THECULTI VATOR. 
375 
€lit linttsnuife. 
FRIED APPLES. 
Who does not like fried apples? We all like apples 
in a raw state, or when they are baked, or stewed; and 
it cannot be denied that they furnish one of the most 
wholesome and agreeable kinds of diet. Although ap¬ 
ples raw, stewed, or baked, may be pronounced excel¬ 
lent and delicious , still, there are many kinds, when 
fried, which are super-excellent :—and they, who sel¬ 
dom meet with a dish of fried apples, often wonder 
why they are not always fried, instead of baked. 
When apples are baked, they often burst open, and 
much of the best part of them flows out as juice, and 
is lost. But when they are fried, the whole is saved ; 
and “ it is a dainty dish.” In those regions where po¬ 
tatoes are few and poor, on account of the rot, fried 
apples are an excellent substitute. A dish of fried ap¬ 
ples is quickly prepared for the table, which is often a 
consideration of no small importance. Wash them— 
cut them in two—take out the stem, core and calyx, 
and, unpealed, put them into a tin pan with butter, or 
the gravy of baked pork, with some water, in propor¬ 
tion to the quantity to be fried—cover them with a 
lid—set them on the stove—stir them occasionally, un¬ 
til they become soft—and be careful not to burn them. 
Romanites, which are often almost worthless, baked 
or raw, “ disappear with good gusto when fried.” We 
may truthfully pronounce despisable Penics. when fried, 
good; but the Porters, Bellflowers, Tollman sweets, 
and a long list which we might name, when fried, are 
really a luxury. Sour apples do not fry well—they 
fry to pieces too much. Non Epicurus. 
CORN HUSK BEDS. 
A correspondent of the Germantown Telegraph des¬ 
cribes his method of making these beds, as follows: 
As soon as my corn is stripped from the husks, I se¬ 
lect the finer and more flexible ones, and dry them in 
the shade. As soon as all moisture is expelled, the 
hard ends, or those nearest the buts of the cob, are cut 
off, and the remainder drawn through an instrument 
purposely constructed for the business, aud which di¬ 
vides them into numerous narrow strips. This is all 
that is necessary; the material is now ready to be put 
into the bed, and in point of cleanliness, durability and 
elasticity, will be found greatly superior to straw, strip¬ 
ped hazel, or, indeed, any article that can be used. In 
Spain and Portugal, and indeed in many other coun¬ 
tries, the materials used for beds, are of the most 
healthy character. In the former country, feather beds 
are rarely seen, and the same remark applies with al¬ 
most equal correctness, to Portugal. In both of these 
countries, the husks of corn are almost invariably used 
as a substitute for feathers. They are prepared and 
sold in the markets by the peasantry, and for a price 
merely nominal. I have known “ under-beds ” of 
this description to last ten years. They are almost 
wholly exempt from that terrible annoyance to cham¬ 
bermaids— dust, and, indeed, from dirt of all kinds. 
Straw, even of the best sort, will last but a short time. 
It chaffs, is liable to permeate the closest tick, and re¬ 
quires frequent replenishing, which is always a disa¬ 
greeable job. Besides, husk beds are much cooler than 
any others. If the ends of the husks are cut off care¬ 
fully, and the stripping properly performed, so that all 
the strips will be of nearly equal width, one will re¬ 
pose as comfortably upon a husk bed, especially on a 
hot night, as upon those of feathers. Their elasticity 
retained for a long time, and if well shaken up when 
is made, you have the luxury of a new bed 
light. 
LARD. 
The following remarks, which we find in the Dollar 
Newspaper, contain some good suggestions, but the 
writer is mistaken as to the “great-grandfather” part 
of the business, for it is absolutely jiecessary to keep 
the rough lard hot for several hours, or else a large 
portion of it will remain behind. If taken off the fire 
as soon as it appears to be melted, at least two-thirds 
of the lard will remain unseparated. It is true there 
is nothing in the whole routine of housekeeping that 
requires more attention, in keeping the lard at the 
melting point without burning : 
I find in the “ Newspaper,” of late, several commu¬ 
nications in regard to curing hams. This is all very 
well, but not one has given us a hint in respect to “ fry¬ 
ing out lard.” To a farmer’s family this is certainly 
an important item, and I propose to give your readers 
practical experience on this point. When the fat is over 
the fire, it requires all attention. In this section, some 
still hold on to the opinions of their great grandfathers, 
and believe in the old practice of boiling the lard for 
hours; yes, a whole day before it can be in a proper 
state to put away. This is a mistaken idea. All that 
is necessary is to put the fat in thick iron pots ; let it 
simmer over the fire, and .as soon as melted, skim the 
lard off, and put it in tin pots. By adopting this plan, 
much time arid labor is saved, the lard is sweet, white 
and good, and can be kept for years. B. F. B. New 
Qastle Co., Delaware, 1853. 
ECONOMY IN WASHING. 
Since the disagreeable rite celebrated as “ washing 
day” cannot be dispensed with altogether, we remem¬ 
ber to have promised some instructions to young house¬ 
keepers overlooking the ceremony for the first time. 
The first grand requisite is plenty of good river or 
rain water; when it is necessary that hard water should 
be substituted, some simple chemical process can be 
used successfully to lighten the labor. If soda is chosen, 
the less quantity that will suffice the better. This 
should be dissolved by pouring boiling water over it be¬ 
fore it is put in the tub ; it will not answer so well 
thrown in in lumps. The soap should not be too new, 
or it will waste. The bars should be cut in pieces as 
soon as brought home, and so exposed to the air. 
We give a recipe for preparing suds, recommend¬ 
ed by good authority : To every eight gallons of wa¬ 
ter add an ounce and a half of yellow soap cut small, 
brie ounce of soda, and one pint of lime-water. The 
clothes should be laid to soak in cold water some hours, 
then put on with the “ suds” cold ; let them come to 
boil slowly, and boil half an hour. Take them out, 
examine each article carefully, and rub with soap 
where necessary. Washing “ Peggies ” or “ Jennies” 
are very destructive things, and nothing but rubbing, 
with judgment will clean some clothes. 
Those who are not so anxious to save themselves 
trouble, will find it better to soap with good yellow soap 
and warm water, and rub them once, or twice, or thrice 
as they are more or less soiled. Boil them well for 
half an hour, and rinse in blueing water.—The best 
laundresses prefer hard water rinsings. 
Flannels and colored clothes shall have a separate 
consideration.— Ger. Tel. 
CURE FOR BONE FELONS. 
My practice with bone-felons, is to direct a poultice 
of bread and milk, flaxseed, or slippery elm, for a few 
days, perhaps five, and then make a deep and free in¬ 
cision to let the matter out. When this practice has 
been followed, I have never seen any loss of bone or 
stiffened fingers ; on the contrary, where timely open¬ 
ing has been neglected one or the other of these casu¬ 
alties has frequently resulted.— American Ag. 
