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JULY 20, 1907
The Commoner.
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who are 'so situated that they can
not avail themselves of gas or elec
tricity, as the alcohol can ho usjpd
not only as fuel and lighting, hut as a
motive power for performing much
of the hard work of the house. The
Inventions called for In order to ren
der its use available are rapidly de
veloping, and much of what is now
the veriest drudgery will be done
away with". The deadly gasoline can,
which works so disastrously in the
hands of the careless, will bo super
ceded by the safer fluid, and the al
cohol should be bailed with rapture
by the boy who must now spend his
spare moments belaboring the wood
pile. Several bulletins on the sub
ject are issued by the department of
agriculture, and it would be well to
write to the secretary, asking for
these publications, which are free
for the asking. These inventions will
do much toward solving the prob
lems of the housekeeper, and df ren
dering the farm home attractive to
the youth of both sexes.
Query Box
Troubled See recipe for making
cucumber cream in another column.
Jennie M. The bread mixing ma-
chine is well spoken of, but person
ally, I know nothing of it. Several
makes are on the market.
Tessie L. To clean the white
duel; hat, moisten magnesia with
naptha and rub well into the cloth
with a brush, and when dry, rub off
with a brush. Repeat if necessary,
but do not use where there is fire.
"Indignant Sue" I think you are
right. A late health magazine tells
us that "Parsimony in the husband
begets cunning in the wife, and this
passes down to the offspring and de
velops into, thievery."
Ina S. The first heating of the
flat-iron over gas causes the metal
to "sweat," by depositing vapor on
the cold surface. When the iron is
nicely warm (not cold) wipe off care
fully and replace, and the iron will
not soil.
J3. S. M. White kid shoes may be
cleaned by rubbing with a piece of
clean white flannel wet with benzo
line. Work gently down the shoe,
but do not rub the dirt in, and when
clean, dry in the open air. Do not
- use benzoline where there is lire,
flame, or hot sunshine.
J. D. Farmers' Bulletin No. 142
treats of the "Principles of Nutrition
and Nutritive Values of 'Food," and
can be had by writing to th-j Secre
tary of Agriculture, Washington, D.
. - C. It is free, and will answer all the
questions you ask of me, authorita
tively. Mrs. 'Lee To renovate the black
ribbon, take very strong coffee that
has been freed from grounds by
straining through cloth,, and after
brushing the ribbon, well to free it
from dust, sponge gently with the
. coffee and iron care.fully on the
wrong side until dry.
C. L. To settle the impurities
that have been carried by rainwater
from the roof, stir into the barrel of
water one tabjespoonful of powdered
alum; stir well from the bottom, and
let settle, when it will be quite clear.
It is claimed that alum in this pro
. .- portion will clear water in a cistern,
but a good filter will be far safer
and healthier.
"A Reader" The green soap fre
quently mentioned by hair specialists
is not the green cake of toilet soap
found at the department or drug
' stores; it is a thick, green liquid,
and comes in bottles, and is a Ger
) man preparation especially intended
, for cleansing the scalp. After using
it should be well rinsed out of the
hair. It is not expensive.
Mrs. J. L. Many people can not
drink milk, and if it disagrees with
your stomach,' don't drink it, no mat
ter who tells you . otherwise. Chem
ists tell us that, during the process
of digestion; foods undergo chemical
: changes which make" of the most
wholesome foods actual poisons for
spmo people Find out what foods
agrt-e with you, and eat them in mod
eration. Many of us havo "idyosyn
cracles." No one could prescribe a
diet for another, with any surety of
benefit.
Cucumber Cream
Take two pounds of cucumbers,
just ripe enough for the tablo
neither "yellow" nor too green and
cut them up without peeling; then
mash them in a wooden bowl, leav
ing them stand in their own juice
overnight; then press out the juice
and strain. Melt three and one-half
ounces of sweet almond oil, nine
drams of spermaceti, and two and
one-half drams of white wax in an
earthen vessel set into another con
taining boiling Water this is called
a "water-bath;" add the strained
juice to this, stirring all the time
to mix them thoroughly, and it may
bo necessary to heat the juice to do
this, and when the ingrcdionts are
all well blended, set on ice to harden
sufficiently to beat with a wooden
spoon. This beating is to separate
the watery portion of the cucumber
juice from the ointment. There will
be a large quantity of this water to
pour off, and when it is' drained off,
mix half an ounce of pure glycerine
into the mass, working well with the
hands until perfectly smooth. A few
drops of tincture of benzoin may bo
added to preserve from fermenta
tion. Cucumber juice ferments
readily, and the preparation can only
be kept by packing in small porcel
ain jars, hermetically sealed and
kept very cold. Jars holding about
one ounce each are preferred, as this
amount can be used before opening
another. Pour these jars about two
thirds full of the cream, then fill
with strong rosewater, and cover
closely, keeping very cold.
