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The Commoner
VOLUME 9, NUMBER 19
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The Heart's Cry
All day and night, all day and night,
I hR in my darkened room alone;
Come, thou, wIiobo laughter sounds
so gay,
Come hither for charity come! and
say
What flowers are faded and what
are blown.
Does the great, glad sun, as ho used
to, riso?
Or is it always a weary night?
A shadow has fallen across mine
eyes,
Come hither and tell me about the
skies
Are thoro drops of. rain? Are there
rays of light?
Keep not, dear heart, so far away
With thy laughter light and low;
But come to my darkened house, I
pray,
And tell mo what of the fields, to
day ' Or lilies or snow? Or lilies or
snow?
Do tho hulls of the ripe nuts hang
apart?
Do the leaves of the locust drop
In tho well?
-Or is it tho time for the buds to
i ' ' start?
O, ' gay littlo heart, O, gay little
heart!
Come hither and toll; come hither
and tell.
The. day of my hope is cold and dead;
The sun is dead, and the light is
gone;
Como hither, thou, of the roses red
Of the gay, light heart and the gold
en head,
And toll of the dawn of the dew
'and tho dawn!
Alice Cary.
well floured, keeping the edges in
good shape. Sprinkle flour in a
shallow baking pan and put in the
layer of dough, which should bo
about three-quarters of an inch
thick, and. bake as you would bis
cuit dough. When done, with a hot
knife blade slico through the middle
of tho loaf, making two layers; but
ter both layers generously, pile sug
ared berries on one, and lay the other
on top of it. This is a real "grand
mother's" strawberry short-cake
recipe. Serve hot.
Strawberries
Tho strawberry season is with us,
and one can hardly have this doli
cious fruit served in too many ways.
Among the most enjoyable forms in
which it may be served, after the
fresh, ripe fruit, is in tho form of
Ice cream. Here is a good recipe:
Put one quart of cream and one
pint of milk in a pail and sot in a
vessel of hot water (a double boiler
is best), and when the top of the
cream wrinkles, add one pint of
sugar thoroughly mixed with four
tablespoonfuls of flour and stir un
til the mixture is creamy. Then add
Where Closets are Lacking
There are so many ways of mak
ing "closets" where none exist, that
tho woman who allows her clothes
to hang with no protection from dust
is becoming the exception. Where
there is a corner, or a space between
a door and a corner, it may be made
into a first rate closet by putting up
a shelf as long and as wide as you
wish, or as the space will allow In
corners the shelf should be a tri
angle. On the top of the shelf may
bo set hat, or other boxes; and in
the under side of the shelf screw as
many hooks made for under sides
of shelves as you have room for.
Then get a window shade as wide
as your shelf 'is long, and use as
you would a shade, running it up
and down as needed. Or tho front
may bo closed with a curtain, both
top and bottom of which, may be
held in place by a brass or other
rod on which it can be shoved to
and fro; or the closing may bo simply
a curtain, -with a rod for the top, the
bottom end left free. If one is a
careful housewife and allows no ver
min on her bedding, a set of hooks
may be let into the back of the head
of the bedstead, if the wooden frame
is used; but unless the bedding is
kept perfectly free from such pests,
this would not be advisable. Where
it is so easy to keep free from such
things, however, no -woman should
allow them to exist.
3n Wash Days
One who is a thorough housewife
is very much inclined to envy her
sister housewife who has a "clothes
yard," with a grass carpeting, and
where the sunshine and wind can
circulate freely among tho folds of
the wet "wash." Where the con
venience of the "wash lady," wheth-
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nireu laundress,
glutens and muscle building values
are concerned. As 85 to 90 per cent
of the large flour mills of the coun
try are using the bleaching process,
the decision of the government ex
perts is far reaching." Any one who
has "used their own flour" in the
long ago, will remember how much
better flavored the breads of the old
home were than any that can be
made today of the bleached flours.
The department of agriculture has
lately shown that the so-called "pol
ished" coffee should be looked upon
with suspicion, by the seizure and
examination of a lot of coffees
shipped into a neighboring state. The
stuff was labeled "polished coffee,"
and had the appearance of having
been subjected to some sort of var
nishing. Samples were sent to
Washington for analysis, and under
the investigations of the experts, it
turned out to be a coating of lead
chromate; this poisonous coating was
given the herrles in order to con
ceal its Inferiority and to lead the
consumer to believe he was getting
something which had been carefully
selected and laboriously polished.
column's Rural World.
Proportions. One cupful of
sugar will sweeten one quart of any
mixture to be 'served chilled or fro
zen. One teaspoonful of extract will
flavor one quart of custard or pud
ding. One level teaspoonful of salt
will season one quart of soup, sauce
or vegetables. One tablespoonfuj of
extract will flavor one quart of any
mixture to be frozen. Ordinary
French dressing is made of three
tablespoonfuls of olive oil, one and
a half tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one
fourth level teaspoonful of salt and
level teaspoonful of pepper, and will
moisten one pint of salad. One
tablespoonful of milk or water
should be allowed for each egg in an
omelet. Four eggs should be al
lowed to each quart o milk in mak
ing cup custard. Four to six eggs
should be used to each quart of
milk in making custard to be turned
from a mold. Rice will absorb three
times its measure of water, or a larg
er quantity of liquid if milk or stock
is used. One ounce ' of butter and
half an ounce of flour aTe used to
thicken one cupful of liquid for
sauce.
heat, or set into" a kettle of boiling
water, stirring, . and let cook about
five minutes. Keep covered and hot
until ready for use.
Keep all laundry vessels and ma
chinery clean, and when done using
on wash day, clean thoroughly be
fore setting them away. The clothes
pins and line and clothes sticks
should be kept in calico, or cloth
bags, and th? kettles should be dry
and hung up.
