Cream 2 cups brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar with scant 3/4 cup shortening, add 2 eggs, (one will do), 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, in which dissolve 1 teasp soda (or 1 1/2 cups black coffee and 3 teasp baking powder), add flour to make the dough stiff enough so it will hardly drop from spoon. Sift with the flour 1 teasp each cinnamon and ginger and a little less of cloves. Lastly add 1 cup each raisins and currants well dredged with flour. Bake two hours in moderate oven. I use milk pans. When the cake is cool cover with the following icing: Boil scant 3/4 cup white sugar and scant 1/2 cup sweet milk until it hardens when dropped from end of spoon. Then remove from fire and add 1 teasp vanilla and 1/2 cup each chopped seeded raisins and walnuts, or any other nut meat. Beat until it begins to harden and then spread quickly over the cake. This cake will keep for months and is better when two or three weeks old, than when fresh.- [L. J. P., Ore.