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The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, NUMBER f
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Corxfuctedby
Wden Watts Mlfe
fDepartment
Oil tho Old llond
Onco In an old forgotten day
This by-track was a troddon way,
But now, so fow tho stops that pass,
Tho ruts aro carpeted with grass.
Tho caroless brambles trail across,
Tho gravel has Its garb of moss,
And oft tho dawn and dusk go by
Unnoted of a human oyo.
But whon tho languid day is past
Tho slumberous road awakes at last,
And many feet resume their way
That long have moldorod into clay.
Thoro is no sound of stealthy tread
Along this pathway of tho dead
No rustle of tho foot that pass
Doadoned by something else than
grass.
Gray men who toiled and wrought
of yoro,
Lono weary women burdon'd sore,
And little childron prattling low
I catch their chatter as they go;
And hore tho lover and his maid,
Long since in diBmal kirkyard laid;
And mother with hor suckling
pressed
Against the comfort of her breast.
They all had passed, thoir traffic
done,
Long centuries ero I saw the sun.
I stand and watch theni wonderingly,
Half thinking that they beckon me.
Twentieth Century Magazine.
then go over it with a clean cloth
and brush it all over, polishing with
a soft clean cloth. Some of tho
scourines, "warranted not to scratch"
will do tho work admirably by using
as directed on tho packago. Soap
and water is suro to streak, and
leaves ho glass dim and milky-looking.
For tho Spring nousc-Cleaning
To clean and brighten wall paper
that has become smoky and grimy,
rub with a preparation of equal parts
of cornstarch, whiting and fuller's
earth, well mixed; dip into this
powder a soft cheoso cloth, or other
Boft cotton rag, and go over the
paper, rubbing vigorously, but not
enough to spoil the paper. Have
plonty of rags, and as fast as one
looks Boiled, get a clean one. Then,
when tho wall is clean, wipe all over
with large pieces of soft cotton
cloth. For very delicate tints, put
the powder In a gauze bag, an old
piece of very thin, fine lawn, or
veiling will do, and wipo down the
walls with tho bag. For "head"
marks, or grease spots, a thin paste
of fuller's earth and ammonia will
often bo effective; cover tho spot, but
do not rub, and when dry, brush
off tho dust carefully.
For brightening light colored rugs,
try the following: Measure a pack
ago of corn starch by cups and take
one-fifth as much prepared chalk by
measure as you have starch, powder
ing It very Qne; sift this all over the
rug and lot stand a day and night;
thou brush out "with a new broom
and tho colors will be found wonder
fully brightened. Hang tho rug out
in tho wind a while before laying it.
Where furniture needs only a
good rubbing, first wash clean with
a soft cloth, using castile soap and
"warm water, then rinse dry. Mix
equal parts of linseed oil, turpen
tine and vinegar, rub the furniture
with this, using a' little at a time,
keeping tho liquid well shaken while
using, then flniBh with a good, hard
rubbing with old silk handkerchiefs,
and you will be pleased with tho
polish.
One otf tho best things for clean
ing the windows Is a mixture of
Spanish whiting moistened into a
cream with ammonia; spat this over
the window pane and let et dry;
Possibilities of tho Seed-Pan
For tho woman or girl who likes
the work, there is a certain amount
of money in .raising and soiling
plants. Tho old-fashioned peren
nials aro becoming a popular crazo,
and the plants are nearly all easily
raised. But tho woman must like
the work and take an interest in it,
and sho must carry it on by busi
ness methods. She must be willing
to work and wait, fojr a reputation,
even in the plant lino, is not won in
a day, or in a season. There must
be plenty of pluck, and a real
mother-love, for tho seedlings are
like little children. But little capital
is needed, but there must be some
ground, not necessarily large, at
first, but of good soil and with a
sunny exposure. Seeds will cost a
few dollars, and sashes with glass
to cover tho frames of the hotbeds
and cold frames will call for some
thing, according to locality; sands,
soil, manures, and a few other neces
sary things must be provided; and
she will need to have" up-to-date
literature. Muslin will cover frames
very well, and is less expensive than
glass, and may also bo used to cover
a "green-house," though, in either
case, glass or muslin, there must be
ventilation provided for; fresh air
must be had plentifully. If the
plantB are to be sold early, they may
be planted early; but most of the
first-year blooming kinds should be
ready for sale in May or June. For
those that bloom the second year, it
is customary to sow the seeds in
July or August; but these are the
hot, dry months, and if the plants
aro well on the way by then, and
transplanted to tho rows or beds.
