FROM DAY TO DAY. 
A PARTY of young women, who bad 
been discussing, half in joke, the 
influences that had helped to shape their 
mental inclinations, finally drifted to 
the subject of books. “ Why not discuss 
hooks that have influenced us ? ” asked 
one. There was a brief interchange of 
opinion, resulting in the unanimous im¬ 
pression that, of all books known to 
these young readers (religious reading 
being excepted), Smiles’s Self Help had 
exerted the very strongest and most 
beneficial influence. Next to this came 
autobiographies, the life and letters of 
Louisa Alcott being a special favorite. 
The trials, cares and successes of real 
persons always have a fascination greater 
than fiction, and many a discouraged sis¬ 
ter has taken up her burden with re¬ 
newed courage after reading the anxie¬ 
ties of another. 
* 
This makes us think of judicious read¬ 
ing as an aid to personal contentment. 
The country girl whose reading chiefly 
relates to the pleasures of life in town, 
is not likely to be either happy or con¬ 
tented. She cannot understand the joy 
felt by a city girl with a taste for natural 
science, when free to spend the day 
afield among birds, flowers, and insects. 
It is the old story of “Eyes and No Eyes” 
over again. What is the pleasure of 
crowded shops and bricks-and-mortar 
compared with the discovery of some 
plant rare to the district, or the joy of 
the first hepaticas and anemones in early 
spring ? There is always something hap¬ 
pening out-of-doors, and the least in¬ 
terested among us may find “ tongues in 
trees, sermons in stones, books in the 
running brooks, and good in everything. ” 
* 
A favorite book of our childhood was 
a little English work called, A Year of 
Country Life. It discussed the out-door 
happenings of every month in the year, 
and taught us to look for something of 
interest—birds or mosses or evergreens 
—even in the seemingly barren months of 
winter. After reading one of W. Hamil¬ 
ton Gibson’s delightful winter papers, in 
which every tiny mark upon the snow 
bears some significance, we can scarcely 
call any month really barren. Some¬ 
times young people fancy that their own 
locality is lacking in interest; if they 
were only at the seashore or in the 
mountains, they would find more to in¬ 
terest them. Any one who has read 
White’s Natural History of Selborne, 
which has no wider field than one little 
country parish, will decide that sharp 
eyes and keen interest would find a 
volume in one pasture lot. 
CARE OF THE HAIR. 
A N inquirer asks for a remedy for 
falling hair, which, he says, may 
be caused by dandruff, sunstroke or 
brain work. The causes of falling hair 
are not always easy to determine, but 
dandruff may be taken as one of several 
effects, rather than a cause. Both this 
and tne falling hair are frequently 
symptoms of general bad health, often 
of nervous trouble, or a reduced state 
of the system, which should be treated 
by a physician. Lifeless, brittle and 
lusterless hair very often accompanies 
prolonged debility and anaemic condi¬ 
tions, and treatment of the hair alone 
would have little effect. 
The general health being cared for, 
the first requisite in the care of the hair 
is a good brushing, with a not too stiff 
bristle brush. Never use the wire 
abominations, no matter how highly 
indorsed. The old rule was to give 50 
strokes of the brush each night at bed¬ 
time, and this brushing, well distributed, 
is, certainly, very beneficial. Although 
a fine comb, not a sharp-toothed one, 
may be used to aid in removing the dust, 
don’t scrape the scalp with it; this pro¬ 
duces an irritated condition with a ten¬ 
dency to dandruff. Wash the hair thor¬ 
oughly at intervals of two to four 
weeks ; if naturally very oily it requires 
washing oftener than when dry. Many 
men have a habit of wetting the hair, 
usually with soapy water, whenever 
they brush it; it is then carelessly plas¬ 
tered down with the brush, and, as a 
result, it is never thoroughly brushed, 
and becomes clogged while damp. 
For washing the hair, use warm (not 
hot) soft water and some pure soap, and 
be sure that all the soap is rinsed out. 
Do not use ammonia in the water ; it re¬ 
moves too much of the natural oil, and 
it is thought to promote early grayness. 
If the water seems hard, a small amount 
of borax may be used to soften it. Never 
use soda ; this deadens the color and lus¬ 
ter. An egg shampoo may be recom¬ 
mended for the removal of dandruff. 
