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THE

FARMER'S OWN BOOK;

OR

FAMILY RECEIPTS

FOR THE

HUSBANDMAN AND HOUSEWIFE;

BEING A COMPILATION OF THE

VERY BEST RECEIPTS

ON

AGRICULTURE, GARDENING AND COOKERY.

WITH RULES FOR

KEEPING FARMERS' ACCOUNTS.

BY H. L. BARNUM,

EDITOR OF THE FARMERS* REPORTER.

STEREOTYPE EDITION.

BOSTON :

PUBLISHED BY CARTER AND HENDEE.

1832.

4 3 0 • 0 3

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen
hundred and thirty-two,

BY CARTER & HENDEE,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

PREFACE.

The title and contents of this work present a better
preface, perhaps, than could be given by enumerating
all the claims usually accompanying the introduction
of books.

An attempt to assume any thing more than utility in
this case, might convict me of the "crime" so frequently
charged against the quill fraternity; vulgarly called
^'clipping books and cabbaging ideas."

Many original recipes are given, but the majority of
them are borrowed from the most celebrated American
and European works.

The '•'Domestic Encyclopedia^'' "JVezy American Gar-
dener^'' '•'American Farmer^'' ''JVew-England Farmer ^"^
''Journal of Health^''' "Genesee Farmer^'''' "Mackenzie's
Receipts^'''' "Farmer''s Guide,'''' "Loudon^s Agricultural En-
cyclopedia,'''' "Dean's Kezo-England Farmer,'" "A''ew-York
Farmer^'' "Farmers Assistant,''^ "Farmers Manual,'''' "Ed-
inhurgh Encyclopedia,^'' and "Library of Useful Know-
ledge,^'' are the principal works referred to in selecting
the matter.

The whole taken together comprises a valuable book
for families of any occupation or situation in life. I do
not feel disposed to pufF, but having given credit to oth-
ers for the matter, no delicacy is felt in representing the
work in its true character.
3

PREFACE.

If "method is the soul of management, then the pros-
perity and happiness of a family depend greatly on the
order and regularity established in it. There is eco-
nomy, as well as comfort, in a regular mode of doing
business."

Many husbandmen and housewives attend to tlie va-
rious duties devolving upon them in their domestic con-
cerns without any rule, system, or order, and therefore
trust entirely to the precariousness of chance.

The design of this work, is to obviate this difficulty,
by giving, in few words, such rules as will secure bene-
ficial results in the most important branches of Domestic
Economy.

THE COMPILER.

AGRICULTURE.

TO PRESERVE GRAIN.

A discovery of considerable importance has been an-
nounced, with regard to preserving grain. To preserve
rye, and secure it from insects and rats, nothing more
is necessary than not to fan it after it is threshed, and
to stow it in the granaries mixed with the chaff. In
this state it has been kept more than three years, with-
out experiencing the smallest alteration, and even without
the necessity of being turned to preserve it from humidity
and fermentation. — The experiment has not yet been
made with wheat and other kinds of grain, and they
may probably be preserved in chaff with equal advantage.

TO PRESERVE EGGS.

Apply with a brush a solution of gum Arabic to the
shells, or immerse the eggs therein, let them dry,
and afterwards pack them in dry charcoal dust. —
This prevents their being affected by any change of
temperature.

A 2

(3 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

TO PRESERVE BEES FROM WORMS AND BUTTERFLIES.

About the first of May, raise the hive up, and strew
some fine salt under the edge. This will drive those
insects away.

TO PURIFY TALLOW FOR CANDLES.

Take 5-8 of tallow, and 3-8 of mutton suet; melt
them in a copper chaldron, with it mix 8 ounces of
brandy, one of salt of tartar, one of sal ammoniac, two
of dry potash. Throw the mixture into the chaldron,
make the ingredients boil a quarter of an hour, then set
the whole to cool. Next day the tallow will be found
on the surface of the water in a pure cake. Take it
out and expose it to the air for some days on canvass,
[t will become white and almost as hard as wax. The
iew is favorable to its bleaching. Make your wicks of
ine even cotton; give them a coat of melted wax, then
-:ast your mould candles. They will have the appear-
'>*nce of wax in a degree, and one of them (six to a
pound) will burn fourteen hours and not run.

BARLEY, TO INCREASE.

To increase a crop of barley, dissolve three pounds
«?f copperas in a pail of boiling water. Add to this as
much dung puddle water as will cover three or foui
bushels of barley. Stir it, and let it steep four and
twenty hours; when the seed is drained and spread, sift
on fine lime, which fits it for sowing. Steeping the seed
about twenty-four hours in the wash of a dunghill,
without any mixture, is said to produce a very good effect.

TO DESTROY ANTS.

The farmer, when he manures his land, if he will use
ashes, lime, salt or sand, will not be troubled with those
insects. Dr. Rees' Cyclopaedia recommends boiling
rain water with black soap and sulphur, and saturating
the ground with it, which is infested with ants.

AGRICULTURE. 7

TO MAKE CIDER.

In making cider see that the mill, the press, and all
the materials be sweet and clean, and the straw free
from must. The fruit should be ripe, but not rotten,
and when the apples are ground, if the juice is left in
pumice 24 hours, the cider will be richer, softer and
higher colored. If the fruit be all of one kind it is
generally thought that the cider will be better; as the
fermentation will be more regular. The juice of the
fruit, as it comes from the press, should be placed in
open headed casks or vats: in this situation, it is likely
to undergo a proper fermentation, and the person attend-
ing may, with great correctness, ascertain when the
first fermentation ceases; this is of great importance,
and must be particularly a.ttended to. The fermenta-
tion is attended with a hissing noise, bubbles rising to the
surface and there forming a soft spungy crust over the
liquor. When this crust begins to crack, and a white
froth appears in the cracks level with the surface of the
head, the fermentation is about stopping. At this time
the liquor is in the fine genuine clear state, and must be
drawn off immediately into clean casks; and this is the
time to fumigate it with sulphur. To do this, take a
strip of canvass or rag, about two inches broad and
twelve inches long, dip this into melted sulphur, and
when a few pails of worked cider are put into the cask,
set this match on fire and hold it in the cask till it is
consumed, then bung the cask and shake it, that the
liquor may incorporate with, and retain the fumes; after
this, fill the cask and bung it up. This cider should be
racked off again the latter part of February, or first of
March; and if not as clear as you wish it, put in izin-
glass, to fine, and stir it well; then put the cask in a
cool place where it will not be disturbed, for the finery
to settle. Cider, prepared in this manner, will keep
sweet for years.

Mr. Deane observes "I have found it answer well to
do nothing to cider till March, or the beginning of April,
except giving a cask a small vent hole, and keeping it
open till the first fermentation is over; then draw it off
into good casks; and fine it with skim milk, eggs broke

8 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

up Avitli the shells, or molasses. A quart of molasses
Avill give a line flavour to a barrel of cider, as aycII as
carry rJl tlie lees to the bottom. But lest it should in-
cline the liquor to prick, or become sour, I put in at the
same time a quart of rum or brandy; and it seldom fails
of keeping v/cll to the end of summer. Cellars in which
cider is kept, should have neither doors nor windows
kept open in the summer, and the casks should stand
steady and not be shaken to disturb the sediment.

The casks which contain new cider should be filled
perfectly full to permit the froth or pumice to discharge
itself at the bung. The pressure of the pumice should
be slow that the liquor may run the clearer. Some say
that if the cider be racked off in a week after it is made,
ceasing the moment it becomes muddy; in ten days a
second time, and in fifteen days a third time, it will need
no other process for fining or purifying it. In every in-
stance the casks should be clean, and perfectly filled,
cmd when filled for the last time should be bunged up
close, and placed in a deep, dry cellar, never to be mo-
ved till drawn off for use.

The later the apples hang on the trees, the more spirit
the cider will contain. In bottling cider it is recom-
mended to raise the proof of the cider by putting in
about two tea spoonfuls of French brandy to each bot-
tle, which will check fermentation, and prevent the
bursting of the botles.

TO KILL COCK-ROACHES.

It is said that a few leaves of elder, strewed on the
floor of a room infested with cock-roaches, will extirpate
those insects.

TO KEEP APPLES FOR WINTER USE.

Put them in casks or bins, in layers, well covered with
dry sand; each layer being covered. This preserves
them from the air, from moisture, and from frost; it pre-
vents their perishing by their own perspiration, their
moisture being absorbed by the sand; at the same time,
it preserves tlie flavor of the apples, and prevents their

AGRICULTURE. 9

wilting. Pippins have been kept m this manner sound
and fresh, till midsummer; and how much longer they
would have kept is not known. Any kind of sand will
answer, but it must be perfectly dry*

PRESERVATION OF PLU3IS, PEACHES, &C.

An English publication stcites that plums and peaches
may be preserved sweet through the year by the follow-
ing process: 'Beat well up together equal quantities of
honey and spring water; pour it into an earthen vessel,
put in the fruits all freshly gathered and cover them
quite close. When any of the fruit is taken out, wash
it in cold water, and it is fit for immediate use.'

CURE FOR MUSTY CORN.

Immerse it in boiling water, and let it remain till the
water becomes cold. The quantity of water should be
at least double the quantity of corn to be purified.

TO FEED FOWLS.

Corn given to fowls should be crushed and soaked in
water; this helps digestion, and hens will lay in winter
that are so fed that would not otherwise.

Feed your fowls in winter with bones, pounded fine;
and they will need less corn, and lay as plentifully as at
any season of the year. The bones supply the carbonate
of lime, which is necessary for the production of the
shell, and a part of the yolk of the e^^, — Egg shells,
oyster shells, chalk or unburnt lime answer a similar
purpose.

TO DESTROY THE BEE-MILLER.

To a pint of sweetened water (sweetened with sugar
or honey,) add half a gill of vinegar; set this in an open
vessel on the top of the hive, and at night, when the
miller comes to his work of destruction, he will prefer
this composition, and diving into it, will immediately
drown. This simple method, is almost certain success.
At all events, it is worthy of attention; and we would
recommend to the owners of bees to make a trial of it.

10 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

PERFU3IES A PREVENTIVE AGAINST MOULDINESS.

Dr. M'Culloch, of Edinburgh, has pabhshed a paper
in the Philosophical Transactions of the city, in which
he points out that all essential oils possess the property
of preventing the growth of mould. His observations
are of such general utility, that I copy them for public
benefit.

Ink, paste, leather, and seeds, are among the common
articles Avhich suffer from this cause, and to which the
remedy is usually applicable. With respect to articles
of food, such as bread, cold meats, or dried fish, it is less
easy to apply a remedy, on account of the taste. Cloves,
however, and other spices whose flavors are grateful,
may sometimes be used for this end; and that they act
in consequence of this principle, and not by any parti-
cular antiseptic virtue, seems plain, by their preventing
equally the growth of those minute crj^ptogamous plants
on ink, and other substances not of an animal nature.

"The effect of cloves in preventing the mouldiness in
Ink, is indeed generally known; and it is obtained in the
same way by oil of lavender, in n very minute quantity,
'or by any other of the perfumed oils.

"To preserve leather in the same manner from this
effect, is a matter of great importance, where the labor
employed in cleaning harness and shoes is a cause of
considerable expense, and where much injury is occa-
sionally sustained from this cause. The same essential
oils answer the purpose, as far as I have had an oppor-
tunity of trying effectually. The cheapest, of course,
should be selected, and it would be necessary to try oil
of turpentine for this reason.

"It is a remarkable confirmation of this circumstance,
that Russian leather, which is perfumed with the tar of
the birch tree, is not subject to mouldiness, as must be
well known to all who possess books thus bound. They
even prevent it from taking place in those books bound
in calf near to which they happen to lie. The fact is
particularly well known to Russian merchants, as they
suffer bales of this article to lie in the London docks in
the most careless manner, for a great length of time,
knowing well that they ran sustain no injury of this

AGRICULTURE. H

ture from dampness, whereas common curried leather
requires to be opened, cleansed, and ventilated. Col-
lectors of books will not be sorry to learn, that a fevv^
drops of any perfumed oil will insure their libraries
from this pest.

"Dr. M. began some experiments with the same agents
on wood, to prevent the dry rot, but not having time to
carry them on, he recommends the important investiga-
tion to others. — With regard to paste, he prefers rosin
to alum as a preservative ; but lavender, or any other
strong perfume, such as peppermint, anise, and burga-
mot, are perfectly effectual for years, however the paste
is composed." That which the Doctor himself employs
in labelling, &:c. is "made of flour in the usual way, but
rather thick, with a proportion of brow^n sugar, and a
small quantity of corrosive sublimate. The use of the
sugar is to keep it flexible, so as to prevent its scaling
off from smooth surfaces ; and that of the corrosive sub-
limate, independently of preserving it from insects, as
an effectual check against its fermentation. This salt,
however, does not prevent the formation of mouldiness.
But as a drop or two of the essential oils above men-
tioned is a complete security against this, all the causes
of destruction are effectually guarded against. Paste
made in this manner, and exposed to the air, dries with-
out change to a state resembling horn; so that it may at
any time be wetted again and applied to use. When
kept in a close covered pot, it may be preserved in a
state for use at all times."

He then proceeds — "This principle seems also appli-
cable to the preservation of seeds, particularly in cases
where they are sent from distant countries by sea, when
it is well known that they perish from this cause. —
Dampness, of course, will perform its office at any rate,
if moisture is not excluded; yet it is certain that the
growth of the vegetables which constitute mould, acce-
lerate the evil, whether by retaining moisture, or by
what means is not very apparent. This in fact, hap-
pens equally in the case of dry rot in wood, and indeed
in all others where this cause operates. It is a curious
illustration of the truth of this view of a remedy, that

12 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

the aromatic seeds of all kinds are not subject to
mould, and that their vicinity prevents it in others with
which they are packed ; they also produce the same ef-
fect daily, even in animal matters, without its being sus-
pected. I need only remark, that it is common to put
pepper into collections of insects or birds, without its
having been remarked that it had the same power of
keeping off mould, as of discouraging or killing the
insects that commit ravages in these cases,

"In concluding these hints, I might add, in illustration
of them, that ginger-bread and bread containing cara-
way seeds is far less liable to mouldiness, than plain
bread. It will be a matter worthy of consideration
how far flour might be preserved by some project of
this kind.

TO DESTROY RATS.

A correspondent, who had noticed in a recent num-
ber of our journal, a paragraph recommending ground
cork, fried in grease, as an efficacious plan for destroy-
ing rats, states, that he lately put the plan to the test
of experience, and completely succeeded. "The case
was that of two old women in the village of Denny,
who had lived in two detached garret rooms of the
same building. The rats had long been troublesome,
but at length had became so numerous and daring, that
they fairly threatened to challenge the tenants with no
longer possession. The fried cork had only been laid
for them three nights, before the whole disappeared.
A fact of this kind cannot be made too public, since it
may be the means of preventing many of those serious
accidents which so frequently occur from the use of
poison."

TO PREVENT SMUT IN WHEAT.

Take of best soft green soap, made from fish oil, I
pound, and of scalding water, 4 gallons. Put the soap
into a glazed vessel with a small portion of the water;
continue stirring it, and add the water as it dissolves,
till tibe whole is a perfect ley. It should be used about

AGRICULTURE. 13

90 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer, or new-miik
warm. Put the wheat into a tub, and pour on ii a
quantity of the Uquor sufficient to cover it completely,
and throw a blanket over it to preserve the heat. Stir
it every ten minutes, and take off the scum. V/hen it
has remained in this manner for an hour, drain the li-
quor from the wheat through a sieve, or let the tub be
furnished with a drain bottom like a brewing vat. Let
the liquor which was drawn off, stand a few minutes
to subside, and then pour it off the sediment. Repeat
the operation till the whole quantity is steeped, only
observe to add, each time, as much hot ley as was ob-
served by the former steeping. Dry the vrheat Vv^ith
quick lime, and sovv as soon as convenient. It will
keep ten days after steeping; but should be spread thin
on a dry floor.

If a tub with a drain bottom is used, such as a hogs-
head, with a spigot to draw off the ley, 4 ounces of
soap, and 1 gallon of water scalding hot, will preserve a
stock of warm ley sufficient for any cpantity of wheat.
The operation should be performed in a clean place, at
a distance from barns and granaries, the roofs of which
may be observed hanging full of smut. The refuse of
smutted wheat should be buried deep in the earth, and
not thrown to the dunghill, from which it would be con-
veyed to the field.

TO PRODUCE EARLY POTATOES IN GREAT QUANTITY.

Early potatoes may be produced in great quantity by
resetting the plants, after taking off the ripe and large
ones. A gentleman at Dumfries, has re-planted them
six different times in one season, without any additional
manure, and instead of falling off in quantity, he gets
a larger crop of ripe ones at every raising, than the
former ones. His plants have still on them three dis-
tinct crops, and he supposes they may still continue to
vegetate and germinate until they are stopped by tlie
frost. By this means he has a new crop every eight
days.

B

14 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

TO DESTROY THE FLY ON TURNIPS.

Lime sown by the hand, or distributed by a machine,
is an infalhble protection to turnips against the ravages
of the fly. It should be apphed as soon as the turnips
come up, and in tlie same daily rotation in which they
were sown. The lime should be slacked immediately
before it is used; if the air be not sufficiently moist to
render that operation unnecessarj'.

TO PRESERVE GTRAIN FROM VERMIN.

To preserve rye, and secure it from insects and rats,
nothing more is necessary than not to winnow it after
it is threshed, and to stow it in the granaries mixed
with the chatf. In this state it lias been kept for more
than three years without experiencing the smallest al-
teration, and even without the necessity of being turn-
ed, to preserve it from humidity and fermentation. —
Rats and mice may be prevented from entering the
barn, by putting some wild vine or hedge plants upon
the heaps: the smell of this wood is so otTensive to
these animals that they will not approach it.

TO DESTROY SLUGS ON LAND.

Procure some fresh lime, and after throwing as much
water upon it as will reduce it to a powder, sow the
lime in a hot state upon the land that is overrun with
vermin, at the rate of about 12 bushels to the acre. The
lime should be sown towards the wind, and falling upon
them in a fermented state, will instantly kill them.

DA3IAGED HAY.

In the year 1790, which ^tas remarkable for the quan-
tity of rain, that fell during the hay season, the farmers
suffered great loss from the thousands of heads of cattle
which perished from eating damp hay. This fact ought
to put farmers on the guard against any similar effects
at the present time. The efficacy of salt in curing hay
is now almost universally known; but the best advice,
perhaps, v/hich can be given, is to be careful as to the
(juantity given.

AGRICULTURE. 15

TO DESTROY HOUSE-FLIES.

These troublesome little insects may be effectually
destroyed without the use of poison. — Take half a
spoonful of black pepper in powder, one tea-spoonful
of brown sugar, and one table-spoonful of cream; mix
them well together, and place them in the room on a
plate, where the flies are troublesome, and they will
soon disappear.

REMEDY AGAINST BAD WATER.

A highly respectable gentleman in Connecticut, who
used to visit Ohio yearly, gave me the following prescrip-
tion. Being from early life a water drinker, he applied
to the late Dr. Osborn, of Middletown, to give him a
substitute. The doctor told him to furnish himself with
a mixture, of equal proportions, of pulverised sugar and
ginger, and whenever he drank the bad water of the
west, to put in as much of the composition as suited his
taste, and he need never apprehend bad effects from a
free use of the water.

PRESERVATION OF SEEDS.

M. D'Arget has preserved corn, which had been in-
fested by weevils, for a considerable time by putting it
into vessels, previously filled with sulphurous acid. All
the weevils perished, and the corn ceased to suffer. In
this manner insects in seeds may not only be destroyed,
but their presence prevented. As it might be inconve-
nient to burn sulphur in the vessels to be filled with
sulphurous acid, we will state another method of re-
placing the acid, and obtaining the same results. All
that is necessary is, to powder the seeds well with flour
of sulphur, before they are put into the bottles or other
vessels; or after having put the seeds into a bottle the
sulphur may be added, and the whole well shaken to-
gether, so as to bring it in contact with all the seeds.
The presence of the sulphur will prevent entirely the
attacks of the insects.

16 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

SIMPLE METHOD OV DESTROYING THE HESSIAN FLY.

The Hessian Flj deposits its eggs on the wheat ear
before it is reaped; the egg is so small as to be invisible
to the naked eye, bat may be distinctly seen with a
microscope; sometimes one grain of wheat will be ob-
served to liavc several of these eggs on it. They are
attached to the wheat by a glutinous substance, de-
posited around them by the parent lly, by which they
arc held so firmly on the surface, as not to be easily
removed hy the motion of reaping, threshing, &c.
Shortly after the seeds begin to germinate in the soil,
the genial heat of the season brings the young dy from
its egg in the form of a very small maggot (as is the case
with all insects;) these little maggots deposit themselves
at the root of the stalk, to the seed of which the eggs
had been attached, between the stem and the lowest
blade or leaf, where they may be discovered during the
month of j\Iay and beginning of June quietly reposing:
here they remain until tlie warmth of the season brings
them to maturity, v/hen they commence eating the sub-
stance to which they are attached. It is not until this
period that tlieir destructive effects arc visible, by the
wheat becomins: withered and bli2;hted. This accounts
for the fact that wheat, which is attacked by these de-
structive insects, presents a healthy appearance in the
month of June, the period at which the embryo-fly
begins to use food.

Now it is evident that if the eggs of this fly can be
destroyed on the seed vv^heat, by any process that will
not also destroy the vegetative quality of the grain, the
ruinous effects will be avoided. — This can be done by
the following very simple process. "Soak the seed
wheat in water for twelve hours; spread it out on the
barn floor, so as to allow the superabundant water to
escape: then take fresh slacked lime and mix it among
the wheat in quantity suflicient to have every grain co-
vered with the lime, taking care to stir the wheat well
with a shovel, so that no particle may escape coming in
full contact with the lime, which, when thus applied,
will in a short time destroy the eggs, and consequently
preserve the grain from destruction."

AGRICULTURE. 17

The egg^ which before the appUcation of the Ume ap-
pears clear and transparent, afterwards becomes opaque,
and puts on the appearance of an addled egg. The
efficacy of the above remedy has been established b}'
several experiments, one of whicii we here relate.
Wheat supposed to be infested by the Hessian flj',
was taken, one half of the quantity treated vfitli lime,
and the other half was sown in the same soil with the
prepared, in alternate drills; the result was that every
stalk from the prepared seed came to maturity and
was productive, whilst the alternate drills which had
been sown with unprepared seed, were almost totally
destroyed.

The above remedy for so serious an evil cannot be
too widely circulated.

TO KEEP BEEF.

A country housekeeper, to whom a sirloin or a steak
is not an every day treat, has been taught, by necessity,
hozo to keep beef; an art unknown in towns, where daily
access can be had to markets; but it is a most valuable
secret, equal to that of keeping venison, so highly prized
by the quins and aldermen of England ; and I here pro-
pose, without the prospect of any other reward than the
hope of an honest fame, to communicate it to the Ame-
rican public.

Beef is never fit to be eaten in steaks until a week
after being killed. If a piece of beef is suspended by
a hook and string in a dry cellar, so as not to touch the
wall, it will, in our hot climate, in the hottest season of
summer, keep from one to two weeks without a particle
of salt; and in winter it will keep from eight to ten
weeks. I have this winter kept it two months, with a
constant and great improvement to the last, and have
no doubt I might, with increasing benefit, have kept it
for a month longer. No one, without the proof, can
believe how astonishingly it will improve in tenderness
and flavor after being kept a due length of time, and it
doubtless is much more wholesome tlian rank, tough
beef, that is laboriously masticated to become a cause

b2

18 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

of dyspepsia in some and bilious fevers in others, as the
town doctors assure us. I beg to recommend this kee-
ping of beef to all house-keepers in town and coun-
try, satisfied that after one fair trial, they would no
more feed on a recently slaughtered ox than they would
on an Abyssinian steak with CafFrarian garnishments.

P. S. Freezing meat, (a practice not advised) pre-
serves it in one state without much improvement.

TO MAKE OLD FEATHERS BETTER THAN NEW .

If the feathers of old beds have become dirty, mat-
ted, or have lost their elasticity, by age or use, they
should be emptied into a hogshead and washed in warm
soap suds, agitated by means of a rake or garden hoe,
and afterwards rinsed in clear water. They are then
to be pressed dry by the hand, and put upon the floor
of an empty well lighted room, and now and then whip-
ped and stirred up; and when thoroughly dry put again
nto ticks. They will be found after this hctter than new
feathers; because deprived of the oil which abounds in
the latter.

TO DESTROY WEEDS.

If you have not had time to root out all the weeds on
your premises, you will at least endeavour to prevent
their going to seed by cutting otT the tops with a scythe
or sickle, and it will be good economy to lodge the pro-
ceeds of your cuttings in your barn yard, or compost
bed. An antidote to the increase of weeds may be
found in burning the stubble as it stands after reaping.
On land that is designed to be sown the next year, this
is more especially good husbandry; for it will destroy
so many of the seeds of weeds, as to prevent the ensu-
ing crop from being so weedy as it might otherwise be.
At the same time this process will destroy many insects,
clean the ground, and render it fit for the operations of
tillage, besides fertilizing the soil by the ashes of the
bubble.

AGRICULTURE. 19

PREVENTION OF MILDEW ON PEACH TREES.

The following preventive of the mildew on Peach and
Nectarine trees has simplicity, as well as the experience
of many years, to recommend it: — Take of sulphur and
rain or river water, in proportions of two ounces of sul-
phur to every four gallons of water. Put the quantity
which may be required into a copper or boiler, and let
it (after it com.mences" boiling) boil for half an hour:
after which it may be taken out, or suffered to remain
until it becomes of a tepid state, when it ought to be
applied to the trees by means of the garden engine or
syringe, as in a common washing with water. The
time for applying it is annually, as soon as the fruit is set
and considered out of danger.

SAYINGS FOR FARMERS.

Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears,
whilst the used key is always bright. Dost thou love
life? Then do not squander time^ for that is the stuff
life is made of. The sleeping fox catches no poultry.
He that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce
overtake his business at night.

Early to bed and early to rise,

Makes a man healthy, and wealthy, and wise.

He that lives upon hope will die fainting — industry
need not wish. There are no gains without pains. At
the working man's house hunger looks in, but never
enters. Plough deep, while sluggards sleep, aiid you
shall have corn to sell or to keep. One to-day is worth
two to-morrows. Handle your tools without mittens — a
cat in gloves catches no mice.

He that by the plough would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive.

The eye of a master will do more work than both his
hands. Not to oversee your workmen is to leave them
your purse open. A little neglect may breed a great
mischief — for want of a nail the shoe was lost, and for
want of a horse the rider was lost. A fat kitchen makes
a lean will. If you would be rich, think of saving
as well as getting. What maintains one vice would

20 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

bring up two children. Beware of little expenses — a
small leak will sink a great ship. If you would know
the want of money, go and try to borrow some — for he
that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. Pride is as
loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more saucy.
Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and
supped with infamy. Lying rides on debt's back. It
is hard for an empty bag to stand upright. Creditors
have better memories than debtors.

For age and want save what you may,
No morning's sun lasts the whole day.

Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt. If you
do not hear reason, she will surely rap your knuckles.
He that hath a trade hath an estate; and he that hath a
calling hath a place of profit and honor. A ploughman
on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees.

ECONOMICAL WAY TO FATTEN HOGS.

I have thrown by my steamer for hog food and substi-
tuted a boiler, and I think with manifest advantage.
The former consisted of a 60 gallon cask, over a potash
kettle, badly set. I could only work off four or live
casks a day, with great labor and trouble, and the appa-
ratus required to be luted with clay at every operation.
With my new kettle, holding 30 gallons, which is a thin
beautiful casting, I have cooked eight and nine barrels
in half a day, and much better than by the steam process.
This food consists of small refuse potatoes, of which I
have nearly 100 bushels, or 15 per cent, of my whole
crop, pumpkins, and a small quantity of Indian meal.
A half day's boiling serves my hog family four or five
days; and it is always kept prepared in advance. The
actual expense of fattening hogs thus upon the refuse
of the farm crop, is 50 to 75 per cent, less than feeding
with dry corn.

The economy of my apparatus consists much in set-
ting the boiler so as to have all the advantage of the fire.
The interior brick work is made to conform to tlie shape
of the boiler, leaving an interval of four to six inches
between them for the fire, round the whole exterior of

AGRICULTURE. 21

the kettle, with the exception of a few inches at top,
where the flange or rim rests upon the projecting hrick.
Thus the hoiler is not only encompassed by the flame,
but the heat is augmented by radiation from the brick
work. The fuel is burnt on a grate, which extends
nearly to the kettle, four or five inches above the level
of its bottom. My boiler being in operation while I am
penning these remarks, I have ascertained that a kettle
of potatoes, with three pails of cold water, covered vnth
boards, has been completely boiled in 18 minutes from
the time they were put in, another boiling having been
just previously taken out. My kettle was set by a son
in his -teens, without assistance, and was his first effort
in masonry. J. Buel.

Alhayiy JVursery^ Oct. 20, 1831.

TO MAKE HAY ON THE MOST APPROVED PLAN.

The first thing to be considered about hay-making, is
the time of cutting the grass. It should not be cut too
early, or before it has got its growth, for this will cause
it to shrink too much in drying. On the contrary, it
should not stand too late, or till the seed be quite ripe.
It is not only harder to cut, but the ripeness of the seed
will cause it to shatter out while drying, which will be
a considerable loss, as the seed is the most rich and nour-
ishing part; and the soil will be the more exhausted by
nourishing the seed till it come to maturity, and the
next succeeding crop will be poorer. There never can
be any advantage in mowing late, unless in thickening
the grass roots, by scattering some of the seed, Avhere
they were before too thin. He that mows early has the
advantage of longer days for drying his hay; and of
shorter nights, when the dews are less detrimental to
hay-making.

But the farmer who has many acres of the same kind
of grass cannot always expect to cut the whole of it in
exactly the right season. That he may approach as
near to right as possible, he should cut the thickest
grass first of all; especially if it be in danger of lodg-
ing, or so thick that the lowest leaves perish, or the

23 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

bottoms of the stalks turn yellow. The thinnest of his
grass should he cut next, which is apt to he ripe soonest:
and last of all the middling sized grass, or that which
is on a medium hetween thick and thin.

Where a second crop is expected the same year,
thick grass should be cut a little the earlier, that the
roots may not be injured so much as to prevent their
speedy recovery, by being closely covered too long by
the first crop.

Some regard should be had to the weather, when
the time of cutting is in contemplation. Those, espe-
cially, should regard it, who are able to call in as much
assistance as they please in hay-making.

Grass, which has not been washed by rain for several
days, has a kind of gum on it, which is known by its ad-
hering to the scythe. This gum is thouglit to be a
benefit to the hay; and the farmers are fond of mowing
their grass when this gum appears, rather than just
after the grass has been a^ ashed by rain.

As to the drying of liay, or the manner of making it,
I know there are a variety of opinions. The right way
is to do it in such a manner that as much of the sap as
possible may be retained, and in the best state that is
possible. In this I should think all would agree. All
persons will allow that too much drying is hurtful. It
is certainly a loss to rake it or stir it at all, when it is so
dry that the leaves Avill crumble. And doubtless as
much of the sap should be retained as is consistent with
its being kept in good order for fodder, and for long
keeping.

Some grasses will do well with less drying than is
needful for others. The Rhode-Island bent, as it is
called, or red-top grass, will do with less drying than
some other grasses. It has iDcen much practised to put
up with so little dryness that it heats in the mow to so
great a degree, as to make it turn brown like tobacco;
and it is known that cattle will eat it well, and thrive
on it. But the mow will certainly send out part of the
virtue of the hay in steams. I cannot but think that
all grasses should be so much dried, that the mows and
stacks though they have a degree of heat, should not

AGraCULTURE. 23

emit any sensible steam ; and I would not wish to have
liay made brown by mow-burning. It surely does not
appear to so good advantage at market.

Were it not for the labor and cost, a good way of
hay-making would be, for the hay-makers to follow at
the heels of the mov/ers, at least, as soon as the dew is
olF, and spread the swarths evenly; turn the grass about
the middle of the same day; make it up into cocks be-
fore night; open the hay and turn it the next day; and
so on till it be sufficiently dried, doubling the cocks if
signs of rain appear. It will not commonly take more
than two or three days to dry it, unless it be very green,
or uncommonly thick and rank. A person who has but
little hay to meike, need not be much blamed, if he do
it in this way; especially if the weather do not appear
to be settled.

The practice of the best English, Flemish, and
French farmers, is to expose the hay as little as possible
to the sun. It is carried in dry, but it preserves its
green color; and you see hay two or three }ears old in
their market, of so bright a green color, that we would
scarcely conceive it to be cured. Yet they are in the
practice of preserving it for years, and value it more
for its age. If such a course be best in climates so
cool and cloudy, how much more important would it be
under our scorching summer suns?

But if the weather be unsettled, or if showers be
frequent, it may be better to spread grass well, as soon
as it is mowed, stir it often, cock it the same day it is
mowed, open it in the next fair day when the dew is off,
let it sweat a little in cock, and house it as soon as it is
dry enough. It will bear to be laid greener on a scaf-
fold, than in a ground mow; and in a narrow mow
greener than in a broad one. And that which is at
least of all made, should be put upon a scaffold.

SIMPLE MEANS OF PURIFYING WATER.

It is not so generally known as it ought to be, that
pounded alum possesses the property of purifying water.
A large spoonful of pulverized alum, sprinkled into a

24 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

hogshead of water,(the v>^ater stirred round at the (ime,)
will, after the lapse of a few hours, by precipitating to
the bottom the impure particles, so purify it, that it will
be found to possess nearly ail the freshness and clear-
ness of the finest spring water. A pailful, containing
four gallons, may be purified with a single tea spoonful.

TO CHOOSE THE BEST AGRICULTURAL IjIPLEMEXTS.

