502 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 16 
Woman and 
The Home. ^ 
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
FROM DAY TO DAY. 
Said Sain to Joe, in fleree debate 
Upon the woman question : 
“ You’ve answered well all other points; 
Now here’s my last suggestion: 
“ When woman goes to cast her vote— 
Some miles away, it may be— 
Who then, I ask, will stay at home, 
And rock and tend the baby ? ” 
“ Well, since the question seems to turn 
On this as on its axis, 
Just get the one who rocked it when 
She went to pay her taxes! ” 
* 
Miss II astir, a Scotchwoman, has 
started for the South Sea Islands on a 
scientific expedition, intending to make 
meteorological observations, as well as 
collections in zoology and anthropology. 
She will he accompanied by Miss Price, 
an English botanist. 
* 
Poktry, art and romance have told us 
much of the lovely Spanish women ; it 
is, therefore, painful to learn that, of 
the total number of women in the coun¬ 
try, 3,000,000 are totally illiterate, 50,000 
are registered as professional beggars, 
and nearly 900.000 are farm laborers, 
working in the field like men. There 
are, also, 350,000 women who are regis¬ 
tered as “ day servants,” who work for 
no more than board and lodging. By the 
time Uncle Sam lias finished teaching 
masculine Spain the meaning of liberty 
and humanity, Miss Columbia may begin 
to missionize among Spanish women ; 
give them the Chautauqua Course as a 
substitute for recreative bull-fights, and 
instruct them in the ways of modern 
women. 
* 
The assertion often made by opponents 
of woman suffrage, that a majority of 
the women themselves are opposed to it, 
is in some measure borne out by the 
feminine organizations formed to give 
voice to such opposition. The New York 
State Association Opposed to the Exten¬ 
sion of Suffrage to Women was formed 
in 1896, and now has 20,000 members, 
and a standing committee of more than 
100 women. The Illinois association, 
formed in 1897, has issued a circular de¬ 
fining the stand taken. They argue that 
exclusion from suffrage does not argue 
inferiority, but division of qualities. The 
circular states : 
A little reflection shows that the kind of intelli¬ 
gence which the lawmaker should possess, the 
knowledge of the practical things of the outside 
world, such as currency, banking, the franchises 
granted to corporations, the general control of 
vast commercial and manufacturing interests, 
with other details of practical life, not easily 
enumerated, are affairs which lie almost wholly 
within the domain of man, and which it would 
be a sad waste of energy for women in general 
to become familiarly acquainted with. * * * 
Does it, therefore, follow that women are on the 
whole inferior to men ? By no means. In her 
own domain, which includes the most vital, the 
most spiritual, the most progressive elements of 
life, woman is as much man’s superior as he is 
hers in outer and material things. 
Apparently, the “ new woman” is not 
to claim an undivided sway. The worm 
will turn, and we must own that some 
exponents of woman’s progress have 
been a little too contemptuous of the 
woman who prefers to stay and look after 
the babies. 
* 
Mention was made last week of the 
women’s auxiliaries formed to aid the 
Red Cross Society. At time of writing, 
nightshirts, pajamas and towels for 
hospital use are the chief necessities. 
Some societies have fallen into the error 
of making the nightshirts of unbleached 
muslin; this should never be done. 
This material is too heavy, and too harsh 
to be used without washing. What is 
needed is a very light, soft-finished white 
muslin. Neither are the garments made 
like ordinary nightshirts. They are 
open down the front, like a coat; the 
shoulder seam and entire length of the 
sleeve are open, also. The garment may 
thus be slipped over a wounded man 
without trouble. The neck is finished 
with a binding, the open shoulder and 
sleeve seams with hems. Tapes are 
securely fastened to tie the garment 
together, and to fasten the sleeves. Any 
one desirous of making these garments 
would do well to study a sample first, 
that there be no mistakes. All finishing 
should be carefully done, and the tapes 
should be so sewed that they never pull 
off. The pajamas are two-piece garments, 
blouse and drawers, of soft-finished 
blue-and-white check gingham. The 
flannel bands are joined in the middle, 
the seam being opened and cat-stitched 
flat; then a single hem cat-stitched all 
around, and tapes fastened at the end to 
tie on. Other supplies required by the 
Red Cross are canned soups, fruits and 
vegetables, sago, tapioca, arrowroot, 
and similar foods, condensed milk and 
cream. 
THE BALANCED RATION. 
ERRORS OF EXTREMES IN THE DIETARY. 
(Concluded.) 
Improper combination of foods is a 
frequent error in our dietaries. Foods 
which are neither too bulky nor too con¬ 
centrated, and which contain the proper 
amount of nourishment, are frequently 
injudiciously combined. Foods which 
are slow of digestion should be combined 
with those that are easily digested. 
