DETROIT, FEB. '15, 1890.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOL‘D-"Supplement.

 

 

For the Household.
A FREAK OF THE NORTH WIND.

 

BY K. L. BUTTERFIELD.

The November sun rose grand and bright,
Shedding abroad his welcome light,

But in the trackless sky he‘d crossed.

His face behind the clouds was lost.

When eve came on the North Wind blew,
Whistled and sang as along he flew;
Cracking his jokes on chins and cheeks,
Respectful to none in his crazy freaks.

Gleefully, then. as if treasure he brought;
But angrily too, as though evxl he sought;
He filled the air with the driven snow,
Hurrying, flying, above, below.

When morning dawned he was yet at work,
I grant you now he’s never a shirk,

For snow he’d carried to the window panes,
Piled it by drifts in streets and lanes,

Borne it beneath the kitchen door,
Scattered the flakes on hearth and floor;
Whitened the bonghs of the sighing trees.
And vented his whims in tricks like these.

When with his storming he seemed content,
Pretending no harm he really had meant,
Ofi’ to the Southland to end his foray,

He quietly, quickly betook him away.

___«._—._

TEE SALINE FARMERS’ INSTITUTE.

On the morning of the 4th inst., the “edi-
tor woman” might have been seen, by any
sufficiently interested observer, grip-sack in
hand, with waterproof, umbrella and “gum
shoes,” en route for the Michigan Central
Station and Saline. Whether it would rain
or clear off was a conundrum for a time,
but at last the fog lifted, and as the clouds
of steam from the engine were whirled away
glimpses of sodden fields, turgid streams and
bare. wet woodland Were seen from the car
windows. It had rained the night before,
like a second edition of the historic deluge,
and the country roads we crossed were bare
brown pathways of mud.

At Saline, nine miles southwest of Ypsi-
lanti, and about the same distance from
the “Athens of America,” on the Michi-
gan Southern railroad, we were welcomed
by Mr. W. H. Bassett, president of the Sa-
line Farmers’ Club, Mr. Arthur Wood.
and several others. Mr. Bassett took
charge of the “editor woman,” and a
few minutes ride brought us to his pleasant
farm home, not more than a quarter of a
mile from the village, where we were wel-
comed by Mrs. Bassett, and presently pre-
sented to what the small boy of the story
called “a bang—up good dinner. ” Will

you believe, Mrs. Bassett had remembered
Beatrix’s predilection for chicken pie, and

. But the most interesting feature was in an-

wish she would tell the HOUSEHOLD just
how she did it.

After dinner, we went for a ride around
the village, inspecting first the poultry farm
of Geo. Nissly. which is quite a famed insti—
tution. Along low building contained the
stock. The inside was divided off into
yards or apartments by means of wire net-
ting, with a passage way along one side and
on the other doors leading into the runs out-
side, where the fowls had fresh air and fresh
earth. The building seemed well arranged
for the purpose, the yards are light and airy,
and fresh water is conducted into each.
We saw some fine Plymouth Broke, in their
suits of drab and white, and Minorcas,
Langshans and Wyandottes, some of
which had just returned from the Detroit
poultry show, where they had won prizes.

other building, Where were the incubators
and the victims whose ultimate destination
is the gridiron. There were between. 1,300
and 1,400 of them. and you just ought to
have heard them “peep.” The man in
charge threwa bit of food into a few of
the yards—for they are kept in lots of from
forty up—and there was an unanimous ap-
peal for more. “Me too, me too!” they
chanted in almost deafening chorus. Just
imagine you hear 1,300 chickens saying
"Peep” in their peculiarly shrill treble, then
multiply your conception by ten, and you
haveafaint idea of the racket. Up stairs
were the little downy chicks, a week or ten
days old, piping their shrill cries. Poor
things, they never had a mother to scratch
for them and call them to some choice bit——
then conclude to eat it up herself—but ap-
peared quite content with the artificial
breeders, kept warm by hot air pipes. They
seemed quite strong and healthy; I saw no
signs of disease or decrepitude. Down
stairs were the two large incubators heated
by lamps with automatic electric cut-offs,
so that when the temperature rises to a given
point a cap shuts off the flame of the lamps
and prevents a catastrophe in the way of
roasted eggs. The man who has charge of
the chicken house said there was no difficulty
in hatching the chickens, the trouble was
in raising them. At three months they are
ready for the market. The growing of small
fruits is combined with. chicken-raising;
every run has its trio of plum trees, and the
curculio will have to fly high if he escapes the
alert foragers.

