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DETROIT, MAY 18. .1889.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplement.

 

 

 

WHAT WOMEN TALK ABOUT.

 

What do women talk about?
Weather, ﬁrst beyond a doubt;
Then their tongues beg n to go
On the topics told b4 low.

Ministers and churcr affairs;
Heusehold worries; children’s cares;
Aches and pains, and pains and aches,
New recipes for making cakes.

Servant girls with horrid ways;
Latest fashions; temperance craze;
Bow to save the heathen i and:
Jars of fruit for Winter canned.

Bonnets, drt sses, ribbons, gloves;
Shopping fun; young maidens” loves;
Gossip; scandal quite intense

And religious arguments.

Babies; what to eat and wear;
How to hide the sllvered hair;
How to keep a youthful face
And preserve a form of grace.

These and similar things, no doubt,
Do the women talk about;

Though the men suppose, ahem,
That they only talk of them.

._—...——-

CHAT ABOUT DRESS.

“ In the spring a maiden s fancy
Turns to ties that match her glove;
In the spring a brighter color
Comes the bonnet top above."

And this year a very much gayer color
reigns upon the new spring bonnet, in fact,
fashionable millinery is nothing if not gay.
Flowers are seen upon everything, and
such beautiful imitations are they, that one
can hardly distinguish them from the real.
A lady sat opposite me in the car the other
day, under the brim of whose black lace
hat was tucked a Perle des Jardins rose
and bud, so exact a counterfeit that even
an inquisitive bee, a triﬂe blinded by over
much buzzing, might have been deceived
and have undertaken to explore its depths.
A cluster of purple Wisteria massed with
black lace, a knot of lemon yellow poppies
—which would have been a botanical im-
possibility until two or three years ago; a
wreath of apple blossoms, perfectly imitat-
ed, even to the thick dark brown stems, a
bunch of the ﬁne phlox-like bloom of that
old fashioned plant known as “ Creeping
Charlie ”—these are only a few of the
ﬂowers chosen for the decoration of young
ladies’ and misses’ hats and toques. Avery
novel bonnet was composed entirely of ivy
leaves, shading from the dark glossy green
of perfect foliage through silvery autumn

the tender hue of the just unfolded leaf; its

overlapping each other to form crown and
brim.

Such a pretty lace dress as it was! Fish
net, with meshes large enough to slip an
apple seed through; a plain round skirt
bordered with ﬁve rows of three—fourths
inch watered ribbon, and worn over ablack
surah skirt, with “the least little bit” of a
tournure. The silk waist was covered
with the net, which was Shirred to form
full fronts, while the back of the short
basque had a cluster of loops of ribbon set
on the point. It was a little woman who
wore it, and its severe simplicity became
her mignon style.

One of the most showy dresses I have
seen was of lettuce green faille, made Em-
pire style; the front of the corsage was
crossed by loose folds of green and cream
white brocade, framed by wide revers. The
Empire girdle was of folds of the faille,
and wherever possible a showy passemen-
terie of green and gold was employed to
accentuate the outlines. A broad black
hat faced with lettuce green velvet, edged
with a narrow line of green and gold
cord, and nearly covered outside with
plumes shading from dark to light green,
completed a very striking costume, worn
by a young lady of the wax doll order,
with blue eyes, fair hair and pink-and-
white complexion. Of course so showy a
costume was not designed for street wear,
but worn at an afternoon reception.

To go to the other extreme, I admired
very much the simple neatness of a checked
gingham dress made up with a plain basque
and undraped skirt. A narrow vest of corn
pique was inserted in the front, a vest not
quite three inches wide at the throat and
narrowing to half an inch at the point of
the basque, and there were three forward
turning folds on either side of this, the
fronts being cut wider for the purpose.
Down the center of the skirt was also in-
serted a narrow panel of the ecru, just the
width of the vest at the point of the basque,
so that it seemed a continuation of it to the
foot where it had widened to about 3 1-2 or
four inches. Folds were on either side of it,
then a plain space to the sides, where the
skirt was laid in forward turning pleats
before being Shirred full at the belt over
the two small steels, placed ten inches be-
low the top. Vests of pique, plain or
ﬁgured, are popular for gingham and sat-
teen dresses, but to be modish should be
quite narrow.

