&/>e  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1451 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
“  Give  Thanks  for  What  ?” 
[The  following  verses?  were  printed 
long  ago.  anil  will  be  remembered  by  our 
older  readers.  They  have  been  recited 
at  many  a  school  exhibition.] 
“Let  earth  give  thanks,”  the  deacon  said, 
And  then' the  Proclamation  read. 
“Give  thanks  fer  what,  an’  what  about?” 
Asked  Simon  Soggs,  when  church  was 
out ; 
“Give  thanks  fer  what?  T  don’t  see  why, 
The  rust  got  in  an’  spiled  my  rye. 
And  hay  wan’t  half  a  crop,  and  corn 
All  wilted  down  and  looked  forlorn. 
The  bugs  just  gobbled  my  pertaters. 
The  what  you  call  ’em — lineaters. 
And  gracious !  when  you  come  to  wheat. 
There’s  more  than  all  the  world  can  eat; 
Onless  a  war  should  interfere. 
Crons  won’t  bring  half  a  price  this  year; 
I’ll  hev  to  give  ’em  away,  I  reckon !” 
“Good  for  the  poor !’’  exclaimed  the  dea¬ 
con. 
“Give  thanks  fer  what?”  asked  Simon 
Soggs ; 
“Fer  th’  freshet  carryin’  off  my  logs? 
For  Dobbin’  goin’  blind?  Fer  live 
Uv  my  best  cows,  that  was  alive  . 
Afore  the  smash  in’  railroad  come 
And  made  it  awful  troublesome? 
Fer  that  haystack  the  ligbtnin’  struck 
And  burnt  to  ashes? — thunderin’  luck! — 
Fer  ten  dead  sheep?”  sighed  Simon  Soggs. 
The  deacon  said,  “You’ve  got  your  hogs !” 
“Give  thanks?  And  Jane  and  baby  sick? 
I  e’onmost  wonder  if  Ole  Nick 
Ain’t  running  things — ” 
The  deacon  said : 
“Simon,  your  people  might  be  dead  J” 
“Give  thanks!"  said  Simon  Soggs  again. 
“Just  look  at  what  a  fix  we’re  in! 
The  country’s  rush  in’  to  the  dogs 
At  race-horse  speed,”  said  Simon  Soggs. 
“Rotten  all  through,  in  every  State; 
Why,  cf  we  don’t  repudiate. 
We’ll  have  to  build,  for  big  and  small, 
A  poo  t'liou  Re  that’ll  hold  us  all ! 
Down  South  the  crooked  whisky-still 
Is  running  like  the  devil’s  mill. 
Up  North  there’s  murder  everywhere, 
And  awful  doings,  I  declare. 
Give  thanks?  IIow  mad  it  makes  me  feel 
To  think  how  office-holders  steal ! 
The  taxes  paid  by  you  and  uie 
Is  four  times  bigger’n  they  should  be. 
The  fed’ral  gover’ment’s  all  askew; 
The  ballot’s  secli  a  mockery,  too! 
Some  votes  too  little,  some  too  much. 
Some  not  at  all — it  beats  the  Dutch! 
And  now  no  man  knows  what  to  do, 
Or  bow  is  bow  or  wbo  is  who. 
Deacon,  corruption’s  sure  to  kill ! 
This  'glorious  Union’  never  will, 
I’ll  bet  a  continental  cent, 
Elect  another  President ! 
Give  thanks  fer  what,  I’d  like  to  know!” 
The  deacon  answered,  sad  and  low, 
“Simon,  it  fills  me  with  surprise 
Ye  don’t  see  where  yer  duty  lies; 
Kneel  right  straight  down  in  all  the  muss, 
And  thank  God  that  it  ain’t  no  wuss !” 
* 
Thanksgiving  was  orginally  a  New 
England  holiday — essentially  a  country 
festival.  The  New  England  people  took 
their  pleasures  seriously  and  wherever 
he  wanders,  the  Yankee  mingles  memo¬ 
ries  of  other  days  with  bis  thanks.  '  We 
have  often  wondered  bow  this  homely  fes¬ 
tival  of  a  sober  and  serious  people  ever 
came  to  be  a  national  holiday.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  firmly  rooted  into  our  national  life, 
but  it  will  ever  remain  at  its  best  a  coun¬ 
try  festival.  As  Christmas  is  the  great 
joyful  holiday  of  the  year,  Thanksgiving 
will  ever  be  the  day  of  reunion — in  mem¬ 
ory  if  not  in  person — and  there  will  al¬ 
ways  he  the  memory  of  little  human  trag¬ 
edies  and  sorrows  beneath  the  quiet  hap¬ 
piness  \jhich  the  day  brings.  Four  years 
hence,  on  December  22,  1920,  there  will 
be  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  the  land¬ 
ing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  Mass. 
