DETROIT, FEB. 21., 1890.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

 

ALWAYS A. RIVER T0 GROSS.

 

There’s always a river to cross;
Always an efl’ort to make
If there’s anything good to win,
Any rich prize to take.
Yonder’s the fruit we crave,
Yonder’s the charming scene;
But deep and wide, with a troubled tide,
Is the river that lies between.

For the treasures of precious worth
We must patiently dig and dive;
For the places we long to fill
We must push and struggle and strive;
And always and everywhere
We’ll find in our onward course
Thorns for the feet and trials to meet,
And a difficult river to cross.

The rougher the way that we take,
The stouter the heart and nerve.
The stones in our path we break,
Nor e’er from our impulse swerve.
For the glory we hope to win
Our labors we count no loss;
’Tis folly to pause and murmur because
0f the river we have to cross.

So ready to do and to dare,
Should we in our places stand,
Fulfilling the Master's will,
Fulfilling the soul’s demand;
For though as the mountain high
The billows may fear and toss,
They’ll not overwhelm if the Lord’s at the helm
When the difficult river we cross.

H—
SOME

“DONT’S” AT THE TABLE.

 

In the great dining hall of the fortress of
Marienburg, in West Prussia, is inscribed:
“He who wishes to eat here must be deli-
cate in his eating, chaste in his conversation,
and peaceful in manner; above all, pious
and loyal; if not, he will soon receive notice
to quit.” Observe, if you please, that
among all these qualifications to accepta-
bility as a guest, delicacy in eating is
named first. There is an unconscious ease
in the movements of those who were
brought up to eat properly—the ease of
habitude which has become second nature
—-in marked contrast with the restraint
and self-consciousness of those who are
watching themselves to be sure they do
not commit some awkward act and which
is clearly indicative of what is habitual
and what is “put on” for the oc-
casion. Want of refinement at the table is
always distressing to others, sometimes be-
comes even disgusting. Manners are not
an exact science; standards of etiquette
may vary. but the indications of bad man-
ners and ill-breeding are always only too
observable. It is much more easy to say
f‘Don’t do it” than to tell exactly what to

 

do, and the “don’ts,” carefully observed,
will carry us safely through.

To use the knife to carry food to the
mouth is universally considered “ a relic of
barbarism.” Only a few elderly people
who excuse themselves by quoting the
proverb “It’s hard teaching old dogs new
tricks,” ever use the knife for such purpose.
Its mission is to cut the food; the fork
conveys it to the month. When we see a
person perverting its use, and “perform-
ing the great American knife-swallowing
act,” the inference is inevitable that he
comes from a long distance “ Wayback.”
The fork is used to carry to the mouth every
kind of food except that which requires a
spoon. And the spoon is used only for
soup, for fruit served with cream and
sugar, for stewed and canned fruit and
preserves; for muskmelons, and where
oranges are put upon the table whole, one
end cut off and the pulp eaten with aspoon.
Green peas and stewed and canned corn re
quire aspoon; but string beans and Lima
beans are to be eaten with a fork. 1 have
heard of some ultra individuals who eat ice-
cream with a fork. but that delicacy is
usually considered “spoon victuals.” V The
soft layer cakes—as banana and orange
cakes—may be very properly eaten with a
fork, and the jelly served with meats also.
A good rule to remember is that the fork is
to be employed whenever and wherever it
can be made to serve the purpose. Like the
umbrella, when this implement was first in-
troduced it was considered a mark of ef-
feminacy to use it. In France, in the six-
teenth century, the fork became a religious
issue, and the monks in the monasteries
divided in two parties on the question of
the sinfulness of its use. Its use has al-
ways been in the interests of neatness. its
first purpose being to hold the food to be
cut by the knife, an office previously per-
formed by the fingers, being first So used in
Italy, and every step in its increasing use
has been dictated by cleanliness.

