346 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
change for the better results as age advances, but 
is it not too bad to go for years and years without 
ever getting a clear view of anything not close be¬ 
fore the eyes ? We were all agood deal moved, many 
years ago, when a doin' inmate of our family ex¬ 
claimed on first putting on myopicglasses : “ Why, 
how pretty everything is! Oh! I can see the 
edges of the green leaves ! ” 
Speaking of old sight, or the change that usually 
takes place in eyes originally normal at about the 
vge of forty-five years, Dr. Williams says : “ When 
these symptoms of loss of adaptive power begin 
to be felt, the eyes should be aided by convex 
glasses of sufficient power to compensate for the 
deficiency; otherwise they are fatigued by futile 
efforts, and yet more serious disability may result. 
It is useless to postpone wearing glasses in the 
hope that the necessity for resorting to them may 
be overcome.” He advises, for near sight and for 
old sight, the weakest glass which gives distinct 
vision at the desired distance. 
Parents are often alarmed by the sudden appear¬ 
ance of “cross-eyes ” (or strabismus) in young 
children. It is quite common, in a slight degree, 
when children are teething. This very morning I 
perceive that my baby’s eyes are not exactly straight, 
and once before I have seen the same slight devia¬ 
tion, but without alarm. At both times a severe 
crying spell has preceded such a result, and I am 
enly more than ever determined to be, as far as 
possible, her obedient servant until teething is over. 
This is a secret, however! I hope she will not find 
out that her will is law here (and this will not be the 
case exactly), but any nervous excitement must be 
Warded off from a system already taxed with the 
great business of getting a mouthful of teeth. My 
first child looked cross-eyed a very little for many 
weeks when teething, and it gave me much anxiety. 
How or when it disappeared I never knew. 
But real strabismus is a thing not to be lightly 
treated. It sometimes results from convulsions or 
from whooping-cough. An operation by a skillful 
surgeon or oculist is then of great importance, 
aud Dr. Williams says: “It is impossible to insist 
too strongly upon the importance of an early ope¬ 
ration for the relief of strabismus, and on the fal¬ 
lacy of the popular belief which thinks it probable 
that ‘ the child may outgrow it,’ or considers it 
best to 1 wait until the child is older ’ before having 
anything done. The sight, in thousands of eyes, 
has been sacrificed to these erroneous opinions.” 
When one member of a family is afflicted with 
inflamed eyes, or with any disease of the eyelids, 
the greatest care should he taken that no one else 
uses the same towel, as eye diseases are often com¬ 
municated in this way. 
A Young Wipe. — A little note came to me the 
other day, inclosing a long letter to my sister, 
whose address the writer had lost. That little note 
came home to my heart as news from heaven. It 
said : “I am married now, and am very happy, for 
a better husband I could not have—one whose con¬ 
stant aim is to do right, to do what is for the wel¬ 
fare of all around him.” 
Perhaps you think she only felt like all young- 
wives. All the better, if this were true—but I am 
afraid it is not. The ostentatious appearance of 
conjugal affection is very common I know, but love 
like M.’s one does not see every day. I had the 
pleasure of reading the long letter too, and it was 
clear as .day that a pure and noble love had done a 
great work for M. in the way of womanly culture. 
She loves her husband for what is God-like in him. 
Idolatry is hardly possible in such a case. It is not 
his mere moral perfection, it is his aim, his motive, 
his spirit that she loves. Not a word did she say 
of his fondness for her, and she only mentioned in¬ 
cidentally that he is a farmer, and that they would 
have to live very economically for some years. She 
is all alive to learn and to grow, and wisdom and 
growth are sure to come to a soul that covets only 
the best gifts. Not for “ his sake ” simply does she 
aspire to learn aud grow, but this love is to her 
true woman nature what the warmth of spring-time 
is to the slumbering earth. I don’t believe the 
great Jubilee in Boston could give my soul such an 
“ outing” into the heavenly realms as that simple, 
sincere note and letter gave. 
It is very possible that as years go by M. will find 
that her husband is not all that she believed him 
to be. One illusion afterauotlier may vanish away, 
until he may seem to her quite a commonplace 
man after all. Character and temperament are two 
very different things. M.’s love is based upon 
character, and yet she may be considerably mis¬ 
taken in her husband’s character. And then her 
husband’s temperament and habits may not always 
harmonize with her own. If she has disappoint¬ 
ments of this kind, I hope she will know how to 
make the best of them, summoning common-sense 
and conscience to help her through. For some 
years I have been watching some of those people 
who don’t believe in living with a husband or wife 
who is not in all respects agreeable to their own 
disposition; people who change one “mate” for 
another by means of divorce, believing that mar¬ 
riage is good for nothing unless one finds one’s 
exact “true mate.” The last condition of such 
persons is almost sure to be worse than the first. 
Of course, it is best to avoid mistakes in marry¬ 
ing, as far as one is able, and it is a step to be taken 
with very great caution. But there are very few 
persons who do not find some disappointment in 
marriage. Love throws such a halo around the 
beloved object; we love our ideal of perfect 
humanity, and human nature can not yet satisfy 
that ideal. But all is not gone when one wakes 
from this young dream. Better things remain for 
those whose aim is true. 
“ Rye Graham.” —Several weeks ago, Mr. R. 
brought home from the mill, along with other 
things, about twenty pounds of rye Graham, rec¬ 
ommended as very good. I did not know how to 
use it, and felt some doubts whether we should 
like it. But now it is all gone, and it went pretty 
easily after all. First we tried 
Rye Light Cakes, baked in gem pans, and this 
is the recipe: One pint of milk, three eggs, a table¬ 
spoonful of sugar, and a salt-spoonful of salt. Rye 
flour enough for the thickness of griddle-cake bat¬ 
ter. Bake half an hour. 
