259 
1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
before  put  in  the  oven.  The  Madeline 
and  other  mixtures  afford  even  more 
scope  for  fancy  fingers. 
Now  for  a  few  hints  about  pantry  ac¬ 
cessories  :  To  lay  in  a  supply  of  these 
will  cost  a  few  dollars,  but  if  wisely  used, 
they  last  so  long  that  the  outlay  for  each 
day  is  not  felt.  What  are  they  ?  Oh, 
my !  what  a  long  answer  that  question 
should  have  ;  but  here  are  the  essentials: 
Spices,  nutmeg,  cinnamon  and  caraway 
seed;  buy  by  the  pound  or  half  pound,  and 
a  bottle  each  of  celery  salt,  curry  powder, 
dried  herbs  and  bay  leaves  for  meats; 
extracts :  Lemon,  vanilla  and  almond; 
three  cooky  cutters,  two  sets  of  patty¬ 
pans,  tapioca,  corn-starch,  rice,  oatmeal 
and  hominy  ;  one  dozen  cans  of  cove 
oysters  for  addition  to  meat  pies.  With 
these  and  home-prepared  pickles,  cat¬ 
sups,  sauces,  jams,  jellies  and  preserves, 
together  with  apples,  potatoes,  parsnips, 
carrots,  turnips  and  pumpkins  from  the 
cellar,  it  does  seem  that  monotonous 
bills-of-fare  could  be  easily  avoided  ;  but 
even  when  all  are  ready  for  use,  the  home- 
keeper  must  plan  which  must  be  used  and 
how  for  each  meal.  This  list  may  look 
extravagant  to  some  ;  while  many  will 
think  it  very  incomplete.  To  the  latter 
I  say,  with  Josiah  Allen’s  wife,  “Nothing 
like  mejumness,”  and  as  to  the  former, 
they  may  find  themselves  like  a  lady 
who  engaged  a  French  cook,  who  did 
the  marketing.  Her  mistress  had  many 
misgivings  about  her  extravagance 
when,  during  the  first  month,  there 
was  a  bill  of  about  $15  for  mere  acces¬ 
sories  ;  but  during  the  two  years  she  re¬ 
mained  with  her,  many  things  then  pur¬ 
chased  were  not  replenished,  and  the 
many  dainty  dishes  supplied  at  small 
cost  soon  eased  the  lady's  conscience. 
Now  to  our  editor’s  questions:  Fancy 
cooking  can  make  delightful  variety  if 
the  cook  has  a  reasonable  range  outside 
corn-bread,  hog  and  hominy — all  very 
good  if  not  used  to  excess.  It  is  prac¬ 
ticable,  and  there  are  plenty  of  good, 
easy  recipes  that  will  not  increase  ex¬ 
penses  with  good  management.  The 
housewife  can  afford  time  if  she  wants 
to  do  so.  Many  homes  would  be  bene¬ 
fited  if  more  time  were  spent  in  that 
way ;  if  a  daughter  must  shorten  her 
reading  time  she  can  digest  what  she 
has  already  read  while  cooking  or  at 
the  table. 
We  must  remember  that  the  nicest  is 
often  the  easiest.  Don’t  keep  the  best 
of  everything  till  it  gets  moldy  in  the 
store-room,  and  the  family  will  help 
more  readily  with  the  next  supply. 
How  I  Supported  my  Family. 
ON  April  8th,  1879,  I  found  myself 
with  five  children,  under  13  years 
of  age,  dependent  upon  me  for  support. 
The  eldest  three  were  girls.  Several 
persons  came  and  kindly  offered  to  take 
one  or  another  of  the  children  to  bring 
up  ;  but  I  said:  “  No.  If  I  cannot  do 
as  well  for  them  pecuniarily  as  others 
might,  I  shall  know  that  they  have  a 
mother’s  love  and  counsel.”  Then  I  be¬ 
sought  the  Lord,  and  it  has  been  my 
constant  prayer,  that  we  might  not  lack 
a  roof  over  us,  and  might  not  know  ex¬ 
treme  want. 
