California Agriculturist akd Live Stock Journal, 



The Perplexed Housekeeper. 



s — 



S, WISH I had a dozeu pairs 

 Of iKtnilH thiB vory minute : 

 I'd Hoou put all these things to rightB — 

 Th(j very deuce is io it. 

 Here's a biy washing Jo be done. 

 One pair of liands to do it, 

 Sheets, sliirts and stocliings, coats and pantB, 

 How will I e'er get through it? 



Dinner to get for six or more, 



No loHf left o'er from Sunday, 

 And baby cross as be can live, 



He's always so on Monday. 



And there's the cream — 'tis getting sour 



And muht forthwith be churning; 

 And here's Bob wants a button on — 



Which way shall I be turning 1 



*Ti6 time the meat was in the pot. 



The bread was worked for baking. 

 The clothes were taken from the boil — 



Ob, dearl the baby's waking. 



Hush, baby dear! there, husb-sh-shi 



I wish he'd sleep a little, 

 Till I could run and get some wood 



To hurry up that kettle. 



Oh, dear! if P comes home 



And finds things in this pother. 

 He'll just begin and tell me all 



About his sainted mother. 



How nice her kitchen used to be. 



Her dinner always ready 

 Exactly when the noon-bell rang^ 



Hiuih, hush, dear little Freddy I 



And then will come some liasty word, 



Right out before I'm thinking ; 

 They say that hasty words from wives 



Set sober men to drinking. 



Now, isn't that a great idea. 



That men shuuld take to sinning 

 Because a weary, half-sick wife 



Can't always smile so winning? 



When I was young I used to earn • 



My living without trouble, 

 Hart clotiii s and pocket-money, too, 



And leisure hours double. 



I never dreamed of such a fate, 



When I, A LASS! was courted— 

 Wife, mother, nurse, seanjstress, cook housekeeper, 

 chaiuIxTmaid, laundress, dairy-woman and 

 scrub generaliv, doing the work of six. 

 For the sake of being supported! 



Chats With Farmers' Wives and 

 Daughters — No. 9. 



BY ' ' JEWELL, ' ' 



"Dear 'Jewell:' A reader and admirer of 

 your ' Chats ' asks the privilege of saj'ing to 

 you that her eyes filled with tears of grati- 

 itnde on reading your article in the August 

 . number of the Agkicultueist, telling hus- 

 bands that their faithful, toiling wives de- 

 serve praise as much as their fine grain-cut- 

 ters; and oh! how much more they nf erf the 

 cheering words. Being an old maid does not 

 make me ignorant of the fact, that many a 

 weary woman, with finest instincts alive to 

 wifely duty, and heart filled with warm moth- 

 er love and anxious care, drags her he^vy 

 footsteps from year to year without one-fourth 

 the pecuniary rewaid that would be given to 

 Bridget, and with not one-tenth the loving 

 words and affectionate caresses that would be 

 ■voluntarily bestowed on the trotter that had 

 won for his owner a purse of gold on the 

 race-course. 



Just at my elbow sits a wife and mother who 

 says she hopes your appeal will catch tlie at- 

 tention of her husband, who never seems to 

 think his wife is dishonestly treated, if after 

 a hard day's work she has not one penny re- 

 ward or even one kindly word given her; and 

 if the hungry, waiting heart forces the lips to ' 



say, 'have I not done well to-day? and if bo, 

 why do you not, at least, stroke my head in 

 praising, as you would not forget or neglect 

 to do to your pointer if he had brought you 

 a bit of game?' he replies loftily, 'oh, your 

 reward ought to be the consciousness that 

 you have done your duty!' and no doubt he 

 congratulates himself that ho has done his 

 duty when ho has given her this juece of 

 wonderful information. And this woman is 

 loving and lovable, and could fill her home 

 with blessing and sunshine; but years of 

 ceaseless household cares, with never a day 

 for rest or recreation, never a loving word or 

 approving smile to strengthen her tired sjiirits 

 have well-nigh robbed her of all ambition to 

 be anything more than an unpaid servant. 

 I know half a score of good women right in 

 the block where I live, all wearing this same 

 tired, disapi)ointed look, who would be bright 

 happy wives only for this selfishness on the 

 part of their husbands. Men may consider 

 these little attentions trifles, but with the ma- 

 jority of married women they make up the 

 sum of life, for no good woman's heart, after 

 she becomes a wife, can ever again go out 

 into the world for the thousand little satisfy- 

 ing things which she considered so necessary 

 for her happiness when she was a maiden. 

 If she finds them not in her own little world 

 at home, then she must go hungry, for she 

 has chosen this one man from all the world." 



Esmeralda. 

