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FROM DAY TO DAY. 
Tins summer seems to be another belt 
season, and these useful accessories 
appear in all varieties of attractiveness. 
The harness belts of black patent 
leather, so much worn last year, seem 
entirely out of date, and are no longer 
seen, though the harness effect is still 
used in buckles. Belts are still narrow, 
but a little wider than last summer. 
The favorite buckles are no longer 
square, but half as long again as their 
width. The best leather belt for gen¬ 
eral wear with a variety of waists is 
black or dark brown seal leather, with 
a leather-covered buckle ; this is always 
in good taste, and a well-made belt of 
this leather may be bought for from 75 
cents to $1.50. Very cheap leather belts 
are a great mistake ; their cheapness is 
always shown in their appearance, and 
they soon stretch out of shape. Green 
or red morocco belts with a nickel- 
plated harness buckle are again very 
popular, while in the more expensive 
materials, gray lizard skin mounted in 
silver is charming. Bicycle belts, hav¬ 
ing a purse fastened Hat to the belt, 
instead of hanging from it, are often 
seen worn with street gowns, but this is 
a great mistake ; they are not only in¬ 
appropriate, but they detract from the 
trim appearance of the waist. The 
white kid belts, so much worn last year, 
are never seen now, and the belts of 
gold and silver tinsel have also disap¬ 
peared. Belts of filagree silver or silver- 
gilt, set with colored stones in the 
Byzantine style, are seen in the shops, 
but rarely on the street. Some very 
dainty belts noted were of moir6 silk in 
various colors, supporting chatelaine 
bags of the same material, both belts 
and bags mounted in silver. 
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Skirt-holders of metal, to slip over 
the belt, were very commonly worn last 
season. This year we see a great im¬ 
provement in a skirt-holder broader and 
firmer than the metal ones, covered with 
leather to match the belt. It is incon¬ 
spicuous, and so firm that the skirt-band 
cannot slip below. Many women seem 
to find much trouble in keeping shirt 
waist and belt, in place, and nothing 
makes the wearer look more slatternly 
than carelessness in this particular. A 
piece of firm belting slipped through a 
loop stitched on flat at the waist-line 
in tbe center of the back, and hooked 
or buckled firmly, will always hold the 
waist in place and, if the skirt-band fits 
properly, there is no reason why it should 
work out of place when held by a sup¬ 
porter. Where a woman replaces the 
hooks on her skirt-band with a safety- 
pin, she can hardly wonder if the result 
is unsatisfactory. 
SOUP AND SOUP-MEAT. 
E used to consider that, when 
meat had been boiled to make 
soup, its usefulness was over, all nutri¬ 
ment being extracted. Modern cooks 
will tell us, however, that, although the 
long, slow boiling has extracted the 
gelatine, the muscle-makers still remain 
in the fibrin and albumen of the soup 
meat, and if we throw that away, we 
are throwing away the valuable pro- 
teids. The French middle-class house¬ 
keeper, whose family dish of bouillon is 
always followed by the “ bceuf ” or 
soup meat, is providing her household 
with a balanced ration. Soup-meat is 
very insipid to American palates, but 
the recipes given below, from Table 
Talk, include a palatable and economi¬ 
cal soup, and a very appetizing way of 
preparing the soup-meat. 
Creole Soup.— Use one pound of beef, 
either hock or marrow bone, with the 
meat, for eight persons. Place this on 
the fire with three quarts of water, one 
tablespoonful of salt, and red pepper to 
taste, allowing it to boil for four hours. 
After it has boiled well, add one leaf of 
tender cabbage, chopped fine, a carrot 
cut in small pieces, some onion tops, a 
large roasted onion, and one teacupful 
of tomatoes ; let this boil one hour more, 
then set on the back of the stove to sim¬ 
mer, add a teacupful of vermicelli or a 
tablespoonful of rice, and allow this to 
boil until done. 
Vinegrette —Allow the soup-meat, 
used in above recipe, to become cold, 
chop it fine, and season with salt and 
pepper. Chop fine one large cucumber 
pickle, and one large white onion ; mix 
these with the chopped meat, add one 
tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, 
one teaspoonful of Colman’s mixed mus¬ 
tard, three tablespoonfuls olive oil, two 
tablespoonfuls vinegar, and a few capers. 
