The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
791 
Tennessee Notes 
February and March gave us such 
warm, balmy days, some days too warm 
for comfort, and we made the silly mis¬ 
take of thinking that surely no killing 
cold could follow. Into the soil went 
our bunch beans, early corn, and how 
how they did grow ! Hut April! Well, 
it has been one frost after another ; snow, 
cold wind and ice, until there is nothing 
left. All the bountiful prospects for a 
fruit crop have vanished ; even the rose¬ 
buds have been blighted; the Dahlias 
prove more hardy, though they have been 
cut down once. 
My Wistaria vine! Six long years I 
had waited for signs of buds, and- now 
for the past month they have been coming 
out, and the frost nipping them off. As I 
write, May 2, we have a roaring fire, and 
we swept out any number of flies that 
had harbored in the porches for warmth. 
Turkeys? In spite of the best of care 
two have turned up their toes and died. 
The prospects are surely dismal, but I 
have a few more tomato plants in the 
house, some pole beans yet to plant. The 
peas are in bloom. Irish potatoes grow¬ 
ing out green from the former freezings. 
Last year we had such bountiful crops, 
and instead of being grateful we railed 
at the prices, and the cry was over-pro¬ 
duction. We are hard to please and un¬ 
grateful ; now our hearts are chilled with 
the fear of a complete crop failure; but. 
in looking backward w T e can remember 
other seasons that have been the same, 
and we yet exist. 
Today we are offered $5 per hundred¬ 
weight for veal calves. We can remem¬ 
ber when we thought $6 for a calf a very 
good price, but then we could purchase 
sugar at $4.25 per hundred, shoes at 
$1.25 per pair, domestic at 8c per yard, 
and other things on par. Then the farmer 
was paid according to other laborers; 
today we see organized labor receiving a 
fair price for a day’s work, and the 
farmer keeping up innumerable parasites 
who toil not, neither do they spin—only 
the web into which consumer and pro¬ 
ducer alike have become entangled, and at 
the same time the farmer must help to 
pay the other classes of laborers a fair 
price. Every day the burden grows more 
oppressive. No wonder our shoes are 
ragged and patched beyond repair, when 
it takes 40 dozen of eggs to buy a new 
pair; a whole beef hide to purchase a 
pair of half soles. Should we be con¬ 
tented with our lot, or should we, through 
organization and sensible selling and 
buying, seek to improve our conditions? 
Should we be content to pay a high rate 
of taxation and see our children grow 
up in ignorance, without any school fa¬ 
cilities. while millions of dollars are 
spent in pork barrel rollings that benefit 
a few at the expense of the many, or 
should we decide on some sane, sensible 
method of receiving our just deserts for 
the sake of our children? 
Honestly, I think we, the people, alone 
are to blame. We are supposed to have 
a public library at our county seat. Tears 
ago I had endeavored to borrow some 
books; then the library was not opened 
until four o'clock in the afternoon, when 
country people were mostly at home, 
feeding, milking, etc. Last week 1 was 
there and tried again. Do you know I 
inquired of a high-school girl, a physician, 
the postmaster and finally a bank of¬ 
ficial whose wife happened to be presi¬ 
dent of the library association, before I 
could learn where the library was in¬ 
stalled? And then I learned the doors 
were opened only on Thursday evening! 
No one could tell me what the dues were, 
or how I could obtain the books, I. thought 
once I would just give it up, but 1 mean 
to gain access to one <>f the meetings and 
ask a few plain questions, and then if I 
find it is really meant for country folks 
to have the privilege of reading these 
volumes, I am going to see if they can¬ 
not in some way be given a chance to 
get them. One surely hates to go from 
12 to 20 miles to borrow a book and then 
be told the library is closed. And the 
idea of a little town not over 800 inhab¬ 
itants where even the most influential 
citizens did not know where the library 
was situated. People must seek to better 
their condition before they can iind a 
way. If we cannot improve our home, 
village and county conditions, we surely 
cannot improve the world at large. 
At the present time we are trying to 
raise money to build a sehoolhouse. Sev¬ 
eral entertainments given bv home talent, 
well drilled, have netted upwards of $200. 
People have donated timber, work, etc., 
and then the State is supposed to give 
as much as the people raise, so maybe 
Mane time we will have a school building, 
though if they would only furnish the 
conveyances I prefer the consolidated 
schools. 
Cleaning house and soap-making con¬ 
sumed the better part of last week. You 
don’t know how really glad I am it is 
over with. When one has to husband 
one’s strength, such tasks rest heavy on 
the mind. 
Here comes the boys’ pet squirrel. 
They found him well-nigh starved and 
fed him. Up stayed in the house two 
weeks, then they let him out and he made 
himself a bed in a hollow chestnut out in 
the hog lot, and he only conies in early 
in the morning, lie drinks milk, eats 
some walnuts, shells the heart out of a 
Imndful of corn, then he is ready to leave. 
