TGhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
203 
Just  Visiting 
I  am  so  glad  that  father  finally  per¬ 
suaded  me  to  take  a  few  days  off  and 
visit  Mrs.  Rolf.  It  had  been  several 
ears  since  we  had  even  seen  her.  and  as 
one  grows  older  the  years  go  by  more 
q  lickly.  It  is  always  easier  to  go  down 
hill  than  it  is  to  go  up. 
I  found  Mrs.  Rolf  had  grown  beauti- 
.ully  older,  with  that  sweet  Quiet  grace 
so  few  elder  people  seem  to  acquire  at 
this  age  of  the  world.  And  I  wondered 
if  it  was  because  she  lived  the  sweet  sim¬ 
ple  country  life,  so  far  away  from  the 
hurry  and  everlasting  stress  of  this  effi¬ 
cient.  age,  as  one  sees  it  in  many  places, 
country  as  well  as  city,  but  somehow  I 
believe  her  equilibrium  of  character 
would  not  be  affected  by  it.  Then  there 
were  so  many  little  things  I  learned  while 
there.  One  thing  I  noticed  how  smooth 
and  nice  the  woodwork  in  her  dining 
room  looked,  and  I  remembered  how  very 
rough  it  had  been.  Being  an  old  house, 
and  having  been  painted  over  so  many 
times,  the  paint  had  cracked  and  peeled 
in  many  places,  leaving  a  very  irregular 
surface. 
“Yes.”  she  said,  in  answer  to  my  ques¬ 
tion.  “it  was  very  unsightly,  and  we 
could  not  afford  having  it  done  over  by 
the  painter,  so  I  resolved  to  do  it  myself. 
There  are  so  many  doors,  and  the  mantel 
is  so  large  and  conspicuous.  I  made  a 
good  big  kettleful  of  lye,  from  concen¬ 
trated  lye,  such  as  is  used  for  soap  mak¬ 
ing.  This  was  rubbed  over  the  painted 
surface  with  an  old  brush,  while  the  lye 
was  hot.  Then  we  took  a  scrubbing 
brush  of  good  stiff  bristles,  and  rubbed 
over  the  woodwork,  and  the  old  paint 
came  off,  clear  down  to  the  wood.  'Phis 
was  rinsed  and  allowed  to  dry  thoroughly 
b  fore  the  paint  was  applied.  The  floor 
s  treated  in  the  same  way.  It  was 
ven  worse  than  the  other  woodwork. 
It  took  lots  of  water  and  elbow  grease 
but  we  felt  well  repaid.  I  would  not  ad¬ 
vise  anyone  to  try  this  method  on  any 
furniture  of  fine  wood,  to  be  varnished 
or  oiled,  as  the  lye  will  discolor  the  wood 
more  or  less,  but  is  most  effectual  where 
paint  is  to  be  used. 
“Yes,  my  kitchen  is  light,  and  clean, 
as  all  kitchens  should  be,  but  it  used  to 
be  dark  and  gloomy.  Somehow  people 
used  to  think  it  was  necessary  to  put  the 
darkest  paint  and  Ugliest  paper  in  the 
kitchen,  something  that  wouldn’t  ‘show 
dirt  and  fly  specks.’  as  though  they  should 
be  tolerated  in  the  kitchen  more  than  in 
the  parlor.  I  had  white  oilcloth  put  on 
the  walls  from  the  bare  boards  up  the 
width  of  the  oil  Cloth  ;  above  that  to  the 
ceiling  the  blue  ami  white  file  paper, 
with  a  narrow  shelf  around  between  the 
windows  and  doors,  where  the  oilcloth 
and  paper  met,  on  which  to  put  my  blue 
and  white  granite  plates  and  pans,  with 
blue  and  white  bordered  oilcloth  on  the 
shelves.  For  a  long  time  the  ceiling 
troubled  me;  it  had  been  ceiled,  and  the; 
joints  were  very  poorly  matched.  It  al¬ 
ways  made  the  room  look  gloomy  and  dis¬ 
jointed.  T  did  not  want  it  papered,  and 
paint  soon  heeame  smoked  and  dark,  so  I 
bought  white  oilcloth  for  that  too.  We 
put  paste  over  the  ceiling  first  with  a 
paintbrush,  then  on  our  oilcloth,  lapping 
the  seams,  aiid  you  see  what,  a  white 
smooth  surface  it;  is,  wiped  off  as  easily 
as  a  plate.  Of  course  one  can  use  what¬ 
ever  color  scheme  is  desired.  I  used  blue 
and  white  beeaiiso  I  bad  so  many  blue 
and  white  dishes.  White  and  buff  are  a 
good  cheerful  combination.  But  there 
is  a  great  difference  in  the  shades  of 
white  in  oilcloth,  so  one  must  he  careful 
to  get  as  much  as  possible  of  one  piece. 