The fork should be raised laterally to the
mouth with the right hand; the elbow
should never be bent so as to bring the fork
directly opposite the mouth. The fork is
not to be used shovel-fashion, but the food
lifted to the mouth on its tines, which pene-
trate the food. This 18 a point often trans-
grassed by those who otherwise handle this
implement correctly; they handle the fork
as if it were a spoon. Never take more
than one kind of food on the fork at a time,
and only a moderate mouthful of that; to
overload the fork with both meat and
vegetables is “ worse than wicked, it is
vulgar.” Notice how a child grasps—53a

\

 

spoon, and then don't imitate him; take the
the handle between thumb and first and
second finger. steadying the handle against
the forefinger, it will not get away.

Don’t leave your spoon in your cup, even
for a moment; after you have stirred tea or
coffee put the spoon in the saucer. I once
sawa very quick, nervous mm hurriedly
and vigorously stir his coffee with the
spoon, leave it in the cup, and the very
next move, reaching for something else, tip
cup and coffee to the floor with his elbow.

Don’t cut your bread; break it. Don’t
butter half a slice and bite from it; a piece
sufficient for two mouthfuls is plenty large
enough to prepare at one time. Buttered
toast should be cut into strips, then it can
be conveyed to the mouth with the fingers.
Moderate mouthfuls, always, in slow time.
as you value digestion; the penalty for
“bolting” a meal is impaired digestion and
nervous irritability, and Nature extorts the
forfeit, every time. I am prepared to take
my affidavit that I once saw a twelve-year-
old boy make just three mouthfuls of one-
sixth ofa pie, and though he was only a
boy, I have seen men whom I think could
beat that record. Avoid the other extreme.
A “hygienic crank” whom I encountered
in my long series of boarding-house ex-
periences sat at table like a ruminative cow.
He had read somewhere that an Englishman
of advanced years and remarkable physical
vigor always gave twenty (I think it was)
“chews ” to each mouthful. It would not
have been so bad if he would have kept his
lips closed during the process of mastica-
tion, nor quoted his authority for his peculiar
habit so frequently.

A side dish should not be set into another
or upon the plate for greater celerity in dis-
posing of its contents; nor taken from the
table and held in the hand while eating
from it. Nor should the side dishes be
piled upon the plate, ready to be taken
away; the waitress performs such duty.

A French savant was practically banished
from the court of the Empress Eugenie for
his disregard of the etiquette of the napkin.
We do not go so far as this, but there are
some “dont’s” to be observed. Don’t
make a bib of it by tucking it into collar or
vest; “ taut oo eat widout slob’rin ? ” The
mission of the napkin is to wipe lips and
fingers, and incidentally to protect the
clothing, which it does most properly when
spread in the lap; don’t take it in both
hands and saw the mouth withit, and above
all else, don’t use it as a pocket handker-
chief and wipe the nose with it. “_I always
thought Mrs. -—--’s children were very nice
11 their manners, till one day Louie was

   

  

  


 

2 THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

here to dinner and I saw her use her napkin
for a handkerchief,” said an acquaintance
one day. And Louie fell fifty per cent in
the estima'e of this lady, so far as manners
go. I dare say there are a few homes in the
State where napkins are used only “for
company,” and some, perhaps, where the
head of the family might tell his patient
little wife who wants to have “ things like
other folks.” to “ take that rag away.” But
in these days, when the napkin is as essen-
tial a part of the table furniture as the spoon
or plate, I would insist that it should be
used every day by the children, even if I
made my napkins out of worn tablecloths
and my napkin rings out of birch bark or
pasteboard covered with ribbon.

Don’t, don’t. DON‘T talk with your mouth
full. Let the brightest retort go unspoken,
the opportunity for wit be unimproved, un-
less you can speak without that muffled
tone indicative of a mouthful of half masti-
cated food.

Be thoughtful of the needs of others at
table, and quick to see and render small
services quietly and Opportunely.

