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8
The Commoner.
hSkjFCondvctcdty ,
y0Jkfce Watts M'tyt
AetfT
Department
Tho Missing Bird
Thoro's n story that's old, but good
if twico told,
Of a doctor of limited skill,
Who curod boast and man on the
"cold wator" plan,
Without tho loast holp of a' pill.
On hlo portal of plno hung an ele
gant sign
Depicting a boautlful rill,
And a lako whoro a sprite, with ap
parent delight,
Was sporting In sweet dishabille.
Ono boautlful day, as ho sauntered
that way,
Pat gazod at tho portal of plno,
When tho doctor, with prido, stopped
up to his side.
Saying, "Pat, how Is that for a
sign?"
"Thoro'a wan thing," said Pat,
"Yo'vo loft out of that,
Which, bo jabors, la quito a mis
take; It's trim and It's nato, but to make
It complato,
Yo shud have a folno bird on tho
lake."
"Ah, indood? Pray then toll, to
mako It look well,
What bird do you think it may
lack?"
Saya Pat, "Of tho samo I'vo forgot
ton tho name,
But tho song that he sings is
'Quack! quack!' "
No Namo.
dovoto themselves to bettor things.
But tho spirit of emulation urges
thorn on, and now necessities arise
every hour. It is claimed that the
women of today are more restless
and nerve-racked than over before,
whita mon are breaking down under
tho strain which is entirely unnecessary.
Tho Tyranny of Things"
So much has been said and writ
ton about tho extraordinary prosper
ity of overy branch of industry, as
well as tho farm, that little is left
to Bay. But with all these things
in mind, and contemplating the
wonderful "modern imnrovoments"
wo cannot but wonder that our peo
plo do not realize that they aro be
coming slaves to the tyranny of
"things." A family no sooner finds
thorasolves possessed of a few dol
lars maro than their needs call for
than they at onco rush out after the
useless things. They build bigger
houses than they can occupy, simply
tor show; they go in debt for this,
and pinch and scrape, year after
year, to moot tho payments, and In
addition there must be further
scraping and pinching to meet the
interest on tho borrowed money,
tho taxes, repairs, insurance and
other maintenance charges, to say
nothing of other avenues that de
mand extra money for useless show,
until life becomes a crind of m
moat joyless sort. The fine house
East have fine furnishing; fine
clothes, must go with the other finery,
and fino entertainment follows fast.
The man's nose is kept to tho grlnd
atono, and tho wife Is worn out car
ing for useless things. Both are
breaking down under tho strain
aimply living to work, instead cf
working to live. They are always
"going to" have a good time; but
they never got it; they grow older
In body and poorer In spirit every
day. If only they would bo content
with comfort, and keep out of debt
taking timo for refreshing tho spirit
by tho reading of good literature,
and cultivating the social side of
their nature with simpler pleasures
mingling with congenial people for
pleasure, rather than for show, how
much happier they might bo. If
people would live within their means
thousands of women and girls could
tfvo np working lor wages and
Tho Canso of Colds
In cold weather, nearly every one
spends as much time as possible in
doors in an over-heated room, with
faulty ventilation. This tends to
weaken the skin circulation and af
fects adversely tho resisting power
of the mucus surfaces of the air
passages, which consequently fall to
react to changes of temperature
when tho person goes out of doors;
the skin is chilled, and a largo vol
ume of blood Is forced back to the
Internal organs, wast elimination
through tho skin is hindered, and
tho result Is what wo call a "cold;"
tho discharge of mucus waste exuda
tion, in the form of nasal, bronchial
or other catarrhal disorder, is the
disagreeable result. Overheated
rooms should bo avoided, tho heat
should come from within the body,
rather than from the furnace in the
house, the limbs should be kept well
clothed, warm and dry, and tho cir
culation good by plenty of out-door
exorcise. Keep tho house atmos
phere clear of foul emanations from
the body, tho skin clean, and tho
temperature below 76 degrees.
