68 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 28 
£ Woman and Home j 
From Day to Day. 
WHEN JOHN’S AWAY. 
His pipe is cold upon the shelf, 
His jolly dog’s a lone estray; 
The house is quite unlike itself 
When John’s away. 
We miss his whistle on the stair, 
We miss the turning of bis key, 
His cheery mandolin’s favorite air, 
His company. 
And when his cheery letters come 
We seem to read between the lines; 
A wistful yearning for his home 
Our love divines. 
Oh! army blue that shines so bright, 
Oh! army blue that looks so warm, 
It folds full many a heartache tight, 
That uniform. 
—Harper's Weekly. 
* 
France has developed a new type of 
drunkard in kerosene drinkers — de¬ 
graded wretches who, unable to obtain 
ordinary alcoholic beverages, intoxicate 
themselves with coal oil. This is said 
to produce a low and dispiriting form 
of drunkenness frightfully deleterious 
to health. It would be very awkward 
if the kerosene habit should become 
widespread ; we might find it necessary 
to take out a license before filling our 
kerosene can, and to paste a revenue 
stamp on every lamp. 
* 
The Consumers’ League of New York 
has devoted much effort to the discus¬ 
sion of sweat-shop work, and it is evi¬ 
dent that their efforts are meeting with 
recognition, for buyers begin to inquire 
where readymade garments are made, 
before purchasing. One great store, 
well-known for its kindness to em¬ 
ployees, shows, upon all the underwear 
sold, a tag bearing the words “ Sanitary 
made, non-sweat-shop.” Apart from the 
injustice to the miserably-paid workers, 
who are crowded together under the 
most unsanitary conditions, garments 
made in the sweat-shops are a prolific 
source of disease. Rev. Charles Kingsley, 
the author of Hypatia and Westward 
Ho! told in Alton Locke, less known 
than his other works, of the conditions 
in tailors’ sweat-shops 60 years ago, and 
this book did good missionary work in 
calling the attention of legislators to the 
abuses of the system. 
* 
This Winter has been remarkable for 
the number of thrilling sea tales brought 
to New York by the survivors of many 
shipwrecks. Some of these true stories 
have duplicated narratives given in 
Clark Russell’s novels, bearing out our 
firmly-rooted conviction that no sea 
story related in fiction is too extraordi¬ 
nary to happen in fact. The story of the 
schooner Fanny Arthur possesses some 
picturesque features. The captain was 
accompanied by his young wife, and the 
short voyage from Turk’s Islands to 
Philadelphia was to form part of their 
wedd ng trip. Four days after leaving 
the Islands a gale swept everything mov¬ 
able off the deck ; a few days later, the 
masts and rigging went, and numer¬ 
ous leaks started. For 30 days, the 
dismantled schooner drifted about, 
with the pumps going day and night, 
sighting few other vessels, and unable 
to communicate with these. The hulk 
sunk lower and lower, starvation was 
added to other perils, and finally the 
suffering people were rescued when the 
hulk was almost level with the waves. 
For three days, the crew had been with¬ 
out any nourishment except that ob¬ 
tained by chewing their oilskins. The 
rescuing ship carried them to Gibraltar, 
and we should think that the captain’s 
young bride would feel inclined to stay 
in Europe until she can walk back ! 
Another woman who recently suffered 
a thrilling experience is the wife of a 
sea captain whose vessel was destroyed 
by fire in the Pacific. For 20 days this 
woman, with her three children, tossed 
about in a small open boat on the vast 
Pacific, until picktd up and brought to 
San Francisco. 
* 
On the occasion of one of the great 
intercollegiate football games, a heavy 
rain prevailed all day, the stock of avail¬ 
able waterproofs w r as soon bought up, 
and no umbrellas were allowed on the 
grand stand. A number of ingenious 
young women ro e superior to circum¬ 
stances and, purchasing lengths of oil¬ 
cloth, such as are used for table covers, 
they swathed themselves in this material. 
