8
The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 35
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Conducted by
Neen Watts Mcj3
fDep a rimeni
To Arcady
Come, tired soul, to Arcady
And hear the fountain singing.
TIip fountain knows as much as we;
"Who sees what angels tend it,
And all their wisdom lend it?
It has a brave philosophy,
In ecstacy unspringing.
It sings whato'er the weather be,
Its days aro calm and oven;
Its nights are sweet with mystery
Of perfume from the meadow,
Of moon and stars and shadow;
And though it smiles old earth to see
It still aspires to heaven.
0 lovely land of Arcady,
With sun and fountain streaming,
Set all our prisoned fancies free,
That we like children roaming
May yet to thee be homing
With song of faery rhapsody,
And hearts divinely dreaming!
Louise Morgan Sill in Harper's
Weekly.
Making Over
Many mothers will look dishear
nedly at tho outgrown coats and
dresses of the little tots still in
their babyhood, but with a little
work many of these may be made to
answer very well indeed for another
season or two. A little coat may be
enlarged by cutting down the center
back and inserting either an in
verted box plait or a double box
plait from the neck band to the bot
tom of tho garment, stltchinE the
plait to average yoke depth; the
same may be done to the front if
necessary -to make still larger,
.though this is seldom the case. Or
if tho garment has already a yoke,
tho extra piecing may be hidden by
little shoulder capes over the sleeve
tops, set under the plaits in the
front and back. Tho sleeves may be
opened down the center inside seams
and a plain piece set in as a trim
ming. There aro many ways to en-
largo and let down garments, if
mothers will only study them.
Many little garments may bo made
from the least worn parts of the
pants, jackets and coats of the
elders, while with very little work
the knit underwear can be made into
serviceable garments for tho small
children. Much comfort can be had
by the little iolks from garments
made from discarded skirts, dress
or under skirts that have become
Impossible even for the economical
women through shrinkage or other
misfitting. Discarded shirt waists,
fashioned with pretty tucks or laces
or embroideries, may be made over
Into yokes, guimpes or caps for the
kiddies with but little trouble, or
pretty Normandy cap-shaped bon
nets for the older child. Warm little
tights are made from the tops of
large stockings, or from tho bottoms
of underwear, or tho bottoms of
sleeves, by sotting in gussets to
widen the scat of the garment. Such
things are nearly always put in the
rag-bag and given away, and it is
like throwing away money.
family can do a lot of It, saving
many pennies which are now allowed
to go to waste through carelessness
on the part of tho "strong right
arm." One of the ways in which the
head of tho house should begin to
pick up the scattered pennies is in
fixing up the furniture tightening
the loose joints, adding a bit here
and there, glueing, or by the use of
suitable nails or screws, sandpaper
ing, staining, varnishing or painting.
Look after the doors that "hang,"
or screak or sag in other ways; at
tend to the windows that rattle, or
tho cords that won't work, or the
catches that won't catch, or the
cracked or broken, or loosened panes
of glass; or the broken steps, hang
ing gates, loose pickets, wires or
boards; nail down the boards on the
sidewalks, or make new ones; open
the clogged kitchen drain, clean out
and mend the eve-troughs, and
gather up the fragments of lumber,
cutting and storing it for kindling,
and in hundreds of ways, calling but
for a minute of time, keep things in
good repair and avoid the necessity
of buying new, or doing without.
When we aro wailing about the
ignorance of our girls, le: us look
at the boys for a moment. The home
life is just as much the product of
the boy as it is of the girl, and
every boy should know just as much
about mending things about the
home as tho girl is expected to know
about patching and darning. It is
just as bad for the boy to run in
the street, leaving the girls of the
family to wrestle with out-of-repair
household things, as it Is for the
girls to let them wear dilapidated
clothing. Boys should be taught to
do things, as well as the girls. HaTd
times is a condition brought about
pretty much by careless extrava
gance and waste.
The amount of light, or direct sun
shine, the temperature at which they
aro to be kept, what the fuel
whether gas, hard or soft coal, or
wood, and how much ventilation you
will be able to give them. No mat
ter how good and suitable soil you
may have, or how thrifty the plants
when brought in, these conditions
must be studied, or you will fail.
One of the safest and surest plants
to live for the beginner Is the dear
old geranium; but even this must
have Intelligent care and attention
to its needs. It asks but little; but
only too often it gets less than it
asks for or deserves. Be good to
your plants, and they will repay.
Somo Economical Ways
Some one has said that the best
way to economize is to do without
until you have the money to pay for
what you want, and there is a lot of
truth in that. But there are many
ways of economizing of practically
eating your cake and still keeping it,
and it Is not the women of the house
hold alone who must begin this kind
of economizing. Tho men of tho
Moral Notes
Everybody loves plants, but not
everybody succeeds in making them
the joy they should be in the winter
window garden, because of many
things. Plants are like children,
and to do their best, they must have
more than fobd and drink arid
warmth. They must have intelli
gent care and loving watchfulness
01 meir needs. Jtsut tney repay.
Flowering plants are not always
satisfactory, for tho period of bloom
may be short and intermittent. But
there are foliage plants that are al
ways beautiful and respond every
day to even the commonest caro.
Palms aTe graceful and ornamental,
but of slow growth; but one thing
In their favor Is that they stand a
great deal of neglect and abuse, and
if given half a chance, grow" on as
beauty spots in the household. Ferns
are a favorite with many, and if
their needs are attended to, they are
lovely; if neglected, they are poor,
ragged reproaches, a prey to bugs
and scales that leave them disgust
ing objects.
