Pickling Beef

Preserving meat took a lot of thought and effort on our 19th Century Characters or Ancestors. Below are some recipes for Pickling Beef. Don't think in terms of sweet or dill pickles. Remember pickling was a form of curing meat, as was salting and drying.

PICKLING BEEF —Rub a quarter of a pound of saltpetre and a little brown sugar on the beef; the following day season it with half a pound of bay salt, one ounce of black pepper, one ounce of allspice. Let the beef lie in pickle fourteen days, turning it every day, adding a little common salt three times per week ; then wash it, and put it into a glazed earthen pipkin, deep enough to cover it. Lay beef suet under it; add one pint of water, cover the top with paste and then paper, or with a plate instead of paste. Bake seven hours in an oven; pour off the liquor, but do not cut till cold. Will keep three months.
Source: The Godey's Lady's Book Receipts and Household Hints ©1870

RECIPE FOR PICKLING BEEF, PORK, OR MUTTON
4 gallons of water, 1% lbs. brown sugar, 2 oz. saltpetre, 5 lbs. alum salt. Put the whole into a kettle and let it boil, taking off the scum as it rises with care. When the scum ceases to rise, take it off the fire and let it get cold. Put the meat into the vessel in which it is to be kept and pour in the liquor until it is entirely covered. Beef preserved in this way is as good as if salted, but three days, at the end of 10 weeks. lf the meat is to be kept a long time, the pickle must be boiled and skimmed once in 2 weeks.

PICKLE FOR BEEF, MUTTON, OR PORK
8 gallons of water, 3 lbs. of sugar, 14 lb. saltpetre, 12 lbs. of salt. To be boiled and skimmed until no scum arises. Then pour it cold upon the meat.

PICKLE FOR BEEF
Pack down your beef, sprinkling some fine salt on the parts which come in contact with each other. Place a weight upon the beef and then cover it completely with the pickle made of the following preparations: 12 lbs. of fine Liverpool salt, 8 gallons of water, 1 lb. sugar, and 4 ozs. of saltpetre. Mix the pickle with cold water, skim it well and put it on cold.
l. S. Lewis to J. P. Norris, April 18th, 1822

PICKLED BEEF
6 gallons of water, 12 lbs. of salt, 5 oz. saltpetre, and 6 lbs. of brown sugar. Simmer them over the fire until the scum ceases to rise. This quantity is sufficient for 200 lbs. of beef. Let it stay in pickle 4 or 5 weeks and re-pack it once in that time.
M. Newbold, N. J.

MRS. R. COLEMAN'S RECIPE FOR
PICKLING BEEF OR PORK OF 90 LBS.
6 gallons of water, 9 lbs. of salt, (4y2 of fine and 4% of coarse salt), 3 lbs. brown sugar, 3 oz. saltpetre and 1 oz. of pearl ash. To be boiled and well skimmed and 1 quart of molasses.
90 LBS. OF BEEF OR PORK
The same as the above without the molasses. To be mixed with cold water and well boiled and skimmed.

CORNED BEEF
1 gallon of water, 1% lbs. of salt, y2 lb. brown sugar, and % oz. saltpetre. Boil all together and skim it well. Then put it into a large tub to cool, and when perfectly cold, pour it over your beef or pork and let it remain in four weeks. The meat must be well covered and should not be put down for at least 2 days after killing during which time it should be slightly sprinkled with powdered saltpetre. Mrs. Brown
Source: Cook Book 1st Vol. ©1855


Will you please give me a good recipe for pickling beef—one that you know has been thoroughly tried!

Answer.—The following we know to be good: Cut the beef in convenient pieces and salt down as usual, adding a “pinch” of saltpeter to each piece. Let it remain in salt three days; then drain off the bloody brine formed by the salt, wipe each piece with a clean cloth and re-pack in the tub or other vessel used; a syrup or molasses cask will answer, but not a whisky barrel. For the brine, take as much water as will cover the beef; add salt until no more will disso‘ve; a tea-cup of ground saltpetre and a quart of molasses, or its equivalent of brown sugar. Boil and skim well. When the brine thus prepared is entirely cold, pour it over the beef and keep the latter well pressed under the brine. These proportions are for 200 pounds of beef. If the brine should mould in warm weather, reboil and skim it, adding half pound of cooking soda,and when cold return to the beef.
Source: The Southern Cultivator and Industrial Journal ©1888

Oregon Trail

From time to time I'll put together a post that list links from my blog on one topic, today I've put together links on the Oregon Trail. Enjoy!

The Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail Outfits

Hob Nailed Shoes

Chinook Jargon Part 1

Chinook Jargon Part 2

First Major Wagon Train

For other links involving Wagon Train and Expansion take a look at Wagon Train Prairie Resources that I put together last year.

1877 Fashions

1877 fashions from original sources:

Riding Habit Back and Front

House Dress

Aprons

Chemise

Children

Garden Hat

Traveling Hat

Bonnet

Sanitariums

Today when someone goes to a Sanitarium it is usually for medical needs. However, the use of the word was a bit different during the 19th Century. Below are four sample advertisement for various sanitariums. From these advertisements you'll see that these were places to go for respite and even a vacation. Below the advertisements are some comments about staying at various sanitariums. So as a writer of historical fiction you might want to add something about Sanitariums in your next novel. Or perhaps a mystery or a romance ensues at one. Have fun writing.

Below are some comments about staying in or visitors to Mission Sanitariums.

1873 Cost of living in Tallahassee, FL.

I stumbled on this interesting tidbit about the cost of living in Tallahassee while helping someone else with the cost of living in Florida. Take a look at the cost of beef? A wee bit different than the prices we are paying today.

The cost of living in Tallahassee is perhaps as little as any other place of the same size in the southern country. The market is supplied with good beef, mutton and pork, at from 8 to 12 cents per pound. Poultry of all kinds at moderate prices and plentiful. Oysters in winter in any quantity at 11.50 per bbl., and fish from the coast, such as mullet, sheepshead, speckled trout, bass, flounders, &c., &c., at very low prices, are brought fresh every day. Surrounded by fertile lands there is never a scarcity of fresh garden vegetables of all kinds, in their season.

The society of the place is excellent. True, many changes have taken place of late years. Some of the best citizens have moved away, but there are still left quite a number who give character to the city for hospitality and sociability, and they will always be found ready to extend the hand of friendship to all such new-comers as come for legitimate purposes and know how to behave themselves without regard to their place of nativity. In short, I know of no more agreeable place to spend a winter or to locate for life.

The climate of Leon county, although it is not tropical, is mild and pleasant in winter. Although we frequently have frost, and ice occasionally, yet it is rare for the thermometer to go below 40 deg. Fahr., and then only for a short time, while one would feel comfortable in summer clothing at least one half of our winter. In the summer the thermometer rarely , indicates a greater heat than 96 deg. F. in the shade, and the average in the middle of our August days is not above 90 deg. This heat is tempered by the almost constant sea breeze, the influence of which is distinctly felt. The nights are invariably pleasant, and even in the hottest part of the season some covering is generally necessary to comfortable sleeping.
Source: The Florida Settler ©1873

Underground Railroad in Niagara Region

Below are some excerpts from "Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier" ©1899 There is an entire chapter relating to the underground railroad connections with the Niagara region as well as other history of the trails during the 19th century such as the war of 1812. It's an interesting resource and fires up all kinds of historical scenarios for our characters to be a part of.

It is impossible to state even approximately the number of refugee negroes who crossed by these routes to Upper Canada, now Ontario. In 1844 the number was estimated at 40,000 ;l in 1852 the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada stated in its annual report that there were about 30,000 blacks in Canada West; in 1858 the number was estimated as high as 75,000.' This figure is probably excessive ; but since the negroes continued to come, up to the hour of the Emancipation Proclamation, it is probably within the fact to say that more than 50,000 crossed to Upper Canada, nearly all from points on Lake Erie, the Detroit and Niagara rivers.