The variety and excellence of agricultural implements
is so great that the prudent farmer in regard to that, as
well as in every other branch of his art, must study eco-
nomy. He should not incur an unnecessary expense in
buying them, nor in purchasing more than are essenticflly
requisite, and can be profitably used. This maxim
ought to be more especially attended to by young impro-
vers, who are often tempted, under the specious idea of
diminishing labour, and saving expense, to buy a super-
fluous quantity of implements, v/hich they afterwerds
find are of little use. It is remarked by an intelligent
author on matters of husbandry, that a great diversity
of implements, causes disappointment, ratiier than satis-
faction to the farmer.

In purchasing implements the following rules are to
be observed; — they should be simple in their construc-
tion, both that their uses may be more easily understood,
and that any common workman may be able to repair
them, when they get out of order; the materials should
be of a durable nature, that the labour may be less lia-
ble to interruption from their accidental failure; their
form should be firm and compact, that they may not be
injured by jolts and shaking; and that they may be the
more safely worked by country labourers, who are but
little accustomed to the use of delicate tools. In larger
machines, sj'mmetry, and lightness of shape, ought to be
particularly attended to: for a heavy carriage, like a
great horse, is worn out by its own weight, nearly as
much as by what he carries. The wood should be cut
up and placed in a position the best calculated to resist
pressure; and mortices, so likely to weaken the wood,
should, as much as possible, be avoided; at the same

AGRICULTURE. 25

time, implements should be made as light as is consistent
with the strength that is necessary. The price should be
such, that farmers in moderate circumstances can afford
to buy them; yet for the sake of a low price, the judi-
cious farmer will not purchase articles, either of a flims}^
fabric, or a faulty form; and implements ought to be
suited to the nature of the country, whether hilly or
level, and more especially to the quality of the soil; for
those which are calculated for light land, will not answer
equally well in soils that are heavy and adhesive.

A RECIPE TO PREVENT BOOTS AND SHOES FROM
TAKING W^ATER.

Take Seneca oil and gum elastic ; one ounce of the
latter to be cut into thin shreds and dissolved in a pint
of the former, and when dissolved, which will be in a
few days, the boots are to be completely saturated or
charged with the mixture. The manner of preparing
the boot is as follows : Take a sponge, and rub the mix-
ture in until the leather will absorb no more of it; the
boots are then laid by for a day or two, when the pro-
cess is repeated. The soles as well as the uppers are
to be thus rubbed, and the operation is to be performed
either before a fire or in the sun.

MISCELLANEOUS SHORT RECEIPTS.

Enjoyment is not found so much in luxurious as in
simple dishes. Fried apples are better and more whole-
some than expensive preserves.

Tortoise shell and horn combs last much longer for
having oil rubbed into them once and a while.

A large stone, put into the middle of a barrel of meal,
is a good thing to keep it cool.

Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell, if you dip
your wick-yarn in strong hot vinegar, and dry it.

New-England rum, constantly used to wash the hair,
keeps it very clean, and free from disease, and promotes
its growth a great deal more than the Macassar oil.
Brandy is very strengthening to the roots of the hair;

C

26 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

but it has a hot, drying tendency, which New-Jhin^ia*
rum has not.

Woollens should be washed in very hot suds, and not
rinsed. Lukewarm water shrinks them.

Suet and lard keep better in tin than in earthen.
Suet keeps good all the year round, if chopped and
packed down in a stone jar, covered with molasses.

Legs of mutton are very good, cured in the same way
as ham. Six pounds of salt, eight ounces of salt-petre,
and five pints of molasses, will make pickle enough for
one hundred weight. Small legs should be kept in
pickle twelve or fifteen days: if large, four or five weeks
are not too much. They should be hung up a day or
two to dry before they are smoked.

A pailful of ley, with a piece of copperas half as big
as a hen's eg^ boiled in it, will color a fine nankin color,
which will never wash out. This is very useful for the
linings of bed-quilts, comforters, &c.

THE WAY TO W EALTH.

The way to wealth, is as plain as the way to market.
It depends chiefly on two words, industry/ and frugality;
that is, waste neither time nor money ^ but make the best
use of both.

He that would be rich with the least labour must
have few wants: for he that has little, and wants less,
is richer than he that has much and wants more. A tub
was large enough for Diogenes, and a world too little
for Alexander.

We are ruined, not by what we . eally want, but by
what we think we want. Never go abroad in search
of wants; if they be real wants, they will come in search
of you. He that buys what he does not want, will soon
want what he cannot buy.

METHOD OF PRESERVING TOMATOES."

The boiling required for the preservation of fruits,
always changes their quality, and sometimes entirely
alters their character; and it often happens, when the
fruits are acid, as in the Tomato, that they ihibibe in

AGRICULTURE. 27

the copper vessels, in which they are stewed to a certain
consistence, metallic principles, which are injurious to
health. This doable consideration induces us to pub-
lish an excellent method for preserving the tomato,
which does not alter the quality of this fruit, and does
not require the action of heat.

A sufficient quantity of salt is dissolved in spring or
river water to make it strong enough to bear an egg;
select perfectly ripe tomatoes, and place them v/ell, and
without pressing them, in a stone or glazed earthen pot,
which is to be filled with the brine; cover the pot with
a deep plate in such a manner that it presses upon the
fruit, and by this simple process tomatoes may be pre-
served more than a year without attention. Before
cooking them they should be soaked in fresh water, for
several hours.

TO LAY DOWN GRASS LANDS.

It is admitted on all hands that one of the most diffi-
cult parts of the farmer's duty is 'laying down' regularly
and successfully grass lands. John H. Powel, an intelli-
gent and experienced Farmer of Pennsylvania, says, that
in this country there is not usually more than half the
quantity of seed sown that should be to insure success —
that from experience he has found that three half pecks
of clover seed mixed with two bushels of orchard grass
seed is in no instance too much to sow on an acre of land
— that by putting in this quantity, by light harrowing
and rolling of the ground, if the weather and soil be in
a proper state, immediately after sowing, will secure its
vegetating and improve the grass. Autumnal top dres-
sing with long manure, may be profitably applied to
protect young clover, particularly if it has been pastu-
red. A double advantage is obtained by using abundant
supplies of seed; the hay is finer, and of course more nu-
tritious, and when the crop is taken off, the soil is less
exhausted from the rays of a hot sun.

TO SELECT SEED CORN.

A farmer informs us that, having often read accounts
of the crop of corn being increased by selecting seed

28 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

from stalks having two or more cars, he was induced to
trj the experiment. He has selected his seed corn in
this way for three years past, and the result has exceed-
ed his expectation. He states that it is not uncommon
to find in his cornfield, 'stalks with three, four, five, and
sometimes six cars, and three of them fair, full-grown,
and fit for seed, and that too in hills containing four or
live stalks.' He says, 'I think my crop has been in-
creased several bushels this year by the experiment. I
vrould suggest a mode of selecting seed to those who
do not cut up the corn at the roots. Vv^hen they are
picking corn, and find a stalk with two or more ears,
let them tie the husks together, and the ears will be
easily known at husking.'

STOCK TO SELECT.

The word stocky in this country, is commonly used by
farmers to express only live stock, or tiie beasts that are
kept upon a farm. These should not be all of one
kind, but such an assortment as is best adapted to the
convenience and profit of the farmer. The stock
sliould be adapted to the nature and circumstances of
tlie farm.

Young stock, in general, is better than old. The
more there are in a growing state, the greater is the
profit. And very old cattle, when turned oflf to fat, do
not answer so well as those which are but little past
their prime, or full vigour. It costs more to fatten them,
and the meat is not so valuable.

It is best to begin with a considerable variety of ani-
mals; that the farmer, by observing the profit he gets
from each kind, may afterwards vary, as he finds to be
best. For tliis cannot be determined, but by some ex-
perience: Because some animals prosper l3est on one
farm, and some on another; some best under one mana-
ger, and some under another.

A variety indeed, for other reasons, is always best:
One is, because almost "every farm produces a variety
of food, some of which will answer best for one animal,
and some for anotlier. Even in the same pasture, that

AGRICULTURE. 29

which one species of animals leave, another will feed
upon.

Also, the stock should vary, in some proportion as the
lands of a farm do. As some farms contain a large
proportion of high and dry pasture grounds, the greater
quantity of sheep should be kept. Where low meadow
abounds, the kind of stock should be increased, which
will do best on coarse water-grasses; which is well
known to be neat cattle, that are young and growing.
But if a farm yield a plenty of good sweet grass, it is
the more suitable for a dairy farm, and the greater
proportion of cows ought to be kept.

But on no farm should horses be multiplied beyond
the number which are needed, or which can be em-
ployed to advantage. For they are great eaters, and
require the best of the fodder and pasture. A small
farmer can scarcely afford to keep one, unless he puts
him to the draught.

Let a farm be what it will, it should never be over-
stocked. This is an error that too many farmers in this
country are guilty of. Doubtless it arises from a cove-
tous disposition; but they sadly miss their aim. Instead
of gaining, they lose by it. A half starved stock can
never be profitable.

A farm may be said with truth to be overstocked,
when a greater number of animals are kept, than can
be well fed with its produce, during the whole year.
For it is a ruinous practice, to suffer a beast to pine
away, and lose, in one part of the year, the flesh he
gains in another. And when the farmer is constrained
to purchase food for his stock, he too often affords them
but a scanty allowance. Sometimes, it is not in his
power to obtain it.

The starvation of cattle, or keeping them too short
of food, not only prevents their being profitable to the
owner, but teaches them to be disorderly, and to break
through, or leap over fences ; and many times to become
absolutely ungovernable; so that they must either be
killed, or sold off at a low price; in either of which
cases, there is often much inconvenience and loss.

c2

30 FA?fnLY RECEIPTS.

It is far better that some of the stock of food should
he left in the spring, than that it should fall short. It
is a good reserve against a season of scarcity: And such
seasons often happen in this country by drought.

The following general rules, as to the management of
stock may deserve attention.

'•1. Animals intended for the butcher, should be kept
in a state of regular improvement. The finer breeds
are highly fed from their birth, and are almost always
fat. With other breeds, and on pastures of inferior
quality, this is neither necessary nor practicable. But
in every case the same principle of improvemiCnt should
be adhered to, and such animals ought never to be al-
lowed to lose flesh, in the hopes of afterwards restoring
it by better feeding.

"2. The size should never be above that which the
pasture can support in a thriving condition. The at-
tempt to raise them to an undue size, by crossing, is cen-
surable. In regard to size, the stock of every kind,
and of all the various breeds, should be proportioned
to the quantity, and the quality of their intended food.

"3. The best pasture should be allotted to that por-
tion of the stock, which goes first to market; the next
in quality to the breeders; and the coarse pasture, to
the inferior or growing stock.

"4. Great care should be taken, not to overstock pas-
ture, which is attended with great loss to the farmer, and
the community. This ought to be particularly avoided
in young and growing animals. If they are kept poor
during one part of the year, they will scarcely thrive
during the remainder; and whenever ill fed, will never
attain to their proper size and proportion.

"Lastly, tlie food, whatever it may be, should not be
too suddenly changed. It is seldom profitable to bring
lean animals immediately from coarse to rich pastures;
and a change from dry, to succulent food, and vice versa,
should be gradually etfected. A change of pasture,
liowever, of (he same quality, tends to produce a greater
accumulation of fat.

The following observations relative to the size and
form of stock are by Henry Cline, Esq. an English Sur-

AGRICULTURE. 31

geon. Thej have met the approbation of the most
eminent agriculturists both in America and Great
Britain.

"It has been generally understood that the breed of
animals is improved by crossing with the largest males.
This opinion has done much mischief, and would have
done more if it had not been counteracted by the desire
of selecting animals of the best forms and proportions,
which are rarely to be met with in those of the largest
size. Experience has proved that crossing has only suc-
ceeded in an eminent degree in those instances in which
the females were larger than in the usual proportion of
the females to the males; and that it has generally failed
when the males were disproportionally large.

The external form of domestic animals has been much
studied, and the proportions are well ascertained. But
the external form is an indication of the internal
structure. The principles of improving it must there-
fore be found on a knowledge of the internal parts.

Of these the lungs are of the first importance. It is
on their size and soundness that the strength and health
of an animal principally depend. The power of con-
verting food is in proportion to their size. An animal
with large lungs is capable of converting a given quantity/
of food into more nourishment than one with smaller lungs;
and therefore has a greater aptitude to fatten,

''Chest. The size and form of the chest indicate the
size of the lungs, of which the form should approach to the
figure of a cone having the apex situated between the
shoulders, and its base towards tlie loins; a circular form
of chest is preferable to one deep and narrow; for
though the latter may have greater girth, the former
will have greater internal space in proportion.

"Head, The head should be small, by which the birth
is facilitated to the offspring, it also indicates the ani-
mal to be of a good breed, and occasions less weight of
unprofitable substance to the consumer.

"Horns are useless to domestic animals, and occasion
a great weight of bone in the head. The skull of a ram
with horns weighed five times as much as that of one
without horns, each being four years old. A mode of

32 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

breeding, which would prevent the production of horns,
would therefore afford a considerable saving.

"The length of the neck should be proportioned to
the height of the animal, that it may collect its food
with ease.

'^Muscles* The muscles and tendons, which are their
appendages, should be large, by which an animal is ena-
bled to travel with greater facility.

''Bones, The strength of an animal does not depend
on the size of the bones, but on that of the muscles;
many animals with large bones are weak, their muscles
being small. Animals imperfectly nourished during
growth have their bones disproportionally large. If this
originates from a constitutional defect, they remain weak
during life; large bones may therefore indicate an im-
perfection in the organs of nutrition."

Of the improvement of form. The chief point to be
attended to for the improvement of form, from Mr.
Cline's principles, is the selection of males for breed
of a proportionally smaller size than the females, both
being of approved forms; the size of the foetus depends
on the size of the female, and therefore when the female
is disproportionally small, her oifspring has all the dis-
proportion of a starveling from want of due nourishment.

The larger female has also a greater supply of milk,
and her offspring is therefore more abundantly provided
with nourishment after birth.

When the female is large in proportion to the male,
the lungs of the offspring will also be greater. By
crossing in this manner, there are produced animals with
remarkably large chests, as has been often noticed ; the
advantage of large lungs has been already pointed out.

In animals where activity is required, this practice
should not be extended so far as in those which are in-
tended for the food of man.

The size of animals is commonly adapted to the soil
which they inhabit; when the produce is scanty, the
breed is small; the large sheep of Lincolnshire would
starve, where the small sheep of Wales find abundant
food.

AGRICULTURE. 33

Crossing may be attended Avith bad effects, even
when begun on good principles, if the above rule be
attended to throughout; for instance, if large ewes
were brought to Wales, and sent to the rams of the
country, the offspring would be of improved form; and
if sufficiently fed, of a larger size than the native ani-
mals, but the males of the breed would be dispropor-
tionately large to the native ewes, and therefore would
produce a starveling ill formed race with them.

The general mistake in crossing has arisen from an
attempt to increase the size of the native race of ani-
mals; being a fruitless effort to counteract the laws of
nature; which from theory, from practice, and extensive
observation, Mr. Cline, concluded to be decidedly wrong;
for in proportion to this unnatural increase of size, they
become worse in form, less hard}', and more liable to
disease.

Tlie Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, vol. vi.
p. 78, contains some valuable remarks on the subject
of "Dairy Stock," by S. W. Pomeroy, Esq. We shall
give the following extract, which presents an important
fact, not sufficiently known or attended to by writers
who have treated on the same or similar subjects,

"In the selection of bulls, most farmers confine their
attention to form and colour only, instead of tracing
their descent to a valuable dairy stock. It has been
observed by Linnasus that those properties of animals
which relate to the vessels, or in scientific terms, the cor-
tical substance, or vascular sifstem, are derived from the
males^'' and among other examples tending to confirm
this opinion, he states "that a cross from the male An-
gora goat, with the common female goat produces that
fine wool or substance, called Camel's hair; but .that the
progeny from the male common goat with the female
Angora, is productive of nothing but the same Avorthless
hair of the sire."

TO SELECT GOOD LAND FOR FARMING.

The remark will, at first view, strike most persons as
a kind of contradiction in terms, that the very richest
land is not that on which Farmers have the best success,

34 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

and yet nothing is more certain. The first quality
of land, is generally considered to be river alluvion:
next to this, the richest upland, such as a fat and tena-
cious loam; then a sandy loam, or sand and clay; and
finally a dry gravel. Of all these descriptions of soil,
1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th, the last is that on which we gene-
rally find the best farmers, not only, but the most suc-
cessful farming. I have traversed most parts of the
United States, from Maine to North Carolina, and be-
tween the great western Lakes and the Atlantic, and
have every where seen proof of the correctness of these
remarks. The first choice of land, in the settlement of
every new country, taking the qualities as designated
above, is always in the numerical order, as they stand;
and the 4ih, after some 20 to 50 years, always becomes,
except in some very rare cases of river alluvion, the
first, and the whole order is reversed ! There may be
particular exceptions, but as a general remark, the
above observations will be found, on the strictest exa-
mination, to be sanctioned by general facts. Such was
the case, in the early history of the settlement of this
continent, such it has been, in every part of the country,
and such it still is, as settlements advance, every where.
One generation succeeds another, the second invariably
adopting different views from the first, if continuing to
reside on the same land; and yet all others, all of those
who are uninstructed by personal experience and obser-
vation, or very nearly all, advance to the wilds with the
old fashioned errors of opinion! Were we to omit ta-
king into consideration the grounds of this mistake, the
general perseverance in it, would seem to imply a
strange want of prudent foresight, or even a want of
common understanding. — Let us examine this matter a
little, for it is one of very general importance.

Lands in a state of nature, wild lands, to which so
large a proportion of the young men resort for future
farms, if clothed with timber, forest trees, present very
delusive appearances, such, exactly, as would be likely
to mislead the judgment. Excepting only the river allu-
vion, universally sought as of the first quality, almost
without looking at the soil, the three other qualities are

AGRICULTURE. 35

found, the second and third, covered with a thick depo-
sit of vegetable matter, leaves, partly decayed, 'soft as
an under bed,'' 'black as my shoe.'' — Such is the surface.
On tearing up some handfuls of tlie ground, this is well
blackened of course, and little is thought of looking for
the sub-soil, as those invariably do, who have once been
deceived by black muck, and these soft beds of leaves.
Brooks are plenty, in such woods, though they will be
scarce, on the same land, when opened to the sun, and
the blankets and bed of leaves are removed so as to dry
the surface of the ground.

On the 4th quality of land, the dry and warm gravel,
there is none of this great store of slowly rotting leaves,
because they rot rapidly, and fires often burn them up,
the land being dry; and brooks, and springs, are even
more scarce than they will be when the woods are de-
stroyed. The ground, having its surface uncovered, and
the woods generally more open, presents an appearance
of nakedness, especially after having passed over black
muck lands, shrouded in leaves. — With no allowance
for the far greater frequency of fires, to burn off the
leaves, and to destroy much of the growth of wood,
keeping the woods more open, this land is condemned,
for barrenness, and the land of muck is chosen, all blan-
keted and carpeted with leaves. We may, on reading
this, admitting it to be a true and faithful outline or de-
lineation, all agree that we would act more wisely, and
yet 99 in a hundred of us, uninstructed by experience,
would probably choose the carpeted land, as 99 in a
hundred have done before, in all parts of the United
States. I would not, and did not, but my father did,
much to his regret, and I had the benefit of his expe-
rience, as well as my own, having been born and bred
on one of those carpeted farms.

Land, that is cold and wet, may bear immense
growths of trees, as of the elm, ash, baswood, birch,
beech, maple and hemlock; and having a very thick
shade, tlie ground will be cold, and wet, and the leaves
must, of course, decay very slowly. Hence the carpe-
ting, whicii is, invariably, a sure indication of either cold,
or wet land, or of both. If of both, it never will make

36 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

a farm for grain; and grass, for pasture, and for hay,
which grows on such land, is always very inferior in
richness, to that groAvn on land that is warm and dry.
The difference is very great. The most nutritious grass,
grows only where the land is so dry, and warm, that it
must be sown frequently with seed, in order to keep up
the sward. This is what I call a medium soil, good, alike
for grass and grain, on which I should no more expect
crops of grass, except from seed, than of grain. One
acre of such ground, in pasture, or meadow, will keep
as much stock as one and a half, or even two, or three,
of your black muck cold and wet grass land. The ap-
pearance, to be sure, in pasture, will be very different.
The grass may be very long, in your wet, cold land
pasture, but yet very poor feed: in the other, it will
be far more nutritious, short and sweet, like a well
told story.

With land that is dry and v/arm, the good husband-
man, may always succeed in getting good crops. He
may even make the soil as fertile as that of the very
richest of land, and far more sure in its crops. Good
husbandry, constantly enriches the soil. But it is al-
most impossible to do this, with land naturally cold, and
wet. It has not v, armth enough of temperament, to be
sensitive to kind treatment, but is like some men, so
phlegmatic, as to offer no principle of life to act upon.
Heat, and cold, are always antipodes. You can never,
by the utmost kindness, overcome natural antipathies.
The very cause of the muck, which misleads so many
in the choice of lands, is a natural coldness in the soil,
where leaves are presei-vcd from decay, by cold, and by
wet, not moisture, but an excess of wetness. Such
lands, when cleared, will produce grain crops, while the
muck lasts, and is rotting by the power of the sun, but
is sterile, ever afterwards, unless covered with a new
soil, meide artificially, and at more expense than the cost
of warm and good land. This can be effected by
trench-ploughing, under-draining, quick-lime as a ma-
nure, bringing up the hard-pan, almost always the only
sub-soil of mucky lands, but the cost is too great for £iny
thing but experiment, and on a small scale.

FARMERS' ACCOUNTS.

A celebrated agricultural writer says, 'There is not
a single step in the life of a farmer that does not prove
the advantage of his keeping regular accounts;' and yet
there are very few who attend to this important branch
of rural economy.

A few rough memoranda, often scrawled v>4th chalk
over the fire-place, or behind the door, are too often the
only records which a farmer makes of his dealings either
by way of barter or ready money; and he knows as
little about his circumstances, and the amount of what
he would be v/orth provided his debts were paid, as he
does about the Chinese language, or the most approved
method of calculating eclipses.

The advantages resulting from clear and accurate
accounts are properly appreciated in other pursuits in
life, but it is doubtfiil whether they are greater in any
occupation than in that of farming. Sir John Sinclair
has given some maxims on this subject, which are in
substance as follows:

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF STOCK.

Every farmer, v/ho desires to know correctly to what
profit he does business, should provide himself with a
book, which he may call his General Stock Book., and ia
this, some time in December, he should register the re-
sult of a general survey of the condition and worth of
his whole property, including all his debts and credits.
Having such a book to refer to at all times and on all
occasions will afford much satisfaction to his mind. In
the first place he should order in all his tradesmen's
bills, and in the mean time he may take an examination
and account of all his household goods, horses, cattle,
poultry, corn, grain, in straw or threshed, hay or other
Ibdder, v/ood, manure, wagons, carts, ploughs, and im-
plements of all kinds — the state of his fences, gates,
S7 D

38 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

drains, &:c., and make an estimate of the neccssarj
repairs. Minutes being made on waste paper, the par-
ticulars may be afterwards entered into the Stock Book,
with such a degree of minuteness as may be judged
necessary. After this general register, a Dr. and Cr.
account may be drawn out, the balance of which will
exactly show the present worth of the estate.
The form of the account may be as follows:

Stock Dr* Contra Cr,

On the Dr. side should be entered all the farmer
owes, and on the Cr. side all he possesses and all that
is owing to him. He must rate every thing at what he
judges the fair present worth, was it then sold ; manure
and tillage performed must be valued at the common
rate of the courftry.

If a farmer wishes to be very correct in his calcula-
tions of the prolit and loss of a lot of stalled oxen for
instance, or the crop of a particular field, his readiest
method is to make an account for either one or the other
in his ledger of Dr. and Cr. On the Dr. side let him
place the cost, including every minute particular, and on
the Cr. side the returns. On the sale of the articles, the
account is closed, and the balance demonstrates the
profit and loss.

PROMISSORY NOTES.

WITHOUT INTEREST.

glOO 00 Cincinnati, March \st, 1831.

Sixty days after date I promise to pay John Sharp
or order, One hundred dollars.

Value received. William Doe.

WITH INTEREST.

,$1,500 00 Cincinnati, April 6th, 1831.

Ninety days after date for value received, I promise
to pay John Sharp or bearer. One thousand five hundred
dollars, with interest from this date.

John Doe.

AGRICULTURE. 39

PAYABLE TO THE PERSON TO WHOM THE NOTE IS
GIVEN, AND NO OTHER.

|570 50 Lexington^ May b/, 1831.

Thirty days after date I promise to pay to Jeremiah
Hanks Five iiundred and seventy dollars and fifty cents.
Value received.

Peter H. Sharp.

ON demand.

|50 00 Indianapolis^ July lOtk, 1831.

On demand I promise to pay to the order of Richard
Doe Fifty dollars. Value received.

Jonathan Hopkins.

ANOTHER ON DEMAND.

$25 25 Cincinnati^ June \st^ 1831.

On demand I promise to pay John Doe or order,
Twenty-five dollars and twenty-five cents. Value
received. Richard Doe.

ANOTHER ON SIGHT.

20 00 Louisville^ January \st^ 1831.

Good, at sight, for Twenty dollars. Value received.

Joseph Don.

NOTE PAYABLE IN INSTALMENTS.

$400 00 Madison^ April 4th, 1831.

For value received I promise to pay Jonathan James
or order, Four hundred dollars, in the following in-
stalments, namely, one hundred dollars on the first day
of May next, and the further sum of one hundred dol-
lars on the tenth of July next, and the remaining sum
of two hundred dollars on the first day of January,
eighteen hundred and thirty-two, with lawful interest
from the payment of the first instalment herein named.

William Cash.

40 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

NOTE GIVEN BY TWO OR MORE.

$300 00 Connersvilh, May 1st, 1831.

We jointly and severally promise to pay Daniel
Blank Jr. or order, on the third of December next,
three hundred dollars for value received.

John J. Phillips.
Benjamin Oglethorp.

A note payable in produce.

$30 00 Jamestown, April \st, 1831,

Thirty days after date, for value received, I promise
to pay James Hodges Jr. or order, the value of thirty
dollars, in merchantable wheat, at the market price at
the time this becomes due.

John Peters, Senior,

another.
$300 00 Jamestown, April \st, 1831.

For value received I promise to pay Hugh Fisk or
order, an equivalent to the sum of three hundred dollars,
payable in the following manner, namely: The value
of one hundred dollars on the first of May next, in {here
name the said kinds of stock or produce.) The further
sum of two hundred dollars on the tenth of June next,
in {here name the articles, <^c. particularly.) All of which
articles, goods or chattels are to be in good merchant-
able order, and valued at the market price at the sever-
al periods in which they become due.

Thomas Flim, Jr.

judgment note.
I promise to pay William Dunallen Jr. of the City
of Cincinnati, merchant, or order, five hundred dollars
with lawful interest, on the first day of June ensuing,
for value received. And further, 1 do hereby empower
any attorney of any of the courts of the City of Cin-
cinnati, or of any other court of recordof Ohio, to

AGRICULTURE. 41

confess judgment for the above sum and costs with
release of errors, &c. Witness my hand, this first daj
of May, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and thirty.

John I. Worthy
In presence of A. B.
C. D.

BILLS.

BILL OF EXCHANGE.

$500 00 Cincinnati^ June Is/, 1831.

Ten days after sight, pay to the order of John J.
Mills five hundred dollars, value received, without fur-
ther advice, which charge to the account of

David Readymoney.

Messrs. Floyd, Jones, &, Co.

A PENAL BILL.

This bill bindeth me Andrew Brownson of-

in the sum of fifty dollars to be paid unto John Y.
Yates, his certain attorney, executors, administrators,

or assigns, on or before the day of which

will be in the year together with lawful interest

for the same: For the true payment whereof, I do
bind myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators,
and each of them unto the said John Y. Yates, his ex-
ecutors, administrators, and assigns in the penal sum of
eight hundred dollars. In witness &c.

A. B. C.

A MERCANTILE BILIm

Israel Thompson,

To H. L. Bamum, Dr.
For three hundred bushels of wheat, at one dollar
per bushel, $300 00

One cow, at thirty dollars, 30 00

d2

43 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

Three tons of hay, at ten dollars per ton, 30 00

Payment received. $360 00

Cincinnati, May 1st, 1831.

Philo Jones, for

H. L. Barnum.

RECEIPTS.

Received, this first day of May, A. D. 1831, from
Frederick Pay, thirty dollars, being in full for one cow,
sold by me, to the said Frederick Pay.

$30 00 Charles P. Brair.

Cincinnati, May Wth, 1831.
Received, this day, of Peter Paymaster, one hundred
dollars, being in full of all demands.
$100 00 Charles Robinson.

MONEY RECEIVED BY THE HAND OF A THIRD PERSON.

Received, the twentieth day of September, A. D.
1831, from Henry Hobbs, by the hand of Morris Bil-
lings, the sum of two hundred dollars, in full for sundry
articles of produce, bought by the said Henry Hobbs
from me.

$200 00 Amos B. Phelps.

RECEIPT FOR A PROMISSORY NOTE.

Received, Versailles, May first, A. D. 1831, from
Richard Doc, his promissory note, payable to me or
order, three months after date, for five hundred dollars,
due to me for certain produce, bought from me, by the
said Richard Doe, which, when paid, will be in full of
all demands.
Mi^^^OO'OiT H. Brown.

AGRICULTURE. 43

FOR AN ORDER DRAWN UPON A THIRD PERSON.

Received, the day of, &c. from D. Doe, an

order, drawn in my favor upon Conrad Hughes, Jr. for

the sum of upon sight, which, when paid,

will be in full of all demands I have against the said
I). Doe.

Samuel Harrison.

a short business order.

Mr. John James,

Please pay H. L. Barrows five dollars,
and charge the same to my account.

Philip Hays.

RECEIPT FOR PROPERTY LEFT ON SALE.

Received, this first day of June, A. D. 1831, from
James Johnson, one bay horse, {or any other article^ as the
case may 6e,) which I am to sell for {here men-
tion the terms) and duly account to the said James John-
son for the same.

James Peters, Jr.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN A MASTER AND OVERSEER OR
LABORER, ABOUT THE MANAGEMENT OF A FARM.

Article of agreement, between Adam Painter of, &:c.
of the one part, and John Stewart of, &c. of the other
part, as follows, viz: —

Whereas, the said Adam Painter hath agreed with
and hired the said John Stewart, to be his overseer or
laborer (as the case may be) for the well ordering,
improving, and managing, for the best and most profit
and advantage of the said Adam, in good husband-like
manner as herein after mentioned, all that farm or tene-
ment, barns, stables, out-houses, lands, meadows, and
pasture-ground, with the appurtenances thereunto be-
longing, now in the tenure or occupancy of the said
Adam, situated in Blockley, and commonly called or
known by the name of Painter's Grange, for the terra

44 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

of one year from the first day of April next coming,
after the date thereof, and so from year to year after-
waids, for and during the term of three years more, if
he the said Adam Painter shall think fit to retain the
«aid John Stewart, in his said service, and not other-
wise, at and for the yearly salary or wages of three
hundred dollars, payable quarterly as herein after men-
tioned: Now it is thereupon covenanted, agreed, and
concluded, by and between the said parties to these
presents, for themselves, their executors, administrators,
and assigns, in manner and form following, that is to
say: the said John Stewart, for himself, his, &c. doth
covenant, &c. to and with the said Adam Painter, his,
&;c. by, &c. that the said John shall and will, with the
assistance herein after covenanted to be afforded to him
by the said Adam, in a good husband-like manner, and
at seasonable times, in the year, from time to time during
go long as he shall continue in the said service of the
said Adam, well and sufficiently plough and keep in til-
lage the number of one hundred acres, little more or
less, parcel of the farm aforesaid, every year, yearly,

and shall and will leave acres thereof, to be

laid fallow every other year, and plough the same

acres three times before it be sown again; and

shall sow or plant the remaining acres at sea-
sonable times, in the year, with such corn and seed as
the said Adam, his executors, or assigns, shall from time
to time direct and appoint; and the same so sown or
planted shall, in good husband-like manner, harrow or
plough: And that he, the said John Stewart, with the
workmen to be furnished him by the said Adam Pain-
ter, shall, from time to time, during the term of four
years, or so long thereof as he shall remain in the said
service of the said Adam, at seasonable times in the
year, in a good husband-like manner, gather, husk, and
crib, all the corn, and reap, cut down, and shock, all the
grain that shall stand, grow, or be in or upon the said
farm, or any part thereof, and do all other things that
shall be convenient for making the same fit to be housed,
and then shall fetch in and lay up the same in the barn
belonging to the farm: And also, well and sufficiently

AGRICULTURE. 45

repair, maintain, keep and amend, the fences and en-
closures of or belonging to tiie said farm and premises,
in, by, and with, all needful and necessary repairs, and
amendments during the said term: And shall and will
manure all the meadows of the said farm from the first
day of April to the twenty-first day of June, or so much
longer every year during so long of the said term of
three years as he shall continue in the said service
of the said Adam, his executors, or assigns, as shall be
convenient for hay: And shall and will also, at season-
able times in the year, yearly, during the said term, in
good and husband-like manner, mow all the said mea-
dows, and in like manner make up all the hay, and
carry it from the said meadow to the yard belonging to
the said farm, and there lay it up in a stack or stacks:
And shall and will lay all the dung, soil, and compost,
that shall be made in or about the yard and out-houses
belonging to the said farm, and such other dung and
soil as the said Adam shall buy or provide for that pur-
pose, to and upon such part of the lands and grounds of
the said farm as the said Adam, or his executors or as-
signs, shall from time to time direct and appoint; and at
seasonable times in the year shall there spread the
same: In consideration of all v/hich premises, he, the
said Adam Painter, for himself, his executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, doth covenant, grant, and agree, to
and with the said John Stewart, his executors and as-
signs, by these presents, in manner and form following,
that is to say: that he the said Adam Painter, his execu-
tors, administrators, or assigns, shall and will well and
truly pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said John
Stewart, the said yearly wages or salary of three hun-
dred dollars, during so long of the aforesaid term of
four years, as he the said John shall continue in the said
service and employment of the said Adam, on the four
quarterly days, that is to say, on the first days of April,
July, October, and January, in equal portions, and shall,
during the same time, allow him to occupy, with his

family, the following premises, viz. ; and shall,

moreover, furnish him with workmen of the following
descriptions, viz. , to be under his control and

46 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

direction for the purposes herein before particularlj
mentioned. In witness whereof, &c.

ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT FOR THE SALE OF LAND.

Articles of Agreement, made and concluded the first
day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight

hundred and twenty-eight, between A. B. of in

Hartford County, and state of Maryland, hatter, of the
one part, and C. D. of the same place, merchant, of the
other part, as follows, to wit:

The said A. B., for the consideration herein after
mentioned, doth, for himself, his heirs, executors, and
administrators, covenant, promise, grant, and agree, to
and v/ith the said C. D., his heirs and assigns, by these
presents, that he, the said A. B., shall and will, on or be-
fore the tenth day of May next ensuing the date hereof, at
the proper cost and charges of the said A. B., his heirs
and assigns, by good and lawful deed or deeds, well
and sufficiently grant, convey, and assure, unto the said
C. D., his heirs and assigns, in fee simple, clear of all
incumbrances, all that messuage, &:c. [Here describe
the property.]

In consideration whereof, the said C. D., for himself,
his heirs, executors, and administrators, doth covenant,
promise, and agree, to and with the said A. B., his heirs
and assigns, by these presents, that he, the said C. D.,
his heirs, executors, and administrators, or some of them,
shall and will, on the execution and delivery of the
said deed as aforesaid, well and truly pay, or cause to
be paid, unto the said A. B., his executors, administra-
tors, or assigns, the sum of two thousand dollars, in
manner following, to wit: one thousand dollars, part
thereof, on the delivery of the deed for the premises, as
aforesaid, and the residue thereof, in two equal yearly
payments thereafter, all without interest, for which the
said C. D. shall give to the aforesaid A. B. bonds with
sufficient security for the payment of the same, if re-
quired. And upon his, the said C. D., executing and
delivering the bonds aforesaid, the said A. B. shall give
unto the said C. D. possession of the premises.

AGRICULTURE. 47

And for the true performance of all and every the
covenants and agreements aforesaid, each of the said
parties bindeth himself, his heirs, executors, and admi-
nistrators, unto the other, his executors, administrators,
and assigns, in the penal sum of four thousand dollars,
lawful money of the United States, firmly by these
presents. In witness whereof, the said parties to these
presents, have hereunto set their hands and seals.
Dated the day and year first above written.
Sealed and delivered)
in the presence of )

FOR LETTING A HOUSE, SlC,

Agreed, the day of , between John Barnes,

of, &c., of the one part, and James Pugh, of, &c., of the
other part, as foUoweth, viz.

The said John Barnes doth let unto the said James
Pugh, and the said James agrees to take all that, &c.
for one year, from the first day of January next, and for
such longer time after the expiration of the said one year,
as both the said parties shall agree, and until the end
of three months after notice shall be given by either of
the said parties to the other of them for leaving the said

premises, at and for the yearly rent of dollars,

to be paid quarterly on the first Mondays in April, July,
October, and January, by even and equal portions, which
said yearly rent the said James Pugh doth hereby, for
himself, his executors, and administrators, covenant and
agree to pay to the said John Barnes [if freehold say]
and his heirs, [but if otherwise say] executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, accordingly, for so long time as he
shall hold and enjoy the said premises as aforesaid, and
until the end of the said three months next after notice
shall be given by either of the said parties, to the other
of them, for leaving the said premises as aforesaid. In
witness, &c.

INDEX.

AGRICULTURE.

Agricultural implements, to choose, •

Apples, to keep, ; -

Ants, to destroy, . - . -

Bad water, to remedy.
Barley, to increase a crop of,
Bees, to preserve from insects.
Bee-miller, to destroy,

Beef, to keep,

Boots and shoes, to prevent taking in
water,

Cockroaches, to kill,

Cider, to make,

])amaged hay, to guard against.

Early potatoes, to produce in great

quantities,

Eggs, to preserve, - - - -

Farmer's accounts, . . - -
*' General account of stock,
" Promissory notcp, form of,
" Note without interest,

" Do. with interest,

" Do. payable to the person

to whom the note is
given, -
" Do. payable to order, ■

" Do. on demand,

" Do. payable ill instalments,

" Do. given by two or more

persons,
" Do. payable in produce.

" Do. by instalments, paya-

ble in produce, or
any species of goods
or chattels, -
" Do. judgment,

" Bills, form of, -
" Do. of exchange,

" Do. penal,

" Do. mercantile, •

" Plain receipts,
" Receipt for payment by the
hand of a third per-
son,
" Do. for a promissory note,

" Do. for an order drawn

upon a third person,
" Do. for property left for

sale, -
" Short business order, -
" Agreement between a mas-
ter and overseer or laborer
about the management of
a farm,
" Agreement for the sale of

land,

'' Do. for letting a house, ^•c.

Feathers, to renew, - - - 18
Fowls, to feed so as to make lay in any

sea.son of the year, - - - 9

Fly on turnip, to destroy, • - 14

Grain, to preserve, - ... 5
" To keep from the depredations

of vermin, - • - 14

Grass lands, to lay down, • - - 27

Hay, to make, - - - - 21

House flies, to destroy, - - .15
Hogs, an economical way of fattening, 20
Hessian fly, to destroy, - - - 16

15 Lands for farming, to select,

38

39

40

41

42

33

Miscellaneous short receipts, - - 25
" To obtain enjoyment by using

simple food, - - -
" Tortoise shell combs, to render

durable, .... —

" Meal to preserve, - . . —
" To prevent the disagreeable smell

of lamps, .... —

" To keep the hair clean, . - —
" "Woollens, to prevent shrinking

when wasiiod, - • - 26

" Lard and suet, to keep, - . —

'• Legs of mutton, to cure like ham, —

" Simple way to color nankin color, —

Mouldincss, to prevent, - - - 10

Musty corn, to cure, - - - - 9

Mildew on peach trees, ^c. to prevent, 10

Plums and peaches, to preserve through

the year, 9

Rats, to destroy, - - - • )2

Seeds, to preserve, - - - -15

Slugs on land, to destroy, - - 14

Smut in wheat, to prevent, • . 13

Stock, to select, - - - 28

" Method of feeding, - - - 30

" The proper size of, - - —

" Proper form of the chest, 31

" The head, - - —

" " Muscles, . 32

" " " Bones, - - —

" Improvement of the general

form of, .... —

" Crossing, - - • • 31

Sayings, for farmers, - - - 19

Seed corn, to select, - - - 27

Tallow for candles, to purify, - 6
Tomatoes, to preserve, - - .26

Water, to purify, - - - - 23

Weeds, to destroy, - - ■ - 18

Wealth, the way to, - • - 26

GARDENING.

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••Gardening is both a science and an art. It em-
braces the knowledge and use of all the aliments of the
vegetable kingdom, that serve, or may serve the want^,
as well as the pleasures of mankind."

Hence a good garden is very essential to every farm-
er. It is conducive to health, comfort and profit.

TO CHOOSK THE SOIL FOR A KITCHEN C; \RDEN.

It is found that a light sandy loam is the best soil for
a kitchen garden. This may be formed where the
predominant soil is either clay, peat, or sand. A free
marl is likewise well calculated for garden culture. —
The addition of a moderate quantity of clay with the
oxide of iron, is of much use in promoting fertility.

It is fortunate, however, when a garden contains a
variety of soils; as some vegetables require a dry, oth-
ers a wet earth; some thrive best in a strong heavy soil,
and others in a light sandy one, and I cannot point out
any one species of land that will suit all vegetables;
therefore the soil most congenial to the different plants,
will be described under their respective heads hereafter.
49 E

50 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

PREPARATION OF THE SOIL.

Preparing the soil and trenching it to a proper depth,
is not always sufficiently attended to in gardening. —
The soil ought to be from one foot and a half to two
feet and a half deep, particularly where tap-rooted vege-
tables arc cultivated. The roots can thus with greater
facility extend their fibres in all directions, in search of
vegetable nourishment, and a reservoir is provided for
any superabundant moisture which may be occasioned
by heavy rains, where it is retained till it is wanted. —
Where the ground is wet, draining is indispensable.

Soils may be rendered more fit for answering the
purposes of vegetation (especially in gardening) by
pulverization; by consolidation; by exposure to the
atmosphere; by alteration of their constituent parts:
by changing their condition in respect to water; and by
a change in the kinds of plants cultivated. All these
improvements are independent of the application of
manure.

TO PREPARE HOT BEDS.

H6t beds are things not merely of luxury, but of real
utility, especially to farmers and gardeners who send
their productions to market. Plants which are brought
to maturity in the open air, may often be rendered fit
for the table a month earlier in consequence of being
sown and forwarded during the earlier stages of their
existence in hot beds. The following is given in the
New-England Farmer, as a good method of preparing
hot beds.

In the month of March, mark out your bed to the
size of the frame you design to cover it, which is gen-
erally six feet in length and three in breadth, covered
with glass, set in sashes of twelve panes each, say of 7
l)y 9 glass. The sashes should be hung with hinges
upon the back side, to admit their being raised up or
let down in front at pleasure. The front side of the
Fashes to incline downwards from the back side, about
^ix inches. The frame, or box, is tight upon ail four of

GARDENING. 51

its sides, and generally about twelve inches high in front,
and eighteen inches on the back side.

Dig your bed thus marked otf, and cover it with litter
from the horse stable — stamp down your several layers,
until your bed is raised to the height you wish— then
cover the bed with a layer of rich earth from 6 to 12
inches thick, and set on your frame; in 8 or 10 days it
will generally be ready for planting, if the weather is
mild. If the fermentation is too powerful, and the heat
too active, give it air by raising the lights in your frame,
until you have obtained a right temperature — (which
you may observe by placing your hand upon the bed,
or thrusting it into it.) You may then plant your early
cucumbers, radishes, salads, &c. — those plants will soon
come forward, and may be transplanted into other hot
beds, not so powerful, or promiscuously into the garden,
and covered with other small frames, of 1, 2, and 4
panes of glass, according to circumstances, and the re-
mainder may stand for use. These plants may be gen-
erally brought to perfection about one month earlier
than in open ground.

TO MAKE COMPOSTS FOR PLANTS.

These may be reduced to light sandy loam from old
pastures. Strong loam approaching nearly to brick earth,
from the same source. Peat earth from the surface of
heaths or commons. Bog earth, from bogs or morasses.
Vegetable earth, from the decayed leaves, stalks, cow
dung, &c. Sand earth, sea sand, drift sand, or pow-
dered stone, so as to be as free as possible from iron,
lime, rubbish, and, lastly, common garden earth; there
are no known plants that will not grow or thrive in one
or other of these earths, alone, or mixed with some other
earth, or with rotten dung, or leaves.

TO SELECT GOOD GARDEN SEEDS, &C'.

1. The management of a garden (summarily speaking)
consists in attention and application; the first should be
of that wary and provident kind, as not only to do well
in the present, but for the future; and the latter should

52 FAMILY RECEirTS.

be of that diligent nature as (willingly) never to defer
that till to-morrow rvhieh may be done to-day. '^'^

2. Procrastination is of serious consequence to gar-
rlening; and neglect of times and seasons will be fruitful
of disappointment and complaint. It will often happen,
indeed, that a gardener cannot do what he would ^ but
if he does not do what he c«7i, he will be most justly
blamed, and perhaps censured by none more than by
himself.

3. Seed. "Let your seed be sucli as you would have
your future crop — the best of the kind. As the largest
animals produce the most profitable stock, so it is in
vegetables; the largest seed of the kind, plump and
sound, is the best, being well ripened, and kept from
injuries of weather and insects.

4. "Commonly speaking, 7iew seed is to be preferred
to old, as grow ing more luxuriantly, and coming up the
surer and quicker. As to the age of seeds, at which
they may be sown and germinate, it is uncertain, and
depends much how they are preserved.

5. "Seeds of cucumbers, melons, gourds, &c. whicli
have thick, horny coverings, and the oil of the seed of a
cold nature, will continue good for ten, fifteen, or even
twenty years, unless they are kept in a very warm place,
which will exhaust the vegetable nutriment in a twelve
month; [three years for cucumbers, and four for melons^
is generally thought to be best, as they shoot less vigo-
rously than new seeds, and become more fruitful.]

6. "Oily seeds whose coats, though they are not so
hard and close as the former, yet abounding with oil
of a warmer nature, will continue good three or four
years, as radish, turnip, rape, mustard, &c. Seeds of
umbelliferious plants, Avhich are for the most part of a
warm nature, lose their growing faculty in one, or at
most two years, as parsley, carrots, parsneps, &c.

7. Pease and beans of two years old are by some pre-
ferred to new, as not likely to run to straw. Sowings
should generally be performed on fresh dung or stirred
ground. There is a nutritious moisture in fresh turned
up soil, that softens the seed to swell and germinate
quickly, and nourishes it with proper aliment to pro-

GARDENING. 53

ceed in its growth with vigor^ but which is evaporated
soon after from the surface.

8. Weeding. "Weeding in time is a material thing
in culture, and stirring the ground about plants, as also
earthing up when necessary, must be attended to. Brea-
king the surface will keep the soil in health; for when
it lies in a hard or bound state, enriching showers run
off, and the salubrious air cannot enter. Weeds exhaust
the strength of the ground, and if they are suffered to
seed and sow themselves, may be truly called (as Mr.
Evelyn speaks) gardcji sins. The hand and hoe are the
instruments for the purpose.

9. '^Digging, where the spade can go, between the
rows of plants, is a good method of destroying weeds;
and as it cuts off the straggling fibres of roots, they
strike fresh in numerous new shoots, and are thus
strengthened. Deep hoeing is a good practice, as it
gives a degree of fertility to the earth.

10. "The thinning of seedling crops (such as are de-
signed to produce seed) is a very necessary thing to be
done in time^ before the young plants have drawn one
another up too much, by which they become weak and
out of form, and sometimes never do well afterwards.
All plants grow stronger, and ripen their juices better,
when the air circulates freely round them, and the sun
is not prevented from an immediate influence, an atten-
tion to which should be paid from the first appearance
of plants breaking ground.

11. "In thinning c/o5e crops, as onions, carrots, tur-
nips, &c. be sure they are not left too near; for instead
of reaping a greater produce, there would surely be a
less. When they stand too close, they will make tall
and large tops, but are prevented swelling in their
roots: better to err on \he wide side, for though there
are fewer plants they are finer.

12. "In setting out plants^ be sure to do it as early as
may be, and always allow room enough for this work :
being thus treated, vegetables will come forward sooner,
larger, and of a superior flavor. These advantages are
seen in all things, but in lettuces particularly, which often
have not half the room allowed them that they require.

e2

54 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

13. ''Different sorts of plants^ intended for the producing
of seed, ought not to be suffered to fower together, a caution
dcsercing of attention. — In Ray's history of planting we
have the following anecdote: One Richard Baal, a
gardener at Brentford, sold a great quantity of caiili-
tiowcr seed, which he raised in his own garden, to seve-
ral gardeners in the suburbs of London, who carefully
sowed the seed in good ground, but they produced no-
thing but the common long leaf cabbage; for which rea-
r-on they complained they were imposed upon, and
commenced suit against the aforesaid Baal, in West-
minster hall.

14. "The judge's opinion was, that Baal must return
the gardeners their money, and also make good their
loss of time and crops. This cheat we ought not to lay
to the poor gardener's charge, for it is wholly to be as-
cribed to his good plants being impregnated by the
common cabbage.

15. Wherefore, if any one has an excellent cabbage,
he ought not to let it flower on the same bed or beside
any of an inferior sort, lest the good sort be impregna-
ted with the dust (pollen, prepared in the male flower
of plants) of the other, and the seeds produce a dege-
nerate race."

16. On the choice of seeds. The way to try the good-
ness of seed, says Mr. Cobbett, is this, "Put a small
quantity of it in htke-warm water, and let the water be
four or five niches deep. A mug or basin will do, but
a large glass tumbler is best, for then you can see the
bottom as well as the top.

17. "Some seeds, sucli as those of cabbage, radish,
and turnip, will, if good, go to the bottom at once. Cu-
cumber, melon, lettuce, endive, and many others, require
a few minutes. Parsncp and carrot, and all the winged
seeds require to be washed by your fingers in a little
water, and well wetted, before you put them into the
glass; and the carrot should be rubbed so as to get off
part of the hairs, which would otherwise act as the fea-
thers do to a duck.

18. "The seed of the beet and mangel wurtzel are
in a case or shell. The rough things that we sow are

GARDENING. 55

not the sccds^ but the cases in which the seeds are con-
tained, each case containing from one to five seeds.
Therefore, the trial by water is not conclusive as to
these two seeds, though if the seed be very good, it will
sink in water, after being in the glass an hour.

19. ''And as it is a matter of such great importance
that every seed should grow, where the plants stand so
far apart; as gaps in roots of beets and mangel wurtzel
are so very injurious, the best way is to reject all seeds
that will not sink, case and all, after being put into
warm water and remaining there an hour.

20. "But seeds of all sorts, are, sometimes, if not
always, part sound and part unsound ; and as the former
are not to be rejected on account of the latter, the pro-
portion of each should be ascertained, if a separation be
not made. Count, then, a hundred seeds, taken pro-
miscuously, and put them into water as before directed.
If fifty sink and fifty swim, half your seed is bad and
half is good; and so in proportion as to other numbers
of sinkers and swimmers.

21. "There may be plants the sound seeds of which
will not sink^ but I know of none. If to be found in
any instance, they would, I think, be found in those of
the tulip tree, the ash, the birch and parsnep, all of
which are furnished with a large portion of wing. —
Yet all these if sound^ will sink, if put into warm water,
with the wet worked a little into the wings first. I in-
cline to the opinion, that we should try seeds as our
ancestors tried witches: not by fire, but by water; and
that following up their practice we should reprobate
and destroy all that do not readily sink.

TO GERMINATE SEEDS.

It is very important that many kinds of seeds should
be rolled in by a heavy roller, or by pressing the earth
hard upon them by placing a board on the bed, and
walking across it several times. Celery, spinage, onions,
and many other kinds of garden seeds, will not vege-
tate, unless the earth is pressed on them hard, or rolled
after being sown.

56 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

Most vegetables thrive better' to shift the ground al-
ternately every year for different sorts, as each kind
draws somewhat different nourishment, on the principle
<Sf rotation of crops. Onions, however, are generally
considered an exception to the rule. [For particular
directions to germinate, see 1st. vol. Farmers' Reporter.]

TO MAKE A KITCHEN GARDEN.

"Many persons, sensible of the utility, are often dis-
couraged from constant attempts in cultivating a kitchen
garden, because the}'^ have experienced some failures
in particular plants. But there will never be a failure
t}f vegetables enough for a family's use, if the following
requisites be well guarded: — Richness of soil; due care
in the selection of seeds, as already directed: proper
cultivation; and a sutiicient variety of vegetables, that
'if one kind fails, another may be a substitute.

"It is a general complaint among persons who pay
only little attention to their garden, that the seed often
fail. This usually happens because due care is not
taken in discriminating between ripe and unripe seed;
between blighted and sound seed, and by inattention to
the necessary rules for germination.

"Our gardens do not generally present variety enough
to be profitable and convenient \o the owner, through-
out the whole year, even if all the planting succeeds. —
There is frequently no provision for the winter, and
many a long month, when the vegetable kingdom is
locked in frost, is passed with no variety on our tables,
to excite the languid appetite, or satisfy that which is
pleased with rotation. But surely it is as easy to store
our cellars with the beet, the carrot, the onion, the pars-
nep, and vegetable oyster, as with the dull monotony of
thepotatoc; and however nutritious the potatoc be, still
its utiHty cannot be hostile to the claims of other, pro-
ductions of the garden.

"We do not invite the plough-boy from the Utility of
his farm, to the pleasures of a garden; we do not wish
him to sacrifice his grain fields to the culture of a tulip
bod; but we wish to call his attention to the utility,

GARDENING. 57

coH-Denience, and economy^^ that can be found in the culti-
vaiion of a substantial kitchen garden^ from which his
healthful family can draw many of those really innocent
luxuries, which a bountiful Providence has, with so
lavish a hand, spread around him."

When your fence is put in good order, select a proper
place for the small kind of fruit shrubs, as gooseberries,
currants, and raspberries; for although you admit no
trees within this inclosure, these useful shrubs must have
a place. They should not be planted around the fences,
nor through the centre of the garden, as is too commonly
the practice, but in a continued plantation, that they
may have suitable attention, and yet not obstruct the
plough.

Gooseberries require a deep and rich soil. The
ground between the rows must be well manured, and
kept free from weeds, and you should be careful to
plant none but those that are of a good kind.

A good mode of propagating gooseberries, is by cut-
tings or layers. For cuttings, take shoots of the last
year's growth, from shrubs that are known to bear a
choice fruit. Let them be at least ten inches long; cut
off all the buds, except three or four at the tops, and
insert the stems six or eight inches into the earth; tread
the ground firmly around, and keep them free from
weeds. When they have grown here a year or two,
they should be removed to the plantation as soon as the
frost is out of the ground in the spring, or in the au-
tumn, which is, particularly for the gooseberry, the best
season.

Currants may be propagated in the same way. They
are, however, more hardy, and do not require so rich a
soil. They should be placed in rows, six or eight feet
apart, and kept free from weeds. Between these rows,
you may raise a crop of dwarf or bush beans, (take care
that there are no runners, or vines among them,) without
the least injury to the shrubs, for several years.

There is great choice in currants, as well as in other
fruit; select only the large red and white currant, for
no art will change the original nature of the fruit.

58 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

although, by skilful cultivation, the quality may be
improved.

The gooseberr}- and currant both claim the farmers
attention, and are much wanted in every family. They
furnish a cheap and early sauce, and the latter a wine
equal to the best Lisbon or Teneriffe.

As you will doubtless wish to plant other trees, and
be desirous to know the best season for that work, I
would observe, as a general rule, that all kinds of trees
or shrubs should be moved or set in the spring, as soon,
at least, as the buds begin to swell. The apple tree,
the cherry, and plum, will grow, if set with art, when
the leaves begin to open, but not with health and vigor.

JO INCREASE THE NU3IBER AND I31PROVE THE QUALITY

OY PLANTS.

To accomplish this, it is necessary to facilitate their
mode of nutrition, by removing all obstacles to the
progress of the plant. These obstacles may either ex-
ist under or above the surface; and hence the origin of
draining, clearing from the surface, incumbrances, and
.the various operations, as digging, ploughing, &c. for
pulverising the soil. It is necessary, or at least advan-
tageous to supply food artificially; and hence the origin
and benefit of manuring. All organised matters are
capable of being converted into the food of plants; but
the best manure for ameliorating the quality, and yet
retaining the peculiar chemical properties of plants,
must necessarily be decayed plants of their own
.species.

It is true that plants do not differ greatly in their
primary principles, and that a supply of any descrip-
tion of putrescent manure will cause all plants to
thrive; but some plants, such as wheat and rye, contain
pecuhar substances as gluten and phosphate of lime,
and some manures, as those of animals or decayed wheat
and rye, containing the same substances, must necessa-
rily be a better food or manure for such plants. The
regulation of moisture demands attention; for when the
soil is pulverised, it is more easily dried by the penetra-

GARDENING. 59

tion of the air; where an increase of food is suppHed,
the medium through which that food is taken up by the
plant should be increased; and when the temperature
is increased, evaporation becomes greater.

Hence the advantage of watering by surface or
subterraneous irrigation, manual supplies to the root^
showering over the leaves, steaming the surrounding'
atmosphere, &c.

TO inchease the number, and improve the quality

OF PARTS OF VEGETABLES.

It is necessary in this case, to remove such parts of
the vegetable as are not wanted, as the blooms of bul-
bous or tuberous rooted plants, when the bulbs are to be
increased, and the contrary. Hence the important op-
erations of pruning, ringing, cutting off large roots, &c.
It may be said that this is not nature, but art; man,
though an improving animal is still in a state of nature,
and all his practices in every stage of civilization are as
natural to him, as those of the other animals are to them;

To form new varieties of vegetables, as well as of
flowers and useful plants of every description, it is ne-
cessary to take advantage of their sexual differences,
and to operate in a manner analagous to crossing the
breed of animals. Hence the origin of new sortfe of
fruits, grains, and roots. New varieties or rather sub-
varieties are formed by altering the habits of plants, by
dwarfing through want of nourishment, variegating by
arencious soils, &c.

TO PROPAGATE AND PRESERVE PLANTS FROM DEGENERACY.

In doing this, we should have recourse to the different
modes of propagating by extension. Thus choice ap-
ples and tree fruits could not be perpetuated by sowing
their seed, which experience has shown, would produce
progeny more or less different from the parent, but they
are preserved and multiplied by grafting; others such
as the pine apple, by cuttings or suckers; choice car-
nations by layers; potatoes by cuttings of the tubers,
&:c. But approved varieties of vegetables are in general.

(50 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

multiplied and preserved by selecting seeds from the
finest specimens and paying suitable attention to their
culture.

TO PRESERVE \'EGETABLES FOR FUTURE USE.

This is effected by destroying or rendering dormant
the principle of life, and by warding off as far as prac-
ticable the progress of chemical decomposition. Where
vegetables or fruits are gathered for use or preservation,
the air of the atmosphere which surrounds them is con-
tinually depriving them of carbon and forming carbonic
acid gas.

The water they contain, by its softening qualities,
weakens the affinity of their elements and best produces
the same effect, by dilating their parts, promoting the
decomposing effect both of air and water.

Hence, drying in the sun or in ovens, is one of the
most obvious modes of preserving vegetables for use as
food, or for other purposes, but not for growth, if the
drying process is carried so far as to destroj^ the principle
of life in the seeds, roots, or sections of the shoots of lig-
neous plants. Potatoes, turnips, and other esculent
roots may be preserved from autumn till the following
summer, by drying them in the sun, and burying them
in perfectly dry soil, which shall be at the same time at
a temperature but a few degrees above the freezing
point. Corn may be preserved for many years, by first
thoroughly drying it in the sun, and then burying it in
dry, cool pits, and closing them so as to exclude the
atmospheric air. The corn is thus presen ed from de-
composition, from insects, or vegetation. The Romans
preserved their corn in this way for many years in
chambers hewn out of dry rock.

GARDENING. 61

DIRECTIONS

FOR CULTIVATING THE MOST PROFITABLE GARDEN
VEGETABLES.

ARTICHOKE — Aftichaut.

It should be planted in April and May, in fine rich
earth, three-fourths of an inch deep. In the course of
the season, cauliflowers, spinach, lettuce, &c. can be
sown between the rows. In the after culture, keep it
free from weeds by hoeing between the rows, which
should be about five feet apart, with the plants two feet
asunder in the row.

This, with occasional waterings in the dry weather
of summer, is all the culture which they require.

ASPARAGUS — Asperge.

This delicious esculent vegetable, after due prepara-
tion of the ground, is easily cultivated. It requires a
rich sandy loam, well manured to the depth of two and
a half feet, and raised one foot above the alleys: — then,
in addition, a good quantity of manure, well trenched in,
fifteen inches below the surface. A plantation of one
square rod is little enough for a family; and to plant
this requires about one quart of seed. It should be
sown in April or May, or three weeks before frosts in
autumn, in rows, nine inches distant. That which is
sown in the fall, should be well littered to nearly a foot
thick, to protect the tender plants through the first win-
ter. Let the crop, the first and second year, and nearly
all the third year, run up to seed. Water it occasion-
ally till the third or fourth year — loosen the ground
every spring before budding, with a proper fork, and
keep it clean of weeds during the season. At the ap-
proach of winter, cover it with a layer of dung to the
depth of an inch or more.

In the third or fourth year, according to the perfec-
tion of the plants, cut the shoots for use, three inches

F

62 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

below the surface, as often as they spring up, till the
twentieth of June, then let them run up to seed. This
method will afford good crops for ten or twelve years at
least. — The seed is best preserved in the berry.

In addition to the agreeable flavor, and nutritious
quality of this plant, it is thought to be a good palliative,
or remedy in the gravel.

BEANS — Feve,

English Dwarfs, — Plant in February or March — the
great object is to get them into the ground as early as
possible; whenever the frost intermits, and the earth is
workable, do not lose the opportunity. A strong heavy
soil is most suitable. The broad Windsor and nonpareil
are best for the table. Plant in rows, two feet and a
half apart, three or four inches distant in the row, and
about the same deep, which will preserve them through
any subsequent frost. Use a dibble with a blunt end to
make a wider aperture for each bean, to admit it down
to the bottom without any hollow below. Pinch the
tops off when in bloom, otherwise they will run too
much to flower, and have but few pods. They will be
fit for the table in June. Gather them when quite
young. Shell them, and boil in plenty of water with a
little salt, add a few stalks of spear mint (mentha vii'idis)
which gives them a fine flavor. Serve up with melted
butter.

Kidney dwarfs or snaps — Haricot, — Plant about the
latter end of April for a first crop, in rich well bro-
ken ground, and at intervals through the season — they
Avill be fit for the table in about six weeks from the
time of planting. The Mohawk is the earliest and har-
diest, and will even bear a slight frost without injury.
The Quaker Bean and Warrington are fine sorts, and
the Refugee is well known for long bearing. Sow in
rovrs from two to three feet apart, drop the beans be-
tween two and three inches distant, and cover them
about an inch. The dwarf is a native of India, and
the runner of South America.

GARDENING. 63

When pulled for cooking, cut off the stalk end first,
and then turn to the point and strip off the strings. If
not quite fresh, have a howl of spring water, with a
little salt dissolved in it, and as the beans are cleaned
and stringed, throw them in. Then put them on the
fire in boiling water, with some salt in it; when they
are tender, which will be in about fifteen or twenty
minutes, pour them into a colander to drain. They
should always be cooked young, and then the best
method is to keep them whole, as it preserves their deli-
cate flavor and color. When a little more grown, they
must be cut across in two after stringing.

Pole or running — Haricots a rames, — If your soil is
poor, make it rich. Plant in hills about four ^cat apart
each way, leaving three beans to a hill, during the se-
cond and third week of May. They are extremely
productive, and yield till stopped by the cold weather.

BENE PLANT. — Scsamum orientale.
This was introduced into the Southern States by the
negroes from Africa. It abounds in many parts of
Africa. Sonnini and Brown, travellers in Egjpt, say it
is much cultivated there for the purpose of feeding
horses, and for culinary purposes. The negroes in
Georgia boil a handful of the seeds Avith their allowance
of Indian Corn. Probably no plant yields a larger pro-
portion of oil, which Dr. Cooper of Philadelphia has
pronounced equal to the finest olive oil. But it is
worthy of cultivation in the Northern States principally
as a medicinal plant. A gentleman in Virginia has
given Messrs. Thornburn &l Son the following account
of its virtues. '• It requires to be sown early in April,
at a distance of about one foot apart. A few leaves of
the plant, when green, plunged a few times in a tumbler
of water, makes it like a thin jelly, without taste or
color, which children afflicted with the summer com-
plaint will drink freely, and is said to be the best
rem.edy ever discovered. It has been supposed, that
(under Providence) the lives of three hundred children
were saved by it last summer in Baltimore, and I know

64 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

the efficacy of it by experience in my own family."-^
This plant will throw out a greater profusion of leaves,
by breaking off the top when it is about half grown.

BEET. — Betterave.

Sow from the middle of May to June in drills a foot
apart — thin out the plants to about eight inches. Have
your ground rich and dig it deep. The plants will be
fit to use during the summer, and must be taken up
about the end of October. Trim the tops off, and put
them away in the cellar.

Beets are highly recommended for fattening cattle,
and are used by some people like other vegetables to
all kinds of meat; but they are most suitable to corned
and roast beef. They are also used as a pickle, and
form a beautiful garnish.

The red beet is a native of the Sea Coast of the
South of Europe.

The Sir John Sinclair Beet is a luxuriant growing
variety. The IcavcG are from two and a half to three
feet in length, and can be frequently cropped; at the
same time care must be taken not to injure the centre
or crown of the plant; they are as tender as lettuce, and
can be boiled and served up like spinage, which they
excel. Sow and cultivate like the common Beet. —
They come early to maturity, continue thrifty through-
out the season, and are remarkable for standing the
severest drought.

The Mangel Wurtzel is the Beta-cicla of the family
of the Beet, sometimes called the Root of Scarcity,
and likewise called the White Sugar Beet, much cele-
brated in England and Prussia. The following are the
directions for its field culture: Time of sowing, months
of April and May. Prepare a plot or field, as for tur-
nips or potatoes; open two drills with the plough, two
ie^t apart, and put in a sufficient quantity of dung, ac-
cording to the ground; then cover the dung with the
plough twice, by ridging them up as high as can be
well done, with a man shovelling between the drillf
right and left, smoothing the surface of the ridge above

GARDENING. 65

the dung, which will leave a space of ten or twelve
inches broad. This complete method of fallov.ing v>'ill
repay the trouble of shovelling, by raising a full pro-
portion of earth under the roots. After sowing, it
should be well rolled, which completes the whole pro-
cess. The crop to be afterwards treated the same as
that of turnips or potatoes, by putting and taking off
mould, &c. After the roots have been raised, tlie
ground is in a remarkable fine situation for v/lieat or
any other crop: sow three pounds per acre.

Domestic animals eat the leaves and roots v/ith great
avidity: both are good for feeding swine, and are not
less eagerly devoured than corn. They are excellent
for milch cows, and possess the quality of making them
give a large quantity of the best flavoured milk.

BORECOLE. — Brassica olcracea selenisia.
Sown in May.— Valuable for winter and spring greens,
when the frost is not too pov»^erful for it. It is generally
recommended to transplant them into trenches, and
cover them with straw before winter, that the heads
may be cut off as wanted. In spring, plant out the
stems, which send forth delicious sprouts.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS. — Brassictt olcracea var.

This is an open headed cabbage; grows very high,
and produces a great quantity of excellent sprouts in
spring. To be sown in May, and treated like cabbages;
should be covered in the fall.

