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DETROIT, APRIL 4. 1.887..

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-“Supplement.

 

 

E VOL UTION PREFERRED.

 

As a woman standing all alone,
I humbly hope to shine;
l’m tired of the dreary twaddle
0f the oak and the ivy vine.
I’ve seen too many instances
Where, nature’s law declining,
'The vine did the supporting,
While the oak did all the twining.

Before I’d marry a man and .work
For his bread and my own;
Before I’d marry a man who‘d place
Himself upon the throne
And claim from me, his better half,
Allegiance blind and mute.
l’d marry the merest ape and wait
[or him to evolutel
-—Germantown Telegraph.

-—--——-§OO--———-—

THE WOMAN QUESTION.

 

“ Why is it,” asked a friend not long ago,
“ that men will never discuss seriously, in
public, any matter relating to woman’s
higher interests?” The flippant spirit of
the moment prompted the reply “ Ask me
something easy,” but I confess that to me,
too, the attitude of the average man toward
the progressive woman needs a little ex-
planation. There has been a wonderful
change in the conditions and possibilities of
woman’s life within the past half century,
and more particularly within the past
twenty-five years; and between you and I,
dear ladies, I don’t think the average man
half likes or wholly approves it. So long
as the ballot appeared to be the aim of the
aspiring woman, man could afford to laugh;
he knew she could not get it till he said she
might. But when womanly ambition took
a turn in the direction of equal education,
equal rights in property, and the seeking
out and entering into new employments,
resulting in the development of the inde-
pendent, self—supporting type of femininity,
the said resultant became an emigma to or-
dinary masculinity. I believe that even
now the average man looks with suspicion
upon the woman who by tongue or pen ad-
vocates, or in her life practices, an exis-
tence for woman in which she shall not be
dependent for support and happiness upon
him. He regards her as a dangerous

. iconoclast, who would pull down all the

time-honored traditions existing between
the sexes and inauguerate a new dynasty
based upon a very hazardous equality. Do
we not all know fathers and brothers who
vastly prefer their daughters and sisters
should stay at home, accepting shelter and
clothing more as aims than as right, and
doing without all the little refinements and
comforts women love, rather than allow
them to go out into the world to earn a

 

 

    

living for themselves? But this gathering.
strengthening tide of woman’s advance-
ment dismays man; he sees her assuming
new duties and performing them with
credit; he dares not say openly she is less
the truly womanly woman because of her
altered place. so he takes it out in nega-
tions; he will make fun and turn the whole
thing into a jest. Even Charles Dudley
Warner asks if “the feminization of the
world is a desirable thing for a vigorous
future,” and this because of the intellectual
drift of women in eastern cities. Go to; let
us get back to our dishwashing' and pud—
ding-making!

I have arrived at the above conclusion
from observing the attitude of the average
man when woman’s work in any place but
home—a very quiet, retired, economical
home—~—is under discussion. His private
opinion is that she is “ matter out of place.”
Publicly, as lord of creation, he is supreme-
ly above all questions relating to the wel-
fare of the governed, and takes refuge in
the thought “Oh well, let them talk; it
amuses them and don’t hurt me!” or else—
and I advance this solution with becoming
difiidence—he says nothing on the subject
because he knows nothing about it. If he
gets up in public, for instance, and says in
effect that the outcome of the woman ques-
tion has been to make him bald-headed, it
is a delicate piece of pleasantry which sub-
tilely evades the point at issue, yet leaves
him in the enviable position of having
“spoken to the question.”

