1078 
RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
From  Day  to  Day 
Sunset  Trees 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  line  upon  line  on 
the  sky; 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  and  they  seem  to 
be  marching  by ; 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  and  I  raind  me  of 
armed  men. 
Men  who  will  fade  in  the  dusk,  and  will 
never  come  again. 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  supple  and  strong 
and  straight ; 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  like  souls  on  the 
verge  of  fate ; 
I  see  the  sunset  trees,  then  darkness 
swallows  them  quite, 
And  I  mind  me  of  marching  men  lost  in 
the  battle  night, 
— Clinton  Scollard  in  New  York  Sun. 
* 
Hebe  is  a  recipe  for  graham  nut  loaf, 
that  will  be  found  a  nourishing  dish  for 
a  meatless  meal:  Grate  three  cupfuls  of 
graham  bread,  add  1%  cupful  of  chopped 
nut  meats,  half  a  grated  white  onion,  two 
tablespoonfuls  minced  parsley,  pepper 
and  salt  to  taste,  a  saltspoon  of  celery 
salt,  half  a  teaspoonful  of  poultry  sea¬ 
soning,  or  some  chopped  thyme  and  sav¬ 
ory,  one  well-beaten  egg  and  three  table¬ 
spoonfuls  of  melted  butter.  Mix  J1  to¬ 
gether  ;  if  not  moist  enough  to  form  into 
a  compact  loaf  add  a  little  cold  wTater. 
Shape  into  a  square  loaf,  put  on  a  but¬ 
tered  pan,  and  bake  45  minutes  in  a 
moderate  oven,  basting  occasionally  with 
a  little  butter  melted  in  hot  water. 
* 
In  looking  over  the  legal  questions 
submitted  to  The  R.  N.-Y.  it  will  be 
found  that  a  surprising  number  cover 
property  complications  in  family  rela¬ 
tions,  that  could  be  avoided  by  giving  the 
same  care  to  family  contracts  as  to  those 
made  with  a  stranger.  Women  suffer 
especially  from  complications  of  this  sort, 
because  they  have  a  natural  tendency  to 
believe  that  masculine  relatives  ow 
what  is  best  for  them,  and  subordinate 
their  own  judgment  to  that  of  the  men  of 
the  family.  A  darker  side  of  human 
nature  is  shown,  too,  in  the  cases  where 
inexperienced  or  unbusinesslike  women  are 
made  the  victims  of  shrewd  men,  and 
stripped  of  their  little  property.  All 
these  incidents  strengthen  our  opinion 
that  every  girl  should  be  taught  her 
rights  and  liabilities  as  minor,  heir,  wife 
or  property  owner.  If  she  knows  the 
nature  of  a  legal  contract,  the  value  of 
an  attested  signature,  and  the  nature  of 
a  wife’s  interest  in  property,  she  cannot 
be  stripped  unawares  of  her  rights  in 
family  property.  The  saddest  cases  are 
those  where  she  knows  her  rights,  hut 
refrains  from  defending  them  because  of 
a  mistaken  sense  of  personal  affection. 
For  this  there  is  no  legal  remedy,  for  un¬ 
due  influence  is  difficult  to  prove,  and 
common  law  is  founded  upon  the  idea  of 
family  union  and  affection.  Justice  and 
common  sense  are,  however,  quite  as  im¬ 
portant  in  family  relations  as  affection, 
and  it  is  an  error  of  judgment  for  a 
woman  to  feel  that  there  is  something 
indelicate  in  bringing  business  principles 
into  family  affairs.  Many  of  these  ques¬ 
tions  come  up  to  perplex  farm  women, 
that  are  entirely  foreign  to  village  or 
city  women  whose  husbands  or  fathers 
are  in  the  salaried  class. 
* 
We  are  asked  to  repeat  once  more  the 
recipe  for  canning  string  beans  with 
cream  of  tartar,  which  has  given  good 
satisfaction  to  those  who  have  tried  it. 
Wash  and  cut  the  beans  iuto  inch  pieces. 
Add  water  enough  to  cover,  and  to  each 
quart  of  beaus  add  one  teaspoon  ful 
cream  of  tartar.  Boil  20  minutes  and 
put  in  fruit  cans;  seal.  When  using 
them  pour  off  the  water,  rinse  well  in 
cold  water,  and  cook  like  fresh  beaus. 
