Thanksgiving Poems

Below is a poem that was published in 1880 in the Victorian Review, Vol. 3 pg 518. It was written by William Allen. I wasn't able to find anything about William Allen apart from this poem.

A THANKSGIVING.
I Thank Thee, Lord, because Thou dost ordain
Strength out of weakness, blessing out of pain;
For all of light through darkness brought to birth,
I thank Thee, O Thou Lord of Heaven and earth.
But, chief of all Thy gifts sent from above,
I thank Thee for the sovereign grace of love-
Choicest of all the boons to mortals known,
A ray of glory from the eternal throne.
See where this feeble sufferer lies ! a prey
To long-drawn pains that waste his life away;
While o'er his couch his faithful partner hangs,
And in her own fond bosom feels his pangs.
And once again her anxious watch behold,
Beside the one pet darling of the fold,
As forced, with breaking heart and streaming eye,
To own the hateful truth—" my child must die."
And is there nothing here but grief and gloom—
The grim attendants of the unlovely tonibl
Far be the thought! Here flowers of Eden blow,
Luxuriant in the midst of human woe.
Here the fair flower of love its fragrance yields,
To earth transplanted from the heavenly fields,—
So fair as almost with a grace to wreathe
The frightful features of the monster death.

'Tis love that bids the unwearying vigil keep,
And gives to tireless toil the hours of sleep;
Of wifely care, maternal watch and ward,
The keen inspirer and the sole reward.
Love lights the eyes (to love responsive given)
Of the child-angel on the verge of heaven;
And love unspeakable the husband shares
With her whose tender kindness soothes his cares.
Then, blest be God! who good from evil brings,
And round the ghastly grave a radiance flings,
Gilding with love a lot else all forlorn,
The grievous lot of those o'er death who mourn.
Dear Son of God! Dear love of God ! we pray
Take from our hearts all lovelessness away,
So shall Thy Spirit through our actions shine,
And make the meanest toil of life divine. 
Wm. Allen.

Thanksgiving Proclamation

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Abraham Lincoln made a proclamation in 1863 declaring Thanksgiving to be a National holiday. After the Civil War some of the Southerners considered it a northern holiday, but in time all did.

Below is the proclamation made by Abraham Lincoln on Oct. 3, 1863. What is rather interesting is I found this copy of the proclamation went out as an invitations to American's living in London, England at the time. You can view the entire document at Google Books American Thanksgiving Dinner at St. James Hall, London, Thursday November 26, 1863.

Included in this document is the menu, the program, and the remarks of the event.

Below is simply the copy of the President Lincoln's Proclamation:

A PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THE year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever''watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theatre of military conflict, while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
The needful diversions of wealth and strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the Bhip. The axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal, as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege aud the battle-field, and the country rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigour is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people ; I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to our beneficient Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers, in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of "Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixtythree, and of the independence of the United States the eightyeighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President, William H. Seward,
Secretary of State.

Menu for Thanksgiving

In The Boston Cooking-school cook book by Fannie Merritt Farmer ©1896 you'll find this menu for Thanksgiving.
MENU FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER.
Oyster Soup. Crisp Crackers.
Celery. Salted Almonds.
Roast Turkey. Cranberry Jelly.
Mashed Potatoes. Onions in Cream. Squash.
Chicken Pie.
Fruit Pudding. Sterling Sauce.
Mince, Apple, and Squash Fie.
Neapolitan Ice Cream. Fancy Cakes.
Fruit. Nuts and Raisins. Bonbons.
Crackers. Cheese. Cafe Noir.

Thanksgiving 1864

In 1864 a gentleman from New York proposed an idea. To feed the troops serving in the war. The idea grew and the committee received $57,000 in money. Poultry and provisions valued at $150,000. The idea spread to other states in the end the 1864 Thanksgiving dinner cost the people around a quarter of a million dollars. The troops prized the attention more than the gift and the support went a long way to encourage the troops spirits.

Below is the initial proposal for the troops.

The Soldiers' Thanksgiving Dinner of November, 1864—a repast which, if not dainty enough for Lucullus, was of dimensions that would have satisfied Gargantua—came about in this wise. The country was in tbe throes of the impending presidential election: never, perhaps, was it more indifferent to turkey and cranberry sauce, nor less anxious about what it should eat and what it should drink. Still, an idea too big, too generous to be kept in one brain, had occurred to an individual in New York, to whom ideas of the sort were no strangers, and, at the risk of confiding it to an unwilling ear, he made it public by addressing certain editors in the following lines:
Gentlemen:—President Lincoln having ordered a general Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, it being on the 24th, I have thought it only proper that something should be done for the army and navy on that occasion, not only to aid them in keeping the day properly, but to show them they are remembered at home. My proposition is to supply the armv and navy in Virginia with poultry and pies, or puddings, all cooked, ready for use. This seems to he a big undertaking, but I do not see any difficulty in carrying it out.
My idea is this: there will be about fifty thousand turkeys—say of eight pounds each, and fifty thousand pies, or their equivalents, required to feed the soldiers and sailors on that day; let, then, every one who can afford it and is willing to send and prepare such articles do so, and make up a barrel or box of them well packed; have them ready for shipment in this city from the IStb to the 20th of November; they can be sent (freight free) to the army and navy of the Potomac so as to be distributed the day before Thanksgiving.
It would be a grand sight to see that army of brave men, loyal to the flag, feeding on the good things of the land they have fought for, whilst the miserable traitors, if they still hold out, are crouched behind their defences hungry and starving.

Thanksgiving 1865

This is the first Thanksgiving after the Civil War, it is two years after Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclaimation. Primarily it was a day of prayer and praise of thanking God for all his good provisions. Below is a letter written Dec. 7, 1865 (Thanksgiving) by Amos A. Lawrence to his Uncle.

December 7, 1865. Thanksgiving Evening.

My Dear Uncle, — On these anniversary days the memory runs back to the days long passed away, and it requires a great effort for any except the very young to avoid an overpowering feeling of sadness. I think of you in what was not many years ago your " new home," surrounded with all that makes life sweet. The glad voices of your children, the tender smile of their mother, all united to warm your heart and to make you thank God for so much happiness.

Now in your " old home " you sit by your hearth, an old man, the lamp growing dim, the bright lights of former days gone out. The forms so dear are not seen; their cheerful voices are not heard. Yet in your own imagination you do see them, and you do hear their voices. But their forms are more heavenly, and their voices are calling on you to prepare to rejoin them. No doubt you will gladly obey the summons when in God's good time it shall come. Meantime you will live for those who remain to you, cheerful and cheering, in the service of the Lord, and in communion with his saints.

All this reminds me of my own life, so filled with blessing, yet fast gliding away. All my dear ones remain with me. My good wife, seven children, and one grandchild, all are here under this roof. I see their forms, to me the most beautiful on earth, and I hear their voices on this Thanksgiving evening. Indeed, I have cause for thankfulness, though the black clouds of sorrow should gather from this very hour ; still I could be thankful, for my cup of blessing has long been full and running over. Who that has lived fifty years can enjoy these family days without some sadness, if those cannot who have been prospered all the time.

Sunday 10th. My note was stopped by the influx of some twenty young people, chiefly nephews and nieces, who assembled here to have " high jinks " on Thanksgiving evening. There were two families of Uncle William L.'s grandchildren (Sprague and Whitney), two families of Uncle Abbott's grandchildren (Abbott L.'s and Rotch), and an equal number of Appleton grandchildren. They soon had possession of my sanctum where this is written, and turned me out to help play the " elephant," to " wind the bottle," to see "the dwarf" and the "giant." The sport ran high from six o'clock till nine, and then they disappeared into the snow-storm to their homes. They like to come to Uncle Amos's ; they think, no doubt, that I have been here always, and that I am as lasting as the hills. If the new heaven and the new earth are to be our everlasting home, then in our human weakness some might pray that this present home may be ours hereafter. Certainly I should be one to ask to live right here.

