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The Commoner,
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VOLUME 10, NUMBER 1J
Tlio Valiant
Not for tlio star-crowned heroes, the
moil Unit conquer and slay,
But a song for thoso Unit horc them,
tho mothers braver than they!
With novcr a blare of trumpets, with
novor a surgo of cheers,
Thoy march to the unseen hazard
palo, patient volunteers;
No hate In their hearts to steel them
with lovo for a circling shield,
To tlio mercy of merciless nature
thoir fragile) selves they yield.
Now God look down in pity, and
temper thy sternest law;
From tho Held of dread and peril
bid Pain his troops withdraw!
Thou unto her pence triumphant lot
each spent victor win,
Though Ufo bo bruised and tremb
ling yet lit from a flmiio within
Is tho wan sweet smilo of conquest,
gained without war's alarms,
Tho woman's smile of victory for tho
now lifo safo in her arms.
So not for tho star-crowned heroes,
tho mon that conquer and slay,
But a song for those that boro them,
tho mothers braver than they!
M. A. Do Wolfo Howe,
in Harmonies.
Spring Work
Our housewives do not. need to ho
told that thoro is enough to do these
days; but ono thing must bo done,
ovon though somo others may bo
nogloctod. Got rid of insect pests in
tho houso. Clean up, paint, white
wash, 1111 all cracks, uso plonty of
carbolic acid in tho drains and in
dirty places; uso strong Persian in
soct powder, gasoline, coal oil,
strong brino or strong alum -water in
tho haunts of tho pests. Clean out
all damp places, and burn all old
rags. Fight tho cockroaches to ex
termination. Nothing can bo accom
plished unless you keep up the bat
tlo until tho last ono goes. Fumi
gate rooms and closets and cellars
with sulphur, and tho other fumi
gators recommended by tho Depart
ment of Agrlculturo at Washington,
ana take counsel with those who
liavo overcome tho enemy. Remem
ber, every ono is liablo to have thoso
insocts como or brought to them;
but tho obligation to keep tho in
truders is denied. One woman, who
was moving out of a house, said to
tho ono moving in: "You'll bo sorry
you took this houso it is full of
bodbugs; I know, for I havo lived
hero two years!" Tho reply was,
that such a condition of things looked
worso for tho housekeeping qualities
of tho woman than for tho house.
Fancy harboring a houseful of bed
bugs for two years! In thrco to six
months' time, tho worst infested
houso should bo rid of them, with
good housekeeping. Fight them!
And bogln right now, boforo tho now
crop is hatched.
There aro several roach poisons
on tho market that havo proven of
value, but tho best insecticide is a
thoroughly determined housewife.
Keep all fragments of food off tho
floor, and out of tho reach of tho
roaches, and dry up all damp places.
Use plonty of tho powder, and havo
it fresh and strong.
molting a small bar of whito soap
over a gentle heat, then mix with it
equal parts of whiting that has been
sifted, and very flno whito sand,
about one-fourth tho quantity of the
sand as of powdered borax and sal
soda. For removing paint from furniture,
or wood-work that is to be repaint
ed, uso caustic soda, made by dis
solving ono pound of salsoda and
one-half pound of fresh lime in five
quarts of water. Boil a few minutes
in a copper or brass kettle, then let
settle, pour off tho clear liquid, and
put in jugs; then, on the sediments
in tho kettle, pour other five quarts
of water, boil a few minutes, and
pour this off into jugs. Tho first
liquid is very strong, and will take
the paint off readily; it must not
touch tho hands. Tho second is ex
cellent for scouring pots, kettles,
pans, and unpaintod wood work.
Must bo labelled, and used carefully,
as caustic lyo is very severe on tho
hands.
This caustic lyo is excellent for
pouring in cracks and crevices where
vermin are suspected, but will take
the paint off of anything.
If tho cellar is musty or foul
odored, close all the doors and win
dows and burn enough sulphur in it
to fill tho place with tho fumes.