BROCCOLI — Chou Broccoli,

The Broccoli generally succeeds well in our climate ;
and is a very delicious vegetable, resem.bling the
cauliflower. The seed should be sown the last of May
for a full late crop. In July plant them out in rows,
two and a half feet apart, on a rich soil. Thc>' will
flower in October. The earlier planted ones will flow-
er in August and September. If any of the late plants

f2

66 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

should not flower before frost sets in, take them care-
fully up, and plant them in a warm cellar; they will
ilower before spring.

CABBAGE Choil,

Sow your seed in September, (in frames,) March and
April, in the open air for early sorts, in May, for late.
For transplanting, if you can, choose warm showery
weather: and if the plants wilt down very much, water
them at evening, with rain water, or any other water
that has been kept through the day, in a tub, or bucket,
so as to be sufficiently warmed. And it may be well
to observe here, once for all, that in watering plants,
the water should never be poured down in a large
stream or flood about the roots, as this would serve to
wash away from them the surrounding earth and the
nourishment they need, but should be turned through
a sieve, or watering pot, sparingly at once, but repea-
ted several times, till the surrounding earth is suffi-
ciently moistened; — and this operation should be gene-
rally performed at evening, that the plants may have
the benefit of not having the water too soon evapora-
ted by the sun.

The ground should be often stirred. It may be un-
necessary to mention, that with this, as with all other
vegetables, the best seed is obtained from the best
plants; they should therefore be selected; — and care
must be taken not to place them too near those of an
inferior variety, as the seed may thereby become adul-
terated. The seed will keep good six or eight years.

N. B. When cabbages are inclined to go to seed
without heading, grasp the stalks and start the roots a
little by pulling up: this vrill cause them to produce
heads.

Cow CABBAGE — Brassicu olcracea. — This plant is of
recent introduction into this country. It should be
cultivated in the same manner as the common cab-
bage. [For its valuable properties, see 1st vol. Far-
mers' Reporter.]

GARDENING. 67

CARROT — Carotte,

The Earlv Horn and Orang-e are esteemed best for
family use. The directions for beets will answer for
carrots, only leave the plants four inches apart in the
rows. Sow from April to July, in a light, mellow, and
sandy soil, dig one or two spades deep. The orange
and red sorts require a soil deeper than the horn carrot.

The carrot is common by the road side in many parts
of Britain ; and once upon a time the ladies there wore
carrot leaves instead of feathers. A curious chimney
ornament can be formed by cutting off a section from
the head of a carrot which contains the bud, and pla-
cing it in a shallow vessel of water. "Young and
delicate leaves unfold themselves, forming a radiated
tuft, of a very handsome appearance."

It is used in soups and stews, and as a vegetable diet
to boil with beef or mutton.

CAULIFLOWER ChoU JltUY,

Sow about the middle of September in an open bor-
der, and give moderate waterings if the weather be dry.
About the end of October transplant into a good frame,
after cutting otf the long tap roots with a sharp knife,
and put the plants four inches apart each way. Water
gently, put on the lights, and shade them a few days.
Before the cold weather sets in, apply a good outside
lining of horse dung round the frame; and when it be-
comes severe, the frame must be covered with boards
and salt hay, or bags, or straw mats, sufficient to keep
out the frost. Admit air and light freely, to prevent
the plants being drawn up weak, at the same time you
must be careful not to freeze them. In soft mild days
take off the lights entirely. Towards the middle of
March, the weather will probably allow of the frame
being fully exposed every day, but run the sash on when
it storms, and cover the frame at night when frosty.
About the tenth of April, prepare the fnial beds for the
plants to liower in, by digghig and manuring them well.
The ground need not be raked, if it be well broken and
dug level, as raking is apt to make it crust over. Wa-

68 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

ter a little before transplanting, if the weather be dry,
and raise each plant with a ball of earth, which you
must take great care not to break, as it is of great im-
portance to the success of the cauliflower that its growth
should not be checked at this period. Plant two feet
or two feet and a half apart each way. "Should any
of the plants be attacked by the black grub-worm, exa-
mine them every morning for ten or twelve days; and
when any of them are cut off, search for the worm near
the plant, and kill it, as it will be found within two oi
three inches of the stem, and half an inch below the
surface; then replace the plant. If you suffer them
to escape, they will gather strength and quickly destroy
a whole planting."

This vegetable is extremely delicate, and is esteemed
equal to young peas and the Lima bean. However, a
great deal depends upon the cooking, and its excellence
may be destroyed by an ignorant or careless manner of
preparing it for the table. Cut when close and white,
and of the middle size; trim otf some of the outside
leaves; cut the stalk off flat at the bottom, and let it
lie in salt and water a little while. Put it into boiling
water with a handful of salt in it; have plenty of water,
and keep the vessel uncovered; skim the water well; a
small cauliflower will take about fifteen minutes and a
large one twenty: take it up as soon as a fork will enter
the stem easily, a minute or two longer boiling will
spoil it. Eat it with the gravy from the meat, or with
melted butter.

CUCUMBER — Coucomhre.

The best kinds for early planting are the early frame,
green cluster, and long prickly. Plant in the open
ground, about the first week of May, in hills four feet
apart, both for the general crop and for the pickling
sorts; make the ground rich with vegetable mould and
rotted cow dung, and leave only one good plant in each
hill. If the provoking yellow fly attacks your plants,
examine them frequently, and throw tobacco dust or
soot round the vines. Some recommend to nip oflf the

GARDENING. 69

first runner bud, which causes them to grow more stocky
and become more fruitful plants. Keep them clear of
weeds, and give plenty of water in warm dry weather.
We would suggest whether it would not be advanta-
geous to grow the cucumber in a little concavity or
hollow, as water could then be effectively applied in
warm weather. Give water at any time of the day if
necessary. Cobbett ridicules the idea of impregnating
the female blossom with the male, and he is sometimes
right; though it is a practice followed by many of the
best English gardeners.

CELERY — Celeri.

Sow about the middle of April, in a rich, moist soil;
if not rich, make it so by mixing in fresh vegetable
mould or short well rotted manure. Dig deep, and rake
it fine and smooth. Sow the seed liberally all over the
surface, and beat the bed evenly and firmly with a clean
spade; then sift on a covering of a quarter of an inch
of earth, and it will vegetate as soon as cabbage seed.

The following directions for its after culture, are
given by Mr. Fessenden in his "New American Gar-
dener."

"When either the plants left in the seed-bed, or those
removed, are from six to twelve inches high, or when
the latter have acquired a stocky growth, by four or five
week's nurture in the intermediate bed, transplant them
into trenches for blanching. For this purpose allot an
open compartment. Mark out the trenches a foot wide,
and from three to three and a half distant; dig out
each trench lengthwise ten or twelve inches in width,
and a light spit deep, that is, six or eight inches. Lay
the earth dug out equally on each side of the trench;
put about three inches of very rotten dung into the
trench, then pare the sides, and dig the dung and pa-
rings with an inch or two of the loose mould at the
bottom.

Trim the tops and roots of the plants, and then set
them in single rows along the middle of each trench,
allowing four or five inches distance from plant to plant.

70 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

When this work is finished, give the plants water in
plenty, and occasionally water them from time to time,
if the weather he dry, and likewise let them he shaded
till they strike root and begin to grow. When they
have grown to the height of eight or ten inches, draw
earth to each side of them, breaking it fine. This
should be done in dry weather, being careful not to
bury the hearts. Repeat the earthing once in ten days,
till the plants are fit for use. Be careful, however, not
to draw up too much earth to the plants at first, lest they
be smothered; and leave them in a little hollow, that
they may receive the full benefit of the waterings,
rain, tSic."

Care should be taken when earthing, not to do it
when the ground is wet. It should be done in the after
part of a dry day, for if the earth be wet the celery will
rust. Instead of earthing up once in ten days, as re-
commended above, I would suggest the propriety of
having it done as often as twice in a week at least.
This will subdue the weeds and nourish the plants more
than the former process.

CRESS GARDEN. — Lcpiduim sativum.

This vegetable is raised from seed, of which one
ounce is sufficient for a bed four feet square.

"Sow the seed very thick, and earth over very light-
ly, or just thinly cover. Give occasional waterings in
dry weather.-'

To gather cress in perfection, cut the plants when
moderately young, either quite down to the roots, or only
the tops of those most advanced. They will shoot
again for future gathering, but the leaves will be
hotter, and not so mild and tender as those of younger
plants.

CURRANT RibcS,

They require an improved clay soil, somewhat moist.
It should be well dug up two ieci deep — then set the
thrifty sprouts of last year's growth, eight inches deep
and two feet apart; cut cfF the tops so as to leave but

GARDENING. 71

three or four buds above the ground. Keep the roots
free from suckers and grass, and you will soon have
currants enough to make your own wine, for which the
following, by Dr. Green, is a good receipt:

Take clean ripe currants, bruise and press out the
juice and add twice as much water. To every gallon
of this mixture add three and a fourth pounds of clean
sugar, and one gill of brandy — also, one-fourth of an
ounce of pulverized alum — put the whole into a clean
cask; and in March draw off, and add another gill of
brandy to each gallon. This wine is excellent, and
improves by age.

ENDIVE OR SUCCORY — Chicorec^

Sow in July, and when four or six inches high, trans-
plant into ground in fine order, in rows fifteen inches
apart each way. They must be hoed and kept clear
the same as lettuce, and where the soil is high and dry,
earth them up half way; but if moist, merely tie
them. The two curled sorts, if neatly earthed up, will
blanch pretty well without being tied, but the Bata-
vian, from its loftier, looser growth, hearts and blanches
better with a bandage. This must be done when
nearly full grown, and when the leaves are dry; tie
moderately tight near the top with a piece of bass mat.
By thus excluding the light from the inner leaves, they
become blanched, crisp, tender, and fit for use.

The endive is a hardy annual, and a native of China
and Japan. It is used in salads and stews.

The root of the wild endive is very wholesome and
nutritious. It is highly esteemed in France, and forms
a prominent ingredient in producing the very superior
flavor of continental coffee. The aromatic and vola-
tile qualities of coffee are, by the combination of this
root, rendered more mellow and full upon the palate,
and its fragrance greatly increased, producing an
agreeable tonic and most exhilarating beverage.

Sow in drills in April, about a foot and a half apart,
and thin out to seven or eight inches distance in the
row. In the fall take up the root, dry and grind it,
and use two ounces of the powder to a pound of coffee.

72 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

EGG PLANT, OR MELONGENE Mdotlgcne OU Aubc.

Sow in hot beds in March, in the open air in May.
They should be raised about two feet asunder, with a
little earth drawn up round their stems; when about a
foot high, they will produce plenty of fruit, of most
beautiful appearance. When sliced and nicely fried,
with ham, &c. they are esteemed as a delicious vegeta-
ble. It is difficult, however, to make the seed vegetate
in the open air — should always be started in hot beds.

FENNEL — Ancthum Faeniailum,
The earth for this plant should be light. Sow as
early in the spring as the ground gets warm, in drills
from six to twelve inches apart, or scatter the seed
broadcast and rake them in. "When the plants are
three or four inches high, thin or transplant a quantity
fifteen inches apart. They will produce immediately
leaves for present supply, and in continuance; or for an
immediate larger supply of leaves you may procure
some established full roots, and plant as above: let them
be well watered.

"The tender stalks of common Fennel are used in
salads; the leaves, boiled, enter into many fine sauces;
and raw, and garnishes for several dishes. The
blanched stalks are good with oil, vinegar, and pepper,
as a cold salad."

GOOSEBERRY — Vitra grosidaria.
Plant the cuttings in the fall just before they cast
their leaves. Wine is made from gooseberries, in the
same manner as from currants, only using one-third
less sugar. The unripe fruit may be kept in bottles of
water, in a cool place, till winter.

KALE — Chou d Ecosse,

The Sea Kale grows spontaneously on many parts of

the seacoast of England. The inhabitants seek for it

in the spring, and remove the pebbles or sand with

which it is usually covered to the depth of several

GARDENING. 73

inches, and cut off the young and tender leaves and
stalks, as yet unexpandcd, and in a blanched state, close
to the crown of the root.

It is easily raised in the interior — is very hardy —
grows in almost any dry soil — is perennial, and costs but
little labor, and may be raised from the seed or the root;
(if raised from the seed^ it should be cracked before plant-
ings or, what is much better, plant the new seed in
October^ as soon as ripe^ when they will grow freely — the
seed is hard to vegetate, if kept till spring.) Fifty
plants, occupying a very small space, will supply a
family. In its taste it resembles the cauliflower. The
only labor it requires, is to cover it with sand or earth,
with pots or boxes, in March, to blanch it, or make it
white. If not blanched, it is not so beautiful to the eye,
or so tender, or so delicate to the taste, as if blanched.
It should be very thoroughly boiled^ and is better if boiled
in milk and water. It should be served up, like cauli-
flower, with melted buttei*. It comes in at a season
when our vegetables in this country are very deficient.
Sown in April and May, and in October, (with the nevf
seed,) as above directed.

LETTUCE — Laitue*
This requires a rich mellow soil. A bed four by ten
ieet requires one fourth of an ounce of seed. Sow in
any or every month from the opening of spring till Au-
gust. It may be sown broadcast, or in drills with the
rows from twelve to fifteen inches distant ; or it may be
sown with any young perennials, that stand far enough
apart.

MELON — Melon,
Of these there are many varieties of each, all re-
quiring nearly the same culture; — they should be planted
remote from cucumbers, squashes, gourds and pumpkins,
to prevent adulteration and degeneracy. Seed is best
after it has been kept two years. It will grow if twenty
years old, — and it should be carried in the pocket a week
or two before planting.

74 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

It requires an unexhausted loam, not too light. In
May dig up a piece well exposed to the sun, and lay it
off in squares of six feet — at the angles dig holes twelve
inches deep and eighteen inches over, into these put six
or eight inches of well rotted dung, and mix it well
with some of the earth, — draw the remainder of the
earth over to form hills of a foot across; then plant
seven or eight seeds in each hill, two inches apart, and
cover them half an inch deep. When they have grown,
so that you can be sure of two or three that will stand,
pull the rest out — draw the earth from time to time as
high as the seed leaves. It may be well to bury every
fourth or fifth joint to take new roots. When the young
melons are as large as walnuts, put under them shin-
gles, or boards, to keep them dry and warm — they will
be better for it.

MUSTARD — Sinapis,

The white, for salad or greens, should be sown in the
fore part of the season, in warm sunny places. In mid-
summer it should be sown in sandy ground. It should
be planted in flat drills, from three to six inches apart,
and covered half an inch deep.

Black mustard is sown in the field in March or April
for the mill, in drills from six to twelve inches asunder,
or it may be sown broadcast and raked or harrowed in.
When two or three inches high, it should be hoed and
thinned out. It ripens in July or August.

NASTRiUM — Capucine.
This is deserving of cultivation on account of its
beautiful orange colored flowers, its excellence in
salads, and its use in garnishing dishes. The grain,
berries, or seeds of this plant, which it produces
abundantly, make an estimable pickle: in the opinion
of many preferable to capers. It is sown in drills in
April and May, nearly an inch deep. When about six
inches high, it should have sticks placed to climb
upon, or they may be planted by the side of fences,
palings, &c.

GARDENING. 75

OKRA- — Gomho,
Sown in the beginning of INIay — used as an ingre-
dient in soups, and is a beautiful ornamental plant. It
is cultivated extensively in the West Indies. Its ripe
seeds burned and used like coffee, can scarcely be dis-
tinguished therefrom. It should be planted an inch
deep, and hoed two or three times like pease.

ONION — Allium cepa.

For onions a rich mellow soil is best; and they may
be sown on the same ground, if well manured, many
times in succession. Rotten dung mixed with ashes,
soot, or pulverised charcoal makes the best manure for
this vegetable. After soAving, spread over ashes and
sand, and roll or flat down the beds with a spade, or
board as already directed. The beds should be raised
three or four inches above the alleys, and sown in drills,
twelve inches apart, as soon as the ground is dry enough
to work in the spring; — they should stand three or four
inches distant in the drills. For early onions sow the
last of August for next spring's crop. And in the
spring, as soon as they are large enough, draw them
out for use, till July; and let those that remain till that
time, run up to seed.

The beds should be kept clean and loose. Keep the
manure near the surface, where the roots can reach it.
If the tops grow too fast they maj^ be broken down. —
When they are pulled they should be laid in the sun,
and often turned for five or six days to dry. Then if
they are roped up, and kept dry and cool, they will be
best preserved.

A few leaves of parsley eaten with vinegar, will cor-
rect bad breath from onions.

The Top or Tree Onion has the remarkable property
of producing the onions at the top of the stalk — and is
valuable for domestic use, particularly for pickling, in
which they are excellent, and superior in flavor to the
common kinds. It is also used for any other purpose
that onions usually are. It is perennial and propagated
by planting the bulbs in spring or autumn, either the

76 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

root bulbs, or those on the top of the stalks. The
latter if planted in spring, as directed for the other
kinds, will produce very fine, handsome sized onions of
excellent flavor. The root bulbs increase greatly by
offsets, and should be taken up once in every two or
three years, when the stems decay in autumn, and re-
planted again to produce a supply of top bulbs.

The Potatoe Onion is of late introduction into our
country. It possesses the singular property of produ-
cing from one onion, six or seven in a clump, under
ground, similar to potatoes. It partakes of the mild-
ness of the onion of Portugal, grows very large, and is
easily cultivated. Prepare your land in the best man-
ner, and plant out one onion in a hill, the hills to be
one and a half feet apart. The ground should be fre-
quently hoed about them. It does not produce seed as
other onions, but is increased by the root.

POTATO.

To raise a crop of potatoes, authors and practical
men are not agreed, as to the propriety of cutting the
potatoes for planting. Some prefer to plant them
whole, however large, while others advise to cut off
the watery, or seed end, as it would run too much to
vines, or haulm, and to reject the dry, or root end, as
too tardy in its growth; and to cut the remainder of
the tuber, into pieces of one eye; and to plant the eyes
uppermost. But this seems to be an unnecessary waste
of seed. Better cut the whole potato into pieces, or
plant it whole, or even cut off the watery half, or seed
end for planting, and use what remains for the table. —
After cutting, let them be dried in the sun, or wet and
rolled in plaster. For early potatoes plant the largest —
the smallest will do for a late crop, if they are planted
in good season.

Let the ground be ploughed deep and trenched, or
furrowed two feet apart, then plant your seed, from
eight inches to a foot apart, one piece in a place, on
long dung, and cover them six inches with earth. — Hoe
them two or three times before they blossom, and not

GARDENING. 77

afterwards. When you raise your crop, let the sun
shine on them as httle as possible: if it turns them
green they are poison. They should be kept as cool as
may be without freezing, and somewhat moist.

SWEET POTATO.

Plant them in a hot-bed early in April, about three
inches deep. When the sprouts are three or four
inches above ground, part them from the potatoe, and
set them into hills properly manured, and raised a little
above the surface. The seed-potato, if left in the
ground, will continue for some time to furnish sprouts.

Good crops of sweet potatoes may be raised in the
neighborhood of Lat. 40. by a little attention to the
nature of the plant. Sweet potatoes are produced from
the joints of the vine, and not from the old potato. To
make them fruitful these joints must be covered with
earth, and the potato forms there.

The best method of cultivation is as follows: — Some
time in April make a hot bed of horse manure about
eighteen inches thick; on the manure put three inches
of earth; on this earth plant the seed potatoes three
inches apart, and cover them four inches deep with
earth.

When the sprouts are three inches above the ground,
draw them out with the hand, and transplant them (aa
you would cabbage plants) in soft rich ground, in rows
four feet apart, and put the plants about a foot apart in
the rows. Keep them clear of weeds until the vines
begin to cover the ground, after which they are left to
themselves.

If the hot-bed is made early in April, the early
sprouts will be ready for transplanting early in May.
The bed will continue to throw up a second and third
succession of sprouts, all of which will afford good po-
tatoes, if planted out any time before the end of June.
A hot-bed five feet square, with half a peck of seed
potatoes, will produce a succession of sprouts, sufficient
to yield about fifteen bushels of sweet potatoes.

g2

7S FAMILY RECEIPTS.

PA RSLEY — PersiL
8own from April to August. Parsley seed seldom
vegetates under live weeks after sowing; it is recom-
mended to soak the seed twelve hours in water, mixed
with sulphur. This process, with attentive watering,
Avill cause the seed to vegetate in less than a fortnight.
Parsley is sometimes used in held culture.

PARSNEP — Panais,
This vegetable requires a deep, rich, light soil, free
from stones, and should be dug or trenched before sow-
ing, at least two spades deep; and if manured at the
same time, the dung should be quite rotted and well
v/orkcd in. Sow as early in the spring as possible, in
drills two {cet apart, and cover the seed about one
quarter of an inch deep. Thin out to ten inches in the
rows, and keep them free from weeds by regular and
frequent hoeings.

PEA PoiS,

Sow as early in the year as the ground can be wor-
ked, in a sheltered situation in double rows four feet
apart, and cover the peas about three inches. Manure
moderately, and dig it in well. Sow the early Wash-
ington and the blue Prussian together, and the former
will come in a fortnight before the other. A quart of
peas will sow two double rows about twenty-hve feet
each. As the early crops appear, draw the soil over
them; and as they advance from half an inch to three
inches high, and when the weather is dry, draw the
earth to the stems, and continue repeatedly to hoe and
earth up, as it will assist the pease to bear plentifully.
When they are six or eight inches higli, place a row of
sticks or brush about five feet long in the middle of the
double rows, and a few smaller ones on the outside of
each row. Suit the sticks to the pease, as there is an
advantage in having them of a proper length; they
should be both tall and branchy. Sow again from the
middle to the end of April, to come in use about the end
of July and beginning of August. Where great nicety

GARDENING. 79

is practised, put of the early frame about three to an
inch, the charlton, hotspur, and dwarf marrowfats, two;
the Prussian blue and middle-sized sorts, three in two
inches; the large marrowfat, the rounceval, and most
large sorts, an inch and a half apart.

Mr. W. Curr has been very successful in raising early
pease; the following are his directions: ''The pease
which I have found to do best w ith me are the early
double blossomed frame pease. I prefer to have them
two or three years old, as they bear earlier and do not
run so much into vine. An early piece of ground
should be selected for this purpose, not too rich, and if
possible lying dry. It should be well dug without dung,
and made fine wdth the spade and rake. The drills should
be drawn three feet and a half apart, six inches deep, and
two inches wide at the bottom, and about one inch of
well rotted short dung laid in them, wdiich should be co-
vered w ith tw^o inches of earth, and the pease sown over
them with about six inches of earth, which leaves a small
ridge immediately above the pease. In this state they
may lie for eight or ten days, the ground may then be ra-
ked level to await the coming up of the pease. Should
they make their appearance in cold weather, a little
litter or straw may be laid along the drills, and taken
otr whenever the air is free from frost. When the
pease are about one inch high, the earth should be
gently stirred with the hoe on each side of the row, and
when they are advanced to about three inches in height,
a little earth may be drawn up to their stems; if the
weather be cold, they may be protected by setting two
boards on the edge so that they meet together over the
row. As the pease advance, the earth should be stirred
near the rows, and when six inches high, they ought to
have sticks set out on each side of the row^ at the dis-
tance of from twelve to eighteen inches apart, taking
care not to have the slicks too crowded, yet to have
enough of branches near their bottoms, so that the ten-
drils of the pease may take easy hold. Care should now
be taken that the pease keep upright; when tliey put
out six or eight flowers, the leading shoot should be
stopped by nipping tlie top off — this greatly promotes

80 FxVMILY RECEIPTS.

the forming and filling of the pods. Should the weather
be dry, it may be requisite to water them; this should
be done at night, and should be repeated every night
during the continuance of the drought. Pease thus
raised are seldom attacked with the bug. For the later
crop, the double row is generally used, and answers
better than the single, as the double take nearly the
same quantity of sticks, and are more shaded from the
sun, which is a great advantage when the sun gets high.
The ground may likewise be stronger and the sticks
longer, but for the earliest pease the small quantity of
manure used is quite sufficient to push them forward,
without giving too much force to their after growth, or
to keep them flowering, setting, and filling their pods."

Between rows of the tall growing kinds have beds of
onions, carrots, turnips, or any other crops that grow
low; but there is a later method of planting pease, which
is more economical of room, and is said to be preferable
to any other plan: thus, instead of sowing a straight
row, form the ground into circles of three feet diame-
ter, with two feet between each, in a row thirty feet
long, and there will be six circles of pease of nine feet
each, making fifty-four feet instead of thirty, which
would be the length of the row. If another row of cir-
cles is wanted, leave a bed between for something else,
and go on as before. For the very tall sorts, four feet
circles will be best. Be careful to apply the sticks at
the proper time.

Bishop^ s Early Prolific Pea is extremely productive;
and surpasses in some of its qualifications any pea hith-
erto known. Its remarkable dwarfishness is a great
recommendation for small gardens, as it seldom exceeds
twelve inches in height. Plant two or three inches apart
in the rows, which its spreading habits require, and
which answers better than when sown closer, hence it
is obvious there will be a great saving of seed, as a
quart of this will go as far as four quarts of most other
pease. It is very early, and begins blooming when three
inches high, bears abundantly, and is fine eating. Plant
weekly for a constant succession, and green pease may
thus be obtained all the summer and autumn. From

GARDENING. 81

the nature of its growth it appears better calculated to
withstand the heat of our summers than any other
variety we know of.

Woodford^s JVeio Tall Prolific Pea is a very great
bearer, and is remarkable for continuing to yield during
the greater part of the summer. It has a fine green
color when dry. Sow about the tenth of May.

It is recommended to farmers to plant pease in their
potato hills. A farmer to the east of us says he raised
more pease last year from a peck sown in this way,
than from a bushel sown in any other way. The vines
of the potatoes serve as sticks for the pease to run up on;
and the size of the pease will be much increased by
planting in this way. iVfter the potatoes are planted,
go through the rows and plant three pease in a hill.

PEPPER — Pinent,

Sow the seed in a warm border, the last of April, and
then transplant eighteen inches apart; or sow the seed
in May, in drills, two i^eei apart.

RADISH — Raphanus sativus.

It requires a light mellow soil, well dug up. The
small sorts may be sown among lettuce, onions, &c.
They should be sown every two weeks, from April to
August, to insure a succession of crops. They may be
sown broad-cast, or in drills, not too thick, as the tops
would run up too much, and the roots be stringy. They
should stand from two and a half, to five inches apart,
the seed should be covered from half an inch to an inch
deep, according to the weather or season. In dry
weather, water them freely — this swells the roots, and
makes them crisp. To prevent worms, take equal
parts of buckwheat bran, and fresh horse dung, and
mix well with the ground — in forty-eight hours fer-
mentation, and a crop of toad stools will be produced.
Dig the ground over — sow the seed — they will grow
rapidly, and be free of insects. Leaves of radish are
often used as salad; and the green pods are pickled, as

82 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

substitutes for capers. Old radishes are indigestible,
and render the breath bad.

The earliest should be kept for seed, and require
about a yard of ground to each.

RHUBARB — Rheum undulatum.

An Asiatic plant, the stalks of which grow to the
height of twenty four inches and the thickness of a la-
dy's finger. Stripped of their outer covering, they
yield a substance slighty acid, much admired, and used
as an ingredient in puddings, tarts, pies, &c. It forms
a great article in the London market, the stalks selling
at about twenty-five cents a bunch.

The seed should be sown in a rich, dry, sandy loam,
about three-fourths of an inch deep, as early in the
spring as possible, (if done in November they will ve-
getate in spring with more certainty;) when the young
plants appear, keep them free from weeds; if dry wea-
ther, water them frequently, with but a little water at a
time; and be very careful to protect them from the
mid-day sun, till they get considerably strong, for if ex-
posed fully to this during their infant state, but few will
escape destruction. A wide board placed side-wise on
the south side, projecting over the plants a little, would
serve this purpose effectually, without depriving them
of the benefit of circulating air. The first season is
their critical period, having survived that, they have
nothing to fear. In November, the leaves having de-
cayed, cover the crowns of the plants two inches deep,
Avith earth from tlie intervals. In April strip off the
covering till you perceive the tops of the plants, give
all the ground a slight digging, dress it neatly, keep the
beds well hoed, and always free from weeds. It is
much better propagated by slips from the old roofs, in
the spring months; the seed starts very readily if
sown in the autumn, but is very shy of vegetating in
the spring.

SPINACH, OR spiNAGE — Epiuard,
Sow broadcast in rich ground, about the middle of
August to come into use in October, and about the tenth

GARDENING. 83

of September for spring use: or sow in drills eight or
ten inches apart, and hoe and keep clean. When the
winter has fairly set in, the plants must be covered with
straw, salt hay, or cedar brush : they will bear the frost
of an ordinary winter without protection; but by covering
them, an earlier and better crop is obtained.

SQUASH — Giraumon,

"The Early Bush Squashes are best for garden cul-
ture, and their produce is allowed to be equal in quality
to the running kinds. The Vegetable Marrow is also
well deserving of cultivation. The seeds of these may
be planted early in May, in hills four or five feet apart.
The Running Squash may be planted at the same time
and in the same manner as pumpkins; and the manage-
ment of these various kinds of vines is the same in every
respect as cucumbers and melons. It is always best to
put five or six seeds in a hill, as a guard against acci-
dents. When the plants are past danger, they can be
thinned to two or three in a hill."

The fruit of the early or summer sorts are unfit for
use when ripe ; and the winter sorts cannot be used till
they are ripe.

SALSIFY, OR VEGETABLE OYSTER Satsifis OU CerClfis.

Sow early in April, an inch deep, in drills twelve
inches apart. When the plants are two or three inches
high, they should be thinned to the distance of six
inches from each other, and afterwards hoed. The
ground should be kept clean and loose round the
plants, by repeated hoeings; and in the autumn they
will be fit for use. The roots may be taken up late in
the fall, and secured in moist sand from the air; or be
suffered to remain out, and dug up when wanted.

STRAWBERRY — Fragaria,
There are many varieties, and the number is con-
stantly increasing by crossing and cultivation.

84 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

It requires a light warm soil, manured exclusively
with vegetable matter. Rich manure increases the
vines, but diminishes the fruit. Rotten v/ood and leaves,
with ashes, in a compost heap, are the best manure.
It requires great moisture. The usual time for trans-
planting is August or May. Let the bed be two feet
wide — set the plants, if they are strong, one shoot in a
place, eight by twelve inches distant, that they may
form a matted bed. Leave on all the healthy leaves;
keep the ground loose and free from weeds. To keep
the fruit from the ground, put round the borders of the
beds straw or leaves. Seeds sown as soon as ripe, will
produce fruit the next year.

This fruit does not undergo acetous fermentation.
Care must be taken to transplant a few wa/e, with theye-
male plants, in number about one of the former to fifteen
of the latter. [See Farmers^ Reporter for JVov. 1831.]

SKiRRET — CheiDis,
Sow the latter end of March or early in April, in a
light moist soil, for in dry land the roots are generally
small, unless the season proves wet. The root of the
Skirret is composed of several fleshy tubers, as large as
a man's finger, and joining together at top. They are
eaten boiled, and stewed with butter, pepper, and salt,
or rolled in flour and fried, or else cold with oil and
vinegar, being first boiled. They have much of the
taste and flavor of a Parsnep, but a great deal more
palatable. The seed of the Skirret are five or six
weeks in vegetating.

SUMMER SAVORY.

Sown on hot-beds in March — in the open air in April
and May — an excellent and well known pot herb, of
easy culture.

SAGE.

Sown on rich soil, in drills, the latter part of April —
the next spring after sowing, transplant it two feet
apart, into beds of rich earth — it is best to give it some
sb 'Iter of horse manure and straw during the winter.

GARDENING. 85

TOMATO — Tomate ou pomme.

It should be sown in hot beds in March, or in warm
borders the first of jNIay. Its cuhivation is too well
known to require further directions.

TURNIP — JVavet.

Sow as early in the spring as possible, on a light,
moderately rich soil. It should be well dug, and if
necessary to manure, let it be done at the latter end
of the year, or if applied at the time of sowing, the
dung should be well rotted and buried beneath the sur-
face; fresh dung should never be used for turnips. Sow
broadcast and rake in ; when the plants are well up,
thin out with the hoe to six or eight inches. For the
fall and winter crop, sow about the tenth of August, on
good ground, from w^hich an early crop of lettuce, rad-
ishes, potatoes, &:c. may have been taken. Clear the
ground and dig it well — sow broadcast as before, and
thin out with a hoe to fifteen inches. When sowed in
rows, the drills should be an inch deep, and twelve or
fifteen inches asunder.

Sand or gravel, with a mixture of loam, produce the
sweetest and best flavored roots. It should be made
fine, but not too rich, lest the turnips be rank and ill
tasted. Ground which has been newly cleared from
the forest, yields the largest and sweetest roots; and
on such spots there is least danger from insects. ''Next
to new land, swarded ground is to be chosen for a crop
of turnips; and the way to prepare it is, to plough it
pretty deep in the spring, and fold it by turning in the
stock for a good number of nights; for there is scarcely
any of our fields sufliciently rich to produce turnips
without manuring; and folding in this way appears to be
the best method of enriching the ground for this pur-
pose. It should be well harrowed as often as once a
week, while the folding is continued, to mix the excre-
ments of the cattle with the soil."

To prevent the depredations of the fly, which infest
this plant in ho.^ weather, let the seed be steeped in
water, with one ounce of sulphur to the pint. One

H

86 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

pound of seed will sow an acre; and should be sown in
that proportion for smaller pieces of ground.

In compiling the preceding directions for cultivating
garden vegetables, I have been greatly assisted by the
catalogues of seeds, &c. of Mr. B. Russell, and Mr.
George Thorburn's establishments, and by a treatise
published by Asa Lee Davison, Esq. of Ohio.

HOW AND WHEN TO WATER PLANTS.

