MlCHlGAN STATE LIBRARY
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_DE‘I'ROIT, JANUARY 4:, 1887.

 

 

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”7'3er HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

THE 012 UMBLER.

He sat at the dinner-table
With a discontented frown,
“ The potatoes and steak were underdone,
And the bread was baked too brown,
The pie too sour, the pudding too sweet,
And the roast was much too fat;
The soup so greasy, too, and salt,
Sure "twas hardly fit for the cat.”
“ I wish you could eat the bread and pies
I’ve seen my mother make;
They are something like, and‘twould do you good
Just to look at a loaf of her cake.”
Said the smiling wife, “ I’ll improve with age,
Just now I‘m but a beginner,
But your mother has come to visit us,
And to-day she cooked the dinner.”
Good Housekeeping.
“*9“—

FAUST.

One of the chief of my holiday pleasures
was hearing Gounod’s opera of Faust, pro-
duced here Christmas week by the National
Opera Company, the famous troupe organ-
ized by Mrs. Thurber, of New York, and a
pet “fad” of hers 011 which she has expend-
ed many thousands of dollars. The com-
pany has Theodore Thomas’ unrivaled or-
chestra, and includes such singers as Emma
J nch, Mathilde Philips, Jessie Bartlett Davis
and Madame Fursch-Madi. They sing in

‘English, so that it is possible to understand

here and there a phrase, or even on occa-
sions a short sentence, whereas usually such
operas are given in Italian, and the libretto
and the dramatic action must he relied upon
to give an understanding of the plot.

The papers named the engagement of the
company as “the musical event of the sea-
son;” tickets were placed at $3, $2.50 and $2,
and one of the city “nabobs” bought $112
worth for his family for the four operas
which the company sang. Notwith-
standing the prices,- there was a big rush
when the box office was opened, and people
waited hours for the chance to secure seats.
The curtain rose upon a house packed
from parquette to the upper gallery, which
is sometimes profanely called “nigger hea-
ven.” Everybody had on his or her “best
bib and tucker,” gentlemen in decollete
vests and “claw-hammer” coats, white ties
and kid gloves; .ladies in elegant silk, vel-
vet and lace costumes, many of them bon-
netless, with coiffures arranged in the high-
est style of the hairdresser’s art, and decked
With ostrich tips and diamonds, and wearing
elegant opera wraps of white and other
light colors. on, it was “real swell,” I as-
sure you.

I shall not attempt to criticise the singers,
or ape our local critics, who. think criticism
means finding all the fault possible by way

 

of showing their ability as critics. To any
music-loving soul who reads these lines,
whose opportunities are limited to an occa-
sional concert or recital, such an entertain-
ment would have been the musical event of
a life—time, a bewildering whirl of sweet
sounds, stage effects, beauty and brilliancy.
I shall try only to give a brief outline of the
plot of the opera, one of the most beautiful
and famous ones ever put upon the boards.

The updrawn curtain reveals the study of
a student and philosopher, lined with books
and vials, a skeleton in a niche, and grin-
ning skulls among the books and parch-
ments littering the table, on which are can-
dles burning dimly. Faust, in the cap and
gown of a student, with venerable beard,
and white hair straggling from under his
close skull-cap, sits at tl e‘table. He expe-
riences one of those moments which prob-
ably all, even the wisest and most learned,
must know, when what he has attained by
the study of a lifetime seems as nothing or
less than nothing, before the infinity of what
is to be learned. He has conquered philoso-
phy, medicine, jurisprudence, theology, and
says:

“And here I stand. with all my lore,
Poor fool, no wiser than before.”