Dresses are rather longer than they
have been worn; they should just escape

 

other was of rose petals, exquisitely tinted,

the ﬂoor for the house, and be a little more

 

abbreviated for street, wear. I do not know
what connection there is between poverty
and long dresses, but certain it is I never
see a woman whose dress drags an inch or
more without noting her attire boars un-
mistakable evidence of a poverty which
may be honest but which certainly is not
neat. thether the extra length is to con-
ceal shabby shoes or skirts, or simply evi—
(lence of “ shiftlessuess,” I'm sure I cannot
say; I only chronicle my observations.

One of the prettiest new models for W001
goods of any sort is entirely without
drapery; the front and sides are composed
of wide pleats alternating with clusters of
narrow ones. There are three wide pleats,
one directly in front, eight narrow pleats—
which cover a space rather greater than
the width of the plain pleat, then awide
one, and another cluster of narrow pleats,
separating the back of the skirt, which is
perfectly straight and hangs in deep folt‘s
deﬁned to the bottom. It takes a liber 1
supply of goods for these full skirts.
lady was complaining the other day that
whereas seven yards of cashmere used to

‘be a full pattern for a dress, now she found

ten yards none too much. The Wide pleats
on this skirt were tufted with silk pompous,
which added not a little to its dressy ap-
pearance. I think a patient individual
might perhaps applique circles or squares
of velvet so neatly that the effect of a velvet-
ﬁgured wool might be given. The basque
of this costume had one wide revere on the
right side, which crossed to the left over a
ﬁne pleating which began at the left shoulder
seam and ﬁlled the front; sleeves tight with
a V-shaped space at the top ﬁlled with
pleating, and a broad square cuff. Revere
and cuffs were studded with the silk
pompons. BEATRIX.

SILK CULTURE.

 

Miss Nellie and I tried raising silk worms,
and found it light, fascinating work.
Osage orange hedge being plenty in the
neighborhood, we invested in a pair of
pruning shears, and arranged a small bed—
room oif the sitting room for our pets. In
the room we put a table, placing the feet
in pans of water to prevent ants from feast-
ing, for they like the spinners. Next we
bought a bundle of lath; and cut some in
half; we made a frame like two wide lad-
ders, of ,whole lath nailed together at the
sides with the cut lath, across the rounds,
as it were, we placed loose lath, and on
these put our pasteboard boxes or trays,
placing the whole on the table. Miss

 


 

 

9 THE HOUSEI—lOLD

 

Nellie visited the dry goods stores and got
the boxes, telling the proprietors they
might come and see the spinners, and some
of them did. We sent to the Ladies’ Silk
Culture Association for one-half ounce,
about 20,000 eggs, cost $2. They arrived
by mail in a tin box. Some of :them were
hatched,coming from a warmer climate. We
had nothing to feed them on, for the hedge
had not budded, but a friend hearing of our
dilemma sent us some hedge from southern
Illinois, so we saved those that hatched
later; the next spring we found the eggs
we raised ourselves hatched with the bud
ding of the hedge.

We did not sell our cocoons, but gave
them to our friends, and Miss Nellie gave
the eggs .to her pupils, hoping in that way
to spread the industry. We are convinced
that it could be made proﬁtable, but needs
experience. I should say “ only try a few
at ﬁrst.” It is in small quantites they are
raised by the peasants in foreign countries.
I believe Illinois produces the most silk of
any State in the Union. At a silk test in
Philadelphia the second prize was awarded
a lady of New Hampshire; and surely if
silk can be produced in New Hampshire,
Michigan should be able to do likewise. If
the Michigan farmers would plant white
mulberry trees for shade near the house, or
surround the houseyard with an osage
orange hedge, the daughters would soon
learn silk culture. Any one wishing books
on silk culture send address and stamps to
the Women’s Silk Culture Association, No.
£224 and 1,226 Arch St., Philadelphia,
Penn, also for Manual of Silk Culture to

 

Agricultural Department, Washington,
I). C. LUCY K.
Mormon.