Saline has four churches, two mills, a fine
large school building with extensive grounds,
and a number of pretty, cosy residences.
The “ show place” belongs to Mr. Daven-

home, set in the midst of large, nicely kept
grounds. The country about the village
must be very pleaSant in summer. The
Saline river. just now a muddy and turbu-
lent stream, frets over a dam and turns a
mill-wheel, then flows away quietly through
low-lying meadows, a favorite picnic ground.
A steep hillside, clothed with young trees,
would be, I am sure, the hiding place in
spring of many a shy violet and blue-eyed
hepatica. Pgeasant farmhouses set among
orcharis and well-neared fields betoken ag-
ricultural prosperity ; and Saline, readers of
the FARMER know, is a great place for the
great American Merino.

The institute, the initial venture of its
kind, which begun Tuesday evening and
continued through Wednesday, was a great
success. The neat little opera house, where
the sessions were held, was well filled with
farmers. Some of whom had driven eight
and nine miles to be present. Good music
enlivened the exercises, and every person on
the programme was on hand, prepared to
fill the bill when called on.

Shall I tell you what I thought as I looked
over tie sea of faces in the audience? I
lost the argument of the paper being read in
speculating upon the changes which the past
ten years have brought to Michig 1n farmers
—changes which have made them more in-
telligent and consequently more liberal and
broad ; more polished ; and which have done
much to break down class feeling and preju-
dice. Here were men arguing the economic '
questions of the day with ease and ability,
showing familiar thought. Many were self-
educated—men whose culture came from ob-
servation, reading and reflection. There is
but one objection to such mental discipline
—it is apt to be confined to narrower limits,
so that one forgets Sidney Smith’s advice to
“take broad views.” Inclination and op-
portunity confine the Student to one line of
thought ; when he gets wide enough to look
at all sides of a question, its relation to oth-
er interests, the reciprocity which must ex-
ist in all our dealings with our fellows, then
self‘education makes a deep thinker.

The influences which have brought about
these changes are various, but none has been
more potent than that of farmers’ clubs,
stock breeders’ associations and the like.
These have brought men together and polish-
ed and refined and educated bylthe attrition
of mind upon mind, which has rubbed all
some rough edges and worn down some in-
dividual and class idiosyncrasies. Farmers
are less a class by themselves than they
used to be ; it was always a mistake to sup-
pose their occupation set them apart from

 

 

ad made ready a most delicious one, andl

port, the banker, and it is, a beautiful

    

other tellers in the world’s fields of lalor


 

 

Q

The more we think of it, the more clearly
we see the reciprocal relations of human
lives, of families, communities, states and
nations, and that damage to one is injury
to all;and there is no question of more in-
terest at the moment than “ What is to be
the future of the farmer and his family ?”

BEATRIX.
H...—

THOSE TABLE MANNERS.

