18G8.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
373 
(;3'“ For other Household Items , see "Basket ” pages .) 
Sea-side Fare—The Q,uahog-(Round-clam). 
■ As stated last moutli, the Quahog of New Eng¬ 
land is called Clam, or Round-clam in New York, 
and southward. Qualiog or Quahaug, is au Indian 
word, and we like to see the aboriginal names pre¬ 
served ; besides the animals are so unlike that it is 
absurd to call them both clams. Figure 1 gives 
the shape of the shell, which is quite different from 
that of the clam given last month. While the shell 
of the clam is thin, this is thick and very flinty. 
In some localities the shells are nearly white, but 
generally they are bluish or lead-colored. Qua- 
hogs are found on muddy bottoms, on or near the 
surface, and are taken by rakes or by “treading out.” 
The fishermen wade at low tide and pick them up 
as they are felt by the feet. When opened, the ap¬ 
pearance, figure 2, is very different from that of the 
clam. The snout is inconspicuous, the “belly” 
or body is the most prominent part, and to this is 
attached a somewhat triangular appendage, the 
foot, by the use of which the animal is enabled to 
slowly move from place to place. The drawing is 
taken from a boiled animal, as the parts show more 
distinctly than in the raw one. Quahogs differ 
in size from that of a half dollar to nearly as large 
as one’s fist, and like oysters and other shell fish, 
their tenderness and flavor differwith age and locali¬ 
ty. Being in season when oysters are not good, great 
numbers are eaten raw. The modes of cooking are 
various; a primitive shore style is to wash the 
shells thoroughly, put them into a pot without 
water, and cook until the shells have opened. A 
considerable amount of water is contained within 
the shells, and is given off in cooking. The ani¬ 
mal is then readily picked out from the shell, and 
Fig. 2.—QUAHOG OUT OF THE SHELL. 
may be eaten with whatever seasoning is fancied. 
This is a ready method of opening Quahogs to 
cook in other ways. To open them raw, a blunt 
knife is placed where the shells meet, and is struck 
a smart blow with a stick; the muscle which holds 
the shells together being severed they spring apart, 
and the animal may be taken out. Soup may be 
made of Quahogs opened in this way, in the same 
way that oyster-soup is made, with milk, butter, 
pepper, and thickened with cracker. A much rich¬ 
er soup is made by boiling out the Quahogs as 
above mentioned, chopping them fine and using 
the liquor for a portion of the soup. Placing over 
a brisk fire and roasting in the shell, like oysters, is 
a favorite way of cooking with many. Young and 
tender Quahogs make a delicious pie. They should 
not be larger than au old-fashioned penny when 
boiled out, and be made into a savory pie with the 
addition of salt-pork, seasoning, and sometimes 
veal is added. Chopped and mixed with a batter 
of flour and eggs, they are fried in fritters, or 
in crumbs, by dipping first in egg and then in 
finely powdered cracker, and frying quickly to a 
nice brown. Quahog chowder in New England, 
(clam chowder in New York), is a dish of great 
repute, and each chowder maker thinks he can 
make it better than any one else. It seems to be 
one of the few forms of cookery in which a gentle¬ 
man may indulge, and many a one well known in 
commercial or professional 
life prides himself on his 
ability to make chowder. 
The essentials of a chowder 
are quahogs, pork, pota¬ 
toes, hard-bread, and an 
old-fashioned iron pot, with 
a close fitting cover. Other 
things may be added, but 
these are essential. Place 
slices of fat pork in the 
pot, and slowly fry it until 
rather crisp, and then take 
it out, put in some qua¬ 
hogs (clams), a layer ot 
sliced potatoes, some brok¬ 
en hard bread, and some 
of the fried pork, cut in 
small pieces, using pepper 
at discretion, go on with 
alternate layers in the same 
order, until enough has 
been put in the pot. Add water, in which a 
little flour has been stirred, enough to cover the 
materials, (do not use too much thickening), cover 
the pot and cook slowly until the potatoes are done. 
This is the general outline which admits of varia¬ 
tions. The quahogs, if large, are cut in several pieces; 
some pour out the pork fat and substitute butter ; 
onions thinly sliced, arc often used; a red pepper 
broken up is an essential ingredient with some; 
tomatoes are sometimes added, and wine even forms 
a portion of the compound. No definite rules 
can be given for making a chowder—it being a dish 
that allows for a display of art—but however 
made it is a most savory and popular compound. 