Runaway slaves appeared in Buffalo at least as early as the '30's. "Professor Edward Orton recalls that in 1838, soon after his father moved to Buffalo, two sleigh-loads of negroes from the Western Reserve were brought to the house in the night-time; and Mr. Frederick Nicholson of Warsaw, N. Y., states that the Underground work in his vicinity began in 1840. From this time on there was apparently no cessation of migra tions of fugitives into Canada at Black Rock, Buffalo and other points."3 Those too were the days of much passenger travel on Lake Erie, and certain boats came to be known as friendly to the Underground cause. One boat which ran between Cleveland and Buffalo gave employment to the fugitive William Wells Brown. It became known at Cleveland that Brown would take escaped slaves under his protection without charge, hence he rarely failed to find a little company ready to sail when he started out from Cleveland. "In the year 1842," he says, "I conveyed from the 1st of May to the 1st of December, sixty-nine fugitives over Lake Erie to Canada.''' Many anecdotes are told of the search for runaways on the lake steamers. Lake travel in the ante-bellum days was ever liable to be enlivened by an exciting episode in a "nigger-chase"; but usually, it would seem, the negroes could rely upon the friendliness of the captains for concealment or other assistance.

There are chronicled, too, many little histories of flights which brought the fugitive to Buffalo. I pass over those which are readily accessible elsewhere to the student of this phase of our home history.' It is well, however, to devote a paragraph or two to one famous affair which most if not all American writers on the Underground Railroad appear to have overlooked.

One day in 1836 an intelligent negro, riding a thoroughbred but jaded horse, appeared on the streets of Buffalo. His appearance must have advertised him to all as a runaway slave. I do not know that he made any attempt to conceal the fact. His chief concern was to sell the horse as quickly as possible, and get across to Canada. And there, presently, we find him, settled at historic old Niagara, near the mouth of the river. Here, even at that date, so many negroes had made their way from the South, that more than 400 occupied a quarter known as Negro Town. The newcomer, whose name was Moseby, admitted that he had run away from a plantation in Kentucky, and had used a horse that formerly belonged to his master to make his way North. A Kentucky grand jury soon found a true bill against him for horse-stealing, and civil officers traced him to Niagara, and made requisition for his arrest and extradition. The year before, Sir Francis Bond Head had succeeded Sir John Colborne as Governor of Canada West, and before him the case was laid. Sir Francis regarded the charge as lawful, notwithstanding the avowal of Moseby's owners that if they could get him back to Kentucky they would "make an example of him "; in plainer words, would whip him to death as a warning to all slaves who dared to dream of seeking freedom in Canada.

Moseby was arrested and locked up in the Niagara jail; whereupon great excitement arose, the blacks and many sympathizing whites declaring that he should never be carried back South. The Governor, Sir Francis, was petitioned not to surrender Moseby; he replied that his duty was to give him up as a felon, "although he would have armed the province to protect a slave.'' For more than a week crowds of negroes, men and women, camped before the jail, day and night. Under the leadership of a mulatto schoolmaster named Holmes, and of Mrs. Carter, a negress with a gift for making fiery speeches, the mob were kept worked up to a high pitch of excitement, although, as a contemporary writer avers, they were unarmed, showed "good sense, forbearance and resolution,'' and declared their intention not to commit any violence against the English law. They even agreed that Moseby should remain in jail until they could raise the price of the horse, but threatened, "if any attempt were made to take him from the prison, and send him across to Lewiston, they would resist it at the hazard of their lives." The order, however, came for Moseby's delivery to the slave-hunters, and the sheriff and a party of constables attempted to execute it. Moseby was brought out from the jail, handcuffed and placed in a cart; whereupon the mob attacked the officers. The military was called out to help the civil force and ordered to fire on the assailants. Two negroes were killed, two or three wounded, and Moseby ran off and was not pursued. The negro women played a curiously-prominent part in the affair. "They had been most active in the fray, throwing themselves fearlessly between the black men and the whites, who, of course, shrank from injuring them. One woman had seized the sheriff, and held him pinioned in her arms; another, on one of the artillery-men presenting his piece, and swearing that he would shoot her if she did not get out of his way, gave him only one glance of unutterable contempt, and with one hand knocking up his piece, and colkring him with the other, held him in such a manner as to prevent his firing.

Soon after, in the same year, the Governor of Kentucky made requisition on the Governor of the province of Canada West for the surrender of Jesse Happy, another runaway slave, also on a charge of horse-stealing. Sir Francis held him in confinement in Hamilton jail, but refused to deliver him up until he had laid the case before the Home Government. In a most interesting report to the Colonial Secretary, under date of Toronto, Oct. 8, 1837, he asked for instructions "as a matter of general policy," and reviewed the Moseby case in a fair and broad spirit, highly creditable to him alike as an administrator and a friend of the oppressed. "I am by no means desirous," he wrote, '' that this province should become an asylum for the guilty of any color; at the same time the documents submitted with this dispatch will I conceive show that the subject of giving up fugitive slaves to the authorities of the adjoining republican States is one respecting which it is highly desirable I should receive from Her Majesty's Government specific instructions. . It may be argued that the slave escaping from bondage on his master's horse is a vicious struggle between two guilty parties, of which the slave-owner is not only the aggressor, but the blackest criminal of the two. It is a case of the dealer in human flesh versus the stealer of horse-flesh; and it may be argued that, if the British Government does not feel itself authorized to pass judgment on the plaintiff, neither should it on the defendant.'' Sir Francis continues in this ingenious strain, observing that "it is as much a theft in the slave walking from slavery to liberty in his master's shoes as riding on his master's horse." To give up a slave for trial to the American laws, he argued, was in fact giving him back to his former master; and he held that, until the State authorities could separate trial from unjust punishment, however willing the Government of Canada might be to deliver up a man for trial, it was justified in refusing to deliver him up for punishment, "unless sufficient security be entered into in this province, that the person delivered up for trial shall be brought back to Upper Canada as soon as his trial or the punishment awarded by it shall be concluded." And he added this final argument, begging that instructions should be sent to him at once:
It is argued, that the republican states have no right, under the pretext of any human treaty, to claim from the British Government, which does not recognize slavery, beings who by slave-law are not recognized as men and who actually existed as brute beasts in moral darkness, until on reaching British soil they suddenly heard, for the first time in their lives, the sacred words, "Let there be light; and there was light!" From that moment it is argued they were created nun, and if this be true, it is said they cannot be held responsible for conduct prior to their existence.
Sir Francis left the Home Government in no doubt as to his own feelings in the matter; and although I have seen no further report regarding Jesse Happy, neither do I know of any case in which a refugee in Canada for whom requisition was thus made was permitted to go back to slavery. It did sometimes happen, however, that refugees were enticed across the river on one pretext or another, or grew careless and took their chances on the American side, only to fall into the clutches of the ever-watchful slave-hunters.

Sod House

While I was researching information on the construction of a sod house, I discovered this delightful account that is very informative. I hope you gain as much as I have from it. This was published in the Ladies Repository in 1876.


