Scarlet Summer Squash

One of my favorite vegetables is Summer Squash (Yellow), so I researched how it was prepared in the 19th century. The only recipes I found were for frying it. Personally, I've never had it fried. I like it steamed and served with salt and butter. However, I also enjoy the summer squash casserole I've had a various church dinners.

While I was searching for summer squash information I found this unique post:
"The scarlet summer squash is a new and beautiful flat variety, from France, of the acorn species, of a fine scarlet colour." Taken from The Farmer's and Planter's Encyclopedia of rural affairs ©1851.

Of the five books that reference Scarlet Summer Squash they basically repeated the sentence above. The earliest date was from 1841, the latest 1860.

My best guess is the vegetable is no longer in production. However, it would be interesting to find other references from local historical societies that explore the various crops raised in their areas. This will be one of those backseat topics. One that I will continue to note while researching other sources.

This Scarlet squash does have me curious. How did it taste? How well did it grow? Was the color a turn off? Or did this squash not reproduce well? How similar in taste is it to summer squash? Research! You can get lost in it.

Broom Making

Below is the reprint of a blog post from Sept, 2010. Of all my posts this one has brought about a fair amount of attention. However, I want to add to this post with a link to Youtube where Jack Martin shows how they make an 1850 Shaker Style broom.

Brooms have been around for eons, the question I've been trying to answer is when did the first broom factories start in America.

In 1841 in Sussex I find the listing of 65 broom-makers
A list of immigration to Missouri in 1867 listed several boom-makers
I found a disabled soldiers Broom-factory in 1875
1881 I found an expense report that line item a broom factory in a Missouri Penitentiary in 1880
And I found a grocery store owner in 1888 took payment of a broom making machine in exchange for food, then proceeded to have a very successful broom factory in the late 19th century into the 20th century. In fact, the business is still in operations today.

So, as of this moment, I do not know when the first broom factory developed in America. If you have a source with additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Below is a list of Broom & Brush Factory jobs, from the "Classified index of occupations by the United States," © 1921

Binder, broom or brush factory.
Borer, broom or brush factory.
Box maker, broom or brush factory.
Broom or brush maker, broom or brush
factory.
Broom or brush maker (not in factory).
Broom or brush maker (n. s.).
Buffer, broom or brush factory.
Buncher, broom or brush factory.
Comber, broom or brush factory.
Cutter, broom or brush factory.
Drawer, broom or brush factory.

Broom Factories & Broom Makers

Brooms have been around for eons, the question I've been trying to answer is when did the first broom factories start in America.

In 1841 in Sussex I find the listing of 65 broom-makers
A list of immigration to Missouri in 1867 listed several boom-makers
I found a disabled soldiers Broom-factory in 1875
1881 I found an expense report that line item a broom factory in a Missouri Penitentiary in 1880
And I found a grocery store owner in 1888 took payment of a broom making machine in exchange for food, then proceeded to have a very successful broom factory in the late 19th century into the 20th century. In fact, the business is still in operations today.

So, as of this moment, I do not know when the first broom factory developed in America. If you have a source with additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Below is a list of Broom & Brush Factory jobs, from the "Classified index of occupations by the United States," © 1921

Binder, broom or brush factory.
Borer, broom or brush factory.
Box maker, broom or brush factory.
Broom or brush maker, broom or brush
factory.
Broom or brush maker (not in factory).
Broom or brush maker (n. s.).
Buffer, broom or brush factory.
Buncher, broom or brush factory.
Comber, broom or brush factory.
Cutter, broom or brush factory.
Drawer, broom or brush factory.

Blacksmith from McGuffey Reader

Below you'll find a poem written by Longfellow and published in the McGuffey Reader in 1853, this was the fifth grade reader. The poem was originally published in 1841 in Ballads and Other Poems. Please note the punctuation is what was written in the 1853 Reader. Today you can find the poem with different punctuation, much less actually. This poem was later scored by Charles F. Noyes in 1848.

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.
1. Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands,
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands`;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

2. His hair is crisp, and black, and long`;
His face is like the tan`;
His brow is wet with honest sweat;
He earns whate'er he can`,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

3. Week in', week out` from morn' till nigh`.
You can hear his bellows blow`;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow`,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

4. And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door`;
They love to see the flaming forge',
And hear the bellows roar`,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

5. He goes, on Sunday, to the church,
And sits among his boys`;
He hears the parson pray and preach`,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

6. It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise`!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies`;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

7. Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes`;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it c!ose`,
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

8. Thanks`, thanks to thee, my worthy friend',
For the lesson thou hast taught`!
Thus, at the flaming forge of life',
Our fortunes must be wrought`,
Thus, on its sounding anvil', shaped
Each burning deed and thought`.

H.W. Longfellow ©1841

Thanksgiving Cranberries Part 1

How does this relate to the 19th century? Note that it is a native fruit of North America. Also, note where the cranberry is grown. In my opinion it makes for a unique setting and occupation. Also there is a paragraph below that relates to the growth of this industry in the 19th century. But the primary reason for including this excerpt about the cranberry for Thanksgiving is because it was a part of the early Thanksgiving celebrations in Plymouth, MA.

Here is an excerpt from: From the Cyclopedia Of American Horticulture ©1906

CRANBERRY. A name applied to trailing species of the genus Vaccinium (JSricAcece). Of the true Cranberries there are two species in North America,—the small ( Vaccinium Oxycoccus), and the large ( V. macrocarpon). These are native to swamps, where they trail their slender stems and little oval evergreen leaves over the sphagnum and boggy turf. The red, firm berries ripen late in fall, and often persist on the vines until spring, when well protected with snow. Each berry is borne on a slender pedicel; and the curve of this pedicel in the European species is said to have suggested the name Craneberry, which is now shortened to Cranberry. See Vaccinium.

The large Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, is now cultivated on hundreds of acres in the United States; and this Cranberry culture is one of the most special and interesting of all pomological pursuits. This Cranberry grows only in North America; and North America is the only country which has a domestic or cultivated Cranberry. Because Cranberry-growing is such an unusual type of horticulture, it is thought advisable to devote considerable space to it in this Cyclopedia.

Cranberries may be grown on land both low and high; but it is the general experience that low, boggy lands are the only ones which give permanently good results. In the winter, the natural Cranberry bogs are usually flooded, and in summer they are free of standing water. The flowers are often caught by the late frosts of spring, and the fruit may be injured by the early frosts of fall. Bogs are often ruined by fire in times of drought. Insects and fungi often play havoc with the crop.