I  had  two  cows,  and  the  first  summer 
lived  on  my  father’s  place,  and  worked 
an  acre  garden.  By  this  means  and  the 
sale  of  butter  we  fared  very  well.  The 
next  fall  my  oldest  girl  had  a  chance  to 
work  where  the  work  was  not  very  hard, 
and  support  herself,  and  she  has  cared 
for  herself  ever  since.  Father  sold  his 
farm  the  same  fall  and  bought  a  small 
saw-mill,  and  employed  me  to  keep  his 
boarding  house.  At  the  end  of  three 
When  Baby  was  sick,  we  gave  her  Castorla, 
When  she  was  a  Child,  she  cried  for  Castorla, 
When  she  became  Miss,  she  clung  to  Castorla, 
When  she  had  Children,  she  gave  them  Castorla 
years  the  boiler  exploded,  making  a 
wreck  of  the  mill,  and  as  all  of  father’s 
property  was  in  it,  and  he  was  a  very  old 
man,  he  could  do  no  better  than  go  to 
live  with  my  sister.  As  I  had  no  rela¬ 
tives  able  to  help  me,  I  was  thrown  en¬ 
tirely  upon  my  own  resources.  My  old¬ 
est  boy,  then  eight  years  old,  wished 
very  much  to  live  on  a  farm,  and  I  had 
three  good  cows  and  several  young  cat¬ 
tle,  so  I  bought  40  acres  of  land — all  on 
time — with  a  small  frame  house,  and 
plenty  of  stables  and  outbuildings,  and 
eight  acres  fenced  and  under  cultivation. 
We  did  fairly  well  for  a  year  and  a  half, 
when  our  house  caught  fire  and  all  our 
furniture  and  clothing  were  burned. 
Fortunately,  the  house  was  insured,  and 
the  furniture  was  insured  for  enough  to 
buy  clothing,  so  that  we  did  not  suffer, 
but  I  could  not  build  again,  so  I  sold  the 
place  for  $100,  subject  to  mortgage. 
I  had  taught  school  in  my  younger 
days,  and  my  friends  advised  me  to  try 
teaching  again,  which  I  did  with  very 
good  success,  earning  $30  per  month  for 
seven  or  eight  months  in  a  year.  My 
second  daughter  began  teaching  when  16; 
but  my  oldest  boy  was  very  uneasy,  al¬ 
ways  teasing  me  to  get  a  farm. 
I  had  heard  of  “  homestead  ”  land  in 
Northwest  Wisconsin,  and  also  that 
there  were  plenty  of  schools  where 
teachers  got  good  wages,  so  I  moved  a 
hundred  miles  from  my  friends,  and  pro¬ 
cured  a  valuable  homestead,  and  taught 
school.  My  remaining  daughter  and 
oldest  son  kept  house  on  the  homestead, 
and  my  youngest  boy  and  myself  kept 
house  where  I  was  teaching,  and  walked 
home,  three  miles,  every  Friday  after 
school  and  back  Monday.  After  teach¬ 
ing  three  terms  here,  my  health  gave 
out;  then  the  older  girl  came  to  the 
front  and  helped  us. 
My  teaching  was  a  double  help,  for  all 
my  children  could  attend  school  until 
we  moved  on  to  the  homestead,  all  tak¬ 
ing  hold  of  whatever  work  was  to  be 
done  out  of  school  hours;  whereas  if  I 
had  gone  into  some  other  bush  ess,  such 
as  keeping  a  boarding  house  or  restau¬ 
rant — as  I  talked  of  doing,  probably,  I 
must  have  kept  some  of  them  with  me  to 
help  in  the  work.  Now.  my  girls  are 
married  and  have  homes  of  their  own, 
and  the  boys  are  old  enough  so  that  one 
of  them  works  away  from  home  a  part 
of  the  time  to  provide  what  we  need, 
while  the  other  stays  at  home. 
Don’t  think  I  have  had  an  easy  time  of 
it!  Hav’nt  I  had  to  fight  “  tooth  and 
nail  ”  every  inch  of  the  way  ?  But  I 
thank  the  loving  Father  that  we  were 
able,  for  the  most  part,  to  live  above  ac¬ 
tual  want,  and,  best  of  all,  we  were  hap¬ 
py  that  we  did  not  have  to  be  separated. 
I  have  gained  some  experience  that 
I  would  not  part  with  for  twice  the  labor; 
and  I  cannot  help  feeling  (I  trust  very 
humbly  and  gratefully)  exultant  that  I 
have  conquered,  mbs.  e.  m.  salisbuby. 
A  Spring  Flitting. 
AMONG  THE  WILLOWS. 
