236 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER; 
Marcia 31 
l Woman and Home \ 
0 Jt\ A 
From Day to Day. 
THE WOMAN WITH THE BROOM. 
“The Man with the Hoe” let others sing, 
And to him ready tribute bring; 
Tell of his labor and unrest, 
The sense of wrong that rives his breast; 
How on his Atlas back he bears 
The world, with all its toils and cares, 
His broken spirit wrapt in gloom— 
I sing, “The Woman with the Broom.” 
Smiling, within her door she stands, 
Her busy broom in willing hands; 
She makes the household wheels go ’round 
Without a jar, with scarce a sound. 
To her the skies are always clear; 
And, moving with a breath of cheer, 
She sweeps away the dust of gloom— 
This happy Woman with the Broom. 
And while she works she sings a song, 
While all life’s joys together throng, 
That rings a call from roof to dome 
Throughout her realm of “Home, Sweet 
Home.” 
Love’s garden nestles ’round the door, 
Where flowers of fond affection bloom 
And bow their rainbow heads before 
The radiant Woman with the Broom. 
Queen o'er the home her sceptre sways; 
Her subjects walk in pleasant ways; 
They love her rule, protect her right, 
Enjoy her sweetness, strength and light; 
And when, at last, she’s called to rest, 
“Her children rise and call her blest;” 
By cradle, altar and the tomb. 
The faithful Woman with the Broom. 
—Leslie’s Weekly. 
* 
This Spring one of the most over¬ 
worked adjectives used by the milliners 
and fashion writers is the term “pastel.” 
We read of taffeta silics in pastel shades; 
of hats giving pastel effects, and of pas¬ 
tel ribbons, velvets and cottons. The 
dictionary definition of pastel tells very 
little that will aid the seeker after mil¬ 
linery knowledge. It may 'be explained 
that the pastel tints in textiles are those 
produced by mixing any color with 
white, this giving a cool, pale, shim- 
mery effect. Pastel greens show the 
silvery tint seen on the under side of 
the willow leaf; pastel blues and grays 
suggest opal and mother-of-pearl. All 
these tints are very Spring-like, and 
many of them are distinctly novel. 
* 
A New York woman recently used a 
prepared cleaning fluid to take grease 
spots out of a silk skirt. She poured 
some of the fluid into a bowl of water, 
and began to rub the spots vigorously. 
An explosion ensued, wrecking the 
room, and severely injuring the woman, 
whose clothes were set on fire. The 
damage amounts to about $1,400, it is 
said. There was no fire or lighted lamp 
in the room where the explosion occur¬ 
red, and tne inference is that the ex¬ 
plosion resulted through frictional elec¬ 
tricity. Vigorous rubbing with any 
preparation of low-test gasoline seems 
to present this danger, so that the 
absence of fire ooes not assure immu¬ 
nity from explosion. 
* 
The Maine Experiment Station 'issued, 
last November, Bulletin No. 55, devoted 
to cereal breakfast foods, in which the 
nutritive values of different prepara¬ 
tions are given. This bulletin is a very 
valuable one, giving the housewife a 
class of information analagous to the 
tables of balanced rations provided for 
the stockmen on the live-stock pages of 
The R. N.-Y. We are given the compo¬ 
sition of the various food preparations, 
told whether the claims of the manu¬ 
facturers are confirmed by analysis, and 
are told the actual values. We find that 
protein, the most expensive part of our 
balanced ration, is furnished more 
cheaply by oat preparations than by 
those of corn or wheat. The oats also 
supply fat 10 times as cheaply as the 
corn products, and five times as cheap¬ 
ly as the wheat foods. The carbohy¬ 
drates are provided most cheaply by the 
corn preparations. The extravagant 
claims of some foods are exploded, and 
some favorite foods are shown to be ex¬ 
travagant, when the price is compared 
with nutritive value. All our friends 
who are trying to study the household’s 
balanced ration should procure this bul¬ 
letin. 
* 
A woman in Pennsylvania was re¬ 
cently severely burned and cut by the 
explosion of a cooking vessel, in which 
she was boiling beans. One’s first idea 
is to smile at the thought of an innocent 
bean pot developing the explosive quali¬ 
ties of a lyddite shell, but it is evident 
that such an accident may be a very 
serious one. No doubt it was the result 
oi cooking the beans in a vessel prac¬ 
tically air-tight. 