Disappointed in his search for knowledge,
he complains that his life had known no
pleasure, no happiness such as comes to
other men, and that instead of nature’s liv-
ing sphere, he had striven to satisfy heart
and soul with “musty volumes thick with
dust, and many a useless instrument.” In
his despair he resorts to magic, and to his
call comes Mephistopheles, the evil spirit.
The stage entrance is very imposing; with a
blaze of red fire, and a puff of sulphurous
smoke, ltIephistopheles, robed from head to
foot in» lurid red, appears to Faust, and, ac-
cording to Goethe’s “Faust,” from which
the opera is adapted, promises him all the
pleasures of life and the world, if he will
abandon himself to them. Mephistopheles,
in short, personifies the baser propensities
of human nature, Faust hesitates until the
spirit shows him the vision of Marguerite,
in all her young loveliness, when he hesi-
tates no longer, and, accepting Mephis-
topheles’ offer to renew his youth,
stands before ' the audience a young,
active man, the grey hair and ven-
erable beard replaced by dark hair,
the student’s robe by the dress of
a gay cavalier. To show this vision of
Marguerite, the seemingly solid wall of the
room parts and is withdrawn to disclose her
asleep in her chair, and as Faust claSps his
handsin rapture at her beauty, the book-
lined study seems to “ fade back,” if I may

 

be allowed the expression, a bit of ex-
cellently managed stage mechanism.

The curtain rises next upon the chorus.
composed of peasants drinking at the inn.
Faust and Mephistopheles join them, and
the latter gets into a difficulty with them by
decrying the wine; his demon nature is dis—
covered and the villagers drive him from
the stage, cowering.'with his mantle before
his eyes, by presenting to him the cross
upon their sword hilts, before which holy
symbol he cannot stand. Miss Laura Moore,
who took the role of Marguerite, loflced the
part of the simple Germ m maiden to per—
fection in her simple white dress, and
hair drawn back and arranged in two long
plaits. But she was not a satisfactory
Marguerite, in that her voice had not the
c)mpass and volume demanded by the role.
Her brother, Valentine, is a soldier and
must join the army; he laments that he
must leave his young and beautiful sister
unprotected during his absence; Siebel, her
lover in her own rank in life, promises,
with Martha, a neighbor, to guard ‘and
watch over her. When the soldiers have
marched away, Siebel prepares a bouquetas
an offering to Marguerite, laying it at the
door of her cottage; the song Siebel sings as
he prepares the blossoms, and in which he
tells his love for her, is one of the well
known gems from this opera, and known
as the “Flower Song.” Faust also desires
to offer a gift, and Mephistopheles provides
a casket of jewels which he deposits at Mar—
guerite’s door, the cynical, sneering demon
knowing the feminine nature so clearly that
he is aware the glitter of gems will quite
outshine Siebel’s flower offering. And so
it is; Siebel’s gift is dismissed with a half-
contemptuous, half-pitying “Poor boy,”
while she decks herself in the strings of
pearls she finds in the casket, and admires
their whiteness against 'her throat in the
mirror Mephistopheles has considerately
provided. Here too, she sings the
“Jewel Song,” so often essayed by ambi-
tious soprani.

Faust, when at last he meets Marguerite
with Martha, is so overpowered by her
beauty and innocence that he dares not at
first address her; but Mephistopheles with
ready wit engages Martha by pretending
news of her absent husband, and Faust is
left to woo Marguerite; Mephistopheles in
the meantime making love to Martha by
way of amusing himself. Continually.
urged on by the demon-spirit, against his
own better self, Faust wins the simple
village maiden, without the marriage ring,
greatly to the glee of Mephistopheles, whose
face, as he watches the pair at Marguerite’s

 


 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

casement, is a study of fiendish malignity
- and delight.

Valentine, returning from the war,
learns the story of his sister’s dishonor,
and encountering Faust as he is serenading
her before the cottage, they fight, and
Valentine is mortally wounded. The be-
trayer and his familiar spirit fly, and in
presence of the villagers who are drawn to
the spot by the affray, Valentine denounces
and curses Marguerite, spurning her as she
tries to kneel at his feet, and praying
Heaven may reject her with his last
breath. .