ONE WEEK.

 

(Concluded)

Monday morning, and rather blue; no
sun, but the air is soft and spring-like, it is
the ﬁrst day of April and spring is really
here; the grass is springing up after the
warm rain, the wheat ﬁelds are looking
Eke velvet; she will charm us with her
smiles, blue sky and sunshine, and tantalize
us with her showers and chill winds.
Everybody feels better this morning.
Breakfast, potato-balls, poached eggs,
fried pork, coffee, gems, molasses cake,
crackers. We expedite matters so as to
commence washing. It is a little doubtful
about drying the clothes, but they can be
washed. Ihate to miss on washing Mon-
day; a week begun well always ends well,
Inotice. The boiler is set on the stove
when the breakfast is taken up, so the
water is hot by the time the dishes are
washed. A good machine helps wonder-
mn’y; I use sal-soda occasionally. I think
it keeps the clothes white, and saves rub-
bing. Everything is “ on velvet.” The
white clothes are nearly all on the line,
when it is discovered that our mill man in
the woods has a sick wife, the doctor is
sent for, and I am wondering if I can go
bra while, when husband appears upon
the scene. He is obliged to go to the
stationand I can ride down to the house
and stay until he comes back. I am ready

 

in a minute, and we are soon driving down
the lane behind one of the trotters. It is
just lovely riding; the lane is quite green.
the cowslips are struggling for a living,
frogs are croaking in the creek and marsh,
and the birds are ﬁlling the air with music.
I ﬁnd things a little worse than I have had
them for the past week. The mother is
sick in bed, the oldest child about twenty
months, and the baby ﬁve months, both
crying. The baby has to be fed; my hand
is out completely tending baby, but I make
a bold stroke and try feeding it. The blue
eyes look wonderingly at me, the mouth no
bigger than a tiny rosebud, a sweet little
baby face, anybody could love her, so I
feed her until hunger is satisﬁed, the
mother made comfortable, and the sun is
well out as the horse comes for me to go
home. N o matter how had 011' we imagine
ourselves at times. there is always some one
else worse off. The ride has done me all
sorts of good, and we get home about
twelve. Dinner is ready; baked potatoes;
ham; eggs; bread and steamed rice.

Dinner dishes out of the way; ﬂannels and
calico washed, and Fannie and I go to
work at two chairs we were going to “ ﬁx
up.” They were originally cane seated
chairs; maple; varnished. We cut out the
bottoms, sandpaper the wood and sew in
some stout new bagging, cut double—with
twine. One is painted blue, the other a
beautiful yellow. They will need two
coats, and when thoroughly dry, one coat
of varnish. The yellow one will have a
dark blue plush bottom. On the bagging
we spread tow, until it is as full as we want,
then some curled hair and athickness of
canvas, then the plush, well drawn down
and held in place with wide blue gimp
tacked at regular distances with brass
headed tacks. On the center piece of the
back and left side of the top is painted a
spray of forget-me-nots with green leaves,
and a bow of wide blue ribbon on the
right side. The blue one has a cretonne
bottom, with a red bow on the left side.
There are two others which we will get at
after a while, one will be painted white,
with gilt bands, upholstered with old gold
plush. We ﬁnd that kept at the furniture
store the best quality, at $1.50 per yard;
the gimp and tacks are purchased there
also. The little rustic chair owned by Evis
is treated to a bolster and cushion of
double-faced canton ﬂannel, peacock blue
with Chinese ﬁgures, fans, etc., and she
takes lots of comfort in it. We have made
such a handsome handkerchief case this
winter. One side is of quilted blue satin,
the other rose-colored plush; one thickness
of wadding between, sprinkled with sachet
powder. The case is thirteen inches wide,
nineteen inches long, the edges ﬁnished
with a blue silk cord, it folds together like a
book; the plush for the outside; one corner
turns back with a blue bow, it is a little
different style from any I had seen and
was patterned after one that came from
Detroit for a Christmas present. How
much time anyone can fritter away on this
kind of work, but I do not know but it is
aswell to please the eye occasionally as to
tickle the palate. There seems to be some—

