NOTE AND COMMENT. 
A STORY illustrating the possibilities of “ Woman in 
Politics” comes from Kentucky, where the notorious 
Breckinridge is striving for a Congressional re-nom¬ 
ination. It is said that a Lexington man went home 
with a Breckinridge button in his coat and told his 
wife he had decided to vote for the soiled Colonel. 
“ Very well,” said the wife ; “of course you wish me 
to do what I can for your candidate. I am going to the 
florist's to get a bunch of the flnest white roses I can 
find. I shall meet the train the Colonel arrives on, 
and invite him into my carriage and ride up with 
him !” It is needless to say that man found another 
candidate. If that is the spirit woman’s suffrage will 
bring into polities, this country can stand a vast 
amount of it! § ? § 
The following doggerel lines, sung in a comic opera, 
are supposed to tell the important points in the brew¬ 
ing of a cup of tea : 
l^lrst you take and warm your teapot, 
Eor some minutes, two or three; 
'Tls a most Important secret. 
But see you do not spare the tea. 
Bonr some water Into draw It, 
l.et the water boiling be; 
'Then HU up and shake and pour It. 
And bless the man who found out tea. 
Celebrate In song, Pekoe and Soosbong; 
Morning Congou, too. syrupy Foochoo. 
Give to mo, oh, give to me. a full and fragrant cup of tea. 
Many a ton of good tea is spoiled in the brewing. 
SAVING STEPS FOR THE FAMILY COOK. 
OW prone we are to continue in the old ways. It 
is apparently so much easier to follow in the 
beaten track, day after day, week after week, than to 
pause for a moment and question whether we might 
not improve upon our present manner of doing our 
daily routine work. One thing which puzzled me and 
often tried my patience, was the floar box, mixing 
board, and the various plans for keeping the numer¬ 
ous accompaniments, such as bread pans, pie pans, 
baking powder, soda, lard, spices, sugar, etc. I wanted 
a place for all these things, so that, when doing any 
baking, no extra steps would need to be taken in 
search of the various articles required. The molding 
board especially was a source of perplexity. I wanted 
one which could be put away with the least possible 
trouble ; one which there would be no necessity for 
lifting, and from which flour, crumbs or “litter” 
would not be spilled upon the floor when in use ; 
last, but not least, among the requirements, it should 
be so constructed that it could be put away without 
clearing all flour from it, or washing it, every time it 
was used. 
Figs. 95 and 96 illustrate the molding board born 
of my numerous wants. The cupboard portion is sim¬ 
ply made up of drawers and shelves, for which no 
special claim of originality is made, but the whole 
combined is “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” It 
has no antecedents, but I hope it may have many fol¬ 
lowers, for it is wonderfully convenient, and “no 
housekeeper should be without one.” As shown in 
the illustration, the molding board forms the door to 
the middle portion of the cupboard. Fig. 95 repre¬ 
sents the cupboard closed. Fig. 96 shows the molding 
board ready for use. The deep, rounded molding at 
the back of the board prevents any flour from fall¬ 
ing, when closing, and also renders the mixing board 
a suitable place for keeping the rolling-pin, as shown 
in the figure. The board is supported by two “stops,” 
such as are found in old-fashioned desks. In the 
drawer a, I keep my flour and flour sifter. Under this 
drawer is sufficient and convenient space for pie, bread 
and cake pans. In the shelf, b, and the space beneath, 
is ample room for all baking requisites. In the drawer, 
c, is a partition, so that both Graham flour and corn 
meal are kept in it. The drawer below contains tea 
towels and kitchen aprons. The cupboard to the left, 
d, is just large enough for my bread can. The cup¬ 
board above the mixing board may be as high as one 
wishes. It is very convenient for groceries of various 
kinds which one may wish to use at times, in making 
puddings, etc. 
