1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
89 
New Ideas in Hooked Rugs. 
HOW ONE DESIGNER STIRRED DP A VILLAGE 
COMMUNITY. 
How It Started —The New York Sun 
relates the manner in which a village 
industry was elevated to an art. It 
started with a small group of men and 
women who were discussing in a New 
York studio the views of Henry George 
and William Morris and the practical 
side of socialism, when one of them, an 
artist, turned to a young woman and 
said: 
“You live the year through in the 
White Mountains; what are you doing 
for the people about you ?” 
“Nothing,” replied she. “I see no op¬ 
portunity.” 
“ What right have you to live side by 
side with people year after year and do 
nothing for their good and elevation ?” 
he inquired. 
“ They would resent my efforts if I 
assumed a superior attitude, and sought 
to elevate them,” she answered. “ They 
are plain, honest mountain folk, and are 
in no particular need of being reclaimed. 
Further, I confess I am not especially in 
touch with their homespun interests. 
As you know, I have been trained as a 
designer. My tastes are on the artistic 
rather than the practical side of life. I 
cannot preach aesthetics to a man in his 
shirt sleeves or to a woman over a wash- 
tub.” 
No,” he persisted. “ But one can be 
of use under any condition. Why can 
you not infuse a little artistic feeling 
into their home life ? You are a design¬ 
er, you have a knowledge of color ; let 
me suggest a very practical way of aid¬ 
ing them. I presume the women about 
you hook rugs, do they not ?” 
“Yes,” she replied; “in the usual 
crude, glaring colors, with monstrous 
puppy dogs and impossible flowers. You 
cannot conceive anything more inartistic 
than their rugs.” 
Their Extenuating Virtues. —“Yet 
they are durable beyond every kind of 
rug. Why can’t you bring your art edu¬ 
cation to bear on this one point, furnish 
them with better designs, give them 
some idea of harmonious coloring ?” he 
urged. 
The question lingered, and the young 
woman on returning to New Hampshire 
determined to test the value of the sug¬ 
gestion. She drew a design, and showed 
it to one of the neighboring women, 
offering to copy the design for her, and 
asked if she would be willing to hook 
such a rug if new materials were fur¬ 
nished. 
“ I will take the rug when done and 
try to sell it for you, as I am acquainted 
with all the Summer people in the 
region, and when I sell it, you can pay 
me for the materials I advance.” 
The neighbor hesitated, and said she 
would think about it, as did all the 
others approached on the subject. Find¬ 
ing they were not impressed with the 
idea, the young woman decided to make 
some for her own use, believing a few 
good examples in pattern and color would 
have more weight than months of argu¬ 
ment. Uninstructed in the art of mak¬ 
ing them, she devised her own way of 
working, with no guides save her own 
judgment and good taste. The result 
was unexpected; instead of the stiff, 
hard-hooked rug seen everywhere in New 
England, hers was soft, thick and with 
a velvety sheen upon it. She continued 
to make others without being able to in¬ 
duce any of the native women to under¬ 
take the work. At length she learned 
the secret of their indifference; they 
were suspicious of her scheme. Her rugs 
were not in bright colors, and had 
neither flowers nor animals on them, and 
they did not believe they would sell. 
A Rug Show. —This was disheartening 
to the young woman, who had not suf¬ 
ficient means to furnish materials and 
then buy the finished product. She de¬ 
termined to put it to a final test and 
prove to the inhabitants that the public 
would appreciate the rugs if they them¬ 
selves did not, and thus she would com¬ 
pel their reluctant confidence. With the 
aid of a young French girl, she produced 
about a dozen of various patterns, very 
simple in design, having dyed her ma¬ 
terials in rich dark blues and in faded 
tones of terra cotta, olive, Gobelin blue, 
dull yellow, old rose and cream color. 
Then she made a public announcement 
that an exhibition and sale of hand-made 
rugs would be held in the village hall on 
a certain date. It was with trepidation 
she thus challenged the double uncer¬ 
tainty of pleasing the taste of a capri¬ 
cious public and of overcoming the pre¬ 
judices of the incredulous natives. 
Every one went, guests from the hotels 
and private boarding houses, the Sum¬ 
mer cottagers—and all the country folk 
went in their Sunday clothes, carrying 
babies and tiptoeing about and speaking 
in whispers, a strange commingling of 
city and country. No one was more sur¬ 
prised than the young woman herself at 
the success of her enterprise. All the 
rugs except those she had made for her 
own use were sold immediately, and 
orders for duplicates poured in all the 
afternoon. The tide of rural sentiment 
turned from criticism of dull colors and 
conventional patterns into a sort of ad¬ 
miration. One old farmer, when asked 
what he thought of them, tersely summed 
up his views by saying : 
“I think two things. First, I think 
they’re pretty ; second, I think they’re 
good ; and when a thing is pretty and 
good it is worth havin’.” 
