The Commoner.
VOLUME '12, NUMBER 28 '
II' i
good common vinegar is rriado of
eight gallons of rain watery three
quarts of molasSes, twb cakes of
yeast. - Shake well, put in a warm
place, and in ten days add strips of
wrapping paper covered 'with' mo
lasses, to start the "mother."'
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Weien Watts Mb V
The Paling Star
O, liavo you not soon, onsomo morn-
lag in Juno,
Whon tho ilowers woro asleep, and
tho forest In tune
Xnd tho billows of. dawn broke
bright on tho air,
On tho breast of tho brightest, a star
clinging there?
Somo sentinel star, not yet ready to
. sot,
Forgotting to wane, and watching
thoro yot? ' '
How you gazed on that vision of.
beauty awhile!
"How it wavorod, 'til won by the light
of God's smile!
How It passed through tho portals
. of pearl, like a bride,
How it paled as it passed, and tho
Morning Star died!
Tho day was all blushes, tho world
was all bliss
'And tho prayer of your heart, "Bo
my ending liko this!"
So oir beautiful ono passed away'
from lifo's oven;
So tho blush of her being was
blended with heaven;
So tho bird of our bosom fluttered
up to tho dawn .
A window was open! Our darling
was gone!
A truant. from time and from tears
and from sin,
For tho angol on watch took the
wanderer in.
Yfhon she warbleB to mo tho now
: ,iong 'that shp pings,
a hall know her again; ndUtfitlr-
'. ' standing her wings. .-
, By, ..tho light of those eyes by tho
light on hor hair,
. Ahd tlid smile she wore hero sho
,'v -will surely wear there!
. .r"v, Bayard F. Taylor.
curtains have the appcaranco of hav
ing boon outgrown by tho window,
tiioy may bo lengthened or widened
by a row or two of insertion run an
inch or more inside tho edges .and
abovo tho hem, using lace of suitable
quality.
Tho curtains for the summer homo
may bo all white, or white with
colorod border or stencil, or colored
material may bo used, according to
the exposure of the room and color
of vtho furnishing.
For tho Summer Windows
"Where one has leisure and taste
I for ( such work, tho Bummer window
dressing may bo made at homo at
much less cost than tho same quality
of tho ready-made, and the product
be more, satisfactory. Short, curtains
aro very popular because they laun
der so easily; tho long curtains of
the past have practically lost favor,
and tho short lengths have gained
what the long ones have lost. Pretty
muslin curtains may be made of
dotted. bwIss, or allied materials, with
the inner edge and bottom finished
with either a frill or a straight edge
of coarse linen lace. Tho lace comes
in very pretty designs, and wears
well.
, For net curtains, linen torchon
lace may bo used, applied to tlie
odgo, or several motifs may bo 'set in
along the length, sewing in place by
hand and . cutting out tho material
underneath. T
Scrim, in all degrees Qf transpar
ency is used, made with a narrow
lace edge, as this material does not
"lend itself readily to ruffling. Cre
tonne, chintz, and liko materials do
well for sunny rooms and many use
with them a thin sash curtain next
tho- window. Unbloached cheese
cloth, which costs but a few cents,
wears well and always looks fresh.
Tho edges are finished with a wide
hem with a border done in stencil.
Stenciling is easily done, and the
work is fascinating.
The length of those curtains should
be sufficient to qot only cover the
whole window, but 'to allow for a
, few inches of shrinkage In launder
ing. U after being laundered, tho
, Canning Fruits
Strawberries Have tho fruit as
fresh as possible, and wash by dash
ing water through it in a colander or
slovo; romovo tho hulls. Place a
layer of fruit in a stone jar and
sprinkle over it just as much sugar
as you would use at table; over that
place another, layer of berries, then
sugar, until all are used. Do not
mash or -stir. At the end of four
hours time tho sugar should have
drawn the juice from tho fruit, and
tho juice must be-poured oft into the
preserving kottle. To every quart of
the Juice add one-fourth cup of
water, and let come to a boll, then
drop in the drained berries and let
stand two minutes just long enqugh.
to got heated through not boiled;
then gently lift out with a skimmer
into jars standing in hot water. Fill
tho jars two-thirds full and immedi
ately fill with the hot syrup and seal.
