The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1499 
Groceries are packed, sugar, coarse flours, 
etc. The four squares that join the cen¬ 
ter square are of one color and I he other 
squares of another, so small pieces may 
be used. The blocks are set. together 
with scraps of flour sacks colored blue 
for ; sash, and at the intersection of the 
sash are square blocks of lepton-colored 
flour sacks. Instead of butting two pairs 
of well-worn bed blankets furnished the 
lilling, and the quilt, is tied with “thrums” 
of carpet warp. This quilt is just right 
for a couch bed that is used in emergen¬ 
cies. 
I had often wondered if if; were pos¬ 
sible to color corduroy successfully, and 
Laving a light blue corduroy skirt past 
its usefulness for me, I dipped it in a 
brown dye for silk, wool and cotton, and 
hung it to dry without wringing, hut 
kept turning it on the line, if showed 
streaks, but n second dye bntb remedied 
that, and with buttons from an old coat 
Maync baa a pretty school suit. 
The men wear khaki so much I take 
the backs of the trouser legs to make the 
boys’ knickers. The material in two 
pairs may differ a trifle in quality, but 
it is uot noticeable after a trip to the dye 
pan has made il all one color. 
A friend uses another short cut in the 
work in Winter. Hams are pickled as 
for smoking, but instead of smoking the 
meat she heats her iron “spider" and 
lays in her slices of ham, thus smoking 
her ham just right to be delicious. 
Many of our farmhouses still require 
banking to render the cellar frostproof 
when the thermometer tells us it is 20 
or 110° below zero. This banking, however 
neatly done, is uot beautiful, but some 
evergreen boughs cut and laid around it 
transforms its appearance. 
Much has been said and written about 
Centralized schools. This is our boys’ 
second year of riding to a school 3% 
miles distant. I am not sure but a ride 
in the fresh air night aud morning is n 
good thing for them when confined in the 
schoolroom. Anyway. Laddie didn't miss 
a day last Winter, although it was 10° 
below zero one morning when he left home, 
and nearly as cold several other mornings. 
Silk stockings arid not waists are not suit- 
aU > for such a trip, but heavy undt t- 
wear. wool stockings, warm leggings and 
arctics keep the feet warm. If a child 
has to walk from his home to another 
road to join a school team it is a good 
plan to have a large loose coat (or cape 
for a girl) that can lie left in the wagon 
to put on while riding. Then at night our 
doctor strongly advises a warm brick, 
sloue, hardwood chunk, sandbag or hot 
water bottle, put at a child's feet when 
11 tiring. 
Everyone says: "IIow short the days 
are.” Being a woman of "no occupa¬ 
tion,"’ according to the United States 
census, perhaps I mind it more, although 
many times I find myself somewhat like 
the old lady who had so many things to 
do she didn't know what to do first, so 
she sat down and made a pin cushion. 
Personally, I have a secret admiration 
for her, f r by the time the pin cushion 
was done her duties bud probably fallen 
into their proper sequence. But if the 
days are short the evenings are long, but 
will not be long cuough nor emmgh of 
them for uow quilt patterns, rugs, sew¬ 
ing. crocheting, reading and talking 
around the evening fire. 
Today is Thanksgiving Day. and on 
one of the much discussed hill farms. 
Still, often I think when considering the 
status of the inhabitants, of the Arca¬ 
dians. “The richest were poor, but lhe 
poorest had an abundance.” The farm 
furnished the most of our plain New 
England dinner—chicken pie, roust pork 
rib, potatoes, creamed squash, pickles, 
biscuit, butter, citron preserve, jam cake, 
pumpkin pie, apples anil old-fashioned 
com coffee; no coffee for our boys. The 
day was so warm we had the doors open. 
Monday it was only six degrees above 
zero, but a robin came to the mountain 
ash that day, and the wild geese went 
southward only two or three days before. 
MOTHER BEE. 
Partnership 
“Mothers, alone, climb Joy’s most rap¬ 
turous heights. 
Here, too, they touch the heart of love 
divine. 
Oh! Father God. how very good Thou art 
To grant us treasures that else were 
only Tliine. 
A partnership with God is motherhood; 
'What wisdom, what love, what self- 
control 
Must belong to her who helps God 
fashion an immortal soul!” 
Not long ago T chanced upon the above 
bit of poetry in some magazine, and could 
not but think that it carried, for me at 
least, a few new ideas. As [ went about 
my daily round of work the lines still 
ran through my head; you know just 
how such things will, and they started 
up a whole train of thoughts that seemed 
somehow to run on the same track, so I 
thought I would try to put some of them 
down for the rest of the kitchen philoso¬ 
phers to think about and enlarge upon. 
T think most of us. whose time for read¬ 
ing is limited, are more apt to think over 
more thoroughly what we do get time to 
read. We sort of work over our mental 
quids about all day. 
It May Explain.—Now, speaking ot 
this partnership business, who knows? 
