i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
6o9 
COUNTRY COOlvING. 
DAINTY MEALS FOR THE FARM HOUSE 
TABLE. 
N O better material for dainty meals 
can be found than the fresh products 
of garden, dairy and poultry yard. Crisp 
tempting salads, savory, wholesome soups, 
appetizing sauces and cool, delicate des¬ 
serts—these are only a few of the many 
dishes, which under the hands of a good 
cook may daily grace the farmer’s table. 
“ Very easy to talk, but where no help Is 
kept, there is too much work to spend much 
time preparing meals.” I fancy I hear this 
impatient exclamation from some weary 
woman. 
My dear sister housekeeper, I know by 
actual experience, the work and worry in¬ 
cident to farm life. Yes, and I know too, 
of the salt pork, fish and beef, which, well 
packed in brine, are the staples for the 
table. With a good garden, the case is by 
no means so hopeless as many of you seem 
to think. Now, let us plan one day’s 
meals. Remember that, in housekeeping, 
system is necessary, if one would avoid 
drudgery. If all the meals are planned in 
advance, no time will be wasted in wonder¬ 
ing what to get for dinner. Salt meat and 
fish may be cooked in a variety of appetiz¬ 
ing ways, and if you are a good manager, 
you will have a fowl to kill each week, 
from which, if cooked so as to “spread,” 
you can have two dinners, and a breakfast 
dish for your family of five. Pigeons are 
easily raised, and furnish a savory change. 
Four birds will make a dinner fora family 
of five. 
For to-day’s dinner : Ruby soup, crack¬ 
ers, mock birds, brown sauce, boiled pota¬ 
toes, stewed onions, apple or pie-plant 
sauce, potato salad, crisp bread, cheese, 
apple smother, cream sauce, or sweetened 
cream and coffee. 
Ruby Soup. —Mash very fine, three 
boiled beets. Add one quart of boiling 
milk, half a cup of butter, salt and pepper 
to season. Simmer five minutes, and serve 
hot with home-made. 
Crackers.— Two heaping cups of flour, 
one cup of shortening. If lard is used, add 
one heaping tea-spoonful of salt. Mix to a 
stiff dough with sweet milk, roll thin ; cut 
in squares or rounds and bake, after pierc¬ 
ing each side of the cracker with a fork. 
Boiled Potatoes.— This homely vege¬ 
table is frequently slighted in cooking. A 
white, mealy potato is a welcome addition 
to any meal. Wash and scrape or pare 
thin, rinse in cold water, then throw into 
a kettle of boiling water, in which two 
tea spoonfuls of salt have been put. Boil 
rapidly. Drain, remove the lid for a 
moment so that the steam can escape, then 
serve immediately. 
Stewed Onions. —Peel and cut in cross¬ 
wise slices ; then boil in salted water, drain, 
add a little milk a table-spoonful of butter, 
salt and pepper to season. Simmer five 
minutes and serve hot. 
Apple or Pie-plant Sauce.—P eel and 
cut into small pieces ; add to each quart of 
cut fruit one cup of water; stew until 
tender, then sweeten. Serve cold. 
Potato Salad.—O ne quart of mashed 
potato, two finely minced onions, one tea- 
%Ui$'ctUnnc0u$ Advertising. 
Advertisers treat all correspondents 
well if they mention The Rural New- 
Yorker. 
Pacta's Tar Soap 
“Takes and keeps the position of a house¬ 
hold indispensable. For the skin chapped 
by east winds and coal dust, or chafed by 
the friction of rough linen, or pimpled by 
impure secretions, it offers a safe and pleas¬ 
ant corrective. For removing scurf from 
the scalp aud promotion of uniform health¬ 
fulness of the cuticle it is invaluable in the 
nursery. Unlike most medicated soap, it is 
bland, lathering readily, and in odor re¬ 
calls the breath of balsamic woods, rather 
than the drug laden atmosphere of the 
laboratory.”— Marion Harland. 
