1889 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
777 
THE PARAGON CHESTNUT. 
Eds. R. N.-Y.: 
Seeing a note in a late issue of the R. 
N.-Y. in regard to the Japan chestnut sent 
to the editor by Mr. Kerr, we take the 
liberty of sending some samples of this 
Fig. 279. 
year’s Paragon, and ask how much smaller 
are they than the Japan? 
Marietta, Pa. H. M. engle & son. 
R. N.-Y - . A correct portrait of one of 
the chestnuts sent is presented at Figure 
279. The quality of these chestnuts is 
nearly as good as that of American chest¬ 
nuts. Of course, the flesh is coarser, but it 
is free from the bitterness and astringent 
taste of Japan chestnuts in general. 
The scarcity of chestnuts in the New 
York markets this year has renewed the 
discussion regarding the possibilities of 
nut-growing as a business. There are many 
farmers who claim that the chestnut crop 
can be made to compare favorably with the 
wheat crop from a financial point of view. 
The R. N.-Y. proposes to investigate this 
matter and will secure the views of some of 
those who advocate the planting of chest¬ 
nut trees for commercial purposes, if some 
of our waste lands can he utilized by means 
of this crop, we want to know about it, 
and at the same time we do not wish to in¬ 
duce our friends to take up a useless labor. 
Woman’s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
W HEN one is tired and chilled and 
suffering from the nausea which 
results from going too long without food, 
we think no other stimulant is so effective 
as a cup of scalding-hot milk. As a rule, 
most stimulants may be compared in ac¬ 
tion to a whip and spur, which may irritate 
the poor, tired frame to temporary activity 
without any lasting benefit. But the milk 
is a food too : often persons who cannot 
drink cold milk without nausea or indiges¬ 
tion can take it readily when scalded. A 
cup of scalding milk is certainly an ad¬ 
mirable “ night-cap ” for a chilly person to 
take when going to bed in a cold room. It 
warms one through and through, and the 
warmth is lasting. 
* _ 
•» * * 
So many of us who live in country homes 
are compelled to sleep in extremely cold 
bed-rooms—not at all a hardship to a robust 
person, but a very serious matter to a thin- 
blooded or delicate woman. Such a one 
will often lie awake literally all night, 
aching with cold, to get up in the morning 
depressed and nervous, lacking all vitality, 
and in a condition to become the prey of 
any disease. It is impossible to entirely ob¬ 
viate this trouble, but it is certainly an ad¬ 
ditional comfort to sleep in flannel. Not 
merely between blankets, but also to wear 
a flannel night gown. Many people simply 
retain the merino or flannel undergarment 
they wear during the day, wearing it under 
a muslin night-dress, but this is a practice 
to be condemned. It can only be regarded 
as unhealthful not to say unclean. 
*r 
* •* 
A recent liuUAL gave a recipe for Gra¬ 
ham gems, and no doubt a very good one. 
But it contained baking powder, which is 
objected to by many believers in what is 
called hygienic diet, of which coarse Gra¬ 
ham flour forms an important part. Better 
than “Graham” is the “entire wheat” 
flour, which is fine, but dark colored, con¬ 
taining all the nutriment of the grain. We 
make delicious gems from this flour with¬ 
out any “ raising” whatever. The two in- 
dispensables for success are iron pans, 
thoroughly heated, and a very hot, steady 
oven, which bakes well from the bottom. 
