Interesting to Housewives.—As a general rule it is most economical to buy the best articles. The price is, of course, always a little higher, but good article always spend best. It is a sacrifice of money to buy poor flour, meat, sugar, molasses, cheese, butter, lard, &c., to say nothing of the injurious effect upon the health.
Of West India sugar and molasses, the Santa Cruz and Porto Rico are considered the best. The Havana is seldom clean. White sugar from Brazil is very good. Refined sugars usually contain the most of the saccharine substance, therefore, there is probably more economy in using crushed loaf, and granulated sugars, than we should at first suppose.
Butter that is made in September and October is the best for winter use.
Lard should be hard and white; and that which is taken from a hog over a year old is the best.
Rich cheese feels soft under the pressure of the finger. That which is very strong is neither good nor healthy. To keep one that is cut, tie it up in a bag that will not admit flies, and hang it in a cool dry place. If mold appears on it, wipe it off with a dry cloth.
The best rice is large, and has a clear, fresh look. Old rice sometimes has little black insects inside the kernel.
The small white sago called pearl sago, is the best. The large brown kind has an earthly taste. These articles and ground rice, in pieces, &c., should be kept covered.
To select nutmegs pick them with a pin. If they are good, the oil will instantly appear around the puncture.
Keep coffee by itself, as its odor affects other articles.
Keep tea in a close chest or canister.
Oranges and lemons keep best wrapped close in soft paper and laid in a drawer.
When a cask of molasses is bought, draw off a few quarts, else the fermentation produced by moving it will burst the cask.
Bread and cake should be kept in a tin box or a stone jar.
Salt codfish should be kept in a dry place, where the odor of it will not affect the air or the house. Fish skin, for clearing coffee, should be washed, dried, cut small, and put in a paper bag.
Softsoap should be kept in a dry place in a cellar, and should not be used till three months old.
Barsoap should be cut into pieces of convenient size, and left where it will become dry. It is well to keep it for several weeks before using it, as it goes fast when it is new.
Cranberries will keep all winter in a firkin of water, in the cellar.
[Housekeeper's Friend.