My cupboard is built flush with the wall—is a part 
of the kitchen, but it could be made separately One 
who wishes to “save steps” should have such a cup¬ 
board made—with a molding board like the one I have 
tried to describe, and see what a pleasure it is to bake 
—especially when in a hurry. It is a real pleasure to 
work, even in the kitchen, when one has things 
arranged conveniently, so that the greatest possible 
results may be realized from the least expenditure of 
wasted energy. It is, indeed, so much energy, so 
much life, wasted when one tires herself out “ trot¬ 
ting” about the kitchen from cupboard to pantry and 
vice versa, getting ready to work. I do not believe in 
pantries; or perhaps I might escape criticism by say¬ 
ing my kitchen is all pantry—furnished with such 
generous cupboards that I “ have a place for every¬ 
thing.” In this way I have no pantry to keep clean, 
and cupboards are not such “ catch-alls” as pantries 
often are. Some time ago I heard a lady say, “I shut 
the pantry door quickly after me because it always 
looks so dreadful,” and 1 thought to myself, “I am 
thankful I have no pantry to be a nightmare to me.” 
It is really surprising how much may be added to 
the convenience of ordinary houses by a little thought¬ 
ful ingenuity, and very little expense. It is a little 
brain work that is needed in the kitchen, as well as 
elsewhere. It makes me tired to see some people do 
their work—they trot, trot, trot, all the forenoon and 
accomplish so little. This is what renders housework 
so tiresome to many housewives ; they do not seem to 
appreciate that, with some system, some method, 
some planning, the necessary routine work may be 
done, and a fair amount of time left in reserve for 
what one especially likes to do. I believe that every one 
should have something to look forward to, always 
some pleasure, some work, which, because it is under¬ 
taken for love of it, will be a source of recreation. 
There is nothing which tends to cultivate morality, as 
work, and there is, on the contrary, nothing so demor¬ 
alizing, as idleness. But it is fruitless labor which 
wearies; steps taken in vain which have brought 
kitchen work into the field of drudgery. We may 
“pause to enjoy the rose bush” and to plant roses and 
The Economy Molding Board. 
honeysuckles everywhere. We may “ broaden our 
lives,” and still do, creditably, the “ kitchen work,” if 
we do not waste our energy by taking needless steps. 
MRS. W. A. KELLERMAN. 
DIARY OF AN AVERAGE DAY. 
STEINS TAKEN BY THE BUSY HOUSEKEEPER 
We wish to secure some facts sbowlag how farm housekeepers In 
various parts of the country spend the average day. Will you be kind 
enough to give us the history of an average day In your life, giving, 
as In a day’s diary, a sketch of the work you are called upon to do 
from the preparation of breakfast till evening, and also hours for 
rest or recreation? Such Items as size of family, what constitutes 
housework, conveniences for making work easier, statistics about the 
number of steps taken, dishes wasned, etc., wlU be of Interest to all. 
A Woman’s Work is Never Done. 
It is necessary on a farm to get up early in the morn¬ 
ing. If the sun peep in at your window before you 
have begun your day’s work, you will not gain the 
time that you have lost, in all day. The first thing to 
do, is to open all the windows and shake up the beds. 
Then kindle the fire in the kitchen stove, and get 
breakfast as soon as possible. As soon as breakfast is 
over, the milk and butter must be attended to, and the 
children got ready for school. Some meat must be 
put on to cook, and a pie or pudding made for dinner. 
Then the sweeping and dusting must be done and all 
the things put away that are out of their proper 
places, and the beds made. By this time, dinner must 
be made ready and the dishes washed. If the time 
can possibly be spared, one should lie down and take 
a nap, so as to be ready for more work. In the after¬ 
noon one should dress in a neat, becoming manner, 
and sit down to sew until it is time to get supper. 
When supper is over we have to attend to the milk 
again and wash the supper dishes ; then prepare some¬ 
thing for breakfast the next morning, and sit down to 
sew till nine or ten o’clock. 
