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DETROIT, DECEMBER 28, 1888.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

THE PERFECT KINGDOM.

A man can build a mansion
And furnish it throughout:
A man can build a palace,
With lofty walls and stout;
A man can build a temple
With high and spacious dome:
But no man in the world can build
That precious thing called Home.
So ‘tis a happy faculty
0f women fur and wide.
To turn a out or palace
Into something else beside.
Where brothers, sons and husbands tired.
With willing footsteps come,
A place of rest, where love abounds,
A perfect kingdom—Horne.
-— ——¢o¢———
WOMAN’S SPHERE.

Agitation is the only tangible method of ad-
justing a complicated question, while “We-
man’s Sphere” just now is the flotsam toss-
ing about upon the white foam of debate,
with but little hope of any one throwing a
rope strong enough to draw it ashore.

That woman was designed to adorn the
home is conceded without attempt at con-.
troversy. But what is adornment? “To
render pleasant or attractive,” and the sy-
nomyns, grace, honor, exalt, dignify,
These are delightful terms to hear; any one
of them suggest-s something agreeable to the
sense, and if the thought he woman, some
one we would wish to see again. For the
sake of convenience then we will accord
our ideal woman all the accomplishments
of the average young lady of to—day, includ-
ing brush and pallette, decorative needle
work and Miss Parloa’s cooking school,
and at twenty-two see her happily united
to the choice of her heart and established
in a well furnished home of her own, with
her husband substantially employed at a
salary of a thousand dollars a year; and her
own two hands combined with her allotted
physical strength to “adorn” that home.
The average time as demonstrated by actu-
al experience we believe is about three
month for pure unadulterated “adornment.”
During this time the husband insists that
the washing and ironing shall be done out
of the house, he buys the bread and brings
it home with his own dear hands, ginger
cookies and fried-cakes fresh from the bak-
ery are ever so much better than for her to
worry over the stove, and so he buys them
too; canned pickles and fruits are always
ready, and he prefers baked potatoes so
she won’t soil her hands in peeling them.
Then he hires a woman to come and sweep
once a week; and with his help to bring in

he water, fill the reservoir'and look after
he coal stove, and fondly caress the queen

 

of his home at intervals, there is nothing to
prevent her from being “pleasant and at—
tractive.” The silver is all new, the furni-
ture is bright and cheery, she has plenty
of nice pretty things in the bureau and
closet to adorn herself—and all the love and
ardent fervor of a young trusting wife, in
her guileless heart, to sweeten her disposition,
why can’t she smile and sing songs? But,
alas ! this is only dream-life. Too soon for
all concerned comes the waking up. Sud‘
denly the fond husband is seized with an
attack of domestic economy. The laundry
bills are enormous, and if he hires the wash-
ing done she must contrive to do the ironing.
This is an unexpected thrust at her life of
hopeful enjoyment, but a young, loving wife
is always true to her colors, and the next
week there are new flat—irons added to the
kitchen utensils, and a “sad iron ” for pol-
ishing his shirts, and it is asad iron too,
for ironing is work, genuine labor that red-
dens the hands and hardens the heart, poe
try and romance to the contrary notwith-
standing. But she does it as best she may,
finding it doubtly hard to bring the dinner,
coil the hair afresh and add a ruche or col-
lar, so as to leok “pleasant and attractive.”
Then when the dinner work is over, she
must lie down to recuperate the unusual
draft upon physical strength, and thus ex-
periences the first mortifying emb u‘rassment
of being "caught by callers.” N ext morn—
ing at breakfast, the husband suddenly dis-
covers that the silver is dingy, the teaspoons
stained, and as for those old dried up bak-
ers’ cookies he can’t endure them another
day—and he is justifiable, but the trouble is
he had no business eating them in the first
place. Now he would have her to under-
stand the honeymoon is over. She must put
her hands in flour and dish~water and help
earn the living, and from that breakfast
time dates a long life of care and sorrow.
From that hour also his old habits reveal
their identity. Cigars multiply, evenings
“down town” increase, nights at the thea-
tre with a “friend” are doubled, while the
tender looks and fond solicitude for her
comfort grow less frequent than in that one
brief hour of the morning of wedded life.
As the years go by, the little faces, which
ought to bring laughter and sunshine, only
add new burdens. The piano is never
opened, the art embroidery never replen-
ished with improved skill, nor the painted
plaques and banners moved aside for those
of later designs. She is making children’s
clothes now in the evenings after the house-
work is ended for the day and the little
eyes are closed for slumber, and as the
needle flies through the needed garments

