
 

  
  
 
 

s ,\\
y \ \\\\'
s;\\\ r
\

  
 

..~\

\o‘
\\

;(\\“

é " V
’0/(nr WI

    
 

 

 

DETROIT, OCT.

19 1889.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

WOMAN’S GARE]! R.

‘She was a fair girl graduate, enrobed in spotless

white

And on her youthful features shone a look of
holy light.

She bent with grace her dainty head to receive
the ribbon blue,

'Whence hung the silver medal, adjudged to be

her due.
I watched her face with rapture as she raised to
heaven her eyes,

,And moved her lips 5n prayer as her ﬁngers

clasped the prize,

’For I knew to education she had pledged her

coming days,

'To unclasp poor woman’s fetters, and free her

from man's ways.

Time passed. Our pathways parted, but ever
and anon,

My thoughts would stray toward her, and I‘d
speculate upon

What my graduate was doing, if athwart the
scroll of fame,

Among unstlﬁsh workers, had been written high
her name.

.At last I chanced to meet her, but her books

were pushed aside,

While around a dainty garment she sewed the
lace With pride,

And at her feet her baby, dimpled, happy, crow-
ing youth,

Upon that silver medal was cutting his ﬁrst
tooth

 

._._.

BULBS FOR THE HOUSE AND
GARDEN.

 

I always know spring has surely come
when the crocus is in bloom in a garden I
pass in my daily walks to business. One
day there is a crack in the ground and a
pale green point projects inquisitively, as
if asking if it is safe to come out, and
day after the next day there is a cup of
cloth of gold courting the coy spring sun-
shine. Then a pale lavender blossom
comes, then a white one, but I like the
yellow best of all. Sometimes an untimely
snowstorm follows; I have seen them half
buried in snow, but they do not mind the
chill at all. And so, plant crocus bulbs for
your earliest bloom; you can buy them at
a cent apiece by the hundred, and planted
in clumps or beds there is nothing so
cheery and bright in the early months of
the year.

Next best for out door planting are the
tulips. They are dazzlingly gay and bril-
liant, and by choosing the late and early
varieties may be kept in bloom a long
time. For out door planting, the single
varieties are quite as desirable as the

double. The beds for them should be dug

deeply and so arranged that the water will
not stand on them; only the ﬁnest and most

 

with the soil, and a little sand worked in
if the soil is heavy. Plant four or ﬁve
inches deep, and six or eight inches apart.
The single varieties may be purchased at
from 50 to 80 cents a dozen; the scarlet
Duc Van Thol are but 50 cents. The Pot-
tebakker tulips have longer petals, and are
very lasting. Nearly every dealer in bulbs
sends out “collections,” good bulbs, but
unnamed, which are sold cheap; 50 early
tulips, mixed sorts, for $1.35; 100 for $2.50;
double the same price. The bizarre Par-
rott tulips have larger blooms, and are
very gay and showy; these sell at from 35
to 50 cents per dozen.

A few hyacinths will give a good deal
of pleasure and much delicious perfume.
They need about the same culture as
tulips, and should be planted in October or
November, about three inches deep, and
covered with a mulch, to be removed early
in the Spring. They are much more ex-
pensive than tulips, the cheapest costing 15
cents each, except in collections made by
dealers where a dozen in mixed colors
will cost $1.10.

The old-fashioned daffodils are much
sought for now; they are the Narcissus of
the ﬂorists’ catalogues, and there are a
number Of varieties. The Pheasant’s Eye
—N«zrcissus poeticzts—Will grow in any-
body’s garden; the single sorts are quite
showy with their large “ trumpets.” Bulbs
are worth from ﬁve to 40 cents each, but
once introduce a single specimen and
presently you have a family Of them.

Lilies may be planted in the spring or
fall, as preferred, but are more apt to give
bloom the following season if planted in
October or November. They should be
planted in large clumps, several of a kind
together, and if possible against shrubbery
or something that will set them off and
serve as a background. They should re-
main undisturbed year after year, and will
grow larger and more beautiful every year.
Plant the bulbs six or eight inches deep, in
well-drained soil, where water will not
stand on them, and cover with a mulch of
leaves or litter. As for the sorts to plant,
the range is very wide. There is the pure
white L. album, and the magniﬁcent L.
chalcedom'c-u-m, of intense scarlet; the great
golden-banded Japan lily—L. auratum—
with ﬂowers six inches in diameter, and the
glowing tropical Tiger lily, single or
double, an Oriental beauty in orangescarlet
with velvety black spots. The old fashion-
ed Day lily is worth growing for its de-

, licious odor. the Lemon lily, a clear, beauti-
«completely rotted manure should be mixed '

ful yellow, for its beauty; and the old L.