Leave it closed for an hour or two,
then open and air, and later white
wash tho walls and ceilings with two
coats of good whitewash. Sulphur
gas is heavy and settles, and the
work should bo done on a windy day
in order to havo tho fumes well
blown out.
few pay any attention to this stupid
looking gnat-fly. Just how the little
bug comes out, I can not tell, or
what becomes of it after the season
is over; but it is. of ten found whore
skippers aro not. The bug bores in
to the dry meat, where the larger
fly may deposit its eggs. Never saw
any young flies."
For tho Home Seamstress
To make machine hemstitching,
uso a fine thread and very coarse
needle. This will show better on fine
material, but may be used for pillow
cases, sheets and the like.
There is nothing that lengthens the
life of a garment like good care and
instant reparation of any rent, tear,
darn, broken threads, or frayed
edges. If care is taken to look after
the buttons, button-holes, tapes, and
other fastenings before putting a gar
ment away, even for a day, there
would be time saved when one has
be done with any room where a con
tagious disease has been confined, or
where vermin is lodged in the walls
and wood work. Remember that the
fumes of sulphur will corrode all
metals in the room, and these should
be removed, as well as all house
plants. Do not leave the sewing
machine in the room that is to be
fumigated.
Hot vinegar Is said to remove paint
from glass without injury to tho
paint on the frame. Soda solution
will remove the paint from both glass
and wood work. Whiting mixed to
a cream with tepid water is good for
cleaning painted wood work, as well
as the glass.
To remove marks of match
scratches from wood work, rub the
scratches with a1 cut lemon, and then
apply a little vaseline, rubbing well
in; this wijl prevent any further
scratching of matches on that place,
as the match will not ignite from the
scratching.
General Household
When the stoves are taken down,
before putting away, take equal parts
of coal oil and pure linseed oil, mix
thoroughly and apply to the pipes
and stoves with a soft piece of cloth,
rubbing thoroughly over all the sur
face. For stoves, there is an enamel
mnrlf niirnnsplv fnr tlio urnrlr wrblnh
to dress. Nothing gives a more un- should be applied to all the iron or
To Remove Wall Paper
To remove old paper effectually,
wet the paper all over two or three
times a day with a rather damp
cloth. When tho paper is made quite
wet in this way, it is easily peeled
off. If tho walls aro to be repapered,
wash them first with soda1 and water,
to wnicn nas been added a few drops
of carbolic acid, and lot the windows
and doors be left open for a few
days. Then paper or paint as de
sired. Whitewashed walls which
aro to bo papered should bo pre
viously well brushed over with strong
vinegar; vinegar should be used in
stead of water in making the paste,
and tho paper will adhere to the
walls. If tho paper persists in crack
ing and tearing off the walls, it may
be mado to stick by putting it on
again with a smooth, raw paste of
flour and thick sour milk. Wall pa
per that has become bruised or torn
off in small patches and can not be
matched, may bo repaired by the
uso of ordinary paints used by
children. Mix the colors until you
got as nearly as possible the desired
shade, and lightly touch up the brok
en places, and the disfigurement will
be quito unnoticed.
tidy look to a person than neglected
wear of the garment.
Sew a couple of strong hooks to
the belt of the shirtwaist, and a
couple of strong eyes to the back of
the skirt, and when the two are put
on, be sure you fasten them together
with the hooks and eyes. Do not de
pend on safety pins, for they are not
always safe enough to prevent the
pulling apart of the two garments.
A layette for the baby that will
answer all practical purposes con
sists of four shirts, four flannel
bands, four pinning blankets, four
flannel skirts, four cambric slips, four
simple plain slips, for night, and four
day dresses; there should he four
wrappers, four little sacks, four pairs
of bootees and a half dozen bibs, as
many napkins dozens of them as
you can get, a cap and a cloak. A
shoulder blanket for wear for the
first few months is a necessity. All
sewing should be done by hand, if
possible, as the seams are softer, and
those to be worn next the delicate
skin of tho new baby should all be
hand-sewn.
