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Julinary Count.
A certain distinguished Washing
ton lady, who shall be nameless, ad
vertised not many months ago for a
French cook, having been persuaded
to this step by her beautiful daughter,
the Baroness . whose long resi
dence a r< ad had wedded h r to for
eign cu toms and cookeiv. This ad-
vertiserneut. led to an amuBing expe
rience, which l will relate just as it
was told t» me by the distinguished
lady herself:
n n it?” cried the young lady, in an
agitated tone. “Tell me, I beseech
you, where you saw him last. What
do you fcuow of him ?”
“I met him last In my kltohen, and
I know nothing of him except that he
was—my cook !”
Tableau !
Coal in Germany.
M vVe w ere seated at the luncheon-ta-
hle on the following me ruing, when
jpy maid brought me a visiting card
which w»s ensravved M. Alphonse
de Bougainville, Paris. Not recogniz
ing tie name, I concluded that the
oard was intended for my daughter,
who is, as you know, well acquainted
at tl e f'rench L gat ion, so I passed it
across the taule to her, saying : ‘It
iu*t be for you, my dear.’ Bhe sean-
led tbe c r 1 for an instant, and then
replied: Indeed, mamma, I never
heard of the name before.’
“ ’At. all events,’ I said, ‘it Is proba
bly some gentleman who beers letters
of intioductiou from friends at Purls ;
&md as I am not dressed to receive
visitors at thh early hour, you must
en f erlain him until I can make my
self presentable.’ She went into the
drawing room while I hastened up
staiiB to moke my toilet; but before
I had time to make any changes u>
xcy dress she came in and said, laugh
irgly: ‘You needn’t dress, mumma,
fer it is ouly the French cook for
whom vou advertised.’
The coal production in Germany,
according to the Wurtemberg Oewer-
bibfatt, has so enormously ino:eased
w.thin the lat-t two decades that there
is reason to fetr an exhaustion of the
beds at no very distant date. While
the production of England in that
period has risen from 64.5 million
tons to 149. 3 million, that of France
from 8.3 million to 19 4 million, that
of Belgium from 9 6 million to 16 9
million, tue German vield of coal has
increased from 12 3 million to 59.9
million—a propoition reached ap
proximately only by North America,
whioh shows a rise in production
t from 15.2 million to 70 3 million tons.
Considering that tbe coal fields of
Belgium comprise about 900 square
miles, those of France 18. >0, those of
Germany 3600, those of England 9000;
and comparing with these the vast
coal fields of the East Indies (35,500
square miles), and North America
(193 870 square miles), and China
(over 200,000 square miles), the ques
tion of so improving means of inter
national traffic that the small cost or
transport may render possible a con
tinuation of Industrial wi rk on Euro
pean soil even with foreign coal, be
comes (in the opinion of the Writer
referred to) most important.
‘•Feeling half-provoked at the mis
Itake, I descended to the drawing-room
Iwhere a distinguished-looking person
ae arose from a lounging chair and,
ifter a profoundly deferential bow,
[announced that he had come to solicit
I of me the honor of presiding over my
kitchen. I don’t say that those wefe
[his precise words, but he said some
thing to that effect, and then, alter
^litely placing a chair for me, he
waiting respectfully while I
Rationed him as to his capacity,
lary expected, etc. He could not
ive been more obsequiously polite
id I been a queen and he an humble
tf, yet the man was so well-dressed,
well-bred and even polished in
Tis manners that there was something
fcsurdiy incongruous in t ie idea of
becoming my chef de cuisine.
'Notwithstanding his eleganoe.how-
^er, he was shrewd at makinga bar-
asked (59 per month for his ser-
I, and stipulating that he should
i a scullery maid and an assistant,
[ally, after some talk, I agreed to
Tve him a trial, although I confess I
I as somewhat dubious as to the result
| the engagement. Well,he came and
las duly installed in the kitchen,
vliere he overpowered the other ser-
•ntsby his Frenohy airnessof man-
lr,and the polite condescension with
vhioh he met their friendly advances.
