6io 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
August 13, 
[ Woman and Home 
From Day to Day 
PICKLIN’ TIME. 
I love tlie smell of apples when they're get- 
tin’ streaky-red. 
And I love the smell tlial crinkles from an 
old-time posy bed, 
The earthy spice of new plowed fields is 
e’enamost sublime, 
But there ain't no smell that ekils the smell 
of picklin’ time. 
The perfume of the Autumn leaves, that goes 
a-driftin’ by, 
It’s mighty sweet and_peaceful, though It 
kind of makes me sigh ; 
I love it, and I love the breath of fresh 
Alfalfa hay, 
But most: 1 love the smells that streak a 
good old picklin’ day. 
There ain't no sadness to ’em, they're so 
peppery and strong; 
But there’s sweetness tangled in ’em. like 
music in a song. 
It’s like you took the Summer that was 
sleepin’ in the sun 
And chopped it with the crispy Fall that's 
only just begun. 
It ain t the smell of pounded mace and cin¬ 
namon and clove 
And mangoes stuffed with mustard seed 
a-cookin’ on the stove 
That flies about the air and tangles up in 
everything 
And makes you kind of feel as if your heels 
was on a spring. 
It’s Autumn in a bundle—great big apples 
red as wine, 
And grapes all full of purple juice a-bustin' 
on the vine. 
And sliellbark hick’rynuts and haws a-grow- 
iu' on the slopes, 
And sweet potalers, roasted brown, and .yel- 
ler cantaloupes. 
It’s days a-throwin’ haze and sun in blue and 
yeller scuds, 
And moons from overflowin’ tubs a-splasliin’ 
silver suds— 
Ob, shucks, I couldn’t tell you in the finest 
kind of rhyme, 
Not half the tilings that mingle in the smell 
of picklin’ time. 
—Harriet Whitney Durbin in Good House¬ 
keeping. 
* 
Linen embroidered in blue, or blue 
linen whose stability of color is in doubt, 
should be soaked for an hour before 
washing in cold water to which sugar 
of lead has been added hi the proportion 
of one ounce to the gallon of water. 
* 
DouBLE-headed hatpins are a new idea, 
warranted to stay in under any conditions, 
and to prevent the piercing of unnecessary 
holes in the hat. The head on one side 
conies off, revealing the sharp point; after 
the pin is stuck through the head is 
clinched on again. The same principle is 
used in scarfpins. These hatpins cost 98 
cents each. 
* 
A clothes sprinkler now offered con¬ 
sists of an enamelled metal vessel holding 
one pint, having a straight hollow handle 
on one side and a perforated top. The 
water is put in through the handle, which 
is then corked, and the sprinkler shaken 
over the clothes. This sprinkler was 
offered during a special sale for 17 cents. 
The little rubber bulb sprinklers such as 
florists use, are very convenient, but more 
expensive. 
* 
A pedigree undoubtedly adds to the 
value of an animal, but all pedigrees 
are not so much in evidence as the one 
thus described, according to the De 
troit Free Press. When little Marjory 
heard that the Maddens had an Angora cat 
“with a splendid pedigree,” the child was 
naturally desirous of beholding a quad¬ 
ruped with such an unusual attachment; 
she had known and loved many kittens, 
but never one blessed with a pedigree. At 
last her curiosity was satisfied, she saw 
the favored animal in the flesh, and re¬ 
turned home in a great state of excite¬ 
ment. 
“Oh, Mother! she cried. “You should 
see the Maddens’ cat! Tt has a pure 
white pedigree that measures six inches 
around and looks exactly like the ostrich 
plume on your Sunday hat!” 
It is rarely that an American housewife 
thinks of using the feet of chickens in 
any way; yet the thrifty French woman 
would feel very extravagant if she did 
not utilize them. They are first scalded 
to remove the skin, and then simmered 
slowly with other materials for soup 
stock. The stock from the feet forms a 
firm jelly when cold, so it is useful 
when making pressed chicken. Another 
waste portion of the fowl, according to 
our own ideas, which the French cook 
utilizes, is the comb, which is used as a 
garnish, and served in a variety of ways. 
