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APRIL 12. 1007
The Commoner.
II
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Hardy Orange, Buckthorn and
Honey suekle. All of these are flow
ering varieties. There are many oth
er plants which make excellent
hedges, and a well-kept hedge adds
beauty to any lawn or house-grounds.
The zinnia in its improved form,
is one of the most brilliant aud
showy annuals in cultivation. It
"masses" beautifully, and the seeds
should be planted as early as possible,
as it can be transplanted readily; and
as soon as all danger of frost is over,
set the plants in deep, loamy soil, not
less than one foot to eighteen inches
apart. Tiiey make largo plants, and
the colors are many and beautiful.
They bloom through drought, and only
a heavy frost will stop them from
blossoming.
Wool Filling for Bedclothing
On the farms where sheep are kept,
It is hot unusual for a few or many
of the old or weakly ones to die
about this time of year. When such
is the case, the wool should be
"pulled' from the carcass and put
away to use later on. It should be
well washed, rinsed in running water,
using in the last rinsing enough car
bolic acid to disinfect it thoroughly,
then spread it out on a clean grass
plat or platform to get well dry in
the sunshine. If you live near a card
ing mill, get it carded into "bats," but
if not, and you can use the old-fashioned
cards, make it into bats, your
self. If this cannot be done, pick all
the trash out of it, pick it apart and
lay it in a large bake pan, smoothly
and evenly, until you get it as thick
as you want it (half as thick as the
thickness of the finished comfort or
quilt), pat it down lightly, and lay it
aside while you make the rest of the
quantity wanted, laying newspaper
between the "bats" so they will be
easier handled. To know how much
you want, decide how Heavy you
want your 4bedu comfort, and weigh
your wool, allowing a little for short
age of bats, or waste of wool in card
ing or picking apart. Four to six
pounds is heavy enough for any one.
A quilt may call for three to four
pounds. When you have your cover
in the frames, lay the bats on closely,
until one layer is over all of it, then
take tho rest of, the bats and lay them
crosswise of the others, lapping thus,
in order that there may be no thin
streaks. This may be knotted or
quilted, as you decide, and you will
like the"" wool tilling so well that yon
will never go back to cotton batting
again without reluctance. Wool-filled
FIND OUT
The Kind of Food That Will
- Keep You Well.
The true way is to find out what is
best to eat and drhfk, and then cul fi
xate a taste for those things instead of
poisoning ourselves with improper, In
digestible food, etc.
A conservative Massachusetts wo
man writes,:
"I have used Grape-Nuts five years
for the young and for the aged; In
sickness and in health; at first follow
ing directions carefully, later in a va
riety of ways as my taste and judg
ment suggested.
"But its most special, personal ben
efit has been a substitute for meat,
and served dry with cream when rheu
matic troubles made it important for
mo to give up the 'coffee habit.'
"Served in this way with the addi
tion of a cup of hot water and a little
fruit it has been used at my morning
meal for six months, during which
time my health has much improved,
nerves have grown steadier, and a
gir.dual decrease in my excessive
weight adds greatly to any comfort."
Name given by Postum Cereal Co.,
Ltd., Battle Qreok, Mich. Read the lit
tle, book, "The Itoad to Wollville," hi
pkgs. "There's n-reasou."
covering is both light-weight and
warm. The "pulled wool" is usually
longerSijQbered than that shorn from
the animal.
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Cookery
Sparerib Pot Pie. Cut fresh spare
ribs once across and Ui erf into strips."
Put into kettle and covcrHvith boiling
water, and let stew until tender.
Takd out,- remove the bones, strain the
liquor into another dish, wash out the
pot, and put into the kettle a layer
of small potatoes, peeled; lay over
these a strip of meat, sprinkle with
salt and pepper and cover with small
squares , of baking-powder biscuit
dough; over these put little bits of but
ter; then repeat a layer of potatoes,
layer of meat, bits of dough, until till
the meat is used, finishing with the
dough, and over it pour the liquor in
which the meat was cooked, adding
boiling water to well cover. Cover
this kettle closely, and boil for three
quarters of an hour, not touching the
lid, for lifting the lid will cause the
dough to become soggy. Dish out,
and serve with the gravy in the pot
Do not let scorch. A little experience
will teach how much fire to have un
der it.
This is nice cooked in an old-fashioned
steamer (or steam-cooker), by
which method less water should be
used than when boiled, and when done
slightly browned in the oven.