A copious supply of water is very essential to a good
garden. Loudon remarks, 'that many kitchen crops
are lost for want of watering. Lettuces and cabbages
are often hard and stringy; turnips and radishes do not
swell; onions decay; cauliflowers die off; and in gene-
ral in dry seasons all the cruciform^ (flowers with petals
in the form of a cross) become stinted, or covered with
insects, even in rich, deep soils. Copious waterings in
the evenings, during the dry seasons would cause that
fulness and succulency which we find in vegetables
produced in the low countries, and in the Marsh Gar-
dens at Paris, and in England at the beginning and
latter end of the season.

"Watering is requisite for various purposes, as ali-
ment to plants in a growing state; as a support to newly
transplanted plants; for keeping under insects, and
keeping clear the leaves of vegetables.

One general rule must ever be kept in mind during
the employment of water; that is, never to water while
the sun shines. A moment's reflection will convince
any one that this rule is agreeable to the laws of na-
ture, for during rain the sun's rays are intercepted by
a panoply of fog or clouds. AH artificial watering,
therefore, should be carried on in the evening or early
in the > morning, unless it be confined to watering the
roots, in which case transplanted plants, and others in
a growing state may be watered at any time, and if
they are shaded from the sun, they may also be watered
over the tops.

GARDENING. 87

The water used for watering vegetables, if taken
from a well or cold spring, shovld be exposed one day
at least to the shining of the sun, otherwise it will give
a chill to the plants. Only a small quantity should be
applied at once, that it may have an effect similar to
that of a refreshing rain: for water applied too plenti-
fully sometimes washes away the finest of the mould
from the roots, or makes little cavities about them,
which admit too much air.

A NEW AND EFFECTUAL WAY TO DESTROY BUGS IN A

GARDEN.

On every square rod planted with cucumbers, put a
piece of a board flat on the ground, to preserve your
plants from a striped bug, which some seasons is very
destructive. This simple experiment may seem to be
novel and ineffectual: but the secret of the matter is,
the board forms a shelter for a toad, which hops from
under the cover at night and destroys the bugs, and
during the day time may be found by turning over the
board. Should any one have doubts on the subject, he
can easily try the experiment.

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING FLOWER-GARDENS.

As a general principle, almost every thing that grows,
thrives best in a rich soil; there are a few exceptions,
but they are so trifling, that this rule may be laid down
for all practical purposes: therefore make your ground
rich; decayed vegetable matter from the woods is best:
for a flower-garden; dig and turn it well over, and
make it level; then rake it smooth; if it is well dug,
it will be perfectly level, therefore the raking is
necessary only to make it smooth and fine. In small
gardens, where there is not space for picturesque de-
lineations, neatness must be the prevailing characteristic.
"A variety of forms may be indulged in, provided the
figures are graceful and neat, and not in any one place
too complicated. An oval is a figure that generally plea-
ses, on account of the continuity of its outlines; next, if
extensive, a circle. But hearts, diamonds, or triangles,

88 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

seldom please. A simple parallelogram, divided into
beds running lengthwise, or the larger segment of an
oval, with beds running parallel to its outer margin,
will always please." When your ground is ready, mark
out a bed according to the number of kinds you have
to sow; we will suppose you have forty, a little bed, ten
feet six inches long by two broad, will hold them, (when
there is plenty of room of course more can be taken.)
Fasten your line on each side; begin at six inches from
one end, have a square stick, longer than the width
of the bed, with a mark near each end and one for the
centre; lay it across the bed, and place the number-
stick with the name of a sort on each side exactly in
the middle; draw a shallow drill with your fingers;
take two sorts, and sprinkle one along the drill on one
side of the number-stick, and one on the other; press
them gently down, and cover them about a quarter of an
inch: then move your stick six inches from the drill,
put in the number-stick, sprinkle, cover, and proceed
till you have filled the bed. You will now have twenty
rows, and two kirds in each rcvr. Half a row will
contain as many plants as you Avill vrant of one kind,
that space being sufficient for twenty or thirty dahlia
seed, and of the smaller kinds two or three times that
number. At the latter end of April or the beginiiing
of May, the seed must be sown: in about a month, more
or less, many of them will be fit to transplant. Take
advantage of cloudy and rainy weather for this opera-
tion; move the plants carefully with a transplanting
trowel, the smaller kinds set in front, the larger in the
rear, taking care to arrange them alternately according
to their color and time of flowering: but if the sky be
unclouded and the sun bright, give a little water, and
it will be safest to cover them with a flower-pot or
something else for a few days. Any thing may be
transplanted that we know of, except the Poppy and
Lupin, and these we believe to be impossible; they
must therefore be sown where they are to flower.

The Convolvulus minor, with its beautiful azure, open
to the morning and closing with advancing day, pene-
trates deeply, and cannot easily be moved, and it should

GARDENING. 89

be done when quite young. Man}' other flower?,
Avhich have long naked roots, should also be moved
when young. Sow Mignonette near your house, under
the windows, any where and every where, Avherever
you can constantly enjoy its delightful sweets; it is
most fragrant in spring and autumn, and continues till
quite cold weather.

The cypress vine {ipomce quamodit) has been gene-
rally supposed to possess very tardy vegetating
properties, and that without artificial aid it v.ould
necessarily lie in a state of quiescence live or six
weeks: we are satisfied, however, from experience, that
if the seed is good, and it is not planted till the end of
May, it will be out of the ground in a week, or as
soon as about any other kind. It is very much admired,
and deserves to be. Of all the annual vines it is the
most worthy of commendation, as it combines neatness,
elegance, and beauty.

In dry seasons, when no rain falls for five or six
weeks, and the eart]i becomes parched and hard, and
dry for several inches deep, the smaller and more deli-
cate kinds look stinted and miserable, and the taller
and sturdier are shorn of the full and ample propor-
tions which they attain when visited by kindly and-
refreshing shov^'crs. The china-aster, dahlia, phlox,
and some others, are very impatient of dryness; but
we know of no flower oi more obdurate habits than the
chrysanthemum, which will resist the most searching ex-
siccation for a long period. The balsam, though one of
the most succulent of plants, can support an extreme
degree of dryness without detriment; but mignoiictte,
the monthly woodbine, and some other fragrant flowers
lose their precious odours in an arid atmosphere.

The foregoing directions are principally intended for
small gardens in the city, where it is necessary to use
great economy, in making the most of a little; what fol-
lows, relates to the general culture and management
of large gardens, which we copy from that inexhausti-
ble source of horticultural treasures, Loudoivs Enryclo-
pcedia of Gardening. This splendid work contains
every thing connected with the art: and though these

h2

90 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

notices vi'crc v>Tittcn for the guidance of English gar-
deners, tliey are equally applicable to the arrangement
of flower-gardens in this country, by a slight alteration
Avitli regard to the time, as the spring is much earlier
in England, and consequently the ground there can be
Vforked, and seed sown a month or two before we can
commence gardening operations.

The cultivation of the Flowcr-Garden\% simple compar-
ed with that of the kitchen-garden, both from its limited
extent and the general sameness of its products; but to
manage it to perfection requires a degree of nicety and
constant attention beyond any other open-air depart-
ment of gardening. As the stalks of flowering plants
shoot up, they generally require thinning, and props for
support; and the blossom, both of plants and shrubs, no
sooner expands than it begins to wither, and must be cut
off, unless, as in some of the ornamental shrubs, they
are left for the sake of the beauty of their fruit. Weed-
ing, watering, stirring the soil, cutting off stems which
have done flowering, attending to grass and gravel,
must go hand and hand in these operations.

With respect to xhe general culture and manuring the
soil^ it should be subjected, as far as practicable, to the
same process of trenching to diifcrent depths as that
of the kitchen-garden. In the shrubbery this cannot
be done, but it, and also the earth compartments of the
flowder-garden, should be turned over a spit in depth,
and some vegetable mould, or very rotten cow-dung,
added occasionally. Every two or three j'ears the plants
in the flower-garden should be taken up and reduced in
size, and the beds or borders trenched, say one time at
two spits deep, another at three, and so on, adding en-
riching compost or manure completely rotted, accord-
ing to circumstances. If, instead of trenching, the old
earth were entirely removed, and replaced by good loam
from a dry upland parterre, the improvement would be
still greater. Most herbaceous plants flower well in
such loam, and for tlie more cultivated sorts, as border
pinks, polyantliuses, &c. that require a xich soil, a por-
tion of enricliing matter could be added to each plant
as planted, and a corresponding attention paid to such

GARDENING. 91

as require peat-earth, sand, clay, or iime. In the shrub-
bery, a similar renewal of soil, and attention to the soils
required by particular shrub-plants, is also necessary,
at least in front, where the more delicate shrubs natu-
rally rank, and where the herbaceous plants are chiefly
arranged.

With respect to the tiracs of plantings or sowing, and
manner of cropping the flower-garden and shrubbery,
the greater part of the surface being covered with
shrubs or plants of perennial duration, very little crop-
ping is required, and as a substitute for a rotation,
recourse must be had to the renewal of the soil as re-
commended above. Annuals are sown at various
periods from April to June; but for the principal show,
generally in May: the half-hardy sorts are raised in
hot beds in the reserve department, and transplanted
where they are to flower in May or June, and later
sowings and transplantings are made to procure a pro-
tracted display. Biennials and perennials of the fibrous
or ramose rooted kinds are transplanted from the
reserve department in October or April; and such bul-
bous roots as are annually taken up, are generally re-
planted in November or April. When bulbs and other
florists' flowers are cultivated in beds, a rotation may be
adopted as far as respects them: thus the hyacinth,
tulip, &:c. may be succeeded by annuals, and those by
the dianthus tribe, or dahlias, &C.5 but in borders and
compartments planted in the mingled manner, as well
as in shrubberies, a rotation is out of the question.
Particular care is requisite to remove weak, ill-condi-
tioned, or ill-flowering plants, and to replace them by
others of the same height and color. This may be done
at all seasons of the year by the use of the transplanter;
but the better mode is to have always an ample stock
in the reserve-garden, of all the colors and heights, both
of herbaceous plants and low shrubs, in pots, and when-
ever, when any plant is in flower, a defect appears, it
can be remedied at once by turning the plant out of
the pot into its situation in the border.

Herbaceous plants require little pruning, but never-
theless something in this wa}' may be occasionally

92 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

required on the same general principles applied to
trees. Where very large flowers are wanted, it
is obviously advantageous to prevent the plant from
expanding its vigour in too great a number of them,
or in mere shoots and leaves. Top-heavy plants,
as some thistles, solidagos, &c. may require to be
lightened, and almost all are benefitted by thinning
out a part of their shoots. In some annuals, thin-
ning is efiected both by eradication and pruning,
and in the more delicate sorts by pinching off the young
shoot, when an inch or two high. Creepers, climbers,
and shrubs planted against walls or trellises, either on
account of their rarity, delicacy, or to conceal the ob-
ject against v/hich they are placed, require different
degrees of training; those which attach themselves na-
turally, as the ivy, merely require to be occasionally
guided so as to induce a regular distribution of their
shoots; the others must be treated like fruit-trees, train-
ing thinly, if blossoms are the object; and rather thicker,
if a mass of foliage be what is chiefly wanting. "Edg-
ings of ail sorts," Marshall observes, "should be kept in
good order, as having a singularly neat effect in the
appearance of a garden. The dead edgings will some-
times, and the live edgings often, vvant putting to rights;
either cutting, clipping, or making up complete. Where
there are no edgings, or but weak ones, let the earth
bordering on the walks be kept firm, and now and then
worked up by line in moist weather, beating it smooth
with the spade."

Alpine plants require protection from the cold, by
covering with snow, or by hand-glasses, or frames during
winter; and from heat, by screens to produce shade
during summer. The roots of many sorts require to be
protected by ashes, rotten tan, or litter, from frost, and
the tops of others both shrubs and plants, to be guarded
by fronds of fern, fir-branches, mats, or portable glass-
cases, from rain, hail, and cutting winds. Great care
must be taken to protect pots of plants from frost, by
always keeping them plunged in earth or some noncon-
ductor; for no state in which a plant can be placed is
so obnoxious to the baneful influence of congelation as

GARDENING. 93

that of being grown in a pot. Climbing plants require
to be supported by poles or rods, as some sorts of honey-
suckle, bignonia, aristolochia, &:c.; by props, as pyra-
midal bell-flower, dahlia, euphorbia, &c. or by branches
or spray, as the nasturtium and pea tribe. Much of the
beauty of the flower-garden depends on the manner in
which these operations are performed. The prevalent
error consists in overdoing the thing, in employing too
stout and too long rods or props, and too many thick
tufty, branches, instead of sucli as are free-grown and
open. Watering must be liberally applied to almost
every part of the flower-garden during summer, and in
the evening; it increases the progress, and enlarges the
parts of all vegetables; gives a fresh appearance to
the soil as well as the plants, disperses their odours in
the suiTounding atmosphere, and tends to subdue various
kinds of insects. Ahvays water in the evening, as it
has time to sink into the earth, and be imbibed by the
flowers during the night. If it is done in the morning,
the sun comes and drinks up the moisture before the
plants derive any benefit, and the labour and water are
thrown away.

The cutting off Jlower-stnlks^ decaying Jlozvers, leaves,
8/c, is to be done in most cases immediately after the
flowers are faded ; but tliere are exceptions where the
leaves on the lower part of flower-stems may be requi-
site to strengthen the root, and where, as in the case of
stipa, some convallarias, eringoes, &c. the parts of the
flower are persisting, or the fruit or seed pods are ob-
jects of beauty. The leaves of bulbous-rooted plants,
and such others as are not prolific in foliage, should be
carefully preserved till they have begun to decay; and,
indeed, the base or rooted leaves of no plant whatever
should be cut off till this is the case, unless for some
particular object. Every single flow^er, as soon as the
petals begin to droop, should be pinched ofl", and espe-
cially every flower of the double kind. Every rose,
when it begins to droop, should be dipt off near to the
foot-stalk of the one w4iich is about to succeed it; and
when the last of the corymb has done flowering, then
the common foot-stalk should be cut off back to the first

94 FAMILY RECjt:IPTS.

strong leaf-bud: nothing is more unsightly in a flower-
garden than rose-bushes where this has not been at-
tended to.

J\mlness is the dress and visage of gardening, and if
necessary any where, is more especially so in the flower-
garden. A gardener who pretends to manage a flower-
garden without the most vigilant attention to this point,
at all times, is unworthy the charge. The first thing is
to have a quick intelligent eye, so as instantly to per-
ceive what is wanting, and the second is to be possessed
of that principle of activity which immediately sets
about supplying the want. Many gardeners have certain
times for cleaning up^ S^c. and will go fifty times past a
weed, stone, dead leaf, or some such article, Avhich dis-
figures or injures a scene, without removing it, merely
because the time for cleaning, &c. has not come. This
is most abominably formal conduct, deserving the seve-
rest reprobation. A gardener ought to have his eye,
his head, his heart, his hand, his knife, and apron, ready
for action at all times, places, and seasons, when within
the precincts of his charge.

The changeable Jloiccr-garden. The essential principle
of this garden consists in the power of changing its pro-
ductions at pleasure, so that whenever any plant, or
group of plants, begin to decay, they can be removed
and their places supplied by others coming into bloom.
To admit of this a large reserve nursery is requisite, in
which the plants must be kept in pots, and removed and
plunged in the borders as wanted. The Chinese, as Sir
W, Chambers informs us, excel in this mode of garden-
ing; and we have been informed by a traveller who has
resided some time at Canton, that he has known a man-
darin (or noble) have the whole furniture and style of
his parterre changed in a single night, so as next mor-
ning to present not only a different description of flow-
ers, shrubs, and dwarf-trees, but a different arrangement
of the beds and compartments. Something of the same
kind is practised in the gardens at the Tuilleries in
Paris; in some of the imperial gardens at Petersburg,
and in the vice-royal gardens of Monza. Gardens of
this description admit of a ycry perfect arrangement

GARDENING. 95

of the flowers, whether in the mingled manner, in select
groups, or according to the natural method. It is only
with such resources that a flower-gardener can "paint
his way," as Sir W. Chamhers says the Chinese artists
do, "not scattering their flowers indiscriminately about
their borders, but disposing of them with great circum-
spection along the skirts of the plantations, or other
places where flowers are to be introduced. They re-
ject all that are of a straggling growth, of harsh colors,
and poor foliage, choosing only such as are of some du-
ration, grow either large or in clusters, are of beautiful
forms, well leaved, and of tints that harmonize with the
greens that surround them. They avoid all sudden
transitions, both with regard to dimension and color,
rising gradually from the smallest flowers to the holly-
hocks, pasonies, sun-floAvers, carnation-poppies, and oth-
ers of the boldest growth; and varying their tints by
easy gradations, from white, straw-color, purple, and
incarnate, to the deepest blues, and most brilliant crim-
sons and scarlets. They frequently blend several roots
together, whose leaves and flowers unite, and compose
one rich harmonious mass ; such as the white and purple
candytuft, larkspurs, and mallows of various colors,
double poppies, lupins, primroses, pinks and carnations;
with many more of which the forms and colors accord
with each other; and the same method they use with
flowering shrubs, blending white, red, and Aariegated
roses together, purple and white lilacs, yellow and white
jessamine, altheas of various sorts, and as many others
as they can with any propriety unite. By these mixture-*
they increase considerably the variety and beauty of
their compositions. In their large plantations, the flow-
ers generally grow in the natural ground; but in flower-
gardens, and all other parts that arc highly kept, they
are in pots, buried in the ground, which, as fast as the
bloom goes off, are removed, and others are brought to
supply their places; so that there is a constant succession
for almost every month in the year; and the flowers are
never seen but in the height of their l)cauty."

The botanic flozcer-garden being intended to display
something of the extent and variety of the vegetable

96 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

kingdom, as well as its resemblances and differences,
should obviously be arran2;ed according to some system
or method of study. In modern times, the choice is
almost limited to the artificial system of Ijnnaeus, and
the natural method of Jussieu, though Adanson has
given above fifty-six different methods by which plants
may be arranged. The latter has much the best effect
in a garden, and corresponds better with culture. The
former, though most convenient for the young student,
yet by bringing plants together that have few or no
obvious relations, it destroys that harmony which is so
gratifying in viewing natural families. Whatever meth-
od is adopted, the plants may either be placed in regu-
lar rows, or each order may be grouped apart, and
surrounded by turf or gravel. For a private botanic
garden, the mode of grouping on turf is much the most
elegant, and it has this advantage, that as the species
belonging to the group are increased, it can be enlarged
by appropriating a part of the turf, and any group con-
taining few species, may be filled up with repetitions for
effect. The groups may be of the most irregular out-
lines, and those which are to contain trees may be raised
or lowered in surface, according as the species may be
natives of hills or valleys, and the trees and plants so
dispersed as that the former shall not conceal the latter,
Dor present a compact lumpish appearance at the edges,
or in the outline against the sky. Rock-work may be
introduced in groups, where there are many alpines to
be grown; and bogs, ponds, and springs imitated in oth-
ers destined for aquatics, &c. as far as consistent with
botanical purposes. A gravel walk may be so contrived
as to form a tour of all the groups, displaying them on
both sides; in the centre, or in any fitting part of the
scene, the botanic hot-houses may be placed; and the
whole might be surrounded with a sloping phalanx of
evergreen plants, shrubs, and trees. The plants in such
a garden should generally be neatly, but inconspicu-
ously named, or, at all events numbered; but naming is
greatly to be preferred, as saving trouble to the specta-
tor, and more inviting to the novice desirous of know-
ledge. It is hardly necessary to observe that the above

GARDENING. 97

modes of planting a flower-garden, are alike applicable
to every form or style of laying out the garden or par-
terre, and that they do not interfere with any mode of
enclosing or surrounding it, or of edging the walks.

Time of planting herbaceous plants. This is, in gene-
ral, autumn and spring; but any perennial plant may be
safely removed after it has done flowering or produced
seed. With respect to biennials and annuals, they may
be planted at almost any season before they have begun
to throw up flower-stems. Biennials, however, are ge-
nerally sown early in autumn in the flower-garden nur-
sery, and transplanted either late in the same season or
early in the following spring, to where they are to
flower. Some annuals, such as larkspurs, euphorbia,
mignonette, and other hardy kinds, flower best when
sown in the fall.

TO CULTIVATE HA.WTHORN HEDGES, OR LIVE FENCES.

Nothing can be more beautiful for a garden than a
hawthorn hedge, well kept. Live fences have already
become objects of serious importance.

The months of October, November, and December,
will be the most eligible periods, in the southern states,
for making this kind of fence; particularly as their
frosts can do no injury to the ditch, and the roots will
have an early establishment, and consequently be better
prepared to encounter the summer heats. In the mid-
dle and eastern states, it is preferable doing this
business in March, or early in April; as the ditch, in
that case, would have one year's advantage of the frost,
which in some kinds of soil would have a considerable
effect, particularly in the first year, by swelling the earth
in the face of the ditch, causing it to moulder down,
and thereby expose the roots to the quicks ; but this can
be obviated by leaving a scarcement in tlie front, as
hereafter directed.

Strong year-old quicks will answer very well for lay-
ing in the face of a ditch; but such as have had the
advantage of two years' growth in nursery rows, after
being transplanted when one year old from the seed

I

98 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

bed, will sooner form a good fence, or two years old
plants from the seed bed will answer a very good pur-
pose. Be particular in taking them up, not to injure
their roots but as little as possible, and to sort them
into three different lots, the smallest, larger, and largest,
and also to plant each lot together; for the mixing of
the small with the large is very injudicious, as the form-
er in a little time would be smothered and overgrown
by the latter, and vacancies consequently formed in the
hedge.

Previous to planting, prune off the extremities of
any long, straggling, and wounded roots, and also cut off
the heads of the plants about seven inches above the
earth-mark where they stood in the ground, and like-
wise any side branches that remain; let no consideration
prevent your doing this, for on it depends much of your
success.

Having your plants in readiness, and dressed in this
manner, lay them by the heels in the earth, to be taken
up as wanted, lest their roots should become dry, and be
injured thereby. Then proceed to form your ditch,
which should be four feet wide at least, at top, narrowing
with a gentle slope on each side towards the bottom, to
the perpendicular depth of two feet and a half, where
it should be one foot wide. The more your ground is
subject to slip by heavy rains, the greater slope must
be given to the bank side.

Begin by cutting the surface sod of the ditch into
squares of convenient size, and about three inches deep,
having previously lined out and cut both sides with a
spade, sloping inwards as above intimated, and lay a
row of them, with the grassy surface under, six inches
inward from the edge on the bank side; lay on the top
of this row of sods, two inches of the loose and mellow
earth, that is, the best the ditch affords, and also a quan-
tity of it behind them, for about eighteen inches or two
feet, breaking it very fine with the spade; on this lay
your quicks, nearly in a horizontal manner, their tops
being a little elevated, and at the distance of six inches
one from the other, and so far in, that three or four
inches of their tops may remain uncovered when the

GARDENING. 99

ditch is finished. Spread the roots to advantage, and
cover them well with the mouldy earth that dropped
from the surface sod: this is necessary in order to give
their roots the advantage of the best soil, and should on
no account be neglected. Then proceed to finish your
ditch and bank, laying the remainder of your surface
sods in front of the bank, as you had done with the first
row, giving it exactly a similar slope to that of the ditch,
and the whole bank such a form, as if it was taken up
at once out of the ditch, and turned upside down. The
scarcement left in front, throws the bank so far back,
as not to bear heavily on the side of the ditch to press it
down, and it also will receive and retain a considerable
portion of the rain that slides down along the surface of
the bank, by which means the earth in front will be kept
in a more moist state than if no such thing was left.

Were you to lay in two rows of quicks in the front,
the second eight or nine inches above the first, and the
plants in each row nine or ten inches distant, placing
those of the upper opposite the intervals of the lower,
it would be the most effectual method of making a bet-
ter and more immediate fence. A very slight paling
on the top of the bank, that will defend the quicks for
three years, will be sufficient, and if the land in front is
not in cultivation, but under stock, a similar fence may
be necessary to prevent their going into the dilch, and
reaching the plants. But if you take particular care
to keep them constantly weeded for the first two years,
which is absolutely necessary, or all is lost labour, they
will have the less inducement to approach them.

Preparation of Hawthorn Seed for the raising of Thorn
Quicks. — When you collect the seed in autumn, mix
them with equal quantities of light sandy earth, and
lay them in that state in a narrow sloping ridge, taper-
ing at the top, in a dry part of your garden, where they
will not be disturbed by hogs; cover them with about
two inches of light loose earth; in April following turn
them over, covering them as before; repeat this process
in July and August, by which the seed will be prepared
for vegetation. A trench must then be cut around this
ridge, to prevent any water from lodging around the seed.

100 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

Your seed being prepared as above, make ready a
piece of good rich ground. Early in the spring sow
your seed pretty thick, to allow for imperfect seeds, on
beds about four feet wide, with an alley between each
row: cover the seed three quarters of an inch.

A CALENDAR,

Pointing out the most important duties of the gardener in

each month of the year ^ and the vegetables to be attended to

during the periods mentioned.

The object of this calendar is merely to give brief
intimations of work to be performed in a garden, to-
gether with some approximation to the time of year in
which it should be accomplished.

No precise time can be fixed which will suit the cli-
mate in all the states. These directions are intended
for the middle States, and particularly about the latitude
40^ N. Allowance can be made for elevation of site,
as well as, for situation North or South of that degree,
but it is not po=.-":bic . perhaps, to state what that allow-
ance should be with any degree of precision.

JANUARY.

But little can be done this month, except getting
poles for pease and beans. Beds for forcing cucumbers,
melons, &c. may be prepared.

FEBRUARY.

Take out your manure and leave it in heaps — bum
haum — clean seed — get and repair tools — prepare ma-
terials for hot beds — clear your trees of moss and mice,
and give them a coat of lime ; sow asparagus — sow for
transplanting, on hot beds, radishes, carrots, salads,
pease and beans, protect vegetating plants by old litter,
mats, barks, &c.

MARCH.

Sow lettuce in open ground and in vacant places
among the rows of other plants, where it can be pulled

GARDENING. 101

out before they need the room. Early pease and
radishes cannot be planted too soon after the frost is out.
Plant cabbage, cucumber, melon, squash, &:c. in hot
beds — dress borders; clean, re-lay, or make new gravel
walks, turn compost, dress asparagus and make new
beds, set out cabbage stumps for seed, salad, and greens;
sow cress, mustard, and radish for salad once a fortnight;
plant celery, artichoke, and horse radish.

APRIL.

Sow artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli,
cucumbers in hot beds, cauliflower, cabbage in a warm
border, carrots, celery, cress, lettuce, mustard, nastur-
tium, onions, parsley, parsneps, pepper, pease, sweet
potato in hot beds, radishes, rhubarb, salsify, sea kale,
spinage, squashes, and turnips for early and garden crops.

For particular directions for cultivating the above
named or any other vegetables mentioned in this calen-
dar, see the preceding pages where they are alphabeti-
cally arranged. The precise time in the month ia
which they ought to be sown is there specified. Propa-
gate fruit trees in this month.

MAY.

Again plant cucumbers, melons, and squashes; plant
corn, pumpkins, gourds and beans, having the poles set
first; weed advancing crops; transplant radishes for
seed ; weed, thin, and transplant lettuce, and sow more
seed; sow other small salads; plant pease twice this
month; prune fruit trees; sow borecole, broccoli, if not
sown last month, beets do., Brussels sprouts; transplant
or prick out cauliflowers, do. cabbage plants; plant
cucumbers again; transplant egg plants and lettuce;
plant okra; sow pease for second crops, tomatoes, and
turnips.

JUNE.

Keep all your plants clean and well watered if neces-
sary; plant cucumbers and melons for pickling; plant

I 2

102 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

more potatoes, pease, beans, and salads; plant out cab-
bage for winter; pick off overloading fruit.

JULY.

Clean all your vacant ground, where your early crops
were, to plant for fall and winter supplies; sow salads
every eight or ten days, in shady places at this season;
f^ow turnips any time this month, and to fifteenth of Au-
gust; sow radish, lettuce, spinage, and cabbage for fall
greens; collect ripe seeds; let them remain on the
stems pulled up till dry; water thirsty plants; bud or
inoculate fruit trees.

AUGUST.

Keep all clean of weeds; remove haum to compost
beds; cut such herbs as are in flower, that you want to
save for winter use, or for distilling; dry them in the
shade; keep dung hills and compost heaps free from
weeds, to prevent their being filled with seeds. Inocu-
late or bud, if the bark still slips; sow onions to stand
over winter.

SEPTEMBER.

Gather seeds as they ripen; earth up celery if you
have any; sow radishes; pull ripe onions; the last of
this month transplant perennials; defend your grapes
from wasps by hanging vials of honey and water among
them; clear your seed beds and young plantations of
weeds; gather your cucumbers and mangoes for pickles
before they spot.

OCTOBER.

Set your cabbage plants of last month''s sowing in a
warm sheltered bed, to stand through the winter. The
sun must not shine on them when frozen; protect them
in the winter, by glasses, mats, or boards, but let them
have air in mild weatlier. When asparagus turns yel-
low, cut them off close to the ground, and carry off the
branches: cover them with old litter; plant out seed
onions; sow rhubarb and sea-kale; tiiey will be up in

GARDENING. 103

April; manure, dig up, and trench vacant ground; clean
old strawberry beds; cut off the runners close to the
plants, and apply a slight dressing of proper compost.

NOVEMBER.

"Gather your winter fruits, not forgetting your
squashes; sow rhubarb, sea-kale, skirret, parsneps; ma-
nure and trench your ground for early spring crops;
sow early pease if you can protect them from the mice;
plant seeds of fruit trees; lay a good coating of litter
over the roots of choice trees and shrubs."

DECEMBER.

"If the season permits, do which was directed last
month and remains undone; collect all your old sticks
and poles, and lay them up carefully; procure stakes
and other materials which may be wanted in a more
busy season.

DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATING FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES.

"All our garden fruits are but ameliorated varieties
of such as are wild. The amelioration has resulted
from human skill, time and accident; and being so pro-
duced can only by art be continued. Hence the two
great operations for procuring and perpetuating improv-
ed varieties of fruits are, amelioration and propagation.

"Amelioration 'consists either in acquiring new or im-
proved varieties of fruit, or increasing their good
qualities when acquired. There is in all beings a dis-
position to deviate from their original nature when
cultivated, or even in a wild state. But this disposition
is so strong in some as to render them particularly adap-
ted to become subject to domestication: for instance, the
dog, the pigeon, and the barn-yard fowl are cases in
which this tendency is most strongly marked in animals;
and domesticated fruits are a parallel case in the vege-
table world.

^Cultivators increase this disposition chiefly in two
ways; either by constantly selecting the finest existing

104 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

varieties for seed, or by intermixing the pollen and stig-
ma of two varieties for the purpose of procuring
something of an intermediate nature. The power of
obtaining cross-bred varieties at pleasure, has only ex-
isted since the discovery of sexes in plants. In select-
ing seed from the finest existing varieties, we should,
moreover, take care to select it from the handsomest,
largest and most perfectly ripened specimens of those
varieties; for "a seedling plant will always partake
more or less of the character of its parent, the qualities
of which are concentrated in the embryo, when it has
arrived at full maturity." Now, if the general qualities
of a given variety are concentrated in the embryo under
any circumstances, it is reasonable to suppose that they
will be most especially concentrated in a seed taken
from that part of a tree in which its peculiar good quali-
ties reside in the highest degree. For instance, in the
fruit of an apple, growing upon a north wall, there is a
smaller formation of sugar than in the same variety
grov.ing on a south wall; and it can be easily under-
stood that the seed of that fruit, which is itself least
capable of forming saccharine solutions, will acquire
from its parent a less power of the same nature than if
it had been formed within a fruit in which the saccha-
rine principle was abundant. It should, therefore, be
always an object with a gardener, in selecting a variety
to become the parent of a new sort, to stimulate that
variety by every means in his power to produce the
largest and most fully ripened fruit that it is capable of
bearing. The importance of doing this is well known
in regard to melons and cucumbers, and also in preser-
ving fugitive varieties of flowers; but it is not generally
practised in raising fruit trees."

Cross-hred varieties. — 'The power of procuring inter-
mediate varieties by the intermixture of the pollen and
stigma of two different parents is, however, that which
most deserves consideration. We all know that hybrid
plants are constantly produced in every garden, and
that improvements of the most remarkable kind are
yearly occurring in consequence. All cases, however,
of cross-fertilization are subject to "a practical conse-

GARDENING. 105

fjuence of great importance," namely, theit "the new
variety will take chiefly after its polleniferous or male
parent, and that at the same time it will acquire some
of the constitutional peculiarities of its mother. The
limits within which experiments of this kind must be
confined are, however, narrow. It seems that cross-
fertilization will not take place at all, or very rarely, but
between different species, unless these species are near-
ly related to each other, and that the offspring of the
two distinct species is itself sterile, or, if it possesses
the power of multiplying itself by seed, its progeny re-
turns back to the state of one or other of its parents.

'Hence it seldom or never has happened that domes-
ticated fruits have had such an origin. We have no
varieties raised between the apple and the pear, or the
quince and the latter, or the plum and cherry, or the
gooseberry and currant. On the other hand, new va-
rieties, obtained by the intermixture of two pre-existing
varieties, are not less prolific, but on the contrary often
more so than either of their parents; witness the
numerous sorts of Flemish pears, which have been rais-
ed by cross-fertilization from bad bearers within the last
twenty years, and which are the most prolific fruit trees
with which gardeners are acquainted; witness also Mr.
Knight's cherries, raised between the May duke and
the graffion, and Eve's golden drop plum, raised from
the green gage fertilized by the yellow magnum bonum.
It is, therefore, to the intermixture of the most valuable
existing varieties of fruit that gardeners should trust for
the amelioration of their stock.'

To cause bad bearers to be prolific, the means are,
*1. By ringing the bark. 2. By bending branches
downwards. 3. By training; and 4. By the use of
different kinds of stocks. All these practices are in-
tended to produce exactly the same effects by different
ways. Whatever tends to cause a rapid diffusion of
the sap and secretions of any plant, causes also the for-
mation of leaf buds instead of flower buds; and on
the contrary, whatever tends to cause an accumulation
of sap and secretions has the effect of producing flower
buds in abundance.' Ringing, by tending to prevent

106 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

the return of sap to the part below the ring, also tends
to cause the desired accumulation of sap in the pari
above the ring.