* 
The  article  on  extracting  flower  oils, 
printed  on  page  1001  (issue  of  July  22) 
answers  a  great  many  questions,  for  in¬ 
terested  readers  very  often  inquire  how 
they  may  distill  the  essential  oils  from 
herbs  or  flowers.  The  article  in  question 
does  not  suggest  great  possibilities  in 
essential  oils,  but  distilled  waters,  such 
as  rose  water  and  elderflower  water,  are 
pleasant  for  domestic  use.  Elderflowers 
are  also  used  in  a  soothing  ointment, 
useful  for  chapped  hands,  and  generally 
healing.  One  form  of  this  ointment  was 
merely  refined  mutton  tallow  in  which 
the  elder  flowers  were  steeped  on  the 
back  of  the  stove,  then  strained  out.  An¬ 
other  method  was  to  make  cold  cream, 
first  heating  the  elder  flowers  in  almond 
oil,  then  straining  out,  and  adding  white 
The  Rural  Patterns 
In  ordering  give  number  of  pat¬ 
tern  and  size  desired.  Price  of 
each  pattern  10  cents. 
£044 — Loose  Cor.t,  34  to  4G  bust.  With  or 
without  Belt,  With  Collar  that  can  be  worn 
high  or  low. 
9083— Four  Gored  Skirt  with  Yoke,  24  to  32 
waist. 
9071 — Boy’s  Shirt,  12,  14  and  1G  years.  With 
or  without  pointed  or  straight,  yoke,  with  round 
collar  or  separate  high  collar. 
9040 — Gathered  Blouse,  34  to  42  bust.  Belted. 
9074 — Child's  Dress,  2,  4,  ft  uud  S  years.  With 
rouud,  square  or  high  ueck,  short  or  long 
sleeves. 
9102 — Coat  with  Raglan  Sleeve  for  Misses  and 
Small  Women,  1G  and  IS  years,  with  High  or 
Open  Neck. 
9052 — Dress  with  Surplice  Bodice  for  Misses 
and  Small  Women,  1G  uud  18  years. 
9088 — Child  ’»  Rompers,  2,  4  and  G  years. 
9080 — Gathered  Blouse,  34  to  42  bust. 
9061 — Three-Piece  Skirt,  24  to  34  waist.  With 
high  waist  line  or  with  natural  waist  line  and 
belt,  with  inserted  or  patch  pockets. 
9054 — Boy's  Suit,  4.  G  and  8  years. 
9063 — Blouse  with  Over  Portion,  34  to  42  bust. 
With  Long  or  Short  Sleeves. 
9076 — Skirt  With  or  Without  Drapery,  24  to 
32  waist. 
wax  and  spermaceti,  as  for  ordinary 
cold  cream. 
Redbugs  Again 
As  to  redbugs,  alias  chiggers,  preven¬ 
tion  is  better  than  cure.  I  got  this  from 
an  old  timer,  have  used  it  for  many  years 
with  effect.  The  insects  are  peculiarly 
bad  in  muck  lauds,  as  well  as  in  woods, 
orchards,  etc  Before  being  exposed  to 
the  "varmints”  stand  over  a  smoke  of 
any  bind  of  trash  until  clothing  is  well 
saturated  and  particularly  about  the 
ankles.  If  exposed  during  the  day  renew 
the  application  about  mid-day  and  you 
are  safe;  at  least  that  is  the  effect  so 
far.  It  would  be  good  in  Texas  as  well 
as  here.  south  Carolina. 
Seen  in  New  York  Shops 
Silk  Angus  is  a  new  sports  silk  for 
beach  coats  and  sports  sweaters.  It  is 
shaggy,  like  Angora  wool,  very  lustrous 
and  silky,  and  costs  $7.50  a  yard  in  all 
sorts  of  brilliant  colors. 
Belts  and  bags  beaded  to  match  are 
among  the  novelties;  many  of  them  are 
very  elaborate  and  expensive.  One 
striking  belt  of  blue  suede  was  beaded 
with  little  Greek  figures  in  white  porce¬ 
lain  beads ;  another  had  hourglasses  em¬ 
broidered  on  it  in  cut  steel  beads.  There 
has  been  a  sudden  revival  of  narrow 
belts,  which  are  now  in  high  favor. 
Glass  castor  cups  to  protect  hardwood 
floors  cost  25  and  50  cents  for  the  set 
of  four. 
A  cake  or  bread  box  with  a  ventilator 
and  roll  top  costs  $2.10. 
Provision  safes,  closed  in  with  screens 
of  copper  wire,  cost  $6.25  to  $9, 
Refrigerator  picnic  baskets  of  split 
cane  or  reed,  metal  lined,  with  covered 
Compartment  for  ice,  come  in  five  sizes, 
priced  from  $4.50  to  $16. 
A  very  handy  jelly  strainer  consists  of 
a  removable  cheesecloth  bag  held  in 
place  by  metal  clamps  fastened  to  a 
support  which  fits  on  any  vessel  desired. 
This  strainer  costs  50  cents. 
