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Commoner.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 37
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"According to My Strength"
J may not wholly lift the veil
v Between me and the Great Un
known; I may hot In the flesh prevail,
, And see the glory of His throne;
But I can .every moment prove
' The power and goodness of' His love.
I may. ..not with these, mortal eyes-
The beauty of his face behold;
But toWard His presence I can rise,
As soul's true selfhood does unfold.
For even now, 'mid gloom and doubt,
' . The heavenly splendor flashes out.
I may not raise the dead to life
Who three days sleepeth in the
grave,
But I can lessen human strife,:
, And from a "thousand errors save
My brother, whom I dally meet
' "" And make his life more brave' and
sweet, .
I may hot walk upon" the wave,
Or still the ragiiig wind and, sea;'
. But I can,know that Qod will save,
' 5'f&ncL that His truth, will make me
?. ''. free; , ,.
; JFree from the bonds of mortal mind
. The bane and scourge of.,human
"ic . kind, ... -Ji, . -.?
I may not win the hero's fig'ht-r-
The hero's fame I do notf-adlc;'
; But I can ever stand for right;. ,
.wAndnoblydomy humble task!
- T:hmy not tiles-the whole; "greatiland,
,,..''." 'But I can help some one to. stand.
I ne'er may be a perfect man,
- . But perfect manhood is the way
: To heaventhrough God's eternal
plan
- And more and more, each passing
day,
The truth of love and iifn T.fimi
But merges Into nerfect Minfl. '
A. S, J. Lehr,, in St. Louid Republic.
Our Social 'Chat
There Is so much to say- to you.
about the care of the gardens. We
have been compelled, while gathering
in the perishable .crops, to neglect
these household rlanorwlnntna i
weeds seem never to stop growing un
til a hard freeze kills them. Indeed,
they seem almost human in their, haste
to take advantage of the busy times,
and put forth renewed efforts during
the hot, hurried- months of July, Aug
ust and early September to perfect
their seeds, scattering them on the
, ns ,oC the wInd' throSk the crops
of birds and stomachs of animals,
while those In the gardens stock' the
soil with seeds for the coming seasons.
These weeds should be gathered and
burned. Do not put them on the ma
nure heap, but burn them, and thus
save yourself work with the hoe and
plow next spring. Nobody ever heard
of a failure in the weed crop.
Do not neglect the road-sides and
the fence-corners. Those weeds are
the thieves which- break in and steal,
ana the earlier and more thoroughly
these weeds are gathered and burned,
the less trouble you will have with
tnem. if everyone would clean up his
own fence-corners and roadsides the
weeds might be more readily kent
under and the beauty tf the country
great y enhanced, while far less work
would bo required inslda the fences
I with the plow and hoe. Now would be
a gdod time to organize an "Improve
ment; tuiud." its meetings might be
made, far more interesting and instruc
tive than the gatherings at the various
Ipunglng places on the villaee streets.
It is. lonely work, trying to do these
things alone, hut if a club were organized,-and
a certain district or terri
tory he-taken in hand on set days by
the whole club membership, much
good could be accomplished and the
social life be fostered, at the same
time. In the . old dafi, such gather
ings were made very valuable in a
community, and they might be profit
ably made the custom of the country
again.
What has this to do with gardening?
More than you can realize until you
think the matter over. Organize a
club, no matter if but two or three of
you are the charter members; make
your meetings so interesting that
others will wish to loin vou. It inav
require a little hustling and hard work
on the part'of the organizers, but it
will be worth all it costs if the inter
est is made 'permanent and profitable
as it surely can be.
Alt OLDANDWKLLtltlKI) RKMKDT
. M. WrNHwrn's Soothing Rnnp tn t,n-
Next Saturday, when you make your
accustomed visit to the village, make
it a part of your business to start the
ball -rolling. Clubs are good things,
and can.be. made a means of higher
and better living. Don't forget to give
the women and girls a membership,
though Ihey should nbt do the hard
work. They will do their share. Many
of them will be of great help in plan
ning and suggesting, while others will
gladly "lend a hand" in any good work.