Sot the jars top end down fpr an
hour to test for leaks, tils metho'd
keeps the flkvor better than 'when
boiled. If tho syrup seems too thin,
it may be boiled for ten minutes
before pouring over tho fruit. The
berries mufet be kept very hot whihi
waiting for the syrup. ,,
, Black .,, .Currant Jelly; To each
pound of picked fruit 'allow on gill
of water; set, them on tho fire in the
preserving, kettle to 'scald, but do
not let them boil; bruise them well
with a silver fork or wooderi beater:
take them off and squeeze through a
fine hair sieve, and to every 'pint of
juice allow a pound, of granulated
sugar; boil ten minutes, and put into
glasses; as soon as cool, pour melted
paraffin war over the top.
then mix four cups of water and one
and a half 'cups of sugar, and bring
to a boil and. let boil for twenty"
minutes. Cool 'this, and add the
strawberry juice and one tablespoon-1
ful of lemon juice. Strain this, and,
freeze until mushy, then serve.
Pineapple Ice Put two cups of
water and one cup of sugar in a
saucepan, bring to a boil and let boil
for twenty minutes; cool, and add
ono pineapple grated, or one cau of
grated pineapple, and freeze to a
mush; fold In two cups of thin cream
whipped to a stiff froth, and let stand
in a freezer for thirty minutes; serve
in frappe glasses and garnish, with
pieces of candied pineapple and a
glaced cherry.
Iron kettles should never he used
for putting up fruits, as the acid in
tho fruits affect the metal; granite,
porcelain, or aluminum is best; cop
per or brass may be safely used, if
care is taken to have them perfectly
clean and well scoured, polishing im
mediately before using, and cleaning
well before putting away.
Contributed Recipes'
Steak-Dumplings Cut the steak
into finger pieces and let simmer in
a very little slightly salted water for
half an hour, or until tender, then
lift from tho gravy and let thorn
drain well. Boil some potatoes until
tender, drain, season with salt, pep
per, a little butter and a little hot
milk; maBh and beat up very smooth
and make them into, a past with a
Uttle flour, Roll each strip of. steak
in a piece of tho potato crust, put
them Into a dripping pan in which a
little butter or drippings have been
melted, and let them bake slowly
about an hour, or until the potato
crust is well browned. Season the
gravy in which the steak is stewed
with salt, pepper, a few drops of
onion juico and a little tomato cat
sup; add flour to thicken slightly
cook until smooth, and servo in a
gravy uoat. Chopped chicken, or
veal, or other tender cold cooked
meat may ho substituted for the
steak, andUhis makes a very substan
tial luncheon or breakfast dish.
Strawberry Ice Mash straw
berries enough to make two mmfiiia
of juice when squeezed through a
Old Fashioned Home Dyes
Notwithstanding tho fact that
there are many satisfactory package
dyes on the market, 'we "are con
stantly asked for dyes "used by our
grandmothers. Many recipes ac
credited to these housewives call for
proportions so large that they are
"white elephants" on the hands of
tho daughters, whoj instead- of hun-
dreds of pounds of 'goods to. be dyed
haVe'but aga'rmen'or..two, or only
a few pounds of goods. Here, are
several claimed 'to' be excellent, arid
in small proportions: . - . ,
'"For ah 'Indigo" blue for wool, take
fbr "every two'p6uridso goods; alum;
. wUuVu, . wcuu MMlrtlV' IUIKH
ounces; dissolve in hot water enough
to cover' the goods, arid boil the goods
in it for an hour; thenv,ta'ke out the
goods and throw into warm water
which has enough extract of indigo
itf it to give the desired eblor and
boil again until it suits; adding more
of the bluing if necessary; : Stir well
wnllo boiling.
Another blue dye istmade by tak
ing to each pound of goods, one
ounce of Prussian blue and one-half
ounce of oxalic acid;' pulverize, and
dissolve in hot water sufficient to
cover the goods; stir the goods into
this water, agitating until it is the
desired shade; then wring, out and
nuae m aium water. The alum
water sets the color.