THE gold fever of 1859-60, and the consequent rush across the Plains, established a line of sod-houses from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains, which have developed one of the most important sections of our country, and opened the door of thousands of comfortable and substantial homes to the honest homesteaders of the West. Fifteen years ago, the belt of country lying between the Rocky Mountains, on the west, and the Missouri River, on the east, and stretching indefinitely north and south, was considered as a worthless waste, a treeless, uninhabitable section, without soil, building material, water, or protection against the biting, blinding storms of Winter, which swept furiously down from the mountain fastnessess of the great unexplored, uninvaded home of the storm king of North America. Today the sod-house, the advance-guard of civilization and enterprise in the extreme West, has developed the agricultural adaptability of the Western Desert, invaded and made public the secret domain of the vEolus of our continent, furnished homes and fortunes to hundreds of thousands of God's children, and developed, by its own peculiar adaptability, the resources and wealth of an important section of our country, the great grain and stock producing region of the Missouri Valley. What the log-hut was to the early settlers of New England, the sod
house, "doby," or "dug-out," has been to the pioneer on the prairies of the Missouri Valley. The same force of circumstances which gave the log-house an important position in the history of the eastern half of our great country, has made the sod dwelling an equally important factor in the development of the western portion, and entitled it to a place beside its earlier, but scarcely less substantial or respectable, brother at the Centennial Exposition, and in the history of the great country of countries, the home of the honest toiler, of whatever race or condition.
Strange as it may appear to those unacquainted with the fact, there are tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of people in the Missouri Valley, living to-day in houses of sod, turf taken from God's green sward of the great West, laid up with mortar which nature kindly furnishes prepared, and plastered inside with the sandy loam which underlies the black alluvium from which the varied vegetation springs. Within these homes, comfortable beyond the log or frame house of the timbered regions, and equally cleanly and healthful, families are reared, the elements of education dispensed, seeds of piety sown, and the foundation of future fame and fortune successfully laid. Beneath their fostering influence the great fertile but treeless plains have been brought under cultivation, the elements have been made subject to the wants of mankind, towns have sprung up in the uninhabited waste, the iron horse has been called to his duty in their domain, the great agricultural wealth of the country developed, and the desert made to blossom as the rose. To the sod-house of the West belongs honors innumerable, belongs the credit of the thrift and prosperity with which the Missouri Valley is to-day graced and made happy.
It was my fortune, in 1859, to visit the then uninhabited and almost unknown section west of the Missouri, and to witness the construction and practical test of the then novelty, a dwelling composed of turf from the surrounding prairies. It has been my fortune since to watch, with a considerable degree of interest, the development of this to be great grain and stock belt of the Union, and to note, with the care which its novelty and peculiarities suggested, the influence which this great factor, the sod-house, has had in determining the growth and importance of the country. The cry of gold in the Pike's Peak region drew, at the date mentioned, large numbers of people thither, to supply whom with food became the business of the settlers then scattered along the Missouri River, within a few miles of its waters, and in reach of the scanty forests with which its banks are fringed. All provisions, clothing, and mining accouterments were freighted across this then uninhabited section, nearly a thousand miles in width, by teams of horses and cattle. Along the roads which these freighters had laid out, and which all the travel followed, enterprising "ranchemen," bent upon securing a portion of the profits of the season, established themselves for the sale of needed articles to the freighters, whose trips then occupied months instead of, as now, days, and for furnishing meals to the passengers on the stage-coaches, a line of which had been early established. The tents and temporary shelters, which these caterers had provided themselves, soon becoming insufficient, they cast
about for some more commodious and substantial shelters for themselves and guests, the numbers of which were rapidly increasing. In the earlier days of military rule in that region, many of the buildings at Forts Kearney, Leavenworth, and other military posts, had, for want of timber, been constructed of adobe, or sun-dried bricks, the art of making which had been learned from the Mexicans, with whom the military on the western plains had been brought in contact. These were used in some instances by the ranchemen, until the idea of using sods instead suggested itself to the inventive genius of the necessitated housebuilder, and the sod-house became a success. The method, source, and result of the two were so nearly related that the name of adobe, or "doby," as it was every-where known, which properly belonged to the sun-dried bricks, was also given the sod; and henceforth the sod, or "doby," house became an important element of life in the Missouri Valley.
Constant association or familiarity with "doby" failed, in this instance, to breed contempt; and the Missouri Valley settler, who, in freighting his farm products across the plains (and nearly everyone did so), became more thoroughly acquainted with and accustomed to the sod-house, came to recognize its value, and to look upon it as a valuable aid in the economy of prairie life. Those who had substantial wooden homes on the Missouri so far recognized the practical value of "doby" as to make immediate use of the principle on their farms, in the construction of sod out-houses, and various buildings which they might chance to need; and thus the sod-house took another step in advance, and demonstrated its practical utility and durability beside its more pretentious wooden prototype. From this point the transition was easy. The son, who had grown up familiar with the "doby," and been thoroughly convinced of its use and durability, becoming of age, and desirous of erecting a claim shanty on government land, and making a homestead his own by a temporary residence a few days of each year thereon, readily adopted the sod-house as a visible habitation, the material for which was convenient, and the practicabihty thoroughly tested. Later, when the want for a permanent home came about, with the fashion already inaugurated, and the practicability and cheapness especially apparent, there was little difficulty in the adoption of doby as the material for a dwelling, and the home to which the willing, true - hearted, devoted bride was borne. Of the hundreds of thousands of young couples who have made their homes on the prairies of the Missouri Valley, probably more than half owe their first home together, and much of their success, to doby.
The method of construction is not unlike that of the brick dwelling, except that mortar is not always used in laying the sods. A "breaking" plow, such as is used in subduing prairie-grass, and preparing the soil for cultivation, turns the sod in strips, perhaps a foot in width, and of indefinite length. They are then cut in pieces about two and a half feet long, by means of a spade, and are ready for the wall. They are laid up with as much care and nicety as the native skill of the builder can produce, and the edges carefully trimmed with a sharp spade, so that the wall, when completed, is as smooth, and, after being thoroughly dried, is also equally as solid as a brick wall. Window and door frames are set in as in the construction of brick buildings, and the houses are covered sometimes with shingles, sometimes with a thatch of the long prairie grass from the low grounds, and sometimes with several layers of sod cut to turn the rain and make tight joints. Frequently they are divided into several rooms by walls of sod, and occasionally they are two or more stones in height; but usually they are built but one story in height, and with only one room, which is subdivided by light wooden partitions, or in some cases by blankets. The walls, when completed, are plastered smoothly inside, and, being thoroughly whitewashed, present a neat and eminently
healthful and cleanly appearance. The "best room" is papered and carpeted, the walls adorned with pictures, while the vines trained about the door and windows lend their cheerful and refining influence, and the whole, when once inside and the idea of "sod-house" forgotten, has a homelike and cultivated appearance scarcely warranted by the exterior. In Winter, the sod-dwellings are easily warmed and but little affected through the thick non-conducting walls by the furious gales which sweep down from the north-west, bringing snow and ice and wintery desolation; while in Summer, they are, with proper ventilation, probably the coolest and most healthful habitation that could be devised.
Frequently, in order to save time in the construction, a location is chosen on an abrupt hill-side, and an excavation made which, with the wall built up around it, forms the house on the same plan that "side-hill basements," with stone walls and "cellar-kitchens" are constructed. This, while securing ease in construction, precludes proper ventilation and light, and is usually only resorted to temporarily by those with whom time or assistance are lacking, and, after a year or more of useful existence, these "dugouts," as they are termed, give way to the more pretentious and comfortable "doby."
As for the dwellers in these curious homes, the devotees of " doby," they are in all respects the same as humanity elsewhere. The farmer, and they are mostly farmers, rises at early dawn and labors throughout the day at the plow or in the harvest-field, and at night, with a prayer for divine protection and guidance, seeks that rest which honest toil affords. The children grow up strong and vigorous on the homely, healthful fare; they obtain the rudiments of an education in the doby school-house, and learn the story of the cross at the Sabbath-school and Church. During the Summer season, they wander over the prairies gathering flowers or hunting the eggs of the prairie-chicken, and in Winter, with the parents, after the crops are secured and the Autumn's tasks completed, they gather at the fireside of evenings, and, while the corn, the principal fuel in this prairie region, crackles and burns brightly in the fire, they peruse the weekly paper published at the county town, discuss neighborhood gossip, feast upon pop-corn and molasses-candy, or join in singing familiar hymns from their Sunday-school tune books or Church melodies. Spelling - bees, singing - schools, Grange and Good Templar " lodges" are as numerous with them as in the sections further east, and there are the same society heart-burnings, the same striving after dress and dignity, and the same marrying and giving in marriage that characterize society every-where, whether in dwellings of sod or brick or marble.
To the West the sod-house has been the means of unparalleled development and usefulness; to those who have adopted it, it has been a means of wealth and contentment, for a home and a means of support are both. To the treeless but fertile prairies it has brought settlers innumerable, who could not have come but for it; to the settlers it has given homes and the means of making their own the lands which may be had by a residence and cultivation. Many there are who,
had they been obliged to purchase building material and transport it hundreds of miles by wagon, must have waited many a weary year, but who, through the aid of "doby," not only made themselves a shelter and a home, but secured for themselves the fertile acres which may be had for the taking in this asylum for the persecuted, poverty-stricken sons of men every-where.
All over the western country, from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains, and from Dakota to the Rio Grande, doby reigns supreme. Not that all the residences are thus built, for there are in places many wooden dwellings; and in the towns and along the railroads and rivers, houses of wood, and sometimes of brick and stone, have taken the place of the less pretentious sod-dwellings; but in the newly settled regions, the sections which God's poor seek out in which to struggle with fortune and build houses for the families he has given them, doby is the priceless treasure, the boon which enables them to obtain a foothold, the free gift of nature, which furnishes shelter, and the medium through which come the blessings of home and happiness, and a trust in God and his overshadowing providence.

