VOL. Lin.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JAN. 7, 1899.
NO. 1
gspjcvicucjc gipavtmcnt
How   Do   You   Prevent   Wasta   in    the
Kitchen, Dining Room and the
Pantry.
let Premium.—Prevention of waste In tho
' household is largely a matter of experlenc?,
and is dillicult to explain without geing too
much into detail. Many young Tioueekeep-
erri have ab,out as clear an idea of ravine as
had a little girl who onco visited at my house.
Having lectured the cook somewhat severely
for throwing away a plato of cold meat, I
turned to the little girl and said, "If you were
keeping house you wouldn't do that, would
you?" No, indeed," she answered quickly.
"I'd keep three or four dogs to eat up the
scraps." Some leavings from the table have
to be thrown away, of course, and I have seen
persons scrape the plates over the fire; but I
never see this waste without remembering
tny mother's early teaching, "think of all the
hungry creatures outside." By these are not
meant dogs alone,butchickens,birds, and tho
faithful catthat catches more mice that you give
her credit for,and who loves the ciumbs of cake
and pie that usually go into the slop pail. If
the bread comes out of the oven with too
hard a crust, it is best to trim it off then and
tliere and lay it aside. If not too badly burnt
it can be made into bread pudding, or soaked
for a time in sour milk for batter cakes, or
best of all scalded, seasoned well with pepper
and salt, and baked in the oven as dressing
under some juicy slices of ham or other meat
that you may have convenient—none of this
will be wasted.
Soda biscuit left over, are about as hard to
manage as anything in the culinary line. The
best thing to be done with them is to lay
them ina pan, sprinkle a little cold water
over them and warm them slightly, then put
on a Spartan look and tell the family they can
either eat those biscuits or starve. If your
manner is sufficiently severe, and you perse"
vere long enough, they will get overtheir prejudice about warmed over biscuit and you will
have no more trouble. Very often peoplo fill
the dishes unnecessarily full when they set the
table. I have many times seen a whole pound
of butter on the butter plate at one time, and
instead of enough apple butter to last one
meal, a great^dish full, sure to be returned
again and again, meal after meal, until every
one gives it up as a bad case and it has to be
thrown out. Variety on the table is'the beet
antidote; for waste in the dining room. This
is not so hard to manage when you limit yourself to two or three thiDgs one day for dinner
and two or three different things the next day.
Fried eggs become monotonous, but they can
be boiled or poached. You can get very tired
Of beans and potatoes every day all winter,
but if you alternate the days with tomatoes
and turnirs, or corn and parsnips, or salsify
and cabbage, tho children will have better appetites and they will learn to like almost anything. This is true. Tastes can bo acquired
and who knows where their lot may in tho
future be cast? It is wicked to waste—our
Saviour taught us this by example. Besides,
if the husband and children will only think
that wasting and destroying things causes the
mother much worry and many steps, Tory few
will be found so hard hearted an not to make
iome effort to lighten her labors. A daily
oversight on the part of the head of the household, a willingness to learn from experienced
housekeepers and tho serious thought that we
have no right to throw away anything that
may bo of use to others are some of the safeguards against waste in the home.
Harrison Co. Mary.
2d Premium. I think that bread, meat,
bird and sugar need tho closest watching. Tho
left-over pieces  of  light  bread on the bread
plate aro made Into toast, fried in cream or
kept for dressing for tho smothered or roust
chicken for Sunday dinner. I usually roast
the chicken on Saturday and make the dressing warm with the broth tho chicken is
roasted in. Of meats of all kinds I am very
careful. In slicing ham or shoulder I never
cut more than enough for three meals at a
time. I oncQ had a neighbor that In order to
help the "wlmen folks" along as he said,
would slice a whole ham at one time and tho
family was a very small one too. I savo tho
fryings; they go a long way in frying potatoes
and some other vegetables. They savo the
lard and aro iust ns good. I'otato chips are
much nicer if the lid of the skillet is taken
off as soon as tho potatoes aro tender; they
fry brown and dry. I keep a glass jar about
half full of good cider vinegar in a handy
place near the kitchen stove and when I do
not care to replenish a dish of fruit butter,
jam, jellies or dried fruit, and thero ifc not
enough to put on tho table again and too
much to wash out I put  it in the vinegar jar.
