THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
325 
i89o 
HARK! THE CHIEF COOK SPEAKS. 
One of the good cooks who has been 
wont to help in the R. N.-Y.’s kitchen (?) 
writes (partly in jest, but more than half, 
I think, in earnest,) to know whether all 
the old cooks have been turned out with 
the advent of a new “ chief cook,” and 
hints pretty strongly that the Rural has 
become a fancy farmer, and is therefore less 
in sympathy with plain, every-day people 
than before the recent changes. All the old 
friends of the R. N.-Y. know that it has been 
a plain, practical farmer from its infancy, 
throughout its youth, and during all its 
years of vigorous maturity; it would be 
impossible for it to become anything else! 
True, it aspires to be a successful, first- 
class farmer; but this tends only to make 
it a more fitting leader, more anxious that 
all farmers should reach the best of which 
they are capable, and which it is able to 
prove possible. It fully intends to keep 
the position it has always held : to become 
first-class in everything both indoors and 
out, therefore it must have now, as always, 
a first-class “chief cook.” It is keenly 
sensible of its loss in the retirement of Mrs. 
Carman from the Domestic Department; 
but our good friend seems to think it has 
now engaged a Professor Blot, at a salary 
of $10,000 a year, for the purpose of serv¬ 
ing out fancy French dishes in the future. 
This is a great mistake; the new chief 
cook has passed her life in the midst of 
farmers. She has known what it is to want 
for postage-stamps; she knows the mys¬ 
teries of exchanging butter and eggs for 
groceries at the grocer’s own price ; she 
knows how, in many cases, the whole fam¬ 
ily supplies for the summer must come out 
of those same eggs and butter, when the 
grinding grocer can be induced to shell out 10 
cents a dozen, or 16 cents a pound in cash for 
them ; in short, she knows the whole long 
list of pinching economies that the plainest 
of what our friend, with uncalled-for hu¬ 
mility, calls “common farmers” are com¬ 
pelled to practice when times are hard. 
Added to this she is versed in all manner 
of house-wifery, both economical and ex¬ 
travagant. So much for the cook. 
Regarding the non appearance of the 
names of old friends of late, it may be said 
that the R. N.-Y. knows of -no way to print 
letters that do not come to hand, and it 
may be that the “old cooks” have been too 
absorbed with the cares of house-cleaning 
and the like, at this season, to spare time 
for a chat even with such good friends as 
other Rural readers. Again, the Rural 
men-folks are like most others: they think 
their work a little the more important, and 
are quite inclined to crowd out the details 
about clear-starching, cooking, and making 
over “anld claes,” perhaps not appreciat¬ 
ing, any more than common mortals, how 
much these add to the effectiveness of their 
own work. 
This Department is glad at all times to 
publish letters of general interest to its 
readers. Scarcely any two of them desire 
the same thing, and matter must be varied 
to suit all; the most homely ideas are 
often the most helpful. Any new “kinks,” 
any new ways of circumventing old diffi¬ 
culties, any good, fresh, helpful ideas are 
always welcome. The little item of chop¬ 
ping potatoes with the sharp edge of a tin 
can was so homely that doubtless some 
readers, scorned it; yet the R. N.-Y. has 
already received a letter from a bright, 
educated, refined home-keeper, expressing 
appreciation of the little time-iaver, and 
wondering why she had not been original 
enough to think of it herself. Let us all 
work together for the Domestic Depart¬ 
ment, that our interest and pride in It may 
be constantly increased. So says the 
CHIEF COOK OF THE RURAL FAMILY. 
IS THIS RIGHT ? 
S parental authority a thing of the past, 
or do the parents of the present day 
think that their children are becoming so 
good (through evolution perhaps) that they 
do not require governing ? It is painful to 
see the way in which children are allowed 
to do as they please even from babyhood. 