The ideal bog for Cranberry culture is the one in which the natural environments of the plant are most nearly imitated, and in which the grower can have the greatest control over the difficulties mentioned above. It should have the following qualifications : (1) Capability of being drained of all surface water, so that frea water does not stand higher than one foot below the surface in the growing season. (2) Soil which retains moisture through the summer, for Cranberries suffer greatly in drought. (3) Sufficient water supply to enable it to be flooded. (4) A fairly level or even surface, so that the flooding will be of approximately uniform depth over the entire area. (5) Not over-liable to frosts. Bogs which contain moss or sphagnum and which have a peaty or mucky soil are usually chosen. If heath-like shrubs grow naturally in the bog, the indications are all the better. The presence of the Cassandra or Leatherleaf is regarded as a good augury. Black ash, red maple, swamp huckleberry, and white cedar swamps are often very satisfactory. Old mill-ponds often give good results.

Before the Cranberries are planted, the bog must be cleaned of trees, bushes, moss and roots. This may be done by "turfing," which is the digging out of the flood in spring or fall, to kill insects or to protect from frosts. The objects of flooding are as follows: (1) to protect the plants from heaving in winter ; (2) to avoid late spring and early fall frosts ; (3) to drown insects; (4) to protect from drought; (5) to guard against Hre. Unless serious contingencies arise, the bog is flooded only in winter. A flooded bog looks like a lake (Fig. 568). Good results are obtained now and then in "dry"or upland bogs, which cannot be flooded; but such bogs or meadows rarely give uniform results, and they are less advised than formerly.

There are three centers of Cranberry growing in North America,— Cape Cod peninsula, New Jersey, Wisconsin. Each has methods peculiar to itself. It was in the Cape Cod region that Cranberry culture began. The first attempts were made early in this century. William Kenrick, writing in 1832 in this "Orchardist," says that "Capt. Henry Hall, of Barnstable, has cultivated the Cranberry twenty years;" "Mr. P. A. Hayden, of Lincoln, Mass., is stated to have gathered from his farm in 1830, 400 bushels of Cranberries, which brought him in Boston market $600." In the second and subsequent editions, Kenricks makes the figure $400. It is not said whether Mr. Hayden's berries were wild or cultivated. At the present day, with all the increase in production, swamp growth, or by "drowning," which is deeply flooding the place for a year. The method of preparing the surface for receiving the plants varies in different regions. Open ditches are run through the place in sufficient number to carry off the surface water. They are usually made 2 to 4 feet deep. If some water stands in them during the summer, better results are expected. These ditches usually feed into one main or central ditch; and this main ditch is preferably the one which, when dammed at its lower end, floods the bog by backing up the water. Growers prefer, if possible, to divert a living brook through the bog, or to straighten and deepen one which may exist there ; but in the absence of a brook, a reservoir may be constructed above the bog. Sufficient water supply should be had to cover the entire area from December until April or early May, to a depth of at least one foot. The lower places will have a deeper covering, but 4 or 5 feet in places usually does no harm in the winter. It 569. Cranberry hand-picker, also may be necessary to prices are higher than those received by Mr. Hayden.

In the third (1841) and subsequent editions, it is said that "an acre of Cranberries in full bearing will produce over 200 bushels ; and the fruit generally sells, in the markets of Boston, for $1.50 per bushel, and much higher than in former years." It was as late as 1850, however, that Cranberry culture gained much prominence. It was in 1856 that the first treatise appeared : B. Eastwood's "Complete Manual for the Cultivation of the Cranberry." About 1845, Cranberry culture began to establish itself in New Jersey.

In the Cape Cod region, the bogs are "turfed." The surface covering is cut into small squares and hauled off. The object is to obtain a uniform surface in order that all plants may have equal opportunity. The bog is then "sanded." Rather coarse, clean sand is spread over the entire area to the depth of about 4 inches. In this covering, the vines are planted. The sand keeps down weeds and thereby lessens subsequent labor; it affords a moisture-holding mulch for the muck; it renders the plantation easier to be worked in wet weather, and it prevents the too vigorous growth of the vine. Every four of five years a fresh sanding, to the depth of an inch or less, is given. This keeps the vines short and close. Formerly, whole roots or " sods " of Cranberry were used for planting, but now cuttings are employed. These cuttings are 6- or 8-inch pieces of rigorous runners, with the leaves on. They are thrust obliquely through the sand, only an inch or two of the top remaining uncovered. They are set about 14 inches apart each way. In three or four years a full crop is obtained. The bogs are kept clean by means of hand weeding. At Cape Cod, it is estimated that the sum of $300 to $500 per acre is required to flt and plant a bog. A good yield from a bog in full bearing is 50 barrels to the acre ; but 200 barrels have been grown.

In New Jersey, the general tendency is to omit the sanding. The bogs are not cleared so carefully. The plants are often set directly in the earth bottom, after the heavy turf is removed. The bogs—or meadows, as they are usually called—are not kept so scrupulously clean. It is thought that a reasonable quantity of grass prevents scalding of the berries. If the vines become too by the form of the berry, —the bell-shaped (Pig. 570), the bugle-shaped (Pig. 571), and the cherry-shaped (Fig. 572). There are many named varieties in each of these classes, differing in size, color, firmness, keeping qualities, productiveness. These varieties have been selected from plants which have appeared naturally in the bogs. Some of them have been discovered in wild bogs. The demands of the market, as respects varieties, are constantly changing. In Massachusetts, the following varieties are now popular: Early Black, Howe, Matthews, McFarliu.

The Cranberry is now a staple article of food in North America. "Turkey and Cranberry sauce" may be said to be the national dish. The berries are used in great variety of dishes. An effort has been made to open an European market, and an agent was sent abroad in 1891 for that purpose by the American Cranberry Trade Company. The export trade has now assumed some importance, and is growing. The approximate Cranberry crops for a series of years are shown below, in bushels:

deep, they are mown or burned in order to secure a fresh growth from the roots.