Your affectionate nephew,

A. A. L.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving! from my home to yours.

Continued from yesterday: From the Cyclopedia Of American Horticulture ©1906

Planting.—There are several methods of planting vines. One way is to sort the vines and then cut them up, roots and all, in pieces about eight inches in length, laying them down three or four in a place, pushing the lower end into the ground by means of a stick shaped like a paddle; or it is sometimes done by a piece of iron fastenened to the bottom of a shoe. This method leaves the plants in an upright position, and they do not grow so rapidly as when pushed into the ground obliquely or laid on top of the ground, as their first growth is to make runners. Sometimes the vines are cut in a hay cutter, sown by hand like wheat, and then rolled. A good method of planting in the west is to take vines without cutting and drop two or three in a place and step on them; if put a foot apart, they will soon cover the ground, anil will bear a good crop in three years. The greatest care must be taken, while sorting vines, that they do not dry out, for if they do they are worthless.

In subsequent culture is when water comes into use. The ditches should be about ten rods apart, each ditch having a dam built below it of the material thrown from the ditch ; the drain ditches running down through the marsh need not be quite so close together. To promote the growth of vines, it is only desired to hold the ditches about half full, so that the ground may be moist, but if water is kept up onto vines at this time thev will bedrowned and do nothing. When frosty nights come, after vines have begun to grow, water should be drawn from the reservoir to cover them, and let off the next morning. If the ends of the new shoots get frozen, it is a decided set-back, and especially so when the vines have reached the bearing age, as then it cuts off the crop and hurts the prospect for the coming year by taking the terminal bud. The vines do throw out side shoots, however, and sometimes the second season's crop does not seem to be much affected by it. When the plants are in blossom (which is all through July) the ground must not get too dry, or the blossoms will blast. This trouble was experienced in many places during the summers of '86 and '87, when it was so dry that nothing but a stream fed by springs could begin to furnish a supply of water. Through the most of the summer, it is best to keep the water from 4 to 8 inches below the surface, but before the spring frosts are over it is better to keep it nearly to the surface, and if it is a season of drought, draw water down over the marsh about once a week. After the fruit has set, if obliged to flood as a protection against frost, be sure to draw the water off quickly the next morning, or the berries will be scalded.

The marsh should not be flooded for winter till quite late, some time in November, generally, as the fall frosts do not injure the vines, but help them harden, so that they will endure the winter's snow and ice without injury. Sometimes during the late winter, a rain or thaw will let surplus water on the marsh and this may lift the ice, and that will take the vines with it, right out of the ground. This should be guarded against by opening waste-gates and drawing off the extra water. The flood should be left on the marsh in the spring until the spring frosts are over ; in Wisconsin the time for drawing off the water is generally about the 20th of May, and it must be closely watched afterwards, as the vines are then very tender and will not bear as hard a frost as they will after they have been uncovered a few weeks.

Berries are gathered in two different ways : one is to pick them by hand, the other to rake them. The handpicking is mostly done by women and children or Indians. Every thirty pickers should have an overseer, whose duty it is to see that the vines are picked clean and that no refuse is allowed to go into the box; also to give a check for every bushel box filled, and to carry the full boxes to the wagon, car or boat. The pickers in the west use shallow peck boxes to pick in, and when these are filled they empty them into the bushel box. The pickers are placed in a row, thirty of them occupying from 80 to 90 feet, and a rope should be stretched each side of them to keep them going straight ahead, or else they are very apt to turn to the right or left for better picking.

The cheapest way of gathering berries is to rake them \vithwhat is called a " scoop rake "(Fig. 573). It needs stout men to use these to advantage, at least those who are not troubled with backache, as they must keep a stooping position almost constantly. Rakes should not be used in young vines where there are a Ljrrut many runners, as they would pull them up by the roots too much, but as the vines get older and the fruit shoots stand up out of the way of the runners, raking does not seem to injure them. The rakers should have ropes stretched between them, each man being given a space from one to three rods wide, and every ten should have an overseer, who will also rake most of the time. Rakers are hired by the day, but hand pickers pick by the box. The rake is much used in the west.

If the berries can be taken to the warehouse in a boat along the ditches, it is the best way, as they bruise easily and should be carefully handled ; but if that is not practicable, then thev must be taken in wagons which are driven as close to the picking ground as pos, sible ; or a portable track may be laid onto the marshand a car used. The bushel boxes which are used have the sides and bottom made of lath, with small spaces between; and these boxes are used to cure the berries in, being piled up in tiers, so that the air can circulate between them. The berry-house should be built with dead air spaces in the walls, and windows should be darkened and building kept closed during the day. See Storage.

Cranberries are generally shipped in barrels, but some use bushel crates, though in whatever they are packed, the greatest care should be taken to put them up in good shape. If picked before they begin to ripen, and then packed so that when they reach their destination they are settled from one to three inches in the barrel, dealers will not want them, and this kind of management has much to do with low prices. Before putting into barrels, the berries are put through a Cranberry mill, and then, if there are still a few bad berries, they are put on tables made for the purpose, and tbe rest of the bad ones picked out by hand.

The profits of the business depend so much upon the amount of expense which has been necessary to improve the marsh that it is impossible to give any exact figures. The smaller the marsh, the quicker it can be improved and made to begin to pay a profit. Anyone who undertakes to improve a large marsh ought not to expect much from it short of ten or fifteen years, though, if carefully managed, it may be made to pay cost of improving after three or four years.

There is a small sand marsh in Wisconsin, made after an attempt to farm the land had utterly failed because the soil was so poor, which has yielded a better income for several years than the best farm in the county. It is a profitable business when honest work and careful management are united in it, but not otherwise.

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.

Thanksgiving Winter Vegetables

Today, I'm starting a series with Thanksgiving in mind. Next week, I'll continue with some recipes and how one product, uniquely North American, how it was grown and effected business in the 19th century. Prepare yourself for the turkey recipe, it was completely new to me.

Below is an excerpt from The Friends' Review published in 1886 out of Pennsylvania.

Winter Vegetables Where we have long winters, gardeners always try to keep the table well supplied with vegetables. In December, having noticed some turnips stored for winter use and sprouting, my mind was aroused to the fact that they would be useful vegetables if forced. I at once commenced working out the idea. Having a dark corner in a warm greenhouse, I placed on the floor two inches of sand, and then set out turnips close together, and gently pressed them into the sand; after which I gave them a watering, and closed them up. In about ten days I had my heart gladdened by beautiful blanched leafstalks. A bundle of them was cut, as much as would make a dish for twelve people, tied up as asparagus is, and sent into the kitchen. It was cooked the same as sea kale or asparagus, and when placed upon the table it was pronounced "excellent." It may be well to say that any cellar that excludes frost is suitable for forcing or growing turnips in this manner. Housekeepers can have a very delicious vegetable all winter by planting at intervals. Any kind of turnip may be used.

Kohl rabi may also be esteemed as a winter vegetable, although some raise it only for summer use. I manage by sowing in the spring in a cold-frame to have nice young plants to handle early. I transplant them from the seed bed into rows, say thirteen inches apart, and allow them to stand until they have been well frozen, then take them up and store the same as cabbage.

The drumhead Savoy I consider one of the most important of winter vegetables, as it answers two purposes; first, as a cabbage, to be boiled, which is much sweeter than the ordinary cabbage; secondly, as a beautiful, sweet, salad cabbage, when cut and dressed the Same as endive.