Poor Marguerite, deserted by her lover
and shunned by her neighbors, feeling
Heaven shut against her by her brother’s
curses, lingers outside the choir of the
church, while her girl-friends are at wor-
ship, not daring to join them. Mephistoph.
eles, beyond the sacred limits, tempts
her to fly to her lover, and abandon her be-
liefs, since she has been cursed by a
brother, and is despised by all her former
associates. The stage picture is striking.
MephistOpheles stands framed in an arch,
where a red light illuminates his fiery robes,
the shrinking Marguerite cowers alone at
the doorway, while the organ peals and the
singers chant within. But she will not
yield. Next, she is arrested and cast into
prison. When Faust hears of her doom,

» he is deeply penitent. but Mephistopheles
sneeringly suggests that she is by no means
the first who has incurred such fate, when
Faust answers: “Not the first! Woe! Woe!
By no human soul is it conceivable that
more than one human creature has known
such wretchedness; or that the first in her
agony, Should not have atoned in the sight
(of Heaven for the guilt of all the rest.” The
.mocking devil is silenced, and Faust flies to
rescue Marguerite, bribes the jailer, obtains

entrance to her cell, where he finds her
asleep upon a straw pallet; and begs her to
fly with him since she is to die on the
morrow. But she resists all his entreaties
and declares she will expiate her sin as
decreed by her judges. In presence of

.such contrition Faust’s better nature is,
stirred and he renounces Mephistopheles,
\who leaves them as Marguerite dies in her
lover’s arms.

. Thus, briefly outlined, is the story in
song and action, varying somewhat from
Goethe’s great poem, as needs must to suit
the exigencies of the stage. No idea of the
music, or beauty of the stage settings,
what we call the mise en scene, can be given
in such a description, nor yet of that part
told in look and gesture and by-play, all of
which go to make the whole. As of many
of the beauties of nature and art, we must
perforce say “It must be seen to be ap-
preciated.”

‘The interpolation of the ballet, in what
we may suppose an endeavor to portray
something of the story by its means, I con-
fess I consider no addition whatever, but
rather a detraction from the effect, the dra-
matic feeling of such an opera as “Faust,”
which is tragic in its denouement, and
through its entire movement portrays Love’s
passion, its profoundest depths, intense
mental agony and repentance. To one
whose heart is touched by the grief of Mar-
guerite at the church, whither she has fled

 

to escape the despair which crushes her, but
where the tempter follows to remind her the
pure on earth refuse to reach their hands to
her, and the glorified turn their faces from
her,———to one, I repeat, who feels the pathos
of the scene, the sadness of the music, and
enters into the feeling of the story, the
ballet which follows comes with a sense of
incongruity that is closely allied to pain.
From Marguerite’s woes to the set smiles of
the scanty-skirted dancers who compose the
ballet, and the gyrations and contortions ‘of
the premiere danseuse, is too abrupt a tran-
sition. It weakens the force and beauty of
the theme. I admire the graceful movements
and evolutions of the dance; the “kermiss”
in the first act reminded me of nothing so
much as the whirl of a swarm of butterflies

above a garden, now advancing, now re- ~

treating, the fluttering, gauzy, Spangled
skirts simulating brilliant wings; but the
posturings, the contortions which show
only what flexibility of muscle can be at-
tained by practice, the pirouettes with the
big toe as a pivot, I confess are in my eyes
ungraceful, immodest, more suited to a cir-
cus than grand opera. I am anxious to see
what the fifteen Chicago clergymen who
witnessed “the dizzy spectacle” by invita-
tion, will say of it, but so far, to my know:
ledge, they have not put themselves upon
record. But the newspaper critics of this
city do not hesitate to say it was “a poor
ballet.” . BEATRIX.

”.0.—

THE EASY WAYS OF LIFE.

 

1 did read, and I was a little surprised
that one who was “true blue,” and would
stick to her “colors,” would admit that it
was the lady housekeepers who were more
at fault than the unintelligent hired girls,
that house work was so degrading. Where
does it spring from, and who are such house-
keepers? Why, those who did not learn
when they were girls. They do not know
how, and cannot teach their hired help; and
they are the hard'ones to please, too. As
for intelligence, there is not a boy or a girl
in all our broad land but has a chance to
understand the common branches of the
English language. There are men, women,
boys and girls whose education may not be
so good as our own, and still in moral worth
may be away above us. There are many
who are born poor, there are also many who
are born lazy, and by some misfortune they
never entirely get over it. If we were all
school teachers and dressmakers, our bread
and butter would soon come in very thin
slices. We should not be so selfish as not to
remember that others must live as well as
ourselves, and that by the “sweat of thy
brow thou shalt eat thy bread” is a burden
laid upon us, and all the ingenuity of man
has not helped us out of the trouble. The
machines which we have in and out doors
to make work easy to some, are the cause of
much hard work to others. Look in our
coal mines, our iron and steel foundries!
See the boys and girl who toil hard to make
these things for our use; are they a degraded
set because they are poor and have to work?
No, they are the salt of the earth and worth
a ten acre lot of bonnet-makers. M. Soyer,
the great French man cook, whose services
were sought after by all the nobility of Eng-
land, was once a poor boy. The best sight