 

After reading the last HOUSEHOLD and
digesting its contents (or trying to) I find
the first article by Beatrix rather hard to
swallow. This is supposed to be a farmers’
paper, published for and read principally by
the farming community. I would like to
ask Beatrix how many farmers’ families she
thinks there are in the State of Michigan
who live, or rather eat, in the style she has
laid down for us to follow. She says to use
the knife to carry food to the mouth is a
relic of barbarism, an inevitable sign of
having come from Wayback. Eating string
beans and Lima beans with a fork reminds
me of a young lady on being asked if she
would have some of the beans replied, “A
piece of one if you please.” Now we farm-
ers and farmers' wives look on this fashion
of eating just as we do on any other fashion.
We could not follow all fashions of the
day were we so inclined. Take for instance
a tableful of threshers coming right from
their work, although giving their face and
hands a good bathing. sitting down to din-
ner in their dusty clothes, tired and hungry.
Just imagine how they would look spread-
ing a nice white napkin UVr‘I‘ their laps.
and eating all their food with a fork. On
some farms the threshings last two or three
days. Think of the tired housewife, with
little or no help. washing two or three
dozen napkins between meals, for 1 am
sure they would net be lit to use the second
time, then after the men had gone out see-
ing the need of calling in the chickens to
pick up the crumbs. An, Beatrix, for all
your usual good sense, i am afraid you are
a little oif for once. Buss.

We belong to a Literary Society at home,
and would like to join the HOUSEHOLD
literary just for once. We would like to
ask Beatrix a few questions on table eti-
quette. WiLl the food. deftly handled on the
fork, make larger and stronger muscles,
more solid and better bone material, or
better nerve aliment, that our minds grow,
expand and enlargr‘, enabling us to com-
prehend more, quickening our mental
vision? Do we needa gauge. or spirit level
to indicate when to give the forka tip?
Can’t you invent a cheap machine for that
purpose? We suggest that canvassers
start before some inventive genius gets
there.

The fork is a convenient and useful tool,
especially for the farmer. we don’t know
how to dispense with it, but think some
boarding house educators are making littte
too much ado over it.

Beatrix refers us to Prussian maxims. If
we mistake not, Prussia is under the state
and church regimen. At least Russia is,
where even the family conversation (in
some instances) is regulated by police sur-

 

veillancc. Shall Americans pattern her
maxims and laws? It would almost seem
we were getting there if we can believe half
the reports from Congress. Please give
them alittle forkful of etiquette down there.
Pitch in right and left: most any slant of
the fork will do if you stick it on the right

side—opposed to church and state union.
CKEBANING. S. M.

 

I am glad to give place to the above criti-
cisms, because they prove to me that what 1
write is read and thought about, and its
adaptability considered. I have re-read,
carefully, the article in question. There is
nothing I wish to amend or alter. I know
many farmers’ families where the napkin is
as essential as the teapot, and where the
fork is used for its legitimate purpose, as
matters of every day observance. I said
nothing about providing napkins for thresh-
ers; 1 know very well it would be incon-
venient and a source of extra labor at a busy
time, but 1 really cannot see why even
threshers, tired and dusty though they be,
should not “eat all their food with the fork.”
It might be they would become so accustom-
ed to shoveling the grain that habit would
incline them to shovel in their dinners in
the same fashion, but how about the men on
the stacks ? Now I want to ask some ques-
tions in my turn : Is there anything in the
atmosphere of the rural districts, anything
in country living, that makes it more fitting
that farmers should eat with their knives
when the custom of the rest of the world is
to use the fork ? Why must farmers’ fami-
lies have adistinctive code of table manners
any more than a distinctive dress, or a class

literature? Aren’t good manners—mam.

ners other people practice—good enough
for farmers ? “ 0n, we’re farmers, we
can’t do that l” is the cry raised at any in-
novation, especially if it comes in the guise
of a refinement, as if the conditions of farm
life were against such things. Such ideas
are mistaken. Farmers’ sons and daughters
are constantly gravitating to the cities. They
have occasion to know the customs and
usages or‘ society ; if they can learn them at
home it is much to their adVantage and ease
abroad. I am inclined quite strongly to the
opinion that refined table manners do make
better bone and muscle, notwithstanding S.
M.’s sarcasm. They tend to more leisurely
satisfaction of the appetite, hence to better
digestion, and thusto more complete assimi-
lation of food.