Perhaps few are aware that the leek is one of the finest winter vegetables, and when prop.erly grown can be had from one foot to a foot and a half of white, which, when boiled, is very nutritious, and much milder than the onion. With beets, carrots, parsnips, artichokes, salsify, celery, celeraic, Brussels sprouts, leeks, turnips and cabbage, all carefully put into a root cellar, we are prepared to give change of vegetables all winter as well as summer. — G. Hunter, in Vick's Magazine.

Food Value Of Ensilage.—In a paper read before the late Ensilage Congress, Dr. Sturtevant, director of the New York State Experiment Station at Geneva, told how, in 1885, he had filled a silo, without any precaution, with fodder corn of various kinds, and at dates all along from August loth to ipth. The lots, as they were put in, were tramped sufficiently to level the mass, and up to August 28th, the fodder in the silo was not covered. At that date the planks were laid on, but removed

September 3d, when some amber corn fodder was dropped in. September 4th the planks were laid on, the silo now being completed. No weights were used. November i8th, on examination, it was found that the ensilage at four inches down was in excellent condition. December i9th, about three inches of the upper portion were rotten, but below this the ensilage was in good preservation.

Dr. Sturtevant also gave the results of some figures bearing upon the food value of ensilage when fed as an adjunct to other foods. When the ration was 18 pounds of an even mixture of meal and bran, together with about 70 pounds of ensilage daily, and this compared with the same amount of grain with 30 pounds of the same dried fodder which, put in the silo, formed the ensilage, and the same amount of grain, with 20 pounds of hay, the following conclusions were justified by the results— viz., that 26 pounds of fodder-corn were the equivalent of 70 pounds of the ensilage, or 18 pounds of hay. Expressing these results in tabular form, using too pounds as the unit for comparison.

One hundred pounds of ensilage were the equivalent of 38 pounds of fodder-corn.

One hundred pounds of ensilage were the equivalent of 26 pounds of hay.

One hundred pounds of fodder-corn were the equivalent of 262 pounds of ensilage.

One hundred pounds of fodder.corn were the equivalent of 69 pounds of hay.

One hundred pounds of hay were the equivalent of 381 pounds of ensilage.

One hundred pounds of hay were the equivalent of 145 pounds of fodder corn.

Dr. Sturtevant did not recommend the proportions of ensilage as used in his trials. His experience leads him to believe that in addition to hay and grain about twenty-five pounds of ensilage can be fed daily per cow with advantage.—New York World.

Thanksgiving

It was during the 19th century that Thanksgiving became a nationalized holiday. President Lincoln made a proclamation (Oct. 3, 1863) to that effect. Prior to 1863 states decided when or if they would celebrate thanksgiving. Setting the date as the last Thursday in Nov for all states to abide by.

Below is a link to the proclamation Lincoln wrote. Proclamation

This came up as I was researching the original thanksgiving with the Mayflower Pilgrims and thought some of you might enjoy this tidbit when writing your stories. You should research and see what some of the Southern states thought about Thanksgiving, very interesting.

Another Perspective on the Old New England Thanksgiving

Please note that this excerpt was how Thanksgiving was celebrated during the first part of the 19th Century. Also note that Thanksgiving did not become a national holiday until Lincoln declared it in 1863.

The excerpt comes from "The Guardian" ©1875
Thanksgiving reared its honest November head far above all others, at the one genuine, crowning festival of New England. We looked forward to it full half a year, with bright anticipations; and with fond remembrance we looked back upon it through the other half. The scattered children were all to come home that day. For months ahead, with wise house-keepers' prudence, the appropriate sacrifices were prepared. The whole year had been fruitful that there might be one lavish day, and that the only lavish day, on which there was no injunction of economy. There was no word about saving, but every exhortation to eat, and eat again in welcome. That lavish day was Thanksgiving. The harvests were all in, and were safe; and surely, it was right, before settling down to the narrow path of economy again, to offer up the bounteous firstfruits of the year.
Every man was his own caterer. The barnyard and the cellar were the markets. The geese were selected and put in training weeks and weeks before. The turkeys were appointed. The coops of chickens and ducks were set apart. The sucking pig, and the other delicacies were marked down. Nothing was too good for Thanksgiving.
The housewives conferred together. Bills of fare were made up as solemnly, almost, as protocols and treaties. It was the central day. Everything revolved around Thanksgiving. Everybody was caught and used in preparing for it. Did not our children's hands ache in grinding, and our arms ache in pounding spices? Did not we chop mince-meat until we began to wish that there were no mince-pies? Did not we pare and core? Was not the kitchen,
for weeks before, the scene of laborious preparations? And was not every interference met with the remark, " Get out of the way! If you cannot help, you must not hinder. Thanksgiving is coming, and cannot be put off!"
How glorious was that Sunday morning, when, after the sermon, with suitable state and solemnity, the great white sheet was unfolded, and the Governor's Proclamation was read from the pulpit. The great sermon being ended, then followed this little sermon. How we listened, without thinking much of the sentences! Afar ofT were smelled the dinners which were to be served up on that crowning day.
The day before was almost too much for us. It well-nigh exhausted our nervous sensibility. Half the night before was spent in preparations. The first half of Thanksgiving was a holy day, and the last half was a holiday. The morning might not be used except as Sunday, with no sleds, no guns, no skating, and no shouting. Cooking was the only secular employment permitted on Thanksgiving-day morning. All except servants and cooks were expected to go to church. The service generally was very much like the Sunday service; but sometimes it was a vent for all the little odds and ends of the year which it was not thought convenient to preach at the regular service on Sunday. Frequently Thanksgiving was a political safety-valve. It was a kind of ground on which the minister was allowed to express himself on public affairs. It was, however, an education; and the discussions kept alive, often, through the whole year, among the families of the people, great questions of State.
No sooner was meeting dismissed than instantly, like a flash, all was changed. Anything now was admissible; wild capers, running, tumbling, snow-balling, and what not? Everybody's face was turned homeward.
The impatient hour that elapsed between reaching home and the great event—how did we live through it? At length all came in. The wonderful table was stretched out. The long " blessing" was said. And the assault commenced. There was an endeavor on the part of every conscientious child to eat something of everything. Tne onslaught was made with great energy; but the reluctant surrender could not be long delayed, and with deep regrets at their want of capacity, the children One by one fell off; and the illusion of the year was ended.
I say, again, that no man will ever know the true flavor of a New England Thanksgiving of the olden time who has not known something of the frugality required by the honorable poverty of those times. Men were not brought up so easily that no effort was required on their part. Almost everything that a boy had he earned. In my own case, until after I was fifteen years old, I do not believe I ever at one time owned twenty-five cents in money. I do not remember ever to have received from my father the amount of more than six and a quarter cents, the old Spanish coin. Whatever I owned, of knife, or sled, or other plaything, I earned. Gifts were few—except the gifts of nature; and they who lived in those days lived with the understanding that they must think out, and plan out, and work out everything that they had. And though it was hard, it was not harder than the anvil is to the sword, or the grindstone is to its edge, that makes it a trusty instrument in the day of battle. No man can know the genuine flavor of the old New England Thanksgiving who has not known something of the untiring work and rigid seclusion which belonged to that day, and of the very narrow bounds within which amusements were confined.
Notwithstanding these drawbacks, the people were cheerful. They were earnest; they were solemn; they lived unsmiling men, too often, under a sense of fearful responsibility ; but there was, after all, in their suppressed natures, and especially in their home-life, a depth and fervor of enjoyment which is almost without exposition, and which is hardly known to those who live in the midst of the affluence and advantages of the present day.
Some may fancy the fire of prosperity to be designed rather for comfort than for trial; rather to refresh than to search us; but scarcely anything more clearly demonstrates the falseness or soundness of religion; it is to grace what fire is to gold.