There is a possibility of having foods 
too digestible, and of relieving the 
stomach and digestive tract of their work 
to such an extent that the body becomes 
weakened. Some foods are valuable 
because they are not so completely and 
readily digested. A daily ration con¬ 
sisting of milk, oysters, corn meal and 
rice would contain all of the nutrients 
required by the body, and would be of 
about the proper bulk for a ration ; but 
if a laboring man were fed on such a 
combination for a long time, he would 
experience hunger, because the food 
would be so feadily digested that the 
digestive organs would not have enough 
work to do. 
Indigestible Combinations. 
Combinations of indigestible foods 
frequently occur. Three or four foods 
which are slow of digestion should never 
be combined. Roast pork, hard tack 
bread, olives, skim-milk and cheese con¬ 
tain all the nutrients required by the 
body, but would not be a combination 
that every one could readily digest. A 
combination of foods from each of the 
two 1 ists given would make a satisfactory 
ration. 
It should be remembered that different 
kinds of food are digested in different 
parts of the digestive tract. Rrown 
bread, beans, and pork form a combina¬ 
tion which many working men enjoy. 
The corn meal is largely digested in one 
part of the digestive tract, while the 
beans are digested in the lower part of 
the digestive tract, where the fluids are 
alkaline. If all parts of the digestive 
tract are capable of doing their full 
share of work, the digestion proceeds in 
a normal way. If the diet of a person 
has been such as to cause the lower part 
of the digestive tract to be relieved of 
its work, weakness results and the 
digestion is impaired. The continued 
disuse or misuse of an organ always 
weakens that organ. There should be 
an equal distribution of the work of 
digestion among the different organs ; 
then one part of the digestive tract does 
not have too much work to do, while 
another part does not have enough to do. 
Unbalanced Rations. 
These are also errors in our dietaries. 
The body is frequently either not sup¬ 
plied with the right kind of nutrients 
in sufficient amounts, or is supplied in 
excessive amounts. A balanced ration 
is one that supplies all of the require¬ 
ments of the body. In speaking of un¬ 
balanced rations, there are two classes 
of people to consider, those who do not 
eat enough, and those who eat too much. 
A ration consisting of rice, butter, 
potatoes and tapioca is an unbalanced 
ration. It does not contain a sufficient 
amount of the vital nutrient known as 
protein. The food of an adult at moder¬ 
ate work should contain about one- 
quarter pound of protein. It would 
require a peck of potatoes to supply one- 
quarter pound of protein. A ration 
consisting of beef, eggs and butter is, 
also, unbalanced. Such a ration is ex¬ 
cessively rich in protein and fat, but 
does not contain any starch-like bodies. 
If the two series of foods are blended, 
the result is a balanced ration. 
The combination of foods to form 
balanced rations does not mean that all 
of the food consumed should be weighed. 
Every one should, in a general way, 
become acquainted with the composition 
of foods and with their comparative 
bulk and weight, so that the eye can do 
the weighing. In some cases, this would 
not be possible. With bread, there is a 
great difference in bulk and w r eight, and 
in some cases, when it is like pavement 
blocks, it would be impossible to assign 
it a composition. 
Trouble sometimes arises from food 
being unbalanced from day to day ; that 
is, one day it is unbalanced in one direc¬ 
tion, as excessively rich in fat, the next 
day, unbalanced on account of contain¬ 
ing too much starch, and the third day 
it is excessively rich in protein. While 
the general average for the three days is 
balanced, the ration for each day is de¬ 
cidedly unbalanced. 
Fat Constituents. 
In the combination of foods, there is 
sometimes a tendency to use too much 
fat. A certain amount of fat in the food 
is absolutely necessary. Starches can¬ 
not entirely take the place of the fats, 
because the body demands a certain 
amount of concentrated heat-producing 
food as fat. Too much fat is not only a 
waste of food, but is, also, a detriment, 
as it requires too much energy on the 
part of the body to digest it. Four 
ounces of fat daily are a fair amount; in 
some cases, five or six ounces can be 
used by the body to advantage, but ten 
to twelve ounces per day of fat, which 
is frequently the amount consumed, is 
too much. 
A great many who profess to know 
nothing about the science of feeding, 
have learned from experience to combine 
foods so as to produce the best results. 
To illustrate, the combination of corn 
bread, beans and pork makes a balanced 
ration. The bread supplies the starch, 
the beans the protein, and the pork the 
fat. The old New England ration of 
codfish, cream and potatoes is, also, well 
balanced. 
Food Combinations. 
