386 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May 7, 
l Woman and Home \ 
From Day to Day. 
THE AMATEUR GARDENER. 
Doris wants a garden, now that Spring is 
almost here, 
And she will doubtless get it—for Doris is 
a dear— 
A little bed, six feet by eight* with roses 
and sweet peas, 
She says she’s sure that I can work a plot 
like that with ease. 
And I agree, because I find 
To argue doesn’t change her mind. 
With pad and pencil she has planned the 
little garden out, 
Just where the mignonette will go and 
where the pansies sprout, 
What sort of border we must have, and 
that geraniums 
Will hold their bloom until it’s time to pick 
chrysanthemums. 
It’s fun for Doris . . . As for me 
I’ve naught to do but just agree. 
O’er catalogues we pore each night, select¬ 
ing what we feel 
Will grow the best—and what the neigh¬ 
bor's children will not steal— 
And every morning out we go into the old 
back yard 
To choose a spot where digging soil won t 
be so awful hard; 
For Doris says—bless her dear heart! 
She knows that I will do my part. 
But there’s a thought that worries me 
through all these preparations. 
For raising blooms and saving them from 
youthful depredations: 
I’d like to ask her if I may—and yet I do 
not dare— 
Plant something that is good to eat out 
in our garden fair. 
Will she permit me one small spot 
To raise onions? I fear not. 
—Cincinnati Times-Star. 
* 
Canned codfish balls are a new devel¬ 
opment. The materials are all mixed 
together, but not made into cakes. A 
two-pound can costs 18 cents. The 
mixing of codfish balls is quite a lengthy 
operation, and the canned product 
would be a convenience for camping out 
or emergency use, though we should 
not care to include it among regular 
household supplies. Canned codfish 
balls, canned baked beans, canned 
pumpkin and ready-made pie crust 
ought to carry New England’s cuisine to 
the uttermost parts of the earth. 
* 
Here is a recipe for Delaware Federal 
bread, one of the most delicious of hot 
breads: One and one-half pound of 
flour, two eggs, lard the size of a wal¬ 
nut. Rub the lard into the flour with a 
little salt. Add yeast enough to lighten 
it. Break the eggs in with a little 
water, make between muffin and com¬ 
mon dough. When fermented, grease 
deep pie plates or jelly tins, and pour 
it in without stirring. Let rise again a 
little. Bake slowly. When done, split 
open and butter, and put the two laye:s 
together again. Cut into wedges like 
pie when serving. 
* 
We always have a supply of loose 
mittens made from old black stockings 
to use around the stove, building fires 
or handling ashes, but for sweeping it is 
well to have canton flannel mittens, 
woolly side in. They keep the hands 
clean, and prevent blistering. We used 
to wear old gloves when sweeping, bur 
they always “bind” somewhere, and 
cause discomfort when the hands swell 
with the exertion. Perhaps some busy 
housewife will smile at the idea of going 
to a lot of trouble to keep her hands 
smooth and without stain. We know 
that the stains and scars of honest and 
self-sacrificing work for others are 
badges of honor, yet there are times 
when they are felt a disadvantage, and 
womanly self-respect, not personal van¬ 
ity, will advise their removal. Many 
a woman who could find rest for mind 
and body in a few moments snatched 
each day for music first drops her tiny 
bit of practice because “housework does 
ruin the hands so.” If a little care in 
this respect will keep one in closer touch 
with the arts that refine the most labor¬ 
ious life we have no right to neglect it. 
* 
If instead of lining closets with shelf 
paper, the shelves are all painted with 
white enamel paint they are readily 
wiped off and there is nothing to catch 
dirt. Put nothing away in paper bags; 
if one cannot afford the earthen jars 
made to hold groceries bearing the name 
of the contents printed across the front, 
there are always spare fruit jars or bak¬ 
ing-powder cans for this purpose. We 
like the French plan of hanging cooking 
utensils around the kitchen, in full Slight 
instead of storing them away in a closet. 
The advantages are that they must be 
well cleaned before being hung up, or 
they look dingy, and they are thorough¬ 
ly aired, which is not always the case 
when put away in a closet. The asser¬ 
tion that they catch dust is true, if the 
kitchen is dusty, but we notice that the 
dishes and other utensils in a closet 
need wiping if they are not in daily use. 
We like to see the kitchen tools bright 
and well-washed, hung in symmetrical 
rows where they may be seen. 