try waste can bent bo prevented by the use of
proper receptacles in which to hold provisions. If one can do no better label baking
powder cans for spices and such things. Keep
the cereals In glass fruit jars, as also all dried
fruit and always provide flour and meal
chests. A big coffee box of tin with lid which
you can get from your grocer, makes the best
of flour holders, as it is lighter and more
quickly scalded out than wood. Buy wholesale as far as possible and learn by experience
tho right quantity to uso and ever afterwards
uso a measure in preference to guess work, especially insist upon tills if you keep help. It
is with "help" that wasto comes usually, and
it is only in careful oversight of the?e that
trouble can bo avoided. She who dees her
own work soon lenrns to avoid much waste,
which is one of the compensations in sueh
labor.   0. B P.
REVIEW.
Our writers mention waste of time, of labor
and of food. The first two are caused by lack
of conveniences and system, and tho watte of
52 Numbers j
1.00.
It helps to make tho strongest of vinegar. I
pour it all off, wash the jar and commence
anew occasionally. On all fair days I keep
the pantry windows raised and screened, same
as in summer, and everything keeps nicely
there. The small earthen pan kept in the
reservoir of the kitchen stove, half full of cistern water, made strong with borax, catches
the small pieces of soap and is nice for dish
washing or anything else. The wasto vegetables, skimmed milk and dishwater is fed to
the pigs. 0. B.
Connersville.
^r^ssM^^
3d Premium. "Eternal vigilance" is here,
also the price to be paid in preventing trouble
and loss. It ls often a difficult matter in the
first inexperienced years of the young housekeeper to avoid some wasto, but with thought
and with the ability and knowledge the years
bring, one of the compensations of growing
older is that the trouble smooths itself out
and the danger Is sometimes in running to
the other extreme, devoting too much time to
looking after details to the sacrifice of time
and strength better devoted to greater things.
But some general rules may well be adopted
by tho average housekeeper. To avoid waste
in the dining room lt is best to prepare only
as much food as can bo eaten at the next or
the succeeding meal, at most. There is really
more expense in making cold dishes palatable than in cooking it afresh, with tho advantages in favor of the latter in point of digestibility. One pource of wasto in many
farm homes is the quantity of jellies and jams
always on tablo where ono variety would suffice. Train the tastes of your family and
serve the dishes of their choice as attractively
as possible, but never too many at a time. In
the kitchen tho waste to be avoided comes in
the preparation of fruit and vegetables, much
of which goes out in tho peeling-pan, under
wasteful hands, and in tho burning of cereal
foods, which can be best avoided by tho use
of the double boiler. Such waste as is unavoidable can be well utilized by the poultry.
Keep a vessel to collect such, to this end, and
never throw it to the hogs, as many do.   Pan-
food by slovenliness and lack of tact. Taking kitchens as they are, one may improve
very much by dividiog foods so as to offer a
small variety each meal, as one lady suggests.
A cook's riches may consist in tho abundanco sho possesses but not in displaying all of
it at every meal. While at the home of Mrs.
Stoy, at Edwardsville, I noted thatevery peeling and scrap was cooked and mixed with
clover leaves and bran for poultry, and she'is
selling eggs now at 25 cents a dozen.
The New Year's motto crowded out last
week was: "What victory have you gained
for humanity tho past year? What do you
stand for among your neighbors?"
Send nil mail to mo at Lafayette, for the
present, 	
No. 140, Jan. 14 —Rural free mail delivery.
How does it succeed in your county? Why
should it be established?
No. 150, Jan. 21.—Wido or narrow tires,
which is used mostwith you? Whichdo you
think best and why?
No. 151, Jan. 28.—Sanaitary management
of swine. How do you prevent hog cholera?
How stamp it out?
No. 152, Feb. 4.—The winter management
of breeding ewes. WThat are the best methods?
No. 153, Feb. 11.—Agricultural superstitions. Namo a number wo have outgrown
and a number that still have advocates.
