4886 
THE RUM!. HEW-YORKER. 
783 
HENRY HALES. 
A counterblast in favor of ventilation ; when 
and how to ventilate judiciously ; flooding 
the houses with arctic air isn't proper ven¬ 
tilation ; advantages of ventilation ; ven¬ 
tilation in dwelling-houses and poultry- 
houses not comparable; ventilation as a 
labor-saver and sanitary agent. 
Previous to the last 25 years, little atten¬ 
tion was paid to ventilation in poultry build¬ 
ings, and even now many a farmer’s 
hen-house is tightly closed when the door is 
shut, and rarely cleaned out. Such places 
are pest houses, and the fowls suffer accord¬ 
ingly. Much has been written on the subject 
of ventilation, and most houses used by in¬ 
telligent breeders are ventilated by a system 
which is found to be of great advantage, 
the sanitary conditions keeping the fowls 
in health, of course with proper 
food, etc. No poultry-house of any 
pretention is complete without a venti¬ 
lator at the top to cool the house and let 
in fresh air, and one or two tube or box 
ventilators that have openings near the floor 
to take away bad odors and foul gases that 
settle at the bottom. Most poultry keepers 
having these appliances know how to use 
them. At times all these ventilators are kept 
open; at other times only the bottom ones are 
used, and in very cold weather all are closed. 
Ordinary intelligence teaches the use of them. 
Now just as this ventilating business is be- 
gining to be understood and many breeders 
are using ventilation with good results, up 
comes a cry in several poultry papers on the 
ventilating fever and the ventilation craze. 
There was also a similar article in the 
Rural of October 13. I admire vigorous 
writing, and so do the public, especially on a 
rational subject; but when such strong lan¬ 
guage is used as I see in a general way, and 
with no discrimination, I do not approve of 
it. Farmers, as a rule, are slow to adopt new 
ideas. I go into many farmers’ poultry- 
houses and try to convince the owners of the 
importance of ventilating: in some instances 
it is the first time they ever hoard of such a 
thing, and they improve the houses at once. 
Should those who are slow to adopt improve¬ 
ments hear of the “ventilation craze,” it would 
certainly not encourage them to adopt these 
greatly desired sanitary arrangements. Such 
discordant advice as is now offered by writers 
on poultry, is bewildering to many people. 
Of course, ventilating should be done with 
judgment. If a man lets in a great deal of 
cold air to his poultry in their house at a tem¬ 
perature at zero, he has only himself to blame 
for killing bis birds: that is not ventilation. 
Still it should be remembered that fowls live 
mostly out of-doors, and so require to be kept 
moderately cool in mild weather so that they 
can better endure extreme cold without in¬ 
jury. In dwelling houses there is a draught 
to the fire-places and stoves, which does not 
occur in poultry-houses. We have many mild 
nights in winter when the droppings do not 
freeze. At such times 1 do not shut the 
bottom ventilators. I consider it much more 
dangerous for roup to close them at such a 
time; but whenever the dung freezes at night, 
1 close all up tightly. On damp, mild nights, 
the air in a full house gets very impure when 
the place is closed up tightly. Should it be 
one’s fortune to have but one roupy bird 
in such a house it would prove a great dis¬ 
aster to the stock; for at such a time roup is 
highly contagious. 
It is all very well for those who clean their 
houses out every day and can pay great at¬ 
tention to their stock, watching for the least 
appearance of disease, to advise shutting up 
the house tightly all winter. A visit to the 
houses each night will easily detect any in¬ 
dications of roup. This should be done. I 
have always recommended it, and when peo¬ 
ple are making a business of poultry-keeping 
it pays. But how many people who keep 
fowls have time to give them this attention? 
It is not all fun to leave one’s friends to go 
through the poultry-houses on a winter’s 
night with a lantern to over-look them; yet 
this is the only way to be sure of detecting, 
disease in a large flock of hens. It requires a 
sharp, experienced eye to detect the first 
forms of sickness. Sometimes a bird’s throat 
will get cankerous and in a contagious condi¬ 
tion scarcely to be detected while at large; 
but in the house at night, especially on a 
mild, close one, the offensive odor is quite 
perceptible, and the affected bird must be 
looked up and removed. Where this is not 
done, and there is no ventilation, the single 
ailing fowl will, without doubt, prove a 
scourge entailing great loss and vexation. 