If an accident occurs at the table, to
yourself or another. make as little fuss over
it as possible; a few words Of regret to the
lady at the head of the table are in far better
taste than profuse and repeated apologies.
I was at a table once where a gentleman
had the misfortune to upset the gravy-boat.
His wife began at once to upbraid him for
carelessness and awkwardness, and kept
up her reproaches until long after the
daughter of the house had quietly and deftly
removed so far as possible all traces of the
disaster; in fact, the dessert was served
with a gravy accompaniment; the poor man,
in the meantime, between chagrin at the
accident and mortification at the eloquence
of his wife, evidently wished the earth
would open and swallow him. In sharp
contrast was a worse accident that happened
at a “company tea” I attended not long
after. The fourteen year old daughter of
the hostess was presiding over the chocolate
urn, when in filling a cup she tipped it too
far, the cover swung out and a deluge of
the hot, dark beverage, almost as thick as

cream. poured over cups, tray. and the girl’s
hand. One quick glance at her mother, one
glance from the mother to the waitress, who
had already tray and napkin in hand to
take it up, not one word Spoken, but the
hostess, “Mistress of herself though china
fall,” continued her conversation as
calmly as if nothing had happened; none of
the guests appeared to notice the incident,
a clean napkin covered the spots, the cups
and saucers were removed and clean ones
supplied and a pot of tea brought in, so
quietly that no one felt “upset” and the
social enjoyment was not marred. Suppose
the mother had begun to scold her daughter
for carelessness, had jumped up, all nervous
flurry, to help clear away the damage, the
whole “tea-party” would have been
spoiled; the guests, instead of carrying
away pleasant memories, would have re-
called only an awkward contretemps. And
the mother had the good sense to realize her
daughter was sufficiently punished and
spare her the scolding many women would
have administered in private.

LADIES’ SOCIETIES.

Polly’s Cousin says in her letter in the
HOUSEHOLD of the 11th ult., that men al-
ways prophesy “women’s societies ” will
not last long, for the reason that women
cannot agree well enough. There are a
number of organizations managed by
women which seem to be flourishing and
prosperous, though the recent split in the
most important and influential, the W. C.
'1‘. U., and the forming of a new society by
the seceders, indicates that dissensions will
occur, whether the societies are large or
small. The trouble is, most women are
ambitious, many of them masterful, and as
Polly’s Cousin says, so used to ruling their
own families arbitrarily that they do not
submit gracefully to the will Of the majority.
Men get their grounds for their opinions
from their wives, who are apt, I think, to
give rather jaundiced accounts of the hap-
penings, and let out a little personal feeling
they may have the grace to cover up in the
meetings. But I give it as my private
opinion that most such organizations be-
come, in time, hot-beds kept warm by spites,
petty jealousies and antagonisms. There
are almost always two factions, one that
rules and one that wants to, and those not
on the winning side generally get pretty
well flattened out.
Women in these societies sometimes
develop qualities which would not dis-
grace a ward politician in the eyes
of his associates. They can “fix up
a slate” for the candidates they have
agreed upon; arrange to have motions
made and promptly seconded, and in
some miraculous way catch the chairman’s
eye and be given the floor at just the
right moment, to the discomfiture of all not
in the ring. They can get as many voters
on hand for their side as a ward boss, and
see they vote “the right way;” and they
can look as demure all the time as the
Hebrew drummer who was “ the innocentest
man on the road.” Because of the talents
for strategy and subterfuge which she de-
velops in these small matters I am opposed
to giving suffrage to women. Mercy knows
we have enough schemers in politics now.

Polly’s Cousin asks what those who will
not descend to such means of ruling or ob-
taining the right of representation, should
do, withdraw, or fight. I know what I
would do quick enough. 1’d go right out.
The vexation of. spirit. the antagonism
aroused, the danger of getting drawn into
the vortex, are perils to be encountered
which don’t pay in results. It doesn’t pay
any woman to get out of temper, to feel she
is unfairly and unjustly treated or her
rights ignored, for the sake of retaining
her membership in any society.