,5;-

 

thing about our organization that requires
both
I have been learning something about

sewing on buttons that may be new to
some of the HOUSEHOLD band. In drawing
the thread through the cloth have the knot
on the right side under “the button, this
prevents its being torn or worn away by
ironing. Then before you begin sewing
lay a large pin across the button, so that
all your threads will go over the pin.
After the hotes are ﬁlled with thread draw
out the pin, and wind your thread round
and beneath the button. This makes a
compact stem to sustain the possible pulling
and wear of the buttonhole.

It is four o’clock; clothes are brought in
and folded; I do not believe in rolling them
up in compact rolls, it makes too many
wrinkles to iron out. I do not see much
in doors to do, and it is so pleasant I am
going out to look around. The services of
halfa dozen men and three or four boys
will be required this spring to straighten
things around. There are odd lumber
piles—that for fencing—two piles of poles
for the buzz-saw and about four cords of
block wood piled at the side of the house.
Philander “ laid in ” for a hard winter; but
as is the case, proverbially, the more we ex-
pect, the less we get. Three women, one
boy and a wheelbarrow somewhat lower the
pile; then come the rakes, and the chips
and bark soon vanish, and the train whistles
at the station, our daily mail commences
today. Here we are revelling in all the
luxuries attending a railway; just jubilant
over our good fortune. What if there are
but four trains per diem, what if they do
not go much faster than agood roadster
will trot! Let us fondly hope that when
the times arrives,

Burns and Nichols. the men who are pu'ling
Each end of this bridge of sighs,

Shall both lose their grip. and go to the wall,
And thus make a sale of ties.

and we can have a jolliﬁcation meeting.
Here comes the MICHIGAN FARMER and
Youth’s Companion. Time for supper too,
and I must cast about for something where-
with to spread the table, for the larder is
not very well stocked now days. First a
two quart can of tomatoes is put heating;
ten eggs beaten light with the egg beater,
whites and yolks separate, the yolks are
stirred into one quart of rich milk, a table-
spoon of cornstarch dissolved and added, a
little salt, one tablespoonful melted butter,
and lastly the whites stirred in, turned into
a buttered frying pan previously heated;
set in a hot oven and baked twenty
minutes—a delicious way to make an
omelet. Potatoes sliced thin and warmed
up in hot butter; cold boiled ham; canned
blackberries, jelly and cake. After supper
bread is stirred up; codﬁsh picked up and
put soaking for breakfast, potatoes pared
to boil, and we are ready for a “sit down.”
Evis comes bringing the singing books for
Fannie to play and “all us church mem-
bers” she says will sing. Her favorites
are “ Bringing in the Sheaves,” and “ Up
to the Bountiful Giver of Life.”

When the men get in from the barn I
read aloud, picking out all the interesting
thingsin the papers. First, I must take the
wheat market; then‘the column devoted to

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

« THE HOUSEHOLD. 3

 

'horses, for we are interested in that a little,
little things relating to the farm, and the
story, “ The Deacon’s Week” and after a
hearty laugh about it, and expressing our
respective opinions, all decide that alittle
'candy would taste good. So I get the
triple X sugar, another slices some ﬁgs,
.gets the pits out of afew dates, cracks a
dozen English walnuts and we commence
operations. I empty out perhaps a pound
of the sugar in adeep dish and make a
hole in the center as for bread sponge.
Into this I put the white of an egg and a
’tablespoonful of thin cream, and commence
stirring with a spoon. Keep adding sugar
until it is the consistency of dough, then
dust some sugar on the moulding board
and knead it a little; when it is smooth
divide it into parts and ﬂavor it. One
wants strawberry, another vanilla and an-
other rose, just a drop is enough. Then
pinch off little pieces; into one a quarter of
,ﬁg goes, just peeping through; another a
date, into the top of another a big meat
and so on until all is made up. Did you
ever try it? simply delicious. It can be
rolled out in sheets, some colored pink,
some with chocolate, then put together like
layer cake with fruit and cut in squares.

