Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1887 — DOMESTIC ECONOMY. [ARTICLE]

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

Topics'of Interest Relating to Farm and Household Management ■lnformation for the Plowman, Stockman, Poulterer, Nurseryman, and Housewife.

THE FARM. Practical Experience and Figures on Economy in Plowing. The quantity of land that may be plowed in an hour or a day depends upon the texture of the soil in a great degree. The firmness of the soil in connection with the ■depth and the width of the furrow determines the force necessary to turn the soil. In the West, where the land as a rule is composed of friable loam, the resistance to •draft is light; consequently the width of furrow and the area plowed per day are large. Yet many persons who have not carefully studied the matter lose space of area plowed by not taking the full furrow that a plow is constructed to turn perfectly. Many persons seem to regret that in this day of exact science the plow will do better work when turning a furrow neither too narrow nor too wide. The average mile of travel per day of a team in plowing is stated <o be sixteen. To Spring the matter of miles traveled per acre in plowing saliently before the reader, the following table will show the distance, according to breadth of furrow, from seven to twenty-four inches: Breadth of furrow- Team travels miles Inches. per acre. 7 14 1-2 8 12 1-4 9........ ............ 11 10 9 9-10 11 9 12 8 1-4 20 4 9-10 24 4 In the West, where three and four horses are now generally used to the plow, four acres may easily be accomplished with four horse. This is equal to an acre per horse, and two acres a day is about a fair average per day, the furrow slice being five inches deep. To do this, however, the lands must be of good length, and the plowman must be a careful and sensible man. The plow must be accurately gauged, as to depth and width, and it must be run constantly to the given width and depth. In this connection it may be well to state that the prairie loams of the West—what are termed arable soils —will vary from 2.401 to 2.586. That is to say, such soils are about two and a half times the weight of water. When dry, a cubic foot will weigh from 84 to 89 pounds, and when saturated, from 119 to 124 pounds. When just moist, so the furrow will cleave kindly from the plow and .disintegrate in falling, there is the least resistance to plowing, since when dry the earth is hard, and when wet the resistance from weight is greatest. It will be interesting, also, to understand the difference in the amount of plowing in acres from 7 to 24 inches of furrow, the latter distance the maximum width when four horses are used, eighteen inches being the maximum width when three horses are worked abreast in plowing. The following table will fully exhibit the acres plowed, the team moving sixteen and eighteen miles in a given time, say ten hours: Furrow Bate of travel anil acres plowed, slice ■. Sixteen Eighteen : width.— f • ' miles. . miles. Inches. Acres. Acres. 7 ...11-8 11-4 8 11-4 1 1-2 9 11-2 13-5 10.. 13-5 14-5 11 13-1 2 12 .19-10 2 1-5 13 2 1-10 2 1-3 14 2 1-4 2 1-2 15 2 2-5 2 3-4 16 2 3-5 2 9-10 17 2 3-4 3 1-10 18 2 9-10 3 1-4 19. ..........3 1-10 3 1-2 20.. ..3 1-4 3 3-5 21 ...3 1-3 3 4-5 22 3 1-2 4 23 3 7-10 4 1-5 24 3 9-10 3 1-3 —Chicago Tribune.