1 have made up my mind that the average
man—and mind you, all through I’ve been
speaking of the average, not the exceptions
—is best satisfied with woman in her one role
of housekeeper, and believes she fulfills her
manifest destiny when she makes him
comfortable with a well ordered house and
his full quota of buttons. He wants the
domestic type, who will not give him any
trouble with intellectuai aspirations. He
has some opinions of his own on matters
in general, which she can 'adopt if she has
use for them, and save herself the trouble
of thinking; it is not desirable to have too
many opinions in a house anyhow. His
ideal woman is of the clinging, dependent,
helpless class, of the “ May I?” type, who
will look “way up” to him, and whose
creed is “My God and my husband;” he
will feel _a trifle flattered if the order
named is inverted in her litany. He wants
her absorbed in her house, a ready acquies-
cence in his will, not because his way is
right, but because it is his; he would have
her a satelite, shining only in reflected

light. Then he will affect to pity her weak— equal partner in profits,

  

 

ness, make fun of anddeepise her ignorance
and business incapacity, and complain she
is “no companion” for him, though he
sometimes waxes eloquent in public on the
duties of woman in general as moulder of
the sentiment of coming generations, the
pure element in a wicked world, man’s
moral guide and counselor. I always think
of that bright saying of George Eliot’s,
where she makes “ Mrs. Poyser” say, “God
Almighty made women foolish, but He made
’em to match the men,” when I hear the
sex spoken of with that patronizing suf-
ference some men afiect.

I once heard a young man say he would
not marry a girl who knew more than he
did. What was that but a tacit acknowl-
edgement of the truth of the above indict-
ment? And yet, less than fifteen years
later, when his son had the reputation of
being the worst boy in the town, his excuse
was ‘? My wife never had any control of the
children!” These conversant with the fact:
know the reason; he had always insisted
upon being the family autocrat; his wife’s
opinions and wishes had no weight with
him, and therefore none with the children.
Another man, who “ didn’t want no woman
meddling in his business,” was suddenly
stricken with a disease which prostrated
him, both physically and mentally, for
nearly two years. And how bitterly he
blamed the wife who had only lived to
nurse and care for him, because the farm
had been neglected and “all run down!”
The injustice of it! Tie down "one’s arms
till the muscles forget their use, and expect
the victim to lift a weight that would tax a
strong man’s strength!

I care most for the injustice and indif.
ference through which men refuse by in-
telligent consideration of matters of vital
moment to women, to, recognize their im-
portance to her, and indirectly to them-
selves. I do not believe in antagonism of
the sexes; there should be a harmony of
interests working to mutual improvement
and elevation. “What do I want?» Not
much; only that man shall recognize
woman’s absolute right to an independent,
self-supporting position without insulting
her by jests on strong-mindedness or 6‘ old
maidisn1;” that fathers shall act upon the
principle that their girls as well as their
boys are entitled to a share in their estate,
and aid in learning a business by which
they may support themselves if need be;
that they Shall not insist their daughters
shall wait in “masterly inactivity " f0,
somebody to come and marry them; that the
husband shall acknowledge the wife as an

and admit in

 

 
      

   


tasted better.

. a

2

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

practice that it take no more qualifications
to spend his money than it does to make

his home happy and train up his children;

and a truce to tnese would-be witticisms
on woman, ,these untimely, ill-bred sneers
at her new aspirations and ambitions.
The woman of the hour' is nobler, broader,
*IIIIOILC eargesi, more conscientious, higher in
thought and ideals. through these “new
departures” from the old limitations which
dd—fogy conservatives cannot appreciate
through prejudice. She does not ask man’s

place, nor to invade his sphere; she only
desires his gracious smile upon her en-
deavors to expand the limits of her own.

BEATRIX.
W

FORBIDDEN PLEASURES.

“ That boy is mined forever; with a good
Christian example before him, steady at-
tendanee at the Sabbath school, and I have
been strict in my home teachings, always
pointed out the evils of dancing and card
playing. And now as soon as he comes of
age, and before too,——on the sly—he is off
to dances. I am afraid he is sold body and
soul to the evil one.” Let us see about it.
You have always forbidden his dancing,
always said, “ You shall not dance as long
as you are under my authority and my roof.”
Do you remember when you were a boy,-

lying on the soft green grass in your father’s :

orchard, under the big harvest apple tree?
The. branches bent to the very ground with

I the delicious fruit, but way up in the top

ofthe tree, at the very tip of the branches,
were some‘uncommonly large apples, that
were tantalizingly tempting; you never
could reach them, they were just beyond

