SPRING MEDITATIONS AND METHODS. 
O-DAY I heard a chickadee singing on the hill¬ 
side under the woods. Every spring some one 
will tell of having heard a Phebe long before our dear 
little fly-catcher is due. The chickadee’s liquid 
“ tedee” is easily fitted to the word Phebe, and people 
do not seem to associate its plaintive melody with the 
gay little gray and black fellow flitting about the 
door-yard and apple trees, perfectly indifferent as to 
whether he is upon or under a limb, head up or down, 
and all the while ready with a cheery chicka dee-de-de. 
The haunting “tedeee” must be a part, or may be 
the whole of the charming song which ornithologists 
tell us he sings at nesting time. It has a tender inton¬ 
ation quite unlike Mr. Phebe’s brisk reiterations. 
What brave, cheery little fellows the crocuses are ! 
As soon as the first of February they began pushing 
inquiring finger-tips out of their beds and by the 
second week of March they will be in full bloom 
though snow banks hem them in and Jack Frost 
tweaks their dainty noses. Three years ago we bought 
a dozen bulbs of mixed colors and day after day last 
March and April they lifted at least 20 of their bright 
cups, yellow, white, purple and variegated to our 
admiring eyes. It is surprising the amount of pleasure 
they give one coming in the season of long deferred 
hope and promises oft repented of before fulfilled, 
when one is ready to chide with Emerson : 
Turn swlftller round, O tardy ball! 
And sun this frozen side. 
Bring hither bach the robin’s call, 
Bring back the tulip's pride. 
M abch 10. —It will soon be time to put winter cloth¬ 
ing away with that ounce of preventive against moths 
in place of which pounds of cure will not avail if once 
the enemy appears. A preparation which we have 
used for several years has proved so convenient and 
effective that I have been having the bottle refilled. 
Into a stout bottle not easily overturned was put half 
a pint of turpentine and as much camphor gum added 
as it would dissolve—probably an ounce or more. It 
is said that this will not injure carpets, upholstered 
furniture or fine fabrics; but I prefer to saturate 
pieces of old cotton with the mixture and spread them 
among the articles packed away. 
Last season we prepared a number of barrels by 
lining the inside with newspaper snugly pasted on and 
providing close covers, thus making excellent recep¬ 
tacles for garments stored in the attic. One half bar¬ 
rel is dedicated to the discarded head-gear of us women¬ 
folk, we being of the frugal sort who sometimes sew 
over an old braid, set new crowns into old brims, or 
evolve a fresh new hat from a fancy and a plain straw 
sewed in alternate rows. These home-made chapeaus, 
which are dampened, covered with a cloth and pressed 
on the best block at hand, the brims being ironed flat 
on the ironing-board, often come out looking so well 
as to surprise our friends. It is rather necessary to 
have a hat or bonnet of the desired shape for a model 
from which to take measurements when sewing, 
though with only a picture to look at, and much trying 
on, a love of a bonnet is sometimes turned out. Much 
consultation of mirrors is the chief thing and I am 
convinced that with a little practice almost any coun¬ 
try girl might make for herself more suitable and be¬ 
coming hats than those abominations that the oily- 
tongued mi liner so easily cajoles us into buying. How 
often I have seen Miss Cloverblossome wearing a too- 
fussy, too-showy, too-befeathered and bebowed thing 
all out of keeping with her sweet modest face and the 
rusty old bonnet and gown that Mamma Cloverblos¬ 
some thought ‘ plenty good enough for an old woman” 
so long as her darling had whatever pleased her in¬ 
experienced youthful fancy. Ma sccur often declares 
that country people with full purses run the risk of 
making mistakes that poverty saves the rest of us 
from falling into. It is such a dangerous thing to have 
$5 or $50 that you want to put into personal adorn¬ 
ments, unless you first stamp out any lingering desire 
for “something fussy” and likely to attract a second 
glance. Wait in a carriage in a city street where shop¬ 
pers are thronging and you will see Mrs Citybredclad 
in trim cloth gown and close bonnet, while our cousins 
from Willoughby Pasture try to be fine with draperies, 
rlush bands and silk panels, big hats, yellow feathers, 
blue bows and pink neck ruches. Probably we can 
never make as good an appearauce as do the Citybreds, 
but our homes have a charm all their own and why not 
our bonnets and gowns? 
But how far have I strayed from my spring packing! 
Each barrel ought to have pasted ioto its cover a sheet 
of note paper upon which to keep a list of the gar¬ 
ments it contains. Our new carriage robe came safely 
through the summer rolled up and stored away in one 
of these lined half barrels. A piece of old cotton sat¬ 
urated with the turpentine and camphor was tucked 
snugly over the top and other pieces hidden in the 
folds. 
