■Ghe  RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
Farm  Women’s  Experience  Club 
Sensible  Christmas  Gifts. — With 
war  prices  on  everything,  one  must 
think  carefully  before  spending  money 
for  Christmas  gifts  this  year.  Better 
give  a  child  a  suit  of  warm  underwear, 
if  he  needs  it,  than  several  cheap  toys. 
Some  toys  are  all  right,  but  see  that  they 
are  strong  enough  to  last  until  after  New 
Vear>.  Every  boy  and  girl  likes  a 
warm  cap,  scarf  aud  sweater,  and  leg¬ 
gings,  overshoes  and  mittens  are  just  as 
acceptable.  Look  every  youngster  over 
to  see  what  he  needs  first,  and  when  that 
need  is  supplied  (somewhat,  at  least, 
some  children  seem  to  need  a  great  many 
things),  then  consider  books  and  toys. 
Helpful  Books.— The  same  idea  is 
true  of  books.  There  are  such  floods  of 
stories  for  boys  and  girls.  The  biogra¬ 
phy  of  a  great  man  or  woman  can  teach  a 
lesson  that  will  make  a  deeper  impres¬ 
sion  because  it  is  true.  Country  chil¬ 
dren  ought  to  have  reference  books  on 
trees,  minerals,  birds,  flowers  aud  in¬ 
sects.  Then  they  can  have  adventures 
of  their  own  in  finding  out  about  things. 
A  fine  little  book  on  primitive  people  is 
“Cave,  Mound,  and  Lake  Dwellers,”  by 
Florence  Holbrook.  It  is  as  interesting 
as  a  story,  and  is  suitable  for  children 
from  eight  to  12  years  old.  For  the  boy 
or  girl  of  15  or  older,  two  particularly 
good  books  are  “Leadership,”  by  George 
Knox,  and  “What  All  the  World’s  A- 
Seeking,”  by  Ralph  Waldo  Trine. 
For  the  hoy  who  likes  to  make  things, 
one  good  tool  a  year  will  be  appreciated ; 
and  the  girl  ought  to  have  her  own  thim¬ 
ble,  scissors,  needles  and  thread.  Chil¬ 
dren  who  have  any  liking  at  all  for  mu¬ 
sic  like  a  new  book  of  songs  or  pieces  for 
the  piano. 
Mending  The  Mittens. — Yam  mit¬ 
tens  have  a  way  of  appearing  before  the 
mender  with  holes  so  large  that  it  is 
discouraging  to  try  to  darn  them.  So 
we  made  a  rule  that  when  the  tiniest 
hole  appears,  the  mittens  must  go  to  the 
clothes-basket  and  be  washed  and  mend¬ 
ed.  just  like  the  stockings.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  frantic  search  for  more  mit¬ 
tens,  and  often  the  mender  must  make  a 
tour  of  inspection  herself  to  see  that  the 
rule  is  being  observed.  The  frequent 
washing  makes  the  mittens  warmer,  not 
only  because  it  rids  them  of  the  dirt  but 
it  "woolies”  them  up  so  that  they  hold 
in  the  warmth  of  the  hands  better. 
Home  Credit  Marks. — The  teacher  in 
our  district  school  has  been  a  great  help 
to  the  mothers  because  she  gives  credit 
marks  on  the  care  given  to  teeth,  hair 
and  finger-nails,  Lately  she  has  been 
marking  for  behavior  at  home.  The  chil¬ 
dren  ask  for  mother's  report  before  they 
start  for  school.  I  notice  that  the  re¬ 
luctance  sometimes  shown  at  dish-time, 
chore-time  aud  bed-time  is  being  over¬ 
come.  Those  arc  little  things,  hut  very 
helpful  iu  forming  good  habits. 
MRS.  A.  G.  DOREX. 