 

the iron enters her soul, which has long
since failed to “adorn” the home. And
he? Why, he has prospered ! actually grow-
ing rich they say, or in the street talk. “He
has just been takeniu ‘the firm;’ not much
capital yet but good prospects.” Oh yes,
he is a shrewd fellow and “the firm" know
i‘. And ha takes his dinner down town now,
too. His wife has poor health and “never
goes out.” We of this younger generation
seldom hear anything of "mother’s cooking.”
When a husband of this famous “last quar- ‘
ter” of the Nineteenth Century pushes his
coffee-cup into the meat Ilatter, he informs
the weary one who nearly fainted over the
cook-stove to make it, that " a good first-
class hotel is good enough for him.”

And so they drift apart; he soon forgets
that she likes the smoothness of silk as well
as he of fine linen; that she enjoys the
pleasant ease of soft hands, the familiar
grace of low tones, the dignity ‘of always
being "dressed” as well as he. And yet
the men grow blue and worried at home,
and fairly savage, and want to know what
is the matter? The diiiicnfty lies coiled
like an adder, in one word—housework. If
husbands would let the sunshine into their
homes, they must curtail personal extrava-
gances and put a competent cook in the
kitchen. lt’ "hired-girls” are objectionable
get a Chinese servant; they as a class serve
well. It is an old accepted theory that a
husband can lift a wife from any station,
howsoever menial, to his own elevated po-
sition. And why ‘3 Simply because of the
dignity that is born when drudgery is cast
aside.

This question of llOllSCllOid drudgery is
assuming alarming proportions. There can
be no doubt that the dread of menial labor
has drawn nearly all Womankind into the
offices, shops, and stores, for more congenial
employment. it is an honest conviction,
however unjust it may seem, that the de-
plorable laxity of morals of society to-day
finds its origin in the constant companion-
ship induced by this employment.

Surely the best of us would not have it so.
When woman loses her love of domestic fe-
licity there is something wrong with the en-
vironment of her house. Besides, the high
intellectualcapacities, and lofty aspirations
of the American woman will not bear house-
hold drudgery, and the sooner men as a
class give it earnest consideration and act
upon evidences adduced by actual observa-
tion, the more quickly will they be accorded
domestic tranquillity.

Contact with the world robs woman of
her gentleness, but it asserts instead a fru-

 


 

2

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

gal independence which has become a ne-
cessity to those who depend upon their
own efforts for personal resources. Purity,
compassion and love are essentially femi-
nine qualities, and “woman’ssphere” should
recognize a limit that will not . exact aban-
donment of these repining elements. But
unless the responsibilities of a home be
modified to a degree that will render them
a cheerful prospect, she must overstep that
limit many leagues.
PEARL DIAMONDS.
___....._.__.

CHRISTMAS ‘GIVING.

 

“Christmas will soon be here,” shout the
exultant children, and high are the castles
ttey build and wonderful the adornments
and embellishments they picture. I wonder
how many of the riotous little ones have
been faithfully taught the true inSpiring, en-
nobling meaning of “day we celebrate.”
It is a joyous day to the child because feast-
ing, mirth and, above all, good gifts are fea—
tures of the day. The myth of the good
Santa Claus, making his mighty rounds to
reward the good of all lands, is an innocent
diversion of childhood, and it brings a sigh
to disillusionize the childish mind, but if we
explain that the saint is only a symbol, that
the reality is so much higher and more help-
ful. the disappointed child may smile again.

