774 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 12 
Woman and 
The Home. ^ 
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FROM DAY TO DAY. 
At the recent food show in New York, 
one of the exhibits consisted of “pie 
filling 1 ” for bakers’ use. Wooden pails 
and tubs contained the filling which 
was labeled apple, raspberry, black¬ 
berry, lemon, etc. Instead of buying 
the unsophisticated product of nature, 
the modern baker buys this filling by 
the tub ; it is all ready for use, and free 
from waste. Another advantage is that 
the price is uniform, whereas the fresh 
fruit fluctuates in value from time to 
time. We see no reason why this filling 
may not be entirely free from objection, 
if properly made from good fruit, but 
think that this branch of trade should 
be inspected regularly by the health 
officers, that the purity of the product 
be guaranteed. 
* 
A FEW years ago brown or Graham 
flour was supposed to be nutritious and 
hygienic, no matter what its actual con¬ 
stituents might be. If dark-colored, 
with visible flecks of husk, little more 
was demanded. We have changed now, 
and gluten or whole-wheat flour is se¬ 
lected. It is asserted that some of the 
gluten breads now on the market are 
made from a low grade of bolted flour, 
with additional coloring matter, while 
some so-called whole-wheat bread is 
made from similar flour, to which a 
quantity of coarse wheat bran has been 
added. Undoubtedly, there are bakers 
who make reliable hygienic bread and 
crackers, but if there is any doubt upon 
the subject, it is wiser to buy the flour, 
and bake at home. 
* 
A serviceable Winter underskirt may 
be made of melton cloth, requiring three 
yards of material 46 inches wide. It 
should have gored front and side 
breadths, and plain back, the trimming 
being either braid or ruffles. Although 
such skirts may be bought readymade 
very cheaply, one may put better work 
in the homemade article. Most of the 
underskirts are close-fitting at the top, 
flaring into wider flounces at the bot¬ 
tom, to hold out the present style of 
dress-skirt. The umbrella shape in 
underskirts is not without some disad¬ 
vantages ; unless well stiffened, it is 
likely to flap dismally around the 
wearer’s heels and, in such material as 
sateen, this defect shows itself very 
early. Moreen holds its stiffness better 
than any other material, but to get good 
wear from it, the flounce should be 
lined; otherwise it rubs thin where it 
receives most wear. 
* 
That recalls a conversation overheard 
between a woolen dealer and a silk 
manufacturer. The woolen man lament¬ 
ed the dullness of trade, and observed 
that he would have been less surprised 
by depression in the silk trade, because 
silks are luxuries which would be bought 
only when people had a superfluity. 
“ Not a bit of it,” said the silk man. 
“ Plenty of women make their husbands 
and children go without needfuls, so that 
they may buy their silk petticoats. If 
silk were bought only by people who 
can really afford it, we would have to 
go out of business.” That sounds like a 
serious indictment, but there would ap¬ 
pear to be at least some truth in it. We 
were visited recently by a young woman 
whose husband receives a salary of, per¬ 
haps, $20, at most, a week. She wore a 
black silk gown, silk-lined, and trimmed 
elaborately with velvet and jet; at a 
very modest computation, it would cost 
$50. Her wrap was worth $25 ; a rich 
feather boa around her neck would cost 
$15, and a huge picture hat, heavily 
trimmed, would cost another $15. One 
would judge, from her appearance, that 
she was going to some elaborate recep¬ 
tion, but she was bound for a little flat, 
where she would strip off her finery, 
and cook the dinner. We believe that 
every woman ought to dress as prettily 
as means permit, but she who shares 
the modest means of a salaried employee 
has no right to ape Mrs. Millionaire in 
dress. 
* 
The head fitter in the corset depart¬ 
ment of a fashionable New York store 
told us recently that she had been fitting 
a white brocade corset which would cost 
$79; the clasps were of gold, set with 
tiny diamonds. We asked the fitter 
whether the purchaser was a person of 
prominence, and she replied, with some 
scorn : 
“Oh, no; I don’t know who she is, 
but we’re making her wedding outfit, 
and she can’t be a lady, for she wears 
machine-made underwear trimmed with 
common cotton lace.” 