Bending down the branches effects the same accumu-
lation with more certainty. When branches are in
(heir natural or erect position, the fluids are diffused
through their vessels or tissue uninterruptedly and ra-
pidly; but by bending down the branches, the vessels
become more or less compressed, and contribute to the
accumulation of the juices or sap, by preventing its
rapid diffusion. Training, as branches in this process
are usually bent, effects the same object in the same
manner; as well as by fixing the branches, and so pre-
venting their being agitated by winds, as this agitation
*is known to facilitate the movement of the fluids.' —
Nor is the influence of the stock of an essentially dif-
ferent nature. In proportion as the scion and the
8tock approach each other closely in constitution, the
less effect is produced by the latter; and on the contra-
ry, in proportion to the constitutional difference between
the stock and the scion is the effect of the former im-
portant. Thus when pears are grafted or budded on
the wild species; apples upon crabs, plums upon plums,
and peaches upon peaches or almonds, the scion is, in
regard to fertility, exactly in the same state as if it had
not been grafted at all; while on the other hand, a great
increase of fertility is the result of grafting pears upon
quinces, peaches upon plums, apples upon white thorn,
and the like. In the latter cases, the food absorbed
from the earth by the root of the stock is communica-
ted slowly and unwillingly to the scion; under no
circumstances is the communication between the one
and the other as free and perfect as if their natures had
been more nearly the same; th-e sap is impeded in its
ascent, and the proper juices are impeded in their de-
scent; whence arises that accumulation of secretion
which is sure to be attended with increased fertility.

The fluid or sap collected by the roots, when elabo-
rated in the leaves, is so modified by the combined
action of air, light and evaporation, as to acquire the
peculiar character of the fir.al secretions of the indi-

GARDENING, 107

vidual from which it is formed. 'From these secre-
tions,' as discharged by the foliage into the system of
the plant, 'the fruit has the power of attracting such
portions as are necessary for its maturation. Hence it
follows, that the more we can increase the peculiar secre-
tions of a plant, the higher will become the quality
of the fruits and vice versa. Pruning and training, and
the exposure of branches to the most light in the sun-
niest aspects, promote the former effect.'

The next subject to be considered is, 'the mode of
multiplying improved varieties of parts, so as to con-
tinue in the progeny exactly the same qualities, as
existed in the parent.' Seeds will not perpetuate a
variety undeviatingly; buds will. 'A plant is really an
animated body, composed of infinite multitudes of sys-
tems of life; all indeed, united in a whole, but each
having a power of emitting descending fibres in the
form of roots, and also of ascending in the form of
stem. The first of these buds is the embryo [in a
seed;] the others are subsequently formed on the stem
emitted by the embryo. As these secondary buds de-
velope, their descending roots combine and form the
wood, their ascending stems give rise again to new
buds. These buds are all exactly like each other; they
have the same constitution, the same organic structure,
and the individuals they are capable of producing
are, consequently, all identically the same ; allowance
of course being made for such accidental injuries or
alterations as they may sustain during their subsequent
growth. It is upon the existence of such a remarkable
physiological peculiarity in plants that propagation
entirely depends; an evident proof of which may be
seen in this circumstance : take a cutting of a vine con-
sisting of the space which lies between two buds, an
internodium, as botanists would call the piece, and no
art will succeed in ever making it become a new plant,
however considerable the size of the internodium may
be. But, on the other hand, take the bud of a vine,
without any portion of the stem adhering to it, and it
will throw out stem and root, and become a new plant
immediately.' The various modes of artificial propar

108 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

gation, such as increasing by eyes, striking from
cuttings, laying, budding and grafting, 'all consist in
the application of these principles under various
forms.' — Increasing by eyes or buds is illustrated by in-
stances of the vine. Striking by cuttings consists in
placing a stem, bearing more buds than one, 'in circum-
stances fit for the continuance of life;' and this method
has an advantage over propagation by single buds, as
'the stem of the cutting forms an important reservoir of
nutriment' for the buds it bears, until they can emit
roots into the soil to cater for themselves. That bud
which is nearest the bottom of the cutting emits its
roots 'first into the earth,' and a 'good operator always
takes care that the lower end of his cutting is pared
down as close to the base of the bed as may be prac-
ticable, without actually destroying any part of the
bud itself: by this means the first emitted roots, instead
of having to find their way downwards between the
bark and wood, strike at once into the earth, and be-
come a natural channel by which nutriment is conveyed
into the general system of the cutting.'

'Laying is nothing but striking from cuttings, that
are still allowed to maintain their connexion with the
mother plant, by means of a portion, at least of their
stem. Tongueing the layer, 'has the effect of enabling
the roots to be emitted into the soil through the wound
more readily than if they had to pierce through the bark/

Budding and Grafting. — Budding differs from grafting
in this, that a portion of the stem is not made to strike
root on another stem; but that on the contrary, a bud
deprived of all trace of the woody part of a stem is
introduced beneath the bark of the stock, and there in-
duced to strike root. 'In performing either of these
operations, the great point to be attended to is to secure
the exact contact of similar parts.'

Transplanting, — The success of this important opera-
tion, the writer conceives, may be proved to depend
exclusively upon these two conditions: 1. The preser-
vation of the spongioles of the roots; and 2. The
prevention of excessive evaporation. The spongioles
are the extremities of the fibres, and consist of bundles

GARDENING. 109

of vessels surrounded by cellular tissue in a very lax
spongy state. 'Plants absorb all or nearly all of their
fluids through these spongioles, and, as the latter are
exceedingly delicate in their organization, their de-
struction will be effected in exact proportion to the
violence or carelessness with which their transplanta-
tion is performed. 'It is because of the security of
the spongioles from injury, when the earth is undistur-
bed, that plants reared in pots are transplanted witli
so much more success than if taken immediately from
the soil.' As every fibre is terminated by a spongiole,
cutting through the roots of large trees to induce the
formation of fibres, the year previous to removing them,
contributes to successful transplanting. 'When destroy-
ed, the spongioles are often speedily replaced, particular-
ly in orchard trees, provided a slight degree of growth
continues to be maintained. This is one of the reasons
why trees removed in October succeed better than if
transplanted at any other time. The first impulse of
nature, when the tree finds itself in a new situation, is
to create new mouths by which to feed, when the season
for growing again returns."

SHORT DIRECTIONS FOR TRANSPLANTING.

Food is as necessary to the health and growth of
plants as it is to animals. The best food for plants is
rich, pulverised earth, or rather the vegetable matter
which it contains. That your trees and shrubs ma}
live and thrive, proceed as follows: Dig for your trees
holes at least three feet in diameter, and eighteen inches
deep, and for shrubs a proportionate size and depth,
throwing away the lower spit of earth. Then fill up
the hole to a proper height for setting the tree, with
rich surface earth, or perfectly rotted manure, blended
with four out of five parts of earth. Set yoUr tree, and
cover with surface soil, treading down when the roots
roots are covered with earth. See that the roots are
trimmed of all bruised and broken parts; that they arc
separately extended in their natural direction ; that fine
earth every where comes in contact with them. A

K

110 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

potato or two, or a gill of flaxseed or oats, may be ad-
vantageously placed in the hole before the tree is set,
and a pail of water turned in after the hole is two thirds
filled. The rich earth affords nutritive pasture for the
young roots to range in: the potatoes, &c. keep the
ground loose and moist, and enable them to roam freely ;
and the water brings the earth in contact with the roots,
.'md prevents them from becoming mouldy. Keep the
ground free of grass as far as the roots extend ; for these
exhaust the moisture and nutriment necessary to the
plant, and exclude from the roots air and heat, the indis-
pensable agents to vigorous growth. Treat your trees
as you would favorite corn hills which you wish to make
the most of, except give them no unrotted dung. Wash-
ing with a strong ley in May will destroy insects, and
promote the health and vigor of your trees.

To persons living remote, or who are unable to obtain
their trees for early spring planting, we recommend that
they procure them in the autumn, and lay them in hy tlie
heel^ as nurserymen technically term it, which is merely
to dig a trench on a dry piece of ground, laying the earth
on one side — the trench wide enough to contain the
roots ; put the roots into this, close together, letting the
stocks rest in an inclined position upon the bank of
earth, and then cover the roots and a part of the stocks
with earth. In this way they escape injury from the
frosts of winter, and are in readiness for early planting
in the spring. Besides, better plants are generally ob-
tained in the autumn than in the spring, after nurseries
have been culled.

TO MANAGE ORCHARD GROUNDS.

"The whole ground of an orchard should be dug in
the autumn, and laid up in a rough state for the winter,
giving it as much surface as possible in order that the
weather may fully act upon and meliorate the soil; thus
following it as far as the case will admit. Observe to
dig carefully near to the trees, and so as not to hurt
their roots and fibres. If the soil be shallow, and if

GARDENING. HI

these lie near to the surface, it would be advisable to
dig with a fork, instead of the spade.

Crop to within two feet of the trees the first year: a
yard the second; four feet the third, and so on, until
finally relinquished; which, of course, would be against
the eighth year, provided the trees were planted at 30
or 40 feet apart, with early bearing sorts between. Br
this time, if the kinds have been well chosen, the tem-
porary trees will be in full bearing, and will forthwith
defray every necessary expense.

TO PRUNE TREES. '■^

Very few persons seem to be aware of the importance
of giving proper form to the young tree, or mending or
improving its shape, at a later period. In the peach it
is ruinous, sooner or later, to encourage two or more
leading and principal branches, from the main stem; let
them grow ever so straight and upright, they constantly
recede by the pressure of repellant branches, and by
the weight of fruit; until, after having nursed them to
maturity, on the first windy day, you have the mortifica-
tion to find it split at the crotch, and one or both
branches ruined, perhaps at the moment of the ripen-
ing of the fruit.

The peach is peculiarly liable to this misfortune, as
the seam at the crotch adheres with less tenacity than
any other tree cultivated.

The same doctrine holds good with the plum and
nectarine, but with less force, and in fact, there is but
one shape that is to be tolerated, with trees that are
allowed their full growtb, and not restrained, or trained
in any way; and that form is a straight centre stem,
from the root to the terminate bud, with branches al-
ternately projecting at judicious distances, both around
the circumference, and the whole line of ascent, allow-
ing no one to gain the advantage of another in excess,
but by proper retarding cr encouragement, so to man-
age, as they shall present a cone, beautiful in sbape,
and strong to resist the wind, rains, and heavy weights
of foliage and fruit.

112 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

Quince trees, by proper attention, may be made to
have straight handsome bodies, and fine expanding reg-
ular tops, instead of the crooked, craggy, sprawUng
bushes, so generally cultivated.

It is also a great mistake to trim the stems of young
trees too high, causing them to shoot up to premature
height'^, become top-heavy, and liable to be blown over,
or badly leaned from their perpendicular and true
position; which causes them to need staking, and tying,
whereby they are apt to become chafed, and frequently
ruined.

Trees in town gardens, which are situated between
high houses and barns, are peculiarly liable to misfor-
tune by wind, which is caused to whiffle, whirl and eddy
about with such force, as often to do great damage; in
all such cases thcv should be allowed to send out limbs
lower down, in regular order, with a straight centre,
and handsome shape.

When peach trees get large and over-grown, or when
they are apparently going backward from age, they can
again be renewed by cutting off the whole top, at the
collar next the roots, or at tlie first branching limbs,
when a great quantity of shoots Vvill put out and form
handsome clumps, and bear well; indeed it is the Penn-
sylvania method of serving trees for the first bearing,
which for seedling kinds do well: cultivated kinds
should be cut above the graft. Prune all trees at the
opening of the bud, and if you wish to be nice about it,
cover the cut with grafters wax, tar or oil paint.

GRAFTING, OR ENGRAFTING.

The following directions for grafting, are given by
Dr. Deane, in his valuable Georgical Dictionary:

The methods of grafting are various. The first,
which is termed Rind or Shoulder grafting, is seldom
practised but on large trees, where either the head or
large branches are cut off horizontally, and two or more
scions put in, according to the size of the branch, or stem;
in doing this the scions are cut flat on one side, with a
shoulder to rest upon the crown of the stock; then the

GARDENING. US

rind of the stock must be raised up, to admit the scion
between the wood and the bark of the stock, which musi
be inserted about two inches, so as that the shoulder of
the scion may meet, and closely join the crown of the
stock; and after the number of scions is inserted, the
whole crown of tlie stock should be well clayed over,
leaving two eyes of the scions unconnected therewith,
which will be sufficient for shooting.

The next method is termed Cleft or Stock grafiing;
this is practised upon stocks or trees of a smaller size,
and may be used w^ith success where the rind of the
stock is not too thick, whereby the inner bark of the scioii
will be prevented from joining to that of the stock.
This may be performed on stocks, or branches, that are
more than one inch in diameter: The head of the
stock, or branch, must be cut off, with a slope, and a
slit made the contrary way, in the top of the slope,
iF^ep enough to receive the scion, w^hich should be cut
sloping like a wedge, so as to fit the slit made in the
stock; being careful to leave that side of tlic wedge
which is to be placed outward much thicker than the
other. Ai/d in putting the scion into the slit of tlie
stock, there must be great care taken to join the rind of
the scion to that of the stock; for if these do ix)t unite
the grafts will not succeed.

A third method which is termed Whip, or 'j'ongue
grafting, is performed on small stocks by cutting off
the head of the stocks sloping; then there must ]je a
notch made in the s^lope toward the upper part down-
ward, a little more than half an inch deep, to receive
the scion, which must be cut with a slope upwards, and
a slit made in the slope like a tongue, which tongue'
must be inserted into the slit made in the slope of the
stock, so as that the two rinds of both scion and stock
may be equal and join together exactly. Then there
should be a ligature to fasten the scion, so that it may
not easily be displaced.

INOCULATING, OR BUDDING.

"This is commonly practised," says Mr. Miller, ''up-
on all sorts of stone fruit in particular, such as peaches,

k2

114 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

nectarines, cherries, plums, &c. as also upon oranges
and jasmines, and is preferable to any sort of grafting.
Tile method of performing it is as follows: You must
be provided with a sharp penknife, having a flat haft,
(the use of which is to raise the bark of the stock to
admit the bud ,) and some sound bass mat, which should
he soaked in water, to increase its strength, and make
it more pliable; then having taken off the cuttings of
the tree you are to propagate, you should choose a
smooth part of the stock about five or six inches above
the surface of the ground, if designed for dwarfs; but
if for standards, they should be budded six feet above
ground; then with your knife make a horizontal cut
across the rind of the stock, and from the middle of that
cut make a slit downwards about two inches in length,
so that it may be in the form of T; but you must be
careful not to cut too deep, lest you wound the stock.
Then having cut off the leaf from the bad, leaving the
foot stock remaining, you should make a cross cut
about half an inch below the eye, and with your knife
slit off the bud, with part of the wood to it. This
done, you must, with your knife pull oiF that part of
the wood which was taken with the bud, observing
whether the eye of the bud be left to it or not, (for
all those buds which lose their eyes in stripping should
be thrown away, being good for nothing.) Then, hav-
ing gently raised the bark of the stock where the cross
incision was made, with the flat haft of your penknife,
cleave the bark from tlie wood, and thrust the bud
therein, observing to place it smooth between the rind
and the wood of the stock, cutting olF any part of
the rind belonging to the bud, which may be too long
for the slit made in the stock: And so having exactly
fitted the bud to the stock, you must tie them closely
j'ound Avith bass mat, beginning at (he under part of the
slit, and so proceed to the top, taking care that you do
not bind round tlie eye of the bud, which should be left
open.

"When your buds have been inoculated three weeks
or a month, you will see which of them have taken,
those of them whicli appear shrivelled and black being

GARDENING. 115

dead, but those which remam fresh and plump you
may depend are joined. At this time you should loosen
the bandage, which, if not done in time, will pinch the
stock, and greatly injure, if not destroy, the bud.

"The March following,'' (perhaps April in this coun-
try,) "you must cut off the stock close to the bud,
sloping it that the wet may pass off, and not enter the
stock. To this part of the stock, left above the bud,
it is very proper to fasten the shoot which the bud
makes in summer, to secure it from being blown out;
but this part of the stock must continue on no longer
than until the bud has acquired strength to support
itself, after which it must be cut off close above the
bud that the stock may be covered thereby.

"The time for inoculating is from the middle of
June to the middle of September, according to the for-
w^ardness of the season, and the particular sorts of
trees to be inoculated, which may be easily known by
trying the buds, whether they will come off well from the
wood. But the most general rule is, when you observe
the buds formed at the extremity of the same year's
shoots, which is a sign of their having finished their
spring growth."

METHOD OF FORCING FRUIT TREES TO BLOSSOM AND
BEAR FRUIT.

With a sharp knife cut a ring round the limb or
small branch which you wish should bear, near the
stem or large bough where it is joined: let this ring or
cut penetrate to the wood. A quarter of an inch from
this cut, make a second like the first, encircling the
branch like a ring a quarter of an inch broad between
these two cuts. This bark, between these two cuts,
must be removed clean down to the wood ; even the fine
inner bark, which lies immediately upon the wood, must
be scraped away, until the bare naked wood appears,
white and smooth, so that no connexion whatever re-
mains between the two parts of the bark. The barking
or girdling must be made at the precise time when, in
all nature, the buds are strongly sweirmg, or about

IIQ FAMILY RECEIPTS.

breaking out into blossom. In the same year, a callous
is formed at the edges of the ring, on both sides, and
the connexion of the bark is again restored, without
any detriment to the tree or the branch operated upon.
By this simple operation, the following advantages will
be obtained: 1. Every young tree of which you do not
know the sort, is compelled to show its fruit, and decide
sooner whether it may remain in its present state or
require to be grafted. 2. You may thereby, with cer-
tainty, get fruit of a good sort, and reject the more
ordinary. The branches so operated upon are hung
full of fruit, while others, that arc not ringed, often have
none, or very little on them. This effect is explained
from the theory of the sap. As this ascends in the
wood and descends in the bark, the above operation
will not prevent the sap rising into the upper part of the
branch, but it will prevent its descending below this
cut, by which means it will be retained in and dis-
tributed througli the upper part of the branch in a
greater portion than it could otherwise be, and the
branch and fruit will both increase in size much more
than those that are not thus treated. The twisting of a
wire or tying a strong thread round a branch has often
been recommended as a means of making it bear fruit.
In this case, as in ringing the bark, the descent of the
sap in the bark must be impeded above the ligature,
and more nutritive matter is consequently retained, and
applied to the expanding parts. The wire or ligature
may remain in the bark.

Mr. Knight's theory of the motion of sap in trees, is,
'•that the sap is absorbed from the soil, by the bark of
the roots, and carried upwards by the alburnum of the
roots, trunk, and branches: that it passes through the
central vessels into the succulent matter of the annual
shoots, the leaf-stalk, and leaf; and that it is returned
to the bark through certain vessels of the leaf-stalk,
and descending through the bark, contributes to the
process of forming the wood.**

A writer in the American Farmer says, he tried the ex-
periment of ringing some apple, peach, pear, and quince
trep« on small limbs, sav from an inch to an inch and a

GARDENING. HJ

quarter in diameter. The result was, the apples,
peaches, *• and pears were double the size on those
branches than on any other part of the trees: in the
quinces there was no difference. One peach, the
heath, measured on a ringed limb, in circumference
11 1-4 inches round, and 11 3-4 inches round the ends,
and weighed 15 ounces. The limbs above the ring
have grown much larger than those below it.

[Thacher's Orchardist,

new: mode of grafting.

When the trees begin to show their fruit, (no matter
what kind,) and it is evident that grafting must be
resorted to, or we must patiently put up with an inferior
kind ; instead of cutting off the top, uncover the roots,
and choosing the most thrifty one, make a slit in the
bark, cut your scion off with a slope, and thrust it in and
cover tlie roots with earth. It will take well, and grow
some the first year, much more the next, and the third
year the old stock may be cut away, and the growth
from that time on will be very rapid, and soon form a
good bearing tree.

TO RAISE APPLE TREES FROM CUTTINGS.

A horticulturist in Bohemia has a beautiful planta-
tion of the best sort of apple-trees, which have neither
sprung from seeds nor grafting. His plan is to take
shoots from the choicest sorts, insert them into a pota-
to, and plunge both into the ground, leaving but an inch
or two of the shoots above the surface. The potato
nourishes the shoot, whilst it pushes out roots, and the
shoots gradually spring up and become a beautiful
tree, bearing the best of fruit without requiring to be
grafted.

THE QUICKEST WAY TO PROCURE GRAPES.

The quickest method of procuring grapes, is to graft
into the body, near the ground, or which is preferable,
into the roots of large vines. In the following year, if

118 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

the graft has taken, fruit will be produced. Thus
every farmer, who has wild vines growing on hfs ground,
may, by procuring cuttings of hardy foreign or native
kind, and paying a little attention to the grafting and
training, be soon and amply supplied with grapes for
market and wine making.

PLASTER FOR TREES.

The cheapest and most suitable remedy for wounds
upon trees, occasioned by pruning, is Spanish brown
paint, a little thicker than pa.inters generally use. Lay
it on with a brush and take care to cover the wounded
part thoroughly. This will effectually exclude the air
and weather, and nature's healing process will soon
perform the cure.

HOW TO PLANT FRUIT SEEDS.

Put peach, apricot, plum and cherry stones, and pear
and quince seeds into the ground, two or three inches
below the surface, cover them with earth, and then lay
over them a course of well rotted manure. I have
always succeeded in producing an abundant crop, ex-
cept in one instance of planting of peach stones, and
another of pear seeds; the non-success of the former I
imputed to the dryness of the soil, and that of the lat-
ter to the destruction of the seed in the pumice, it
having remained in barrels several days, and probably
underwent some fermentation. I should advise the
planting of fruit stones and seeds in a moist but not a
wet soil.

TO DESTROY THE CATERPILLAR ON FRUIT TREES.

The honorable Timothy Pickering has communicated
to the Massachusetts Agricultural Society an eligible
method of exterminating caterpillars, more especially
when their nests are constructed on the extreme bran-
ches of large trees not accessible by ladders. It con-
sists of a brush made of hog's bristles introduced
between two stiff v/ires, closelv twisted, ?iniilar to the

GARDENING. 119

common brush for cleaning the inside of bottles. A
piece of wire full one tenth of an inch in diameter,
about three feet long, doubled, and leaving a small loop
in the middle, is closely twisted for the length of about
eight or ten inches from the loop; and then the bristles
being introduced between the remainder of the two
branches of the wire, and these closely twisted upon
them, the bristles are immoveably fixed; and thus is
formed, after being uniformly sheared, a cylindrical
brush, about six inches long and two and a half in
diameter. This brush is fastened to the end of a long
pole, having a groove about seven or eight inches long
at the small end, in which the twisted wire of the brush
was laid and bound on with strings. In using the
brush, press it on the nest, and turning the pole in the
hand the web is entangled with the bristles and remo-
ved; or otherwise, you rub the fork of the limb inside
and outside with the brush, when the nest and worms
are surely killed or brought down. The pole may be
longer or shorter according to the distance which you
have to reach. Numerous other methods have been
from time to time suggested for the destruction of these
vermin, but they may be destroyed with great facility
by a little industry with the hand or the brush, if re-
peated two or three times a week during their season.
It has recently been ascertained that some of the insects
or millers which deposit their eggs from which the
caterpillar is produced, are left in the old nests after
the caterpillars have deserted them in the month of
June. The destruction of old nests therefore, and the
insects contained in them, before they have time to
deposit their eggs in August for the next year, will
prove the most effectual method of destroying these
troublesome vermin for all future seasons and eventu-
ally of annihilating the whole tribe.

INDEX.

GARDENING.

Apple trees, to raise from cuttings, 117

Bags in a garden, an effectual way to

destroy, 87

Budding or Inoculating,' • - 113

Composts for Plants, to make, - 51

Caterpillars on fruit trees, to destroy, 118

Directions for making flower-gardens, 87

IDirections for attending to gardening
in January, -
February,
March,
April, -
May, - ^

June,

July, . -

August, -
September,
October,
Kovember,
December, ....

Directions for cultivating the follow-
ing garden vegetables, viz:
" Artichokes, ....
" Asparagus, ....

" Beans,

English dwarf.
Kidney dwarfs or snaps,
Pole or running,

" Beet,

Sir John Sinclair, •
Mangel VVurtzel,

•' Bene Plant, ....

" Borecole, ....

** Brussels Sprouts,

" Brocoli,

" Cabbage,

" Cow Cabbage.

" Carrot,

" Cauliflower,

'• Cucumber,

" Celery,

" Cress,

" Currant,

" Endive or Succory,

" Egg Plant, -

Fennel,
Gooseberry,
Kale,
Lettuce,

100
101
102

103

61
62

Melon,

Mustard,

Nasturtium,

Okra,
Onion,

Top or tree,
Potato,

Potato, Irish,

" Sweet,
Parsley,

Parsnep, . . - -
Peas, ....
Bishop's early prolific,
Woodford's new tali do
Pepper, ....

Radish,
Rhubarb,

Spinage,

Squash,

Salsify, -

Strawberry,

Skirret,

Summer Savory,

Sage,

TO

75

76

76

77
76

80
81

- 82

83

*' Tomato, -
" Turnip,

" Vegetable Oyster,

Fruit and fruit trees, to cultivate, -
Fruit trees, to force to blossom and

bear fruit,

Grafting or Engrafting,

" Now mode of, - • -
Grapes, the quickest way to procure.

73

84

85

6S

103

115
112
117
117
Hawthorn hedge or live fences, to make, 97
Hot beds, to form, - - • - 50
Kitchen garden, to make, • • 56
Orchard grounds, to manage, • 110

Plants, when and how to water, 86

Plaster for trees, .... 118

Pruning, HI

Plants, to preserve from degenera-
cy, <S-f- 59

Seeds, to select, - • - • j1

'« to germinate, - - - 55

" to plant, • • • - 118

Soil for a kitchen garden, to select, 49

" Preparation of, ... 50

Transplanting, directions for, - 109

Vegetables, to preserve, - - - 60

" To increase the number and

improve the qualities of, 58
" To improve and increase parts

of, .... 59

COOKERY.

GENERAL DIRECTIOISS TO THE MISTRESS OF A FAMILY.

In the variety of female acquirements, though do-
mestic occupations stand not so high in esteem as they
formerly did, yet when neglected, they produce much
human misery. There was a time when ladies knew
nothing beyond their own famii}- concerns; but in the
present day, there are many who know nothing about
them. Each of these extremes should he avoided: but
is there no way to unite in the female character, culti-
vation of talents and habits of usefulness? Happil)
there are still great numbers in every situation, whose
example proves that this is possible. Instances may bo
found of ladies in the higher walks of life, who conde-
scend to examine the accounts of their house steward;
and, by overlooking and wisely directing the expendi-
ture of tliat part of their husband's income which falls
under their own inspection, avoid the inconvenience
of embarrassed circumstances.

If a lady has never been accustomed, while single,
to think of family management, let her not upon that
account fear that she cannot attain it; she may consull
others who are more experienced, and acquaint herself
with the necessary quantities of the several articles of
121 L

122 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

family expenditure, in proportion to the number it con-
sists of, the proper prices to pay, &c. &c.

A minute account of annual income, and the times
of payment, should be taken in writing; likewise an
estimate of the supposed amount of each article of
expense; and those who are early accustomed to calcu-
lations on domestic articles, will acquire so accurate a
knowledge of what their establishment requires, as
will give them the happy medium between prodiga-
lity and parsimony, without acquiring the character of
meanness.

Many families have owed their prosperity full as
much to the propriety of female management, as to the
knowledge and activity of the father.

The following hints may be useful as well as 'eco-
nomical:

Every article should be kept in the place best suited
to it, as much waste may be thereby avoided. "Have
a place for every thing, and keep every thing in its
place."

Vegetables will keep best on a stone floor, if the air
be excluded. — Meat in a cold dry place. — Sugar and
sweetmeats require a dry place; so does salt. — Candles,
cold, but not damp. — Dried meats, hams, &;c. the
same. All sorts of seeds for puddings, saloop, rice, &c.
should be close covered, to preserve from insects; but
that will not prevent it, if long kept.

Bread is now so heavy an article of expense, that all
waste should be guarded against; and having it cut in
the room will tend much to prevent it. — Since the
scarcity in 1795 and 1800, that custom has been much
adopted. It should not be cut until a day old. Earth-
en pans and covers keep it best.

Straw to lay apples on should be quite dry, to pre-
vent a musty taste.

Basil, savory, or knotted marjojum, or thyme to be
used when herbs are ordered; but with discretion, as
they are very pungent.

Some of the lemons and oranges used for juice should
be pared first to preserve the peel dry; some should be
halved, and when squeezed, the pulp cut out, and the

COOKERY. 123

outside dried for grating. If for boiling in any liquid,
the first way is best. When these fruits are cheap, a
proper quantity should be bought and prepared ivs
above directed, especially by those who live in the
country, where they cannot always be had; and they
are perpetually wanted in cookery.

When whites of eggs are used for jelly, or other pur-
poses, contrive to have pudding, custard, &c. to employ
the yolks also. Should you not want them for several
hours, beat them up with a little water, and put them
in a cool place, or they will be hardened and useless. —
It is a mistake of old, to think that the whites made
cakes and puddings heavy; on the contrary, if beaten
long and separately, they contribute greatly to give
lightness, are an advantage to paste, and make a pretty
dish beaten with fruit, to set in cream, &c.

If copper utensils be used in the kitchen, the cook
should be charged to be very careful not to let the tin
be rubbed off, and to have them fresh done when the
least defect appears, and never to put by any soup,
gravy, &c. in them, or any metal utensil; stone and
earthen vessels should be provided for those purposes,
as likewise plenty of common dishes, that the table-set
may not be used to put by cold meat.

Tin vessels if kept damp, soon rust, which causes
holes. Fenders, and tin linings of flower-pots, &c.
should be painted every year or two.

Vegetables soon sour, and corrode metals and glazed
red v/are, by which a strong poison is produced. Some
years ago the death of several gentlemen was occasion-
ed at Salt-hill, by the cook sending a ragout to the
table, which she had kept from the preceding day in a
copper vessel badly tinned. Vinegar, by its acidity
does the same, the glazing being of lead or arsenic.

The best way of scalding fruits, or boiling vinegar, is
in a stone jar on ajiot iron hearth: or by putting the
vessel in a saucepan of water, called a waterbath.

If chocolate, coffee, jelly, gruel, bark, &c. be suffer-
ed to boil over, the strength is lost.

In the following and indeed all other receipts, though
the quantities may be as accurately directed as possible.

I2i FAMILY RECEIPTS.

yet much must be left to the discretion of the per-
son who uses them. The dilforent tastes of people
require more or less of the flavor of spices, salt, garlic,
butter, <fec. which can never be ordered by general
rules; and if the cook has not a good taste, and atten-
tion to that of her employers, not all the ingredients
which nature and art can furnish, will give exquisite
flavor to her dishes. The proper articles should be at
hand, and she must proportion them until the true zest
be obtained, and a variety of flavor be given to the dif-
ferent dishes served at the same time.

Those who require maigre dishes will find abundance
in this work; and where they are not strictly so, by
suet or bacon being directed into the stuflings, the cook
must use butter instead thereof; and where meat
gravies (or stock, as they are called) are ordered, those
made of fish must be adopted.

TO CHOOSE MEATS.

Venison, — If the fat be clear; bright, and thick, and
the cleft part smooth and close, it is young; but if the
cleft is wide and tough, it is old.

Beef, — If the flesh of ox-beef is young, it will have
a fine, smooth, open grain, be of good red, and feei
tender. The fat should look white rather than yellow;
for when that is of a deep color, the meat is seldom
Kood: beef fed by oil cakes is in general so, and the
ilesh is flabby.

VeaL — The flesh of a bull-calf is the firmest, but not
so white. The fillet of a cow-calf is generally prefer-
red to the udder. The whitest is the most juicy, having
been made so by frequent bleeding, and having had
whiting to lick.

Mutton, — Choose this by the fineness of its grain,
irood color, and firm white fat.

Lamb, — Observe the neck of a fore quarter; if the
vein is bluish, it is fresh; if it has a green or yellow
cast, it is stale.

Pork, — Pinch the lean, and if 3'oung it will break.
If the rind is tough, thicl:, and cannot easily be im-

COOKERY. 125

pressed by the finger, it is old. A thin rind is a merit
in all pork. When fresh, the flesh will be smooth and
cool; if clammy, it is tainted.

Bacon, — If the rind is thin, the fat firm, and of a red
tinge, the lean tender, of a good color, and adhering to
the bone, you may conclude it good, and not old.

Hams. — Stick a sharp knife under the bone: if it
comes out with a pleasant smell, the ham is good; but
if the knife be daubed and has a bad scent, do not
buy it.

Fowls, — The combs and legs are smooth when the fowl
is young, and rough when it is old.

Geese, — The bills and feet of geese should be yellow
and have but few hairs upon them. Their feet will be
pliable when fresh or recently killed, and dry and stitF
when they have been killed a long time.

Ducks, — The breast should be hard and plump, feet
supple. The feet of a tame duck are yellowish, those
of a wild one are reddish.

Pigeons, — They should be eaten while they are fresh;
when thev look flabbv and discolored about the under
part, they have been kept too long.

Partridges, — These birds have yellow legs, a.nd a
dark colored bill when young. They are not in season
till after the first of September.

COOKING.

Cooking is elfccted by various methods, of which
boiling is the most common, but the most objectionable;
as it deprives flesh of its nutritious juice. A better
mode of dressing animal food is roasting^ by which its
strength is less dissipated; because a crust is soon for-
med on its surface, that more etfectually preserves the
nutritive particles from evaporation. Hence one pound
of roasted meat is in real nourishment, equal to double
that quantity of boiled animal food.

Many substances, though possessed of salubrious
qualities, are rendered unwholesome by the refinements
of cookery. By compounding several incongi'uous in-
gredients to produce a poiejnant sauce, or ricli soup,

l2

126 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

t!ie cook frequently forms compositions that are almost
poisonous. Thus, high seasoning of every kind, pickles
and the like, merely stimulate the palate, and cannot
iiiil to injure the stomach. Hence, the plainest dishes
are uniformly the most conducive to health, while they
are most easily digested. This self-evident proposition
is acknowledged by every reflecting person, but gives
the least satisfaction to the epicure, who consults his taste
before he appeals to his warped understanding.