Three  centuries  will  have  sped  by  since 
the  originators  of  Thanksgiving  made 
their  humble  start  in  on  obscure  corner  of 
this  country.  It  will  be  a  great  occasion, 
and  the  celebration  should  fit  the  event. 
We  would  like  to  help  make  it  a  great 
success,  and  it  will  depend  upon  the  in¬ 
terest  taken  by  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
New  England  who  have  wandered  to 
other  States.  .We  would  like  to  hear  from 
any  New  England  people  among  our 
readers — particularly  from  those  who 
trace  back  to  Massachusetts. 
* 
In  some  homes  work  1ms  come  to  be  a 
habit — just  plain,  monotonous  work.  It 
is  not  always  useful  or  economical.  Some¬ 
times  it  accomplishes  nothing,  but  habit 
compels  father  and  mother  to  keep  on 
moving  at  some  occupation.  After  some 
years  the  habit  grows,  so  that  rest  is  con¬ 
sidered  laziness,  when  it  might  be  the 
most  profitable  sort  of  work.  The  ability 
to  rest  and  to  refresh  the  body  and 
mind  is  a  big  asset  in  every  human  life. 
Yet  we  find  people  who  consider  time 
wasted  unless  the  worker  is  moving  about, 
or  performing  some  mechanical  opera¬ 
tion.  When  mother  or  the  girls  sit  down 
to  read  or  talk  or  do  light  sewing  father 
and  the  boys  seem  to  think  it  is  time  to 
find  some  new  job  for  them — or  they 
might  get  lazy !  The  fact  is  that  every¬ 
one  needs  rest  and  recreation  if  they  are 
to  keep  up  the  grind  of  daily  life  with  any 
spirit,  and  daily  life  without  spirit  would 
result  iu  the  deadest  sort  of  fruit. 
* 
We  have  had  many  questions  about 
the  rights  of  cats  under  the  law.  Many 
long  friendships  have  been  broken 
through  killing  a  neighbor’s  eat,  and 
then  telling  about  it.  As  a  rule  the  toll¬ 
ing  did  most  of  the  damage.  Planting 
the  dead  cat  quietly  near  a  rose  bush  or 
peach  tree  would  have  cemented  the 
friendship  through  flowers  and  fruit.  A 
Massachusetts  judge  is  quoted  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 
A  cat  is  a.  wild  animal.  There  is  no 
wilder  animal  in  Christendom.  It  is  an 
animal  that  can’t  be  controlled,  and  you 
can’t  tell  what  it  will  do  When  it  gets 
out  of  its  owner’s  sight.  A  man  on  h  s 
own  property  has  a  right  to  protect  it, 
and  when  wild  animals  encroach  on  it,  he 
is  justified  in  getting  rid  of  them. 
In  this  case  the  cat  left  home,  entered 
another  place  and  caught  chickens  and 
song  birds.  Probably  this  view  would  be 
held  for  all  wandering  cats,  and  the  only 
6afe  place  for  kitty  is  at  home. 
* 
Ox  page  1-1 5”  we  learn  of  a  man  who 
acts  as  official  taster.  lie  seems  to  lodge 
in  the  kitchen  during  the  manufacture  of 
a  meal  and  boss  the  job.  In  many  kitch¬ 
ens  that  we  know  this  man  would  simply 
raise  a  riot.  Iu  the  case  mentioned  the 
“official  taster”  made  up  a  mince  pie  so 
good  that  he  was  willing  to  die  eating  it. 
Most  man-made  pies  would  make  death 
an  agony  rather  than  a  delight. 
* 
Here  is  a  fine  test  of  confidence  in  your 
daughter.  Let  her  plan  and  cook  the 
Thanksgiving  dinner.  Invite  your  friends, 
give  the  girl  what  she  wants  in  fixtures 
and  supplies,  and  then  walk  out  of  the 
kitchen  and  let  her  alone.  It  is  a  good 
girl  who  can  size  up  to  such  responsi¬ 
bility,  and  of  course  your  daughter — 
with  father’s  pedigree  and  mother’s  train¬ 
ing  and  example — will  make  good  at  the 
dinner. 
* 
“A  farmer’s  wife”  tells  us  ou  page 
1*100  how  the  milk  strike  gave  them  a 
home  supply  of  milk  and  cream  such  as 
they  never  knew  before.  It  is  a  fact 
that  ou  some  farms  where  20  cows,  or 
more,  are  milked  the  family  hardly  know 
the  taste  of  cream  and  use  but  little  milk. 
They  think  it  must  all  go  to  the  city. 
