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The Commoner.
VOLUME 5. NUMBER
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OCTOBER'S WEATHER
0 suns an.d skies and clouds of Juno,
And flowers of Juno together,
Ye can not rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather.
When loud the bumblebee makes
haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant;
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fringes tight
' To save them from the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
, Without a sound of warning.
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And rodder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-wlngod seods are
sowing,
And in the .fields, still green and fair,
Laic aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the
', ., brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the
hush
Of woods for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country
haunts,
By twos and two together,
And count like misers hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
O suns and skies and flowers of June,
-Count all your boasts together
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.
Helen Hunt Jackson.
Home Chat
Now that the summer's wnrlr la
about finished, the country boy is
wondering what he will do next, es
pecially 'the one whose education, so
tar as the country school houso is con
cerned, is ended.
or at best, for the dust and turjnoil
of the overflowing streets. Instead
of the beautiful sunlight he will toil
under electric, gas, or, 'in some places,
oil lighting, or his workshop may be
lighted only by the dirty, dingy day
light which no place but the crowded
city streets can know. He must be
come accustomed to foul smells' and
uncongenial surroundings; small,
dingy rooms, not always with pleas
ant companionship; cheap, poorly
cooked foods in limited quantities and
of unpalatable kinds; a lack of many
things he has always held as es
sentials, and self-denial along many
lines will become a burden hard to
bear. The salary which, to his country-bred
fancy, has seemed so lanre.
will be found barely sufficient for his
daily needs, if it suffices, even for so
little. Room rent, board bills, laundry,
car fare, lunches, and the inevitable
"incidentals" which no one can avoid,
will leave little enough for the neces
sary wearing apparel, however cheap
it may seem. On every hand he will
find temptations, many of them so
subtle and seductive that, try as he
may, he cannot resist them, and there
will be snares and pitfalls for his feet,
whithersoever he may go.
The competition, too, is something
beyond all reason. He will be but
one of a vast army of struggling young
men, and, do the best he may, many
things will occur to throw the ad
vantage on the side of his fellow
laborer. Competition, in all lines,
from the merest labor to the highest
skill, whether of brawn or brains,
will be most keen. It is all a battle
ground, and the victory is not always
to the brave or the strong.
Once in the whirlpool, he will learn
to cease to trust, it may be, even in
himself; to shut his sorrows in his
own heart; to ask no sympathy, to
seek no aid; to depend solely on him
self and his developing powers. He
will learn to stand alone, level-eved
and set mouthed, as his destiny ex
poses him to the buffetings of the
world. If he fails of the test, he will
find the whole, long pathway through
me out a renetition rif fnJlurfi and
lost its life and flavor, and will not
make good coffee or tea. A "drip"
coffee pot may be used, or the ground
coffee may be merely steeped, like
tea; or, it may be allowed to boil up
for a minute. Each of these processes
has its advocates. There are many
good brands of coffee on the market,
more or less expensive in price, but
a very poor drink can be made of the
most expensive kinds 'by a poor or
careless cook, while a careful cook
can make a really delightful cup from
inexpensive material. Now-a-days,
very few people think of roasting
coffee at home, but if it could be
evenly and properly done, it would
"make up" much better flavored. As
it is, it should be bought as freshly
roasted as possible and would be bet
ter ground as used, though if it is
put into an air-tight receptacle, such
as a self-sealing jar or can, it will
retain its aroma quite well. A table
spoonful of ground coffee to each cup
wanted and one for the pot is the
invariable rule, the water must be
fresh, and freshly boiling, and the
coffee pot and tea kettle must both be
clean when used.
He thinks he would
lilvfi n. nlinilfO lin a Hno1 rV 41i fnm
and the ceaseless grind of the farm discouragement, and at last he will
work and chores, where no appre- lie down, heartworn and soul-weary,
ciable recognition is Riven his talents
and energies, and no material advance
ment seems probable or possible. If
he could only go to the city, now!
He is very sure he could work up
to something, he doesn't know just
wliat, yet, but the work will be wait
ing for him; the oportunity will find
him, once he is in its way. So, to
thb city he goes. It may be well that
he does, but the chances are that it
is not. If he has himself well in
hand, has, a brave heart and a cour
ageous will and a firm determination
to succeed, come what hardships may,
and is willing to plod, to pave the
way with hard, ungrudging toil, to
turn a deaf ear to the allurincrs of tho.
tempter in whatt-ver guise it may
seek him, he may find the opportunity,
gain the recognition, and, later se
cure the ad ancement. But there
are many things lu must consider be
fore he takes the irrevocable step;
for once he takes the plunge into the
maelstrom, he will hardly come out
of it the same.
He will find life in' the city very
different from that of his country
home; he will exchange a life of com
parative freedom for one of uncom-
- promising restraint. He will leave
the beautiful, healthful out-door of
field and woodland for the confine
ment and foul air of the dark, dingy
city building, office, store or factory,
with a pitiful longinc for j'-st one last
look at the country home from which
he now goes forth in all the courage
fmd high hopes of his ignorance and
untried strength.
"A Good Cup of Coffee"
Wo have all read of the man who,
when told by the restaurant waiter
that he would be served with coffee
"like mother used to make," replied
unit ne wouiu take tea. To many
people, the magic words "like mother
used to make" recalls a memory of
a strong, long-boiled beverage that,
though then regarded with such favor,
is now associated too closely with in
digestion and dyspepsia to be very en
ticing. We are learning, through
much tribulation, to find what best
agrees with the inner man, and in
most cases, strong, boiled coffee must
be tabooed, while the well-made cup
may be partaken of with less bad
results.