It is ten o’clock before we take a vote to
go to bed. I amjust dropping off into a de-
licious sleep, when I hear an ominous
groan from the depths of Philander’s pil-
low, followed by another to which I can-
not turn a deaf ear. “ Fix me some salera-
'tus water, it is my dyspepsia.” I sally for
the cupboard and ﬁsh around for the can,
and while I am dissolving it I embrace
the opportunity to administer a lecture free
gratis about smoking and all those other
habits that have such pernicious effects.
I am a long- time about it, for I know he
will not be so lamb-like and submissive
after he gets the cup, and as I settle down
to business again I think to my self that it
will take some most awful groans to get
me out again tonight.

on girls! don‘t be in a hurry to wed;

Stay single as long as you can;

Don’t be beguiled by the silvery tale

You hear from that handsome young man.

The pathway of marriage is not, a he says,

:Strewn with roses, free from thorns,

For there’s lots of days that go out in clouds
'l‘hat begun with rosy moms.

And when for life you’rea farmer’s wife
With duties a score and three.

The thoughts will ﬂy to the days gone by,
When you were fanc free,

When you didn‘t mil cows, nor feed the pig,
Do chores more or less.

'Take my advice and always think twice
Before you answer yes.

BATTLE CREEK. EVANGELINE.

——...—_

QUESTION ANSWERED—One of our cor-
respondents asks how saddle-bag tidies are
made. The saddle-bag; tidy is really a
cushion, or two cushions, designed as a
head rest. Two cushions are made, of the
same size; each has a row of eyelet holes
along one edge—on the longest edge—
.which are worked with silk, and the two
cushions are laced together with cord or
ribbon and put over the top of the chair,
“saddle-bag fashion,” one on each side.
The cushions are usually both covered and
lined; with the same material, but the one
intended for the front of the chair usually
receives the decoration.

SLIPPING GER am UMS.

 

A friend whose magniﬁcent geranium
beds may almost be called a “ joy forever,”
they are such a source of pleasure when
hundreds are in bloom at once and a pleas
ant memory during the bleak winter
months, has a way of propagating and win-
tering which may be as new to others as it
is to me.

In the fall, when danger of frost is immi
nent, large shallow boxes are ﬁlled with
sand and moved into the cellar. A quan-
tity of geraniums is dug and sent after the
boxes; and then, scissors in hand, she cuts
the plants into slips of three or four inches,
clipping all the leaves from them. These
slips are stuck in the sand, which is kept
moist until they start and then moistened
occasionally during the winter.

We used to tie earth around the roots of
our bedding geraniums and hang them in
the cellar, but this seems a much better
way, as the young plants are nicer, and one
could propagate a favorite kind faster and
get a large bed without expense. W.

—-—...—

HOW CAN WINTER EVENINGS BE
BEST IMPROVED IN THE FARMER’S
HOME?

[Essay read by Mrs. J. '1‘. Daniells at the Farm-
ers’ Institute held at it. Johns, Clinton Co .]

The consideration of this subject is based
upon the fact that man has social, moral
and intellectual attributes, and that by
cultivating and exercising these mental
powers, he becomes stronger and more
capable of being useful to himself, and
the society in which he lives.

The active, out-door labor of the farm,
when not carried to excess, has a tendency
to produce good health and a sound phy-
sical organization, the ﬁt medium for a
sound and active mind to dwell in, and
we as farmers and farmers’ wives‘, should
seek time and opportunity for mental im-
provement, social culture, and moral or
spiritual growth.