(To be continued.) 
Influenza and Lemonade. 
During the great influenza epidemic 
in London, in 1889, the Board of Health 
of that city advised the public affected 
with the disease to make an abundant 
use of hot lemonade. The perspiration 
caused thereby, is, in most cases, suf¬ 
ficient to relieve the patient of severe 
colds, and saves him from taking refuge 
in quinine or other drugs, which often 
do more harm than good. In bronchial 
troubles, the acid of lemons relieves the 
irritation of the throat, acting- at the 
same time as a natural disinfectant. 
Lemon juice is the most natural and 
harmless disinfectant in existence. It 
will disinfect wounds, arrest their bleed¬ 
ing, and heal them quickly. When ap¬ 
plied on the human skin, it will whiten 
it quicker and better than soap, as 
it removes all the greasy parts there¬ 
on, cleaning out the pores of the skin, 
rendering these more active, and there¬ 
by contributing greatly to the general 
health of the body. Even when diluted 
in small proportions with water, it will 
kill the therein-contained cholera and 
other bacillus ; hence it is not surprising 
that it will also destroy the so-called in¬ 
fluenza bacillus. c. f. h. 
A Pretty Writing Pad. 
A pretty writing pad or blotter, de¬ 
scribed by Harper’s Bazar, gives a sug¬ 
gestion for an inexpensive gift. 
The foundation was a square of heavy 
pasteboard covered with a cotton fabric 
showing a design of scarlet poppies and 
green leaves on a cream ground. At each 
of the four corners, where silver, leather, 
or china corners are used, were corner- 
pieces of scarlet satin, the color of the 
poppies, interlined with some stiff ma¬ 
terial that kept the satin perfectly firm. 
Into the lower right-hand corner, was 
slipped a piece of white blotting-paper, 
cut large enough to extend two-thirds of 
the distance to the top of the pad and 
two-thirds of the distance across the 
bottom. The upper left-hand corner of 
the blotting-paper was cut off in a slant¬ 
ing direction, and through two slits in 
the paper was passed a bit of poppy-col¬ 
MOTHERS.—Be sure to use“Mrs. Wins¬ 
low’s Soothing Syrup ” for your children 
while Teething. It is the Best.— Adm. 
ored satin ribbon, the width next to tha 
known as “ baby ribbon,” and tied in a 
bow. The back of the pasteboard was 
covered with plain scarlet sateen. 
The colors could be varied to suit the 
room in which the pad would lie, and if 
the maker’s time and skill permitted, 
very dainty ones could be prepared of 
the art linens, embroidered diagonally 
across the upper left-hand corner with 
the future owner’s initials; or white 
linen might be used, embroidered with 
small sprays of forget-me-nots, pink 
rose buds, violets, or Maidenhair ferns, 
the blotting-paper of the color of the 
flower chosen, the corner pieces of art 
linen to match, with the initials em¬ 
broidered in white on one of them. In 
the simpler or more elaborate forms, 
these would find a ready sale at fairs and 
exchanges._ 
Orange and Lemon Jelly Without 
Gelatin. —A Florida reader of the Ameri¬ 
can Kitchen Magazine gives the follow¬ 
ing useful hint: 
“We have, in Florida, and I think it is 
produced north, also, a kind of melon 
called citron, which we have recently 
found will serve a good purpose in the 
preparation of orange, lemon, and other 
jellies. It is well known that the juices 
of the orange, lemon, and certain other 
fruits will not jellify alone, and that 
the common method of making jellies 
from them is by the addition of the gela¬ 
tin. We have found that the juice of 
the citron, called also ‘ pie melon ’ in 
Florida [and in Australia. Eds.] will 
readily convert these juices into jellies, 
and jellies of as stiff and of as fine a 
quality as can be made. It is simply 
necessary to mix the melon juice, ob¬ 
tained by cooking the peeled and sliced 
melon with a little water, with juice of 
the lemon, orange, or other fruit, and 
then make the jelly in the usual way.” 
According to an aged resident of Fitz- 
roy, Ontario, at one time, when that 
locality was first settled by Canadian 
pioneers, there was but one darning 
needle in the whole county, and not an¬ 
other procurable nearer than Perth, 50 
miles away. That needle was a public 
possession, nearly 20 different house¬ 
wives depending upon it for coarse sew¬ 
ing and mending, and each separate 
household had the use of it for one day 
every three weeks. Upon one occasion, 
the woman having temporary use of the 
needle stuck it in a holder in an apron 
pocket, and set off on a long journey to 
the grist mill, riding, with her bag of 
grain, on horseback. The road was 
rough, and the needle was jolted out I It 
was a public calamity, and women and 
children started out to search the forest 
path for the needle. The task seemed 
hopeless, but at length, a small girl 
espied the treasure, and all Fitzroy 
turned out in rejoicing. We can scarcely 
realize such privations now, though, no 
doubt, our pioneer grandmothers could 
tell us many a strange story of a similar 
lack of actual necessities. 