A Change in Thanksgiving toward the end of the 19th Century.

Here's an excerpt from The Connecticut Magazine ©1896 from a story titled In Satan's Kitchen. This is toward the end of the 19th Century and the tidbit shows the change from the Traditional New England Thanksgiving celebration which was a day of fasting, prayers and sermons then followed with a meal.

"Thursday of that week came the time-honored festival of Thanksgiving, when, according to New England custom, Jane Maria cooked up " vittles " of certain sorts enough to last until the middle of March. The preparations began Tuesday night. A basket of apples was brought from the cellar, and Margaret was invited to join the " paring bee," which consisted of Aunt Jane, Uncle Reuben and herself, but the hapless girl cut her fingers, which bled so that she was unable to render much assistance, and, after a vigorous scolding for her carelessness, she was told she could go to bed, " kas yer aint no count here." Margaret gladly availed herself of the privilege, although it was early evening, and she wept far into the night, while down stairs the paring, halving, and quartering went on until an enormous chopping bowl, the proportions of which would astonish the housewives of to-day, was filled to its brim with meat which had been "biled " during the day, and with the apples pared during the night in preparation of the "mince-meat," which was to make the pies that were to last till the "middle of March."

Long before daybreak the next morning Margaret was wakened by the vigorous strokes of the chopping-knife, which announced the continuance of the active preparations for the occasion which, as it seemed to her, must awaken anything but sentiments of thanksgiving. Later, she was invited to lend a hand in the chopping while the pumpkin was prepared for more and other pies, all of which caused Margaret to wonder if their diet was to consist of pies until the middle of March. Jane Maria declared that Margaret's chopping " don't mount to no morn'n a baby's." But Margaret's arms, all unused to such labor, ached keenly, and by nightfall she was too tired to stand.
She had yet to learn, however, that " Thanksgiving" preparations were only just begun. As the darkness came on Uncle Reuben came hurrying in after his lantern. A big boiler of water was put to heat on the stove, and soon Margaret heard outside the shrieks and yells of the poor victims who die for humanity on "Thanksgiving Day." Uncle Reuben's later appearance with the headless fowls, which he threw upon the table to await the scalding and picking process, was more than Margaret could stand, and in the midst of it all she fainted and sank to the floor. She was promptly treated to a vigorous dash of cold water and packed off to bed by her irate aunt as soon as she " cum to." Margaret was on the point of giving up eating if it must be done at such a sacrifice of life as she had witnessed on two occasions.

What a contrast this to the quiet and happy celebration of " Thanksgiving" by the colony of New Englanders living in Oakland, gotten together to keep alive the remembrances of youth and home, and to perpetuate the time-honored day,— occasions when the abundance, variety, and freshness of Pacific coast fruits vied for prominence with the songs of New England. Margaret remembered one of these songs in particular."

A 19th Century Thanksgiving menu

In prep for this Thanksgiving holiday. I thought some Thanksgiving tidbits from the 19th Century would be in order.
This tidbit comes from Dr. Chase's Third, Last and Complete Receipt Book and Household Physician. ©1887

Thanksgiving is almost here, and how shall we celebrate the day?, I for one believe in the old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner. The following bill of fare may be of use to some of your readers:
Oyster Soup. Celery, Pepper Sauce. Roast Turkey, with Currant Jelly. Baked Potatoes. Mashed Turnips. Roast Pig. Carrots with Cream. Baked Beans. Chopped Cabbage. Pumpkin Pie. Plum Pudding. Apples. Nuts. Cheese. Tea and Coffee.
For the table I prefer a white cloth with fancy border, and napkins to match. A dash of color livens up the table so, in the bleak November, when flowers cannot be had in profusion. Casters in the center, of course, flanked by tall celery glasses. At each end, glass fruit dishes filled with apples and nuts. A bottle of pepper sauce near the casters, and a mold of jelly by the platter of turkey, and small side dishes of chopped cabbage garnished with rings of cold : boiled eggs. The purple cabbage makes the handsomest-looking dishes. Serve the soup from tureens into soup dishes, handing around to the guests. After this comes the pièce de resistance, “Thanks iving turkey.” A piece of dark meat with a spoonful of £ and one of white with a bit of jelly and a baked potato (I should prefer a spoonful of mashed) should be served on each plate, leaving the other vegetables to be passed afterward with the roast pig. After this the salad, and then the '' should be taken away and the dessert served. Then come the apples and nuts, the tea and coffee, well seasoned with grandpa's old-time stories, grandma's quaint sayings and kind words and merry repartees from all.
Below I give some recipes for these old-fashioned dishes, hoping they may because to some young housekeeper, preparing, perhaps, her first thanksgiving dinner:
Oyster Soup.–Pour the liquor from 1 qt. of oysters, set over the fire with
1 pt. of boiling water; skim when it boils up, and add 1 qt. of sweet milk; when it again boils up, stir in 2 tea-spoonfuls of butter rubbed in 1 of flour; then add the oysters, and salt and pepper to your taste; let it boil only a minute or two, and serve in a hot tureen. See, also, that the soup dishes are well warmed before sending to table.
Roast Turkey.—Make a stuffing of moistened bread-crumbs, rubbed smooth, with salt, pepper and powdered ": Fill the breast and body, and sew it up with a needle and coarse thread. Put in the oven in a pan with a little water, basting it often. A turkey weighing 12 lbs. should roast at least 3 hours. Having washed the heart, liver and gizzard, boil them an hour or so in a saucepan; to make the gravy chop the # fine; put them back in the water in which they were boiled; add flour, rubbed smooth, in a little water; boil a minute or two, and serve in a gravy boat.
Roast Pig.–Sprinkle inside with fine salt an hour before it is put into the oven; cut off the feet at the first joint; fill it very full of stuffing, with plenty of sage in it; tie the legs; rub it all over with butter to keep it from blistering; baste very often while roasting. It will require about 2% hours to roast. Make gravy as for other roasts.
Carrots with Cream.—Boil very tender with plenty of water, when done slice into a saucepan with a gill of cream; let them boil up once; salt and pepper to taste, and serve in hot nappies (side dishes).
Boston Baked Beans.—Take # of white beans, wash and soak over night in 2 or 3 qts of water; in the morning pick them over and boil until they begin to crack open; put them in a brown pan; pour over them enough of the water in which they have been boiled to nearly cover them. Cut the rind of a pound of salt pork into narrow strips; lay the pork upon the top of the beans and press down nearly even with them, bake some 4 or 5 hours.
"Pumpkin Pie.—Stew a kettle full of pumpkin and press it through a colander. For a quart of the stewed pumpkin use about a pint or a little more of sweet milk, 2 cups of sugar, 3 eggs and a tea-spoonful of ginger; bake in a crust in a deep pie plate.
Remarks.—The plum pudding will be found in another part of the book; also salads, sauces or any other thing that may be desired upon Thanksgiving, or most other important occasions.

Thanksgiving Menus Part 4

And last but not least I thought this menu was quite unique as a Vegetarian Menu for Thanksgiving meal. This comes from Guide for Nut Cookery ©1899

THANKSGIVING DINNER.
The Thanksgiving dinner has been a great puzzler to the vegetarian housewife. "How can we ever celebrate Thanksgiving without a turkey ?" has been a question which it has been hard to solve. I propose that we do have a turkey for Thanksgiving,— not the corpse of a bird whose life was sacrificed to satisfy our perverted appetites, but something which, although it looks like a real turkey, with neck, wings, legs, and even the drum-stick bones protruding, is only one made of nuts and grains. Then let us have the pumpkin pie, chicken croquettes, and fish all stuffed and baked, the salads, and lettuce,— in fact, all that Thanksgiving calls for; but we will use only wholesome material. We will substitute nut foods for the different meats, lemon-juice will take the place of vinegar, and nuts the place of animal fats. With painstaking, we shall have a better dinner than our sisters who have their platters ladened with the remains of a barn-yard fowl, and with cakes and pies filled with animal fats and spices. Besides this, we shall have a clearer mind, as well as a clear conscience; while those who eat meat are taking poisons into the system which benumb the brain, cloud the conscience, and render man unfit to meet the vesper hour and hold communion with his God.