The isolation of the farmer’s home by
distance from homes of others and from
lectures and other sources of improvement
and pleasure common to towns, makes him
dependent on his own resources. and those
of his family, for amusement and culture
more than any other class of society.
This is often looked upon as a misfortune,
but it may be made a blessing if rightly
used, asit leads to self-reliant effort, and
absence of dissipation. True, the farmer’s
family may, and should have if possible,
such help as the Grange, the Farmers’
Club, the Chautauqua course, and the
social visit gives them.

During the summer months, the activi-
ties of farm life give little time for study
or recreation, but November brings a re-
lease from most kinds of farm work, and
the long evenings furnish abundance of
leisure time to the farmer, though not in as
great a degree to the farmer’s wife. The
wise use of these hours will give the
farmer the advantage over the mechanic or
merchant, intellectually and socially.
“Time is money” is the old adage, but
time is more than money here, as the

 

steady and persistent use of these hours in

 

study will bring a vigor of thought, and
power of concentration that money cannot
buy. The best course to pursue in improv-
ing these evenings cannot be marked out
by rule, or with line and plummet, but
must be varied according to the needs of
the family; for the farmer's home is no ex-
ception to the rule that home should be the
pleasantest place on earth to all its inmates.
But a course of reading in standard litera-
ture for the winter should be determined
upon, and a constant effort made to carry
out this plan; more will be accomplished in
this way than is possible where there is no
deﬁnite object in view. Frequent discus-
sions on the subjects of the readings will
add to the interest; and the thoughts and
events be ﬁxed in memory by a frequent
reference to them afterward.

Good books are the best of company, and
where can we ﬁnd a brighter picture of
home pleasure than the family group,
listening to one reading, that which in
terests all in history, poetry or ﬁction!
They can laugh over Dickens’ ludicrous
names and caricatures of character, his
pompous old Jay Bagstock or Sam Weller,
or feel their hearts warmed by the noble
yet homely life of Mr. Peggoty or Mr.
George.

We can travel in other lands with Hum-
boldt, Livingston or Stanley, and, in imag-
ination, gain a better idea of the country
than it were possible to do by actual experi-
ence, as the commanding ofﬁcer in the dis-
tance understands all the maneuvers of
battle better than the soldiers in the midst
of the fray. We can become conversant
with the thoughts of the best minds and
reading the lives of noble men gives us an
incentive to a higher life, as Longfellow
says “Lives of great men all remind us,
we can make our lives sublime.” And the
study of the history of nations brings home
to us the true value of being an American
citizen.

A correspondent of the Tribune gave,
several years ago, an account of his im-
proving his evenings in search of knowledge.
Working in the snow all day, with a cross-
cut saw, eating a half frozen lunch while
dancing around to warm his‘ feet, prepared
him to enjoy the warm ﬁre and hearty
supper of evening with zest, equal to his
appetite, and then comes the time to study.
Seated in an easy chair, with feet near the
ﬁre, book in hand, he begins to investigate
the mysteries of science, but soon closed
book, closed eyes and hard breathing, re-
ports his success in searching after
knowledge. This may be a true picture,
but it is an exceptional one, and not true of
the average farmer in Clinton County.

A course of reading, successfully carried
out, will require effort, and the farmer
must not manifest his interest by his
absence, or by snores from the lounge.

The course which I have outlined could
be fully carried out, where all love study
or feel the beneﬁt arising from it; but on
the other hand, it might drive some poor
child, who needs home inﬂuence most of
all, from the home circle; the constantly
reiterated “keep still” has made home a
dreary place to many a child. For them,
games, riddles and music should be in-

 

 


  

THE HOUSEHOLD

 

eluded to enliven and interest. I would
not be understood as advocating taking all
of the evening for intellectual pursuits,
even if all were interested. Our social and
moral natures should be developed as well,
and happy the family who gives to them
their true importance, and manifests their
interest in each other by words of
sympathy and acts of courtesy and love as
they gather around the evening lamp in
the home circle.

