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The Commoner.
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VOLUME 13, NUMBER' 7
One Kind of a Fanner
Ho sells tho whole of tho npplo crop
Whatever tho prlco may ho;
And ho soils his milk to tho last lono
drop,
Thoro'H nono for tho family.
Whon ho kills a pig, ho sells that too,
And tho Hamo with a hoof or lamb,
Whilo tho family faro tho wholo yertr
through
Iu bacon and spuds and ham.
Ho soils tho eggs that his hons may
lay,
And tho chickens thomselves as
well,
For ho says, "There ain't no farm
can pay
If you eat what you'vo got to sell;"
And ho takes his children out of
school
An soon as tho law'll allow,
For ho Bays tho teacher's a "gol-durn
fool,"
And ho's "ncoding tho kids to
plow."
His wlfo is woary and bent and sad
With tho labor that sho has done,
And his children havo never known
or had
Tholr rightful portion of fun,
But his cattle aro lino and big and
fat,
And his horsos aro sleek and trim.
Now, horo is tho question, plain and
flat: '
Aro YOU in a class with him?
Borton Braloy in Farm and
FircBlde.
bloom and boauty in the sitting room
window. Some of them are of droop
ing habit, and make fine plants for
window boxes and hanging baskets
during tho summer, and will con
tlnuo satisfactory inside during tho
winter. One trouble is that they
grow too fast.
What Women aro Doing
Tho women of health who intelli
gently manage their own business
and property affairs aro becoming
numerous, while few of those who
have neither business nor property
aro satisfied with tho alternative for
merly offered them of resignation to
poverty or dependenco on the bounty
of others Tho number of self-respecting
and self-supporting women,
married and single, is growing at a'
rapid pace. They not only hold an
Important placo in tho modern world
of art and litoraturo, but in many of
tho professions, trades and busi
nesses, they aro finding their way to
success. Many a woman, loft with
a house full of littlo children, with
out money or influence, have stout
ly faced tho conditions and gono on,
bravely fighting down every obstacle,
and not only making a good living
whoro tho husband failed, but havo
achieved wealth and prominence,
and brought up their dependent
family to a high degree of usefulness.
Tlio Flower Garden
By this tlmo tho potted bulbs
mould bo woll on toward blooming.
Dring them to tho light gradually,
;lvo them tho coolest window in your
sitting room, and avoid diroct sun
light until you want tho flower-spike
to dovolop. Keep tho atmosphere
moist and do not koop too warm. In
a dry, hot room, tho flowers either
fall to open, or tho spiko does not
push out of the ground woll. Water
freoly, and bo sure to koop in a cool
room. Meantimo, whilo tho potted
bulbs aro promising so much, bo sure
to have your list of plants and seeds
made out for tho out door garden.
Road tho catalogues closely and
profit by tho information given.
Many soedsmon and nursorymon aro
offoring tompting collections for a
vory small sum, and if you deal with
rollablo merchants, you will got your
money's worth. Many storos offer
bulbs, soods, plantB, both potted and
dormant, at remarkably low prices;
but tho soeds aro usually old, bought
at wholosalo from some jobber, and
the plants anything but truo to name,
whilo tho dormant shrubbery is
noithor truo to name, in most cases,
or fitted to grow whon planted. It is
bost to buy. of reliable growers, and
get your soods and plants and shrubs
at your door in good growing condition.
Gleanings
Wo aro told by our wiso lecturers
that wo aro not punished for our
physical sins, but by them. What
ever Nature hands you over tho
counter you are expected to pay for
at the cashier's window, and if you
seek to evado payment, sho will
chargo you doublo.
To carry your head high, is
fashionable; to carry your heart
high, is metaphorical, but to carry
your chost high is ono of tho most
important duties laid upon tho body.
Another duty, most Important of all,
is to carry tho spiritual nature above
tho grossness of our surroundings.
