New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-07-12

TWO make four, and as difficult to demonstrate 10 the
pFeudiced or Ignorant househecnc, tbot aithmeticaI
proDiem might he to a Pata2onlan savage. There Is
,o niole eAfavagant and ulwholesome dessert tkza
lie Eauohal Dish OF pie Piecrust as ordinarily made
9ouu7n 1hu olly' Win none Of the ghtness that Is
characteristic Of French puffpaste-a parody OIL that
delightful compound which las no possshle excuse for
existence save the ostric-llke stomachs Of It's con-
suer which consent 10 absorb ANYTHING I'm food that
comes IN their way As a matter of fact no fruit pie
Vs'i oe maze as juicy as 1t should be without the
uhuer crust becoming more or less sOdden. The
Ehghsh ana French custom Of baking the under crust
ist and filling il afterward lille tart IS the correct
~ethod' 1t gives the cook chance to cook q light
pastry without having it soaked before II is cooked
Inc American method of incOsing the raw fruit in
the PASTE often adding water 10 produce uce IS
culinary biunder Properly made fruit tart is
pleasant but hardly an economical dish II requires
more time. is more difficult to make and IS certainly
more expensive than quart Of ice cream and Is no
way 10 De compared with 1t as factor in noarlshment.
simple sponge cahc made, as IS largely of eggs,
Is more nourishing dish than any pie that can be
maze unless 1t Is a custard pie made by that old
fashioned rule, with selfformia crust. This was
the favorlte rule of cid coored nanny Of our
acquaintance VINO has long since passed to the land
where good cooks CO. Her pie was a pie TO which
unqualified praise could be given because II was never
incloscd In any water-sOdden crust. It was chef
doeuvre and she guarded the secret Of making II witt
Jealous care In reality II was custard boxed in
pie DISH With delicate fm-like ernst at the bottom
Just sufficient to hold It together when It was cut and
served in tiangles In pie form. This crust was prob
ably formed by stirring teaspoonfu Of corn starch in
the custard which would sink to the bottom and give
the effect Of this slight crust.
This might properly be called the age Of silk
Fabrics Of silk rival those of cotton In ceapness and
quantity. The poorest housemad may wear dress
Finer than that Justlnian refused to his queen
Authorizations are rife in all slken goods aud yet
matter of fact pure silk may be bought cheap the
deliberations. Paradoxical this statement seems,
IL Is demonstrated every day. The public has become
used 10 the extra gloss pat silk by various art
fetal modes Of treating il and to the added weight
given by metallic dyes thai they usually prefer 1t 20 the
pure silk. In spite Of the protest Of honorable
chants who their customers that they cannot
recommend the high ustr goods In nine cases out of
ten the pure silk IS left the counter aid the
adulterated silk at the same price is purchased.
There are SILKS in market at So yard which win tear
like paper the grain. II goes without saying
that such silk Is treated by some artificial method
which has destroyed its strength, or is not made
wholly Of the web Of the worn.
There arc a number Of other animal fbres which
have been tested at various times in weaving Pract
cal attempts have been made by different persons to
weave the web of the spider the spiders web
much finer than the web Of the slIkwOrm that such
efforts have attained no mercantile Importance The
web of the spider bears the proportion to the
web of the silkworm In strength that the latter does
10 n brOoiastlck. Tie spider makes thousands OF
strands In spite Of all the impedments in the way
of weaving ii, many yards OF SPIDERS silk have been
woven and an entire dress made Of this silk pre-
scented to Queen Victoria number Of years ago. when
experiments were conducted a somewhat extensive
scale IN weaving the web Of of the tropical spiders
which promise more than do ordinary spiders OF
tho temperate zone. But the experiment was finally
abandoned. Another creature which has furnished
exhibits Of silk curiosity hunters is pima that
weird silk weaver Of the oce1n, which byssus
of slken threads by which It attaches its she'll to the
rocks. This Is a huge mollusk which is found In the
Mediterranean We believe that there allied
species Of this creature IN native rivers which at
tach themselves In the way to weeds, tinbers
rocks The silk Of the pima cannot become Of pract
cal importance because Of the difficulty Of prOpagatine
the creature or Of obtaining sufficient material from IT,
Another difficulty In the way of the practical use OF
this silk of the sea lies in coorng it, Like most things
of the ocean it resists all efforts TO dye IT, Hosiery
ard various articles Of pima silk have been exhibited
from time to time, but no ingenuity has contrived
process for colOring IL.