In the combination of foods to form 
balanced rations, it should be remem¬ 
bered that oatmeal, bread and milk are 
three good types of food, in which the 
protein, fat and starch ratios approach 
the nearest to the requirements of the 
body. Potatoes, rice, tapioca, and corn 
meal are types of food rich in starch. 
Cheese, beef, fish, meats in general, 
and eggs are foods rich in protein and 
fat. Butter contains only fat. Beans 
and peas are foods rich in protein and 
poor in fat. The special peculiarities 
and composition of different foods are 
given in the publications of the United 
States Department of Agriculture, and 
in the bulletins of some of the experi¬ 
ment stations. 
Unbalanced rations may produce seri¬ 
ous trouble in many ways. Excessive 
meat eating has a tendency to produce 
acid in the body. The saliva becomes 
acid when, normally, it should be slightly 
alkaline. The fluids of the stomach are 
naturally acid, but they sometimes be¬ 
come too sour, and other fluids become 
excessively acid. While some foods are 
of an acid nature, others tend to produce 
alkaline products. Potatoes, when con¬ 
sumed in large quantities, tend to pro¬ 
duce alkalinetry. When foods are prop¬ 
erly combined, the acid and alkaline 
tendencies which they may possess are 
overcome ; they are neutralized. 
The feeding of balanced rations to farm 
animals has been of the greatest assist¬ 
ance in agriculture. One reason why 
many of the western States have made 
such marked progress in the dairy indus¬ 
try has been due to the feeding of bal¬ 
anced rations. Meat and milk are both 
produced the most economically on a 
balanced ration ; the work horse accom¬ 
plishes the most work on a balanced ra¬ 
tion, while little or no attention is given 
to applying these same general princi¬ 
ples to the feeding of man. 
[prof.] HARRY SNYDER. 
Minnesota Agricultural College. 
AN EMBROIDERY CASE. 
To make the useful receptacle for 
holding embroidery, silk, etc., shown in 
Fig. 228, will require but a few minutes, 
and it suits its purpose better, by far, 
than any bag, or basket I have ever seen. 
For the foundation, use a strip of tan or 
gray linen about 30 inches long by 12 ox- 
13 inches wide. On one end of this, baste 
a white cotton or linen pocket six or 
eight inches deep, and extending the 
width of the colored linen. Another 
strip of white linen, also the width of 
the colored piece and 15 inches long, is 
laid at the other end of the colored strip, 
opposite the pocket. This piece should 
first be hemmed across at both ends, and 
the colored piece should extend onc-half 
inch beyond it at the end. Now stitch 
the white piece—from hem to hem—to 
the colored linen ; the stitchings must 
be at intervals of one-quarter, and one- 
half inch apart. The little sheaths thus 
formed between the stitching, ai-e to 
hold and protect the embroidery silk. 
Cut the skein the desired length, double 
it in the middle, pass a hairpin through 
the loop, and force the hairpin up through 
the sheath until the loop of the skein is 
visible; it should not be exposed more 
than one-half inch, just enough to show 
the color. As some skeins will be too 
long for the sheaths, a strip of linen is 
stitched just below them like a flap, so 
that it can be laid up over the ends of 
the skein, and fastened with button and 
hole at the side. This flap or curtain 
protects and prevents a tangle and snarl 
of the ends not in the sheath. To take 
out a strand of silk, catch it at the loop 
end, and draw gently out, holding the 
skein firmly in the sheath below with 
finger and thumb. 
Now bind the receptacle completely 
around with colored tape, then add near 
the large pocket a small, square one for 
thimble, a triangular one for the scissors, 
with a few leaves of flannel upon the 
latter for needles. The lai-ge pocket is 
to hold ixncompleted pieces of work. 
To close the receptacle, lay the two 
ends over toward the middle, then roll 
up the whole as a roll of music ; a narrow 
ribbon should be attached to the outside 
of the colored linen to use for tying the 
roll. If the embroidery hoop be used, it 
can, also, be placed in the pocket, and in 
that case, simply fold the linen instead 
of rolling it. With this receptacle, em¬ 
broidery may conveniently be carried 
from place to place, and one has but to 
lay it open across the lap to have at hand 
all its working accessories, placed to the 
very best advantage. When soiled, it is 
as easily washed as a handkerchief. 
I have often wondered why women 
should be perfectly satisfied if the right 
side of their embroidery be even and 
smooth, and serenely indifferent to the 
knots, ends and general xxnsightly, untidy 
appearance of the wrong side. Why 
should not the wi-ong side look as neat 
if not as px-etty as the right, particularly 
the wash linen squares, etc., for the 
table ? 
Embroidei-y silk or thread should not 
be tied in knots at the end. The needle 
should never leap from one figure to 
