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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1905)
wmmpimtam J. n M OCTOBER 6, 1905 The Commoner. the braid around this beginning, sow ing as you go, braiding a few yards and continuing sewing until the mat is as large as you want it. If well braided and sewed, this makes a most desirable mat for the outer door. "When badly soiled, or filled from the scrapings of the feet, it may be well shaken to dislodge as much of the dirt as possible, and it may then be shaken about Jn a tub of warm water, rinsed well and turned bottom-side up to dry. If something fancy is wanted, part of the husks may be dyed with any of the ten-cent dyes, and very attractive mats may thus be made. Very nice mats for the veranda steps, or to stand on in the kitchen, may be made by using the soft, inner husks, braiding tightly, concealing the coarse ends in the braiding, and sew very neatly and closely. Growing Palms In spite of the popular belief to the contrary, palms are really easy to grow in the house. Half the fail ures to raise them, and their poor reputation among ordinary plant growers is due to the fact that cheap plants are bought; no one can prophesy how long they will live; a palm can be tested only by trying, and it is the well established plant that should be bought. The plants sent out by the florists in packages are not difficult to get to grow if proper care is taken. The Kentias are, perhaps, the best of all house-palms, graceful and orna mental, and they stand many changes of temperature. Kentia Foesteriana and Keritia Balmoreana are most ser viceable. Not too warm a room and plenty of light is the rule; the soil should never be allowed to get dry, as, if this happens, the Kentia will not recover itself; but it should not be kept too wet, as it will rot at the roots. The best way to water the palrn is to set the pot or tub in a larger vessel of water, the water reaching to within an inch of the rim. The appearance of water on the surface of the soil will show that the roots have been well soaked; or dinary surface watering rarely reach es all the roots, and the inner ball of roots and soil is left dry. The leaves should be sprayed frequently, all dust washed off, and no insect pest allowed on the plant. A beauti ful palm may be raised from the seed of a date. This can be buried out in the open; many plants spring from seeds just thrown out in the yard. During the summer, the tiny two leaved plant, like a spear of stiff, coarse grass, will appear, and in the autumn the plant can be carefully lifted, put into a rather deep pot, and cared for until it gets established, and the next spring other leaves will come. Not until the third year will the plant, under ordinary usage, show its character leaf. 11 Query Box Housewife. Tarragon vinegar is made by adding tarragon leaves (fresh, if they can be had; if not, the powdered can be had of your grocer or druggist) to white wine vinegar and allowing it to stand until the de sired flavor is obtained. A. D. T. The salve you mention is made by thickening' fresh lard or castor oil with oxide of zinc, adding iodine to color it yellow or light brown. It is claimed to heal many sores that all else has failed to cure. Ask your druggist about it. Mattie. For whitening the piano keys, it is recommended to make a paste of sawdust, water and the juice of a lemon; apply to the keys and let dry on; when dry, brush off with a soft, firm brush, letting as little as possiblo fall between the keys. It is said to be effective. C H.H your physician can not help your muscular rheumatism, I am afraid my advice would fail you. Rheumatism is often tho result of malarial conditions of ono's surround ings, and in such a case, change of residence, change of diet and hygienic habits of living, either singly or col lectively, will prove beneficial. Invalid. You know the old adage. "What is one person's meat is an- other ono's poison." Excessive use of any stimulant is disastrous. Beef tea increases the pace of life, and over-indulgence in its use would nat urally cause tho body to wear out quickly, just as the excessive use of other stimulants would. Even exces sive drinking of water will work hard ships to some stomachs. Some peo ple can not drink water without dis agreeable sensations. I L. M. The question as to whether vegetable or animal foods are most conducive to longevity is not settled. It is claimed that vegetable foods harden the blood vessels, deposit tar tar on the teeth, causing them to loosen; increase the fat of the body and tend to fatty degeneration of the heart, liver and brain. On the other hand, it is claimed that flesh-eating causes gout and rheumatism, blood disorders, produces trichinosis, tape worm troubles, erysipelas and other skin diseases. It is also said that the blood of meat produces consump tion and cancer. An a proof of this latter, it is cited that tho Jawiuh peo ple, who romovo all blood from their meat, are exceptionally free from these two diseases. Josslo J. Tho term Inlaid is ap plied to a certain class of linoleums because of tho fact that tho pattern goes through tho entire thickness, In stead of, as In cheap grades, being simply stamped on tho surface. Tho pattern of the inlaid will last as long as there Is a shrod of the carpet. Tho best linoleums have smooth, hard sur faces, impervious to water, and can bo washed off and cleaned without Injury. Linoleum Is made of cork ground in oil and subjected to tre mendous pressure. The domestic pro duct is now as good as tho imported and costs much less. A good inlaid linoleum can bo had for about $1.25 per square yard, and comes In widths to suit your needs or tho size of your room. Its flrst cost may seem expen sive, but there Is practically no wear out to a good grade. Hardly any garden product can ho made to servo so many uses as the green tomato, and now,, at the sug gestion of frost-time, those can be found In abundance In the market or garden. They can be put to an al most endless variety of uses, and as yet, I believe, science has not put its prohibitive linger on this vege table, or hygienic cookery found fault with it. and of his gift and is now repeated for the flrst time on this the annlvcr- AN OLD AND WELT TR1KD BKM15DY , Mjw. WinsloWp Soothing Syhup. for children icothnp should always bo nscd for' children whllo "pthmjj. I,t8ofton8 tho-Rums, allays all pain, curou wind colic and Is tho best remedy for dlarrhrea. Awonty-llvocentsa bottle. THE PASSION PLAY Mrs. Bryan Writes of Inspiring Scenes at Ober ammergau Five Hundred Performers None But the Pure May Participate. We all recall how much was "writ ten of Oberammergau in 1900. Every magazine and many newspapers gave detailed accounts of the wonderful Passion Play enacted there and of the thousands who flocked to witness it. Each writer emphasized the fact that only once in ten years is the Passion Play presented. You may imagine my delight to learn that this year an exception had been made and that something worth while was doing in Oberammergau. The village lies quite encircled by mountains and no railroads have yet ventured there. The outer world was quite unaware of the existence of this little place until twenty or thirty years ago. Then the newspaper men raised a mighty shout. "Come quick," said they, "we have found something so old that it is very new indeed. Nearly a thousand years ago England saw our Christ live and die and live again in these strange plays. Long after, Germany's peasants won dered and wept at the same sights. But they all forgot. Only little Ober ammergau remembered. Come and see a living fragment of the long dead past." And come they did. The rich, the poor, the ignorant, the learned, the priest, the scoffer poured through the mountain passes and broke the quiet of the valley. Ober ammergau awoke and learned about the world. The village shows the trace of for Aiirn finerers. Old Gasthauses are slyly growing into large hotels; the shop windows are full of souvenirs for travellers; the girls are often not in peasant dress; the young men wear their curls with a more jaunty air. Are you wondering, as I did, why the peasants play this year? High above the town on a mountain side stands the answer; the three figures of the crucifixion done in white mar ble and of gigantic size. This roup was given to Oberammergau by King T.miwte. the Second, thirty years ago 'this summer. The play which we see was given then in honor of tne King sary of that occasion. The play tells the story of King David and between acts, tableaux from tho Passion Play are presented, so that when the cur tain goes down on the final act one feels that he has seen not only the life of David but the real pith of the Passion Play as well. I wish I might give you a clear idea of the stage. I had gathered from reading that it was a huge platform with the open sky and twit tering birds with the audience also under the canopy of Heaven; but this is not altogether true. Imagine a huge shedlike building with a curving roof. All Lincoln readers will be interested to know that the general shape of the interior lof the building, the girders and the roof are an excellent counterpart of the Lincoln Auditorium. Here are seats for four thousand people. The floor slopes to the front, the orchestra sits in a neat little box next to the stage, all quite comfortable and mod ern. In this building I scented the fruits of the foreign invasion. In the good old days the peasants surely did not fare so well. The stage is a large platform, built of not too smooth planks and open to the sky. In the center from left to right, but at the back a box-like house has been built, severely Grecian in style. This is the real stage, though acting is done on the platform, the focal point is al ways inside, and one could see with his mind's eye the players scurrying under this shelter if rain came. To the right and left are porticoes and arches through which one catches glimpses of the flat roofs and low turrets of Jerusalem. The stage dis appointed me. The drama is played by five hun dred performers, a chorus of thirty two voices and an orchestra of forty. These people all live in the little valley. They are all peasants. Th moving power is the church (Catholic). To take part in thes plays Is a grant honor and can only bo undortakdn by thoao whono Uvots aro pure. Each porformaneo Is pro ceded by (ho snernrnont and if it man who lias onco nppoared (h guilty of somolhlng dishonorable ho cannot piny when the next decade rolls round. Ah to tho division of procoods, (no small Itont In thono days) a priest told us that tho noonlu who tilnv. unt one-third of tho profits for division among mom and tho romainlng two thirds goon to tho church. In 1900 thoy clenrod a million marks, about two hundred and fifty thousand-dollars. TllO tableaux from thn Pniutlnn '0nv aro eight In number, viz., the nativity, mo noy (jurist in tho temple, tho temptation, tho baptism, tho trial, bearing tho cross, tho crucifixion and tho resurrection. It Is difficult to reullzo the figures as flosh and blood; they seem much more like wax" fig uros or very beautiful pictures. The artistic grouping of bright colors In clothing heightens tho effect, while tho presence of many children lends naturalness to tho scene. Some of these tabloaux are modeled after famous pictures which aro found in European gallorles. Ah to tho play the most attractive scene to me was tho triumphal ontry of David Into .Jerusalem. The pro cession came through tho arches at the loft and disappeared through those at tho right; tho populace singing and shouting, tho priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant and King David In royal robes greeting his people from a gorgeous chair borne by his retainers. As one looks back upon tho play at Oberammergau (beginning at half pas' one and ending at six) tho char acteristic which seems to save the performance from a spirit of ridicule and the audience from weariness, is the absolute reverence which actu ates the players. One feels the reli gious fervor which pervades it all and can but bo impressed and strengthened. MARY DA1RD BItYAN. $42,000 in Cash Prizes will be given by The Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post this winter and spring; in addition to first-rate pay for work that is easy ancj'pleasant and sure. One woman got 1810 last winter; another $1325; another $900; a man got 1004; another man 1950. No chance of not making anything. It is almost too easy people sometimes get the idea they haven't got to do anything at all. No expense involved and no experience necessary. Simply write to The Curtis Publwhing Company E 72 Arch St, Philadelphia t. I BBbWWWJHI MM 4-10 -ma-ltl-' -