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The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 44
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Conducted by
tteen Watts Mlty
rimervt
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Mirngo
treasure the shadow. Somewhere
firmly based
Arise those turrets that In cloud
land shine;
Somewhere, to thirsty tollers of the
waste,
Yon phantom wellsprlng Is a liv
ing sign.
treasure the shadow. Somewhere
past thy sight,
Past all men's sight, waits the
true heaven at last.
Toll them whose fears would
thy hopes to flight
Thoro are no shadows save
substance cast.
Edith M. Thomas, in Lippincott's.
put
by
For tho Short Days
No doubt the house mother can
And plenty to keep her hands full
from tho early rising to the late going-to-bed,
these short days; but it
is a good idea to sift out a great
many of the unnecessary tasks, and
find all the rest periods we can. And
when one comes to think of it, there
are a great many things that could
just as well be left undone, and life
would go on, without the jarring of
a cog in its machinery. Not long
ago, a house-mother was found
working far beyond her strength on
work that might better have been
.divided up between a number of
days. She was warned that it would
not do that she would break down;
but she persisted, and the conse
quences was as foretold. She spent
several weeks in "bed from nerve
exhaustion. But she found comfort
in the fact that "she went to bed
with the house clean." "Things"
were not so orderly when she got
about again, and the whole family
had suffered from her sickness. One
mother that I meet occasionally
takes her pencil and pad and sets
down every night just what is to be
done tho next day everything that
calls for attention; then she goes
over the list, marking out what can
be left undone with the least jarring
of tho household machinery; then,
what can be left until later, just as
well; and the third time she goes
over the list she leaves only what
absolutely must be done. And she
finds she can get the "must-bes"
done without very great fatigue; if
she still finds that she has a little
time, she can do a few of the other
things, but one of the big items on
her list is "frequent rest spells."
work of greater use to every mem
ber of the family, that one could but
think it a sensible idea. It is very
nice to take homo tho proverbial box
of flowers, or candy, or a book, or a
bit of some ornamentation that one
really does not appreciate, but the
pleasure given is so evanescent, and
after the first pleased thought at
being remembered, so useless, that
tho new help to the household might
bo a pleasant change. For instance:
What a blessing to the whole family
would be a really good, reliable fire
less cooker; a first-class coffee per
colator, a gas or electric or alcohol
flat iron, a bread mixer, or a cake
mixer, a casserole dish, a never-bum
baking pan, or a self-basting pan,
carpet-sweeper, cream whip, cutlet
dish, a' toaster, a piece of aluminum
kitchen ware, food chopper, fruit jar
lifter, feltoid furniture castors, a
folding gas kitchenette stove, port,
able oven for gas or gasoline, roast
ing pans, a samovar, or tea urn, in
which the tea is suspended in a ball
through the center of the cover, be
sides the endless number of simple
conveniences costing from ten cents
to a dollar each, but worth many
times the cost in the help they give
the housewife. Among the greatest
helps to be seen were the new power
washing machines.
For Christmas Giving
In one of our largest cities, re
cently, a bunch of "editor women"
were strolling about the aisles at
the Household show, watching tho
demonstrators handle the various
ntensils shown for the housewife's
benefit, when one of them remarked
that there should be no question of
Christmas presents, if one were do
mestically inclined, or had an in
terest in a home. Another of the
bunch remarked that, if the article
wanted was deemed too expensive
for one purse alone to reach (and
some of them were rather costly),
the whole family might join purses
and get the desired article, and call
it a general all-around gift. There
were so many labor-saving articles;
so many small devices for bringing
about better results in the house
hold; so many cookery vessels that
would render the cook's position and
Tho Corner Cupboard
One of the handiest contrivances
to be found for the small kitchen is
the corner cupboard; it may be put
up in permanent shape, or built and
set up in the corner, making it faBt
to the walls so it will not tip over
when weighted. It may have doors
fitted, or may be screened with a
curtain; but one of the handiest
ways of "shutting" it is to have a
window shade of the right size on
roller, and this can be either rolled
up out of the way when in use, or
pulled down when necessary. Any
man with mechanical ability, or who
can use the saw, plane and hammer,
can make the shelves, though the
nicer they are made, the better.
The shelves should be wider apart
at the bottom than at the top, if
they run up very high, but a small
cupboard of only three or four
shelves may be made to suit the
needs. The shelves will take up
literally no room, as they should be
high enough so a table can be set
under them; or, if the corner is wide
enough (far enough from windows
or door) to admit a regular corner
closet, it may be made from the floor
up, and it will be "no end" of handy
a regular catch-all, from the boot
jack up to the ink bottle. , In these
shelves everything, is compact and
handy, and if in a corner over the
sink, or behind the stove, they will
"come in" for so many things that
you will never willingly be without
them again. There are so many
odds and ends that aro absolute
necessities for the household, yet are
far from ornamental, that only Buch
shelves seem suitable for their
storage.
very great expense, and it is impor
tant that those interested should
take the opportunity of learning all
they can in their own lines. In all
small villages, towns and farming
communities, there is more or less
isolation, and it is the farmer who
stays at home, with no interest in
the ways and methods constantly be
ing talked over, that loses out in the
game of life. But the men should
not go by themselves, as they too
often do. There is as much for the
women as for the men, and there
are constantly being demonstrated
many helpful ideas for the house
wife. The young folks should go,
because, in the narrow life within
the "line fences," there is too much
of a sameness, and the ideas they
get of what the farm life is should
be broadened. They should go along
and see what fine men and women
there are in their own world; men
and women who are doing the things
they tell about, and themselves liv
ing on farms and getting their living
out of the soil. This broadened view
would in large measure dim the al
lurements of the city, and show them
that to be a farmer is not neces
sarily to be a slouch, ignorant, ill
clad and ill-mannered. Take the
young folks along, and let them see
the new machinery, hear of the new
methods, and learn the better les-
MMvr. T. 9vnr nAm llfV tl rlrttif n1r
IDUUD. XL ixiujr occiu a vi& uuuck bulk
ing, but it will pay. If you can not
airora tne trip to a iar-ou meeting
very fine indeed, and to insure best
results, the grade must be good.
