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The Commoner,
VOLUME 10, NUMBER I
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Conducfodby
'Hfelon Watts M
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Departmen
. March Winds
Whistle, Oh winds of March,
Through Iho gray hedges;
Grim though tho skies, we see
Gold In tho edges.
Bond your shrill huglo call
Through all tho spaces
Bid your froHt fairy-hand
Spread tholr whlto laces.
Cometh another hand,
Gracious and merry
CJrlnglng tho frost of wild
Dogwood and cherry.
Whirl through tho orchard houghs,
Ico-Jewela clashing;
Soon In pink wreaths of hloom
Dow shall ho Hashing.
Harsh though your harp may ho,
Soon shall its numhora
Stir tho wild hyacinths
Out of tholr alumhors.
Harriot Whitnoy Durhin.
March Work
Do not forgot that March is tho
month for tho first skirmishes in
houso cleaning, preparatory to tho
regular straightening out so neces
sary to right living. Thoro is no
tlmo of year moro valuables for (ho
extermination of houso pests, and if
begun now, tho good work will bo
far moro offectlvo later on. Taking
one room at a time, all cracks or
openings in wood work, splintered
IllaCCS. nail-hnlnn. nrwl lirnnln, .,
plastering may bo filled, thus sealing
up any oggs or dormant insects
which thoy contain. Thoro aro sov
oral good and lncxponslvo fillers, and
good uso should bo mado of them.
Soft, woll-beaton putty Is tho most
oxponslvo, and wears woll; but tho
cracks should bo glvon a coat of
paint boforo using tho putty, to pro
vont tho offects of expansion through
heat or cold. Whoro it can bo had,
a mlxturo of gluo and sawdust is
good and cheap for filling wido
cracks or openings In floors and
wood-work. Dissolvo ono pound of
common gluo in two gallons of wa
ter (with heat), then stir into tho
liquid gluo enough sawdust to make
a good paste. Fill this into tho
oponings, compactly, pounding it
down as solid as may bo, thon lot
dry. For nail holes, and small
places In wood work, putty, or any
of tho nilors may bo used. For
cracks or breaks in plastoring, uso
plaster of paris, mixed to a paste
With vinegar, which will provont its
hardening while bolng handled. Fil
lors may bo mado of papor and gluo
or flour paste. For tho gluo filler'
shred plenty of papor, soak in wa
tor and boil until a soft pulp; for
Bvory two gallons of tho pulp, add
one pound of dissolved gluo, mixing
thoroughly. For tho flour pasto mix
one quart of flour, one tablespoon
ful of powdored alum, and three
luarts of wator, boiling when beaten
jmooth, for flvo minutes, stirring
Bhrod into this enough paper of any
Joft kind to make tho mixture as
Oiick as putty. Press into tho cracks
&r oponings, compactly, and let
harden, then stain.
Easter and tho Hare
Tho connection between tho hare
or rabbit, and Easter can bo tracod
only through mythology. From the
earliest times, the hare has been a
symbol of the moon. A fow reasons
for this may lie in tho fast that tho
haro comes out only at night to
u, i4U mui, uie lomaio carries
her young for a month, thus repre
senting tho lunar cycle. Tho Egyp
tians called tho haro "uu," which
has two meanings, "open," and
"period." Tho moon was tho open
oyo of tho night; hence tho haro be
camo tho typo of periodic occur
rences. As an opener, it was asso
ciated with tho opening of tho new
year, and also with the opening of
new life in youth. Thus, tho hare
became associated with the Easter
egg, in this country tho haro
is almost unknown, but its "second
cousin," tho rabbit, abounds. Tho
negroes havo a superstition regard
ing tho little animal that is rather
apt they believe that tho left hind
foot of a rabbit that is killed in a
graveyard in tho dark of tho moon,
possesses rare talismanic virtues.
Tho "Ilurnliig Question"
In nearly every paper or magazine
ono takes up, women and girls who
wish to "make money at home" are
advised to bake bread and cake.