 

I ever saw was a jolly old grandmother

with her big apron on and sleeves rolled up.

fixing for a family gathering, as happy as a
daisy.

But here comes our Editor, and says‘
“Young man, you have spelt about long
enough; please take a back seat.” But
please let me spell corn-cobs and kerosene,
and define it as the twin brother of gunpow-
der. It is true it lights a fire easy, but look
at the mothers and children and houses it
has destroyed by using it to light fires in a
stove. Please fix your shavings over night,
and keep the kerosene just as far away from
any stove as is convenient; it would/be bet-
ter to use it in burning up unkind husbands
-— at least it would be quite as safe to try it,

ANTI OVER.
PLAINWELL.

HMS.

While'it is true that what I don’t know
about plants would make a large and very
interesting work, perhaps what I do know.
since I love them so well, will make a short
essay. I do not try to have very' many;
they do not like to be crowded any better
than the crops in the fields, or the stock in
the barns, and a sunny window, or bay
window full, is about as much as the average
housekeeper can spare the room for or take
the time to care for; but they will more than
repay all the care they need, for there is
nothing that fills quite so many little bills.
They are company, if one is lonely; sym-
pathy, if you are sad or ill; and they fairly
laugh if you are jolly enough to set them
out in the sink or on the kitchen floor, and
give them a good shower-bath. There is
nothing that exerts a more gentle and refin-
ing influence over a family of small children
than to teach them to love and care for a few
of these little pets; and their growth is one
of the best introductions to the study of
primary botany—a study that is all too
much ignored in our common schools. The
idea of placing the value of x. y. z. above
that of the world of nature that is continu-
ally spread before us, and which, so far as
our district schools are concerned, isasealed
book to our children! There is yet another
thought, that while a good many for finan-
cial reasons cannot have beautiful furniture
and musical instruments, or gorgeous appa-
rel, we can all have and enjoy our little
windowful of nature’s treasures “ without
money and without price,” if we choose.

Now there are lots of books and news-
paper articles that give very explicit and
often elaborate directions for the care of
plants, but I have found them almost too
much so for my limited accommodations,
and perhaps others have thought the same;
so I will just tell you how I do. I prefer
slips, seedlings or small plants to commence
with, as I can then enjoy their growth and
development as well as their flowers, when
they are old enough to bloom; and if they
are slips that have been given me by friends,
my plant-stand becomes a sort of “friend-
ship album,” and it is pleasant to thiifir
the donors as I care for the plant-wants
and note their growth. One of the pleas-

ures of keeping plants is that of sharing

with others who love them, too.
An ordinary slip of geranium or fuchsia,
or almost any of our common house plants:

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THE HOUSEHOLD; 3

 

will require a pot about as large as a com-
anon tumbler, with about an inch of broken
pieces of pots or charcoal—4 prefer charcoal
——in the bottom for drainage. The cheapest
unglazed and unpainted pots are the best, I
think; and for soil, that taken from a real
good spot in the garden, with sand enough
mixed with it so it will not be soggy when
it is wet, is much better than to go to the
lowlands for black dirt, or to the barnyard
for very rich earth. Soil from the marshes
is apt to be sour, or soon become so in a
'warm room, and that from the barnyard is
'too strong. Put a little dirt over the bits of

‘coal in the bottom, set in the plant and

carefully fill in with the soil, and press it
down firm, but not tightly packed; water
abundantly, and keep from wind and strong
light for a day or two. They will soon Show
by their bright look that they are quite con-
tented in their new quarters, then give them
plenty of light and water as they need it.
When the dirt looks dry and feels so as
you loosen it a little on the top, use water

about as warm as the air of the room they

are in, and give them enough to wet them

.clear through, then give no more till they

need it again; “a little and often” is not a
.good way, as it only supplies the roots at
the top, while the main feeders are starving
below; while if they are kept constantly
wet, or with water standing in the little
saucers, the soil will soon become sour.

