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The Commoner.
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VOLUME IS,-NUMBER 4
" Conducted by
Heen Watts tiy
iDeparimeni
A Wish
MI no bo a cot bonoath the hill,
A bco-hlvo'fl hum shall Hootho
my our;
A willing brook that turns a mill
With many a fall, ahull linger
near.
Tho swallow oft, bonoath my thatch,
Shall twitter from her clay-built
noHt;
Oft Hhall tho pilgrim lift tho latch,
And Bhnro my meal, a welcome
gUOHt.
Tho villngo church among tho trees,
Whoro first our marriage vows
wero given,
With merry peals shall swell tho
breeze,
And point with taper spiro to
hoaven.
Around my ivied porch shall spring
Each fragrant flower that drinks
tho dow,
And Lucy at hor wheel shall sing,
In russet gown and apron blue.
Samuel Rogers.
, (Tho above requested poem has
boon sent in by sovoral friends, but
each copy was different in some re
spects from tho other. Wo thank tho
Bonders for tho kindness.)
ings, and around tho yards. Put
plenty of manure on tho garden
spot, and have the garden tools
whoro you can lay hands on them at
odd minutes. "Gardening for profit"
around the evening lamp is a good
exorcise. Plan. Study your needs
in (he seed plant lino; make a list
of fruit bushes, vines and trees for
filling vacancies and for starting
new. Put in your evenings to some
purpose.
Floral Notes
TI10 Coming Year
Tho worst or best I would not know,
And yot, strango inconsistency,
I over ask, "What will it be
A year of joy, or woo, to mo?
A your of plenty, or of dearth,
Or shall It bo my last of earth?"
Tho kindly curtain of God's grace
Hides all tho futuro from my face
Lino Upon Lino"
It will bo but a vory short time
now, until tho preparation for plant
ing the crops must bo taken up.
Many pooplo wait until tho last
mlnuto to look after tho garden and
flold tools. But a half day will bo
required, in many instances, to do
now what may causo a loss of twice
or thrico tho timo later on. Look
after tho tools and seo that thoy are
ready for. use, repaired, repainted
and sharpened, and put whoro they
can bo found at a moment's notice.
Got tho stakes ready for tho to
mato vines, tho brush ready for tho
poas, and have tho little things, such
as tho "markors" for tho different
kinds of plants In tho rows or bods
alroady at hand. If you don't know
how to construct and euro for a hot
bed, got information now, and be
sure to sturt your early "green
tilings as soon as possible in tho
bods. Lettuce and radishes should
bo plentiful, and can bo quicklv
grown. Tho Department of Agricul
ture, Washington, D. a, or your own
board of agriculture, or experiment
stations aro each sonding out much
information, and you should apply
A few hours spent in fixing up tllo
fences, gates, doors, and other like
things about tho home will be time
well invested. It will bo but a short
tirao until screens are in demand
about the house, and theso houl
bo overhauled and repaired and
painted. Road everything you can
nnd about tho fly and niosquUo aSS
prepare to wage ceaseless war Jn
theso carriers of disease. Look
ft 'ST SS ,W?t0r ?upply' eo that
It is not taken from a "seen hoW
Into which all tho foul drawing if
tho animals' quarters, a well
from tho house slops aro emptied
Fix up the walks between the build-
It is none too early to begin plan
ning the flower beds and tho garden
crops. One of the very best paying
spots on the farm, or in the village
is a well-tended garden spot. Many
things should bo started indoors
early in March, and if you have not
yet sent in your order for seeds, be
sure to attend to tho matter in
time.
For growing tho poinsetta, which
is so very much in evidence at
Christmas time, wo copy tho follow
ing from Park's Floral Magazine:
Poinsetta plants aro easily grown
from either seeds or cuttings, and
invariably begin blooming in
autumn, continuing throughout the
winter months. They like a verv
sandy soil and need not bo grown in
a large pot. Seedlings started in
early spring will bloom about the
following Christmas time. Water the
plant regularly and keep the atmos
phoro moist to prevent leaf-dropping
and to promote development of the
bracts and buds. In tho far southern
states tho plant will grow from six to
eight foot high, branching and form
ing a gorgeous shrub or tree. As
a rule, tho plants aro set near a
house where they are somewhat pro
tected in case of frost, and after
blooming, they aro cut almost to the
ground, when new, vigorous shoots
will push up for tho following season.
