Keeping  Warm. 
WOOL,  cotton  or  camel's  hair;  of  what  material 
bhall  our  undergarments  he  made  ?  Those 
who  are  perfectly  well  and  who  do  not  suffer  from  the 
cold  don  their  cotton  undervests  and  drawers  with 
perfect  content  the  year  tout  d  and  wonder  that  any¬ 
thing  more  could  be  desired.  More  and  more  those 
who  have  rheumatic  joints,  a  sensitive  throat,  colds, 
catarrh,  in  fact  any  sort  of  malady  to  dread  with  the 
coming  of  winter,  are  learning  to  provide  the  ounce 
of  prevention,  and  to  give  nature  every  aid  in  resisting 
the  tendency  toward  disease.  A  few  penny-wise  or 
lamentably  reckless  individuals  keep  on  shivering  the 
winter  through  in  lisle-thread  vests  of  abbreviated 
proportions,  bemoaning  themselves  of  the  cold  and 
their  frail  health.  Ten  dollars  spent  for  a  camel’s 
hair  outfit  they  would  count  gross  extravagance,  yet 
twice  that  amount  goes  for  drugs  and  medical  attend¬ 
ance  and  is  set  down  to  hard  luck  or  the  ways  of  an 
inscrutable  providence. 
Very  pretty  and  suggestive  of  comfort  are  the  soft 
wool  undergarments  displayed  upon  the  counters,  but 
have  you  ever  seen  those  same  garments  after  three 
months  of  careless  washing?  Shrunk  to  tighter  than 
a  skin  fit,  the  creamy  tint  dulled  to  dinginess,  the  soft 
texture  filly  described  by  the  old  comparison,  “  stiff 
as  a  board.”  The  camel’s  hair  is  less  attractive  at  first 
blush,  but  it  grows  only  softer  and  finer  with  wash¬ 
ing  and  wear,  is  strongly  recommended  by  physicians, 
and  those  who  know  it  best  are  loudest  in  its  praise. 
Its  contact  with  the  skin  tends  to  induce  heat  by 
keeping  the  circulation  active  theie.  For  a  cuticle, 
too  sensitive  to  its  touch  it  is  well  to  baste  a  piece  of 
soft  cotton  inside  the  body  of  the  vest  till  its  fiber  be¬ 
comes  softened;  or  one  may  wear  a  gauze  vest  under¬ 
neath  for  a  few  weeks.  However,  this  advice  is  for 
supersensitive  skins  only,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that 
the  camel's  hair  goods  are  rough  and  irritating;  they 
are  the  most  comfortable  of  garments  and  many  an 
ailment  would  be  cured  by  their  adoption. 
“That  beautiful  reformer,”  Annie  Jenness-Miller, 
has  taught  even  the  most  elegant  women  to  lay  aside 
their  superfluous  garments,  pretty  as  they  were  with 
their  fine  embroideries  and  dainty  whiteness.  Fashion¬ 
able.  ladies  now  dispense  with  the  corset  cover,  hold¬ 
ing  thata  basque  fits  more  smoothly  without  it.  The 
dainty  white  petticoat  is  now  seldom  worn,  a  black 
silk  one  taking  its  place  unless  the  popular  equestrian 
tights  are  assumed,  when  the  petticoat  is  discarded 
altogether.  These  tights  are  but  leggins  that  reach  to 
the  waist,  of  black  wool  or  silk  in  jersey  ribs  that  fit 
perfectly.  They  come  at  about  $2  in  wool,  and  noth¬ 
ing  could  be  warmer  and  lighter  for  walking,  riding 
or  driving.  Most  ladies  lay  them  aside  upon  coming 
indoors,  when  the  calf  boots  are  changed  for  lighter 
ones  and  a  picturesque  house  dress  takes  the  place  of 
the  street  gown. 
No  one  more  than  the  farmer’s  wife  and  daughter 
needs  to  be  provided  with  everything  that  adds  com¬ 
fort  during  long  drives.  If  the  equestrian  tights  can¬ 
not  be  afforded,  make  a  pair  of  red  or  blue  flannel 
knickerbocker  drawers  of  ample  proportions,  and  wear 
them  over  the  ordinary  ones  when  going  out  in  the 
cold.  Chest  protectors,  though  usually  made  of  chamois 
leather  may  be  fashioned  out  of  several  thicknesses  of 
flannel  and  will  be  very  useful  for  wearing  under  the 
basque  front  during  cold  drives,  or  beneath  a  soft 
silk  or  a  white  vest  for  house  wear  when  the  basque, 
turning  back,  leaves  less  covering  there. 