THE  “Lark’s  Nest”  is  deserted.  A 
few  weeks  ago  my  mate  and  I 
packed  up,  and  turned  our  backs  once 
and  forever  (we  hope)  on  Chicago  board¬ 
ing  houses.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tommy — 
friends  of  ours —  made  a  nest  among  the 
willows  in  one  of  Chicago’s  prettiest 
suburbs,  and  found  a  corner  in  their 
nest  for  us.  Every  night  the  6:30  train 
drops  us  at  the  little  station,  and  we  go 
away  down  bright  Main  Street,  past  a 
little  park,  and  on  till  we  come  to  a  house 
where  little  Prince  Curly-hair  stands  at 
the  window  watching  for  us. 
We  are  in  a  real  little  home  once  more. 
Mr.  Tommy  is  one  of  those  royal  men  of 
whom  we  find  a  limited  number  in  this 
world;  and  Mrs.  Tommy — well,  we  don’t 
blame  Mr.  Tommy  a  bit  for  loving  her  as 
hard  as  he  does.  Prince  Curly-hair  is 
four  and  a  half,  and  as  sweet  as  a  peach. 
He  and  ‘  Dor’thy  ’  are  deeply  in  love. 
We  are  so  happy  out  here  under  the 
■Hue  skies.  Day  by  day  we  read  the 
spring-time  story,  as  field  and  flower 
tell  it.  The  world  is  waking.  The  trees 
thrill  to  their  finger-tips;  a  tinge  of  green 
runs  across  the  fields;  the  crocus  in  the 
front  yard  puts  out  slender  green  fingers 
to  see  if  it  is  getting  warm  enough  to 
blossom;  the  daffodils  are  budding;  the 
sky  is  as  blue  as  a  flower;  the  birds  are 
wooing  among  the  trees. 
I  wish  I  might  carry  a  bit  of  the  bright¬ 
ness  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  to  the 
dark,  dreadful  places  where  even  the 
sunshine  shrinks  back  afraid.  I  think 
of  the  little  children  growing  there  in 
the  midst  of  the  misery  and  wretchedness 
and  crime,  who  never  saw  the  glow  and 
shine  of  stainless  country  skies,  nor  felt 
the  soft  grass  under  their  feet,  nor  heard 
the  robins  sing  in  the  blossoming  or¬ 
chards. 
I  wonder  if  we,  whose  ways  lead 
through  sunny  places,  and  among  the 
trees  and  flowers,  know  how  blessed  we 
are  ?  Why  !  we  can’t  help  getting  the 
sunshine  and  the  song  into  our  hearts. 
We  shall  be  better  and  happier  and 
truer  men  and  women  for  it  all  our  lives 
long. 
One  morning  Mrs.  Tommy  had  some 
baked  potatoes  for  breakfast  that  were 
so  good  I  thought  I’d  tell  The  R.  N. 
Y.  folks  about  them.  They  were  well 
done,  and  while  piping  hot,  she  had 
rolled  each  till  it  was  all  soft  and  crumb¬ 
ly  inside,  then  she  split  them  and  put 
into  each  a  spoonful  of  butter,  with  salt 
and  pepper.  Lillie  and  I  call  them 
“  spoon  potatoes,”  because  they  come  in 
with  a  spoon  standing  gaily  erect  in 
each. 
Mrs.  Tommy’s  little  nickel  clock  grew 
so  tired  and  discouraged  one  day  that  it 
refused  to  run  unless  it  was  allowed  to 
lie  flat  on  its  face  like  a  child  with  the 
“  sulks.”  So  Lillie  and  Prince  Curly-hair 
and  I  went  to  work  and  doctored  it.  We 
tied  a  bit  of  cotton  to  the  end  of  a  splin¬ 
ter  and  dipped  it  in  the  coal  oil  can.  Then 
we  took  the  back  off  the  clock  and  put  a 
tiny  bit  of  the  oil  on  all  the  little  wheels 
and  axles.  When  we  had  screwed  its 
back  on  again,  it  stood  up  and  ticked 
away  as  merrily  as  ever. 
My  own  little  clock  has  been  coaxing 
me  for  half  an  hour  to  wind  it  and  go  to 
bed,  so  I’ll  say,  Good  Night. 
DOBOTHY  DEANE. 
