1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
375 
My Kitchen. 
COMFORT .AND CONVENIENCE IN THE 
WOMAN’S WOKKBHOF. 
Part II. 
The kitchen of the farmhouse where 
my girlhood was passed evidently had 
no “plan” for its construction; at least 
if there was one, convenience had 
neither lot or parcel in it. My Father 
had a pantry built and various changes 
made, but to modernize it was out of 
the question. I was blessed with four 
brothers, but never for one moment did 
Mother dream of banishing the “boys” 
from the freedom of the kitchen; conse¬ 
quently, when they chose to enjoy the 
privilege, some one was always in the 
way of the closet, cupboard or cellar 
doors, and it was “Excuse me” or “Will 
you please move” continually, and much 
to the discomfort of all concerned. I 
then and there vowed a vow, that if I 
ever had the planning of a kitchen there 
should be one corner at least where one 
could rest undisturbed, and when the 
time came I remembered it. 
On the right, as you enter the pantry, 
is an elevator or dumb-waiter, and I 
may add, a source of solid comfort. 
When one once realizes its utility as a 
step-saver, its virtues cannot be lauded 
too highly. The inside measurement is 
17 inches square by three feet nine 
inches in height, with two doors, one 
opening on the dining room and the 
other on the pantry side. When sent 
down to the cellar it rests in a close 
cupboard, and, if not convenient to re¬ 
move the things at once, they can re¬ 
main there until it is. When removing 
the dinner “left-overs” I generally re¬ 
place them by the tea requirements; 
then, when ready for them, all there is 
to do is to raise the waiter and place 
them on the table. 
The remaining space on that side 
forms the china closet, reaching from 
floor to ceiling; the upper section has 
five shelves and the lower three. A part 
of the latter I use for storing jellies, 
pickles and general grocery supplies. 
On the south side is a wide shelf or 
table, to be used for baking purposes, 
on the under side of which cleats are 
screwed forming grooves where the 
kneading board is kept; also a box for 
the rolling pin. The rest of the space 
is a receptacle for flour, etc. Over the 
table is a shelf somewhat narrower than 
the others, for holding the spice box, 
baking powders, sugar and other baking 
necessaries. Under this shelf is another 
lack similar to the one on the dresser, 
on which are hung egg beaters, stirring 
spoons, measures, cake cutters, etc. 
Shelves cover the rest of the wall space, 
the uses for which every housekeeper 
will understand. The upper part of the 
door opening on the porch is of glass, 
and there is also a transom over it 
which can be opened when desired. The 
porch is fitted with two large doors 
which swing inward, to be used in 
stormy or very cold weather. The upper 
part of these is made the same as win¬ 
dow' blinds and may be adjusted to ad¬ 
mit much or little light as desired. Part 
of the kitchen floor is covered with rag 
carpet having a bright wool stripe, the 
remainder with oilcloth. The floors of 
the pantry and porch are oiled, for 
w r hich 1 use boiled oil, applying it hot. 
Among the furnishings will be found 
both a high stool and a low rocker. A 
door in the end of the porch leads to 
the shed room, where the washing, work 
incidental to butchering, chicken pick¬ 
ing, soap-making or other rough work 
may be done. 
When our house was first completed 
everyone who visited or called upon us 
expected to be shown through. As it is 
not a large house, this was not much of 
a task, and rather pleasing than other¬ 
wise, as their comments were generally 
very flattering. I remember one friend 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use “Mrs.Wins- 
low’s Soothing Syrup” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Ado. 
in particular who was very modest in 
her praises until we came to the 
kitchen. After taking a good, compre¬ 
hensive view of the room she expressed 
herself thus: “Well! this is the pleas¬ 
antest room in the whole house! If 
this was my home I should want to 
spend most of my time right here,” to 
which I made the reply: “That is just 
what I do,” and it is just as true now 
as it was then. mrs. c. e. b. 
Day by Day at Northwood. 
Jack brought an unexpected guest to 
dinner to-day. When I came to the farm 
five years ago this would have worried 
me; it does not now. I simply add an¬ 
other spoonful of ground coffee to the 
pot and arrange another place at the 
table. These unexpected guests are wel¬ 
come to share whatever we may have 
prepared for ourselves. It was once my 
business for a term of years to superin¬ 
tend the schools of a county. Often in 
my travels, night or a storm would 
cause me to seek the hospitality of some 
farm home. It was then that I learned 
the value of a warm welcome. What 
cared I if there was nothing but bread 
and sorghum on the table, so long as it 
was served with a hearty welcome! 
That was the sauce that made the 
humblest fare appetizing. It was then, 
too, that I learned that farmers’ wives 
are, as a rule, always prepared for un¬ 
expected guests. The rural housekeep¬ 
er’s vocation seems to be to satisfy ar¬ 
dent appetites. She plans her meals a 
day ahead and “company” causes but 
little change in her menu. Her loaves 
are always replenished before the last 
one is cut, her swinging shelf in the 
cool cellar is never without a row of 
pies, so much abused by modern cook¬ 
ery, yet pie is staple in many homes. 
The farmer’s wife repudiates store 
canned goods, with the exception of sal¬ 
mon, sardines and similar preparations, 
but she draws unreservedly upon her 
stores of preserved fruits and pickles. 
With smokehouse, poultry yard, dairy 
and garden, the rural housekeeper is 
seldom disconcerted by the arrival of 
unexpected guests. 
