1903 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
635 
Sod Houses in Nebraska. 
The pictures of sod house and chui'ch, 
pages 506 and 554, bring to mind the 
first sod house I was ever in. June, 
1879, my husband and I drove about 40 
miles to look at a piece of land in the 
old Kearney Reservation, in Nebraska. 
This land had been homesteaded, but 
the owner had not met the requirements 
of law, therefore it could be L: .cen again. 
We forded what was called Diy Creek, 
which was anything but dry. Not a 
house of any kind was to be seen for 
miles, but we were not far from the 
town of Minden, and Port Kearney was 
not far distant. Here we saw a weed 
for the first time called “shoestring,” a 
strong, coarse plant that grew very 
luxuriant. We were told that it denoted 
good strong soil where this plant grew. 
The land was very rolling, not long 
swells, but little wave-like rolls, that 
looked very funny to us. After driving 
some distance we came to a sod house 
joining the land spoken of. The lady 
living there asked us in, and we gladly 
accepted her kind invitation, being very 
tired with our long ride. It was our first 
inside view of a sod house. The walls 
were about three feet thick and eight 
feet high; the roof was made of poles 
and brush, then covered with sod. A 
stove pipe was the chimney; it had two 
one-sash windows and a door made of 
coarse' lumber without a latch; hook 
and staple served the purpose. An old 
rusty cookstove that had seen better 
days, a dry-goods box that served for a 
table, another for a cupboard, and two 
or three kegs for seats formed the fur¬ 
niture, except one old rickety rocking 
chair. A bed filled with prairie hay was 
laid on poles driven into the sod wall 
and resting on forked sticks, which was 
the bedstead. A patchwork nuiit cover¬ 
ed it, and flour sacks were the cases to 
the pillows. The floor was Nature’s 
own, the bare ground. I was amazed 
that human beings (and a young married 
woman at that) could live in such a 
place. Perhaps my face told my thoughts 
(as it has a way of doing sometimes), 
for our hostess told how she came from 
her old home in Ohio, where there were 
all comforts, but they were just married 
and wanted a home of their own. Their 
means were limited, and they took a 
homestead and were trying to carve out 
a home on the wild prairie. “I am not 
used to this way of living and I get very 
lonely when John is gone all day, work¬ 
ing for others as he can get it to do, for 
it is all we have to live on until we can 
raise a crop.” Brave little woman—she 
was not dressed like the one in the pic¬ 
ture. There were no shoes on her feet, 
and the faded calico dress was not of a 
fashionable cut, but it was clean. The 
tears came to my eyes as she told me 
how “mother and the girls do not know 
how we live. I make the best of it to 
them when I write.” It was “home, 
sweet home” to her, and I hope the years 
have brought her a good house with 
trees, flowers and fruits about her door 
instead of the bare treeless prairie. 
Twenty-four years makes great changes 
in a country and also in our lives. 
After that I saw a sod house which 
was very different. The roof was of 
shingles, the walls inside plastered with 
yellow clay, two large windows in each 
of the two large rooms, and the deep 
window sills were full of roses, gerani¬ 
ums, carnations and ivies running up 
and around the window. A canary sang 
in his gilded cage amid the greenery, 
and there was a knob and lock on the 
door which was a paneled one. A good 
carpet covered the floor, an organ, easy 
chairs, plenty of books, papers, etc., 
were found here, and when inside one 
would never dream it was a sod house. 
They are warm in Winter and cool in 
Summer, and when some of these Ne¬ 
braska zephyrs get pretty wild I have 
often wished our house was sod instead 
of lumber. It matters not of what the 
house is made if love and contentment 
reign within. “Be it ever so humble, 
there’s no place like home”; only those 
who have drifted with the tide and 
found no spot to call home can realize 
or appreciate the full meaning of 
“Home, sweet home.” 
MKS. FKEDEIUCK C. JOHNSON. 
The Home Garden. 
The damp and discolored spots on the 
window sill caused by the tin cans in 
which bulbs were grown caused the in¬ 
vention of what, for want of a better 
term, I call a plant board. Tin cans are 
admirable for bulbs, not only because 
there are always plenty of them, hut for 
the reason that bulbs as well ajs many 
house plants grow very thriftily within 
their warm quarters. Select a smooth 
board the length of the window sill; 
place on this as many cans as it will 
hold at a distance of two inches apart. 
Mark around each can. Then cut out 
the wood within these circles, thus mak¬ 
ing saucer-shaped depressions. Make 
them deep enough to hold the water 
draining from the cans. Do not forget 
to perforate in several places the can 
bottoms. Next paint both cans and 
board a dark green. By planting bulbs 
at different times you can arrange it so 
as to have the board continually filled 
with blossoming plants. The board not 
only protects the window sill, but a*!- 
fords an easy way of moving the plants 
on cold nights with little trouble. 