 

candt'dum bears comparison with its richer
neighbors.

The ground occupied by the bulbs need
not be left bare and neglected during the
summer. The bulbs may remain undis-
turbed, and verbenas be set among them.
But the verbena is a little “cranky” and
does not succeed itself with a good grace,
therefore the second season petunias may
be sown. Almost any pretty low growing
annual will make a most effective bed—the
California poppy grown in a mass will
make even adull day seem bright. Just
a dozen of bulbs if you cannot afford
more, will make a beginning and, once you
begin, you’ll ﬁnd you are willing to hoard
your pennies to buy more. BEATRIX.

__.._.._..,._.__.

AN OLD FRIEND COMES AGAIN.

I think the greater part of poor humanity
is so constituted that we are not usually
very slow in letting our fellow mortals
know of the pleasures and good fortune
Which come to us through life, and so I’ll
tell you, dear HOUSEHOLD readers, that
while on a visit in Detroit during the Ex-
position, I enjoyed a call on our Editress,
and alook through the HOUSEHOLD Album.
It was a privilege I would have been very
sorry indeed to have missed. Mrs. Ed., of
Oxbow, said, not long since, if she thought
“Our Beatrix” would be glad to see her
she would give her a call, but I did not
feel that way; I knew I was extremely
anxious to see her, and so I called. I also
had the pleasure of meeting E. L. Nye,
and I’ll just whisper to you in conﬁdence,
she doesn’t look a bit as I thought she did.
Oh dear! but I didn’t stay half as long as I
wanted to; and now after this, you may
expect me to intrude quite frequently into
your household, through the medium of
our little visitor.

Detroit is a beautiful city, containing
many wonderful sights and places of in-
terest to quiet country people, but a few
days spent there seem more like a dream
than reality when we return and take up
the cares of home and family, and I felt I
could truly say “there’s no place like
home.” The Exposition was all that it is
painted—far too much to see in one day.

I met an old lady in the afternoon who
was sitting on one of the benches outside
waiting for her company to come and go
home, who when I asked her if she had
been all around, said: “Yes, I think I’ve
seen it all,” but who when I mentioned
some things which particularly interested

'me, said, “Well, I didn’t see that." I

 


.
l
a
,5
.4.
'7.
,.
Ii'
..
Z

. «v -<.. -..ww.....

~ .1. . r. [3.
:mvzxr-m;; .;,. _ I-

‘w‘zrr'r. {at w

, .. e... ..~..l.«_—

 

THE "HOUSEHOLD.

 

don’t suppose I saw all the strange and
beautiful exhibits. - It seems miraculous
that'such beautiful buildings and exten-
sive grounds could be'brought to such a
state of perfection in so short a time. It
proves conclusively that money and en-
terprise are mighty powers. If our lives
are spared another year and circumstances
make it possible, let us all visit Detroit’s
Exposition and set a day to call at our
Editor’s sanctum. The FARMER has been
a constant visitor at our house for anumber
of years, and I hailed with delight the ad-
vent of the ﬁrst number of, our little
paper; many of its correspondents seem
like old friends and acquaintance, and I
haveoccasionally visited you though you
may not remember me.

I, with others, have been quite inter-
ested in the various “weeks.” I don’t
consider Evan geline’s such an impossibility.
In fact I often accomplish quite a week’s
work myself; but it seems to me there are
things of greater importance than “some-
thing good to eat,” and with all the cake
and other goodies made that week, it was
quite unnecesary to bake a molasses cake
on Sunday morning. It would be wise on
our part to make preparations for the life
to come, and if we don’t enjoy hearing a
sermon which warns us to beware of that
place which must not be mentioned to
cars polite, let us see to it that we are sure
of a better end, for surely the reality will
be more terrible than any words of man.
As this letter is already quite lengthy, I’ll
make my best bow, and say good after-
noon. FIDUS ACHATUS.

————*..._—___

OILCLOTH VS. TABLE JLOTH.