Your meetings and work days may
wind Up with a little, feasting and so
ciability, either indoors or. out, as the
weather may decide. Wo are all
growing too exclusive and selfish, and
this Is' one of the greatest reasons why
v(e all want to go to town to live. We
are apt to forget that now, as it was
"In the beginning," it is not good for
man to be alone. We are starved, so
ciallyliterally dying of loneliness in
our wretched lack of social gatherings.
The spirit of sociability seems dying
out.
I wish you would write to me, and
tell me what you think of this, sugges
tion; but-1 wish, more than all else,
that you would think of the matter
seriously enough to put it into practice.
If the baby screams and fights when
he is taken out of his morning bath,
do not attribute it to his love for the
water, because more likely than not
it is because the cold air strikes sud
denly on his little wet body, chilling
and giving him an unpleasant shock.
He should be lifted sldewise, or head
first and quickly rolled up in his warm
bath blanket, and the air of the room,
which Is usually colder than that of
the bath water, should be carefully
kept from him until the little body Is
dry and warm from patting and gentle
rubbing. If handled properly, in a
room of the right temperature, the
bath should be enjoyed as a frolic.
Entertaining the Children
In the country, a great many schools
open in August and close at or near
the holidays. After that, for many
months, during the stormy weather,
the children, large and small, are at
home, and, for the most part, indoors.
It is sometimes very hard to entertain
von r""" :XL lra IS "? temper.
n,i A, n.i V "I1 lU0 iai hands,
wc nun. mo oiuer ones finding
employment doing the necessary work,
mother has a hard time trying to Jceep
her little ones happy and peaceful. For
the small children, a blackboard,
home-made, if necessary, and a box of
crayons all the better if soma nf thom
are colored will afford much pleas
ure, and can be made very instructive
to the older ones, as well. Slates and
pencils are cheap, and the children
should be taught to handle them with
care remembering that use, not abuse,
is what they are for. Making picture-scrap-books
will amuse them, while
the older ones may be allowed, and
encouraged, to make their books of
clippings. There are many ways in
which children may be made to peace
ably amuse themselves and each other,
and books devoted to children's games
ana interests are to be had very cheap
ly from many of the mail order stores.
A children's library might be started,
each child donating one or more books,
and appointing a "librarian" to care
for them. But the-children must be
taught to care for the books, handling
them as they would any other perish
able thing. Sometimes this teaching
may -with profit be extended to the
elders especially the men of the fam
ily, who are not always as careful to
have clean .hands as they should be,
when using such things. Don't repri
mand the children for V-tfng noisy,
and for engaging in 'harum-scarum
games; but teach them that the living
room is hardly the place for such
sports. It will not hurt them to shout
and halloo, or engage in rough-and-tumble
games outside the. housd, if
only they keep their temper and re
gard the rightsof others. UJ-
For the Long Evenings
How about the provisions for read
ing matter? Look overthe combina
tions the bargain lists, and find what
you want. If you know nothing of the
papers listed, send for sample copies;
most papers and periodicals will send
a sample copy, if asked for it. There
are publications devoted to specialties,
and others filled with miscellaneous
matter, and you can be suited with
some of them.
Many papers and periodicals can be
gotten free by the getter-up of a club
of no very great size, and others, de
voted to various lines, will be glad to
exchange a subscription for one or
more articles written on popular ques
tions of the day, or dealing withtt mat
ters or generannterest. If you';iave
good Ideas, or know something that
will help some other -person, you
might get quite a few of such papers
for a little work, a little stationery and
a few stamps. Write your ideas out
juBt as you would tell them to your
neighbor, and if the editor can use
them, he will make anv nnnpnHnrv
rections. The girls and boys might
try this, too. The transcribing of your
thoughts will bo good exercise for your
thinking powers. Many excellent pop
ular writers began their literary work
In this way. Don't "get discouraged if
your contribution is returned, but
study the contents of the paper you
want, and try to write something on
the lines of Its specialties. The Agri
cultural Department at Washington, D
C sends out valuable printed matter
free, as does your State, Board of Ag
riculture, the horticultural societies,
the labor commissioner, and many
other public departments, with the
work of which It will stand you in
hand to acquaint yourself. Begin now
to get your reading matter on hand,
and get something that will make life
better and brighter to you and yours
ft,f ?.CUS?,m thf Jery sma11 children to
the hand ing of books and papers with-
ou,fc Wwpns them. Impress upon their
minds the fact that books and papers
are to keep and use, not destroy.