Mix this all up, shape in an oval form, 
place in a dish as one would chicken 
salad, and dress with lettuce leaves, and 
a sliced, hard-boiled egg. 
SUMMER DRINKS. 
IIE old-fashioned beverage con¬ 
cocted of sugar, ginger, vinegar 
and water is still a favorite, but I prefer 
some fruit acid to the acetic, although 
the latter is often used with the fruit. 
Currant Water. —Pick over a pint of 
raspberries and strip a quart of currants 
from the stems ; bruise the fruit in a pre¬ 
serving kettle with a wooden spoon, pour 
over it two quarts of cold water, add 
one-half pound of sugar, and set the ket¬ 
tle over a moderate fire, when the con¬ 
tents will heat gradually. After the cur¬ 
rant water begins to boil, remove the 
kettle from the fire and pour its contents 
into a flannel jelly bag, letting it drain. 
When it is clear, cool it, adding sugar 
to taste. 
Raspberry Shrub. —Place red rasp¬ 
berries in a stone jar, cover with good 
cider vinegar, let stand overnight. Next 
morning strain, and to one pint of juice 
add one pint of sugar, boil 10 minutes, 
and bottle while hot. When used, dilute 
with water to taste. 
Iced tea may be made like any other 
tea, but a trifle stronger and sweeter, 
then strained and set away on ice ; or a 
slice or two of lemon and a little of 
the juice may be added. Cream is not 
served with iced tea. A tea which we 
like is simply made by placing some tea 
in a pitcher, with a small quantity of 
water, letting it stand a few hours, then 
adding cold water to make the desired 
quantity. This has a pleasanter taste, 
to my notion, than where the tea has 
been scalded. A bottle of this “ diluted 
tea” is nice to take when one is traveling. 
We consider strong tea and coffee in¬ 
jurious, cocoa and cambric tea have 
grown tiresome, so we are on the look¬ 
out for warm drinks that are palatable 
and healthful. Our latest is bran coffee. 
Mix clean white bran (we have used the 
coarse siftings from Graham flour) with 
a little molasses, and brown in the oven ; 
stir it often so that it does not scorch. 
Use like coffee. It tastes similar to the 
cereal drinks so much advertised, and is 
cheaper. mary s. stelson. 
OIL STOVES FOR SUMMER USE. 
HE cook stove is the daily com¬ 
panion of the farmer’s wife, even 
during the broiling days of July and 
August. Gas stoves are not for us dwell¬ 
ers in the country ; of gasoline, many 
of us are afraid ; besides it seems like a 
lack of economy to buy fuel when we 
have plenty of it in the wood lot. This 
last argument is often the hardest to 
meet. Still, it is not true economy to 
waste those priceless things, health and 
comfort. An oil stove can be bought at 
a trifling expense, and the cost of run¬ 
ning it is small. It will pay for itself 
many times over in one season. I have 
one purchased of a wholesale house for 
$1.10. Of course, this does not include 
an oven. In the catalogue, it was de¬ 
scribed as “a two-burner”, but the two 
burners are so close together that the 
dish placed upon them covers both. I 
do not claim that two of these stoves 
will do the cooking for a large family, 
but I do claim that they can be so man¬ 
aged as to bring the housewife many 
hours’ relief from the bondage of the 
cook stove. 
First, be careful about trimming the 
wicks, or it will smoke. Keep the stove 
clean and the oil-tank filled. Never at¬ 
tempt to use the stove in a draft. Al¬ 
ways cover what you are cooking. For 
many purposes, such as heating water 
or boiling potatoes, I find a two-quart 
pail with a tightly-fitting cover an 
ideal cooking dish. The oven that fits 
these little stoves will bake two small 
loaves of bread nicely, care being neces¬ 
sary that they do not bake too hard 
upon the bottom. This difficulty can be 
remedied by turning down the wicks 
after the bread has been in the oven 
10 minutes. The heat is sufficient for 
frying fish or meat. An asbestos mat 
placed upon the stove makes a perfect 
place for toasting bread. The toasting 
process will be hastened if a basin be 
turned over the bread. 