Animal food is generally boiled in half open vessels,
instead of which, close utensils only ought to be em-
ployed ibr that purpose. We therefore recommend
the process called stewing; as it is not only the most
wholesome mode of dressing meat, but at the same time
well adapted to retain and concentrate the most sub-
stantial parts of animal food. The utility of preparing
victuals after this method having been generally ac-
knowledged, we shall pay particular attention to it.

Various other methods will also be given, to enable
the cook to pursue the most convenient course.

TO BOIL MEATS, &€.

This most simple of culinary processes is not often
performed in perfection, though it does not require so
much nicety and attendance as roasting; to skim the
pot well, and to keep it moderately boiling, and to
know how long the joint requires, comprehends the
most useful points of this branch of cookery. The cook
must take especial care that the water really boils all
the while she is cooking, or she will be deceived in the
time. An adept cook will manage with much less fire
for boiling than she uses for roasting, and to last all
the time without much mending. When the water
is coming to a boil there will always rise from the
cleanest meat a scum to the top; this must be carefully
taken off as soon as it appears, for on this depends the
good appearance of a boiled dinner. When you have
skimmed it well, put in a little cold water, which will
throw up the rest of it. If let alone, it soon boils down
and sticks to the meat, which, instead of looking white

COOKERY. 137

and healthful, will have a coarse and uninviting
appearance.

Many cooks put in milk to make what they boil look
white, but this does more harm than good ; others wrap
the meat in a cloth; but if it is well skimmed it will
have a much more delicate appearance than when it is
muffled up.

Put the meat into cold water in the proportion of
about a quart to every pound of meat; it should remain
covered during the whole process of boiling. Water
beyond what is absolutely necessary renders the meat
less savoury and weakens the broth.

The water should be gradually heated according to
the thickness, &c. of the article boiled; for instance, a
leg of mutton of 10 lbs. weight should be placed over a
moderate fire, which will gradually heat the water
without causing it to boil, for about forty minutes. If
the water boils much sooner, the meat will be hardened,
and shrink up as if it were scorched. Reckon the time
from its first coming to a boil; the slower it boils the
tenderer, the plumper, and whiter it will be. For
tiiose who choose their food thoroughly cooked, twenty
minutes to a pound will not be found too much for
gentle simmering by the side of the fire. Fresh killed
meat will take much longer time boiling than that
Avhich has been kept till what the butchers call ripe;
if it be fresh killed it will be tough and hard if stewed
ever so long, and ever so gently. The size of the
boiling pots should be adapted to what they are to con-
tain; in small families we recommend block tin sauce-
pans, &c. as lightest and safest, taking care that the
covers fit close, otherwise the introduction of smoke
may be the means of giving the meat .a bad taste.
Beef and mutton a little underdone is not a great fault,
but lamb, pork, and veal are uneatable and truly un-
wholesome, if not thoroughly 'boiled. Take care of
the liquor in which poultry or meat has been boiled, as
an addition of peas, herbs, ^c. will convert it into a
nourishing soup.

1

128 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

TO BAKE MEATS, &C.

This is one of the cheapest and most convenient ways
of dressing a dinner in small families, and although the
general superiority of roasting must be allowed, still
certain joints and dishes, such as legs and loins of pork,
legs and shoulders of mutton, and tillets of veal, will
bake to great advantage, if the meat be good. Besides
those joints above mentioned, we shall enumerate a few
baked dishes which may be particularly recommended.

A pig when sent to the baker prepared for baking,
should have his ears and tail covered with buttered pa-
per, and a bit of butter tied up in a piece of linen to
baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to blister.
If well baked it is considered equal to a roasted one.

A goose prepared the same as for roasting, or a duck
placed upon a stand and turned, as soon as one side is
done, upon the other, are equally good.

A buttock of beef, prepared as follows, is particularly
fine: after it has been put in salt about a week, let it
be well washed and put into a brown earthen pan with
a pint of water; cover the pan tight over with two or
three thicknesses of cap paper, and give it four or five
hours in a moderately heated oven.

A ham, if not too old, put in soak for an hour, taken
out and baked in a moderately heated oven, cuts fuller
of gravy, and of a finer flavor than a boiled one.

Cod fish, haddock, and mackerel, should have a dust
of flour and some bits of butter spread over them. Eels
when large and stuffed, herrings and sprats, are put in
a brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and tied
over with paper.

A hare, prepared the same as for roasting, with a
few bits of butter and a little milk, put into the dish
and basted several times, will be found nearly equal to
roasting: in the same manner legs and shins of beef
will be equally good with proper vegetable seasoning.

TO ROAST MEATS, &C.

The first thing requisite for roasting is to have a
strong steady fire, or a clear brisk one, according to the

COOKERY. 129

size and weight of the joint that is put down to the
spit. A cook, who does not attend to this, will prove
herself totally incompetent to roast victuals properly.
All roasting should be done open to the air, to ventilate
the meat from its gross fumes, otherwise it will become
baked instead of roasted. The joint should be put
down at such a distance fj-oni the fire as to imbibe the
heat rather quickly, otherwise its plumpness and good
quality will be gradully dried up, and it will turn
shrivelly, and look meagre. When the meat is first
put down, it is necessary to see that it balances well on
the spit, otherwise the process of cooking will be very
troublesome. When it is warm, begin to baste it well,
which prevents the nutritive juice escaping; and, if
required, additional dipping must be used for that
purpose.

As to sprinkling with salt while roasting, most able
cooks dispense with it, as the penetrating particles of
the salt have a tendency to draw out the animal juices;
however, a little salt thrown on, when first laid down, is
sometimes necessary, with strong meats. When the
smoke draws towards the fire, and the dropping of the
clear gravy begins, it is a sure sign that the joint is near-
ly done. Then take off the paper, baste well, and
dredge it with flour, v.hich brings on that beautiful
brownness which makes roasted meats look so inviting.

With regard to the time necessary for roasting various
meats, it will vary according to the different sorts, the
time it has been kept, and the temperature of the
weather. In summer, twenty minutes may be reckoned
equal to half an hour in winter. A good skreen, to keep
off the chilling current of air, is essentially useful. —
The old housewife's rule is to allow rather more than a
<|uarter of an hour to each pound, and in most instances
it proves practically correct.

In roasting mutton or lamb, the loin, the chine, and
the saddle, must have the skin raised and skewered on;
and, when nearly done, take off this skin, and baste and
flour to froth it up.

Veal requires roasting brown, and if a fillet or loin,
be sure to paper the fat, that as little of it may be lost

130 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

as possible. When nearly done, baste it with butter
and dredge with flour.

Pork should be well done. When roasting a loin,
cut the skin across with a sharp knife, otherwise the
crackling is very awkward to manage. Stuff the
knuckle part with sage and onion, and skewer it up. —
Put a little drawn gravy in the dish, and serve it up with
apple sauce in a tureen. A spare-rib should be basted
with a little butter, a little dust of flour, and some sage
and onion shred small. Apple sauce is the only one
which suits this dish.

Wild fowls require a clear brisk fire, and should be
roasted till they are of a light brown, but not too much;
yet it is a common fault to roast them till the gravy runs
out, thereby losing their fine flavor.

Tame fowls require more roasting, as the heat is
longer in penetrating; they sliould be often basted, in
order to keep up a strong froth, and to improve their
plumpness.

Pigs and geese should be thoroughly roasted before
a good fire, and turned quickly.

Hares and rabi)its require time and care, especially to
have the ends sufticiently done, and to remedy that raw
discolouring at the neck, &c. which proves often so
objectionable at table.

TO REGULATE TIME IN COOKERY.

Mutton. — A leg of 8 lbs. will require two hours and
a half. A chine or saddle of 10 or 11 lbs. two hours and
a half. A shoulder of 7 lbs. one hour and a half. A
loin of 7 lbs. one hour and three quarters. A neck and
breast, about the same time as a loin.

Beef, — The sirloin of 15 lbs. from three hours and
three-quarters to four hours. Ribs of beef from 15 to
"iO lbs. will take three hours to three hours and a half.

Veal. — A fillet from 1*2 to 16 lbs. will take from four
to five hours, at a good fire. A loin, upon the average,
will take tlirce hours. A shoulder from three hours to
tlirec hours and a half. A neck, two hours. Abreast,
from an hour and a half to two hours.

COOKERY. 131

Lamb, — Hind quarter of 8 lbs. will take from an hour
and three-quarters to two hours. Fore quarter of 10
lbs. about two hours. Leg of 5 lbs. from an hour and
a quarter to an hour and a half. Shoulder, or breast,
with a quick fire, an hour.

Pork, — A leg of 8 lbs. will require about three hours.
Griskin, an hour and a half. A spare-rib of 8 or 9
lbs. will take from two hours and a half to three hours,
to roast it thoroughly. A bald spare-rib of 8 lbs. an
hour and a quarter. A loin of 5 lbs. if very fat, from
two hours to two hours and a half. A sucking pig, of
three weeks old, about an hour and a half.

Poultry/. — A very large turkey will require about
three hours; one of 10 lbs. two hours; a small one an
hour and a half.

A full-grown fowl, an hour and a quarter; a moder-
ate sized one an hour.

A pullet, from half an hour to 40 minutes.

A goose, full grown, from an hour and a half to two
hours.

A green goose, 40 minutes.

A duck, full size, from 30 to 50 minutes.

Venison, — A buck haunch which weighs from 20 to
25 lbs. will take about four hours and a half roasting:
one from 12 to 18 lbs. will take three hours and a
quarter.

BEEF.

BEEF A-LA-MODE.

Choose a piece of thick flank of a fine heifer or ox —
cut into long slices some fat bacon, but quite free from
yellow; let each bit be near an inch thick; dip them
into vinegar, and then into a seasoning ready prepared,
of salt, black pepper, alspice, and a clove, all in a fine
powder, with parsley, chives, thyme, savoury, and knot-
ted marjorum, shred as small as possible, and well
mixed. With a sharp knife make holes deep enough
to let in the larding, then rub the beef over with the
seasoning, and bind it up tight with tape. Set it in a
well tinned pot over a fire or rather stove: three or

132 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

four onions must be fried brown and put to the beef,
with two or three carrots, one turnip, a head or two of
celery, and a small quantity of water, let it simmer
gently ten or twelve hours, or till extremely tender,
turning the meat twice.

Put the gravy into a pan, remove the fat, keep the
beef covered, then put them together, and add a glasis
of port wine. Take off the tape, and serve with the
vegetable: or you may strain them off, and send them
up cut into dice for garnish. Onions roasted, and then
stewed with the gravy, are a great improvement. A
tea cup full of vinegar should be stewed with the beef.

A FRICANDEAU OF BEEF.

Take a nice bit of lean beef; lard it with bacon, sea-
soned with pepper, salt, cloves, mace, and alspice. Put
it into a stew-pan Avith a pint of broth, a glass of white
wine, a bundle of parsley, all sorts of sweet herbs, a
a clove of garlic, a shallot or two, four cloves, pepper
and salt. When the meat is become tender, cover it
close, skim the sauce well, and strain it, set it on the
fire, and let it boil till it is reduced to a glaze. Glaze
the larded side with this, and seiTe the meat on sorrel-
sauce.

TO STEW A RUiMP OF BEEF.

Wash it well, and season it high with pepper, Cay-
enne, salt, alspice, three cloves, and a blade of mace,
all in fine powder. Bind it up tight, and lay it into a
pot that will just hold it. Fry three large onions sliced,
and put them to it, with three carrots, two turnips, a
shallot, four cloves, a blade of mace, and some celery.
Clover the meat with good beef broth, or weak gravy.
Simmer it as gently as possible for several hours, till
quite tender. Clear off the fat; and add to the gravy
half a pint of port wine, a glass of vinegar, and a large
spoon of catsup. Simmer half an hour, and serve in a
deep dish. — Half a pint of table-beer may be added.
The herbs to be used should be burnet, tarragon, pars-
ley, thyme, basil, savoury, marjorum, pennyroyal, knotted

COOKERY. 133

marjorum. and some chives, if you can get them, but ob-
serve to proportion the quantities to the pungency of
the several sorts — let there be a good handful altogthcr.
Garnish with carrots, turnips, or truffles and morcJs,
or pickles of different colors, cut small, and laid in little
heaps separate: chopped parsley, chives, beet-root, &c.
If, when done, the gravy is too much to fill tlie dish,
take only apart to season for serving, but the less water
the better: and to increase the richness, add a few beef
bones and shanks of mutton in stewing. A spoonful or
two of made mustard is a great improvement to the
gravy.

TO STEW A BRISKET OF BEEF.

Put the part that has the hard fat into a stew
pot with a small quantity of water; let it boil up, and
skim it thoroughly; then add carrots, turnips, onions,
celery, and a few pepper-corns. 8tew it extremely
tender; then take out the flat bones, and remove all
the fat from the soup. Either serve that and the meat
in a tureen, or the soup alone, and the meat on a dish,
garnished with some vegetables. The following sauc<,>
is much admired served with the beef: — Take half a
pint of the soup, and mix it with a spoonful of catsup, a
glass of port wine, a teaspoonful of made mustard,
a little flour, a bit of butter and salt; boil altogether a
few minutes, then pour it round the meat. Chop capers,
walnuts, red cabbage, pickled cucumbers, and chives or
parsley, small, but in several heaps over it.

TO PRESS BEEF.

Salt a bit of brisket, thin part of the flank, or the tops
of the ribs, with salt and saltpetre five days, then boil it
gently till extremely tender; put it under a great weight,
or in a cheese-press, till perfectly cold. It eats excel-
lently cold, and for sandwiches.

To a round of beef that weighs twenty-five pounds,
take three ounces of saltpetre, three ounces of the

M

134 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

coarsest sugar, an ounce of cloves, a nutmeg, half an
ounce of alspice, and three handfuls of common salt,
all in the finest powder.

The beef should hang two or three days; then rub
the above well into it, and turn and rub every day for
two or three weeks. The bone must be taken out at first.
When to be dressed, dip it into cold water, to take off
the loose spice, bind it up tight with tape, and put it
into a pan with a tea-cup full of water at the bottom,
cover the top of the meat with shred suet, and the pan
with a brown crust and paper, and bake it five or six
hours. — When cold take off the paste and tape.

The gravy is very fine; and a little of it adds greatly
to the flavor of any hash, soup, &c. — Both the gravy
and the beef will keep some time.

AN EXCELLENT MODE OF DRESSING BEEF.

Hang three ribs three or four days; take out the
bones from the whole length, sprinkle it with salt, roll
the meat tight, and roast it. Nothing can look nicer.
The above done with spices, &c. and baked as hunter's
beef, is excellent.

TO COLLAR BEEF.

Choose the thin end of the flank of fine mellow beef,
but not too fat; lay it into a dish with salt and salt-
petre, turn and rub it every day for a week, and keep it
cool. Then take out every bone and gristle, remove
the skin of the inside part, and cover it thick with the
following seasoning cut small: — a large handful of pars-
ley, the same of sage, some thyme, marjorum, and pen-
nyroyal, pepper, salt, and alspice. Roll the meat up as
tight as possible, and bind it, then boil it gently for
seven or eight hours. A cloth must be put round before
the tape. Put the beef under a good weight while hot,
without undoing it: the shape will then be oval. Part
of a breast of veal rolled in with the beef, looks and
eats very well.

COOKERY. 135

BEEF STEAKS.

Should be cut from a rump that has hung a few days.
Broil them over a very clear or charcoal fire : put into the
dish a little minced challot, and a table spoonful of cat-
sup: and rub a bit of butter on the steak the moment of
serving. It should be turned often, that the gravy may
not be drawn out on either side.

This dish requires to be eaten so hot and fresh done,
that it is not in perfection if served with any thing else.
Pepper and salt should be added when taking it off
the fire.

BEEF STEAKS AND OYSTER SAUCE.

Strain off the liquor from the oysters, and throw
them into cold water, to take off the grit, while you
simmer the liquor with a bit of mace and lemon-peel;
then put the oysters in, stew them a few minutes, add
a little cream, if you have it, and some butter rubbed
in a bit of flour; let them boil up once, and have rump-
steaks well seasoned and broiled, ready for throwing the
oyster sauce over, the moment you are to serve.

STEWED BEEF STEAKS.

Beat them with a little rolling pin, flour and season,
then fry them with sliced onions, of a fine light brown,
lay the steaks into a stew-pan, and pour as much boiling
water over them as will serve for sauce: stew them
very gently half an hour, and add a spoonful of catsup,
or walnut liquor, before you serve.

ITALIAN BEEF STEAKS.

Cut a fine large steak from a rump that has been well
hung, or it will do from any tender part: beat it, and
season with pepper, salt, and an onion: lay it into an
iron stew-pan that has a cover to fit quite close, and set
it by the side of the fire without water. Take care it
does not burn, but it must have a strong heat: in two
or three hours it will be quite tender, and then serve
with its own gravy.

136 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

BEEF COLLOPS.

Cut thin slices of beef from the rump, or any other
tender part, and divide them into pieces three inches
long; beat them with a blade of a knife, and flour
them. Fry the collops quick in butter two minutes,
then lav them into a small stew-pan, and cover them
with a pint of gravy; add a bit of butter rubbed in
flour, pepper, salt, the least bit of shallot, shred as fine
as possible, half a walnut, four small pickled cucumbers,
a tea-spoonful of capers cut small. Take care that it
does not boil, and serve the stew in a very hot covered
dish.

BEEF PALATES.

8immer them in water several hours, till they will
peel; then cut the palates into slices, or leave them
whole, as you choose: and slew them in a rich gravy
till as tender as possible. Before you serve, season
them with Cayenne, salt, and catsup. If the gravy was
drawn clear, add also some butter and flour.

If to be served white, boii ihem in milk, and stew
them in fricassee sauce, adding cream, butter, flower and
mushroom-powder, and a little pounded mace.

BEEF (JAKES FOR A SIDE DlSil OF DRESSED MEAT.

Pound some beef that is underdone with a little fat
bacon, or ham; season with pepper, salt, and a little
shallot, or garlic: mix them well, and make it into small
cakes, three inches long, and half as wide and thick;
fry them in a light brown, and serve them in a good
thick gravy.

TO POT BEEF.

Take two poimds of lean beef, rub it with saltpetre,
and let it lie one night: then salt with common salt, and
cover with water four days in a small pan. Dry it
with a cloth, and season with black pepper; lay it into
as small a pan as will hold it, cover it with coarse
paste, and bake it five hours in a very cool oven. Put
no liquor in.

COOKERY. 137

When cold, pick out the strings and fat; heat the
meat very fine with a quarter of a pound of fine butter,
just warm; but not oiled, and as much of the gravy as
will make it into a paste; put it into very small pots,
and cover them with melted butter.

TO DRESS THE INSIDE OF A COLD SIRLOIN OF BEEP.

Cut out all the meat, and a little fat, into pieces as
thick as your finger, and two inches long: dredge il
with flour; and fry in butter, of a nice brown, drain
the butter from the meat, and toss it up in a rich gravy,
seasoned with pepper, salt, anchovy, and challot. Do
not let it boil on any account. Before you serve, add
two spoonfuls of vinegar. Garnish with crimped
parsley.

FRICASSEE OF COLD ROAST BEEF.

Cut the beef into very thin slices, shred a handful of
parsley very small, cut an onion into quarters, and put
all together into a stew-pan, with a piece of butler and
some strong broth; season with salt and pepper, and
simmer very gently a quarter of an hour; then mix
into it the yolks of two eggs, a glass of port wine, and
a spoonful of vinegar; stir it quick, rub the disli with
shallot, and turn the fricassee into it.

TO DRESS COLD BEEF THAT HAS NOT BEl^N 1X>NB
ENOUGH, CALLED BEEF-OLIVES.

Cut slices half an inch thick, and four inclies square;
lay them on forcemeat of crumbs of bread, shallot, a
little suet, or fat, pepper and salt. Roll them, and
fasten with a small skewer; put them into a stew-pan
with some gravy made of beef bones, or the gravy of
the meat, and a spoonful of water, and stew them till
tender. Fresh meat will do.

TO MINCE BEEF.

Shred the underdone part fine, with some of the fat,
put it into a small stew-pan, with some onion or shallot,

M-2

138 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

(a very little will do,) a little water, pepper, and salt;
])oil it till the onion is quite soft; then put some of the
i;ravy of the meat to it, and the mince. Do not let it
l)oil. Have a small hot dish with sippets of bread rea-
dy, and pour the mince into it, hut first mix a large
spoonful of vinegar with it; if shallot-vinegar is used,
there will be no need of the onion nor the raw shallot.

TO HASH BEEF.

Do it the same as in the last receipt; only the meat
is to be in slices, and you may add a spoonful of walnut
liquor or catsup.

Observe that it is owing to boiling hash or minces,
that they get hard. All sorts of stews, or meats dres-
sed a second time, should be only simmered; and this
last only hot through.

BEEF A-L V-VINGRETTE.

Cut a slice of underdone boiled beef three inches
thick, and a little fat; stew it in half a pint of Avater,
a glass of white w^ine, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion,
and a bay leaf; season it with three cloves pounded, and
pepper, till the liquor is nearly wasted away, turning it
once. When cold, serve it. Strain off the gravy, and
mix it v*ith a little vinegar for sauce.

ROUND OF BEEF.

Should be carefully salted, and wet with the pickle
for eight or ten days. The bone should be cut out first,
and the beef skewered and tied up, to make it quite
round. It may be stuffed with parsley if approved; in
which case the holes to admit the parsley must be made
with a sharp ])ointed knife, and the parsley coarsely
cut, and stuffed in tight. — As soon as it boils it should
be skimmed, and afterwards kept boiling very gently.

ROLLED BEEF THAT EQUALS HARE.

Take tlie inside of a large sirloin, soak it in a glass
of port wine and a glass of vinegar mixed, for forty-
eight hours: liave ready a \qv\ fine stuffing, and bind it

COOKERY. 139

up tight. Roast it on a hang;ing spit, and baste it with
a glass of port wine, the same quantity of vinegar, and
a teaspoonful of pounded alspice. — Larding improves
the look and flavor: serve with rich gravy in the dish;
currant-jelly and melted butter in tureens.

TO ROAST TONGUE AND UDDER.

After cleaning the tongue well, salt it with common
salt and saltpetre three days; then boil it, and likewise
a fine young udder with some fat to it, till tolerably
tender; then tie the thick part of one to the thin part
of the other, and roast the tongue and udder.

Serve them with good gravy, and currant-jelly sauce.
A few cloves should be stuck in the udder.

TO STEW TONGUE.

Salt a tongue with saltpetre and common salt for a
week, turning it every day. Boil it tender enough to
peel: when done, stew it in a moderately strong gravy;
season with soy, mushroom catsup, Cayenne, pounded
cloves, and salt, if necessary.

Serve with truffles, morels, and mushrooms. In both
this receipt and the next, the roots must be taken off"
before salting, but some fat left.

AN EXCELLENT WAY OF DOING TONGUES TO EAT COLD.

Season with common salt and saltpetre, brown sugar,
a little bay-salt, pepper, cloves, mace and alspice, in fine
powder for a fortnight; then take away the pickle, put
the tongue into a small pan, and lay some butter on it;
cover it with brown crust, and bake slowly till so tender
that a straw would go through it.

The thin part of tongues, when hung up to dry,
grates like hung beef, and also makes a fine addition to
the flavor of omelets.

BEEF-IIEART.

Wash it carefully; stuff as a hare; and serve with
rich gravy, and currant-jelly sauce. Hash with the
same, and port wine.

140 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

STEWED OX-CHEEK, PLAIN.

Soak and cleanse a fine cheek the day before it is to
be eaten ; put it into a stew-pot that will cover close,
with three quarts of water; simmer it after it has first
boiled up and been well skimmed. In two hours put
plenty of carrots, leeks, two or three turnips, a bunch
of sweet herbs, some whole pepper, and four ounces of
alspice. Skim it often; when the meat is tender take
it out: let the soup get cold, take off the cake of fat,
and serve the soup separate or with meat.

It should be a fine brown; which might be done by
burnt sugar; or by frying some onions quite brown with
flour, and simmering them with it. This last way im-
proves the flavor of all soups and gravies of the brown
kind.

If vegetables are not approved of in the soup, they
may be taken out, and a small roll toasted, or bread
fried and added. Celery is a great addition, and
should always be served. Where it is not to be got,
the seed of it gives quite as good a flavor, boiled in, and
strained off.

TO DRESS OX-CHEEK ANOTHER WAY.

Soak half a head three hours, and clean it with
plenty of water. Take the meat off the bones; and
put it in a pan with a large onion, a bunch of sweet
herbs, some bruised alspice, pepper and salt.

Lay the bones on the top*: pour on two or three
quarts of water, and cover the pan close with brown
paper, or a dish that will fit close. Let it stand eight
or ten hours in a slow oven ; or simmer it by the side
of the fire, or on a hot hearth. When done tender,
put the meat into a clean pan and let it get cold. —
Take the cake of fat off, and warm the head in pieces
in the soup. Put what vegetables you choose.

MARROW BONES.

Cover the top with floured cloth; boil them and
serve with dry toast.

COOKERY. 141

TRIPE

May be served in a tureen, stewed with milk and
onion till tender. Melted butter for sauce.

Or fry it in small bits dipped in batter.

Or stew the thin part, cut into bits, in gravy; thick-
en with flour and butter, and add a little catsup.

Or fricassee it with white sauce.

SOUSED TRIPE.

Boil the tripe, but not quite tender; then put it into
salt and water, which must be changed every day till it
is all used. When you dress the tripe, dip it into
batter of flour and eggs, and fry it of a good brown.

PORK.

The sides of a hog are made into bacon, and the in-
side is cut out with very little meat to the bone. On
each side there is a large spare-rib; which is usually
divided into two, one sweet-bone, and a blade-bone.
The bacon is the whole outside: and contains a fore-
leg and a ham; which last is the hind-leg, but if left
with the bacon, it is called a gammon.

TO ROAST A LEG OF PORK.

Choose a small leg of fine young pork: cut a slit in
the knuckle with a sharp knife; and fill the space with
sage and onion chopped, and a little pepper and salt.
When half-done, score the skin in slices, but do not cut
deeper than the outer rind.

Apple sauce and potatoes should be served to eat
with it.

TO BOIL A LEG OF PORK.

Salt it eight or ten days: when it is to be dressed,
weigh it; let it lie half an hour in cold water, to make
it white: allow a quarter of an hour for every pound,
and half an hour over for the time it boils up; skim it
as soon as it boils, and frequently after. Allow water
enough. Save some of it to make pea-soup. Some

142 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

boil it in a very nice cloth, floured ; which gives a verj
delicate look. It should be small and of a fine grain.
Serve pease-pudding and turnips with it.

LOIN AND NECK OF PORK.

Roast them. Cut the skin of the loin across, at
distances of half an inch, with a sharp knife.

SHOULDERS AND BREASTS OF PORK.

Put them into pickle, or salt the shoulder as a leg:
vyrhen very nice, they may be roasted.

SPARE-RIB

Should be basted with butter and a little flour, and
then sprinkled with dried sage crumbled. Apple sauce
and potatoes should be served up with roasted pork.

BLADE-EONE OF PORK

Is taken from the bacon-hog; the less meat left on it,
in moderation, the better. It is to be broiled; and
when just done, pepper and salt it. Put to it a piece
of butter and a tea-spoonful of mustard; and serve it
covered, quickly.

PORK STEAKS.

Cut them from a loin or neck, and of middling
thickness: pepper and broil them, turning them often;
when nearly done, put on salt, rub a bit of butter over,
and serve the moment they are taken off the fire, a few
at a time.

SAUSAGES.

Chop fat and lean pork together; season it with sage,
pepper, and salt, and you may add two or three berries
of alspice ; half fill hog's intestines that have been
soaked and made clean: or the meat may be kept in a
very small pan closely covered: and so rolled and dusted
with very little flour before it is fried. They must be
pricked with a fork before they are dressed, or they
will burst.

COOKERY. 143

AN EXCELLENT SAUSAGE TO EAT COLD.

Season lean and fat pork with some salt, saltpetre,
black pepper, and alspice, all in fine powder, and rub
into the meat; the sixth day cut it small, and mix with
it some shred shallot or garlic, as fine as possible. —
Have ready an ox-intestine that has been scoured,
salted, and soaked well, and fill it with the above stuff
ing; tie up the ends, and hang it to smoke as you would
hams, but first wrap it in a fold or or two of old muslin.
It must be high-dried. Some eat it without boiling,
but others like it boiled first. The skin should be tied
in different places, so as to make each link about eight
or nine inches long.

TO ROAST A PIG.

If you can get it when just killed, this is of great ad-
vantage. Let it be scalded, which the dealers usually
do; then put some sage, crumbs of bread, salt, and
pepper, into the belly, and sew it up. Observe to
skewer the legs back, or the under part will not crisp.

Lay it to a brisk fire till thoroughly dry; then have
ready some butter in a dry cloth, and rub the pig with
it in every part. Dredge as much flour over as will
possibly lie, and do not touch it again till ready to serve;
then scrape off the flour very carefully with a blunt
knife, rub it well with the buttered cloth. When done,
take it up; and without withdrawing the spit, cut it
down the back and belly, lay it into the dish, and chop
the sage and bread quickly, as fine as you can, and mix
them with a large quantity of fine melted butter that
has very little flour. Put the sauce into the dish after
the pig has been split down the back, and garnished
with the ears and the two jaws; take off the upper part
of the head down to the snout.

TO MAKE EXCELLENT MEAT OF A HOg's HEAD.

Split the head, tfike out the brains, cut off the ears,
and sprinkle it with common salt for a day; then drain
it: salt it well with common salt and saltpetre three
days, then lay the salt and head into a small quantity of

144 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

water for two days. Wash it, and boil it till all the
bones will come out; remove them, and chop the head
as quick as possible: but first skin the tongue, and take
the skin carefully off the head, to put under and over.
Season with pepper, salt, and a little mace or alspice
berries. Put the skin into a small pan, press the cut
head in, and put the other skin over; press it down.
If too fat, you may put a few bits of lean pork to be
prepared the same way. Add salt and vinegar, and
boil these with some of the liquor for a pickle to
keep it.

JELLY OF pig's FEET AND EARS.

Clean and boil them in a very small quantity of wa-
ter, till every bone can be taken out; throw in half a
handful of chopped sage, the same of parsley, and a
seasoning of pepper, salt, and mace in fine powder; —
simmer till the herbs are scalded, then pour the whole
off to cool.

MUTTON.

OBSERVATIONS ON CUTTING AND DRESSING MUTTON.

Take away the pipe that runs along the bone of the
inside of a chine of mutton; and if to be kept a great
time, rub the part close round the tail with salt, after
first cutting out the kernel.

Every kernel should be taken out of all sorts of
meats as soon as brought in: then wipe dry.

For roasting, it should hang as long as it will keep,
the hind quarter especially, but not so long as to taint;
for whatever fashion may authorize, putrid juices ought
not to be taken into the stomach.

NECK OF MUTTON.

This is particularly useful, as so many dishes may be
made of it; but it is not advantageous for the family.
The bones should be cut short, which the butchers will
not do unless particularly desired.

The best end of the neck may be boiled, and served
with turnips, or roasted, or dressed in steaks, and in pies.

COOKERY. 145

The scrag may be stewed in broth; or with a small
quantity of water, some small onions, a few pepper-
corns, and a little rice, and served together. ^V^hen a
neck is to be boiled to look particularly nice, saw down
the chine-bone, strip the rib halfway down, and chop
off the ends of the bones about four inches. The skin
should not be taken off till boiled.

TO DRESS A HAUNCH OF MUTTON.

Keep it as long as it can be preserved sweet by the
different modes; let it be washed with warm milk and
water, or vinegar, if necessary; but when to be dressed,
observe to wash it well lest the outside should have a
bad flavour from keeping. Put a paste of coarse flour
or strong paper, and fold the hauch in; set it a great
distance from the fire, and allow a proportionable time
for the paste; do not take it off till about thirty -five or
forty minutes before serving, and then baste it continu-
ally. Bring the haunch nearer to the fire before you
take off the paste, and froth it up as you would venison.

A gravy must be made of a pound and a half of loin
of old mutton, simmered in a pint of water to half, and
no seasoning but salt; brown it with a little burnt sugar,
and send it up in the dish; but there should be a good
deal of gravy in the meat, for though long at the fire,
the distance and covering will prevent its roasting out.
Serve with currant-jelly sauce.

TO ROAST A SADDLE OF MUTTON.

Let it be well kept first. Raise the skin and then
skewer it on again; take it off a quarter of an hour
before serving, sprinkle it with some salt, baste it, and
dredge it well with flour. The rump should be split,
and skewered back on each side. The joint may be
large or small according to the company; it is the most
elegant if the latter. Being broad, it requires a high
and strong fire.

N

146 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

BREAST OF MUTTON.

Cut off the superfluous fat, and roast and serve the
meat with stewed cucumbers; or to eat cold, covered
with chopped parsley. Or half broil, and then grill it
before the fire; in which case cover it with crumbs and
herbs, and serve with caper-sauce. — Or if boned, take
off a good deal of fat, and cover it with bread, herbs,
and seasoning, then roll, boil, and serve with capers and
butter.

TO ROLL LOIN OF MUTTON.

Hang the mutton till tender; bone it; and lay a
seasoning of pepper, alspice, nutmeg, and a few cloves,
all in fine powder, over it. Next day prepare a stuffing
as for hare; beat the meat, and cover it with the stuf
fing; roll it up tight, and tie it. Half-bake it in a slow
oven; let it grow cold; take off the fat, and put the
gravy into a stew pan; flour the meat, and put it in
likewise, stew it till almost ready, and add a glass of
port wine, some catsup, an anchovy, and a little lemon
pickle, half an hour before serving; serve it in the
gravy, and with jelly sauce. A few mushrooms are a
great improvement; but if to eat like hare, do not use
these, nor the lemon pickle.

