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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1912)
"H"-:! -a HI . I i' .r It! ' 1', r ifr , k I B t I. I J", &r- IV & The Commoner. 8 - wqPw t) o d 3 r t mn l w VOLUME 12, NUMBER 3 Tho Cheaper Cuts of Meat I con. "with care tho magazines, Tho household columns meet my eyes All filled with helpful "ways and moans" How best wo may economize. Sinco food has soared to heights subllmo How apropos is each receipt Which teaches in this parlous time Tho use of "cheaper cuts of meat." For sirloin steak I need not sigh, From costly chops I must desist, Tho choice rib-roast forbear to buy, And on the chuck and shin subsist. I thus may save my household hoard These days when dollars' wiugs are fleet, And live as well as any lord Upon tho cheaper cuts of meat. Alas, I found this all too true, When I to purchase did essay; The butchers read those pages, too They've raised tho price without delay! No fruit the frugal counsels yield, My disappointment is complete, The bitter truth Is now revealed, There are no "cheaper cuts" of meat! y Elsie Duncan Yale. i Effects of Alcohol A recent investigation showed that ten In every hundred of the children of drinking, couples in Lon don were consumptive, while only two In one hundred of the children of abstaining couples were similarly affected. A study of mental defi ciency among school children showed that but of 20,000 cases, nearly one third came from drinking parents. More than half of these proved dull In their school work; whereas, among the children of abstaining parents only one in ten proved simi larly deficient. A physician recent ly declared that his investigations had shown that of 600 children born of 120 drinking mothers, 335 died in Infancy or were still-born, several were idiots, and four in every hun dred were epileptics. In examining Into the history of 2,552 idiots, epil eptic, hysterical or weak-minded children In a French institution, it was found that over 41 out of every 100 of the children had drinking parents. Medical Magazine. The Kitchenette One of the, tiniest kitchens I have Been is that of a "bachelor maid" who is both business woman and home-keeper. She owns a two-family flat, and occupies tho upper one her self, occasionally renting one or two rooms to another "unattached" busi ness woman who has tho homo-keeping instinct too largely developed to admit of a boarding house life. The kitchenette is a closet, four and one half feet square; in the outer wall 1b a double-sash window, which raises from tho bottom and lowers from tho top; in the inside wall is, of course, a door. Under tho window against the outer wall is a family sized gas range, and when in use, all odors go out at tho open window, top or bottom. On tho sides are tiers of shelves broad enough for use; the lower shelf on either side being on a level with tho top of the range. Under tho shelves are hooks on which all sorts of cooking uten sils may bo hung, and boxes contain ing stores bo placed on the floor while all sorts of boxes, bottles, Jars, packages, find room on tho upper shelves. Over the top shelves are racks for holding lids, pie-tins, and other flat things; hooks for spoons, ladles, and other small things of like nature. Under one of the shelves is a drawer for holding kitchen towels, etc., on on the inside of the door are hooks for holding aprons, tea towels, and other necessities. In this little kitchen one can cook a meal for a good sized family, baking, brewing, stowing. The business woman learns that it is just as well to havo only the necessary utensils for cooking, and to buy in small quantities, un less there is a cellar or basement in which the few things it pays to buy in suitable quantities may be stored. Business women are teaching their sisters many things, and one of them is how to get the maximum satisfac tory results from the minimum of labor and expense. The day of tho big, wide kitchen, with its miles of walking for the housewife, ia past. "Willow Plumes" Tho willow-plume-making indus try is only about five. years old, but seems to have como to stay. The in dustry has grown enormously, and the largest concerns devoted exclu sively to this business are in St Louis, Kansas City and New York. The number of expert workers em ployed run well up into tho nun-' dreds. Girls and women are for the most part employed, as they do the work more quickly and neatly. In making a willow plume, the fibres on both sides of the central stem of the feather are trimmed to an equal length, then, from another feather of corresponding size and color, tho fibres are cut away close up to tho central stem. The nimble fingers of the operator picks one of the fibres from the pile and with a quick twist of her skillful fingers knots the two ends the fibre on the stem, and the loose fibre, taken from the pilo to gether, then snips off the knotted ends so the knot is scarcely distin guishable. If the fibres are short, several may be knotted together, and nothing is wasted. Where but two fibres are joined, tho plume is known as a single-knotted plume; where more than two knots are made, it is a double, or trtole knottnd nhma and where an extra large, sweeping plume is made, as many as five extra flues are knotted together. In these knotted plumes, several feathers, ac cording to sweep of the flues, are used. After having passed through a thorough examination, it is curled and placed on the market. Many plumes are made from tho old, cast- on piumes, ana li tney are skillfully knotted, they are as valuable as the new plumes, and will wear as well as new stock. No matter how worn, and apparently worthless the old plumes, they can be renovated and made into a thing of beauty; if of different colors, they can bo cleaned and all dyed of one color, and any woman who has a few discarded plumes can, at a comparatively small COSt, POSSeSS One Of tlmm hnflnHf.,1 creations, beautiful, durablo and shape-holding. 