*** Packer's Tar Soup Is sold at 25 cents. A11 
Druggists. For Sample, mention Rural New-Yorker 
aud send 1 cents, or lu cents for half cake, stamps to 
THE PACKERMF’G CO., 100 Fulton St.,N.Y. 
spoonful of made mustard, three table¬ 
spoonfuls of ham fat, melted, six table- 
spoonfuls of vinegar, salt and pepper to sea¬ 
son. Mix at least two hours before serving. 
Mock Birds.— Cut thin slices of rather 
lean, boiled salt pork ; spread with the fol¬ 
lowing dressing: To one cup of bread 
crumbs, add one egg, one tea-spoonful of 
sage, one table spoonful of minced onion, 
salt, pepper and butter to season. Soak 
the bread and squeeze dry, then add the 
seasoning ; spread over slices of meat, roll 
together ; fasten the ends firmly and brown 
in a frying pan; take out the meat, add to 
the fat in the pan two table spoonfuls of 
flour, and one minced onion; stir, then add 
one quart of water. Season to taste, with 
salt, pepper and a little sage, add the meat, 
and stew two hours. Place the meat on a 
platter, garnish with lettuce, celery leaves, 
or crisp, white cabbage, and serve. Send 
the gravy to the table in a boat and serve 
with the meat. 
Apple Smother. —Peel and quarter sour 
apples. Put them in [a basin, and to them 
add water enough to almost cover them. 
Make a crust of one cupful of flour, two 
tea-spoonfuls of baking powder, one table¬ 
spoonful shortening, one teaspoonful of 
salt, cold water to make a stiff dough. 
Spread over the apples, cover with another 
basin, and boil one hour. The steam from 
the apples will cook the crust very easily. 
Serve with 
Cream Sauce.—O ne pint of boiling hot 
sweet milk, one egg, beaten well, with 
three table-spoonfuls of sugar and one tea¬ 
spoonful of lemon extract. Cook over boil¬ 
ing water and serve cold. 
MARY CURRIER PARSONS. 
HOW COTTON WOOL IS USED FOR 
SEALING JARS. 
T HE process of preserving fruits and 
meats in sealed cans was introduced 
when it was supposed that the air itself, or 
some part of it, coupled with the influence 
of heat, was the destroying agent. Accord¬ 
ing to this idea fruit was boiled to drive 
out the air it contained, then the jar into 
which the hot substance was put was her¬ 
metically closed to prevent the access of 
other air. The process happened to be 
better than the explanation. The facts are, 
says the Illinois Experiment Station, the 
material is first boiled to kill all living 
organisms adhering thereto, and then the 
jar is closed to keep other living things 
away from it. Instead of the air-tight 
sealing, a plug of cotton-wool, through 
which the air freely passes, may be used 
with equally favorable results, because this 
acts as a filter and strains out all floating 
bodies, large and small. In order, how¬ 
ever, to make this experiment successful, 
the cotton itself must be baked to kill 
everything adhering to it, and the vessel 
must have enough of a neck to allow the 
sterilized cotton to be used as a cork. In 
the laboratory this method of preserving 
for days and moaths, even for years, the 
most putrescible substances is in constant 
and abundant use with uniformly satis¬ 
factory results. Hence it is a matter of 
abundant practical proof, as well as a 
theoretical truth. 
HINTS FROM EVERY-DAY EXPERI¬ 
ENCE. 
I F the chimney or stove pipe catches fire 
at a time when it is not expedient to 
allow it to burn out, throw a piece of zinc 
in the stove and the fire will go out almost 
like magic. 
Should soot fall on the carpet at any 
time, cover it with common salt, then 
sweep it up and no stain will be left. 
When the turkeys are picked in the fall 
save all the tail and wing feathers for 
brushes. Put all the tail feathers by 
themselves. Take a large needle threaded 
with strong black thread and string the 
feathers evenly. Select those of nearly 
equal length and which point in the same 
direction (those from right and left wing 
point differently) to go together. Put only 
enough for one brush on each thread. Dry 
thorougnly, then roll them into shape, 
sewing them together as you go. Finish 
the ends with a bit of bright cloth as a 
cover aud a loop of braid to hang the brush 
by, and you have a good, durable brush for 
many uses. 