They aro told that "almost any ono
would bo willing to pay flvo cents
more for a delicious home-made loaf
than for a baker's." But that is
theory. Thousands of women in the
great cities are trying to sell their
cookery. Some of thorn succeed; but
tho majority do not. In the first
place, not every woman who tries
it, can make really good bread or
cako. Even if she can, there are
always varying results, and mishaps
win occur, anu uie woman may lack
business ability; or she may have a
foolish, sensitive pride that offers ex
cuses, as though the work was de
grading. Then, too, her trade may
fluctuate, or her customers change
localities; or some other woman may
offer better cookery. If she have the
business ability and courage and pa
tience necessary to build up a trade
it is worth while.
Spring Work
Hero is a good whitewash that is
claimed to bo very lasting: Stir
flour and cold water together in pro
portion as you would for ordinary
paste; let this boil for throe minutes,
stirring, adding a tablespoonful of
salt for every quart of paste. Allow
the paste to cool after straining;
then to a pailful of well slacked lime
ready for white wash, add a quart
of the paste, thoroughly mixing. For
nsido whitewashing, it is very satisfactory.
Family Expenses
Tho question of suitable food for
the family where tho income is small,
Is still worrying a great many house
keepers, and many of them are
catching at straws" to keep tho
S, supplied and appease the
Thnr-SRP6",1,68 f th hseh0ld.
Thoro is literally no economy in sub
stituting eggs, milk, butter, nuts,
and other things that aTe every bit
as costly for meats, while a diet of
fish for the working family would
bo less nourishing and cost much
more than any meats that could be
Sffiii2?18' thQ avege house
wife will have to do much oxperl-
SetIns.In concoting dishes of
these not commonly used materials
and there is liable to be much waste
Tho most sensible course to pursue
seems to be to buy the cheaPo?
?h!f , mei? and lea to cook
them well and using suitable vege
tables cooked with them, Buppl
menting any shortage that may oc
cur by variously prepared dishes of
cereals, legumes, and dried or canned
fruits and dried, smoked or canned
fishes. No matter what vegetarians
say about the matter, one who has
been accustomed to a meat or mixed
diet all through life will hardly agree
to live on the fruits of the field en
tirely, to the exclusion of meats.
Many people can not eat vegetables,
or even fruits, except in very small
quantities, and such people must be
"a law unto themselves." Every
housewife must try to solve the
problem for herself, for no one per
son can dictate to another.
The Home Garden
A good garden, in town or coun
try, is half the living. If you have
not sent for your seeds, do not put
the matter off. With many people,
tho garden is a short-lived affair,
usually cared for until the first
crops are gone, then given over to
the weeds. As the garden spot is
generally very rich, or should be,
it should be kept at work all the
season, from the earliest to the lat
est moment. Planting should be
done for succession and as soon as
one crop is done the ground should
be cleared and another seeding given.
This should be kept up as late as
possible, giving the last plantings to
such things as may be used for
pickling, canning and preserving,
with winter vegetables filling in. A
weed crop is a costly thing, and a
weed has no business in the garden.
The garden should be large enough
for abundant supply for the family;
but too much is a waste. Plant the
things you like. Most of the culti
vating can be done with the horse,
or the improved hand cultivators
which even a woman can use. But
it should not be left to the women
of tho family to cultivate the garden.
It should be treated as any other
crop, in the matter of cultivation so
far as is possible. But have a good
garden, and begin planning for and
prepaTing now.
