1904 
467 
Mattings, Rugs and Floor Edges 
It is the fashion to praise without qual¬ 
ifying the use of straw mattings for bed¬ 
rooms, and even for Summer sitting- 
rooms. They are cooler than woolen car¬ 
pets, and fresh mattings never offend one’s 
tastes, as ugly carpets often do; when 
new or freshly wiped over with a wet 
cloth, they look clean, and give out a 
cleanly odor; they do not absorb the odor 
of perspiring nights, nor the stale per¬ 
fume from the soapy water left in the 
bowl, and for the first six months of a 
matting’s life it is easily swept, the lint 
does not stick; one sweep of the broom is 
sufficient—but afterward ! Ah ! If a mat¬ 
ted room is used daily, and much sooner 
if it is occupied by two persons, or is 
mother’s room, where there is much 
childish scuffling, at the end of six months 
neither broom nor brush will do dutiful 
execution at each sweep of the arm. What 
is the matter? There’s a hair hanging 
there, and there is a mouse, no, it is only 
a fluff of gray lint that the broom a mo¬ 
ment ago caught, yet now it is left be¬ 
hind, and a second, or a third sweep of 
the broom is needed to bring along the 
linty mass, and after various attempts 
the sweeper gives it up and stoops down to 
pick up the bit of obstinate grayness, only 
to find that it, as well as a dozen other 
gray bits, more or less large, have caught 
fast on crushed and splintered points of 
the straw. From this time on content is a 
thing of the past for the occupant of a 
straw-matted room, for she had to remem¬ 
ber and lift her woolen gown if forced to 
stoop to pick up a dropped article, for 
upon rising from her knees she will find 
that she has a half hour’s trial of patience 
before her to extract from the meshes of 
her gown the many tiny straw slivers that 
have penetrated under the woven threads. 
Even if she avoids kneeling she cannot 
avoid having her skirt edges filled with 
straw slivers each day. Such experiences 
are among the real trials of life. 
“This matting is only a year old, yet it 
must be turned at May’s housecleaning,” 
and it is, only to find that the wrong side 
is not woven smooth, so is never desirable! 
Early in the second year of a matting’s 
usefulness it “shows wear” wherever has 
rested a set of castors or chair legs have 
been used, and at the end of this second 
year it is “smashed clear through” in these 
worn places, and if the American rocker 
has been a guest there are generally 
patches of glossiness, anything but pleas¬ 
ing to the housekepeer. The ideal bed¬ 
room floor is of hard pine oiled and 
shellacked where polished floors are be¬ 
yond one’s means. Next best to the hard 
pine is a smooth floor, painted, and if pos¬ 
sible varnished. If painted all over the 
furniture and rugs can be rearranged to 
suit each occupant. If borders only are 
painted then rugs must be fitted to the 
unpainted center, which at least in bed¬ 
rooms is not always the most desirable. 
Dining-rooms and parlors are better if 
“all-overed,” as rugs then may be of any 
size or shape most convenient. Remnants 
make excellent bedroom carpets; a five- 
foot tapestry in front of a bed, a four-foot 
remnant at the foot and 18 or 20-inch 
lengths (this makes the length serve as 
the width) in front of doors, bureau, com¬ 
mode and desk if there is one, and the 
room is sufficiently carpeted and in a man¬ 
ner to be easily and frequently cleaned. 
Mats, if “braided,” or those of hemmed 
remnants should never be “banged” 
against a railing or side of the house, but 
should be swept both sides while spread 
on the piazza floor, or the concrete walk, 
or grass plot. If ingrain or tapestry rugs, 
in addition to their hemmed edges, have 
a three-rowed border of braided rags 
sewed around their four sides, well filled 
at the corners, well sewed with waxed 
carpet thread, they will never curl. Cheap 
fringes, with bindings, are not serviceable, 
nor to all minds ornamental. If the rugs 
are left just hemmed, they can be kept flat 
by occasionally being turned wrong-side 
uppermost for a day or two, now and 
then. “Too bad!” Perhaps, if one’s re¬ 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
spectability depends upon the figured side, 
but poor people should be thrifty rather 
than given to vanity. Thrift must rule if 
one would some day be able to own even 
the reversible “Smyrna” woven in the 
United States. Rugs are cleaner than car¬ 
pets, as the large ones are not usually 
under the heavy pieces of furniture. Un¬ 
less one owns the heavy reversible rugs 
which keep themselves in place, it is al¬ 
ways better to tack them down, even if 
they are taken up and cleaned three or 
four times a year. Families certainly 
would be in less danger if they were taken 
up each three months. 