[ His cooking, however, proved to be
Bxecrablefand I was soon compelled
> discharge him, whereupon he de
parted as grandly a9 he had come and
with many deprecating shrugs of re
gret because Madame was not pleased
> with .his services.”
Now for the sequel. A pretty and
wealthy yourg lady of the West End
called last week on the distinguished
Madame before mentioned, and after
some conversation on ordinary topics,
the young lady said: “You are well
acquainted at the Frenoh Legation,
Mrs. ; pray tell me if*you know
Count Le Farge, who Is one of the at
taches there?”
“I never heard of him,” was the re
ply, given without a moment’s heei-
' iation.
‘But think again,” pleaded the girl
earnestly. Surely either you or your
daughti r must have met, or at least
heard of him. To be perfectly frank
with you, I have a special interest in
this gentleman, for he has made a pro
posal for my hind, I have not yet ac
cepted his offer, because, although I
like him very much, our acquaintance
ship has been very brief, and I really
know nothing about him except what
he has himself told me. The Count”
—rolling the title with apparent rel-
ish—“is tall, qu te handsome and IiIb
manners are simply incomparable.
No one oould look upon him wlthoi t
feeling assured of his noble lineage.
Stay I” she said, suddenly, opening
her hand-bag and taking therefrom a
photograph. “This picture may re
fresh your memory. Look and see if
you reoognlze the fsoi.” Madame
took the photograph from the extend-
t Bd hand, but no sooner looked at it
l she dropped it with an exala-
ton of amassment. “You reoog*
Domestic Economies.
A Plagioscope.
Itemical.
To Cook Soft-Shell Crabs.—Open
one side with a knife aud remove the
“deaduien ;” lift up the pointed end
at the back and pull out the tuft or
whiskers ; at the head there is a small
sand bag; remove that, then wash
thoroughly in salt water; dry well;
all of this must be done while the crab
isalive; It/ in plenty of hot butter
aud lard mixed. Do not keep the
crabs all night before cooking, for the
shell hardens in twenty-four hours.
Chicken Croquettes. — To one
cbiokeu, chopped, add a little salt,
pepper, parsely, nutmeg, a saltspoon-
ful of onion, one cup of cream, one-
fourth cup of butter, and one dessert
spoonful of flour. Put the chicken,
spices and cream on the fire; when
hot stir in the butter and flour; lioil
about five minutes, and when cold
make into balls. Beat up one egg
with bread crumbs, dip the balls in
and drop in boiling lard. Very fine
for breakfast. Veal may be prepared
in the same way.
Cleaning Black Silk —One of the
things “not generally known,” at
least in this country, is the Parisian
method of cleaning black silk. The
modus operaudl is very simple and
tbe result infinitely superior to that
achieved iu any other manner. The
silk must be thoroughly brushed and
wiped with a cloth, than laid fiat on a
board or table and sponge well with
hot coffee, thoroughly freed from
sediment by being strained through
musllu. The silk is sponged on the
side intended to show, it is allowed to
become partially d ry, and then ironed
on tne wrong side. The coffee re
moves every partiole of grease, and
restores the brilliancy of the silk with
out imparting to it either the shiny
appearance or craokly and papery
stillness obtained by beer, or indeed
any other liquid. The silk really ap
pears tbickeaed by the process, and
this good effect is permanent.
Pkfbhrpot.—Time, three hours and
a half. Four pounds of gravy beef,
six-quartsof water,a bouquet of savory
herbs, two small crabs or lobsters, a
large bunch of spinaoh, half a pound
of cold bacon, a few suet dumplings
(made of flour, beef suet and yelk of
‘ one egg), one pound of asparagus tops,
cayenne pepper; pepper and salt to
taste ; Juice of a lemon.
Put four pounds of gravy beef into
six quarts of water, with the bouquet
of savory herbs; let it simmer well till
all the goodness is extracted, skim
ming it well. Let it stand till oold,
that all the fat may be taken off it.
Put into a stew-pan and heat It.