In tho past, orators could mako nn
point moro certain of instant appre
ciation than ono which turned upon
an illustration from the Bible. Now,
It is hardly safe for a popular orator
to venture any allusion outside the
gospels and tho psalms, because the
people do not know tho Bible. It is
a lamentable fact that the larco mnnn
of tho people do not know whether a
"saying" is taken from tho Bible, or
from some plausible common stuff.
It Is time to read your Bible, and
know whoreof you spoak.
blocks, according to design, and then
pressed together. Much of tho im
ported is cast in a solid piece. The
foundation materials of which lin
oleum is manufactured are linseed
oil and ground cork, and the name
comes from tho Latin terms for these
two articles. Some resinous matter
is usually introduced, and in cheap
grades wood pulp is often used. The
waste of the cork industry is utilized,
the raw material consisting of bits
of cork about a cubic inch in size.
These are cut by machinery into
smaller pieces and finally ground
into a fine dust; the powder is then
mlxod with oxidized linseed oil, the
resinB introduced and the mixture,
which is like putty, is spread on a
surface of burlap varnished on the
under side to render it impervious to
water. For the inlaid, tho various
parts of the pattern are made in
separate molds, then, under a
twenty-ton pressure pressed together.
When the material is to be printed
it is allowed to dry for several weeks,
and then the pattern Is applied by
means of a printing press or ma
chine. In tho imported inlaid goods,
whoro the whole pattern is cast at
once, there is a large metal mold,
which is made at great expense, and
each color is laid on separately.
Grafting Wax
A reader sends' in tho following,,
and says, "There is no better formula
for grafting wax than this: Four
pounds of rosin, melted, stirring with
a paddle while melting; then one
pound of beeswax melted in with it.
Remove to the back of tho stove and
add one pint of linseed oil; when all
the ingredients are thoroughly
mixed, and while hot, pour through
a piece of gunny sack into a tub con
taining a little water. Let the mass
get a little cool, then, with greased
hands, work and pull until the mix
ture becomes a light clay color. Less
can be made, keeping the propor
tions. As tho season for using graft
ing wax is near at hand, it will be
well to prepare for it.
Another three parts resin, three
parts beeswax, two parts tallow; melt
all together, then work and pull
when cool. This will not melt in
summer nor crack in winter. Uso
when you want it.
,A Satisfactory Plant
The old "flowering maple,"
Chinese boll-flowor, as our mothers
know it, is tho abutilon of today.
Tho leaves rosemblo those of tho
mulberry tree, hen'co tho name. It
is a flowering shrub of tho oasiest
culture, and it bears not only flowers
of .various 'colors', but it has somo
species that havo lovely foliage in
various markings and colorings. If
planted out in a bordor with good
foil, many of the kinds will bloom
tho Bummer through, then may bo
treated as pot shrubs and will give
"Just as of Old"
In 1827, tho editor of a Brussels
paper made somo investigations and
found that there were 3,031 wives
in Belgium who had loft their hus
bands that year; 5,042 couples wore
living at war under tho samo roof;
and in all Belgium, Just throe really
happy couples were found and 1,022
comparatively happy ones. Evidontly
tho world does not change very
much, and human nature is about
tho same, go whoro you will. For a
"divino Institution," marriage seems
to bo "cut on tho blaB" In most
cases.
How Linoleum is Mado
Linoleum is so generally used,
and is such a valued floor covering,
that it would bo well to know some
thing of how it Is mado. Th iniwi
linoleum mado in this- country is
chiefly made in separate strips or
Some Timely Remedies
A very excellent remedy where the
cough is very troublesome, is two
tablespoonfuls of flaxseed meal, over
which pour one pint of boiling water
and cook five minutes; then add the
juice of ono lemon and two table
spoonfuls of sugar. If you can got
it, real bees honey is better than
sugar. Keep this stirred well, and
the doso Is one teaspoonful every
hour; if the cough is very trouble
some, doublo the dose, as the in
gredients are harmless. A very,
excellent thing to use with this is to
wring out a towel from cold water
and lay it over tho chest, reaching
well up to tho throat, and cover im
mediately with a folded flannel cloth
cover so as to keep in tho warmth
which the body generates through
tho reaction, and when the towel
gets warm, cnango quickly for an
other wrung out of cold water. This
will easo many coughs -when everv
thing elso fails. y
For tho children who should not
take strong druKs. & svrim a
of one pound of best raisins, one
half ounco of anise seed, and two
sticks of tho best, puro licorice
Split tho raisins and take out tho
seed, bruise tho anise seed and cut
up tho licorice. Put this in three
quarts of strained, pure water and
boil down one-half or until thero
is a quart and a half of the liquid.