IF the butter seems a little “off color” 
when churned in summer, let it stand in 
the light in a cool place for two or three 
hours, and no butter color will be needed. 
If it is always light-colored the fault is 
usually with the cows, and cannot be 
remedied except by artificial coloring. 
Rings from old suspenders, or even cur¬ 
tain rings, make excellent hangers for 
holders. 
An old sewing-machine frame with a 
wide board on top, makes an acceptable 
ironing table. If needed for no other use 
the sheets may be tacked smoothly to the 
table. The top sheet should be the size of 
the table and put on by driving the tacks 
rather lightly so they may be easily re¬ 
moved for washing. If the cloth is drawn 
uuder the board and tacked on the under 
side, there will be no danger of catching 
lace or trimmings in the tacks. There 
should be a bag fastened under the table 
for holders, cloths and paper for cleaning 
the irons. The whole may be covered with 
a neat cloth when not in use. 
If there is any unpleasant odor to kero¬ 
sene lamps when burning, it is usually 
owing to carelessness in cleaning the 
burners. Put them ou the stove in a basin 
of suds and let them come to a boil, re¬ 
move from the stove aud clean them 
thoroughly with a feather and an old 
tooth-brush. Be sure that the wick ruus 
smoothly through the space intended for 
it, and if it is bound in any place, remove 
the pressure by the aid of an old pair of 
scissors, a large horse-shoe nail or other 
flat surface. If it is necessary to use the 
old wick, wash it in hot suds, rinse and 
dry, then iron flat, and it will be nearly as 
good as new. Wash the lamp, both inside 
and out, fill with fresh oil, aud you will 
find the odor gone unless the burner is de¬ 
fective. S. A. LITTLE. 
WOMAN’S HAPPIEST HOUR. 
T HAT the rage for “ interviewing,” or 
at least getting the views of promi¬ 
nent people on every topic under the sun, 
is by no means on the wane, is shown in 
almost every paper that one may take up. 
The Ladies’ Home Journal has been en¬ 
deavoring to find out by this kind of testi¬ 
mony which is woman’s happiest hour. 
Louise Chandler Moulton says it is “the 
hour in which Love is born,” when he is 
still a sweet, shy, new comer, whom Hope 
leads by the hand. Rose Terry Cooke— 
who, by the way, describes herself some¬ 
where as a “ hot-tempered, old woman”— 
questions “ why should not the last hour of 
a woman’s life be the happiest ?” Mrs. 
Whitney thinks she has not yet had her 
happiest hour, aud that it is in expectation 
with almost everybody. “The Duchess” 
agrees with Mrs. Moulton and says that it 
is the time when a woman is able to say 
“ Yes,” to the most important question of 
her life. Jennie June is of the opinion 
that the happiest “hour” is limited to 
moments, and that unalloyed happiness 
usually springs from negative causes, like 
the absence of a grief, or the relief from the 
pressure of a great anxiety. Mrs. Frank 
Leslie thinks it is when a girl receives, or 
rather prepares, for her lover after a long 
absence. Frances E. Willard’s idea of hap 
piness is “ painless, constant, beneficent 
activity.” Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher 
thinks the happiest hour can scarcely come 
to all women under the same circum¬ 
stances, and that only after a long acquaint 
auce with any woman could we guess what 
might be her happiest hour. A party 
dress, a betrothal, a mother’s joy, a dear 
one restored almost from death itself, the 
first solemn conception of God’s pardon for 
sin, any of these might be the happiest 
time, according to the nature of the 
woman. Sarah K. Bolton’s idea of happi¬ 
ness is “ plenty of congenial work, and an 
effort to realize Emerson’s motto, 1 Help 
somebody.’ ” 
In writing to advertisers please always 
mention The Rural. 
The Shah of Persia 
Though advanced in years, has hair of raven 
hue. Gray hairs are strictly prohibited in 
tiis dominions, and hence the large ship¬ 
ments to that country of Ayer’s Hair Vigor, 
by the use of which the Shah’s subjects save 
not only their hair but their heads. Ayer’s 
Hair Vigor restores the natural color of the 
hair. It should be on every toilet-table. 