I am assuming that there is always due
and suflicient provocation. The woman
who complains wants to be sure she has
not herself given cause for complaint. She
should not be quick to take offense, nor
thorny because her ideas are not adopted
as the policy of the majority. But 'when
she is convinced of the existence of a
“mutual admiration society” which rules,
and outside of which no recognition in
government or policy of the association is
possible, it is more dignified to get out than
to maintain an ineffectual struggle which
exhausts temper and annihilates amity.

UNEAPPINESS IN THE HOME.

Our HOUSEHOLD has invited the opinions
of its readers upon the cause of unhappi-
ness in the marital relation. It is a theme
for much thought, and it may be found far
easier to point out the cause than to pren
scribe a remedy. Certain it is that young
people nowadays rush into the relation-
ship, oftentimes without due consideration'
of the importance of the step they are
taking. Girls. especially, rather than run
the risk of being called an “old maid,”
often accept the first young man who offers
himself. He is an agreeable “ beam” per-
haps her home life is not pleasant and she
thinks it will be a fine thing to be her own
mistress, never doubting—if she gives a
thought to the matter—but that a pleasant
partner at ball or picnic will prove eq tally
agreeable sea life partner. After marriage
she finds that their tastes are not at all
similar. What he likes she despises; while
that which to her is a source of pleasure or
amusement is entirely contrary to his taste.
Right here is where the trouble lies. In
those cases where a deep and. abiding af-
fection is felt each for the other, these dif-
ferences of opinion or taste are overlooked.
The wife is willing to give up her own
pleasure in order to please her husband,
while on the other hand, even though——
being a man—he may not say much about
it, he will put aside his own wishes in the
matter to please his wife.
Cases are very rare in which the tastes of
husband and wife are entirely alike, but if
their marriage was a “love match,” even
though their tastes are dissimilar, there
will not be unhappiness, as a general
thing, for each is willing to defer to the
wishes of the other.

Marriage without love is the one great
cause of unhappiness. But there are al-
most as many causes as there are unhappy
homes. No one cause will cover the whole.

Again, our divorce laws should take a
large share of the blame. Were divorce
impossible more thought would be given ere
entering the “ bonds of matrimony” which,
as the divorce laws read today in many of.
our States, are bonds of words only, and
not particularly binding. The slightest dis-
agreement may if desired be so construed as
to prove “incompatibility,” and a divorce
easily obtained.

Did time and space permit, the subject
could easily be enlarged upon, but these two
which I have mentioned seem to me to be
the principal causes of unhappiness between
husband and wife. The remedy which I

should prescribe would be, a certainty of
true love, tested by a long engagement in
the first case, and a thorough revision of our
divorce laws in the other.

FLINT. ELLA R. WOOD.

——-—...—-——

THE Milwaukee Sentinel appropriates
Mrs. J. M. West’s article on butter-making
which appeared in a recent HOUSEHOLD,
but forgot—we will charitably conclude—to
give credit either to the writer or to the
MICHIGAN FARMER. We hope Mrs. West
will kindly answer the many requests that
have been made for further information
about butter-making. Such questions prove
the deep interest women are feeling in

 

 

BEATRIX.

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THE HOUSEHOLD.

 
 

3

 

 

ABOUT BIRCH BARK.

Some one of the HOUSEHOLD ladies asked
a long while ago, “ Where are the girls ?”
Well, here I am for one. Papa has often
req'lested me to write, but I have been
afraid to do so. After reading G. F. O.’s
last request, however, I thought I might help
her, and so decided to write. '

G. F. 0. may use birch bark peeled thin
as a substitute for writing paper, as I am
now doing. Envelopes can be easily made
from it, and very pretty ones. I use it for
calling cards too when I call on the girls.
Write with pen and ink. One letter uses
up a good steel pen. It is nice to cover
pasteboard plasques and banners. Why
wouldn’t it make pretty Easter and other
cards ? It is much nicer if taken from the
trees early during the spring and peeled
thin immediately. Make baskets, boxes,
canoes, etc., and work with colored silks in
lieu of porcupine quills and beads.