* 
The recent report by the Congres¬ 
sional Committee investigating food 
adulterations, condemns the widespread 
use of alum in baking powder, and re¬ 
commends that its use in food products 
be prohibited by law. Among all the 
samples of cream of tartar examined, 
one only was said to be pure; all the 
others were adulterated with alum. It 
was found that ground spices and con¬ 
diments are very frequently adulterated 
by peanut and cocoanut shells. While 
such adulterations are not of themselves 
deleterious, they are dishonest, and it is 
advised that legislation fix a uniform 
standard. Housekeepers will be inter¬ 
ested in this 'investigation, though the 
committee’s assertion that oleo is a 
wholesome and nutritious food will not 
be viewed cordially by women who are 
accustomed to good and honest butter. 
* 
On January 1, 1899, a housewife at 
Presque Isle, Me., made a resolution to 
keep an account of all the bread 
and pastry that was cooked and 
eaten in the family during the year. 
January 1, 1900, brought tne follow¬ 
ing result: Four hundred and twenty- 
one loaves of bread, 5,140 biscuits, 
45 loaves of sugar cake, 32 loaves of 
marble cake, 66 jelly cakes, 611 loaves 
of molasses cake, 32 puddings, 1,104 
sugar rolls, 502 molasses rolls, 1,491 
sugar cookies, 2,906 molasses cookies, 
229 doughnuts and 383 pies; number in 
the family, 10. It is quite evident that 
this Lady of the Aroostook is a good 
provider, and anyone who wonders how a 
homekeeping woman finds enough occu¬ 
pation to fill in her time may study the 
list with profit. But what are the “sugar 
rolls”, which number 1,104 in the year’s 
consumption? We are not acquainted 
with this saccharine dainty. 
Tying Comforters. 
I don’t know how others do it, but 
we have a very simple way of measuring 
for the ties on a comforter. Suppose it 
is to be tied in rectangles, and the ties 
are to be six inches apart in the rows. 
We cut a piece of cardboard six inches 
long and three wide, making a notch ex¬ 
actly in the middle of one of the long 
sides. For the first row, the card is laid 
on with 'the long edge even with the 
edge of the comforter and the ties are 
made at the upper corners. For the rest 
of the rows, the lower corners of the 
earn are placed on the previous ties, 
and the new tie made at the notch. 
When the work is done, the lines of the 
squares will run diagonally across the 
comforter, and if care 'has been taken to 
have the two corners of the card come 
exactly on the 'two ties below, and the 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs.Wins- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best— Adv. 
upper tie come exactly at the notch, 
these lines will be straight and even. If 
the comforter is made of some light- 
colored material, the places where the 
ties are to come may be marked with a 
pencil. This saves trouble, as several 
rows may be marked before they are 
tied. 
Quite by accident I discovered that by 
using a square card with a notch 'in the 
middle of one side, the ties will be in 
diamonds,—just twice as long as they 
are wide. If the card is six inches 
square, it will be just half the work to 
tie it this way that it would be to tie it 
in squares. This might not be close 
enough in some cases, but the card could 
be made as small as one liked. The dia¬ 
mond tie is ratner prettier than the 
other, in my opinion. As to the ma¬ 
terial used for comforters. Calico is 
pretty, but I like unbleached cheese¬ 
cloth boner. It is light, and washes 
nicely. Lightness is something that is 
very necessary in bed covering if it is 
to be comfortable. A cheesecloth puff, 
made not too thick can be washed 
easily, and if hung out 'in a good wind 
(and such a wind should be waited for), 
it will come out beautifully fresh and 
light. To give cue best satisfaction, 
this kind of puff should De tied with 
white knitting cotton, for if a color is 
used it is very .--vely to run. The best 
way to nnteh the edge is simply to turn 
in both edges and run them together. A 
pretty comforter for a narrow or single 
bed may be made from a pair of the cot¬ 
ton blankets that are so cheap now. 
Only a thin layer of cotton need be put 
between them—and, by the way, it pays 
to get the best batting—'then, if tied in 
diamonds with yarn to match the col¬ 
ored border, it Will be light, warm and 
pretty. If one cared to spend the time 
i- might be finisned around the edge 
with button-hole stitch with the yarn. 
