1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
443 
A Strawberry Experience. 
The first year after my mother left us 
thrust me into an entirely new field of 
work. Up to the previous June I had 
done nothing except study, occasionally 
helping with the lighter part of the 
housework. My grandfather always rais¬ 
ed an acre of strawberries, and I used 
to pick berries for him. Four years be¬ 
fore I was graduated my father moved 
on to the farm we now own, containing 
30 acres, 20 of which are pasture lands. 
One of the first things done was the set¬ 
ting of strawberry plants, and the prep¬ 
aration of an onion bed began at the 
same time. The year my mother died 
we had an acre of strawberries to care 
for. I had no experience, and all the 
“bossing” of 25 pickers fell on me; I also 
did the packing. The bed looked fine 
when the mulch of salt hay was raked 
off into the paths. About time for pick¬ 
ing to commence the weeds had grown 
almost eight inches high. I got along 
pretty well the first week. Then the 
berries came in soft and green. The 
children were growing unruly, and al¬ 
together I was having a hard time. One 
morning (for we began work at four 
o’clock) I spent two-thirds of my time 
among the vines, with my skirt wring¬ 
ing wet above,my knees. The pickers 
were even wetter than 1, and those vines 
were loaded with fruit, not only ripe but 
decaying. “You may lead a horse to 
water, but you can’t make him drink.” 
1 used all my power of persuasion, ap¬ 
pealed to their sense of duty, and at last 
threatened to discharge them. I could 
not make those children pick as they 
should. Meanwhile the packing bench 
was covered with carriers waiting to be 
emptied. For another week I kept up 
the struggle, and every day those weeds 
grew ranker, taller and more aggressive. 
At last, utterly discouraged, I told my 
father 1 could not attend to anything 
more than the packing. He walked over 
the bed. Grandpa, he and I held a con¬ 
sultation, and the next day all the pick¬ 
ers were discharged. 
My housework, neglected, had assumed 
alarming proportions. As I scrubbed 
and swept carpets I kept thinking of the 
waste of good material in that straw¬ 
berry patch. The upshot of the matter 
was that my father agreed to give me 
that acre. I was to assume full control 
and have for my own the money I could 
make. The next afternoon I picked 65 
boxes from four rows, and the following 
morning 1 picked three rows more before 
nine o’clock. Papa had harnessed. He 
loaded the crates of fruit into the wagon 
while I dressed, and 1 set off for mar¬ 
ket. The city where we take small fruit 
is six miles away. 1 knew the price 
other growers were getting. I knew also 
that my berries were unusually large, 
firm and, owing to the weeds, very 
juicy, and I did a very audacious thing. 
1 calmly asked two cents a box more for 
my lot, and what is more, 1 got it. Papa 
had been selling for nine cents. I asked 
and received 11. I was quite proud, and 
rested only half an hour after dinner 
before 1 began on those berries again. 
For two days I worked hard from 
three in the morning until seven at 
night, and 1 cleared $57. 1 say cleared. 
When my father saw the berries 1 w'as 
getting and the way I was raising the 
market (I sold for 13 cents one day), he 
declared 1 ought to pay him for the 
boxes and horseshoes. He was talking 
half in fun, but I agreed to the proposi¬ 
tion, and 1 also bought two bags of oats. 
That was the way I saved our straw¬ 
berry bed, although when we mowed 
there were splendid berries still there. 
1 stopped picking because the weeds 
were as high as my waist, and drenched 
me every morning. Even at three o’clock, 
under a hot sun, my hands and arms 
were drenched when pushing the leaves 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs.Wins- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething, It is the Best.— Adv. 
and vines aside. Since that year we 
have not had such a large bed, and never 
have we grown such weeds. Last year 
our strawberry patch died out, and 
weeds filled in badly. I have learned 
wisdom in my three years of farm life. 
I understand and can accomplish much 
more than I could then, but I hope I may 
never be called upon to repeat my ex¬ 
perience with strawberries in 1899. 