A single pound of cotton goods
requires about four gallons of water
to work it in easily. , A dye that will
color cotton is not to be used for
wool, and a "wool" dye will not do
for cotton. In the package dyes,
only the right kinds of dyes are
recommended for either wool, cot
ton, linen, silk, or mixed goods
Everything depends on tho direc
tioris being closely followed.
For Soiled Lingerie
For the dainty lace or silk lin
gerie that we shrink from launder
ing in the usual vay, or for N deli
cate colors that we are sure tho -laundrying
will fade) try this. Put
the spiled article 'in a large jar, of
sufficient dimensions to allow the
gasoline to cover the article. Tho
lid should be tight-fitting, and must
be made as nearly air-tight as .pos
sible to prevent the evaporation of
the gasoline, and .his may be done
by tying over the top before putting
on the lid,' a cloth of flannel or
strong close fabric. . Sufficient gaso
line should be poured on the article
to cover it, and it should be left to
remain in the jar overnight, observ
ing the precaution to set it out or
doors, where no possible contact with
fire or flame can be had.' In the
morning, remove, rinse o.ut in clear
gasoline, and the article should bo
found perfectly clean; it should not
be wrung or squeezed out, but hang
up on a line where no 3re can reach
even the fumes of the gasoline, and
allowed to evaporate. The dirt that
has passed from the garment will be
found in the. form of a sediment in
the bottom of the jar; pour off all
the clear gasoline, and put aside for
use again; hut not for white, or pale
colors; light or colored articles may
be cleaned with it. "Worsted articles
may be cleaned by the same process,
kaces, ribbons, or other trimming
will not need to be removed from
garments cleaned by this metho'd.
' T,: ' - -tT-K ' '' '-.
H V'"'7 "''' I' IWAtftrflil .IT', .:'
Now- that .another nqtch, has been
added .to the cost price of meats, the
worried housewife is again asking
for something ' to ' take its place.
Peas, beans,, lentils, called 'le
gumes?' aridnritsare,the substitutes
for meat, as 'they 'haVe1 the same pro
teidsi .tbjlt .form the fpod values of
meat.. ,In a cream of pea, soup, ypu
have practically .all the jopd virtues
M;he .pro.teld& fpts of . miik t and bet
ter, 'the vegetable, juices, and. in 'the
bread;. or .cracker .eaten ' w'th'it'," ibe
necessary starches. JTo a heaithy
stomach,' heaps do not bring any "dis
comfort,, and to the unhealthy diges
tive traqt, a few spoonfuls 'will not
bring distress, if they are ' cooked
right. The legumes" are more palat
able when seasoned with' 'meat, in ilk
these can be called cheap foods.
The question is" not so much
tho cheapness, but the value for
the money paid, and peas, beans,
lentils, are. all nourishing, while
meats belong to the energizing
class of foods. Lentils are not as
well known as they deserve They
are queer little flat things, and ar
by no means expensive, but they
take the place of meat In food valuo
to a greater degree for the money
expended than almost any other sub
stitute. They can he cooked in a
variety of forms, by varying the
seasoning and combinations with
other vegetables.
uoudio thickness of chRr.wi,. " """ "?. tt ""u.e
. v, , meu your pver tne pickles.
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Pickling
Aicf ,Tine,gar for Pickles is made
of the following ingredients: Four
quarts of viifogar, two cUps of sugar
three nutmegs grated, two largo
Onions'slicod; one-half cup of grated
horse radish, one ounce of mustard
seeds, one ounce, of celery seed, one
ounce of salt, half an ounce of mace
half an ounce of black pepper, one
uuuw ui auspice, jrut all together,
bring to a boll for a minute or more
A very
"Throwing Shoes After a Bride"
As this is the season of weddings,
a querist asks why we should throw
shoes after a bride. The custom of
throwing old shoes and rice has pre
vailed for many years in America,
England and Scotland. It cam from
the eastern nations, and was original
ly intended as a sign of relinquish
ment by the relatives of their
authority over the bride. An old
Jewish custom provided that' a
brother of a childless man had th
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