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The Commoner
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VOL. 15, NO. 12
"At Chrlstmnstimo"
'At Christmastime wo deck the hall
With holly branches bravo and tall;
With sturdy plno and hemlock bright,
And in tho yule-log's dancing light
We tell old tales of field and fight,
At Christmastime.
At Christmastime we pile the board
With flesh and fruit and vintage
stored;
And 'mid the laughter and the glow,
We tread a measure soft and slow,
And tarry 'neath the mistletoe
At Christmastime.
O Kindly Father of us all,
List to Thy lowliest creature's call
Give of Thy love to high and lew;
Comfort the sorrowing in their woe;
Make wars to cease and love to grow
At Christmastime.
Let every heart be warm today,
May every child be glad and gay,
Bless Thou Thy children, great and
small
In lowly hut or lordly hall
0, may each heart keep festival
At Christmastime.
B. V.
"A Merry Christmas'
' The pen trails slowly over the
words, for we ask, how can we hope
that our souls shall be merry when
tho song of the Christmas angels is
Phosphate or bono dust should not
bo used as fertilizers for tho palm, as
they are sometimes injurious; pulver
ized cow-chips or sheep manure can
be used to advantage, if not used too
liberally; the plant does not require
heavy fertilizing. The soil should be
kept evenly moist, and to do this, set
tho pot inside a larger pot with
sphagnum moss between, and also
over tho surface. If fertilizer is used,
apply it to the soil under the moss.
Leaves of palms often turn brown at
the tips when kept indoors in the liv
ing room, as the atmosphere of the
room is too dry. When spring comes,
set the palm in a shaded, sheltered
situation, where heavy winds will not
strike it, plunging the pot in the soil,
keeping the soil in the pot moist, but
not dr -ched. Tho old leaves will not
brown any mon, and the new leaves
will be perfect. The old, disfigured
leaves can then be cut away. Among
the best palms for houso culture is
ranked the Kentias; Kentia Bal
moreana is tho tall grower, slender
and upright; the Kentia Forsteriana
has broad leaves and a sturdy stem.
Either will be an excellent house
plant, and will become "one of the
family" in a short time. They are
not hard to grow, if given intelligent
care.
Protecting tho Tender Shrubbery
In many localities, the tender roses
drowned in the cries of the murdered are aDle to get through the winter
and massacred hundreds of thou
water, add a pint of hot milk; with
this milk baste the turkey as it cooks,
every fifteen minutes; as tho milk is
used up, supply the deficiency with
more hot milk, using altogether about
two quarts of milk. When the fowl
is done, take it from the pari, and set
the pan on top of the range to boil
for a ninute. Do not add anything,
unless the milk seems to be a little
thin, in which case, thicken with a
very little cornstarch -wet in milk, and
let boil a few minutes as other gravy.
The baked milk mixed with the juices
from the cooking fowl will make a de
licious gravy.
sands of human beings that ring in
our ears from the awful carnage
across the waters? The season that
should be full of "Peace on earth
good will toward men" is fullof tears,
heartache and distracting sympathy
for the agonies of our brothers and
sisters who are beinsr butchered
wholesale In other lands. So much
has been said, and better said than
my words can say, that I feel that
nothing can be added here. One has
but to read the daily news of the
events transpiring in the war zone to
feel the deepest sorrow that such
things should be. All over tho world,
outside the leaders In the awful war,
men and women and children are
reaching out sympathetic hands and
offering the little they can give to
undo the dreadful effects of the worse
than brutal savagery that has made
the fighting nations drunk with the
blood of their kin. So we turn half
heartedly to our own homes, trying to
kindle in the loving hearts about us
the glow of grateful thanks that we
have been spared the horrors about
us. And we can but hope that the
time will be shortened, and that soon
again all the world shall be at peace,
on with another. All over our own
land, grand-hearted men and women
are working toward that end, and
while we remember the song of the
finer n 1st nn 4-Vin VilrtVi Af 4-Via tflViTlaf
5j Child, let us pray for tho "peace and
good will" that alone can scatter the
awful clouds and leave the sun aerain
t; ahiningjover our world. If wo can
not nusn tne terriDie sounds ringing
in our own earj, let us at least make
the day bright for the young and
hopeful, the little children that are
liafe In our own homes. A comfort-
4V able Christmas, and a prosperous New
.Tear to our readers.
