Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1877 — AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC. [ARTICLE]

AGRICULTURAL AND DOMESTIC.

Around the Farm. J Nearly all sick animals become so by improper feeding in the first place. Nine cases out of ten the digestion is wrong. Charcoal is the most efficient and rapid corrective. It will cure a majority of cases, if properly administered. —Rural New Yorker. Tint importance of means of saving liquid manure is apparent from the fact that in every 100 pounds of cow’s urine there are 65 pounds of water, 5 pounds of urea, 5 pounds of phosphate of lime, 12 pounds of sal-ammoniac and muriate of potash, and 10 pounds of carbonate of potash and ammonia. While the solid excrements from one cow, during the year, will manure half an acre, the liquid matter, properly applied, would fertilize three times that amount. The carrot crop is rendered nseless in many gardens by grubs eating into the roots. This takes place in many wellmanaged gardens. The best remedy that I have tried was to scatter a quantity of soot and lime over the surface of the ground before forking it over for the carrots. This works it into the ground, and keeps the soil free from all sorts of grubs for the whole season. The next best way is to sow the lime and soot between the rows and hoe it into the ground.— Cottage Gardener. A contemporary says: “Western cheese, like Western butter, is being made w’ith such close care and attention as to command respect on its merits alone, and it is rapidly wiping out prejudices against the geographical position of the points of production.” This is true. The tub butter of Ohio—that is, creamy extra—is equal to the best of that description that comes to market. The cheese also is as good as the best New York factory, and will be so acknowledged soon. Hand-Picking the Potato Bug.—l have about two acres of potatoes, and, after trying many ways of destroying the bugs, hit on the following plan. It is cheaper, better, and less work than to use poison. Take a large tin pan, say twenty inches wide by eight inches deep, and arrange a handle so that a man can walk upright and push the pan before him, close to the vines, and held in such a position as will best catch the bugs ; then with a thin piece of board about three feet long, shaped like a paddle, give the vines a gentle slap toward the pan, and you will knock most of the bugs into it.— Correspondence Boston Herald.

To prevent saddle-galls, the saddle should be lined with some smooth, hard substance. Flannel or woolen cloth is bad. A hard, finished, smooth rawhide lining, similar to those of the military saddles, is preferable. Then, if the saddle is properly fitted to the horse’s back, there will be no galls unless the horse is very hardly used. Galls should be washed with soap and water, and then with a solution of three grains of copperas or blue vitriol to one table-spoon-ful ot water, which will harden the surface and help to restore the growth of the skin. White hairs growing upon galled spots cannot be prevented.—Nebraska Farmer.

I will suppose the gate, when shut, to hang on the west side of the post, opening southward; dig the post hole at least three feet deep, flatten the east and west sides of the post (the part in the ground), then nail a short board, say 10x12 inches, on the east side even with the bottom of the post; now put in the post, placing it where you want it; fill in the dirt and beat it down thoroughly till within sixteen inches of the top; then take a two-inch board, 16x24 inches, nail it on the west side of the upper edge even with the top of the ground, and one like it on the south side, sixteen inches long; then fill up and pack the dirt well, and my experience is that your post will not sag.— lndiana Farmer.

About the House. A mode on the face may be removed by repeated applications of colorless iodine. A tabde-spoonfud of ground horseradish, added to every quart of catsup or pickles, will keep the mold from the top. For Cream Cake.—One cup of cream, one cup of sugar, two cups of flour, two eggs, a teaspoonful of soda, flavor with lemon. A Soft Home-made Dishcdoth. A nice, soft dishcloth can be made of candlewicking loosely knit or crocheted on large afghan needles. To Tebb Good Eggs.—Put them in water; if the butts turn up, they are not fresh. This is an infallible rule to distinguish a good egg from a bad one. Lard or butter to be used for pastry should be as hard as possible. If left on the ice fora while before using tho pastry will be lighter and better. It needs only to be cut through the flour with a chopping knife, not rubbed. A rough towel or a piece of flannel is better to wash the face with than a sponge. Tho roughness cleanses the pores of the skin, and if a little soap be applied will remove those little black specks, which trouble many people.

Varnish for White Woods.—Dissolve three pounds of bleached shellac in one gallon of spirits of wine; strain, and add one and" a half more gallons of spirits. If the shellac is pure and white, this will make a beautiful, clear covering for white wooden articles. Take out the steels of a corset before washing ; use one teaspoonful of borax to a pailful of hot water. Spread the corset on the washboard, and scrub with a clean brush and a very little soap. Bleach in the sun if yellow, but do not boil. Rub in starch, and when dry sprinkle thoroughly and iron while damp. Equivalents of Weight and Measure.—Wheat flour, one pound is one quart. Indian meal, one pound two ounces is one quart. Butter, when soft, one pound is one quart. White sugar powdered, one pound one ounce is one quart. Best brown sugar, one pound two ounces is one quart. Liquids.— Sixteen large table-spoonfuls are half a pint. Eight large table-spoonfuls are one gill. Four large table-spoonfuls are half a gill or one glass. Twenty-five drops are equal to one teaspoonful. A common wineglass to half a gill. A common tumbler to half a pint. Here is a recipe for a pudding, which may be made while preparing breakfast: Crumble four or five biscuits into three pints of new milk, add one cup of brown sugar, a pinch of salt, a spoonful of butter, and yelks of four eggs ; a little nutmeg when done ; spread the whites of the four eggs beaten to a foam with three spoonfuls of sugar and a little essence of lemon on top*of the pudding ; set it in the oven till brown, which will be in two minutes. Make sauce with one cup sugar, half cup butter, scant spoonful of flour, pint and a half water ; season with lemon. It will be delicious either hot or cold.