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The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3s
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In "Foddcr-GcttJn' Time"
When dc corn begins to rustic,
Den de darkeys hatter hustle,
For do fodder-gittin' time is close
at ban';
An' do days is hot an' hazy,
An' de darkeys mighty lazy,
But dey pulls do fodder down an'
ties de ban.'
But de darkey's mighty willin'
Furter plug de watermillin
An' hit ripens at de time hit's
needed wuss;
Whar we plant hit in de hoein'
An' de darkey eats de mos' wha'
gits daT fuss.
Oh, de rustle cf de fodder, when de
win' is in de corn
Dat's de music whut am dear to
Unker Sime;
Oh, do cookin' of de dinner, de
blowin' of de horn
Dat's de chorus of do fodder
gittin' time.
Mrs. Ellen Frizell Wyckoff in Mun
sey's All-Story Magazine.
The Housewife's Lesson
paratus, as well as for the perhaps J which do not satisf y, because of
On every table we find one or
more "household" magazines, and
nearly every publication has its
household department, conducted
well or poorly, according to the one
who does the work. In addition to
this, every one is becoming more and
more interested in domestic matters,
and of inventions for household uses
there seems to bo no end. Old things
havo indeed passed away, and the
housewifery of today is little like that
of a generation ago. The withdrawal
from the home of the vast number
of daughters who have, simply fol
lowed the work to the shops and
factories, for a time threatened
disaster to the home-life; but in the
main, it has resulted favorably, and
reliable machinery is now taking the
place of the former army of incom
petents, whose ignorance and lack of
ability to take up successfully the
complicated work of the home made
such sad work of whatever was en
trusted to their helpless hands.
There are many lessons for the
housewife to learn; so many that at
times she is bewildered; but she Is
gradually taking up the helps that
Ho at her hand, and we are gotting
very hopeful. Every housewife
should study the advertising pages
of whatever publication she pins her
raith to; but she must use dis
crimination in the choice of publi
cations sho accepts. All the best
publications use care in the class of
advertising placed before their
readers, and in many ways, pr'otect
the housewife. This is the season
of subscriptions and renewals, and
while urging you to supply yourself
with reading matter suitable to your
wants and needs, we must also urge
that you supply yourself with the
best and most reliable; publications
which hold themselves responsible
for the honesty of their advertisers.
Send for the advertisers' catalogues,
price lists, booklets, and study them
carefully, learning to "make allow
ance" for many things. There are
good things and bad things; but
every advertiser will persistently and
insistently thrust into prominence
the very best side of his waTes. Study
the advertising pages carefully.
lone-disused kitchen ranee. A cor
respondent sends us the following,
which, if caro is taken, will often
make for the comfort of the whole
family in giving a clean chimney.
Where the chimney Is filled with
creosote, the heaviest stove pipe will
rust out in no time, and one will
have no end of trouble with the
draft. When it rains, and the roof
is so wet that danger of fire from
sparks is lessened, take down all the
pipes, close all chimney-holes but
one; scrape out all soot and dirt
from the chimney, and wet large
bunches of common excelsior, used
for packing, in coal oil; fill up the
chimney with this, using about a
pint of oil, putting the packing in
the stove-pipe hole. Set fire to it,
and in no time the accumulations
will be burning, roaring and making
a big smoke outside. Keep the hole
open to afford draft; add more ex
celsior or paper; the thick coat of
cresote inside will all burn out, and
it should be let to burn out clean, but
be very careful not to allow any
thing to get afire. Then, put up the
clean pipes, and you have no more
trouble. Care must be taken, in using
this method of cleaning, that the
flues are not defective, and that the
wood work that might catch fire is
thoroughly protected with water.
Peggy Clover.
which, one is obliged to take more
than he needs in order to fill the
stomach; disease of various kinds,
according to country and class, is
brought about by this overeating, as
unnecessary waste of energy takes
place in disposing of the surplus that
can not be utilized, thus taxing the
bodily powers and weakening its re
sistance to disease. To eat at any
time one is hungry is better than not
to eat, and if the food is properly
chosen, the appetite is a good guide.
Dr. Abernathy, the famous London
physician, said "One quarter of what
we eat keeps us; the rest we keep at
the risk of our lives." We are under
fed through overeating. The com
plete cure for nearly every ailment
of the human body lies in suiting
the kind of food to the body's needs.
Meats, vegetables and fruits for the
brainworker; cereals and starches
for tho hard muscular labor. We
are beginning to learn that the selec
tion and preparation of food, accord
ing to its suitability for the in
dividual needs, is one of the most
important things in this life, and
are at last seeking to place this
branch of home industry where it be
longs above everything else, so far
as human health and comfort goes.
Through all grades, inanition is the
rule; repletion the exception.
and put In a slow oven; when
finished, the meat will be nice and
tender; the gravy, when seasoned
is rich and well flavored. Any meatB
may bo cooked in the casserole.
Many things can be mended with
the court plaster, or mending tissue
sold at the department stores. But
it should never be applied when wet;
let it reach the "sticky" stage, and
there is no danger of moisture soak
ing into the goods and making a
stain. Turn the right side toward
you, lay on it a cloth and iron per
fectly smooth; if any frayed pieces
are noticeable, clip closely with a
pair of sharp scissors. The tissue
can be basted into place on the
wrong side, as the threads are easily
drawn. To take out a hem put in
with gum tissue, run a warm iron
over the hem, and tho goods can
easily be pulled apart.