1851 Fashions

I'm limited in what I could find from 1851 but here are the five images I've found so far and these are French fashions.

Hammers

Hammers haven't changed too much since the 19th Century however this excerpt from Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary ©1881 gives some great insights in which hammer to use for each job, as well as some historical information.

Ham'mer. 1. A tool for driving nails, beating metals, and the like.
We can hardly admit the statement of riiny that the hammer was invented by Cinyra, the discoverer of copper-mines in the island of Cyprus. Tools of metal, of which the hammer was among the first, must have been in use for many centuries. Tubal Cain, the descendant in the sixth generation from Cain, was an "artificer in brass and iron" ; copper, probably, rather than brass. Brass and bronze are not distinguished from each other, by name, cither in Greek or Latin.

The initial form was perhaps a stone fastened to a handle, and used as a club, A, B, C, D, E. Many such are found in the relics of the stone age, before man had learned the use of metal, the most useful of which, iron, was about the last to be discovered, of those which are applied to the common affaire of life. This stone age is so far in the remote past as to antedate all historical accounts of manners, customs, and appliances. The use of stone, however, in the mode described, still exists among many nations imperfectly provided with a better substitute. In the Bible we read of hammers for nails, forging, and planishing, and for breaking stone.
A B are ancient stone hammers, found in longneglected workings of the Lake Superior copper region, and are identical with those of other parts of the world. It is not necessary to give them an equal antiquity to the "celts," stone axes and hammers of the stone age of Europe, as many of the implements yet in use among the more barbarous North American Indians are of the same general character. See AXK.
Modern hammers are of many shapes and kinds. The parts are the Jiaiullc and head. The latter lias an eye, fact, peen, or claw.
F shows a riveting hammer. Of its parts a is the face, b the poll, c the eye, d the peen, e the helve.
G is a large hammer used by machinists. Between F and G is a claW, which takes the place of the peen of the other hammer. I and J are miners' hammers; K a miner's wedge.
Haininer-making forms a very important part of the industry of the great manufacturing center, Birmingham, and its satellite, Wolverhampton.
The nomenclature of the various kind*, which are numerous, is generally derived from their application, though iu some instances from the form.
File-maker's, sledge, riveting, lift, raising, claw, planishing, gold-beater's, hacking, veneering, may be enumerated among the numerous varieties, as well as tilt and steam hammers.
Hammers employed in engine work are of three sizes, the sledge, flogging, and hand hammers. See
also Miner's Hammer.

Caring for Boot & Shoe Leather

Below is some helpful information and instructions for taking care of boot and shoe leather. These tidbits come from The Art of Boot and Shoemaking ©1885

