FROM DAY TO DAY. 
Condensed inilk is now put up in cakes ; 
flour is pressed in the shape of bricks; 
we have frozen meat and codfish in the 
shape of balls ; there is beef tea in solid 
form, and soup in solid slabs—all of 
which seem to indicate that living 1 is 
being made simpler in many respects. 
Can't we condense the housework, too, 
so that it may be more in harmony with 
this high-pressure food ? 
* 
An item which may add much to the 
comfort of an invalid is the proper ar¬ 
rangement of the hair. In a hospital, 
when a long-haired patient is likely to 
be in bed for some time, the hair is 
parted down the back of the head, and 
smoothly braided in two braids. It is 
only after personal experience that we 
appreciate the discomfort of one braid 
which is bulky enough to cause an an¬ 
noying pressure, no matter how one may 
dispose of it. 
* 
It is said that Copenhagen has an Old 
Maids' Assurance Society, guaranteeing 
a life pension to policy holders reaching 
the age of 40. It is not expected that 
many of them will ever admit that they 
have reached that age, even for the 
sake of securing an annuity, and antici¬ 
pations of the financial success of the 
institution are based on that theory. We 
would imagine, how T ever, that any 
woman with sufficient foresight and 
strength of mind to join such a society, 
would be perfectly willing to admit that 
she had reached the required age. But 
why should she be regarded as an un¬ 
doubted and hopeless spinster at 40—or 
indeed, at any other age ? 
* 
At a recent meeting of the Household 
Economic Association of New York, the 
position of the child in the household was 
discussed. After a lecture on this subject 
by a woman physician, the members 
joined in an experience meeting regard¬ 
ing points in child-training. The lecturer 
considered that among mothers who wish 
to do well, the children are not let alone 
enough and, as a natural result, they be¬ 
come over-conscious. She thought that 
it was not well constantly to call the 
child’s attention to his own sensations, 
either of mind or body. Thus, in the 
case of a delicate child, constant refer¬ 
ence to the state of health cannot fail to 
be detrimental. Where a child displays 
marked peculiarities of any kind, fre¬ 
quent remarks upon them, or reproaches 
concerning them, which are very likely 
to degenerate into nagging, must increase 
the original cause of offense. A healthy 
child, brought up under wholesome sur¬ 
roundings, should outgrow many defects 
if tliejr are not fixed by injudicious treat¬ 
ment. The subject of dull or backward 
(Children being brought before the meet¬ 
ing, anxious mothers were reminded that 
the more highly organized any animal 
;may be, the longer it takes for its per¬ 
fect development. There are thousands 
of very bright and precocious children 
who are never heard of in after life, 
while many dull boj\s develop into men 
of unusual mental endowment. 
* 
Cities in New Zealand are discussing 
the appointment of discreet women in¬ 
spectors. who shall be empowered to 
stop and interrogate any young girl who 
is out alone late in the evening. The 
inspector is authorized to see her home 
or, if this is impossible, to take her to 
an establishment specially provided, 
there to leave her in charge of a matron, 
pending inquiries. In line with this 
proposed legislation, are the curfew laws 
enforced in some of the smaller western 
cities, by which minors are forbidden to 
be on the streets after nine in the even¬ 
ing, unless accompanied by parents or 
guardians. Such a law was recently pro¬ 
posed in Chicago. When we criticise 
these laws, which embody a spirit of 
paternalism strongly opposed to our 
ideas of free government, it should be 
borne in mind that only the neglect or 
incapacity of parents or guardians can 
furnish a cause for such legislation. 
When parents permit their undisciplined 
children, either boys or girls, to pass be¬ 
yond their control, and become a nui¬ 
sance or a menace to society, legislation 
must supply the place of parental gov¬ 
ernment. _ 
A RAINY-DAY SUIT. 
If women’s use of the bicycle has been 
productive of no other good result, it has, 
certainly, one claim to the gratitude of 
the fair sex, in that it has familiarized 
the public with the appearance of the 
short skirt. A woman may now wear a 
skirt four inches from the ground on a 
stormy day, and attract even less atten¬ 
tion than in the dress that barely clears 
the ground held up in the old-time slat¬ 
ternly and unsatisfactory way. 