No. 151, Feb. 18.—Name oneor more books,
or persons, or events that have greatly impressed and shaped your life.
No. 155, Feb. 25 —What do you mean to
the people who know you? What do you
stand for?
crowded from the beginning. The sneaker,
S. H. Todd, Ohio, said it wus the best he had
ever attended in this State. Todd is a fluent,
practical speaker, with a fine voice. He holds
his audience well. Mrs. Bates, of Broad Ripple, read several lino papers. There is melody
in her voice thatproduces good effects. Homo
talent was up to date, especially the papers of
tho Hon. Marshall Newhouse, E. F. Fee and
Perry McLain. Our president, R F. Darnell,
proved his ability to preside and was reelected. He was compelled to call down instead of up. One feature in the program was
the entertainment. Tho K. P. huliwascon-
verted intoa kitchen and dining hall and 200
persons took throe warm meals a day there
during the institute. Transients wero all kept
over night.
(ireensburg was well represented and took
an active part, especially XV. XV. Hamilton,
Thompson, Donnell and your agent, T. G.
Powers. It was generally conceded that Sardinia, down in Jackson town-hip, was a good
place to hold an institute. V. M. C.
Idlewild. '
Premiums of $1, 75 and 50 cents will be
given to 1st. 2d and 3d best articles each week.
Let copy be as practicable as possible and forwarded 10 days beforo publication to
Lafayette. E. H. Collins.
The Institutes.
Editors Indiana Farmeb.
Tue Decature County Farmers' Institute
was held at Sardinia, Dec. 12th and 13th.
Weather very inclement. Snow 10 inches
deep.   Mercury at 10 degrees below.   House
Our Export Balance of Four Hundred Six
Million of Dollars Surpasses all
Previous Records.
Editors Indiana Farmer.
The confusion of war seems only to have
stimulated our commerce, when the very contrary would naturally have been expected.
The difference between last year and 1873,
when our balance in exports was on tho other
Bide of theledgcrtotheamountof $119,000,000,
Is $525,O00,CO0 in "our favor. The average balance in our favor since that time has been
about $115,0(10,000, although four years of tho
twenty-five, have been slightly against us. Last
year was, or lS'M', Was tho largest, being $250,-
000,000 in our favor.
The average reader is apt to pass this immense transaction without stopping to compare its value or its greatness, or its advantage
to tho United States.
Only ten of tho thirty-three nations of the
world havo gold, silver and paper money to
the amount of $100,000,000 each.
The entire amount of gold of the thirty-
three nations outside of tho United Statos
have only a circulation of $3,303,000,000, and
about the same of silver.
So that in nine years, lite the past year, we
would absorb the entire gold of tho world, if
tho laws of trade and commerce did not carry
it back to other countries; and in four and
one-half years our balancc'wottld equal tho en-
tiro silver coin of the world at its intrinsic
value, as it would take $812,000,000 of silver to
be equal in value to our balance of $400,000,(100.
As Mexico only has $100,000,000 of silver.it
would take eight nations like Mexico to equal
our yearly balance with her forty-six cent dollars. China is tho only nation having silver
coin equal to our balance at gold value.
A. million of silver dollars weigh 50,!>31
pounds avoirdupois. Estimating 10,000pounds
to the car, it would take at its intrinsic value,
4,500 car loads of silver to equal our 400,000,-
000 dollars balanco of this laEt year.
If 500 United States Senators and Representatives would conspire to rob she Treasury
vaults of its 400,000,000 of silver, and would
each member carry away 25 pounds each day,
for 313 days each year, commencing Jan, 1,
lfefKl, it would tako live years to complete tho
job, and if they omitted the legal holidays,
there would still be as much silver left in tho
vaults as there was silver in the United States
in 1873,
One thing is sure, if our $400,000,000 had
been against us as it was in 1873, we would
havo been $812,000,000 poorer than we are today; but our daily average gain has been
$1,105,000, and our hourly gain for tho year
has averaged $15,83$, Our balance for tlio
year is estimated at $000,000,000.
Jeffersonville. Wm. Adams.