ass 
THE BUBAL liEW-YOBKIB. 
DEC IS 
ous of makiog one of the greatest interest and 
value. It will be a good time for some one 
who thinks she cannot write an article to try 
and thereby surprise herself with the result 
of such an effort. We shall gladly welcome a 
talk on these subjects from any of our friends. 
-- 
A CHAPTER ON BABIES. 
“Mrs. Grey is the greatest woman I ever 
saw,” said Mrs. Thurston, as she took a low 
rocker and seated herself by the stove in Mrs. 
Wilson’s sitting-room. “ I declare it takes all 
sorts of folks to make a world!” 
“ Wbat has Mrs. Grey done to astonish you 
again ?" said Mi - b. Wilson, taking up her 
work, for she was well aware of Mrs. 
Thurston’s penchant for long calls. 
“ Oh, she is so queer 1 She is always doing 
things so different from any one else. Just 
think; she was feeding her six months-old 
baby with oatmeal pudding.” 
“ That is wholesome food, I am sure; and 
I presume she thinks it a good diet for the 
little one.” 
“But ike idea of giving such stuff to a 
little baby.” 
“ I think Mrs. Grey is a sensible woman, 
and knows what she is about; that child 
shows that he is well cared for; 1 never saw 
a healthier boy at his age,” quietly remarked 
the lady, as she arose to answer the door-bell, 
and usher in the clei gyman’* wife. 
“ Oh, Mrs. Wilson ! Poor Mrs. More’s baby 
is dead, and she is almost broken-hearted. It 
is so sad that one after another of her little 
ones are taken away just as they are getting 
so sweet and lovely.” 
“ This is the fourth baby she has lost,” said 
Mrs. Thurston; “l really believe she don’t 
know how to take care of them properly. How 
does Mr. More feel ?” 
“ He is not a man to show his feelings; he is 
quiet and sad, but very tender with the poor 
mother,” replied Mrs. West. 
“ He is too proud to show his feelings, if be 
has any.” said Mrs. Thurston; ‘‘so much for 
old men marrying young wives; 1 never 
thought he cared much for the babies 1 
“ I think Mr. More ia very fond of bis chil¬ 
dren; and he certainly feels their loss deep¬ 
ly,” said Mrs. Wilson. 
“One would not think so by his appear¬ 
ance I They-” 
“Please do not be uncharitable; people dif¬ 
fer in the manifestations of grief; and 1 often 
think that no one can judge of another’s feel¬ 
ings,” said Mrs. West. 
“It made Mr, Thurston down sick when 
Ellen died, and I could not sit up for weeks 
after her death. Oh, dear! It was a dread¬ 
ful blow to us both! I think I will go over to 
Mrs. More’s, and learn the particularsand 
she drew her shawl over her shoulders, and 
bid the ladies adieu, as she passed out. 
“ I am sorry she has gone, but she will not 
see any of the family, as Mrs. More is lying 
down, and her husband is sitting by her bath¬ 
ing her head. Mrs. Thurston is not a nice 
person to go to the bouse of mourning, she 
lacks delicacy of feeling and makes too many 
critical remarks; Mrs. More is nearly heart¬ 
broken; theaauseof baby’sdeath was an over¬ 
dose of soothing sirup.” 
“ Oh: how dreadful, Mrs. West; how did it 
happen 
“ He has been troubled with his teeth a few 
days past, and as he suffered so much they 
sent for a bottle to see if it would not relieve 
him. The nurse gave him a full dose while 
they were at tea; when his mother took him, 
she, not knowing he had taken any, gave him 
another teaspoonful, he went to sleep soon 
afterwards and never awakened again. They 
saw that be slept heavily, and his mother 
grew frightened; they sent for the doc¬ 
tor, but it was too late. This is why the poor 
mother is so heartbroken.” 
“ I do not wonder at it! Poor woman she 
is sadly afflicted; I am sorry for her! It was 
a sweet child" said Mrs. Wilson, sighing 
heavily. “ Do you know, Mrs. West, that I 
think that nurse is an incompetent perpon to 
take charge of an infant ?” 