The oilcloth was twisted into skirt, cloak 
and hood, and the wearers were able to 
sit through the game, thoroughly in¬ 
different to the weather, although run¬ 
lets of water dripped from their head¬ 
covering to form into pools in the folds 
of their oilcloth skirts. A generation 
ago, most women would have expected 
such a proceeding to result in all sorts 
of ills, but modern woman with an inter¬ 
est in athletics, are tolerably indifferent 
to bad weather, and there is no doubt 
that regular outdoor exercise and cold- 
water bathing render one an immune to 
catching cold, if the general health is 
good. 
* 
Some of our grocers complain that 
hominy is not nearly so popular as it 
used to be, and orders for it are usually 
small. It is quite likely that this re¬ 
sults from the multiplicity of breakfast 
cereals now on the market, most of them 
being cooked in a much shorter time 
than hominy. We think it a pity to 
neglect this wholesome and nutritious 
food, and it should find its place with 
the preparations of wheat and oats. It 
should be soaked over night, fully cooked 
without scorching, and salted when half 
boiled, for the salt needs cooking into it. 
When served, butter or cream is a suit¬ 
able dressing ; sweetened cream flavored 
with a little nutmeg is a very nice sauce 
for it. Cold hominy, cut in slices and 
fried brown, is more delicate in flavor 
than fried mush. With the addition of 
a little currant jelly on each slice, fried 
hominy is often served as an accompani¬ 
ment to wild duck. In making a baked 
pudding of hominy, the quality is much 
improved by beating the yolks and 
whites of the eggs separately, stirring 
in the whites the last of all, after the 
other ingredients have been well beaten 
together. 
* 
The Philadelphia Home for Aged and 
Infirm Colored Persons includes among 
its inmates Mrs. Mary MacDonald, who 
has a fair claim to be considered the old¬ 
est woman in the wo-ld. She was born 
November 14, 1770, and is, therefore, in 
her 129th year. She was reared at Val¬ 
ley Forge, and remembers the Revolution 
She tells a thrilling story of the skir¬ 
mishes with the British that were fought 
across the farm at Valley Forge. She 
herself saw the soldiers when they were 
starving during the awful Winter of 
1778, and she remembers the smoke of 
battle that blew across the very door- 
yard of her home. Mary was not a 
slave, but was bound out until she was 
18 years of age to a wealthy farmer 
named Reese Howell, whose grain and 
farm products were always at the dis¬ 
posal of Gen. Washington’s troops. She 
remembers that, during the war, she 
wore a plain calico dress and sunbonnet. 
She never owned a silk dress. She was 
brought up on the plainest kind of food, 
accompanied by plenty of exercise, and 
to this she attributes her long life and 
present freedom from pain. She has 
smoked tobacco ever since she can re¬ 
member, and says that plenty of white 
women smoked when she was young. 
Her husband and children have long 
been dead, but she seems to eDjoy life, 
and is supplied with every comfort. She 
employs all her spare time in sewing 
carpet rags. 
The Farmer’s Balanced Ration. 
Prof. Snyder’s article on the balanced ration 
in The R. N.-Y., pages 486 and 502,1898, states that 
some foods digest in a short time, while others 
require a longer period. It is also stated that 
some foods are digested in one part of the ali¬ 
mentary canal, while others are digested in an¬ 
other part; some are digested by acid, and some 
by an alkaline fluid. Will you give a balanced 
ration for a farmer in moderate circumstances, 
something that he could produce ? I have Farm¬ 
ers’ Bulletins Nos. 74 and 23, from the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture. One trouble with them is 
that they are balanced for city people who have 
everything to buy. c. k. 
Iielker, O. 
Bulletin 54, of the Minnesota Ex¬ 
periment Station, gives some examples 
of balanced rations, which offer an idea 
as to the daily amount required for 
nutrition The greater part of these 
rations consists of farm products. Here 
are some of the food tables given by 
Prof. Snyder: 
Am’t in oz. Dry .-Nutrients-> 
Food (For one matter. Prot. Fat Carho. 
materials. 
day.) 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
No 11. 
Beans. 
4 
,2*2 
.06 
.... 
.15 
Pork. 