This syrup is harmless; the raisins
aro tonic, the aniso seed expels tho
wind, and the licorice is a mild laxa
tive. A teaspoonful three or four
times a day is sufficient, though
oftener will not hurt.
For cold on the lungs, an excellent
cough medicine is made after this
recipe: One cup of strained honey,
half cup of olive oil, and the juice
of one large lemon. Cook all to
gether for five minutes, then beat
rapidly until it cools so as to thor
oughly mix the ingredients. One
teaspoonful every hour is about
right. Tho wet compress over the
chest should be used to draw tho
heat to the outside. Be sure to keep
the wet cloth covered so as to keep
the heat in, and when changing the
towel, do so rapidly.
Requested Recipes
Onion Sauce Put into a clean
saucepan a tablespoonful of fat
(drippings will do.) When this is
melted, shred two or three onions,
according to their size, fine, and
allow them to fry, but not brown;
then stir a tablespoonful of sifted
flour into the pan and allow to sim
mer, but keep stirring; add a cupful
of soup stock, t you havo it; if not,
water with the necessary season
ing, a tablespoonful of vinegar and
a very small pinch of sugar. Cut up
any scraps of cold meat you may
have, rather fine, and put into the
sauce; allow to neat for five minutes,
but do not boil; serve very hot
Horse-Radish Sauce Put one
tablespoonful of drippings or butter
in your sauce pan; when hot, stir
in one tablespoonful of flour and
allow to cook a light brown; then
add one tablespoonful of horse
radish, a cupful ; of soup-stock, a"
spoonful of .vinegar, and a pinch of
sugar; allow the meat to -simmer in
this srfuce five minutes, and serve
very hot. Or, use prepared mustard
instead of horse-radish. Unless the
meat has some substance to it, it
should be kept out of the sauce.
Soup-meat that has been boiled to
rags can not be used in any other
dish.
"Skewered Oysters" First have
your oysters and your skewers per
fectly clean; then, to each oyster
allow a piece of nice bacon cut into
a small and very thin square; string
on the skewer, first a bit of bacon,
then an oyster, running the skewer
through the haTd part of the oyster
only, adding bacon and oyster alter
nately until the skewer is full. Use
as many skewers as you like. Place
the filled skewers, an end on each
side of a baking dish or pan, which
should be deep enough to allow the
oysters to hang without touching the
uou-om. aaice in a hot oven for ten
minutes, and place the skewers on
toast and pour over them the juice
which has dripped into the dish.
Servo at once.
Good Bread
In these days of compressed yeast,
the housewife will have little trouble
getting good yeast. Allow a half
cake of the compressed yeast to a
quart of water, which is better if
half milk; dissolve the cake In a
cupful of the water; before using
it. it Rhmilfl Itnna hn. ...l.l.j -1
-f -- w-.w.u. uu,io UCCU BUiUUOU UI1U
cooled to lukewarmness, and the
yeaBt then added. Mix this Into
"u6u uuur j.o mane a stiff dough,
first adding a tablespoonful of sugar
and half as much salt' Flours differ
greatly as to the power to absorb
moisture, and ono must use Judg
ment. The dough should be about
,?xeno,ugh t0 hW the spoon up
right. Cover with a cloth and set in
a moderately warm place over night.
(Some say compressed yeast should