Bannocks. Scald eight heaping ta
blespoonfuls of Indian meal, by stir
ring it into two cupfuls of boiling
water; add four tablespoonfuls of flour,
a tablespoonful of salt, a quarter tea
spoonful of baking powder, two well
beaten eggs, and sufficient sweet milk
to form a thick batter. Beat for five
minutes after adding the last ingred
ient, and then drop by the spoonful
into hot fat, frying until a light brown.
Serve with maple molasses.
Prunes may le soaked over night,
then put into an earthenware or por-
polnin-linod vessel. boiliucr water
poured over to cover, and set in the
oven until done. Instead of being
watery and insipid, the juice should be
thick and slrupy, and If liked sweet,
vsugar may bo added when the boiling
water is poured over them.
Prunes are very good when merely
washed, boiling water poured over
them, and left to soak over night.
poultry, animals or children, as It Is
extremely poisonous. Dissolve six
pounds of sugar In six quarts of water,
and boll until reduced to one gallon:
then allow It to cool. When cold, stir
Into the thick syrup a teaspoonfui of
anise oil, and pour the syrup over the
nearly-dry grain and stir so Unit all
the grains are covered with the syrup.
Allow the grain to thoroughly dry
again, stirring often to prevent- the
grains 'sticking together.
Make a little hole close to the goph
er's burrow-and drop a few grains Into
it, gophers like the smell of anise, and
will be drawn to the grain by it.
Each grain should contain poison
enough to kill one gopher. Nothing
should have access to this grain, ex
cept what Is to bo destroyed, as it Is
very poisonous." M. E. N. '
to the healthfulness of tho room. A'
lure llooivwlth a rug or two Heattorod
over M, wTicrtf Hut most iikoIh uuula.dC
the floor is all that Is necessary, and
Is much lo bo preferred tothc dus
catehlng all-over carpet, or jtvon u
largo rug from off of whlahj furniture
imiht ho moved before it cari?bb
or cleaned. iJriT,
shaken
v.
Getting Rid of Rats
Mix two pounds of carbonate of
barytes with one pound of lard and
lay it in their runways. It is tasteless,
odorless, and impalpable; produces
great thirst, and death immediately
alter drinking.
Another way is to mix arsenic and
lard together and spread it on bread,
and push a piece into every rat-hole.
Small pieces of sponges may be
fried in drippings of honey, and
strewed about for them to eat. The
sponge will distend their Intestines and
will cause their death. Half a pint of
plaster of Paris, mixed with one pint
of oatmeal, will prove equally fatal
to them, as the plaster of Paris "sets"
on being wet, and a drink of water is
their undoing. Ex.
To Rid a Place of Gophers
One of our sisters kindly sends us
the following method of getting rid
of gophers. The amount here specified
is enough to clear a twenty-acre field
of them, where they are very uuil
erotis. "Bring a quart of vinegar to a boil,
and add one ounce of strychnine: stir
with a stick until the drug is entirely
dissolved, then add six quarts of hot
water, stirring well. Pour this over
twenty pounds of wheat or corn and
allow it to stand for about eighteen
hours, or until the solution is entirely
absorbed, stirring frequently and vig
orously so that the grains will become
uniformly saturated with the poison,
The grain should now be spread out
to dry where it cannot be reached by
A Healthy Posture
In a very great many Instances,
carelessness in walking and sitting,
as well as the manner in which we
breathe, are responsible for the poor
Cgures, weak vital organs and conse
quent ill-health, both of body iwvA.
mind, among women. Narrow-chesto.l
women are seldom happy, or cheerful
women, and there certainly Is nothing
attractive In a bowed back and short
chest-measure. "Good looks" are not
dependent upon regular features or
faultless complexion. To get the Ucst
out of life, you must learn to hold
yourself up to breathe deeply and
regularly, and to exercise till the luna
cies of the body, Internal as well as
external. Do not allow yourself to
"lop"; it is the most tiresome, as well
as ungraceful posture .you can assume.
When at your sewing, writing, read
ing, or any other occupation requiring
you to bend forward, do not neglect to
Keep your backbone straight, and do
not allow your chin to loll forward
onro your collar-bone. If you must
assume the stooping posture in order
to do your work, do not neglect to
straighten up as much as possible,
and to hold your head well back, that
the nock muscles may act with the
muscles of the back in maintaining a
straight position of the body.