There was a good deal of wisdom dis¬ 
played by that remark. The fitter did 
not mean that women of refinement 
never wear machine-made underwear, 
but that it was an incongruity to wear 
such garments with the costly jeweled 
corset, an error which a woman of good 
taste would not fall into. It is the same 
lack of refinement which causes a girl 
to wear a befeathered picture hat with 
shabby, leaky shoes, or to invest in a 
smart silk petticoat when there is a cry¬ 
ing need for Winter flannels. 
A PLEA FOR RECREATION. 
Many wise words are being said just 
now about making the most of these 
long Winter evenings and the leisure of 
the Winter days, by getting a lot of sew¬ 
ing done for busier seasons. “ Taking 
time by the forelock ’’—that is what it is 
called, is it not ? Well, it is a word of 
wisdom, “boiled down”, as old Aunty 
Janet would say. Still, is there not a 
little danger of losing one’s own identity 
in the process, when one is over-en¬ 
thusiastic ? 
I want to put in a modest plea for an¬ 
other use of part of the Winter leisure. 
Do the extra sewing, by all means, and 
get ready for the Summertime ; but don’t 
forget to save some minutes for your 
very own. Squeeze the tewing or leave 
a part of it undone if needful. This 
other work is important, too. I mean a 
chance to read and “ improve your mind” 
—your strength and nerves and temper, 
anyway ! There must be some playtime 
in everybody’s life, or else it is not real 
living—it is only getting along. For our 
children’s sakes, our husbands’, and, 
last but not least, our own sakes, we 
must not rust out. We must make shift 
to “ keep up” with the old man with the 
scythe. 
What time can be spared so easily as 
some of these long Winter evenings, with 
the whirl of the wind and the snow in 
our ears ? It is just the time to get to¬ 
gether the neglected magazines and 
books, and catch up, or to lose oneself in 
a bit of modern fiction that is worth the 
reading. There is enough of it, surely ! 
What a pity it would be to live in such a 
century of bright books and worth-while 
study without getting the good of them ! 
I am afraid that the American house¬ 
mothers of the working classes—and how 
many of us come in there !—are too likely 
to sacrifice their own recreation and 
pleasure in doing for the others in the 
family. It is a beautiful sacrifice—a 
grand one, but does it not defeat its own 
end in the long run of work and self- 
sacrifice? Aren’t we really hurting the 
children, too, and the housefather ? If 
we lose step with them, do we not lose a 
little influence, too, and a little of the 
blessed companionship we crave? 
We owe it to ourselves, then, and to 
them, to treat ourselves to a certain 
amount of recreation and leisure, and if 
we cannot find a chance to crowd it in in 
the Summer, let us give it Winter room 
at least. 
In farm homes, the warm season seems 
to hold most of the work, and the Winter 
months about all of the rest. Then ’tis 
in the Winter we must catch up with the 
books and periodicals, laying up mental 
food for Summer, as in Summer we see to 
the-putting up of the Winter’s luxuries. 
ANNIE HAMILTON DONNELL. 
A CORRIDOR CUPBOARD. 
Fig. 352 shows a very convenient cup¬ 
board to go upon a stair-landing or 
corridor, where it may be used to store 
bedroom towels, bureau covers, and 
similar articles, thus saving many steps. 
The cupboard shown, reproduced from 
The Lady's Home, was homemade. The 
lower portion was occupied by one large 
drawer, while the upper part was fitted 
with shelves. Such a homemade article 
may be either stained and varnished, or 
enameled. . 
TWO CONVENIENCES. 
A Fire Screen. —It was originally 
made to keep off cold draughts, but it 
was found to be equally useful in keep¬ 
ing off heat. Its frame was made by the 
man of the house, out of inch spruce. 