In conclusion, “ Some Don’ts for the
Table” was written in response to a re-
quest for an article on table etiquette, made
by a lady who says: “ We have a family
of growing children, three girls and two
boys. We have means to educate them, but
not many social advantages here. Our two
older girls will go away to school this year
and I want them able to appear well away
from home. * * * It is a
great help to know the customs of other
people, even if we do seem to be shut out of
the world: we are six miles from a post-
oflice.” Now, I do not set the fashions in
eating, and in stating them I assume no
more responsibility than 1 do in telling how
people dress. It is my business to state,
correctly, the customs and practices preva-
lent; I can compel no one to follow them.

 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

But I respectfully submit that no one—
farmer or otherwise—wan aii'ord to despise or
ignore the habits of good society.

BEATRIX.

 

COMMENTS .

 

I have just finished. reading Edward Bella-
my’s “Looking Backward” and its spell
is still on me. It is a wonderful book, and
1 hope a prophecy. What if we find the so-
lution of the troublous questions that darken
our lives, in the simple triumph of common
sense in all human afiairs. l have tried to
give an idea to those who have not read it,
but I find my words only belittle it. Read
it yourselves and not for the interest of the
story only. Look deeper. The Bible justi-
fies us in hoping for the thousand years of
peace. Perhaps the long night is nearly
done and the weary watchers for the dawn
can perceive

“Eastward not now very far,
A sound too loud for the lark,
A light too bright for a star.”

Fidus Achatus, "true lrlend,” surely
you do not believe anything comical is neces-
sarilydispleasing to God. It is not impos-
sible that our Father in Heaven has a sense
of humor too. Quite possible when we
know that we are made in His image. By
the way, what a trial a person is who never
knows whether anything is funny or not.
To make a joke and then have to draw a
diagram of it and drive four stakes at the
comers to show just Where it is, is disheart-
ening.

That hole in the fence is not for speaking
purposes, it is to go through. Just the di-
mensions of the aperture that is required to
pass me without tearing my dress 1 decline
to state.

Ungracious. you have given me a new
idea. I have always thought that kindlv
feeling found its natural expression in win-
ning manners and it was a hateful spirit
only that made any one disagreeable. Per-
haps there are people who make themselves
avoided because they have not the intuition
that knows just what would be agreeable to
Others, and so must, socially, walk the
earth blindfold.

E. L. Nye, you would appreciate “ Look-
ing Backward.” be read it if you haven’t

already. HULDAH PERKINS.
PIONEER.
———.'.—_

AN INQUIRY ANSWERED.

 

Will the Editor please explain the cause
of the recent split in the W. C. T. U., refer-
red to by Brunefille ? Buss.

 

The trouble arose from a disposition on
the part of the leaders of the W. C. T. U. to
pledge the organization to the support of the
third party (Prohibition). This has been
vigorously opposed by the Iowa delegation,
headed by Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, of that
State; and at the last National Convention
at Chicago. when the protests of the minori-
ty on the point of difference, as above stat-
ed, were disregarded, those opposed to it
withdrew. and in convention at Cleveland,
last month, organized the National Temper-
ance League, pledged to the purposes of the
W. C. T. U. so far as temperance is con-
cerned, but owning allegiance to no politi-
cal party.

 


   

 
   
 

    

 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

   

3

 

 

BAD HABITS OF GOOD $OCIETY.

 

Paper read by Mrs. Kittie Preston, of Grass
La 0, at the b‘armers' Institute at Concord]

With the fall of man in the garden of
Eden began the bad habits of society. If
eating of the tree of knowledge opened the
eyes of our first parents “ to know good and
evil,” it is evident that they made the evil
their choice, until from perfect innocence
their retrogression reached total depravity.
It seems strange, when we think- of it, that
society should have become so corrupt; and
that God should have again replenished the
earth with those who should in the course
of time and events seek to raise the stand-
ard of society.