Eas'r JORDAN. OLIVE L. BURNHAM.

 

The above letter comes to us beautifully
Written on thin sheets of birch bark, a
unique sort of stationery which is at once
“ woodsy” and pretty. The Editor of the
FARMER, noticing the letter lying upon the
HOUSEHOLD Eiitor’s desk, picked up a
page, saying: “The sight and smell of
birch bark always remind me of my early life,
and the Indians who came into Goderlch,
Ont, every year for their annuities. They
were remnants of the tribes of the Six
Nations—splendid specimens of the savage,
some of them weighing 200 pounds. As
soon as they received their money they be-
gan to drink. and pandemonium prevailed
until their orgies were over. They came
down the river with all their possessions in
their birch bark canoes, loaded to the
water’s edge, and looking as if one unwary
movement would send the eggshell craft
upside down. Ever see a birch bark canoe ?
No? Well, they are a curiosity, and the
result of a great deal of time and patience
and some skill. The Indian first secures a
suitable piece of cedar for the keel; then the
ribs of hickory, which are placed very close
together—not more than three inches apart,
and tied with thongs of deer sinews wound
round and round as regularly as thread on a
spool. The gunwale, of cedar or hickory, is
secured to the ribs in the same fashion, and
then the thongs are covered. with hot spruce
gum. Both ends of the canoe are alike, no
distinction being made between how and
stem. This framework is then covered
with sheets of birch bark, an eighth or three-
sixteenths of an inch thick. and every lap
smeared with hot spruce gum. When
finished, it cannot leak, unless a hole is
knocked in it, it is light and easily carried,
but a white man might as well go out for a
row in an eggshell. The Indians made
great use of birch bark. They brought
maple sugar to market in birch bark
packages about a foot square; [often won-
dered how, without scales, they made the
packages weigh so even; not varying above
afew ounces. The sugar they made was
dark and strong-we used to say they
strained it through their blankets, which
were not remarkable for cleanness. The
whites melted the sugar and clarified. it be-

, crude and childish.

 

fore using it. Indians are not original or

inventive; you see one Indian making a
canoe and you hive seen a hundred, to all

intents and purposes. Notice the pin-

cushions and bags and baskets they have for

sale now, and you’il find the same patterns

they used years ago; their ideas of art are
The Indian method of

caring for young children has its advantages.
You’ve seen pictures showing how they are
carried? The centre-pole of the Wigwam,
usually a cedar pole, has a few pegs left on

it; on these they would hang up the chil-
dren, out of the way, and the little fellows

would watch everything that went on with
little beady black eyes, without a grunt or a
whimper. Indian babies never cry; in this
respect they are superior to white ones.
Generations of repression and self-control
have made them as emotionless as wooden
images. As soon as they could run alone.
they took to the long marsh grass, hunting
for anything they could find; they would
creep up to an unwary frog, pounce on it
likes. cat, then placidiy tear it to pieces.
As soon as they could handle them they
had bows and arrows, and though the white
boys of the town could hold their own in
leaping, running, etc., the Indian lads
could “shoot all round them,” as they say.
I’ve seen an Indian boy not taller than my
arm hit a penny with an arrow at a dis-
tance of thirty paces.”

—____...__.__

OUR LEADERS.

 

Please may I say a few words through the
columns of the HOUSEHOLD in reply to the
article “Who Shall Lead?” In all socie-
ties of which I have any knowledge, the
leaders have been the ones chosen by the
majority of the members of the society; and
I think that, take one society with another,
the members will invariably choose as their
leaders those best fitted to fill the Offices to
which they have been elected.