 

1I thank Beatrix for answering my ques-
tions so promptly, and hope she will be
kind enough to answer one or two more.
then I will try to curb my natural pro-
pensity for asking questions. Please
Beatrix, how is it possible to secure the
most reﬁned manners at the average
country table? I am as much in favor of
good table manners as anybody, and as far
as children are concerned, they may and
should be taught to behave themselves at
home, as we wish them to do in company,
but—is it neccessary to say more, I won—
der? I believe Beatrix has lived on a farm
and knows that hard work in the dirt and
around ‘the stable is hardly conducive to
reﬁnement; and if two or three hungry,
thirsty and tired men should sit down to
the table, and instead of sipping their tea
from a teaspoon or waiting a long time for
it to cool, turn it out in the saucer and spill
a'drop or tivo on the tablecloth, Ido not
believe she would look a very severe re-
proof at them; if she did it would do no
good, yOu know.

As to the oilcloth questi In, it is hardly
clear to me yet that Beatrix’s feelings are
much removed from prejudice. Certainly
children need not be allowed to “muss”
Muse the cloth is easily cleaned. I do
not think reﬁnement depends so much on
the‘surr‘oundings, except of course, every-
thing shOuld be as neat and attractive as
possible. No matter how careful we may

 

be, table linen will get soiled and in most
families it will be used when it is quite
noticeably soiled. If we were accustomed to
clean linen or even clean oilcloth, at every
meal, I wonder if a tablecloth after three
days’ use would not seem objectionable!
We certainly should not “spare a little
trouble to make food as appetizing as
possible,” but the questi -n is, why should
it be less appetizing spread on an oilcloth?
I don’t mean the old fashioned black cloth
with chunks of yellow paint scattered
around on it, but the new, neat, white or
‘marbled article, that is so pretty and will
not be stained beyond redemption by every
drop of tea or coffee that chances to come
in contact with it.

Now in spite of the evident advantages
of oilcloth, and the fact that those reasons
given do not quite satisfy me, and 1 can
give none better, I do not think I shall be
able to persuade ‘myself to use a substitute
for linen, and I do hope somebody will
tell me, quick, how to keep it free from
stains. In my experience it has been im-
possible. Of course if there is acup of
coffee or tea spilled, it will be attended to
in time, but in spite of the best care there
will be a drop here and there, hardly
noticeable at ﬁrst, but sure to be neglected,
and after being in use a few months the

cloth has lost its original spotless white--

ness, and is a source of vexation whenever
we hang it on the line.

That bread recipe I must have taken
from another paper, and have never tried
E. s. B s s. J. B.

BURTON.
_._~..____

To” MEND BAGS.

.As most farmers’ wives have this un-
pleasant task to perform several times a
year, I wish to tell the easiest way I have
found. It is to be presumed that the man
who brings in the bag or bags to be
mended has already turned them wrong
side out and shaken them thoroughly, but
the chances are he has not, unless you
told him to. I look them over, select the
poorest to cut up for patches; then I baste
them under the yawning rents, ﬁrst on the
outer edge, and taking care to out good
big patches; then turn the edges under and
baste the inner edge. The small patches
can be pinned on. Then I stitch them on
the machine. They look better, can be
done more quickly and last longer than if
done by hand. To be sure the machine
will need a good cleaning, but that can be
done in a few minutes.

The most satisfactory winter dresses I
have made for my two-year-old are of the
turkey red tWilled cotton goods that
comes at ﬁfteen or twenty cents a yard. I
make them a modiﬁed Mother Hubbard,
with the fulness in front laid in three box
plaits, the back gathered into the yoke and
a strap fastened in the seam on one side and
buttoned to the other; this goods washes
and wears well and does not require starch.

Now that the cool nights have come
again we ﬁnd the ﬂannel night-dresses a
great luxury, especially for the old people
and children. Grandpa is troubled with
cold feet even when sleeping in a warm

 

room, soI have made him some of dark
grey ﬂannel, cut sack fashion and long-
enough to come to the ﬂoor, with a pocket
for his handkerchief, and he is greatly
pleased with them. For the older chil-
dren I made the night drawers, and for the
kicking, restless baby a long sack to come-
well over his feet, run a tape into the hem
and tie it up so he can never get quite un-
covered; the ﬁrst ‘ night he made a fuss
about it, but now demands to have his
”nightie” tied up.

Does any one know that green pumpkins
Will make equally as good pies as ripe ones ?'

