Interesting  and  Practical. 
Special  Fields. 
To  ONE  who  has  the  opportunity  to  study  the  great 
variety  of  woman's  periodicals  now  published,  there  is 
something  keenly  interesting  in  noting  the  strivings  of 
each  to  make  a  “  field  ”  for  itself.  A  specialty  usually 
draws  a  certain  list  of  subscribers  who  would  not 
be  gained  without  it,  and  who  perhaps  do  not  take 
other  household  papers.  Each  publication,  therefore, 
makes  itself  something  of  a  specialty  affair  in  one  or 
more  lines. 
How  They  Do  It. 
For  instance,  one  of  these  periodicals,  of  wide  circu¬ 
lation,  uses  almost  no  matter  except  from  prominent 
people,  social,  musical,  literary  or  otherwise.  Another, 
written  largely  by  its  subscribers,  makes  “  brevity  and 
brightness”  its  watchword  to  such  an  extent  that 
whole  issues  have  a  forced  tone  of  straining  after 
brightness  that  is  almost  painful  at  times.  One  or  two 
incline  very  largely  to  cookery  and  things  about  the 
house  only.  Several  are  devoted  to  woman  with  a 
very  large  W.  One  has  split  once  or  twice  on  the  rock  of 
reformed  dress,  but  comes  up  again  with  sails  set  after 
each  disaster,  and  follows  the  same  old  lines.  One 
has  a  special  department  for  the  shut-ins,  in  addition 
to  the  ordinary  run  of  excellent  household  miscellany. 
One,  of  considerable  pretensions,  devotes  itself  in  one 
prominent  department  to  women’s  clubs  and  all  the 
interests  connected  therewith.  One  is  devoted  to  war 
reminiscences,  and  gets  its  recipes  from  the  White 
House  ex-steward  and  from  society  women.  Thus, 
while  in  the  regular  departments  the  same  run  of 
topics  is  apt  to  be  discussed  in  all,  there  is  yet  variety 
enough  to  give  a  special  interest  to  each. 
Following  Directions. 
Unless  well  supplied  with  both  experience  and  good 
judgment,  the  average  mortal  is  almost  sure  to  court 
failure  in  the  most  earnest  endeavors,  by  not  following 
directions  with  precision.  To  be  sure,  petty  directions 
are  frequently  given  which  it  is  of  no  possible  advan¬ 
tage  to  follow  ;  but  again,  and  often,  it  is  upon  the 
exact  attention  to  some  very  simple  point  that  success 
turns.  A  certain  story  writer  possessed  herself  of  a 
fountain  pen  of  approved  make.  As  she  did  not  carry 
the  pen  “in  her  coat  pocket,”  she  thought  it  unneces¬ 
sary  to  cover  it  with  the  cap  provided  for  the  purpose, 
as  per  directions.  Through  lack  of  this  simple  pre¬ 
caution  both  the  pen  and  the  ink  used  with  it  came  in 
for  numberless  strictures  as  to  quality.  Yet  when, 
later,  directions  for  their  use  were  followed  minutely, 
both  were  found  to  be  perfect  of  their  kind.  This  is 
merely  one  instance  of  which  the  moral  is  that  in  gen¬ 
eral  it  is  safer  to  follow  the  directions  of  those  who 
know. 
Helen  Keller. 
A  souvenir  of  Helen  Keller,  the  oldest  of  the  “  four 
fortunate  unfortunates”  mentioned  in  a  late  note,  has 
been  prepared  by  a  Washington  Bureau.  It  contains 
a  portrait  of  Helen  with  her  dog,  and,  among  other 
things,  two  letters  from  Miss  Sullivan,  the  girl’s 
teacher.  These  letters  give  much  insight  into  the 
methods  practiced  in  teaching  by  the  sense  of  touch, 
and  into  the  ways  and  the  character  of  Helen  herself. 
As  an  instance  of  the  child's  wonderful  progress,  Miss 
Sullivan  says  that  in  March  1887,  Helen  had  her  first 
lesson  ;  in  April,  the  next  month,  she  was  forming 
short  sentences  such  as  “Mildred  is  in  the  crib ;”  in 
July,  little  more  than  a  month  after  her  first  lesson 
in  writing,  and  four  months  after  her  first  lesson  in 
anything,  she  wrote,  without  assistance,  a  correctly- 
spelled  and  legible  letter  to  her  cousin.  It  is  said  that 
she  never  mis-spells  a  word.  This  jroung  girl,  who 
even  now  “  writes  such  imaginative  stories  as  any 
editor  would  be  glad  to  print,”  will  be  12  years  of  age 
the  27tli  of  this  present  June. 
