Housekeeping in Old Virginia. Группа авторов

Richmond. Mrs. Jas. W. Shields King Geo. Co. Mrs. H. T. Silverthorn Lynchburg. Mrs. Wm. A. Strother Lynchburg. Mr. Wm. A. Strother Lynchburg. Mrs. John W. Stone Lynchburg. Mrs. John F. Slaughter Lynchburg. Miss Lillie Slaughter Lynchburg. Mrs. Kate Slaughter Lynchburg. Mrs. Judge Spence Lynchburg. Mrs. Henderson Suter Liberty. Mrs. Harriet Stansbury New Orleans, La. Mrs. Shannon Miss. Miss Ellen Shute New Orleans, La. Miss Rebecca Smith Norfolk. Mrs. Charles Sharp Norfolk. Mrs. Sparks Virginia. Mrs. Col. Smith Pittsylvania Co. Mrs. A. H. M. Taliaferro Orange Co. Mrs. Mary W. Taylor Campbell Co. Mrs. Major Thos. L. Taylor Campbell C. H. Miss Julia Thompson Williamsburg. Mrs. C. L. Thompson Richmond. Mrs. J. Hanson Thomas Baltimore, Md. Mrs. Eli Tutwiler Lexington. Mrs. Samuel Tyree Lynchburg. Mrs. John H. Tyree Lynchburg. Mrs. Jas. Taylor Fredericksburg. Miss Edmonia Taylor Orange Co. Mrs. Tucker Virginia. Mrs. Judge Watson Abingdon. Mrs. Dr. Thos. Walker Lynchburg. Mrs. Col. W. Lynchburg. Mrs. Col. Robert E. Withers Wytheville. Mrs. Philip T. Withers Lynchburg. Mrs. Dr. R. W. Withers Campbell Co. Mrs. Edmund Withers Nelson Co. Mrs. Dr. Wingfield Maryland. Mrs. R. M. C. Wingfield Portsmouth. Mrs. J. C. Wheat Winchester. Mrs. Judge Wharton Liberty. Miss Emily Whitehead Norfolk. Mrs. Robert Whitehead Nelson Co. Mrs. John M. Warwick Lynchburg. Mrs. Wm. N. Welford Lynchburg. Mr. Philip Withers Lynchburg. Miss Kate Wilson Lynchburg. Dr. Thos. L. Walker Lynchburg. Miss Nannie S. Langhorne Lynchburg.

      HOUSEKEEPING IN OLD VIRGINIA.

BREAD.

       Table of Contents

      Bread is so vitally important an element in our nourishment that I have assigned to it the first place in my work. Truly, as Frederika Bremer says, "when the bread rises in the oven, the heart of the housewife rises with it," and she might have added that the heart of the housewife sinks in sympathy with the sinking bread.

      I would say to housewives, be not daunted by one failure, nor by twenty. Resolve that you will have good bread, and never cease striving after this result till you have effected it. If persons without brains can accomplish this, why cannot you? I would recommend that the housekeeper acquire the practice as well as the theory of bread-making. In this way, she will be able to give more exact directions to her cook and to more readily detect and rectify any blemish in the bread. Besides, if circumstances should throw her out of a cook for a short time, she is then prepared for the emergency. In this country fortunes are so rapidly made and lost, the vicissitudes of life are so sudden, that we know not what a day may bring forth. It is not uncommon to see elegant and refined women brought suddenly face to face with emergencies which their practical knowledge of household economy and their brave hearts enable them to firmly meet and overcome.

      To return to the bread question, however. Good flour is an indispensable requisite to good bread. Flour, whether old or new, should always be sunned and aired before being used. In the morning, get out the flour to be made up at night for next morning's breakfast. Sift it in a tray and put it out in the sun, or, if the day is damp, set it near the kitchen fire. Only experience will enable you to be a good judge of flour. One test is to rub the dry flour between your fingers, and if the grains feel round, it is a sign that the flour is good. If after trying a barrel of flour twice, you find it becomes wet and sticky, after being made up of the proper consistency, you had better then return it to your grocer.

      The best flour is worthless without good yeast. Yeast made up in the morning ought to be fit for use at night. It should be foamy and frothy, with a scent slightly like ammonia. After closely following the directions for yeast-making, given in the subsequent pages, the bread will be apt to succeed, if the flour employed is good.

      There is a great