The gathering of the crop is done preferably by hand-picking, particularly in plantations which" are well cared for. In some eases the berries are raked off with a steel garden rake, but many of them are lost and bruised, and the vines may be injured. It is said by some that the tearing out of the old and large vines in the raking tends to renew the plants, and this is undoubtedly true; but there are better ways of keeping the vines young and short, as by sanding or mowing. In the East, raking is now rarely employed, unless the crop is very poor or prices very low; or unless hard frost is expected, in which case the berries may be raked, the bog flooded, and the berries caught at the flume. Sometimes the bog is flooded when hard frost is threatened and the water is allowed to remain all winter, and the berries are harvested in the spring; but such early flooding may injure the vines. The price paid for the picking of Cranberries is usually about 40 to 50 cts. a bushel. Three to four bushels is considered to be an average day's picking. There are various devices to facilitate the picking. On Cape Cod a popular implement is the Lumber1: picker (Fig. 5C9). The machine is tjirust into the vines, and the operater closes the lid by bearing down with his thumb; drawing it backward pulls off the berries. Usually the pickers are"lined-off " (Fig.568) by cords stretched across the bog, thus limiting each one to a particular area, which he is required to pick clean. The berries are cleaned by running them through a separator, by passing them over a screen, by floating off the litter by dowsing them in water, and by other means. Dowsing usually reduces the market value. They are then marketed in barrels or crates.

Of varieties there are three general types, determined:

The Low-bush Cranberry, or Wolfberry (V. VitisIdaa), is much used in Nova Scotia and other parts, and is gathered and shipped in large quantities to Boston; but it is not cultivated. This berry is also common in Europe, where it is much prized. The quantities of this fruit imported into the U. S. from various sources is considerable. For example, between July 24 and Dec. 31, 1897, the following imports were received (as compiled by Rider):

The Cranberry is subject to the attacks of various insects, for most of which the best remedy is flooding, although the fruit-worm is probably best destroyed by spraying with arsenites. There are also fungous troubles. For information on all these difficulties, the bulletins of the New Jersey Experiment Station are the best literature.

The best literature on the Cranberry is comprised in the Proceedings of the American Cranberry Growers' Association, with headquarters at Trenton, N. J. This society holds an "annual meeting" in January, and an "annual convention" in August. Beginning with 1880, it has published regular reports of each of these gatherings. The standard books are White's "Cranberry Culture," largely from the New Jersey standpoint, and Webb's "Cape Cod Cranberries."

Notes By A Wisconsin Grower.— Cranberries are raised mainly in the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The eastern marshes are mostly "made," while in Wisconsin there are thousands of acres of natural marsh as yet entirely uncultivated, as well as much that is cultivated.

The natural soil for the Cranberry is peat. Sand is also good, but, when used alone, must have a new coat of it spread over the ground every few years, as it becomes exhausted and the vines become woody and cease to bear. The ideal soil seems to be a foundation of peat, with from 2 to 4 inches of sand spread over it. It is very desirable that the surface should be level, so that it can all be kept equally moist. The leveling is usually done by "scalping," i. e., taking off the sod and carrying it away. This also removes the moss and other foul vegetation, and gives the vines a chance to take full possession of the ground. If scalping is considered too expensive, the moss may be killed by flooding in winter and drawing the water off in spring ; but it takes two or three years for it to rot sun *, ittly to allow vines to do well. Plowing is sometimes resorted to where it can be done, or the sods turned upside down by some other means.

The best sites for Cranberry raising are those which afford a perfect water supply. There should be a reservoir of water on the upper side of the marsh (and if it is on the north or northwest so much the better, as it will then be more sure protection from frost), which can be emptied on to the marsh at short notice; and there must also be good drainage, to carry it away from the marsh quickly when desired. A level piece of marsh which has vines already growing on it looks very tempting to the uninitiated, but, if it has not a good water supply, it is better to leave it in the natural state and take the crops which grow in favorable seasons, than to spend money improving it.

A good sand marsh may be made near any stream in a sandy region by selecting a spot where water can be drawn from the stream, but there should also be a reservoir to hold water in, as that which comes directly from a running stream is sometimes too cold for Cranberries.

If dams are built from the sods thrown from the ditches, it is desirable, at least for the reservoir dam?, to cover them with sand. This should be put mostly on the top and upper side, and should slope from the top of the dam to the center of the ditch. This prevents muskrats from doing very much damage, and the dam is not so apt to be washed out by high water as when built in a perpendicular wall. The cheapest way to move sand to build dams or for spreading on the marsh is to haul it on sleighs in the winter. A platform is built on rockers, so that the load may be dumped at one side of the sleigh ; and two loads in a place on a good peat dam will make a heavy reservoir dam. The pit from which sand is taken should be well protected with snow or sawdust to prevent its freezing badly. One of the best ways of making waste-gates is to place three joists lengthwise of the dam a little below the bottom of the ditch, and a platform built upon them, and the whole settled down as firmly as possible; then the dam is built right onto the platform for 3 or 4 feet on each side, and then the sideboards put in place, and cleats nailed up and down into which to slip the sluice boards. It is a good plan to have an outside ditch, which will carry surplus water around the marsh instead of across it, in wet seasons.

Filibusters

Taken from the book "Things Not Generally Known" by John Timbs, David Ames Wells. ©1857

FILIBUSTERS.

The title of Filibusters is a mere corruption of the English word freebooters—a German term imported into England during the Low-Country wars of Elizabeth's reign. It has been erroneously traced to the Dutch word/r/JoaJ; but the Jesuit traveller Charlevoix asserts that, in fact, this species of craft derived its title from being first used by the Flibustiers, and not from its swiftness. This, however, is evidently a mistake, as Drayton and Hakluyt use the word; and it seems to bo of even earlier standing in the French language. The derivation from the English word freebooter is at once seen when the * in Flibustier becomes lost in pronunciation.—C. W. Thorribury.
End Quote

The term was revised in the mid 19th century to describe the actions of adventurers who tried to take control of various Caribbean, Mexican and Central-American terrorists. (According to Wikipedia)

The first well known political filibuster was U.S. Senator Henry Clay with regard to a bank bill he was in favor of. This filibuster took a month in 1841 and ended on March 11th.

Filibusters continued in the Senate's history during the rest of the 19th century by the end of the century the term was in common usage.

Planting in April

The excerpt below comes from the first Farmer's Almanac in a combined package of year 1841-1844. And since many are now thinking of gardening I thought it might be interesting to look at what is on a Farmer's schedule for the month of April.