As the plants grow, turn them frequently
that they may not be one-sided from grow-
ing toward the light, and nip out the tops to
make them branch out.

Do not be afraid of cutting back to make
them branch nicely; they will be all the
prettier and blossom longer, if not quite so
quickly, if they are got in good shape. a“

When it gets settled weather, perhaps the
first of June, I think it a good plan to fix a
nice place in the yard or garden, and turn
them out of the pots, cut back a little, water
and shade for a few days till they get started

- again, and they will be full of bloom

all summer, and when they are growing
thriftily take off two or three slips of. each
kind, put in something that can be shaded
and watered, and you will have a nice lot to
commence the winter again, and the old
ones can be taken up or not, just as one
chooses.

There are some kinds of house plants, as
the Chinese primroses, begonias, coleii and
some of the lilies, that do best in pots placed
in the porch during the summer. I think a
small supply of bulbs, hyacinths, crocuses,
oxalis, etc., would be nice for winter bloom,

and have just been potting a few to try for—

this winter.

About fertilizers, don’t use any, unless it
be a little ammonia, about a teaspoonful to
a whole pail of water, when you water them
thoroughly. One is so apt to use too much
of any such thing, and do more harm
than good. Insects are not apt to trouble
plants that grow thriftilv: at any rate, I
have never had much experience with them,
and hardly know what 1 would do in such a
case. And now, I do not wish to urge any.
one to try growing house plants; only those
who love to care for them would succeed—
and doubtless it is a wise arrangement that
we do not all care for the same things; but
I find a real pleasure every day in my small

 

collection, and presume there are a good
many others who feel the same.

MRS. E. WOODMAN.
PAW PAW.
—--—————ooo———-—

A CU LINARY CON VERSAZIONE.

 

NO I V

 

It is needless to quote the old saying
that “bread is the staff of life;” every
housewife knows that the health of the
family depends largely on the quality of the
home made bread and biscuit. There are
two requisites for good bread~flour and
yeast. I am completely tied to the patent
flour, and find that one-eighth the quantity
is used in bread and cake, it is so much
superior to the other, so it has economy in
its favor. Still good bread has been and
can be made from other brands. I find that
the dough needs less mixing made fromthe
patent flour; and I always add a lump of
lard and some sugar; it is not so liable to
become dry. Another thing I have learned
is that bread should not be cut the same
day it is made. For my own eating I pre-
fer stale bread, and I have never had any
stomach trouble. All have not strong
digestive powers; those who are delicate in
that way should avoid eating warm bread,
or that which is sour or doughy. Flour
shouldlalways be procured in large quan-
tity, although some will diifer with me and
insist that freshly ground flour is superior.
A great many millers will not send out their
flour until it is six months old. Flour should
be kept carefully from dust or mold, and
near nothing from which it will take an
odor; it should also be sifted before being
used.

In my yeast I never use flour. Put a
large handful of hops into two quarts of
hot water and let them boil until the water
is strong of the hops, say fifteen minutes.
In the meantime grate six large potatoes in
a pan of water, this keeps the potato white,
you will find the water quite red; strain the
hops out of the water, put the water back
into the kettle and add the potato, stir con-
stantly and it will become like boiled starch;
turn into a pan or pail and add one cup of
sugar, one of salt, stir and set away to
cool. Soak three of Gillett’s cream yeast
cakes until you can see that little bubbles
rise, then stir into the yeast; when it has
risen so as to be stirred down several times,
put into beer bottles and cork tight, fill one
third full, this quantity will bake six loaves
of bread. When it is opened it will be
nothing but white foam, but it has consid-
erable snap. Either make the bread Sponge
of water, or whey made by boiling sour milk
one hour and adding one-third water, it
will be clear and sweet. One great es-
sential in having good bread is to bake it
properly; no matter how well anything is
made if it is not baked right it will not be
good. ‘It ought not to be burned; the oven
should be hot enough so that it will com-
mence to brown within eight minutes after
putting it in the oven; the crust should be
crisp and a little sparkle to it, the tex e of
the bread a honeycomb—not full of big holes.
The time for baking varies; hardly any
bread needs to be in the oven an hour. I
use square tins and make a double loaf; it
then cuts into small slices like the baker’s