Simple  Brace  For  Screen  Door. — 
Sooner  or  later  the  screen  doors,  unless 
they  are  expensive,  custom-made  doors, 
begin  to  sag  and  drag  on  the  bottom  in 
closing.  While  planing  the  bottom  will 
temporarily  relieve  the  trouble,  it  is  a 
makeshift  only,  for  the  sagging  will  con¬ 
tinue  and  eventually  leave  an  opening  at 
the  top  of  the  door.  There  is  a  very 
simple  and  effective  remedy  for  the  door 
that  sags.  Take  a  piece  of  stout,  wire 
and  stretch  it  diagonally  across  the  door 
from  corner  to  corner.  Securely  fasten 
one  end  of  the  wire  to  the  upper  corner 
of  the  door  on  the  hinged  side.  Then 
wedge  the  door  up  until  it  loses  its  sag 
and  regains  its  original  shape.  Wedge 
it  one-quarter  of  an  inch  more  for  good 
measure,  aud  fasten  the  lower  end  of  the 
wire  to  the  corner  of  the  door  diagonally 
opposite  the  upper  end.  Iu  fastening  the 
lower  end,  draw  the  wire  as  tightly  as 
possible.  As  it  is  practically  impossible 
t<>  stretch  the  wire  very  tightly  in  fasten¬ 
ing  it.  the  door  will  settle  that  extra 
quarter  of  an  inch  we  provided  for  the 
purpose,  before  the  tension  of  the  wire 
acts  as  a  brace.  The  neatest  aud  strong¬ 
est  way  to  fasten  the  wire  is  to  make  a 
loop  at  each  end  by  twisting  the  wire 
back  on  itself  aud  use  a  stout,  round- 
headed  screw  mu  through  the  loop  into 
the  door.  This  makes  a  brace  that  is 
light,  neat  and  strong. 
Maryland.  william  e.  cuuley. 
Refrigerator  Drain 
Our  refrigerator  stands  in  the  pantry. 
In  spite  of  all  our  care,  however,  the 
drip  pan  would  he  forgotten  at  times  and 
more  or  less  of  a  flood  result.  More  t  han 
once  an  evening  away  from  home  would 
be  spoiled  by  the  fear  that  in  our  ab¬ 
sence  the  pan  would  overflow.  So  I  de¬ 
cided  to  put  in  a  permanent  drain.  As 
the  stationary  laundry  tubs  were  almost 
directly  below  the  pantry,  it.  was  very 
simple.  I  simply  had  a  hole  bored  m 
the  floor  directly  below  the  drip  from  the 
refrigerator,  aud  a  one-inch  pipe  run 
from  this  hole  to  one  corner  of  the  laun¬ 
dry  tubs.  Putting  a  funnel  in  the  top  of 
the  pipe  to  catch  the  drip  completed  the 
job.  If  there  had  been  no  laundry  tubs 
near  to  drain  into  I  would  have  carried 
the  pipe  through  the  cellar  wall  to  the 
outside  of  the  foundation.  We  never 
give  the  refrigerator  a  thought  any  more, 
as  this  simple  contrivance  automatically 
takes  care  of  the  drip.  Outside  of  clean¬ 
ing  the  funnel  once  in  a  while,  no  fur¬ 
ther  attention  is  necessary. 
Maryland.  william  e.  curley. 
Women  as  Skunk  Farmers 
Some  of  the  women  who  run  at  the 
thought  of  a  mouse  will  not  envy  the 
Pennsylvania  woman  shown  in  the  pic¬ 
ture.  Her  pet  is  a  deodorized  skunk — 
handsomer  and  more  useful  than  most 
cols.  The  great  demand  for  fur  has 
created  a  new  form  business — the  breed¬ 
ing  of  fur-hearing  animals.  The  skunk 
presents,  perhaps,  the  best  possibility  for 
domestication  and  breeding  of  any  fur¬ 
bearing  animal.  It  is  easy  to  raise  in 
A  Pennsylvania  Skunk  Farmer 
captivity,  eats  almost  anything,  and  be¬ 
comes  surprisingly  tame,  even  making  a 
desirable  pet.  The  musk  glands  are  easily 
removed  when  the  animal  is  young,  so 
that  the  offensive  odor  is  eliminated. 
Thus  the  despised  skunk  is  coming  in  as 
woman’s  companion  and  farmer’s  friend. 
In  a  few  years  he  will  become  fully  do¬ 
mesticated  and  live  down  his  evil  reputa¬ 
tion. 
A  Western  Woman’s  Notes 
Having  read  So  many  helpful  things  in 
The  R.  X.- V.  I  want  to  contribute  a  few 
items  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  of 
interest  to  others. 
We  found  that  the  baby’s  go-cart  soon 
became  badly  marred  by  being  thrust  un¬ 
protected  into  the  vehicle  for  a  tnp  to 
town,  etc.  We  made  a  stout  denim  bag, 
Preparing  a  “  Movie  ”  Picture 
drawn  up  with  shoe  laces,  iu  which  we 
now  put  the  cart,  and  it  protects  it 
greatly. 
An  unbleached  muslin  apron  fashioned 
like  a  butcher’s  apron,  to  slip  on  while 
washing  dishes,  blacking  stoves,  etc,,  is 
handy,  and  saves  much  washing. 
When  pumpkin  or  squash  is  wanted  for 
pics,  simply  bake  it  as  for  the  table.  It. 
requires  little  watching,  bakes  dry,  and 
the  pies  made  therefrom  are  "best  ever.” 