they will be ready for sale in the fall
months, and will bring better prices.
There is little use for a woman
storting in any kind of work unless
she is willing to make a business of
it, and work for results. Very few
businesses "pay" in money, the first
year; but one can "grow into a
business," when they will fail by
"going" into it. One must work for
results and wait.
bo used? but they are not so good.
Bo suro to dig deeply, and pulverize
tho soil well. Little is gained by
sowing the seeds out doors until the
ground warms up in May; but a few
onion sets, leeks, chives, and the
like may be put .out at once when
tho ground is worked; lettuce, car
rots and beets can bo sowed, also.
But the tender things should be
started indoors, in seed pans, and
transplanted as needed to make the
plants stocky by tho out-door time.
Sweet peppers, parsley, a few dwarf
nasturtiums, and other things should
be well started before putting out
side. The possibilities of such a
little garden will be readily seen,
and tho work to keep it in tilth is
the best nerve tonic a "house" wom
an can have.
Bo sure to plan the kitchen herbs.
Many of thorn come in handsomely
for garnishing, while all are useful.
About the middle of April sow a
row of corn salad, and in two months
it is ready for use. Many of tho
salad plants must be sown in the
fall, covered with straw or corn
stalks during the winter, and when
spring opens, they are ready for
work.
For tho Soup Pot and Salad Bowl
If one has but a few feet of
ground in a sunny, sheltered loca
tion, , whether she lives in tho city
or village, she can have fresh vege
tables at very small expense. The
work of this tiny garden is worth
far more to the housewife .troubled
with "house nerves" than the vege
tables would be. for it wni tni
her out of herself and into close con
tact with nature at many odd minutes
of the day. The spading and digging
may bo done by tho man of the
house; but It can be done "by littles"
by the housewife, if Bho likes Buch
work. Much salad stuff can h
grown in tho border among the
perennialB, for it will be removed
before the large plant will shadow
It. But the little space is best. Dig
deeply, and spade well Into tho nn
a few wheel-barrow loads of well
Some Spring Salads
The vegetables best for salads are
asparagus, celery, cabbage, cauli
flower, cress, cucumber, spinach, po
tatoes, onions, dandelions, endives,
corn ' salad, lettuce, radishes, and,
with some combinations, nearly any
vegetable grown can be used.
Asparagus Salad Boil a pint of
asparagus tops in salt water for
fifteen minutes, drain, throw into
cold water and let stand for twenty
minutes; dry carefully on a soft
towel, put into a salad bowl, and
pour over it a cupful of French
dressing. Serve.
Cauliflower Salad Select a firm,
white head of cauliflower, set it in
a basin of cold water, top side down,
for half an hour, adding a table
spoonful of salt and half a cup of
vinegar to the water. Then take
out of the basin, shako dry, put into
a saucepan, cover with boiling water
and let scald until tender, but not
cook done. Drain, cool and break
into sprigs, arrange these around a
salad dish, and put a crisp head of
lettuce in the center. Chop up the
yolks of four hard-boiled eggs and
arrange around the cauliflower. Slice
the whites of the eggs and lay over
tho lettuce; pour over this a plain
salad dressing and chill before serving.
Dandelion Salad Gather a peck of
dandelion leaves, wash well and pick
over carefully. Put in ice water and
let stand several hours, then drain
and shake dry as possible. Put into
a salad bowl, sprinkle over them a
tablespoonful of minced chives, pour
over a plain salad dressing and serve
very cold.