It may account for lots of bard-to-undor- 
stand things. Wo can all think of cases, 
perhaps it was our own personal exper¬ 
ience. where young mothers go through a 
crisis with a sick or an injured child, 
where all hope for that, child's life is de¬ 
spaired of by others except that young 
mother. She goes bravely oil. never 
dreaming ot giving up, standing loss of 
sleep and strength, but never losing hope 
until that child is better, fiihe may have 
been one who was considered "such a 
giddy-beaded young thing" at that. After 
it is all over others will ask. "Why, how 
in the world did you stand it?” and 
praises are showered upon her from all 
sides, and all the time she. more than 
anyone else, may be wondering just how 
it was that she went through it all so 
easily. It would be strange, indeed, if 
she did not feel that, there had been a 
vast amount of help, even though she 
might not be tilde to put her thoughts 
into words. When you come to think 
about it mothers are a little different in 
some ways from other people. It may 
be that some secret chamber of their be¬ 
ing is unlocked when the little woolly 
head of their very own baby snuggles 
down on their arm for the first time. In 
that secret chamber would be found a 
new brand of loyalty, courage, hope and 
love, and lots of other things that only 
mothers and the Siledt Partner know 
about. 
Mother as a Cxtre-aix. —•! .don't sup¬ 
pose there is n mother living Who has nor 
been called upon to "kiss a hurt and 
make it better.” Now does it really 
make it better? Of course you have 
wondered about it. Not many days ago 
a finger hit by a hammer was rushed to 
mother to be cured. One kiss ami the 
hurt was gone. As the small patient pre¬ 
pared to go straight back to that unruly 
hammer mother asked: "Is the pain 
really gone—doesn’t it hurt just a little 
bitV’ 1 A small hoy turned at the door 
and gazed wonderingly at her with per¬ 
fectly tearless eyes, although two great 
drps balanced perilously on top of two 
plump cheeks, and he answered: "Why 
no, not oue little tiny bit." Who says 
there are no more miracles? Mothers 
could tell you enough about miracles to 
till a book. 
Mothers of Famous Men.—I n read¬ 
ing history did you ever notice that at 
the time of a great crisis in the affairs 
of a nation, there seems always to be one 
man ready to step into the lead and meet 
the situation? Now to my way of think¬ 
ing that doesn’t just happen, because 
that leader see.ns always to fit the situa¬ 
tion perfectly, just as if he had been 
planned for it. There are many good 
examples, but let us consider only one. 
that of our own Lincoln. That mother, 
hampered by tlie hardest of circum¬ 
stance?, helped form a man to meet a 
great need of a natiou. She performed 
her work nobly, and we all know her 
son’s tribute to his uiorher. Have you 
any idea that she worked alone? 
TnE Partnership Idea at Christ¬ 
mas. —Of course the best example of this 
partnership business is that of the little 
Mother of Bethlehem, and the beautiful 
story is too well known to need com¬ 
ment. but at Ch.'istmas time, from the 
poorest to the richest, mothers every¬ 
where are thinking of their children, and 
the gift quest inn looms large. There will 
be mothers this year, as there are every 
year, who grieve because there was not 
money enough in sight to buy presents 
for tiiose they love, but poor indeed are 
they whose only gifts to their children 
are things that can be purchased with 
money. I believe that mothers more 
than anyone else have found the happi¬ 
ness in giving. Then why be so -selfish 
as to keep this happiness for ourselves 
instead of sharing it with our children? 
It is also natural for a child to want to 
help, and of course there is always some¬ 
one not far away for them to aid in some 
way. Money is not necessary for this 
sort of giving. 
The.New Year Ahead. —Just now the 
world is moving mighty fast, and there 
is more than enough for us all to do. 
When those children of ours are men and 
women most wonderful things will have 
happened. We want them ready for their 
own special places in the general plan of 
things, and more than ever before do we 
need the help of our Silent Partner. 
Then let. us remember that the finest gift 
of till that we can give our children this 
Christmas is a broader view of the shill¬ 
ing road ahead, for as Herbert Spencer 
says, "No oue can be perfectly free till 
all are free; no one can be perfectly 
moral till all are moral; no one can be 
perfectly happy till all are happy.” This 
brings us mother* iust naturally to the 
little poem by F.lla Wheeler Wilcox, 
which doubtless most of you have read: 
“Lord, give the mothers of the world 
More love to do their part; 
That love which reaches not alone 
The children made by birth their own, 
But every childish heart. 
Wake in their Souls true motherhood 
Which aims at universal good." 
THE KITCHEN PHILOSOPHER. 
Day by Day in a Busy Home 
I have been a busy housewife ever since 
I launched my craft more than "2 years 
ago. Of course, the first year was not so 
busy, as there were no little ones, just 
“we two." Then the first baby came to 
remain with ns only three short months. 
Oh, the sorrow of his going, and how I 
struggled on in the hours of loneliness, 
seeking tasks necessary, an unnecessary 
to help pass the time away! I worked 
in the field with my husband, and liked 
the work better than our lonely home. 
The years passed, and more babies needed 
our love aud care, and thus the years 
went b\ until six girls and one boy looked 
(<• us for a home, food, protection, guid¬ 
ance. and an education. 
Almost 30 years of this were spent on 
the farm, where all sorts of work was 
plentiful; in fact, there were many times 
more tasks than could be accomplished, 
but I fought bravely, doing the worst- 
needed things first, and leaving many 
minor duties that were never performed. 