We  hope  this  milk  strike  will  not  only 
result  iu  better'  prices  but  better  cream 
service  at  home.  We  learn  of  one  woman 
who  has  bought  a  Jersey  heifer  for  her 
own.  She  intends  to  keep  this  heifer  for 
the  family  milk  supply,  and  give  her 
family  all  the  cream  they  want.  That 
is  the  spirit  which  we  may  all  well  take 
up. 
* 
Our  U.  S.  Parcel  Post  Box 
When  we  started  our  boys  away  to 
Ohio  State  University  for  a  four-year 
course  iu  school  we  suggested  to  them 
that  if  they  would  take  advantage  of  the 
parcel  post  system  their  mother  could  do 
all  their  common  laundry  work  and  save 
tkemra  great  deal  of  expense.  With  the 
advent  of  this  work  we  found  another 
greater  item  than  the  saving  of  launder¬ 
ing  bills.  While  they  can  send  a  good- 
sized  package  weighing  several  pounds, 
containing  several  shirts,  a  dozen  pairs 
of  Socks  and  suits  of  underclothing  home 
for  a  very  few  cents  each  week,  we  found 
that  with  tbeir  clothing  coming  home 
every  week  their  mother  could  mend  and 
daru  up  the  rents  each  time,  and  not  only 
keep  their  clothing  in  better  order,  but 
advise  them  as  to  when  or  what  new 
clothing  they  at  times  might  need.  Then 
her  method  of  washing  saves  them  very 
much  in  wear,  for  usually  the  store  laun¬ 
dering  is  severe,  and  ordinal  clothing 
stands  up  but  a  short  time.  We  have 
learned  to  value  our  Uncle  Sam’s  parcel 
post  box  very  highly,  not  only  in  this  av¬ 
enue,  but  the  younger  son  sent  home  word 
in  his  letter  last  week  that  he  was  very 
hungry  for  a  good  piece  of  mother’s  choc¬ 
olate  cake.  Right  away  a  whole  choco¬ 
late  cake,  frosted  deeply  with  sweetness, 
was  rushed  to  them  by  the  parcel  post 
system,  and  two  or  more  hearts  glad¬ 
dened,  for  we  suspect  they  have  chums 
that  were  also  hungry  for  a  piece  of 
mother’s  chocolate  cake,  and  were  too 
glad  to  help  the  boys  out.  About  every 
time  we  send  a  box  of  laundry  back  we 
include  some  nuts,  popped  candied  corn, 
pencils  or  pocket  knives,  or  some  handy 
article  which  we  are  pretty  sure  the  boys 
need  or  can  handily  use  in  their  every¬ 
day  life  at  school.  It  keeps  us  in  closer 
touch  with  them,  even  the  advent  of  hav¬ 
ing  their  clothing  flying  upon  our  lino 
helps  us  to  remember  that  we  still  have 
boys,  although  they  are  many  miles  away. 
GEO.  W.  BROWN. 
Hancock  Go.,  Ohio. 
* 
A  Woman’s  View  of  the  Situation 
Although  not  in  the  milk  business  at 
present  I  am  very  much  interested  iu  the 
outcome  of  the  present  strike  for  a  fair 
price  for  milk.  For  some  time  we  deliv¬ 
ered  milk  at  a  station  for  a  large  milk 
company.  The  expense  is  great  and  labor 
scarce.  The  mere  mention  of  a  dairy 
farm  seems  to  frighten  the  men  seeking 
employment.  The  price  of  grain  has  ad¬ 
vanced  and  where  cows  were  bought  for 
$50  a  few  years  ago  they  cost  twice  that 
sum.  The  sanitary  conditions  of  the 
cow  stables  and  surroundings  are  much 
improved  and  to  keep  them  so  adds  to  the 
expense.  The  milk  business  means  early 
rising  and  a  trip  to  the  milk  station  rain 
or  shine  305  days  in  the  year. 
Place  some  of  the  people  that  are  fight¬ 
ing  the  samp,  in  the  farmer's  place  and 
then  let  them  judge.  If  these  same  people 
were  to  come  to  the  country  to  work  they 
would  want  the  highest  wages.  In  our 
vicinity  the  people  have  become  discour¬ 
aged  and  are  looking  for  other  means  of 
making  the  farm  pay  and  selling  their 
cows.  All  the  farmer  asks  is  a  square 
deal,  and  we  must  stand  by  one  another, 
and  in  time  we  shall  be  able  to  make  a 
living  on  a.  farm.  jibs.  F.  h.  c. 
* 
The  Retired  Farmer’s  Wife 
In  the  first  place,  what  is  a  retired  far¬ 
mer?  Naturally  we  would  suppose  it 
meant  a  man  who  had  retired  from  the 
farm  and  lived  in  a  quiet  way  in  a  vil¬ 
lage  or  town.  In  such  case  the  wife 
shares  with  the  farmer  in  an  easy  life. 