Even  the  same  priced  cloth  is  often  of 
different  tints  and  texture,  and  will  be 
more  noticeable  on  the  wall. 
“Yes,  I  save  all  my  chicken  feathers. 
Father  and  I  notice  the  cold  more  than 
we  used  to,  and  it  is  such  a  bother  to 
heat  soapstones  and  brick  every  time  one 
goes  riding  so  I  made  a  good  thick  cush¬ 
ion  the  length  of  the  cutter  seat,  one 
•an  cover  it  with  anything  on  hand,  and 
•lake  as  plain  or  fancy  as  desired.  I 
made  two  the  same  size,  one  to  put  over 
our  feet  and  one  to  put  under,  and  we 
can  drive  the  coldest  day,  and  never  have 
Cold  feet,  and  warm  dry  feet  are  most 
conducive  to  good  health  and  happiness. 
“I  often  tell  father  I  am  so  glad  we 
live  in  Happy  Valley.  There  are  not 
rr  my  of  us,  but  they  are  all  such  good 
eople.  We  women  have  a  little  organ!- 
DRINK 
PURL 
WATER 
zation  of  our  own.  We  meet  at  each 
others’  homes  every  two  weeks.  We 
read,  have  music,  discuss  the  various  sub¬ 
jects  dear  to  us,  have  our  little  refresh¬ 
ments.  Every  so  often  we  have  regular 
spreads  for  the  men  in  the  evening,  have 
programs,  spellings  down,  quiltings  and 
good  times  in  general.  And  then  did  you 
ever  think  how  many  good  things  we 
country  people  have  that  so  many  do  not 
have  in  the  city?  Did  you  ever  think  of 
our  fruit  and  vegetables,  more  than  we 
can  use,  often  going  to  waste,  and  did 
it  ever  occur  to  you,  my  dear,  how  very 
easy  it  is  to  fiud  some  worthy  ones  in 
the  sad  places  who  have  none,  and  of  how 
glad  you  feel  along  about  Thanksgiving 
to  send  off  a  few  barrels  or  boxes? 
Where  every  one  gives  a  little  no  one 
misses  it,  and  it  is  surprising  how  big 
the  offering  is  altogether.  Then  Christ¬ 
mas.  there  are  so  many  things,  Some¬ 
thing  the  children  have  outgrown,  good 
but  too  small,  clothes  out  of  date  that 
will  make  some  child  a  good  coat  or 
“  How’s  That  for  a  Minute’s  Work  ?” 
You  who  live  on  a  farm  or  in  a  small  town  can  serve  the  same 
delicious  desserts  (like  the  one  above)  that  have  lately  become  so  pop¬ 
ular  in  the  best  city  homes,  for  Jell-O,  from  which  these  desserts  are 
made,  is  now  sold  by  grocers  and  general  store-keepers  everywhere. 
You  can  get  it  where  you  trade. 
Embroidery  Designs 
doesn’t  have  to  be  cooked,  and  only  boiling  water 
is  added  to  the  powder  from  the  JO-cent  package 
of  Jell-O  to  make  a  perfect  Jell-O  dessert.  Both 
time  and  money  are  saved,  and  the  dessert  is  deli¬ 
cious  and  beautiful  as  a  gem. 
Jell-O  is  made  in  these  seven  different  pure  fruit  flavors: 
Strawberry, Raspberry,  Lemon,  Orange,  Cherry,  Peach,  Choc¬ 
olate.  Each  10  cents  at  any  grocer’s  or  any  general  store. 
In  every  package  there  is  a  little  folder  with  pictures  and 
recipes  and  full  instructions  for  making  up  Jell-O  in  the  pop¬ 
ular  forms  that  are  all  the  fashion  now. 
