62 
5 lW Sfloral iSttlkiiet uml ftctoriral 
iome feoHijvoL'iiion^ 
)atr$dkftjmir$ + 
HOUSEKEEPIK G. 
The first thing necessary is, of course, a house to 
keep, and the second thing needful, is—experience. 
Not that young people cannot acquit themselves cred¬ 
itably in this line, but an experienced housekeeper can 
do her work in a quiet, systematic way, which is not 
near so wearying as the anxious, nervous manner that 
is habitual with most young persons. Many a girl, in 
the absence of servants, has been compelled to get a 
dinner. At first she is fired with ambition; she puts 
on the proverbial “ cheeked apron,” which has been 
allotted to those unhappy beings whose domain is the 
kitchen, in a most ecstatic frame of mind. She has 
repeatedly heard her father tell how his “ mother used 
to cook so and so,” and she determines that her 
materials shall be prepared that very way. But alas ! 
she fiuds out that “ things are not what they seem,” 
and by noon she agrees perfectly with the old house¬ 
keeper who said “ housekeeping ain’t no joke! ” 
A very good piece of advice to amateurs, in this 
line, is, not to undertake too much. Of course it 
would he a grand triumph, when father, brothers and 
sisters come home hungry, to place before them a 
Steaming soup, a savory roast, well prepared vegeta¬ 
bles, and a most delectable pudding. But, alas ! 
“there is many a.slip twixtthe cup and the lip!” 
Most likely, instead.of triumphing in such a brilliant 
success,, we will, if we attempt too much, have the 
mortification of seeing our beloved “paterfamilias” 
sitting at the head of the table, patiently eating with 
his fork a very mushy substance, which came out of 
the soup tureen, while your less considerate brothers 
openly avow their disapproval of the “ browned and 
roasted, black and burned ” viands. If ever a woman 
is tempted to commit suicide, it is at such a crisis ! I 
can think of nothing that would comfort me in such 
dire calamity, unless it were a fresh Floral Cabi¬ 
net, or a good “dig” in the flower garden. 
An experienced housekeeper can prepare “goodies” 
out of materials which might he accounted almost 
nothing. I know of a housekeeper, who, when the j 
cake box is empty, will go into the pantry and mix 
together a lump of butter, several eggs, a little milk, 
flour, sugar, and soda, slap it in the stove, and when it 
again emerges, it is a beautiful, light brown cake. If 
she has company for tea, the cake is much admired 
both by w< >rd and deed, and if asked the name of it, 
she confesses that she manufactured it impromptu. A 
young cook must needs get the receipt hook, read the 
cake receipt carefully over, take exactly the amount 
of every tiling called for, and perhaps the cake is not 
presentable in the end. 
One great help in keeping a nice table is fruit; it 
ought to be on the dinner and supper table, through 
the season, for in the heat of summer one scarcely 
wants anything else. Then a good supply of canned ; 
fruit, jelly, and preserves, will give the finishing touch 
to the table throughout the long winter. 
A table should always he neatly set. Preserve me 
from a table whose soiled cloth looks as though it had 
been slung on, without the slinger’s caring whether it 
fell straight or not! Put on a clean cloth nicely, place 
the covered dishes with some regularity, and whether 
there is anything in them or not, is of secondary im¬ 
portance. Dorothea. 
one 
White Pound Cake. —One pound of sugar, 
of flour, three-quarters of a pound of butter, 
and one-third of a teaspoonful of saleratus. 
Furmity.— This very healthy and palatable dish 
is made by boiling wheat in water until soft, which 
will require five or six hours. I thiuk nice winter 
wheat the best, it requires a good deal of water to 
begin with, a hit of salt, and close watching toward 
the last, that it does not burn. When it is done and 
the water boiled out as near as it can he with safety, 
turn it in a pan or crock to he used as you want. It 
is very good to eat while hot with a little butter, or 
sugar, or in a howl of milk. But for a breakfast dish 
the children used to like it the best with thickened 
milk made the usual way ; an egg stirred with the flour 
makes it rich. For a dish that holds a gallon, fill it 
half full of the cold boiled wheat, a teacupful of sugar, 
the same of raisins, and some nutmeg grated, chop it 
up a little, and when the thickened milk is ready, turn 
on the wheat enough to fill the dish, and mix it a 
little. Then you will have a dish for the little folks 
they will like very much. The wheat will keep several 
days in cold weather. 
Sponge Cake. —Two cups of sugar, two cups of 
flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful cream tartar, half 
teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in small half cup of 
water, lemon ; do not heat the eggs separate. 
Rice Muffins. — One half cup of boiled rice, boiled 
soft, add to this three spoonfuls of sugar, hit of butter 
the size of an egg, one pint of sweet milk, one-half 
cup of yeast, two quarts u£ flour and a pinch of salt; 
let it rise over night, if necessary; add in the morning a 
little soda. 
Nice Omelet. —Beat six eggs, whites and yolks 
separately, add six tablespoonfuls of milk, and a little 
salt, and heat all well together. Place in the frying 
pan a piece of butter the size of an egg, pour in the 
mixture and cook over a slow fire ; when firm at the 
edges turn half over and cook a moment longer. It 
will be found very delicate and nice. 