To hang upon a yoke and sew snugly in an old sheet 
is the best way to keep a nice gown. Papers stuffed 
in the sleeves and shoulders aid in preserving the 
proportions of waists and cloaks. Stout paper bags 
with the names of the articles written upon the outside 
serve to hold small things such as woolen and fur 
gloves, mittens and mufflers. Hang by a cord slip- 
noosed tightly about the top. 
To-morrow is Saturday and baking day. Every one 
is tired of all sorts of cake, yet cake must be always on 
hand! The recipe I use was originally called Brook¬ 
field cake, but I have changed it somewhat. Cream 
one large cupful of sugar with two-thirds of a cup of 
butter. Add lemon extract, then two eggs and one 
yolk, breaking them into the mixture and beating well. 
With 2 % cups of flour, mix a little salt and two tea¬ 
spoonfuls of cream-of-tartar and add, alternating with 
milk, of which use a half cupful, a spoonful of soda 
should be mixed in the last half of the milk. When 
measuring soda and cream-of-tartar level off the spoon¬ 
fuls with a knife. With a half cup of seeded raisins 
added, this mixture makes a nice, large loaf. I put 
walnut meats in mine broken, not chopped, and bake 
it in 16 little cakes, frosting them with pulverized 
sugar stirred smooth with a very little milk and put¬ 
ting whole halves of the walnut meats about the top. 
One may mix a little thin frosting and stir the halves 
of nuts in this before placing them in the cakes. 
PRUDENCE PRIMROSE. 
THE LAND OF MAPLE SUGAR. 
WESTERN paper, speaking of annexation, talks 
of the Kanucks with their sugar and their poi. 
Fie upon you, Mr. Scribe ! We are fond of candies, 
our depraved children will even dip their fingers into 
the sugar bowl (no naughtily disposed little Yankee 
could do it with more dexterity), and we even look 
upon fresh maple sugar as a delicacy ; but as for the 
“ poi”—you must be thinking of the Kanakas. If you 
know the recipe for poi, and it is a really nice dish, 
please write it out for the Kanucks. 
Looking at the maple trees just now, with the snow 
several feet around their trunks, their bare and life¬ 
less-looking limbs stretching up to the dazzling blue 
sky appealing to the sun god for renewal of life, one 
feels as if their prayer must be in vain ; that their 
very hearts had been killed by the intense cold, and 
that they must needs make a second growth from 
their well-covered roots. To think that these little 
baby twigs are only sleeping, while lakes and rivers 
are frozen nearly two feet deep, even under their 
warm blanket of snow! But there is never a time 
when the sap runs sweeter and of better flavor than 
after a winter such as this; the mild winters, alter¬ 
nate freezing and thawing, produce poor sugar; this 
season, the crop is assured ; the January thaw lasted 
only a short 24 hours, and Jack Frost has held undis¬ 
puted sway. Sugar-making weather will come in a 
few weeks—warm, sunny days and frosty nights ; the 
sap will rise up, up, up, and a goodly portion will 
flow out of the bored hole, along the spile into the 
trough or bucket, for when the supply of pails gives 
out logs are cut up into about three feet lengths, and 
hollows chipped out, which serve to hold the sacchar¬ 
ine fluid. 
What pleasant work it is collecting the sap, boiling 
it down to scented syrup or the still more permanent 
sugar ! For the last four months the farmer's main 
work has been doing his chores, cutting down trees 
and hauling the wood to market; now, wandering 
through the balmy woods, emptying buckets and look¬ 
ing after the boiling kettles, seem like play. 
Small, one-roomed houses are generally built in the 
midst of the sugar bushes, and here the makers stay 
almost the entire season to assure a uniform product, 
and also to guard against sneak thieves, who visit the 
kettles Sundays and nights, and do a little sugaring 
off on their own account. The bulk of Canadian maple 
sugar is made by owners of small groves ; therefore, 
the evaporating pan is not the important factor ; the 
potash kettle and the cooler are. The former makes 
the best sugar, but, as a born butter-maker will often 
equal, if not surpass, the creamery in quality of prod¬ 
uct ; so the potash kettle and cooler, when manipu¬ 
lated by skillful hands, will turn out a most creditable 
article. 
The sugar cabin is often the scene of great activity, 
as well as pleasant work ; a party are invited from the 
village some evening, who drive out in an open ’bus ; 
the jingle of the sleigh bells, and the frosty air, are 
conducive to merriment. Jests are flying, and every 
one descends at the cabin door at his best, and pre¬ 
pared to have a good time. Sleigh loads of country 
guests also arrive, and, having been worked upon by 
the same gf nial influences, are in the same pleasant 
humor. The hosts have tucked their bedding out of 
sight, and furbished up their cabin, to show what good 
housewives they can be. The sap has been boiling, so 
that while the guests are there, it becomes syrup and 
sugar. Raw sap is on hand to drink when one feels 
surfeited with sugar and taffy; this sap has the de¬ 
sired effect, and one begins on the sugar and taffy all 
over again. 