Burns, in his “Cotter’s Saturday Night
gives a beautiful illustration of this:

“ Wi' joy unfeigned. brothers and s ~ters meet ,
An’ each for orher‘s welfare kindly spie rs;
The scolal hours, swift winged, unnoticed

\
))
,

ﬂeet;
Each tells the unccs that he sees or hears;
The parents, partial. eye their hopeful years;
Anticipation iorward points the view.
The mother. wi’ her needae an‘ her ssears
Gars auld claes look amaist as weel’s the new;
The father mixes a‘ wi’ admonition due.

“ The eheerfu’ supper done, in serious face,
They .round the ingle, form a circle wide;
The s1re turns o’er wi’ patriarchal grace,

The big ha’ B ble, ance his father’s pride;

Hisbonnet reverently laid aside,

His lyart haﬂ’ets wearing thin an‘ bare;

Those lstairains that once did sweet in Zion
g l e.

He wales a portion with judiciou= care;

And * Let us worship God ‘ he says with
solemn air.

“ Then kneeling down, to heaven’s etern at

us.
The saint, the father, and the husband prays;
Hope ‘springs eXuliing on triumphant wing.’
That thus they all shall meet in future days;
There ever bask in uncreated rays.
No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear.

' Together by mning their Creator‘s praise
In such society, yet still more dear;

While circling i‘ime moves round in an eternal
sphere.”

Brothers and sisters, let us make the
light that eminates from the evening circle of
our homes, a power for the development of
the highest type of Christian manhood and
womanhood.

.—__....F——

BUILDING HINTS.

 

Have those who contemplate building
the coming season gone over the plans to
see if they can be made more convenient-
and save “ the gude wife ” as many steps as
possible? It seems as if some houses must
have been built without thought, or else by
some one who wanted to make the work as
hard as possible for the women.

Leaving all questions of humanity out of
the case, every one wants the worth of
money expended, and if all the help indoor
is hired, then where the conveniences are
such as to require the fewest number of
steps, less help will be required.

An adjacent town abounds in beautiful
artesian wells, one throwing such a large
stream that it has been used for running ma-
chinery. A stranger driving through the
town, cannot help noticing how far the ma-
jority are from the buildings. Some are
midway between house and barn; the sur-
plus is carried to a tank or trough near the
barn, while every drop for the house has

to be carried, in some cases several rods. In
a dry time or where there is no cistern, the

amount used is astonishing.

Anacquaintance, a farmer, not feeling
competent to plan a ﬁne house he was
going to build, employed an architect and
left it all to him, and the house was built as
planned. A more inconvenient house for
doing work would be hard to ﬁnd. The

get water in doing one day’s work.

attached too much on account of ﬁre,” and

. pans and butter.

the pantry from the kitchen one has to
cross the dining-room intoahall. The entry
way to the cellar stairs is between the parlor
and dining-room, and to reach it from the
kitchen the dining-room has to be crossed.
The cistern pump is in the dining-room. If
a pedometer could be so regulated it might
be interesting to know how many times the
person doing the work traverses that dining-
room to get to the pantry, the cellar, and to

A neighbor has built a large house with
eight or nine bedrooms and not a closet in
the house. In the same house, to reach the
cellar one has to go the length of a long
veranda, down steps into a woodshed. The
well is back of the house behind the wood-
shed. Another neighbor is building a wood
shed, milk and ice-house under one roof.
He “doesn’t believe in having buildings

so the new building is a rod or more from
the house. Think of the countless journeys
back and forth with wood and milk, with
I am afraid his wife will
be like the “ old woman who always was
tired.” .

Let the new house be pleasant by all
means, but have the kitchen particularly so,
for on it the whole house hinges. On a
farm more hours are spent in it than in the
parlor. Let it be as convenient as thought
and money can make it. Try and have
both soft and hard water pumps in the
kitchen instead of outside. A few needless
extra steps daily lengthen into weary miles
and make' many farmers’ wives old and
worn out when they should be in their
prime. 1 W.

