The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-02-24
Farm and Household.


will make enough croquettes for moderate
sized family.
CREAM SAUCE FOR PUDDING.-To make a |
bowlful of cream sauce take piece of butter |
the size of a small egg and beat it up with |
powdered sugar until it is light cream. Then
set it aside. Then into small tin saucepan
put coffee-cupful of water and add to it a
teaspoonful of -four mixed in little cold
water Cook thoroughly until it is like thin
starch Then take up the butter and sugar
mixture, and while you are beating it energet
ically let some one pour into it slowly and
gradually the hot flour sauce. Ii the beating
is not stopped for moment the whole sauce
will rise and be foamy as sea froth. Flavor
with wine, brandy or vanilla, as preferred
This is the best sauce made. Potato flour is
sometimes used instead of wheat flour.
VEAL CUTLETs.-Dust your outlets with
pepper and salt, dip them in beaten egg, then
in cracker crumb, and fry slowly in hot butter
or beefdrippings. When done take them out
of the pan, and pour little boiling water into
the gravey, thickening it with flour previously
browed in the oven. Serve on very hot
platter, with the gravy poured around the cut
lets, and varnish the edge with watercress and
slices of lemon.
PoTAToEs LA NIEGE.-These potatoes are
boiled, mashed, seasoned as usual with butter,
milk, and SALT and then pressed through col
lender to give the mass light appearance.
PIGEONS ON ToAsT.--Split some young
pigeons down the back, wipe them, season
with pepper and salt, rub with butter, sprinkle
lightly with flour, and broil over clear fire.
Toast some neat. thin slices Of bread, butter
them thickly, and put a pigeon on each slice,
arranging about them some sprigs OF the fine
watercress.
TOMATO SALAD-For salad always select
fresh, firm feshed, thoroughly ripe tomatoes
of good size. If you can't find these don't
attempt to have tomato salad Always peel
them by dipping for an instant into boiling
water. The skin slips off Immediately. Then
set them away to get cold, and when ready to
serve slice them neatly into your salad bowl.
Dress with two tablespoonful of the best oil, a
teaspoonful of vinegar, pinch of salt, and a
sprinkling of pepper
WAFERs-Cheese should always be accom-
panied by waters or milk crackers. Buy a
box of them and short time before they are
wanted put plateful on tin pan in the oven.
Let them heat through but not brown. This
freshens and makes them crisp.
RHUBARB TART.-Line a pie-plate with
good paste and bake it with a filling of I'M
cooked rice or of linen rags. When done re-
move the filling and put in the rhubarb already
stewed and sweetened and favored with a
little lemon juice and peel Instead of putting
on whole top crust, twist some strips of the
dough or paste and lay three of them across
the pie from edge to edge at wide intervals
Then lay three more strips over the first three
so that they cross them in checker board pat
tern. Arrange the oven so that the top and
not the bottom will bake. Brown the strips
slightly and quickly Serve with pitcher Of
cream.
CULTIvATING CoRN.-An interesting dis
cusson on this subject occurred at the Elmirs
Farmers Club on the 25th ultimo, in which
the practicability of securing fields clear Of
weeds was in turn affirmed and questioned
Several members had experienced much diff
Guilty in killing the weeds which had always
found abundant entrance among their corn
and although they planted in hills and cult
waited both ways, large numbers of weeds re
manned to infest the crop and perpetuate them
selves One member said that with the bes
he could do, many weeds would remain, and
he found 1t hard to kill them, even when "only
three or four inches high" At least one mem
Der MR. A. Donald) however, had pursued
different and successful course. He planted il
drills and when the cultivation was completed
for the season his field was clean. The row
were straight, and his cultivator was ADJUSTED
to run close to them. The great point witt
him is never to allow the weeds to get "thre
or four inches high" as another member hat
stated, but the cultivator is kept going atea,
of the aoeeds, and the field is kept clean. TIL
few weeds which remain are pulled out b,
hand, but this is light task. Mr.. Donald
continues the work of cultivation after tn
plants are higher than the horse, or when tn
' corn is in tassel Another member, Mr.. ].
\Beecher, fully endorsed this thorough practice
Ind said that he cultivated his corn four o.
i've times item would be better], and even il
harvest time he threw aside other work to cul
tivate his corn when necessary, as being thu
more important of the two, and even whel
the corn hid the horse, he had the largest crops
The mode which we have adopted for year
with the best success is to plant the corn il
drills, or rather in small hills of about two
stalks each, eleven inches apart-the rows be
ing three and half feet. Before the corn il
I'D. the whole surface is pulverized with
smoothing harrow (any small slanting tootl
harrow will do) which is done quite rapidly
MANY acres being done in day. This har
rowing is repeated soon after the appearance
of the young corn, and again every five day
till the plants are foot high. This repeated
brushing of the surface pulyerized and grind
to powder all the young sprouting weeds be
fore they can reach the light, while the large
strongly-rooled corn plants are uninjured. TIT
teeth of the harrow pass in the row and among
the corn, and clean out every weed. The
result is, we have clean rows without evel
touching hoe to them. After the corn is {
foot high, the cultivator is passed every week
till the corn is as high as the horses back. Al
there is usually succession of weeds, some
make their appearance after the narrowing
has ceased, and those are destroyed by the cul
tivator, the wings of which throw small
ridge against the stiff plants at the last passing
and cover what small weeds may have up in
the row. A few weeks afterward, the men &C
through the rows and pull out by hand the
few scattered weeds which remain. When
the corn is cut in September, the field is left
as clean as floor, and the labor and expense
have been far less than the usual hand-hoeing
with the crop of weeds following. The quicker.
repeated narrowing and cultivating accom-
plishes two very important ends-it keeps the
land clean, and increases the crop by estimates
from ten to twenty bushels per acre; while
the drill culture, which it facilitates, still far
ther adds to both corn and fodder.
Recently there was cast in San Francisco
a brick Of gold measuring 12t inches in length,