. yourrcacm When they became ripe and

you could shake them down, they fell at
your feet, great golden fellows, but they
were mealy .when you bit into them. Or

~ perhaps the tree was just over the fence.

in your neighbor’s orchard; the apples
might have been the very same variety, but,

4 they did not:belong to you; you were for-

bidden to. touch them, but if you went
slyly overand filled your pockets. They
,De you mind the water:
melonsyou “cooned” when a boy? Was
over such agreat red core as fell out of one
as you ate it on the bank of the creek or
under the straw stack? It was all the
sweeter, because you had been forbidden to
go after melons in that way. _What is just
beyond our reach is what we will work the
hardest to get. It has always beenso

. sincerthattree oilife was plantedlin the

Garden of Eden; that desire for what is for-
hidden here has come down with Iunerring
accuracy to the present generation. One
mother says “My little boy shall never
know what the taste of liquor' is from my
cooking. ” No, but remember that little
boy. will leave his mother’ s side sometime,
will go out. from the shadow and influence
ofhis home; he has never seen or tasted
liquor in any form, but has been taught
that itsuseis ruining tobody and soul.
He willfallin with young men of his own
age. I will not say that there are very few
young men who do not drink. I will say,
there IIars agrest many young men who do
drink-view moderately, some to excess.—
the real first taste of liquor that boy takes,
may be the ruination of him. If he has

home of an uncle.

' foundry,

 

lived to be a man grown, and never met
temptation in any form, he will be an un-
common man if he have self-reliance,
strength of character, and moral courage
to resist. I will cite one instance I have

known." I attended a select school once in

western New York, and boarded in the
HeJhad four boys:-
bright manly little fellows. Every day on
the dinner table were two kinds of wine, at
each plate were two glasses for it. I never
saw those boys drink it, although I have
heard my uncle ask them sometimes to taste
of some new kind, White currant or straw-
berry. But suddenly we observed that
directly after tea the boys, were missing for
awhile, and my aunt found out that they
went to the hotel and we're, playing cards.
She went to the store and bought an ex-
ceptionally fine pack, of cards, and the next
night invited the boys to spend the evening
with, us. They exchanged glances and
after a little demur walked into the sitting-
room. The marble top center table was
drawn directly under the lamps, which
were turned up bright, and on the table lay
the cards. My aunt give them a nice
motherly talk, and each one kissed her and
voted her the best little mother in the land;
three weeks from that time you could not
coax them to play a game. Soon after two
of the boys died suddenl5 ’3 day one of
the other two is superinten: l int of a brass
the other a student in the
Theological School in Evanston, both tem-
perate men.

Why mothers can, think that danc-

ing is such a vice, and still allow their

children to play all the foolish games that
are in vogue is something that 1 cannot un-
derstand. I was allowed. to dance when I
was young; I have given a great many
dancing parties since I have managed a
household of my own. I invite the parents
and children where there are children, and 1
have noted a flush of pride on many. a
mother’s and father’s face as they saw the
graceful manner of a daughter, the gentle-
manly bea1ing of a son, as they passed
through the changes of the dance. I have
noted too, in other places,a flush of morti-
fication on the face of a parent when a

young lady fell flat on her face, or a son

flew around with legs and We akimbo,
playing “Snap and catch ’cm,” looking
like the fan to a windmill. Indulging in a
good civil parlor dance, each one walks to
place in their best manner, there are no
clothes torn or carpets worn out, there is 'no
kissing or sitting in the dark; young and
old mingle together, an expression of

pleasure on each face.