The  economy  in  the  matter  of  making  and  launder¬ 
ing  starched  cambric  underclothing,  is  no  small  item 
in  favor  of  the  new  manner  of  dressing.  Think  of  the 
labor  for  one  season  involved  in  the  washing  and  iron¬ 
ing  of  cotton  drawers  and  corset  covers  !  Some  of  the 
prettiest  night  gowns  seen  last  season  were  of  blue  and 
white  striped  outing  flannel  with  torchon  lace  on  collars 
and  cuffs  and  feather  stitching  in  blue  silk.  These  are 
much  more  easily  ironed  than  cambric;  they  wash  well 
and  are  very  soft  and  comfortable  to  wear.  When  the 
laundry  work  is  accomplished  by  the  farmer’s  wife 
these  considerations  ought  to  weigh  heavily  against 
the  additional  cost  in  buying,  for  one  ounce  of  strength 
saved  is  so  much  better  than  a  ton  of  old  traditions 
observed  ;  especially  if  the  accumulations  of  time  and 
strength  are  spent  in  making  more  calls,  taking  walks 
and  reading  good  books  and  papers. 
Of  course  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  garments 
worn  necessitates  the  securing  of  more  warmth  from 
those  that  remain.  Hence  the  growing  popularity  of 
wool  and  camel’s  hair.  Having  decided  upon  the 
material,  the  form  comes  next  for  consideration.  The 
union  suit  is  the  favorite.  It  supports  its  own  weight 
from  the  shoulders  and  does  not  add  a  fold  or  wrinkle 
to  mar  the  fit  of  the  tailor-made  gown.  It  is,  in  short, 
the  trimmest  and  neatest  and  most  sensible  of  gar¬ 
ments.  Of  course  it  must  be  laid  aside  every  night,  as 
every  undershirt  should  be— and  a  heavy  cotton  or 
light  wrool  vest  worn  in  its  place. 
In  country  homes  especially  are  many  who  sleep  in 
c  -Id  rooms.  To  them  this  morning  and  nightly  air- 
bath,  though  doubtless  a  good  tonic  for  the  rugged, 
requires  some  courage.  A  compromise  can  be  made 
by  getting  vests  and  drawers  not  joined  together  and 
slightly  remodeling  them  to  suit  one’s  ideas  of  con¬ 
venience.  The  objectionable  warmth  and  clumsiness 
about  the  hips  and  abdomen  is  overcome  by  cutting  off 
the  vest  just  below  the  waist  line  and  adding  a  skirt  of 
white  cotton  in  place  of  the  part  removed.  The  lower 
parts  of  chemises  now  discarded  and  useless  can  be 
utilized  for  these  skirts.  Sew  a  button  to  the  under 
arm-seam  each  side  at  the  waist  and  button  the 
drawers  there  by  button  holes  worked  in  the  vest  to 
correspond.  This  makes  the  garments  practically  one. 
The  outer  cotton  drawers  can  be  dispensed  with  and 
the  wearer  need  not  remove  her  stockings  when 
changing  her  under-vest.  As  the  garments  become 
old  the  part  cut  from  the  under-vest  will  furnish  ex¬ 
cellent  material  for  making  repairs,  for  suitable 
patches  are  hard  to  find  and  a  large  section  is 
thus  available  to  set  in  place  of  parts  that  give  way. 
PRUDENCE  PRIMROSE. 
Green  House  Seeds  A  Snare. 
BOUGHT  primrose  seed  at  30  cents  a  packet;  ger. 
anium  seed  for  10  cents;  also  abutilon,  cinerarias, 
cyclamen,  etc.  From  all  I  managed  to  grow  success¬ 
fully  one  geranium,  which  is  now  nearly  two  years 
old  and  has  never  blossomed,  and  one  abutilon  which 
is  exactly  the  same  size  now  it  was  last  fall.  It  is  out 
in  the  flower  garden  with  the  geranium.  I  mean  to 
pot  them  in  rich  earth  and  see  what  they  will  yet  do. 
