Some  Southern  Dishes. 
TO-DAY  we  had  a  real  Southern  dessert,  a  persim¬ 
mon  pudding,  and  no  pudding  is  better.  To 
make  it  we  had  about  three  quarts  of  persimmons. 
These  were  mashed  and  squeezed  through  a  colander 
to  separate  the  soft  part  from  the  seeds,  which  are 
large  and  flat.  Milk  or  water  was  poured  on  as  needed 
while  straining.  Four  or  five  beaten  eggs  were  added 
to  this  batter,  as  well  as  a  cup  of  butter,  about  a  quart 
of  flour,  with  cinnamon  or  other  spice.  Then  it  was 
thinned  with  milk  till  a  good  batter  to  pour,  poured 
into  a  greased  pan  and  baked  slowly. 
The  children  had  caught  three  opossums,  which 
belong  with  this  pudding  ;  but  they  are  not  yet  fat 
enough,  so  we  will  get  some  more  persimmons  when 
they  are  ready. 
Shall  I  tell  you  how  to  cook  a  “  ’possum?”  First  let 
the  boys  go  hunting  about  the  time  corn  and  “  ’sim- 
mons”  are  ripe,  or  when  the  dog  has  treed  one  trying 
to  get  your  chickens,  some  rainy  night ;  when  he  sees 
you  or  the  dog  he  will  appear  to  be  dead — “  possum- 
ing,”  haven’t  you  heard  folks  say  when  somebody  is 
playing  off  sick  to  keep  from  school?  Fatten  him 
with  the  scraps  from  the  table,  and  then  kill  him  and 
pick  the  hair  off  after  wetting  in  hot  water  and  ashes. 
He  will  be  like  a  pig  ready  to  roast,  after  being  cleaned 
in  the  same  way.  Now  hang  him  up  a  day  or  so,  par¬ 
boil  with  salt,  pepper  and  sage ;  stuff  with  oyster 
dressing  if  you  like,  bake  nicely  and  serve,  cold  usually. 
We  like  vinegar  over  it  when  eaten.  Sweet  potatoes 
and  “  possum  ”  go  together. 
Another  Southern  dish  is  black  peas ;  many  prefer 
them  to  white  beans.  Snowy  winter  days  suit  us  best 
for  them.  They  are  picked  over  carefully  and  par¬ 
boiled  a  short  time,  then  drained  and  put  on  again  in 
boiling  water.  They  are  boiled  till  well  done  in  this 
with  a  good-sized  piece  of  pork,  plenty  of  red  pepper 
and  salt  to  taste.  They  may  be  boiled  thick  or  used 
A  Slumber  Puff.  Fig.  303. 
as  a  soup  if  liked.  The  next  morning,  if  mashed  and 
fried  for  breakfast  they  are  better  still. 
We  do  not  boil  sweet  potatoes  before  baking,  as 
they  are  too  soggy,  and  we  want  molasses  running  out 
of  them.  The  Hainan  and  Yam  potatoes  are  the  kinds 
we  select.  F.  m. 
My  Son’s  Room.  I. 
BOYS  may  not  care  for  strings  of  scent  bags  and 
innumerable  tidies  and  cushions  all  over  the 
place,  but  they  do  like  a  bright,  pretty  room  all  to 
themselves. 
As  my  son  always  studied  and  wrote  in  his  bed-room, 
(the  younger  ones  reign  supreme  in  the  family  sitting- 
room)  I  determined  to  make  it  over  into  a  sitting-room 
and  study  for  him,  as  well  as  a  bed-room.  Now,  ready 
money  is  an  unknown  quantity  with  me  as  with  most 
farmers’  wives.  However,  I  had  saved  $10  of  butter- 
and-egg  money,  and  this  I  meant  to  use  in  furnishing 
the  room.  Though  that  amount  represented  over  two 
months’  sales  of  butter  and  eggs,  I  did  not  begrudge 
it ;  I  was  not  going  to  have  my  son  loafing  in  the  vil¬ 
lage  store  evenings  for  want  of  a  spot  at  home  for  his 
very  own. 
If  parents  could  only  see  what  a  large  amount  of  in¬ 
terest  an  investment  in  their  sons  bears,  they  would 
not  put  them  off  with  as  little  as  possible,  while  their 
sisters  are  given,  in  dresses  and  finery,  more  than  is 
good  for  them.  So  many  of  the  other  farm  boys  around 
us  seemed  to  be  desired  at  home  only  for  the  work  that 
can  be  got  out  of  them,  a  sort  of  cheap  hired  man  ! 
Their  evenings  were  spent  in  the  store  and  their  Sun¬ 
days  lounging  around  the  depot.  They  had  never  been 
taught  to  care  for  books  ;  their  fathers  could  not  afford 
to  buy  books  when  they  were  mortgaging  their  farms 
to  buy  another  “forty.”  How  many  “forties”  are  got  at 
the  expense  of  a  son  !  And  when  the  sisters  or  mother 
had  fixed  up  a  pretty  room  at  home,  it  was  kept  for 
company,  and  the  boys  were  not  allowed  in  there. 