It would not be safe to say that each suc—
cessive generation has been better than the
one preceding it; but standing where we
do to-day, and with a retrospective view of
the long line of centuries, we do claim
that there has been progression, onward, up-
ward. to a higher plane of thinking, acting
and living. Such is the society we boast
to-day. We call it good; we are glad that
we live in this enlightened age; but good
as it is there are little vices, there are deep
rooted sins and long standing habits which
permeate this mass of humanity and make
it far from perfect. Christianity and
knowledge are the leavenin-g forces which
have wrought society to its present level.
The development of each has been slow.
The civilized world has been rent by petty
jealousies, and by conflicting religions, all
taken from the same great Revelation. It
was not the fault of the Revelation, out the
narrow-mindedness of man: and we re-
joice that the different bands are drawing
closer together as they recognize the same
banner over all, “For Christ and Humanity.”
And Knowledge, the tree whose branches
bear fruit in the world all about us, high in
the heavens above us and low in the depths
of the earth at our feet! Oh how long was
man content with the mere wind-falls from
this wonderful tree! As his narrow mind
expanded, he was able to look higher and
grasp the fruit from the tree itself, climbed
here and there among the branches and
new surprises awaitedhim, higher yet and
his astonishment was complete, and for his
thirsty soul there are heights, depths and
breadths still unexplored. The millennium
has not yet arrived. Christianity and
knowledge have bridged the sioughs of
superstition and ignorance. Together they
can make man as God intended he should
be, “ but a. little lower than the angels.”

A general relaxation of the old Puritan
ideas of liberty has come with the develop-
ment and advmcemeut of our country. And
while we take progression for a guiding
banner, it is well for us as a nation to look
out for the stumbling-blocks which might
turn the wheels of progress down grade. We
can take a broad or anarrow view of society.
We can call it our nation, or on our fingers
count our favorite associates in our respec-
tive neighborhoods; and again we can
cipher it down and say society begins at
home. It is necessary that the home life
be pure, that children be reared with due
regard for their Maker, for the laws of our
country and for themselves. The first will
make them reverent and courteous ; the
second law-abiding citizens; and the third

   

 

of cont-=8 pertains to the laws of health.
Perhaps the bad habits of good society are
only against the first and last. The desecra-
tion of Sunday is one of the greatest evils
of the first, and it is a growing habit among
all classes. Sunday excursions, Sunday
visiting and recreation are not what is
meant by “ Remember the Sabbath day and
keep it holy.” Upon many of our national
coins is this inscription “ In God we trust.”
I would it were indelibly engraved upon the
hearts of our people. It accords with the
sentiment of the Psalmist who tells us
“Happy is that people whose God is the
Lord.” To those who would complain at
the restrictions of Sunday, I would answer
in the words of Henry Ward Beecher, “It
is only the liberty of the senses that suffers.
A higher and nobler civil liberty, moral
liberty, social liberty will work out of it.
Sunday is the common people’s Magna
Charts.” Impurity of speech is another
bad habit in this class. By this we mean
the slang phrases and by-words which are
thought by many to be so cunning. In
some instances they seem to denote great
mental calibre. at other times when they
overreach the sublime to the ridiculous
they sound decidedly vulgar. Then there
come slander and flattery, that always go
together clothed and disguised in many
ways, but ever present in the best society to
putt" one up and push another down; telling
big lies and little lies, black lies and white,
to suit the occasion or gain the end in view.
Just call to your mind the tea-table gossips
and campaign orators to be convinced of
this.

Luxurious living, late hours and intern-
perance in a broad sense are the bad habits
which sap the health and strengthof society.
Our country‘s prosperity has made it pos-
sible for all who will work for it, to live in
some degree of luxury. We are glad of it, we
are proud of it, if it comes within our means,
and does not lead us to extravagance and
bankruptcy. Bill Nye says: “ it is only a
step from a hoe-cake to a plum pudding.
but a half a mile back again the nearest
way we can go.” As the cry of “hard
times ” is so often heard, the query is. Are
not the farmers just there? Can’t find the
way back to the hoe-cake, or rather to
prudence and economy. However, frugality
is honorable, extravagance is sin.