We think it a great saving to buy gro-
ceries by the quantity at wholesale rates.
We can get excellent baking powder (not -
Royal or Price’s, but equally as satisfac-
tory) by taking a case (36 pounds) for six-
teen or seventeen cents a pound. It comes
in six-pound cans, air tight, so they can be
easily divided; the cans when emptied are
nice for spices and other things that re-
quire to be kept closely covered. Sugar is
sold so closely that one can * not save much‘
by buying by the barrel, only the-con-
venience; tea, coffee and spices can be
bought cheaper. Mas. No NAME.

————...____.

FANCY WORK.

 

To make a pretty wall pocket for any
purpose for which wall pockets are con-
structed, out two squares of cretonne, silk,
etc., of any size preferred. If the mater--
ial is soft, line one of them and sew the
other to it. Bend three of the corners to-
gether and secure under a how; this forms
the pocket. The other corner forms a ﬂap
to hang it up by.

Butchers’ linen makes a very serviceable
scarf for a dressingbureau. It should be
about two yards long. as wide as the
bureau, allowing for the hemstitched hem,
to be about one and a half inches Wide, and
the. ends can be fringed or ﬁnished 'with
drawn work and lace, or insertion of
torchon or guipure lace with edge to match.
This butchers’ linen does up nicely, wears
forever; and a bureau maybe kept in beau-
tiful daintiness by having two scarfs, to be
used alternately.

The National Stockman says: Among
the latest in pillow-shams are the scarf
shams made of any material you prefer.
China silk, of a tint which matches the pre-
vailing color of the room, is often chosen,
though any of the plain, sheer, white
muslins are just as pretty, giving you an-
exquisitely cool and dainty effect at a
much less expense. To make the scarf
take awidth of the selected material suf-
ﬁciently long to be caught upin the center;
fasten to the top of the head-board and still
allow the ends to fall down on the pillows.
If you make the scarf of silk ﬁnish it with
an inch wide hem and drawn work. If
made of muslin the most appropriate ﬁnish
will be insertion and edge of ﬁnest torchon
lace; or by embroidering a monogram in.
one end of the scarf and a spray of ﬂowers
in the other, using outline stitch for both,
you may add much to the beauty of the
scarf.

 

 


 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

EARLY INFLUENCES.

 

[Paper read by Mrs. Mary E. Henry, before the
Albion W. C. '1‘. U.]

The words which I have chosen for the
foundation of my few remarks were
found in the sense and sentiment column
of a newspaper, without parentage, anony-
mous. They are as follows: “It is the
mother who molds the character and ﬁxes
the destiny of her child.” This looks like
a very strong assertion; but any one who
has ever made a study of prenatal in-
ﬂuences will readily understand how such
an assertion might be a very truthful one.
If this be true, how much harm is con-
stantly being done to unborn children,
souls called into existence without being
consulted as to whether they wish to be
made responsible, accountable creatures
or not! If parents would but consider
this aspect of the family life, would they
not strive more effectually to give their
children a better inheritance; the inheri-
tance of apure mind and an upright heart
at least? I am aware that many, will dis-
agree with me on this subject, for a variety
of reasons; some because they do not wish
to feel their responsibility so great, and
think to lessen it by not believing it, and
many more through ignorance of the truth.
The most pitiful thing under the sun is
that the mothers of the present generation
knew so little of prenatal inﬂuences, until
too late to be useful to them and their
offspring. But no one will deny that
causes produce effects; ,we all see the
effects, but few are able to trace them back
to the cause. Often when the matter has
been explained, the mother can go back
and memory brings up occurrences which
she had entirely forgotten; but now, seeing
the effects in her child, she will recognize
the circumstances or conditions which in
all probability have been the causes of the
effects observed in the child.

In asserting that “ the mother molds the
character and ﬁxes the destiny of her
child,” I do not ignore heredity, which
permeates all the gifts the mother gives her
child. Heredity is one of nature’s laws
which man can modify by generations of
cultivation, but cannot wholly change.
All things preduce after their kind, but
one who has knowledge of the great im-
provement in ﬂowers, fruits, vegetables
and in animals, will readily believe that the
right care, cultivation and training will
greatly improve humanity. The mother
can greatly improve though she may not
greatly change the laws of heredity in one
generation; but she can plant the seed of
such traits or characteristics as she wishes
to See bring forth an abundant harvest,
then by care and cultivation these good,
wise and noble traits can be made to grow.
Isn’t every earnest desire of the heart to be
pure, to be truthful, to be charitable
toward another’s faults, the germ of good
seed sown which if nourished with care,
and not allowed to wither and die, will
bear a richer harvest than banks .or U. S.
bonds? If awe only transmit our own
natural traits, how much are we above the
brute creation?