ADAH E. COLCORD. 
The Household Congress. 
A Simple Baby Sacque. —A pretty 
baby sacque pattern shown in Fig. 160 
may be made from half a yard of fine 
French flannel. It is cut all in one piece 
by folding the cloth on line A, and lay¬ 
ing on the half pattern. It may be fin¬ 
ished around the edge by crocheting, 
buttonhole stitch, embroidery or simply 
bound with ribbon. The side seams. 
A ONE-PIECE BABY SACQUE. Pro. 160. 
B B, are fastened together by sewing 
narrow taffeta ribbons on each side and 
tying together in tiny bows in two 
places. The sleeve, C, is also closed at 
seams in same way, and these bows are 
simply untied when the sacque is laun¬ 
dered. The neck is marked D. A ribbon 
may also be fastened to each side of the 
front to tie it together. It is simple, 
easy to make and easy to launder. 
ALICE E. PINNEY. 
A Tidy Kitchen. —There are house¬ 
keepers whom we might class as apolo¬ 
getics. There is no fault to be found 
with their cleanliness, but the kitchen 
is cluttered. If the hostess would not 
immediately become conscious of this 
when a neighbor drops in all would be 
well, but she always apologises and 
makes herself and friend uncomfortable. 
I wish to suggest a simple remedy. 
There is always a cellar-way, a pantry 
and usually a clothes press adjoining 
the kitchen. Encourage the habit of put¬ 
ting the wood box, the coal scuttle, the 
oil can and coats and hats into one or 
the other of these, and there will be no 
further need of apology, for scattered 
articles are very unsightly and are bet¬ 
ter put where they will not be seen con¬ 
stantly. Let children have their play¬ 
things to their hearts’ content and do 
not scold them, but at dinner time tell 
them to put them away in box or cabi¬ 
net. They will think this part of the 
fun, and it will teach them a habit' of 
neatness and preparation for father and 
brothers which will last them through 
life, BETTY. 
Three Delicious Preserves. 
Chipped Pears.—Eight pounds fruit, 
six pounds sugar, one pint cold water, 
juice of three lemons and yellow part of 
peel cut into thin strips; one-fourth 
pound (scant) green ginger root, par¬ 
boil and cut in small pieces. To cook, 
put a layer of pears in the kettle, then a 
layer of sugar, lemon, ginger and so on 
until all is used up, then pour over the 
pint of cold water and cook three hours. 
It will be a brownish color when done. 
Plum Conserve.—Five pounds plums, 
peeled and pitted; five pounds sugar; 
cook plums 20 minutes before adding 
sugar. Put in sugar and boil a little, 
then add two pounds seeded raisins (cut 
into small pieces), grated rind of four 
oranges and the pulp chipped (easier to 
cut with scissors). Cook to a thick con¬ 
serve (15 to 20 minutes), and put in jelly 
glasses. Cherries (sour) are good used 
instead of plums; pit them. Currants 
may also be used instead of plums. 
Cherry Conserve.—Five quarts cher¬ 
ries (sour), one pound raisins (seeded 
and cut); two oranges (pulp cut in 
pieces, also yellow of skin); one pound 
English walnuts (chopped); 2% pounds 
sugar. Cook until thick and put in jelly 
tumblers. Cherries must be boiled about 
20 minutes before putting in sugar, etc. 
E. 8. 
“Livable.” 
“Yes,” said Mrs. Farren in the Youth’s 
Companion, “Milly Morris is a nice girl 
clear through, and if anybody ought to 
get along easy with a tryin’ mother-in- 
law, she ought. A more livable person 
I never knew.” 
“Livable?” repeated her listener. “Liv¬ 
able? That must be a local word. I 
don’t think I ever heard it before.” 