If floors are oiled, stained or painted all 
over one may have several, fair-sized rugs 
in dining-room, sitting-room and parlor, 
or one large oblong or square rug, as they 
prefer. A large dining-room looks well 
with a rug made of 12 yards best quality 
ingrain, three breadths wide, thus having 
only two seams, and making a fine 12x9 
rug. The ordinary parlor will need not 
more than five breadths of tapestry, each 
four yards long, giving a rug a little more 
than 11 feet by 12. If one has rough par¬ 
lor floors that will not be satisfactory if 
stained or painted, it is a common thing 
nowadays to cover (as with a carpet) to 
the very edges, with either a plain “filling” 
carpet or mere denim, and then use sev¬ 
eral bright (not too garish in color) rugs 
20 inches by 18 in front of doors, 3 feet 
by 5 feet for other places, as in front of 
sofa and piano. For those who have few 
servants tapestry rugs that can be swept 
with carpet swepeer or hand broom are 
better than reversible that need a man to 
take them out of doors. The dusty wood 
edges or the whole floor at general sweep¬ 
ing day may be quickly wiped over with 
a crash-covered broom, either regular 
broom-bags tied on, or old towels pinned 
on; it takes less time on the whole if the 
edges of be-rugged rooms are so wiped 
daily. 
A deck mop, such-as sailors use, is the 
very best cleaner for taking up dust on 
bare floors; dealers in small towns can get 
it from their city houses when they order 
other mops and brooms. It is very low in 
price and lasts a long time. It is what 
sailors use to “swab” the yacht’s deck. It 
is made of strands like an ordinary mop, 
but bound on the handle in an entirely 
different manner and is like a large soft 
head. The countrymen’s “split wickup” 
stable broom is the “pattern” the inventor 
following in his method of tying on the 
soft cotton wicking-like strands. 
KEZIAH SHELTON. 
orange juice and one tablespoonful lemon 
juice, add last the beaten white of one egg 
and serve. Or a vanilla sauce may be 
served with the pudding. 
Mother’s Indian Pudding. —Wet six 
heaping tablespoonfuls of Indian meal 
with molasses. Boil a quart or more of 
milk and pour on. Put in from two to 
four tablespoonfuls of flour. Salt to taste. 
Bake three or four hours in a slow oven. 
Economy Pudding. —Take two cupfuls 
of ginger cookie crumbs (crumbled cook¬ 
ies) and one cupful sweet milk, one cupful 
molasses, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one- 
fourth teaspoonful cloves, one-fourth tea¬ 
spoonful nutmeg, three eggs well beaten, 
one-half teaspoon fill salt, one cup seeded 
raisins, one-half teaspoonful of soda dis¬ 
solved in one tablespoonful of water and 
two cupfuls of flour. Beat thoroughly, 
turn into greased pudding pan and steam 
three hours. Serve with hard sauce. 
Rural Recipes. 
Snow Pudding. —Cover the bottom of a 
baking dish with bits of stale cake. Make 
a boiled custard of a quart of milk, the 
yolks of four eggs and one whole egg, half 
a cupful of granulated sugar and vanilla 
to taste. Turn it over the cake, cover 
with a meringue made of a cupful of con¬ 
fectioners’ sugar and the white of the 
four eggs and brown. 
Graham Pudding. —Make a batter of 
a cupful of molasses, a cupful of sweet 
milk, a cupful of seeded and chopped rai¬ 
sins, two cupfuls of graham flour and two 
teaspoonfuls of soda. Steam for three 
hours. Eat with a sauce made of a 
tablespoonful of butter creamed with half 
a cupful of sugar and the stiffly beaten 
white of an egg and lemon to flavor. 
Farina Pudding. —Place a double boil¬ 
er with one pint of milk over the fire; 
when it boils, sprinkle in two and a half 
tablespoonfuls farina, one-quarter tea¬ 
spoonful salt and two tablespoonfuls 
sugar. Cook twenty minutes, then add 
the beaten whites of two eggs, stir for a 
few minutes, remove from fire, pour into 
a mold and set aside to cool. Serve with 
orange sauce made in following manner: 
Stir the yolks of two eggs with half cup¬ 
ful sugar to a cream, add half cupful 
The Bookshelf. 
The Crossing, by Winston Churchill. 
We have been so surfeited by those so- 
called historical novels where a series of 
disjointed adventures are used to disguise 
the author’s poverty of thought that we 
hesitate to describe “The Crossing” by 
that well-worn title; yet it is an historical 
romance dealing with the time when the 
Carolinas were upon the frontier, and 
when daring settlers crossed the great 
mountains into the Indian country of the 
Dark and Bloody Ground. The book is, 
to us, far more absorbing than either 
“Richard Carvel” or “The Crisis,” and, 
we think, marks an advance in literary 
workmanship on the part of this popular 
author. Tt may be called the story of a 
peaceful conquest; the period covered be¬ 
ing the absorption of the Louisiana terri¬ 
tory. The hero is a boy of the backwoods, 
brought up among pioneers and Indian 
fighters, who shares with Clarke’s “Long 
Knives” the arduous wilderness march 
that preceded the capture from the British 
of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. It is a thrill¬ 
ing narrative, and one that will increase 
the reader’s veneration for the men whose 
far-seeing wisdom added the Louisiana 
Purchase to the nation. “The Crossing” 
is published by the Macmillan Company, 
New York; price $1.50. 