 

loaves. The sponge should be mixed the
first thing in the morning, it will then be
ready for the tins as soon as breakfast is
over, and consequently be baked by nine
o’clock. Never put the bread in the
warming closet to rise, good lively yeast
will rise no matter where it is put; it re-
fuses to be put down. In cold weather a
quantity of dough can be put in a cold place
and keeps nicely for fresh biscuits for tea,
work them up after dinner, and they will
be light for tea.

Graham bread I make like the white,
adding a little molasses, and put it imme-
diately into the tins after mixing. In the
morning when it has risen sufficiently, bake.
This kind of bread must be well done or it
is not good. Gems are easily made, and are
splendid made as follows: One coffee cup
buttermilk, salt, one teaspoon soda, stir
with graham flour into a stiff batter; this
proportion makes eleven gems. Sweet
milk gems I make with one pint sweet
milk, one egg, salt; stir thick with graham
flour. For johnny cake, two coffee cups of
buttermilk, one-third cup sour cream, two
eggs, one—half cup sugar, two teaspoons
soda, salt. Make a thin batter of corn
meal, this makes two loaves. English
crumpets: One quart warm milk, one-half
cup melted butter, one-half cup yeast, salt,
flour for a thick batter; when risen pour
into muffin rings and bake. Egg rolls:
Two cups sweet milk, two eggs, salt, three
and one-half cups sifted flour. Bake in
gem pans. There are many things one can ,
make in the bread line, that are very tempt-
ing to the daintiest appetite. I do not think
we have such hearty, healthy appetites as
our fathers and grandfathers had; then a
meal of pork and beans, Indian bread, and
apple pie was eaten with a relish. I have
seen some young housekeepers mix dough
and cook with dirty aprons and finger nails,
and rough hair. Too great cleanliness can-
not be shown in mixing. Cambrlc caps are
easily made; and it should be a regular
habit to wash the hands and clean the nails.
Once acquire those habits and you will not
consider it a task to perform them. The
bread-pan should be washed- and hung
away each time, because flour used for
bread should not contain any bits of crust
or dough, and they will sometimes get in
the flour pan or chest.

BATTLE CREEK. EVANGELINE.

——«.—
RETROSPECTIVE.

 

Today 1 have been looking over back
numbers of the HOUSEHOLD, and in glanc-
ing at this and that contribution from many
who seem like old friends, and again noting
the somewhat timid entrance of the new
comer, I fell to thinking what a gem this
HOUSEHOLD is, with all its sparkle and
variety, words of wisdom, cheer and
sympathy, as the case requires. May the
new year find it and all concerned well and
happy, and blessings on its head. I con-
fess to feeling a little blue when I look out
at the poor frozen relics of the garden, and
I wonder if a continued summer would
suit us better. I read a letter from Cali-
fornia recently that speaks of fine warm
weather, and their out door work of pack-
ing raisins, to be followed very soon by

 


 

4 - THE ‘HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

oranges, all in open air, while we draw near
the fire and count up the days until spring,
which ought to be delightful, but as we all
know, is the most treacherous and “long
drawn out” of all the seasons, making a
flower lover despair.