-- -»—« - — - - 
The Cooking of Vegetables. 
Cucumbers to most people are only known as a 
vegetable to be eaten raw with vinegar, and whatever 
other condiment may be liked. The writer hap¬ 
pens to be fond of them cooked, especially fried. 
Cucumbers grown rather too large for eating raw 
are the best. Pare and slice lengthwise, dip in bat¬ 
ter or in egg, and then in pounded cracker, and 
fry as directed last month for egg-plant. We have 
eaten stewed cucumbers, but never cooked them. 
A correspondent at Shawnee Town, Ills., sends the 
following way of doing them, with the remark that 
cooked thus, they are more palatable and healthful 
than when eaten raw. “ Pare and slice 2 or 3 com¬ 
mon sized cucumbers, put them in a shallow vessel 
with half a teacupful of water, which has previously 
been seasoned with salt and pepper, stew them un¬ 
til soft; then add a large spoonful of fresh butter, 
or fried meat gravy, not lard, also 2 or 3 large 
spoonfuls of rich, sweet cream. While stewing, 
the vessel should be covered and stirred occasion¬ 
ally. Try it.” Others use equal parts of cucum¬ 
bers and sliced onions, fry them first iu a little but¬ 
ter and then stew, seasoning with cayenne pepper. 
Celariac or Turnip-rooted Celery.— This is 
a variety of celery with a large root, and is found 
in-our city markets wherever there is a large Ger¬ 
man population. It is altogether too good a thing 
to be confined to the German or any other people, 
and those who like celery at all will do well to 
grow it, as it is less trouble than the ordinary kind. 
The sliced roots may be used for flavoring soup, or 
peeled and sliced they may be stewed until tender, 
and served with cream, salt, aud pepper, or a sauce 
made with flour and butter. Boiled whole aud 
sliced when cold, it is excellent dressed as a salad. 
Tomatoes, though not among the less known 
vegetables, are capable of being cooked in so many 
ways that we must notice them in their season. 
Many prefer them simply peeled aud stewed, with 
plenty of butter, but cooked only just enough to fair¬ 
ly heat them through. Others stew them, rub them 
through a sieve, and stew again uutil reduced to a 
thick pulp. We like both these ways; they give 
two distinct flavors. The last mentioned manner 
of cooking gives a rich sauce to serve with meats, 
of any kind. But we wish to give some of the less 
common modes of cooking tomatoes. Peel the fruit, 
cut it up aud let the juice drain from it; put into 
a buttered pan with bread-crumbs, butter, salt and 
pepper, and bake for half an hour in a quick oven. 
This is called scalloped tomatoes, aud if tried once, 
will probably be repeated. Broiled tomatoes are 
relished as a novelty. Cut large ones iu two cross¬ 
wise, put them on a gridiron, cut surface down ; 
when well seared, turn, put a lump of butter, with 
salt aud pepper on each one, and cook with the skin 
side down until done. Baked or stuffed tomatoes are 
excellent; large fruit is required; wash and wipe 
each one, and with a sharp knife cut out a good sized 
plug at the point where the stem was attached, be¬ 
ing careful not to cut through the lower surface. 
This cavity may be filled with a lump of butter, a 
mixture of butter aud bread crumbs, using salt 
or pepper, or with any kind of meat chopped very 
fine, highly seasoned and mixed with plenty of 
butter. Put the tomatoes thus prepared in a pan 
and bake for half au hour, or until well browned. 
---» *— t —*-•--- 
A Handsome Flower Stand. 
At one of Mr. Whitlock’s weekly exhibitions, a 
stand was presented by Mr. C. L. Allen, Florist of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., that was noticeable not only for 
the beauty aud tasteful arrangement of the flowers 
it contained, but for the workmanship of the stand 
itself. Rustic stands are often coarse in mate- 
Eig. 2. Fig. 1.—FLOWER STAND. 
rial and in construction; this, while it has much 
the effect of rustic-work, is neat and more in keep¬ 
ing with the furniture with which it would be sur¬ 
rounded in the parlor. Figure 1 shows the stand 
as it appears when empty. Above is au octagonal 
box which contains a zinc pan that may be filled 
with earth, and used for growing plants, or niay 
serve to hold cut-flowers. When used for the last 
named purpose, a convex zinc coyer is placed over 
Fig. 1.— the quahog —(Venus mercenaria .) 