Canning Corn in Glass
''A Pleased Reader" sends the
following as her method of canning
corn in glass:
Havo the corn as freshly gathered
as possible, and in good condition
for the table. Cut from the cob raw,
scraping lightly over the cob to get
the rest of the grain, but do not get
the bran. Take good, sound self
sealing jars (Mason's preferred),
with new rubbers and well-fitting
lids. The lids should be tested by
filling the jar with hot water and
screwing down the lid tightly and
standing It bottom up to see that It
does not leak. Those standing the
test are then ready to wash. Nail
strips of wood together and lay in
the bottom of a wash boiler, with
cross pieces down. Place lids and
jars on this, and pour over thorn to
cover a cool suds made with a good
soap powder and water, and bring
to a boil. Then let cool so as to
handle, and as soon as the heat will
aljow, empty the suds out and fill
the jars with clear, boiling water,
rinsing good and turning bottom
side up to drain and dry. They must
be perfectly dry when filling begins.
Have new rubbers adjusted; then
take your prepared corn and pack in
to the jar, a little at a time, as solid
ly as possible, pounding down with a
little pestle prepared for the purpose,
or a small potato masher; fill all
crevices and exclude 'all air. When
it Is as full as the pressing down will
admit, take the corn up in your hand
and crowd down hard, rounding it
up on top. Then put on the lid and
screw down nearly tight; set in the
boiler on the rack in the bottom, and
fill the vessel with cqoI, clean wator
up to the shoulder of the jar, cover
the boiler with a towel, then with
the lid, and bring to a boll, after
which keep boiling for three or four
hours. Then set the boiler off the
stove, remove the cover, and let cool
until the jars can be handled, when
the top must be screwed down tight
ly, and the jars left to stand in4he
wator until cold, when it Is to bo
tightened again. Then, wrap the
jars In brown wrapping paper, each
to Itself, and If posslblo pack In
boxes and cover to oxcludo all light.
Use no salt or anything but the corn,
when canning.
Canning Com in Tin
A great many peoplo have trouble
in keeping corn canned In either
glass or tin, whllo others succeed
with cither method. Answorlng a
Quolst, I give tho two mothods
which have been found successful.
Tin cans seem to "keep" better than
glass ones, for corn, but the corn
must bo good, to begin with. For
tin, you must havo a soldering out
fit, moro or less simple, as corn will
not keep satisfactorily If at all, seal
ed with wax. Have the solder, pro
pared muriatic acid, irons and tho
bed of coals on which to heat tho
irons, and be sure your cans are
sweet and clean and whole, and not
rusted.
Take sweet corn of tho best qual
ity, as sweet and fresh as possible,
tho grains Well. filled with milk, but
not beginning to harden. Cut tho
raw corn from tho cob with a thin,
sharp knife, scraping the stuhB of
grains lightly so as not- to bring
away the bran with them, and pack
tho corn as tightly as possible in
the cans, pounding it in with a po
tato masher, so tho milk will cover
the corn no water being used. Tho
cans should bo full, and success
greatly depends on getting it packed
tightly In tho can. Punch a small
hole In the lid, and, .after carefully
wiping the groove, swab tho edeaa
of the Ud and sides of the groove
with the prepared acid to make the
solder stick; put a drop of solder on
each side of the lid to hold it so it
will not rise when being Boldered,
and proceed to seal it with solder.
Set tho cans in a boiler, filled with
wator to nearly reach the top of tho
can, bring to a boll and keep boil
ing three hours (gome say seven
hours), after which take out. one can
at a time, close tho small hole with
a drop of solder and return to tho
hot water; boll ten minutes, letting
the water cover the cans this tlmo
to a depth of several inches. If the
sealing Is not perfect, bubbles will
rise from any opening, and tho can
must be taken out, the hole sealed,
and returned to the water until no
more bubbles rise. To open the cnn.
put a few coals of fire on top, blow
gently, and the top can bo lifted.