Believe me, you are doing a moral Wrong,
when you say to your children “ You shall
not dance or play cards, they are bad
habits, they are immoral, they should not
be tolerated or countenanced by respectable
people.” You are sowing seeds that the
harvest will .be bittentears and vain re-

whatif they were allowed they would soon
tire of, ‘We have all read and heard of the
“stately minuet” . being danced in. the
Whitefiousc. It...took a 82.500 album to
hoidthe pictures. of Mrs. William Vander-
bilt’s fancy dress ball; these, people would
be amazed if their morality should be

 

questioned. Our home is our little world
we can rule with firmness, but it should be
tempered with kindness, always consid-
cring well what is the best thing we can do
for our children; never acting hastily, to
repent at leisure. The only thing we
should seek or aim for, is their highest

Igood. What may now look to us as being

unreasonable, may in years to come prove
the wisest course we could have taken. We
do not have amusements enough in our

" homes, we do not take the interest We ought

in our children’s games and Sports. While
reading is neceSsary and should be provided
for them, they want ‘something'else also.
Charade parties are pleasant and instruc-
tive. We do not want all work, we do
not want all play. We can combine the-
two and live our" average number of years,
reaIiZing much of pleasure and profit from

them. Evanonninn.

BATTLE Cnanx.
————-Q..—

HOUSEKEEPING AND HOME-KEEPING

[Paper read by Mrs. N. H. Bangs before the Ant
werp and Paw Paw Farmers' Association
March2nd, 1887].

I have chosen this theme because it was
a practical One and one to which all of us
have given. more or less thought, hence-
likely to draw out some ideas from each
member, and not because it was new. Old
subjects must be re-handled and viewed
from every side in the light of present ad-
vantages and conditions; old things have
passed away, and the same thing is a very
different thing after the lapse of a hundred
years, or even fifty. Life itself is old as the
world, but the ideal life of to—day and that
of a century ago form two distinctfeatures.

I know that housekeeping is always
spoken of as belonging entirely to the pro-
vince of woman. I admit that it is'essential-

‘ly her domain, but when some 10rd of crea-

tion comes hurriedly in from the muddy
yard, with two or three children only doing
just as ‘papa does, all carefully stepping
around the broom and over the mat placed
at the door for the protection of her nicely
cleaned floors—I say when such things do-
occur, it often puts high flown ideas of good
housekeeping to flight or crushes them un-
der those same muddy feet, while gravel
thoughts arise of what a partnership busi--
ness means.

Every young housekeeper can tell you;
just what she intends to do, and how and,
when and where. There is never to be a.
spot on her stove, but always polished until
it reflects back her smiles; no dust on her-
furniture; no finger marks on her doors; no-_
cobwebs from her ceilings; a nicely cooked
dinner always on time, and John shall have
no cause to complain; she will see to all
that, and be ready to fly to the door in a
white dress and pink ribbons, when he
comes home. She intends to do this; the
newspapers say it is the way; and she goes.
resolutely to work, never thinking what a

great revealer time is.
grets. You arcdriving them to do secretly _

The days go by, cares multiply and she-
takes them up one by one, bravely going on
her way. Dust will gather and cobwebs
festoon themselves over her head, but din--
ner must be ready on time, hungry men,
fed, and there are so many and such won-r
derfully healthy appetites that she begins to .
wonder not only how .she is to get time to ,

 


THE HOUSEHOLD.

_ "—7—7.

3

 

read, but how that great basket of clothes
will get ironed. Work is condensed,
‘theorized, and ‘systematized, and all three
' won’t do it; her two hands must or it must
go ‘undone. H'er ideal housekeeping has
vanished. “I would liked to have had it
‘ different, and "I think I could if he had only
’ ' 'eare'd‘a little more and ‘ helped me 'a little
now and then when he might,” she thinks,
and with a feeling of being defeated and
thwarted she excuses as best she may. Such

a‘ pitiable excuse, “He don’t think,” and,
"Heis busy,” as she deftly wields brush

‘ and broom, and sighs “I must be a good
home-keeper.” ,
*The‘newspapers-say again to have a happy
home, there must be’ beside good houser
'2 keeping an open house every day, no room
‘too good for the family to use, plentyof
sunshine, walls covered with pictures,
though they be cheap ones, flowers through
the house, an’d‘always wind up with advert
tising their. own wares—plenty of books,
and papers—mere twaddle the most of it.
The ideal home in almost every mind,
' whether so expressed or not, is a Christian
home, where the word of God is law and the
‘ Bible is the guide; this I say is the ideal,
others imitate or approach as nearly to this
ideal as they may. . .
We see very happy homes among our day
laborers and reason that wealth is not the
chief corner-stone of the structure, but an
‘ unselfish devotion of each to all the rest.
While children have rights, I hold to the
doctrine that parents have rights that should
' command respect; and theirs should be first
and not last, as they are put in the new
order of things. The idea of respect for
children’s rights, while held within reason,
is a good one, but has been carried to ex-
tremes and is working great harm. I