You should see him scamper from door 
to windows and clamber over the screens, 
hold up one paw, wash his face, blink his 
eyes and then try again to get out. Final¬ 
ly Lee opens the door; he flits out on the 
porch, turns his head, first one way and 1 
then the other, tweaks his tail over his 
back, jumps down the steps and goes 
running back to his tree. Some say keep 
him penned up. but he hates so to be in 
prison, I am glad the children will allow 
him to enjoy his freedom, even if some 
day he will come no more. 
MRS. n. b. p. 
The Currant, a Delicious Berry 
Currant Shortcake.—Steam, wash and 
crush one quart of ripe currants; add 
enough sugar to sweeten, and let stand 
for two or more hours. Mix and sift two 
cups sifted flour, with one-half teaspoon 
of salt, and two teaspoons of baking 
powder; rub in one teaspoon each of but¬ 
ter and lard, moisten with enough milk to 
make a soft dough, turn into a greased 
tin, and bake in a hot oven. While hot 
cut the edges and pull apart with fork, 
fill with the prepared berries, replace the 
top and cover with a soft white frosting. 
Currant Sherbet.—Mash one quart of 
fresh currants, sprinkle with two cups 
sugar, let stand in a warm place for two 
hours, then press out all the juice. Add 
one quart of cold water, the strained 
juice of one orange and two small lemons 
and freeze. Serve in sherbet glasses with 
a spoonful of whipped cream on top. 
Red Currant Cream.—One pint of red 
currants, one cupful of thick cream, two 
tablespoons of powdered gelatine, half 
a cupful of boiling water, two tablespoons 
sugar, also one tablespoon confectioner’s 
sugar, strained juice of half a lemon, a 
few drops of red coloring. Pick the cur¬ 
rants and rub them through a sieve with 
the confectioner’s sugar. Dissolve the 
gelatine with boiling water, add the sugar, 
lemon juice, the currants, the red color¬ 
ing and whipped cream, pour into a wet 
mold. Turn out when firm and garnish 
with pretty ferns. 
Currant Cream Pudding.—Stew one 
pint of stemmed currants with two table¬ 
spoons of sugar and three tablespoons of 
water until tender; then rub through a 
sieve. Blend two ounces of cornstarch 
with two tablespoons of cold milk. Boil 
two cupfuls of milk, then stir in the 
blended cornstarch and the currant pulp; 
stir until it boils, then boil for eight min¬ 
utes, stirring all the time. Remove from 
fire and allow to cool ; then add two well- 
beaten eggs and one tablespoon of sugar, 
and pour into a wet mold. When firm, 
turn out and decorate with stars of 
whipped cream, flavored with one tea¬ 
spoon of vanilla extract and ripe cur¬ 
rants. HELEN A. I.Y.NAX. 
Making Cider Vinegar 
Take half a dozen quart jars, fill each 
three-quarters full with hard cider, cover 
it with cheesecloth and set it on the top 
shelf of pantry. In one month’s time it 
will begin to taste like vinegar, and will 
gain strength thereafter rapidly. w. 
Cherry Gum Mucilage 
Recently in The R. N.-Y. someone 
made inquiries about the gum seen on 
cherry trees. It reminded me that once 
a dear old lady gave me some that had 
been dissolved in cider vinegar. It made 
a good mucilage for many uses. Try it 
and see. jennie lind. 
Old Patterns for Hooked Rugs 
Can some of the readers of The R. 
N.-Y give any of the old patterns used in 
New England for hooked rugs? I would 
like to make two hooked rugs, but would 
like to make three if possible, after some 
old design. The suggestions of old quilts 
were very helpful. e. L. M. 
Chocolate Roll 
Take five yolks and beat with half cup 
of powdered sugar; add one tablespoon 
flour, two tablespoons cocoa. Mix these 
well, add the beaten whites last. Bake i 
in moderate oven 15 minutes, roll and fill I 
with whipped cream and cover with icing. 
MRS. c. u. L. 
Packing Butter 
The following is my way of keeping 
butter for Winter, and I always have 
good success. A 10-gal. jar will hold 
about 48 lbs. I wrap my butter first in 
vegetable paper, then in clean boiled 
cloths. Boil together three gallons of 
water, one-half gallon of sa!t, four table¬ 
spoons of sugar, one of saltpeter. Boil 
three or four hours, and when cool strain 
into a large stone jar. As the butter is 
made wrap in clean cloths in one or two- 
pound pieces and weight it down, so as to 
keep tinder water. Butter will keep 
fresh for months if kept in this way. 
Store in a cool place. MRS. B. C. H. 
Peanut Butter Fudge 
.Foil three cups sugar (granulated) 
with o::e cup peanut butter, one table¬ 
spoon butter, three-fourths cup water and 
one-half cup marshmallow cream till it 
forms a soft but firm ball when tested in 
cold water. Then remove from fire and 
beat hard and steady till cool enough to 
pour out nicely; then spread on buttered 
tins or plates, and when cool cut into 
squares. Care must be ujvon to stir and 
watch closely when coo “ig, so not to 
burn the mixture, as '^eooks on pan 
easily. By leaving the petniut butter out 
and adding any other seasonings, many 
different kinds of delicious candies caii 
be made. Dates or walnuts or coeoanut 
make candy “fit for a king.” Chocolate 
can be used also. ii. E. l. 
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