1  136 
Z>'ho.  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
August  20, 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
From  Day  to  Day 
Many  in  One 
To  the  red  and  the  white  and  the  blue, 
here’s  a  health ! 
To  the  old  and  the  young  and  the  man 
that’s  to  be. 
Not  fame  will  I  wish  them  or  too  much 
of  wealth, 
Nor  peace  without  honor,  nor  quiet 
that’s  not  free. 
To  the  North,  to  the  South,  to  the  East, 
to  the  West, 
To  the  blue  and  the  gray,  they’re  all 
one  color  now, 
To  the  poor  men  that  work  and  the  rich 
men  that  rest; 
To  the  men  of  the  pen  and  the  men  of 
the  plow ! 
Here’s  a  health  to  them  all,  from 
wherever  they  come  ! 
May  they  learu  one  short  lesson  by 
head  and  by  heart. 
That  the  figures  are  weak  till  they  make 
up  a  sum. 
That  the  whole  is  a  whole  and  a  part 
is  a  part.  ' 
The  red  and  the  white  and  the  blue  are 
but  one, 
And  the  flags  of  all  nations  were  dipped 
in  the  sea 
When  their  children  set  face  to  the 
westering  sun. 
No  Teuton,  no  Celt,  all  Americans  we. 
— From  “Songs  and  Sonnets,”  by  Maurice 
Francis  Egan. 
* 
Every  farm  garden  should  have  its  bed 
of  herbs,  for  use  in  Summer  fresh,  and  in 
Winter  dried.  Yet  many  a  country  gar¬ 
den  never  gets  beyond  parsley  and  per¬ 
haps  sage  or  thyme.  Such  an  herb  bed 
should  have  a  clump  of  chives,  which 
come  up  with  the  first  green  leaves  of 
the  Spring,  and  supply  the  flavor  of  green 
onions  before  the  “sets”  sprout;  later  on 
when  too  tough  for  use,  the  clump  of 
chives  forms  a  neat  cushion  of  slender 
leaves  with  round  heads  of  pretty  laven¬ 
der  flowers.  Sage  and  mint  grow  and 
spread  easily ;  thyme  and  savory  form  a 
neat  edging.  IToarhound,  with  its  thick 
crinkled  leaves,  is  a  pretty  plant,  staying 
with  us  year  after  year,  and  we  like  to 
use  its  young  foliage  in  vases  with  pan¬ 
sies,  Caraway  is  pretty,  and  seeds  so 
freely  that,  if  undisturbed  it  becomes  a 
weed.  Coriander  is  attractive,  and  grows 
very  easily  when  once  established,  Ber- 
gamot  or  Oswego  tea,  belongs  in  the  herb 
border,  too;  borage  self-sows  liberally, 
and  its  thick  green  leaves  and  bright  blue 
flowers  are  very  attractive  by  the  side  of 
the  bergamot.  A  plant  of  the  little  fiery 
red  pepper  is  also  desirable.  Such  a 
border  always  interests  people,  and  it  is 
very  useful  to  the.  housekeeper.  A  good 
supply  of  the  savory  herbs  should  he 
dried  for  Winter  use.  Cut  sprays  before 
they  bloom,  dry  in  the  shade,  then  strip 
the  leaves  from  the  stems,  and  store  in 
closed  boxes  or  jars.  Thyme,  parsley, 
savory,  mint,  sage  and  tarragon,  with 
bay  leaves,  peppers  and  dried  celery  tops 
will  work  wonders  in  adding  flavor  to 
simple  food. 
* 
Cheese  fingers  are  easily  made,  and 
will  be  found  very  savory.  Mix  together 
one  cupful  of  flour,  quarter  teaspoon  of 
salt,  a  dash  of  paprika  and  half  a  tea¬ 
spoonful  of  baking  powder.  Rub  in  two 
tablespoonfuls  of  butter,  add  half  a  cup¬ 
ful  of  cheese,  and  mix  like  pie  crust  with 
ice  water.  Roll  out  in  a  thin  sheet,  cut 
in  half-inch  strips,  and  bake  in  a  quick 
oven.  These  cheese  fingers  are  very  nice 
served  with  salad  or  with  green  apple 
sauce. 
❖ 
Christmas  seems  a  long  way  off,  but 
it  is  not  too  distant  to  be  considered,  es¬ 
pecially  if  we  plan  country  remem¬ 
brances  for  friends  in  town.  If  the  aro¬ 
matic  shrub  known  as  sweet  fern  is  plen¬ 
tiful  the  leaves  should  now  be  gathered 
and  dried,  then  freed  from  sticks  and 
stems,  and  list'd  to  fill  fragrant  cushions. 