Absolute  Success  in  Canning. 
Lives  there  a  woman  in  this  whole  broad  country, 
who  “  never  lost  a  single  can  of  fruit?”  Little  New 
Jersey  claims  one.  Is  there  another  woman,  who,  if 
she  can  can  bring  herself  to  believe  in  the  claim,  does 
not  have  a  feeling  of  almost  envy — at  least  a  desire  to 
do  likewise  ?  The  method  of  procedure,  as  described 
by  the  lady  who  claims  to  be  so  fortunate,  is  this  : 
Place  a  good  quantity  of  sugar  in  a  large  granite 
kettle  over  the  fire,  to  melt  slowly  ;  but  add  no  water. 
When  the  syrup  is  clear,  add  as  much  fruit  as  the 
quantity  of  syrup  will  cook,  and  bring  it  merely  to  a 
boil.  Have  jars,  covers,  etc.,  hot,  fill  them  at  once 
from  the  kettle,  and  screw  the  covers  to  place  without 
delay.  Leave  the  jars  where  it  will  be  handy  to  give 
a  frequent  turn  to  the  rings  as  the  fruit  cools,  and, 
when  thoroughly  cooled,  put  it  away  in  a  dark  place. 
We  have  not  yet  tried  this  method,  but  give  it  as  it 
comes  to  us,  through  private  sources,  from  the  oracle 
who  “  never  lost  a  can  of  fruit  in  her  life.” 
Picnics  for  Real  Recreation. 
WHILE  there  are  many  people  who  are  ready  for 
picnics  at  any  time  when  the  air  is  fairly 
warm,  the  majority  prefer  to  wait  until  August  heat 
is  upon  us,  or  even  until  September  and  October  have 
come  with  their  wealth  of  color  and  rich  fruitage  be¬ 
fore  they  indulge  in  this  recreation. 
There  are  comparatively  few  picnics  which  are  truly 
recreative.  The  housewife,  tired  with  many  duties, 
which  are  increased  by  the  preparations  deemed  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  picnic  “  spread,”  feels  so  keen  an  anxiety 
regarding  the  contents  of  the  hampers  which  she  has 
packed  so  carefully  that  she  does  not  like  to  trust  a 
stranger  to  take  out  and  distribute  them,  and  thus 
allows  herself  to  become  a  victim  to  all  the  hard  work 
of  the  affair. 
The  pleasantest  of  all  picnics  are  those  where  some 
one  invites  a  few  congenial  people  to  go  to  some  shady 
spot,  near  the  water  if  possible,  and  suggests  the  food 
which  is  expected  from  each.  The  finest  bread  maker 
of  the  party  is  asked  to  furnish  bread  enough  for  20 
guests.  Another  expert  will  supply  enough  golden 
butter  to  transform  her  neighbor's  dainty  loaves  or 
biscuits  into  equally  dainty  shape  for  eating.  No  one 
is  overburdened  wdiere  but  one  variety  of  food  is  ex 
pected  from  her,  and,  if  two  or  or  three  unite  in  making 
a  freezer  of  cream  it  always  proves  acceptable.  The 
food  should  be  so  packed  that  but  little  labor  is  re¬ 
quired  in  serving,  for  the  end  and  aim  of  a  picnic 
should  be  restful  enjoyment. 
Lemonade,  iced  tea  or  sherbets  made  from  fruit 
juices  are  very  grateful  accessories.  The  lemon  juice 
should  be  extracted  and  freed  from  seeds  at  home.  The 
tea  may  be  put  into  a  fruit  can  and  wet  with  cold 
water,  and  this  cold  steeping  insures  a  delicious  bev¬ 
erage,  especially  if  a  slice  of  lemon  be  put  into  each 
cup  when  served. 
A  picnic  should  never'be  a  dressy  affair.  The  simplest 
of  wash  dresses,  with  shade  hats,  thick  shoes  and  gloves, 
which  are  a  real  protection  should  always  be  worn 
by  the  women  of  the  party.  But,  after  all,  the  main 
point  in  giving  a  picnic  is  the  people.  A  happy  min¬ 
gling  of  young  and  old,  a  happy  gift  of  selecting  the 
unselfish,  or  coaxing  the  selfishness  out  of  those  who 
show  it,  a  happy  knack  of  observing  everything  so 
that  one  is  ready  for  all  emergencies  ;  yet  seeming  to 
see  nothing  except  what  is  intended  for  one’s  eyes  ; 
one  needs  all  these  and  more  for  picnics  as  for  all 
other  entertainments.  No  doubt  she  entertains  best 
who  enjoys  it,  but  she  who  can  forget  her  own  enjoy¬ 
ment  in  the  desire  to  please  others  follows  closely  in 
her  sister’s  footsteps. 
