PARLOR AMUSEMENTS . - RECEIPTS . blue skies, the green trees, the wild, dancing winds, the clear, sparkling waters, the fragrant flowers to such as you ? Your mind is vacant-your society wearisome. Take exercise. Exercise not only your limbs, but the affections and principles God has given you. Set yourself to work for the household good ; do some office that will call for energy and a little thought; don't scruple to use those fair hands of yours, nor fear that by exertion you will lose the distingue air and look of colorless aristocracy. Don't come down to your death-bed to feel that you are going before all heaven to be called an unfaithful servant. Happiness, like every other precious good, must be sought for. Some people, to be sure, are born like sunshine-they are naturally pleasant and light-hearted ; but these are few and far between, and always monopolized. Emulate them. Why may not you be as cheerful as they? They have their trials and private annoyances as well as you, and with some effort you can cull as many flowers and catch as many sunbeams as they. We firmly believe that many a case of chronic ugliness might be cured through the means of healthy exercise. Get up, then, and shake off your sloth ; send that dead black blood through the channels of your body-let it come up to your sallow cheeks in red waves ; come to the resolution that you give your blood a quicker circulation ; your hearts will be the sooner purified, and made meet for the joys, and strong for the trials, of life.
PARLOR AMUSEMENTS . AIR AND WATER BALLOON.- Procure a small hollow glass Tessel, the shape of a balloon, the lower part of which is open, and place it in water, with the mouth downward, so that the air within prevents the water filling it. Then fill a deep glass jar nearly to the top with water, and place the balloon to float on its surface ; tie over the jar with bladder, so as to confine the air between it and the surface of the water. Press the hand on the bladder, when more water will enter the balloon, and it will soon sink to the bottom of the jar; but, on removing your hand, the balloon will again ascend slowly to the surface. WATER HEAVIER THAN WINE.-Let a tumbler be half-filled with water, and fit upon its surface a piece of white paper, upon which pour wine ; then carefully draw out the paper, say with a knitting-needle, so as to disturb the liquids as little as possible, and the water, being the heavier, will continue at the lower part of the glass ; whilst the wine, being the lighter, will keep above it. But, if a glass be first half-filled with wine, and water be poured over it, it will at once sink through the wine, and both liquids will be mixed. TO INFLATE A BLADDER WITHOUT AIR.- Put a teaspoonful ofether into a moistened bladder, the neck of which tie up tightly; pour hot water upon the bladder, and the ether, by expanding, will fill it out.
RECEIPTS FOR SOUPS. In the December number of the Magazine we gave some valuable hints with regard to the making of good, cheap, and nourishing soups. We now give some receipts for making stocks for soups. Brown Stock - Put ten pounds of shin of beef, six pounds ofknuckle of veal, and some sheep's-trotters or a cow-heel, into a closely-covered stewpan, to draw out the gravy very gently, and allow it nearly to dry up until it becomes brown. Then pour in sufficient boiling water to entirely cover the meat, and let it boil up, skimming it frequently; seasoning it with whole peppers and salt, roots, herbs, and vegetables of any kind. That being done, let it boil gently
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five or six hours, pour the broth from off the meat, and let it stand during the night to cool. The following morning take off the scum and fat, and put it away in a stonejar for further use. Or:-Put into a stewpan a piece of beef, a piece of veal, an old fowl, some slices of ham or bacon, and all the trimmings of meat that can be obtained ; add to these materials, where such things are abundant, partridge, grouse, or other game, which may not be sufficiently young and tender for the spit. Put a little water to it, just enough to cover half the meat, and stew very gently over a slow fire or steam apparatus. When the top piece is done through, cover the meat with boiling water or broth; season with spices and vegetables ; stew all together for eight or ten hours in an uncovered stewpan ; skim off the fat, and strain the liquor through a fine sieve, or " tammy." Brown stock may be made from brisket, flank, or shin of beef; which will, either together or separately, make a strong jelly, if stewed down with a piece of ham or lean bacon, in the proportion of half a pound to every seven pounds of meat ; but the shin of beef alone will afford a stronger and better flavor. This stock may also be reduced to a glaze by boiling the skimmed liquor as fast as possible in a newly- tinned stewpan, until it becomes of the desired consistence and of a good brown color; taking care at the same time to prevent it from burning. For a cheap and good Brown Gravy.-Slice three onions, and fry them in butter a nice brown; toast a large slice of bread a considerable time, till quite hard and very brown, but not burnt. Set these, and any bit of meat, or bone of a leg of mutton, etc., and some herbs, on the fire, with water in proportion, and stew till the gravy is thick and rich : add salt and pepper, strain off, and keep cool. White Stock -Take a scrag or knuckle of veal, an oxheel, or calf's-head, together with an old fowl and the trimmings of any white poultry or game which can be had, and lean ham in the proportion of one pound to every fourteen pounds of meat. Cut it all into pieces, add three or four large unroasted onions and heads of celery, with a few blades of mace ; but neither carrots, pepper, nor spice of any other kind; put just water enough to cover it. Let it boil for five hours, it is then fit for use.
RECEIPTS FOR DESSERTS. Custard Cream.-Boil half a pint of new milk with a piece of lemon-peel, two peach-leaves, a stick of cinnamon, and eight lumps of white sugar. Should cream be employed instead of milk, there will be no occasion to strain it. Beat the yolks, say of four eggs ; strain the milk through coarse muslin, or a hair sieve ; then mix the eggs and milk very gradually together, and simmer it gently on the fire, stirring it until it thickens, but removing it the moment it begins to boil, or it will curdle The addition of a glass of brandy beaten up with it materially improves its flavor. Flummery.- Put three large handfuls ofvery small white oatmeal to steep a day and night in cold water; then pour it off clear, and add as much more water, and let it stand the same time. Strain it through a fine hair sieve, and boil it till it be as thick as hasty pudding, stirring it well all the time. When first strained, put to it one large spoonful of white sugar and two of orange-flower water. Pour it into shallow dishes, and serve to eat with wine, cider, milk, or cream and sugar. It is very good. - Solid Syllabub.-Grate off the peel of a lemon with lump, sugar, and dissolve the sugar in three-quarters of a pint of wine : add the juice of half a lemon and quarter of a pint of cream ; whisk the whole together until of a proper thickness, and then put it into glasses.