The principal characteristics of a child
exist in embryo before its birth, or in other

 

words prenatal, like the body small and
weak; but they expand rapidly. All the
good which the child inherits by parentage
the mother does not need to labor to be-
stow; only cultivate it, and encourage its
growth. The mind and heart of a little
child may be compared to a garden; culti-
vate the good impulses, the promise of
generous, noble, pure, truthful plants,
and eradicate all bad impulses and dwarf
what can not be exterminated by making
the good crowd out the bad; the largest
plants draw the moisture and fertility from
the weak ones.

There is an old saying which I often
hear repeated, that the child inherits from
the father its physical nature, from the
mother its spiritual nature. This is only
partially true, as we have abundant
evidence all around us. But I will say
say right here, no matter how brilliant or
talented a man may be, if his wife is one of
those soft, sweet, indolent women, whose
chief desire is pleasure and case, his chil—
dren never reach his height of intellect or
ambition. But reverse the case with the
parents, and it is difﬁcult to tell to what
height the children will attain with favor-
able circumstances; of course there are ex-
ceptions to all rules, but that does not dis-
prove them.

In reading biography if you will observe
where anything is said of the parents of the
person whose record we are reading, we
will invariably observe that their super-
iority came from seeds sown and the right
trai .ing, combined with energy and ambi-
tion inherited from the mother. It is
claimed of the Wesleys that their mother
made them what they were. Napoleon
Bonaparte is another example of what the
mother’s inﬂuence is upon her child. The
father was drafted into the army before
Napoleon’s birth; the mother was neces-
sarily both parents in one to her little
family, talking with them and making
them her companions. Her husband being
in the army she studied all the war news,
followed the movements of the troops to
the best of her ability, with the means at
her command. She became an intense
partisan; she talked with her little ones,
and taught them patriotism and fostered
their martial instincts, and we see what it
made of her son Napoleon. I might mul-
tiply instances, but our time is too limited.

We often hear public speakers quote
this saying “ Give me the ﬁrst seven
years of a child’s life, and I care not
who has the res.” Guiseppe Garibaldi’s
favorite maxim was, “ Give me the
mothers of the nation to educate; and you
may do what you like with the boys.”
Here is one man who understood humanity
and comprehended the relation of mother
and child. Do you not see now the neces-
sity of sowing such seed as you will wish
to see harvested? “As ye sow, so shall
ye reap,” the “ good book ” tells us. Per-
haps some one queries, “ How can I sow
the seed which I wish to see harvested by
and by? By cultivating and exercising all
the goodness and the graces in your own
life. Not the outward life only, which is
lived before people, but in the inner-life
which no one sees, where no one enters but

 

your own soul, and God. No mother can .
live adual life; that is, one life beforethe ’.
world, and a quite different life in M :
privacy of her home, and be sure that her
child will inherit anything but m .-
duplicity. If children are to inherit I
pure, truthful nature, or any other-chara-
teristic, the mother must live that pum-
truthfulness every day and all the time,
and practicing with persistent energy all,
the good things with which she wishes to
endow her offspring. Nothing is mm.-
essential in the training of children than.
perfect truthfulness. The child’s earthly
ideal is mother, and it copies after her,
isn‘t she molding its character also by her
example?

As I before remarked, the most essential
thing to teach a child is truthfulness; the!
next essential is self denial. Many a child—-
of larger growth would be the better of
learning and practicing that virtue. It is
a difﬁcult thing to deny one’s self a coveted .
pleasure: and unless the power is acquired
in childhood, it is seldom gained. It achiid
is taught to say no when his inclination is —
to say yes; if it can say no, when it knows .
that no is right, that child is one~half
saved from the evil of intemperance. We '
are told this life is a warfare between good»
and evil; then how necessary to impreestllew
little tender minds with the power of firm
decision, and an acute discriminationbe—
tween right and wrong? How many
people, old as well as young, witha pre—
dominance of good in mind and heart, are
led astray from the lack of a strong powu' »
of will to resist the ﬁrst appearance of evil,
and the temptation to take the ﬁrst wrong-
step! So you see here is a third essential.
with which to endow your child. a strong
power of will, or as phrenologists term it
“ ﬁrmness.”