In regard to offered assistance or advice,
it looks to me like this: In nearly all of
the societies started in the country, the un-
dertaking is something new to the most of
those engaged, and has been taken in hand
with many foreboding and misgivings as to
whether it would prove a success or other-
wise. Where such is the case, it seems to
me that each and every one who has joined
the society should do all they can toward
its prosperity; and I think that the one who
comes to the front in a. frank, open and
kindly way with offers of assistance or
advice, even though it may not have been
asked for. and perhaps may not have been
needed, does not, in nine cases out of ten,
do as much mischief as she who keeps a
silent set-back-a-tive-ness, but in her meek
set-back-a-tive style, shows her disapproval
of, and disgust at all the proceedings of the
society, and of its leaders especially; and
who, as soon as she is outside, spreads, in
her innocent way, the report of the meeting
with all its errors and grievances.

I do not consider the former either as ill
bred or as dangerous to the welfare of the
society as the latter, for society can, if it
chooses, put down the former, but the latter
isa hard person to deal with.

There is a class of silent and inactive

 

people who show by their cheerful manner

 

and willingness to help whenever they are
called upon that they sympathize with the
cause, even though they do not rule; and
who if they can do nothing to help, will
surely do nothing to harm. Of this class 1
only say they are an honor and a blessing to
any society they may be pleased to grace
with their presence.

In conclusion I believe that if any well
bred and educated person, who has had
years of experience with cultured people,
and is filled with the wisdom that comes
with years of association with books from
master minds, should become a member of
any society where the members do not
seem to appreciate her worth and wisdom
in my opinion the best way for her to
do is either to submit cheerfully to the
rules of said society until such time as her
worth and merit shall be appreciated, or to
quietly withdraw and say no more about it;
for, as a general rule, societies of all kinds
are made up of people of sufficient age and
intelligence to know the needs of their
society, and will, in all probability, chooses
suitable person as their leader.

POCAHONTAS.

——-‘..———_

SUGGESTIONS FOR ENTERTAIN-
MENTS.

 

I see the Editor is hinting for more copy.
I make a motion that Huldah Perkins give
us in the HOUSEHOLD weekly doses of that
condensed conversation. I think it would be
much more generous than talking to one
particular friend through ahole in the fence.

To make a sunflower pincushion use
orange or yellow felt for the leaves, cut
square at the base, rounded to a point at the
other end, fold over both ways at the base
for the right side, then sew to a pasteboard
cut round by a em all tumbler, two rows for
a double sunflower, one row for a single;
take another pasteboard the same size, lay
on some wedding, then cover with brown
velvet and blind-stitch to the center; stick
pins in for seeds; the leaves makeasplendid
place to hide needles. An eighth of a yard
will make four.

There is the apron social, where the
young men are expected to hem an apron
for a prize (paying for the privilege). One
careful mother gave her sons instructions in
hemming for the occasion, and was reward-
ed by seeing a gay colored handkerchief
lying on the table next morning as a pre-
mium. Then we have the mum social,
where the ladies, both old and young, furnish
baskets containing supper for two, with
their name attached, selling the basket for
a given sum, the buyer sharing the supper
with the owner of the name. The “ mum ”
comes in while eating; any one speaking or
laughing aloud to be fined five cents. One
person, or two, if the company is large,
may walk, talk, collect fines, etc.

PL AINWELL.
-——...—.——_

BESS.

“BONNIE SCOTLAND,” who has been
long an absentee, sends us a fine picture of
herself and young son for the HOUSEHOLD
Album, for which our thanks are due. She
also promises to renew her acquaintances
in the HOUSEHOLD. a pledge we hope she

 

     

will soon fulfill.

 

 

    


 

4:

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

HEALTHFUL CLOTHING.