These  cases  are  few  and  far  between. 
When  farmers  begin  to  advance  in  years 
and  think  they  have  enough  money  to 
take  it  easy  they  plan  for  a  smaller 
place.  They  can  never  be  satisfied  away 
from  the  soil,  and  must  have  a  couple  of 
cows  and  chickens.  They  have  always 
counted  upon  them  to  buy  groceries,  etc., 
and  iu  retiring  he  has  no  thought  of  giv¬ 
ing  them  tip.  Of  coursoi  he  must  have  a 
horse  or  two  and  to  take  it  easy  a  man 
is  needed  to  help  out  of  doors. 
The  fanner’s  wife  has  looked  forward  to 
the  day  when  they  could  eujoy  life  to¬ 
gether,  but  she  finds  her  dreams  shattered. 
They  doubtless  were  in  the  milk  business 
before,  and  now  she  must  make  butter, 
care  for  chickens  and  an  extra  man  to 
board.  Although  along  in  years,  she  finds 
no  retiring  for  her.  Speaking  to  a  neigh¬ 
bor  whose  husband  had  sold  a  large  farm 
and  retired  to  a  small  place,  she  said  she 
never  worked  harder  than  now.  In  my 
opinion  a  farmer’s  wife  will  find  work  a« 
long  as  she  is  on  a  farm,  large  or  small, 
and  able  to  do  it.  aunt  Elizabeth. 
* 
Save  the  Farm  Woman 
Are  we  not  catering  more  than  we 
should  to  the  popular  opinion  that  what¬ 
ever  we  can  accomplish  or  secure  at  no 
cost  other  than  physical  wear  and  tear, 
is  so  much  clear  gain?  The  idea  is  far 
too  prevalent  any  way.  I  like  the  thought 
expressed  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  recently  by  a 
certain  Mrs.  Smith,  who  said  she  tried 
to  be  as  economical  as  possible  in  gen¬ 
eral,  but  she  was  particularly  saving  of 
John  E.  Smith’s  wife. 
I  used  to  do  my  own  housecleaning, 
etc.,  because  my  neighbors  might  think 
it  lazy  or  extravagant  of  me  to  hire  it 
done,  though  I  invariably  paid  the  doc¬ 
tor  more  for  patching  me  up  afterwards 
than  it  would  have  cost  to  hire  a  capable 
woman  to  do  the  heavy  work.  The  fact 
is  impressing  itself  more  and  more  upon 
my  mind  of  late,  that  I  have  no  moral 
right  to  deprive  my  children  of  a  well 
mother,  or  to  waste  the  family  income, 
simply  to  gratify  so  foolish  a  whim  of 
mine. 
Possibly  some  one  may  think  I  am  ad¬ 
vocating  pure  laziness,  but  to  my  way  of 
thinking  economy  of  effort  is  a  very  dif¬ 
ferent  thing.  Doing  the  things  one  can 
do  most  advantageously,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  thing  one  can  accomplish  only  at  a 
personal  loss,  need  not  necessarily  spell 
inefficiency  in  any  sense  of  the  word.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  much  more  efficient  in 
my  own  case  to  sew  or  do  other  light 
work,  hire  the  heavy  work  done,  and 
thereby  present  to  my  family  a  cheerful 
mother  “clothed  and  iu  her  right  mind,” 
than  to  attempt  the  unattainable  myself 
and  iu  so  doing  inflict  an  invalid  (rather 
an  expensive  luxury,  by  the  way)  upon 
the  family  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
time.  The  Fall  cleaning  is  probably  done 
but  in  the  holiday  rush  that  is  coming 
let  us  “think  upon  these  things”  and 
make  a  special  effort  to  he  really  eco¬ 
nomical  of  John  Smith’s  wife.  See  if  it 
doesn’t  pay  in  dollars  and  cents  as  well 
as  iu  greater  comfort  for  the  entire 
household.  E.  M.  A. 
* 
Bits  of  Knowledge 
A  reader  asks  for  information  os  Jo 
the  Scotch  method  of  curing  hams  and 
bacon.  No  doubt  some  one  from  the  land 
of  heather  will  respond  to  this  need. 
Scrapple  and  souse  are  old-fashioned 
dishes  that  will  help  to  reduce  the  high 
cost  of  living. 
Store  some  horseradish  roots  in  the 
vegetable  cellar,  whex-e  they  will  be  ac¬ 
cessible  for  Winter  use.  It  is  not  ad¬ 
visable  to  grate  and  bottle  a  quantity  of 
horseradish  in  advance,  as  it  deteriorates 
in  color  and  quality. 
The  Daughter  Cooks  the  Dinner 
