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The Commoner,
VOfcTJME 8 NUMBER 15,
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Come, Play He That Simple Air.
Como, play mo that simple air again
I used, so to love In life's young day,
And bring, if thou canst, the dreams
,that then
Wero wakened by that sweet lay.
Tho tondor gloom its strain
Shed o'er the hoart and brow,
Grief's shadow, without its pain
Say where, whero is it now?
Bweot air! how ev'ry note brings back
Some sunny hope, some day dream
bright,
That, shining o'er life's early track,
Filled oven its tears with light
Tho now found life that came,
With love's first echoed vow,
Tho fear, the bliss, the shame
Say where, where are they now?
But sing mo the well known air onco
more,
For thoughts of youth still haunt
its strain,
Liko charms of some far fairy shore
Wo'ro never to see again.
Still, those loved notes , prolong;
For sweet is that old lay,
In dreams of love and song,
To breathe life's love away.
Thomas Moore.
Home' Hints.
If you could vonly appreciate the
difference between the "market" as
paragus and tho "garden" asparagus,
you would, every one of you, set at
onco abput coaxing John to put out
an asparagus bed, this spring. "Bet-,
tor 'lato than never," you know, and
it would bo a, starter, oven if the
plants had to be reset next spring.
Tho hard, white, stringy things you
get from tho markot or the huckster
Is nothing liko tho tender green
shoots that grow in tho home garden,
Onco established, an asparagus bed is
a "joy forever."
Wo have calls for safe, reliable
recipes for canning asparagus, straw
berries, green peas, corn and string
beans, and other vegetables and fruits
considered "hard to keep." Will not
our sisters oblige mo by sending in
at onco some really good, safe, tested
recipes for these things? Send only
such aB you know, from practical ex
perience, to bo good. In writing them
out, bo careful to give all necessary
directions very plainly, as many of
our young sisters are inexperienced,
and we want to be very helpful to
them, as well as reliable. Wo may
not bo able to uso every one that is
sent in, at onco, but wo will be glad
to have them on hand.
Do not neglect tho preparations for
caring for tho fruits. To have all
. things in readiness will save much
worry and somo loss in all families;
seo that everything needed is at
hand, in order, and in good condition.
Do not try to uso old, hard rubber
rings or bent or dented tops. Do not
use rusty or leaky cans. Do not de
pond upon jars that are "nickod," or
have little cracks about tho top. Uso
Nothing but porfectly sound jars. A
little forethought and judicious plan
ning now, with a liberal sprinkle of
doing, will save much work and vex
.ation whon the busy season comes.
On the farms, it is sheep-shearing
time, and I want to tell tho farm sis
ters to have saved out of tho "clip"
a few long-wool fleeces for filling tho
quilts and comforts. There Is nothing
so nice as wool-batting for the bed
clothing. It 4s light, warm, and will
wash without "lumping," and does
not mat down hard with uqe, as cot
ton batting does. If one lives near a
woolen mill, or factory, it is an easy
matter to get the wool batted; your
next best chance is a carding mill,
whero you may get it carded into
bats, but not into sheets, as the fac
tory would do it; if you can avail
yourself of none of these, thero are
several ways of preparing it at home.
Real, all-wool blankets when bought
of your merchant are costly, and it
will pay you to have part of the clip
made up into bed-covering. A pair of
"home-made" (and by this I do not
necessarily mean hand-made) blank
ets, costing for the necessary work
from threo to five dollars perhaps
less will greatly outwear a ten-dollar
pair of "store" ones, wfiile a factory-made,
store-purchased pair cost
ing Ave or six dollars is generally
only a nap-shedding nuisance, short
ening "at both ends" from use as
well as from washing. For filling for
a comfort, three or four pounds of
wool batting is sufficient
Baby's Short Clothes.
In putting the baby into his first
short clothes, it is important to bear
in mind that hitherto his skirts have
not only served the purpose of pro
tecting his limbs and abdomen from
cold, but have prevented free move
ment of his little limbs. With shorter
skirts comes tho natural impulse to
use his limbs, and baby becomes
quite a "kicker." Long woolen stock
ings now become a necessity, andk
with them should bo worn comfort
able little shoes of soft, flexible leath
er, Do" not take the flannels off the
baby, too soon, and, when put off,
replace them ori the least sign of chill.