We are glad that physiology is taught in
ourg‘schools. By the study of it the youth
of our land are better able to see the
dangers to health that arise from the use of.
tobacco. intoxicating drinks and other
kindred evils. May the day hasten when
men and women shall have moral courage
enough to throw bill the slavery of appetite
and be free! Is it not pitiful to see men,
the acknowledged lords of creation, chained
to a vile weed or a burning cup ?

These bad habits which I have mentioned
are those which predominate in good
society, and are decidedly injurious to our
moral and physical natures. To be sure
here are many more; some are like con-
tagious diseases, catching, from city to
town. and from town to country until their
course is run; many of our popular amuse-
ments have had such acourse; others become
chronic, and are more or less injurious ac-
cording to the power they have over us. So

 

  

it is important that public opinion should
be educated aright, that it may battle with
the wrong and uphold the right. Every
individual has a place to fill and may each
one feel the responsibility and with
Divine help try to do his best. It is said
that the human body undergoes a complete
change in the course of seven years. Now
does not society undergo a similar change?
The leaders. whom we feel we cannot spare,
die or are for some cause removed, oth‘ rs
step into their places and the mass of
humanity moves on as before. It is an
acknowledged fact that the farmers not
only clothe and feed the cities, but also
send their healthy, vigorous children there
to replenish their wasted strength. Yes,
they need them in all the avocatiens of life.
Let us then make our farm homes the
model homes of our country; not of pamper-
ed luxury but of moral purity, and sound
mental and physical culture.

 

THE HAND ON THE LEVER.

 

The majority of women in this State have
the privilege of voting at school meetings.
With this power comes responsibility. I
wonder if it is generally known to what an
extent our schools are becoming Godless. that
the moral character, with truth and sterling
integrity its motive, is being put aside.
Thirty years ago our readers contained
much moral and some religious teaching.
So quietly has this been dropped out and fine
literature substituted that the change has
passed unobserved.

it has been a good many years since I
was one of. a long class which sat on a :eat
against the wall of the old school house to
be inspected. and the inspector asked ques-
tions from a book and said next, next. until
he received an answer to suit him. There
has been much talk about improving our
schools, yet recently when I visited a dis-
trict school 1 saw nothing but what 1 saw
in my early school days.

Why ? The first demand is for better ed-
ucated teachers. A large per cent. of our
teachers have never been to any but a dis-
trict school, never even attended an insti-
tute, and take :10 educational publication.
I know whereof I affirm; if you doubt go to
the office of your county secretary and see
the blanks furnished by the State for each
teacher to fill out. Just as well might the
mathematical professor try to lift himself
by his bootstraps as for such teachers to try
to improve our schools. In over one hun-
dred papers not one teacher in ten could
give a clear, concise answer to the question,
“ What is the equator ‘2” and when they
came to the other lines general distress pre-
vailed. Shame. mortification and indigna-
tion filled me as I looked the papers over.
First, let examiners come to the standard re-
quired by the State, if half the schools are
closed. Grade teachers’ wages according to
preparation and experience. Let appren-
tices begin as in other trades or professions.
and in each town appoint some one (often a
woman would do best) with the same power
the principal has in graded schools. to classi-
fy, examine, and arrange studies; this per-
son to know the standing of every pupil in
the town by records in his possession made

   


4: THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

from examinations. When the term closes,
the teacher furnishes this superintendent
witha programme for a day, the names of
the members of each class and where last
lesson was learned. Then, even if there is
achange of teachers, there is no demoraliz-
ing breaking of rank. no unnecessary put-
ting back, but every class is ready to move
ahead. Giggling girls of seventeen, with
their heads full of fashion and beans, now
get certificates, and boys who smoke, talk
cards and horse races, and have no more
idea of our form of government than they
have of the politics of Central Asia, yet we
place our children in their care during their
most impressible years.

