y tpti W
The Commoner.
VOLUME 5, NUMBER
R
Housowlfory Vp-to.Dato.
Give mo a spoon of jIco, ma,
And the sodium al.uili,
I For I'm going to make a pie, mama,
I'm going to make a pie;
For John will bo hungry and tired, ma,
And his tissues will decompose;
So give me a gramme of phosphate,
And the carbon and cellulose.
Now give me a chunk of casein, ma,
To shorten tho thermic fat;
And hand mo tho oxygen bottle, ma,
And look at the thermostat;
And If the electric oven's cold,
Just turn it on half an ohm,
For I want to have 3iippor ready
As soon as John conies home. Ex.
A Hyrfonlc Homo
My wife and r are trying hard
To livo on healthful diet;
Wo road tho food chart by tho yard,
And run our kitchen by it;
We've banished from our bills of fare
All that such guides condemn;
True hygione Is all our care,
As planned and taught by them.
For breakfast, coffeo is tabooed,
Hot cakes and eggs forbidden.
And milk, since it is oft imbued
With germs profuse, though hidden;
Bread i3 unwholesome, so is steak,
Submissive to our lot,
Oatmeal and Graham goms wo take,
And drink boiled water, hot.
For dinner, soup will never do,
And oysters typhoid nourish;
Salads, ontvecs, and Ices, too.
Are more dyspeptic flourish;
Potatoes (by the last advice),
Aro poisonous, we'ro told;
Wo cat rare moat, chopped fine, with
rico, ,
And drink boiled water, cold.
For supper some professors teach
'Tls best to go without it,
But since discretion's left to each,
Wo tako our choice about it;
On chickens, waffles, tea and cake,
Wo aro forbid to feed;
But gluten wafors, cocoa (weak).
And prunes, are all we need.
It grieves us much our friends to view
So reckless in their diet;
Our wholesome menu we pursue
-ana ueg 01 them to try it;
But appetito'3 ungodly sway
Their nature so enthralls,
. Wo can not get a guest to stay
Within our healthful walls!
P. Leonard.
Our Homo Cta.ts
You see, wo aro house-cleaning, this
week, and consequently have not much
tlmo for our usual gossip. But wo
aro only going to do one room at a
timo, and not exhaust ourselves un
necessarily. We aro going to do thor
oughly whatever wo undertake, begin
mng at the top and working leisurely
down taking stock of tho closets, and
all other storage places as we go We
expect to havo our meals on time, al
though they may bo a little plainer
than usual, and we Intend to leave
BETTER THAN SPANKING
SBKwft&
tho stoves up as long as wo can, that
none of us shall be laid up with coughs
or colds. We expect unlimited assist
ance from the masculine members of
"the Arm," in order that we may keep
from fretting and scolding which a
woman invariably feels like doing
when she is working too hard, or
undertaking tasks beyond her strength.
We recognize the fact that the men and
boys are tired, but so are we; tho
change of work will generally rest
them, while it will cheer us up to
have them responsible for a few things.
Wo expect to put the. home before the
house, and we aro perfectly willing
that they shall help us in our home
making. Men make excellent house
keepers, if they are only allowed to try
their hand, and the fact that every
thing will shine when we get done the
extra doing will be an incentive to
their dormant ambitions. Anyway,
there is no better way to learn how a
thing is done than to do it one's self,
and the experience may be an "eye
opener" to some of them wiio think a
woman should not complain so much,
just because she does a little house
work. Some of us will be house-cleaning all
through this month; with others, it
will be the work of the hour all through
the next month, and, as we go further
northward, we will still find it the or
der of the day until the sweet June
hey-days overtake us.
One of our
the names of
good
those
friends asks for
Then take out any that have burst
the shell, repeat the filing and scald
ing of the others, and as they crack
open, plant in good soil in tlie house,
keeping warm and moist, and they will
soon germinate. Keep them growing
in the house until all fear of frost is
over, when they must have a sunny
situation, rich with manure, and plen
ty of water. Some of the seedlings
will be fine, but perhaps a few may
be poor. The poor ones should be
pulled up and thrown away as soon as
they bloom.
A Good, Common Wlite-Wa.sh
One of the very best purifiers and
disinfectants known, as well as one of
the most inexpensive, is common stone
lime. For many purposes, it can be
used in the lump, slacking by expo
sure to the air, taking up dampness
and bad air as it disintegrates. In
this form, it is used generally in cel
lars, about drains, etc., but the more
convenient way is that in solution, ap
plying with a brush, known as white
wash. To make this whitewash, suit
able for all disinfecting, purifying and
sweetening, especially for out-houses
and cellars, take three gallons of hot
water, handful each of sifted wood
ashes and clean barrel salt, with a
pint of soft soap well stirred in, and
add slacked lime until thick as good
buttermilk; apply plentifully with a
brush.
For inside walls, take one bushel of
,,. 1 -.! 1 1 ii .
uu&iuuKeu nme. tnree nounds of riicm.iv
matter, as she has a lot to dispose of
Any names sent mc I will forward to
her.
five pounds of salt; slack the lime with
Some things must be crowded out,
for the day is not long enough, nor
the strength of woman great enough
to accomplish everything. Let us see
that it is the thing of least importance
to our daily well-being that must be
let go of.
uum water, auu tne salt and sugar,
strain through a sieve, and reduce to
tho proper consistency with cold wa
ter, applying with a brush. This is
recommended for brick, or rough board
walls.
cullies. I? iidiathere von V." lVi"r,.?lflL-
trJniomuu-
that,
for this. m m fi.v """""onnionuso
Duiuema.. will semi her homo treffiiPn?1
tiny mother, ShcasUsno monov avvui to
SffilESE thC om Te Chinees3 arVenft
Query Box
(Most of our Queries are answered
under other headings this week, and
our readers are referred to them.)
