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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1910)
&)1 ' s - r 8 The Commoner. VOLUME 10, NUMBER 38 iv f kW" f m K 7 KSW:.- JSllJ l SiJa.i iWPA JA-5v .-r'-lLJ5 VOIIlt' 4JiFrtt Condudedby tfelen Watts Wlty b'epartrti enif The Baby's Face Who can fathom the fairy graco That dwells In a velvety baby face? Who can fathom the fairy glee That rings In a oaby's melody? And who can unravel the secret wile That sleeps In the nest of a baby's smile? The hungry and lingering joy wo know When our rough face touches a babo's, and, lo, , Wo feel the touch of the "velvet skin And the warm, sweet lovellght bound . therein! A baby's face how can one tell ' ,Its mystic charm and its holy spell? Rough hearts go by, rude, rugged men, From the dust and grime of mar,t and fen, But under the cloak of their outer din Love's hunger sleeps their souls within, , And when thoy see a- baby's face Hound and rosy and sweet with, grace Thoy long, as you and I, to press The velvet joy of its warm caress. How much it holds, how deeply lays, Within its soft and gentle maze, The charm to soothe, the charm ,to heal, The hurt that lives so often feel! A baby's face along the way Is like a little bloom-o'-day; And, like a little flower, it brings The sweetness of a thousand springs; The balsam of the heart-made-well Is in the touchstone of its spell. -Author Unknown. leg with a brickbat or bit of wood. Get a new one'. Wall paper is cheap, and easily applied, and fredh paint renovates as nothing else can. See that all hinges are working easily, and that the doors do not gag, or hang. For old furniture, renovate with sandpaper and varnish. Sometimes a cabinet scraper or a piece of glass will re move the old paint or varnish better than sandpaper. Give it several coats of varnish, then, after the last one dries, rub with hard-oil, using a soft cloth. Getting Ready for Winter The fall house-cleaning will soon be in order, and rugs or carpets that need taking up should be cleaned before the heaters are brought in. It is a good idea to have a heater sot up in Bome one room as soon as the evenings begin to get chilly, as. a little fire will free the house from dampness and prevent many discom forting colds. Where there are lit tle children, this is a necessity, as they can not always be kept in the kitchen while the family work is going on. For carpets that are not to be taken up, a" handful of coarse salt sprinkled over them and then care fully Bwept up with short broom strokes, will clean and brighten them wonderfully. Tea leaves, shredded paper, damp saw dust, may any of them be used; but the salt is best. If there are grease stains on the carpets, Bpread a layer of French chalk, or Fuller's earth on the spots, cover with blotting paper and iron with a hot flatiron, repeating if nec essary. Fuller's earth is better made into a paste, using a little ox gall in the paste, may be pread on the stains and left until dry, then brushed off. Oil paint spots should be removed .with very pure spirits of turpentine, as impure turpentine will leave a stain of its own, There are some excellent cleansing soaps and preparations on the market for this purpose. Have the heaters and stove pipes blacked before bringing them in, and that is a job that a strong man should take care of, rather than the woman. See that the stoves are in good order, with serviceable grates and all broken pieces replaced with aew. How You May Detect Bad Food Products (Prepared by . government and state food inspectors for house wives.) Smooth, shiny eggs are usually bad. Rough-shelled eggs are fresh. Good cider vinegar will give off an odor of apples when heated over a slow fire, and will leave a reddish brown residue in a pan when evapo rated. When a sardine dressing attacks the metal of a can, the contents are invariably bad. .Good lemon extract will turn milky and oil will immediately form on top when it is mixed with equal parts of water. Pure ground coffee , will not col or cold water. Coffee adulterated with chicory will stain cold water brown. .Swelling of cans containing fruits and vegetables indicates fermenta tion. If cans contain more than one soldered perforation, they should be avoided. Cans are perforated origi nally at the center of the bottom. Any subsequent .perforation shows tampering to prevent swelling, and indicates a product spoiling ,f rom im proper cooking. Noodles of a bright yellow color are often colored. Cheap, shiny candies are coated with shellac or other resin and should be avoided. Oleomargarine may be detected by examining the wrappers of the pack ages. The law requires a label "Oleo margarine." This label is often very dim and printed with ink of nearly the same shade as the wrapper Oleo margarine crackles and gives off an unpleasant odor when placed in a hot pan. of embroidered net or lace frills. Many band embroideries are rich in color and are used for out-lining yokes. Satins of the present day are en tirely unlike the stiff, heavy goods our mothers knew. Now it is soft, supple, and usually described as "dull finish," and is of different weaves. Wool-back satin is used for suits and evening coats. Some dark coats are lined with some brilliant solid color and trimmed -with bands of Persian silk. Paisley effects are much seen in trimmings. Combinations of materials are much seen, satin with rough faced silks, figured foulards, crepe weaves, etc., while chiffon and chiffon cloth are much used with silks and veil ings. These combinations are used for both afternoon and informal evening wear. Persian silks are full of Orien tal suggestions and colorings. From the Stylo Books Blouses of cotton prints are used with skirts of rough wool mixtures which are worn with separate coats. Hand-work is much seen, and a great deal of braiding and embroid ery, together or separate, is in high favor. Black is the color most in style this season, while the popular navy blue has assumed a slightly purple tinge. Rich, somber colors are used Xor street costumes. Jackets are but slightly shaped in to the figuree some of them show ing a seam under the arm at the waist-line, giving the garment a short-waisted effect. One-piece tailored dresses are very popular, and for street wear