My city cousin had a dainty, low pink 
dish filled with sprays of delicate green 
foliage. I-nvestigation proved it to be a 
mass of growth from carrot tops, some¬ 
thing less than an inch of the root caus¬ 
ing the growth. Such a dish kept filled 
with water will keep green for weeks. 
If you desire fine pansies during the 
entire season, start a portion of the bed 
in late Summer or early Fall. These 
plants will be very vigorous, and very 
prolific bloomers. 
When frost kills the flower beds do 
not fail to give them a thick covering of 
leaves. These decaying and mingling 
with the soil furnish the best of flower 
foods. 
The wild rose known as the sweet- 
brier, with its single pink blossom, is 
well worthy garden room. A clump of 
these roses grew in our side yard. For 
some reason the enemies of the culti¬ 
vated roses left these wild beauties un¬ 
touched; no small item, as the beauty 
of the cluster in the rose bowl is doubly 
enhanced when the roses are gathered 
with their own leaves, perfect in their 
cool green beauty. 
The peculiar power which some wo¬ 
men are supposed to possess in making 
plants grow, consists simply in caring 
for them properly. Plants need to be 
kept clean to have the soil aerated by 
frequent stirrings in addition to the 
main essentials of growth, light, heat 
and moisture. iieeen c. Andrews. 
Preserving Beans; Canning 
Milk. 
Replying to the query as to what dis¬ 
position to make of unsold green beans 
I give the method employed in my 
home. When fit for the table pick and 
prepare them by removing the strings 
and breaking up into inch pieces; put 
into a kettle of cold water and then 
bring to a scalding heat. Skim out, 
spread on plates and dry in the oven 
or out of doors until all moisture is re¬ 
moved. Put away in bags until snow 
flies, then take out a quart and soak in 
cold water over night. Next morning 
boil with a good-sized piece of sweet 
salt pork until tender. I think beans 
prepared in this way are far better than 
when canned and besides none spoils. 
Here is a plan for keeping milk for 
Winter use; Allow the milk to become 
perfectly cold, then fill sterilized fruit 
jars to within a half inch of the top; 
put on the covers loosely and set into 
a clean boiler on a board with holes 
through; fill boiler with cold water to 
within an inch of the tops of the jars; 
bring the water to the boiling point and 
allow it to boil 20 minutes after ebulli¬ 
tion begins, then remove the cans one 
by one, put on new rubbers, fill with 
boiling milk, screw the covers on and 
invert the cans till cold. Put away in 
a cool, dark place and use when the 
cows have dried up. Of course this will 
taste like scalded milk, but for all pur¬ 
poses except drinking it iis all right As 
the cream does not dry, it can readily be 
mixed with the milk if desired. I have 
kept milk put up in this way a year and 
found it sweet. If directions are follow¬ 
ed carefully and everything used made 
perfectly clean little or none will spoil. 
It is quite essential to use new rubber 
rings, as old ones become hard and will 
not make the jars tight a. h. t. 
Pickled Crab Apples. —One quart of 
vinegar, three pounds brown sugar; 
make this into a syrup. Have the apples 
in a gallon jar or one of size that will 
set in an iron kettle. Pour this syrup 
over them, have seasoning tied in small 
pieces of cheese cloth and cook with the 
rest Boil in the jar until a fork will go 
easily into the apples. The juice need 
not cover the fruit at first, the apples 
help make more. This keeps the fruit 
whole and is very satisfactory; it needs 
a weight like a small plate to keep ap¬ 
ples under the liquor, aunt rachel. 
Pear fc'YRUP. —Very nice syrup may be 
made from pears, core and pare them; 
cover with cold water and set on back 
of stove, let simmer until soft, then dip 
off juice carefully or strain through a 
colander. If the juice is not clear strain 
through a fine strainer. Return to the 
fire and boil down rapidly to about one- 
quarter, then add sugar, about as for 
jelly, a cupful of sugar to a cupful of 
juice. Boil until the syrup is thick as 
you wish and put in glass jars. This, 
when properly made, is thought to be as 
nice as maple syrup. The flavor may be 
varied a little by using a very little 
lemon juice or green ginger. If desir¬ 
able the cooked pears may be used by 
boiling them a short time with a little 
sugar, or with sugar and vinegar. I 
would not think of canning them. 