Good humor and cheerfulness are essen-
tial? I have a mind to put them as a founda-
tion upon which to build. a happy home,
and only that I want them for the four
strong walls to guard it from the elements I
would. But my subject :is home-keeping,
not home-building, but the latter, like
housekeeping, cannot be done perfectly by
the woman alone. The man claims to be
the head of the family, the major part, and
of course should not expect work, either
physical or moral, to be well done without
the co-operation of the brain with the hand;
still veheerfulness and good humor play a
prominent part in home-keeping, bridging
‘over many a- chasm, and piloting us around

‘ Whirlpools ‘andthrough rocky rapids. An
impatient word in the morning often ruins
’ ‘ ' the 'pleasure'of a day.

- Where the ruling idea of the homekeep.

ersis to-get great gain, they cannot reach
"the typical idea of home.~ While=money
maybe an aid, 0. great aid, in the artof

.. azashome.keeping,‘ yet it is only one help and

not the most important ‘one either. More-
over, it as often disturbs: thcielement of

" 'w‘nppiness as anyone thingmne may hold it

-~ _--- silverdcllar so near the eye as teobscure

' everything else and gain only a distorted.‘

"-vi's'i‘onof the coin. - .

“The parentlwho'best instills-into the -

French language to correspond with our
word home; to that people our song,
“Home, Sweet Home,” has no meaning.
Study the character of the French and
American side by side andsee if there be
anything in a name. The dearest names to
all our nation are Mother, Home, and

Heaven.
--—-—¢oo———

QUESTIONS ANSWERED.

Even a well—planted calla will often delay
' blooming from lack of steady warmth at the
roots-which in some living rooms is rather
difficult to maintain—and then when the
days grow mild, and the sun’s rays pene-
trate, it will no doubt bloom, being now :n
a thrifty-condition. Give a little liquid fer-
tilizer from the barnyard, and set near
the glass on» something as high as the win-
dow ledge.

The English ivy does best in shade; al—

, though it will bear ill treatment it still re-

sponds to good care. It delights in vege-
table mould mixed with sharp sand and an
occasional dip from the suds on wash day.
1 think it a good way to give plenty of pot
room and a trellis, as so much of its health
and beauty depend on freedom from dust
and insect pests, the scale being its worst
enemy. Having a trellis it may climb and
cling with all its native tenacity, and may
be showered until its glossy leavesshine.
It may be put in summer in the shade of a
tree and will do well. I often imagine I
can see it draping walls and arbors in
milder climates, where its luxuriance equals
our excellent Virginia creeper, Ampdopsz‘s
quinquefolz'a, often called American ivy,
which we hardly appreciate because it is
our own. These plants seem to have the
mission to cover less beautiful objects with
their own graceful drapery, enclosing as
with the clasp of affection the most uncouth
objects, giving protection and graceful
beauty.

Ampelopsis Veitchz‘i is a native of Japan
and not fully, I think,,acclimated here, as
yet; but where a delicate climber is desired,
this is when successfully grown. a lovely
object. It is more tender than A. quin-

quefolz'a and should be given a somewhat

protected situation. It requires a year or
more to become well established; and those
having plants survive the first year after
planting may take courage. I have no

doubt about the possibility of success in'

raising plants from seed, although I have
not yet tried them, and presume stronger
plants may be secured in this way. I think
the seed should be sown in autumn; still it
is well to try either seasOn, only we know
we must usually be patient in waiting for
seeds of this order. I have no difficulty
with Chinese Wistaria, Bignonia radicans,
perennial pea, and many others, a few weeks
suflicingfor them to “ wake up.”
1n speaking of Thunbergia and canary
flower in the Housnnonnas being . difficult
to start, I failed ..to say as I intended that
if putina glass dish of sand or mould (and
set against the window pane, they would
sproutin ashort time. -

in answer to a lady in Pulaski I will. say

not of consequence. There are plain and
variegated varieties of this Euonymus,
which is only grown for its foliage.