Wash day loses much of its ter
rors if everything is put away after
use, ready for the next time, clean
and free from rust. If possible, have
a washing machine, and if one can
have a wash room, with laundry
stove an old stove will do and all
supplies bo kept in the room, it will
add much to the convenience of the
family laundress.
a rrweiii4-sA 4-1. ..
iSQ Lwberr,leB WHich !a clotnes can all 'be hung on the line
"l,v"' ." w imijj uuu ruuuuu l'rom tho Rr.nn nf tho wnoh T,,
through a fine sieve an-1 sweetened
with ono pint of granulated sugar.
Cook for fifteen minutes moro, then
remove from tho heat and add one
tablespoonful of extract of vanilla, if
liked, and sot asido to cool. When
cold, put in a freezer and freeze as
any other cream. This recipe makes
three quarts of frozen cream.
Short-cake Put into a mixing
bowl four cupfuls of flour and three
heaping teaspoonfuls of baking
powder; stir or sift together thor
oughly, then add half a cupful of
sugar, working it in tho same way
add slightly moro than a cupful of
sweet nunc, mix witn the other in
gredients, but handle as lightly as
possible and quickly In order to
have the dough very tender. Sprinkle
flour on the molding board and roll
tho dough over on this two or three
times, but do not knead or mold
Run the rolling pin over this, or
press out with the palm of the hand
by suspending the line on a pair of
pulleys. Where the yard is some
what limited in space, the line
should be hung on pulleys, or on
hooks, wherever it is attached to
supports. Line is cheap, and so are
clothes pins, and regular hooks for
hanging the line are also cheap. One
of the "dryers" that occupy but a
little space is a convenience; and
may be had for about ten dollars,
can bo taken indoors and folded like
an umbrella. A very good Imitation
can be made at home.
Rhubarb Ways
If properly cooked, rhubarb is one
of our best spring "fruits." The
stalks should be gathered fresh, and
should not be peeled, a"s much of
the flavor and most of the color is
lost by this means. It is best to
cook a very little at a time, letting
it get quite cold before serving. A
nice way to cook it is to cut it, peel
and all, in quarter-inch length pieces
and sprinkle a little sugar over it,
leaving it to stand over night; this
will extract the juice, and it can
then be cooked in a very few min
utes, always keeping the vessel cov
ered while it is cooking. Another
way is to sprinkle with sugar, cover,
and set in the oven, where it will
cook slowly. There should never
be any water added, if it can be
avoided, but if water is necessary,
use only the least possible amount.
Cook always in porcelain-lined earth
en, agate or enameled ware never
in tin, copper, brass or iron. Many
prefer to cook it without the sugar
being added ufctll it is done.- Do
not cook it until it "mushes," "but
let it be perfectly tender and done.
For canning, the stalks should bo
cut in short lengths, the sugar
sprinkled over it the night before,
and in the morning, the vessel con
taining it set in the oven, closely
covered, and when done, can and
seal as other fruits. The cold wa
ter process is not always satisfac
tory, and much of the flavor is lost
in the process. Rhubarb jelly is
easily made, and is much liked by
many people. It is a "healthy"
food, and is inexpensive. For can
ning and preserving, June or July is
early enough, as the stalks are not
then so juicy.
For tho Housewife
A writer in National Food Maga
zine says, in relation to the bleached
flour decision: "The housewife will
now insist on yellow tinted or
creamy, flour and will learn to realize
that a natural flour very white can
in no manner compare with the
creamy or yellow flour insofar as
For the Laundry
With the advent of warm weather,
the laundering of lawns and muslins
becomes of interest, and here is a
good starch recipe: To make thick
starch use eight times as much wa
ter as starch, and a quarter of a
teaspoonful of paraffin wax, borax or
Bpermaceti to one quart of water,
adding salt if the goods are likely
to raae or tne colors to "run." All
these ingredients should be added
when the starch begins to cook. Thin
starch should have twice as much
water as thick starch, but thick
starch may readily be thinned to
suit, using hot water. Starch to
prevent sticking, should bo thor
oughly cooked, and clear in color.
Make a thin paste by blending the
starch with sufficient cold water
tp prevent its lumping when boiling
water is added it should be about
the consistency of good cream, and
the water to be added should be
boiling when poured into it, sirring
tho mixture fast as it thickens. hoat
ing out any lumps that may form, as.
ii ib upi, io ao n tne cold starch iB
not thinned sufficiently. Whon nil
I the boiling water is added, cook over,
Currants are said to contain val
uable acids 'such as tartaric, citric
and malic, in proper proportions for
wholesomeness. They are said to be
refrigerant, antiseptic and anti-febrile,
and should be more largely
used as a food than they at present
are.
Cleaning tlio Oil Stove
There are so many makes of oil
stoves that only general directions
for the cleaning can be given; yet
in order to do satisfactory work, tho
stove must (not should, but must)
be kept clean. First, remove the
upper reservoir, unscrew the cap at
the end of the tube and pour out
the oil. Unscrew the caps from the
pipe, remove the wicks and lay them
aside. Make a strong lye water and
fill tho lower reservoir, leaving it
stand for some time. Boil the caps
in lye water until the dirt comes off
readily. Take a small wire and run
down in the small tubes until the
lye will run through easily; then
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED REMTDDY
. H Winsi.ow's SooniNa Sykup for children
teeth meahouldrilwayahoUsed for; children whlla
teotmnar. Itifloftons tho giims, Uays tho pain
cures wind colic and Is tho beat remedy for diar
rhoea, Twcnty-flve cents a bottle.
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