A very pretty pun. may be made of the 
fine quality of cheese-cloth, tied and 
tufted with red or blue, and the edge fin¬ 
ished in briarsti'tch of the same color. 
SUSAN RROWN ROBBINS. 
There is a deeply-rooted belief 
amongst the natives of countries where 
the cocoanut tree grows that this tree 
requires human company as well as at¬ 
tention if it is to thrive and bear well. 
It is a peculiar confirmation of this be¬ 
lief that many uninhabited islands exist 
where cocoanut trees grow in profusion, 
but the yield is small. A native super¬ 
stition also runs that falling cocoanuts 
which injure human being will, on ex¬ 
amination, be found to have no eyes. 
Hundreds of men, women and children 
work and play beneath the cocoanut 
trees in the gathering seasons, yet not¬ 
withstanding the large number of heavy 
falling nuts accidents to life and limb 
are very rare.—London Fruiterer. 
Find 
Your Level. 
Are you wasting yonr time in a 
lowly position when you should 
occupy a higher one? If you are tied 
1 to uncongenial work you can fit your- 
F self for a better position without loss of | 
I present salary. 
Change Your Occupation. 
Thorough courses in Mechanical or j 
Architectural llraught 1 n g, 
Electrical, Mechanic-til,Steam , 
or Civil Engineering, etc., 
^ -v by mall. Write for circular. 
•« A The International 
Correspondence Schools, 
Box 1236. Scranton, 
Pa. 
I 
ike Erie Mfg. Co.e 51 
NO DIRT LEFT 
_ in clothes washed with the 
'BUSY BEE WASHER”; 
pieces in one hour ana 
no hard work done. That 
-us the record. AGENTS 
-'WANTED Exclusive 
sale. Write for terms, 
E. 13 St., Erie, Pa. 
Thrice-a-Week World 
Gives you all the news of the whole world 
every other day. It’s the next best thing to a 
daily paper—18 pages a week, 156 pages a 
year. It is independent, fearless, and Is with 
the plain people as against trusts and mono¬ 
polies. We can send It in combination with 
To Rubai Nkw-Yobkek, one year, for $1.65. 
■ M l — III — III " II —I III I 111 ■■■III! 
For the 
Baby 
The fifty-cent size is just ; 
right for the baby. A little 
of it in the bottle three or : 
four times a day will supply 
precisely the fat all thin ba- 
. bies need. If your baby does 
not gain in weight as fast as 
you would like, try 
Scott’s Emulsion 
The result will please you. If 
the baby nurses, the mother : 
should take the emulsion. 
It makes the baby’s food 
richer and more abundant; 
only buy the dollar size-it's 
more economical. 
Both mother and child will feel at 
once its strengthening upbuilding 
and fat-producing properties. 
At all druggists; 50c. and Si.00. 
SCOTT & BOWNE, Chemists, New York. > 
. M i — III .III — 4W—elkJ 
B. & B. 
Can this country make nice 
goods ? 
Well! 
Just send for samples of these 
—and say. 
Nice new American Dress goods 
novelties, 36 inches wide, 
25c. yard. 
Red, blue, tan, green, brown. 
Neat effects that to get for a 
quarter means a handsome in¬ 
vestment for every buyer. 
A great lot of 36-inch coverts, 
for skirts, 25c. 
Pretty wash goods—new Ameri¬ 
can Percales i2/4c.—styles that 
rival the best imported. 
An immense line of genuine 
imported Madras Ginghams 20c. 
41-inch neat figured strictly all 
wool Black goods 50c. —seventy- 
five cent goods according to pres¬ 
ent price of wool. 
The showing of superb new 
silks 65c., 85c., is extraordinary— 
rich silks and beautiful colorings. 
BOGGS & BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
,1900 DICYCLE FREE 
t For distributing 1000 catalogues for us. One 
I Agent wanted in each town. Give references 
_' and send for catalogues. Enclose stamp. 
?MEAD CYCLE CO. Dept. 2931, Chicago 
Your House and Stable 
can be stained for less money than it 
would cost to paint the house alone, 
if you use 
Cabot’s Creosote 
Shingle Stains 
To buy and apply they are 50 per 
cent, cheaper than paint, and 100 per 
cent, better. 
Send for Stained Wood Samples of 24 Colors and Colored Sketches. 
Samuel Cabot, 81 Kilby St., Boston, Mass. 
Agents at all Central Points. 
