Women Make the Homes Make*the 
Homes. \A/O M A N AND THE HOME. 
NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS. 
HE New York City papers are authority for the 
statement that an anti-dancing league has been 
formed among the young ladies of the highest social class, 
many of them belles of the season. 
This resolve to abjure the favorite amusement of society 
everywhere has nothing whatever to do with the religious 
aspect of the question ; this is not taken into considera¬ 
tion. The girls simply affirm that they have become 
convinced that modern dancing is vulgar, and that waltz 
ing especially is indelicate, demoralizing and dangerous. 
One of these new leaguers asserts that every girl who 
has ever waltzed knows that the waltz is full of risks, 
and that much depends on her partner as to whether or 
not its innocence is always preserved. To be sure, this is 
the same cardinal reason that religionists have always 
urged against the modern dance ; it is only since this new 
fad (if such it be) that the devotees of Terpsichore would 
allow that there was reason in these strictures. One divi¬ 
sion of the new league already boasts 17 membe s. 
* * * 
We do not doubt that those of our readers who were in¬ 
terested in the detailed description of Mr. Edward Atkin¬ 
son’s economic ovens, which appeared in The R. N.-Y. 
last year, will be equally interested in his newer inven¬ 
tion for the benefit of that great class who are obliged to 
take care of their pennies. 
This is described in a late number of Good Housekeeping 
(whose editor had been invited to inspect it and to partake 
of a lunch cooked by means of the new invention) under 
the name of “Aladdin’s Lamp,” but it is commonly 
known by the more prosaic name of the*'' Workman’s Din¬ 
ner Pail.” The pail is fitted with a lamp in such away that 
the good wife has but to prepare the raw material for his 
lunch in the pail, while the man himself on arriving at 
his place of work lights the lamp and sets the pail 
away, to find his meal well-cooked and smoking hot when 
he is ready to attend to it at noon. With these pails Mr. 
Atkinson furnishes a fheal (which the editor of Good House¬ 
keeping asserts to be an excellent one), for eight per¬ 
sons, the whole cost of which, including fuel for cooking, 
is six cents, and he claims that good and sufficient food for 
a family can be furnished and cooked at a cost of one dol¬ 
lar per head each week. 
* * * 
A Russian engineer who, like Mr. Atkinson, is aiming 
at the invention of a stove which shall demonstrate com¬ 
plete combustion, has lately exhibited his stove in London. 
The principle which he applies is directly opposed to the 
generally accepted one; that is, his theory is that it is 
necessary to limit rather than to increase, the supply of 
outer air, in order to insure perfect combustion. 
The new stove burns coal, and the fact that no smoke 
comes from its chimney, and that the atmosphere within 
the chimney is cool, are taken to prove that all the heat is 
utilized, and none, or but three per cent at the outside 
escapes. In ordinary fires the waste is asserted to be 80 to 
90 per cent. 
The inventor, M. de Clausen, asserts that the saving of 
fuel to be attained through the adoption of his system 
would pay all the taxes of the continent three times over 
each year. Surely an item worth considering. 
HOW TO DISINFECT A ROOM. 
J. H. KELLOGG, M. D. 
HE best means to disinfect a room which has been 
occupied by a consumptive or a person suffering 
from any other infectious disease, is to burn sulphur in it. 
To do this, take a dishpan with water and place a flat plate 
in the bottom of it, and on this set a ktttle containing the 
proper quantity of sulphur mixture—equal quantities of 
sulphur and charcoal. Then turn alcohol or benzine on 
the mixture, ignite it and get out of the room as speedily a g 
possible. Alcohol is much the best to use, and two or 
three ounces will be sufficient for several pounds of sul¬ 
phur. Let the room remain closed for about 24 hours. It 
should be left open to air for another 24 hours, and then 
thoroughly cleaned, the furniture washed with a disinfect¬ 
ant solution, the walls newly kalsomined or papered and 
the wood work covered with new paint. 
The room should be prepared previously to disinfecting, 
by having every crack about doors and windows tightly 
pasted or stopped up. The object of using water is that 
the heat of the kettle may cause evaporation and send 
moisture out into the room; for, the spores being very 
tenacious of life, dry sulphur fumes are not sufficient to 
kill them all. In the dry state, the product is simply ox¬ 
ide of sulphur, but when water is added, we have sul 
phurous acid, which is powerful enough to kill the spores 
as well as the germs. 
It is of the utmost importance that a sufficient quantity 
of sulphur be used to make the work effective. I have 
seen people attempt to disinfect a large room with a hand¬ 
ful of sulphur barely sufficient to disinfect a dry goods 
box. It amounts to nothing whatever. Ascertain the 
size of the room and burn three pounds of sulphur for every 
1,000 cubic feet of air. Take for instance, a room which is 
12 by 15 feet, floor measurement, and 10 feet high, which 
gives a cubical contents of 1,800 feet. This is so nearly 
2,000 that it would be best to take six pounds of sulphur 
to disinfect it. 