Rye Bread we made in this fashion: For mix¬ 
ing, take one quart of warm water and one quart 
of milk. Thicken this with a teacup of corn-meal, 
and rye-flour enough for a common bread-sponge. 
Stir in about % teacupful of good yeast. Let it 
rise in a warm place, and when light knead it quite 
stiff with rye-flour. Let it rise again, and bake 
it well. 
Rye Gems we make like the Graham gems, mix¬ 
ing them a little stiffer, as rye is inclined to be 
sticky. I observed that these gems always “ took ” 
better at our table when they were made one third 
wheat Graham and two thirds rye ; and then they 
were best when the whole was sifted with a coarse 
sieve, which removed the coarsest part of the bran. 
Rye Rolls we made in two ways, mixing them 
with sweet milk. 1. Make a dough with milk and 
flour, stiff enough to roll an inch in thickness. 
Cut in strips an inch wide, and bake on a buttered 
tin. 2. Mix your batter of flour and milk stiff 
enough to take up a large spoonful in your hands, 
previously flouring them to prevent sticking, and 
roll the dough with your hands into straight rolls 
about an inch and a half in thickness. If these are 
floured, the baking-pan need not be buttered. 
Rain-Water Barrels. —Where it is desirable to 
catch rain-watel' for washing, aud there is no cis¬ 
tern for the purpose, kerosene barrels are very 
useful. You can buy them for seventy-five cents 
apiece. Light a match and apply it to the oily 
inside of the barrel, and it will burn away the oil 
and give you a clean whole barrel. Of course, 
none but an idiot would do this where the flames 
would endanger house, barn, or other property. 
Mol lie Wants to Know. 
One of the Household sisters, who signs herself 
“Mollie,” is in trouble. As Mollie lives away off 
in Oregon, we hope some housekeepers not so near 
the setting sun will come to her help, and put her 
in the way to “ suit George.” 
“I should like to ask how to make good tender 
doughnuts, raised with yeast; also how to make 
tip-top stuffing for chicken. I have tried every re¬ 
cipe I know of, but they have all failed to suit 
George.” 
Household Items. 
BY MRS. F. H. R. 
Lamp Chimneys are most apt to crack after being 
washed. In my own experience, they are less apt 
to break if moistened with the breath and polished 
with a cloth or paper, and afterwards with a chamois- 
skin, which gives them a clear brilliancy. 
Tin-Ware.— If a housekeeper is ambitious, and 
prides herself on shining tin-ware, let her use 
whiting. Wash the tin-ware clean and wipe dry, aud 
then polish with a dry cloth and dry whiting. That 
article is cheap, and gives a new, bright look to 
everything it is used on. For the tea-kettle and 
large coffee-pot (which finds its way on to our 
breakfast-table, though there is a silver one in the 
house) nothing is so effective. 
Breakfast Breadstuffs. —Has any one ever 
tried what I am pleased to call “ corn-muffins” ? 
I make them with buttermilk, corn-meal, a little 
flour, a little butter or lard, salt, and soda, and 
bake them in my muffin-irons. They are beau¬ 
tifully crisp and light. They need to be quite 
thick—almost like “Johnny-cake.” They have a 
chance to bake thoroughly through in the shallow 
irons, and we are vgry fond of them. We use 
canaille a great deal, made into muffins or “ gems,” 
in the same way, leaving out the tablespoonful of 
butter or lard or sour cream. 
A great many, iu making wlieaten pan-cakes, 
fritters, and pot-pie, use eggs. I think this is a 
mistake, aud never use any in mine. They rarely 
ever fail of being light, though I use nothing but 
buttermilk or sour milk, flour, salt, and soda. 
Cream-Cake. —A cheap and excellent cream-cake 
for every day is made in this way: Break two eggs 
into a eup, and fill the cup up with sour cream. 
Add one cup of sugar, one cup of flour (perhaps a 
very little more), salt, soda, and nutmeg. This 
can be used also for a jelly-cake. 
Ham and other Omelets. 
Half a pint of milk with two teaspoonfuls of flour 
carefully intermixed, and three spoonfuls of finely- 
powdered cracker, sifted ; add six eggs, well-beaten ; 
butter a griddle, stir the omelet mixture well 
together, and pour thinly and evenly enough to 
cover the griddle; then immediately scatter overthe 
surface of the omelet a layer of finely-miueed ham ; 
then fold immediately half of the omelet over on 
to the other half; then fold once more, so that it 
will come off the griddle in the form of a quarter 
of a circle, four-double. Finely-shred onions and 
minced veal can be used in the same mauner. This 
quantity will make enough for six persons. W. 
'Fo E 3 I<*]kIe Msirtyiiias.—Pick while yet 
soft enough to be easily penetrated by the thuin - 
nail, and throw into brine made strong enough to 
bear an egg. They are ready for pickling iu ten 
days, or may be kept iu the brine longer. When 
wanted to pickle, they are taken from the brine, 
washed in cold water, aud soaked in vinegar two or 
three days. Then add about two pounds of sugar 
to one gallon of vinegar, with cloves, allspice, or 
other spices to the taste ; tie them in a bag, and let 
them soak in the vinegar until the strength is ex¬ 
tracted ; heat the vinegar to boiling and pour upon 
the Martynias, which should previously have been 
removed from the vinegar in which they were 
soaking, and placed in a cask or other suitable 
vessel. After a few days they are ready for use. 