I  profited  by  my  neighbors’  mistakes.  The  parlor 
was  for  all  of  us  when  the  babies  were  in  bed  for  the 
night.  But,  as  I  remember  from  my  own  distant 
school  days,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  study  or  work 
out  examples  in  algebra  in  a  sitting-room  with  others, 
I  resolved  that  my  boy  should  have  a  study  to  himself. 
The  wall  of  the  intended  study  had  been  papered 
the  year  before  with  a  pretty  light-blue  paper,  and 
I  had  no  expense  there.  My  carpet  was  a  source  of 
pride  to  me,  and  this  is  what  it  was :  I  bought  16 
yards  of  blue  denim  at  15  cents  a  yard,  and  10  cents 
for  a  ball  of  white  cotton  made  $2.50  for  the  carpet. 
The  denim  I  washed  to  take  away  the  greenish  tinge. 
Then  I  cut  it  into  lengths  of  four  yards,  and  worked 
in  outline,  with  white  cotton  cord,  clover  leaves  scat¬ 
tered  about  two  feet  or  so  apart.  The  effect  when 
sewed  and  put  down  was  remarkably  pretty,  and  in  a 
room  used  only  by  one,  it  is  quite  durable. 
The  bed  was  moved  out,  and  in  its  place  was  made  a 
tufted  cretonne  couch.  The  frame,  6x2 %  feet,  of  one- 
inch  i boards  a  foot  wide,  was  like  a  huge,  bottomless 
box,  with  castors  at  the  four  corners.  My  son  made 
this  himself,  securing  the  corners  by  triangular  braces 
of  wood ;  so  that  my  expense  for  this  was  only  50 
cents  for  the  lumber.  Over  the  top  I  stretched  a  piece 
of  strong  bed- ticking,  tacking  it  down  all  around. 
Another  piece  of  the  same  I  tacked  above  it,  on  the 
ends  and  one  side,  and  then  stuffed  it  as  full  as  possi¬ 
ble  with  good  corn  husks,  and  tacked  the  mattress 
though  with  twine,  using  an  upholsterer’s  needle,  and 
securing  the  stitches  on  the  top  with  bits  of  leather 
cut  from  an  old  shoe.  To  cover  the  couch  I  bought 
three  yards  of  60-inch-wide  cretonne,  with  a  dull- 
blue  ground,  and  darker-blue  figures  at  50  cents  a 
yard,  and  spent  50  cents  for  blue  and  white  cotton  up¬ 
holsterer’s  cord,  bringing  the  cost  of  the  couch  to  $2. 50. 
Half  a  yard  of  the  cretonne  I  cut  off  for  a  pillow  ; 
the  remainder  I  placed  on  the  couch,  tacking  down 
through  the  mattress,  with  buttons  made  of  little 
molds  covered  with  unbleached  canton  flannel,  with 
the  nap  outside.  Around  the  upper  edge  I  gathered 
the  cretonne  and  covered  the  gathering  with  the  blue 
and  white  cord.  Four  inches  lower  I  made  a  second 
gather  and  covered  it  in  the  same  way,  the  rest  of  the 
cretonne  hanging  in  a  frill  to  the  floor.  A  feather  pillow 
was  covered  with  the  extra  half  yard  of  the  cretonne, 
and  this  completed  the  couch  as  seen  in  the  day-time. 
At  night  I  placed  on  it  a  narrow  feather  mattress,  with 
the  bed-clothes  and  a  pillow,  and  the  boy  had  a  very 
Ornamental  Scroll  Cushion.  Fig.  305. 
comfortable  bed.  The  feather  mattress  and  bed-clothes 
were  kept  in  a  closet  off  the  room,  and  my  son  soon 
learned  to  spread  his  bed  himself,  and  put  it  away  in 
the  morning.  agnes  chase. 
Dainty  Work  for  Dainty  Women. 
THE  beautiful  cushion  or  “  slumber  puff,”  pictured 
in  Fig.  303,  is  of  blue-gray  velvet,  with  relief 
design  in  chamois.  The  puff  calls  for  half  a  yard,  16 
inches  in  width,  of  velvet  of  good  quality.  Of  white 
chamois,  with  a  sharp  scissors,  cut  the  petals  of  the 
lily.  For  the  fully-exposed  blossom,  cut  8  small  and 
16  large  ;  for  the  partially-concealed  bloom,  3  small 
and  12  large,  and  for  the  one  just  opening,  only  7  of 
the  large  petals.  The  three  large  leaves,  diminishing 
in  size,  are  cut  of  a  deep-green  velvet.  Of  yellow 
chamois  cut  the  segments  of  the  butterfly — two  larger 
and  two  smaller  wings,  and  the  body.  The  tops  of  old 
brown  and  tan  suede  gloves  (first  cleaned)  furnish  the 
surrounding  leaves  of  the  water  growth. 