USEFUL RECEIPTS FOR SHOEMAKERS

Varnish for Shoes.—Put half a pound of gum shellac broken up into small pieces in a quart bottle or jug, cover it with alcohol, cork it tight, and put it on a shelf in a warm place; shake it well several times a day, then add a piece of camphor as large as a hen's egg; shake it again and add one ounce of lamp-black. If the alcohol is good it will be all dissolved in three days; then shake and use. If it gets too thick, add alcohol; pour out two or three tea-spoonfuls in a saucer, and apply it with a small paintbrush. If the materials are all good, it will dry in about five minutes, and will be removed only by wearing it off, giving a gloss almost equal to patent leather. The advantage of this preparation over others is, it does not strike into the leather and make it hard, but remains on the surface, and yet excludes the water almost perfectly. This same preparation is admirable for harness, and does not soil when touched as lamp-black preparations do.
Jet for Boots or Harness.—Three sticks of the best black sealing-wax, dissolved in half a pint of spirits of wine, to be kept in a glass bottle, and well shaken previous to use. Apply it with a soft sponge.
Castor-oil as a Dressing for Leather.—Castor-oil, besides being an excellent dressing for leather, renders it vermin proof. It should be mixed, say half and half, with tallow and other oil. Neither rats, roaches, nor other vermin will attack leather so prepared.
Composition for Leather.—Take one hundred parts of finely pulverised lamp-black, and thirty parts of East India copal, previously dissolved in rectified turpentine. Mix the two together until the whole forms a homogeneous paste. To this is to be added fifteen parts of wax and one part of india-rubber, which has been first dissolved in some ethereal oil. When the whole is properly mixed, a current of oxygen is passed for half an hour through the mass, and after cooling, the whole is to be thoroughly worked up. It may then be packed in tin boxes, and kept ready for use.
Waterproofing.—Half a pound of shoemaker's dubbin, half a pint of linseed oil, and half a pint of solution of india-rubber. Dissolve with a gentle heat and apply. Note these ingredients are inflammable, and great caution must be used in making the preparation.
To Bender Cloth Waterproof.—The following is said to be the method used in China. To one ounce of white wax melted, add one quart of spirits of turpentine, and when thoroughly mixed and cold, dip the cloth into the liquid, and hang it up to drain and dry. Muslins, as well as strong cloths, are by this means rendered impenetrable to rain, without losing their colour or beauty.
To preserve Boots from being penetrated by Wet and Snow Damp.—Boots and shoes may be preserved from wet by rubbing them over with linseed oil, which has stood some months in a leaden vessel till thick. As a securityagainst snow water, melt equal quantities of beeswax and mutton suet in a pipkin over a slow fire. Lay the mixture, while hot, on the boots and shoes, and rub dry with a woollen cloth.
Waterproofing Compositions for Leather.—Melt over a slow fire one quart of boiled linseed oil, a pound of mutton suet, three quarters of a pound of yellow beeswax, and half a pound of common resin. With this mixture rub over the boots or shoes, soles, legs, and upper leathers, when a little warmed, till the whole are completely saturated. Another way is, to melt one quart of drying oil, a quarter of a pound of drying beeswax, the same quantity of spirits of turpentine, and an ounce of Burgundy pitch. Hub this composition, near a fire, all over the leather, till it is thoroughly saturated.
Chinese Waterproofing Composition for Leather.— Three parts of blood deprived of its fibrine, four of lime, and a little alum.
Polishing up Old and Soiled Boots.—If required to tell in the fewest words how to dispose of old goods, we should say, make them as much like new as possible. We would then go further, and advise never to let them get old. This may be thought rather difficult, but still it can be put in practice so far as to make it a piece of first-rate counsel. Some may think it a good plan to put the lowest possible price on them, and keep them in sight as a temptation to buyers, without taking any other trouble. But if this is a very easy effort, we think ours is far more profitable to the seller, and therefore worthy of being explained somewhat minutely. Among the things that ought to be in every shoe shop, besides the necessary tools, are blacking, gum tragacanth, gum arabic, varnish, neatsfoot oil, and perhaps some prepared dressing for uppers. With these, or such of them as may be necessary, on old upper, however rusty looking, if properly treated, can be made to shine. Ladies' shoes, if of black morocco ar kid, and have become dry, stiff, and dull, try a little oil on them—not a great deal—which will make them more soft and flexible, and will not injure the lustre materially. Then try a delicate coating of prepared varnish, designed for the purpose, over the oil. When this has dried the shoes will doubtless be improved. If a calf kid begins to look reddish and rusty, give it a slight application of oil, which will probably restore the colour; but, if not, put on blacking. When the blacking is dry, brush it off, and go over it again very lightly with the oil, when it will be as good as new. Patent leather will not only be made softer, but the lustre will also be improved, by oiling. For pebbled calf, or any kind of grain leather that has become brown, the treatment should be the same; when only a little red, an application of oil, or even tallow, will often restore the colour. When it is very brown, black it thoroughly, and oil it afterwards, giving it a nice dressing of dissolved gum tragacanth to finish. This is the grand recipe for improving uppers; the labour of applying it is very little, and the effect very decided and gratifying. For men's boots that have been much handled, often tried on, or have become rough, or dry, stiff and lifeless, from lying in shop a long time, or all these things together, another treeing is the best thing in the world, and precisely what they need. It should be done thoroughly. After putting them on the trees, a supply of oil must not be forgotten. Then a dressing of gum tragacanth, and, when it is partially dry, a rubbing with a long-stick to give a polish, after which a second and slight application of gum, to be rubbed off with the bare hand before fully dry. It is almost surprising how much a boot is renewed by this treatment, and, though it may require half an hour's time to each pair from some man who understands it, the cost is well expended and many times returned. A good supply of trees, of different sizes, should be always at hand, and not be allowed to get dusty for want of use. But when, for any reason, it is inexpedient or difficult to apply a thorough process with old boots, they can still be oiled and gummed without using the trees, and though with less good effect, yet still enough to prove very useful.
If any mould has shown, or the grease used in stuffing has drawn out of the leather, a little rubbing off with benzine would be necessary at first to clean them. After this an application of cod oil and tallow might be useful to make the leather soft and pliable; to be preceded, if the colour is a little off, by an application of a prepared black of some kind, of which there are several in the market. The soles would probably be improved by cleaning and a vigorous use of the rub-stick; they might also be rebuffed, if the stock would stand it, and a slight application of size would help to give them a polish. To do all this well requires some skill, and the expenditure of considerable labour.
To Restore the Blackness of Old Leather.—For every two yolks of new-laid eggs, retain the white of one; let these be well beaten, and then shaken in a glass vessel till as thick as oil. Dissolve in about a table-spoonful of Holland gin, a piece of lump sugar, thicken it with ivory black, and mix the eggs for use. Lay this on in the same manner as blacking for shoes, and after polishing with a soft brush, let it remain to harden and dry. This process answers well for ladies' and gentlemen's leather shoes, but should have the following addition to protect the stockings from being soiled: Shake the white or glaire of eggs in a phial till it is like oil, and lay some of it on twice with a small brush over the inner edges of the shoes.
To Clean Boot Tops.—Dissolve an ounce of oxalic acid into a pint of soft water, and keep it in a bottle well corked; dip a sponge in this to clean the tops with, and if any obstinate stains remain rub them with some bath brick dust, and sponge them with clean water. If your tops are brown, take a pint of skimmed milk, half an ounce of spirits of salts, as much of spirits of lavender, one ounce of gum arabic, and the juice of two lemons. Put the mixture into a bottle closely corked; rub the tops with a sponge, and when dry, polish them with a brush and flannel.
To Polish Enamelled Leather.—Two pints of the best cream, one pint of linseed oil; make them each lukewarm, and then mix them well together. Having previously cleaned the shoe, &c, from dirt, rub it over with a sponge dipped in the mixture; then rub it with a soft dry cloth until a brilliant polish is produced.
Softening Boot Uppers.—Wash them quite clean from dirt and old blacking, using lukewarm water in the operation. As soon as clean and the water has soaked in, give them a good coating of currier's dubbin, and hang them up to dry; the dubbin will amalgamate with the leather, causing it to remain soft and resist moisture. No greater error could possibly be committed than to hold boots to the fire after the application of, or when applying oil or grease. All artificial heat is injurious. Moreover, it forces the fatty substance through and produces hardness, instead of allowing it to remain and amalgamate with the leather. Note this opinion about heat, and act as experience dictates. "We think, if the heat be not too great, no harm will result.
Cleaning Buckskin Gloves and White Belts.—Should these be stained, a solution of oxalic acid must be applied; should they be greasy, they must be rubbed with benzine very freely. After these processes are complete some fine pipeclay is to be softened in warm water to the consistency of cream; if a good quantity of starch be added to this it will prevent this white clay from rubbing off, but the whiteness will not then be so bright. If a small quantity be used the belts will look very bright. This mixture is to be applied with some folds of flannel as evenly as possible, and put to dry in the sun or in a warm room. When dry, the gloves can be put on and clapped together; this will throw off a good deal of superfluous pipeclay. The belts are to be treated in a similar way.
To take Stains out of Black Cloth, &c Boil a quantity
of fig-leaves in two quarts of water, till reduced to a pint. Squeeze the leaves, and bottle the liquor for use. The articles, whether cloth, silk, or crape, need only be rubbed over with a sponge dipped in the liquor.
Liquid for Cleaning Cloth.—Dissolve in a pint of spring water one ounce of pearlash, and add thereto a lemon cut in slices. Let the mixture stand two days, and then strain the clear liquor into bottles. A little of this dropped on spots of grease will soon remove them, but the cloth must be washed immediately after with cold water.— Or, put a quart of soft water, with about four ounces of burnt lees of wine, two scruples of camphor, and an ox's gall, into a pipkin, and let it simmer till reduced to one half, then strain, and use it while lukewarm. Wet the cloth on both sides where the spots are, and then wash them with cold water.
How to Remove Ink Stains.—Owing to the black colour of writing ink depending upon the iron it contains, the usual method is to supply some diluted acid in which the iron is soluble, and this, dissolving the iron, takes away the colour of the stain. Almost any acid will answer for this purpose, but it is, of course, necessary to employ those only that are not likely to injure the articles to which they are applied. A solution of oxalic acid may be used for this purpose, and answers very well. It has, however, the great disadvantage of being very poisonous, which necessitates great caution in its use. Citric acid and tartaric acid, which are quite harmless, are therefore to be preferred, especially as they may be used on the most delicate fabrics without any danger of injuring them. They may also be employed to remove marks of ink from books, as they do not injure printing ink, into the composition of which iron does not enter. Lemon juice, which contains citric acid, may also be used for the same purpose, but it does not succeed so well as the pure acid.
Kid or Memel Colour Renovator. — Take a few cuttings of loose kid, pour over sufficient water to just cover them, and simmer them for an hour. When cool they will be of the proper consistency. Apply with the fingers or a piece of rag or cloth.
French Polish for Boots Mix together two pints of
best vinegar, one pint of soft water, and stir into it a quarter pound of glue broken up, half a pound of logwood chips, a quarter of an ounce of best soft soap, and a quarter of an ounce of isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire and let it boil for ten minutes or more, then strain the liquid and bottle and cork it. When cold it is fit for use. It should be applied with a clean sponge. Fluid for Renovating the Surface of Japanned Leather.
—This liquid, for which Mr. "William Hoey obtained provisional protection in 1863, was described as being applicable for boots, shoes, and harness. It was composed , of about 2 ounces of paraffin or rock oil, or a mixture of both in any proportion, \ drachm of oil of lavender, \ drachm of citrionel essence, and 5 an ounce of spirit of ammonia; sometimes ivory or lamp-black was added to colour the mixture. When the ingredients were thoroughly mixed together, the fluid was applied lightly on the surface of the leather or cloth.
To Separate Patent Leather Patent leather is an
article with which there is always more or less liability to trouble in handling and working. It is sensitive to very warm weather, and great care is needed during the cold season.
If it should stick, and cold be the cause of the sticking, lay out the skin on a wide board, and with a hot flat-iron give it a rather slow but thorough ironing around the edges, where most of the trouble exists. A couple of thicknesses of cotton cloth are necessary to keep the iron from touching the leather. When both parts are well warmed through there will probably be no difficulty about their separation.
When the difficulty is owing to hot weather, the skins should be put away in the cellar, or the coolest place within reach and left till cooled through, when unless the stick is a very strong one, they will offer little resistance to being pulled apart.
If the stick be a slight one, open it gently and breathe on it as you pull.
To Preserve Leather from Mould.—Pyroligneous acid may be used with success in preserving leather from the attacks of mould, and is serviceable in recovering it after it has received that species of damage, by passing it over the surface of the hide or skin, first taking due care to remove the mouldy spots by the application of a dry cloth.

1881 Furniture Designs

Most of these are Queen Anne design. I thought several were a bit different and might make fun additions to your historical novels.

Three Seat Revolving Ottoman

Corner Chair

Dining Room Mantle

Economical Hall Furniture

Toy Tops

Here are some tidbits on various tops and games with tops from our 19th Century.