* 
In his recent book on “Bacteria, Yeasts 
and Molds,” Prof. Conn has something 
to say about the ordinary filters used 
to fasten upon the faucet to cleanse the 
water. He says that while such filters 
remove the dirt, causing the water to 
look pure, they have no value whatever 
in removing typhoid germs, and con¬ 
taminated water must be boiled to ren¬ 
der it harmless. There are other filters, 
of the Pasteur type, which really do 
remove bacteria, but as bacteria lodge 
in the inner porcelain filter, this must 
be removed and thoroughly cleansed by 
brushing every day, and every four days 
it. must be sterilized by boiling for five 
minutes. Unless sterilized in this way, 
it is better not to use the filter at all. 
We have had a good deal of experience 
with contaminated water, and we always 
boiled it in preference to putting any 
trust in filters. Sometimes,’ when the 
water was very muddy, we used the 
small filter to clear it, and boiled it 
afterwards. It is easier to acquire a 
taste for boiled wafer than to recover 
from an attack of typhoid fever. 
* 
Sometimes a country boy who settles 
in the city and prospers there forgets 
all about his youth, and is quite willing 
to patronize those whose life has been 
more narrow. The Youth’s Companion 
says that when Mr. Porson, the pros¬ 
perous dry-goods merchant, went to see 
his New Hampshire relatives on his way 
to the White Mountains, many things 
which amused and pleased him were 
shown to him. 
“Why, I haven’t seen a wreath of 
pressed Autumn leaves or a bunch of 
wax flowers for 35 years,” he said, 
genially. “I’d forgotten there were such 
things. And if here isn’t the family 
album, with gilt clasps!” 
“I guess there are some folks in that 
album you’ll remember,” said his cousin 
Lavinia, opening the book and laying 
it on his knee while she bent over his 
shoulder to act as showman. “Recol¬ 
lect that first face’” 
“That’s Aunt Lucy,” shouted the visi¬ 
tor, “and that’s you next to her, with 
those corkscrew curls!” 
“They were natural,” said Miss La¬ 
vinia, sharply. 
“And there’s Cousin Abijah, as stiff 
as a ramrod,” continued the city man, 
“and William! Now I’ll leave it to you, 
Lavinia, if you ever saw anything 
greener than William in that picture 
unless it’s Sam here in his Sunday 
clothes?” 
“There’s one picture I’ve always con¬ 
sidered about the greenest of the lot,” 
said Miss Lavinia, as with unerring 
fingers she turned to the faded photo¬ 
graph of a thin, sharp-featured boy 
with bulging eyes, and a pair of enor¬ 
mous hands dangling at his sides. 
The dry-goods merchant looked at the 
features of this discouraging youth, and 
a slight color grew and spread over his 
usually self-satisfied countenance. 
“Lavinia,” he said, closing the album 
with a snap that nearly caught his 
cousin’s finger, “I think I’ll go out and 
see the cows.”_ 
A Wood and Coal Box. 
The handy box shown in Fig. 163 is 
reproduced from Good Housekeeping. 
It is 36 inches long, 24 wide and 18 
inches deep. It is divided into two 
parts, one for kindling and one for coal; 
the latter has the upper board at one 
■.end rempvted and /a slanting bottom 
made so that the coal can be taken 
up readily with the fire shovel. A door 
opens into the space under the slant and 
here stove polish, brush, etc., are kept. 
The box is made of smooth boards of 
matched lumber, and when the lid is 
closed (‘it .is hinged on the Side) it 
makes a ornamental as well as an ex¬ 
tremely useful article. 
The Bookshelf. 
Bog-Trotting For OitcuiDs, by Grace 
Greylock Niles.—To many readers, the 
name of orchid suggests those rare 
exotics whose grotesque beauty is only 
seen in the conservatory; the native 
orchids of swamp and woodland are to 
them unknown. Lady’s slippers and 
lady’s tresses (which Prof. Meehan calls 
lady’s traces, with a reference to 
mediaeval costuming) long purples and 
twayblade are often commended for 
their quaint beauty, without being 
recognized as American cousins of the 
gorgeous Vandas and Dendrobiums. 
To all such this book will come as a 
fresh revelation of outdoor delights. 
Miss Niles describes plant life in the 
swamps of the Hoosac Valley, a region 
extending over parts of Vermont, New 
York and Massachusetts, and also refers 
to plant-hunting trips near this city. 