Many mothers do not lay aside thin
little shirts and petticoats of flannel
at all during the summer.
and instead of killing the roots if al
lowed to soak into the soil when
washing them, I find it to greatly ben
efit everything. ,. I wash nearly all my
plants with soft-soap suds, excepting
begonias and other soft-leaved kinds.
Perennial Poppies.
Niidicaule, or Iceland poppies aro
desirable perennials, and easily
raised from seed. Quite a few of tlie
plants will bloom the first year. They
are perfectly hardy, and produce an
abundance of fine flowers, useful for
cutting. They are of a graceful, neat
habit, with bright green, fern-like fol
iage, formed in tufts, from which
slender stems arise, bearing white,
yuuow or orange uowers. Oriental
poppies are very showy, their large
bright blossopiB borne on long grace
ful stems show well when planted
among shrubbery or near somber
plants. The new Oriental hybrids are
very beautiful, the blossoms being of
several colors, AH perennial poppies
uo ucst wnea undisturbed for years.
They require little care.
Shavr's Garden.
When you go to tho World's fair at
St. Louis, next year, do not fall to
visit the Botanical Gardens, tho gift
of Henry Shaw to tho city of St
Louis. These gardens are said to be
tho most complete of any in tho new
world. In connection there is a most
complete botanical library; the gar
dons and tho library are known as tk
American School of Botany. Tho bot
any of Shaw's Gardens is the botany
of tho whole world; there is no plant
of any clime that has not a place in
kU"OD, ucuuuim grounus ana conser
vatories. A farm sister writes mo: I be
llevo soft soap, for plant insects, of
whatever kind, is far ahead of all the
patent advertised remedies; it can be
used on nalms, oleanders, oranges,
lemons and other hard-wood plants
Spring Vegetables
Green Peas. Cover the peas with
cold water, season with salt and boil
until tender; drain off the water, add
three or four little pats of butter and
let melt through the peas; put-them
in a vegetable dish and serve very
hot, if the peas are not sweet enough,
add a very little sugar.
Dutched Lettuce. Wash two large
heads of lettuce, separate the leaves,
arid tear each leaf into several pieces;
cut thin slices of lean ham i,nto
squares and fry brown, pour in two
tablespoonfuls of vinegar; beat one
egg very light, add two tablespoon
fuls of sour cream, add this to 'the
hara. stir over until thick, and pour
boiling hot over the lettuce, mix with
a lork and servo while hot.
Cream of Asparagus. Put a bunch
of asparagus in a sauce-pan with
enough cold water to reach, to one
half the depth of the bunch placed 'on
its side. Add a teaspoonful of salt
and let the asparagus boil gently until
tender; then press through a colander
with a potato masher, put the pulp to
one side and keep the asparagus wa
ter hot by itself; next, melt a heap
ing tablespoonful of butter in a
sauce-pan, add two heaping table
spoonfuls of sifted flour, braiding
well with the butter; now gradually
add the water in which the asparagus
was. boiled; boil gently, gradually
adding the asparagus pulp, and when
that is well blended with the other
ingredients, add a pint and a half of
rich cream; season with white pepper,
let thje whole boil two minutes, and
serve hot in a soup tureen in which
a few croutons have been sprinkled.
New Potatoes Creamed. Scrape a
dozen good-sized new potatoes; boil
until tender; mix a tablespoonful of
flour and butter together; stir in a
pint of sweet milk, pour over the po
tatoes and stir until it boils up again:
season with pepper and salt and
serve. Or, scrape the potatoes, let lie
in cold water twenty minutes, then
cook with green peas, seasoning with
salt, pepper, butter and cream, with
a little flour beat smooth in it
Query Box,
S. C. B.JFor 'soft-boiled eggs, wash
them in cool water and lay them sin
gly with a spoon (to prevent break
ing) in water that has been brought
to a boil and then set back from the
hottest part of the fire, for they must
not actually boil; allow them to re
main in this water, barely at the
boiling point, for ten minutes; they
will then be coagulated, tender and
easily assimilated.