Sometimes the season is anticipated by “ hot sugar ” 
parties. One invites one’s friends to the dwelling 
house in midwinter, and the fun of the evening con¬ 
sists of melting last season’s sugar, eating it at the in¬ 
stant it become cooled off on a plate of snow ; and also 
making taffy from it. Maple sugar used to be quite 
an article of commerce in a utilitarian sense, but now 
that the products of the sugar cane and beetroot have 
become so cheap they have quite displaced the maple 
article, which is sold only in the form of syrup and 
lollipops. Some have maple syrup the year round by 
heating it to boiling point and putting in self-sealers. 
Others melt the sugar, with the addition of water, as 
they need syrup, but the first method retains the flavor 
better. G. a, Holland. 
CAREFUL BUYING. 
Y experience in buying does not parallel that of 
Sister Gracious, who favors the small shops for 
low prices. True, these have less expense, but this is 
more than offset by the fact that their capital is small 
and credit weak, while they cannot buy in large quan¬ 
tities and thereby buy cheap, as the large stores do. 
I have tried both sorts in Pittsburg and Philadelphia, 
and find the best and cheapest stores among the 
largest. True, there are large stores catering to trade 
in cheap goods. But these are not to be commended. 
Even the poorer classes, I think, would do better at 
the large stores, seeing both sell for cash. At a large, 
first-class grocery the goods are always fresher and in 
greater variety, while they are beyond question 
cleaner. Then the service is more pleasing and satis¬ 
factory, the salesmen are more apt to be courteous 
and attentive, and the goods are packed so much 
better. I note all the minor details of service, and I 
see the poor, cheap paper bag at the small store, with 
the strong, double bag at the large. The wrapping 
yarn even is better in the one case than the other. 
Last fall we bought a bill of goods from a large 
grocery in the city amounting to $33 and over, and 
when we compared prices, we found that we had 
saved one-third over what smaller stores usually 
charged for similar goods. It pays to purchase in 
quantities, provided you are economical. Otherwise 
it does not pay. But it always pays to pay cash. We 
adopted the cash system when beginning housekeep¬ 
ing and have adhered to the plan ever since. We keep 
an account, however, of everything bought, and it 
pays for the trouble in several ways. 
My advice, in the matter of buying, is to buy the 
best always. I do not mean the choicest cuts of steak 
and other fancy things. A piece of meat from the 
neck is just as nutritious as a sirloin steak, and much 
cheaper. But as to flour, cereals, dried fruits, canned 
goods, and, above all, groceries, it is economy to 
buy only the best. Pound for pound, you will get 
more in the best goods for your money than in the 
inferior. A fine, large ham at 14 cents a pound will 
be found to contain proportionately more meat and 
finer than a small ham at 11 cents. Granulated sugar 
at 51^ or 6 cents is cheaper than brown at half the 
cost. A barrel of high-grade flour will make several 
pounds of bread more than the cheaper kinds, and 
there will likely be but a half dollar difference in the 
cost, while the difference in quality in the loaves will 
be very appreciable. 1 speak from experience. I have 
bought tea at 15 cents a pound and at $1, and the latter 
was the more economical, and need I say the better 
flavored ? So, too, with wearing apparel and house¬ 
hold linen, and indeed everything consumed in the 
house, the best only is good enough and the most eco¬ 
nomical. Watch the markets, watch advertisements 
and quotations. In January buy summer underwear. 
Manufacturers’ samples are to be had then, the finest 
goods at very low figures. Between seasons watch 
for carpet bargains, or whatever the house needs. Mr. 
K. recently bought a fine English derby hat for $1.90, 
a sample hat. The McKinley bill, he says, doesn’t 
count when he starts out to buy. I wanted a set of 
bed-room furniture for the best room. We watched, 
and finally, in midsummer, got a beautiful solid-oak 
suit of eight pieces for $24, that usually sells at $33 for 
three pieces only, from the manufacturers’ exhibition 
at Grand Rapids; a scratch here and there didn’t 
hurt it any. To buy right requires considerable fore¬ 
thought, judgment, experience. It would pay some 
housewives to employ a competent person to do their 
buying. Several might club together for this pur¬ 
pose. Nothing but an infant can be more utt°rly help¬ 
less than the average buyer when selecting goods. 
Ignorance of quality and value is the handicarp that 
often makes the purchase dear and unsatisfactory. 
MRS. A. A. K. 
When Baby was sick, we gave her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castoria. 