THANKSGIVING DINNER MENU.
SOUP.
Canned-corn soup, canned-pea soup, or vegetable oyster soup, seasoned with raw peanut cream.

FISH.
A stuffed baked trout.

ENTREE.
Mock chicken croquettes. Serve with it mock salmon salad.
Stewed salsify (vegetable oyster) with cream.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY. With the turkey send a sauce-boat of gravy, sweet potatoes, curled celery or lettuce, and cranberry sauce.

BREADS.
Nut crisps, nice buns, and cream rolls.

PIE.
Pumpkin pie with cocoanut cream crust.

FRUITS.
Fresh fruit, red-cheeked apples, oranges, and any other fruits desired.

NUTS.
Salted almonds, salted pine-nuts, and roasted chestnuts.

BEVERAGE.
Butternut coffee with peanut cream.



RECIPES
MOCK FISH STUFFED AND BAKED.
Take 6 cups of water; i A cups of white corn grits or white corn-meal; I teaspoonful of salt.
When the water boils, add the salt and stir in the grits, continuing to stir until it boils; let it boil gently for a few minutes, and then place in a steam-cooker, and steam for three or four hours. Make a stuffing of 2 tablespoonfuls of zwieola, I tablespoonful gluten No 3, 2 tablespoonfuls pecan meal, and 1 tablespoonful peanut butter, 1 tablespoonful almond butter, 1 hard-boiled egg, \ teaspoonful sage, 1 teaspoonful grated onion, \ teaspoonful salt; add just a little water until the mixture makes a stiff batter. Mix thoroughly. When the corn grits are done, oil a bake tin and put some of the cooked grits on it, spreading them in the form of a fish, making it as long as can be easily served on the platter you intend to serve it on. Then put some of the dressing the whole length of the fish. Make a little trough in the dressing, and put in the yolks of two eggs, chopped and seasoned with celery salt, then cover the egg with the dressing paste, and cover that with the cooked grits. Form more perfectly into the shape of a fish, and spread with a diluted nut butter, using the slices of the white of egg for the gills and mouth, and filberts for the eyes. Press in a row of blanched Jordan almonds down the center of the back to represent the dorsal fins, also use the almonds to make the tail. Lard it across the back (see cut) by sticking in pine-nuts. Bake in a moderate oven for half an hour; if it browns too fast on top, cover with a brown paper, until ten minutes before taking from the oven. Garnish with parsley and curled celery, bank the sides with potato balls made by cutting them from raw potatoes with a scoop made for the purpose, or make balls of mashed potatoes. Roll them in pine-nut butter and bake in the oven until nicely browned. To make the curled celery, take some nice crisp celery, split it into four parts from both ends, leaving about one inch in the center to hold it. Place it into ice-cold water for twenty minutes and it will be curled nicely. If the water is not very cold, leave it in longer.

MOCK CHICKEN CROQUETTES.
Take 1J pounds or ij pints of nutmeato chopped quite fine; add nearly as much mashed potato, 4 tablespoonfuls of zwieola which has been soaked for fifteen minutes in \ cup of warm water, and 4 tablespoonfuls of gluten, 2 teaspoonfuls of sage, 2 teaspoonfuls of onion grated, salt to suit the aste, 4 hard-boiled eggs put through a sieve, and 1 raw egg. Mix the sifted eggs with the zwieola, and work till smooth; then add the other ingredients, and mix all very thoroughly. Take a large tablespoonful, and work in the hands quickly, handling with care, and form into cylindershaped croquettes, making the ends as square across as pos
[graphic][merged small]
sible ; then roll them in a beaten egg and then in gluten, or what is better, fine cracker-crumbs; crisps or rolls that are perfectly dry and ground fine are also nice, and give them more of a meaty flavor. Bake on well-oiled tins for an hour or more. The above amount will make twenty good-sized croquettes. In serving, they can be arranged as in the accompanying cut, which represents them garnished with sprigs of parsley, or if a smaller quantity is desired, they may be made into funnel shapes by molding in an ice-cream mold or a small funnel with the hole stopped up with a piece of raw turnip or potato. Then when baked, they are nice served on a plate covered with curly lettuce leaves; serve a lettuce leaf with each croquette, placing the croquette upon the leaf.
MOCK SALMON.
Take 2 cups of nut butter, 1 cup of tomato juice without the pulp, 1 teaspoonful of salt, 1 cup of water, 1 tablespoonful of corn-starch. Mix thoroughly; cook in cans.

MOCK TURKEY.
Take 3 cups of sifted lentils, 1 cup of walnut butter, 1 pound of zwieback moistened with water, 3 heaping teaspoonfuls of powdered sage, 1 cup of gluten, and 2 teaspoonfuls of salt. Add 2 eggs. Form into loaf or turkey. The walnuts should be the black walnuts, as they give it more of a turkey flavor. The whole-wheat zwieback is best, but the white will do. Beat the eggs well, and mix all the ingredients together, adding enough water to the zwieback to moisten it before adding the other ingredients. If formed into a turkey, it should be real stiff, but it does not require to be so stiff when cooked in a loaf.

If you would like to search for the rest of the recipes here's a link Guide to Nut Cookery

Thanksgiving Poem

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

THANKSGIVING POEM,-1876.
[Read at Thanksgiving Service in Waverly Church.]

All hail, thou grand Festival! glad are the hands
That crown thee with blossoms, and joyous the bands
Round thy tables of plenty, thine altars of praise,
Where the millions have gathered, their anthems to raise.

Thanksgiving for blessings a century old;
Ah, well may our hearts in their fulness unfold
As we wait on the threshold of an era sublime,
The pride of the nations, the marvel of time.

We join the glad anthems that tremble and ring
From ocean to ocean in praise of our King,
And then a new altar of gratitude rear
For blessings peculiar, vouchsafed to us here.

No temple more sacred than ours, to-day,
Nor feet ever readier to tread the glad way
To the Holy of Holies, to gratefully raise
Our prayers of thanksgiving, our peans of praise.
One year with its mercies; recount them to-day,
These love-laden mercies that garland our way,
The year that began with foreboding and fears,
Whose bow in the clouds was prayer shining through tears.
Ah! the shadows were dark that were over us then,
And we looked lor the "lining of silver," in vain;
Our faltering faith scarce could pilot us through;
Our courage was waning, our numbers were few.

Then came to our rescue, (Heaven sent her this way,)
Our sister, God honored, we bless her to-day,
Her hands held the sickle for the reapers to come,
And we shouted together the glad "harvest home."

Unstop the glad organ, send strain after strain,
'Till these old walls shall echo and echo again
With an anthem more glorious, a thousand times o'er
Than ever has rung through its portals before.

For Heaven has bent till the sun of its love
Has tinged these dull walls like the glory above,
And the wing of the seraph has rustled, I ween,
The darkness of sin and God's sunlight, between.

The young man and maiden, and life in its prime,
And the child in the freshness of life's sweet spring-time,
And the husband and wife, blest bethrothal ta share,
Have knelt at the altar for pardon and prayer.

There are voices to-day in thanksgiving and song
That were silent and tuneless in years that are gone,
And the shout of the angels has sounded again
As they wrote on the fair book of life each new name.