The peg-top appears to be a modern invention, but the whip-top is of great antiquity, it having been used in remote times by the Grecian boys; it was well known at Rome in the days of Virgil, and in England as early at least as the fourteenth century, when its form was the same as it is now. Strutt, in his "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," relates the following amusing anecdote of Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I., which he met with in an old manuscript at the British Museum: "The first time that the prince went to the town of Stirling to meet the king, seeing a little without the gate of the town a stack of corn in proportion not unlike to a top wherewith he used to play, he said to some that were with him, 'Lo, there is a goodly top! Whereupon one of them saying, 'Why do vou not play with it then' he answered, 'Set you it up for me aud 1 will play with it.'"

THE HUMMING-TOP.
These cannot easily be made, but can very easily be purchased by those who are so lucky as to have the money. They are made hollo"', having at their crown a peg, round which is wound a string; this, being pulled through a kind of fork, gives motion to the top, and sets it spinning—the fork and the string being left in the spinner's hand In spinning the top, care should he taken to wind the string firmly and eveniy on the peg; and when it is pulled out, neither too much nor too little force should be used, and a firm axil steady hanu should be employed, while the top should be held in a perpendicular position. The string should be drawn with a steadily increasing force, or the top will not hum properly.

PEG-TOP.
There are various kinds of Peg-tops, and they also vary in shape, some being much rounder than others. Those are the best which are shaped like a pear. There is also great variety as regards the shape and size of the peg, which in some tops is short and thick, in others long and tapering. Again, tops are made of different kinds of": wood, some being made of deal, others of elm, some of yew-tree, and others of boxwood. These last are the Boxers so highly prized. Some of the vcr» best tops are made of lignum vitae, with long, handsome pegs.

SPANISH PEG-TOP.
The Spanish peg-top is made of mahogany. It is shaped soir.e wliat like a pear; instead of a sharp iron peg, it has a small rounded knob at the end. As it spins for a much longer time than the English peg-top, and does not require to be thrown with any degree of force in order to set it up, it is pxtrcmely well adapted for playing on flooring or pavement.

THE WHIP-TOP.
Whip-top is a capital sport when played by two persons; and it played by first whirling the top into motion by turning it sharolv with both hands, and then by flogging it till its motion becomes very rapid. When two persons play whip-top, the object should be for each to whip his top to a certain goal, he wiio reaches it first being the victor.

CHIP-STONE.
This game is played by two boys, in the following manner: Two lines, about six lect apart, are marked upon the ground, which ought to be smooth and hard. Some small stones are then procured and placed midway between the lines; they should not be larger than a small bean, and the black and polished ones are the most sought after. The tops arc now set up spinning on the ground, and the players, being each provided with a small wooden spoon, dexterously introduce them under the pegs of the spinning tops, and then, with the top still spinning in the spoon, throw the point of-ihe peg against the stone, so as to chip it out of bounds; he who docs this the soonest being the victor. While the top continues to spin, he may take it up with the spoon as many times as he can, and when it spins out he must again wind up, pursuing the same plan till he " chips out."

Directions.—In winding up the top do not wet the end of the line too much, and take care to lay it closely and evenly within the grooves. In throwing the top from vou, the line must be pulled in with a peculiar jerk of the hand, which practice alone can give. The string button should be held close in the hand, between the last two fingers of the hand. There is what is called an "underhand" way of spinning a top, i.e. by holding it peg downwards, throwing it in a straight line forward, and withdrawing the string; but as we dislik ■ everything underhand, we shall not recommend this practice anymore than we shall the Spanish tops, which are spun after this method.

This game may be played by any number of boys. A ring about a yard in diameter is first marked on the ground, and another ring sunounding the first, and at a yard's distance from it, is also marked. The players must stand on this ring, and from it throw their tops. One player begins by throwing his top spinning into the ring, anil while it is there spinning the other players are at liberty to peg at it as quickly as they can. If none of them hit it while it is spinning, and if it rolls out of the ring, the owner is allowed to take it up, and having wound it, to peg at the others which may be still spinning in the circle. Should any of the tops, when they cease spinning, fall within the ring, they are considered dead, and arc placed in the centre of the circle for the others to peg at. The player who succeeds in striking any of the tops out of the circle claims those so struck out. In some places each player may ransom his top with a marble.

Sleeping tops are exposed to much danger in the play, for they offer a fair mark to the "peggcr," and often get split, when the "peg" is taken by the splitter as his trophy. Long-pegged tops are the best for the game, for they lie more upon their sides after their fall, and, before the spinning entirely ceases, are the more likely to spin out of the ring.
There is a way of making the top spring out of the ring directly it has touched the ground. Only long-pegged tops will execute this feat. It is done by drawing the hand sharply towards the body jusl as the top leaves the string. When the manoeuvre is well executed, the top will drive any opponent that it strikes entirely out of the ring, while it does not remain within the dangerous circle itself for Ciore than a few seconds.

There are some out-door games played with toys which do not fan under any of our previous headings. These games we now lay before our reader, together with a description of the toys in common.
Source: Every Boy's Book ©1881

1857 Fashions Continued

Below are some more examples of 1857 fashions.

Dresses
High plain corsage, with berths; buttoned before and trimmed with puffs of the same material as the dress, or with silk ribbons. Pagoda or trumpet sleeves, trimmed to match. A double skirt--the under one entirely plain, the upper trimmed with ruches, running down at even distances--trimming material to correspond.

Plain "half-high" corsage, cut square, a slightly rounded point, and bertha of black lace. Trimmed around the neck with a ruche of ribbon and a fall of deep black lace. Open sleeves, slashed in front, caught up with bows of ribbon, and three flounces, trimmed with ruches and lace to match the body--material, dark-blue satin.

Home or Indoor Dress. Plain high corsage, without bertha, rounded at the waist; buttoned in front and trimmed with ruches, a la Raphael. Plain skirt, trimmed as with an apron,with ruches and pagoda sleeves with ruches all to correspond. Material steel gray fil-de-chevre.

Plain tight corsage, high in the neck, with point back and front. Long open sleeves, which have a double puff at the top. Three skirts--materials cross-barred gray taffety. Trimming of the body and sleeves: puffs of the same material as the dress, with gray silk fringe.

Front & Back Coiffure

Another Coiffure Front & Back

Lathe

A lathe is an incredible tool from the past that is still used today. However, today's lathe is powered with electricity during the 19th Century they were generally powered by food. Notice the foot pedal that was the primary power back then.

How about some Fruit Salad

Here are some possible alternative dishes for your characters to enjoy from the 19th century.


Fruit Salads.
SALADS in which fruits form a prominent part are becoming very popular. They are often served as a first course at luncheons or in place of a course of fruit at dessert. For a first course they should be rather acid or made with fruit of an acid nature, while later during a meal they are more enjoyed if sweetened and more highly flavored.
As a rule they are most attractive looking compounds often highly fragrant and appeal to all our senses. Almost any kind of acid fruit is nice to serve in this way. For eating with meats or birds the ordinary French dressing, omitting the onion, is good. For dessert, or at one of our American "Teas, " the cold sweet fruit mixtures are preferred. Neufchatel cheese is enjoyed with them at a late breakfast or luncheon. The fruit salads may be put into an ice cream freezer and cooled with the usual mixture of salt and ice.
When handsome glass or porcelain dishes, with silver ones to place them in, are not available a pretty way to serve fruit salads is in dainty glasses. Peaches, fresh figs and the many varieties of berries have always been popular with sugar and cream but, for variety, try one of the following methods which may be considerably varied by changing the fruits and proportions as the supplies change or the taste varies.

Mixed Fruit Salad. Fill delicate cups or glasses with fresh pine-apple, bananas and white grapes cut, halved and seeded, the pulp and juice of oranges and candied cherries, all the fruit to be cut rather fine. Cover them with a dressing made with four tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, one gill of sherry, one tablespoonful maraschino and two of champagne. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then pour over the fruit and let the glasses stand in a cold refrigerator an hour before serving. Another dressing is made with four tablespoonfuls of sugar and half a teaspoonful of cinnamon mixed with two tablespoonfuls of sherry and the same of Maderia. Some people delight in a mixture of acid fruit, currants, raspberries, morello cherries, strawberries etc., with candied fruit cut into small strips, angelica, citron, cherries, oranges and all the many kinds that are now prepared. Give a dressing of sugar and wine.