A Grain 
of Wheat 
Showing the Relative 
Positions of its Various Parts. 
In the manufacture of 
Franklin Mills Flour 
A Fine Flour of the Entire Wheat 
only the outer husk or 
* woody, lnnutritious 
part of the wheat 
kernel Is discard¬ 
ed. There is no 
• injury to the grain, 
chemically or 
-3 otherwise. This is 
theonly flour in the 
l world containing 
all the food ele- 
ments in wheat re- 
0 duced to an even 
fineness. It is an 
invaluable remedy 
for dyspepsia, in- 
_ digestion and con¬ 
stipation—no matter of how long standing. 
If vour grocer does not keep it, have him 
order some for you or send us his name 
and your order—we will see that you are 
supplied. Avoid substitutes. 
The genuine bears our label and name 
and is made only by the 
Franklin Mills Co., Lockport, N. Y. 
Booklet and key to above illustration 
mailed free on request. 
dinner SET rnrr 
or GOLD WATCH iVlLC 
with 30 lbs. 8. 8. Chop Tea. Lace 
Curtains, Watches, Clocks, Tea 
Sets, Toilet Sets, given away with 
$5, IT, $10 and $15 orders. Send this 
“ad.” and lac. and we will send you 
a sample of S. 8. Chop or aav other 
Tea you may select. The R. N.-Y. 
The Great American Tea Co., 
31 & 33 Vesey St. (Box 289), NewYork 
STOVE POLISH 
Twice as much used 
as of any ofher Stove 
Polish on earTh. 
J.L.PReSCOTT eo.NtW YORK. 
B.&B. 
silks to be sold 
With such a growing silk business, 
and such large stocks as are necessary, 
the need of room for the new goods of 
the new season, and ready money to buy 
them with (always buy for cash) is a 
stern fact, or we wouldn’t be sacrificing 
such choice, rich, handsome silks as we 
are. 
Odd and broken lines of 1898 silks— 
but get samples—see what’s to be had 
for 50c., 65c., 75c. yard—let the 
styles and qualities at these shelf-emp- 
tying prices show whether we’re doing 
something extraordinary. 
75-cent to SI silks in the 50c. lot. 
SI.25 to SI.50 silks in the 75c. lot. 
Chance for waist silks. 
Lots of beautiful evening silks in¬ 
cluded. 
Shelves being emptied of Dress Goods 
just as determinedly—values at 25e., 35c., 
50c., that will show this is a great time 
to buy—and save. 
New 1899 Wash Goods are ready—10c. 
to SI. 25. Want samples ? 
BOCCS & BUHL, 
Department C, 
ALLEGHENY, PA. 
SOLD) 
UNDER A 
Positive 
G 
to wash as clean as can be 
done on the washboard, 
even to the wristbands and 
collar of the dirtiest shirt, 
and with much more ease. 
This applies to Terriff’s 
Perfect Washer, which 
will be sent on trial at 
wholesale price. If not 
■atisfaotory, money will 
be refunded. Agents 
wanted. For exclusive 
ritrtru a Ar. nricpfl. 
WATCH AND CHAIN FOR ONE DAY’S WORK. 
*8b0 
Boys and Girls can got a Nickel-Flatsd WOeh, 
also a Chain and Charm for selling 11-] dossn 
Packages of Blnlne at 10 cants each. Band your 
toll addraaa by return mail and wa will forward 
tbs B’.nina post-paid, and a large Premium List 
_ No cjaaaw required. 
BLUna O© Bex 8M, Concord Junction, Km*. 
$5 io $30 3000 BICYCLES 
^ ^ ww Everyone a Bargain. 
NEW AND SECOND HAND. 
2d Hand— good u »n, for Mrrlee, *3 to *12. 
New ’#» Models *12.30 to *30. Kone 
l hisrhrr. We guarantee to an re you monoy.Iargeat 
1 variety to select from. Lowest prices ever quoted. 
j customer satisfied. Shipped subject to examin- 
I ation and approval. No money in advance. A few 
good AGENTS WANTED. For price list and partic¬ 
ulars address the old reliable cycle bouse, 
BKOWN-LEWI8 CO., 1*11 298 Wabaah A*., Chlcngo. 
Fruit Packages. 
A description of the current styles of baskets, 
boxes, crates and barrels used in marketing 
fruits in all parts of the country. How to 
grade and pack fruit. Illustrated. Paper..20 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York. 