THE STOCK RANCH. Hurdling Stock. Confining stock in small enclosures is quite common in England. The advantage is that the land grazed over may be left to grow unchecked for a time until its turn comes again. Undoubtedly more stock can be kept on a given area in this way. as, next to soiling, it best assures cropping of the herbage over the entire surface. Hurdling stock on thin land and feeding extra grain is a good way to increase its fertility, especially with sheep, whose droppings are pretty evenly distributed. Protecting Hogs from Cholera. It is a notable fact that hog cholera is mainly confined to localities where hogs are kept in large numbers and mainly on corn. Giving a variety of feed is a pretty sure preventive, but in this case prevention iadecidedly better than cure. Where the constitutions of swine are enfeebled by continued feeding on too fattening corn, cholera will make serious ravages before it can be checked. Wheat bran or mill feed is cheap and good feed for growing hogs, and even whole wheat may be fed in small quantites at present prices. When to Shear Sheep. The time of shearing, writes a correspondent to the Sheep-Breeder, must of course vary with the locality and seasons. With due regardTfor IM imalth comfort of the animals the operation cannot, in the region of the fortieth degree, be performed before the 20th of May or Ist of June. There may be considerable warm ■weather before that date, but cold spells are liable to come on at any time and cause much discomfort to poor animals that are unfortunate enough to be fleeced at such times. Sheep are very sensitive to cold, and damp when thus unprotected. When they begin to wheeze and “snuffle” it is usually attributed to grubs in the head,' when it is nothing more nor less than an aggravated cold in the head such as Would be termed catarrh in a person afflicted. Sheep do not seem to have the power to throw off anything of this kind, and it often wears them down to skin and bone, if, indeed, it does not destroy them entirety. While sheep should be sheared as early as the weather will permit on account ■of the loss of wool, it should net be rushed along too early in the season. Better let the animals endure a little heat than to jeopardize their thrift by early exposure. They should, in any case, be housed in Avet weather after shearing, and during cold nights while the ground is damp. People have an idea that sheep need but little housing, and that only in the coldest weather of winter. It is true that with a good fleece of wool the sheep will stand dry cold weather with little or no housing, but naked sheep in cold spring rains is quite another matter., Housing is more necessary at this time than it is in ordinary winter weather, yet comparatively few people think of putting them up after once they have been turned into the pasture, and especially after the fleece has been removed. Young lambs are very tender, and certainly should not be forced to seek the scant shelter of a stump, stone, or fence. In sheep-shearing time it is the common custom to keep the whole flock,

small lambs and all, crowded in a small room awaiting the shearer's hands. This is an unnecessary cruelty. It is much better to separate but a few at a time from the herd, enough to keep the shearers at work a half day, and allow the rest their liberty. The shearing should be done kindy and carefully, and as soon as clipped each’one should be given its liberty. Docking and marking should also receive attention at this time.

THE DAIRY. Miliband Meat in Dairy Stock. —The advocates of the Jersey cow have good reason tor claiming that milk and butter product rather than size of the animal should be the standard of value. Other things being equal, the smaller the cow required to produce a given amount of butter per week the better. The small cow will eat less, though we have always noticed that cows yielding large messes of milk are ravenous feeders. Of course it takes a certain amount of feed to produce the milk and butter. If not given at the time it must be made up from previous accumulations of fat. There is no good reason for stinting a cow when she is giving milk. She should rather be encouraged to yield as much as possible by being given a great variety of food.

The Way to flaks Cheese. Mr. F. D. Holmes, of Owatonna, Minn., in a prize essay at lied Wing on “CheeseMaking,” held that to make good cheese it is necessary to have good milk to begin with, and good milk cannot be got from poor, half-fed cows. One bad mess of milk may spoil a whole vat of cheese. Care and cleanliness, if the cows are healthy and have proper food, will insure good milk always. After the milk is all in the vats the heat may be started at once and raised to about 82 degrees, or 84 degrees, as to the condition of the cheese-room. If we set the milk below 82 degrees the rennet works too slow; if set above 82 degrees it works too fast while the temperature is being raised. The rennet should next be added until the temperature stops rising. Enough rennet shouldjbe stirred in and agitated at least fifteen minutes, and coagulation should begin in about twenty minutes. The stirring after the rennet is in is to prevent the cream from rising and wasting. If you want a quick-curing cheese more rennet should be added than one to be cured slow and Kept some time. As a rule, the more rennet used the lower tho temperature should be at which the milk is set and curd worked. There should bo no raising of the temperature after the rennet is added and the milk comes to a standstill until the curd is cut fine. The curd should be cut as soon as it will break clean across the finger when placed in it and raised gently upward. Early cutting it very necessary. The clearest whey is always obtained by cutting early. The curd should be cut with both a horizontal and perpendicular knife. The cutting done and the curd settling, turn on the heat and stir the mass to keep the curd from packing together, and keep a more even temperature through the vat. As the heat rises the harder the curd gets, and the less liable to injury; but keep up the stirring until the curd is heated to 98 degrees, where it should be at least one hour after the heat is turned on. This temperature should be kept until the curd is cooked, because tho action of the rennet is more perfect than at any other degree. Before the curd is done cooking some of the whey may be drawn off, as it is more easy to handle the remainder in the vat. After the curd is cooked the whey should be drawn off before the acid generates, as this takes off with the whey the finest part of the Cheese. Have the curd cooked before the acid comes on, and be sure and dip the curd sweet. If you do not have a curd-mill, salt at once. If you have a curdmill let it lie until the acid comes on—only stir once in a while to expose to the air. After the acid Comes on grind and salt, and put to press at about 80 degrees—as at this heat you will get a good face—and press well together. Let it stand twelve hours in the press, then remove to the curing room. Seventy degrees to start with is about the right temperature for the curing-room. After ten days the room should not be over 65 degrees. If cured in a dry, well-venti-lated cellar at 65 degrees, cheese cures slowly, but is all the better for it.— Chicago Tribune.