Camp  blankets  are  useful  for  hard 
wear,  or  for  the  sleeping  porch.  Blue- 
gray  wool  blankets,  66x84  inches,  were 
seen  for  $4.50  each ;  a  smaller  size,  62x82 
inches,  cotton  warp  with  wool  filling,  was 
$3.50.  A  variety  of  styles  cost  $5  to  $8. 
The  Homemade  Ice  Box 
No  R.  N.-Y.  housewife  should  be  with¬ 
out  a  food  and  step-saver  in  the  form  of 
an  ice-box  of  some  description.  Nor  need 
it  be  either  elaborate  or  expensive,  if  her 
ingenuity  happens  to  turn  that  way.  As 
I  have  used  several  that  I  have  made, 
when  camping  out,  and  I  have  made 
others  for  the  less  fortunate  stay-at- 
homes,  after  trial  of  the  first  had  proved 
its  utilitarian  success,  the  details  may  he 
of  interest. 
Materials :  Two  packing  boxes,  with 
fitted  covers,  such  as  may  be  had  from 
the  dealer  in  books,  dry-goods,  hardware, 
or  boots  and  shoes.  Those  to  be  had  from 
the  grocer  are  usually  too  small,  of  too 
light  material,  and  without  cover* — 
though  of  course  these  could  be  made  to 
fit  any  box.  The  one  should  be  enough 
smaller  than  the  other  to  leave  an  air- 
chamber  all  around  it  when  placed  in¬ 
side  of  the  larger  box — and  I  found  it 
more  convenient  to  have  the  outside  box 
oblong,  though  I  first  used  two  cubical 
ones.  Asbestos  paper  will  be  needed  for 
lining  the  outer  box  and  its  cover  and 
for  covering  the  other  one.  This  comes 
at  four  to  six  cents  a  sheet  at  the  de¬ 
partment  stores  in  New  York,  and  can  be 
had  at  hardware  stores.  Some  narrow 
strips  of  wood,  to  be  used  in  making  a 
frame,  hammer,  nails,  small  tacks,  a  bit 
of  rope,  and  brains,  complete  the  list  of 
materials. 
Method. — Line  the  big  box  and  cover 
with  the  asbestos  paper,  tacking  the 
sheets  so  that  the  edges  overlap  u  good 
half  inch.  Cover  the  outside  of  the  small¬ 
er  one,  and  its  cover,  in  the  same  way. 
Cut  off  two  pieces  of  the  rope,  about 
six  inches  long,  and  nail  securely  (by 
both  ends  of  the  rope)  to  the  top  of  the 
cover,  near  the  ends,  to  lift  it  by.  Cut 
two  more,  longer  ones,  and  nail  on  opjto- 
site  sides  of  the  box  to  lift  it  out  by. 
Nail  three  of  the  narrow  strips  to  the 
bottom  of  the  large  box,  parallel  and  as 
far  apart  as  needed  to  make  a  resting 
place  for  the  small  box — the  ice  receiver, 
which  stands  inside  the  larger  one.  Bore 
a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  large  box  for 
a  "drip”  opening.  Nail  rope  handles  on 
the  cover  of  the  big  box — and  we  are 
ready  to  put  away  milk,  cream,  berries, 
meat,  vegetables,  water,  everything  that 
should  be  kept  cool  or  colder,  as  soon  as 
we  have  hoisted  our  homemade  ice-box  to 
a  stool  or  bench  where  the  leakage 
through  the  auger  hole  can  drip  into  a 
pan,  pail,  or  kettle.  Stand  it  in  the 
coolest  place  in,  or  near  (like  on  the 
porch)  the  kitchen.  pre^ernNiy  a  norGi 
August  12,  1916. 
side.  Wrap  the  ice  in  a  dean  white 
cloth,  and  put  nothing  in  the  box  with  it 
except  milk,  butter,  and  water,  in  bottles 
or  fruit  jars  tightly  corked  or  covered — 
as  odors  from  meats  and  vegetables  con¬ 
taminate  milk  and  butter.  The  other 
“chamber”  of  the  ice-box  is  for  these — 
and  is  why  I  prefer  the  outside  box  to 
be  long  rather  than  square.  I  have  found 
that  if  the  outside  box  is  3^x2x2  feet  it 
gives  plenty  of  room  for  food,  for  an 
ordinary  family;  and  this  space  inside 
can  be  increased  by  the  use  of  openwork 
racks,  made  from  the  narrow  strips, 
nailed  to  one-inch  hoard  of  proper  length 
and  height  to  form  a  sort  of  “skeleton.” 
Put  this  over  the  dish  or  dishes  on  the 
bottom,  and  other  dishes  may  be  set  on 
the  skeleton  rack.  Newspapers,  wrapped 
outside  the  cloth  around  the  ice,  save  too 
rapid  melting. 
LUCY  A.  YENDES-PRESTON. 