But a shepherd was asked, lest the lambs lose their way,
And the flock should be scattered, and wander astray,
And now to the prayer " Lord, by whonq wilt thou send?"
We greeted our brother as pastor and friend.

So we gather to-day in this home ot our God,
With a greeting for loved ones anear and abroad,
And as here, with our greetings and gladness we come,
We would we might welcome each wanderer home.

How I love the old custom, grown dearer with time.
The genuine thanksgiving of "Auld Lang Syne,"

When the family, wide scattered, back thronging would come
To meet the warm kiss and the s,weet welcome home.

When the old-fashioned table with dainties was spread,
And father sat down in his place at the head
With his family around him, once children at home,
With a plate in reserve for the wandering one.

And the mother's eye glistened as they drew round the board,
And the father's voice choked in the blessing implored,
With a prayer for the "wanderer" echoed by all.
As they hoped for his coming and longed for his call.

Such the olden " thanksgiving" remembered and blest,
That points to a grander re-union at last,
When the children shall come from the West and the East
To song and rejoicing, to welcome and feast.

O! to hear the "Come in" from the royal pearl-gate
Where the Father for each of his children shall wait,
While the bright hills of glory shall echo and ring,
As they welcome the long coming wanderer in.

All Hail! then, Thanksgiving, like mile-posts that stand
Each, in turn drawing nearer some city at hand,
So ye are the waymarks that yearly ascend
Toward a glorious thanksgiving that never shall end.
Source: For Friendship's Sake ©1882

Thanksgiving Menus Part 3

This tidbit was originally published in Table Talk ©1899 and while it doesn't give the recipes for the menu it's an interesting piece comparing the old with the new. Which I imagine was on everyone's minds in 1899 as they were ending the century and beginning the next a few weeks later.

THE feasting and good cheer now so general on Thanksgiving day would have shocked the sturdy old Puritan with whom the observance of the day originated. As first kept, the festival was essentially religious, and few frivolities would have been tolerated that were not allowable on the Sabbath.
When we remember the stern, uncompromising religion of those early New England Sabbaths, we can form a very fair opinion of the difference between their Thanksgiving day and our own.
Yet the real spirit of the day—to give thanks—was more in evidence than it is in our own time. It is questionable, amid the stir and feasting and pleasant excitement incidental to this festival as now kept, if we do not forget, or remember only dimly, the reason for all this jollity and good cheer.
The character of the day has changed so gradually that it is only by looking backward we can realize what it meant in its beginning.
Truly, when on February 22, 1631, the good ship hove in sight, laden with provisions for the brave, starving Massachusetts colony, every soul must have thrilled with the rapture of praise and Thanksgiving. Our need is never so desperate as was theirs, and were we to strive our utmost we could not enumerate all the mercies for which we should offer thanks. Dangers are often averted we do not even dream of, and blessings are showered upon us daily, which we except merely as our just dues.
The truest gratitude is but shown, not alone in feasting our dear ones, but in doing all we can to make those less fortunate realize that Thanksgiving is for them as well. Even if our feast is necessarily less elaborate, let us share it with those who might otherwise go without.
Thanksgiving is the day of the year for family re-union, and as such should be respected. No one should call on that day, formally or informally, unless by special invitation. If there are many children in the gathering, one should plan to make their day so enjoyable it will long be remembered. Special arrangements should be made for their comfort and diversion, and this not alone for their benefit, but incidentally for their elders as well.
If a large hall or room can be given over to the little ones' use, not only will their enjoyment be heightened, but it will be a rest and relief to their parents as well. A prettily laid table, made bright with rich colored chrysanthemums, should be prepared for them, and everything possible should be put within reach, to make the task of waiting on them less wearisome. The
carving for them should all be done at a side table, or even in the kitchen. If one or two children of a larger growth wish to preside at the table so much the better. Provide an abundance of nuts, apples, oranges and wholesome confectionery.
The house, and particularly the diningroom, should be suitably decorated for Thanksgiving. Autumn leaves, chrysanthemums, asters, palms, ferns, and other growing plants, may all be effectively utilized for their purpose. Dried grasses and grains also make handsome decorations. Certainly, if the festival is to be celebrated, an air of festivity should pervade the home. Open fires give an appearance of comfort and good cheer nothing else can so well impart. Let them glow in ruddy splendor wherever possible on Thanksgiving Day.
As much of the cooking should be done in advance as circumstances will permit. Mince meat and plum pudding are better for being made at least a week or two before they are used. Never try a new recipe for either of these thanksgiving dishes, without first testing it in smaller proportions.
If the dinner is to be served before evening, a prettier effect is secured by shutting out the daylight, and illuminating with the soft mellow light of candles.
When old people are to be present make the festival savor of their own early days as much as possible, without conflicting with those who prefer more modern ideas. Years ago it was the custom to load the table with all sorts of dainties, but the European fashion of serving a dinner in courses is infinitely more pleasing and always to be preferred. With the Thanksgiving dinner, however, it is well to strike a happy medium between the old and the newer forms. The vegetables may all be placed on the table with the turkey and chicken pie, and cranberry sauce or jelly, pickles, catsup, celery and apple sauce, may all be served with the roast turkey, in deference to the dear old-fashioned guests who may be there. By all means include Thanksgiving pudding, pumpkin pie, and a rich old-fashioned loaf cake in the menu.
Serve a sherbet between the turkey and chicken pie to restore freshness to the palate, and let the salad course and dessert be served as usual. Coffee may be passed at the table, but is generally preferred in the parlor. The Thanksgiving dinner is usually served with more regard to old fashioned comfort than to strict ceremony, but this of course applies only to the family gathering, where children and parents and grandparents, with aunts uncles and cousins, are assembled together, and not to the ordinary formal dinner.
—Mary Foster Snider.

Thanksgiving Tidbits

Okay so a week from now, you'll be sitting down with your family and friends and enjoying the Thanksgiving meal. This year, my husband and I will be doing something a little bit different. (I'll write next week and let you know.) However, for today's post I've gathered some tidbits that your historical characters might be able to take advantage of especially with an eye for decorating for the holiday:

A Thanksgiving Exercise.
Arranged by GEORGR FRANCIS PARSONS, Boston.
A table decorated with branches of pine, spruce or other evergreens, on which are arranged vegetables, baskets of fruit, a few ears of corn, nuts, and perhaps clusters of red berries will add to the attractiveness of the room. As a centerpiece for the table let :i pumpkin be placed against the green branches, and around it the vegetables may be grouped. These the pupils will eujoy bringing, and at the close of the session, the fruit and vegetables may be sent by the children to the poor.
On the blackboard may be drawn a few suggestive decorations, a spray of autumn leaves, clusters of grapes, some wheatstalks, branches of nut trees, as well as groups of fruit and of vegetables.
Thanksgiving is a day set apart by government for acknowledging the mercies and the bounties we have received from God.
While we are joyous In meeting around our well-tilled tables, let us not think our day well-spent until we have given from our store to bring cheer to some less fortunate neighbor.
Source: Popular Education ©1897