Mixed Fruit Salad No. 2. These salads are greatly admired by some people as table ornaments. They look best arranged on a large flat dish. Select a pineapple having a pretty top and carefully peel and slice so that the slices can be arranged in the centre of the dish in the original shape of the fruit. Sprinkle each slice with sugar and fasten the top of the pineapple in place with a wooden skewer if necessary. Peel and divide four or five oranges into sections, remove the seeds and arrange the sections about the pineapple. Peel four large bananas, cut into slices lengthwise and arrange them in regular order about the sides of the dish like the spokes of a wheel. Fill the space between with any attractive fruit obtainable such as strawberries, raspberries or pomegranite grains. Dust powdered sugar over them just before being served and help with more sugar and cream or, to half a pint of clear sugar syrup add a glass of good brandy, or two of sherry wine, and pour over the fruit.

Fruit Salad with Jelly. Make a rich sweet lemon or wine jelly in accordance with any recipe that is liked, having it rather stiff as the juice of the fruit tends to thin it Surround the jelly mould with ice. Put in a layer of jelly and let it get firm, then a layer of ripe fruit of any kind that is tender yet firm such as raspberries, apricots, peaches, bananas, oranges or plums. Cover this layer of fruit with jelly and let harden again and continue this until the mould is full. Keep on ice until wanted. Sweet cream may be served with it. A clear transparent jelly with the prettily arranged fruit inside of it makes a most effective dish.

French Fruit Salad. Keep the fruit in a cold place until ready to prepare and then take grapes with the seeds extracted and skins taken off, strawberries, raspberries, sliced bananas, oranges and pineapples in about equal proportions. Dress with champagne and sugar and serve freezing cold. Use a silver bowl filled with cracked ice with a glass bowl inside into which the salad is heaped. This salad is enjoyable both in hot and cold weather.

French Fruit Salad No. 2. This is a combination fruit salad that can be made in winter when the fruits named are in the market. Blanch the meat of a dozen English walnuts. With a very sharp knife skin and seed about two dozen white grapes. Slice three bananas and divide two large oranges into lobes cutting each lobe into three pieces. Arrange some of each on a few leaves of lettuce or separate plates, or mix altogether on a pretty dish and serve with mayonnaise dressing as cold as possible.

Grape Fruit and Lettuce. A delicious and unique salad is made by cutting grape fruit or shaddock in halves and, with a spoon, taking out all the pulp being careful to preserve the juice. Put in a salad bowl with fresh crisp lettuce leaves, allowing one medium size head of lettuce for each grape fruit When ready to serve mix with a dressing made with the juice. Have the juice cold and drop in oil while stirring vigorously. Three of oil to one spoonful of juice is about the right proportion although the proportions vary according to the conditions of the ingredients. To every three tablespoonfuls of this mixture allow half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoonful of pepper. Stir until emulsion is formed, pour over the salad, toss lightly about and serve at once. The spoon may be rubbed with garlic or a few drops of onion juice may be added to the salad if desired. Be most careful that no small pieces of tne white skin of the grape fruit find their way into the bowl or the salad will be bitter and disagreeable.

Grape Fruit with Mayonnaise.- Peel a grape fruit and divide in sections: split the membrane and carefully extract the pulp dividing into little natural sections that will hold the juice, breaking them as little as possible. Put the tender leaves of two small heads or one large head of lettuce in a salad bowl and mingle with the prepared grape fruit; gave a sprinkle of salt and set in a cold place. When ready to serve, cover with mayonnaise dressing, mixing all well together just before helping.

Cherry Salad No. 1. Remove the stones from a dish of fine black cherries, sprinkle well with powdered sugar and add a wineglassful each of Curacoa and sherry wine to a quart of fruit. Mix well and cool on ice before sending to table.

Cherry Salad No. 2. Stone a pound of large acid cherries saving the juice. Peel and cut into thin slices a cucumber of medium size. Blanch and chop fine a dozen sweet almonds. Mix all these in a salad bowl or fancy dish with the white parts of two heads of lettuce and pour over them eight tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, two gills of sherry and two tablespoonfuls of maraschino. Stir all together until the sugar is dissolved. Keep as cool as possible until served.

Cherry Salad No. 3. Remove the stones from half a pound of ripe but firm cherries. Shell as many hazel nuts as you have cherries, remove as much of the brown skin covering the kernel as possible, and place one nut in the centre of each cherry in place of the stone. Arrange on lettuce leaves or in the centre of the bowl with lettuce about them, and dress with plain mayonnaise made with a little lemon juice in place of all or part of the vinegar, but do not have it too acid.

Cherry Salad No. 4. Cherries in aspic jelly either with or without nuts are regarded with much favor by some people. An attractive way is to have a border of the jelly and when ready to serve fill the centre with cherries and shredded celery in equal quantities, mixed with mayonnaise. Some of the aspic jelly whipped until frothy and mixed with them, laid on top, will be attractive.

Pear Salad. Peel and slice, or divide into sections lengthwise, five sweet summer pears that are ripe but not soft. Sprinkle fine sugar over them with a little maraschino, or ginger syrup may be used both to sweeten and flavor. Serve with a little cream.

Acid Pear Salad. Acid pears, not too ripe, made into a salad are especially nice served with any water fowl. Peel the fruit and cut into thin slices being careful to remove the core and any hard or imperfect parts. Serve immediately with about an equal quantity of lettuce. A mayonnaise dressing is usually preferred with it but a French dressing is good used with or without onions.

Alligator Pear Salad. The Avocado or aguacata which has been given the senseless name of alligator pear by English speaking people, is the fruit of a tree (Persea gratisssima) native of tropical America. It is the favorite fruit for salads of those accustomed to its use and as the cultivation of the tree extends in the Gulf states, and the fruit finds its way more freely to the northern markets, its popularity increases.
The taste for this pear, like that for tomatoes, is an acquired one. Like most other salads this is preferred by Americans with a simple dressing. Cut the pear shaped fruit lengthwise and remove the large hard yellow seeds. Then sprinkle over each half, salt, pepper, vinegar or lemon juice and eat the inside with a spoon. An abundance of fruit must be had for this way of serving, so when the fruit is scarce or expensive it had better be peeled and cut into long thin strips and served with a French dressing to which a few drops of onion juice are a great improvement. Like all fruit salads it should be as cold as possible when served.

Mexlcan Alligator Pear Salad. This is called the Queen of Salads. Six alligator pears and six tomatoes peeled and sliced. One rareripe sliced very thin, and half a cupful of fresh coriander leaves. Salt, oil and vinegar as in a French dressing.

Prickly Pear Salad. The Indian fig or prickly pear in all its varieties can be made into most inviting salads. Stick a fork into the fruit and with a sharp knife cut off the skin. Avoid handling the fruit before peeling as there are often small spines left on the pears that will prove extremely annoying. Cut the fruit into small slices and mix with lettuce and mayonnaise dressing. If the fruit is of a large Southern variety it can be peeled and sliced into a dish sprinkled with sugar with the juice of an orange or lemon and a wineglassful of brandy added.

Orange Salad Number 1. Peel and divide into lobes, removing all particles of white skin and the seeds, serve on lettuce leaves with mayonnaise dressing. This is rather a heavy salad but is good to serve with venison or other game. Large acid oranges are best to use.

Orange Salad Number 2. Remove seeds and skin and divide the oranges into lobes arranged neatly on a dish. Dust powdered sugar over them and flavor with a little Chartreuse, maraschino and brandy or rum: put on ice and when cold and ready to serve moisten with five or six pieces of loaf sugar with the spirit, arrange on top of the oranges, set on fire and send it to table burning.

Orange Salad Number 3. Arrange a border of cold boiled rice around a dish and fill the centre with peeled and sliced oranges with sugar sprinkled over all. Cool on ice and when ready to serve pour over the top one or two wineglassfuls of arrack.

Orange Salad Number 4. Make this salad in the proportions of one good apple to two oranges all pared and sliced and arranged in layers, lightly sprinkled with fresh powdered cinnamon, a glass of sherry poured over the top and a heaping tablespoonful, more if the fruit is very acid, of sugar sprinkled over the fruit.

Orange Salad Number 5. This is the old fashioned mixture which probably first came into use soon after the discovery of America. Arrange on a dish alternate layers of peeled and sliced oranges, with grated or dessicated cocoanut sprinkled with fine white sugar. Sliced pineapple is often mixed with it and it can be flavored with a little sherry or other light wines.