The top ventilators should be square, over 
the highest part of the roof, tight at the top, 
with sloping slats on all four sides. This pre¬ 
vents drafts from blowing down directly on 
the stock. The tube ventilators should come 
down near the floor. Near the top should be 
a piece beveling nearly across the opening in¬ 
side to shut off drafts, and to assist venti¬ 
lation. The tube should be six inches in the 
clear inside, sloping upward at an angle of 
95 degrees, leaving an opening of two inches 
at the upper edge. Every ventilator must 
also have a slide to cut off the outside air, or 
too much cold will be let in in rigorous 
weather. With an experience of 35 years and 
after a great many experiments, I feel that I 
cannot withhold from others the informa¬ 
tion on ventilation dearly bought by myself. 
Woman s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
“Think of your marcies,” as Jo. Marsh 
says. This is a very trite and commonplace 
bit of philosophy; but this world has a trick 
of reflecting the same mood you offer to its 
view. People who look on the best side of 
things are very apt to get the best of every¬ 
thing. Perhaps it seems hard to find any very 
great cause of thanksgiving; but if there isn’t 
any bright side just try to polish up the dark 
one. 
* * * * 
At this season there are two great subjects 
agitating womankind—Christmas gifts and 
winter clothes. To the person of small means, 
midwinter is really the best time to buy sea¬ 
sonable clothing. Fortunate is she who is not 
compelled to buy her winter wraps before 
Christmas. The same with hats; they are 
greatly reduced in price, while it is easier to 
judge the prevailing mode. “ The Wearing 
of the Green ” should be the most popular air 
this winter; it is descriptive of the prevailing 
color. Hats, wraps and gowns, all show this 
hue in varying shades. Braid is the favorite 
trimming; it is often very elaborate. Black 
braid is used to trim all colors. The new or¬ 
iental embroidered trimmings are very hand¬ 
some—also very expensive. 
* * * 
A pretty and useful trifle is a spool bag. 
It is made of silk or satin, requiring a piece 
14 inches long and nine deep. A round piece 
of card-board, four inches across, forms the 
bottom of the bag; it is neatly covered with 
the same material on both sides. Along the 
bottom of the piece which forms the bag, a 
strip 1 % inch deep is laid; this forms the 
pockets to contain the spools. It is divided 
into eight compartments, the divisions being 
formed by fine herring-boning through from 
the right side. The bottom of the bag is 
slightly gathered to make it fit the card-board, 
and then neatly joined to it by over-handing 
on the inside. The top is hemmed, with a 
space for a ribbon draw-string. This is a very 
handy little thing, forming an acceptable gift. 
NATIONAL W. C. T. U. CONVENTION. 
The National Convention of the W. C. 
T. U. was held at the Metropolitan Opera 
House, this city, October 19 th to 23rd inclu¬ 
sive, Miss Frances E. Willard, the president 
of the Temperance Union, presiding. Miss 
Willard is a thorough parliamentarian, and 
conducted the exercises in an able manner. 
The Opera House was crowded with a cul¬ 
tured and attentive audience. Speeches were 
made by many well-known women, among 
whom were Mary A,., Livermore, Rev. Anna 
M. Shaw, Mrs. C. H. a i ris, (Hope Ledyard) 
Miss Frances E. Wil’ -J, Mrs. Annie Jenness 
Miller, Mrs. Clara Hoffman, Mrs. Mary T. 
Lathrop and many ^others." 
Mrs. Annie Jenness Miller, editor of a dress 
reform paper, delivered an address on “What 
to Wear.” She was very bright and witty in 
her remarks, especially those aimed at the 
men. She called the bustle “a horrible hump 
of deformity, ” and said that “petticoats must 
go.” 
Mrs. Clara Hoffman, of Missouri, delivered 
a stirring address on Monday evening. She 
was brimful of humor and sarcasm; and held 
the attention of every one in the house. One 
of our daily papers said, in speaking of her, 
that she was a “regular Western cyc¬ 
lone”—It might be a good thing for the cause 
of Temperance, Love, and Home, if we should 
be struck with a few more such cyclones! 
One thing Jwas noticeable about .her—she 
knew what she wanted to say and then said 
it at once. 
Mrs. Mary T. Lathrop, of Michigan, also 
addressed the meeting in a very able manner. 