“ I have thought of that myself, several 
times; all she seems to care for is to have a 
baby look nice and keep still. The More babies 
are the quietest children I ever saw; not much 
like Mrs. Grey’s rollicking, playful little one; 
but Mrs. Grey knows how to care for babies, 
she always feeds and dresses them herself; she 
never trusts the little ones with a hired hand.” 
“Mrs. Thurston was just telling me how she 
fed the baby on oat meal, as if it was almost 
an outrage on humanity,’’laughed Mrs, Wilson. 
“ Baby Grey Bhows for himself that he has 
a wise mother; he has never had a sick day in 
his life: the most healthy specimen of boyhood 
I ever saw; I do not like to condemn or cen¬ 
sure my neighbors, but really, if we had more 
Mrs. Grey’s in our community and fewer Mrs. 
Thurston’s, there would be a general jubilee 
among the little darlings and more of them 
would grow up to childhood.” 
“1 think people doctor babieo too much,” 
said Mrs. Wilson. “Do you know what caused 
Ellen Thurston’s death ?” 
“ I beard it was taking paregoric; her 
mother always gave it to her for every trifling 
ailment; and one day she took a four-ounce 
vial full in less than an hour, because she had 
the stomach ache.” 
“ I do not believe in doctoring or taking 
much medicine; the less the better; but I do 
believe in mothers knowing how and taking 
care of their babies themselves, and it is for 
their own happiness as much as for the com¬ 
fort of the little ones. Grandmother. 
Those who wish to read the first news 
respecting the best new grains, fruits or farm 
implements from actual trial should read 
the Rural New-Yorker. It is by all good 
farmers and horticulturists the accepted me¬ 
dium for the introduction of all new plants 
and implements. 
CONCERNING MILK-FOOD FOR CHI1 - 
DREN-LONG CLOTHES—TEM¬ 
PERATURE, 
MARY WAGER FISHER. 
Mr. Henry Stewart makes this state¬ 
ment in the Rural of November 18: “Cows’ 
milk is not a wholesome food for children, as 
a rule,” etc., etc.”—an assertion that is very 
remarkable for an intelligent person to make, 
and one from which many persons will emphat¬ 
ically dissent. The heelthiestaDd best-grown 
children I have ever seen have been reared 
chiefly on cows’ m ilk. The diet of my own 
child from four months of age until he was 
three years old, consisted almost exclusively 
of cows’milk, and the lad had never a day’s 
iilness, and was, as he continues to be, a su¬ 
perb specimen of splendid health and physical 
development. His diet, for the first year, was 
in accordance with the direction of Dr. Erne- 
line Cleveland, one of Philadelphia’s finest 
physic! ans—and now, alas! dead!—and, unti] 
he was six months old, consisted of milk di¬ 
luted with water in equal proportions; after 
six mouths, the child drank the milk pure, al¬ 
ways luke-warm. A very little oatmeal or 
bread was gradually added, but in very small 
quantities. Care was always observed not to 
overload the child’s stomach. He was taught 
to drink the first week of his happy life; and 
he drank his milk at regular intervals. I 
mention this case simply because 1 know best 
about it, aod not that it is at all exceptional. 
I do think this about milk -that it does not 
agree equally well with all children. At 
least, 1 have beard mother’s say that their 
children did not care for it, etc. I think, too, 
that milk, undiluted, is often too rich for a 
young child’s stomach. I think, also, that the 
“ nursing-bottle ” is au “ utter abomination,” 
and I never see a child making use of It with¬ 
out a feeling of extreme discomfort. It is so 
unnecessary, as a rule, as all children of aver¬ 
age intelligence can be taught to drink, that 
it is surprising that mothers ever allow it to 
be used, both on account of the work it in¬ 
volves to keep it wholesome, and the bad re¬ 
sults that accrue from its use when it is not 
kept clean and sweet. 
There are other cases, too, where cows’ 
milk does not prove wholesome for children, 
and that is where it is mixed with what 
should not go into a young child’s stomach: 
sugar, aud such starchy ingredients as farina, 
corn-starch, etc. Pure cows’ milk contains 
every ingredient necessary for the growth of 
the child; it is less sweet than the mother’s 
milk, but when this is not available, there is 
nothing, taken all in all, that so nearly ap¬ 
proaches Nature’s food, that is generally 
available as the milk of the cow, and the 
more of it that children eat and digest the 
better for them. Ah adult can live entirely 
upon it, and enjoy very fair health. At least, 
I have been told of a gentleman in busi¬ 
ness near Philadelphia, whose sole food for 
several years had consisted of cows’ milk, and 
he enjoyed av. rage health. Of couise, he 
was an invalid when he began to live exclu¬ 
sively upon it, and finding that he could as¬ 
similate it better than any other food, he dis¬ 
carded all other diet aud recovered his health. 