To be had at its test, many things
must enter Into the making of coffee.
The coffee pot must be washed as
orten as it Is used, thoroughly cleaned
and aired, every day; the water to be
used must bo fresh from the spring
well, cistern or hydrant, and the tea
kettle must also be regularly washed
and aired. The water must be just
boiling not boiled; boiled water has
A Fine Cooking School
Experience in a real kitchen, with
only the utensils usually to be found
there for family use, with real meats
and vegetables, such as the family
pocket book or taste may provide,
flanked by the often unavoidable
shortages in supplies," is what will
teach the girl or woman to do real
cooking. If the mother, or other friend
who has an interest in the develop
ment of the housewifely abilities of
the beginner, be capable of instruct
ing, it beats playing with the chafing
dish in a make-believe kitchen fitted
up with everything necessary for ex
perimenting and demonstrating, and
where the presiding genius wears reg
ulation bibs and caps, with some one
at hand to wash, dishes, etc., and do
all the "chores." The "Class in
Cookery" is a good move, but the girl
who takes the course, from scullion
to chef, in the home kitchen where
all sorts and conditions and varying
quantities .and qualities of supplies
are to test one's abilities, to say noth
ing of "emergency" calls and "short
notice" orders recklessly sprung upon
one by unexpected company, which
tax one's executive ability sometimes
to the uttermost, will, usually be the
one who "wins out" in the housewifely
race ror nonors. Whatever station in
life one expects to fill, a knowledge
of cookery will never come amiss, for
even thougn a woman has no need
to do the work herself, she should
know enough to order others, and
there will always bo some time in
every woman's life when such knowl
edge will be a great gain. This is true
as well, of a man, and many men who
would laugh at the idea of themselves
doing cookery, can yet get up as nice
a meal as any woman they know. If
they did not get the knowledge
through "helping mother," they got
their education through stress of cir
cumstances, and, say what they will,
they do take a sneaking little pride
in tho accomplishment.
Mushroom Growing
Several of our readers hn.vG nslrftrl
, for more light on the subject of mush-
iuuiu gruwmg; now to start in the
business; if tho start 'is expensive;
what to do with it when it is started;
whether it is profitable in a financial
sense; if a woman can do the work
alone; where literature on the sub
ject may be obtained. As I have mw..
given attention to the subject
have met no one who has ml
the work, and as newspaper!!
magazine articles on tho matter nr
not always either truthful or reliant
I would like some of our Sit
who can write from experiment
knowledge to tell us about it. i S
condense the information thus gator
into a comprehensive article which
I have no doubt, may greatlv benefit
sonic one or more of our friends who
are seeking ways by which to increase
their income while confined to the
home by the cares of the family
Mushrooms are an expensive article
on the market, and if they can be as
certainly and as easily made profit
able as many would have us believe
we ought to know it.
Meantime, I would advise that our
friends write to the secretary of agri
culture, Washington, D. C, asking for
Farmer's Bulletin No. 204, relating to
mushroom growing, and at the same
time' asking for any other printed
matter available for distribution. The
department of agriculture will send to
any one who desires it a monthly list
of all the published matter, free or
otherwise, if asked to do so. Most
of the documents are to be had free, a
few have a small price attached, and
the Year Book in the department Is
an education in itself. Reports of
experiment stations are also free.
The reports of the various state horti
cultural societies, as well as of the
various state departments of agricul
ture, are to be had for the asking,
and now is the time your supply of
such - reading matter should be
gathered up, as the leisure of the long'
evenings will permit of their being
read. You ' cannot know too much
about your business.
Query Box
Mrs. S. M- Falling hair is a symp
tom, not a disease. Remove the cause,
and the hair will stop falling. Local
applications do very little good, in
some cases
Lottie. Warts come and go with
out any known cause. They may be
safely removed by several simple
methods. Moles are of soft growth,
warts are hard; they cannot be treatel
alike. .
Laurel. Scars that reach througn
the skin to the flesh cannot be re
mqved, although skin specialists claim
to reduce them somewhat. Ordinary
treatment will do no good. (2) wo
cannot, recommend them.
Effle. Get your druggist to till a
half-ounce hottle with equal parts o
tincture of myrrh and alcohol, ami
apply this to the gums three times a
day on going to bed at night, mib
is claimed to heal the gums and
tighten the teeth.
ao Tf tho Eton is becoming to
you and it is, to most persons-you
can wear it, besause it is one of the
stylos that seem always in ugue
year after year. Though no in the
extreme of fashion, there will be many
of them worn this winter.
Housewife. Why not have your
kitchen floor painted or oiled? Have
the rough places planed down oy
carpenter, give the boards a coating
of oil and ochre, then apply two coats
of yellow, brown or gray paint, wn
can be purchased ready for use, and
18 ?f"?.??P!f?L. imir narasltes.
saturate the head with coal oiltorw
-or three hours, then wash tho.ougw
in warm soap suds; wneii r
is dry, wash again in strong -M
anl let hang until dry. Tni fl
again in warm water ? "7 or
clear tepid water. Pojhis one
BETTER THAh"sPKIHOw
Spanking does not euro ohJWron or lddo
If ItdlU tlforo would be fovr ,, MrrJ;
It. Thoro Is a constitutional cause .tor i 60rol M
Summer, Box 118, Notro ahrap0'ifcnnonion$
homo troatmont to nnr mor. Biio ln tM
Write hor today If your c lill Iron tro u ,os are 11
way. Don't blamo the culld. U" u"
can't help It.
- M 4,.W.4--,i.
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