Orange Salad Number 6. Peel and cut sour oranges in thick slices, or, if sweet oranges must be used, squeeze a little lemon juice over each slice, and remove the seeds. Make a dressing in the proportion of three tablespoonfuls of oil to one of lemon juice, salt, paprika or Cayenne pepper. Serve with game.

Orange Salad Number 7. Carefully remove both the yellow and white skins from the oranges and separate into natural segments. Place five or six of these on each plate and cover with the following dressing. Two eggs, one teaspoonful mustard, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one teaspoon, ful of cornstarch, one tablespoonful of butter, one-half teaspoonful of pepper. Beat the eggs a little but not until light: stir in sugar, then butter, mustard and pepper. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little of the vinegar. Next pour vinegar over eggs etc. Place the bowl in a boiler or basin of hot water and stir the dressing until it thickens like soft custard. When hot stir in cornstarch. When cold stir in salt and a little cream. This dressing will keep for a long time before salt and cream are added.

Orange Salad Number 8. This salad should be served with game or rich roasts. Peel the oranges and remove all the white skin, slice them very thin. Arrange the slices on a flat dish and sprinkle walnut meat and leaves of water cress thickly over them repeating the layers as often as wished. Put a border of cress around the dish. Have a remoulade dressing, or make a dressing with lemon or sour orange juice, two tablespoonfuls of juice to four of oil, salt and a little Cayenne pepper. Acid oranges are best for this salad.

Green Apple Salad. Take six Rhode Island Greening apples and two heads of celery, all cut fine and served at once with mayonnaise dressing.
Apple Salad. Salads of apples are excellent with cold roast meats in winter. Have everything cold and do not cut the apples until ready to serve. Chop or shred very fine one good sized Spanish or sweet pepper, carefully removing all seeds and the core. Break a head of lettuce into a salad bowl and slice over it six crisp, tart, highly flavored apples. Long narrow slices are most attractive. Sprinkle the chopped peppers evenly among the apples. Dress with two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice, six of oil and a saltspoonful of salt. Mix well, pour over the salad, stir lightly and serve.

Apple and Walnut Salad is made the same as the preceding using the meat of English walnuts that have been scalded in hot water and the dark skin removed, instead of the shredded pepper. About a cupful of walnut meats will be required. Mayonnaise dressing is liked with this.

Apple and Celery Salad is good with game. Have equal quantities of finely sliced very cold apples and celery, sprinkled with salt and mix lightly together. Cover with mayonnaise dressing, or, if preferred, use French dressing. Some epicures hold that mayonnaise should never be served with roast meats.

Raspberry Salads. Ripe fresh cold raspberries are so delicious when in perfection that any addition excepting a little sugar seems an injury, but a variety in the service is sometimes desirable.
For a quart of ripe raspberries squeeze out the juice of half a pint of currants, add half a teaspoonful of freshly ground cinnamon and half a wineglass of brandy. Sweeten to taste and pour over the cold fruit. Another way is to arrange the raspberries neatly in a dish sprinkling powdered sugar them. Squeeze out the juice of a fine orange, mix with a wineglassful of maraschino and pour over the berries. Still another way is to arrange a centre of white currants, white raspberries or any different colored fruit from the berries, and then place a border of red raspberries around them. A round rather flat dish with a raised edge is best. By making a cylinder of a strip of paper about as stiff as writing paper, and filled with the white fruit, putting the red outside the paper and carefully pulling the paper up when all is ready, the arrangement is easily made. Whip a wineglassful of sherry wine into a pint of cream and serve with the fruit and fine sugar. Brandy or some liqueur can be used instead of sherry.

Strawberry Salad. The true admirers of the strawberry do not want the natural flavor of the fruit destroyed by too many additions, but some people are unable to eat them plain and such will find them harmless used in the following ways.
Make a pint of good claret wine quite sweet with white sugar and add to it a small glassful of Curacoa and pour over the fruit. Chartreuse or maraschino may be used instead of Curacoa.
Squeeze the juice from two oranges and mix with it a wineglassful of brandy and one of water and pour over a quart of fruit that has been sprinkled with sugar.
Make a syrup of half a pound of white sugar dissolved in enough water to make a thin syrup: add a wineglassful of brandy and one of Chatreuse or Curacoa and about half a teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Serve separately putting a little over each portion of fruit before eating.

Quince Salad. A salad that is relished with fish and game, and that is a pleasing novelty to most people, can be made by paring and slicing a few ripe quinces and dressing with French dressing. Any minced herbs, tarragon, spearmint, chives, marjoram etc., can be minced and sprinkled over them or flavored vinegars may be used in the dressing.

Currant Salad. Currants can be dressed with any of the mixtures of sugar and wine suggested for use with other berries, cream and sugar. Mixed with a small quantity of mayonnaise dressing, made with mustard, and served on lettuce, they are good to accompany roast birds or game.

Fig Salad. This is considered by many an improvement over fresh figs and cream which delights all who are fond of figs. Quarter twenty-five fresh ripe figs into a pretty bowl or dish and pour over, as fast as you put them in, half a pint of clear strained honey; let them stand on ice. When ready to serve whip a small glass of brandy into a quart of rich cream and pour over the figs.

Mulberry Salad. This fruit is often difficult to serve but makes a wholesome highly flavored salad. Pick the fruit over and arrange in a bowl or dish sprinkling fine sugar plentifully all through it. To a quart of fruit allow one wineglassful of Chatreuse, the juice of one orange, one tablespoonful of ginger syrup (from pressed Canton ginger) or a little powdered ginger if without the syrup. Pour over the fruit and serve. Cream may be added at table.

Pineapple Salad. When pineapples are plentiful a pleasant variation to the plain fruit can be had by peeling carefully and slicing, or better still, tearing the fruit into shreds with a fork which makes it lighter, leaving out the core and hard parts. Sprinkle with fine sugar and for each fruit allow a tablespoonful of brandy and one of Curacoa with a small wineglassful of arrack. Mix with some of the juice and pour over the whole. Maraschino and brandy are sometimes used. Serve very cold.

Melon Salad. A really good melon should never be injured by the addition of anything else other than a little salt Those that are more or less insipid in flavor may be improved if served with a French or mayonnaise dressing. Cut the melon in rather long thin strips and serve as cold as possible.

Fruit Salad. This is a good fruit salad to make in winter or when fresh fruit is not available. The quantity given is sufficient for eight persons. Eight oranges, one banana, onehalf pound candied cherries, one-half can of peaches, onehalf can pears and one-sixth can of pineapple. Cut all the fruit into "chunks" not slices. Carefully remove skin and all white pulp from the oranges and cut into chunks as well. Have a dressing of one-half cup of mayonnaise made with the yolks of two eggs only, and enough oil to complete the half-cupful. Just before the salad is wanted mix the mayonnaise with one and one-half pints of whipped cream, pour over the salad and gently mix just before serving. None of the juices of the fruits should enter the salad and if the oranges are very sour they should be sugared and then drained before using.

Nut Salads are growing in favor and nuts are better served as a flavoring by themselves, in a plain salad, than in rich meat or other salads where their distinctive flavor is lost. Pecans, English and American walnuts, chestnuts, butternuts, almonds and even peanuts may be used. The delicacy and appearance of all are improved by scalding in hot water and removing the brown skins. Chestnuts should be boiled fifteen or twenty minutes before the shells are taken off. Have nice tender lettuce, sprinkle it plentifully with the prepared nut meat and serve with a French dressing without onion. Celery can be used instead of lettuce and is often preferred with chestnuts.
When the chestnuts used are large they should be cut into pieces. The nuts are sometimes used mixed, although one kind at a time is to be preferred. An English walnut salad is made by soaking the meat of about two dozen English walnuts in lemon juice for two hours and then mixing them with water cress and a French dressing. Green English walnuts are sometimes sliced and mixed with salads. Apples, celery and nuts are combined by taking a cupful of shredded celery, cut apple and nut meats, mixing and pouring over all a teaspoonful of oil and a little less quantity of lemon juice. Let it stand before serving and then dress with mayonnaise.
Source: The American Salad Book ©1899