Indigestion is unquestionably at the bottom 
of most disorders, and it is now a theory that 
It produces even rheumatism. Among chil¬ 
dren, four fifths of all their ailments are 
probably produce ! by putting into the stom¬ 
ach food that it canuot and should not digest 
—bits of cake aud pie ami scraps of meat, a 
piece of pickle, green, hard fruits, nuts, weak 
doses of tea and coffee, cheese, crackers— 
whatever the child may happen to want, or be 
on the table, or convenient in the closet. It 
is the plainest of common sense that before a 
child has teeth it has no busineas with food 
that requires mastication. There are some 
things that Nature thoroughly understands, 
and this is one of them; and those mothers 
who chew food between their own teeth (often 
decayed ones at that), and then transfer the 
morsel to the mouth of the child—oh, me! 
they are very dreadful, to say the least! 
And, to my mind, there's another thing that 
Nature never intended—that a child’s limbs 
should be burdened with “long clothes.” The 
yards of flannel and cambric that some babies 
are obliged to bear, roust in the long run be 
the death of them. The movements of a child 
should be as free as possible. No other living 
creature brought into this world could exist 
if tied up and bundled up like most little 
human beings. 
Temperature.— I was ushered into a parlor 
two or three days ago where the temperature, 
I should guess, was 80 degrees. The sun 
without shone so fieroely that I could scarce¬ 
ly : ee to guide my horse—it shining full in 
my face—but in that purgatorial room— 
clean and tidy as possible—the immaculate 
windows were blinded to keep out the blessed 
sunshine—the giver and keeper of life—while 
a “ Baltimore Heater ” was at its “top bent” 
of giving out heat. Both the ladies who oc¬ 
cupied the house were invalids, and who 
could expect otherwise > A thermometer can 
be bad for 15 cents—ask Sauta Claus to bring 
you one—and keep the temperature of the 
house very near to hospital heat, which is 08 
degrees. People who live in hot rooms, un¬ 
less they remain in them constantly, always 
suffer from colds. Have an open fire in the 
JiviDg room if you can manage it—wood is 
best—and contrive to manage it! There's 
nothing like one for keeping a room in a 
healthful, wholesome condition, as it is an un¬ 
failing ventilator, and it never gives one a 
headache. Besides, if you have an open fire, 
you make sure of having jour room deco¬ 
rated with a thing beautiful and bright be¬ 
yond all question, 
- - ——-- 
PEEPS ACROSS THE WAY. 
NO. 2. 
MAY MAPLE. 
This raw, cold, disagreeable morning I saw 
Mrs. L-’s baby boy, who is lees than 18 
months old, trotting around nut-of doors, 
with his feet and limbs entirely bare: his 
short dress merely covered the shoulders and 
upper part of the tody. I couldn’t help pity¬ 
ing the child, and wondered if it was for want 
of proper clothing that he was allowed to go 
so destitute. I had been well clad with-warm 
wraps, and yet bad felt the effects of the chil¬ 
ling autumn wind. 
Upon inquiry 1 found that it was through 
pure neglect that little Johnny was without 
htH warm drawers, stockings and shoes. 
Little sister had been too eager to play, and 
bad neglected to dress him, as she ought. 
“ But,” said bis mamma, “ he is so used to 
all sorts of treatment, he doesn’t seem to 
mind it.” • 
“Will not the child take a cold that will 
bring on a dangerous illness I" said I. 
“ 1 suppose there is a risk in letting him run 
out so; but I have so many things to ’tend to, 
that I scarcely give him a thought so long as 
he is quiet; but I guess he bad better come 
in and she shivered as the searching wind 
rushed in at the opeD door. 
“Hattie, go bring the baby in and put on 
his shoes and stockings,” said Mrs. L-to a 
little girl some five or six years of age. 
