The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-06-11

| lantern and a narrow painted frieze OF
red crabs highten the illusion. Japa-
nese umbrellas have long been used to
cover an ugly ceiling. Lanterns have
also been used, but they are not so
pretty as the soft, bright grapes and
chintzes which make looking upward a
pleasure An ingenious young woman
bought a roll of mating, pliable and
jointless, with diamonds of blue here
and there This, with lot of picture
molding from a sash factory, paper
of brads, stepladder and considerable
patience, helped to change rather ugly
little room. Good effects can be secured
with pink and white cheesecloth, the
pink gathered in tiny folds for the walls
and at about twenty inches from the
ceiling the white is shirred and meets
it, extending further to be gathered in a
big rosette in the center. The latest
style when papering walls with vine
or stripe is to have the lines meet at
a point in the middle of the ceiling. 1t
makes the walls seem lower, but it is
novel and cheerful.
Coffee importing is rather new oc-
cupation for women, but at least one
makes a speciality of Porto Rican coffee,
i which connoisseurs claim is one of the
best brands. With the feminine eye
for effect, she puts up her pound par
GELS in such dainty fashion that Gus
toners who drive to her room in a
fashionable uptown building do not
at all disdain to carry the parcel away
with Them My personal fondness for
Coffee she said recently, is think,
what first attracted me to this bust
ness. l was constantly experimenting
to get my own cup OF the best quality
and | found there was still good
deal for housekeepers to learn in this
matter. To Begin with, l sell no ground
coffee, the use of the whole bean be-
ing a large factor in securing the best
liquid. l find that many housewives
do not understand that black or after
dinner coffee should be made from a
specially prepared variety known as
cafe noir. To make it simply an extra
strong brew of breakfast coffee is not
making cafe noir. At any high-clasS
grocer's the proper brand may be pro-
cured. l sell it in one-pound tins. 1t
| is a high roast coffee, and the beans
are darker and more oily than those of
the breakfast coffee. The matter of
mixing chicory with coffee is, per-
haps, to some extent, one Of taste,
though many persons who ask for cof-
fee without chicory do not get it. A
! housekeeper who suspects the presence
of chicory may determine its pres
ence by a careful inspection of the
grounds. The chicory after cooking
iC ha
grounds. l do not sell chicory, but if
any one wants it, it would be better to
buy it separately and add what pro-
portion is desired to the coffee at each
making. To my mind, the best way
to prepare the breakfast coffee is to
use a little porcelain biggan, the coffee
being put in the upper vessel. This
should be put over the alcohol lamp
to be brought to boil, but not beyond.
Hot milk, dash of cream, and loaf
sugar complete the necessities for a
cup of fine coffee
The speaker in New York also
touched upon the diet of the average
summer boarder A fairly late break
fast, at which cereals, chops, ham and
eggs, fried potatoes, hot bread, hot cof-
fee, and plenty of ice water are the
usual menu, is followed by a walk to
the mall, little lolling and strolling.
and at midday a dinner This COM
prises ice water, soup, ice water, meat,
ice water, vegetables, ice water, pies,
buildings, and sweets, with ice water
and perhaps tea or coffee at the finish,
but surely ice water After this meal
there is not much temptation to exer-
else, and a lounge in the hammock,
followed by a retirement to the corner
of the piazza or to ones own room
for a sluggish sleep that is mistakenly
called nap, is the usual procedure.
A fresh toilet in the late afternoon gets
up enough vigor in a person of normal
health to be ready for the hot supper
of ice water alternating with another
list OF hearty edibles. 1t is small Won
der, the speaker concluded, that the
summer outing does not prove the ben
| eft expected
/ An agricultural magazine suggests an
easy way for women fond of gardening
| to earn a supply of spending money.
| This is by raising herbs. A sale for
them can easily be found among both
| druggists and market men. It is fur
Their pointed out that the work is light
after the planting has been made, as
! little cultivation is needed Some OF
| the roots, too, are perennial, and do
not need renewal for several years.
| Most of these herbs are hardy plants
and easily resist even marked vicisSi-
tudes of weather. The list suggested
includes lavender, sage, parsley, boar
hound, summer savory, marjoram,
thyme and mint. Their yield can be
disposed of to market men and deliv-
cred in punches at regular intervals
What cannot be sold in this way can
be dried and sold to- the druggists.
|
Miss Parloa, in talk about fruits
says that nearly all fruits are better in
color, texture and flavor if the sugar
is added when they are first put ON to
cook 1t is this method which gives the
good effect to the preserved fruits that
come to us from France and Germany.
The hard fruits, however, like ounces
and pears, should be cooked in water
until they are tender before the sugar
is added. Most of the dried fruits,
too, if carefully and slowly cooked,
need very little sugar With the ex-
ception of prunes, dried fruits should
be soaked over night, and then cooked
slowly in the water in which they have
been soaked. Oven cooking for these
fruits is recommended, in which case
a small earthen pot with cover is
| a good vessel to soak them in, and
they should afterward be placed in the
oven for slow s1nmering In any