Some people distribute a handful of chloride of lime 
about, which gives a sanitary smell, but is really of no 
value. Many strange notions as to disinfection prevail 
and all sorts of valueless recommendations are going the 
rounds of the papers. For Instance, I called upon a 
patient once and fouDd a tub of water under the bed, and 
it was explained to me that it was for the purpose of ab¬ 
sorbing germs. Others will set powdered charcoal around 
on trays, or a little chloride of lime on saucers. Some 
people seem to imagine that the germs are going to hunt 
the disinfectant up and destroy themselves. A strong so¬ 
lution of copperas will kill all the germs it touches, but it 
will net kill the spores or seed of the germs. 
Half a pound of chloride of lime to a gallon of water 
makes a good disinfectant to destroy germs in excreta, pro¬ 
vided the chloride of lime is good; but most of it is poor, 
having lost its disinfectant properties. 
Another excellent disinfectant is corrosive sublimate, 
but it is too dangerous for common use, unless kept under 
lock and key. It is best used in connection with permanga 
nate of potash, one dram of each to a gallon of water. This 
will make a reddish or purplish solution, and if marked 
“ Poison,” and bandied with care, will be dangerous chiefly 
to germs. This solution is equal to about one part in one 
thousand of each; the corrosive sublimate will destroy the 
germs and the permanganate of potash will destroy the 
odors as well as furnish coloring matter. A solution of 
corrosive sublimate alone is colorless, odorless and nearly 
tasteless, which facts greatly increase the risk of using it. 
About one part in 20,000 is sufficient to kill germs, but to 
disinfect excreta, it is necessary to use a strong solution 
and the bulk of the disinfectant should be equal to that of 
the excreta. 
To disinfect clothing from the bed and from the patient, 
soak for hours, either in a solution of corrosive sublimate, 
or in a two-per-cent solution of carbolic acid. The latter 
is to be preferred for general purposes, as it will not affect 
textures, while corrosive sublimate will shrink flannel and 
make it harsh. If the disease be diphtheria, scarlet fever 
or the like, every article of clothing or upholstery which 
will not wash must be burned, and every book and paper 
must be burned. 
A solution of corrosive sublimate may be used to disin¬ 
fect a room by washing the floor and walls in it, but the 
permanganate of potash must be left out from this as 
well as from the solution for disinfecting clothing, for it 
will stain. To set any of these things in a room does no 
good ; a disinfectant must be distributed to be available. 
Battle Creek Sanitarium. 
THOSE “POSSIBLES” OF DR. GROFF. 
HAT little brown house on the hillside was warm 
enough for comfort. One could not look through 
the chinks in the well-ceiled walls or closely-shingled roof, 
to view the landscape o’er. And I suppose that litttle six 
by six bedroom was just about as airy as a good dry goods 
box would be. Moreover the young lady’s fare was about 
the same “pure wholesome food” that she had been ac¬ 
customed to in her own home during the winter season, 
viz., coffee, buckwheat cakes with butter and syrup, meat 
and potatoes for breakfast, bread with butter and pie for 
lunch at the schoolhouse, warmed potatoes, pancakes or 
bread, butter, sauce and cake, or perhaps pudding for 
supper, with the usual variations o' cabbage and other 
vegetables with which every good cook tries to supply her 
table. “The walk to school was beneficial,” no doubt, 
but then the young lady had always been accustomed to 
fresh air from her earliest childhood. A veritable hoyden, 
her lessons were often conned while she was perched in 
the top of a tree among the feathered tribe, during the 
summer days ; and the winter had found her coasting on 
the hills near her father’s house. Yet all this outdoor 
life had not made her a rugged, healthy girl. 
“ Possibly at her home the house was damp.” Ah, no. 
The neatly plastered walls, held no dampness. The 
mother was a model housekeeper ; so the rooms were well 
aired, the cellar was kept clean, and the surroundings 
were kept in a healthy condition. 
As our “ Chief Cook” says, “I believe thoroughly in 
large, airy sleeping rooms and perfect cleanliness, because 
they are unappreciated luxuries that add so much to our 
comfort and pleasure.” 
But as far as fresh air and cleanliness being necessary 
to perfect health is concerned, I must confess my faith is 
a good deal shaken. For look about in what locality you 
will, whether in country or town, and you will see in 
closely crowded huts and habitations, men, women and 
children living in dirt “up to their eyes,” who scarcely 
know the meaning of the word bathe, and who never 
breathe pure, fresh air except by accident, and they will be 
robust with health, if they have only the bare necessities 
of life, as far as food is concerned. 