Warm  mittens  and  leggings  for  the 
little  tots  may  be  made  from  the  best 
parts  of  men’s  cast-off  sweaters. 
In  cleaning  garments  with  gasoline  the 
work  is  made  less  disagreeable  by  heating 
the  gasoline.  Simply  place  the  voauel  of 
gasoline  into  a  larger  one  containing  hot 
water.  The  gasoline  will  soon  be.  com¬ 
fortably  warm,  and  the  work  may  be 
done  more  quickly  and  successfully.  It  is 
always  well  to  soak  the  soiled  articles 
several  hours  before  rinsing  them. 
A  heavy  "punch  work”  needle  is  one  of 
the  handiest  things  iu  my  woldc  basket. 
It  pulls  hasting  threads,  "picks"  out 
square  corners  after  stitching  collars,  etc. 
It  is  also  useful  to  use  when  tying  com¬ 
forters,  and  to  run  tape  through  casings, 
etc. 
Glass  tobacco  jars,  which  may  he  pro¬ 
cured  cheaply,  are  fine  in  which  to  beep 
sugar,  milk,  puddings,  etc.,  when  camp¬ 
ing:  closing  tightly  as  the  jars  do,  the 
contents  are  protected  from  dust  and  flies. 
Iowa.  N.  M. 
Making  Old  Chimneys  Fireproof 
Occasionally  we  hear  of  some  old-time 
farmhouse,  with  its  chimneys  and  fire¬ 
places  built  a  long  time  ago,  being  burned, 
cause  attributed  to  chimney.  Perhaps  the 
plastering  has  come  out  from  time  to 
time  from  between  the  bricks  or  stones, 
as  the  chimney  passes  through  the  upper 
floors,  attic  and  roof,  where  it  is  not.  easy 
to  inspect  aud  repair.  How  can  we  pro¬ 
tect.  fix  and  place  these  old-time,  well- 
built  aud  desirable  bouses,  in  a  safer  con¬ 
dition  against  these  chimney  fires?  Gan 
the  chimney  he  relined  or  fixed  in  some 
way  without  tearing  into  them? 
New  York.  E.  v,  u.  g. 
R.  N.-Y. — We  would  like  to  hear  from 
some  of  the  old-fashioned  builders  aud 
masons  about  this.  There  are  many  such 
cases. 
The  Economical  Canary 
We  needed  a  pet  that  would  cost  little 
in  money  or  time  and  require  but  limited 
space.  Sister  bought  a  baby  canary  at 
half  the  price  of  a  proved  singer,  and  a  , 
small  cage,  as  Dandy  has  much  liberty.  ! 
He  turned  out  an  exquisite  singer,  easily 
tamed  and  very  friendly.  He  has  never 
been  sick. 
Dandy  has  never  been  too  long  in  the 
hot  sun  nor  left  in  a  draft :  he  gets  little 
of  sweet  food  and  only  enough  green  food, 
lie  flies  strongly  and  has  small  use  for 
a  cage.  lie  eats  one  teaspoon  of  mixed 
seed  daily  and  has  a  bit  of  green  stuff  or 
fruit.  He  lias  fresh  water  every  day  and 
a  hath  whenever  he  deigns  to  take  one. 
Paper  from  packages  supplies  cage  pa¬ 
lters.  gravel  front  a  neighboring  bill  after 
being  baked  and  sifted  is  used  in  the 
cage,  and  a  dark  cover  at  night  guards 
his  eyes  from  the  light.  Nobody  ever 
tried  to  hurt  him  nor  spoke  harshly  to 
him,  and  he  sings  constantly.  Why  not 
let  the  children  have  a  canary? 
E.  S.  KNAPP. 
Up  in  a  Balloon 
The  picture  shown  herewith  shows  how 
some  of  the  moving  pictures  are  made. 
One  of  our  readers  iu  Greenville.  X.  Y., 
tells  how  in  August  a  neighbor  came  to 
say  that  circus  tents  had  been  set  up  in 
a  large  field  just  around  the  bend  of  the 
wood.  Of  course  there  was  a  rush  for 
the  circus,  hut  instead  of  an  "old-fash¬ 
ioned  show  it  proved  to  be  a  group  of 
actors  who  were  laying  the  scene  for  a 
motion  picture  play.  The  neighbors 
gathered  for  some  miles  around,  and  thus 
gave  the  real  flavor  to  the  show.  One 
of  the  high  school  girls  obtained  several 
good  pictures.  The  one  bore  shown  was 
taken  just  as  the  balloon  was  about  to  be 
released.  The  aeronaut  was  in  position 
and  he  bad  a  little  dummy  dog  which  was 
to  be  thrown  out  later  on  a  voyage  to 
the  earth.  No  doubt  some  of  our  read¬ 
ers  this  Winter  will  see  the  "Rainbow 
Princess”  thrown  on  the  screen,  and 
when  they  do  they  must  remember  some 
of  their  friends  iu  the  Rural  family  were 
at  the  making  of  that  show. 