Tell him the story of Bethlehem, the babe
in the manger, the object of worship and
adoration of the wise men, who, directed by
Divine inspiration, seek the new-born King;
tell them of the waiting shepherds to whom
the wonderful story is told by angelic visit-
ants, while the grandest chorus ever heard
peals through the trembling, listening night:

“ Glory to God, on earth peace, good will
toward man. ”

Tell them the story of Jesus’ life, His
purity, self—sacrifice, Ills deeds of power, of
love, and kindness; of that awful hour of
darkness, despair and death, when He died
that we might live forever. ‘

Let the little ones understand that the

day is kept in loving remembrance of God’s
great gift to man, and in this showing di-
rect their young hearts in the holy duty of
giving; natural affection prompts gifts to
those of our own households, but let us not
forget the stranger within our gates. The
sick, the sorrowful, the suffering and needy
are to be found on every hand. Let these
not be forgotten. Are there employes in
your family, far from home and friends?
Let them have cause to rejoice with you in
Christmas joys. Is there a widow, or or-
phan children, or families where bitter want
prevent these sweet amenities being
practiced? A little Christ love extended
will warm their hearts and prove to them
that they are recognized as members of the
brotherhood of man.

In many cases the Christmas practices are
in line with the maxim that “ to him who
hath much more will be given,” and to the
friend who stands highest in the world’s es-
teem, or who has the highest financial stand-
ing,will be given the best and costliest offer-
ings.

This seems to me all wrong, for while
possessions should not preclude love gifts,
yet a small memento will speak as plainly
of our love as a costly one, while to the

needy a valuable offering wisely chosen will
give double joy. a personal benefit as well
as a love token.

Let those of our HOUSEHOLD who are
blest with favorable finances make a study
of the subject, and apportion their generous
bounty in a thoughtful, kindly spirit, giving
with a Christlike spirit, with the heart as
well as with the hand, and they will know
the wonderful sublimity of the axiom, “It
is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Interest the little ones. It is right that
they should learn the way, and feel the
blessed joy of judicious and generous giv-
ing. A. L. L.

Ixcnnsmn.

[Through an oversight on the part of the
HOUSEHOLD Editor, the above letter, which
should have appeared last week that its
teachings might have been practiced in the
Christmas season just past, has been held
over until this issue. Yet the suggestions
may, if acted upon, make a coming Christ-
mas more blessed to those who give gifts
and receive them, and impress upon child
hearts the deeper significance of a Merry
Christmas]
___...__
Too MUCH PREACHING.

 

As I opened the HOUSEHOLD of Dec.
14th, I said, “ Here it is again, ‘ Girls and
Housewor '.”’ I am proud to say that I
can do all kinds of housework, from sweep-
ing the parlor to blacking the stove, but
this everlasting preaching is rather tiresome
to the girls. Last fall my mother was called
away from home on account of sickness,
and was gone nearly two weeks; I did all
the work while she was gone, and had
company in the bargain. Why is there not
something said about girls learning to sew?
Ought they not to learn to sew as wellas do
housework? I think they had, and help
their mothers do the sewing. A great many
times they could perform loving duties for
father or brother if the mother is busy. I
know a girl, not yet out of her teens, who
has been for nearly three years a divorced
wife. When eight years old she had a
horse and buggy and went when she
pleased and came home when she pleased,
and she knows nothing about housework;
had she been taught to do housework and
stayed at home part of the time, I think it
would have been better for her.

MARSHALL. L. S.
. ————...——-—

FURNACE-HEATED HOUSES.

 

Will some of the farmers’ wives who read
the HOUSEHOLD who have furnace-heated
houses, tell us how well they like them,
and if they are suitable for a farm house?
I have seen but one farm house heated by a
furnace, and I thought that was nearly per-
fect; still furnace-heating may have its
drawbacks. A cook stove was used in the
kitchen and eleven rooms were heated by
the furnace; there were no stoves to black
or take down in the spring, and put up in the
fall, no dirt from wood, no dust from coal.