“It may be local,” rejoined Mrs. Far¬ 
ren, a trifle loftily, “and it may be bad, 
and it may be good; but anyway it’s just 
what I mean. Milly’s livable. She’s been 
brought up in a big family, and she’s 
had to be, if she meant to be comfortable 
herself and let other folks be comfort¬ 
able too. There were more livable folks 
when I was a girl than there are now, 
and I think the big families had a good 
deal to do with it, though of course not 
everything. 
“There were plenty of people then who 
never got their corners worn down, no 
matter how many brothers and sisters 
they had; but even when they rasped, 
those days, they got along together after 
a fashion. Nowadays, land! Sometimes 
it stumps me fair and square why the 
nice people I know in nice families can’t 
seem to stand each other’s little ways. 
“Oh, I don’t say it isn’t so; when the 
doctors say they can’t—and it generally 
ends in doctors—why, I suppose they 
truly can’t. It’s nerves, and nobody un¬ 
derstands nerves unless the doctors, and 
I’m a long way from being sure that they 
do. But just you count up some time the 
families where there’s always one mem¬ 
ber mysteriously off visiting, and then 
the number of folks you know that sep¬ 
arate when they’d naturally stay togeth¬ 
er, if only they could hit it off—lone sis¬ 
ters and only-surviving bachelor broth¬ 
ers, and mothers and only daughters, 
and all sorts of family remnants that 
ought to be each other’s best comfort. 
But as soon as they try living together, 
one of ’em gets nervous prostration, or 
has hysteric spells, or is ordered off 
quick to travel somewhere where the 
climate doesn’t agree with the other one. 
They’re fond enough of each other, gen¬ 
erally, and they aren’t generally ugly- 
tempered; they just aren’t livable. 
“It can’t be endured, always, and It 
can’t be cured, sometimes; but I’m firm 
in believing it could be prevented most 
times. If, when folks first began to 
harden in their own little crankums, and 
fret over the cranks of the folks they 
care most for, they’d stop and think 
where they were getting to, why, nine 
times out of ten they’d pull up in time, 
and get their nerves and feelings and 
foolish frettings tight in hand before 
they run away with ’em! 
“Yes, that’s what I surely do believe. 
And outside the great, big, deep founda¬ 
tion virtues, if I had a daughter, the lit¬ 
tle virtue—if it is a little virtue—I’d 
rather have her have than any other 
would be just that—being livable. It’s 
an all-’round, lifelong blessing to whom¬ 
soever it concerns.” 
“It may be good or it may be bad or 
it may be local,” assented the listener, 
thoughtfully, “but whatever it is as a 
word, livable is a good thing to be. I’ll 
own that.” 
Small Savings 
Can Fairly Earn 
5 % 
INVESTING only in gllt- 
edge real-estate securities, 
this Company has eyery year 
Incrensed its surplus after 
paying its patrons 6 per cent. 
5 per cent per annum paid 
quarterly by check. With¬ 
drawals at pleasure without 
loss of dividends. Under su¬ 
pervision of State Banking 
Department. 
Capital & Surplus, $1,100,000 
Assets, • . . $1,600,000 
Industrial Savings and Loan Co< 
1134 Broadway, New York. 
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no extra Are. Always ready for use, 
will last a lifetime. It works while 
you cook. Write for circulars and 
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, OLLARS 
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''BUYS THE GENTS'HIGH GRADE 
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you do not And It handsomer, stronger, easlerrldlng, bet¬ 
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Chills 
"PamkiUcY 
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PRICES REDUCED bSys? 
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FIVE 
POINTS 
OF EXCELLENCE 
Leaving the center of the city 
from which you start; reaching 
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NEWYORK CENTRAL LINES 
A copy of the 52*page Illustrated Catalogue 
of the “Four-Track Series,” will be sent 
free on receipt of a two-cent stamp by 
George H. Daniels, General Passenger Agent 
New York Central & Hudson River Kallroad, 
Grand Central Station, New York. 
Her gray hair makes her look 20 years 
older. And it’s so thin, too. Tell her all 
about Ayer’s Hair Vigor. 
J. V. Ayer Co., 
Lowell. Masa. 
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