When hot add the flesh of two mtd-
dllng-elzed crabs or obstera, nioely
cut up, spinach well boiled and chop
ped fine, half a pound of oold bacon
or piokled pork, dressed previously
and cut into small pieoes, a few small
dumplings, made very light with
flour, beef suet, yelk of egg and a little
water. Add one pound of asparagus
tops l season to your taste with cayen
ne, salt, pepper and juloe of a lemon;
stew for about half an "hour,* stirring
it constantly. • ~
A curious project in the wav of rec
reation, by M. Joyeux, fs published
in La Nature. Suppose a lar^e circu
lar wooden chamber, lit from above,
but giving no view of the outer
objects from within, and ro
tated smoothly and rapidly on a
vertical axis. A person standing in it
would have to bend his body toward
the centre, by reason of centrifugal
force, and the more so th further he
might be from the centre and the
higher the speed. M. Joyeux sup-
poses be would be subject to the illu
sion that the floor was inclined up-
waru from his position to the centre;
if he had to place himself at an angle
of 45°, the floor would seem inclined
at this angle, and a person standing
in the corresponding place on the op
posite side would seem horizontal, for
he, too, would have to make an angle
of 45°. Only, at the centre would the
floor seem horizontal; aud if a num
ber of p rsons were In the chamber, It
is only there one would see them In
their real positions. A pe'son walk
iog round the oircuiuiereuoa would
seem to be at the outside of a base of a
cone, whioh turned under him. To |
facilitate the position of persons, M.
Joyeux would make the floor, not
horizontal, but inclining upward at a
certain distance from the centre, M.
Tissandier does not feel certain lhat
the illusions described would actually
occur, but regards the scheme as an at
tractive curiosity. The apparatus is
named a plagioscope.
Ihe Mule.
When placed in glasses forwintir
fliweriug the base of a hya lath bull)
should just touch the water, it will
soon cvapi r .te so as to be a d.lle below
tbe bulb, aud, (hia is as it should be.
All honey not in the comb is looked
upon with suspicion. Comb honey,
oo, has not escaped, although the
efforts to adulterate it have so far not
been very successful.
No wonder the mule is a kicker.
Were I a mule I, too, would kick.
I know just exactly what kind of a
mule I would be. A bay mule. One
of those sad-eyed old fellows that lean
back iu tbe breeohing and think
With striped legs like a zebra. Aud
a dark-brown streak down my back,
and a paint-brush tail. And my mane
cut short, aud my foretop banged,
and a head as long as a fl >ur barrel,
and I’d be worth two hundred and a
half in any market, and I’d wear a
flit harness and no blinders, and
some day when some man hitched me
up to a driy aud plied ou a ton and a
half of pig iron, a cord of wood, six
barrels of flour and a steamboat boiler,
I would start off with It patiently and
haul it steadily until I got to the top
of the grade on the new road around
North Hill, and right about there and
then a falling maple leaf, fluttering
down in a spark of gold ai d < rimeon,
would sosre me all but to death, aud
the authorities would have to drag the
Mississippi River six weeks to find
all of that load and some of that
driver, while in three minutes after
the ^rneute I would be tranquilly
browsing on the grassy heights that
smile above the silver-flowing river.
That is the kind of a mule I would
be.
A Famed Chiromancer.
M. Desbarolles, the famous chiro
mancer, is again living in Paris, not
in the pretentious style of the sor
cerer, but in simple commonplace
apartments, his parlor being adorned
principally by a framed portrait and
autograph letter of the elder Dumas,
subscribed “To my dear friend Desba-
rolles.” “The two were intimate
and life-long friends. Desbarolles is
now seventy >ears old, small, with
ered, and white haired, but with the
most charming manners. He has
practised his curious art upon many
noted personages, among them being
the Empress Eugenie, wbo frequently
consulted him. Ouce, in I860,it is said,
he told her she was to lose her throne
and die in exile. “Not upon the
scaffold?” she queried, eagerly, hav
ing long been haunted with fears of
meeting Marie Antoinette’s fate. He
gave a decided negative reply, and
she sought to learn no more.