When we talked about heating the house
in this way, husband propounded this mo-
mentous question to the household: “ Who
is going to get up at five or six o’clock in

 

down cellar and start the furnace?” “And
the angels all were silent.” In the majority
of farm houses, breakfast is ready within
an hour from the time we arise; can the
rooms be sufficiently heated in that time to
be occupied, so that the family and com-
pany will not be obliged to cluster around
the cook stove while breakfast is prepared?

Another question that interests me much:
Can the milk be kept in the milk cellar
during the winter, so as to be free from the
odors arising from cooking? In many
houses the pantry is near the kitchen, and
the cream takes the flavor of boiled onions,
fried cakes, etc.

If any of the ladies have a kitchen or
pantry that is just a “ daisy,” please let the
rest of us have the benefit of it; no doubt
there will be many of the readers of the
FARMER who will build the coming sum-
mer, and among them will be our nearest
neighbor and ourselves, and the question
that perplexes is, shall we have afurnace?

Will some one give us a little information
on that subject soon. L. M. n.

BELLEVILLE.

.—_.‘..—_—

THE CHAUTAUQUA ASSEMBLY

 

N0. V.

 

The culminating power of Chautauqua
lies in its religious influence. The original
Chautauqua idea is spiritual elevation, and
whatever accessories may have been estab—
lished this idea is never lost sight of. A
Normal class has been formed for instruc-
tion in Sabbath school work. There is also
a society of Christian Ethics presided over
by Dr. Vincent. Devotional exercises are
held every morning in the amphitheatre, at—
tended by thousands. A Chautauqua prayer
league is formed with hundreds of members.

Several missionary conferences were held.
Many returned missionaries delivered lec-
tures. Mrs. Layyah Barakat, a native of
Syria, from the heights of Mt. Lebanon, a
wonderfully eloquent woman, and one who
is doing much to enlighten the people of
America as to the wants of the inhabitants
of Syria and Egypt, gave several lectures
and her hearers were so carried away with
her that even when the dinner hour came
they cried “Go on, go on.” _

Religious and metaphysical lectures of
the highest order, were given daily by such
men as Dr. Talmage, Dr. John Hall, Dr.
Cuyler, Dr. Goodsell, Dr. Duryea, Prof.
Bowne, Prof. Schudde from the University
of Leipsic, Germany, and it seemed im-
possible that any one could listen to these
lectures without receiving new aspirations
toward a higher life.

Dr. Vincent preached the Baccalaureate
sermon for the first time, from the text,
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven,” and it was
worth a journey to Chautauqua to listen to
that. Human co-operation by different
means was sketched in strong colors. The
last clause of the text was illustrated by as
forcible a word picture as ever came from
the lips of an orator. Intense conviction
and powerful feeling characterized every
sentence of the discourse.

The last Assembly was the thirteenth

 

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THE HOUSEHOLD. 3

 

two previous years and it was while attend-
ing one of these meetings that Mr. Miller,
of Akron, 0., and Dr. Vincent, of Plain—
field, New Jersey, conceived the idea of the
Chautauqua Assembly. The Chautauqua
Literary and Scientific Circle was an after—
thought and wholly due to the fertile brain
of Dr. Vincent, and was organized in 1878.
Mr. Miller is President, Dr. Vincent Chan-
cellor, and Dr. Hurlbut the newly elected
Principal.

‘ The mottoes of the Circle are, “ We study
the words and the works of God,” "’ Let us
keep our Heavenly Father in the midst,”
and “Never be discouraged.” The course
this year embraces studies in geology,
astronomy, English history, English liter-
ature, French history, the Christian religion,
etc., and they are so attractive and instruc-
tive that it is a terrible loss for any one to

the expense of books is a little more than
seven dollars for this year.

Dr. Vincent is the motive power of the
Circle, and is one of the grandest men our
nation can boast. He attributes his Chris-
tian life to his mother’s influence, and that
influence is being multiplied a thousand-
fold, for there are members of the C. L. S.
C. to be found in every state and territory
of the United States, in Canada, South
Africa, Japan, Turkey, India, England,
Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Rus-
sia, the Sandwich Islands, and China. One
of the pleasant features of the Circle is that
the readings are the same for all classes
each year, so that whether in the first,
second, third or fourth year of the course or
in whichever class they may be, all mem-
bers of all classes read the same books each
year all over the world.

