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The Commoner.
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YOLTJME 12, NUMBER
Winter of (lio Heart
Wo did not fear thorn once the dull
&ray morning
No clioorloM burden on our spirits
laid;
Tho long niht watcho did not bring
uu warnings
That wo were tenants of a house
decayed,
fhe feathery Known like dream to us
doacended,
The frost did fairy work on pane
and bough;
Beauty and power and wonder have
not ended
How Ih it that wo fear the winters
now?
Alas, for us! The wjnler is within
uh;
Hard is the ice that casos close
each heart;
Though worldly cares' and vain re
grets have won us,
To life's true heritage and better
part.
Soasons and sky rejoice yea, wor
ship, rather,
While others toll and tremble e'en
oh wo,
Hoping for harvests they will never
gather,
Fearing tho winters they may
never see.
M. IJ. Chapman In Argosy.
February
February is tho month of birth
days. It is also possessed of a
ground hog's day, and St. Valentine
has tho chair on the 14th. This year
thero Is another distinction; wo have
an additional day tho 29th; this
makes a difference In tho whole year,
which, becauao of this additional
day, Is called Leap Year, and as It
comers special privileges on tho
fominino portion of humanity, the
good looking, or eligiblo bachelors
aro kept guessing. Tho whole month
is full of holidays, legal and social,
and thoro is a chance for no end of
fun from beginning until the end.
What is tho Remedy?
How fast tho tlmo goes! It seems
but a little while a matter of
weeks, at most Blnco wo were swel
tering in tho fierce heat of tho sum
mertime; then tho cool autumn
washed out tho romembranco of
much of our suffering, bringing
health and renewed vigor to tho ex
hausted ones. And now wo aro juBt
omorglng from a season of almost
unprecedented cold which covered
tho whole north country, extending
far to tho southward. Tho suffering
was not confinod wholly to tho Im
provident and tho unfortunate but
many who had carefully laid by in
otoro for just such emergencies',
found themselves at tho mercy of tho
dements, and It was eBpocIally hard
on tho men, women and young people
who woro forced to go to and from
their work through tho bitter cold.
. Littlo children braved tho stormB on
tholr way to and from schools, and
anxious mothers watched thom go
with many misgivings.
Think of tho conditions in tho
groat cities, where thousands of
"homeless men" woro nightly housed
in tho basements of tho municipal
bnildlngB, glad of a warm floor to
Ho down on, with perhaps their
outor clothing for their pillow; clubs
and charitable societies housed other
thousands, and they woro generally
supplied with broad and coffeo be
fore being sent out for tho ,i
jittlo Was said Of "homnlnafl wl
men." Here and there, mention was
made that some woman's building or
the Salvation Army had sheltered as
many as possible; but there did not
seem to be much attention paid to
them if there were any. But the
daily papers freely advertised the
fact that the city's indigent, improvi
dent, shiftless, or unfortunate voters
were cared for. And we wondered
what of the helpless, homeless wo
men? Thousands of these homeless men
say they would work If work was to
be had; many of them doubtless tell
the truth; but there are thousands
of others who prefer the precarious
life of the outcast. Meanwhile, there
are thousands of householders who
want help in various capacities, from
tho few-minutes job to steady em
ployment; but they can not get it.
These idle men refuse to do a small
job unless paid out of all proportion
to tho value of the labor. I nerson-
ally know of instances where these
semblances of men, ragged, dirty,
hungry, were taken in and cleaned,
fed, clothed and given remunerative
jobs about the homes of the well-to-do,
where the work was anything but
hard, and as soon as they got the
bath, the clothes and a full stom
ach, made excuse to go on the street
for a few minutes, and never came
back. I am sorry to say that some
women did the same. Thousands of
families, when work is plenty and
"times" good, live up to the last
penny of their income, much or little,
many of them going further still,
and leaving a trail of unpaid bills
behind them as they move from
neighborhood to neighborhood, while
their earnings aro largely left with
tho saloon keeper or otherwise dls-
sipateu. wnen tho stress or "no
work" and freezing weather comes
together upon them, those who have
carefully kept within their incomes
aro called upon to spend their sav
ings for tho comfort of these ne'er-do-wells.
It is the .old, old story,
and tho solution of tho problem
seems as deep a mystery as it ever
has been how to teach these im
provident people tho lesson of thrift
and of looking ahead for the quick
sands of famine months.
until done. Let lie in the water in
the kettle until the water is cold,
then remove the skin, take every bit
of meat from the bone, throwing
away the gristles, and put the meat
through a chopper, or chop quite
fine; to each pint of the chopped
meat allow a gill of nice stock (or
of the gravy in the kettle), one table-
spoontui of dry mustaru, a scant
half-teaspoonful of tobasco pepper
and two beaten eggs; put the mixture
in a double boiler and cook for five
minutes, then use for spreading
sandwiches for the children's school
lunches.
If the ham is a fresh ham, the
bone can be used to. boil with vege
tables, such " as cabbage, potatoes,
turnips, and will season the dish as
well as a piece of fresh meat. Or
the bone can be treated as the salt
ham, and made for sandwich filling.
To Varnish Linoleum
If the linoleum is the inlaid kind,
it will look well as long as there is
a piece of it, as the colors go clear
through, while tho painted grades
will wear off and look very unsight
ly, though they may still be service
able. After the linoleum has been
on the floor for sometime, it will
have spread all it is going to, and
should be fastened down with regu
lar linoleum tacks, which are double
pointed, one point being for each
edge, across a joining. A quarter
round over the edges next the wall
will keep tho outer edge in place.
