Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 September 1873 — FARM AND HOUSEHOLD. [ARTICLE]

FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

—ls prices are satisfactory sell at once, Tltis is always a safe rule for everything, but it is emphatically so for potatoes,and other bulky articles. f —The great aim of the wheat grower must be to get a vigorous, healthy plant in the autumn. He must endeavor to secure this by having rich, moist and mellow land rather than by early sowing. —A few drops of carbolic acid stirred into a pint of common flour paste will preserve the paste in good usable order for a longtime. If carbolic acid is not' available, alum will answer the purpose nearly as well. —Sorrel must be treated as any other weed. If abundant, it must be eradicated by thorough cultivation; but if in patches in a meadow, where the grass is thin, topdress with clean manure this fall, and harrow’ and sow more grass seed on those bare spots very early in spring. The application of ashes and lime helps the crop pf grass and tends to crowd out the sorrel. —Country Gentleman,. ■ • —Canned Tomatoes.—Select fair, ripe tomatoes, and pour boiling water over them to remove the skins. Peel them carefully, cutting out all hard spots, and slice thin. Put into a large porcelain kettle—iron and tin are not desirable on account of the acid contained in the tomato. Let them boil hard, and then skim off the the crust that rises. After boiling for half an hour or so, season slightly with salt and pepper. The glass cans should be placed upon several thicknesses of cotton cloth, thoroughly wet in cold water, and, for convenience, they can be placed in a large tin pan, and brought to the stove or range,, and filled from the kettle while still boiling hard over the fire. Place a silver tablespoon in each jar before filling it up, and it will prevent the glass from cracking upon receiving the boiling tomato. It requires two persons to can tomatoes or fruit, for success depends upon the rapidity with which the operation is performed; While one fills the jars, the other can put on the covers instantly, and screw them tightly in place. Now take a thick towel and rtand each jar upon its head. This operation will determine whether they are air-tight. Let them stand until entirely cool; then put in a dark, dry closet. —A writer in an exchange says that-few housekeepers are aware of the many uses to which waste paper may be put. After a stove has been blackened, it can be kept looking very well for a long t : me by rubbing it with paper every morning. Rubbing with paper is a much nicer Way of keeping the outside of a tea kettle, coffee pot or tea pot bright and clean, than the old way of washing it in suds. Rubbing them with paper is also the best w'ay of polishing knives and tinware after scouring them. If a little soap be held on the paper in rubbing tinware and spoons, they shine like new’ silver. For polishing windows, mirrorSj lamp-chimneys, etc., ]>aper is better than dry cloth. Preserves and pickles keep much better if brown paper instead of cloth is tied over the jar. Canned fruit is not apt to mold if a piece of writing-paper, cut to fit each can, is laid directly upon the fruit. Paper .is much better to put under carpet than straw’. It is thinner, warmer, and makes less noise w’hen one walks, over it. Two th ick nesses of pa per pl a ced between the other coverings on a bed are as w’arm as a quilt. If it is necessary to step upon a chair, always lay a paper upon it, and thus save the paint and woodw’ork from damage.