This  will  often  settle  the  question  of  a 
present  within  the  capabilities  of  a  little 
girl,  for  she  can  gather  and  dry  the 
leaves,  make  the  cushion,  and,  with  a 
little  aid  from  her  elders,  make  a  pretty 
cover  of  cretonne,  or  if  her  capabilities 
go  so  far,  of  cross-stitched  linen.  Then 
there  are  baybemes  and  sweet  gale  to 
gather;  the  dried  sprays  make  attractive 
Winter  bouquets,  with  their  close  masses 
of  gray  berries,  and  they  are  always  ap¬ 
preciated  by  people  in  town  or  village. 
We  always  leave  the  foliage  on,  though 
it  becomes  very  brittle,  but  many  gath¬ 
erers  strip  it  off.  leaving  the  bare  twigs 
with  their  massed  berries.  A  bunch  of 
barberries  arranged  in  a  green  pottery 
jar  is  both  picturesque  and  restful. 
* 
It  is  time  now  to  think  of  Fall  bulb 
The  Rural  Patterns 
In  ordering  give  number  of  pat¬ 
tern  and  size  desired.  Price  of 
each  pattern  10  cents. 
9067— Chemise,  Smalt  34  or  80.  Medium  38 
or  40,  Large  43  or  44  bust.  With  or  without 
Envelope  Extension.  To  be  smocked,  shirred  or 
left  plain. 
9078 — Girl’s  Bathing  Suit,  8  to  14  years. 
9C5T — Corset  Cover  with  Straight  Edges,  one 
size. 
8951 — Four-Piece  Petticoat,  24  to  34  waist. 
Wrlth  Flounce  that  can  lie  attached  or  finished 
with  bund  auil  buttoned  into  place. 
9074 — Girl’s  Dress,  2  to  S  years.  With  round, 
square  or  high  neck,  short  or  long  sleeves. 
9027 — Fitted  Corset  Cover  or  Lining,  3t>  to  4G 
bust.  With  round,  square  or  high  neck. 
9049 — Closed  Drawers,  24  to  34  waist.  With 
inverted  plait  or  gathers  at  back. 
With  or  without  pockets,  with  seamed’  or  lapped 
edges  with  high  or  natural  waist  line. 
9111 — Child’s  Coat. — l,  2  ami'  4  years.  To  be 
smocked  nr  shirred. 
9073— Middy  Blouse,  34  to  40  bust.  With 
long  nr  short  sleeves,  high  or  open  neck. 
9104 — Girl's  Middy  Blouse,  8  to  14  years. 
With  or  without  belt  and  pocket,  with  long  or 
short  sleeves. 
9098 — Girl’s  Skirt,  8  to  14  years,  In  two  or 
three  pieces. 
9076 — Smock  for  Misses  and  Small  Women,  10 
anil  18  years. 
9081 — Four-Piece  Skirt  for  Misses  and  Small 
Women,  10  aud  IS  years, 
planting,  and  to  decide  upon  purchases. 
No  other  house  plants  are  so  easy  to 
grow  as  bulbs,  and  no  other  Spi’iug  flow¬ 
ers  are  so  showy  and  satisfying.  If  lim¬ 
ited  to  a  very  modest  expenditure  our  pot 
bulbs  would  be  Roman  hyacinths  for  the 
early  part  of  tin*  season,  and  tulips  of 
standard  sorts  for  the  period  after  the 
holidays,  its  these  are  cheaper  than  fine 
Dutch  hyacinths,  but  it  is  pleasant  to 
include  the  hitter,  and  also  a  selection  of 
Narcissi.  We  prefer  the  Paper  White 
Narcissus  to  the  Chinese  sacred  lily  in 
some  respects.  A  pan  of  Crocuses  is 
lovely  if  the  roots  bloom  well,  and  they 
are  very  cheap,  but  the  Crocus  dislikes 
to  be  hurried,  and  will  often  “go  blind” 
and  refuse  to  bloom  in  pot  culture. 
Seen  in  New  York  Shops 
Chinese  slippers  of  woven  bamboo  are 
usually  about  25  cents  a  pair  aud  are 
very  cool  for  bedroom  wear  in  Summer. 
They  will  also  be  liked  by  bathers  who 
have  to  cross  a  strip  of  stony  beach  be¬ 
fore  going  in  bathing. 
Xhnrazade  turbans  are  small  close-fit¬ 
ting  toques  draped  with  large  hanging 
veils.  As  a  rule  these  veils  are  of  chif¬ 
fon  with  a  border  of  stripes  or  figures, 
but  some  are  of  bordered  net.  These 
draped  turbans  are  often  seen  in  shades 
of  purple. 
Special  fur  sales  in  -August  showed 
Full  models  in  moleskin,  ermine  and  fox. 
