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The Commoner
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Conducfetffo
tfeen MtfsMwp,
Nocturno
(Tho French lyric poet, Reno Fan
chois, who is widely known as an in
terpreter o Beethoven, has published
tho following poem under the title
"Nocturno" in a collection of vnr
poems.)
Sudden tho mortars ceased. Under
tho smoke
Of tho last bomb a corporal, with
a sigh
Slid dead into tho trench. A mad
dened liprso
Rears prancing A far
pyro lights the sky,
t
Swells up and sinks; and flashing )n
its glare
The stool of swords and star eyes
stud tho doll.
Far scattered horsemen gallop o'er
tho field
With shrill, mad laughter like tho
taunts of hell.
Then mounts the wind in all tho
woods around,
And wafts Buch heavy breezes of
decay
rhat, perched upon their prey, the
raven troops
Turn weary heads, drooping with
:dreams awqy.
Tho straggling cripples to the ambu
lance '
Limp in; Then comes black Night
.' ' ' vwith -ailont tread; "
Bowed deep with pain, she bends a
mother's brow,
And, softly sobbing, watches o'er
tho dead.
-Translation by D. H. J in the New
York Times.
Preparing fur Old Ago
Before the eyes of tho average
man or woman, there is no greater
"bugbear" than old ago; in those
days, when nothing is sure in the
way of provisions for tho coming
timo of helplessness, the dread of
penniless and helpless ago is move to
bo feared than any other thing that
confronts the man who has only his
wage to carry him through. It is
claimed by those who are well in
formed, that only one man in ten
thousand is self-supporting at seventy
years old. In the United States there
are now at least 1,125,000 former
wage earners at the age of sixty-five
or more, dependent upon public and
private charity at a cost of $220,-
ooo,uoo. There are also said to be
fully 300,000 old men and women in
homes, none of them able to earn a
living. In these days, when one must
measure from 70 to 80 per cent of
perfect service to hold a foot
ing In the working ranks, industrial
old age comes to many who are ment
ally and physically able to work, but
who are thrown out to make room
for tho younger men. Many old,
white haired men are far more val
uable, and can do better work, both
physical and mental than tho young
.er ones; but there seems to bo no
room for the old men, and they are
turntd out to make room for the new
blood and now methods. There seems
no. way by which tho ageing man or
woman can keep their places, and af
ter u lifo- of hard work and active
jgervieo, physical and mental, It is ex
tremely hard for them to sit down
to want and poverty with folded
hand.
t But the physical old age and pov
erty is not so terrible as the mental
decay, that always comes with en
forced physical idleness, and the man
or woman who realizes he or she is
past middle age should fight hard
against tho mental poverty, by try
ing to keep up with the events of
tho day, antl using every source of
mental enrichment that can be
grasped. The younger generation do
a great wrong by refusing to allow
tho old pcoplo of tho family their
share in the work and planning that
abounds in all homes. Let the old
people busy themselves in every way
commensurate with their strength.
Theres a kindness that kills.
Send for This Bulletin
Wo have had several inquiries
about insect pests in the household,
and If our friends will send for Bul
letin No. 253, -issued by the Ohio Ex
periment station a few years ago,
they will get a great deal of useful
information. . Among other requests
we are asked how to get rid oE cro
ton bugs and cockroaches. Wo re
cently gave a remedy for these which
is so simple and so cheap that any
one can use it. It is perfectly harm
less. Sift together one part of sugar
and two parts of powdered borax;
put a teaspoonful or two in a small
dish a tin box lid will do and set
these dishes around wherever the
bugs are seen; leave them, and you'
will find that cockroaches and water
bugd will not stay. You will not find
any dead ones, except now and then
onp df two lying about. But ."they
are soon gone. Set one or two of thp
little dishes about the sink and the
bath tub, or about any other place
that is kept damp. Avpound ofpow
dered borax will laBt for years for
this purpose, and costs only ten cents.
