HOUSEKEEPING. 
Floating Island of Fresh Raspberries, 
Crush a pint of very ripe, red raspberries with half a 
cup of sugar ; beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth 
and add gradually a cup of powdered sugar; press the 
raspberries through a strainer to avoid the seeds, and by 
degrees beat in the juice with the sugar and egg until it 
is so stiff that it stands in peaks. Chill it thoroughly on 
the ice and serve in a glass dish partly filled with cold 
milk. Take up the chilled egg and juice in spoonfuls 
and place it on the milk in little peaks. It is to be eaten 
with cream. 
Blackberry Pickles. 
Eight quarts of blackberries, four pounds of sugar, one 
pint of vinegar; boil twenty minutes and then take out 
the berries and boil down the juice until it becomes about 
the consistency of syrup. It is best to keep it in fruit 
jars, as is customary with canned fruits. 
Golden Pudding. 
One cup of granulated sugar, one egg, one cup of sweet 
milk, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two and one 
half cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. 
Pour in a low square tin, and bake twenty-five minutes. 
It should be served warm, with a sauce poured over it 
made as follows: Stir to a cream one tablespoonful of 
butter and half a cup of sugar; moisten with a little 
cold water two teaspoonfuls of flour, and pour a pint of 
boiling water over it to scald it, and then stir in the 
butter and sugar; beat the white of one egg to a stiff 
froth, and stir it in the sauce just before sending to the 
table ; flavor with lemon. 
Chicken Salad. 
Cut the meat in small dice and the celery in the same 
shape; the same quantity.of celery as you have of chicken 
can be used. For the dressing take three eggs, two 
tablespoonfuls of mustard, two tablespoonfuls of oil and 
one of sugar, ^>ne teaspoonful of salt, one of white pep¬ 
per, half a cup of cream, and half a cup of vinegar. 
After the other ingredients for the dressing are cooked 
just enough to scald them, cool a little, add the oil and 
pour over the meat and celery. 
Fricasseed Chicken. 
Wash and cut up the chickens; boil them in just 
enough cold water to cover them, and add to it a little 
salt, or a small slice of salt pork. Instead of cooking the 
chickens in a kettle, the flavor will be much sweeter if 
stewed in a bake-pan made expressly for such purposes. 
If this be used, a less quantity of water will be required, 
as the pan can be so tightly closed that there is very 
little evaporation and the juices and flavor permeate 
through the meat while cooking. When the chicken be¬ 
comes tender and seems done, have some hot baking- 
powder biscuits broken open and laid on a platter, 
place the pieces of chicken on these. If there should be 
more than a pint of broth left from cooking the chicken, 
boil it down to that quantity. Melt a tablespoonful of 
butter in a saucepan and add to it a heaping tablespoon¬ 
ful of flour, stirring constantly till smooth, then pour in 
slowly a cup of milk, and as it boils and thickens add the 
broth and pour the gravy thus made over the chicken and 
biscuits. 
The bake-pan to which we refer in our directions for 
fricasseed chicken, is the Economy Roaster and Baker, 
manufactured by T. A. Gardner, South Vineland, N. J. 
It is made of Russia iron in various sizes, and resembles 
two deep dripping pans so placed together that one serves 
as a cover to the other. The two parts are separate, but 
when in use are fastened together with catches which 
form handles, and in the upper pan a regulator is arranged 
which is opened when the contents are to be browned. 
No basting is required and the pans can be used in the 
oven or on the top of the stove as may be most conve¬ 
nient. Meat cooked in them becomes very tender and 
juicy, and although they are especially adapted for roast¬ 
ing poultry and other meats, or for stews, they are very 
convenient for many other uses. 
Mrs. C. G. Herbert. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Where Are the Squash-Bugs? —For the first time in 
our experience in gardening, which has extended~over a 
period of nearly fifty years, we can truly say, that thus 
far this year we have not seen a squash-bug of any de¬ 
nomination. What has become of them is a question 
difficult to answer and one we have not ventured to pro¬ 
pound until now, when all dangers from their ravages 
are past, for fear they might themselves say, “ Here we 
are.” We are inclined to the opinion that the excessive 
cold, so long continued last winter, froze them out. If 
so, we shall no longer regret the burning of a few tons 
of coal extra, as we had to do the past season to keep 
hands and plants warm. It is, or has been, one of the 
great drawbacks to vine-culture, to be compelled to fight 
the bugs, particularly those large dark-brown creatures 
that are so offensive in their death. It is now a great 
pleasure to look over our patches of cucumbers, melons 
and squashes without finding an insect enemy. And, too, 
where are the caterpillars that have for years covered our 
apple, pear and wild-cherry trees ? Last year the latter 
in our neighborhood were completely denuded of their 
foliage and this year not a single nest have we seen. We 
