190 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



''Gherkins,'' and upon asking its price, was told it was twenty cents. 

 Instantly the thought came, "Why not?" Bottles were cheap, there 

 were barrels of vinegar in the cellar for which there seemed no sale; 

 they had the land on which to raise the cucumbers, and best of all, 

 she knew how. Was not her mother noted for her good pickles 

 among all her acquaintances? And was not she her mother's own 

 daughter? That year, and not that year alone, the truck patch con- 

 tained more than one long row of cucumber vines. They had to 

 fight the beetles, to counteract the drought with the hose, the pick- 

 ing was back-breaking business, but when orders came for more 

 pickles just like the sample, the troubles of the past were forgotten 

 in the joy of the present. After a time, as she did not abate in the 

 excellence of the jelly or pickles furnished her customers, she had 

 as many orders as she could fill. Her father, finding how much 

 better prices could be had for the manufactured article than the raw 

 material, altered his manner of farming, and in connection with 

 jelly and pickles a canning factory was established. By these com- 

 bined means the mortgage was not only driven from the farm and the 

 piano invited to enter, but there is a home market in that neighbor- 

 hood for all first class vegetables and fruits, and the burden of debt 

 lifted from many a weary laborer. 



LIGHTING, HEATING AND VENTILATING THE HOME. 



By MISS MELVINA LUSK, Volunt. Pa. 



The home is recognized as the place most frequented by man- 

 kind in general. Whatever is related to the home should be con- 

 ducive to the health and happiness of those who spend the greater 

 portion of their time in it. To serve this condition, the manner of 

 its lighting, heating and ventilation is of no little importance. De- 

 fects in this line produce a needless injury to health in many homes. 

 With the present abundance of information on the subject of healthy 

 homes, why should they be constructed and regulated on otherwise 

 than approved methods? A few facts of my own and others' ob- 

 servation may be presentable. 



It is well known that light exercises a salutary influence upon the 

 whole system. Yet its hygienic importance should be more studied 

 than it generally is in the building of our houses. We know how 

 the plant or vegetable struggling to grow in darkened rooms be- 



