Women Make the 
Ho "- Woman And The Home. 
Homes Make the 
Nation. 
NOTE AND COMMENT. 
A CORRESPONDENT kindly takes the trouble to 
say what no doubt many others see, that our 
Women’s Corner “grows constantly in interest and 
value.” She speaks of the editorial comments on what 
women are doing in the world at large, and the notes 
about various noted women as being especially interesting 
to her, as she does not have access to other papers strictly 
devoted to women and their work. 
* * * 
We would be helped and our whole Rural family bene¬ 
fited, if those who have clear ideas of just what benefits 
them most, would “ speak out in meeting.” Of course, 
we have our theories, but nothing tells like facts, and this 
department must be made as helpful as it is possible for It 
to be. The added space lately given is one thing for the 
housewives to be thankful for. 
* * * 
In House-cleaning Notes a question is raised which it is 
pertinent for every woman who is at the head of the house 
to consider, a question which we believe needs putting in 
just the way our contributor puts it: Do wo clean our 
houses simply to make things look better, or is it to im¬ 
prove their sanitary condition, and which should be 
our aim ? * * * 
Wk have a word from May Maple herself as to her 
“Question,” and some shrewd comments on the article 
about The Home Paper, impatiently awaiting their turn; 
also a man’s notes on the economy prize articles (good, 
too) and other good things. 
SPRING WORK FOR THE HOME-MAKERS. 
A T this season of the year when Mother Earth dons 
her lovely new green garments, it is no wonder that 
the “ home-maker” sighs as she looks around on walls 
begrimed with smoke and dust and on doors and windows 
which show plainly the action of soap and elbow-grease 
on paint. 
Do not be disheartened—the outer world has a fresh 
dress ; why not your little world ? Oh, yes, I know every 
farmer’s wife has to count even the cents ; but, really, it 
need not cost much if good judgment is used and you do 
the work yourselves. Doubtless it makes you tired merely 
to think of the spring work already planned, but when 
your home is made bright and pretty it will re3t you every 
day afterward. 
As our surroundings cannot but influence us greatly, it 
is a real duty, as well as a pleasure, to have the rooms in 
which the members of the family spend the most of their 
time, cheerful and pretty. Let me tell you a secret: beauty 
and the corresponding pleasure which it gives are derived 
far more from mere color than most people imagine. A 
room in which paper, carpet, curtains, etc., are of the 
cheapest material possible, with but few colors aud those 
harmonizing—not dark and gloomy nor yet loud and 
flashy—will rest and please the eye; while a room in which 
the furnishings cost ten times as much may, from a lack 
of harmony of color, look as though a whirlwind had 
jumbled everything together. 
If then, you are tired of your dusky walls do not fear to 
try repapering them yourself. Procure wall-paper suited to 
your purse and your rooms, not forgetting that a north 
room should generally have brighter walls than one that 
is sunny. Very pretty paper can now be bought at a low 
price. Why is it that when “ trusts” are so much com¬ 
plained of the border costs almost or quite as much as the 
paper for the entire wall, and nothlug is said about it. 
Papering is certainly hard work,—though no harder 
than the weekly washing, ironing and scrubbing; so if not 
strong, capture one of the boys, or the “ guid mon” on a 
rainy day to mount the step-ladder and put the paper on 
the wall while you act as “ tender.” For health’s sake the 
old paper should be removed. A well-boiled flour paste is 
needed to which must be added five cents’ worth of glue, 
well dissolved. The cut strips of paper may be laid on a 
long table and spread the entire length with paste by 
means of a cloth or brush, great care being taken to have 
the edges well covered with the paste; while one is being 
put on, the tender should wash the table, so that the next 
piece will not be smeared, cut and trim the paper and fit 
pieces under the windows. 
The border may be cut in strips of convenient length and 
applied as fast as the paper is put on. There must be an 
abundance of clean cloths with which to pat the paper 
down firmly—an important part of the work. Two per¬ 
sons can perform the whole work in a day for an ordinary 
sized room, and do it well. 
As I know two quite inexperienced persons who painted 
a number of doors and windows last summer, I can see 
no good reason why any one can not do the same. The 
painting may not be so well done as by a painter, but it 
is difficult to get painters in the country—and more diffi¬ 
cult to get their wages. Paint can easily be obtained 
ready-mixed and one needs besides only a brush and some 
linseed oil to mix with the paint when too thick—and 
(here’s another secret) when you want to make it go 
farther. 