The little girl came in with the little brother 
and began hunting for Ibe mfssing garments, 
when 1 discovered that she wasas thinly clad, 
and was already complaining of a hard cold. 
It was no longer a mystery why Mrs. L-. 
had to send for a physician so frequently that 
it needed much more than all her spare 
change to pay the druggist for medicine. A 
little careful supervision over Hattie and her 
allotted tasks, in the morning—making sure 
first that Hattie was properly dressed l'or the 
season and then that the baby-boy was so 
thoroughly well dressed that he could not pull 
off any part of his clothes—would have saved 
her a world of anxiety and the children a 
great amount of suffering. Besides, a large 
sum of money that went for the doctor’s 
visits might have been saved to purchase con¬ 
veniences for the house and yard. 
The evil effects of a cold taken in childhood 
often follow one through a long series of 
years, making life a wearisooje burden. 
What a responsibility do careless or thought¬ 
less mothers take upon themselves in thus 
neglecting their maternal duties. It is bad 
enough for those who really have no possible 
means of ma king their offsprings comf orta ble; 
but for those who from indolence or thought¬ 
less mismanagement allow opportunities for 
such suffering, there really is no excuse. 
-- 
THE LIGHT OF TO-DAY AND OF 
OTHER DAYS. 
ANNIE L. JACK. 
1 kumkmkek, wheu a little girl, seeing long, 
thin candles called rushlights. They were 
used at night I think in a eick room, or where 
a light was required for children, and they 
were made by stripping rushes of the outer 
covering and dipping the pith with a little of 
the bark on it into hot tallow. It was the op¬ 
posite extreme of the electric light. 
I fear in many country homes enough care 
is not taken that the light shall be the best. 
The children sit to read or study with their 
heads close to the lamp and the heat is often 
more injurious than the bad light at a dis¬ 
tance would have been. Then, again, through 
want of cleauing half the light is lost, and 
also from failu re to cut the wick. An old 
tray to hold all utensils and a bottle of dis¬ 
solved washing foda with good oil, and soft 
cloths will do away with the terrors of lamp 
cleaning. There is a great deal in keeping 
all utensils in proper order, and doing the 
work with regularity. If the oil i-. dark and 
“ gums” up, the wick it is not safe and should 
be changed; for it is poor economy in this ar¬ 
ticle to buy a low grade. In “Every-day 
House” we do not use small hand lamps, for 
though sperm candles are more expensive 
they are safer and better for children to carry 
and when the boys and girls crowd round 
the table during the long Winter evenings 
there is nothing more uecessaiy than that 
they should have good light so ns not to in¬ 
jure their sight, as is often done without any 
one perceiving the mischief in progress un¬ 
til it is too late, when a little care would have 
prevented what could not afterward be cured. 
-♦- 
TO MAKE CHRISTMAS WREATHS, ETC. 
Very pretty decorations may be made with 
moss and everlasting flowers. The moss that 
resembles minute ferns is the best. Pick it 
all opart and spread it out and dry for two 
or three days. Put common washing blue¬ 
ing into warm water until it is a very dark 
blue, and pour over the moss; it will color 
it green, or, at least, will prevent its turning 
yellow. Care roust be taken that the water 
is not too blue, or it will show when the 
moss is dry. Better color a little first, then 
add water or blueing if needed. Cut paste¬ 
board in any desired form, al out an inch 
wide; gather the moss in little clusters and 
sew neatly on it, taking care that it is all 
covered. Take everlasting flowers (helichry - 
sums are among the best), cut the stems short 
and dip in glue or paste, and insert in the 
moss. Beautiful wreaths, crosses and letters 
for mottoes may be made that will retain 
tbei r colors for years. The words “Merry 
Christmas,” “Welcome,” etc,, are beautiful 
made in this way. 
- — 
Horsford’s Acl<l Phosphate 
IN DYSPEPSIA. 
Francis H. Atkins, A. A. Surgeon, U. S. 
A., says: “For dyspepsia, whether in the lean 
or corpulent, in nervous debility and in night 
sweats of consumption, it has commonly giv¬ 
en speedy benefit, and some of my army 
friends are quite enthusiastic about it.”— Adv. 
PROFESSOR 