Look at your neighbor’s little daughter who has her 
daily quota of fresh air and water, who is clothed each day- 
in garments of snowy white, who has the most careful 
attention as to diet and dirt, and note how delicate the 
little one is, and note, too, how often the physician is called 
to prescribe for that dainty bit of humanity. And then 
step possibly across the way to the home of the wash¬ 
woman and see her little one of about the same age. 
The mother has no time to attend to the child. Instead 
of going out for an airing every day, it crawls about the 
dirty floor, rolls in and out of soiled clothing by the tub, 
breathes the steamy air of the wash boiler, and “looks as 
dirty as a pig.” If it gets an outing or a bath once amonth 
it is doing well. Yet that child is the picture of health 
when its face is washed. Why is it ? mat maple. 
Michigan. 
VARIETY DISHES. 
NE CRAVES a change at this season of the year and 
when spring is backward and one must still depend 
upon last year’s vegetables, a new way of cooking them is 
a treasure. Try these recipes and rejoice that they give 
variety with so little trouble. 
Creamed Turnips.—C hop a nice solid turnip very fine. 
Boil until tender in plenty of water. Drain carefully and 
add one cupful of sweet cream, a piece of butter the size 
of a black walnut and salt and pepper to taste. 
Beet Salad.— Boil nice, solid beets until tender, then 
drop them into cold water for a moment and slip off the 
skins. Chop them quite fine and season with pepper and 
salt, cover them with vinegar and let them cool. Slice 
some nice white cabbage very thin and arrange it all 
around a square platter. Drain the chopped beet and put 
a mound of it in the center of the dish so that it will just 
overlap the cabbage. This is an attractive dish as well as 
a very Dice one. Let me say to unaccustomed cooks that 
beets should be cleaned carefully with a brush and should 
never have the skins broken until they are ready to re¬ 
move from the kettle, else they lose much of their sweet¬ 
ness as well as their bright color. 
A Substantial Breakfast Dish.—T ake the scraps left 
from a boiled ham and mince them very fine. For each 
pint of meat use two well beaten eggsand mix thoroughly 
with a silver fork. Grease a bar tin or the gc m pans and 
pour in the mixture. Bake until the egg is cooked, then 
loosen and turn bottom side up upon a platter. A garni¬ 
ture of parsley improves the appearance of the dish. 
Our Foremothers used to add variety to their spring 
menu by gathering a basket of a mixture of dandelions, 
horse radish leaves and narrow dock leaves. These were 
carefully picked over and washed, when they were boiled 
for two and one half hours with a small piece of pork. 
The greens were put in a colander to drain until all the 
water had left them, when they were piled iu the center 
of the platter with the pork, neatly sliced, laid around the 
edge. Plenty of cider vinegar wss served with the dish 
and it was regarded as not only appetizing, but healthful. 
Potato Pie. —The housewife who has exhausted her 
supply of pie material will look with favor on the news 
that a most delicious pie may be made by mixing onecup- 
ful of finely mashed potato with two cupfuls of creimy 
milk, one well beaten egg, salt and sugar to taste, and 
lemon and vanilla for flavoring. Bake with one crust. 
The pie is more attractive if the yolks of two eggs are used 
in the pie and the whites formed into a meringue and 
heaped on top after it is baked. The pie should be returned 
to the oven for a few minutes to brown the meringue. 
_ S. A. LITTLE. 
CAKES WITH BUCKWHEAT FLOUR ONLY. 
SOUTHERN friend, who is in favor of buckwheat 
cakes, pur et simple, and who fears that our Rou¬ 
manian correspondent will not be quite satisfied with 
the recipe having Graham flour added, sends the fol- 
owing rule. It may be said that the cak< s may be consid¬ 
ered more healthful if the coarser flour is added in a small 
quantity. But some, like our friend, prefer them without 
the addition. 
We hope this recipe will reach our friend in Roumania 
in ample time for him to have his fill of buckwheat cakts 
next winter. They are considered as essentially a wmter 
dish; but if potatoes are as high everywhere as Lere, 
the cakes may be used very profitably until much later 
than usual, as they are considerably che per than potatoes 
at present prices: 
After supper take one quart warm water, dissolve half a 
yeast cake in it; then stir in enough budwheit flour to 
make a griddle cake batter and set it in a mod rately 
warm place to rise until morning. When wanted for use 
stir in one large tablespoonful of molasses, oneteaspo n ul 
of soda and a pinch of salt: bake on gcod hot griddle end 
serve hot. Always set more than you expect to bake, the i 
take the remainder of your batter, pour some c Id wa:> r 
over it and set it in a cool place until night; then turn 
off the water and add as much warm water ag-dn as you 
wish for cakes next morning. Always save some batttr 
to set with, as your cakes will be very much better set 
from their own yeast. This recipe is considered very good 
by all who have tried it. mbs. o. b. wyckoff. 
In writing to advertisers, please mention The R. N.-Y. 
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The Rural New-Yorker. 
THE PACKER MFG. CO., 100 Fulton St., N. Y. 