MUTTON COLLOPS.

Take a loin of mutton that has been well hung; and
cut from the part next the leg, some collops very thin.
Take out the sinews. Season the collops with salt,
pepper, and mace; and strew over them shred parsley,
thyme, and two or three shallots; fry them in butter till
half done; add half a pint of gravy, a little juice of
lemon, and a piece of butter rubbed in flour; and
simmer the whole very gently five minutes. They
should be served immediately, or they will be hard.

MUTTON STEAKS.

These should be cut from a loin or neck; if a neck,
the bones should not be long. They should be broiled
on a clear fire, seasoned when half done, and often

COOKERY. 147

turned ; take them up into a very hot dish, rub a bit of
butter on each, and serve hot the moment they are
done.

BIUTTON SAUSA.GE.

Take a pound of the rawest part of a leg of mutton
that has been either roasted or boiled; chop it extreme-
ly small, and season it with pepper, salt, and nutmeg;
add to it six ounces of beef suet, some sweet herbs, two
anchovies, and a pint of oysters; all chopped very
small; a quarter of a pound of grated bread, some of
the anchovy liquor, and the yolks and whites of two
eggs well beaten. Put it all, when well mixed, into a
little pot, and use it by rolling it into balls of a sausage-
shape and frying.

AN EXCELLENT HOTCH-POTCH.

Stew pease, lettuce, and onions, in a very little water^
with a beef or ham bone. While these are doing, fry
some mutton or lamb steaks seasoned, of a nice brown;
three quarters of an hour before dinner, put the steaks
into a stew-pan, and the vegetables over them; stew
them, and serve altogether.

LAMB.

LEG OF LAMB.

This should be boiled in a cloth to look as white as
possible. The loin should be fried in steaks and served
round, garnished with dried or fried parsley, spinach to
eat with it; or dressed separately or roasted.

FORE-QUARTER OF LAMB.

Roast it either whole or in separate parts. If left
to be cold, chopped parsley should be sprinkled over it.
The neck and breast together are called a scoven.

BREAST OF LAMB AND CUCUMBERS.

Cut off the chin-bone from the breast, and set it on
to stew with a pint of gravy. When the bones would

148 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

draw out, put it on the gridiron to grill; and then lay
it in a dish of cucumbers nicely stewed.

LAMB STEAKS.

Fry them to a beautiful brown color; when served
throw over them a good quantity of crumbs of bread
fried, and crimped parsley.

Mutton or lamb-steaks seasoned or broiled in butter-
ed papers, either with crumbs and herbs, or without,
are a genteel dish, and are palatable.

A VERY NICE DISH.

Take the best end of the neck of lamb, cut it into
steaks, and chop each bone so short as to make the steaks
almost round. Egg, and stew with crumbs, herbs, and
seasoning; fry them of the finest brown, mash some
potatoes with a little butter and cream, and put them
into the middle of the dish raised high. Then place
the edge of one steak on another with the small bone
upwards, all round the potatoes.

VEAL.

TO KEEP VEAL.

The first part that turns bad of a leg of veal, is
Avhere the udder is skcAvered back. The skewer should
be taken out, and both that and the meat under it
wiped very dry, by which means it will keep good
three or four days in hot weather.

LEG OF VEAL.

Let the fillet be cut large or small, as best suits the
number of your company. Take out the bone, fill the
space with fine stuffing, and let it be skewered quite
round; and send the large side uppermost. When
half roasted, if not before, put a paper over the fat;
and take care to allow a sufficient time, and put it a
good distance from the fire, as the meat is very solid;
serve with melted butter poured over it.

COOKERY. 149

KNUCKLE OF VEAL.

As few people are fond of boiled veal, it may be well
to leave the knuckle small, and take oflf some cutlets
or collops before it be dressed; and as the knuckle will
keep longer than the fillet, it is best not to cut off the
slices till wanted. Break the bone to make it take
less room; wash it well; and put it in a saucepan with
three onions, a blade or two of mace, and a few pepper-
corns; cover it with water, and simmer it till quite
ready. In the meau time some macaroni should be
boiled with it if approved, or rice, or a little rice flour,
to give it a small degree of thickness. Before it is
served, add half a pint of milk and cream, and let it
come up either with or without the meat.

Or fry the knuckle with sliced onions and butter to a
good brown; and have ready pease, lettuce, onion, and a
cucumber or two, stewed in a small quantity of water,
an hour; then add these to the veal; and stew it till the
meat is tender enough to eat, but not overdone. Throw
in pepper, salt, and a bit of shred mint, and serve
altogether.

SHOULDER OP VEAL.

Cut off the knuckle, for a stew or gravy. Roast the
other part for stuffing; you may lard it. Serve with
melted butter.

The blade-bone, with a good deal of meat left on,
eats extremely well with mushroom or oyster-sauce, or
mushroom-catsup in butter.

NECK OF VEAI>.

Cut off the scrag to boil, and cover it with onion
tauce. It should be boiled in milk and water. Parsley
and butter may be served with it, instead of onion-sauce.

Or it may be stewed with whole rice, small onions,
and pepper-corns, with a very little water.

Or boiled, eaten with bacon and greens.

The breast end may be either roasted, broiled as
•teaks, or made into pies.

n2

150 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

NECK OF VEAL A-L\-BR.\ISE.

Lard the breast end with bacon rolled in parsley
• hopped fine, salt, pepper, and nutmeg: put it into a
losser, and cover it with water. Put to it the scrag-
end, a little lean bacon or ham, an onion, two carrots,
two heads of celery, and about a glass of Madeira wine.
Stew it quick two hours, or till it is tender, but not too
much. Strain off the liquor: mix a little flour and
butter in a stew-pan till brown, and lay the veal in this,
the upper side to the bottom of the pan. Let it be
over the fire till it gets colored; then lay it into the
dish, stir some of the liquor in and boil it up, skim it
nicely, and squeeze orange or lemon-juice into it.

BREAST OF VEAL.

Before roasted, if large, the two ends may be taken
off and fried, or the whole may be roasted. Butter
should be poured over it.

If any be left, cut the pieces into handsome sizes, put
them into a stew-pan, and pour some broth on it; or if
you have no broth, a little water will do: add a bunch
of herbs, a blade or two of mace, some pepper and an
anchovy; stew till the meat is tender, thicken with
butter and flour; and a little catsup.

Serve the sweet bread whole upon it, which may
either be stewed, or parboiled, and then covered with
crumbs, herbs, pepper, and salt, and browned in a
Dutch oven.

TO POT VEAL OR CHICKEN WITH HAM.

Pound some cold veal or white of chicken seasoned
as directed in the last article, and put layers of it with
layers of ham pounded or rather shred; press each
down, and cover with butter.

VEAL COLLOPS.

Cut long thin coUops; beat them well, and lay on
them a bit of thin bacon of the same size, and spread
forcemeat on llmt, seasoned high, and also a little Cay-
enne. Roll 1 h(^m up tight, about the size of two fingers,

COOKERY. 151

but no more than two or three inches long; put a very
small skewer to fasten each firmly; rub egg ov^er them:
fry to a fine brown, and pour a rich brown gravy over.

VEAL CAKE.

Boil six or eight eggs hard; cut the yolks in two, and
lay some of the pieces in the bottom of the pot: shake
in a little chopped parsley, some slices of veal and ham,
then add eggs again; shaking in after each some chop-
ped parsley, with pepper and salt, till the pot is fiill.
Then put in water enough to cover it, and lay on it
about an ounce of butter; tie it over with a double pa-
per, and bake it about an hour. Then press it close
together with a spoon, and let it stand till cold.

It may be put into a small mould ; and then it will
turn out beautifully for a supper or side dish.

TO BOIL CALF S HEAD.

Clean it very nicely, and soak it in water till white;
take out the tongue to salt, and the brains to make a
little dish. Boil the head extremely tender; then
strew it over with crumbs and chopped parsley, and
brown them; or if liked better, leave one side plain.
Bacon and greens are to be served with it.

The brains must be boiled; and then mixed with
melted butter, scalded sage chopped, pepper, and salt.

If any of the head is left, it may be hashed next day,
and a few slices of bacon just warmed and put round.
Cold calf's head eats well if grilled.

Clean and half boil a head ; cut the meat into small
bits, and put it into a tosser, with a little gravy made
of the bones, some of the water it was boiled in, a bunch
of sweet herbs, an onion, and a blade of mace. Season
the gravy with a little pepper, nutmeg, and salt, rub
down some flour and butter, and give all a boil together;
then take out the herbs and onion, and add a little cup
of cream, but do not boil it in. Serve with small bite
of bacon rolled round, and balls.

X52 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

MOCK TURTLE.

Squeeze the juice of a lemon into the tureen, and
pour the soup upon it.

Prepare half a calfs head without the skin: when the
meat is cut off, break the bones, and put them into a
gauce-pan with some gravy made of beef and veal bones,
and seasoned with fried onions, herbs, mace, and pepper.
Have ready two or three ox-palates boiled so tender as
to blanch, and cut into small pieces; to which a cow
heel, likewise cut into pieces, is a great improvement.
Brown some butter, flour, and onion, and pour the gravy
to it; then add the meats as above, and stew. Half a
pint of sherry, an anchovy, two spoonfuls of walnut
catsup, the same of mushroom catsup, and some chop-
ped herbs.

SOUPS AND GRAVIES.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS RESPECTING SOUPS AND GRA\^E9.

When there is any fear of gravy-meat being spoiled
before it be wanted, season well, and fry it lightly,
which will preserve it two days longer; but the gravy
is best when the juices are fresh.

When soups or gravies are to be put by, let them be
changed every day into fresh scalded pans. Whatever
has vegetables boiled in it, is apt to turn sour sooner
than the juices of meat. Never keep any gravy, &c.
in metal.

When fat remains on any soup, a tea-cupful of flour
and water mixed quite smooth, and boiled in, will
take it off.

If richness or greater consistency be wanted, a good
lump of butter mixed with flour, and boiled in the soup,
will give either of these qualities.

Long boiling is necessary to give the full flavor of
the ingredients, therefore time should be allowed for
soups and gravies; and they are best if made the day
before they are wanted.

Soups and gravies are far better when the meat is
put at the bottom of the pan, and stewed, and the herbs,
roots, &c. with butter, than when water is put to the

COOKERY. 153

meat at first; and the gravy that is drawn from the meat
should be almost dried up before the water is put to it.
Do not use the sediment of gravies, &c. that have
stood to be cold. When onions are strong, boil a turnip
with them, if for sauce: this will make them mild.

If soups or gravies are too weak, do not cover them
up in boiling, that the watery particles may evaporate.

A clear jelly of cow-heels is very useful to keep in
the house, being a great improvement to soups and
gravies.

VEAL BROTH.

Stew a small knuckle in about three quarts of water,
two ounces of rice, a little salt, and a iDlade of mace,
till the liquor is half wasted away.

A PLAINER WHITE SOUP.

Two or three pints of soup may be made of a small
knuckle of veal, with the proper seasoning; and both
served together, with the addition of a quarter of a pint
of good milk. Two spoonfuls of cream, and a little
ground rice, will give it a proper thickness.

OLD PEASE SOUP.

Save the water of boiling pork or beef; and if too
salt, put as much fresh water to it; or use fresh water
entirely, with roast beef bones, a ham or gammon-bone,
or an anchovy or two. Simmer these with some good
whole or split pease; the smaller the quantity of water
at first, the better. Simmer till the pease will pulp
through a colander: then set the pulp, and more of the
liquoi- that boiled the pease, with twQ carrots, a turnip,
a leek, and a stick of celery cut into bits, to stew till all
is quite tender. The last requires less time; an hour
will do for it.

When ready, put fried bread cut into dice, dried
mint rubbed fine, pepper, and (if wanted) salt, into the
tureen.

154 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

GRAVY SOUP.

Wash and soak a leg of beef; crack the bone, and
set it on the fire with a gallon of water, a large bunch
of sweet herbs, two large onions sliced and fried a fine
brown, (but not burnt,) two blades of mace, three
cloves, twenty berries of alspice, and forty black pep-
pers. Stew till the soup is as rich as you choose; then
take out the meat. Next day take off the cake of fat;
which will serve for basting, or for common pie-crust.
Have ready such vegetables as you choose to serve. Cut
carrots, turnips, and celery, small, and simmer till tender.

OX-RUMP SOUP.

Two or three rumps of beef will make it stronger
than a much larger quantity of meat without these,
and form a very nourishing soup. Make it like gravjr
coup, and give it what flavor or thickness you like.

PUDDINGS.

OBSERVATIONS ON MAKING PUDDINGS AND PANCAKES.

The outside of a hoiled pudding often tastes disa-
greeably; which arises from the cloth not being nicely
washed, and kept in a dry place. It should be dipped
in boiling water, squeezed dry, and floured when to be
used.

If bread, it should be tied loose; if batter, tight over.

The water should boil quick when the pudding is put
in; and it should be moved about for a minute, lest the
ingredients should not mix.

Batter pudding should be strained through a coarse
«eive, when all is mixed. In others, the eggs separately.

The pans and basins must be always buttered.

A pan of cold w^atcr should be ready, and the pud-
ding dipped in as soon as it comes out of the pot, and
then it will not adhere to the cloth.

Very good pudding may be made without eggs, but
they must have as little milk as will mix, and must boil
three or four hours. A few spoonfuls of fresh small
beer, or one of yeast will answer instead of eggs.

COOKERY. 155

ALMOND PUDDING.

Beat half a pound of sweet and a few bitter almonds
with a spoonful of water; then mix four ounces of but-
ter, four eggs, two spoonfuls of cream warm with
butter, one of brandy, a little nutmeg, and sugar to
taste. Butter some cups, half fill, and bake the pud-
ding. Serve with butter, wine, and sugar.

BAKED ALMOND PUDDING.

Beat fine four ounces of almonds, four or five bitter
ditto, with a little wine, yolks of six eggs, peel of two
lemons grated, six ounces of butter, near a quart of
cream, and juice of one lemon. When well mixed,
bake it half an hour, with paste round the dish.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING.

Slice bread, spread with butter, and lay it in a dish
with currants between each layer; and sliced citron,
orange, or lemon; if to be very nice. Pour over an
unboiled custard of milk, and two or three eggs, two
hours at least, before it is to be baked.

ORANGE PUDDING.

Grate the rind of an orange; put to it six ounces of
fresh butter, six or eight ounces of lump-sugar pounded:
beat them all in a mortar, and add as you do it, the
whole of eight eggs well beaten and strained; scrape a
raw apple, and mix with the rest; put a paste at the
bottom and sides of the dish, and over the orange mix-
ture put cross bars of paste. It will bake in half an
hour.

AN EXCELLENT LEMON PUDDING.

Beat the yolks of four eggs; add four ounces of white
sugar, the rind of a lemon being rubbed with some
lumps of it to take the essence: then peel, and beat it
in a mortar with the juice of a large lemon, and mix all
with four or five ounces of butter warmed. Put a crust
into a shallow dish, nick the edges, and put the above
into it. When served turn the pudding out of the dish.

156 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

BAKED APPLE PUDDING.

Pare and quarter four large apples; boil them tender
with the rind of a lemon, in so little water that, when
done, none may remain; heat them quite fine in a mor-
tar; add the crumb of a smoll roll, four ounces of butter,
melted; the yolks of five and whites of three eggs,
juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste: beat all to-
gether, and lay it in a dish with paste.

A DUTCH RICE PUDDING.

Soak four ounces of rice in warm water half an hour;
drain the latter from it, and throw it into a stew-pan,
with half a pint of milk, half a stick of cinnamon, and
sinmier till tender. When cold, add four eggs well
beaten, two ounces of butter melted in a tea-cupful of
cream; and put into it three ounces of sugar, a quarter
of a nutmeg, and a good piece of lemon-peel.

Put a light puff paste into the dish, and bake in a
quick oven.

LITTLE BREAD PUDDING.

Steep the crumbs of bread, in about a pint of warm
milk; when soaked, beat six eggs, whites and yolks, and
mix with the bread, two ounces of butter warmed, sugar,
orange-flower water, a spoonful of brandy, a little nut-
meg, and a tea-cupful of cream. Beat all well, and
bake in a tea-cup buttered. If currants are chosen, a
quarter of a pound is sufficient; if not, they are good
without, or you may put in orange or lemon-candy.
Serve with pudding-sauce.

BATTER PUDDING.

Rub three spoonfuls of fine flour extremely smooth
by degrees into a pint of milk: simmer till it thickens,
stir in two ounces of butter, set it to cool; then add the
yolks of three eggs; flour a cloth that has been wet, or
butter a basin, and put the batter into it; tie it tight,
and plunge it into boiling water, the bottom upwards.
Boil it an hour and a half, and serve with plain butter.

COOKERY. 157

If approved, a little ginger, nutmeg, and lemon-peel,
may be added. Serve with sweet sauce.

A RICH RICE PUDDING.

Boil half a pound of rice in water, with a little bit of
salt, till quite tender, drain it dry; mix it with the
yolks and whites of four eggs, a quarter of a pint of
cream, with two ounces of fresh butter melted in the
latter, four ounces of beef-suet or marrow, or veal-suet
taken from a fillet of veal, finely shred, three quarters
of a pound of currants, two spoonfuls of brand}', one of
peach-water, nutmeg, and grated lemon-peel. When
well mixed, put a paste round the edge and fill the dish.
Slices of candied orange, lemon, and citron if approved,
may be put in. Bake in a moderate oven.

BAKED RICE PUDDING.

Swell rice as above; then add some more milk, an
egg, sugar, alspice, and lemon peel. Bake in a deep
dish.

AN EXCELLENT POTATO PUDDING.

Take eight ounces of boiled potatoes, two ounces of
butter, the yolks and white of two eggs, a quarter of
a pint of cream, one spoonful of white wine, a little
salt, the juice and rind of a lemon; beat all to froth;
and sugar to taste.

BEEF STEAK PUDDING,

Prepare some fine steaks; roll them in fat. Lay a
paste of suet in a basin, and put in the rollers of steaks:
cover the basin with a paste, and pinch the edges to
keep the gravy in. Cover with a cloth tied close: and
let the pudding boil slowly, but for a length of time.

CUSTARD PUDDING.

Mix by degrees a pint of good milk with a large
spoonful of flour, the yolks of five eggs, some orange-
flower water, and a little pounded cinnamon. Butter a
basin that will exactly hold it, pour the batter in, and

O

158 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

tie a floured cloth over. Put in boiling water over the
fire, and turn it about a few minutes to prevent the egg
going to one side. Half an hour will be sufficient to
boil it.

Put currant jelly on it, and serve with sweet-sauce.

A QUICK MADE PUDDING.

Take flour and suet half a pound of each, four eggs,
a quarter of a pint of new milk, a little mace and nut-
meg, a quarter of a pound of raisins, ditto of currants:
mix well, and boil three quarters of an hour.

FINE PANCAKES WITHOUT BUTTER OR LARD.

Beat six fresh eggs, well; mix, when strained, with
a pint of cream, four ounces of sugar, a glass of wine,
half a nutmeg grated, and as much flour as will make
it almost as thick as ordinary pancake-batter. Heat
the frying-pan tolerably hot, wipe it with a clean cloth,
then pour in the batter to make thin pancakes.

PANCAKES OF RICE.

Boil half a pound of rice to a jelly, in a small quantity
of water; whtn cold, mix it with a pint of cream, eight
eggs, a bit of salt, and nutmeg; stir in eight ounces of
butter just warmed, and add as much flour as will make
the batter thick enough. Fry in as little lard or
dripping as possible.

FRITTERS.

Make them of any of the batters directed for pan-
cakes, by dropping a small quantity into the pan; or
make the plainer sort, and put pared apple, sliced and
cored, into the batter, and fry some of it with each slice.
Currants or sliced lemons as thin as paper, make an
agreeable change.

POTATO FRITTERS.

Boil two large potatoes, scrape them fine; beat four
yolks and three whites of eggs, and add to the above one
large spoonful of cream, another of sweet wine, a

COOKERY. 159

squeeze of lemon, and a little nutmeg. Beat this bat-
ter half an hour at least. It will be extremely light.

Put a good quantity of fine lard in a stew-pan, and
drop a spoonful of the batter at a time into it. Fry
them; and serve as a sauce, a glass of white wine, the
juice of a lemon, one dessert-spoonful of peach-leaf or
almond-water, and some white sugar, warmed together.

PASTRY.

RICH PUFF PASTE.

Puffs may be made of any sort of fruit, but it should
be prepared first with sugar.

Weigh an equal quantity of butter with as much fine
flour as you judge necessary; mix a little of the former
with the latter, and wet it with as little water as will
make it into a stiff paste. Roll it out, and put all the
butter over it in slices, turn in the ends, and roll it thin:
do this twice, and touch it no more than can be avoided.

EGG MINCE PIES.

Boil six eggs hard, shred them small; shred double
the quantity of suet; then put currants washed and
pickled, one pound, or more if the eggs were large; the
peel of one lemon shred very fine, and the juice, six
spoonfuls of sweet wine, mace, nutmeg, and sugar, a
very little salt; orange, lemon, and citron, candied.
Make a light paste for them.

PRUNE TART.

Give prunes a scald, take out the stones, and break
them; put the kernels into a little cranberry-juice, with
the prunes and sugar, simmer: and when cold, make fi
tart of the sweetmeat.

EXCELLENT LIGHT PUFF.

Mix two spoonfuls of flour, a little grated lemon-peel,
some nutmeg, half a spoonful of brandy, a little loaf
«ugar, and one egg; then fry it enough, but not brown;
beat it in a mortar with five eggs, whites and yolks;

160 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

put a quantity of lard in a frying-pan, and when quito
hot, drop a dessert-spoonful of butter at a time: turn
them as they brown. Serve them immediately with
sweet sauce.

SOLID SYLLABUB.

To a quart of rich cream put a quart of white wine,
the juice of two lemons, with the rind of one grated,
and sweeten it. Whip it up well and take off the froth
as it rises. Put it upon a hair sieve, and let it stand in
a cool place till the next day. Then half fill the
glasses with the scum, and heap up the froth as high as
possible. The bottom will look clear and it will keep
several davs.

CURRANT JELLY.

Take the juice of red currants, 1 lb. sugar. Boil
them down.

Another methocL- — Take the juice of red currants, add
white sugar, equal quantities.

Stir it gently and smoothly for three hours, put it into
glasses, and in three days it will concrete into a firm
jelly.

DAIRY.

TO PROCURE PROFITABLE COVvS.

Suppose a farmer to resolve that he would keep no
cow that did not hold out a good milker six months in
the year — and that did not give sixteen quarts of milk
per day for two months after calving, and twelve quarts
per day the next three months, and two quarts per
day the month following. — Such a cow would yield per
annum 2100 quarts of milk.

Is it not practicable to have throughout the country,
a common dairy stock of animals as good as the last
described?

The question is submitted to farmers for consideration.
The probability is that in taking some pains to get stock
as good, they would get even better.

COOKERY. 161

If the various modes of obtaining this object were
resorted to at once, and with zeal, throughout the
country, there would be a prodigious improvement in a
very short time. No young animal of promising ap-
pearance would go to the butcher. More care would
be taken of young stock. More young stock would be
retained to insure a better selection of milch cows. —
Farmers would think more of the advantages of em-
ploying bulls of the improved breeds. Heifers should
be milked with great care, and very thoroughly, to get
them in the habit of holding out as long milkers. If
they once dry early, no care and keeping afterwards
will correct this fault. Heifers with the first calf
should be fed well with some additional care the last
three months they are in milk, to make them hold out.

The profit of a milch cow is not generally under-
stood. Milk is not only the most nutritious but the
cheapest article of food. The food necessary for a cow
in full milk, does not exceed in price, one third of what
is necessary in feeding for the Imtcher.

TO SHORTEN THE TIME AND DIMINISH THE LABOR OF
MAKING BUTTER.

Tlie component parts of milk are oil, curd and whey.
The oily parts constitute tlie cream, and the curd makes
the cheese. The oily parts being specifically lighter
than the other parts of the substance, ascends to the
surface in the form of cream.

In winter, four or five days, according to the common
practice, are necessary to produce all the cream of a
pan of milk. Such cream from this tedious process not
unfrequently acquires a bitter taste, which is communi-
cated to the butter. And the churning of butter from
such cream is moreover an operation of four or five
hours, and sometimes longer, unless hot water be poured
into the cream, which invariably injures the butter bj
rendering it white and insipid.

To shorten the time and to diminish the labor of ma-
king butter, and at the same time to improve its quality,
there has been recently established in the Dairy House

o2

162 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

of IMr. R. Smith's Farm, called Orange, an aparatus
upon the simplest principles imaginable. During the
coldest weather in winter, in the course of less than
twenty-four hours after the milk has been taken from
the cows, sweet cream is produced, greater in quantity
and richer in quality, than can be obtained in the ordi-
nary management in tive days. So rich, indeed, is the
cream, that it is churned with as much facility as is the
rich cream of the Alderney cows, in the summer sea-
son. The operation of churning never exceeds twen-
ty-five minutes. The butter from such cream has never
failed to be of a fine flavor and of fine color; and in
the nature of things it never can fail to be so, unless
the dairy woman should be utterly ignorant of the art
of making sweet butter. The process is not a new in-
vention. According to the principles of the system
pursued at Orange, is made the sweet butter which, in
England, is the most admired. The part of the course
of proceeding, not in common use, is this: The pans,
with the milk just taken from the cows, remain until a
thin skim of cream is produced. They are then placed
in hot water, and in about 30 minutes thereafter, all
the cream, contained in the milk, is found on the sur-
face. The cream thus obtained is managed as other
rich cream is in all well conducted dairies.

The skimmed milk, consisting of curd and whey,
without any of the buttery parts, has a peculiar sweet-
ness, is extremely pleasant to the taste, and is deemed
a very wholesome beverage.

FABRICATION OF TOT VTO CHEESE.

In the Bulletin of the Societe d'Encouragement, for
the month of September, 1829, is an article on the
fabrication of cheese from potatoes, of which the fol-
lowing is an extract, from the correspondence of M.
Fahrenburg.

There is made, in Tliuringe and in a part of Saxony,
cheese from potatoes, which is very much esteemed;
this is the mode of preparing it.

COOKEHY. 153

After having selected the best kind of potatoes, thej
are boiled; when cooled, they are pealed and reduced
to a pulp, either by a grater, or in a mortar: to five
pounds of the pulp, which should be equally fine and
homogeneous, is added a pound of sour milk with a
sufficient quantity of salt; the whole is well kneaded,
then covered up and left to repose for three or four days,
according to the season of the j'ear: at the end of that
time, the mixture is again kneaded, and then put into
8mall baskets, to divest it of the superfluous humidity.
Afterward it is placed in the shade to dry and then it is
packed in layers in large jars, or casks, where it is left
tor fifteen days. The older this chee=e grows, the
better it is.

There are three kinds made: the first, which is the
most common, is prepared in the proportions above
named; the second, with four parts of potatoes and two
of curd; the third with two pounds of potatoes and four
pounds of milk.

The potato cheese has this advantage over common
cheese, it never engenders maggots, and it keeps per-
fectly well for several years, provided it is placed in a
dry situation and in close vessels.

I have repeated this experiment with the proportions
of the second quality. This was the method pursued.
The potatoes were boiled, pealed, and crushed with the
hands. If the fabrication was carried on extensively,
the machine used for reducing the potatoes in distille-
ries, could be used. The milk was heated, and curdled
with vinegar, as no runnet was at command. After
this operation, the milk was mixed with the potatoes;
the mass was salted, then it was passed through a hair
sieve, to pulverise it thoroughly and make the mixture
perfect; this mass, covered with salt, was left for ten or
twelve days in an earthen pan; at this period it was
distributed, for want of baskets, on sieves, where it
drained and became moulded into regular forms. The
sieves were lined with a linen cloth before the mixture
was put into them. Fifteen days after this draining
operation, which had been aided a little by pressure,
the cheeses were placed, enveloped in their cloths, be-

164 FAMILY RECEIPTS.

tween osier hurdles and put into the cellar. At this
time the gaseous fermentation is well developed, the
cheeses are yet very soft, and there is formed on the
surface a skin of mould. The cheese taste is very
sensible, and not disagreeable, and I think this kind of
cheese can be advantageously made by the farmers.

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING GOOD BUTTER.

Butter forms an important item in the produce of the
farm, as well as the necessaries for the table. It is of
the utmost importance to the farmer who resides near a
large town, to establish his reputation for bringing to
market fine butter. This is not only profitable of it-
self, but gives a comparative recommendation to every
thing he has to dispose of. IIow often do we hear the
expression in families, "that they bought such an ar-
ticle of Mr. C. who makes the best butter that is brought
into our market.'' When a man has established his
reputation for an article, he not only finds a readier
sale for it, but gets a greater price. This is particular-
ly the case v*^ith butter. Who among us does not
prefer paying two or three cents a pound for a fine,
fresh, well flavored article, over the rank, marbled,
greasy-looking stuff which is seen daily in our markets?
Now the milk for the one was as good as for the other
— the only difference being in the manner of making.
Having been acquainted with the course pursued
by some eminent dairymen and women who preserve
their butter through the season fine and fresh, we give
the following directions: —

1st. Let your dairy-room be kept cool, and not only
the room, but every utensil used in it, be kept from any
rancid, sour, or unpleasant smell.

2d. Let the milk with the cream be put in the churn
as soon as sour, before any putrid fermentation takes
place.

Butter is found to be of better flavor when churned
with the milk, than when the cream is churned sepa-
rately. Let the churning be continued until the butter
i» well collected, after which it should be taken out

COOKERY. 165

with a ladle and set in a cool place to harden; it should
then be worked over with the ladle until perfectlj
freed from the butter-milk. In no part of the process
should the butter be touched with the hands, but be
handled entirely with the ladle and paddles. In hot
wxather it is sometimes worked with paddles in clear
cold water, which assists in extracting the buttermilk.
After the butter has been worked a sufficient time to
give it, as the dealers say, a "good grain," salt it mode-
rately. If to each pint of salt one ounce of fine sugar
is added, it improves the fiavor. If the butter is de-
signed to be taken soon to market, let it be worked in
small cakes of one pound each, handsomely marked or
stamped, and put by in a cool place, and taken to mar-
ket in the morning. But if it is designed to be kept
through the season, let it be packed in a firkin and set
by in a cool place for a few days, when the butter will
be found to have shrunk from the sides of the firkin: the
head should be put in, and through a hole bored in it,
the cavity should be filled with strong brine, the hole
stopped, and tiie firkin reversed — by which the butter
will cleave from the head which was at tiie bottom,
and become perfectly surrounded with a streak of brine;
in which situation it may be kept sweet through the
season.

TO PREVENT MILK BECOMING SOUK.

To prevent milk from becoming sour and curdling as
it is apt to do in the heat of summer, the milk-men of
Paris add a small quantity of sub-carbonate of potash or
soda, which saturating tiie acid as it forms, prevents
the coagulating or separating of curds, and some of them
practice this with so much success as to gain the repu-
tation of selling milk that never sours. Often when the
coagulation has taken place, they restore the fluidity
by a greater or less addition of the fixed alkalies. The
acetate which is then formed has no injurious eflfects,
and besides, milk contains naturally a small quantity of
acetate, but not an atom of really a carbonated alkali.

INDEX.

COOKERY.

133

134

Beef,

Fricandeau of, -
To stew a rump of,

" Brisket,
To press, ....
Hunter's beef, to make.
An excellent mode of dressing,
To collar, ....
Steaks to make, -
Collops, ....
Cake of, ....

Palates, ....
To pot beef, - . - .
Inside of a sirloin to dresa,
Fricasse of cold roast beef,
Beef olives.
To mince beef,
To hash beef,
Ala-vingrette,
Round of beef, -
Rolled beef, ....
Tongue and udder to roast,

" To stew, -

" An excellent way to prepare
for eating cold, •

Heart,

Ox cheek stewed, - - - 140

Marow bones,

Tripe, 141

Currant jelly,

Cooking, to regulate the time for.

Lamb,

Leg of, ....

Fore quarter

Breast, ....

Steaks,

Neck, ....

ICO
130

147

148

Little bread pudding.

Dutch rice do. -

Batter do. -

A rich rice do.

Baked rice do. -

An excellent i>otato do.

Beef steak do. -

Custard do.

Fine pancakes, without butter or

lard, 158

Fine pancakes of rice, - - —

Fritters, —

Do. of potatoes, - - - —

Pork, - - - 141

To roast a leg of, - -

To boil, do. - - -

Loin and neck, - - 142

Shoulder and breast, - -

Spare-rib, - - - —

Blade-bone, - - -

Steaks, - - -

Sausages, - - -

An excellent sausage to eat cold, 143

Head cheese, - • - —

Pigs-feet jelly, - - - 144

Pastry, ^-c. ... 159

Rich puff paste, - - - —

Egg mince pies, - - —

Prune tart, • - - —

Excellent light puff, - - —

Mistress of a family, directions to, 121
Meats to choose and cook in various

ways, .... 124 to 128

Mutton, 144

Cutting and dressing, - •

Neck of,

Haunch of, to dross, - - • 145

Saddle of, to roast,

Breast, 146

Loin, ....

Collops, ....

Steaks, . . . -

Sausage, 147

An excellent hotch-potch, -

Puddings and pancakes, - - 154

Almond pudding, - - 155

Bread and butter pudding, -

Orange do,

Lemon do. •

Baked apple do- 156

Syllabub,

Soups, ^c.
Veal broth.
White soup, -
Pea soup, -
Ox-rump soup,

Veal, to keep.
Leg of, - •
Knuckle, -
Shoulder,
Neck,
" A-IaBraise,
Breast of, -
To pot with ham,
Collops,
Cake, -
Head, to boil,
" Fricasee,
Mock turtle.

DAIRY,

To pro'nire profitable cows,

To shorten the time and diminish

the Ia'>or of making butter.
To make Potato cheese, equal to

milk ctieoso, . . . -
Directions for makins cood butter.
To prevent milk I ecuming sour.

160
152
153

154
148
149

150

151

152
160

161

162
164
165