Farmer’s Calendar – April

Spring corn sowing should be now finished; let all remaining turnips be cleared from the land. The practice of keeping back turnips for late feed being at the expense of the succeeding corn crop, should be avoided; all plants which are suffered to run towards seed are, in that stage, great exhausters of the soil. The substitutes are rye, winter barley, and the mixed grasses. Lucern is well sown this month; it delights in a rich deep soil; contains sulphate of lime; gypsum, therefore, on most soils, makes it grow luxuriantly. Livestock prefer gypsumed lucern to any other. It is best sown in drills; by this means it may be easily kept clean by the hoe, and if the farmer takes the precaution to previously trench or subsoil the ground, it may be made to produce four or five good crops per annum or inferior dry land; the value of this grass in many parts of the country is unknown. If the farmer has procured any sprat or five-fingers, or any other oily fish, or animal manures, in the previous months, and mixed them with the earth, he may now be getting out the compost for his Swede turnips. In moist seasons all such oily manures produce very large crops. Cut and lay hedges, and roll and bush harrow grass land. All this work should be finished early in the month, to avoid the bleeding of the wood. Stone, pick, and clean meadows. Cubic petre and saltpeter may be advantageously employed this and the succeeding month, as a top-dressing for wheat, oats, barley (from say the 10th of April to the middle of May), and grass. Hand how your wheat, beans, and peas; it not only destroys weeds, but it facilitates the access of the gases and aquesous vapour of the atmosphere to the roots of the crop. Keep also the horse-hoe at work. Early fat lambs may now be selling off. If properly kept, good Down lambs, at thirteen weeks, will weigh five stone; but beware of any shortness of their keep, for they will never recover a check of this kind. Sell off the porkers; after warm weather commences, the sale of them is no longer certain. Sow carrots and parsnips, and subsoil the land on which you grow them. It does best when sown in fine powder (1 ½ cwt. per acre). on a moist morning. It increases both the produce of grain and of straw. It restores the colour of sickly-looking corn.
And the article goes on with stats from various farmers and the different soils and nutrients.

Recommended School Books

I know it isn't the time of year for purchasing school books. However, this list might just help you if you have a teacher in your novel, or perhaps, a child going to school, or perhaps, a parent trying to learn what his or her child is learning...or whatever you are writing in a scene. Hopefully you will find these useful.

THE LITTLE SONGSTER: An Elementary Sinking Book, for Scholars of 6 to 9 years ofa?e; by Georsre J, Webb. Professor in the Boston Academy ofMusic.
THE COMMON SCHOOL SONGSTER, intended as a Sequel to the above, for scholars from 9 to 15 years of age. By the same. Just published, under the sanction of the Boston Academy of Music.
THE VOCAL CLASS BOOK, designed for Young Ladies' Schools and Music Classes. By do. Just published, under the sanction yf the Boston Acad. ofMusic.
Th« above form a progressive series for the usfi of Schools and Families.
FROST'S ELEMENTS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR, with Exercises in Parsing.
THE CHILD'S BOTANY; with Engravings.
HOLBROOK'S GEOMETRY; Ewv lessons in Geometry. By J. Holbkook.
ABBOTT'S LITTLE PHILOSOPHER. BOSSUT'S FRENCH WORD AND PHRASE BOOK.
WALSH'S ARITHMETIC. The Mercantile Arithmetic. By M. Walsh, A. M.
NOYES' SYSTEM OF PENMANSHIP. Improved edition.
THE MASSACHUSETTS COLLECTION Of PSALMODY; by the Boston Handel and Hayden Society : consisting of the most approved Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Anthems. Sentences, Chants, etc; together with many Original Pieces, and others selected from the works of distinguished Composers, never before published in this country. Intended for Public Worship and Private Devotion. Edited by George James Webb, President of the Society. Second Edition. Price reduced to 36 per doz.
This work comprises three classes of Pealm and Hymn Tunes—the old standard tunes, tunes selected from modern composers, and thoae composed expressly for this book, embracing all the metres, and much variety of style and rhythmical structure.
The elementary principles are full and copious, on the basis of the Pestalozzian ay.stem, practically arranged, with full instructions on Chanting.
THE AMERICAN GLEE BOOK: consisting of a selection of Glees, Madrigals and Rounds, from the most distinguished English and German authors, together with original pieces composed expressly for this work. By George J. Webb, President of Boston Handel and Haydn Society, Sec. Second Edition.
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

Weather Observations

Observation.
1. The nearer the time of the moon's change, first quarter, full and last quarter, are to midnight, the fairer will the weather be during the seven days following.
2. The space for this calculation occupies from ten at night till two next morning.
3. The nearer to midday, or noon, the phases of the moon happen, the more foul or wet weather may be expected during the next seven days.
4. The space for this calculation occupies from ten in the forenoon to two in the afternoon. These observations refer principally to the summer, though they affect spring and autumn nearly in the same ratio.
6. The moon's change, first quarter, full and last quarter, happening during six of the afternoon hours, i. e. from four to ten, may be followed by fair weather; but this is mostly dependent on the wind, as is noted in the table.
6. Though the weather, from a variety of irregular causes, is more uncertain in the latter part of autumn, the whole of Ht s the beginning of spring, yet, in the main, the above observations will apply to those periods also.
7. To prognosticate correctly, especially in those cases where the wind in concerned, the observer should tw within sight of a good vane, where the four cardinal points of the heavens are correctly placed.
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

Tomato Recipes

I'm going to skip tomato sauce recipes for this post and concentrate on some different recipes from the 19th Century. I found one recipe that said, cut and/or slice sprinkle with salt and pepper and eat as fast as you can. LOL I loved that. Of course, I love fresh tomatoes and a little salt and pepper is perfect imho.