Long  scarfs  and  stoles  led  in  the  neck 
pieces  and  most  of  the  muffs  were  still 
large.  Moleskin,  which  has  been  fash¬ 
ionable  in  Summer  furs,  does  not  stand 
hard  wear,  and  is  less  profitable  than 
some  other  short  furs,  such  as  bcffvor  and 
otter. 
Hats  for  mourning  wear  are  frequently 
seen  in  round  shapes  faced  under  the 
brim  with  white  crepe  de  chine  or  Eng¬ 
lish  crape  with  a  draped  veil.  They  are 
very  pretty  and  becoming.  Many  widows 
wear  round  bats  with  white  crape  or  lisse 
facing  instead  of  the  small  bonnet. 
Looking  recently  for  inexpensive  buck 
towels  we  were  told  at  one  well-known 
shop  that  they  had  no  pure  linen  towels 
of  any  kind  less  than  $0  a  dozen.  Any¬ 
thing  cheaper  than  this  was  partly  or  en¬ 
tirely  of  cotton.  Some  small  towels  of 
“union”  linen,  containing  a  mixture  of 
cotton,  were  $“.25  a  dozen.  The  rapid 
and  continued  rise  in  the  price  of  house¬ 
hold  linens  is  quite  a  problem  for  the 
average  housekeeper. 
One  of  the  large  department  stores  re¬ 
cently  opened  in  its  toy  department,  a 
miniature  lumber  yard,  whe.e  amateur 
carpenters  may  buy  small  quantities  of 
dressed  lumber  suitable  for  making 
shelves,  cabinets,  desks,  chairs,  boxes,  and 
such  things.  It  is  very  hard  for  a  city 
man  to  buy  such  lumber  at  the  yards,  and 
then'  :s  usually  difficulty  in  having  it  de¬ 
livered.  so  the  department  store,  with  its 
free  delivery,  will  be  a  convenience. 
The  Homemade  Filter 
With  health  so  dependent  on  water, 
and  water  so  easily  contaminated,  a  filter 
becomes  a  practical  necessity,  even  if  ex¬ 
pensive — and  filters  are  when  bought, 
ready  made,  but  the  housewife  need  not. 
go  without,  even  at  that!  The  simplest 
one  that  I  ever  made  had  no  faucet,  but 
would  make  even  rainwater  drinkable, 
and  as  I  kept  the  filter  on  the  floor  of  a 
stone-bottomed,  con],  well-ventilated  cel¬ 
lar,  the  water  was  also  very  “tasty”  on  a 
hot  day — or  at  any  time. 
The  main  receptacle — for  the  water — 
was  a  1 0-gallon  butter  crock,  which  I 
scalded  with  boiling  water,  sunned  for  two 
days,  washed  in  hot  suds,  and  then  filled 
with  cold  water  to  cool  it.  off,  ready  to 
“receive.” 
The  “filter”  part  was  a  “steamer,”  of 
white  enamel  ware  that  just  fitted  over 
the  top  of  the  crock,  the  handles  of  it 
resting  on  the  rim  of  the  crock. 
On  the  inside  of  the  steamer  T  laid  a 
double  piece  of  cheesecloth,  letting  it 
come  up  well  about  the  steamer  wall. 
This  cloth  I  sprinkled  with  a  half-inch 
layer  of  clean  white  sand,  which  I  had 
first  “baked"  in  a  hot  oven  for  nearly  two 
hours,  to  destroy  any  possible  life  germs, 
and  then  covered  with  boiling  water, 
draining  that  off  as  it  cooled.  Any  clean 
sand  would  do.  hut  this  I  had  brought 
from  the  Florida  coast,  and  it  was  pretty, 
even  for  a  filter.  Next  came  a  layer  of 
tiny  pebbles  made  fit.  as  the  sand  had 
been.  Then  a  layer  of  coarser  fines;  over 
these  a  layer  of  brokeu  charcoal,  aud  over 
that  small  stones :  then  a  layer  of  coarse 
sponges.  That  filled  the  steamer  about 
half  way  up ;  and  I  could  put  in  two  or 
three  quarts  of  water,  adding  more  when 
that  had  filtered  through,  until  the  crock 
was  nearly  full  ;  but  I  was  never  guilty 
of  going  down  stairs  on  purpose  to  carry 
water — taking  it  when  I  went  after  po¬ 
tatoes,  cabbages  or  pie.  (Lie  was  a  long 
suit  in  our  family.)  A  “spread”  of 
cheesecloth,  then  the  steamer  cover,  or 
the  cover  to  the  crock — and  the  filter  was 
ready  for  duty.  Luck  of  a  faucet  made  it 
necessary  to  lift  out  the  filter  part  every 
time  water  was  needed,  and  to  dip  out 
that ;  but  the  next  filter  that  I  made  was 
for  a  neighbor,  and  a  cask  (what  a  lot 
of  cleaning  that  had  to  have!)  that  had 
a  faucet  was  brought  over  for  me  to 
“juggle"  with — and  I  juggled. 
