OUll HOMES. 



was to be made one cl' tlie ihiu ;irts, it sccins to 

 luc, to sa3' iiotliini;' of other objections. The 

 two former maj- be neccs.sarj^ for old people 

 wlio have been h^ui; aeeustonied to tlieir use, 

 but they certainly are not in onr home. "Where 

 il is an object to lessen the labor of the house- 

 keeper, canned goods are a ii'reat convenience, 

 and we mention a few that have uiven us much 

 satisfaction. The in'ices are what we have 

 jiaid, when boujiht in 2 lb. cans by the dozen. 



Blackberries 11 cents, strawberries 14, whor- 

 berries 14; all retail for 25. Tomatoes, 3 lb. 

 cans, 12 '.jc; retail at 25. Lobsters, cove oys- 

 ters, and salmon, 2 lb. cans, 28, 15, and 25 cts. 

 respectively; and we pay at retail from oO to 

 40 cts. per can. The salmon has now advanced 

 in price, but at the price we bought, it was 

 very cheai> meat indeed, and it has been placed 

 at the head of the list of brain producing foods. 

 The convenience of canned goods for getting 

 up a meal on short notice can hardly be esti- 

 mated, and it seems to me^ there is a great 

 opening for an immense industry in raising 

 and putting up canned vegetables. We can 

 not buy a 2 lb. can of corn for less than 18 cts. 

 and it retails for irom 25 to 30, yet hard corn 

 can be raised for 2 cents per II). Green corn is 

 a national dish and the best varieties of our 

 late improved sugar corn— by the way the best 

 we ever ate was at Mr. H. Palmers, Hart, 

 Oceana Co., Mich., and if he will put up some 

 packages of the seed for our readers, we will 

 give him an advertisement free ; if his wife 

 will give us the receipt for cooking it, we will 

 send her a copy of "Our Homes'' for next year, 

 and if her sisters in other states will also send 

 in wliatever they have to aid us in the Avork 

 we have undertaken, we shall think it a rare 

 lavor. 



I once heard of a minister who lived near 

 liis church and had a fine cabbage patch. On 

 one Sabbath in the midst of his sermon he es- 

 pied a hungry cow making sad havoc amid his 

 vegetable treasures, and on the impulse of the 

 moment he deserted the pulpit to save them 

 from impending ruin. On his return he Avas 

 at a loss to find the broken thread of his dis- 

 course, and in despair turned to his wife. 



"Betsey where was I last ? " 



"Indeed I can't say, unless it was chasing 

 back and forth among the cabbages." 



Well 1 left off some where among the sugar 

 corn, but I can't say exactly where unless it 

 was trying to induce some of our young men 

 to go into the business of supplying our people 

 w'ith a nice article of green corn any day in the 

 vcar, and at a i)rice within the reach of all. 

 Yini can easily ligure the cost of the corn, and 

 (•ans holding 2 ll)s. will cost less than 4 cents. 

 Is it possible there is one of my readers who 

 has nothing to do? "We certainly cannot have 

 a pleasant ho)ne unless the members are all 

 kept busy, and as "what to do" is quite a broad 

 subject, we will have to take a chapter or two 

 to consider just Avhat one can go right to work 

 at without capital and in almost any locality. 

 For the present we may take a brief view of 

 some points. 



-Milk passes our door daily on its way to the 

 cheese factory where il is sohi for 2 cts. per qt ; 

 our milk-man charges T and we do not blame 

 him, for he can not well carry it around at a 

 cheaper rate. In our experiments we found 



milk rather expensive food, yet we cannot tlunh- 

 of any substitute ; can not some one tell us 

 how we may buy our year's supply at one; time, 

 paying only !f() 00 where we now pay .'?21.00y 

 We want some way of cuttini; across lot.s. 

 The same thing occurs in nearly all kinds o!' 

 food; ifitcoulil only be kept right at hand in 

 some convenient shai)e ready lor use, so as 1o 

 save the time occupied in going to market 

 over and over and over again for the same 

 thing. Again, a great variety of foods made 

 from corn, wheat, and the other grains, ari 

 offered for sale in cities, but an exami;iation 

 ot their price lists shows that we must pay 

 them several hundred ])er cent i)rolit for work- 

 ing over the products f)f our own farms. No!, 

 that we think it too much, but can not we cut 

 across lots again and save freights and profits V 

 You have all seen it well iliustrated in the 

 honey trade. The worst trouble perha])s 

 is that onlj' in the cities do they understand 

 how to put up goods neatly, and tastily. Your 

 grocer will be glad to l)uy of you if you will 

 bring him salable goods, and he will sell your 

 goods too, for a very small connnission. There 

 are millions of your fellows wanting foods 

 cheaply and they are at present i)aying ruin- 

 ously high prices for them. Four hours ago 

 I stepped into a neighbor's grocery and select- 

 ed canned goods for my dinner. I ate a full 40 

 cents worth and yet was no better satisfied 

 than with my 3 cent's worth of wheat, butter 

 and honey. 



Noi\ 25!!ft— Says the Scientific American of 

 Nov. 20th: 



Nearly all the Graham flour sold in Xew York, ami 

 perhaps in other large cities, is bofru.':. It is made by 

 mixing tlie coarsest of the bran with eitlier spoiled 

 Hour or with white flour th;.t may not be spoiled. Tliis 

 flour is made into l)read by bakers ami sold to dys))ep- 

 ties who think it wholesome, but it is a poor substitute 

 for tlje srenuine article. Those who want a genuine 

 article must either make it witli a home mill, or have 

 it made by an honest miller. 



For tlie past two weeks I have from choice 

 been living mostly on bread and milk, and ba- 

 ked apples; a glass of milk, a slice of brown 

 bread and an apple, costs but 3 or 4 cents, and 

 yet I do not think that ever before in life have 

 i felt so well and so full of vigor as on this 

 simple diet. It is true that after eating these 

 I could easily eat as much more pie, cake, fruit 

 etc., but to feel i-adl>/ icell, I must get right up 

 from the table and eat nothing at all until the 

 next meal. It is said that such have been the 

 habits and diet, or similar ones, of those who 

 have lived to a great age, and while I think of 

 it I fear I should get lonely if I should live to 

 be 140 or tlierea';out, and at stieh a time the 

 sight of an old "bee-friend" would be especially 

 refreshing. Seriously, is it not a fact that a 

 great load of intcmperence rests on the shoul- 

 ers of a class of our people Avho never think of 

 going near a grog shop? Arc not the great 

 cures that have been accomijlished by special 

 dieting, more directly the result of the abstem- 

 iousness which of necessity follows':' 



We had been having a long dusty ride, and 

 the train stopped before a veiy pleasant cool 

 looking room, where the people all seemed to 

 be getting out for some purpose. I followed 

 and was soon seated with the rest ; among the 

 many good things that were spread on the ta- 

 ble before us I nirticularly remen;!jcr a large 