FROZEN TOMATO SALAD
Chop fine one can of tomatoes, then run through a course sieve. Season to taste with a few drops of onion juice, a very little sugar, a drop of clove extract, a little tarragon vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Turn into a freeze and freeze as usual. Fill a melon mold with frozen mixture, pack in ice and salt and let stand for two hours to ripen. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves with a garnish of mayonnaise.
Source: Table Talk ©1899

FRIED TOMATOES
Peel and cut a solid tomato into slices half an inch thick, remove the seeds and roll them in crumbs. Put in a short-handled spider a little butter, and fry in it two slices of onion. Remove the onion and lay in the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Cover the slices with a buttered paper, and keep the spider in a hot oven from ten to fifteen minutes.
BROILED TOMATOES.
The tomato should first be peeled and then cut into slices three-quarters of an inch thick; small tomatoes are cut into halves. Put some olive oil into a soup plate and put each piece of tomato into the the oil, covering all the parts, before laying the pieces upon a fine wire broiler and cooking over a clear fire. Arrange on a hot platter and season with salt and pepper and chopped parsley. Another method is to peel and cut the tomatoes into thick slices and broil; have ready some grated cheese. and sprinkle it over the tomatoes while they are broiling, covering both sides; serve on a hot dish as soon as they are taken from the fire, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Still another mode is to leave the skins on; cut the tomato into halves; place them on a coarse broiler with the skins down; sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and broil without turning, over a fire not too strong, until the pulp is tender; when cooked, cover them with melted butter or a sauce if preferred.
Source: Good Housekeeping ©1897

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP.
Recipe.
Put one pint of milk to heat in a double boiler. Put one tablespoonful of butter in a saucepan and when bubbling add one tablespoonful of flour. Stir this into the hot milk. While this thin white sauce is cooking put a pint, or half a can of tomatoes into the saucepan. Add one teaspoonful of salt and a speck of pepper and when the tomatoes are thoroughly hot and soft, strain them into the milk. Serve at once.
Cream of Tomato Soup.
For the cream of tomato soup, which will be the next thing I will make, I will prepare the flour and butter in the same manner as for a white sauce, melt the butter and add the flour. Then I will turn this mixture into the hot milk and cook it over hot water. I then heat the tomatoes, add the salt and pepper and strain the two together into a dish to serve.
There are just two points in this cream of tomato soup that must be observed in order to have a smooth soup. One point is, do not over cook the tomatoes. The acid of the tomato is brought out and made stronger by cooking, and if the acid is too strong it will curdle the milk. You are at a little disadvantage sometimes, when using canned tomatoes, for you cannot tell how long the manufacturer has cooked them; but if you are using tomatoes that you have canned yourself you have no trouble. As a rule, however, I find no trouble with canned tomatoes that I get from the grocery. The other precaution to observe is not to add the milk to the tomatoes until ready to serve, and then do not heat the mixture after the milk and tomatoes are put together.. Observing, these
two rules I think you will have no trouble with the soup curdling. If It should curdle a little you may very often get it smooth again by using the Dover beater, which will restore its smoothness somewhat. This will also restore the smoothness to a boiled custard that is cooked a little too long. If you turn it into a cold bowl and beat it with a Dover beater your mixture will be almost as smooth as though it had not curdled.
Question—When do you strain your tomatoes?
Mrs. Jamison—I strain them after they are cooked because it is convenient. The recipe calls for a pint of strained tomatoes. I generally take a little more than the measure and strain them after they are cooked instead of before.
Just a word here in connection with these canned vegetables. Always turn them out of the tin can as soon as it is opened, whether you are going to use the entire can or not, because while there is no poison in the can as long as it is kept from the air, as soon as the air mixes with the acid of the fruit the acid begins to work on the tin and the poison is developed in that way. As long as they are air tight there is no danger of poison, nor is there if you observe the precaution of emptying the can as soon as it is opened.
Source: Bulletin ©1896

Daily use of the Tomato.—Cut up with salt, vinegar, and pepper, as you lo cucumbers, and eat away as fast as you can.
How to stew them.—Take your tomato from the vine ripe, slice up, put n the pot over the fire, without water; stew them slow, ana when done put it a small lump of butter, and eat as you do apple sauce. If you choose, a ittle crumb of bread or pnlverised crackers may be added. What you have eft, put away in a jar for winter.
Tomato Omelet.—When stewed, beat up a half dozen new-laid eggs, the yolk and white separated; when each are well beaten, mix them with the ;omato—put them in a pan and beat them up; you have a fine omelet.
To keep them the year round.—Take them full ripe, and scald in hot water, to facilitate the operation of taking off the skin ; when skinned, boil well in a little sugar and salt, but no water, and then spread in cakes about an eighth of an inch thick, in the sun. They will dry enough in three or four days to pack away in bags, which should be hun" in a dry room.
To pickle Tomatoes.—Pick them when they are ripe. Put them in layers in a jar, with garlic, mustard seed, horseradish, spices, &C., as you like, filling up the jar; occasionally putting a little fine salt, proportionally to the quantity laid down, and which is intended to preserve the tomato. When type jar is full, pour on the tomatoes cold cider vinegar (it must be pure,) till all is covered, and then cork up tight and set away for winter.
To make Tomato Preserves, —Take them while quite small and green— put them in cold clarified syrup, with an orange cut in slices to every two pounds of tomatoes. Simmer them over a slow fire for two or three'hours. There should be equal weights of sugar and tomatoes. If very superior preserves are wanted,allow two fresh lemons to three pounds of tomatoes—pare thin the rind of the lemons, so as to get none of the white part; squeeze out the juice, mix the parings, juice, and cold water sufficient to cover the tomatoes, and put in a few peach leaves and powdered ginger tied up in bags. Boil the whole gently, for three fourths of an hour, take up the tomatoes, strain the liquor, and put with it a pound and a half of white sugar for each pound of tomatoes. Put in the tomatoes and boil them gently till the syrup appears to have entered them. In the course of a week, turn the syrup from them, heat it scalding hot, and turn it on to the tomatoes. Prepared in this way, they resemble West India sweetmeats.
N. B.—Dr. Bennett, a medical professor in cie of our colleges, considers the tomato an invaluable article of diet. He ascribes to it high medical properties, and declares it to be one of the most powerful deohstruents; and' that when used as an article of diet, it is a sovereign remedy for dyspepsia er indigestion, and all those affections of ..w liver and other organs of the stomach.— Western Farmer.
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

Comparison of Speed

COMPARISON OF SPEED.
A French scientific journal states that the ordinary rate is per second,—

Of a man walking, 4 feet.
Of a good horse in harness, 12"
Of a reindeer in a sledge on ice, .... 26"
Of an English race-horse, 43"
Of a hare 88"
Of a good sailing ship 14"
Of the wind 82"
Of sound 1038"
Of a 24 pound cannon ball 1300"
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

