Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 November 1876 — HOME, FARM AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

HOME, FARM AND GARDEN.

—Zinc that is used under stoves should never be dampened. If it becomes soiled or dim, rub with a flannel and a little fresh lard. In this way it will always look as new and bright as when first purchased. ; .... —Concerning the condition of the fanners of the Northwest the Milwaukee Wisconsin thinks the general condition of the farmers in these States at the close of the season of 1876 is as good as it was in 1875. It admits the wheat crop is short, not more than half a crop, but holds that they have far more corn than last year. —lnsects In all parts of the world are becoming more than ever a terror to the husbandman. The Western farmers, with their experiences of grasshoppers and potato-bugs, can sympathize very acutely with the poor wine-growers of the Gironde. Great as are the achievements of science in Europe and America, its claims to boasting are made almost ridiculous by the impudent aggressions of these little insects. —Ruby Cake.—Beat to a cream one pound of sugar and one pound .of butter: add eight well-beaten yolks of eggs and one grated nqtmeg and stir in the coloring matter, made as follows: Grate a beet root to fine shreds, with a very little water; let It stand one day and squeeze through a linen cloth. One wineglassful of this essence should be added to the other ingredients. Then stir in one pound of flour; lastly the whites of the eight eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. —To polish furniture use equal parts of boiled linseed oil and kerosene. Apply it with a flannel, and rub dry with another flannel. It will remove all white marks and scratches, and should be kept always ready for use. It gives the room a fresh appearance to rub all the furniture with this preparation. One feels well rewarded for the labor. If any white spots are so firmly fixed that the polish does not remove them, it can be done by rubbing with turpentine, then holding a hot shovel over them. — Detroit Free Press.

—Any good housekeeper will have her pickle jars and fruit cans thoroughly cleansed, when emptied of their contents, before putting away. To do this, throw in a good handful of washing soda, fill up the jar with boiling water, cover and let it stand for an hour. Then wash in the soda water, scald and rinse in two boiling waters and wipe dry. If any odor remains repeat the process. To clean bottles, put a dozen large tacks in with strong soda water, shake well, and everything adhering to the inside of the bottle will at once disappear. —Purdy's Fruit Recorder gives the most successful planting of raspberries as in autumn, by the following mode: The young plants are carefully set, the roots well spread out, and the mellow earth which covered them beaten with the hoe over the plants, to show where they were As soon as the ground froze in winter a wagon-load of manure was driven over the plantation, and a shovelful placed on each beaten spot. Early in spring the whole surface was harrowed, which scattered the manure and mixed it with the soil. This mellowed the soil and destroyed the weeds that were just ready to come up, leaving a clean surface till the young raspberries were half a foot high. * —For years we used “salts of lemon” and various acids to remove stains from table linen, but a person remarked to us: “All your labor is useless. Wait till the peaches are gone and the stains will also begone.” We thought this utterly foolish, but decided to try it- and, sure enough, when the peaches were gone the stairis had disappeared! The idea, in itself, looks ridiculous; but does not the table linen get enough regular washing to take out almost any stains In the course of one peach season ? We have noticed the same is true of grape stains, or of almost any other kinds of fruit. This is very true, and if remembered may save much useless labor. — Cor. Detroit Free Press.