I do not mean to include all teachers. I
too know well the self-denying, conscien-
tious. earnest teachers, giving themselves
for the good of others, but they are not the
ones who needimproviug, hence are omitted
in this discussion. When you hire a teach-
er see the certificate which gives his stand-
ing; find out what the State allows you to
demand, and accept no less. Visit the
school; watch your children to see if they
advance; in fact, look after this with the
same energy you do your other business.

MRS. SERENA STEW.

—————¢»——-——

BUTTER-MAKING.

 

In my former article I did not give our ex-
act manner of handling butter in the cream-
ery, but a modification I thought suited to
small churnings. We wash a little more
than mentioned there.

We have about twenty-live cows on our
farm, several only two years old, and my
father, living opposite, has fifteen. The
milk is brought from the stables as fast as
milked, and strained in Champion creamer-
ies. The merits of this style creamer are, no
lifting of cans, no dipping olf cream, no
tubes to clean, and no sharp angles. The
ice is put into the tanks before the milk is
strained, a point which is very essential.
We use the Davis swing churn, and all the
packing of the butter together is done with
heavy ponnder on the bottom of the churn.
We drain with the butter in the lower end
of the churn, then draw up a few pounds at
a time, press into sheets an inch thick and
stand on edge in the upper end of the
churn. After a few minutes, we must press
once more, sopping oi! the brine with a wet
cloth, and it is ready to pack. 1 think that
with care the butter could be pressed by re-
volving the churn, if a barrel or rectangular

_ churn is used, or it could quickly be done
on the bottom of the other churns with pad-
dles removed, but the Davis swing seems
most convenient.

We used a butter worker and re-worked
for some time, but now a few cents’ worth of
salt for the brine salting relieves us of.
several hours’ hard work, and the butter
worker is in the attic. with no disadvantage
to the butter. We use no power, but it re-
quires two men when there is a churning of
eighty pounds which we sometimes have.

Our cows are half and three-quarter blood
grade Jerseys, some of them fresh milch

nearly every month. At present our make
is two hundred pounds a week, but we have
aman now who does the entire work. ‘

1mm. J . M. W,

CHAT.

 

A dark, cold, windy. disagreeable day:
everybody and his neighbor wrestling with
la grippe. Makes me decidedly blue. So I
look over this year’s HOUSEHOLDS to see
what they are all talking about. First,
where, oh where is Evangeline, El See, Old
School Teacher and several other absent
friends. I want to tell Bruno’s Sister that
my sympathies are with Bruno. Why not
carve the chicken before setting it on the
table? Does she give presents for what she
expects to get in return, forgetting that it
is more blessed to give than receive? Just
one word in secret; when I visit Detroit I
shall call on the Editor, but I shall not stay
to dinner; no, excuse me; I am sure she
would watch me too close. If you are going
to color carpet rags this spring, use Cush-
ing’s Perfection Dyes. You can get the
genuine turkey red, and other colors equally
as good. The latest plan to smoke hams is
tosmoke the barrel: by placing it over a
good strong smudge, then packing the hams
at once it gives the meat a nice flavor of
smoke with very little work.

PLAINWELL. BESS.

 

After reading Olive L. Burnham’s ways
of preparing birch bark, I will give my way
of making an autograph album. .. I choose a
leaf to my satisfaction. and cut a pattern
from it, enlarging it to the desired size. Out
from this pattern the thin pieces of bark.
Any number of leaves can be out. In lay-
ing the leaves together place the light side
of the bark so it will come on the right
hand side, and with a small harness punch
make one perforation each side of where
the stem should be, and tie with a narrow
ribbon. Box AMI.