'People Who Live in Glase
Houses.”
The oft-quoted saying : “Those who
live in glass houses should uot throw
stones” originated at the Union of the
Drowns, when London was for the
flr <t time inundated with Sootobmen.
Jealous of their Invasion the Duke of
Buckingham organized a movement
agsdnstthem, and parties were formed
for the purpose of breaking the win
dows of their abodes. By way of re
taliation a number of Scotchmen
Bmashjm the windows of the Duke’s
nianslfn, known as the “Glass
HiftiHtl” Martin’s Fields, and on his
oompjflllning to the King, His Mu-
Replied: “Steenie, Steenie, those
wh#jflvein glass houses should be
iw they fling stanes.”
There is one advantage of associated
dairymen In the fact that as farmers
meet at the creamery or cheese factory
they compare notes' and mutually
learu of each other. 'Faruursiu the
dairy regions of any state have usu
ally more th»u tne average Intelli
gence and enterprise.
Spruce butter tubs are the best;
hemlock makes a sweet tub; acids
from the oak color the butter and In
jure its appearance; white ash gi es
the buttei a strong flavor if kopt ion.
and increases the liability to mold,
maple smells and cracks badly.
Soak all tubs four to six days In brine
before using.
In trees plant food Is stored up at
the end of the summer in the pith,
the pith lays and in the layer between
the wood an i the bark. Tim leaves
which fall in autumn have lost nearly
all their starch, albuminoids, ohos
phiro achl mi l potash, these having
betn transformed to the slem.
Gaiied and sore shoulders in hirsts
are often caused by the mane work
ing under the collar while pulling.
This can be avoided by plaiting the
mane and tying it up in such a man
ner that it cannot touch the collar. It
net only injures the shoulder, but the
mane also, whioh is one of the beau
ties of the horse.
The Virginia osw pea is becoming a
favorite at tbe North, as it possesses
many; advantages to be desired. In
recent experiments in New York
State it ripened well and proved to be
very valuable for forage. The pea (or
bean, as It really is) is very nutritious
and wholesome. It is cultivated very
nearly like corn.
Pig weed root has been analyzed at the
New York experimental station, and
found to contain 73 parts water, 2.23 of
ash, 0.88 nitrogen, 2.25 albuminoids or
their equivalents, 9.69 carbohydrates
and 2.55 of eellulooe. Dr Sturtevant
considers the plant of considerable
value for green manure.
Fruit trees can be set out now pro
vided they are thickly mulched.
As plants mature, nitrogenous mat
ter and ash constituents diminish,
while carbo-hydrates largely increase.
This is the season of the year when
hedges show their superiority over
fences.
The droppings of sheep are much
more concentrated and valuable than
those from any other domestic ani
mals.
Dr. Ellis, of Russel county, Kansas,
a l»»ie wheat grower, under stands the
value of sheep upon land so thoroughly
that he advirdses he will pay teu
cents per head for sheep to pasture
upon his fields.
The wool clip of Oregon for 1882
amounts to 10,000,000 pounds, 2 000.000
pounds in excess of that of last year.
The quality is, howevor, Inferior to
that of last year, being heavy and
lacking brightness.
Potatoes, when dug in an unripe
state, may be at times watery and not
fit to eat, but if spread as thinly as
possible in a dry, airy place they will
in timo become as mealy as if left to
ripen in th® ground.
Mr. Henry Ives, of Batavia, N. Y.,
recommeuds oats as a good crop ou
naked land, to be turned in as green
manure, and other parties state that
wheat can bo used for the same pur
pose with advantage.
Oitton-seed an \1 is valuable Toed;
but It stands in much the same rela
tion to cattle food that eggs aud meat
do to humau rations. It should never
be fed exclusively, and is best fed
with bran, hay or straw.
Three-year-old Shorthorns are. un
der the best management, made to
weigh 2000 pounds, which sell at (7.60
per hundred, or (150 per head. Four
year-old scrubs sell for (50 per bead.
Grass and Shorthorns make farmers
rich.