Some Good Recipes
Corn Salad Take equal parts by
measure of green corn shaved raw
from the cob, and finely chopped
cabbage about thirty ears of corn
to one large, solid head of cabbage
ten green bell peppers, eight small
red peppers, eight large onions, three
quarts of vinegar, one cup of sugar,
one-fourth cup of salt, and one
fourth cup of ground mustard. Chop
the onions and peppers; mix tho
mustard with one pint of the vin
egar; cook the rest of the ingred
ients all together for twenty min
utes, then add the mustard and vin
egar mixture, bringing to boiling
point again, and bottle at once and
seal. When cooking, the mixture
must be stirred constantly to pre
vent the starch from the corn set
tling to the bottom, of the kettle and
burning. This is "fine to use with
cold meats. B. R. Wf
Corn apd Tomatoes Cut the corn
from the cob raw; peel and slice-the
tomatoes. The proportions are four
parts of tomatoes to one of corn.
Salt as for table, and cook until the
tomatoes fall to pieces, stirring con
stantly to thoroughly mix, and keep
from scorching. Seal ,in air-tight
jars, or In wide-mouthed bottles,
with stoppered neck dipped In seal
ing wax. Fine for sauces or soups.
Spiced Cantaloupes Cut small
cantaloupes In halves, remove the
seeds, cut Into quarters and peel. To
each pound of cantaloupe allow oil "
pound of sugar, a pint of vinegar,
half an ounce of glngor root; a Lea
apoonful of ground cloves, two tea
spoonfuls of aluplco, two of clnna- '
moil, and half a teaspoon fill of
eround mace. Put vinegar and sugar
into a porcelain lined kottlo; mix.
spices and dlvldo Into four -parts?
tlo each part In a small square of
cheese cloth, and throw Into the ket
tle with tho sugar and viuogar, and
bring to a slow boll. Add tho cantu
loupe and cook slowly until the can
taloupo la perfectly tender, soft and
quite dark; then romovo each plcco
carefully with a skimmer and placo
In a glass Jar. Boll tho liquor rap- )
Idly until It Is reducod at least one
half, or just enough to cover tho
melon In tho Jars, then pour It, boil
ing hot, into tho Jars, adjust rub
bor and seal. Peaches, pears, ap
ples, quinces, watermelons and field
citrons may bo put up by this recipe.
xvirH. . it.
Papering on Wooden Walls
This can bo dono by first covering
the boards with tho brown paper
used on floors. Make a paste of
flour and wator without cooking, and
to each gallon of tho pasto add a
small handful of gluo previously dls- '
solved. Spread this nasto on one Rld
of tho floor-paper as you would ordi
nary wall paper, and tack tho trip
end close to tho colling, pressing the
paper tightly to tho wall from thonco
to the floor, using a brush or cloth,
being sure to run out anv wrinfrloH
or "blisters." On this tho wall pa
per niay ho hung In tho usual way.
Oil cloth which comes for this pur
pose may bo readily hung, and gives
good service, being more sanitary
than paper, as it can bo wiped off
without injury.
For an out-house, or Bumtnoj,
Ktcnen, in ere is roauy- notmng tnav
will take tho placo of a good white
wash, as tills will iiot only swecton
and disinfect, but will put a stop to
the bugs and worms that show a
liking for such places.
MIS AT OR CIS HEALS
A Question of Interest to All Careful
Persons
Arguments on food are interest
ing. Many persons adopt a vegeta
rian diet on the ground that they
do not like to feel that life has been
taken to feed them, nor do they fancy
tho thought of eating dead meat.
On the other hahd, too great con
sumption .of partly cooked, starchy
oats and wheat or white bread, pas
try, etc., produces serious bowel
troubles, because tho bowel digestive
organs, (whore starch Is digested),
are overtaxed and tho food ferments,
producing gas, and microbes gener
ate In the decayed food, frequently
bringing on peritonitis and appen
dicitis. Starchy food Is absolutely essen
tial to tho human body. Its best
form. Is shown in the food "Grape
Nuts," where the starch is changed
into a form of sugar during the pro
cess of Its manufacture. In this way,
the required food Is presented to the
system in a pre-dlgested form and
Is Immediately made Into blood and
tissue, without taxing the digest?, ro
organs.
A remarkable result In nourish
ment is obtained; the person using
Grape-Nuts gains" quickly In physical
and mental strength. Why In men
tal? Because the food contains deli
cate particles of Phosphate of Pot
ash obtained from the grains, and
this unites with the albumen of all
food and the combination is what
nature uses to rebuild worn out cells
In the brain. This is a scientific fact
that can be easily proven by ten
days' use of Grape-Nuts. "There's a
Reason." Read, "The Road to Well
ville," in pkgs.
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