“ Some time ago my hair began to fade and 
to fall out so badly that I thought I should 
be bald; but the use of Ayer’s Hair Vigor 
has restored tne original color and made my 
hair strong, abundant, and healthy. It does 
not fall out any more.” — Addie Shaffer, 540 
Race st., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
“My hair (which had partly turned gray) 
was restored to its youthful color and 
^beauty by the use of a few bott es of Ayer’s 
•Hair Vigor. I shall continue to use it, as 
.there is no better dressing for the hair.” — 
‘Gaido Gapp, Georgeana, Ala, 
Ayer’s Hair Vigor, 
PREPARED BY 
DR. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
Sold by all Druggists ana Perfumers. 
Tull’s Pills 
The dyspeptic, the debilitated, whether 
from excess of work of mind or body, drink 
or exposure in 
MALARIAL REGIONS, 
will find Tutt’s Pills the most genial re¬ 
storative ever offered the suffering invalid. 
BORDENTOWN (N. ,1.) FEMALE COLLEGE. 
Graduating Courses In Belles lettres. Vocal and la 
strumen al Music. Degrees confe*red. Stenography 
and Type-Writing. In all respects one of the nest 
Schools in i he State. _ 
Rev. WM. C. BOWEN, A. M., President. 
V MERICAN KINDERGARTEN' NORMAL SCHOOL. 
Twenty sixth year, begins Sep'emher 2L at 59 
Burnet st , East Orange, N. .1 . and 87 West 22nd st,. 
New York. Emily M Coe, Principal, and Editor of 
American Kindergarten Magazine, now in tenthyear. 
New York Trade Schools 
First Ave., 67th and 68th St., New York. 
Evening instruction in Plumbing, Bricklaying, Car 
pentry, House aul Sign Painting, Fresco Painting, 
Plastering aud Blacksmith's Work, commences Ocio- 
ber 22, 1S9 J. Terms moderate. 
A three months’ Day Course of instruction In Plumb¬ 
ing. will commence on Dec-eraoer 3, terms $35; in 
House, Sign and Fresco Painting ou December 3, 
terms g-io; in bricklaying aud Plastering on January 
6,1891, terms $40; in Carpentry ou January 6, terms 
$35; lu Stone Cutting on January fi, terms $35. 
Send postal card for circular. Illustrated with photo 
engraving of scholars’ work, or call and see work 
done last seasou. 
JOHN DE WOLF, 
LANDSCAPE 
Gardener and Surveyor. 
THE FASHIONABLE VEIL. 
A LL the tirades that have ever been 
launched against this fragile accessory 
to a woman’s costume have thus far been in 
vain, not even the blessing of good eyesight 
weighing in the balance against it; but 
a writer in the periodical mentioned above 
makes it appear in an ill light indeed, while 
apparently not intending it. In fact, she 
has a bad word for nearly every style, and 
brings ij out in a way to touch the most 
sensitive point—good looks. Thin veiling 
with patches of chenille set far apart upon 
it is difficult to arrange so as uot to have 
the spots come on the nose or give one a 
black eye ; plain tulle is too short-lived 
“ for any use; ” plain, black tulle adds 10 
years to the appearance; blue will an¬ 
nounce the least suspicion of powder, and a 
veil with a border is apt to give an old look, 
especially if it is so drawn as to bide the 
mouth. Might she not have added that 
veils are a delusion and a snare anyhow ? 
Country Places visited and consultations for im 
provements at small expense. No connection with 
any commercial establishment. All communications 
will receive prompt attention. Address care of The 
American Garden. Times Building, New York. 
Superior. 
laft-ND 
Vrite for 
C 1RCULARS 
GqUVERNEUR.N.i' 
Strawberry' syrup served with bananas 
sliced, gives a union of flavors that is es¬ 
pecially agreeable to some palates. 
5 
TON SCALES 
$60 
k Beam Box Tare Beam , 
ALL. SIZES % i 
2* for 
JONES 
OF 
BINGHAMTON! 
V& N. Y. 