 

Iwishtoexpress through the HOUSEHOLD
a few thoughts which came to my mind
while :reading Mrs. Wm. Hutchins’ paper
on farmers’ wives and fashions. I think
her paper as a whole is very good. I also
think she has made some mistakes the same
as we are all liable to do, and I hope if I
am wrong some kind sister will correct me
and thus perhaps all can be benefited.

Mrs. Hutchins says nothing is gained by
not dressing in the style of the day. I think
something is to be gained by letting style go
and dressing in a way to promote good
health. I quote from Dr. Foote: “There
are three rules to be observed to secure a
costume which is healthful, viz.: First,
cover no more of the body than the dictates
of common modesty require, and lets the
covering be equally distributed. Second,
let the clothes be made of entirely new
material, and of such as will allow the un-
interrupted egress of the bodily impurities,
and the ingress of the vitaiizing properties
of the air. Third, mantua-makers and
tailors must make clothing to hang loosely
about the body, and shoemakers must be
instructed to make the outer dressings of the
feet with thick soles and easy uppers.”
Now if we dress as he tells us, how many
of us would look stylish ?

There may be some women and girls who
need to be urged to pay more attention to
their personal appearance, but if they are
neat and clean and their faces show in-
telligence and goodness, I think they will be
respected and kindly received in any society,
even if they wear a dress made with a
plain skirt sewed on to a plain waist; but if
I am mistaken and there is a fashionable
society that will reject or slight them, it is
not worthy of their presence, and they can
do more good and therefore be happier
somewhere else.

Dress goods that are out of. date, although
just as good as the now more stylish pieces,
can be bought for less money; the same is
true in regard to cloaks and nearly every-
thing that a lady wears.

The part of her paper referring to manners
1 think very good, and I wish we all would
remember always this sentence: “We
have no right to use impolite language or
actions to each other.” MELOBA.

MAPLE Ramps.

 

Tim recipes given in this issue were
furnished by a correspondent whose name
has unfortunately been lost, hence we are
unable to give proper credit. We think the
writing that of Josephine, of Atlas; if she
will write more frequently we will soon
learn “ for sure.”

 

A. C., of Hopkins, asks who first pro-
posed placing the Stars and Stripes on
public school buildings. Mrs. A. N. Mof-
fatt, of Port Huron, and the Detroit
Tribune both claim the credit of the sug-
gestion, but the Tribune carried the idea
into practical execution, contributed liber-
ally toward obtaining fiags for the Detroit
schools, and made arrangements by which
schools throughout the State were able to
procure them of the manufacturers at a dis-
count.

 

J.

DOMESTIC HELPS.

 

Here are some new uses for old things,
learned from experimenting and other
sources:

Coal ashes (such as collect in the upper
part of a stove and lodge next the mica will
be fine enough, all other must be sifted),
can be used for scouring steel knives; the
next best thing to use for that purpose is
water lime. Use a cerk for applying any
scouring material.

The sewing-machine, unthreaded, makes
a good tracer. Put your pattern on your
cloth, and without thread in your needle
stitch all lines you would use your tracer for.

Buy a five cent tooth brush and use it to
apply blacking to those parts of the stove
you can not reach in any other way.

Wrapping twine. such as comes around
dry goods and grocery packages, makes a

splendid mop.

It has been claimed that snow can be
made to take the place of eggs in cake by
putting in the last thing and beating
briskly, but I never had enough confidence
in it to try.

Use a whisk broom for the stairs; you can
get at the corners so much better. I wonder
if it would not be possible to make all
corners round instead of sharp right angles.
How much easier to sweep and keep clean
the corners of rooms, of stairs and window
frames!

I do not think of any new use for soap,
but here is an easy way to make soft soap.
Buy a pound of sal-soda (cost five cents)
and four pounds of bar soap; cut fine, dis-
solve all by heating in four gallons soft
water. Make thick or thin by using more
or less water. JANNETTE.

————...___—

,COUNTRY BOYS IN TOWN.