There is one pleasure that the modern 
housekeeper lacks nowadays, that is 
making her own soft soap. The hap¬ 
piest day that I have spent this Spring 
was when I made soap out of doors all 
day long in the sunshine, catching in 
stone jars the dripping lye from the ash 
hopper, lazily watching its mysterious 
action upon the oils, in the required 
proportion to make thick soap. That 
warm, bright day out of doors renewed 
my youth and brought memories of the 
days when I was a little girl making 
bonfires and mud pies. Making soap is 
not an ugly task—it is a Spring idyl, 
accompanied by humming of bees and 
robins’ songs. Jack laid the chunks and 
hung over them the great iron kettle. I 
dumped the grease and the lye into it, 
started the fire and the excitement be¬ 
gan. It boiled and foamed and boiled 
higher and higher. 
“Oh, come quick! It is going to boil 
over—what shall 1 do?” 
Jack hurried to my rescue, kicked out 
a blazing chunk, threw some cold lye 
into the kettle; I stirred and stirred for 
dear life, and the saponaceous volume 
subsided. Then I took out a little in a 
saucer and mixed with a wooden spoon 
to see whether it was done. My neigh¬ 
bor, “Old Bettie,” sees the smoke and 
comes over to see what is going on. 
Grandma Long comes over, too. 
“It needs grease,” says Bettie, looking 
wisely into the kettle, and stirring vig¬ 
orously. 
“No, it needs lye,” says Grandma 
Long. 
“Grease,” insists Bettie. 
“Lye,” persists Grandma. 
The duel wrnxes hot, while straightway 
the soap boils up thick and brown and 
threads from the stick, a kettle full of 
an ideal compound for the washing ma¬ 
chine or for housecleaning. 
What to do w'hen one’s clothes catch 
fire cannot be repeated too often, nor 
too carefully remembered, as was sadly 
exemplified recently by a shocking acci¬ 
dent that happened to one of our neigh¬ 
bor girls. She was burning a little pile 
of leaves in the yard, when her apron 
caught fire. It blazed up, and, terrified, 
she ran screaming for help. Before we 
could get there her mother had finally 
caught her and poured three bucketfuls 
of water over her. If the poor girl had 
only thought to lie right down and roll 
over and over until her mother had 
brought quilt, or carpet, or coat, or 
blanket to smother the flames, all might 
have been well. The physician gave her 
a heavy dose of morphine as quickly as 
it could be administered and we wrapped 
her fearfully burned body in soft cloths 
spread with a mixture of linseed oil and 
lime water, but the burns were so ex¬ 
tensive and capillary action so feeble 
that she died the next evening. 
A. H. M. 
WHAT DO THE CHILDREN DRINK? 
Don't give them tea or coffee. Have you tried the 
new food drink called GRAIN-O? It Is delicious 
and nourishing and takes the place of coffee. The 
more Grain-0 you give the children the more health 
you distribute through their systems. Grain-O is 
made of pure grains, and when properly prepared 
tastes like the choice grades of coffee but costs about 
'4 as much. All grocers sell it. 15c. and 25c. 
LUMBER AT HALF PRICES. 
WE PURCHASED Til K PAS AMERICAN EXPOSITION 
SEND US YOUR LUMBER BILL FOR OUR ESTIMATE. 
Pipe, Machinery and Building 
Supplies in General. 
free catalogues on application. 
CHICAGO HOUSE WRECKING GO., 
PAN-AMERICAN, DEPARTMENT 62, BUFFALO, NEW YORK. 
STEM-WIND WATCH,CHAIN AND CHARM 
You can geta Stem-Wind, Nickel-Plated 
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The Household Congress. 
Soft Gingerbread. —One cupful of 
butter, one cupful of sugar, one of mo¬ 
lasses, one of sour milk, one teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda, one of cinnamon, one table¬ 
spoonful of ginger, two eggs, four cup¬ 
fuls of flour. This will make two tins. 
AUNT RACHEL. 
Keeping Jelly. —Will some of your 
readers who have had experience tell us 
their method of making and keeping 
jelly? We have had difficulty in keep¬ 
ing it, the jelly seeming either to lose 
flavor or to ferment, the cellar being too 
damp. We have used paraffine wax for 
a covering under the tin caps, but do 
not find it altogether satisfactory. Has 
anyone used any kind of jelly glass be¬ 
sides the glass cup with tin cap? 
New York. mrs. l. a. 
Winding Carpet Rags. —Carpet rags 
are generally brighter on the right side 
than the wrong, especially calico rags. 
To get the benefit of the brightest colors 
in the carpet it is well to double them 
best side out as they are wound into 
halls. They will retain their shape when 
wound again on the shuttles and will 
prove more satisfactory when treated in 
that way. With a little practice it is 
no more trouble to double them or fold 
them as they are wound than in the 
usual manner. aunt raciiel. 
Wisconsin. 
Filial and Parental Duty. —Surely 
the line of duty for man or woman is 
identical. Teach the children that duty, 
faithfully and lovingly performed, is 
the one and only royal road to success— 
any success that is worth having; that 
duty to parents is especially imperative 
(it is the first command with promise) 
for if they do not love and honor their 
father and mother whom they have seen 
and known how is it possible to love 
and serve the Father whom they have 
not seen? That home only is secure 
which is builded on a rock; in which 
the members constantly forget self, “in 
honor preferring one another.” When 
that time comes when one child remains 
at home for the purpose of caring for 
the parents, it should be understood 
among all the family what the monetary 
recompense either present or in the fu¬ 
ture is to be. But that this one is de¬ 
serving of more should not be disre¬ 
garded. In spite of our boasted civili¬ 
zation America is behind in the family 
relation—it is too often the rule. “Fath¬ 
er and mother for the children—the 
children for themselves.” The blame 
should be laid where it belongs “as the 
twig is bent so the tree is inclined,” and 
this is the way parents often lovingly 
but foolishly bend them, sweet fern. 
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T 
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NEWS 
AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE 
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