Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-09-21
Red Ants aud Other Matters.

wish To acknowledge my ignorance
and also my gratitude that one is never loo
Old to learn. In II former article referred
to red ants and means which might be
employed TO ctuse them to keep their
distance also aske if it was true that thew
ever ate lard. To tell the truth | was in
bssful ignorance that there was more
than one kind of red ants and they about
three e-siXteenths of IN inch in length, But
young Mrs s., whom | visited the other
day enlightened me. After commencing
preparations for supper, she asked what
she shoulu do to drive away the little red
ants. OF course told her what knew
about it," and spoke of keeping sugar.
But, said she, They don't care any,
thing about sweet, they never touch nv
sugar,-its llrd or anything bat has lard
in it, and they are such mites you can
hardly see them" and she brought in a
spoon which | presume she had used to
mix pie crust as there was dough upon il.
and also several-yes they we're really
ants but they were wonderfully small and
must he a bother. thought | should
never dare to eat if | had them to look out
or but when | sat down to the bountiful
supper provided had no thought them
and enjoyed it much But what to do,
hasten to say--I don't know and suspect
that what is good to keep away one species
may have no effect on another, for | was
once told to put II cloth wet IN a solution
of camphor over my sugar and not an ant
would touch it-but it was of no use what.
ever in that line, the ants if they had any
objections Swallowed them whole and
marched on, perhaps they concluded it was
good medicine for | had camphorated
sugar enough for all the sore lhroats in
town. Those were black and perhaps
this remedy would prove effactual with
other species In looking up the subject
| read of the very large ants in South
America that build ant hills fifteen and
twenty feet high. let rs he thoughtful that
these beSsings(?) are divided and we are
not likely to see such IL mound rise in our
front dOoryards
| was glad to see the contribution from
II friend in e 'uldsvile | will try her cream
cake-when get some new flour. We
have been battling with the discourage
ments and partial successes and failures
which are invsibly confined in II barrel of
poor flour. To be sure we have had but
one or two ttjinreS in cooking, yet moth
ing tiptop good, so attractive to the eye
and invitmgIy delicious to the taste as to
tempt sicklv appetite to eat in spite
of ITSELF, Now can any one tell me if
he Haxtll brand is superior to others. |
suppose it is nigh priced, but the cheap
brands are almost sure to need more
shortening up, and even then will not
always prove satisfactory, and the latter
element is worth something in dollars and
cents. Poor, sour, heavy bread is an
IL
but we need really good bread, light,
sweet, nutritive, for our health's sake,
and if a housekeeper keeps II supply of
such, she can prepare Il meal good enough
for anybody in Il short time. One lady
told me Il few weeks ago that she depend
ell upon biscuit her men folks would not
eat bread it got dry and hard and they
liked hot biscuits. She had some nice
ones for supper also hot rolls, and her
cream pie was excellent and her ginger
cakes-but they We're all made that after
noon after the arrival of her company.
She came to the table heateI, tired and
worried, and her visitors felt somehow as
though they had made her lot of extra
work
thought if she would only make good
bread aud keep it in tin, where it could not
dry up, the men would surely like it, and
it would be much better for their health.
AS for hot suppers, have kept house
TOR more than twenty years and they had
aImo passed from my memory. when my
daughter came home form Il neighbors
last spring and chanced to say that they
had bacon and eggs and potatoes tor sup
per. thought how can they like it, and
lhey probably would say the same if they
heard OF our light suppers OF two kinds,
bread and butter (sauce and tea of course)
and either pie, cake, doughnuts, pudding
or something else for the other kind.
Well, we all sleep tirst-rate and why isn't
it just as we'll? With large family or
visitors, one more kind would he desirable
but not necessary.
MEs C F. d,
August 80, 1881.