J udieious training and example com-
bined are worth everything; but it is a)
much easier, and the prospect is inﬁnitely

. greater of a good, wise, noble manhood or

womanhood if a goodly share of goodi:
born in the character.

Now in summing up; if the little child
has ﬁrmness, is taught selfdenial, is truth»
ful, with any other of the good planted in.
mind or heart, with the cultivating ad ‘
training of early years, almost any one-am
predict the destiny of that child, for surely
no one will deny that the strongest cham-
terlstics will rule.

I do not wish to be understood as releas-
ing the father from his share of the 10--
sponsibility in endowing, in training, all. .
in example; but today my message is to
women, to those who are or may to
mothers. If the father will give ball;
qualities and set a bad example in place «in
good, he ought to suffer for it most, but
“the trail of the serpent is over all,” and
all connected with him suffer, the child.
most, unless the mother has much the!
strongest individuality of the two; in either"
case the mother’s eﬂort to make the good.
predominate is made much more diﬁculk

Let me say once more, Women, rem-.-
ber your responsibilities, and also the great-
blessing which is yours when you given»
the world and to society good, noble in.
and women. Remember “ It is the m

 


 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

“=1th molds the character and ﬁxes the
«downy of her child.” ,How often do we
a” in print these aphorisms, “Woman
":rules the world,” “The hand that rocks
:the cradle is the hand that rules the
tworld."

It is impossible in one paper and in
~one afternoon to give this subject all the
mthought that should be given it; but if I

have said anything to make even one
-woman think and study this great problem
«of life and birth, I shall feel that my time
(has not been spent in vain.

—-—.OO-_—

IS IT A SIN?

”It seems that I left my last article for the
'EHOUSEHOLD unﬁnished, omitted to sum up
any “conscience record ” after participa-
tionin what might no doubt be called a
{quest for recreation or pleasure on the
:gSabbath; and by your leave I will now
‘make my peroration on that important part
of the day’s doings—namely, the frame of

mind in which I surveyed the ﬁnished
day. Well then, the only offence against
Christian law and order with which I
.could charge myself with conscious guilt
was in the fact that the family had not
attended divine service before going to
Belle Isle. I know that save this, for my-
-self, there was no more sin in going there
'than there would have been in going out
:for a walk “ around the square,” or about
.town. But it is erng to neglect or
utterly omit Sabbath religious Observances
.for things of this sort. I will also say that
I have been to what an evangelist in this
city calls “Hell Isle ” with a party of
friends since the park article was written,
on a lovely September afternoon. And as
we went to church in the morning com-
mitted no sin ourselves, and were not wit-
' nesses to anything that was criminal of-
fense against Sabbath law and order, had
‘ no compunctions of conscience whatever as
the day was summed up in review at
.. night.

There is a great deal of cant and rant in
the world. And there are characters that
can not be held in proper and decent
bounds as to their practices and public be-
havior without the strictest laws and
straightest lines that what we sometimes
perhaps inappropriately call bigotry—can
.devise and draw—bear directly upon them,
and deﬁne their way and walk to the most
absurd detail in dress, food and everything
that enters into the‘daily life.

Years ago when Henry Ward Beecher
»-was in the ascendantas a clerical authority,
a passage in one of his eloquent sermons
struck my mind most forcibly, for like
many other of his sayings I felt that it was
a prophesy. Speaking of these things he
said: “All these Puritanical practices,
laws and customs, are destined to fade
out.” Whether he elaborated the “fade
out” idea I do not remember, but in my
own mind I cannot refrain from so doing,
\when I see how rapidly his prophecy is

“being fulﬁlled. Born in the travail of a
great necessity, they served a noble pur-
pose long and well, and now they are
ﬁnding rapidly away. And the question

 

of whether the fabric of our national life
to which for 3-) many years they gave so
much in color, strength and texture, is
destined to suffer irreparable loss in con-
sequence of that “ fading out” is not an
unimportant one for the students of
domestic economy and social science to
ponder and investigate. Nevertheless, the
popular mind has attained a momentum in
free-and-easiness that overrides maxims
and the ghosts of former things with an
ease and grace that are captivating whether
treacherous or otherwise.

DETROIT. E. L. NYE.

______....____..

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE CHRIST-
MAS BOX.

A triangular board with each side just
fourteen inches in length, fastened to har-
ness hooks, and covered with plush, velvet
or other goods, with bow of ribbon more
or less elaborate to match material on one
Corner, makes a very pretty stool. There
are different sizes of hooks; those seven
inches in length make it about right height
for size of board.