There are many interests represented at
Chautauqua. It was the birthplace of
the W. C. T. U. Miss Willard was
present at the opening of the Assembly this
year and made a telling speech. These
were the introductory words upon receiving
the salute: “Dear friends, I have often
seen the silver sails all out in the west on
my own Lake Michigan, but your fairy
argosy to—night brings to me a very different
and more lofty inspiration, borne by the
fragrant breath of your good will and
brotherly and sisterly kindness. It comes
to me on the pioneer line of progress in this
great movement which you love and which
I love. It is like a white flag of peace—no,
it is a flag of truce, upon the battlefield.
And I like to think, also, that it includes
not alone the one who is grateful for it,
but that true and gentle heart. my com-
panion on the platform to-night, the Ivric
poet of Chautauqua, Mary A. Lathbury.”

There is at Chautauqua a kindergarten,
gymnastic hall, school in memory, school
of oratory, penmanship and book-keeping,
college of liberal arts, school of theology,
teachers’ reading union, teachers’ retreat,
youth’s league, school of photography, and
school of—everything good.

Among the many distinguished visitors
were Mr. Howells, the novelist, and Prof.
Edison, who, by the way, is the son-in-law
of Pres. Miller, who is the inventor of the
Buckeye mower and reaper. He has built

There had been a camp-meeting held the

at the edge of Florida. When asked if
invention was nearly completed he replied,
“0, no; scarcely anything has been done
yet, in proportion to what remains to be
done.” The Assembly was more prosperous
this year than in any previous year. Peo-
ple came in swarms, fifty thousand having
visited the grounds. A new dock was
built, a magnificent affair, with a tower
eighty feet high, containing the clock and a
chime of bells. The chime, which cost
four thousand five hundred dollars, is the
combined gift of Mr. Meneely, Dr. Vincent
—-through the proceeds of his new book—
and the C. L. S. C. The clock is the gift
of the Seth Thomas Clock 00., of New York,
and is worth nine hundred dollars.

The Assembly proper is in session from
the third to the twenty-fourth of August,
although the Chautauqua meetings con-
tinue from the first of July to the last of
August. The price of tickets for admission
to the grounds is one dollar per week for
July and two dollars per woek for August.
These admit one to all the lectures, con-
certs, and public exercises, and I think
there is no place in America where a person
can get so much for so little as at Chautau-
qua. Mus. W‘. K. SEXTON.

( Concluded.)
.——-‘..—_
A CULINARY CONVERSAZIONE.

 

NO III.

 

We farmers depend quite generally on
our meat barrels~that is, salt pork and
beef. I think it is desirable to know how
to cook those meats in various ways, so as
to have a variety, as no one likes the same
thing week in and week out. As butcher-
ing time is at hand, I will give my recipe
for a brine to cure beef, hams and shoulders,
also sausage. It has been used in our
family for nearly thirty years, so I know it
is good. Instead of putting all the sausages
in bags or skins, 1 pack considerable in
jars; put a little lard over the top, and set
in some out-building Where it will keep
nicely all winter. The sense and shanks I
boil tender, clear it of skin and gristle',
season with sage, pepper and salt, and
press in a pan to be sliced off for cold meat;
the backbone pieces and lean meat from
the head I make in head-cheese; season it to
taste, and it is always ready for use. The
chops and fat portion of the head I try out,
and keep the lard for frying cakes; it seems
to be more oily than leaf lard. The
shoulders I always use up through the
Winter and spring, leaving the hams to be
sliced down for summer use.