O 
•u 
.01 
.10 
Butter. 
2 
.11 
• • • • 
.11 
Bread. 
12 
.52 
.07 
.01 
.41 
Potatoes . 
8 
.17 
.01 
.... 
.10 
Sugar. 
2 
.12 
.... 
.12 
Cheese . 
4 
.17 
.07 
.09 
.... 
Eggs . 
4 
.07 
.04 
.03 
.... 
Milk. 
8 
.07 
.02 
.02 
.03 
— 
.- 
— 
■ - 
Total. 
1.55 
.28 
.36 
.81 
No. Ill 
Ham. 
8 
.30 
.08 
.19 
.... 
Eggs (2) . 
.04 
.03 
.02 
.... 
Potatoes. 
12 
.15 
.02 
.... 
.14 
Butter. 
3 
.’5 
.... 
.16 
.... 
Bread. 
12 
.51 
.07 
01 
.41 
Milk. 
16 
.13 
.04 
.04 
.05 
Sugar. 
3 
.18 
• • • • 
.... 
.18 
Oat meal. 
2 
.12 
.02 
.01 
.09 
— 
— 
— 
Total. 
.. 
1 52 
.26 
.43 
.87 
No. IV. 
Mutton roast.. 
8 
.17 
.07 
.09 
Sugar. 
2 
.12 
, . . . 
.... 
.12 
Butter. 
2 
.11 
.11 
Milk. 
16 
.13 
.01 
.01 
.05 
Peas (green)... 
4 
.06 
02 
.... 
.04 
Rice. . 
O 
.11 
.01 
.... 
.10 
Bread. 
8 
.35 
.05 
.01 
.28 
Eggs (2) . 
. 3 
.01 
.02 
.02 
.... 
Oatmeal. 
»> 
. 12 
.02 
.01 
.09 
Potatoes. 
8 
.12 
.01 
.... 
.10 
■ 
— 
— 
■ 
Total. 
1 33 
.24 
.28 
.76 
No. V. 
Bacon. 
4 
.18 
.02 
.15 
.... 
Beans . 
4 
.22 
.06 
.... 
.15 
Bread . 
12 
.51 
.07 
.01 
.41 
Butter. 
• » 
.11 
.11 
.... 
Sugar. 
•> 
.12 
.... 
.... 
.12 
Potatoes . 
8 
.12 
.01 
.... 
.10 
Cheese. 
. 4 
.17 
.06 
.09 
.... 
Milk. 
. 8 
.06 
.02 
.02 
.03 
. ■ ■ — 
— 
■- 
— 
Total. 
.. 
1.49 
.24 
.58 
.81 
No. VI. 
Mackerel 
0 
.08 
.06 
.02 
.... 
Sugar. 
2 
.12 
.... 
.... 
.12 
Butter. 
1 
.11 
... 
.10 
.... 
Milk. 
. 16 
.13 
.04 
.04 
.05 
Bread . 
. 12 
.51 
.07 
.01 
41 
Eggs (3) . 
.06 
.03 
.02 
«... 
Potatoes. 
. 8 
.12 
.01 
.10 
Oat meal. 
. 2 
.12 
.02 
.01 
.09 
Cottage cheese 
. 8 
.05 
.04 
.02 
.... 
■ - ■ 
— 
— 
— 
Total .... 
1.30 
.27 
.23 
.77 
No. VII. 
Corn meal. 
8 
.44 
.04 
.02 
.35 
Beans. 
6 
.33 
.09 
.22 
Cneese . 
. 4 
.17 
.07 
00 
0 
Potatoes . 
. 12 
.16 
.02 
.15 
Bread . 
. 8 
.33 
.05 
.01 
.28 
Butter. 
. 4 
.21 
.21 
.... 
- 
— 
— 
■ — ■ 
Total. 
1.64 
.27 
.32 
1.00 
It must not be forgotten that there is 
something more in food than merely that 
which appears in a tabulated statement. 
