"The very staff of my age, my very prop."

-Shakespeare.

The following two recipes for yeast and sponge were given me when first I began cooking by a friend noted for her beautiful bread, and I can recommend them as the best:

Yeast.

One-half pint of hot mashed potatoes, I gill of salt, 1 gill of sugar, 1 gill of flour, 1/4 pint of hops (measured lightly), 21/2 quarts boiling water, 1/2 cake of compressed yeast. Put hops in a stew-pan with 1/2 pint of boiling water and boil for 20 minutes. Mix potatoes, flour, sugar and salt and strain hop water on them. Beat this mixture well and add the 2 quarts of boiling water. Let it stand until it is barely warm, then add the yeast cake, dissolved in 1/2 cup of water. Cover the bowl and let it stand for 24 hours. Skim and stir the yeast several times. Put in a 2-quart preserving jar, fill only two-thirds full and cork. Keep in a cool place and shake before using.

Sponge.

For 1 quart of flour: Two large potatoes, boiled until soft, mash and add 1/4 pint of cold water, 3 1/2 tablespoons of flour (from quart), 1/2 cup of yeast or 1/2 an yeast cake. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar when ready to make the bread. Set sponge in a warm place, behind the stove, to rise. In warm weather anywhere in the kitchen is warm enough. Sponge takes 1 hour to rise in summer and 2 hours in winter. Make sponge about 6: 30 for morning's bread.

Light Bread.

Sift 1 quart of flour and add a full teaspoon of salt, lard the size of a walnut and the sponge. Work for 20 minutes and put in a jar, which must be slightly greased, to rise. Make this up about 8 P. M. Next morning, 2 hours before needed, turn the dough out on a tray and work for 10 minutes, using a little flour if necessary on the tray. Make in shapes and set aside until they have risen to nearly three times their original size. Bake in a quick oven. Grease the tops once while baking. If the bread is too stiff when you mix it, add a little warm water, but be careful not to make it too soft, as the best bread should be a stiff dough and worked until it becomes soft.

Corn Bread.

One pint of cornmeal, 1/2 pint sweet milk, 1 egg, lard size of an egg, 1 dessertspoon of yeast powder, 1 teaspoon of salt. Sift meal and powder, add salt and lard. Beat the egg and pour milk over, beating the liquid into the meal. Place the batter in a square pan and bake slowly.

Corn Pone.

One quart of meal, 1 tablespoon of lard, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and water to make a stiff dough. Form into oblong pones a finger long. Pat each one on top, leaving the print of your fingers on them, and bake in a moderate oven. If possible, do not open the door until they are done, as it hardens the crust.

Batter Bread.

Two teacups of cornmeal, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 kitchen tablespoon lard. Mix and add boiling water enough to make a stiff batter. Stir until well mixed. When cold this mixture should be stiff enough to slowly move when the bowl is tilted. Let it stand for 2 hours. Just before meal time add 1 egg and 2 teaspoons baking powder, and milk to make a stiff batter. It should be the consistency of cake batter. Stir well and bake in a quick oven. The pans should be about 2 inches full before baking.

Spoon Corn Bread.

One cup boiled rice (or grits), 2 cups meal, 1 large cup milk, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 teaspoons baking powder. Mix as you would any other batter bread, and bake 1/2 an hour in a baking dish.