After the roaches are routed, the
borax will serve any number of pur
poses in tho household economy.
crickets are known to attack
clothing, especially if damp, and
old-time housewives were well aware
of their destructive appetites. These
can be killed by sprinkling raris
green on green vegetables; but the
are not numerous about any house.
Old time housewives had a harder
time getting rid of insects, and keep
ing -them out of the houses, because
the houses, themselves, were not
tightly built, and the hiding places
were numerous. Some women insist
that the "little brown bug" and the
cockroach can not be ousted; but it
is very easily done if, one is deter
mined, ana will keep up the warfare,
often for months; but every pest can
be dispersed by persistence. Send
for the farmers' bulletins from the
department of agriculture, and from
the experiment stations, and read
them.; then act. All kinds of insects
multiply during tho hot summer
months.
Working for tho Window Garden
Tho days of early autumn are not
far away, and there are many things
to do if you would have your plants
grow and thrive In fhe window when
the dark days come. Among the first,
is to get your plants potted and ready
for tho transferring when the frost
threatens. Be sure to have good soil
and plenty of pots of the right size!
For the nely rooted plant, the pot
should not be large; over-potting is
a sin we are all -guilty of "in the be
ginning." Liet there be just room
enough and a little to spare, thon
pack the soil closely. Do not under
take impossibilities; feel your way
carefully, beginning with plants' that
are not "fussy," or "finicky," ana
study their habits; cater to their appe
tites for food, sunlight and water. If
you don't know anything about plant
culture, don't buy' a plant jiirft Be
cause it is beautiful. Don't try to
keep more than you can care for, and
do not "trust to luck," for luck In
flower culture is the same as luck
elsewhere hard work, close atten
tion, and careful nursing. Get the
fall catalogues, and subscribe for a
good floral magazine several of
them, if you can, and 'study them
closely. Don't throw them away af
ter looking them over keep them
for reference. You will find them of
great help to you at times;
Latest Way of Canning Vegetables
Instead of long hours of boiling,
the latest method of putting up veg
etables is by several short boilings
and coolings. The theory is thai; the
first cooking of an hour Jkills all the
bacteria already grown; the warmth
is favorable to the growth of the un
developed spores, or seeds, and by
the second day, these are well start
ed; the second cooking of an hour
will kill' these, but there may be a
few belated ones that will get started
the third day, and a third cooking1
of an hour will render the contents
of the, jar free from possible ferment,
if it is sealed ,air-tight. ,
If you, have no canning outfit, a-
Wash-boiler.' larETG rifah-,Tin.-n nr Tnnli
tub-T'atything-.which can. bp used on
vum ovum wu vpuiam tue iruix jaia awi
jsurrqundheni with holing water. -r-
uxay ub uyeu. a large pan may be
used for a few jars. .Corn, tomatoos,
peas, string beans, or other kinds of
vegetables may be- successfully
canned by ttiis method. Some who
advocate the method ' insist that ho
salt should be put iiito the jars with
the vegetables, while others, just as
successful, insist that a scant tea
spoonful of salt be put into each
quart jar. You can use your own
judgment; the salt should do no
harm. Have your vegetables pre
pared, and pack into the jars as
closely as you can.; then, fill to over
flowing with tenid or warm wow
put the covers in place (some insist
wituuut ruDDer rings, while others
say the rings should be adjusted, too.