Such shoots will develop immense
bracts, and a group of the plants so
treated make a fine display. The
best fertilizer for these plants is lime
and bono dust. Of course, in the
middlo states and in tho north, the
poinsetta is a green houso plant.
It is recommended to soak seeds
that aro slow in germinating for at
least twenty-four hours before put
ting into the soil. For hard-shelled
seeds, such as canna, palm, and
many others, it is advisable to file a
small groove in tho hard shell until
tho white shows through. For canna,
after this treatment, pour boiling
water on the seeds and let stand for
twenty-four hours, and the shell will
bo softened so the sprouting can take
placo very soon.
Contributed Itccipcs
Black Chocolate Cake Beat three
eggs, whites and yolks separately;
to tho yolks add one and one-fourth
cupfuls of sugar, half a teacupful of
sour cream, ono largo cupful of
flour, one-fourth pound of unsweet
ened chocolate melted with a second
half-cupful of sour cream, a pinch
of salt, teaspoonful of vaniflaflne
beaten whites of the eggs, and fasti?
ono teaspoonful of baking soda 552
solved in a little boiling water
When well blendGd b kn jater
other cake in layers. For filling boH
one cupful of granulated sugar and
n.H mf CU,pful of water tWthe?
until it spins a- thread; beat the
Jfttef Aone egs t0 a fiti ro?h and
add to it one-fourth teaspoonful of
cream of tartar and the syrun mnl
by little, boating all the wW W$
evenly and vigorously until cold, and
put between the layers.
Dried Green Peas When used as
an entree, soak the peas for a couple
of hours then cook in salted water
until tender. Put into the water an
onion and a blade of mint, fresh or
dried; if dried, tie in a small cloth.
When done, drain carefully. Place
a little piece of butter in a stewpan
and add the peas, a little cream and
pepper and salt. When very hot add
lemon juice, a very little, or omit if
not liked, and a teaspoonful of sugar.
Dish up on hot entree dishes with
fried croutons. A salad made of
green peas is vory nice. Boil the
peas until tender, then leave until
cold. Dress with mint sauce and
use a very little oil. Garnish with
the grated yolk of hard-boiled egg,
and serve.
Making Tea Two teaspoonfuls of
tea are used by a great many people
where one teaspoonful is sufficient.
Have a perfectly clean pot, dry and
warm and for a pot that holds two
teacupfuls of the beverage, use one
good teaspoonful of tea; add the
water the minute it begins to bubble,
and let it be freshly drawn water.
Let the tea stand to brew for four
minutes where it will keep hot, but
not simmer or boil. A clean pot,
fresh water and good tea are requisite.
Gleanings
Dr. Fenton Turck is authority for
the assertion that meat digests quite
as well in reasonably large chunks
as it does in finely masticated par
ticles, and, moreover, that the larger
pieces do not so readily undergo
harmful putrifaction from the action
of tho ever-present colon bacillus and
its cousins in the ailmentary canal.
Meats, broths, and soups, Dr. Turck
tells us, are the ideal culture media
for the poison-manufacturing germs
of the human test tube; and so we
find them in the dietetic management
of intestinal diseases like typhoid
fever. Indeed, a patient in the
height of typhoid fever will often
digest a small portion of scraped
beef when we would not dare to ad
minister a cupful of beef broth.
Meat broths were once deemed tho
most suitable food for invalids and
weak convalescents whose digestion
was supposed to be below par. To
day, every physician knows that it
is Impossible to extract the food from
meat by any other means than the
natural course of gastro-intestinal
assimilation; that no meat broth or
Juice can contain tho nutritive ele
ments of the meat itself, and that
these so-called "concentrated" foods
whether factory-made, or home
made, are little more than temporary
stimulants, containing principal
the extractives which Intoxicate, but
do not nourish. We use them when
we desire to enforce a fast without
?VRfwmInSA a,n lnborn antipathy to
fasting. And there is nothing so
good for the average sick American
Dr xJJS? "Bpected fist!!