The insurrection begins, perhaps, when it 
is necessary to give baby some paregoric; 
baby has tasted paregoric once before; he 
doesn’t like it, and at once makes up his 
little mind that he will not take it again ; 
when the spoon gets near his lips, up comes 
the tiny fist, and the dark liquid trickles 
down the front of his white frock. His in¬ 
dulgent mamma says: “ Poor little chap ! 
he needn’t take the nasty stuff if he 
doesn’t like it;” and baby scores victory 
number one. This first victory paves the 
way for others, which seem, at the time, so 
trifling that no thought is given them 
but it is these little acts of rebellion that 
undermine the whole structure of author¬ 
ity. If, at the first, mamma had very 
gently insisted on the medicine being 
taken, the first victory would have been 
hers, instead of baby’s, and, as a result, 
other and worse acts of rebellion would 
have been nipped in the bud. It is of no 
use, after a child has had its own way for 
the first few years of its life, to punish it 
harshly for wrong-doing; harsh or un¬ 
reasonable punishment never has good 
effect. Authority should be exercised from 
the first with gentle, loving firmness, and 
one should always be sure of the right be¬ 
fore acting. 
A very sad case has lately been brought 
to my notice in a small village where evil 
influences are rife. A certain woman, with 
a very large family, had never exercised 
proper authority over her children, who, 
one and all, soon decided to obey only when 
it suited them. Their father is a passion¬ 
ate man, and when he knows that the chil¬ 
dren have done wrong, he punishes them so 
terribly that the mother is afraid to tell 
him of any of their misdeeds for fear he 
will injure or kill them ; naturally the boys 
are going from bad to worse. I fear that 
this case is only one out of many. 
Is your family one of this kind? Are 
you doing all you can to foster obedience? 
Gentle authority and complete sympathy 
and confidence are most needed, and, alas ! 
very often not exercised with young girls— 
girls of from 12 to 20. This is a very critical 
age with both sexes, but I think it is more 
so with girls than with boys; girls, at that 
age, are so apt to begin to fancy themselves 
young ladies, that unless their mothers are 
wise and loving they are likely to come to 
grief. Here is a case of this kind, which is 
only one example out of many which I have 
seen : A girl of 15 has for some time been 
receiving very pronounced attention from 
a boy a year or two older. He visits her 
every Sunday, and occasionally takes her 
to entertainments; while every wtek she 
receives at least one, and often two or three 
letters from him. Her mother says: “ If 
this goes on I think I must read your let¬ 
ters ; ” but it still goes on, and the letters 
are still unread by her. Mothers, do you 
think this is right ? Should such children 
be allowed unguarded intimacy with the 
other sex ? It is no wonder that so many 
young girls go astray. PANDANUS. 
SUITABLE FOR COUNTRY GIRLS. 
AYING often heard the expression 
“just suited for country wear,” I 
have been trying to learn why certain critics 
seem to think that “country people” 
should, more than “ city girls ” and women, 
dress in an odd or bizarre fashion. I have 
always thought that every toiler should 
dress according to her means, and suitably 
for her work, but I admire a country girl 
when “dressed up” just as much as I 
should her city sister out upon dress 
parade. 
Country girls have eyes—usually bright 
ones; and are quick to note pretty con¬ 
trasts and effects, and they grace pretty 
dresses. It is a very great pleasure to me 
to look upon a girl in a pretty toilet. I do 
not admire a fanciful toilet in the dairy or 
garden. I have my own “ working regi¬ 
mentals,” plainly and loosely made of wash 
goods, so that I may have the free use of my 
muscles. I should not care to wear my 
“regimentals” all day, and I manage to 
keep a tea-gown to be slipped on if a morn¬ 
ing caller should surprise me. If the family 
pocket-book be slim, I believe 'in wearing 
old clothes when at work; but country 
girls need not be old-fashioned when pretty 
material is cheap, and fashion plates are 
plentiful. 
Hearing a milliner say she was trimming 
up some hats for country customers, who 
would readily buy the slightly stale stock, 
I thought she might find that she was a 
little mistaken. I have visited in new set¬ 
tlements 20 miles from a rail-road, and a 
long way from a city. The people might 
be poor, and the place sparsely settled, but 
the “ count'y ” women made themselves at¬ 
tractive with small means, and brightened 
the inside of the poor, bare churches by 
their presence; the girls who heroically 
toiled in the field to “ help father get 
started,” did not forget how to tie an artis¬ 
tic bow or to blend colors. 
