694 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
October ft 
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♦ Woman and ♦ 
* The Home. | 
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FROM DAY TO DAY. 
A Chicago woman who refused to sup¬ 
port her blind husband was recently 
fined $100 and costs by a justice, receiv¬ 
ing- a severe reprimand in addition. It is 
not stated what her circumstances are, 
but the presumption is that she is in a 
position to support the helpless man. 
The justice who made the ruling seems 
fully inclined to discard the theory that 
woman is the weaker vessel. 
* 
As another example of the manifold 
uses of a hairpin, we may adduce the 
case of a motorman on a Maine trolley 
car, which was stalled two miles out of 
town, in consequence of a burnt-out 
fuse. There was no wire at hand to re¬ 
pair the damage, so the ingenious motor- 
man, who must be married, we think, 
borrowed a hairpin from one of the 
female passengers, and by its use started 
the car going again. 
* 
Mattress pads will be found useful 
articles for sale at fairs, and they may 
be made quickly by sewing societies. 
It is really necessary to have one of these 
protectors over every mattress, for the 
sake both of comfort and convenience. 
Many neat housekeepers use old com¬ 
fortables for this purpose, but a neat 
white pad, made for the purpose, is pref¬ 
erable. Quilted cotton padding is sold 
for this use, but the pads may be made 
either quilted or tufted, of soft-finished, 
unbleached cotton or cheesecloth. Some 
prefer a mattress cover of cotton flannel 
made like a plain sheet, but we prefer 
the padding. 
* 
During our discussion of working 
gowns, several months ago, many of the 
writers agreed that a firm, rather thick 
washing material, such as denim, is pref¬ 
erable to anything thinner for a work¬ 
ing skirt. Better than denim is cotton 
covert cloth, a close imitation, in weave 
and coloring, of the all-wool covert 
cloth. It is film and thick, yet washes 
admirably, and costs but 12 % cents a 
yard. A good many bicycle skirts have 
been made of it this Summer, and it is, 
also, made into Fall shirt waists. A neat 
shirt waist and well-fitted skirt of this 
material will make a trim-looking house 
dress which one may wear when prepar¬ 
ing supper or doing house chores, with 
perfect confidence in its washability. 
Another useful material for Fall shirt 
waists is duck in solid colors, clear red 
or blue being very pretty. This material 
costs 15 cents a yard, and three yards 
will make a waist. 
* 
Cooler weather makes boiled or 
steamed puddings an acceptable dessert, 
and it is well to bear in mind the prime 
requisites for cooking them well. The 
pudding-bag should be of firm white 
material, having round corners and 
felled seams, which are always turned 
outside when the bag is in use. A roly 
pudding calls for a plain cloth instead 
of a bag, and this should be hemmed ; 
the appearance of raveled-out threads 
wandering over the pudding, when 
dished, is not an improvement. When 
used, the cloth or bag must be wrung 
out of scalding water, and well floured, 
to prevent the paste from sticking. The 
covering must be loose enough to allow 
for swelling. When boiling, put an in¬ 
verted plate or saucer on the bottom of 
the kettle, and lay the pudding on this, 
to avoid the possibility of its sticking to 
the bottom, and becoming scorched. See 
that the water is boiling hard when the 
pudding is put in, and keep it boiling; 
if it is necessary to add more water, this 
should be boiling when put in. When 
steaming a pudding, several folds of 
cloth should be placed tightly over the 
top of the steamer, held in place by the 
lid, to prevent condensed moisture from 
dropping down and waterlogging the 
pudding. The water under the steamer 
must never cease boiling. Personally, 
we prefer paste lightened with finely- 
chopped suet, for any boiled or steamed 
pudding, but many people like a rich 
biscuit dough. One of our friends makes 
fruit pies, on an ordinary flat pie plate, 
having an upper and under crust, and 
then cooks these pies in a steamer, mak¬ 
ing a steamed pudding. Such a pudding 
may be cooked within two hours, 
whereas, made in the usual shape, from 
three to four hours are required. A 
steamed apple pudding gains in richness 
of flavor when a few slices of quince 
are added to the fruit. 
* 
A woolen shirt waist will be found 
very useful during the Winter, saving 
wear under a jacket, and it is often possi¬ 
ble to make one out of a partially-worn 
skirt, which seems to have outlived its 
usefulness in that form. After ripping 
apart, the material is wonderfully re¬ 
vivified by sponging or washing, and 
pressing. The good appearance of any 
shirt waist depends upon the accuracy 
with which it is made, and this is espec¬ 
ially true when made of woolen material. 
It must never be put together upon any 
“ good-enough ” system. A good pattern 
is the first requisite. All visible stitch¬ 
ing must be done with silk. Where 
edges are turned under, as in yoke and 
sleeves, both basting and stitching must 
be done with care, that a straight edge 
be assured. If lined, the lining front 
should be separate from the outside 
front, and fastened by hooks and eyes 
which just meet at the edge of the hem. 
The outer material should have a fly 
front so that the buttons closing it do 
not show. A great variety of these 
waists is now displayed, many being of 
silk - and - wool plaid or velvet, but a 
material of solid color usually gives more 
satisfaction for general wear. 
WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD. 
WHAT IS ENTIRE-WHEAT FLOUR ? 
1. Will you give a recipe for making whole¬ 
wheat bread ? 2 Will you explain the difference 
between Graham flour and whole-wheat flour ? 
o. b. c. 
Whole-wheat Bread. —1. One pint 
milk (scalded and cooled), one table¬ 
spoonful sugar, one teaspoonful salt, 
one-half cupful yeast, about five or six 
cupfuls whole-wheat flour. In the morn¬ 
ing, mix in the order given, and knead 
until smooth and elastic. Let rise till 
light, about twice its bulk, shape into 
loaves ; let rise again and bake a little 
longer, and in an oven not quite so hot, 
as for white bread. Whole-wheat flour 
rises more readily than white flour, be¬ 
cause it contains more gluten. 
A Good Brown Bread. —One cupful 
white flour, one cupful rye flour, one 
cupful corn meal, 1 % teaspoonful salt, 
two tablespoonfuls sugar, one-half cup¬ 
ful yeast, milk or water. Mix with milk 
which has been scalded and then cooled, 
or water, till the dough is thick enough 
to shape. Let it rise until light. Shape 
in a brick-loaf, and when well risen, 
bake about one hour. 
2. Wheat is the only grain which con¬ 
tains the proper proportion of gluten, 
and of the desired quality, to make 
light, spongy bread. It contains all the 
elements necessary for the growth of the 
body ; that is the whole grain, with, of 
course, the removal of the hard first coat, 
which is almost pure silica and not at all 
digestible. We can better understand 
a talk on wheat by looking at a cross- 
section of the grain. The center is filled 
up with starch, a fine white powder. 
Starch contains carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen. These elements will give heat 
and make fat, but they will not furnish 
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