The "Distaff."

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2331, 18 June 1887, Page 6 (Supplement)

The "Distaff."

DRESS MATERIALS,

The following is an extract fropii"a s i " Lady's Letter." in a Home paper As e 90 many., young ladies ~wi,tli limited in--8 comes have taught themselves, dress- 1 making, for once I waive the advice so r often given, ''Never buy cheap ,matea ; rials." Not that I have found reasoti .to r alter my opinion on this point; far from g it. Instill; consider a few well-piade gowns of, good material more economical; [ and effective than a dozep. eUeaip'er ones; t; that fit iudifferentlyl Comparatively, t there, are few. women who can afford fre-; . quen.t changes of apparel and at the 1 same; 5 time employ a good dressmaker. There-; fore my advice commends itself, and I j believe many of -my readers., are.wisei x enough:, to act upon it. Cheap winter' -materials,are most undesirable, but there t are many inexpensive summer goods' j which look well for special occasions,; 3 such as garden, parties and the like, when c light colours are preferable, and gowns, 5 of this, class dp not require to be very ! enduring. , Still, .if the material cannot be made ,up at home, I should . consider cheap fabrics a . mistake, as a 1 dressmaker's bill is a very serious item of ; dress expenditure. ; • Expended on hand-: . some and durable stuffs, the cost of . making will be repaid over and over again, v Not so with inferior tissues. I now } address myself to the ladies who like to f be natty at a small cost, and have skill enough to put pretty inexpensive [ .materials together fashionably and well. , I see there is a certain manufacturer who f advertises Indian muslin in large quanti- . ties at extraordinary prices. This material is made in white and in colours ; but the ! latter is only suitable for the decoration • of ball-rooins and bazaars. White. Indian • muslin, on the contrary, if made up on ; a sateen foundation, is very soft and L pretty, and, with the addition of a few , ribbons, makss a lady-like and simple dress for any girl. In passing', I may i mention that narrow moire ribbons are l considered most elegant for the purpose t alluded to. There comes also under the i head of cheap materials one that is newer than Indian muslin. I refer to that known as " cheese cloth," I have heard the material will wash, ; which. I doubt, but at the pri'te no one could complain if it did ■ not wash. If not a clever fitter, I would auggest a round-waisted full bodice; that style is within the compass of all those who have passed the initial stages of the ait of dressmaking 1 . So that a young girl's dress is fresb and pretty its quality is never discussed. Girls can safely leave the richer fabrics for the use of those who do not possess that charm of charms, the freshness of youth. To wear rich satins and brocades is generally taken 'as evidence that a woman is a matron, who is, therefore,; no longer on promotion, and I fancy few unmarried women who are still young will care to be mistaken for members of that much-honoured communit}'. Iu the course of years, probably, if not married themselves, they may not object to mis-, takes of this kind, but they assuredly will whilst on the,sunny side of thirty. THE BEST WAY TO COOK. A RABBIT. . A little more than a century ago farmers did: not grow "roots" for feeding cattle, and when, the grass season was over.fat cows and sheep were slaughtered and put into pickle or salted and dried. Fresh meat was rarely obtainable during the loug winter season. In those days rabbits were a much-prized article of food, being an agreeable change from salted meat, though.they are at a discount at the present time, when fresh, meat and fish are obtainable all the year round. So " bunny " is chiefly relegated to the servants.' table. There are many methods of cooking rabbits which are not to be found in modern cooking books. .I.will give one that I can recommend, which is much approved of when hares are not in season,.; —Choose a young rabbit, but fullgrown,., paunch, and hang it i? the skin three days ; wipe carefully, but do not ; wash it. , When skinned, lay in the. following pickle, viz. ; : one glass of port wine, , the same .quantity of vinegar, a little pepper, -and allspice in a fine powder. , Baste the rabbit with this- pickle occasionally for ;forty hours, :tlien stuff: with.; the ' s?me forcemeat that , you ; would-, hares, roast, a.ud perve with: port wine, sauce, ,good gravy, and currant jelly. Do . not. wash off the liqueur that the rabbit was soaked in before copking. . If half , cooked, and then hashed with; good gravy and port wine, and fried forcemeat balls added, it makes an excellent dish. Rabbits: are go.od; stuffed and cooked duck fashion, i.e., with, sage, bread crumbs, pepper, salt, and a little butter, then roasted or baked, and served with onion sauce and good gravy. : This, dish may be considered top plebeian for refined taste, the odour of the forcemeat not being agreeable ,to the olfactory nerve.s, but. many , people ; consider onions wholesome esculents, which, .ought to, be , .partaken; of, more frequently- than than., modern; taste approves, Swift wrote :— , . This is every /cook's opinion : — . ; .No savoury dish without an onion-: • : But lest your kissing should; be .spoiled, r.Your onions must be thoroughly jDoiled.Hi The advice contained in the last line should almays be observed when. onions enter into 1 the.composition of forcemeats;