SIMILES

Similes.—" Pray, mother, what arc similes?" "They are resemblances, my child; the word simile means a thing that is like another."
As proud as a peacocft—as round as a pea;
As blithe as a lark—as brisk as a bee;
As light as a feather—as sure as a gun;
As green as the grass—as brown as a nut;
As rich as a Jew—as warm as toast;
As cross as two sticks—as deaf as a post;
As sharp as a needle—as strong as an ox;
As grave as a judge—as sly as a fox;
As old as the hills—as straight aa a dart;
As solid as marble—as firm as a rock;
As soft as a plum—as dull as a block;
As paie as death—as blind as a bat;
As white as a sheet—as black as my hat;
A.s yellow as gold—as red as a cherry;
As W*m as water—as brown as a berry;
As plain as ;j pickaxe—as big as a house;
As flat as It- table—as sleek as a mouse;
As tall as lie- steeple—as round as a wheel;
As broad as 'tis long—Bs long as you please.
. Merry's Museum.
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

Agricultural Facts

AGRICULTURAL FACTS.
The following curious facts, showing the great variety of agricultural productions, are taken from the statistics of agriculture, furnished by the government:
1. That wheat, oats, rye, Indian corn, potatoes, hay, and tobacco, ar raised in every state and territory of the Union.
2. That barley is raised in all except Louisiana.
3. That buckwheat is raised in all except Louisiana and Florida.
4. That New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin do not raise cotton.
Source: The Farmer's Almanack ©1841

Lemonade

I was wondering how far north lemons made it and how early in the 19th century could you find them when I came across these fun recipes for or using lemonade. Note the dates of some of the sources. I did find an article written in 1801 comparing the use of crystalized lemon vs. real lemon juice.

In my research I did come across a note regarding the import of lemons from Spain and Madrid. Lemons and importing them had been going on before the 19th century.

LEMONADE
white sugar 1lb.
tartaric acid 1/4 oz.
essence of lemon 30 drops
water 3 quarts
Mix
Source: The Cyclopedia of Practical Receipts ©1841

LEMONADE. To prepare lemonade a day before it is wanted for use, pare two dozen lemons as thin as possible. Put eight of the rinds into three quarts of hot water, not boiling, and cover it over for three or four hours. Rub some fine loaf sugar on the lemons to attract the essence, and put it into a china bowl, into which the juice of the lemons is to be squeezed. Add a pound and a half of fine sugar, then put the water to the above, and three quarts of boiling milk. Pour the mixture through a jelly bag, till it is perfectly clear.—Another way. Pare a quantity of lemons, and pour some hot water on the peels. While infusing, boil some sugar and water to a good syrup, with the white of an egg whipt up. When it boils, pour a little cold water into it. Set it on again, and when it boils take off the pan, and let it stand by to settle. If there be any scum, take it off, and pour it clear from the sediment, to the water in which the peels were infused, and the lemon juice. Stir and taste it, and add as much more water as shall be necessary to make a very rich lemonade. Wet a jelly bag, and squeeze it dry; then strain the liquor, and it will be very fine.—To make a lemonade which has the appearance of jelly, pare two Seville oranges and six lemons very thin, and steep them four hours in a quart of hot water. Boil a pound and a quarter of loaf sugar in three pints of water, aud skim it clean. Add the two liquors to the juice of six China oranges, and twelve lemons; stir the whole well, and run it through a jelly bag till it is ouite clear. Then add a little orange water, if approved, and more sugar if necessary. Let it be well corked, and it will keep.--Lemonade may be prepared in a minute, by pounding a quarter of an ounce of citric or crystalised lemon acid, with a few drops of quintessence of lemon peel, and mixing it by degrees with a pint of clarified syrup or capillaries.
Source: The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary ©1822

LEMONADE.
Three lemons to a pint of water, makes strong lemonade ; sweeten to your taste.
This is the best beverage for parties, cool, refreshing, pleasant and salubrious.
Source: Good Housekeeper ©1839

LEMONADE ICED. Make a quart of rich lemonade, whip the whites of six fresh eggs to a strong froth—mix them well with the lemonade, and freeze it. The juice of morello cherries, or of currants mixed with water and sugar, and prepared in the same way, make very delicate ices.
Source: The Virginia Housewife ©1838

Steak some recipes and other tidbits

There's nothing quite like a good steak, unless you're a vegetarian and steak doesn't cut it for you. Most folks have their own way of cooking steak. Below are some recipes from various sources about cooking steak during the 19th century. I love this tidbit quote that comes from the first recipe "It is better to have the gentleman of the house wait for his steak than have the steak wait for the gentleman—be snubbed for having a thing good rather than have it poor."

To Cook a Steak.
The choice of cut varies with the taste of a family—porterhouse, tenderloin, round or rump; the two latter require more beating with the steak beater to break the tougher fiber. Break somewhat the fiber of the meat by beating with the steak-beater; lay the gridiron over bright but not too hot coals; place the steak on it, turn in two minutes, then again in two minutes. Take up the steak and press it into some soft butter on a warm platter; turn and press the other side; now lay again on the gridiron and finish by turning once or twice. A folding gridiron expedites and simplifies the cooking of steak. When sufficiently cooked place the steak on a warm platter on which is some soft butter, considerable salt and a dash of pepper; turn and press. Serve instantly. It is better to have the gentleman of the house wait for his steak than have the steak wait for the gentleman—be snubbed for having a thing good rather than have it poor. We decline to give a receipt for frying steak.
Source: The Home Messenger Book of Tested Receipts ©1878