Do not neglect to keep tho sewinc
machine clean and well oiled, have
your scissors sharp, and your supply
of needles, pins, thread and machine
attachments ready at hand. Before
beginning to sew, see that everything
is in readiness for work.
Houso Cleaning
When washing or wiping off the
furniture, do not forgot that tho
backs of picture frames and tops of
tall furniture, tops of doors, aro all
good dust catchers, and vermin is
apt to hide In neglected places.
A good scouring soap 1b mado by
"Skippers in Meat"
E. E., Texas, writes us that "the
skippers found on meat, and in the
folds of same, are not tho product
of tho little black bug that infests
meat, as some people think. Let
all thoso who have charge of cook
ing or caring for meat, look for a
long-bodied fly seen about meats,
cooked or raw. Look patiently for
a bunch of eggs, if nothing more.
When first hatched it takes the best
eyes to see them. I have believed
for years that many people die from
eating the larvae of this fly. All
cooks look after the larger flies, but
Getting Ready for Summer
In putting rugs away for the sum
mer, be sure to roll them tightly and
stand them on end. Wrap them in
tar paper, and paste a close covrim?
of newspapers over them to exclude
the moth, and put them away in a
dark, dry closet. See that nothing
is piled on them.
Before beginning to wash the win
dows, go over them with a dust
brush or cloth, removing as much
dust as possible, cleaning the little
corners. Then, put a little ammonia
into warm water, wash them with a
white cloth and wino with n fm
irom nnt, polishing with crumpled
newspaper. Dabbing Spanish whiting
wet with ammonia on the glass, then
letting it dry, and dusting off, is a
good way to clean the glass.
When fumigating a room, open tho
bureau drawers so they will get the
fumes; open tho closet doors the
wardrobe doors, and throw the' mat
tress and bed covering over the
chairs. Sulphur candles may be had
of the druggist, and are much easier
used than tho stick sulphur that has
to be burnt in a kettle. This should
steel surface; this will harden, and
prevent rust, and when the stove is
brought in again in the fall, it will
be already blacked. Mark the
lengths of pipe, elbows and other
things belonging to each stove and
store with the stove.
Beeswax, dissolved in benzole
should be applied to steel articles to
be stored for the summer. The ben
zole will evaporate rapidly and leave
the steel coated with a thin film of
wax.
Of course you have a washing ma
chine and "wringer. If not, the de
ficiency should be supplied as soon
as possible. Washing machines are
a household necessity, and with one,
even a delicate woman can do out a
large washing. See that the working
parts are kept well oiled, kept free
from gummy dirt. If the wringer
rollers become stained, clean them
with a cloth dipped in coal oil, then
wash with soap suds. loose the
rollers before putting the wringer
away. Keep a little water in tho
machine to keep from drying out
and becoming leaky.
A bread mixer is a kitchen neces
sity and one of a size suitable to the
baking needs should be had. It
saves the arms a lot of strain, and
makes better bread. There is a cake
mixer, too, but get the bread mixer
first, and use it. Get everything you
can to reduce the work of the
kitchen. It will pay.
For cleaning, two ounces of aqua
ammonia, one quart of soft water,
one teaspoonful of saltpeter, ono
ounco of good whito soap, cut fine;
dissolve the soap and other ingre
dients in the water, and mlv wail
Apply to any grease or dirt, and it
will have to go.
Requested Recipes
For good breakfast biscuits, take
one pint of flour, measure after sift
ing; into this mix a heaping tea
spoonful of best baking powder and
a scant teaspoonful of salt; add a
tablespoonful of lard, mixing it with
the fingers until it is thoroughly in
corporated with the flour; with a
spoon, stir into a soft dough with
sweet milk or milk and water. As
some flour absorbs more liquid than
others, the exact amount will have
to be learned by experience: tha
dough should be barely stiff enough
to admit of rolling on a well-floured
board, until about half an inch thick
cut into small biscuits and bake
about ten minutes, or until done.
Anything with baking powder as oni
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