There is a very full appendix of the 
Orchidacem, which will make recogni¬ 
tion of species easy to those with little 
botanical knowledge. Referring to the 
increasing scarcity of many beautiful 
native plants, Miss Niles says: “There 
are laws protecting the deer in the Green 
Mountains, and the Brook trout in their 
spawning season, but as yet there is no 
legal or moral protection to shield the 
flowering and fruiting season of rare 
flowers, especially orchids, so scarce in 
northern New England. They have 
suffered from school children and com¬ 
merce alike. People seek them selfishly 
for pleasure and study, while the drug 
trade demands many roots, and places 
fair value upon them as an inducement 
to collectors.” The book is illustrated 
with 48 half-tones and 24 colored plates; 
beautifully bound and well printed; 310 
pages. It is published by G. P. Put¬ 
nam’s Sons, New York; price, net, $2.50 
by mail, $2.70. 
buy direct from factory, best 
MIXED PAINTS 
At WHOL.ESA I,E PRICES, Pelivered FREE 
For Houses, Barns, Roofs, all colors, and SAVE Dealers 
profits. In use 58 years. Officially Endorsed by the 
Orange. Low prices will surprise you. Write for Samples. 
0. W. INGERSOLL, 5846 Plymouth St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
GOOD INCOMES FOR ALL. 
25 to 30 per cent, commis¬ 
sion to get orders for our cele¬ 
brated Teas, Coffees, Spices, 
Extracts and Baking Powder, 
Beautiful Presents and Coupons 
with every purchase. Charges 
paid. For prompt attention 
address J. J. D., care of 
EH t’ GREAT AMERICAN TEA CO., P.O.Box 280,31-33 Ves<\vSt ,\\ A 
Y 
OUNG MEN WANTED, RAILWA 
Train aervice.experience unnecessary 
Prepare you at home by MAIL. Send 
stamp for application blank and book¬ 
let. J. P. Railway listltite, ladlaaaoolls lad. 
Y 
Rural Mail Many new routes will go In this year. We 
nurdl Irl dll want name and address of every man who 
sends i n a petition. DAV CBCC to first one sending 
We will send a DU A lIlCCi us full information. 
BOND STEEL POST CO., ADRIAN, MICH. 
MACHINERY 
nioE 
|UB Best and cheapest. 
Send for catalogue. 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT 
_ PRESS CO., 
118 Weit Water St. , 
SY1UCC8B. H. 1. 
WONDERFUL PIANO OFFER. 
The Celebrated 
BECKWITH 
PIANO CO.'S 
UPRIGHT 
GRAND 2 5- 
YEAR GUARAN¬ 
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$89.00 
115.00 
138.00 
and 165.00 
For the most liber¬ 
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heard of write 
for our Free 
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made very clear; you will receive facsimile letters from 
the largest Chicago banks endorsing our proposition and 
we will explain just what the freight will be to your 
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(Interior and sectional views), also color tone sample 
plates of the different woods, including French burled 
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SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO., CHICAGO. 
Looking for a Home? 
Then why not keep In view 
the fact that the 
farming lands of 
are sufficient to support a 
population of 50,000,000 or over? 
The Immigration to Western 
Canada during the past six 
years has been phenomenal. 
Homestead Lands 
easily accessible, and other 
lands may be purchased from 
Railway and Land Companies. 
Western Canada’s grain lands 
produce marvellous crops,while 
the grazing lands contain all 
the nutritive qualities for fat¬ 
tening cattle and other stock. 
Markets, Schools, Railways 
and all other conditions 
make Western Canada ■ 
desirable spot for the home- 
seeker. • 
Write to the Superintendent Im¬ 
migration, Ottawa.Canada.for a 
descriptive Atlas, and other in¬ 
formation; or to the authorized 
Canadian Government Agent— 
W# D. SCOTT. Supt. of Immigration) 
Ottawa, Can. 
A Never Failing Water Supply, 
with absolute safety, at small cost may be had by using the 
Improved Rider Hot Air Pumping Engine and 
Improved Ericsson Hot Air Pumping Engine. 
Built by us for more than 30 years and sold In every country in the world. Exclu¬ 
sively intended for pumpirg water. May be run by any ignorant boy or woman. 
So well built that the..- d ability is yot to be determined, engines which were sold 
30 years ago being still active service. 
Send stamp for “C4" Catalogue to nearest office. 
rider-ericsson ENGINE CO., 
85 Wnrren St., New York. 239 Franklin fit., Bouton. 
40 Dearborn St., Chicago. Craig St., Montreal, 1*. Q. 
40 North 1th St.. Phlladelplil*. 22 Pitt St., Sydney, N. S. W. 
Ten leu te-Iiey 11, Havana, Cuba. 