The most abundant ingredient of a
living plant is water. Many suooulen t
vegetables, ub turnips and lettuce,
contain more than 90 per cent, of
water. Timber felled In the driest
time seldom oontalns less than forty
per oent of water.
The legitimate way for farmers
make money is to sell as much as
possible from their farms at the least
expense. There are other wa^s ol.en
suggested, but they are not to be
oommended, and generally remit In
1oh8 and disappointment.
Iu feeding sweet ml k to pigs, trials
made at the Wisconsin Experiment
i^arm showed that ou au average four
pounds of corn meal were cq lal to
twenty pounds < f sweet skim-milk, or
one pound of meal«q ual tc five of
milk, if fed separately.
Milk, says an exchange, has the
power to absorb obnoxious gases and
iffl ivia from the air around it, and it
su 'uld not be forgotten that the purest
butter ever made may become tainted
•ind poisoned in one shoit hour by ob
jectionable surroundings.
Kissing as a Cure for Freckles.
One fine evening recently Mr. B., a
Government employes iu the town of
Brunn, w as taking a walk in the castle
grounds when, on reaching a less fre-
qu«ntod portion of the park, he saw a
young lady coming in the opposite di
rection. As they were about to pass
each other, the lady suddenly turned
towards Mr. B.,threw her arms around
iis ueck aud kissed him; then, as if
ashamed of what she had done she
covered her face with her hands and
ran ifFas fast as she could. The gentle
man, unable to account for this agree
able surprise, followed the young lady
and taking her by the arm asked for
an explanation of her queer procedure.
“I beg a thousand pardons,” was the
reply of the blushing damsel, “you
must be greatly shocked at m behavi
or. I had been to consult a “wise
woman” as to the best means of charm
ing away the freckles on my face, and
she advised me to kiss the first gentle
man I met, when they would be sure
to disappear.” The couple continued
their walk together, aud though we
are not told whether the singular
remedy proved iffiiacious or not, It
may interest the reader to learn that
not many days afterwards, the two
were joined together for better or
worse.
Making Good Pork.
If
The first thing in order to make a
letter A pork product is to secure the
right breed of porkers. Tastes differ
on this point: We like the smalfl
breeds, such as the Suffolk, York
shires aud Eisex. Tue oM-fashioned
ambition to make a hog weigh 690
pounds at 18 months or 2 years old
was not profitible to the producer,
and the consumer certainly had “too
much pork for his shillings.”
pig oan be made to weigh 259 or
pounds at 8 months as the Buffoll
usually do, there is a saving of a yea]
keeping, and the pork Is of a nidi
better quality. We hare eaten nol
other than pig pork for four years, at
desire to eat no more of the big, stron]
sort The Western pioduoers are
finding the bast market for the small
breeds, the spr ig pigs of whioh are
fit for slaughter before C lrlstmas,
weighing when dressed 250 pounds
on an average, and furnishing hams
of about fifteen pounds weight. The
early maturity of the small breeds
gives them a great advantage over the
larger kinds. We have known Suf
folk pigs to weigh 390 poan Is at seven
months. To secure this result they
must be fed with skimmed milk wheu
first weaned, mixiug with it a little
bran and oatmeal, aud generally in
creasing the ration of o it i till ids pigs
have attained such a siz.i that it will
answer to put on fat, whe n oorn meal
may be substituted gradually for the
bran and oat9. Thero la nothing
equal to milk for young pigs, but for
inducing ihe growth the skimmed is
fully as good as the pure article.
Catching a Bear with Salt.
Last Friday night two teamsters
ooming to Halley from Vienna, eamped
near the timber above Boulder, oue
going out for game, while the other re
mained to make bread. As he got out
the sack of salt a cinnamon bear
proaohed aud the teamster held
handful out whioh the bear immedj
ately licked clean—then asked
more.
The third handful was belug
predated wheu the other mau
turned, aud Immediately took
trace chain aud some ropes aud boum
the bear tightly. His bearshlp stood
the tyffig with good humor, aud was,
plaoed nn
Halley.
the wagon and brought