To dress “ suitably,” can only mean, I 
think, to dress as one’s work requires, be it 
a city or country girl who is to wear the 
gown. I lately saw a type-writer attired 
in a light silk, tight-fitting and very much 
trimmed; her feet were pinched into narrow 
shoes, and numerous ribbons fluttered, and 
chain bracelets dangled. It was a pretty 
evening dress, but just as unsuited to a 
type-writer at work as it would have been 
to a country girl attempting to chum in 
such attire. Health and comfort demand 
a comfortable dress when we work, which 
means a plain one. For more dressy toilets, 
I think anything pretty that comes within 
the means of country girls is suitable. Long 
may the dear girls live to brighten our 
pretty and happy country homes. 
ELLA GUERNSEY. 
Will it Shrink Them ?—We must wear 
our winter flannels for some time yet, and 
I notice that in the R. N.-Y. for April 5, 
“ Aunt E. S. L.”, in giving directions for 
washing flannels without shrinking them, 
tells us to pour boiling water on them. I 
may be mistaken; but all my experience 
goes to prove that this is just the course to 
pursue in order to make the goods shrink 
their worst, especially if cold water should 
happen to be added. Has not some one 
else a word to offer ? It is surprising that 
so few know how to treat flannels, after all 
that has been written on the subject. I 
never dare trust them to the tender mercies 
of a washerwoman though she may have 
washed for years M. c. 
A Hint for Pie-makers.—To prevent 
pies from running over and also from be¬ 
coming scorched around the edge while 
baking, take a piece of white cotton cloth, 
an inch or so wide and long enough to go 
around the plate; when the pie is ready, 
wring the cloth out of water and pin it 
around the edge with half the width or 
more lying on the crust; then pinch it 
down on the crust and the pie is ready for 
the oven. c. R. D. 
With all my economical spasms I have 
never been able to see any economy in 
making sheets out of two narrow strips of 
cloth with a seam in the middle, one day 
to be ripped apart and the two outside sel¬ 
vages to be made the new middle of the 
sheet. In the first place, it is a long finger¬ 
pricking, over-sewed seam to make, and 
after it is made, it is a more perilous task 
to undo it than to leave an unseamed 
sheet down through the middle, when the 
time comes to prolong its days for further 
service, by turning it outside in. As a 
bottom sheet one “ made over ” will last 
quite a long time, and for this purpose it 
will usually be wide enough for a single 
bed stead, if, in the repairing process, the 
worn part of the middle be removed by 
tearing out a wide strip. Then finish the 
torn edges in a “ run ” hem, and sew to¬ 
gether—on the sewing machine if you have 
one—the two selvages, and nobody’s sleep 
will be any the worse for the unorthodox 
seam. I have found that in hemming new 
bed and table linen, hand-work lasts 
longer and is more satisfactory than the 
ordinary machine stitch. But hems are 
necessary, and the seam up the middle of a 
new sheet is not, and is it not true economy 
to take the time of the overcast seam for 
an hour in the open air, and so prolong 
one’s days with a good draught of fresh 
air? M. w. F. 
• Fried Apples. —Wipe tart apples and 
cut into slices about a-fourth of an inch 
thick. Have a frying-pan containing three- 
fourths of an inch of lard—hot; when one 
side is fried brown, turn and put a little 
sugar on the bro »vned side. Serve hot. 
IN planting the fruit or vegetable garden 
bear in mind that an immense amount of 
hard, back-aching labor will be saved by 
planting everything in long rows so it may 
be worked with the horse and cultivator. 
Keep this Fact in View.— Thatcher’s 
Orange Butter Color is to-day the strong¬ 
est, cheapest and most natural color in the 
world, and can be found with nearly every 
dealer throughout tl.e dairy belt of the 
U. S. Thatcher Mfg. Co., Potsdam, N. Y.— 
Aciu. _ 
GOLDEN GRAINS. 