Dressing Neatly at Homo
Ono of the lessons women and
girls must learn is that, if you fall
Into the habit of slovenly dressing
at home, It will "be sure to show in
your attire on the street. The home
clothes need not be fine, but they
should bo clean, tho hair neatly
combed, some kind of a collar about
the neck, and tho feet neatly shod.
Tho girl or woman who acts out the
thought that "any old thing is good
enough to wear at home" is going
to look, tho character when on the
street.
Stopping tho Leaks
If tho size of the family warrants,
it is better to buy groceries and eat
ables by quantity. Fresh vegetables,
in their season, are usually much
cheaper than the canned goods.
Cheap canned goods aro dear at any
price, and only responsible firms
should be patronized. It is false
economy to buy ready-cooked foods
simply to save time and labor' where
one has only the housework to do.
Home-cooked foods, If well prepared,
are usually made of better materials,
moro wholesome, and are really
cheaper than tho commercial ones,
as in tho case of breads, cakes, pas
try, jellies, jams, etc. But where
tho housewife is delientA. np Qio
ly hindered, or the expense of fuel
Is great, it may often be more econ
omical to patronize tho baker or
grocer.
Many goods are Just as whole
some in the second grado aa in the
first; except in appearance, there
may bo little difference. On the
other hand, tho first cost may be
wuoiuuruuijr uigner, yet the pur
chase may bo cheaper because of the
smaller waste and greater nourish
ment afforded by the higher-priced,
Soapa may be bought by the box, and
will improve with ago, as well as cost
icsa man Dy tne row bars. If one
has a little Btalo grease or rancid
lard or butter, or surplus fats, a box
of potash will readily change it into
good, soft soap.
If noHsible. the house should be
stocked with as many of the really
valuable labor-saving inventions as
possible; there are many worthless
inventions on the market, however,
but nearly every "worth while" de
vice Is advertised and endorsed by
good publications.
In buying ready-cooked foods, you
have to help the dealer pay the rent
and other expenses, as well as give
him a good rate of interest on his
money invested. A woman's time
must be added to the cost of things,
and If tho woman has to be hired, it
is often an expensive experience to
compete with the factory; where
there is homo strength and time,
much may be saved by doing the
work" at home, especially whero the
ra"W products are home-grown.
Query Box
F. M. S. The address asked for
is 13 West Fifty-sixth street, N. Y.
E. M. B. If you will send
stamped, addressed envelope; I win
try to help you. There is no in
fallible recipe for the condition; but
I may help you to help yourself.
L. L. For brightening the zinc,
mix whiting to a thick paste with
vinegar and nib the zinc with the
paste, then rub with dry whiting to
neutralize the acid, polishing with-a
dry ra-g.
Katherlne You can use tin cans
of the size liked for molds for steam
ing brown bread tomato, baking
powder, or square beef-loaf cans.
Melt the tops off smoothly.
A. M. For the sore, cracked
hands, get five cents worth of har
ness or shoe wax, heat a point of it
over the lamp, and drop it onto the
crack while very hot, then stick a
bit of cloth on it to keep it from
sticking to anything.
M. S. Bicarbonate of sodium is
the kind used in cookinir. Tf thA
right proportion of sour milk or acid
is not used with the soda. thwA -nHil
bo a dark yellow color and soapy
flavor, ruining the bread.
0. R. For the top of the stove
burnt red, try greasing the red sur
face with lard when tho stove is
cold; let stand for a few hours then
apply a thin coat of blacking, let
get nearly dry, then polish with a
brush.
Old Coins Several persons have
written regarding coins which they
have for disposal. It is not possible
for the Home Department to act as
an exchange between buyers and
sellers, but any ono having some
thing for sale, or wishing to buy
would find it to their Interest to ran
a small advertisement in the Sub
scriber's Advertising column of The
Commoner.
