Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1876 — HOME, FARM AND GARDEN. [ARTICLE]

HOME, FARM AND GARDEN.

—Cocoanut shells make the very best hanging baskets. —ln cold weather currying horses and colts is Just as important as feeding. —ls there are no good springs near the barn, wells should be dug conveniently, and supplied with wind-mills to pump water for stock, and savu them from long drives in the storm to water. — lowa State Register. , —Plum Pudding.—One quart of milk, twelve pounded crackers, one cup chopped suet, one cup raisins, one cup currants, one cup molasses, a teaspoonful of salt. Steam at least three hours, and serve with sauces. —The farmers’ sons who read the most papers and books are the brightest boys in the neighborhood, take the lead in debating societies, sooner assume a leading position in society, and are frequently promoted to the most honorable positions in the Government. —Pumpkin or Squash Pies. —Steam the squash till well done and dry; strain through a fine Colander; add a liberal supply or butter while the vegetable is hot, stirring well. Add, also, salt, sugar, cinnamon a good deal, and ginger a little, and eggs, two to every pint of the vegetable. Then make quite sweet with sugar and add, lastly, milk enough to leave it quite a thick batter. Plenty of batter, and plenty of cinnamon, and sweet enough, then you are sure of a good pumpkin pie.

—Baked Apple Dumplings.—One pint of flour, one tablcspoonful lard and butter mixed, one cup of milk, one-half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water, one of cream tartar, a pinch of salt. Chop the shortening into the flour; after you have sifted this and the cream tartar together, put in the soda and wet up quickly with the milk—just stiff enough to roll into a paste less than half an Inch thick. Cut into squares, and lay in the center of each a tart apple, pared and cored; bring the comers of the square neatly together, and pinch slightly. Bake in a moderate oven; eat with hot sweet sauce. —Do not neglect the pigs and leave them to‘‘root hog or die,” during the winter. The less rooting they have to do now the better off they will be in the spring. Help them to grow through the winter months and they will be able to help themselves through the balance of the year. Do not allow them to occupy the same straw for bedding longer than a week at a time; burn up the old leaves and replace 'them with fresh bedding; this will prevent them from becoming lousy. A bed in an open lot away from a shea of any kind, and where the rays of the sun can reach it, is preferable except in severe weather. It will secure them from the dust that is sure to accumulate in a bed under shelter. “An ounce of preventive is worth a pound of cure.” Keep them clean and well provided with fresh water and plenty of food, and you will have no occasion to look for a receipt for hog cholera.— Cincinnati Timet.

—lt is a little singular that taste or fashion as to the color of the flesh of fowls varies at different large markets. In the London market, yellow-skinned birds are not sought for, the pink or fleshcolored skin being the favorite there; while in New York the yellow is preferred in a marked degree. The questions naturally arise, what is the reason for this difference in taste, and which are the liest for the table as to flavor, delicacy, etc. ? There is no doubt that those fowls which are celebrated for their peculiar richness of flavor and delicate flesh mainly belong to the pink, or, as some people call them, the white-skinned varieties. Such fowls are the Games, Houdans, Dorkings, etc. Perhaps the reason for the preference for yellow in New York is that a proper discrimination is not made between the pink and dark or blue-skinned fowls in choosing fowls for the table, the latter of which are generally poor In quality, such as Spanish, Hamburgs, etc. Another reason may be that all the pink skins are very tender to dress, tearing easily, and extra care is required in dressing to make them look attractive, and if they come from a long distance and are at all damaged they do not present as clean and nice an appearance as thrtse with yellow skins.— Ji. H-, in Rural Ueno Yorker.