If food is not palatably cooked, its nutri¬ 
ent value suffers. Flavorings or little 
relishes which stimulate the palate, 
enable us to get the best value out of 
plain food. For this reason, we do well 
to admit some relishes which include 
comparatively little actual nourishment. 
For example, if we acd tea, coffee, or 
one of the cereal drinks to the food table s 
given, we shall add very little in actual 
nutriment; yet, to most palates, the food 
will receive a higher relish. The first 
table given (No II.) certainly consists of 
very plain food ; yet, by scrambling two 
of the eggs for breakfast, and combining 
the others with cheese and milk into a 
Welsh rabbit, good meals would be pro¬ 
vided, while the pork and beans might 
be varied by making the beans into soup, 
parboiling the pork, and afterwards 
browning it in the oven, with a little 
sage for flavoring, and serving with 
browned mashed potatoes After all, 
the real virtue of the meal depends upon 
the cook. 
A White Woman in Africa. 
Tf.acbing Brack Boys English. —A 
letter from a woman missionary living 
in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, 
printed in the New York Sun, gives 
some interesting news from that part of 
the world. She is a medical missionary, 
and part of her usefulness in Africa i3 
to care for the sick among the natives. 
She writes: 
“ The diseases here are simple and not 
so complicated as they are in the United 
States, and they are not of the nervous 
kind. There are always plenty of sores. 
Every little abrasion of the skin runs 
into a sore eating the flesh to the bone, 
and occasionally resulting in blood poi¬ 
son. The food here is not blood-making. 
R ; ce and fish are the main diet, and fish 
is eaten when too long out of the water. 
The Datives bathe once or twice a day. 
They and the Liberians, as a general 
thing, are cleanly. Just now the grip 
is a prevailing complaint.” 
This missionary is not much impressed 
with what the negroes from America 
have done for the natives around them. 
She says : “ Monrovia, as you know, was 
settled by ex-slaves from America, whom 
their masters had set free, and this town 
was named for President Monroe. The 
American negroes in turn treated the 
natives (i e., heathen) as though they 
were their slaves. In all these y< ars, 
they have done nothing to speak of 
toward civilizing the natives, so that 
within hearing of the church bells, 
there are several thousand heathen.” 
The Dread of Witches. —The follow¬ 
ing gives an idea of the busy life a 
medical missionary leads in that part of 
Africa: “ I have 18 children in my home 
whom I feed, clothe and teach. Others 
come to the house to be taught. At 2 
p. m., 1 take the boys to the native town 
and teach there. When at home they 
study geography, arithmetic, oral gram¬ 
mar, and I also teach them physiology 
to get into their heads some idea of the 
human body. Tnis is most important, 
for now when they are sick they say 
1 some one has bewitched us,’ and if they 
die it is because some one compasses their 
death by witchcraft This constant fear 
of witches is a terrible oppression. A 
sick person is often taken away at night 
to some secluded place in the hope to 
throw the witch off his t r ack. 
‘ • Down in Old Calabar it is even worse. 
Twins and their mother are put to death. 
The natives say : ‘ One child be a proper 
child. No more. Todder be devil.’ So 
they put both to death. The babies are 
thrust into a large-moutbed jar, taken 
to the bush and left to be devoured by 
driver ants or eaten by wild animals. 
The mother is fastened to bamboo sticks 
so that she may be carried to the bush 
and abandoned The poles to which she 
is tied make it unnecessary to touch her, 
which would be a terrible crime, as she 
has given birth to a demon. One of the 
first things I try to do is to disabuse the 
native mind of the old prevailing faith 
in witch power.” 
She goes on to say that she teaches 
only English in her school. All her 
pupils are very anxious to learn English. 
Her children are much interested in 
events in the United States, and ran up 
the American flag every time they heard 
of a victory over the Spanish. 
Profitable 
Employment 
We want to engage 
the services of an 
energetic man or 
woman to represent 
The Ladies’ 
dome Journal 
To look after renewals 
and to secure new sub¬ 
scribers. A good agent 
can earn not only good 
pay, but will share in 
the $11,500 to be 
divided—April 15th— 
among the best agents. 
The Curtis Publishing Company 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