THE feasting and good cheer now so general on Thanksgiving day would have shocked the sturdy old Puritan with whom the observance of the day originated. As first kept, the festival was essentially religious, and few frivolities would have been tolerated that were not allowable on the Sabbath.
When we remember the stern, uncompromising religion of those early New England Sabbaths, we can form a very fair opinion of the difference between their Thanksgiving day and our own.
Yet the real spirit of the day—to give thanks—was more in evidence than it is in our own time. It is questionable, amid the stir and feasting and pleasant excitement incidental to this festival as now kept, if we do not forget, or remember only dimly, the reason for all this jollity and good cheer.
The character of the day has changed so gradually that it is only by looking backward we can realize what it meant in its beginning.
Truly, when on February 22, 1631, the good ship hove in sight, laden with provisions for the brave, starving Massachusetts colony, every soul must have thrilled with the rapture of praise and Thanksgiving. Our need is never so desperate as was theirs, and were we to strive our utmost we could not enumerate all the mercies for which we should offer thanks. Dangers are often averted we do not even dream of, and blessings are showered upon us daily, which we except merely as our just dues.
The truest gratitude is but shown, not alone in feasting our dear ones, but in doing all we can to make those less fortunate realize that Thanksgiving is for them as well. Even if our feast is necessarily less elaborate, let us share it with those who might otherwise go without.
Thanksgiving is the day of the year for family re-union, and as such should be respected. No one should call on that day, formally or informally, unless by special invitation. If there are many children in the gathering, one should plan to make their day so enjoyable it will long be remembered. Special arrangements should be made for their comfort and diversion, and this not alone for their benefit, but incidentally for their elders as well.
If a large hall or room can be given over to the little ones' use, not only will their enjoyment be heightened, but it will be a rest and relief to their parents as well. A prettily laid table, made bright with rich colored chrysanthemums, should be prepared for them, and everything possible should be put within reach, to make the task of waiting on them less wearisome. The
carving for them should all be done at a side table, or even in the kitchen. If one or two children of a larger growth wish to preside at the table so much the better. Provide an abundance of nuts, apples, oranges and wholesome confectionery.
The house, and particularly the diningroom, should be suitably decorated for Thanksgiving. Autumn leaves, chrysanthemums, asters, palms, ferns, and other growing plants, may all be effectively utilized for their purpose. Dried grasses and grains also make handsome decorations. Certainly, if the festival is to be celebrated, an air of festivity should pervade the home. Open fires give an appearance of comfort and good cheer nothing else can so well impart. Let them glow in ruddy splendor wherever possible on Thanksgiving Day.
As much of the cooking should be done in advance as circumstances will permit. Mince meat and plum pudding are better for being made at least a week or two before they are used. Never try a new recipe for either of these thanksgiving dishes, without first testing it in smaller proportions.
If the dinner is to be served before evening, a prettier effect is secured by shutting out the daylight, and illuminating with the soft mellow light of candles.
When old people are to be present make the festival savor of their own early days as much as possible, without conflicting with those who prefer more modern ideas. Years ago it was the custom to load the table with all sorts of dainties, but the European fashion of serving a dinner in courses is infinitely more pleasing and always to be preferred. With the Thanksgiving dinner, however, it is well to strike a happy medium between the old and the newer forms. The vegetables may all be placed on the table with the turkey and chicken pie, and cranberry sauce or jelly, pickles, catsup, celery and apple sauce, may all be served with the roast turkey, in deference to the dear old-fashioned guests who may be there. By all means include Thanksgiving pudding, pumpkin pie, and a rich old-fashioned loaf cake in the menu.
Serve a sherbet between the turkey and chicken pie to restore freshness to the palate, and let the salad course and dessert be served as usual. Coffee may be passed at the table, but is generally preferred in the parlor. The Thanksgiving dinner is usually served with more regard to old fashioned comfort than to strict ceremony, but this of course applies only to the family gathering, where children and parents and grandparents, with aunts uncles and cousins, are assembled together, and not to the ordinary formal dinner.
—Mary Foster Snider.
Source: Table Talk ©1899

Note.—Decorate the school room in the most appropriate way possible. Make free use of the national colors. Portraits of noted American statesmen, generals and authors on the walls, tastefully enwreathed with the colors red, white and blue, make a pretty effect and teach impressive lessons in patriotism. Decorations of pretty autumn leaves and flowers and grains are appropriate, and help greatly to beautify the room. Baskets and dishes of vegetables and fruit arranged on a flower stand in the front of the room or on the platform, heighten the interest of the exercises.
Source: Southwestern School Journal ©1898

Ladies and Gentlemen.—In proposing the toast to "Our National Thanksgiving Day," I have been requested to explain for the benefit of several of our English friends who delight us with their presence to-night, some of the emblems amongst our decorations. The pumpkin is one of the great national emblems of America, particularly of our American Thanksgiving Day. There is nothing more dear to our homes, especially in New England, than the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie. This colossal pumpkin was sent by the United Service Club of New York, in which State it was grown, to our esteemed Ambassador, in recognition of the great services he has rendered to his country, and his Excellency has placed it at our disposal to-night that we may enjoy it with him. But, unfortunately, he is not with us.
You will notice that I have introduced, as a part of my design on the cover of the little souvenir volume, un-husked ears of Indian corn treated somewhat after the manner of a flcur-de-lys. Corn is one of the Thanksgiving emblems which we took from the Indians. You who know Longfellow's beautiful lines in "Hiawatha" know that the Indians held their Thanksgiving feasts after the gathering of the corn. It was an emblem of peace and plenty.
The turkey is another emblem which denotes peace and thanksgiving, and by the suggestion of Colonel Taylor, our honorary treasurer, the turkey has been represented in his true light in one of the illustrations contained in the souvenir. This and the other original illustrations were executed by Miss Florence K. Upton, who graces this festival by her presence. The turkey for the moment takes the place of the American Eagle. The proud bird of liberty must get off the earth on Thanksgiving Day. I ought also to acknowledge the charming verses written specially for this occasion by Mrs. Bertha Upton, the talented mother of the talented young artist.
The origin of Thanksgiving Day is known to all Americans, and you have heard something of it to-night from our friend, Mr. B. F. Stevens, who aided me greatly in the preparation of the souvenir. Thanksgiving Day was first observed by our Pilgrim Fathers. Those brave New England pioneers, together with the early Virginian settlers and William Penn's followers laid the foundation of our nation. They faced terrible hardships whilst battling manfully against fierce nature in a savage wilderness, and they created the national spirit of the American—a spirit of self-reliance, enterprise and patriotism, which enabled them to meet emergencies as they arose—a spirit which is alive to-day in our people, and which I hope and believe will ever distinguish them. I have endeavored in this little volume to remind you of some of the things for which we ought to be thankful.
Source: Thanksgiving Day ©1896

Thanksgiving Menus Part 2

This article comes from Everyday Housekeeping ©1895 It's fairly long but enjoyable. This was not written by President Lincoln's wife, Mary.

THANKSGIVING—OUR AMERICAN FESTIVAL .
The Day Before—The Dinner—The Recipes.
BY MARY J. LINCOLN.

THIS is the month when many inquiries come in for a new menu for the Thanksgiving dinner. It seems strange that any one can question what to have at this time. However much one may desire to vary her bill of fare from week to week, or for those special occasions where the dinner or the guests, and not the day itself, are the distinctive features, on this occasion certain dishes have been so long and so intimately associated with the day, that they are naturally suggested, at least to those who have from childhood known all that the day means. And it would appear that the only question could be not what, but how much to have. This must be determined by the depths of one's purse and heart, the number to be entertained, and the amount of service needed and help obtainable.
It ought to be a pleasant change for those who are accustomed every day to the regulation elaborate dinner of many courses, to go back for this one day at least, to the informal yet bountiful feast of the olden time, with its hearty cheer, good-will, sociability and limitless hospitality. Those whose daily fare may be somewhat stinted should have on this day of gladness, if they can afford them, some of the luxuries of the table, or a little more elaborate serving than usual, and it would be well if those who always have an abundance would give less thought and money to their own dinner, and make the day a time of genuine thanksgiving to some of the countless lonely, homeless, friendless people who are all about us.