THE HOUSEHOLD. Concerning Carpets. In regard to the color of carpets the following rule may be laid down: For draw-ing-rooms, parlors, and bedrooms, while loud and glaring hues should be avoided, we may nevertheless allow ourselves a liberal "sprinkling of crimson, dead gold, russet brown, and all the beautiful tints that nature distributes through the landscape in these autumn days. In the draw-ing-room, especially, there should be warm, rich hues to correspond with our oil-paintings in their gilded frames.ourmirrors and old china, or whatever of art work, with its wealth of color, we chance to possess. In our bedrooms we want bright tints to preserve cheerfulness, and to avoid too glaring a contrast with our white counterpanes and muslin-draped toilet tables and windows. In the library, sober hues must be. chosen, to harmonize with walnut book-cases, desks, and writingtables, and the sober dress wherewith publishers clothe books that are to stand the wear and tear of use and time. In halls and dining-rooms, also, only quiet colors should appear. The pattern of a carpet should always depend upon the size of the room. The form should be flat, without ( any attempt at shadow or relief. Some of the most beautiful designs furnished by our manufacturers are found among the Axminster carpets, and, these, though expensive, are at once the mpst desirable and most serviceable for large apartments. These carpets were first introduced in 1755. The Warp and woof are of strong linen, and the soft tufts of wool in which the design is worked are admirably adapted to the display of a delicate and elaborate pattern. The varied greens of ferns and mosses can be made to appear, and every detail of leaf and sprays worked out. For those who consider Axminster-carpet beyond the limits of their purse the velvet pile is very desirable, and makes a perfectly satisfactory covering for a parlor floor. An excellent general rule would be, where the home is not very pretentious and the income moderate, a velvet carpet for the parlor, Brussels for the hall and stairs, diningroom and spare-bedroom, the rest of the house being modestly restricted to ingrains There is one essential to all satisfactory, floor-covering. It should never be omitted. That is, the sponge or cotton carpet linings, chemicallv prepared, so as to prevent the incursions of moths. This can always be procured for 15 or 20 cents per square yard, and not only does it add to the comfortand appearance of the carpet two-fold, but will make itlast at least half asJong again. Country people used frequently to put straw under the carpets, but this is too harsh, and reveals itself too quickly the moment the foot presses it. The cotton lining gives the earpet softness that seems to hel<mg~lp itsToWir material, and persuades the visitor that he has a rich pile under his feet, when he may in reality be treading upon an ingrain at 75 cents per yard. With stair carpets a heavy padding should be lafd upon the edge of each step, and the carpet should always be a yard or

so longer than is necessary, bq that worn places may be changed. A wise selection of floor-coverings, care in laving them, and a little careful attention when signs of wear begin to show in certain places, such as changing the location of a chair or introducing a mat or rug, will keep bur floorfi bright and fresh for a long time, with only moderate expense.

Household Mints. If you have no dark place for the fruit cans wrap each one separately in heavy paper. i When clothes are scorched remove the stain by placing the garment where the sun can shine on it. < To keep oil cloths looking new wipe off the dust with a dry cloth, then rub with a cloth dampened with kerosene. A tallow candle or piece of tallow wrapped in tissuse-paper and laid among furs or other garments will prevent the ravages of moths. Finger-marks may be removed from varnished furniture by the use of a little sweet oil upon a soft rag. Patient rubbing with chloroform will remove paint from black silk or any other material. Ink stains on mahogany furniture will disappear if treated as follows: Put six drops of spirits of niter into a teaspoonful of water, and touch the stained part with a feather dipped in the mixture. Immediately after this rub with a soft cloth and cold water to prevent a white mark. The following will give satisfaction for cleaning cloth: Take half an ounce each of glycerine, alcohol, and sulphuric ether, two ounces of aqua ammonia, half an ounce of powdered castile soap, and add water enough to make one quart of the mixture. Use with brush or sponge, and rinse with pure water.