.-f
'&
Wintering Palms
pL The paim is a tropical plant, and
Vclll not do wen if wintered in a cel
lar or cool, dark, damp place; they
must be kept in a warm temperature.
with a little protection, while in oth
er localities they must have more
covering. But remember that many
things are killed by kindness smoth
ered by too much and too compact
covering. Fresh stable manure is as
good as anything to pile on the sur
face of the soil, and may be put on
several inches deep as-soon as freez
ing weather settles down. It is ad
vised to further cover with evergreen
boughs, or like materials tha.t will ad
mit the air while it covers the nlant.
If evergreen boughs can not be had
cornstalks, or branches of small
trees that still hold the leaves, will
do as well.- Small bpxes, with the
ends partly removed, or even old, bot
tomless pails, may serve if set over
the plant, filling around the plant In
side with dead leaves, or old. hay, or
even chaff, it Is recommended also
to cover the whole plant with coal
ashes (if the plant is small), or to
wrap old sacking, or straw about tho
larger bushes. Sometimes one can
lay down the tops and cover with
suitable protection. Tho coarse strawy
staDie manure is an excellent covering
heaped on the soil, as It can be forked
In in the spring and will feed tho
plants next year. Florists recommend
moulding the earth about each plant,
then flU In between the mounds with
strawy stable manure, the coarser the
ootter. For protecting the tall tops,
wrapping in straw or burlap is a good
pian. weaves are not advised, as they
fiat down too much, and mice some
times nest in them and destroy the
plant. The covering should not be
added until the hard freezes come,
but as soon after that as possible,
they may bo protected. For climbing
roses, try laying down the long
stalks on tho ground and covering as
uuuvu. uumDing roses bloom gener
ally on tho last season's wood, and
this should bo preserved.
Cooking Rabbits
Try to have young rabbits, as they
are more tender and delicately fla
vored than old ones. Disjoint them
after dressing, and put the pieces in
to a stew pan; season them with a
dash of cayenne pepper, salt and a
little chopped parsley. Pour over
them a pint of warm water (or veal
broth, if you have it), and stew over
a slow Are until the flesh is quite ten
der, adding, when they are about half
done, some bill of butter rolled in
flour. Just before taking the pan
from, the fire enrich the gravy with a
gill or more of thick cream with a
little nutmeg grated into it; stir the
gravy well, but do not let it boil af
ter adding the cream, as boiling will
curdle it. 'Lay the pieces of rabbit
in a hot dish and pour the hot gravy
over themi'
"Mother's Minco Pies"
Chop fine two pounds of cold boiled
lean beef, and mince to aspovvder a
pound of beef kidney suet, sprinkling
it with flour if it is inclined to stick;
sed and cut in -half two -pounds of
raisins, and wa(sh and pick over care
fully a pound of sultana raisins and
two pounds of cleansed currants; be
sure they are free from grit and, .dirt
Deioro you let tnem out of your
hands,- Peel and chop five ppunds pf
apples and shred three quarters' ,q a
pound of. citrqn; mix these all to
gether, with two tablespoonfuls eaUh
of mace and cinnamon, a tablespoon
ful each of allspice and cloves, a tea-
spoonrui or grated nutmeg, two and
onehalf pqunds of brown sugar and
a tablespoonful of salt. Put with
them a quart of sherry and a pint of
brandy,, if you use such things, and
pack in a jar. If you do not usff the
liquors, put cider and grape juice in
their place. The old time cooks al
ways used brandy to give the mince a
flavor and to keep it from fermenting.
The mince should mellow at least
a week, or better, two weeks, before
uslnc. If you do not nrefer a ton
crust, try the open crust of strips of
paste latticed ever the mince meat.
