The record-union., 1897-08-08

Buttons are certainly as ancient as
the siege of Troy, in the ninth century
before our era, for, both in that unfor-
funate> city and at Maycenae, DR..
Schliemann discovered objects of gold,
silver and bronze which could have had
no other use than that of buttons. In
mediaeval times the clothing of the
common people was generally fastened
with wooden pegs Of the type and form
of those resorted to in emergencies by
the country boy Of the present day.
Buttons covered with cloth were pro-
hibited by George 1. in 1920 to en-
courage the manufacture Of metal but
tons.
The washing of fine silk or isle
thread hosiery should not be intrusted
40 the general laundress without some
supervision. They should be washed
quickly in warm salt water made
rather soapy No soap should be rub
bed on the stockings. They are then
thoroughly rinsed in several clear wa
ters and dried on the back of chair,
or on a.toweI rack out of the sun. Put
a thick towel over the chair or rack
first as this will absorb the moisture
"
streaking. They should not be ironed,
but pulled into shape when about dry.
Many housekeepers have the wooden
stocking forms to stretch such fine
hosiery over as the final drying is ac-
complished.
At the home of a Southern woman
chicken fritters were served as a lunch
10
tizing way TO use leftover. The meat
was cut into dice, seasoned with salt
and pepper, and stirred lightly into a
batter made of milk, flour and one egg.
The fritters were then fried, drained
on brown paper, and served on folded
napkin laid on platter garnished with
parsley and cones of lemon Cold tur-
key. lamb or veal may be used in this
way.
A woman replacing the kitchen oil
cloth after five years of service spoke
OF it's good wear to her carpet dealer,
saying that though the fiber was worn
the color5 were still fresh and bright
wherever the wear had not been in
cessant. '-It is not the cloth so much
as the care it must have had" was
the dealers reply. One cook only had
presided in the kitchen during the five
years, and her unfailing use of cold
water to wipe over the cloth had thus
effectively preserved it.
The many sorts of summer drinks
that may be served in the tall, slender,
silver trimmed glass pitchers whose
generic title of lemonade jugs by no
means indicates their service, have ne
cessitated the appearance of a special
spoon for use with them. This spoon
has a deep oblong BOWL with twisted
handle that is long enough to come
above the top of the tallest of them.
Fresh currants as a table food are
not as commonly used as they should
be. Delicious as they are in jelly, they are
even more so when just from the BUSH
Their medicinal quality is of the high
est, and to be used through their all
too short season by both children and
elders viii save doctors bills. The
sugar in them is nutritious, the acid is
cooling and purifying. and the seeds are
laxative. They should be stemmed
carefully and served cold with powder
ed sugar for breakfast and luncheon
Boiled peanuts are a favorite dish with
the Chinese. An attempt had been made
in this country to cook and dry peanuts
and grind them into a flour. Bread made
from peanut flour is said to possess es-
peciaI value to diabetic patients. There
is little doubt that we still slight many
useful food products. The several myco-
logical clubs which exist to disseminate
a knowledge of the eatable fungi that
abound IN our fields and woods have
been sufficiently successful to show that
movement in such directions is quickly
encouraged. but we have much more
than mushrooms at our hands that can
be made available. Italians make a
most paIatable flour of meal out of
chestnuts and also from some species of
acorns.
The suggestion of a last summers S
camper to add a few sheets of the sticky
hy-paper to the outfit may be worth re-
peating. The paper, he says, proved
Eeritable boon in the woods, where gnats
flies and mosquitoes were abundant.
This fy-paper. has been known TO catch
feas. reaches, mice, and only recently
accounts were seen of the entrapping of
a ration its gummy surface.
What may be called a prune salad is
possible with that much abused fruit If
care is taken in its preparation They
do not need soaking, as. Miss Parloa tells
as, only careful washing, each prune by
itself. and stewing slowly without
sugar When they are thoroughly ten
der and puffed out to luscious plump
ness, the rind of q lemon is added, and
they are left on the range for another
fifteen minutes. Just before taking off.
add a glass of white wine, then put away
sn q covered jar to become chilled. They
should be served cold at breakfast with
out Juice and with a little unsweetened
whipped cream.
The n-breakfast diet is one that has
more adherentS than is suspected. A
woman was encountered the other day
who sad that not a morsel was cooked
in her home any day in the year until
the MONDAY meal. Her children went
off to school, her husband to his busi-
ness, and even the maid, who had be-
come a convert, went through her
morning duties-all without breaking
their fasts. The theory on which these
two-meals-a-day folk base their con-
duct is that, no work being done after
the late and hearty dinner, and little
tissue waste following during the hours
of sleep, the body has sufficient energy
stored from the evening meal to meet