After washing, see that the hair is thor¬ 
oughly dried, and if it be deficient in 
oily matter, rub a little vaseline into the 
scalp. 
As to washes for strengthening the 
hair and promoting its growth, their 
name is legion. As a tonic and stimu¬ 
lant for thin or falling hair, rum and 
bitter apple is an old and useful appli¬ 
cation. Steep five cents’ worth of bitter 
apple (colocynth) in one-half pint of 
rum, and rub this into the scalp daily. 
A preparation of rum and quinine is 
used for the same purpose. Where the 
hair is very dry and lifeless, an emulsion 
of rum and castor oil is recommended. 
It will be well to try careful brushing 
and such simple home remedies, together 
with care of the general health, rather 
than unknown nostrums whose materials 
are a secret. _ 
PLAIN VEGETABLE SALADS. 
LTHOUGH salads are a welcome 
relish at any season of the year, 
they seem especially adapted to the try¬ 
ing days of spring. They are appetiz¬ 
ing, and tend to affect the whole sys¬ 
tem in a cooling manner. Busy house¬ 
wives find little time for fancy dishes, 
and the word, salad, may suggestlots of 
work, but there are many simple com¬ 
binations of vegetables which taste even 
better than the elaborate salads. 
Lettuce, onions, dandelions, radishes 
and Swiss chard all come early in spring, 
and even before these make their ap¬ 
pearance, there are boiled vegetables, 
potatoes, beans, etc., which make good 
salads. I usually use an uncooked dress¬ 
ing, one part melted butter to two parts 
vinegar, with seasonings of salt, pepper 
and celery salt if one likes. There is a 
cooked dressing which is easily prepared. 
Salad Dressing. —Beat the yolks of 
three eggs with five tablespoonfuls of 
good vinegar, a tablespoonful of sugar 
and a teaspoonful of mixed mustard. 
Add a little salt, a bit of butter, and stir 
all together in a granite saucepan over 
the fire until a smooth dressing is formed 
of the consistency of cream. 
Lettuce Salads. —Cut finely together 
lettuce and young onions; mix with a 
plain salad dressing. This may be varied 
by using small, tender heads of lettuce, 
laying small radishes around them, and 
covering with a plain dressing. Another 
variation is a dish of lettuce with hard- 
boiled eggs sliced and laid over the top. 
Season with an uncooked dressing. 
Asparagus Salad. — After having 
scraped and washed asparagus, boil 
until tender in salt water; drain off 
water, add pepper, salt and vinegar. 
Before serving, arrange asparagus so the 
heads will all lie in center of the dish ; 
mix the vinegar in which it was placed 
after removing from the fire with melted 
butter and pour over the asparagus. 
Swiss chard or sea kale would, per¬ 
haps, come under the head of greens, as 
it is usually boiled and served hot with 
vinegar, butter, salt and pepper. All 
lovers of “green things growing” pro¬ 
nounce it delicious, so if you have never 
raised any, give it a trial. The ■ large, 
white stalks may be cut up, boiled and 
served with a cream dressing, or cold 
like asparagus salad. 
Baked Bean Salad —Chop cold baked 
beans with raw onion, dress with melted 
butter, vinegar, salt, pepper and mus¬ 
tard. Hard-boiled eggs are an addition 
to this salad, either chopped with the 
beans or sliced and laid over the top ; or 
the bean salad may be placed in the 
center of a platter and slices of the pork 
that was baked with the beans around 
the edge. 
Potato Salad. —Cold boiled potatoes 
may form the base of a variety of salads 
They may be combined with hard-boiled 
eggs, raw onions, parsley, besides meats 
of various kinds, either mashed, chopped 
fine or cut in fancy shapes. 
MARY S. STELSON. 
0 
Any sarsaparilla is sarsaparilla. True. So any 
tea is tea. So any flour is flour. But grades differ. 
You want the best. It’s so with sarsaparilla. There 
are grades. You want the best. If you understood 
sarsaparilla as well as you do tea and flour it 
would be easy to determine. But you don’t. How 
should you ? 
When you are going to buy a commodity 
whose value you don’t know, you pick out an old 
established house to trade with, and trust their 
experience and reputation. Do so when buying 
sarsaparilla. 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla has been on the market 
fifty years. Your grandfather used Ayer’s. It is a 
reputable medicine. There are many sarsaparillas. 