Another pretty article is made by cover-
ing an octagon pasteboard, (any size you
choose) with satin, one side of one color
and the other some contrasting color.
Using the same two colors, make eight
sachets, (four of each color) to ﬁt the edges
of the octagon; fasten the bottoms of the
sachets to the sides of the octagon, alter-
nating the colors. The tops will fall in
slightly. Lovely! say all who see it.
Fancy boxes and baskets are made by
crocheting white carpet warp, and shape-
ing over box or pail. Stiﬁen by using
shellac varnish. Line with silk and run

ribbon through open work.
J A NNE I‘TE .

—-———+oo—-—-——

THE TWINS.

 

My thanks are not less sincere for being
long delayed, to the friends who so kindly
responded to my request for advice in re—
gard to feeding babes and cleansing nurs-
ing-bottles. I think perhaps you might
like to hear how those twins throve. They
seemed to do very well for a while, but
bowel trouble began, which was supposed
to be caused by bad milk. Ridge’s Food
was again recommended by the physician,
and all was well until the disease called
marasmus appeared among children, and
those little twin boys were among the ﬁrst
to go with it, with only an hour and a half
between their passing away. I was with
them through all, and saw them laid in the
little white casket that contained them
both when borne to Oakwood, their resting
place.

I am very much interested in Beatrix’s
“bulb ” letter, and can heartily indorse it,
as I never received better returns from
money expended for ﬂowers than for forc-
ing hardy bulbs. DILL.

anrox .

 

COME in and see our new sewing-ma-
chine, the “ Michigan.” It is a daisy.
Only $21, with the FARMER and HOUSE-
HOLD for one year.

 

AN AFTER-NOON WITH THE
“ GLEANERS.”

A short time ago in response to an invita-
tion froma member of the Gleaner Society,
of South Albion, I attended one of the
meetings. It was held at the pleasant
residence of Mrs. A., situated half a mile
south of the city.

The meeting opened promptly at two
I’. M., with an attendance of about thirty
members and ﬁve visitors. I can best give
an idea of their proceedings by quoting
from the programme, as given in the
Albion Recorder. The programme con-
sisted of a biographical sketch of Mrs.
Hemans and a recitation from one of her
poems; Chautauqua reading, “Rufus
Choate;” an essay entitled “ Essays, and
the Beneﬁt Derived from the Writing of
Essays,” by the president; poetry, a
solo, and a selection followed, when last
but far from being least was the essay by
Mrs. Palmer on “Woman, her creation.
because it was not well for man to be
alone.” The position women occupied for
many ages, and the position she is destined
to occupy within the century, the educa-
tion the young women should receive to
ﬁt them to ﬁll such places as God gave
them abilities, if properly cultivated, to
ﬁll, were points especially dwelt upon by
the writer.

The question for discussion, “ Ought
happiness to be the chief aim of life? If '
so, how can it best be secured?” called
out a variety of ideas.

After the question box and a few re-
marks from the visitors, the meeting ad-
journed to meet in three weeks at the
house of the president, who is none other
than'M. E. H. whose letters we all enjoy
so much. This Society is inavery ﬂourish-
ing condition, as shown by the care the
ladies take in making their essays as in-
teresting as possible.

The paper by Dr. Palmer you have all
had an opportunity to peruse, and I am
sure all will agree with me that it is an ex-
cellent production, and worthy of praise
from all.

The members are not apt to become in-
terested in the “light ” literature of the
present, while the works of our best
authors are presented in such a favorable
light.

I might also tell you of an enjoyable call
at M. E. H.’s pleasant home, but will leave
that until another time.

I hope Mae, of Flint, won’t think that I
have appropriated her “ pet name.” Mine
was given me when I was a little girl. I
also would be pleased to know Mae.

CONCORD. KETURAH.
--—-——-ooo—-—-——

Contributed Recipes.

 

Sraaunn INDIAN Lona—One pint sweet (. r
sour milk; two cups molasses; one teaspoon-
ful salt; one tablespoonful soda: two cups of
wheat or Graham ﬂour; one cup Indian meal.
Steam three hours and bake twenty minutes.

GRAHAM Barnum—Three teacupfuls butterb
milk; three quarters teacupful molasses; a
little salt; three even teaspoonfuls soda: twice
as much Graham as wheat ﬂour. Don't stir
too stiﬂ. RHODA.

BATTLE CREEK.

 

 