This housework question is like the
abusive husband, we will not allow him to
be underrated, except by ourselves. I have
done housework more or less, for—well,
several years at least, and cannot say I feel
degraded by it. I might if I worked for
wages, and it compelled me to solitary
meals, and to serve while others were par-
taking, or to keep my place as a servant
while my employer’s family were enjoying
the company of musical people, artists and
authors. It makes a vast difference whether

one is the head or not; there is a distinction,

for instance, between the merchant and his
clerk or errand boy, the lady of the house
and the scrub-lady. We are all more or
less sensitive as regards position, and I
know many more educated people who re-
ceive large pay, than 1 do girls in the
kitchen. But it leaves as clear a conscience
to do one kind of work as another, and self
respect is the jewel of price.
MRS. M. A. FULLER, (DILL).

—....—

Fan'ron.

EGG-EATING FOW LS.

 

For nearly four months we have been
' using E. S. McL.’s method of “washing
made easy,” as given in the HOUSEHOLD of
July 6, 1886, and I feel that I owe hera debt
of gratitude that I never can repay for pub-
lishing to her tired sisters of the wash~tub
this boon. By the old way our washing
would not be all on the line until tea-time,
but by the new, it is_all done by the dinner—
hour, or noon. I wish I could portray to the
readers of this little sheet the consternation
of husband, son and hired men, as they came
at bell-call to dinner the day we were experi-
menting with this “new method.” The
appearance of the kitchen and its inmates
was such a surprise to them that they with
one accord exclaimed, “What is the matter?
I suppOsed this was washing day!” I sin-
cerely recommend this system of washing to
all farmers’ wives.

I wish to inquire how to prevent hens
from eating their own eggs. We have quite
a large flock of well—fed hens, that are con‘
stantly supplied with ashes, dry sand, lime,
clean nests, and porcelain nest eggs. We
give them a change of feed, cooked and raw
meat; clean water is always before them,
we have filled egg-shells with the most un-
pleasant liquids we knew of, but still ‘we
have very few hens that will not rob us if
not watched. I hear some one say “kill the
thieves.” We have done this, too.

ELIZA ANN.
loan.

[The egg-eating habit seems so firmly fix-
ed in these hens that we think our corres-
pondent will do well to feed her family
abundantly on chicken pie and fricassee,
and raise a new flock in the spring. The
habit, which really seems a disease, is said
to be induced at first by a want of shell-
forming materials in the food, aided by the
accidental breaking of eggs by stepping 0n
them, and it is next to impossible to break
it up when once firmlv established, as it

seems to be in this case.

 

If any of our

readers know a remedy, we will be glad to

hear from them—HOUSEHOLD En]
———OOO—-—-—-

LET THEM DO AS THEY PLEASE.

 

I think “Mrs. Grundy” has her influence
even in our FARMER HOUSEHOLD. Many,
I fear, are prevented from confessing their
pet economies and labor-saving contriyances
by the fear that some one more favorably
situated, either as regards financial stand-
ing, or with more help or less work to-
do, will sneer at their little managing ways.

Let such take courage from the commen-
dation bestowed upon “Lucy,” when she
dared to speak against blacking the kitchen
stove. This is one of the most disagreeable
duties of the housekeeper, and one of the
most onerous. It is one, indeed, ever doing,
never done. The slightest dripping of the
cooking, or the flying of grease, will mar its
perfect polish, and perforce the brush must
be flying. I won’t black my kitchen stove;
I will wash it,—that is, the top and hearth.
The sides may be kept in fair condition with
a polish once a month, and a good rubbing
with a soft brush, or even paper, once a
week. I have seen stoves kept presentable
with washing only. Better a little off-color

than for the tired housekeeper to have a

broken back. Let good sense govern our
modes. If one woman has little to do, and
would rather her stove should shine than to
work yellow dogs on sky—blue grass, who
shall say her nay? And if another wants to
fill leisure time by cutting yards of calico
into little bits, to be again sewn together

for quilts, or tear up her best gown into rags

for a rug, let her pursue her ambitious way
in “piece.” A. L. L.