FENTON. MRS. H. A. FULLER (DILL).

[Chas E. Parnell, a well-known writer
on garden topics, says, in speaking of the
propagation of the varieties of Ampelopst‘s,
that plants are readily grown either from
layers, cuttings or’seeds. 0f growing from
seed, he says: “ Seeds should be sewn as
soon as gathered. Sow thinly in a shallow
box filled with light, loamy soil, cover
slightly, and place the box in a cold frame,
or a cool, airy cellar; as early in the spring
as possible remove to a warm, moist situa-
tion, or a hot-bed, and as soon as the young
plants are well up and strong enough to
handle, they should be potted off into three-
inch pots, and grown on as rapidly as pos-
sible until the weather becomes warm and
settled, when they can be removed to their
permanent places. They can also be in-
creased by cuttings of the half-ripened wood
placed in sand, and these, when rooted,
should be treated precisely as advised for
the plants raised from see:'.”—En].

.____...._——.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A young lady wishes to know what trim-
ming will be most suitable for a wool dress
intended for street wear, and later for
traveling; she does not wish to use velvet,
or silk with it. There is nothing more
appropriate for the purpose than either the
galloons or braids to be put in straight, or
the passementeries of braid in patterns or
gimp designs. The braids come in all col-
ors, and are worth from 15 to '15 cents,
according to width and quality; the passe-
menteries—which are braided .designs in
braid half an inch wide, often combined
with silk cord,cost from $1, $1.75to$3.50 per
yard, according to quality. They are used
on panels, and most of them are soarranged
that they can be divided, and made narrow
enough to be used on the basque and upon
.erwrap.

Another correspondent asks whatst can
combine with a pearl or steel-gray silk, to
suit her years and complexion. This color
is a trying one to any but youngand bloom-
ing faces. Probably the best choice, to
make a costume at once stylish and as be-
comingas possible, would be acashmere of
the same or a trifle darker hue, for. , drapery
and basque, using the silk for a, skirt and
soft full vest. The wool goods, as it ab-
some light rather than reflects ia‘as does
the silk, would :be better near the face.
Softened by a scarf of black. lace, With a»
pleating-obelack lace at throat. and wrist,
(the dress might .-be becoming, especially if
worn with a bonnet of black ”lace with a
. touch of any color except blue.

Plain white dresses are to be made in the
styles mentioned for cotton dresses in the
HOUSEHOLD of Feb. :31, except that the
lower skirt is hemmed instead of being
faced and bound. .Or a plain skirt, tucked,
maybe substituted, though .thatmounted
with the wide, flounceas described is more
stylish. . But—don’t buy plain white

minds lot-the family-the graces‘of good
"V :h‘ulnoi',"'cheerfulness and ‘contentment,=of
' ‘ “fiWn with'theimposition; is-thebest
‘ nomskes‘p'er. There is 'no word in the

that the specimen sent for name is Euony-
.mus, a native-of Japan, but is. frequently.
mistaken for Camellia Japamioa, which it
resembles in foliage only, as its flowers are.

dresses. Get cream or corn. The_crinkled
seersucker at .a shilling a yard makes such
pretty, dainty. dresses, and comes‘ in such
becoming tints we wonder any woman will

 

 

 


4:

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

put herself into a dead white gown. Do
not starch your light dresses so stiff that at
every'move your skirts rustle like paper.
Wool goods are esteemed for the softness
and ease with which they drape, and cotton
dresses affect the same clinging effect.

Bess asks what baking powder is made
of. Cream of tartar and bi-carbonate of
soda, with as much terra alba and other
adulterants as the manufacturer thinks a
long-suflfering public will stand. The cheap
grades are without doubt composed in
greater part of foreign ingredients, and the
best are the purest. A gentleman of this
city who was once “in the business ” says
that in a lot of 2,000 pounds at least 500
pounds would be adulterations. The cream
of tartar is also adulterated all it will bear
before mixing.

