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The Commoner,
10
VOLUME 7, NUMBEn 38
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To My Dog, Blanco
My dear dumb friond low lying there,
A willing vassal at my foot,
Glad partner of my home and faro,
My shadow In the street.
I look Into your great brown eyes,
"Whore lovo and loyal homage
shlno,
And wonder where the difference lies
Betwoen your soul and mine.
For all of good that I have found
Within myself or human kind
Hath royally informed and crowned
Your gentle heart and mind.
I scan the whole" broad earth around
For that one heart which leal and
true,
Bears friendship without end or
bound;
And find the prize in you.
I trust you as I trust the stars;
Nor cruel loss, nor scoff, nor pride,
Nor beggary, nor dungeon bars,
Can move you from my side
As patient under injury
As any Christian saint of old,
As gentle as a., lamb with me,
But with your brothers bold;
More playful than a frolic boy,
More watchful than a sentinel,
By day and night your constant joy
To guard and please me well;
I clasp your head upon my breast
The while you whine and lick my
hand
And thus our friendship is confessed,
And thus we understand.
Ah, Blanco! Did I worship God
As truly as you worship me,
Or follow where my Master trod
With your humility,
Did I sit fondly at His feet,
As you, dear Blanco, sit at mine,
A.nd watch Him with a love as sweet,
My life would grow divine.
1. t - J G. Holland.
Vi
and women who "carry their age
well." Few people k.ept isolated
from their kind develop optimism,
cheerfulness, broadmindedness, or
charity for their fellows. For the
sake of the elders, as much as for
the young people, social gatherings
should be arranged for, to take place
weekly, bi-monthly or monthly, at
some centrally located place, and the
people should encourage attendance
upon them, overcoming the disposi
tion to drift into senility through
inortia. After an evening outing
one not given to gourmandizing,
breaking up at a reasonable hour
the work of the day following will
seem less drudging, and broader in
terests will enlarge our lives. Plan
for them now; then work for the
plan. Let us make something more
of ourselves than hewers of wood
and carriers of water. See that
"mother" goes with the rest of
you.
The Social Sido
C-r From now on, for some months,
.'"the hours of darkness will seem in
excess of those of light, and there
will be needs for the all around de-
Vftlonmpnl- of rmvaolTmo ..-n.l ... P
ilies other than those of fuel, food, Few women who hire out as cook
Business Methods in the Home
Successful housekeeping and
homemaking is just as much a busi
ness as any other of the world's
works. The woman who conducts
her housework along as careful lines
as the merchant does his commer
cial affairs will find it much to her
advantage in more ways than one.
There should be the same careful
keeping of income and expense ac
counts, the same study of the mar
kets, and the same close watch on
the little leaks. In order to make
the most of everything and to get the
full value of one's money, a woman
should study the kinds and quali
ties of the various merchandise with
which her work has to deal. She
should know how to choose meats,
and how to cook the cheaper pieces
palatably; how to select Vegetables,
groceries, and the standard articles
which every housekeeper must have
on her shelves. She should know
how to keep the scraps from wast
ing, and the setting of theso before
her family in attractive form should
be her "remnant day." and von
know how we all scramble for the
"mill-ends" and short lengths that
are -arrayed so tastefully on the
bargain counters.
The times is largely given over to
specializing in all business but house
keeping, and even into this work
the "spirit of the times" is creeping.
siieuer anu ciotning. In city or
country, the hours of daylight will
be filled with work, but the evening
hours may be most profitably spent
In social commingliugs and cultivat
ing the social sido of life, This
method of spending the evening
hours will not appeal so Btrongly to
thouo who have spent the day in com
pany with others, as to those who
are confined to the routine work of
the home with seldom a word or a
glimpso with others than the child
ren, or, in some cases, the farm an
imals. As we grow past middle age,
wo are apt to lose interest in the
social side, and say wo have out
lived "such foolishness;" but it is
the unused musclo which atrophies,
and every withered organ of the body
or brain is a sign of degeneracy. It
is tho person who loses interest in
the life about him or her who be
comes prematurely old and senile.
The more wo keep in touch with the
world of events, tho more life we
absorb. If the social qualities are
allowed to shrivel and shrink through
disuse, wo become narrow, one
sided, bigoted, and one-idead. It is
tho wide-awake, busy, social men
ana housekeeper, even among the
"common people," will now touch
the laundering or the family sew
ing. The. laundress makes no pre
tentions to being a cook or a dress
maker. The house-girl does not ex
pect to do any cooking, and the seam
stress looks askance at the bed-
maicmg ana the ironing board. But
as yet, the house-mothers in general
must be a little of everything to her
uiimiy, ana ner best plan is to study
carefully the real necessities, and
make tho best provisions possible.
The "things" that one house-mother
can let go, are the necessities in tho
faraiy of her neighbor; what one
family can scarcely do without is a
matter of perfect indifference to an
other. What is extravagance with
one woman would be economy in an
other, and an economy in one house
hold would be niggardliness in an
other. Every woman must be a law
unto herself, in such matters, but
she should be careful of her laws.
Helpful Suggestions
As October advances, the weather
will become quite cool atUimes but
do not close the doors and windows
tightly. Remember that you must
have fresh air, at all costs, and the
best way is to accustom yourself from
the first cool days to a low tempera
ture by leaving the windows and
doors open as long as possible, and
lighting the fires only on damp, dis
agreeable days and evenings. In
most latitudes, the heater will not
need cq be in constant use until the
middle of November or the first of
December.