There were two leaves, each 50 inches 
tall and 20 wide. The lower cross strips 
were put on a foot from the floor. The 
frame, after its two parts were joined 
together with leather hinges, was sand¬ 
papered and shellacked, then the panels 
were covered with neutral tinted bol- 
land, the uncallendered kind. A decora¬ 
tion of autumn leaves was promised it 
by an artistic member of the family, but 
when I saw it, it was plain, though none 
the less useful. The dining-room and 
kitchen were the same room, and some¬ 
times the person who sat nearest the 
stove at table was rather 'uncomfortably 
warm. The screen interposed, made a 
surprising difference in the temperature. 
Scrap-boxes. —The need had been felt 
for some kind of a receptacle for holding 
little scraps of paper, lint, combings, 
and such litter which collect in one’s 
sleeping room. Elaborate, dust-catching 
“ hair-receivers ” were not to my taste, 
and I had not the time to spend in mak¬ 
ing them, even though they had been. 
We had been getting our table salt in 
tall, round boxes, and one day, as I took 
the last of the salt from one of them, it 
occurred to me that here was just the 
thing for my scrap box. I took a piece 
of the border that matched the paper in 
the room, and with a little trimming at 
top and bottom, made it the right width 
for the box ; then, with a few dabs of 
the mucilage brush, I fastened the bor¬ 
der in place, and there was a neat, sensi¬ 
ble box, that proved most useful, s. b. r. 
A PLEASANT ENTERTAINMENT. 
It was afternoon. The ladies of the 
“Wideawake Club” entertained the 
ladies of two other clubs at the home of 
one of their members, one of the largest 
houses in town. I was late; I think I 
was the last arrival. As I stood on the 
piazza awaiting an answer to my ring, 
I wondered much what the Wideawakes 
had done so to enliven their company. 
By the sound, I judged that every person 
present was interested and talking in 
an animated fashion. I despaired of 
being heard, so opened the door and 
stepped into the hall. Having been met 
by a woman who showed me where to 
put my wraps, I was enlightened as to 
the reason of the miniature babel. 
Many pictures adorned the rooms. 
Pictures of noted people, mostly writers, 
were everywhere—pinned to the cur¬ 
tains, hung from chandeliers, laid on 
tables and stood on brackets and shelves. 
They had been cut from magazines and 
papers, and pasted in the center of 
sheets of brown paper. Each sheet was 
numbered from one to thirty. Each 
person was given a card with figures 
down the left side to 30, and a pencil 
with which to write the name of the 
picture opposite its number—when she 
was sure of it. The names were to be 
down in one hour. The Wideawakes 
had aroused their guests thoroughly. 
No one was sitting still; no one was 
silent. All were doing their best to 
solve the puzzle. 
When the bell gave signal that the 
time was up, a woman read a correct-list 
of the pictures ; those who listened were 
asked to put a cross against errors. Then 
she asked: “ Who has the right names 
for 30?” “29?” etc. 
It was found that two had correctly 
named 28. To decide between them, 
another picture was produced, and to 
the one who gave the correct answer 
quickest, was awarded the prize, which, 
in this case, was a candy cane. There 
was, also, a booby prize. The best 
things about it were that it made every¬ 
body sociable, and was easily prepared. 
s. E. H. 
EVERY DAY WISDOM. 
If a label is put on fruit after canning 
and before it is put away, it is often 
quite a convenience. There is then no 
guesswork about what one is going to 
open. When the cans are cold, a little 
flour paste or mucilage will make the 
label adhere ; if put on while the can is 
hot, it is likely to peel off. When writ¬ 
ing the label, if one cares to add the 
month and year in which the work is 
done, it is more interesting. 
An excellent thing to clean windows is 
a chamois skin wrung out of warm soap¬ 
suds, and used the same as a cloth. Use 
clean suds, and rinse. The effect is 
magical. 
If one is troubled with cold feet, great 
relief will be found by laying a feather 
pillow or a folded flannel blanket, on the 
foot of the bed over them. It seems to 
hold the warmth, and adds greatly to 
the comfort, especially in Winter. 
AUNT RACHEL. 
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