Dr. William Brady, in S t m,i,
Post-Dispatch. ' bt LouIs
Cold Weather Ailments
nnt CtS cat,arrh ot thQ stomach does
not differ from the same pnmmi
"cting the moMft
in other situations It in s
in the Medical Magazine, but merely
a congestion of the blood vessels fl
ine surface, acSomn Sd
f e f tacrasea secretion of mu
cus, and marked tenderness of U?o
parts. Catarrh may spread from tho
nose' to tho throat, and from the
throat to the stomach, but this is
rarei . More frequently stomach
catarrh takes its origin from somo
irritation, as the ingestion of acid
fruits, strong condiments, ices, or
iced fruits or drinks. The condition
does not directly affect digestion; the
gastric juices are secreted as in
health, but digestion may be hin
dered by the large quantity of mucus
secreted; this, in itself is indigestible
and impedes the free, action of the
digestive juices on the foods.
That pain occurs after eating is no
evidence in favor of indigestion ob
taining. The pain is .more likely to
result from pressure of the food on
the tender lining membrane of the
stomach. If, when the stomach is
empty, the tenderness is still felt,
it is safe to diagnose the case as one
of catarrh; on the other hand, the
persistence of the true pain would
point to some form of inflammation.
Highly-spiced dishes taken into a
catarrhal stomach may give pain
that lasts long after the food has
been digested; there is one considera
tion of great importance in connec
tion with the liability of catarrh to
spread from the throat to the stom
ach; this is the evil of not expec
torating the mucus brought up from
the throat. The practice of swallow
ing this mucus is dangerous, and
children should be taught tho proper
disposal of it when coughing, or
otherwise "raising" the phlegm, or
mucus. Where catarrh- of the
stomach causes vomiting, no pus or
blood is ejected.
Storing Vegetables
Potatoes should have plenty of
air-slacked lime sprinkled among
them when stored, as the lime will
absorb the moisture and prevent
sprouting or rotting. If the cellar
is very warm the potatoes may begin
growth later on,- and ,the sprouts
must be rubbed off, as they take the
life out of the potato.
Turnips, beets, carrots and such
vegetables as can not be left in the
ground, will retain their crispness
and juciness if packed in layers of
sand or garden soil. If the cellar
is too dry, and they begin to shrivel,
water should be sprinkled over tho
top of the soil to moisten, but not
make it wet. The sand or soil
should be about as moist as the soil
naturally is. Tubers and roots
should be kept as moist as when
taken from the ground.
Onions and apples should be laid
on shelves, and be kept as cool as
possible, but not allowed to freeze.
In all underground storages for
the family supply of vegetables,
fruits, milk, butter, lard, etc., it is
essential that all noxious gases be
eliminated. Charcoal is an absorbent
of gas, and should be set about in
the cellar 'to purify and sweeten the
atmosphere wherever unwholesome
gases are liable to exist. Lime will
absorb moisture, and sweeten tho
air, also. Where milk, butter, or
other foods that readily absorb odors
are stored, a dish of charcoal should
be set near them. Underground
cellars should bo kept clean and
sweet, as the vapors, gases and odors
arising from the contents during the
winter may bring sickness to the
rooms above.
Waterproofing Jicathcr
Every fall and spring wo aro
asked to give directions for making
boots and shoes proof against the
water, slush and anow of the wet
season. Here is a good method:!
Boiled oil, one pint; oil of turpen
tine, black rosin and bees wax, each,
three ounces; melt tho wax and
rosin, add the turpentine. Apply
warm, after thoroughly mixing the
Ingredients.
It is claimed that if a coat of gum
copal varnish he applied to tho solefl
of boots and shoes, let dry, and an-
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