No Dessert 
More Attractive 
Why use gelatine and 
spend hours soaking, 
sweetening, flavoring 
and coloring when 
Jell-O _ 
produces better results in two minutes? 
Everything in the package. Simply add hot 
water and set to cool. It’s perfection. A sur¬ 
prise to the housewife. No trouble, less ex¬ 
pense. Try it to-day. In Four Fruit Fla¬ 
vors: Lemon, Orange, Strawberry, Rasp¬ 
berry. At grocers. 10c. 
TELEPHONE APPARATUS 
OWN YOUR OWN TELEPHONE LINE. 
Our telephones are powerful, loud- 
talking and absolutely guaranteed. 
OUR PRICES ARE RIGHT. 
Telephones that work on any line. 
Large Catalog No. 9 Free. 
CONNECTICUT TELE. & ELEC. CO., 
Meriden, Conn., U. S. A. 
TELEPHONES 
For Farmers 
The man who wants to know 
ALL about telephones for farm 
ers should send for free book 
F- 76, “ Telephone Facts for. 
Farmers." Address nearest office 
Stromberg-Carlaon TcL Co. 
Kochester, N. Y., Chicago, Ill. 
TRADE 
MARK. 
For Rheumatism 
Neuralgia Sprains 
Lumbago Bruises 
Backache Soreness 
Sciatica Stiffness 
Um the old reliable remae 
St Jacobs Oil 
Price, tfc. 
50 «. 
Ten_ Days Free Trial 
allowed on all our bicycles. We SHIP 
ON APPROVAL without a cent 
deposit ; any wheel not satisfactory 
returned at our expense. 
Highest grade $0.75 4 n $ 17 
1904 Models O ,0 » ^ 
Coaster Brakes, Hedgethorne Punc¬ 
ture proof Tires and best equipment. 
1902 & 1903 Mod- 0 7 
els. best makes S' * S' »aC 
500 Second-hand Wheels 
All makes & Models O O d* O 
good as new v O * ° O 
Great Factory Clearing Sale at 
half Factory Cost. 
RIDER ACEMTS WANTED 
in each town to take orders from 
sample wheel furnished by us. Our 
agents make big profits. Write at once tor 
catalogues and our Special Offer. 
AUTOMOBILES. TIKES, Sewing Ma¬ 
chines, Sundries, etc., half usual prices. 
MEAD CYCLE CO., Dept. 175 C Chicago 
r our Idle Money 
Should Earn 
5 % 
Estab. over 10 Years 
No Speculation 
UnderN. Y, Banking 
Dept. Supervision 
But place it where you are sure 
It will be free from speculation. 
The Industrial Savings dfc 
Loan Co. will be pleased to fur¬ 
nish full information regarding 
Its methods. Endorsed by the 
most conservative authorities 
upon Investments. 
We will pay 5 p.c. per an¬ 
num on your savings. Earn¬ 
ings commence at once and paid 
for every day in our care. Sub¬ 
ject to withdrawal at any time. 
Write to-day for particulars. 
Assets, - - - - - $1,700,000 
Surplua and Profits, - 160,000 
Industrial Savings and Loan Co., 
113-1 Hroadway, Nkw York. 
MACHINERY 
U Best and cheapest. 
Send for catalogue. 
I00MER & BOSCHERT 
PRESS CO., 
118 Wait Water 8L, 
MBACU8S, S. Tt 
kk 
FUMA 
MM kills Prairie Dogs, 
' Woodchucks, Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of the 
gods grind slow but 
exceedingly small.’’ 8othe weevil, but you can stop 
”“a rtoa “Fuma Carbon Bi$nlphiile”i , .SSS 
EDWARD R, TAYLOR, Penn Van, N. Y. 
TELEPHONES 
For Farmers’ Lines. 
Organize an exchange In your 
community. Full particulars fur¬ 
nished. Catalogue free. 
THE NORTH ELECTRIC C0„ 
152 St. Clair Street, 
C N. SOI. CLEVELAND, O. 
SAMSON 
Bridging Telephones 
Don’t Cost Much. 
Write for the Green 
Catalogue. 
THE NEW 
SPEED SPECIAL 
Lightning Arresters 
ABE THE ONLY 
Sure Protection. 
KEYSTONE ELECTRIC TELEPHONE CO., PITTSBURG, PA. 
JAYNE’S TONIC VERMIFUGE 
CURES DYSPEPSIA and BRINGS HEALTH 