For House-Cleaning
With the season of house-cleaning
there always comes the question of
color for wall and woodwork. The
sitting room should have a bright,
cheerful color, medium between rich
and dark for winter and light and
cool for spring and summer. For ihe
parlor, or "company" room, the effect
should be dainty and delicate, both In
wall hanging and in wood work. The
dining room should be light, sunny,
comfortable and inviting, and this
loom must be papered according as it
is qii the sunny or the dark side of
the house. The paper of the bedroom
should be chosen with great care, as
In no other room is a "misfit" color
so annoying as in tho room where it is
possible that cases of sickness may be
confined. The paper should be clean
and cool In color, and Inconspicuous
in design, or even plain.
Cleanliness should be the ruling idea
In the bedroom; not only of the floors
and windows, but of the hangings,
'.orners and bedding. For this reason,
the room should be furnished so as to
make cleaning as e:isy as possible, and
fjoors. walls and windows should ba
treated as simply as can be, limiting
the furniture to that which is really
necessary for use. A hanging ward
robe is an excellent idea, as by its
use, the clothing does away with the
stuffy smell so apt to be contracted
in a close closet It consists of a
wooden top to which a row of pegs or
hooks, and a curtain rod, has been at
tached. The top is fastened to the
wall, in the corner, or other recess,
and curtains of any suitable material
are suspended on the curtain rod.
Do not be afraid of airing the bod-'
ding and neu-dotnlng too much. It
Between-Soason Dlahos
Codfish. Pick the salt cod to bits,
removing all bones and skin; set lo
soak in cold water over night, and in
the morning put in fresh water and
heat slowly, cooking, but not boiling,
to remove salt When It seems sulll
clently freshened, drain, pick apnrt,
put Into a saucepan; allow one egg to
each person to be served, cover with
boiling water and stand them where
they will keep hot but not boll for ten
minutes; drain off the water, cover
the eggs with cold water and remove
the shells. Heat the fish thoroughly,
dish onto a hot platter, lay the ogs
on with It, sprinkle with chopped pars
ley, and serve.
Rhubarb. Take the new stalks,
wash, but do not peel; cut Into Inch
lengths, and put Into an earthenware
or porcelain-lined vessel, sprinkle
thickly with white sugar and sot in
a moderate oven. Do not add any
water, and Yover closely. The oven
should not bo hot enough to bake, but
just enough so to gradually soften and
bring out the acid Juices. When quite
softened and blended, turn out Into
a pretty glass dish and serve as a
sauce for breakfast This is a fio
spring medicine, for cleansing the sys
tem. '
Perennial Phlox
You cannot make a mistake If you
select this plant for your garden. Noth
ing is hardier, or requires less care, oi
ls more free from the ravages of in
sect pests, or gives a more brilliant
and lasting display of flowers, or con
tinues longer in bloom. Nothing
masses better, and if a plant Is set
singly, It soon becomes al arge clump.
Few plants give a wider, or a more
satisfactory range of color, and the
colors may all be included in one mass,
and still harmonize. The plant can ue
raised from seed, but Is a little diffi
cult, and tho usual way Is to buy the
plants of the florist All colors can
be had, singly or mixed, at about .$1
per dozen, though some of the finer
varleitles may cost a little more. A
good plan for getting a start of all
kinds Is for neighbors to club together,
eoch one ordering a different variety,
tnen, the next spring, or as soon us
possible, exchanging sprouts until all
are supplied. Young plants will give
some bloom the first season, but a well
established plant is a revelation of
beauty.
Handkerchiefs
One of our readers says: "Tell tho
u.others never to make a dress or un
apron without putting some kind of
a pocket in it Nobody would ever
think of making a boy's clothing with
out pockets; then why not give the lit-,
tie girls the same?" How many of the
"grown-ups" have a pocket in their
kitchen aprons for carrying a hand
kerchief? How many teach the chil
dien to use a handkerchief? There is
scarcely any habit more disagreeable
to witness than to see the apron, coat
sleeve or skirt used to make the norje
piesentable. Handkerchiefs are cheap.
If no handkerchief, then a bit of
cloth, hemmed or unhemmed, only so
it is there to use when needed. Some
children depend on their tongue to
keep their mouths and chins clean
while, or after, eating, when a hand
le '-chief, if no napkin is supplied,
should be used. If you can afford only
the cheapest muslin, cut into squares
and hemmed, do supply the children
vith handkerchiefs, and teach them the
use of the article. Begin by setting
them the examnle. and onco the-hnhit
makes all the difference in the world is formed, it will be hard to break.
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