Katherine. A luncheon is served
after the fashion of a dinner, but is
a much lighter repast, and there is
less formality. Properly, the meal
should begin with bullion, or other
light soup, end with an ice course and
include an entree, relishes, a salad a
vegetable and sandwiches. The hour
iur serving a mncneon may be de
ferred as late as two o'clock.
Little Lottie. For chicken jellv
take young chickens, simmer until
very tender, then skin, bone and chon
the meat very fine; cool the broth
move any fat, and boil again until
reduced to one pint; add one-half box
of gelatine, dissolved, season with
salt, white pepper and celery seed
stir in meat and mold in egg shells
When ready to serVe, unmold and garl
nlsh with cress and sliced lemon
Young Mother. An eminent author
ity says: "One of the worst things
for the baby is the romp with tho
father the tossing, trotting and
dancing up and down to which most
babies are. subjected just before go
ing to bed. Papa argues that ho
has no other time to see the baby, but
that does not seem a sufficient rea
son for injuring the littleone. The
rough play leaves "it restless and ex
cited, and is certain to spoil its
sleep."
Mrs. G, W. rfeVDoiltes are used for
nearly all dishes set on the table,
from small ones for tumblers to largo
ones for the platters. Three may be
a set, one large and two small, or the
number may be limited only by the
number of dishes for which they aro
used. They may be all alike, or only,
those used for the same set of dishes.'
You can scarcely have too many of
them, if you like to use them. ""They,
are made by knitting, crochettitfg, net
ting, embroidery, faggoting, Batten
burg or other needle work, or may be
perfectly plain, as your time, taste,
skill and means will allow."
Louise. Tho "Bolster' Roll," is not
used as a substitute for the pillow, but
as a convenience for storing the pil
lows inside and out of sight during
the day; it is covered with the same
fabric as is used for the drapery of
the bed or its hangings. It is a cylin
der of tightly-rolled material, with
closed ends, and openings in the sides
for putting the pillows away; it does
not-lose its shape, and will stand a
good deal of knocking about. It is
intended to take the place of-' the
troublesome4 pillow-sham.
Subscriber; Savannah, Ga. For
blackberry wine, put well-ripened
blackberries into-, a vessel, and., for
every gallon of berries add- onepint
of rain-water. Sqtover a,sl6w'fire
and let boil a few minutes, until the
berries become tender; squeeze out
the juice while the berries are warm,
which can be done by pouring into
any kind of coarse, strong bag and
putting it between two, pieces of wide
plank and pressing with a weighted
lever. . Strain the juice through a
muslin strainer (tie a piece of muslin
over an open-mouted vessel and pour
the juice through it, and to every gal
lon of juice add one and one-half
pounds of granulated sugar; put into
a vessel with a large mouth; fill, un
til it runs over, and set in a moder
ately cool place preferably the cel
lar. When it begins to ferment, it
will run over, and must be kept full,
by pouring in more rain-water every
day until fermentation ceases. The
success of the recipe depends upon
keeping the vessel running over all
the time it is fermenting, to enable it
to throw off all impurities. When it
ceases to work it is wine, and is ready
to bottle and put away. Pour off from
the top, being careful not to stir up the
sediments, from the bottom, as in no
case must any of this go in with, the
wine.
Will ."Reader," New Market, la.,
please send, addressed, stamped en
velop for reply to inquiry about June
TTUUUlIlg.
Strawberries.
To Can Without Heat Take" nice,
fresh strawberries, put into a pan
and mash with a wooden potato
masher until thoroughly crushed;
1 hen measure the berries, " and to
three cups of mashed berries ,put one
and a half cups of granulated sugar,
beating until the sugar is dissolved,
then put into glass cans and seal;
Keep in a cool, dark cellar. Ex.
Sun.-Preserved Strawberries. Select
line large berries, not over-ripe; stem
tnem, weigh, and allow one pound of
granulated Run-nr f i uk
n
ries. Heat very hot some largeVstone-
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