But only one Ayer’s. IT CURES. 
CARRIAGES, BUGGIES, HARNESS 
Direct from Factory at Wholesale Prices. 30 per cent, saved. 
^Guaranteed two years. Write at once for new beautifully Illustrated 20•! 
'page Catalogue showing latest styles in large variety, from a $10 cart tot 
the most stylish carriage. Prices in plain figures. Testimonials from 
“A" tirade. $44 every state. Highest awards at Worlds Fair and Atlanta Exposition. 
Writeto-day. Catalogue Free. ALLIANCE CARRIAGE 00., 230 Salt Court Btreet, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
“A" Grade.$ f 0 
A ten-cent lamp with the 
right chimney gives more light 
and less smell than a $100 
lamp with a wrong chimney. 
What is the right chimney ? 
What lamp have you got? 
We’ll send you an Index ; 
free. 
Geo A Macbeth Co 
Pittsburgh Pa 
FREE TO ALL 
Our 112 Page Illustrated Cat¬ 
alogue of Roses, Plants, Seed*. 
Trees and Shrubbery of all 
descriptions, also containing 
valuable information. &c .mail¬ 
ed Fref. to all applicants. We 
have 50 larg'* greenhouses and 
thirty acres devoted to the cul¬ 
tivation of the above mentioned 
products. World’s Fair medal 
awarded on Roses Address 
NANZ & NEUISER, 
LOUISVILLE, KY. 
Beau- UVfiUrHm's Hardy and in great assort- 
tiful b V DIVui\CjLito m e n t. Splendid general 
nursery stock, including Shade & Ornamental Trees. 
Hedge PJ’ts, Shrubs, Vines, Roses, Fruit Trees, Small 
Fruits, etc. If you’re wise you’ll get our price before 
ordering elsewhere. Catalogue free. EVERGREEN 
NURSERY CO.. Evergreen, Wis.(Suc. to Geo. Pinney) 
LEGGETTS 
v/c»eR 
po 
GUN 
WILL throw any dry 
powder up or down on 
Tree, Bush or Vine. 
Safe, as t lie poison 
is kept at a distance. 
Light, and easy to 
work. No plaster or 
water. Dusts two rows 
of potatoes, wide or 
narrow, as fast as a 
man walks. 
Extension tabes 
for orchardJwork 
With each. 
Will treat 1000 trees 
per day. 
Ask for Leg’g'ctt & Brother’s Paris Green 
IT IS THE BEST. CATALOGUE FREE. 
301 PEARL ST., NEW YORK. 
War With Spain 
Is not so near as the war with 
Insects, Scab, Etc.l 
which must commence 
in a few weeks. The 
\ very best implement of warfare 
; is the 
i Eclipse Spray Pump 
It wins everywhere. Send for 
catalogue. 
MORRILL & M0RLEY, 
Benton Harbor, Mich. 
RUMSEY’S 
.. NEW.. 
double: 
CYLINDER SPRAY PUMPS ARE BEST 
The large air chamber gives ample 
storage for compressed air which will 
keep the spray going from 6 to 10 min¬ 
utes after the pumps are stopped. They 
have agitators that agitate. Metal valves 
Plungers easily removed for packlng.&c. 
Any ifarmer can do it. Write for full de¬ 
scription and free book on spraying. 
RUMSEY & CO. SenecaFalls.N.Y. 
^DDAV^ AUT0MAT>G 
HA I ^playing Nozzles. 
Send for Cir. John J. McGowen, Forest Home, N. Y. 
Have uou read about THE COMET i 
SPRMfRS 
Have you read about THE COMET $2.60 to $5.00. 
Beats them all. 
Don’t buy till 
R ou see them. 
eecata.A har - 
,Johnstown,0. 
Ill ft LI 
I paper 
■ ■ THOt 
ALL PAPER 
3c. to SOc. a roll. Send 
8 c. for 100 fine samples. 
$1 will buy handsome 
paper and border for a large room. 
THOS. J. MYERS, 1206 Market St., Phila., Pa. 
BEFORE BUYING A NEW HARNESS 
Sendyouraddresswith 2cstamp forlllus. 
' full description of Single 
Catalog, giving: 
and Double C 
Leather Harness. Sold direct to consu¬ 
mer, at wholesale prices. King Harness 
Co.. No. 10 Church St., Owego, N. Y. 