Bottled French cock’s combs are sold here 
by high-class grocers, though to our mind 
they are almost as ghastly as the pickled 
pig’s snouts put up by some of the Chi¬ 
cago packers. 
' * 
We have heard recently of a Kansas 
woman who made some root beer, and 
bottled it without due regard for its ex¬ 
pansionist principles. A few nights latet 
there was a popping noise in the cellar. 
Her husband, believing there were bur¬ 
glars in the house, stealthily approached 
the cellar door. Just as he peeped in 
there was another report, and he was hit. 
He then poked the muzzle of six-shooter 
into the crack, and, turning the gun from 
side to side, fired a fusilade of bullets 
into the darkness. He was then out of 
ammunition, but the enemy kept firing, 
and he retreated upstairs, where his wife 
was screaming for help. The neighbors 
arrived and found the man soaked in root 
beer, while a flood of the same fluid was 
all that remained in the cellar to explain 
the burglar scare. 
* 
Here are a few thoughts from Aunt 
Huldah’s philosophy, as recorded by the 
Youth’s Companion : 
“The recipes don’t take so many spoon¬ 
fuls or cupfuls of it, but you can’t do 
much cooking without you mix in consid- 
er’ble gumption.” 
“ ’Tisn’t a good plan for a girl to look 
forward to nothing but getting married, 
generally she gets so cross-eyed from 
hard looking that she sees the wrong 
man.” 
“The best way to keep a secret from the 
prying kind of £ olks is to tell them all 
about it. Then they won’t more’n half 
believe what you say, and they’ll forget 
it as quick as they can.” 
“1 believe in women’s rights, but I nev¬ 
er say so to these ’ere young brides that 
don’t know how to cook anything but 
fudge and soft custard. It’s men’s rights 
I talk to them.” 
“Funny, isn’t it, how the mud-puddles 
and the barbed-wire fences go out o’ their 
way to play tag with a boy that’s got his 
Sunday clothes on?” 
“I s’pose you might say, looking at it 
one way, that liquor is great stuff to sort 
of even up things. Of course it takes 
shingles off a man’s barn, but then it puts 
patches on his pants.” 
“There’s one complaint that almost any 
patent medicine will cure,' provided you 
keep on taking it long enough—it’s that 
dropsical swellin’ of the pocketbook.” 
* 
Here is a recipe for green tomato 
mincemeat, which comes to us highly 
recommended: Chop fine four quarts of 
green tomatoes, drain off all juice, cover 
with cold water, let come to a boil and 
scald for thirty minutes, then drain well. 
Add two pounds of brown sugar, one 
pound of seeded raisins, one-half pound 
of chopped citron, one large half cupful 
of finely chopped suet, one tablespoonful 
of salt and one-half cupful of strong cider 
vinegar. Stir well together and cook till 
thick. When cold add one teaspoonful 
each of ground cinnamon and cloves and 
one teaspoonful of grated nutmeg. Stir 
thoroughly and keep (while it lasts) in a 
stone jar. _ 
Something About Pears. 
Tn many places pears are abundant and 
it becomes a problem how to use them 
to advantage. The expense of sending 
them to market leaves very little profit to 
the shipper. Not many varieties are suit¬ 
able for canning. Bartletts are very nice 
if they are allowed to get very ripe before 
using. Let them get very soft so that the 
juice runs while they are being prepared. 
Halve them first and take out the seeds. 
Then pare carefully enough for one can. 
Do not drop in cold water. Put in your 
agate vessel about one quart of water— 
add the pears, and on tlufse for a two- 
quart can put one heaping cupful of sugar. 
Of course the cans should be all ready 
at first. Have new rubbers that have- 
been lying for a short time in hot water 
and baking soda. Have tops .scalded. 
Rinse the can in hot water last, and set 
on a wet. folded towel, laid in a jelly tin 
or shallow pan. Place this very near the 
stove on a high stool, or small table. 