The top crust may be all right, but in
tho olden days the latticed top -was
the favorite.
bruise the skin; this is to remove th
dust and dirt that sticks to the oilv
skin. Tho hot water will draw out
the strong oil from the skin, and this
should all bo removed to prevent tho
strong flavor the carelessly dressed
gooso has. Wash both inside and out
in cled, warm water, then place in a
large boiler on a rack, and give it a
good steaming; or put pieces of fat
salt pork on it and set it in the oven
for an hour; this will melt tho goose
fat, and the oil will run down into
tho pan; remove from the oven and
pour off the fat, dredge with flour
add a little warm water and return
to the oven to bake, allowing twenty
minutes to the pound, including tho
time the bird has been in the oven
first and last. Baste it frequently
and dredge with flour after each
basting, to give it the proper appear
ance when done.
A walnut stuffing is liked with the
goose, made tiy mixing two cupfuls
of warm mashed potatoes with half
a cupful of onion juice, half a cupful
of chopped walnut meats, a little thick
cream, a tablespoonful of butter, the
yolk of two eggs and seasoning to
taste. Apple sauce or currant jelly
are usually served with the goose.
How to Pick Ducks
Put an inch of water in the wash
boiler, and lay juBt above the water
a little wooden' frame, which may be
supported on bricks; or sticks of wood
can be used. Let the water begin to
boil, then lay on the frame the duck,
or ducks, and cover the boiler closely.
Let steam five minutes some cooks
say two minutes. Then take the birds
out and strip the feathers from each
immediately; they will pick as easy as
a chicken, and the feathers will not
HARD TO DROP
., ' But Many D,o,.It
Basting for the Turkey
After dressing tho turkey as usual
stuffing with any desired mixture, put
it into the baking pan, and instead of
The Christmas Goose
The goose should be young; to de
termine this, tho feet should be yel
low; the red foot is a sign of at least
middle age, and the red-footed goose
Is usually a tough goose; the feet
should bo pliable, and the breast bone
should bend easily, though hard and
?um; A,fter killins and stripping off
the feathers, singe off the down, or,
scald the goose and wrap in a thick
towel for a little while, when the
down should rub off easily, Then
scrub the body with warm wof .'
taining a good pinch of baking soda;.
A young Calif, wife talks about
coffee:
"It was hard to .drop Mocha and
Java and give Postum. a trial, but my
nerves were so shattered that I was
a nc-vout wreck and-of course that
means all kinds of ails.
"I did not want to acknowledge
coffee caused the trouble for I was
very fond of it. At tljat time a friend
came to live with usi and I noticed
'that after he haJ been with us a week
he would not drink his coffee any
more. I asked him the, reason. He
replied: 'I hj.ve not had a headache
since I left off drinking coffee, some
months ago, till last week, when I be
gan again here at your table. I don't
see how anyone can like coffee, any
way, after drinking Postum!'
"I said nothing, but at once ordered
a package of Postum. That was five
months ago, and we have drank no
coffee since, ex--.'- on two occasions
when we had company, and the re
sult each time was that my husbaud
could not Bleup, but lay awake and
tossed and tUked half the night. We
were convinced that coffee caused his
suffering, so he returned to Postum,
convinced that coffee was an enemy,
instead of a friend, and he is troubled
no more by insomnia. s
"I have gained 8 pounds in weight,
and my nerves have ceased to quiver.
It seems so easy now to quit coffee
that caused our aches and ails and
take up Postum." Name given by
Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
Pontiim comes in two forms:
Postum Cereal the original form
must be well boiled. 16c and 25c
packages. ,
Instant Postum a soluble powder
dissolves quickly in a cup of hot
water, and, with cream and sugar,
makes a delicious beverage instantly.
30c and BOc tins.
Both kinds are equally delicious
and cost about the same per cup.
"There's a Reason" for Postum.
gold by Grocers.
&
iij yicuior ojl water, but don'
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