Cucumber  Relishes 
Chopped  Cucumber  Relish. — This  is 
simple  and  very  excellent.  Pare  and 
chop  fine  half  a  peck  of  medium-sized 
cucumbers;  chop  two  medium-sized 
onions.  Salt  each  separately  over  night, 
using  one-third  of  a  cup  of  salt  in  all. 
Drain  thoroughly  the  next  morning  and 
mix.  If  the  mixture  seems  too  salty  cov¬ 
er  with  cold  water  and  drain  a  second 
time.  Then  put  into  a  granite  kettle, 
add  a  rounding  tablespoonful  each  of  cel¬ 
ery  seed  and  mustard  seed,  a  level  table¬ 
spoonful  of  ground  mustard,  one-eighth 
of  a  teaspoon  of  cayenne  pepper,  half  a 
cup  of  brown  sugar  and  a  pint  of  best 
vinegar.  Boil  10  minutes,  then  bottle 
and  seal. 
Small  cucumber  pickles  are  prepared 
as  follows :  Wash  and  wipe ;  place  in 
jars,  and  cover  with  boiling  brine,  strong 
enough  to  bear  an  egg.  Let  stand  24 
hours;  pour  off  the  brine,  wipe,  and  place 
in  clean  jars.  Cover  with  hot  vinegar, 
spiced  in  the  proportion  of  one  onion, 
12  whole  cloves,  one  ounce  of  mustard 
seed  and  three  blades  of  mace  to  100  cu¬ 
cumbers.  They  will  he  ready  to  use  in 
two  weeks. 
Ripe  Cucumber  Catsup. — (Some  people 
call  this  a  “salad,”  but  it  is  worth  mak¬ 
ing  under  any  name.)  Peel  12  large, 
ripe  cucumbers;  remove  seeds  and  pulp; 
chop  the  solid  meat;  mix  with  it  a  cup¬ 
ful  of  salt  and  hang  in  bag  to  drain. 
Chop  12  large  onions  and  six  peppers 
and  mix  with  the  cucumbers.  Mix  to¬ 
gether  one-fourth  pound  white  mustard 
seed;  one-half  cupful  celery  seed,  and  one 
cupful  of  sugar.  Mix  all  together;  cover 
with  cold  vinegar;  put  in  cans  and  fix 
tops  firmly.  The  above,  or  any  similar 
preparations  should  be  kept  in  a  dark, 
cool  place.  If  the  darkness  is  not  avail¬ 
able.  wrap  the  cans  with  papers. 
Cooked  Cucumber  Catsup.  —  Choose 
large,  nearly  ripe  cucumbers;  pare,  re¬ 
ject  seeds,  chop  very  fine  and  measure. 
Allow  one  teaspoonful  of  salt  for  every 
pint  of  pulp,  sprinkle  with  same  and 
drain  through  a  colander  for  six  hours. 
For  every  quart  of  cucumber  allow  two 
cups  of  cider  vinegar,  four  teaspoonfuls 
of  grated  horseradish,  one  tablespoonful 
ouch  of  white  mustard  seed  and  minced 
red  pepper  (seeds  rejected)  ;  bring  vine¬ 
gar  and  flavoring  to  a  boil,  skim  thor¬ 
oughly  and  set  aside  until  perfectly  cold. 
Then  add  the  pulp  to  the  vinegar,  stir 
well,  put  into  pint  jars,  lay  a  nasturtium 
or  horseradish  leaf  over  the  top  and  seal. 
Keep  in  a  dark,  cool  place. 
Gherkins. — Wipe  one  quart  of  small 
unripe  cucumbers.  Put  in  a  stone  crock 
and  add  one-quarter  cupful  of  salt  dis¬ 
solved  in  one  pint  of  boiling  water.  Let 
stand  three  days.  Drain  cucumbers  from 
brine,  bring  the  brine  to  the  boiling  point, 
pour  over  the  cucumbers,  and  again  let 
stand  three  days.  Repeat;  drain,  wipe 
cucumbers,  and  pour  over  one  quart  of 
boiling  water  in  which  one  scant  tea¬ 
spoonful  of  alum  has  been  dissolved.  Let 
stand  six  hours,  then  drain  from  alum 
water.  Cook  cucumbers  10  minutes,  a 
few  at  a  time,  in  one-fourth  of  the  fol¬ 
lowing  mixture,  heated  to  the  boiling 
point  and  boiled  10  minutes :  One  quart 
of  vinegar,  one  red  pepper,  one-half  stick 
of  cinnamon,  one-half  teaspoonful  all¬ 
spice.  one-half  tablespoonful  of  cloves. 
Strain  the  remaining  liquor  over  the 
pickles,  which  have  been  put  in  a  stone 
jar.  Bring  liquor  to  boiling  point  before 
turning  !t  over  the  pickles. 