may be made of serge, mohair, wool-back satin, velvet or velveteen. The light er models may bo worn with the long coat. These are all in short walking-lengths. Many of these dresses are in reality in two pieces, set together at the waist-line and belted or girdled. Tho Home Seamstress As the cold weather will bring waists and dresses that can not be tubbed, or must be tubbed with care, it is well to Use plenty of dress shields. Do not place them directly under the arm, but slightly forward, and sew them at each end and at both lower edges one edge to the under-arm seam, and one to the in side seam of the sleeve. Put your hand inside the sleeve and find just where the shield touches tho seam, so there will be no pulling and draw ing; hold the shield firmly in place and take the hand out, holding the shield and sleeve seam and sewing them together at this point. All the sewing on the shield should be French tacks, which are made by taking three stitches, ..allowing them to be loose enough to 'give" a quar ter of an inch; then work with a button-hole ,stitch as you would a silk eyelet. The reason that shields do not keep their proper place is be cause they are not properly put in at first. Shields should be taken out and washed occasionally, to prevent odor. All short waist seams should be fitted with the arms crossed behind the back of the head, as well as in some of the reaching positions. A sleeve that is too short from the arm hole to the elbow can never be com fortable, and is apt to drag; in many cases this makes the back of the blouse draw and wrinkle'between the shoulders. Soft mull ties are easily made with attractive embroidered or lace finished ends, and these are particu larly becoming to elderly women; the softening effect of lace neckwear can not be over-estimated, and some thing softening should always be worn next the ageing face, white preferably, but always of light color. Stiff linen collars are usually unbe coming to the fading face. A touch of color of becoming shade should always bo worn at the throat; it may be either a brooch with the desired setting, or a bit of ribbon. tract are caused by insufficiency of the food supply. It is not only those who cannot afford a well supplied table who are under-fed; many peo ple Who have full pocket-books, and especially women who work, suffer from an ill-regulated diet, and from a non-observance of the laws of diet Foods enter largely into the medici nal aspect of things, and students of hygiene are learning more and more that nourishment, nursing and a cheerful habit of mind are the real remedial agencies, rather than drugs As the Beason for "colds" ap proaches, it would be well to remind you that one can guard against much discomfort by keeping clean inside as well as outside. For the internal bath, use water of the temperature you like best, and drink not less than two quarts a day of the purest water you can get; eat only plain foods, such as will nourish, not clog the system; get all the fresh air pos sible, and use every bit yon can get. A bath of some kind should be taken daily, but. if it can not be takerf so often, take as often as you can. Once a week there should be a . warm, scrubbing bath, and if you can stand It, do not neglect the morning cold bath and quick rub-down with a coarse towel. Keep the internal or gans active, and allow no clogging of the ,sewers. Learn to loolc out for the funny things of life, and to see the humorous in everything. Think health, talk health, and enjoy health. "Sickness is sin." Good Things to Know No two persons, no matter who they are, should habitually sleep to gether, for it is inevitable that the one will thrive and the other lose. An agqd person and a child should never be bed-mates; great is tho pleasure to grandma to cuddle the little one in her.arms, and much as the child enjoys the warmth and comfort of. the other, it is a well es tablished fact that the child will suf fer while the old person is benefited. Babies are better in the.ir cribs, and the. crib should be near enough so that the mother has but to stretch out her hand "and touch the child, thus knowing all its needs. A baby, cradled in the exhausted mother's arms will both injure and be injured thereby. If space is small, two single beds occupy but little, if any, more room than one large one, and this will give the desired propinquity and comfort ing sense of nearness 'without the bodily contact that will inevitably de range the nervous system of one, if not both the sleepers. One person will always be eliminatiye of nerve force, while another is absorbent, while if each slept alone, there would be no robbing one to enrich the other. Too much stress can not be laid upon the necessity of keeping the nursing bottle and all apparatus con nected with it perfectly sweet and clean, even in' cold weather- The most serious trouble with the bottle fed baby is from neglect here, and the personal supervision of the moth er should be given to the matter, let ting nothing interfere with-it. For some dressy costumes of black Don't replace a lost or broken satin, the trimming Is merely bands Some Health Notes Oil-fish dishes, such as sardines, salmon, and tho like, should always be sent to the table with vinegar or slices of lemon, as these acids aid in their digestion. Lamb should be served with mint; roast goose with sage and onion be cause these relishes counteract the extreme richness of the meats. Under-eating is just as harmful as over-eating, and many stomach troubles and ailments of the digestive Making a Housewife Mrs. S. asks for directions for mak ing the little convenience known as a "housewife," used for holding needles, thimble, thread and Scissors. This may be made of chamois skin, thin leather, silk, or any suitable material. Cut a" strip of the material four Inches wide by eight inches long, and In the center of one end make a round hole to the edges of which ovorseam a small bag just big enough to hold a thimble. Turn the end of the strip down, having the thimble bag inside, andseam it down, making a casing large enough to hold a spool of thread at each side of the thimble pocket, and in each end over seam a circle of the material in order. yiwtwJJJJLli'IUJLliiJl t h. .-y - $ i. .i.ViC jv <ijiAUM