Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1874 — USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE. [ARTICLE]

USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE.

Feed horses according to the work they do. Give pigs a warm nest and plenty of straw. The one thing needed by farmers is ergyEarly rising is good ; getting at your work early is better. Make your hennery tight and warm, and feed poultry warm food. Better hire an extra man than devote your whole time to mere routine work. Shelter saves food. It sometimes does more than this. It saves the life of the animal. When feeding hay it is a bad practice to let the horse stand with a rackful of hay before him all-thc time. Machinery docs not do away with the necessity for labor; it merely changes its character. It demands brains rather than muscle. Animals require daily care, Make them comfortable. Feed regu arly and liberally, and see that they have a constant supply of fresh Water. How to Take Care of our Furs If furs or apparel be enclosed in a box with a little oil of turpentine they will remain free from the larvm of moths. Apple Float. —To one quart of apples partially stewed and well mashed, put the whites of three eggs well beaten and four heaping teaspoonfuls of loaf sugar, beat them together for fifteen minutes, and eat with rich milk and nutmeg. Ginger Bread.— Mrs. N." Wellman, of York, Neb., gives the following: “One pint of molasses; one teacup of lard; one of sweet milk; one teaspoon of salt; one of ginger; four of soda; sponge over night, and in the morning knead and cut in shape as fancy directs. Buckwheat bran, when fed to cows, will produce as large a quantity of milk, but the milk will be as thin as water, and of a bluish color. Meal of peas, wheat and corn will make the richest milk, and of a yellow color.' Meal —of peas and wheat bran will make excellent food. Scalloped Oysters. —Toast several pieces of bread brown and butter them on both sides; take an oblong dish and put toast around the sides instead of the crust, pour your oysters into a dish and season with salt, pepper, butter or mace; crumb bread in the top and bake in a quick oven one quarter of an hour. Icing that will not Break.— Take one pound of pulverized sugar and the whites of three fresh eggs, well beaten. Mix them well together, and flavor with the juice of one lemon or add a teaspoonful of strong cider vinegar. Pulverize one teaspoonful of wheat or corn starch and add to it. Flour the top of the cake as soon as it is taken from the oven, and put on the icing with a large bladed steel knife, first putting into warm water, and then smoothing the frosting with it. Ginger Cake, Plain and Good.— lnto two quarts of flour rub well a teaspoonful of soda, and, when well mixed, two teaspoonsful of cream of tartar; then either powdered cloves or ginger to taste; cut fine. To one teacupful of butter, or lard and butter mixed, add two teaeiipfuls of molasses. If too stiff, add a little more molasses; if too soft, add flour until the proper consistency to joll out. Cut in round cakes, and bake in a quick oven. Cloves and no ginger make a delightful cake.

Measuring HaY.—To measure the contents of a stack of hay proceed as follows: If it is a round stack, tapering to a point from the ground, measure the width halfway between the ground and the peak of the stack; multiply this width by itself, and divide the sum by .7854; this will give the average area of the surface covered by the stack. Then multiply that by the height from the ground to thepoiut where the width was measured. If these measurements are feet, the sum found is the cubic feet in the stack. If the hay is timothy, orchard grass, millet, or Hungarian-, 500 feet will make a ton, or a cube eight feet each way. If the stack is very solid, and was cut when dread ripe, 35Q feet will make a ton, or a cube of seven feet each way. If the hay is mixed with clover, about 700 feet, or a cube of nine feet each way, will make a ton. If it is all clover, or light meadow grass, or redtop, 800 feet will be required to weigh a ton, unless it is pressed very hard, when some allowance must be made. These estimates are made from notes of a great many stacks and mows of various kinds, and will give a fair average. ~ Tonic for Horses.— ls a horse is very low in flesh and spirits, give him one button of nox-vomica every other day until he has taken three buttons. They should be beaten or filed, and should be “given (when the horse is hungry) in meal or hominy. Be sure he eats it all. If, however, he should leave a portion, drench him with what remains, after mixing it with water and putting in a bottle. Then give him a tablespoonlul of the following mixture once a week; one-fourth pound pound saltpeter, one-fourth pound alum, one-fourth pound sulphur, one-fourth pound ginger, well pounded and mixed. He should be exercised moderately, or put at light work; he should have his usual food left in his trough. In four weeks the horse will probably be in a thriving condition; if not, continue the mixture. The nox-vomica should be omitted unless the horse is in a very bad condition, as there is some danger in giving it to a horse in tolerable health. If convenient, have, his corn ground to hominy, and mix with it one-third shelled oats. Twelve pounds per day of this mixture (eight pounds hominy and four pounds oats) is a fair allowance for a work horse. This mixture is an excellent tonic and alterative, and may be safely and advantageously given to horses‘and mules at any time, and will improve their condition, particularly in the Bpring when they are shedding their coats, and often lose their appetites. The same applies to cattle. Both should have salt and ashes or weak lime (equal quantities) given them regularly every week. —Fireside Friend.