The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-02-26
GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Pruning Orchards,

the trees. Trees should be pruned and
thinned out, and so, with axe in hand,
the owner goes over them and butchers
them miserably. The rough wounds
inflicted do not heal. but rot begins, and
in a short time the trees are useless, If
not dead. How rare is it to come
across good-looking old orchard, ven
erable with age, but yet trim. neat and
sound in limb and trunk. Fruit trees
exist in Europe that are historical in
their age, and in this country there are
gathered fruit before they were crowded
from the banks of the beautiful Della
ware. But now. an orchard thirty years
old is ruin, and unless trees are planted
every few years, q farmer must buy
his fruit. Much of this is due to the
rough pruning the trees undergo, and
more to the continual cropping of the
orchards. Perhaps something of it is
owing to the root grating which does
not seem to produce long-lived tr, es,
top-grafted trees seeming to be more
vigorous than others. But bad pruning
has much to answer for. One cannot
prune by system. Each tree must be
studied separately and in regard to some
definite principles. For instance, prun-
ing is intended to relieve the tree of USE
| lcSo VI WOOu, W ltthG
away less important branches that
crowd and press upon others; to reduce
the quantity of bearing wood, and so
preserve the vitality and balance of the
blighted and diseased wood. Now,
with these rules in mind, let one ex-
anime carefully each tree before he cuts
away twig, and note where and what
he should cut away, and then mind how
| he cuts. No axe should be used about a
tree except to cut it down when it cum
bers the ground. A sharp, fine-toothed,
long, -bladed saw is the proper
pruning implement. A sharp knife with
a curving blade that makes draw-cut,
and pot of shellac varnish should go
with the saw. Everything that is re-
moved should be cut close to the main
wood, trimmed smoothly with the knife,
and the wound covered with the var
nish. The varnish is shellac dissolved
in alcohol. This leaves a water and air
proof covering over the ground. The
work may be begun now and continued
as opportunity offers. There need then
| be no hurry. Young trees should be
put in training now for future pruning.
Three or four main limbs only should
be left, SO as to balance the head. All
in-growing shoots should be removed
close to the main branch, so that no bud
is left to sprout. Each main side limb
may fork into two or three sub
branches, spreading fan-like around the
central limb, if there is one. The sub
branches should be encouraged to start
low, so that n low, round, compact.
spreading head may be produced. Much
may be done in forming the head by
tying down or hanging weights upon
limbs that are inclined to wander from
the way they should go, so that when
they are old they will not depart from
it. "As the tree is bent the tree is in
clined," and piece of hemp twist will
soon bring crooked young tree into a
regular and handsome form.
| Recipes.
SHAPE CAKEs,-Beat the yolks of four
eggs and then the whites to troth. Then
add quart of flour and quart of milk.
To be baked in small shape tins previ-
ously CREASED.
SANDERS OF COLD BEEF.-Mince beef
(or mutton or veaD small, with pepper
and salt; add little gravy. Put it into
scallop shells, OF a baking dish, with
mashed potatoes and cream. Put bit
of butter on the top, and brown them in
an oven.
OMELET "A dish made according to
the recipe given below is called by the
Poultry Yard i'm omelet: Three pounds
of beef, chopped fine; three eggs. beaten
together; six crackers, rolled fine; one
tablespoonful OF salt, one teaspoenful of
pepper, one tablespoonful of melted
butter, sage to the taste. mix well ard
make like IA loaf of bread; put little
water and bits of butter into the pan; !;
invert another pan over it; baste the
omelet occasionally; bake an hour and a
quarter, and when cold slice very thin.
PUDDING.-One quart milk, four eggs
one cup bread. crumbs, one-half cup
jam, one-half cup sugar. Butter a pud-
ding dish; sprinkle the bottom with
bread-crumbs; pour over these one half
cup jam; cover this with the rest of the
crumbs. Heat the milk till near boil
ing, take it from the fire and add gradu-
ally the beaten yolks. whites and sugar !;
heat this until it begins to thicken; put
it spoonful by spoonful upon the layer
of crumbs. Bake until well set and
brown. Eat cold with cream.
BUCKwHEAT CAKEs.-The best buck
wheat cakes are made with an addition
of cornmeal -four and oatmeal -four to
the buckwheat, in this proportion: Six
cupfuls of buckwheat, three cupiuls of
oatmeal flour, or if this cannot be OBJ
tanned, substitute Graham -four in its
place, and one cupful of cornmeal flour
to this add a dessert spoon evenly filled
with salt, two taolespoonfuls of molas
ses, and lukewarm water sufficient to
form batter; stir through the flour
well four teaspoonfuls of baking powder
before wetting; but these cakes are
much better raised over night with
yeast.
Household Hints.
Tea leaves, used for keeping down the
dust when sweeping carpets, are apt to
stain light colors; salt is the best in the
winter and new mown hay in the
summer.
Buttermilk is excellent for cleaning
sponges. Steep the sponge in the mill
for some hours, then squeeze it out anC
wash it in cold water. Lemon juice i:
also good.
For the earache, toast an onion thor
, oughly, take the heart out, put it into
piece of flannel and insert it into the ear
| having previously put few drops o
hot water into the ear.
For soft corns dip piece of liner
cloth in turpentine and wrap it rount
the toe on which the corn is situated
night and morning. The relief will b
: immediate, and, after a few days, tn
corn will disappear.
The white of an egg, into which
piece of alum about the size of a walnu
; has been stewed until it forms a jelly
I | 10 oaa;fal x-a,,,adu for cnrai,,a