Put a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt in 
your mixing bowl. Beat two eggs, and 
pour them into a half-pint cup ; fill the cup 
up with milk. Pour this into the bowl; 
then half fill the cup with milk, and fill it 
up with water. If milk only be used the 
gems will be tough. Add the milk-and- 
water to the eggs, stir it all up and then 
begin to stir in the floux\ Put enough 
flour to make a stiff batter that will just 
drop off the spoon. Fill the little pans 
level full; they must be well greased and 
thoroughly hot. Put the gems on the bot¬ 
tom of the oven in a very hot place, and do 
not open the oven door to look at them for 
half an hour. If you do they will sink at 
once. At the end of this time they should 
be well-browned, and puffed high up, but 
examine the bottoms; if they are not uni¬ 
formly brown there is still danger of a 
collapse, so they must be put in the oven 
for some 15 minutes longer. Rightly made, 
these gems are as light as a feather. Eaten 
hot, they are delicious, but they are also 
excellent cold, and are superior to ordinary 
bread for dyspeptics, or sufferers from any 
disease of stomach or bowels. But if the 
oven door is opened prematurely, or if it is 
not hot enough on the bottom, the unfortu¬ 
nate gems are apt to come out thinner and 
flatter than they went in. 
* 
*- -» 
“ Hygienic food ” is often rather a delu¬ 
sion, as far as ordinary humanity is con¬ 
cerned, but there are plenty of people who 
would be far healthier if they used entire 
wheat flour, to the exclusion of the white 
dust we generally use. The trouble with 
much so-called Graham flour is that it is 
ordinary flour with bran mixed in ; it 
seems as if the entire grain is not ground 
up together, and we unquestionably lose a 
good deal of nutriment. The entire wheat 
flour gives all the nourishment, and must 
be recommended, though in making ordin¬ 
ary yeast bread with it we should recom¬ 
mend the addition of a handful of bran, to 
prevent it from being too moist. 
SOME HOLIDAY BOOKS. 
OLIVE E. DANA. 
T HE holiday books are especially’dainty 
this year, and some of them have in¬ 
terest and value for more than Christmas¬ 
time. Among the latter class are two 
pretty volumes from the Riverside Press: 
Ballads, Lyrics and Sonnets, from Long¬ 
fellow, and Interludes, Lyrics and Idyls 
from Tennyson. The coutents of the 
former are especially attractive, including 
with the hundred selections given, some of 
the most beautiful and best known songs 
of the poet of the Charles. Without illus¬ 
tration, its fair print, broad margins, gilt 
top and lettering, and the unique blue and 
white combination of the cover, invite com¬ 
parison with other more pretentious gift 
books. And the companion volume is as 
comely, with green instead of blue in the 
binding. I suppose the book which lies be¬ 
side them before me, and which I have 
beeu examining with interest, may hardly 
be called a holiday volume; yet it is not 
unsuitable, “ Character and Comment, 
selected from the novels of W. D. Howells ” 
is its title. Mr. Howells’s insight—for it is 
more than penetration—that peculiar, 
feminine instinct of his, we all know is 
marvelous. And he has, too, a genius for 
expression. Moreover, he has a rarer qual¬ 
ity—not so often attributed in due measure 
to him—s»nse. These three elements can 
but crystallize in incisive, piquant sayings, 
in delicious repartee and pungent reflec¬ 
tion. So all the bright bits and hits, 
which the reader of novels is sometimes 
the last to appreciate, and the non-reader 
of novels of course will not get at all, are 
gathered here. It goes without saying that 
a good many of them are about women and 
their ways. And there are sentences 
among them that many a woman might 
read with profit, even if she didn’t relish 
the characterization. 
A charming Christmas book reaches us 
from Lee and Shepard—“ The Wooing of 
Grandmother Grey,” by Kate Tannat 
Woods, with illustrations by Copeland. 
The poem is pleasing, but the pictures do 
more than please, they delight. Quaint, 
homelike interiors, lovely winter scenes, 
pretty groupings around old time hearths, 
winning faces, and the sweet looks of 
Grandmother Grey herself, arrest ,the 
reader as he turns the heavy leaves. It is 
an idyl of old-time, told with exquisite 
faithfulness by both pen and pencil. 
Boys and girls with an appetite for the 
wonderful, and most of them have it, will 
enjoy “ The Adventures of Little Baron 
Trump, and his wonderful dog, Bulger.” 
It will afford entertainment for many a 
long evening. And all the pictures are the 
quintessence of fascinating grotesqueness. 