 

A LADY some weeks ago asked how to
make mats for dressing-case brackets—not
the crocheted ones in whose meshes every-
thing laid upon them. gets tangled, but
some new and serviceable mode. The
HOUSEHOLD Editor has been watching for
a response to that query with as much in-
terest, presumably, as the person making
it. She too, is tired of picking pins out of
a tangle of loops. -

*—

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

 

WHEN the rubber rollers of a wringer
become sticky, as they very often do after
wringing ﬂannel, rub with kerosene and
wipe dry, and they will be nice and smooth.

 

THE best way to prepare a new iron
kettle for use is to ﬁll it with clean potato
parings; boil them for an hour or more,
then wash the kettle with hot water, wipe
it dry, and rub it with a little lard; repeat
the rubbing for half a dozen times after
using. In this way you will prevent rust
and all the annoyances liable to occur in
use of a new kettle.

 

Now is the time to can pie-plant for
winter use. A good rule is to make a syrup
of one pound of sugar to half a pint of
water, let boil, skim, and drop in the pie-
plant, stripped and cut into half inch
lengths. It will cook very quickly, and
should be stirred as little as possible. Dip

boil?

pie-plant and proceed as before, then
down the syrup and ﬁll up the cans. It is
nice for sauce or tart pies in winter.

THOSE economical souls who turn down
a kerosene lamp when leavinga room, to
save the triﬂing amount of oil which would
be consumed, are hereby advised that the
saving is eifected at the expense of health.
Their noses should advise them that the
products of incomplete combustion are
making their escape and vitiating the air.
If you have occasion for a light in a room
where a person is sleeping, or in an in-
valid’s chamber, place the lamp behind a
screen, but don't turn it down.

A CORRESPONDENT of an exchange says
his wife keeps sausage fresh for summer
consumption in the following manner:
“ She fries in cakes, puts them hot from-
the skillet in tin fruit cans ﬁlled with hot
lard, and seals up the same as fruit, and
they keep as long as desired. Most people
like sausage and they are more eatable put
up in December, than by a butcher in sum-
mer during ﬂy time.” This is, of course
on the same principle under which slices
of ham, scalded on a hot griddle, are
packed in crocks, which are afterward.
ﬁlled up with melted lard.

 

THE American Cultivator says: After

the parlor stove has been taken down and

cleaned carefully, mix stove polish powder-

ed ﬁne and melted lard to the consistency

of cream, and rub the stove with it, making

sure that the lead gets into every crevice.

Rub over the funnel and all accessories in.
the same way. Kerosene oil is frequently
rubbed over stoves when putting away for"
the summer, but we have found that, un-

less the stove is looked after frequently

when stored, the kerosene is likely to eat.
the iron. Linseed oil or lard oil is much to-
be preferred to kerosene, but the lard and
lead is the best.

W

U semi Recipes.

 

SCALLOPED Gimmes—One pint of oysters-
Moist-en one cup of cracker crumbs with one-
third of a cup of melted butter—not one-«
third of a cup of butter melted. Put a layer

of crumbs in a buttered dish. then a layer of
oysters, season with salt and pepper. repeat,

having the top a thick lay r of crumbs. Bake
20 or 30 minutes. The dish is dine when the
moisture is bubbling up over the oysters.

 

CODFISH BALLs.—-A pint bowl full of mashed
potato and the same quantity of cooked cod-
ﬁsh picked ﬁne. Mix well and add the yolks
of two eggs and two tablespoonfuls of butter,
pepper and salt if needed. With a fork beat
the mixture till it is light. and make into cakes
with as little pressure as possible. Dlp into
beaten egg, then into fine bread crumbs or
rolled cracker, and fry in 'hot fat. Delicious.‘

 

BROWN Baum—Put alternate layers of
grated bread crumbs and chopped apples into
apudding dish, season each layer of apples
with sugar. lemon extract and a dash of nut-
meg: and over each layer of crumbs put
small pieces of butter. Bake until brown.
Serve with plenty of sweet cream sweetened

 

 

owner could have done better. To reach

out into cans. with a skimmer, put in more

with sugar.

 

T

J.

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