It is a good idea while trying lard to
throw in a few berries of allspice, they give
the lard a nice flavor; a Boston lady told
me this. Although a lady of wealth she
always went into the country at this season
of the year, and tried out her own leaf lard.
Beef’s liver is delicious cooked as follows:
Slice in even slices. put on aplatter and
pour boiling water over it, drain immediate-
ly; this takes off an unpleasant taste, and
sears the outside; have some hot drippings
er lard in the frying pan, roll the liver in
flour or bread crumbs, and cook slowly for
twenty minutes or more; when done spread

 

a winter home and laboratory way down

       

 

pan and scrape off the brown settlings, turn
over the liver; serve real hot. .

A great many like beefsteak smotheredin
fried onions, I prefer to serve them
separately. Steak is always better broiled
than fried, still it can be cooked nicely in a
common frying—pan; have the pan very hot.
do not grease it at all, pound the meat, and
turn it constantly, season on the platter;
so many spoil it by turning a quantity of
water in, so as to make lots of gravy, better
have a little and have it good. Corned
heck is much juicier and nicer to leave it in
the kettle of water it his been boiled in, to
cool. Hash is very nice when made good;
chop rather fine, add one-third chopped
potatoes, two-thirds meat, butter, pepper
and some boiling water, cook slowly and
at the last brown a little on the bottom of
the frying pan; stewed potatoes or fried
potatoes are nice with this; also boiled eggs,
dry toast nicely buttered and served hot.

Salt pork is made nearly equal to fresh
pork by slicing it at night and laying it in
skim milk to freshen; in the morning dip it
in hot water to rinse the milk off, then roll in
flour or well beaten egg and bread or cracker
crumbs; fry a delicate brown. Cook the
potatoes steamboat style or Saratoga chips,
this saves making gravy. Another way is
to fry it criSp, then cut in mouthfuls, return
to the fryingpan, turn in milk and thicken;
serve like codfish. I think beans are very
much nicer cooked without pork. Soak
over night; when boiled tender add butter,
salt and a little sugar, which helps to brown
them.

Beef’s heart can be stuffed and roasted
down in the kettle, or boiled and sliced
cold. The tongue I boil and peel; and
right here let me say the way to peel a
tongue is to pour cold water on it, let
stand a minute, and the skin will come ofl'
nicely, so much better than to take a knife.
I then make a special vinegar as I would
for-pickles, and put the tongue in it, set
away in a jar covered close, and you have
something nice if company comes in sud—
denly for tea.

In frying meat or cooking vegetables I
aim to cook no more than will be wanted;
fried meat is not fit to eat warmed over.
You know about what the family will eat,
better have a little variety, not try to make
a meal of any one thing. The main thing
for the breakfast is make the coffee de-
licious. After using some of these dainty
dishes a while, fried pork under or over done
will not go down at all, for there are very
few cooks who (lo—whether they can or not
—fry pork and serve it so as to tempt the
appetite; the milk gravy will either be thin
so it will pour like water or be ladled out
like pudding, either too fresh or too salt.

As our Editor has remarked, pies should
be made the day they are to be eaten, un-
less it is mince pie. It only takes a few
minutes to make a pie and one soon falls
into the habit. I vary the dessert as much
as I can. Puddings are easily made, and I
like them much better than pie; still so
many are tied to pie. I rub into the flour
all the lard I think required, rub it thor-
oughly, say one teacup of lard or grease
from frying pork—but it must be white and
sweet—to three of flour; rub it until it is

 

with butter, turn alittle hot water in the

in little fine granules, salt it, and with the

I

 