Agnes M. -Pillow shams are not now
used as much as they were. A bolster
roll, made of paste-board or wood, cov-
uruu wiui material to match the spread
takes tho place of the pillows by day.
The night pillows may be stuffed into
these hollow forms during the day if
liked. '
I. G. To shut off the disagreeable
view, while still getting the light, dis
solve Epsom salts, as much as it will
hold, in a little water, and paint over
the window pane with this mixture
while it is hot. When dry, it will be
a lair imitation of ground glass
A &hut-In."7For the stomach trou
ble, fold a cotton or linen cloth into
several thicknesses, wring out of verv
hot water-as hot as can be borne-aid
lay on the body, from well up on the
??St t(,mldaiG of the abdomen cov
ering with a thick fold of flannel
draw the bed-clothes over this ami
as tho heat subsides, dip the 'cloth
again in the hot water and apply
until the pain is relieved. The water
must bo kept hot. This will greatTy re
Hove the inflammation of the Isto
:-SEK i IS
shows, then nut into . nsi(1
boiling water nm,;;r""UUI ana
-k forlwentyfoo
left
s
to
A Brilliant and Durable White-W rsl
This is usually known as the gov
ernment whitewash, and no matter how
often it appears in print, there is
always a call for its reappearing. As
u must be applied hot to any surface
it should be made or kept in a largo
kettle or portable furnace, in order to
heat as wanted. It is claimed that
about a pint of the mixture will cover
Lai? yard upon the outside of a
q r enfo . V y "VWiQa, and that it
is suitable for wood, brick or stone
answering as well as oil paint and
being much cheaper, and will reSSn
its brilliancy for years. Brushes large
or small are to be used, according to
the neatness of the job required Col
oring matter may be used, varying the
tmtings to suit the taste No matte?
what quantity is desired, these aro tho
in during tH b0lIhls water cover
in aunng tho process to keen tho
steam in; strain the liquid tl roS-li n
sieve fine enough to re HiiV mi
clean, barrel salt in n nm .
then nut In.r. "'" . unt soft,
vi i . ",." "i0001- immerse
toSlnV-r?" ""W "
To Tnlf' Tf o "
this
full of
wnen so
is claimed
good
to
several days.
a White wntjh
bo can he so
as this
cheaply
made, it is strange that any farm
hplder will live, or let his stock live in
dark, dingy quarters. I wish I could
"enthuse" all of you to the point o
"getting busy" about fixing up Uiings
about the farm and home. And now
is the time to begin in earnest.
For Lentorv Dlshos
(Contributed.)
Italian Macaroni". Half a package o
Macaroni or vermicelli boiled in salted
water until tender. One can of toma
toes, stewed for half an hour (with
three or four cloves, if liked); tea
spoonful of salt and one of sugar;
thicken with two tablespoonfuls of
flour and butter blended. Strain, if
desired. Three or four sliced onions
fried in butter. The ingredients aro
all to be cooked 'separately, then put
together. This quantity makes enough
for six persons.
Fish Cakes. Remove bones from a
sufficient quantity of cold, boiled cod
fish, fresh or salt, mix with it two
thirds as much mashed . potatoes as
you have fish; add a little butter and
enough beaten egg to make the whole
into a smooth paste. Season with a
little pepper, and if fresh, a little salt;
make into cakes an inch thick, roll in
flour and fry in hot butter, or equal
parts of sweet lard and butter.
For tho Piano Co. so
Answering M. B. M., either of the
following recipes are recommended for
the renovation of furniture. To get tho
best results of the mixture, however,
one must expect to dq. considerable
hard rubbing. Very little should bo
applied at one time, and this should
be thoroughly rnd evenly rubbed into
the wood, and then the polish brought
out by persistent hard rubbing with a
dry cloth, sponge or chamois skin.
Alcohol, one and one-half ounces;
spirits of salts (muriatic acid), one
half ounce; linseed oil, eight ounces;
best vinegar, half-pint; butter of anti
mony, one and one-half ounces. Mix,
putting in the vinegar last. It must
be well shaken every time it is used.
In some country drug-stores, butter
of antimony can not be had; in which
case, try this one:
Alcohol, half a pint; pulverized resin
and gum shellac, each, one-fourth
ounce, and a few drops of analine
brown. Let stand over night, then add
three-fourths pint of raw linseed oil
and half-pint of spirits of turpentine.
Shake well. When to be used, shako
well, again, and apply with a sponge,
canton flannel cloth, or fine brush,
rubbing it into the wood, then polish
ing with a chamois skin until it shines.
The more rubbing you give it, tho
better the polish. These are both old,
well-tried recipes, and any druggist
will put them together for you.
All well-cut patterns necessitate the
stretching of those edges which occur
on a bias of the texture to insure the
part setting without a wrinkle. For
instance: a front shoulder edge, to give
that taut appearance we all wish,
should be well stretched and should dip
downward slightly, while the back ono
is eased to .it and either cut straight
or with a slight upward curve. Tho
front neck edge, where it is on tho
bias, is also usually a much better fit
for a little stretching, which, in both
cases, must of course be done when
the lining and the material aro together.
Hoiso CloennlnfJ Helps
To prevent your rugs from curling
up at the corners, face them (as you
would face a dress skirt) on the under
side with a piece of narrow hemp
webbing, such as is used to hold furni
ture springs in place.
For wash curtains, plain white lawn,
at seven to ten. cents a yard, makes
pretty and inexpensive ones. Two for
each window, and: the Inner sides and
mil MMm
l '"'
BBttaattMBnMrmimi'r'iiii'r' i 'i,',""""" .,.,