For Nimble Fingers
Butter-fly Bows Cut two scraps
of lawn, each five inches square; roll
a narrow hem all around; join the
two pieces by means of narrow inser
tion; take enough of the insertion to
extend easily around the little square
thus formed, folding at the corners
edge it with a very narrow lace to
match, and run little dots through
X WuMgold thread If desired; pleat
the little bow in five narrow folds
each side of the center insertion,
turning toward it, the border form
ing the outside edge of the fifth
fasten securely in the center, and
surround with a narrow band of the
lawn covered with a bit of the in
sertion. A similar bow may be made
of brussels net, used double, and
darned with gold thread or fine em-
nder78llk; r niet net aVT?e
raulaerm'g636 l Pened r
Fagoting is "coming in" again and
is used freely with lace and i embroTd
:Zmbinati0ns; fftSt stitching Is
SSS-7 V.ri8B Stitch cnnecting two
bands which are usually set their
W 1th u?.art' or connecting a band
with a bit of plain lawn or linen if
you can make the common "feather
ing.0' herriebone, you'eafdo
Jahots are made of net, lawn null
lace, ribbon, and other so dalntv
materials; tabs, cascades, falls are
VeryrnJnodi8h' as el as easily
made. The coarsest and cheapest if
these sell at the counters for ten to
twenty-five cents, and they will haTd
ly bear laundering, while for twenty
five cents, better materials for sev
eral may be had, and made at home
by the needle worker. The cheap,
ready-made neckwear always lookg
cheap and coarse, and it is an ex
travagance to invest in it, while the
price of the better quality is out of
all proportion to the cost of the ma-:
terials of. which it is made. Try
making these of simple stuffs, and
when skill is acquired, try with bet
ter materials.
One of the Lost Arts
In these days, when a garment,
especially those worn by girls and
women, has served a season, it is
often times "as good as new," both
as to appearance and make, and
might serve for several seasons to
come, so far as durability is con
cerned; but by the time the season
for its use comes around again, it
is hopelessly out of date, and only the
most sensible woman will consent to
put it into commission again. Fash
ions change so rapidly that, as one
of our girls writes me, "One must be
willing to look like a guy, if she has
the courage to wear the garment
again." Another reader says it is
just as well to get the cheaper gar
ments, for they will outlive the style,
anyway, and can not be bartered, or
given away, even to those who suffer
for the need of such garments, and
whose circumstances in life will not
admit of their following "the fash
ions" at all closely. In large cities,
such clothing can be given to the
charitable societies, for distribution
to the very poor and needy; but
many times the housewife finds it
very hard to replace the garment
given away, as there seems a place
for every penny, without spending
it for clothes. In the days of our
mothers, nearly every woman could
"make over," and refashion the sur
plus garments, and the good dress,
cloak, or jacket, or coats and slight
ly worn men's wear was used to
clothe the family, passing down the
line as needed. Or the garments
were re-fashioned and worn by the
original wearer with much comfort.
Tailors will often do this work to
day, but their charges are as much,
in many instances, as a new garment
would cost, and their work not al
ways satisfactory. If one tries to
get a seamstress in the house for
such work, she may succeed; but the
chances are, she will not. If tho
daughters would take up such work,
doing it well, and on business prin
ciples, it surely would pay better
than working in shops for the low
wages many of them get; and tho
saving for the home family would
not be insignificant, if one of tho
family could or would do the work
well and carefully.
General Household
During the late days of winter.
,7 L 6 Ui yaiP-H Decomes a
very disagreeable task, because of
- - - uicujf luia, iteep ail
bits of unprinted paper, or even
newspapers will do, and before
sweeping tear into small bits a good
big handful of the paper, soak it ia
warm water for a minute, theS
squeeze out all tho water possible
scatter this over the carpet to be
??!' pntifullyJ then sweep a!
usual. The paper will gather tho
dust and prevent its rising. Sween
but a small space at a time, gather
ing up the paper and burning beforo
going further; if the carpet 'is ver?
dusty, wash the broom in a pail 3
water standing outside the door oc
casionally shaking it oft Just as drs
as possible before continuing S3
sweeping. If the carpet is very dust
as it Is apt to be in a room used
great deal by the family, g?ing ove?
it a second time, using a sprllkHnl
of coarse salt instead of pane? will
brighten and clean the cwpet 2
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