The ideal rainy-day costume is, in 
every respect, a suitable cycling dress as 
well. It may consist of a short skirt, 
cut without unnecessary fullness, and of 
the golf cloth, which is wide, firm, and 
of any desired color. It is self-lined with 
plaid effects in bright colors. Such cloth 
may be had at from $1 to $3 a yard. A 
facing of the same material six inches 
deep edged with parallel rows of ma¬ 
chine stitching, is all that is required in 
the way of finish for the lower edge, and 
all linings and interlinings are dispensed 
with entirely. Consequently, the skirt 
is readily and easily cleaned by brushing 
from both sides. 
The waist is made in blouse effect of 
the same material. A shirt waist or one 
of heavier material may be worn under 
it, according to the season. This blouse 
is, also, made without linings, and is 
preferably fastened at the left side in the 
Russian style. If trimming is required, 
a firm and durable braid alone is desir¬ 
able, all frail or easily-damaged garni¬ 
tures being worse than useless. A felt 
hat of becoming shape, trimmed with a 
simple band and flat bow of ribbon, com¬ 
pletes a stylish, neat, comfortable and 
inexpensive outfit. ella h. cooper. 
THE WHAT-NOT. 
“ What do you consider the handiest 
contrivance you have in your new house ?” 
was the question asked of a very pro¬ 
gressive housekeeper. 
“ That,” she replied promptly, point¬ 
ing to what I had innocently taken for a 
set of book shelves near a window. See¬ 
ing my blank look, she arose and drew 
aside the silk curtains which inclosed it, 
and I saw my mistake. 
Two pairs of long iron brackets sup¬ 
ported the upper and lower shelves of 
the what-not, as my friend called it, and 
half way between the two was a similar 
shelf, but much smaller. The lower 
shelf, which was two feet wide and three 
feet long, was placed just far enough 
from the floor to enable a person to write 
comfortably. It held a little pile of ac¬ 
count books, several bottles of ink, and 
blotters. A homemade pen-rack was 
fastened to the wall above this shelf, 
with several denim pockets for paper and 
envelopes. The small shelf above this 
held an array of boxes and bottles, all 
plainly marked and each containing 
some standard remedy, such as camphor, 
arnica vaseline and tooth-ache medicine. 
The denim pockets above this shelf held 
court plaster and finger stalls. There 
was, also, a pin cushion well stocked, 
and a small roll of linen rags. On the 
upper shelf, which was covered with a 
piece of dark felt, were a vase of flowers 
and a few books. 
“ I cannot tell how much time and 
money this what-not has saved for us, 
to say nothing of the annoyance that 
comes from not being able to find these 
all-important things,” said my hostess. 
“ When the children were small, we 
lived in the old house, where everything 
seemed to be in a heap. At last, I found 
that I could not run here and there hunt¬ 
ing for pen or pencil or note book, so I 
devised this. John made it and the 
children named it. After that, it was 
easy to keep our accounts, and we knew 
to a penny how much we paid out and 
took in. Many a man would be a better 
manager if he could only learn to keep 
an account of his expenses, but in some 
houses, it is impossible to find pen and 
ink. 
“ As the children grew older, they 
learned to bind up their own cut fingers 
and toes. I never kept poison or any¬ 
thing dangerous in the what-not, so they 
could be safely trusted to look after 
many little complaints that mothers are 
usually called upon to minister to. In 
short, this little piece of furniture has 
given us more solid comfort than any¬ 
thing else we possess. It was the first 
thing we moved from the old house, and 
has been a constant source of convenience. 
1 have a good many little labor-saving 
appliances, but this seems the best 
of all.” HIED A RICHMOND. 
TRAINING FOR THRIFT. 
A writer in Trained Motherhood, in 
urging the necessity for educating chil¬ 
dren in the proper use of money, de¬ 
scribes the plan carried out in one family. 