When  Do  Boys  Get  Sense  ? 
I  will  not  attempt  to  solve  the  problem. 
Sometimes  I  think  they  never  do.  I  want 
to  tell  R.  M.  II.,  page  1105,  I  have  had 
the  same  trouble,  and  many  times  have 
felt  hurt  to  the  quick.  Your  case  is  not 
uncommon,  although  sad.  In  my  case  I 
was  always  told  it  was  their  bringing  up, 
but  I  do  not  agree  with  them.  I  could 
not  make  them  see  that  they  ought  to 
help  their  parents  and  all  would  be 
theirs  some  day.  Everything  would  be 
harmony  until  you  asked  them  to  do 
something  to  help,  and  the  tempest  rose. 
Mine  are  older  than  yours,  aud  the 
change  has  not  taken  place  yet. 
I  know  a  farmer's  son  of  24  years  who 
was  asked  why  he  did  not  stay  at  home 
and  help  his  father,  as  he  paid  good 
wages.  He  replied:  “What’s  the  use? 
The  old  folks  will  live  forever  and  one 
gets  tired  waiting  for  the  farm.”  Now. 
dear  sister,  let  us  hope  that  sense  aud  un¬ 
derstanding  may  be  given  these  boys  of 
ours  aud  remember  that,  "Every  cloud 
has  a  silver  lining.”  A  mother. 
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Affrs. 
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Direct  to  You 
Retailers’  Of)  EC  C  C 
30c  Quality  UUir  Cb 
Direct  from  Wholesaler.  Fresh  off  the  Roaster 
S  LBS.  FOR  $1 
Bean  or  Ground. 
Delivered  free  within  300  miles  by  parcel  post 
1 0  Lbs.  DELIVERED  FREE  1  OOO  Miles 
Satisfaction  guaranteed  or  money  refunded 
GILLIES  COFFEE  CO. 
235-237  Washington  Street  New  York 
ESTABLISHED  7tS  YEARS 
MAY  GARDEN 
ORANGE  PEKOE  Tea 
Send  10  cents  aud  we  will  send  you  by  Parcel  Post 
prepaid,  sample  of  this  Tea,  good’  for  75  cups.  If  you 
try  this  Delicious  Tea  you  will  certainly  want  more. 
McKINNEY  &CO.,  Dept.  C,  Binghamton,  N.Y. 
SANDANONAH  SAUSAGE 
Unusually  good  farm  sausage,  made  from  finest 
pig  pork  and  seasoning,  in  1-lb.  prints.  Trial  box, 
2  lbs..  60c.  4  lbs.,  $1.20,  within  600  miles, 
YOU  WILL  ENJOY  IT 
SANDANONAH  FARM.  Windham,  N.  Y. 
LET  US  TAN 
YOUR  HIDE. 
Cnttlo  or  Horse  hide,  Calf,  Dug,  Deer 
or  any  lttnd  or  skm  with  hair  or  tur  on. 
Wo  tan  and  finish  them  right;  make 
them  into  coats  (lor  men  aud  women j , 
robes. rugs  or  gloves  when  ordered. 
Your  iur  goods  will  cost  you  less  than 
to  buy  them ,  and  bo  worth  more.  Our 
lllustratod  catalog  gives  a  lot  of  Li 
formation  which  every  stork  raisin' 
should  have,  bub  we  never  send  out  :lu* 
valuable  book  except  upon  nMitost. 
It  tells  how  to  tuko  otr  and  euro  for 
hides;  how  and  when  wo  pay  ilio  freight 
both  way*  ;  about  our  r-alo  dyeing  pro¬ 
ems  Which  is  a  tremendous  advantage 
to  the  customer,  especially  on  hur-a 
hides  and  calf  skins  ;  about  the  fur 
goods  and  gatno  trophies  we  sell,  tax  i- 
derruy,  etc.  If  you  want  a  copy  send  us 
your  correct  address. 
The  Crosby  Frisian  Fur  Company, 
571  LyellAve.,  Rochester.  N.  Y, 
WE  WILL 
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Department  “  M  ” 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
333  WEST  30th  STREET 
NEW  YORK  CITY 
