FARMERS' MONTHLY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY 



HOME MAKING 



A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR 

 THE HOME DRESSMAKER 



A garment that is cut on a crooked 

 grain of material will not set straight, 

 will not press attractively, will feel un- 

 comfortable when worn. Watch every sec- 

 tion of the pattern so as to place perfora- 

 tions accurately on the grain and to cut 

 with definite respect to all lengthwise, 

 crosswise or true bias grains in the fab- 

 ric. 



Run a long basting thread down the 

 centre front and centre back of the dress 

 before the pattern is removed. 



If one side is fitted, mark the fitting 

 lines with basting so that pins can be re- 

 moved and the basting lines used as 

 guides in making alterations on opposite 

 side. 



Dresses for larger figures should not fit 

 too loosely — a few inside tucks at the hip- 

 line may be used to mold the dress more 

 closely to the figure. 



A narrow eff"ect can often aid slender- 

 ness, and that too much fitting can spoil 

 the balance of the dress.. 



Seams, corners and threads need clip- 

 ping to warrant perfection in workman- 

 ship. 



Delicate fabrics require care in press- 

 ing. A press cloth dipped in warm water 

 half way and folded back over the dry 

 half of the cloth assures an even damp- 

 ness throughout. 



Never press plaits at the bottom of the 

 skirt until the hem is in. In a straight 

 skirt having an even hem line the hem 

 should be put in and pressed before the 

 plaits are basted. The skirt should be 

 hung from the top and the plaits pressed, 

 finally from the wrong side. 



To baste in sleeves, baste on collar, ves- 

 tee and sash before hanging skirt. 



To study designs in the magazines for 

 smart finishes and interesting variety in 

 cuffs, collar and belt trimming.? — suiting 

 the designs to the fabric and individual 

 taste. 



HOW TO USE APPLES 



At the Annual Conference of Exten- 

 sion workers at M. A. C. in December, 

 Miss Lucille F. Brewer, Food Specialist 

 from Cornell, gave a delightful demon- 

 stration on the use of apples. Her list 

 of good things covered everything from 

 main dishes to confections. 



She stressed the fact that apples are 

 abundant and cheap this year and may 

 well be substituted part of the time, 

 at least, for more expensive fruits and 

 vegetables. Their slightly tart, rather 

 bland flavor, she said, made them parti- 

 cularly good for combining with other 

 foods. As a "stretcher" for fruit cup 

 and fruit salad with pineapple, orange. 



grapefruit, banana, etc., they are excel- 

 lent as they carry the flavor without de- 

 tracting from the food value. 



Used in jams and jellies with blackber- 

 ries, strawberries, raspberries, etc., they 

 actually improve flavor and texture. 

 These, however, are uses with which most 

 of us are familiar. Less common are 

 some of the following suggestions : 



Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole 



Wash, core and slice apples into a but- 

 tered casserole. Fill about two-thirds 

 full. Fill dish with sliced par-boiled 

 sweet potatoes. Season with salt, brown 

 sugar and butter or bacon fat. Bake un- 

 til potatoes and apples are tender. 



Bacon and Apple Sandwiches 



Spread slices of toast with a generous 

 supply of stewed apples or thick apple 

 sauce. Cover with thin slices of bacon 

 and bake until bacon is done. This is a 

 delicious lunch or supper dish. 



Stuffed Celery 



Work grated cheese into thick apple 

 sauce and stuff stems of celery with the 

 mixture. A little boiled salad dressing 

 may be added if desired. 



Apple, Celery, and Carrot Salad 



Dice apples and celery, mix with boiled 

 salad dressing and garnish with finely 

 grated raw carrot, seasoned with lemon 

 juice or French dressing. 



Mint Balls 



Make a syrup of equal parts of sugar 

 and water, color green and flavor with 

 mint. Scoop out balls from apples with 

 a vegetable cutter. Cook apple balls in 

 the green mint syrup until tender but still 

 firm, drain and cool. These are a deli- 

 cious garnish for salads and make a fine 

 confection for children. Use red coloring 

 and wintergreen flavor for a change. 



HOME HAPPENINGS 



Twenty-si.x women fi'om Norwich Hill, 

 Huntington, are taking the Food Selec- 

 tion Project. They had their first meet- 

 ing January 14 at the home of Mrs. 

 George Barr. The luncheon consisted of 

 dishes containing all the foods that are 

 required in the score card. The menu 

 was: Escalloped cabbage and cheese, car- 

 rot salad, health muffins, cocoa, chocolate 

 gelatin pudding, and oatmeal cookies. 

 The women are working to raise their 

 score this month by improving their food 

 habits. 



The Cushman women and Goshen wom- 

 en have started the Children's Clothes 

 Project. Both groups seemed very inter- 

 ested in the first meeting and we expect 

 to see a great many one-hour rompers ex- 

 hibited at the next meeting. 



The South Hadley Falls Woman's Club 

 is studying Food Selection under the su- 

 pervision of Miss Foley, State Nutrition 

 Specialist. Besides giving the subject 

 matter at the first meeting. Miss Foley 

 demonstrated the preparation of Cream 

 of Spinach Soup and Fruit Sponge. 



The Norwich Hill and Norwich Bridge 

 groups in Huntington are meeting togeth- 

 er in the little bi-own school house at the 

 Bridge and Mrs. Harriet Haynes, Home 

 Management Specialist, is giving them a 

 series of four lecture demonstrations on 

 Home Furni.shing. At the first meeting 

 they had a very interesting di.scussion on 

 color schemes, and the decoration of the 

 ceilings, walls and floors. Most of the 

 time was spent discussing good and bad 

 examples of wall paper and floor cover- 

 ings. 



Miss Ruth Howe of Northampton saw 

 some of the hats that the women in South 

 Hadley made. She became very much in- 

 terested, and got in touch with one of the 

 South Hadley leaders, who very gladly 

 gave her the patterns and showed her how 

 to put them together. After experiment- 

 ing on some hats for herself, her friends 

 wanted to be trying their luck. So she 

 had thirteen of them at her home and 

 helped them make their hats. One of 

 those friends has influenced McCallum's 

 Store to carry felt, cut in pieces that are 

 just large enough to make one hat. The 

 clerk reports that in the first two days 

 she sold felt for fifty-two hats. 



We like to have extension work extend 

 as rapidly and as widely as t?iis has. For 

 when we see a good looking home made 

 hat we know that in all probability it is 

 a result of the splendid teaching of our 

 millinery leaders. 



Easthampton women and men are flock- 

 ing to hear Mr. Manchester give his three 

 talks. At the first meeting forty-two 

 were present and at the second one sixty- 

 five and at the last one seventy-two. 

 We are very glad that the men are 

 coming, because the women need their co- 

 operation, when painting time comes. 



Sprine is the Time To Sfjirt Hefinisliin)!: 



Continued from page 1. column 3 

 "One should be very careful," says Mr. 

 Manchester, "to use the right varnish for 

 the job you are to do. There are three 

 kinds of varnishes. They all contain oil, 

 gum and dryer, but one kind has about 

 three-fourths oil and one-fourth gum, an- 

 other has three-fourths gum and one- 

 fourth oil, and the third contains about 

 equal proportions of the two substances. 



"For outdoor use a varnish that will 

 withstand weather conditions is desirable. 

 So for the front door or the piazza chair 

 the varnish that is long in oil is the best. 