And the booklets, what art is expended on 
them! One for Christmas, another for 
New Year, and an 1890 calendar beside, 
I note. The booklets are lovely, with 
dainty designs in delicate tints, and appro¬ 
priate selections of verse accompanying 
them. They are printed on ivory card¬ 
board, of peculiarly satin-like texture and 
finish, have gilt-edges, and are ribbon tied, 
with silver chains. And the calendar is 
even prettier, with its odd, fanciful designs 
and comical child faces. J. Pauline Sum¬ 
ter is the artist, and her skill in work of 
this kind has been many times demon¬ 
strated. All the three are of convenient 
size and graceful oblong shape. They 
usher in the happy season of gift-making 
auspiciously. 
Roberts Brothers’ announcements are in¬ 
viting, and the books themselves more than 
fulfill the promises of their prospectus. All 
the autumn issues of this house and their 
holiday issues are numerous and note¬ 
worthy, are books of permanent worth. 
First and foremost, because by many of us 
eagerly anticipated, is “ The Life and Let¬ 
ters of Louisa M. Alcott,” by Ednah D. 
Cheney. The book is even more fascinating 
and suggestive than was expected. Some 
of her experiences and observations are ir¬ 
resistibly laughable; her struggles are 
heroic, with much pathos in them, and the 
suggestions and encouragements of her 
brave career, invaluable to womeu-workers 
everywhere. Of these more serious lessons 
of her life, and of some of the truths she 
taught, writing, working, waiting, living, 
I would like to talk with the Rural read¬ 
ers more at length, by-and-by. 
A posthumous volume of hers, “ Lulu’s 
Library,” appears simultaneously with the 
“ Life.” It is designed for children, but its 
juvenile title hardly does justice to the 
wisdom, shrewdness and sweetness which 
commingle in the nine wholesome stories 
of the pretty blue-bound book—stories that 
older “ Lulus ” might read with profit. 
The opening chapter of “ Recollections of 
her own childhood” is characteristic and en¬ 
tertaining. 
When I read “Just Sixteen,” as the title 
of “ Susan Coolidge’s ” last book, I sup¬ 
posed it meant 16 years, of course, and was 
very likely about a girl, or girls, of that 
age. But lo! it means no such thing, this 
taking title. It is given because there are 
just 16 stories in the volume. “Susan Cool- 
idge”—I believe her real name is Sarah C. 
Woolsey—is known as the author of all the 
charming “ Katy Did ” books, of “A New 
Years’ Bargain,” “A Little Country Girl,” 
and many other stories. Her pen name is 
also familiar as appended to some of the 
most helpful and beautiful religious poetry 
of the day. 
These 16 stories are as entertaiuing as one 
would expect them to be, coming from her 
pen. They carry, too, a good many lessons 
that young girls will be both braver and 
tenderer for heeding. The first one is of 
“A Little Knight of Labor,” and is especi¬ 
ally good. “ A Balsam Pillow ” affects to 
tell the story of the very first of that fruit¬ 
ful, fragrant family. “ The Do Something 
Society ” has a lesson for those young peo¬ 
ple who are fond of giving and of helping, 
yet who expect really to but pass on, trans¬ 
formed a little, the pennies from Papa’s or 
Mamma’s purse. A better way is pointed 
out. And “ Ninety-Three and Ninety-four” 
compares the experiences of two girls in 
renovating their rooms, and making them 
pretty with a little money. 
In their “ Famous Women” series, the 
same publishers bring out “ The Life of 
Jane Austin’” oue of the most interesting 
characters treated of in the series. Her 
work seems not unlike that of her New 
England sister-author, Miss Alcott, the 
charm of the books of both consists so 
largely in their unstudied naturalness, 
while both found the material for their 
stories usually close at hand. The biography 
is likely to do more than its author modestly 
hopes it will accomplish—make Miss Auss- 
tin’s books even better known and more 
highly appreciated” though that, too, is to 
be desired. There appears, too, a novel, by 
Louise Palmer Heaven, “ Chataand Chini- 
ta,” a Mexican romance. While for the 
children comes one big enough and bright 
enough to be a half-dozen books in one. 