Put rubber on can and dip in the fruit 
with cup or spoon. Before the can is 
full shake gently to even the fruit, and 
add the syrup as you like. Some people 
prefer to have plenty of juice. If a little 
is left after filling the can set aside in 
a large bowl and make one can at the last 
from the remnants. If done this way 
the pears will be spicy and highly fla¬ 
vored, while if done before they are mel¬ 
low they will be comparatively tasteless. 
In this way the fruit must be attended to 
just when it is ready a little, perhaps, at 
a time, but it pays. 
Some varieties are nice pickled. If the 
pears have fine, thin skin and are sound, 
leave them whole, with skins on, other¬ 
wise pare tnem. Prepare a syrup with 
one quart of very mild vinegar and fout 
pounds of sugar. Put a little of this in 
a small agate vessel and add spices—whole 
cloves one ounce, whole cinnamon two 
ounces. Let them boil awhile, then strain 
into the larger vessel. Add about eight 
pounds of pears. Pick out when they get 
soft, and return to the syrup when boiled 
until of the consistency of honey. Then 
can. _ p. s. v. o. 
The Woman’s Work. 
The letters in The R. N.-Y. regarding 
“Busy Days” of women have been very 
interesting, and I think we all have a 
warmer feeling for a paper that gives 
us an opportunity to have our say. For 
the past few years I have observed far¬ 
mers’ wives closely, being one of the 
happy number myself, and I have met 
women whose sole aim seemed to be to 
get their work in the house done in any 
sort of fashion, then rush to the fields 
or barn to help the “men folks.” It is not 
at all surprising that their bright eyes 
and wholesome look has disappeared. Their 
husbands undoubtedly are saving money, 
as one recently boasted that his wife saved 
him a' man’s wages. Maybe the second 
wife will have a chance to take some com¬ 
fort with it; this one will not. 
Outdoor work in reason is healthful 
and helpful to the woman on a farm, 
but she can usually find enough of 
that in her flower garden and berries, 
l oo many get in a rut of work, work, day 
in and day out, until the mind is nar¬ 
rowed down to the limits of the farm, and 
sometimes get way behind the husband 
intellectually. The farmer may be the 
possessor of broad acres and a good bank- 
account; may understand all new and im¬ 
proved methods of farming; may keep all 
the best farm machinery, yet if his wife 
has a clothes wringer and a sewing ma¬ 
chine she is fortunate. With many men 
this niggardliness is pure carelessness, but 
the result is the same. A city girl becomes 
a farmer’s wife only in a few years, in 
many instances, to break down under the 
cares of family and household duties. She 
is ambitious to do as well as her neigh¬ 
bors. Why should she not have the best 
ot mechanical devices to aid her in her 
work? How would the farmer like to 
have to worry along cutting all his grass 
with a scythe? It would not require many 
days at it before he would hitch up and 
go off to town for a mower. 
When I read of the intensely busy days 
I wonder how long endurance will hold 
out. There is a limit. Of course there 
are women who seem to keep their 
strength through years of hard labor and 
are stronger at 60 than others are at 40, 
but they are exceptions. All are not phys¬ 
ically able to do heavy work, and such 
should consider their health of first im¬ 
portance. The average housework on a 
farm is more than one woman can do well 
and have any time for recreation. When 
butter-making is added, then she is indeed 
a genius if she keeps the wheels moving 
smoothly, without going to the hayfield or 
the barn to do a man’s work. When we 
read of the immense amount of work that 
women have done the question comes to 
mind if that very fact is not responsible 
for so many of the young people on the 
farm who are not as strong as their par¬ 
ents were when they were young. A 
lazy man or woman is scarcely worthy of 
a home on a farm, but there is such a 
thing as going to the other extreme. 1 
believe there is more in this life than 
just hard work. If there is not it is a 
pretty poor place to be stranded in. A 
busy, happy wife is a joy to any husband, 
but she will hardly remain happy if she 
pulls her muscles and cords all out of 
true doing work the Lord never intended 
she should do. h. r. a. 
A BATH OUT OF DOORS. Fig. 269. 