Have a wooden rack in the bottom of
whatever you usfe for cooking the
vegetables in, and stand the jars on
this to prevent the glass touching the
MbWU4 auu. ureaKing. .four into the
boiler water to reach at least half
S5LU? Va8' ,cover the boile1, flnd
bring to a boil; keep boiling for one
hour Take the jars out, one at a
time, put the scalded riihw . i
screw down the cover tightly. Return
tuo uui waier ana let stand for
twenty-four hours, or until the water
thetlids, take off the 'rubber rinss
return the covers. loosely, renew the
water and boil another hour, with
tho boiler well covered to,keep in the
Kroh ?y, thS fking' thePBeooud
growth of bacteria should bo killed:
then seal tho. jaw again, scalding the
SbpbnnMfbe,ro U8in' and avo fgain
repeat the process, and cook another
hour, which should finish the bac
fSiV whi V filing hot, seal ar-
the winter. Tomatoes contain con
siderable acid, and do not require bo
much cooking. They snould be pro
PSr?d, Put int0 sterilized jars salt
Blighty a.nd..heat them i ttfo boHer
and steam as above on two days fo J
an hour each day, then seal. Or they
VuuVloVNO. 8
may bo put Into a preserving kcttla
and just heated well through, then
put into sterilized jars, filling to over
flowing while boiling hot, add a tea
spoonful of salt to each quart, jar
and seal at once. Some adviso put
ting in o.m small quantity of sugar'; but
everyone does not like sugar. Best
dmit it. Use nothing but good, sourm
vegetables, allowing no decayed
gpecks in them. A little under-vlpo
tomatoes should be used, and young
vegetables are preferable to mature
ones. Old vegetables are usually
tough and flavorless, but the veget
able should not be so immature as to
be flavorless, though' tender.
Where one has to buy Vegetables,
care should be taken to get only the
firmest and freshest possible. It
hardly pays to can vegetables to later
throw them away.
JPor the Toilet
For excessive perspiration, tlii3 is
recommended: After tho bath in
tepid water, wet a cloth and pour a
little household ammonia on it, and
apply to tho arm-pits; this- will de
odorizo the skin and dry it; then dust
freely with a powder that is one-third
lycopodium and two-thirds boric acid.
Then, in place of the usual rub
ber protectors use several thickness
es of soft flannel, which will absorb
better than the made shields.
For removing freckles, this form
ula is recommended: Threo ounces
of rosewater, an ounce of orange
flower water; half an ounce of car
bonate of potassium and same, of
chlorate of potassium with a pinch
of powdered borax; shako this well
together until well mixed, and apply
with a soft cloth to the skin night
ana morning.' Let the lotion dry on
the dkin, then cleanse, the skin well
and -apply a good, cold crpara .to pre
vent roughnessii r .". l - ( .
For a 'safoihair dressing w.jicre the
hair is very dry. and failing, a mix
ture of four, ounces of best bay rum
MISCHIEF ' MAKER
Now Strong and Robust'
An adult's food that can' save a
baby proves itself to be ndurishmg
and easily digested and good for big
and little folks. A Brooklyn tmn
says:
"When our baby was about eleven
months old he began ,to grow thin
and pale. This was attributed to the
heat and the fact that his teeth were
coming, but, in reality, th poor little
thing was starving, his mother's mine
not being sufficient nourishment.
"One day after he had cried bitter
ly for an hour, I suggested that my
wife try him on Grape-Nuts. &ne
soared two teaspoohfuls In half a
cup of warm water for 5 or G 1 min
utes. Then poured off the liquid aiui
to it added a like amount of rich miiK
and a little sugar. This baby ate
ravenously. h
"It was not many daysefore m.
forgot all about being nursed, ana
has since lived almost exclusively on
Grape-Nuts. Today the boy is Btroiif
and robust, and as cute a mwciuei
maker as a thirteen months old oauy
Is expected to be. . .
"Use this letter any way you wisn,
for my wife and I can never p;&e
Grape-Nuts enough after the bright
ness it has brought to our housu-
1111-" nhV
Grape-Nuts is not made for a oaw
food, but experience with thousands
of babies shows it to be among "w
best, if not entirely the best in use.
Being .a scientific preparation of na
ture's grains, it is equally effective as
a body and brain builder for grown
ups. "There's a Reason."
Name given by Postum Co., Bat"
Creek, Mich. w
Ever read the above letter? A ijew
one appears from time to time, in J
are genuine, true, and full of Hum"
interest
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