 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

left hand pour in slowly cold water; it will
all work together into a lump. For apple
pie line a deep pie plate or tin, sprinkle
in alittle sugar, then lay the sliced apples
around so the dish is level full, not heaping,
sprinkle on more sugar, grate a little nut-
meg or allspice, a few bits of butter, wet
the crust around alittle, cover and pinch
slightly at the edge; now put small pieces of
lard and butter over the top of the pie, bake
slowly at first, increase the heat; fifteen to
twenty minutes should bake it a beautiful
golden brown, crust crisp and flaky; sift
sugar over the top, and ask John if it isn’t
splendid. Pies should not be burned, or
all the sweetness run out. No apple pie
needs water. With fruit pic I put the sea-
soning at the bottom of the pie. Another
way is to bake with one crust like pumpkin,
of siftedstewed apples; for one pic add the
yolk of three eggs, one cup of sugar, a little
lemon. When done, frost with the beaten
whites and three tablespoonfuls of sugar,
return to the oven and brown slightly.
Apple dumplings are a good change, eaten
with sugar or cream or maple syrup. Still
another method to make apple pie is to bake
the pie without any seasoning. When the
apples are cooked remove the upper crust,
season and return the crust, sift sugar over
and serve warm. In making pumpkin pics
I seldom use the whites of the eggs; allow
the yolks of three eggs for each pie, and use
a little more pumpkin. It is quite an item
if eggs are scarce, you then have the whites
for cake. EVAXGALINE.
BATTLE C BEER.
(To be continued.)

 

WANTS TO KNOW, YOU KNOW.

 

1 read in our State exchanges of the quan-
tities of apples which have been packed in
Michigan this fall; ten thousand barrels in
one place, three thousand in another, five
thousand in a third, and so on, till I make
up my mind the old Wolverine State must
be one big orchard. Then I put on my bon-
net and step over to the nearest grocery and
ask: “ Have you any good eating apples?”
I have propounded this query so many
times that it has become stereotyped; the
moment I catch the grocer’s eye and begin:
“Have you—” he looks at the apple bar-
rels as if by instinct. Usually he’s honest
enough to admit that he has none that are
“ good,” and takes me round to view the

. wretched, gnarly, wormy fruit dignified by
the name of apples. I have a serious objec-
tion to apples that are tenanted; I don’t care
to dispute oVer so little a thing as an apple
with the apple maggot or the larva of the
codling moth. So I bribe him to pick me
out a peck which shall be free from worm-
holes and rotten Spots, pay at the rate of

* $1 ‘25 per bushel for fruit I know paid the
producer about a dollar per barrel, and go
home to wonder why Yellow Belleflower
and Steele’s, and Seek-no—Further apples
are never to be had here, only chippy Bald-
wins and flavorless Greenings, aside from
those sorts that the pigs on the farm put up
their noses at and which were therefore
barreled and sent to the city market. I want
to know why, with money enough to pay
for them, I never (hardly ever) can get any

State that exports apples to England and

Scotland, and sends thousands of barrels

annually to our Western States. I want to

know who eats all the Sweet Boughs and

Red Astrachans, that I never get one for my

share; and I want to know» why, when my

friends write me that they cannot get even

ten cents a bushel for fine fall fruit, which is

rotting on the ground because it is not worth

gathering, I must, at the same time, pay

twenty cents a peck for hard, worm-tunnel-

ed, under-sized fruit which T. T. Lyon him-

self could not classify because it never was

thought worth a name by a horticultural so-

ciety? Here are our farmers growling about

the low price of apples and threatening to

grub up their orchards, and consumers

growling at having to pay such prices for
fruit that would give a pig the colic, and

who’s in fault?

I had a confidential confab with the gro-
cer the other Saturday night over a barrel of
nondescripts in the back part of the store,

and he told me he would gladly pay $2 75
per barrel for good fruit for his retail trade,

if he could only get it. “ But,” he said, “I
can’t get it.” He wants medium-sized,
smooth. fair fruit, free from worms, with
no gnarled, one;sided, scabby specimens,

but he cannot get it. He could afford to
pay $2 75 for it, and would make more
money handling it than the cheaper grades.
I suppose it is with apples pretty much