For  the  third  I  persuaded  the  owner- 
to-be  to  buy  a  lnand-new  cnamelware 
“cooler"  at  the  hardware  store — for 
which  he  paid  two  dollars;  and  that  had 
a  faucet  which  is  worth  its  price,  for  the 
convenience  of  it,  as  it  saves  dipping, 
lifting,  time,  temper,  and  strength.  But, 
with  a  faucet  or  without  have  a  filter, 
whether  the  drinking  water  comes  from 
spring,  well,  or  cistern. 
Having  the  filter,  keep  it  clean.  Take 
it  apart  now  and  then — or  ofteuer.  wash¬ 
ing  every  part,  and  using  a  new  cloth  at 
the  bottom.  Scald  the  crock  (or  other 
water  receptacle)  and  the  filter  vessel. 
Dry,  and  sun,  everything,  before  putting 
them  together  again — which  should  be 
done  in  the  same  order,  the  sponges 
catching  most  of  the  dirt ;  these  should 
be  rinsed  in  cool  water  daily.  The  char¬ 
coal  is  for  “purification”  rather  than 
merely  for  filtering  purposes — so  it 
should  be’  cleaned  frequently. 
Allow  an  hour  to  each  quart  of  water 
to  he  filtered — so  don’t  pour  in  a  pailful 
at  meal  time  and  expect,  clear,  sweet 
water,  that  is  both  “safe  and  sane."  for 
that  meal.  The  water  drips  slowly,  even 
through  the  sponge  pores,  and  each  step 
downward  is  slower  than  the  preceding 
one. 
1  have  made  many  “faucet  filters"  for 
town  kitchens,  by  putting  clean  sand  and 
a  bit  of  sponge,  a  few  bits  of  charcoal, 
and  some  tiny  pebbles  in  a  double 
square  of  cheesecloth  12x12  inches,  gath¬ 
ering  up  the  four  sides  into  a  bag-like 
package,  and  tying  loosely  (as  to  the 
bag)  but  firmly  (as  to  striug)  to  the 
faucet  bar — the  pipe  end  that  leads  to 
the  wall.  This,  too,  needs  frequent 
cleansing ;  and  it  is  better  to  keep  the 
water  turned  on,  in  a  tiny  stream,  until 
a  pitcher  full  is  had  in  reserve;  for,  if 
haste  is  used  and  the  full  stream  turned 
on,  it  may  break  the  bag,  and  certainly 
will  spatter,  or  splash,  as  it  did  to  me 
once. 
Make  your  own  filter,  if  you  cannot 
go  to  town  for  one — and  you  will  learn 
something  of  what  you  have  been  doing — 
or  doing  without ! 
LTTCY  A.  YEXDES-PUESTON. 
Pickled  Peppers 
The  following  recipes  from  the  Rural 
Cook  Book  are  very  often  asked  for: 
Pepper  Hash. — Wash  and  dry  five  large 
green  peppers  and  one  red  one,  remove 
seeds  and  chop  shells  quite  fine;  chop 
fine  a  good-sized  cabbage,  and  place  with 
the  peppers  in  a  bowl,  mixing  well. .  Add 
two  tablespooufuls  of  brown  mustard 
seed,  three  tablespooufuls  of  salt  and 
enough  good  cider  vinegar  to  cover  the 
whole.  Stir  well  together  and  put  into 
pickle  bottles.  Ready  for  use  in  two 
days,  or  will  keep  for  Winter  use. 
Pepper  Mangoes. — Two  dozen  full- 
grown  pods  of  sweet  red  pepper.  Cut 
out  the  stems  with  a  sharp  knife  and 
scrape  out  the  seeds.  Lav  the  pods  in 
brine  and  let  soak  for  21  hours.  Drain. 
Make  a  dressing  of  finely  chopped  cab¬ 
bage.  enough  to  fill  the  peppers,  seasoned 
with  one  tablespoonful  each  of  salt  and 
pulverized  mustard  seed,  one  tenspoonful 
of  grated  horseradish,  one  teaspoonful  of 
black  pepper  and  one  tablespoon  fill  of 
made  mustard.  When  well  mixed  stuff 
the  peppers,  sew  the  steins  on  with  a 
coarse  thread,  pack  in  a  stone  jar,  cover 
with  strong  vinegar  and  let  stand  two 
weeks  before  using. 
Pickled  Peppers. — Put  two  dozen  green 
peppers  in  a  bowl  and  pour  over  them 
a  very  strong  brine.  Put  a  weight  over 
them  to  keep  them  under  the  water  and 
let  them  lie  for  two  days.  Drain  them, 
make  a  small  incision  in  the  side  of  each 
to  let  out  the  water,  wipe  them  with  a 