Several years ago, a little girl was called 
into her mother’s room on her seventh 
birthday, and was given a five-cent piece, 
a savings bank, a purse, and a diminutive 
account book. The nickel, the bank and 
purse she understood. The account book 
was incomprehensible until mother ex¬ 
plained that this money was quite dif¬ 
ferent from other money heretofore given 
her ; that it was the first payment of a 
weekly allowance which should continue 
so long as the child kept in the account 
book an accurate record of every expen¬ 
diture. The allowance must supply her 
with her Sunday-school penny, and must 
pay for her slates and slate pencils, her 
paper and lead pencils necessary for 
school use. Whatever was left, she could 
spend as she chose. Can you imagine her 
feeling toward the first nickel ? She 
would not have changed estates with a 
wealthy land-owner, and planned to 
break no slates, to waste no irnper, to 
lose no pencils, in order that she might 
save every penny possible, to buy a silver 
watch apiece for her sister and herself. 
The silver watches never materialized ; 
but at the end of the year, aided by 
mother’s advice and encouragement, and 
by the laboriously-kept record in the 
inky account book, she had saved enough 
to buy Christmas gifts for all her dear 
ones out of her very own money, and the 
joy of that Christmas with its long- 
planned presents, whose average value 
was 10 cents, she will never forget. 
When the eig-hth birthday came, mother 
carefully audited the year’s account, gave 
a word of praise for its accuracy in the 
year past and a word of suggestion for 
its neater appearance in the year to 
come. Then to little daughter’s surprise 
and delight, there was revealed a new 
account book, and on its cover, lay a 
bright silver 10-cent piece, and she was 
told that she had proved herself worthy 
to have greater wealth and greater re¬ 
sponsibility in the year to come ; that 
her allowance was to be twice that of the 
last, and that she would now be allowed 
to select and purchase her own handker¬ 
chiefs and hair ribbons, in addition to 
paying the same portion of her school 
expenses as before. 
J ust the ratio of the yearly increase of 
wealth and responsibility, I have for¬ 
gotten, but at 14, the child was her own 
mistress, so far as her business life was 
concerned. She bought her own cloth¬ 
ing. paid her own church dues, and 
planned the Christmas and birthday 
gifts for the others largely through sac¬ 
rifices of little personal ambitions and 
desires. Had the dime savings bank ex¬ 
isted at that day, she could easily have 
managed her own bank book. 
She did not grow independent under 
the training ; it seems unnecessary that 
any child should, if only a wise father or 
mother stand ever ready to sympathize, 
advise and help in the little perplexities 
that would naturally arise for so young 
a financier. There will be, however, a 
gained sense of responsibility, of self- 
reliance and of self-renunciation. The 
purchasing value of money will become 
revealed, and the limitation of means 
understood. 
Personal neatness and care of cloth¬ 
ing will be necessarily learned when the 
child, by experience, discovers that if $3 
must be spent to replace a hat carelessly 
ruined, the S3 umbrella, like that of 
some schoolmate and so much desired, 
must be foregone. 
The children will grow to love the 
church when they give from their own 
means for its support. They will experi¬ 
ence the first joys of homemaking in in¬ 
vesting a portion of the allowance in a 
book or picture for their room. They can 
learn to prepare for future needs by set¬ 
ting aside some certain amount each 
week to be used for some specific pur¬ 
pose in years to come. The allowance 
given in this way, as a gift, rather than 
a reward from the parents, has a strong 
influence, on the development of the 
child’s character. _i > 
“The Fifty 
Dollars 
Seemed 
Like a Gift” 
A lady from Cedar Rapids, 
writes: “Your check for fifty 
dollars was received. So 
easily was it earned that it 
seems almost like a gift. 
That sum, together with the 
additional generous com¬ 
mission, amounts to over 
one hundred dollars. So 
we reduced our church debt. 
Your plan is far more con¬ 
genial to ladies than raising 
money for churches, fairs, 
suppers, etc.” 
But one of hundreds of 
cases where church debts 
have been decreased by The 
Ladies’ Home Journal plan. 
The Curtis Publishing Company 
Philadelphia 
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SPRAYING CROPS : Why, 
When and How to Do It. —By Prof. Clar¬ 
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This little book tells in plain, understandable 
English, just what the ordinary farmer and fruit 
grower most needs to know. It describes all the 
insecticides and fungicides used in spraying; all 
the principal appliances used ; tells when to 
spray; what precautions to observe ; describes 
the insects and fungi against which it is neces¬ 
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convenient handbook on the whole subject. Price 
in stiff paper covers, is but 25 cents, postpaid. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York. 