as with butter; “ everything goes ” that will
fill a barrel, just as all grease made from
milk is baptized butter. But it" I were a
farmer and owned an apple orchard, I’d cut
it down instanter if it was old and full of
insects, and of poor varieties, and put the
land to more profitable uses. Then I’d plant
a new orchard, and keep off the insects with
Paris green, and raise only such rosy, round,
sound pippins as would find me favor in
Pomona’s sight; and I’d barrel them up
“ honest injun, ” not a wormy or imperfect
specimen; then I’d take a run to town some
(day with my coat pockets full of samples,
and if I could not find a grocer who would
pay a fair price for them, I’d go home and
eat them myself if it took all summer.
Every barrel I sent to market should be
stenciled with my name, the name of the
variety and the grade, and the packing
should be upon honor; and while my neigh-
bors were threatening to cut down their or-
chards, I would be fulfilling old Polonius’
injunction to his son, “ Put money in thy
purse,” and at the same time earning a
most excellent reputation. But I’m not a
farmer, only a woman, and though i can see
where a man might make money, I suppose
people wilt go on shipping cider apples to a
hug suffering community, and thinking

they’re good enough for city folks.
BEATRIX.

___-..,.-_-..-._-
THE SEASON.

There have been many suggestions in our
HOUSEHOLD for making pretty things for
Christmas gifts, but as there was one I have
not seen mentioned I will describe it : Get
a small rolling pin, cover the roller with
satin or plush, any color you prefer, and
fasten five or six gilt books on one side, gild
the handles and suspend by ribbon the same
color as the satin, with a nice bow where

For a child, an album filled with picture
cards is an acceptable gift and very little
trouble to make. I have just completed one
for a little lame boy in our neighborhood,
and I enjoyed arranging and fastening the-
pictures very much. Nice books are always
appropriate gifts.

The holiday season is already here, and
while it brings joy to many households,
there are many hearts that cannot feel joy-
ous when they think of the loved ones who
will be missed from the home-gather-
ings this winter, and who are sleeping be-A
neath the snow to-day; every storm makes
us feel as if they were being buried deeper
and deeper from our sight. Life is a mot-
ley of lights and shadows, the brightest
future has its clouds, and perhaps the time
will come, (we hope it may,) that this grief
which weighs so heavily on our hearts now
will be a reminder that our life is not all

here. AUNT FANNE.
PINCKNEY.

.
—-———§o¢-—-———

MAYBELLE says: “If conundrums are
not out of date I would like to give one:
Why is the same amount of housework so
much more valuable when performed by a
hired girl than when the wife does it all;
sewing included? The wife works from
week to week without earning a penny,
yet should she fall sick the girl who takes
up the same duties earns from twelve to
twenty shillings per week.”
_____...._.___
THE use of “ pot-boards ” is well known
to most experienced housekeepers; perhaps
some novices have yet to learn how conve-
nient they are to set pans, pots or kettles
upon that have been on the stove. The
simplest may be the bottom of a butter fir-
kin or small keg; one or two of these with a
hole and string through each, kept hanging
near the table, save many a dark mark or
stain. A still better way, however, is to
have a small, square board covered on one
side with zinc. This serves to trim lamps
upon in the morning, and any kerosene
that may drop upon it helps to keep it clean
instead of soiling it as it would the table.
.____..._...__

Contributed Recipes.

 

CURING HAM oa BEER—One hundred
pounds meat; ten pounds salt; four pounds
brown sugar; four ounces saltpetre. Add
enough rain—water to cover the meat, and boil
and skim. When cold pour over the meat.
Take the meat out in four weeks.

SAUSAGE—Ten pounds meat; one ounce
saltpetre; one ounce pepper; three ounces
salt; one tablespoonful sugar: one of sum-
mer savory; one of sage; one teaspoonful of
ginger. EVANGALINE.

BATTLE CREEK.

 

LOAF Carin—Two eggs; heaping cup of
white sugar; three tablespoonfuls butter:
one-third cup of water. Flavor with nutmeg.
Beat all together thoroughly; then add one
and a half cups flour, with two teaspoonfuls
baking powder; beat well, and bake in a well-
heated oven.

GRAHAM Guns—One pint sour milk; one
egg; one spoonful sugar; 9. pinch of salt:
heapingfiteaspoonful soda, and enough good,
fresh Graham flour to make a stiff batter;
Bake in buttered gem pans. They will be
light, puffy and wholesome. MAYBELLE.

 

 

decent eating apples in the metropolis of a

the ribbon is fastened at each handle.

BRIDGEWATER.

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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L _. p,
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