 I have taKen the liberty of using "Esmer- 

 alda's " letter as a text to my chats this 

 month, although it may have been written to 

 me privately, feeling the truth of what she 

 says about a husband's thoughtlessness in 

 regard to sliowing due appreciation of his 

 wife. It is perhaps natural to both husband 

 and wife to neglect those little attentions that 

 make the honeymoon so charming, when real 

 life has come upon them with its manifold 

 duties and perplexities, but let us wives be 

 sure that it is not our fault, by losing no op- 

 portunity of giving a kind word or a caress; 

 even if there be no responses, it will keep 

 alive that spark which dies without a little 

 fanning, and is as pleasant to the husband as 

 the wife. Let me draw a picture I once saw 

 when on a visit to a friend: A wife, with un- 

 kempt hair, no collar, slipshod slippers and 

 in a hurry getting breakfast, children to dress, 

 buttons off husband's shirt and things going 

 wrong generally, breakfast late, toast burned, 

 coffee muddy, etc., husband hurries ofl' with- 

 out a parting salute to any one, even the 

 crowing baby is forgotten. And no wonder — 

 an important appointment was broken and 

 his business suffered in consequence of being 

 forty minutes behind time. And yet that 

 wife told me, in confidence and tears, that 

 her husband neglected her, and she felt that 

 his love was colder than of ypre — saying, 

 " how leng would it take him, I'd like to 

 know, to kiss us good-V)ys ?" I felt and told 

 her, that kisses must be spontaneous to be 

 worth much and not forced from a sense of 

 duty ; and who could feel like caressing when 

 in a hurry, with mind harassed and temper 

 ruffled, with surely not so attractive an object 

 to call it forth as she used to be during the 

 first months of married life, when fewer du- 



ties devolved upon her, no babies to disturb 

 at night or hurry her in the morning, and, 

 with hair and temper unruiiled she bid her 

 new husband goodbye with a smile and he 

 with a kiss. Oh, wives! let us try and keep 

 the love of our husbands and blame our- 

 selves if it grows cold ; for as our duties 

 multiply and call our utmost capacity and 

 energy into play, do we not neglect much 

 that would elevate and give pleasure to hus- 

 bands who also have a " hard road to travel," 

 many of them, and as expenses double, so 

 do their cares also. To bear and forbear is 

 the true way to live harmoniously and truly 

 happy. And one word of advice — try always 

 to keep the respect of our husbands and the 

 love wiU follow; which is equally applicable 

 to husbands. I hope to hear from the other 

 sex on this subject, and as it is one of vital 

 importance, the views of both sexes should 

 bo brought out to show how best to make 

 married life a " success," as so many predict 

 it a failure in this age. 



PLUM LEATHEB. 



Although this season does not promise 

 much waste fruit, still those on fruit farms 

 often have more of a kind than they 

 can well attend to. If plums, I would let 

 them make piimi leather of the pulp, which is 

 very convenient for pies or sauce in winter. 

 Wash the fruit and put in a large pan on the 

 stove until heated through, or if very ripe 

 and soft mash through a colander, and spread 

 on clean boards to dry in the sun, covering 

 with netting to keep off the flies and insects J 

 Two days wiU dry it, when, with a knife to 

 lift up the edges, you can roll it up and put 

 in paper bags to keep flios out. To use it, 

 wash and soak in water a few minutes only 

 and it is ready. Made of peaches it is excel- 

 lent; of pliuns is very good but sour. 



COOLING DKLNES. 



This is the season when cooling drinks are 

 very acceptable. To my mind there is nothing 

 equal to citric acid, which can be kept dis- 

 solved, and with sugar and a Little oil of lemou 

 you would find a cheap and easily-made lem- 

 onade, always ready and palatable. Citric 

 acid being the acid of lemons, it is equally 

 healthful in fevers and bilious comi)laints. 

 Of late the drug doctors prescribe it in rheu- 

 m.itism. 



Here are some recipes from my choice selec- 

 tion: 



HOW TO MAKE AN INDIAN APPLE PUDDING. 



Turn three pints of scalding milk into a 

 pint of sifted Indian meal ; stir in two large 

 spoonfuls of sugar, two teasjiooufuls of cin- 

 namon or ginger, a teaspoonful of salt, one 

 teaspoonful of soda and one dozen sweet ap- 

 ples, pared cored .-ind sliced thin. Bake three 

 hours. The apples will form a nice, sweet 

 jelly. To be eaten with nice syrup of any 

 kind, or is good without any addition. 



TO PREVENT LAMP CHIMNEYS FROM CRACKING. 



Put the chimneys in a kettle of cold water 

 and heat gradually until the water boils, and 

 let it cool as gradually. As the heat from the 

 lamp flame becomes more or less intense, the 

 chimneys will expand and contract without 

 causing them to break or crack. 



TO KEMOVe MILDEW. 



The following from an English journal will 

 often prove effectual : Make a very weak so- 

 lution of chloride of lime in water (about a 

 heaped-up teaspoonful to a quart of water), 