*  *  * 
Nice  Almond  Rolls. — Mrs.  Rorer  tells 
of  a  dainty  way  of  making  a  breakfast 
or  lunch  roll  from  stale  bread.  Take  a 
loaf  of  stale  bread,  cut  all  the  crusts  off 
and  cut  the  soft  part  into  pieces  about 
four  inches  long  and  one  wide.  Then 
roll  the  sticks  first  in  orange  juice  and 
next  in  grated  macaroons  or  chopped 
nuts,  then  in  egg,  and  finally  in  bread 
crumbs.  Then  fry  in  hot  fat  and  serve 
smoking  hot,  dusted  with  sugar. 
Why  wouldn’t  these  be  a  compara. 
tively  easy  bit  of  “dainty  cooking”  for 
the  Easter  breakfast. 
AYER’S  Sarsaparilla 
CURES 
OTHERS 
WILL 
CURE 
YOU 
Are  you  troubled  with  loss  of 
appetite,  nausea,  biliousness,  sick 
headache,  offensive  breath,  or  a 
bitter  taste  in  the  mouth  ?  Are  you 
fretty  and  nervous  ?  Do  you  have 
drowsy,  dizzy  sensations,  a  feeling 
of  being  all  tired  out,  continued 
languor,  and  of  general  discomfort? 
These  are  symptoms  of  impure 
blood,  usually  manifested  in 
The  Spring  Season 
and  for  which  AYER’S  Sarsaparilla  is  the  Best,  the 
Superior  Medicine.  Close  confinement  during  the  winter, 
in  poorly  ventilated,  over-heated  rooms,  work-shops,  and 
offices,  excess  of  animal  food,  and  lack  of  out-of-door  ex¬ 
ercise  have  poisoned  your  blood.  It  is  this  which  causes 
Loss  of  Strength,  Lassitude,  Sleepiness,  and  Dyspepsia ; 
Pimples,  Boils,  Blotches,  Sties  on  the  Eyelids,  Sore  Eyes, 
and  other  varieties  of  skin  diseases.  In  all  such  cases, 
take  AYER’S  Sarsaparilla.  It  will  healthfully  stimu¬ 
late  all  the  great  organs  of  the  body  to  expel  the 
poisons  which  clog  your  blood  ;  it  will  quicken  your  appe¬ 
tite,  and  regulate  your  liver  and  bowels;  it  will  overcome 
that  tired  feeling,  free  your  skin  from  eruptive  diseases, 
make  your  step  lighter,  your  eyes  brighter,  your  head 
clearer,  and  your  arm  and  body  stronger.  It  will  pre¬ 
pare  you  for  the  warm  summer  weather  better  than  any 
other  remedy  can.  For  Scrofula,  Catarrh,  Kheumatism,  or 
for  any  other  disease  originating  in  impure  blood,  take 
AYER’S  Sarsaparilla.  BE  SURE  to  get  AYER’S. 
••oeeeeo** 
•Tuft’s Tiny  Pills* 
•  stimulate  the  torpid  liver,  strengthen 
the  digestive  organs,  regulate  the 
•  bowels,  and  are  unequaled  as  an  anti-  ^ 
bilious  medicine.  Hose  small.  Price, 
25c.  Office,  39  &  41  Park  Place,  N.  Y. 
T?AR>I  iMAKAOKR  WANTED.  I  have  a  good 
A’  farm  (see  advertisement  in  this  Issue)  for  sale,  or 
will  let  it  at  a  moderate  rental  to  a  man  with  some 
capital,  on  an  option  tor  purchase.  WM.  YOUNG  Jr., 
Hopklnton,  Mass. 
Q I  v  DO  \AI  CJ  of  Potatoes  or  Two  Rows  of 
O  I  A  It  V/  W  O  Trees  can  be  sprayed  with 
THE  CLIMAX  SPRAYER 
The  Best  machine  for  the  purpose  ever  built. 
T\A/0  DHU/Q  can  be  ncat*y  marked 
I  UVU  nU  Wo  at  a  time  with  the 
rTggs  FURROWER 
any  width  or  depth,  leaving  a  mellow  seed  bed. 
I  also  manufacture  Riggs  Plows,  Cultivators, 
Ladders,  Harrows,  Corn  Shelters,  Wagon 
Jacks,  etc.  Illustrated  Catalogue  FREE. 
THOMAS  PEPPLER,  Box  ih  Hightstown,  N.  J. 
BEATTY  75,,VE£an8  $48-  Want  Ag’ts.  Cat’lg 
ui.mi  1  1  1UEE.  Han’l  F.  lleatty.  Wash’ll,  N.  J. 