One can read of many ways of making old chairs 
look even better than new, but I looked in vain for 
some plan for fixing haircloth chairs. Nothing could be 
found! At last by resolving ourselves into a committee of 
the whole (family) a plan was evolved which worked ad¬ 
mirably. Samples of wool plush were obtained and two 
pieces selected. The cloth cost but 65 cents per yard, and 
a yard was enough to cover two chairs, with narrow strips 
left for fancy work. The cushioned seats were lifted out, 
and the plush was drawn smoothly over and tacked on the 
under side. When finished, our once ragged chairs—half 
of them now of a rich, golden brown, the other half 
maroon, just matching the carpet and curtains—were really 
beautiful 1 
It is old fashioned to have a moral, still there are a few 
who delight in the antique : “Where there’s a will, there’s 
a way.” rose richart. 
“ONCE AROUND THE CLOCK.” 
A Day’s Work. 
I had set my alarm clock on Sunday night that it might 
awake me at five o’clock in the morning. It seemed to 
me that I was barely asleep, when bang! bang ! whirr ! 
whirr 1 whizz I whizz ! went that clock. I was strongly 
tempted to turn over and take another nap, for I was so 
sleepy, but no, Mollie must get at the washing and I must 
get breakfast. I made a hasty toilet and went down to the 
kitchen. The hired man had a good fire and faithful 
Mollie had chopped the meat and potatoes for the hash and 
ground the coffee the night before, so I soon had my bis¬ 
cuits in the oven and ran to wake the children. The little 
fellows rubbed their sleepy eyes and commenced chatter¬ 
ing about the plans for the day. My little men could 
dress themselves, so I hurried back to the kitchen, telling 
them that breakfast would soon be ready. We had for 
breakfast, corned-beef hash, crisp slices of bacon, fragrant 
coffee, hot biscuit, fresh butter and delicious maple syrup. 
We ate our breakfast, and then Baby awoke. She is our 
only girl and a great pet with all of us; a fat dumpling, 
two years old. While Mollie ate her breakfast, I washed 
and dressed Baby ; then when I had her looking as sweet 
as a peach, I told her brothers to amuse her while I took 
the bed clothing off the beds and opened the windows to 
air the rooms. I then gave Baby her breakfast, and while 
she was eating I packed the boys’ lunches to take to school. 
After my little men had been buttoned up in overcoats 
and kissed they started off to school, and Baby and I 
started to clean up the breakfast dishes. I gave her her 
toy dishes and told her to wipe her dishes while Mamma 
wiped hers, for I did not want her to think of having 
water. I had the dishes to wash and the milk to put 
away, and the last night’s milk to skim and the churning 
to do. I put the milk away first, then I gathered up my 
dishes carefully and got them all ready for the washing, 
which is an easy matter if they are well cleared up and 
there is plenty of hot water and clean dish cloths, so I soon 
had that done. I then prepared for my churning. I use 
old fashioned wooden dasher churns, and so the churning 
is heavy work. I keep two churns, and have one airing 
while the other is in use. As the dairy was too cold for 
me to keep Baby in while I churned, I took one of the 
churns into the kitchen to do my churning there. Baby 
would follow me in and out, so I pinned a little shawl over 
her head and shoulders and she looked like a droll little 
old Dutch woman, as she toddled along. I churned a little 
while, then began to make some preparations for dinner, 
then back to my churning. I thought Miss Baby was too 
quiet, and so went into the sitting room to find her and 
sse what mischief she was in, but, to my surprise, she was 
not there. Of course I was alarmed and looked every¬ 
where for her, but without success. I called Mollie from 
the wash-house and we both looked for her. I was nearly 
in despair, when Mollie called tome from the “ dairy,” and 
there Baby lay cuddled up in the unused churn, fast 
asleep. She had followed me in unnoticed by me and had 
found herself shut up, and so had philosophically deter¬ 
mined to make the best of it. The delay had put my work 
back a good deal, so I had to hurry my dinner. It was not 
quite ready on time, but one of the men spent his waiting 
time in churning for me, which was a great help. 
While Mollie was eating her dinner, I made up the beds, 
then I washed the dinner dishes, and after that Baby was 
put in the crib for her nap. Before I had finished my de¬ 
layed butter, the boys came trooping in from school. Baby 
waked and was delighted to have a romp with her broth¬ 
ers. I was very tired, of course, and was glad to see Mollie 
come into the kitchen and to hear her say: “ Now go and 
sit down with the childer, darliu’, and I’ll get the tay.” So 
I went Into the sitting room, but not to rest; my huge pile 
of mending stared me in the face and I sat wearily down 
to attempt to doctor ahuge rent in Harry’s trousers. Sood, 
we needed lights, and I went out to the kitchen for a lamp 
and found Mollie filling and trimming the lamps, a duty 
that I had forgotten. After tea, I put Baby to bed and re¬ 
turned to my mending basket. The boys played “ Au¬ 
thors ” and my husband read the papers, until the little 
fellows grew sleepy and I put them to bed. My husband 
and I, both tired, with a hard day’s work soon followed. 