Of  course  I  labored  under  difficulties,  for  we  were 
in  the  little  shanty  that  had  to  be  our  home  till  suffic¬ 
ient  land  was  cleared  to  enable  us  to  build  a  better 
one  without  danger  from  fire.  Yet  now  in  the  new 
house,  with  a  fine,  large  bay  window,  I  would  not 
again  attempt  to  raise  house  plants  from  seeds.  In 
this  country  where  we  keep  no  fire  in  the  house  at 
night,  and  where  even  the  summer  nights  are  cool, 
I  doubt  if  they  can  be  successfully  raised,  and  it 
is  far  more  satisfaction  to  buy  these  primroses  for  25 
cents  and  have  them  bloom  immediately  than  to  pay 
30  cents  for  a  package  of  seeds  and  lose  every  one. 
From  a  firm  in  Ohio  I  got  three  as  nice  primroses  as 
one  could  wish  to  see  for  25  cents.  White,  pink  and 
red  abutilons  grow  more  readily  from  seeds  than  do 
primroses  and  other  small-seeded  plants;  yet  who 
wants  more  than  one  or  two  of  them  ? 
I  would  never  advise  women  with  much  work  to  do 
to  try  to  raise  difficult  plants  from  seeds  The  busy 
housewife  should  have  in  her  collection  of  house 
plants  only  those  that  require  least  care — a  palm,  a 
rubber  plant,  dwarf  orange  trees,  farfugium,  (com¬ 
monly  called  spotted  leopard),  callas,  fuchsias,  ger¬ 
aniums,  cactuses,  and,  by  all  means,  primroses  for  the 
north  window.  Fuchsias  like  an  east  window,  and 
farfugium  likes  the  shade  best;  too  much  sun  soon 
curls  up  its  leaves.  Aloes  are  easily  grown  and  require 
little,  almost  no  care.  Another  plant  that  gives  me 
much  satisfaction  is  a  double  petunia,  and  I  believe 
the  day  is  not  far  distant  wdien  orchids  will  be  as  com¬ 
mon  as  callas,  they  are  so  easily  cared  for.  m.  ii.  m. 
Don’t  Worry  About  Our  Country  Boys. 
T  HOPE  The  Rural  and  its  contemporaries  will  not 
A  waste  too  much  sympathy  on  country  young  men, 
who,  being  unaccustomed  to  gambling,  waste  their 
money  on  gambling  devices;  for  it  is  mistaken  charity. 
To  be  sure  they  may  not  understand  all  the  “ins  and 
outs”  of  gambling;  but  a  country  boy  usually  learns 
before  he  is  old  enough  to  attend  gambling  places 
with  an  overplus  of  money,  that  if  he  wants  any 
money  he  must  work  for  it,  and  he  spends  it  on  this 
understanding,  while  many  city  young  men  who  have 
spent  their  days  waiting,  like  Mr.  Micawber,  for  a 
soft  job  “  to  turn  up,”  cluster  around  the  fakirs  in 
hopes  of  turning  a  dime,  which  jingles  lonesomely 
amid  a  pocketful  of  pennies.  At  a  recent  fair  in  this 
vicinity  several  of  these  unlucky  individuals  who  came 
up  into  the  rural  districts  from  the  great  city  of  New 
York,  lost  their  dimes  and  towards  evening  went  to 
the  managers  of  the  fair  with  a  pathetic  story  of  how 
they  had  lost,  and  asked  the  president  if  he  wTould 
kindly  advance  enough  money  to  pay  their  carfare 
home.  Although  their  stories  might  have  melted  the 
heart  of  a  millstone,  they  had  no  such  effect  on  the 
hearts  of  these  managers,  and  they  told  them  that 
although  they  were  sorry  to  see  young  men  of  their 
stamp  gambling,  yet  if  they  ever  hoped  to  get  away 
from  this  rural  district  they  could  see  no  other  way 
for  them  than  to  walk  or  go  to  work  and  earn  their 
fare.  They  told  them  that  it  was  a  hard  outlook  for 
them;  for  up  here  in  the  country  people  are  expected 
to  work  for  their  money  and  that  they  would  probably 
find  it  tedious  to  look  for  a  soft  job.  They  have  not 
yet  heard  whether  the  verdant  New  Yorkers  have 
reached  home,  but  I  would  advise  them  not  to  come  up 
in  the  country  with  so  little  money  again.  a.  e.  p. 
More  About  the  Pure  Food  Exhibition. 
IV/TISS  PARLOA,  who  delivered  the  cooking  lectures 
a  ▼  A  of  the  course,  made  from  the  platform  the  state¬ 
ment  that  the  managers  of  the  exhibition  had  been 
very  particular  to  admit  none  but  pure  food  products. 