When some one whose name was on the pro¬ 
gramme was found to be absent, and the time 
was to be filled by some one else, the cry of 
“Lathrop!” was heard all over the house, 
until she stepped forward. 
* The National Banner of the W. C. T. U. 
was carried off by Dakota. Mrs. Sallie F. 
Chapin of South Carolina, made the presenta¬ 
tion speech. The banner was received by 
Mrs. Johnson of Dakota in a sweet and grace¬ 
ful manner (even though she did say that she 
never made a speech in her life before). The 
delegates were tendered a reception on Wed¬ 
nesday evening, October 24th, by Madam 
Demarest. dora harvey-vrooman. 
WHY WILL YOU DO SO ? 
If any of you girls were asked if it is sin¬ 
ful for a man to take his own life, would any 
one of you hesitate an instant before you an¬ 
swered ? I think not. Do you think it makes 
any difference whether he kills himself in¬ 
stantly with a bullet, or poisons himself by 
slow degrees? Or is it more wicked for a man 
than for a woman? If an engine is left lying 
useless for any length of time you find that it 
gets rusty, so that it is hard to start it again, 
and sometimes it even breaks after it has 
lain idle for a time. 
The human body is a machine, arid every 
part of it has its use, and gets rusty and stiff 
if it is not used regularly. If we were not in¬ 
tended to use our feet, why are their joints 
movable? Perhaps you don’t know it, but 
many of you girls are slowly taking your own 
lives. Fresh air in abundance is one of the 
great blessings that God gives to us and he 
intends us to make good use of it. You can’t 
get sufficient fresh air into your lungs by sit¬ 
ting on the lawn or by an open window; for 
when you are sitting still you do not breathe 
in air in at all large quantities. You must be 
moving in the air to do so. 
Brisk walking is one of the best ways of 
keeping yourself healthy. Perhaps you say 
you haven’t time to go out for a walk every 
day. If you are so busy as that, can you find 
time to stay in bed for three weeks or more, 
suffering from a low fever or something of 
that sort? That is very likely to be the result"' 
of your hard work if you are not careful. 
Are you too tired by the time your work is 
done? You will find if you try it, that a 
short, brisk walk will refresh you, and make 
you feel rested instead of more tired; but, of 
course, in this case, your walk must not be 
too ong. If you are not used to walking, but 
wish to begin, do not try to do too much at 
first. Take a short distance at first, and 
make it a little longer each day. When you 
start out, do not walk too fast, but walk more 
quickly as you go on. Until you have tried 
it, you do not know what delight there is in 
feeling your blood rushing through your 
veins, and mounting into your cheeks as you 
tramp briskly along with some pleasant 
thoughts for company. 
Do not allow unkind thoughts to attend 
you, for then your walk will not do you much 
good; but keep your eyes and ears open, and 
see if you do not find out something new in 
this wonderful world of ours. 
While there is so much pleasure to be had, 
and so much to see, and learn, why do you sit 
in the house and mope, or wish someone 
would take you for a drive ? 
PANDANUS. 
HOME FURNISHING. 
The Rural is giving a great deal of very 
interesting and valuable advice on the subject 
of “House-Furnishing” to its readers, and it 
has occurred to me—perhaps because I am one 
of the “lone, lorn women” of whom Patty 
Garton has such a friendly word to say—that 
there might be many, who, like myself, have 
“homes,” not “houses” to furnish. Yes, I do 
read the Rural, although I live in the tradi¬ 
tional third story back in New York city. 