During a two-years’ illness of my 
mother, it was often necessary to have 
hot water in the night. Then we learned 
the real worth of our little stove. There 
is often an invalid or a child for whom a 
late breakfast must be prepared. In dog 
days, it is a relief not to have to keep a 
wood fire going. Try one, or better yet, 
two, this summer. You will need only 
a few days to convince you of the truth 
of my words. hope daring. 
WATER IN THE FARM HOUSE. 
UR water-tank, that is filled by the 
windmill, is in the attic of the 
house; we can draw water on the first 
and second floors as well as in the base¬ 
ment and barn. The pipes are of gal¬ 
vanized iron, laid four feet under 
ground from the mill to the cellar and 
to the barn. From the cellar, the pipes 
go up between the partitions to the 
tank in the kitchen and bath-room 
above it, so we can always get the cold¬ 
est and freshest water from the faucets. 
Any man who can use tools can place 
the pipes, if one have a tank and mill. 
It is surprising that so few farmers have 
running water in their homes ; the ex¬ 
pense of piping is very little for the 
convenience given. The bath-room fix¬ 
tures may be had at all prices. Our hot 
water tank is connected with the fur¬ 
nace, and a stove in the basement used 
for laundry work, where there is a sink, 
so the much-dreaded weekly wash is out 
of the kitchen. 
The bath-room is used for a dressing 
room; it saves so many steps every day 
in the year. We have all the comforts 
of a modern city house. Drain pipes 
lead out to a large cess-pool on a hill¬ 
side, so the drainage is perfect. h. 
CORNING BEEF — CANNING CORN 
AND PEAS. 
RS. E. H. L., Oklahoma,* asks for 
the above recipes. To corn beef 
for boiling, wipe the meat carefully and 
then rub hot salt into it until it all dis¬ 
appears ; then add more salt and rub 
again, until the meat will absorb no 
more. Place it in a jar or crock, and 
stand in a cold, dry cellar for one week, 
turning daily. This is for small quanti¬ 
ties of meat, to be used as soon as 
corned. Another recipe requires that 
the meat be well rubbed with salt on 
all sides, and stood for one day in a cool 
cellar. A brine is then made by adding 
to a tub of water one-half pound of 
sugar, a teaspoonful of powdered salt¬ 
peter, and salt enough to make the brine 
support an egg. The meat remains in 
this brine, well covered, for two weeks. 
Beef corned in this way may be dried or 
smoked, if desired. 
Canning Corn and Peas. —In canning 
corn, select fine, fresh ears, remove the 
husk and silk, and cut the kernels care¬ 
fully from the cob. Pack into glass 
jars, pressing down very closely, and 
fill very full. Put on the tops and screw 
them down. Place hay or straw in the 
bottom of a wash-boiler, stand the jars 
on this, and pour in sufficient water to 
half cover the jars. Cover the boiler 
tightly, and boil continuously for three 
hours, seeing that there is sufficient 
water to keep up plenty of steam. When 
done, lift out the jars, screw the covers 
as tightly as possible, and set away to 
cool. When cool, tighten the covers 
again, and keep in a cool, dark place. 
Peas should be shelled and placed in 
the jars, which are then filled with cold 
water, the tops laid on, but not screwed. 
The jars are put in the boiler, standing 
upon straw, as before, with enough cold 
water to half cover the jars. The boiler 
is then put over the fire, and kept boil¬ 
ing for three hours, when tue covers are 
screwed on tightly, and the jars set aside 
to cool. The jars should be full to over¬ 
flowing when closed. 
If 
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AVER’S Argument. 
If there is any reason why you should use 
any sarsaparilla, there is every reason why you 
should use Ayer’s. When you take sarsaparilla 
you take it to cure disease ; you want to be cured 
as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. 
That is why you should use Ayer’s: it cures 
quickly and cheaply—and it cures to stay. Many 
people write us : “I would sooner have one bottle 
of Ayer’s Sarsaparilla than three of any other 
kind.” A druggist writes that “ one bottle of 
Ayer’s will give more benefit than six of any other 
kind.” If one bottle of Ayer’s will do the work 
of three it must have the strength of three at the 
cost of one. There’s the point in a nutshell. It 
pays every way to use 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. 
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