V. o. 
No Smoke House. Smoke meet with 
KRAUSERS.’ LIQUID EXTRACT OF SMOKI 
^de from hickory wood. Gives delioloos flevi 
Obeeperjcleaner than old way. Send tor e 
calar. B. Kraoser Oc Bro., Milton, P 
5 I O*®® 
I A 200 Egg 
INCUBATOR 
Ferfeot In eoDstruction and 
action. Hatohea every fertile 
aff. Write for catalog toeday. 
OEO. M. STAHL, Quincy. Ill 
hi SI I 11 weight was 
able Dress Shields. By mall 12 cents per pa 
Agents wanted- CONNECTICUT RUBBER C( 
Hartford, Conn. 
GOV’T 
AUCTION REVOLVERS, GUI 
Swords and Military Goods. NEWa 
old. Bargains for use or decorati 
Lar^ illustrated 15c. catalogue mailed 6c. stamps. 
FRANCIS BANNERMAN, 679 Broadway,N. \ 
FITTING CHART FREE! 
SAVE YOUR 
EYES. 
We save you S2 to $8 on a pair of glasses. Fit guar* 
anteed by mall by graduate optician. 
Warranted German Silver Spectacles, - tl.OO. 
Warranted Gold Spectacles, - - 2.00. 
DIAMOND OPTICAL CO. 1112 Adams Street, Toledo, Ohio. 
Even children drink Grain-O 
because they like it and the doc¬ 
tors say it is good for them. Why 
not ? It contains all of the nourish¬ 
ment of the pure grain and none 
of the poisons of coffee. 
TRY IT TO-DAY. 
At grocera everywhere: Ific. nnd 26c. per pAckage, 
Beautiful 
tints, restful 
to tiie eye; 
ALABASTINE 
recommended hy oculists ft _ 
House walls. Alabastine is a cement base 
coating, clean, pure and healthful, w'lilcli will 
not absorb and propagate disease germs as do 
kalsomines which are stuck on with glue. 
Alabastine Co., Grand Rapids, Mich, 
and lOBWaterStreet, New York City. 
TELEPHONES 
For Farmers’ Lines. 
Organize an exchange In your 
community. Full particulars fur¬ 
nished. Catalogue free. 
THE NORTH ELECTRIC CO., 
162 St. Clair Street, 
C- N. 301. CLEVELAND, O. 
THE HESSLER IS THE BEST. 
Price, 
$1 EACH, 
Discount Dozen 
Lots. 
Simple, Durable, 
Economical. 
Round, Strong, 
Heavy. 
Lowest In price, 
highest in quaU- 
ty. A sample best 
evidence. Reap- 
F roved Jan. 25th, 
903. Circulars 
«ent free. Orders promptly shipped. We sell direct 
to the farmer. H. K. HESSLER CO., Syracuse, N. Y. 
Rural Mail Box. 
Safety First, Then 
Fair Returns. 
Y 0 u C a 
Safely Get 
\ 
» 5 % 
rtUR patrons’ funds are Invested in such real 
” estate securities as no individual small In¬ 
vestor can get. They are guarded by the 
supervision of the New York State Banking 
Department—by a 
Capital anti Surplus of, !$1,10(),00(> 
Assets of.Sfl GOO.Oi O 
Funds withdrawn at pleasure—earnings reck¬ 
oned from date of receipt to date of with¬ 
drawal. Full particulars, with letters of 
endorsement and commendation from eminent 
men will bo sent OH request. Write us. 
INDUSTRIAL .SAVINGS & LOAN CO., 
1 i;i4 liroatlway. New York. 
BIG PAYING BUSINESS 
Write for names of hundreds of delighted 
customers. Make l>80 to $SO -'- 
weekly. Do business at home 
or traveling, all or spare time, 
selling Gray outfits and doing 
genuine gold, silver, nickle and metal 
g lating on Watches, Jewelry, Tableware, 
iioyoles, all metal goods. Heavy plate. N_ 
perlence, quickly learned. Enormous demand. 
No toys or humbug. Outfits all sizes. Everything * 
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Write today. II. GRAY & CO., CINCINNATI, O. 
“ A Sublime Spectacle.” 
NIAGARA 
FALLS 
One of the natural wonders of 
the world. A charming place at 
any season of the year, reached 
from every direction by the 
W£iy YORK CENTRAL LINES 
A visit to the Falls is an object 
lesson in geography; an exhibition 
of landscapes that no painter can 
equal, and a glimpse of the latest 
developments of the industrial 
world. 
A copy of “ America’s Summer Resorts” 
will be sent free, postpaid, on receipt of a 
postage stamp, by George H. Daniels, Gen¬ 
eral Passenger Agent, New York Central & 
Hudson River Railroad, Grand Central Sta¬ 
tion, New York. 
purifiers u 
JAYNE S ALTE RATIVE. It cures Scrofula. 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs.Wins- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adv. 