To Cook a Beefsteak— Put a frying-pan over the stove till it becomes quite hot. Have your steak well pounded or mangled, — a sirloin steak is very good for this purpose, — lay it on the hot, dry pan and cover it instantly as tightly as possible. When the meat touches the heated pan it will seethe and adhere to it, but in a few seconds it will become loosened and juicy; turn the steak every half-minute, but be careful to do it as quickly as possible, so that it may not be long uncovered. When nearly done, sprinkle on pepper and salt, lay a small piece of butter on the steak, and add a table-spoonful of strong coffee. This makes a delicious broiled steak. Or, if you wish much gravy, shake a little flour over the steak when just done, and pour in three or four table-spoonfuls of cream, let it just boil up, under cover, and when the meat is done, take the pan from the fire, remove the meat, stir in quickly the well-beaten yelk of an egg, and serve hot. If cream is used, omit the coffee. Mutton or ham may be cooked in the same way, only they should be over the fire longer than beef.
Rump Steak, with Oyster Sauce. — Broil the steak nicely ; put four even table-spoonfuls of butter into a frying-pan, add pepper and salt to your taste ; shake in a table-spoonful of flour, and add the juice of half a lemon ; when it begins to boil up, put in as many oysters as can be used in this preparation ; let them heat through and just boil up once, taking care to shake the pan and keep its contents stirring all the time it is over the fire. When the oysters are done,—a pint to one steak is about the right quantity, —- pour all over the steak, and serve.
A French BroiL— Select a spider or saucepan with a smooth, clean bottom, set it over the range or stove till really hot, then lay on a good tenderloin or sirloin steak ; keep the spider very hot, and turn the steak as often as every two minutes, — no longer ; when half done, sprinkle over salt and pepper to suit the taste of those who are to eat it ; continue to turn the steak often till sufliciently done ; just as you are ready to take up and dish the steak, dust a little flour over it, spread on a table-spoonful of butter, or, if a large steak, 8. little more; turn it over, dust on more flour, and spread on the butter as on the first side; turn again, set the saucepan back from the hot fire, take the steak on to the platter, and set in a heater or oven to keep hot, but not to cook any more ; shake more flour into the butter in the saucepan, set again over the fire, and as soon as the butter bubbles up through the flour, rub it smooth with a spoon and pour in a few spoonfuls of boiling water ; stir constantly, and as soon as it thickens, pour over the steak, and serve hot.
Source: Motherly Talks with Young Housekeepers ©1873

This little tidbit is interesting:
If, friendly Reader, you wish to entertain your mouth with a Superlative Beef-Steak, you must have the inside of the Sirloin cut into Steaks. The next best steaks are those cut from the middle of a Rump, that has been killed at least four days in moderate weather, much longer in cold weather,—when they can be cut about six inches long, four inches wide, and half an inch thick: do not beat them, which vulgar trick breaks the cells in which the Gravy of the meat is contained, and it becomes dry and tasteless.
Source: Cook's Oracle ©1836

Beef Steak.
The tender loin is the best piece for broiling—a steak from the round or shoulder clod is good and comes cheaper. If the beef is not very tender, it should be laid on a board and pounded, before broiling or frying it. Wash it in cold water, then lay it on a gridiron, place it on a hot bed of coals, and broil it as quick as possible without burning it. If broiled slow, it will not be good. It takes from fifteen to twenty minutes to broil a steak. For seven or eight pounds of beef, cut up about a quarter of a pound of butter. Heat the platter very hot that the steak is to be put on, lay the butter on it, take up the steak, salt and pepper it on both sides. Beef steak to be good, should be eaten as soon as cooked. A few slices of salt pork broiled with the steak makes a rich gravy with a very little butter. There should always be a trough to catch the juices of the meat when broiled. The same pieces that are good broiled are good for frying. Fry a few slices of salt pork, brown, then take them up and put in the beef. When brown on both sides, take it up, take the pan off from the fire, to let the fat cool; when cool, turn in half a tea cup of water, mix a couple of tea spoonsful of flour with a little water, stir it into the fat, put the pan back on the fire, stir it till it boils up, then turn it over the beef.
Source: The American Housewife ©1841

Dyes and such

As I was working on my third book in the St. Augustine series, I was researching the historic use of how shepherds would mark which of his ewes have been with his rams. Today there is a harness to attach to the sheep but back then it was done differently. Which will be explained in my third book . In any case I did come across the dye red-ochre as part of the historical practice. This had me thinking about the various dyes and colors available for our 19th century characters.

Below is a link to a book The Manual of Colours and Dye Wares ©1870 that gives a great definition of each of the colors, and materials used for them. Such as this example about pomegranates.

Pomegranate Husks.—The husk or rind of the pomegranate fruit, though very rarely used in England, is a valuable astringent, containing about 32 per cent. of tannin of a fine quality. The blacks which it yields with iron have a peculiar softness and richness of colour. In Spain it is preferred to sumac.

However, this information from "The American Housewife" ©1841 is probably better suited to the needs of those writing in the American Historical time periods.