1  his  being  the  case,  one  can  hardly  help  wondering 
whether  the  fact  that  only  two  baking  powder  firms 
were  in  evidence,  is  a  significant  one.  Only  Cleve¬ 
land’s  and  Thatcher’s  powders  were  noted  ;  neither  of 
these  firms  use  alum,  ammonia,  or  deleterious  fillers  ; 
both  give  the  composition  of  their  product.  The 
Cleveland  powder,  of  course,  is  largely  known  ;  the 
other  has  been  on  the  market  about  three  years  only. 
1  he  somewhat  stately,  gray-haired  woman  who  super¬ 
intended  the  Thatcher  exhibit,  was  the  most  dignihed 
and  intelligent  person  noted  behind  the  counters  of 
the  whole  exhibition  ;  too  many  of  the  girls  were 
mere  automatons.  This  lady  attracted  much  atten¬ 
tion  by  her  tests  for  ammonia — simple  enough — just 
the  pouring  of  boiling  water  upon  a  small  sample  of 
powder.  The  first  fizz  over,  the  ammonia,  if  pres¬ 
ent,  betrays  itself  in  the  fumes  given  off.  It  was 
stated  that  among  the  deadly  poisons  only  12  are 
worse  than  ammonia.  (It  may  be  stated  in  this 
connection  that  a  communication  was  received  at  this 
office  some  time  ago,  inclosing  a  clipping  from  a  paper 
high  in  public  estimation,  and  inquiring  as  to  the  whole¬ 
someness  of  ammonia  as  a  leavening  agent.  The  clip- 
vei y  enthusiastic  as  to  the  blessings  of  ammonia 
as  a  culinary  agent,  was  evidently  a  reading  adver¬ 
tisement  of  a  baking  powder  firm.)  In  the  tests,  the 
Thatcher  powder  gave  a  perfectly  transparent  solu¬ 
tion,  without  residuum  ;  two  other  powders  tested 
with  it  gave  off  a  disagreeable  odor,  and  became 
cloudy  and  precipitated  solid  matter  to  the  bottom  of 
the  glass.  No  unfairness  was  manifested  ;  no  other 
powder  was  even  mentioned  by  name.  This  firm  has 
reached  out  in  a  new  line  by  using  a  solid  obtained 
from  sugar  of  milk  as  a  “  filler”  or  keeper.  The  claim 
is  that  much  less  of  this  suffices  as  a  keeper  than  is  the 
case  when  flour  or  corn-starch  is  used  ;  that  the  sugar 
of  milk,  being  sweet,  gives  an  additional  leavening 
power,  making  the  combination  of  the  three  elements 
a  perfect  leavening  agent ;  and  that  thus,  every  atom 
of  the  powder  being  available,  only  three-fourths  as 
much  is  needed,  1%  teaspoonfuls  being  sufficient  for  a 
quart  of  flour.  It  is  put  up  in  half-pounds  and  pounds, 
as  is  usual,  but  in  glass  cans. 
One  other  product  that  may  be  noticed  in  the  line 
of  partially  digested  foods,  is  Horlick’s  malted  milk. 
The  formula  given  in  the  bottles  is  50  per  cent  steril¬ 
ized  cow’s  milk  ;  26^  per  cent  wheat ;  barley,  malted, 
23  per  cent ;  soda  and  potash,  75-100  per  cent.  It  is  a 
powder,  instantly  soluble  in  hot  water,  and  tasting 
slightly  like  sweetened  crackers.  It  is  claimed  to  be 
almost  a  specific  for  insomnia,  a  perfect  food  for  in 
fants  which  are  deprived  of  the  mothers’  milk,  and  an 
aid  of  great  value  in  wasting  diseases  because  of  its 
nutritive  and  assimilative  qualities. 
“  All  she  lacks  of  beauty  is  a  little 
plumpness.” 
This  is  a  frequent  thought,  and  a  whole¬ 
some  one. 
All  of  a  baby’s  beauty  is  due  to  fat, 
and  nearly  all  of  a  woman’s — we  know  it 
as  curves  and  dimples. 
What  plumpness  has  to  do  with  health 
is  told  in  a  little  book  on  careful  living; 
sent  free. 
Would  you  rather  be  healthy  or  beau¬ 
tiful  ?  “  Both  ”  is  the  proper  answer. 
Scott  &  Bowne,  Chemists,  132  South  5th  Avenue,  New  York. 
V  our  druggist  keeps  Scott  s  Emulsion  of  cod-liver  oil — nil  druggists 
everywhere  do.  $1, 
