Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1877 — USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE. [ARTICLE]

USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE.

Perhaps some ladies do not know that a teaspoonful of vinegar and a teaspoonful of sugar is a groat Improvement to beef gravy. Try it. Potatoes frequently became rough - skinned, and consequently unsalable; this is caused by a minute maggot, which destroys the akin of the potato during its growth. Corn Starch Cake.— One cup of sugar; one-third cup of butter; one and one-fourth cups of flour; one half cup of sweet milk; one-half oup of corn starch; two teaspoons of baking powder. Water that runs off the,surface carries off much of the fertility of the soil. But water filtered through the soil to an under drain takes none of the fertility, but leaves in the soil the rich gases which are in rain or snow water.— lowa State Register. Speaking of potato-planting a writer in the New York Tribune advises late planting. He has the best success with plantings made late in June or tne first of July, using, of course, the early sorts. The potatoes then mature in cool weather in the fall instead of the hot days of July and August. A cool season is most congenial to tne potato. A 8 out door work presses, the plants in the window or greenhouse are apt to be neglected, at a time when they require all the more care. As the heat increases, insect life becomes the more active and needs to be promptly met. Watering will require careful attention, especially for the plants in small pots. Select the plants that are to be set out in the borders, and give them the coolest part of the house; or, if the weather will allow, set them in a pit or frame, to be hardened off. In propagating bedding plants, more trouble will be found in keeping the air of the house cooler than the temperature of the sand on the bench; and shading, sprinkling the walks, and every means must be resorted to. —American Agriculturist.

The following advice on the subject of churning is furnished by Mr. J. T. Ellsworth to the Scientific Farmer : Churning cream to make good butter is not so simple a process as some may think. It must be churned at the proper time and at the proper temperature, ahd the churn should be stopped as soon as the cream is broken, but before the butter has gathered in large balls. In warm weather it is of great importance to watch the process closely, and to notice just when the change is to take place. At this time add enough cold water (not ice) to reduce the temperature of the mass to about fifty-six or fifty-eight degrees, and then complete the churning, which will be as soon as the butter is in a granulated .form, with S articles about the size of pease. Then raw off the buttermilk and dash in cold water, repeating the washing until the water drawn off appears clear. Now take out a layer of butter into the tray, and sprinkle on finely-sifted salt, at about the rate of an ounce of salt to the pound (more or less, as consumers may wish). Then take out another layer of butter aud salt as before. After the butter is salted set it away for about three hours for it “to take salt” and “harden the grain.” Now work it a little with a wooden paddie and set it away again until next day, when it will need but little working before preparing it for market. By handling in this way you will get a clean, bright article, with a perfect or unbroken grain, which will keep sweet whether consumed immediately or packed down for future marketing. If the butter is soft and white, it is from lack of proper cooling before churning, and it may be hardened by putting in about three times the'usual amount of salt and working it a little for two or three mornings.