Snow Pudding.— Desulve three tablespoonfuls of 
com starch in a little cold water, and add to it one 
pint of boiling water and the whites of three eggs 
beaten to a froth, put into an earthern pudding dish, 
place in your steamer and steam ten minutes. 
Sauce for the above, beat the yolks of the three 
eggs, add one cup of sugar, one of milk, a bit of hut 
ter, size of a walnut; boil a few minutes. 
To Andiron Lovers.— If any of our friends enjoy a 
blazing wood fire, and with it shining brass andirons, 
we recommend the following method for polishing 
until the gilded hall on every one will present many 
phases: First use a cotton cloth saturated with vinegar 
to rub off the tarnished stains, and then wipe dry; 
after this is done take a flannel cloth and polish them 
with dry whiting; and the result will he a white glit¬ 
tering appearance calling forth the. admiration of every 
one who enters the apartment they adorn. 
Stewed Cabbage.— Many persons are fond of cab¬ 
bage, hut are not at all fond of the unpleasant fumes 
which jienetrate the entire house during the process of 
boiling. Therefore we recommend a manner of cook¬ 
ing that renders the vegetable so pleasant to the taste 
as to obliterate all prejudice against its free use. 
Reduce the cabbage to small pieces nearly flue enough 
for slaw, then stew for a half hour in a covered sauce¬ 
pan with not enough water to cover it; when done, 
drain off the water and season with salt, pepper and a 
liberal quantity of butter, using vinegar on the table. 
Served in this way you have a nice vegetable, much 
more delicate than boiled cabbage, and suitable to eat 
with any kind of meat you may chance to have on 
hand. 
A Perfect Cure for Diphtheria.— The ravages of 
diphtheria in Australia have been so extensive, within 
the last few years, that the government offered a large 
leward for any certain method ot cure; and among 
other responses to this was one from a person who at 
first kept it secret, hut afterwards communicated it 
freely to the public. It is simply the use of sulphuric 
acid, of which four drops are diluted in three-fourths 
of a tumbler of water, to he administered to a grown 
1 person, and a smaller dose to children, at intervals. 
The result is said to he a coagulation of the diphtheria 
membrane, and its ready removal by coughing. It is 
asserted that, when the case thus treated has not ad¬ 
vanced to a nearly fatal termination, the patient recov¬ 
ered in almost every instance. The same remedy is 
used by the Board of Health of New York City, and 
found the most efficient yet known. Thousands in 
the country may he saved from untimely death by 
simple notice and memory of this little paragraph. 
A Good Hint. —Take a sheet of writing paper, 
cover one side with gum arabic or the white of an egg, 
let it dry; it can then he laid away until wanted for 
use. Strips cat off are very convenient to label bot¬ 
tles or mark dishes that are taken to a festival, or simi¬ 
lar purposes, writing on the plain side, and pasting 
on as you would a postage stamp, simply wetting the 
mucilage side. 
Lemon Pie.— The juice and grated rind of one 
lemon, one cup of water, one tablespoonful of corn 
starch, one cup of sugar, one egg and a piece of butter 
the size of a small egg. Boil the water, wet the corn 
starch with a little cold water and stir it in ; when it 
boils up pour on it the sugar and butter; after it is 
cool, add the egg and lemon, hake with an under and 
upper crust. 
Dessert. —Here is a delicious dessert to he eaten 
with cake. Take two quarts of thick cream, whip to 
a stiff froth, one ounce of gelatine, dissolved in one 
pint of water : when milk warm stir in the cream, and 
sweeten to taste. 
Coffee Cake. —This very much resembles black 
cake, and is very nice indeed. Two caps of sugar, one 
of butter, one of coffee, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, 
one of cloves, one of soda, one nutmeg, and one pound 
of raisins. You can use either sugar or molasses. 
Prepare the coffee as for the table, no eggs, three and 
a half cups of flour. Let it remain iu the pan in 
which it baked, to cool. 
Bread Pudding. —One pint of grated bread crumbs, 
one quart of sweet milk, yolks of four eggs, one cup 
of sugar, grated rind of one lemon, butter size of one 
egg. Bake nearly an hour. Beat the whites of four 
eggs to a stiff froth, stir in nearly a cup of white 
sugar and the juice of a lemon. After the pudding 
is baked, spread jelly over the top, then the frosting, 
and hake until it is brown. If you have not the jelly, 
it will yet he excellent. 
Apple Float. —Take one pint of green or dried 
apple sauce, made smooth by passing through a sieve 
or colander, the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff 
froth, sugar and lemon to suit the taste; heat all well 
together, then send to table, dish out, and eat with 
rich cold cream. 
Johnny Cake. —Two cups of corn meal, two cups 
of wheat flour, two and a half cups of milk, one cup of 
molasses, one teasjioonful of saleratus and salt. 
Graham Gems. —Two eggs, one pint sweet milk, 
two tablespoonfuls sugar, butter size of an egg, soda 
and cream of tartar, one cup white flower, three cups 
graham. 