The  farmers  know  too  little  about  the  best  form  of 
picnics.  We  go,  a  few  times  each  summer,  by  hundreds, 
to  listen  to  some  speech,  to  show  our  best  clothing  and 
to  feel  that  we  attended  the  big  picnic  at  So-and-So  ; 
but  we  rarely  take  the  few  hours  of  rest  that  our  town 
neighbors  regard  as  among  their  pleasantest  summer 
recreations.  Even  a  supper  eaten  under  the  trees  now 
and  then,  with  no  extra  work  except  that  of  carrying 
the  food  to  the  spot  selected,  is  a  pleasant  variety  in 
otherwise  monotonous  lives.  Better  than  this  is  a 
drive  of  a  few  miles  with  a  few  neighbors  and  a  simple 
lunch  eaten  in  some  bit  of  shady  woodland  by  the 
wayside,  and  neither  of  these  pleasures  requires  any 
preparations  beforehand. 
We  must  needs  take  a  little  comfort  every  day  if  we 
ever  have  any,  and  a  life  which  is  all  work  is  neither 
so  pleasant  nor  so  profitable  as  one  where  simple 
pleasures  come  often  enough  to  render  routine  work  en¬ 
durable.  s.  A.  LITTLE. 
A  Change  Which  the  Accounts  Justify. 
I  CITE  the  historical  dainty  pie,  made  from  “  Four 
and  twenty  blackbirds,”  fit  for  the  king  of  a  realm 
or  of  a  farm,  to  refute  the  notion  that  daintiness  is 
flummery.  Daintiness  is  worthiness,  hence  wholly 
practicable.  There  are  good  and  easy  recipes  for  pre¬ 
paring  dainty  food,  and  if  a  housewife's  heart  is  in 
this  reform,  she  will  find  time  to  use  them. 
There  is  no  question  that  a  refined  dinner  helps  to 
make  a  refined  mind  and  that  there  is  too  much  eating 
and  too  little  dining  done  among  us  country  people. 
We  have  no  time  for  private  table  manners.  If  we  sit 
at  table  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to 
swallow  our  food,  we  feel  that  we  have  sinned  egregi- 
ously,  for  there  is  so  much  work  to  be  done.  More¬ 
over,  we  have  a  way  of  seasoning  our  food  or  serving 
(fith  it  the  washing  and  ironing,  the  hoeing  and  shov¬ 
eling,  the  sewing  and  dusting,  the  plowing  and  chor- 
ing.  We  are  veritable  Sindbads,  only  we  take  pride  in 
shouldering  our  burden  of  work.  I  speak  from  experi¬ 
ence  as  well  as  observation.  When  I  began  living  on 
the  farm,  I  felt  in  duty  bound  to  do  as  much  manual 
labor  as  my  husband’s  great  aunts  had  done.  The  re¬ 
sult  was  that  my  work  become  a  merciless  task-mas¬ 
ter.  Things  in  the  house  took  on  a  hap-hazard  air. 
The  tablecloth  was  always  awry;  the  food  and  dishes 
were  thrown  on  in  a  higgledy-piggledy  way;  two  or 
three  necessary  articles  for  the  table  were  always  lack¬ 
ing;  the  children  neglected  to  wash  before  meals  ;  I 
was  too  tired  to  look  after  them;  my  husband  was 
either  late  or  impatiently  waiting  for  dinner.  As  soon 
as  the  children  were  through  eating  they  scrambled 
down  to  work  or  play.  My  husband  ceased  to  wait  on 
the  table,  and  so  we  all  helped  ourselves;  our  appetites 
decreased  and  our  food  degenerated. 
At  this  time  we  were  regular  subscribers  of  The 
Rural  New-Yorker.  I  read  it.  but  I  never  found  any¬ 
thing  in  it  that  applied  to  my  individual  needs ;  I  did 
not  want  to.  If  I  were  situated  as  So-and-So  was,  I 
could  change,  or — or — or  I  always  had  an  excuse  for 
my  style  of  living.  When  we  had  expected  company 
I  made  an  entire  change  in  my  meals,  and  was  in 
agony  over  the  table  manners  of  the  children.  If  com¬ 
pany  came  unexpectedly,  I  tried  to  excuse — in  a  vain, 
vague  way — the  food  that  was  “good  enough  for  my 
family.”  My  husband  grew  gloomy  and  dyspeptic  ; 
patent  medicines  came  to  be  a  part  of  the  daily  rations. 