COMMON SIMPLE DYES
433. To Dye Black.
_ Allow a pound of logwood to each pound of goods that are to be dyed._ Soak it over night in soft water, then boil it an hour, and strain the water in which it is boiled. For each pound of logwood, dissolve an ounce of blue vitriol in lukewarm water sufficient to wet the goods. Dip the goods in—when saturated with it, turn the whole into the logwood dye. If the goods are cotton, set the vessel on the fire, and let the goods boil ten orfifteenminuieSjStirrin!-them constantly to prevent their spotting. Silk and woollen goods should not be boiled in the dye-stuff, but it should be kept at a scalding heat for twenty minutes. Drain the goods without wringing, and hang them in a dry, shady place, where they will have the air. When d ry, set the color by, put them into scalding hot water, that has salt in it, in the proportion of a tea-cup full to three gallons ot' the water. Let the roods remain in it till cold; then hang them where they will dry: (they should not be wrung.) Boiling hot suds is the best thing to set the color of black silk—let it remain in it till cold. Soaking black-dyed goods in sour milk, is also good to set the color. 434. Green and Blue Dye, for Silks and Woollens.
For green dye, take a pound of oil of vitrio1. and turn it upon half an ounce of Spanish indigo, that has been reduced to a tine powder. Stir them well together, then and a lump of pearl ash, of the size of a pea—as soon as the fermentation ceases, bottle it— the dye will be fit for use the next day. Chemic blue is made in the same mauner, only using half the quantity of vitriol, tor woollen goods, the East indigo will answer as well as the Spanish, and comes much lower. This dye will not answer for cotton goods, as the vitriol rots the threads. Wash the. articles that are to be dyed till perfectly clean, and free from color, if you caunot extract the color by rubbing it in hot suds, boil it out —rinse it in soft water, till entirely free from soap, as the soap will ruin the dye. To dye a pale color, put to each quart of soft warm water that is to be used for the dye.ten drops of the above composition—if you wish u deep color, more will be necessary. Put in the articles without crowding, and let them remain in it till of a good color—the dye-stuff should bo kept warm—take the articles out without wringing, drain as much of the dye out of them as possible, then bang them to dry in a shady, airy place. They should be dyed when the weather is dry—if not dried quick, they will not look nice When perfectly dry, wash them in lukewarm suds, to keep the vitriol from injuring the texture of the cloth. If you wish for a lively bright green, mix a little of the above composition with yellow dye. %
• 435. Yellow Dyes.
To dye a buff color, boil equal parts of arnotto and common potash, in soft clear water. _ When dissolved, take it from the tire; when cool, put in the gooda; which should previously be washed free from spots, and color; set them on a moderate fire, where they will keep hot, till the goods are of the shade you wish. To dye salmon and orange color, tie arnotto in a bug, and soak it in warm soft soap suds, till it becomes soft, so thai you can squeeze enongh of it throngh the hag to make the suds a deep yellow—put in trre articles, which should lie clean, anil free from color; boil them till of the shade you wish. There should be enongh of the dye to cover the goods—stir them while boiling, to keep them from spotting. This dye will make a salmon or orange color, according to the strength of it, and the time the goods remain in. Drain them out of the dye, and dry them quick, in the shade—when dry, wash them in soft soap suds. Goods dyed in this mauner should never be rinsed in clear water. Peach leaves, fustic, and saffron, all make a good straw or lemon eolor, according to the strength of the dyo. They should be steeped in soft fair water, in an earthen or tin vessel, and then strained, and the dye set with alum, and a little gum arabic dissolved in the dye, if you wish to stiffen the artiele. When the dye-stuff is strained, steep the articles in it.
436. Red Dyes,
Madder makes a good durable red, but not a brilliant color. To make a dye of it, allow for half a pound of it three ounces of alum, and one of cream of tartar, and six gallons of water. This proportion of ingredients will make sufficient dyo for six or seven pounds of goods. Heat half of the water scalding hot, in a clean brass kettle, then put in tho alum and cream of tartar, and let it dissolve. When the water boils, stir the alum and tartar up in it, put in the [roods, and let them boil a couple of hours; then rinse them in fair water—empty the kettle, and put in three gallons of water, and the madder; rub it fine in the water, then put in the goods, and set them where they will keep scalding hot for an hour, without boiling—stir them constantly. When they have been scalding an hour, increase the tire till they boil. Let them hoil five minutes; then drain them out of the dye, and rinse them, without wringing, in fair water, and hang them in the shade, where they will dry. To dye a fine crimson, take for each pound of goods two and a half ounces of alum, an ounce and a half of white tartar—put them in a brass kettle, with sufficient fair water to cover your soods; set it where it will boil briskly for several minutes; then put in the goods; which should be washed clean, and rinsed in fair water. When the goods have boiled half an hour, take them out, without wringing, and hang it where it will cool all over alike, without drying ; empty out the alum and tartar water, put fresh' water in the kettle, and for each pound of goods to be dyed, put in an ounce of cochineal, powdered fine. Set the kettle on the firo, and let tho water boil fifteen or twenty minutes; then put in sufficient cold water to make it lukewarm, put in the goods, and boil them an hour and a quarter—take them out without wringing, and dry them in a shady place). The blossoms of the Balm of flilead. stooped with fair water in a vessel, then strained, will dye silk a pretty red color. The silk should be washed clean, and free from Coit, then rinsed in fair wator, and boiled in the strained dye, with a small piece of alum. To dye a fine delicate pink, use a carmine saucer—the directions for dyeing come with the saucers. It is too expensive a dye for bulky goods, but for faded fancy shawls and ribbons, it is quite worth the while to use it, as it gives a beautiful shade of pink.
437. Slate-Colored Dye.
To make a good dark slate color, boil sugar-loaf paper with vinegar, in an iron utensil —put in ahim to set the color. Tea grounds, set with copperas, makes a good slate color. To produce a light slate color, boil white maple hark in clear water, with a little alum— the bark should be boiled in a brass utensil. The dye for slate color should be strained before the goods are put into it. They should be boiled in it, and then hung where they will drain and dry.

Oneiromancy - Interpretation of Dreams

Here's a tidbit from The Bible Cyclopedia ©1841 on the Interpretation of Dreams.

DIVINATION, the art of foretelling future events by previously recognised signs. The word is derived from the Latin divinatio, and that again from divinus, forming an acknowledgment of the text—" Secret things belong unto God."
5. The fifth species of divination to which we shall advert, and in many respects the most important of all, is Oneiromancy, or as it has been sometimes called Oneirocriticism, the interpretation of dreams.
It will be quite unnecessary here to enter into the philosophy of sleep, because it will not be denied that in the periods previous to the Christian dispensation, God did speak to his people "by dreams and visions of the night;" and there are instances on record in the New Testament of similar interpositions. The truth, therefore, of the idea upon which oneiromancy is founded will account for its extensive prevalence. Oveipos, a dream, and fzavTeia, will give us the derivation of the word, and suggest to us also the remark of Homer, Kai ryap Tovap eic Aio<; eariv, "For dreams also come from Jove." Thus in the earliest records of profane antiquity, as well as in the Scriptures of truth, we find a recognition of the Divine will conveyed to man by means of dreams.
On reading the accounts preserved in the Sacred "Writings, we are struck with a circumstance which at once does away all suspicion of imposture on the part of the "interpreters of dreams." They were sent for on one occasion by Pharaoh, (Gen. 41. 8,) who related to them his dreams, and demanded an interpretation, "but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh." A similar case is found in the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. Once he required the dream as well as the interpretation to be given him, and the case is not, therefore, an exact instance in point, but afterwards (Dan. 4. 7) we find the king himself saying, "Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldffians, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof."
From all this we gather that the interpreters of dreams were not (in the ordinary sense of the word) impostors, for had they been such, they would not so frankly have acknowledged their inability to expound the dreams of Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. To an impostor one dream is as easy to interpret as another. The nature of this case is obvious: they interpreted dreams according to a system; whatever could be reduced within the rules of that system admitted of an exposition, but when dreams, sent by the Supreme Being, and probably for that very cause not reducible to any rules with which they were acquainted, were proposed for their consideration, they were too wise to attempt any imposition, but at once acknowledged that the boundaries of their art did not extend to these visions. Many works have come down to us from ancient times on the art of interpreting dreams; the most remarkable is the Oneirocritica of Artemidorus, who gives instructions for explaining four hundred and nine species of dreams, many of them such as could never occur to a Christian educated in our day, and which exhibit, perhaps, the darkest picture of fioman morals anywhere to be found.