To clean black silk, make an in
fusion of equal parts of clear coffee
and household ammonia; have the
material well brushed and dusted,
and apply the liquid with a cloth.
If the silk is in pieces, wind it evenly
about a smooth board, such a one
as the goods is wrapped about at the
store; if the goods is in small pieces,
after sponging, smooth when nearly
dry with a' cool flat-iron, on the
wrong side.
Going to the City
It is well for the girl who wishes
to go to the city to hunt work to
know that very few girls can live in
any great city on a salary of five or
six dollars a week unless relatives
or friends help her out until she can
get better wages. Country girls
would do well to begin at home, or
in their home town, and learn some
thing of the work she expects to do,
and thus be able to secure a better
position in the city. If the girl goes
to the city and finds herself a failure,
so far as securing work is concerned,
she should go at once to the refuge
of a W. C. T. U., or Y. W. C. A.,
where she will find the protecting
care of home for a little while
and probably some assistance in
getting into a suitable position.
But it must be firmly impressed on
her mind that she must, under no
circumstances, if it can possibly be
avoided, make an appeal for help to
strangers, men or women, for some
thing wrong might result from it. A
lone, helpless, friendless girl is al
ways in great peril in any great city.
Take all the protection these as
sociations can give you, while try
ing to bo self-sustaining, for at best,
it is a risky business, and hatm, more
often than good, will follow trusting
to strangers.
Caring for Nuts
The store of nuts gathered by the
little folks should be well dried be
fore putting away. Chestnuts, beech
nuts, hickorynuts, walnuts, pecans,
hazlonuts, and many others, accord
ing to locality, are well worth har
vesting, and these golden autumn
days are delightful for nutting
parties. The walnuts should be
hulled before they dry as the green
hulls are more easily removed while
still black and moist; they should
then be put on a low roof, or some
place where they can be covered if
rain threatens, and well spread out.
Walnuts, hickorynuts, and butter
nuts must be dried slowly, and when
perfectly dry, will have lost much of
their weight; they should then be
put in thin bags and hung up where
the air can circulate through them.
Beechnuts should be put in baskets
or thin bags and hung in a' dry place;
a garret is right. If the nuts are
thrown down where the shells will
mildew, the inside will certainly be
spoiled. We pity the children who
have not a supply of popcorn and
nuts for the winter days. Where one
has a supply of these, there should
be no end to the home-made
"goodies," which, while inexpensive,
are better in every way than the
costly cream and nut candies that
the store offers us.
Be Good to tho Babies
Don't neglect the little ones who
are too young to realize the cause of
their discomfort, these chilly morn
ings and evenings. Put the thicker
garments on the little limbs during
the morning and evening hours, even
though they must be removed during
the middle of the day. This is the
season for laying in a supply of
coughs and colds that may pave the
way for serious diseases later on.
Put on the little shoes and stockings,
and keep the warmer garments
where you can lay hands on them
at the first change of temperature.
Have the extra blanket or quilt con
venient for the night hours, not only
for the little ones, but for the grown
ups, as well. Watch for health.
For the Chimney Trouble
As tho cool weather comes on, wo
must look out for the heating ap-
Eating Too Much or Too Little?
We are told that the rule of the
world is undorfeeding rather than
overeating; only a small fraction of
'the world's millions of people sys
tematically get enough to eat.
Carlyle said to Emerson that the best
thing he over heard of America was
that every one could have meat for
his dinner. We are told that in
Europe, millions rise every morning
knowing not where they shall get
their breakfast, and who never
tasted, and never will taste iu their
lives, a generous, varied dinner.
Overeating is said to be caused by
poverty of purse, the majority
For tho Housewife
One of the cooking vessels that
deserve more consideration than it
gets is the casserole; this vessel
comes in soveral sizes, is not expen
sive, is a pretty brown earthernwaTe
vessel, enameled white inside, with
tight-fitting covers that keep in all
the juices and make meats tender
when cooked in them. It would be
well for the housewife, when at tho
housefurnishing stores, to look at
them. A chicken long past the "fry"
stage, and which indeed may be
termed "old," may be cut up as for
fricasse, placed in the casserole, well
seasoned, ana the lid fastened on,
Filling for Layer Cake
Boil one cup of water and three of
sugar until it will thread when
dropned from a spoon, and pour
gradually on tho stiffly-beaten whites
of three eggs, beating steadily until
quite smooth, then stir into it a
cupful each of chopped raisins and
pecan meats, with half a dozen dried
figs cut into thin strips; spread be
tween the layers of cake, and on the
top.
Pretty decorations for a cake may
bo made by gathering the field
violets, dipping them into a syrup of
boiled sugar and water until can
died, just as you would candy fruits
or nuts. They make lovely decorations.
eating of tho cheapest foods using barely water enough to cover,'
Keeping tho Range Clean
If the stove refuses to take on a
polish, the best way is, when ready
to black it, to allow the fire to die
down and then thoroughly scrub the
outside and oven with strong soap
and water; for cleaning the spatters
of grease, a little coal oil will be
effective. A good wetting all oyer
with coal oil is a good thing for the
rusty stove, as the coal oil will clean
away the rust, and will readily
evaporate.
Boning a Turkey
Select a young fowl and pick by
hand without scalding; be sure to
"dry-pick" the bird; clean and take
out the entrails and lay the fowl on
its breast; then with a small, snarp
pointed knife, slit the back from
neck to rump; working carefully,
run the knife between the flesh ana
the bones; disjoint the wings, tut
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