1 T little Things In order to do away with a collar band where one prefers a stock col lar to a dutch neck, sew tho stand ing collar to a sort of peplum of the material used for tho waist; this is for tho same purpose as tho peplum on tho bottom of the waist, and will hold the collar to position without any gaps or extra pinnings. Neat turn-over collars for ging ham or other house dresses may be made of narrow lace insertion or edging, putting it into a band and mitering tho corners. Bits of em broidery may be used in the same way, aro easily laundered, and can be made of short-lengths or leavings, and if neatly made are very pretty as well as serviceable. For button holes on children's garments, cut the bands on a cross wise thread of the goods instead of lengthwise, and when the button holes are marked on the goods, stitch around the marking with tho machine before cutting, finish in button-hole stitch, and they will last much longer under hard usage. For Men's Clothing When trousers aro "kneed," or "bag," dampen the bulge with a wet sponge, or lay a damp cloth over the place and iron with a pressing mo tion until the bulge is taken up. The dampening and pressing may have to be repeated. Hang the coat on a coat form, in stead or by ho loop at tho back of tho neck. Coat forms can bo bad two for a nickel, or a better quality, flvo to ten cents each. The forms will last as long as you take care of them, and the coat will keep In shape. In hanging up trousers, do not button the waist-band together and hang them up by this, or by the sus penders; get a hanger of the tailor, or ten cent store, two for a nickel, and the tailor will show you how to us them. If the trousers are folded properly and hung right, they will, keep their appearance better. To "creaso" the leg of the trous ers, fold with the seams on each side of the log together, then lay a damp cloth on tho fold and press well with a moderately hot flat iron. The cloth should not bo too wet, and a towel is as good as anything. i Removing Stains For removing peach stain, this is recommended: Put a teaspoonful of sulphur on a plate, add a few drops of pure alcohol and ignite. Over this place a tin funnel; wet the stain and hold it over tho small opening in the funnel; allow the fumes to come iri contact with every particle of the stain. Tho action is a quick chemical bleaching which is effective for any stain on white goods. Be sure to rinse the material immedi ately and thoroughly with equal parts of ammonia and water, then launder, asusual. Gleanings Domestic-science authorities tell us that there is no sure process for &. col?r ln llnens- nen "S chants refuse to guarantee the color rLintlrKg??uB- Linen color readily, but; the nature of the fibre to such that it is more than ant to lose some tf its color through being exposed tosunshine or moisture, or in the laundry, and it takes a mor dant so strong to fix the color that sometimes.tho fibre is rotted and weakened thereby. High-colored linens are ulways a risky Investment as they aro almost sure to ."fade and loso color; icthey aro bound to fado in time, no matter what care Is given thorn, although If carefully laun dered and guarded from strong light they are often fairly satisfactory Exceeding whiteness is one of ih charms of linen, but the final bleach ng of the finished product Ttt l""JL !?" ?en.tta2 wuoctyho wiicu buaKea ner homo spun in buttermilk as many as fif teen to twenty times, every tim spreading its wet, heavy lengths on the grass in the sunshine. Grass bleached linen is conceded, even bv our best manufacturers, to bo th best and whitest. There are linen and cotton mix tures to deceive even the fairly wise housewife, and some of them aro fairly serviceable, but one should not pay pure-linen prices for these imita tions. Distrust so-called linen which fs very highly dressed, or sized, for good linen requires no such aids. Linen is naturally high glossed, and the dressing or sizing is generally used to disguise inferiority and mixtures. The attractive silki ness of mercerized cottons are often sufficient to deceive the housewife of small experience, but the cotton soon grows dull with washing and wear, while the pure linen grows glossier as it wears smooth. Do not select fringed table or toilet linen; the fringe soon wears off and gives a ragged appearance to the end. A good hem is much better in every way. "Built-in" Furniture A writer in a recent magazine mentions the fact that it is getting to cost a small fortune for the mov ing of a family from one dwelling to another from the fact that wo "literally smother our houses with furniture" because of the lack of closets and conveniences that might just as well, and better, be part of the house itself, and thus enable us to do with less of the movable. There are too many barren wall spaces, ordinary, and in most cases, unnecessary doors and windows, and about all the rooms represent are square, boxlike compartments that literally demand covering up and crowding with articles of furniture, draperies, and the like. If those ex pecting to build will only demand of the architect that every foot of space shall bo utilized for either beauty or convenience, so that each room is practically ready for occupancy with out additional furnishing, our houses will be more like real homes, and in stead of investing In single articles of furnishing that must be carted about from one habitation to an other, paying prohibitive charges for. the cartage, we should be willing to pay a better price for the building in which we can live with the real home feeling of stability. Book-cases, clothes closets, various cabinets, wall cupboards for purposes to suit the uses intended, should occupy the spaces that lend themselves to such conveniences. If one could do away with the movable kitchen "safes," tables, wash stands, cupboards, shelves, etc., an,d. other heavy, un wieldy pieces, how much less the terrors of moving day! Presses, well cushioned seats, settles, and re ceptacles for tho thousand articles one must have about the house, need none of them be very expensive. It is impossible to do more than sug gest the possibilities of built-in furni ture, as each house will have its own limitations and requirements, but if tho one Intending tn hiiHn1 will find out exactly what will most add to comiort vand convenience, and tnen call upon the architect to help them in their nln.Tn. '"half th( "horrors of moving day will bo abated. Try the Duiit-m .furniture, wherever space will suggest the convenience. Suggestions Do not beginv.to mako any dish' until you aro " thoroughly familiar with the recipe, and have all the uw IIP Mr ' hteTti-! fttifrffr'T -