One of our correspondents asked some
little time ago about the tree tomato. There
is a very new sort which differs in habit
from the ordinary sprawling growth of the
common tomato, but it has hardly taken its
actual place yet, nor is its real worth ascer-
tained. It was obtained from a cross of the
Alpha with the French Upright; a seedling
in 1885 ripened fruit as early as any of the
ordinary varieties. It is believed, there-
fore, that the upright habit will be estab-
lished in a plant ripening with the earliest
and this will prove a very desirable acquisi—
tion.

A lady at Imlay City wants to know
something about the management of kinder-
gartens. A kindergarten is a school de-
signed for quite young children, where they
are taught according to the ideas of Froebel,
from whose teachings the system originated.
Instruction and amusement are combined
in a manner attractive to children, and cal-
culated to develop the young minds grad-
uallv, systematically, and not over—tire the
sensitive brain-structure. Ideas of form,
color, number, are given by various acces-
sories used, in connection with word-build-
ing. In short, primary instruction is made
as pleasant to the children, who are ruled
entirely by affection, as possible. They are
taught various movements in calisthenics,
and to sing in accompaniment. The hours
of instruction are short, usually not over
four per day, in a morning session, ard
teachers in this city charge from $6 to $8
per term of ten weeks. Inquiry at three of
our largest book stores here failed to dis-
cover any books upon the methods of in-
struction, or other aids to those who are
looking for information, nor are kinder-
garten goods kept in stock. The best way
for our friend, if she wishes a practical idea
of the workings of the system, is to visit
such a school and witness the manner of
conducting it. There are so many excur
sions to this city during the summer that
one could pay a visit and make such Inves—
tigations at small expense. BEATRIX.

——...___.

SPECULATIONS OF A SPECTATOR.

Last Friday I, out of curiosity, attended
a “ ladies prohibitory amendment mass
meeting ” in this city. I say out of curiosity,
because in the first place I had never been a
spectator of one of those “ wild scenes ” of
which I have so often read, where woman
——the o-half of intelligent creation’s deci-
‘mal 'unit was the only half represented,

 

and I wanted to witness something of the
sort. And secondly, I had taken no in-
terest either pro or con in the amendment,
having given it no thought, and not having
listened to any of the multitudinous argu-
ments advanced on either side.

But I went to the mass meeting. The
G. A. R. hall was well filled with women.
Earnest, zealous, hopeful working Chris-
tian women who count it gain to serve a
high ideal. And 1 must say that I never
attended any sort of a convention, society
or meeting where the masculine element
was the dominant and amting power that
was conducted with any more easy decorum,
or any more polite and graceful “parlia-
mentary usages ” if I may be allowed the
term. But I can recall very many that are
discounted way out of sight by the pro-
ceedings as well as by the address of this
ladies’ mass meeting. And ever since that
day, I’ve been thinking more and more
of the magnitude of the work that waits
the heart and hand, the brain and the
muscle of woman in our American politics.
It can never be done without her! But will
she ever rise to the level of her source, de-
mand the privilege of her right, and in
the full and free exercise of unquestioned
prerogative slowly but steadily swing our
social and political system round into the
notch millennial? Ah, indeed; will she?

FLINT. E. L. 1NYE.

__.._...__.
CHILDREN AT SCHOOL.

An important event'in each child’s life
is its first term at school, and there is a
wide difference of opinions in regard to the
ago at which children should enter’thereon.
Some parents thlnk they should certainly
go at the age of five years, if not before, and
off the mother sends them, sometimes say-
ing, “ Well, they are out of my way, and
the teacher gets her pay; let her see to
them.” Said 3. person not long since:
“ Why, yes, let them go, they will learn just
so much deviltry any way, and it don’t
make any difference how soon they learn
it.” But with this view I do not agree.
It seems to me that it does make a great
difference. The longer a child can be kept
from evil the stronger he will be to with—
stand evil, if taught right. We all admire
the smart, precocious child, who is quick
to learn and easy to teach, but there is so
much difference in children. One will
learn quickly, when another is full of busi-
ness and play and does not take readily to
books. I do wish some of the experienced
mothers and old school teachers would give
their views on this all important subject, for
every conscientious mother truly wants to
do just the right things for her child. R.