About onco in six months get the
regular floor oil-cloth varnish, and
if not thin enough to spread on
easily with a brush, thin it with tur
pentine until it will flow smoothly.
varnisn mo linoleum after supper,
and it will harden over night. The
linoleum must be washed clean with
clear warm water and dried before
applying the varnish. Get a quick
drying varnish; there are several
excellent ones costing at most not
more than twenty-flvo cents a can.
One can should varnish an ordinary
Bized kitchen.
For Staining tho Floor
One of tho most durable stains
known, and not at all expensive, for
either kitchen or dining room, is
mado and applied as follows: Have
tno uoor perfectly clean, well
scrubbed and dried, and for the
averaged sized room, get one-fourth
ounce of permanganate of potash,
add to a quart of water and apply
quickly to the floor, using a flat
brush; repeat tho process until as
dark as you want it. When dry, go
over it with one or two coats of
boiled linseed oil and turpentine, in
proportion of two ounces of turpen
tine to a quart of the oil, stirring
well. Let the first coat dry before
applying the second, and it will pay
you to apply tho second coat. After
drying, there will be no more scrub
bing necessary, but it can bo wipod
up with clear water and a cloth, dry
ing with another cloth.
is usually regarded merely as a
flavor, it is of the utmost importance
to tho human economy. It is said
that in the middle ages, criminals
and heretics were fed on saltless
foods, with the result that they
perished miserably in long-drawn-out
agony. It is also claimed that cer
tain races of savage people not only
never use salt, but hold it in the
utmost abhorrence; the chemist ex
plains this by proving the presence
of liberal quantities of salt in the
food they eat and the water they
drink. It is the function of salt to
supply the juices of the stomach with
the amount of hydrochloric acid they
require; soda also is contained in
these juices, and both elements of
sodium chloride (so the chemists
term common salt) are indispensible
in supplying a healthy body with tho
requisite quantity of inorganic mas
ter. The excessive use of salted
meats is very injurious to the human ,
body; but the cause for this is in'
the meats which are injuriously
affected by excessive salt. The harm
done consists in robbing the meat
not only of its fluids, but also of the
very constituents that the human
body needs for its preservation;
vegetables containing potash salts
and but little common salt are then
needed to repair the ravages the
body has suffered, as in scurvey. We
can not thrive on foods robbed of its
invaluable potash. Medical Magazine.
Small Economics
Havo you ever noticed that, after
(never before) tho butcher has
weighed your purchase, ho trims t.
tossing tho trimmings back on his
table, or takes the bones out, giv
ing you only the piece prepared for
cooking? These trimmings are yours,
paid for by you; and you should ask
for and tako them with you. Tho
tough ends, odd scrapB, and gristly
pieces will make excellent broths
and soups, and seasonings for vege
tables. Tho bones contain nourish
ment, and they should be cracked
and simmered a long time, with the
scraps, and when cooked entirely
done, the liquid strained from them
and put into tho stock 1juv Tnir
homo the bits of fat and fry thom
out; save all drippings and thus get
tho worth of your money.
Whether using a cooked or raw
ham, thoro comes a stage when no
more neat trimmings can be cut from
it. If a raw, salted ham, whether
smoked or not, wash it well with a
brush about the bone end and put it
on in cold water over the fire, cook
ing it gently until tender. When
about half done, put into tho water
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Common Salt
Physiologists have discovered that
more than one-half the saline matter
of the blood is made up of common
salt. The constant discharge of this
matter renders it imperative that
man and beast should constantly
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Using Corn Meal
As simple as the cooking of corn
meal mush, or hasty pudding is,
there are many women who frankly
say they can not make it fit to eat.
The whole secret lies in having tho
water salted and boiling before put
ting in the meal, and adding the
meal in such a manner that thero
shall be no lumps, then cooking the
mush until it is done. Have the
meal sifted, and moisten it with cold
water, wetting it thoroughly, then,
stir it spoonful at a time into the
boiling water, stirring as you drop
it in; continue this until all the meal
is used, then let it cook a few
minutes, stirring vigorously, after
which it should be pulled back from
the fire and allowed to bubble gently,
now and then giving it a good stir
ring. Cook it thus for half an hour,
and you will find it very appetizing.
The mush should not be so thick as
to be stiff, but should ho thin
enough to stir easily. If it is wanted
for frying at the next meal, make it
thicker than for eating with milk or
sauce, pour into a square pan and let
cool; then, for frying, slice and drop
Into smoking hot lard, and cook until
a nico brown.
A good recipe for bread is to use
one egg, well beaten; one tablespoon
ful of white flour, two or more cup
fuls of buttermilk, as the quantity to
be mado calls for, one teaspoonf ul of
salt, ono teaspoonf ul (level) of soda
to two cupfuls of milk, if tho milk la
very sour; less, if the milk is fresh
and sweet; then stir into the mix
ture enough sifted corn meal to make
a pouring batter, pour into well
greased tins and bake in a hot ovon.
More eggs may be used, and are an
improvement. Tho quantity of soda
or meal can not be given, as tho
amount of soda depends upon tho
sourness of tho milk, while somo
meal 'swells" more than others, and
absorbs more moisture. Try small
batches at first, and when you "get
the hang" of it, you will be glad you
learned.
Fixing Over-Frayed Garments
Instead of throwing away a gar
ment because of frayed edges, worn
linings, and other signs of usage,
look the garment over and see what
It needs and proceed to work reno
vating. If buttons are missing, do
not sew on "any old thing," odds and
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