Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-07-27
DELICIOUS SUGAR pLUHS.
CHARMING GIRLS WHO MAKE THEM
AT HOME.
The Triumphs of the Candymakers Who
Supply Their Own Wants-Book-
binding as an Art.
[From the Saw York starI

From the New York Star
This is the time when the girl who goes
in for something as sweet as herself, makes
her own candy. She took lessons last win
ter, or in Lent, for she must do something
in Lent besides going to church, and now
she is able to exercise her novel accom-
plishment to the envy of all other girls
There are rainy days in summer, plenty
of them, and on such days household
amusements are in demand A new novel
is not always to be had, the men are all in
town, fancy work pals and the piano is
out of tune. What, then, can a girl do?
Well, she can G into the kitchen for
half an hour and make for herself and
others more delicious sugar plums than
ever came out of Broadway shop, and far
more enjoyable are the works of ones own
hands than anything that can be bought.
An advantage, too, is in having them per
fectly fresh, and the candies described be-
low are not to be found in shops, because
they will not keep. The athletic girl
reigns supreme on a sunny day when tennis
is the craze, and the sentimental firt
IS sought by moonlight, but the candy
girl is the gill for a rainy day.
She will take some big ripe strawberries
and hull them, or raspberries, after the
strawberry season is over. Then she will
mix two cupfuls Of graduated sugar with
little less than one cupful of cold water
This mixture must be put over a hot fire
and allowed to boil hard without stirring
until a spoonful of it dropped into cold
water Immediately crystallizes to the point
of being brittle. When it has reached this
state it is to be taken off the fire and
poured into hot cups And into this must
the berries be dipped, one by one, as
quickly as possible, tished out with forks
and dropped in creased tin pans so that
they will not stick When all the berries
have been dipped put the pan or pans in the
refrigerator until the fruit isquite cold, when
it is ready to eat And how delicious it is !
1t took half an hour in all, to prepare this
delicious food, but it disappears in good
deal less than half that time.
The candy girl has her triumphs on
rainy day.
Another amusement that may be pur-
sued with profit, in that it produces more
lasting results than candymaking, is the
bindiugof pamphlets. They are not worth
binding? Well, that depends ordinarily,
they are not, perhaps, as most books can be
bought ready bound, if they are worth the
binding. But many of the English reprints
are only to be had in paper covers. and
binding ones own books is a novelty, re-
quiring some little ingenuity and dexteritv.
and therefore an amusement. Then, too
it has the advantage of enabling the binder
to select her own covers-cretonne. panar
broeade, or leather, according to her taste.
| or according as she values the book.
The sentimental girl has a novel that
she values for purely sentimental reasons
There are scenes in it that she gloats over.
and bits of verse that she believes will
llnger IN her memory as long as she lives.
But all the more does she wish to preserve
the book. 1t has been read and reread so
often that the paper covers are in a sadly
dilapldated condition, and she considers il
worthy of new and handsomer ones.
A writer in the AmericGn Workman gives
simple and inexpensive method of doing
this kind of work, and it is well worth a
trial by the summer maiden on a day
when the rain drips drips, in a steady,
serious manner, showing evident intention
of dripping all day. The first thing neces-
sary is piece OF thin, cheap cardboard,
and laying the pamphlet down on this to
mark the outline with a pencil Allow for
the thickness OF the back, marking it with
lines, and cut the cardboard large enough
for the two covers and back. Cut the
lines marking the back half through. SO
that the cardboard will fold easily with
out parting. A piece of "ticket buckram,"
which comes especially for ticket purposes,
is now pasted on the back, on the outside
Of the cardboard, or on the side where the
lines have been cut. Where buckram can
not be had piece of strong linen or
silcsia will do almost as well. This buck
ram extends little beyond these lines
and about an inch beyond the top and
bottom of the cover These latter pieces
are to have gussets cut out of them. 50
they will not pucker, and then they are
gummed down on the inside of the card
board with ordinary mucilage, and left I'M
der light pressure. When it is quite dry
the pamphlet is to be sewn in, each set or
pages separately stitched in, and care
must be taken that they must be put
closely together, or the book will have
sloyenly appearance when bound. Put a
little gum on the stitches, so that the
thread Is well gummed down on the buck
ram. And now fer the very outside cover.
If paper is TO be used, the bacl, NAV be
heavy writing paper, but mounted so as to
adhere only to each cover and be free
from the back itself For the sides any
color may be used, and must be pasted
on very neatly. For the inside of the
covers, if of the right size, sheet of note
paper may be used, one-half being pasted
on the cover and the other half being left
as fly leaf When the book is finished il
should be put under pressure for several
hours, or even a few days.
But should any kind of cloth be used as
cover it is well to have it in one piece,
and it should be cut at the same time the
cardboard Is cut and of the same size.
Cretonne is very pretty for this purpose
and wears well, provided, of course, the
color selected is not too light. The soft
japanese silks are sometimes used. but
should have between them and the card
board au interlining of canton flannel.
which improves the appearance and rem
ders the silk less liable to wear out on the
edges and corners. Brocade is used with
good effect but IS rather too handsome for
book printed on the ordinary paper that
IS used for the majority of pamphlets !
Vegetable parchment is used with good |
effect, and the best quality only should be !
bought for this purpose, but it is difficult
to obtain except from wholesale dealers. |
A very good imitation of leather is leather |
cite, bat is more difficult to handle. as is |
also the paper leather of japanese make. |
But the japanese gold leather-paper is a |
very different thing, and makes a very |
handsome book. The simple bindings, /
however, of dull blue or gray paper. or of |
the marbled paper, that is always pretty |
and in good taste, are the easiest to handle, |
and therefore the best for the beginner in |
the art of bookbinding.
But if the fair binder can find nothing |
that entirely suits her fancy, she can go to |
work and embroider design that she con-