanc mange. Pour the blanc mange 
carefully through a funnel into egg 
shells. Set in a cold place until per¬ 
fectly hard. Remove shells and serve 
the eggs in a nest of whipped cream or 
fruit jelly. 
Caramel Custard —This dessert may 
be eaten hot or cold—we prefer the 
latter. It may be baked in a pudding 
dish or individual custard cups. Place 
one cupful of sugar in a small frying- 
pan and stir until melted and browned, 
to make the caramel flavor. Now draw 
the pan from the hottest fire and pour 
upon the sugar half a cupful of boiling 
water. This will make the sugar crisp 
again, but let it simmer over a slow fire 
and it will quickly melt. While the 
caramel is softening, beat four eggs 
with a saltspoonful of salt into a quart 
of rich, sweet milk, then stir in the 
caramel until perfectly infused. Pour 
the custard into dish or cups and place 
in the oven. The cups may be placed in 
a dripping-pan half filled with boiling 
water. When the custard is firm in the 
center it is done. mart s. stelson. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 
ANNING ASPARAGUS. — C. B. C. 
asks how to can asparagus. Clean 
and trim the fresh stalks, and pack 
them tightly in glass preserve jars, 
heads up, and all the one way. Fill the 
jars full of cold water, and lay the lids 
on top, but without screwing. Put a 
layer of hay or straw in the bottom of the 
wash-boiler, stand the jars on this, pour 
in cold water enough to come half way 
up the jars, and set the boiler on the 
stove. Let the water come to a boil, 
and continue boiling for three hours. 
Remove from the fire, see that all the 
jars are full to overflowing, screw the 
tops on and put away to cool. When 
the jars are cold, screw the tops more 
firmly, and set away in a cool, dark 
place. 
Soft Gingerbread. —J. H. J., Okla¬ 
homa, asks for a recipe for soft ginger¬ 
bread. We like Mrs. Rorer’s ; it is like 
the real “grandmother’s gingerbread”. 
This recipe calls for three cupfuls of 
flour, one-half cupful milk, one-half 
cupful of lard, 1 % cupful New Orleans 
molasses, one teaspoonful soda, two 
eggs, one tablespoonful ginger. Beat 
the yolks of the eggs and the lard to¬ 
gether, then add the milk, soda and 
molasses; after this, the ginger and 
flour. Beat the whites to a stiff froth, 
and stir them in carefully. Bake in 
a moderate oven three-quarters of an 
hour. 
Staining Floors —A subscriber asks 
whether the linseed and umber staining 
for kitchen floors, described in a former 
issue of The R. N.-Y., can be applied 
to a floor which has been previously 
painted, but from which the paint is 
wearing in spots. Unless the paint is 
entirety removed, the result would not 
be satisfactory. An old floor would be 
the better for a second application of 
the stain. Boiled oil is used; the raw 
linseed oil is a long time in drying. 
Order the Sir Walter Raleigh potato 
at once. It will cost but a two-cent 
stamp for postage. This potato promises 
to be the best of Mr. Carman’s seedlings. 
A tuber sent free to all subscribers who 
apply. 