Cabbage Salad Shred, or shave
half of a small, solid white head of
cabase, and put into water slightly
salted; let stand half an hour, then
drain, squeeze, and put into a salad
plaTn SIS TT V "Wnnatoe or
Sil? fci a dreS8inS- garnish with
hard boiled eggs cut In rlnss am!
serve very cold. g ' and
Some Salad Dressings
French Dressing- put half n
spoonful of salt and a flJ:
retted manure; if the manure, cannot belting all "thSW1'' add gradually,
be had, commercial fertilisers may spSuls "f olivet?.' ? tab1
, mu uuu mix
art
until the salt is dissolved, then add
a few drops at a time, beating, a
tablespoonful of vinegar. Stir one
minute, then serve.
Bacon Salad Dressing Cut half a
pound of sweet, fat bacon into
slices and chop into small pieces;
fry uiitil the grease all comes out,
strain the grease off, and add one
third as much vinegar as there is
grease, beating until it blends.
Cream Dressing Mash the yolks
of three hard-boiled 'eggs; add tho
yolk of one raw egg ,and work with
a knife until a smooth paste; add
a tablespoonful of melted butter, half
a teaspoonful of salt and a pinch of
pepper; stir in gradually half a cup
of thick cream and add by degrees
two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Beat
until perfectly smooth.
Mayonnaise Dressing Pour ice
water into a' bowl; let stand for fif
teen minutes in as cold a place as
possiblo; then pour water out.
Break the yolk of two eggs into the
bowl, beat them well with a silver
or wooden fork, adding a teaspoonful
of salt and a dash of cayenne and a
pinch of black pepper; mix well to
gether and add half a pint or more
of olive oil, drop by drop, stirring
rapidly without reversing the mo
tion. After half the oil is used, add
a few drops of vinegar alternately.
When thick and smooth, set on ice
until waated.
-Many vegetables may be used in
combination, or singly. Lettuce,
radishes, young beets and carrots,
apples, celery, may all be used for
this greatly relished dish.
Salad Dressing Without Oil One
egg, beaten light, one small teaspoon
ful of mustard, one tablespoonful of
vinegar, pepper and salt to taste;
two tablespoonfuls of butter; cook
over hot water until it thickens, stir
ring all the time, then put into a
bowl and stir in half a bowl of
whipped cream. Set, on ice until
wanted.
Some Pastes and - Glues
Answering several Querists, we
give the following:
For paste for mounting photo
graphs, use French gelatine, "one
ounce; alcohol, ten ounces; glycer
ine, one-half to one ounce, accord
ing as the gelatine is hard or soft.
Soak the gelatine in cold water for
two hours, then drain off the water
and put the gelatine in a wide
mouthed bottle, adding the glycerine;
set the bottle in a' vessel of hot
water, and shake occasionally until
dissolved. Then add the alcohol,
shaking to mix thoroughly. Warm
when used.
A Firm Paste One spoonful of
dry flour and half a teaspoonful of
powdered alum; mix smooth with
half a teaspoonful of cold water, set
on the back of the stove and pour
into it another tablespoonful or two
of boiling water, stirring rapidly,
and cook for a minute; as soon as
clear looking, pour into a wide
mouthed bottle while warm, and
make a small paddle to lift it with,
when wanted. The paste may bo
perfumed, and will keep Indefinitely.
It Is strong enough to use for many
purposes for which glue Is usually
used.
A Good Glue Soak half an ounco
pf good glue and half an ounce of
isinglass for twelve hours in one
pint of cold water. Put this in a
glue pot with one gill of vinegar
and set in hot water. Add a tea
spoonful of salt to the hot water;
stir the glue frequently while it Is
dissolving. Use it while very hot;
if there are particles of old glue
clinging to the wood to bo Joined, be
suro to remove them. Glue should
be made in small quantities, as it ia
Injured by being re-heated. Only
a very thin coat should be used Just
brushing the edges to be Joined.
When the parts are put together, tie
them firmly and do not move until
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