“ Grandma’s Rhymes and Chimes” is its 
title. Do any of my readers ever wish their 
childhood had fallen in these fortunate 
days ? And wasn’t one chief cause of that 
futile regret the delightful books gotten up 
just for the little ones? Such pictures, such 
stories, such songs as are made for them ! 
All three, songs, tales, pictures are here. 
I might tell of at least two grown people 
who couldn’t resist reading it through and 
found it vastly entertaining. But grown- 
folks must not be ashamed of reading “The 
Kingdom of Coins’” by Bradley Gilman, 
although illustrations are comically gro¬ 
tesque, and both they and the story, to the 
last page, savor of Wonderland. I suspect 
its precepts we all ought to heed, and per¬ 
haps need to be reminded of; they belong 
to the worrying, wondering work-a-day 
world, though the adventures prove to have 
been “ all a dream.” 
HOME GOVERNMENT. 
J. H. G. 
W HILE it is undoubtedly true that 
very much that is good in Ameri¬ 
can home-life has come to us from our 
English ancestry, yet in some things we 
have done well in departing from the tradi¬ 
tions of our fore-fathers. The autocratic 
bossism of the English husband and father 
is intolerable in this land of freedom. The 
father should command, if he commands at 
all, because of his superior knowlege and 
experience, not because of any special pre¬ 
rogatives which belong to his relationship 
to the family. The divine right of Kings 
is not recognized in this country ; neither 
is the divine right of the husband and 
father. It may be said that in many in 
stances paternal or maternal authority is 
not respected as it ought to be, but I think 
the cause is oftener due to its excessive se¬ 
verity exercised than to the mildness of 
the home rule. The exercise of power in a 
harsh, despotic manner, is not nearly so 
apt to command obedience as the practice 
of firm, judicious advisement. 
An English authority, Mrs. Mallison, 
speaking through the Bradford Observer, 
asks in how many households do we see the 
earliest and rudest form of government 
prevail when it should have given place to 
another more liberal ? How often do we see 
the will of the man. who is strongest by 
physical force, ruling, and perhaps crush¬ 
ing, the very life of thedependent members? 
In such homes no discussion is allowed 
“ My son must go into the work I get fo: 
him, or he shan’t stay at home ; ” “I won’t 
have my daughter waste her time over 
those evening classes ; ” “I don’t choose,” 
—such and such a course of action being 
held sufficient reason for decision. In such 
households the gentle, loving mother often 
stands an unhappy witness of conflicts be¬ 
tween possible harmless wishes of the 
children and the despotic love of power, 
ruling for the sake of ruling. Many an 
English father who. in the pride of his 
heart, declares that “his house is his cas¬ 
tle.” acts the despot to his family in a de¬ 
gree he would not tolerate from those who 
govern him. In other homes we see the 
growing children allowed more liberty of 
deciding and acting for themselves, and 
the government of the family running on 
easier lines. Here the rule of arbitrary 
power gives way to the government which 
attempts, at least, to consider the happi¬ 
ness of those governed, and endeavors to 
get reasonable and willing co-operation. 
This we may fairly regard as the second 
stage of family government. For a long 
period in the life of the home this probably 
provides for the interests of the governed 
in the best possible way ; but we often see 
it outlive the period when, in healthy life, 
it should give place to still freer forms of 
rule. Iu such families we do not lament 
over the lives of their young members 
spoiled and crushed by the will of one over¬ 
powering ruler, but we often see sons and 
daughters living in a state of tutelage, as 
though they had not arrived at manhood 
or womanhood. In such families we may 
see a son with strong tastes and ability in 
oue direction thwarted in the employment 
of these by a father who wishes him to ex¬ 
ercise his powers in some other way. A 
boy with the tastes of an artist is forced to 
go into trade as a butcher or saddler, where 
his perception of form and color has no 