Oaxwoon.
__.._——...———-

HOME-MADE MUFFS.

 

Good Housekeeping gives the following
directions by which muffs for the children,
or to match any costume, may be made at
home at small expense and not much trouble.
The directions, though seemingly compli-
cated, are really simple when you understand
them. and get at work.

The plainest styles of home-made muffs
have a cozy and warm appearance, and are
almost indispensable to children, while the
more elaborate and costly ones are a very
pretty adjunct to one’s toilet. They are
more than half cheaper than those bought at
the stores, and can be made to correspond
with any costume. If a simple school muff
only is desired any pieces of colored goods
can be used. Dressmaking and millinery
are so often done at home, that there is
usuallya plentiful supply of remnants of
all kinds, strips of plush and astrachans,
velvets, serges—or in fact, any woolen
goods may be used—with merino or silks
for the lining. Solid velvet and heavy satin
are most suitable for dressy muffs. No
brocaded goods should be used. If preferred,
a little pocket of the same material may or-
nament one side. This pocket looks cute

and pretty, and answers in place of a purse.
The same foundation applies to every style
of covering, although the size must neces-

 

a child, taking the wedding and covering
all in proportion.

For a small muff: for a child take three
layers of dark wadding. sixteen inches
square. in the center of the width and the
whole length of the wedding place a layer of
moss or stuffing of any other kind, over this
fold the wedding in each side, making the
width eight inches. When this is arranged
take a few stitches here and there to keep
the stuffing in place. Fold into muff shape-
and secure with afew loose stitches with
coarse thread. This done, prepare the
lining. Measure it fifteen inches in breadth
and sixteen in length, join the ends in a
seam, then fold down backwards on the
wrong side three inches, and seam a hem
two inches wide. Instead of sewing this
down, turn the edges again for a second
fold. this one to he only three-quarters of an
inch wide. Run a gathering thread round
the rough edges. This small fold makes a
beautiful frill, while the wider one is for the
elastic, which must be put in last. Now
slip the lining through the mud. Draw the
rough edges of the runner well up over the
muff, and secure it to the muff with fine
basting stitches. taking care to leave the
stitched runner exactly at each edge of the
muff, which now only needs to be covered.
For the cover take one piece of goods sixteen
inches long by eight wide—or it may be
made of a strip of plush or velvet—with
wool on either side—to make the required
width. Join the ends. and draw it over the
muff, and sew neatly close inside the stitched
runner. Be careful to sew each side even,
or the cover will draw. Now draw ribbon
or elastic through the stitched runner, and
finish with a bow on each side. Add the
little outside pocket for the handkerchief or
purse. To make it, cut the material nine
inches wide at the top and round at the bot-
tom. face with the same lining used for the
mud. One-half inch below the edge run
two rows of stitching for the elastic, which
gather into a little frill. Fasten this well
over the scam in the muff to completely hide
it. At the bottom out a few loops of ribbon.
For a large muff increase width and length in
the same proportion.

__..—...—————

Mns. J. H. wishes a lace pattern that
will be nice for a white shawl, to be knit of
silk or wool.

 

Miss. E. 0.. of Webster, asks if some
flower-loving lady will tell us just how to
raise Christmas roses, how to care for them,
and where to obtain the plants. in reply,
we refer our correspondent to the FARMEB
of Jan. 11th of the current year, in which
directions for cultivation are given. In as
northern a latitude as ours, it would un-
doubtedly be necessary to place a frame
over them, as suggested, to secure bloom.
They are classed with hardy perennials,
and need little care. Like the Chrysanthe-
mum, coolness and dampness are essential,
hence they are not good house plants. The
name “rose” is really a misnomer, though
the bloom somewhat resembles a large
single rose. We think the stock may be
obtained of Wm. H. Maule, of Philadelphia,
or of Samuel Wilson, Mechanicsville, Bucks

 

l sarlly be larger for a grown person than for

    

100., Pa.