Inthe HOUSEHOLD of the 18th ult. Daf-

fodilly gave us a gloomy picture of the pros-
pects of country boys in the city. It seems to
us that she has given too dark a side to city
life. If not, what is the use of boys reared
in the country—no matter what their abili-
ties—seeking positions in the cities ? They
certainly can not fit themselves for business
lives while at work at home. That is, they
can not have the practice; they may have
the theory to a certain extent. We always
supposed that in the city the young man of
worth who was willing to work had a chance
there as well as elsewhere. If this is not
so we should think all agricultural papers
and the press everywhere would say to the
intelligent young men of the country, “ Do
not come to the cities, we have no use for
you. You can do nothing here.”
‘ We need such young men on the farms;
there is a scarcity of farm help, and the
man who works for pay in the country as a
rule gets better wages than his employer.
His social position in most neighborhoods
equals that of the son of his employer, and
there is work for all at fair wages. The
wage earner is more independent than his
employer, works shorter hours, and as a
rule is the most privileged person about the
farm. FABMEB.

Curios.

 

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

 

KNIT goods, by which we suppose is
meant the knitted underwear, a Down East
woman says make the nicest and smoothest
rag carpet. These goods also take a good
color.

 

TEE Home-Maker says the only really
ripe banana is the one whose yellow coat is
spotted with black. The black spots are
not indicative of decay or rottenness but of
ripeness. Decay is indicated by softness of
the spot. These spotted bananas are
always sold at a lower price than the fair-
skinned ones; these, if bought, should be
kept a few days to ripen before they are
ready for use.

Mas. _ KEDZIE, professor of domestic
economy at the Kansas Agricultural College,
says much of the “ good luck” of many
cooks comes of the ability to judge tempera-
tures, and hence advocates the use of ther-
mometers in the oven to ensure accurate re-
sults. Bread, she says, should be put into
the oven at a temperature of 400 degrees,
and the heat lowered within ten minutes to
325 degrees, then kept between that point
and 390 degrees until the bakingis finished.

 

TEE following is recommended as an ex-
cellent remedy for coughs, colds, sore throats
and hoarseness. Get two ounces of flax
seed, boil this in a quart of water. Strain
this, and add to it one half pint of honey,
two ounces of rock candy, or lump sugar,
the juice of two or three lemons. Boil all
this well together and bottle or can. The
dose is one little teacupful, hot, before going
to bed, and a wine glassfui before meals.
Drink it as hot as you can.

TRY putting up a few cans of meat at the
annual “killing time,” for use when un-
expected company arrives. Slice and cook
the meat, seasoning with salt. Pack in
glass fruit cans, the process being identical
with that of fruit canning. Fill up the
cans with the gravy, seal tight, and set in a
cool place. Be sure the meat is well
cooked. Chicken can be cooked and
canned in the same way. Those who have
tried this plan pronounce it practicable.

——-——...———._.

Contributed Recipes.

 

FRUIT PUDDING.—One cup molasses; one
cup sweet milk; half cup melted butter; one
cup raisins; half cup currents; two and a half
cups flour; half teaspoonful soda; small nut-
meg grated, or any other spice. Bake in the
even like cake. Some day when you want it
for dinner, cut off a piece and put in the
steamer over the pot. to kettle; in fifteen
minutes it will be hot through and ready to
eat. I make a sauce for it in this way: One
cup sugar; small lemon, juice and grated
rind; piece of butter; tablespoonful corn-
starch dissolved in half cup cold water. Mix
all together, and pour on a pint of boiling
water; let it hell up once and it is done. The
pudding will keep a month or more, if you do
not eat it. I always make it when we have
company to stay a week or so, as it is so con-
venient to keep on hand.

CREAM Commas—One cup sour cream; one
cup sugar; teaspoonful soda; flavoring. Mix
soft and roll quite thick; bake at once. There
are good when made right.

i i‘
~94.
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