At  last,  however,  I  read  The  Rural  to  some  pur¬ 
pose.  I  began  a  new  life.  I  did  less  work,  but  I  did 
better  work.  I  spread  the  table  with  an  immaculate 
linen  cloth.  I  got  out  my  china  bowls  and  grandma's 
great  old-fashioned  blue  pitcher.  This  I  filled  to  the 
brim  with  rich,  cool  milk.  I  made  a  delicate  mush 
from  new  corn  meal.  I  tidied  up  the  children  and  my¬ 
self.  Bow  surprised  John  was  when  he  came  in.  We 
had  a  most  appetizing  meal  of  mush  and  milk,  and  I 
decided  then  and  there  that  one  wholesome  dainty 
dish  is  better  than  a  badly-cooked  feast.  I  have  never 
.swerved  from  this  decision.  I  cook  few  things  for  any 
meal,  but  I  strive  to  cook  these  so  nicely  that  they  will 
tempt  both  the  eye  and  the  palate.  I  no  longer  scorn 
the  cook-book,  nor  do  I  detest  the  newspaper  recipes. 
On  a  small  scale  I  make  frequent  experiments  with 
new  food  stuffs,  and  find  by  actual  accounts  that  under 
the  new  regime  we  live  better,  and  at  less  expense 
than  formerly.  Cooking  is  as  much  a  profession  with 
me  now  as  teaching  formerly  was,  and  I  consider  it  as 
essential  to  spiritual  life  as  preaching,  and  the  Sunday 
school.  I  keep  up  the  appetites  of  the  family  by  a 
variety  in  my  meals.  I  find  that  different  kinds  of 
bread  help  exceedingly  in  this,  and  do  away  with  much 
cake  making.  In  short,  I  am  convinced  that  when  a 
woman  takes  upon  herself  the  responsibility  of  a 
home  and  family,  it  is  her  duty  to  make  it  as  perfect 
as  possible.  To  shirk  the  labor  of  dainty  cooking  or 
to  make  epicures  and  gluttons  of  the  members  of  her 
family  are  alike  reprehensible.  Let  us  farmers’  wives 
blend  with  our  lives  as  much  of  all  kinds  of  poetry  ? 
music  and  art  as  are  obtainable  in  our  close  touch  with 
Nature,  but  never  forget  that  “  Civilized  man  cannot 
live  without  cooks.”  “  He  may  live  without  books  *  *  ” 
“  He  may  live  without  hope  *  *  ”  “He  may  live  with¬ 
out  love  *  *  ”  But  where  is  the  man  that  can  live 
without  dining.  c.  A.  K. 
A  Breakfast  Party. 
THE  Detroit  Free  Press  Household  has  this  to  say 
about  a  novel  form  of  entertainment :  The  fash¬ 
ionable  fad,  a  breakfast  party,  is  so  novel  and  delight¬ 
ful  a  one  that  it  bids  fair  to  become  a  leading  favorite. 
Let  your  breakfast  hour  be  no  later  than  9:30  or  10. 
Send  informal  little  invitations  by  post  or  messenger, 
or  simply  a  card  bearing  your  name,  date  and  the 
word  “  Breakfast”  in  one  corner,  with  an  R.  S.  V.  P., 
of  course,  in  another.  Six  or  eight  guests  should  be 
the  limit  of  a  breakfast  party,  and,  above  all  things, 
let  them  be  congenial. 
Pure  white  napery  is  not  desirable  at  the  breakfast. 
It  should  have  some  touch  of  color — buff  being  the 
preferred  tint — and  the  white. 
The  principal  thing  to  see  to  after  the  choice  of 
appropriate  napery  is  the  floral  decorations.  There 
should  be  plenty  of  flowers.  Beside  each  plate  place 
a  nosegay  of  blossoms  tied  with  narrow  yellow  rib¬ 
bons,  and  bank  the  remainder  around  a  center-piece. 
The  next  thing  to  be  chosen  is  the  fruit,  which 
should  fill  the  center-piece.  Place  it  upon  a  bed  of 
smilax,  festooning  the  glossy  green  sprigs  in  graceful 
loopings  over  and  around  the  high  stand  of  glass  or 
silver. 
Costly  dishes  at  a  breakfast  are  in  bad  form.  The 
viands  should  be  simple,  cooked  perfectly  and  served 
daintily.  The  hostess  should  pour  the  coffee  and  clioco- 