I write this not because It is new or original in its de¬ 
tails, but because it is a fair specimen of the work of a 
farmer’s wife under favorable circumstances. Few farm¬ 
ers’ wives have help like my good Mollie. Most of the 
women around me have all their work to do, single handed 
and alone. I write it to show how hard is the life of a farm¬ 
er’s wife even when he is a man in good circumstances, 
compared with that of the merchant, lawyer, or skilled 
artisan, and how few things there are to entertain her or 
opportunities to improve herself or keep up her reading or 
accomplishments. W^hile the farmers groan under mort¬ 
gages and taxes, the farmers’ wives and daughters groan 
stiH louder under work and anxiety. How are we to give 
our children social advantages ? mart hyde. 
HOUSE CLEANING NOTES. 
W E are a year older now than when last we cleaned 
house. Are we also wiser ? Or will we do just as 
we did then, exhaust our cheerfulness and energy by an¬ 
ticipating and worrying over the discomfort and hard 
work in store for us; commence operations before the 
weather is mild enough to warrant it, and drive ourselves 
mercilessly through it, only to be too worn and jaded to 
enjoy the result of our efforts f 
Why do we clean house anyway ? Do we blindly follow 
custom and have no other motive than to render our 
homes more attractive ? Or do we realize that the first 
and most important effect of the work is to improve the 
sanitary condition and make it conducive to health ? 
If the latter, we certainly should be wise enough not to 
endanger the health of ourselves and our families in ac¬ 
complishing it. The average housewife has but a meager 
supply of reserve force, and at this season there are many 
demands upon it. It is wise to “ make haste slowly.” 
No one has a higher appreciation of the value of system 
and order and a well-arranged plan of operations than I, 
and yet there can be*no unvarying rules laid down. Every 
housewife must decide for herself what methods are best 
adapted to her circumstances and conditions. It would 
Indeed be pleasant if one room could always be cleaned at 
a time, that no one but the actual participants might be 
incommoded. Sometimes this is easily done, and again 
it is the hardest possible plan. But certain it is that aDy 
considerate, thoughtful husband would far rather be 
greeted by an odor of soap and lime, and see disorder gen¬ 
erally, than to have his wife tired and worried to the last 
limit of endurance in an effort to preserve his comfort. 
It is well to do first the various little odd jobs that are 
so essential to the thorough renovation of a house. Cleanse 
every corner and crevice of bureaus, trunks, boxes, cup¬ 
boards and closets. Remove every shelf and drawer and 
clean behind and under them. 
Common clothes moths have no inclination to stay in 
close proximity to newspapers, and it is therefore well to 
put these on every shelf and to line packing-trunks and 
boxes with them. If closets are infested with any kind of 
vermin, every crack in the walls should be filled with 
plaster-of Paris wet with cold water, and those of the floor 
and between the floor and sur-base with putty. A closet 
should never be papered or carpeted. 
After the closets clean the chambers. There is no ques¬ 
tion but you will all be thorough enough in cleaning the 
rooms; but do not relax a particle of your energy until 
every set of springs and the slats have been removed from 
the bedsteads and all thoroughly cleaned, whether they 
harbor anything but dust or not. 
Remember, too, that the sup and air are great purifiers; 
every article of bedding that does not require washing 
should receive the full effect of both for one or more days. 
Carpets that are not steam cleaned should be thoroughly 
rubbed with a damp cloth wrung often from tepid water, 
to which a tablespoonful of turpentine has been added. 
This may be done after they are re-laid. 
Heavy draperies should not be hung on a line and beaten, 
sponged as recommended for carpets. 
Oiled or varnished woodwork should be cleaned with 
tea (cold can be resteeped) or with water to which a table¬ 
spoonful of kerosene has been added. Be careful of the 
soap you use in cleaning other paint and still more of the 
various powders called soapine, washine, etc. All contain 
a large percentage of soda, and all are injurious. 
Old woven underwear makes the best possible cloths for 
cleaning paint; a wooden skewer is effective for corners 
and crevices. 
Nothing is better for washing windows than water to 
which ammonia has been added ; or than newspapers for 
polishing them. 
It is not possible to be too thorough with pantries, kit¬ 
chen and cellar. Every dark corner of the latter should 
be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected with copperas, and 
the walls should be whitewashed. Use copperas freely 
also in all drain*, and remember that they should be 
flushed with boiling water on every washing day. The 
subject of drainage is one deserving of far more attention 
than it receives, especially in the country. 
KATHERINE B JOHNSON. 
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