This is about the way work should be done, but 
there are extras almost every day, such as washing, 
ironing, cleaning, entertaining company, and unusual 
cooking. There are a great many little things to be 
done in taking care of the children and others of the 
family. Putting in wood and fixing a wood fire take 
a great deal of time ; so that there is never time for 
one bit of recreation, for every day brings all the 
work that one can do and more than can be done. One 
must do a double quantity of work before going and 
after coming back, if she go away even for one day. 
As for rest, there is work at all seasons of the year, 
ST that there is no time for any rest except on San- 
days. I suppose there are no two days alike in the 
innumerable steps to be taken and dishes to be washed. 
Connecticut. mbs. d a. s. 
Hecreation’s Share in a Busy Day. 
I am glad to be given the opportunity of comparing 
“ small village ” life and its duties, with some of those 
who think that farmers’ wives are all overworked, 
and that the village wives have nothing to do. I was 
born and brought up on a farm, and from the age of 
14 till I was married at 22, I had full charge of the 
work, as my mother was an invalid. I certainly 
worked no harder then than since. I married a mer¬ 
chant 15 years ago, and besides attending to house¬ 
hold duties, held myself in readiness for any call that 
he might make upon my time. At the beginning of 
these hard times, he made an assignment, bought a 
small weekly paper on credit, and began life over 
again. Since then I have had nothing to do out¬ 
side of my housework, except to read proof. We have 
seven children, the oldest 14, the youngest 13^. My 
greatest pleasure and recreation is gardening—not 
fiowers alone, but all garden plants. I have a sewing 
machine, clothes wringer and a dishwasher. I never 
do my washing or ironing when I can possibly get it 
done, which is about half of the time. The other half 
there is no one in town who does washing. I have not 
had a hired girl at all for the last three years. There 
are so very few good ones that a half dozon places are 
always waiting for them ; and of course the smallest 
families get the help. The boy gets in the wood and 
water, but I have to see that it is done. The children 
at present are not in school, and they perform the 
household duties that I do not mention. My husband 
helps all he can without neglecting business, and if I 
happen to be sick a day, which is very seldom, he is 
capable of taking the household reins himself. 
Wednesday.—Arose at 6:30. Milked, strained and 
put away the milk ; fed the cows (two of them); pre¬ 
pared breakfast; hemmed and marked nine sheets on 
the machine ; set a hen ; prepared dinner ; worked in 
the garden nearly all the afternoon; prepared supper; 
washed the dishes; put baby and the next older to 
bed ; read till bed-time, about an hour. 
Saturday.—Prepared breakfast; milked, turned out 
the cows, strained and put away the milk; washed a 
part of the dishes ; darned stockings ; sewed buttons 
on vest for the boy ; mended top for Gay; gave baby 
and the next to the baby a bath ; sewed on a missing 
button ; made beds, changing sheets and pillowslips ; 
got dinner—corn bread, biscuits, mashed potatoes, 
tomatoes, fried meat, tea, dessert made yesterday— 
changed dress and went up town for some groceries ; 
called on a sick friend ; prepared supper, put baby 
and next the baby to bed ; sat with them till asleep, 
8:30 p. M.; read till bed-time. mbs. a. j. p. 
Tennessee. 
The Help of Natural Gas. 
In a family of five grown persons, my work is hard 
to describe, as it consists so much of work left by the 
rest. To-day, breakfast was over by 6 o’clock. I 
washed and put away the dishes, helped churn in a 
swinging barrel churn,fed the chickens, looked over the 
sitting hens, took some little chickens from the nests, 
and swept and tidied the house generally. I watered 
the plants, helped get dinner for the family and two 
sheep shearers, and finished the dishes by 1 o’clock. 
For recreation and rest, I read and practiced on the 
piano till 4 o’clock. Then I prepared supper for the 
A cream-of-tartar baking powder. 
Highest of all in leavening strength.— 
Latest U. S. Government Food Report. 
Royal Baking Powder Co., 
106 WaU St., N. Y. 