Teach them to take a pride In keeping
their own books clean and whole not
torn, dog-eared, or pencil-marked. The
money value of books should be taught
them, by comparing the cost of the
bOOk With the COSt Of SnmorMnrr h,.
value. The right handling, and the ap
preciation of money values mean much
to them in their future,'- and its teach
ingfshould be begun early.
Floral Notes
For Crocuses, place a single bulb
In a small tin can, nq over two or
three inches across (a condensed-milk
can will do), in rich soil, keep the soil
moist and set away to make roots; do
not keep In a warm room for crocuses
bloom before the snow goes, out of
doors. When the bulb blooms, cover
the can with pretty tissue paper held
In place by a bit of narrow rihhnn nmi
you have something pretty. Five or
six bulbs, mixed colors, may be grown
in a four-inch pot, and make a lovely
show.
The Pompon variety of hyacinths
may be planted in tin cans, and treat
ed the same way, and are beautiful.
The little Oxalis bulbs give good meas
ure of bloom for the care they require,
and the foliage is fine. There is a yellow-flowered
oxalis especially for win
ter blooming which is lovely. The
flowers are large and fragrant, and
stay in bloom a loner time.
it Oxalis bulbs multiply rapidly, cost
duc mue, give abundance of foliage
and blossom, are fragrant, and do not
need to be set away to make roots, but
they go right to work as soon as plant
ed In soil, and they like the sunshine.
They are fine for haneincr baskets. The
variety called Grand " Duchess, p'ink-
nowered, and free-blooming, is very
highly recommended. There are sev
eral other colors, I "believe, of this va
riety. These bulbs will cost you about
35c per dozen. Oxalis bulbs may be
grown In rich soil, for indoor bloom
ing, and-many sort3 will do finely out
in the border during the summer.
Two of the most satisfactory bulbs
for blooming in the house are" the
Paper White grandiflora and Double
Roman narcissus. They may be grown
either in soil or in sand and water,
and a blooming plant will fill the room
with beauty and fragrance. Extra
large bulbs of these may be had for
ten cents each, or two for fifteen cents.
Smaller bulbs, but good blooming size,
may be had for five cents each.
For the border, do not fail to cret a
mixed variety of the old German Iris:
there are so many beautiful colors,
and the plants take care of themselves,
and should be set out in the fall.
r For the Windows
There is nothing that gives a more
cheerful aspect to a room In winter
than a bit of "greenery." Your plants
may not bloom; but green leaves are
lovely, and look "alive," and these can
be easily had. There are few plan!s
more satisfactory to the busy house
wife than the cood old ereranuim. It
will bear almost any treatment and
Uve, but it will well repay care, The
plants should be taken tfp on the.first
rainy or wot, cloudy day, at your cpn
vonience, now, and given good, rich
soil, good drainage, and good light.
When you take up the plant, if it is a
large one, clip off most of the leaves,
and set It in the cellar or other cool
dark place until It revives. It may not
BETTER THAN SPANKING
Spanking dooB not enre children of bod wottln.
If It did thoro would be fow children, that would do
It. There Is a constitutional cause for this. Mr.
M. ButnniorH, Box 118, NotroDame, lnd., will send
hr home treatment to any mother. She aska no
money. Write her today if yonr children troubla
you In this way. Don't blame th ehlM. l'k
chances are it can't help It.
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