The fuel problem is now before us,
and we should lealize that it is not
solved by the mere purchase and stor
age of the coal There are many
ways of economizing fuel, and these
should be sought out and tried. If
you use hard (anthracite) coal, it
is claimed that from 2o per cent to
50 per cent of the coal is wasted
unless the ash is sifted, and the un-
burned coal and half consumed cin
ders gathered out to be used oyer
again. Sifting the contents of the
ash box by hand is a slow, disagree
able process, but will pay, if nothing
better can be done. Several ma
chines that do the sifting more or
less thoroughly and cleanly are now
on the market. If before laying the
cinders on the fire they are sprinkled
with water, they will burn brighter
and give out increased heat.
The soft (bituminous) coal ash
can be used advantageously for mak
ing walks about the premises, to and
from outhouses. It is of no conse
quence to sift soft coal ashes, un
less you know there is unburned
coal, and you must, In such a case,
carefully pick out all cinders "slag"
as these will not burn to ashes
as do the cinders of the hard coal.
It is just as easy to empty the ash
pan along the path to the barn, well,
or outhouse, every time it is carried
out, as to throw the contents on an
ugly heap in the yard. Wood ashes
should be scattered over the garden
or fields, as" there is much excellent
fertilizing material in them. If
stored, they should be put under
shelter, or the rains will "leach"
them, removing much of. their value.
It.is the little economies that count,
Buying Silks
If purchasing silk for a street cos
tume, see that it has "body" to it
Flimsy silks will drag at the seams
hang limply, and be altogether un
satisfactory. Thin silks, if of good
quality, are expensive, and are de
signed for housewear not for the
street. To judge of silk, pull the
thread from the end as in judging
cotton or wool; if the thread is well
rounded and firm, and does not split
apart at the touch, it is safe to con
clude that it will do good service.
Another test is to make a crease with
the finger nail; if the crease dents
uuepiy, ana aoes not come out soon,
the silk is good; if, on the contrary,
the crease disappears immediately
and leaves a torn or cut thread in
its place, it should be rejected. Many
silk-and-wool mixtures are equally as
handsome as the ordinary "pure
silk" and wear a great deal better.
For Homo Comfort
Use "silence caps" on your chair
Jogs to prevent scratches on the pol
ished or painted floor, and to stop
the noise of moving about. Small
pieces cut from an old felt hat, fit
ted to the post or rocker and fastened
on with strong glue, may be neatly
done.
For the children's wear of a rainy
day or evening, when the noise of the
leather shoes become intolerable, cut
.pieces from tho unworn ends and
corners of thick blankets, or heaw
woolen goods, or from the ws nf
discarded wool socks, shape thorn
like a stocking foot, running tip
seam lengthwise of the shape from
the top of the heel behind aroun
to the instep in front. Bind tho ton
and sew tapes on the opening at the
instep to tie the shoe on with. Tliev
are warm, soft and noiseless, savini:
shoes, floors, furniture and temper
Make little pillows of cotton bat
ting, cover with some pretty wash
material, and hang on the backs of
the chairs for head rests when you
sit down for a moment. Inexpensive
and decorative, if neatly done and
regularly laundered.
For the Laundress
Chamois skin garments should be
wrung directly out of clean, soapy
water and dried without rinsing, in
order that it may be soft and flexible
when dry.
Very thin, sheer goods mav be
given a "body" by adding a small
quantity of hot water starch to the
rinse water. The quantify depends
on the thickness of the starch, and
can be learned by a little experimenting.
Do not leave flat-irons on the stove
when not in use. If kept continu
ally heated they lose the power to
retain heat when in use. Do not
leave them where the steam of cook
ing can reach them, or they will rust.
If the flatirons show a tendencj to
rust under good care, or to smirch
the clothes, wash them well in soap
suds and dry carefully after the
washing, with heat. If inclined to
be rough, put salt on a board or bit
of paper and rub the iron over this
a few times. If inclined to "stick,"
with the starched clothes, put a piece
of beeswax on a thick paper, and rub
the hot iron over this lightly before
using, running it oyer a clean paper
a few times to remove the surplus
wax.
Do not rub soap on ribbons or
laces when washing them. Make a
suds as strong as desired, and wash
in this. Use only a good article of
white soap, and rinse carefully. Iron
the lace on the wrong side, and the
ribbons between two cloths. To rib
bons a gloss may be given by ironing
directly with the iron next to the
goods.
Keeping Honey
Do not store the honey in a cold
place, if you want it to keep nicely.
Honey kept in a cold place is very
apt to "granulate," or "turn into
sugar." Old honey is especially apt
to do this, To dissolve the sugar,
place the honey in a vessel and set
the vessel into a pan of boiling wa
ter, and let the honey get thoroughly
hot. Then pour into the proper ves
sels and keep in a quite warm place.
Folding Laundered Clothes
Few home laundresses know how
to fold freshly ironed clothes so as
to give as few creases as possible,
and the method can not be learned
from the printed page. The proper
folding of the garment adds much
to the appearance of the finished
work, especially in the -matter of
skirts and shirtwaists, which should
have as few wrinkles as possible. If
the home laundress wishes to per
fect herself in her business, she
should spend a few weeks in the
folding department of some first
class general laundry, until she has
caught the knack of it. Like all
other trades, it should be learned by
personal experience, 'with personal
instruction, and few mothers are
skilful enough to impart the knowl
edge to their daughters, because they
AN OLD AND WELL TKIED REMEDY!
Miis, WiNsr-ow's SocmriNa Sybui for chlldrou
toothing should cilways bo used for chlldron wlillo
teothlnjr. It softens tho punis, ullnyB nil pain, cure
wind colic nrnl Js tho boat roinody for diorrlioafc
Twoiity-flvo couta a botUo. i
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