S. J. For the oil ninth mirA
paste of whiting and soap-suds and
ruu on xne on ciotn with a piece of
flannel, wash off with clear water
and polish dry with a clean flannel.
For tho Laundry
Flannels should be washed by
themselves, and It is best to take a
separate day for washing up the
woolens. If there are many articles
this arrangement is a necessity: but
if only a few, it can be done at odd
moments, taking advantage of nro
nitloua wGnthor tjv. ,., .
. .4 wuBuiiiK WOOI-
ens, shave a bar of good white soap
and .pour Into half a tub of luke
warm water; stirring until d-
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3
solved, or dissolve In a little warm
water before adding it to the water
in the tub. If the flannels are bad
ly stained or soiled, put two table
spoonfuls of borax in the water to
soften and loosen the dirt. Put tho
worst soiled pieces at the bottom of
the tub, and the cleanest at the top;
wash after soaking for a quarter of
an hour, rubbing and squeezing be
tween the hands; rubbing on the
board will ruin the shape of the gar
ment and texture of the wool, and
the water must contain all the soap
needed; none must be rubbed direct
ly on the flannel. When the gar
ments look clean, put them in an
other tub of lukewarm water, not
quite so soapy as the first, and re
peat the hand-rubbing and squeez
ing, then remove all soapsuds by
running through two rinse waters;
run through a wringer, or squeeze as
dry as possible, pulling into shape
and hanging to dry in the sunshine
if possible. They must not be al
lowed to freeze, as this will shrink
them, and for this reason they should
be washed at some suitable time.
Drying over the stove is injurious,
too.
Stockings should not be worn long
enough to require hard rubbing to
get them clean; it is best to change
often; long wearing makes them rot
ten from the perspiration from tho
feet; they should be turned wrong
side out, and the toes washed until
they are soft and clean. Stockings
should be mended as soon as possible
after drying, and put together in
pairs, where they can be readily got
at. Be sure the stockings of the lit
tle folks are mended with soft seams
or darns.
Some Recommended Recipes
Perfect Cream Biscuits Four
quarts of flour, one cup of white
sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, one
tablespoonful of soda (level), 'two
(level) tablespoonfuls of cream tar
tar. Mix these ingredients, well,
sifting several times, then wet' with
pure sweet cream, making only moist
enough to roll (if too wet they will
not be crisp). Mix lightly with the
fingertips, roll rather thin and cut
in squares like soda crackers, and
bake. If equal parts of white and
whole wheat flour is used, these will
resemble the graham wafers we buy.
T. M.
Old Virginia Waffles Mix a quart
Of milk and Six tablesnnnnfiiln nf
flour with two tablespoonfuls of sift
ed corn meal; add a teaspoonful of
melted butter; lastly, add three egga
beaten very light. Bake immediate
ly in well buttered waffle irons.
R. W.
Buckwheat CakesStart the bat
ter in the UBual way. If when you
come to use the batter it requires
more than a scant teaspoonful of
soda, you must waBh the batter In
this wise, to remove the bitter wa
ter: Add a quart of cold water to
the batter and stir it well, 'then set
It away In the usual cool place and
let remain all day. At night pour
off all the bitter water, add the usual
amount of lukewarm water and mix
the batter a little stiff, so that half
a cupful of hot water poured over
uio soaa in tne morning and added
to the batter will make it about
right. By following this plan the
cakes will not have the sour taste
so much disliked, and they will bo
light, porous and brown. A. L. S.
Pot Pourl Early m the morning
put into a couple of quarts of cold
water all the scraps of meat and
broken bones you have saved; set
over the fire to simmer slowly three
or four hours, adding more water if
necessary to keen nn fh ominf
Then, carefully pick out all pieces of
bone, gristle and tough parts; strain
the stock, and return with the meat
to the fire, seasoning with salt and
pepper, and adding one turnip, one,
onion and ono good-sized carrot
I
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