My work was doubly difficult, since my 
husband worked away from home much 
of the time, leaving the management of 
the home, farm work and children en¬ 
tirely on my over-burdened shoulders. 
However. I never gave lip, but struggled 
on bravely with a determination to edu¬ 
cate my children. Six of them are now 
past the grades; two have college di¬ 
plomas. another has finished high school, 
another daughter will soon receive her 
diploma, while the remaining two are in 
high school. The youngest, now 12, is 
now in the seventh grade. 
I should sa.v it has taken work, hard¬ 
ships and much careful thinking to make 
it possible to keep these children in 
school, yet I am so glad that I have never 
given up. Tito children have been faithful 
students, and they, too. have done much 
work under handicapping circumstances, 
but have never failed to make good. 
In order that they might have college 
advantages, it was necessary that I leave 
the farm and move to our college town. 
The change has been beneficial to me, and 
I must say. very pleasant. There are 
plenty of tusks for the town mother as 
well as the country housewife, but they 
are different, and not nearly so nerve- 
racking. Having lived here almost three 
years. I do not care to go back. Farm 
homes are so lacking in conveniences, at 
least most Western farm homes are. which 
makes the work harder. Still the farm 
has its own advantages, even here, but in 
Oklahoma there is simply no chance for 
the children to get a higher education 
without going to the town school. 
We grow our vegetables, can fruit, keep 
a cow and chickens, and do not find liv¬ 
ing expenses so much higher than on the 
farm.* A city would be different, ours 
being only a town of 3.500 inhabitants. 
With old-style homes, hundreds of trees, 
native forest trees, which hide many at 
rite houses almost from view, it is much 
like a home in the country as compared 
with a real city. 
Oklahoma had a wonderful fruit crop, 
peaches especially, and merchants found 
it difficult to keep fruit jars in stock. Mil¬ 
lions of jars were being filled last Sum¬ 
mer . Farm crops are also good. The corn 
crop is immense. Grain crops were some¬ 
what below the average. Most farms have 
live stock; very little dairying is done, 
yet it»> could be made very profitable. 
MRS. LILLIE YORK. 
My Cream Recipes 
The suggestion given in a recent article 
on the Woman’s Page is certainly worth 
trying. I. too, use cream in the making 
of many dishes that call for milk ami 
shortening. The recipes given by Miss 
Kennedy were Unlike some of mine, which 
I should like to add to the collection. 
These recipes of mine call for sweet 
cream, as 1 prefer it, although sour 
cream (aud soda) may be substituted. 
Following a suggestion in a Cornell leaf¬ 
let. I generally a.dd a bit of soda if the 
cream has turned, and then use baking 
powder as usual. 
Biscuits are made with cream to re¬ 
place rhe entire quantity of milk and 
shortening. To make a richer dough, as 
for shortcake or apple dumplings or berry 
puddings. I add a tablespoon of lard or 
compound shortening to the dry ingre¬ 
dients tf a cup of cream is to be used. A 
slightly greater proportion of shortening 
is required for cream pie crust. 
A berry pudding, for which we general¬ 
ly use fresh fruit, although canned fruit 
may be substituted, is made by heating 
the berries with sugar and water in a cas¬ 
serole and pouring a shortcake batter 
over this hot sauce. The dish is then 
placed in the oven and baked. Of course 
this pudding is best served hot, but it is 
not spoiled by cooling. 
The plain cake which is the foundation 
of so many varieties uses seven-eighths of 
a cup of cream and one-eiglith cup of 
milk to replace the usual cup of milk and 
one-fourth cup of butter. 
The ouly cookie recipe in which I use 
cream is for drop cookies. The formula 
is ns follows: Oue cup sugar, one cup 
Sour cream, one teaspoon soda, salt, nut¬ 
meg and lemon. Flour to make soft 
dough. The dough is dropped from the 
spoon on the baking pans. A raisin may 
be pressed into each cooky before baking. 
My graham bread requires one-third 
cup brown sugar or molasses or maple 
sugar, one egg. one-half cup cream, one- 
half cup milk, oue cup buttermilk, IV, 
teaspoon soda, stilt, graham flour to make 
a very stiff batter. Raisins make an 
agreeable addition to this breath The 
loaf should bake slowly for nearly an 
hour. In making any corn bread or brown 
bread, one should remember that nie.il 
and coarse flour need more soda to make 
a light loaf than fine wheat floor does. 
Cream certainly has decided advan¬ 
tages in the preparation of food—even to 
salad dressing—and I am glad I live on a 
dairy farm where I can enjoy it. 
VIDA M.. BATES. 
I Know What Women Want! 
A cup of steaming, fragrant 
COFFEE! 
It soothes the nerves end helps di¬ 
gestion. I personalty select and 
roast my ’‘OWN'* COFFEE. It is 
.-lean and perfect. My friends say 
It iB the best they ever tasted. 
Start the day right t My coffee la 
good for you 1 
Drink All Yoo Want! 
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Dept. A 73 Front Street, New York, N. Y. 
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