THE KITCHEN. Scrubbing and f leaning. Old flannel of all kinds should be kept for scrubbing and cleaning paint; under vests, drawers, skirts, all come in for it, says Good Housekeeping. In England, where scrubbing is still the glory of the poorer people, cottagers vying with each other on the color of their boards, there is a coarse, gray flannel made called “house flannel,” expressly for the purpose. Next to flannel is old, coarse, soft linen, old kitchen towels, crash, etc. So necessary to good cleaning is soft, absorbent material that I would almost rather my maids destroy articles of far more value than the scrub-cloths, because the supply is so limited, especially if we give away our disused underclothing. For this reason keep the supply under your own care, see that after each using, the cloth is dried and not thrown away until it is really used aS long as possible. Many girls will be conscientious about towels and dusters, because they have a money value, but cleaning cloths, being only rags, they will consider may bp thrown aside any time and fresh ones taken.

In addition to the soft, wet cloth a dry rubber (best made of old Russian crash that has done service for round or dishtowel) should be kept; a scrubbing-brush of hard bristles is best; the soft excelsior brushes are of little use except for coarse paint, and brushes made of broom-straw, although not entirely satisfactory, are about the best one can get when bristle brushes are not to be had, or are too expensive. Tables that have been neglected may be bleached by spreading on them over night a layer of wood asheSj made into a mortarlike paste with water; the next day brush it off and scrub. The same paste may be laid on floors when spotted with grease. In cleaning floors never wet too large a space at once. If beyond the comfortable range of the arm there is almost sure to be a dark circle when dry, showing where you leave off each piece; because, being "out of easy reach, you have no power to scrub well or wipe dry. Always in using the drying-cloth rub .it well beyond the space you are now-gleaning over, to the one last done. 41 *" The use of a little washing-soda or borax in the water is excellent for boards; and if they have been neglected a small lump of lime in the water greatly helps to make them white. After tables are scrubbed attend to the sink, put a lump of washingsoda, as large as an egg at least, over the sink-hole, and pour a kettle of boiling water over every part of it, using your sink-brush to send it into all greasy parts. Wash, the last thing before the floor, all finger-marks from the paint; also the chairs, if painted; the backs of them, if caned; the top of the flour barrel, and the windows. Be especially careful to clean kitchen window-sills; so many things are put on them they are more apt to be soiled than any others. Needless to say that floors must always be swept before they are washed. To clean oilcloth do not scrub it unless it has been badly cleaned many times, when, with the fine corrugated surface now usual, dirt, or rather the dirty water allowed to remain in it, will have grimed it so that you will need to use a soft brush and scrub the way of the lines; but usually warm water, one wet and dry cloth are all that are needed. Oilcloth and paint need the wiping with a coarse, dry cloth as much as boards, and will repay the extra trouble. Skim-milk used inplace of water to clean oilcloth gives it brightness and luster. Painted floors must be treated just as oilcloth is.

Beef Cakes. Chop cold fresh beef very fine, flavor it with sage, grated lemon and salt; dredge in a little flour and pound with a potato masher. Mix in one or two eggs, make into balls, flatten them with the hand and fry quickly on a frying-pan in pork or bacon drippings. Omelette of Cheese. Grate some fine cheese and beat it up in a dish with some eggs and a cup of thick cream or sweet milk, season it with pepper and salt, according to the saltness of the cheese; have ready a frying pan of hot butter, into which pour the above mixture and fry as an omelette. Mrs. Foster’s Corned Beef. Cut boiled corn beef when cold in rather thin slices, and place in spider with one cup boiling water and a piece of butter the size of an English walnut. Boil two or three minutes, keeping the spider covered so the meat shall steam through; then remove to a hot platter, and thicken the water with a little flour; pour over the meat. Buns Without Yeast. Four cups flour, one large leaspoonful butter, two-thirds cup of sugar, two teaspoonfuls extract lemon, two heaping teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, and one rounding one of soda; or, if baking powder be used, three heaping spoonfuls; one large cup rich milk orsweet cream, a handful of currants. Rol 1 one inch in thickness, cut out with bieeuit-eutter, and-bakeL twenty minutes in quick oven. ■ Gelatine Apples.Peel and core the apples, leaving them whole, put in a kettle and boil, adding a slice or two of lemon, a little green ginger, and sugar. Cook the apples till tender. Take them up carefully, boil down the syrup and add two- tablespoonfuls of gelatine which has been dissolved m fonr spoonfuls of water to a cup of this syrup. Pour this over the apples, and set where the whole, will cool.