Fig.  304  shows  the  work  in  detail.  All  of  these  parts 
are  first  basted  on  in  the  correct  position,  with  a 
natural  and  graceful  arrangement.  Then  each  is 
neatly  fastened  to  the  velvet  with  the  button-hole 
stitch  in  white,  green,  yellow,  and  brown  silk,  to 
match  the  respective  parts.  The  button-hole  stitch¬ 
ing  must  not  be  deep,  and  need  not  be  close,  but  must 
be  even.  Merely  the  outline  of  the  petal  is  button¬ 
holed  ;  a  folded  edge  is  left  free.  The  same  directions 
apply  to  the  leaves  and  butterfly — the  latter,  of  course, 
has  no  folded  edges.  The  stamens  are  represented  in 
French  knots  in  yellow  silk,  or  with  silver  spangles. 
The  veining  of  the  petals  is  imitated  in  long  stitches 
of  yellow  silk.  The  leaves  are  brought  out  with 
bronze  green  markings  and  the  water  is  indicated  by 
straight  lines  of  stitching  in  deep  green.  Gold  thread 
markings  brighten  the  butterfly  in  the  wings,  and  on 
the  body,  to  define  its  segments.  Black  silk  French 
knots  note  the  eyes,  beneath  which  extend  antennae 
of  gold  thread. 
The  puff  is  filled  with  a  roll  of  scented  sheet  wad¬ 
ding.  A  lace  frill  and  full  bows  oi  blue  and  white  rib¬ 
bon  finish  each  end.  Blue  and  white  ribbons  are  also 
attached  for  fastening  to  the  chair.  This  is  entirely 
new  and  highly  effective.  When  carefully  done,  the 
puff  has  the  appearance  of  being  adorned  with  freshly 
plucked  lilies.  The  colors  are  delicate,  but  when  soiled 
are  easily  and  perfectly  restored  by  being  rubbed  with 
a  gasoline  saturated  cloth.  A  larger  cushion  is  illus¬ 
trated  in  Fig.  305.  It  is  of  gold-brown  velvet,  and  re¬ 
quires  14  inches  of  the  24-inch  material.  Its  decora¬ 
tion  is  an  oriental  scroll  in  gold  cord,  neatly  sewed  on 
with  small  blind  stitching.  This  is  best  done  from  the 
under-side  of  the  velvet.  The  edge  of  the  cushion  is 
finished  with  a  silk  gimp  in  brown  and  gold.  A  great 
bow  of  No.  12  satin  ribbon,  gold-brown  and  yellow,  is 
fastened  in  the  upper  left  corner. 
To  one  ab!e  to  draw,  a  glance  at  the  illustration  is 
sufficient  for  its  reproduction.  First  draw  the  design 
on  tissue  paper.  Use  French  paper  because  it  is  far 
stronger  and  more 
pliable.  Firmly  sew 
this  paper  pattern 
over  the  velvet,  fol¬ 
low  it  closely  with 
the  braid,  after¬ 
wards  tearing  away 
the  paper.  A  much 
simpler  design  for 
this  corded  work  is 
seen  in  Fig.  306.  It 
is  a  conventional¬ 
ized  blossom,  with 
foliage,  and  is  in¬ 
tended  to  be  irregu¬ 
larly  scattered  over 
the  entire  surface 
of  the  cushion.  Any¬ 
one  can  draw  this 
Simple 
Design  For  “  Powder¬ 
ing.”  Fig.  306. 
simple  design,  and  it  is  quite  as  pleasing  as  the  scroll. 
The  center  of  the  flower  is  filled  in  with  gold  spangles, 
or  French  knots.  In  this  style  of  work  the  veining 
is  merely  suggested  by  a  few  bold  lines,  which  are  more 
effective  than  if  carried  out  in  detail,  anna  hinrichs. 
A  Light  Bed  Spread. — Take  double  twilled  sheet¬ 
ing,  which  comes  at  30  cents  per  yard  in  the  city, 
9-4  wide.  Cut  off  large  enough  pieces  for  size  of  bed, 
hem-stitch  a  four-inch  hem  all  around  and  then 
work  in  blue  or  yellow  rope  cotton,  large,  scroll-like 
designs  joined  by  waving  lines  with  either  chain  or 
outline  stitch.  This  makes  a  pretty  and  light  spread, 
easy  to  laundry.  mrs.  e.  e.  s. 
Cod-liver  oil  suggests  consumption  ; 
which  is  almost  unfortunate.  Its  best 
use  is  before  you  fear  consumption — when 
you  begin  to  get  thin.  Consumption  is 
only  one  of  the  dangers  of  thinness. 
Scott’s  Emulsion  of  cod-liver  oil  makes 
the  thin  plump,  and  the  plump  are  almost 
safe. 
Let  us  send  you  a  book  on  careful 
living — free. 
Scott  &  Bownb,  Chemists,  132  South  5th  Avenue,  New  York. 
Your  druggist  keeps  Scott’s  Emulsion  of  cod-liver  oil— all  druggists 
everywhere  de.  II. 