A  beautiful  new  Jell-O  Book  telling  of  a  young  bride’s 
housekeeping  experiences  has  just  been  issued.  It  has  splen¬ 
did  pictures  in  colors  and  will  interest  every  woman.  It  will 
be  sent  to  you  free  if  you  will  send  us 
t  your  name  and  address. 
®  iT  CL,  THE  GENESEE  PURE  FOOD  CO. 
LeRoy,  N.  Y.,  and  Bridgeburg,  Ont. 
*  The  name  Jei.e-O  is  on  every  package  in 
big  red  letters.  If  it  isn’t  there 
it  isn’t  Jiii.i.-O. 
No.  916  is  a  design  for  embroidering  tea  or 
luncheon  napkins  fourteen  inches  square. 
Four  transfers  are  given.  The  scalloped 
edges  arc  designed  to  he  padded  and  but¬ 
tonholed,  tho  flowers  and  leaves  worked  in 
solid  embroidery,  as  eyelets  or  in  a  com¬ 
bination  of  solid  embroidery  with  eyelets, 
the  stems  are  to  be  outlined  and  the  dotB 
may  be  worked  solidly  or  as  eyelets.  Price 
of  transfers  10  cents. 
~^bo<ry,5 
fwa  s>‘'fTfJ»*v2.iy 
a  package 
“Safety  First”onihe  Farm 
Kl.  rime  light,  tin hv.  Hum*-,  SiltVst 
l‘m  burns  .in,j  mitbiiiMinfem  as  well 
ua The  home.  The 
p  :  ELECTRIC 
C^tmoTtui*  U,  Cdworu*  light  plant 
minimize*  fire  rtek,  reduces  household  drudgery,  j>r, 
motes  domfoit,  needs  little  Httentiou. 
Ask  for  catalog  M. 
EDISON  STORAGE  BATTERY  CO. 
^  ^  223  Lakeside  Avd.  Orange,  N.  . 
SY  -1  Distributors  *7“r-<N  Everywhere 
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or  range  at  Ices  cost. 
Gold  Coin  Stoves  and  Ranges 
Use  one  for  a  year— money  refunded  if  it  doesn’t 
prove  ateolulelv  satisfactory.  Wo  pay  freight, 
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Write  for  catalog,  prices  and  full  particulars— today. 
MILWAUKEE  AIR  POWER  PUMP  CO. 
817  Third  Street  Milwaukee,  Wit. 
There  is  no  politics 
in  the  Farm  Journal, 
but  we  hate  whiskey 
like  we  hate  all  other 
poisons. 
for  out  independent  hollow-wire 
lighting  systoiua  tor  homes, 
stores,  public  buildings,  etc. 
Use  common  gasoline.  Rest  uml 
Cheapest  Illumination  known. 
AKRON  LIGHTING  SYSTEMS 
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safest  of  lilt.  Shed  a  clear.  Mitt, 
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eannothetii-.il.  Kvrluiiiw  Ivrnfury. 
Send  quick  t.-r  catah.g  and  terms. 
,  632  So.  Mala  St.,  Akron.  O. 
In  any  fight  where  one  side  Is  for  decency  and 
morality,  you  will  find  the  Farm  Journal  squarely 
for  that  side.  It  is  against  whiskey  and  war  and 
get-rich -quick  schemes,  and  letting  Mother  split 
the  kindlings.  It  costs  SI  for  5  years.  Or  send 
today  for  free  sample  of  Farm  Journal  and  free 
copy  of  Poor  Richard  Almanac  for  1916. 
The  Farm  Journal 
Agents'  Outfit. 
Akron  Gas  Lamp  Co 
130  Washington  Square,  Philadelphia 
GRIMM’S  Maple  Syrup  Evaporators 
WHAT  the  GRIMM  EVAPORATOR  bus  done  for  others— it  will 
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Horseradish  Mustard 
I  would  like  a  good  recipe  for  home¬ 
made  mustard  with  horseradish  in  it,  and 
that  will  taste  like  some  of  the  ready¬ 
made  preparations.  Can  anyone  supply 
this  recipe?  e.  m.  s. 
;  for  catalogue  “B"  and  state 
number  of  trees  you  tap. 