For this day means something more than feasting; it means friends and plenty of them, and if you haven't as many of your own kith and kin as used to gather round the hearth in the dear old home, then join hands with others 84
who may have even less than you have. As was said recently to the newcomers in one of our churches, "Don't consider yourself as the stranger, and wait to be spoken to or invited; but as the host or hostess, and seek out and greet the others with all the heartiness you can express."

Thanksgiving Menus Part 1

AS we head into Thanksgiving I thought I'd share some of the menus I've found. The first was publishing in Good Housekeeping Magazine ©1898. Following the menu the author shares the recipes.

A ROYAL THANKSGIVING DINNER
With a Southern Flavor.
BY MARGARET ANDREWS OLDHAM.

CIVILIZED man no longer eats; he breakfasts, lunches and dines, and the degrees of refine■f m ment with which he surrounds and pei-forms ^^^ these frequent necessities, make of him an ignoramus or a scholar, a gourmand or an epicureAll the arts and sciences are brought into requisition in preparing and eating a chop. A very learned scholar once observed that there was aright and wrong way in which to eat a strawberry. Surely, then, there is well-nigh a criminal way in which to serve and eat a steak.
It has come to pass that all events, whether domestic, political or national, are celebrated chiefly by the variety and number of good things that load our tables, until it almost seems that we virtually and absolutely do live to eat, and make holidays and unusual events as excuses to eat more, and better—and yet more.
Perhaps it is well, for whatever is done with such frequency and study of details must be progressively and scientifically done, else there is no redemption from (he common-place and the vulgar. The style in which food is served and eaten is a very fair test of a nation's progress and enlightenment. It is a pity that we have not more epicures and fewer gourmands.
Next to Christmas, the occasion calling forth most skill in edibles—in the South-—is Thanksgiving, and this dinner is truly a royal feast. Here is the menu of an old Charleston, S. C, highrliver (who died of gout).
The card—now yellowed and dim—is framed, and yet hangs on the old kitchen wall, where it has hung for more than a century. There was another for Christmas, and one for XewYear's, and one for each birthday in the family—not forgetting old Silvy's. These were never deviated from, unless to enlarge the quantities to suit the extra gues-ts. This is the menu:
Turtle soup. Pencil rolls.
Roast turkey stuffed with chestnuts.
Cranberry sauce. Celery. Sweet potatoes.
Sweet pickle peaches. Crackling bread.
Sweet pickle tomatoes. Okra.
Xew pork ham. Rice. Cabbage pudding. Oyster pie.
DESSERT.
Pumpkin pie. Persimmon beer.
Thanksgiving pudding.
Wine. Coffee.

The turtle is cut up, boiled quite "to pieces," with a shaved onion, a pinch of cayenne and curry powder, and a dessertspoonful of salt. When nearly done, little round buttons of flaky pastry are dropped in, and then thickened with a little pure sweet cream.
Pencil rolls are made in the following manner: To one quart flour add two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar and one of soda, two tablespoons butter, pinch of salt, mix with sweet milk. As soon as it can be handled, cut off pieces about the size of an egg, roll quite thin, in a long strip, about half as wide as it is long, then roll up tight—the long way. These rolls will then be the length, but about three times the size of an ordinary lead pencil. Lay closely side by side in a baking pan, and wash over with sweet milk to give them a golden glaze.
Turkey is, of course, the nucleus around which all the lesser viands cluster. If possible, this bird should be a wild one, weighing about eighteen pounds. The flesh of the wild turkey is very fine and delicious. It is dressed and hung up for a night. The dressing is the favorite portion, and much care is bestowed upon this delightful part. It is made of stale grated biscuit, hot corn-bread and chestnuts, in equal quantities. The nuts are roasted, then pounded to a powder, and mixed with the two breads. Then are added three tablespoonfuls of butter, one onion shaved fine, one dozen whole oysters, six hard boiled eggs cut fine, a pinch of cayenne, sage, celery salt, parsley, and salt to taste. These are all thoroughly mixed, with a little hot water, to a stiff dough, and every space to be found in the turkey is stuffed tightly with this, and the opening sewed up. The turkey is then placed in a pan half-filled with water, in which has been put a cupful of the dressing, some shaved onion, a few sticks of celery, salt, pepper and parsley. It should be basted every ten minutes, and frequently turned, not allowing any portion to brown before it is done all through. When it is heated through, a paste of flour and water and a little celery salt should be spread smoothly over the part uppermost; over this, a few dots of butter. As this begins to brown, the turkey should be turned, and another part treated in the same manner. At the last, let each portion become brown, and none of it will have baked dry or hard. The gravy should be thickened with brown flour and cream, and there should be plenty of it. This is the perfection of all dishes, and fit "to set before a king."
Crackling-bread is made of corn-meal, cracklings (may be bought) and meal, in equal measures, mixed together with a little water and a pinch of salt, made into oblong pones, and baked brown.
Sweet potatoes—such as the North has never seen— sweet, juicy yams, that become candied as they bake, and are taken from the oven dripping sweet.
Peaches and tomatoes may be made into sweet pickles at any time. Allow one pound of sugar and one pint of vinegar to every three pounds of fruit. Pour this over the fruit, boiling hot. This vinegar should be poured off, for three mornings, boiled, and poured back over the fruit again. A bag of all kinds of spices should be boiled and allowed to remain in this syrup. Cabbage Pudding.
Cook a firm head of cabbage half done. Chop fine. To each quart of the cabbage add four eggs well beaten, one teaspoonful of mustard, two soda crackers rolled fine, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and salt to taste. Put in a buttered pan and bake ten minutes.
Oyster Pie.
Beat four eggs light, add two cups of sweet milk, one quart stale, grated light bread, one quart oysters, salt, pepper, celery salt, three tablespoonfuls of butter. This should be of the consistency of very stiff batter. Pour into a buttered earthen dish, and bake till slightly brown.
Cranberries may be cooked whole, if carefully and slowly cooked, or strained and served as a jelly.
Rice is never properly cooked anywhere out of the South. The gluey, starchy dish that is called "boiled rice," here, would not be recognized by a rice-eater. It is carefully washed, and placed on the fire in a double, or a porcelain boiler—one pint of rice, to three pints of water, and a teaspoonful of salt. It is never stirred, When it has boiled, and begins to stiffen, simply set it up from the fire and let it alone; it will steam done. When thoroughly done each grain is perfect, and stands apart. The grains are soft, but dry and distinct. This is a very beautiful, snowy, and nutritious dish.
A new pork ham, boiled, then scored, dotted with salt and pepper and browned in the oven, is also a favorite dish on this occasion.
Okra, which has been canned, may now be boiled in salted water, and served whole with a spoonful of cream, one of butter, and a little pepper.
Persimmon beer—but "that's another story."
Wine—The best and oldest you can secure.
Pumpkin Pie.
The pumpkin should be cut, into small pieces, and stewed, in a very little water, and washed free from lumps. For each pie allow one and one-half cups, one cup of boilingmilk, one tablespoon ful of butter, one-half cup of sugar,
one-half teaspoonful of salt, one salt spoonful each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Add one egg beaten separately. Half bake the crust, then fill with ingredients and brown.
Thanksgiving Pudding.
One pint of molasses, one pint of buttermilk, one teacup of suet, or butter, one teaspoonful of soda, one-half teacup of sugar, flour to make a stiff batter, and lastly one teacup of raisins (currants, dried cherries, or any dry fruit desired). Grease pudding bag with lard, then flour well, turn, and pour in the stiff batter. Tie loosely, allowing plenty of room to swell. Drop in boiling water and let boil for about two hours.
Sance for Pudding.
One cup of sugar, two tablespoonfulsof butter, two cups of water, one tablespoonful of flour (stir in sugar). Cook till smooth and thickened. Flavor with wineglass of brandy or any flavoring desired.
Original In Good Housekeeping.