INGLESIDE.
—-———ooo—-

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

 

THE labor of scraping saucepans in which
oatmeal or mush has been boiled can be
saved by a very simple precaution. Instead
of taking it boiling from the fire, and pour-
ing it out into the dish, let it stand on the
table for five minutes before you pour it
from the saucepan. 1 do not mean that your
are to leave it long enough to get cool; the
mush and oatmeal porridge hold the heat so
long that five minutes away from the fire
will make little perceptible difference ex-
cept to the bottom of the saucepan. If you
notice when you pour mush boiling from
the saucepan, you will notice the heat of the
bottom instantly dries’up what is left on.
The usual way is to pour water to this and
put it back on the stove; now the water will
take hours to soak through the hard crust
coating the bottom of the saucepan, which,
having been set back on the stove, is baking
still harder. When the mush is poured
from the saucepan, after it has stood on a
cool spot for a few minutes, you will find
that the bottom is no longer baking hot, and
if, for the sake of experiment, you take a
spoon immediately, you will find the cake
on the bottom will peel away and leave it
clean‘

 

AN article has been going the rounds of
our exchanges advising the overworked

mothers to hire some poorer neighbor to help ,

a day or two each week, and pay her in

 

buttermilk, fruit, old carpets, etc., in short,
anything they don’t want themselves. Well,
we cannot endorse that. It is not gener-
ous, not right, to take advantage of the
necessities of the poor. It is the meanest
kindof meaness to scrimp the washerwoman
or the one who scrubs and scours, doing the
hard, heavy work that is so exhaustive, of
her hard—earned wages. No; pay her when
her work is done in good sound government
dollars, and make her a present of the things
you can spare or have no use for. You may
never know what straits of poverty she is.
subject to, nor how grateful the work and
its ready pay. Drive as shrewd bargains.
as you choose with your equals in wealth,
but forbear to “ grind the face of the poor.”

Contributed Recipes.

 

BRIDE CAkaz—One and three-fourths
pounds sugar; one-half pound Orleans sugar;
one and one—half pounds butter; twenty eggs:
four pounds raisins seeded and'cut flne; five-
pounds currants; two pounds citron sliced:
flne: two pounds sifted flour; two nutmegs;
two tableSpoonfuls each of mace, cinnamon
and cloves; one-half pint deodorized alcohol ;.
fifteen drops of lemon. This makes four
large loaves.

Bosron CREAM PUFrs:—One-half pint
boiling water turned upon three—fourths cup
of butter; while boiling stir in one and two-
thirds cups of dry flour; stir constantly,it will
all cleave away from the pan. When done and
nearly cool add gradually flve well beaten
eggs, this makes a stiif batter, which drop in
spoonfuls, so they will not touch each other,
upon well buttered tins; they require a hot
oven, and will when done be hollow in the in-
side. Set away to cool. The custard for flll—
ing is made as follows: One pint of rich
sweet milk; yolks of two eggs; one cup of
flour; one and one-half cup sugar, flavor with
vanilla. With a sharp knife cut out the top
carefully, fill with the custard and return the
top.

MINCE AND POACHED EGGS:—Ch0p any
kind of cold meat, as for hash; remove all fat
and gristle; warm in a sauce pan with a little
brown gravy or soup stock—if neither is
attainable use butter and hot water; salt and
pepper. While this is heating, toast some
slices of bread a nice brown—heap a generous
spoonful of the mince on each; place where it
will keep hot while you poach as many eggs
as there are persons to be served. Lay one
on each mound of mince: Salt, pepper and
serve.

PUFF OMELETz—Six eggs, whites and yolks
beaten separately; one teacupful milk; one
tablespoonful flour or corn starch; table
spoonful butter; salt and pepper. Put a
spoonful of butter in a. deep tin or basin; when
hot turn in the mixture and set in the oven.
Bake a delicate brown.

HOLLANDAISE SAncnz—Beat one-half cup
of butter to a cream, in a bowl; add the yolks
of two eggs, juice of one-half a lemon or‘the
same quantity of vinegar: a dash of cayenne
pepper; one-half teaspoonful salt. Set the
bowl in apan of hot water, give it several
turns with the egg beater until it thickens,
then add one-half cup boiling water; beat it
all the time; it should be like soft custard. A
nice relish.

RICE FRITTERsz—Four eggs, one pint of
milk, one cup‘boiled rice, three teaspoonfuls
of baking powder, one quart flour, fry in
lard. Eat with syrup. EVANGALINE.

BATTLE CREEK.

 

 

I“).