NORTH Anams.

—————§Q.—.__

AFTER the HOUSEHOLD for the 28th ult.
had gone to press we received a letter from
“ R,” of North Adams, in favor of the pro-
hibitory amendment to be voted upon at the
April election. As the election will be over
and the issue settled before this paper is in
the hands of its readers, our correspondent
will understand why her article is not in-
serted. We repeat yet once more that copy
intended for insertion in any particular
issue of the HOUSEHOLD must reach us early
in the previous week. ’

 

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

To salt butter with brine, which is now
generally accepted as the best method, drain
the granular butter well before adding the
brine, which is made by putting into cold
water more salt than it will dissolve. The
butter will then be salted at the rate of one
half ounce to the pound.

MOST of us were taught in our. early house.
keeping lessons that a frozen egg should be
put into cold water and allowed to thaw in
it. Even then it is not worth much, the
yolk being hard, as if partly cooked. But
an old farmer’s wife recommends a quite
contrary plan. She says put the frozen egg
into a dish, turn boiling water upon it until
it is covered, and let the egg remain in it
five minutes. The yolk will be soft and
run as if it had not been frozen, and the
egg can be kept several days.

S. B. MANN, of Adrian, in a letter on
the evaporated fruit industry, says: “ In
preparing fruit for drying ‘slice the apples
across the grain (or core, say) very thin;
spread the shoes thinly on a plate or clean
board; cover this with a thin muslin cloth
and expose it to the hot sun and it will give
you a dried apple quite equal to any made
by the evaporator. The point is simply this,
to draw out as rapidly as possible the water
without coating over the surface as is done
if exposed to the sun or artificial heat di-
rect. The vapor thrown off from the fruit
is held by the cloth, making the same humid
atmosphere around the apple that is made
by the methods used by the evaporator. The
drying in a moist atmosphere keeps open
the fruit cells, and the water is allowed to
pass out freely from center to outside of the

slice.’ ’
——-——.O§-———

MANY thanks to Mrs. M. C. M., ,Sister
Lakes, for the photographs of herself and
husband, and two handsome boys, for the
HopSEHOLD album.

_._...___
Contributed Recipes.

BRIDE CAKE.—Whites of twelve eggs; one
teacupful granulated sugar, sifted four
times; one and a half teacupfuls of flour,
sifted four times; add one teaspoonful cream
of tartar in sifting the fourth time; two tea-
spoonfuls vanilla; a little salt; stir lightly;
bake forty minutes; frost. Delicious.

PERFECTION CAKE—Whites twelve eggs;
three cups sugar; one cup butter; one cup
sweet milk; one cup cornstarch; three cups
sifted flour; three teaspoonfuls baking pow—
der; flavor with rose.

BANANA CAKE—One egg, yolks of two; one
cup sugar; butter size of an egg; one cup

sweet r‘nilk; two and one-fourth cups flour,
sifted; two teaspoonfuls baking powder. Bake
in two cakes. Filling—Beat the whites of
two eggs stifl'; add half cup sifted sugar;
mash four bananas fine, and add to half of it
which put between the cakes; frost the top
plain, and lay two bananas sliced in two on
top. Very nice. EVANGALINE.
BATTLE CREEK.

 

 

FLOWER SEEDS FOR 1887.

I will send one package of choice pansy seed,
mixed sorts, for 250, or in collection with carna-
tion, verbena, pinks, dahlia, geranium, stocks
white or mixed colors, forget-me-not, cobea scan.-
dena, and canary-bird flower, for 50c. Seeds
from over 100 choice varieties of perennials.
everlastings, annuals or herbs, six packets for
250; 13 for 50c or 30 for 81. Send stam for list

HRS. M. A. FULLER (DILL ,
Boa: 297,17'cnton. Mich.