Good coffee is not more , expensive
than the "cheap" grades, as it takes
so much more of the latter to bring
about results. These percolator
coffee pots will last a long while in
careful hands a good one lasting
for years in good hands, or they may
be knocked about or abused so as
to ruin them in a short time. It
pays to get good cooking vessels,
then care for them.
Milk-Rising Bread
In the evening scald three cupfuls
of new milk in a double-boiler, re
move and let cool five minutes,
emptying into a two-quart pail; stir
in two tablespoonfuls of sweet corn
meal, beating through the milk, then
cover and set in a warm place until
morning, closely wrapped in a thick
warm cloth. Sift flour in bread pan
ready for morning, and in the morn
ing warm the flour; stir enough in
the pail to thicken to the consistency
of wheat cake batter, beating well
for three minutes, then set the pail
in a kettle of warm water to rise.
"When near the top of the pail, take
three cupfuls of new milk and set
on stove to warm; add to the flour
In the bread pan a small handful
of salt and two tablespoonfuls of
good lard; pour 'half of the milk
on the lard and stir It to melt
the lard, then add the rising,
rinsing the pail with the re
mainder of the milk, adding to the
flour. Now stir the flour through
until quite thick, and cover lightly
with flour; put cover on and set in
a warm place until night, then mold
into loaves, let rise and bake. Be
sure everything used is sweet and
kept warm, and that all ingredients
are sweet, and use good flour. Try
J4- rk-rt A -,mt mill' mo nnntllOl' fiHoO
?iace' & 2fr55t JSOL n'i?"! I'bav. 'used this recipe for several
years and never failed to have nice
bread. Mrs. G. S. Benson, Sidney,
iri getting some of these meetings
to be held in your own town. Make
a start this season for the "better
way," and teach the young people
that the "old farm is a good place to
stay at." Thousands of city people
wmld be glad to exchange with you.
Iowa.
Go, But Don't Go AJono
During the next few months, the
horticultural societies and other as
sociations in the meetings of which
the farm and village people should
be deeply interested, will be holding
their meetings, more or less distant
from our homes. Usually these
meetings aro near enough for the
J rural population to attend without
With Our Housewives
Mrs. K. N. tells us of her perco
lator coffee-pot, and says it Is worth
far more than it costs, though the
first cost may seem large to those
who have never tried one. There are
are several makes on the market,
and several sizes of each make; also,
the prices differ, but none of them
are "cheap" in the sense of selling
for a small price. The pot proper is
made of aluminum, nickel-plate,
enamel, 'and other metals, but the
strainer into which the pulverized
coffee is put may be either fine
aluminum, nickel, or glass, through
which a tube is run; the lower part
of the tube fits over another tube
fitted variously in the bottom of the
pot, and the water, boiling, is poured
in the pot, under the strainer in
some makes, while in others it is
dashed over tho grounds. Some of
these pots are ' fitted for electric
heating, others for gas, while still
others are heated by the gas stove or
alhocol burner. The principle is
about the same in all; the water, as
soon as sufficiently heated, passes up
through the tube into the spreader,
where it falls on the coffee, flowing
down into the water chamber below
until the beverage is Bufflciently
strong to suit the taste. There is
a glass dome over the top of the
pot which fits down into the rim of
the strainer, and the water and
steam can plainly be seen as it rises
and falls back, percolating through
the coffee grounds and dripping
down below. The coffee is free from
acidity and bitterness, and the last
cup is as palatable .as the first. The
I coffee must bo pulverized, or ground
Query Box
L. S. Send for Farm Bulletin No.
270, "Sewage Disposal on the Farm."
Also, Bulletin No. 463, . "Sanitary
Out-houses." Both of these bulle
tins, free for the asking, should be
in every farm home, and studied,
then acted upon. They can be had
through your congressman or sena
tor, or through the secretary of agri
culture, Washington, D. C.
A Beginner One of the most im
portant things to be done, to insure
a good garden next year, is to have
the ground broken up before it
freezes, and then manure it heavily.
The rains of winter will carry the
fertilizing material down into the
soil, and the frost will pulverize the
lumps, and the soil will be ready for
early work in the spring.
F. G. Plant the freshly gathered
shellbark hickorynuts about three
inches under the surface where you
want the tree to grow, before the
ground freezes. It 1b better to put
two or three nuts in each hill, but
not all in one hole, and when they
grow large enough, remove the least
desirable. The seedlings will ap
pear very late in the spring, and they
can not bo relied upon to prouuuo
the pame grade of nuts planted,
though some of them may be better.
Mrs. G. S. B. has seen the state
ment somewhere that the Night
Blooming Cereus blooms only once;
she thinks she saw it in Tho Com
moner, but I do not think she did.
She Bays it sometimes blooms twice
the same season.
Requested Recipes
For a white layer cake, use tho
following batter: Bea; together ono
cup of powdered sugar and one or
butter and when creamy add threo
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