Whatever plants you attempt to
grow, it is not necessary to put the
pots in jardinieres; a clean terra
cotta pot is in keeping with tho base
of the plant, and besides, the Jardi
niere is apt to retain water which
rots the roots of the plant and breeds
worms. Very few plants like wet
feet, and those which do demand
clean, sweet water for the foot
bath. Before bringing In your
plants, you must study tho condi
Appendicitis
A reader asks, "What is appendici
tis?" We quote from a medical
magazine: Appendicitis is inflam
mation of the appendix, the worm
liko sac that hangs from the large
intestine on the lower right side.
The old theory was that seeds of
fruit entered this sac and causes
the inflammation, but this is not
now held as true. Seeds have been
found, but when foreign pellets are
found they are almost always of
faecal origin. The prime cause is
masses of imperfectly digested, fer
menting foods in the large intestine,
constantly developing bacteria which
spread to the appendix, where they
lodge, its lower end being closed.
It is claimed that the one article
most particularly liable to induce
appendicitis is fine wheat flour. Tho
London Lancet, the highest medical
authority in tho world, recently gave
statistics tending to show that the
great increase in cases of appendi
citis in great Britain since the intro
duction of fine patent flour is due
to the Increased comsumption of
white bread there. The disease,
properly understood, exists long be
fore and after the painful attack.
tho choice. Fussy dresses aro not
in good taste, while simplicity should
be the key-note of the child's ward
robe. In making for the children, allow
ance should be made for the growth
of tho elastic little body, both up
ward and outward, though tho
length seems of the most importance.
In various ways this can be done
without spoiling the pretty effect. On
the bottom should be a very wide
hem, with a deep tuck hand-run on
the underside, and it will be but
the work of a moment to "let down"
the length in case of shrinkage in
laundering, or growth of the child.
In order to find the correct length
of the skirt for a very small girl,
have the child kneel on the floor, and
measure so the bottom of tho
finished hem will just touch the floor
evenly all aTound.
For the sixteen-year-old girl, the
generally approved length for the
skirt is a termination at about seven
inches from the floor, while a miss
of eighteen, quite tall for the age,
may wear a skirt fully two inches
longer. This is a safe general rule,
and should be. modified to suit the
particular girl. In using paper pat
terns, it is best to add to or take
from the bottom of the skirt pattern,
and it must bo remembered to allow
for the hem.
In point of popularity nothing Is
more favored than the six-gored
skirt model having one or two pleat?
at each gore; such models preserve
the fashionable straight lines, arid
at tho same timo permits of absolute
freedom and grace of movement. It
is very simple In construction, and
the model is suitable for all ordi
nary occasions. Another popular
version of the six-gore model is one
especially adapted for the wear of
misses or small women, having three
pleats at each seam.
The Economy of Fruits
We are told that canned and dried
fruits are much more economical per
quantity eaten, and also nourishing,
than the fresh fruits, because of the
immense waste in the fresh article
in the way of pits, skin, cores, and
damaged places, all of which are re
moved from the preserved articles.
The water, also, is reduced by evapo
ration, and many times sugar is
added. It is claimed that fruits are
sources of energy, rather than tissue
builders. As to digestibility, cooked
or uncooked, "doctors disagree," and
each ono must be a law unto him
self. While unripe fruits are un
doubtedly harmful at times when
eaten too freely, the danger is much
less than commonly thought, the
effects depending on personal Idio
syncracies more than the fruit itself.
Many persons can not eat fruit In
any form, at times, while at others,
it is beneficial. Raw or cooked, in
telligently used with due regard to
personal peculiarities, fruit forms a
valuable food, and should be eaten
in larger quantities than is now tho
practice.
For tho School Books '
Here is a way to cover 'the school
books. Lay the book flatly face
down on the material of which the
cover is to be made calico, ging
ham, cambric, anything suitable;
mark the cloth half the width laTger
than the book, larger all the way
around, and at the back, where tho
binding comes, slash to the edge of
the book; turn in the cut pieces over
the binding (the slash must be on
each side of the binding,) and bring
the cloth smoothly over the covers
of the book, lacing it across with
long, double threads. Do this on
both sides of the cover, and over the
title of the book on the binding cut
out a section from the cloth laTge
enough to show the name of the
book. If books aro covered when
new, and the children taught to take
care of them, they can be used as
long as needed without being much
damaged. Teach the child not to
hold the book open with the thumb
placed where tho leaves come to
gether. Children should be taught
to take a pride in keeping the school
books clean and whole.
-L-
Fasliion Notes
The mothers aro busy about these
days getting the young folks ready
for Bchool which opens In Septem
ber in most Instances, while many
country scnoois nave been in session
for some weeks. There are so mn-nv
tiuua juu van uuer mum, uuu aeiect pretty materials for the wash-
only such aB tho conditions suit, dresses that one can scarcely err In
Keeping Canned Fruits
All canned goods keep better and
preserve their flavor best in tho
dark. If possible to have a fruit
room, that is best; but swinging
shelves, or rows of shelves will
answer equally well under certain
conditions. A large dry goods box,
with shelves built in it and the cover
swung on hinges Is as good as any
thing. A cool place Is necessary, and
no pantry near a stove or in the
kitchen will answer. If there must
be an uncurtained window, wrap
each jar or tin can in paper, or hang
a dark curtain in front of the
shelves. Large wooden boxes set on
the cellar floor will keep fruit per
fectly, if kept covered. Tin cans as
well as glass require to b"e kept from
the light. To prevent insects reach
ing the fruit, fasten sticky fly paper
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