A year or so ago, when I came here to live, 1 
left a cosy, white farm house where the 
Rural had been a welcome visitor as long as 
I could remember, and so the dear ones at 
home send it to me still. Any one who has 
left a country home where comfort reigned, 
to live in such a boarding-house as can be had 
for five or six dollars in this great Babel, can 
appreciate with what a feeling of degrada¬ 
tion almost I submitted to what at first 
seemed the inevitable. At last I could endure 
it no longer—the smells, the poorly cooked 
food, the uncongenial people—surely it was 
giving’up'much for my beloved art. I con¬ 
cluded that I must have a home. I tried by 
means ^of,.advertisements to^ find a family 
where I might give music lessons in exchange 
for my board—; but only the same class with 
whom I was already boarding answered my 
appeal. Idly looking through the columns up¬ 
on columns of advertisements in the Sunday 
World, I found this: 
“ Wanted, by a lady, a congenial room-mate 
who will share expenses.” This seemed 
promising. I called, found a pretty, bright 
eirl of twenty, who, like myself, was afflicted 
with poverty and a passion for music. We 
talked the matter over; concluded that a room 
could be found without board, where we could 
do our own cooking, and literally stretch our 
pedal extremities under our own mahogany— 
albeit the latter might have to be of pine. It 
must be unfurnished in order to cheapen its 
price as much as possible, and we fouud a 
large room with hot and cold water, up three 
flights of stairs, in a private house. We 
stipulated for the privilege of using an oil 
stove, promising as far as possible to keep un¬ 
pleasant odors from finding their way to the 
rooms below. The locality was. unfashion¬ 
able, and we paid only three dollars per week— 
just what a small hall-room if furnished 
would have cost. So far, so good. We 
pooled our resources; they were so slender 
that I am ashamed to mention them, so I 
shall just tell you how we furnished that room 
by degrees. The obliging son of our some¬ 
what generous landlady promised to stain the 
floor for us. A single coat of light oak stain, 
and another of varnish, gave a beauti¬ 
fully polished floor that shows no dust. 
A rug was out of the question. The 
cheapest Kensington would cost $6.00, 
and be neither pretty nor durable. And 
now my country bringing up came into 
play, and Judith opened her great brown 
eyes wider than ever when I said laconically, 
“Rag rug.” 
“ And what, may I ask, is a rag rug ?” 
“ A rug made of rags,” replied I, and then 
somewhat dubiously, “ But where shall we 
get the rags ?” 
“ If old clothes will do,” said Judith with a 
merry twinkle in her eyes, “I have little else.’ 
I must hasten on or the relentless shears of 
the editor will make short work of my poor 
little economies, so I will briefly say that by 
dint of trips among small furniture uphol¬ 
sterers, and repairing tailors on the various 
avenues, we begged and bought enough ma¬ 
terial for our rug for the trifling sum of 50 
cents. An obliging salesman at my board¬ 
ing-house gave me a great bundle of “ sam¬ 
ples” from the dry-goods house where he 
presided over the flannel department. I need 
scarcely tell the readers of the Rural how we 
made this rug; but I will just mention for the 
uninitiated that the pieces of cloth are cut or 
tornintostripshalf an inch wide,tacked togeth¬ 
er with strong thread, and wound tightly into 
one-pound balls. It requires nearly two 
pounds to the yard, and three breadths four 
yards long made an ample covering for our 
room. From a gorgeous piece of much faded 
old red rep, and another of green and gold 
damask, we rolled six one-pound balls for a 
border on the two ends, which the obliging 
weaver made to match in each breadth. The 
cost of weaving, including the tying of the 
warp on the ends so as to leave a fringe two 
inches long, was $3. Mix colors as much as 
possible, and the shorter the pieces, the more 
aesthetic will be the carpet. This, however, 
was a work of several weeks. Our first strug¬ 
gle was for a bedstead. Two little cots with 
springs,costing $2 each,were considered better 
than even a rather pretty double ash bedstead 
at $5, as the latter would require springs 
and a mattress at an additional expense of 
$4.50. Two mattresses — not of hair, it is 
needless to say—were found at $1.75 each, 
two feather pillows at $1 each. It is only fair 
to say that Jacob’s stone would have been 
soft in comparison. Sheets—two pairs—and 
two pillow-cases for each cot, with a light 
white counterpane, cost $3 each: $7.75 for 
cots alone, and a dollar more for a second¬ 
hand clothes-horse, which by the aid of advice 
from an old Rural, and 50 cents’ worth of 
paint and wall paper we turned into a pretty 
screen to hide all this luxury and magnifi¬ 
cence. You see this room, which was parlor, 
kitchen and sleeping room, must look only 
like the first. 
The kitchen of our “ flat” troubled us little. 
As women, we felt ourselves superior to such 
mundane considerations as eating and drink¬ 
ing. A $3. oil stove with a tiny frying-pan, 
coffee-pot, and a saucepan for oysters and 
stews completed our menage, but we have 
such delicious little suppers—we never dignify 
them by the name of dinners—that I shall 
some time give you a few of our minus. 
By dint of much shopping among second¬ 
hand furniture dealers we fouud a queer old 
mahogany table that opened out into a pretty 
square dining table, or folded up into an elon¬ 
gated library table. This cost $6. and was 
wheeled into the restaurant end of the room, 