Justice —the miracle-worker Among men. 
John Bright. 
Great grace, as said Sir Thomas Moore, 
To him must needs be given. 
Who heareth heresy, and leaves 
The heretic to Heaven. 
-IPMffier. 
Stronger thau steel 
Is the sword of the spirit; 
Swifter than arrows 
The life of the truth is; 
Greater than anger 
Is love, and subdueth. 
—Longfellow. 
It is a very great mistake to suppose we 
bachelors do not know anything about 
home or children. Because 1 have not a 
wife and do not keep house and have no 
children that I can call my .own, it .by no 
means follows that I have not some very 
excellent ideas about wives and homes and 
children. Ah me! if I had not had some 
ideas perhaps I might have had them all. 
William Aikman, D. D. 
g&ijtoeUatt*0tt:S ^ilvcrtising. 
Advertisers treat all correspondents 
well if they mention the Rural New- 
Yorker. 
With His Thumb, 
A boy is said to have saved the Netherlands 
from inundation. Multitudes have been 
saved from the invasion of disease by a 
bottle of Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. This medicine 
imparts tone to the system and strengthens 
every organ and fibre of the body. 
“ I have taken a great deal of medicine, 
but nothing has done me so much good as 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. I experienced its bene¬ 
ficial effects before I had quite finished one 
bottle, and I can freely testify that it is the 
best blood medicine I know of.” — L. W. 
Ward, sr., Woodland, Texas. 
“ Confined to an office, as I am, from one 
year’s end to another, with little or no out¬ 
door exercise, I find great help in Ayer’s 
Sarsaparilla, which I have used for several 
years, and am at present using, with excel¬ 
lent results. It enables me to keep always 
at my post, enjoying the best of health.” — 
H. C. Barnes, Malden, Mass. 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
PREPARED BY 
DR. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
Sold by Druggists. $l,six$5. Worth $5 a bottle. 
GOLD MEDAL, PARIS. 1878. 
^ W. BAKER h CO.’S 
©^Breakfast Cocoa 
Is (Absolutely pure and 
<•; Is soluble. 
mi lira Uhemiicdls 
INu ! I ill are used in its preparation. It has mure 
ill 1 E tfl |Wl ,han thret times tr,g strength ot Cocoa 
III « I |n| mixed with Starch, Arrowroot or Sugar, 
jfn 1 [ 1 ilffl and ia therefore far more economical, 
fijl j 1 ]l|l costing less than one cent a cup. It ia 
MU I II H II delicious, nourishing, strengthening, F.a- 
BW j I II II11 bily Digested, and admirably adapted 
M|L for invalids as well as persons in health. 
Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
W. BAKER & CO., Dorchester, Mass- 
EPPS’S 
GRATEFUL-CONI FORT INC. 
COCOA 
This is the strongest, cheapest and best 
Butter Color ever made or sold in auy mar¬ 
ket. A 25-cent bottle will give the finest 
June tint to 500 lbs. of winter butter. 
Send for circulars and prices if your dealer 
doesn’t keep it. 
THATCHER MFG. CO . Potsdam. X. Y. 
General Advertising Rates of 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
TIMES BUILDING, NEW YORK. 
The following rates are invariable. All are there¬ 
fore respectfully informed that any correspondence 
with a view to obtaining different terms will prove 
futile. 
Ordinary Advertisements, per agate Une (this 
sized type, 14 lines to the Inch).30cents 
One thousand lines or more.wlthin one year 
from date of first Insertion, per agate line, 25 “ 
Yearly orders occupying 10 or more lines 
agate space.25 “ 
Preferred positions.25 per cent, extra. 
Reading Notices, ending with “Adr.,” per 
line, minion leaded.75 cents 
Terms of Subscription . 
The subscription price of the Rural New-Yorker Is 
Single copy, per year.#2.00 
“ “ Six months... 1.10 
Great Britain. Ireland, Australia and 
Germany, per year, post-paid..#3.04 (12s. 6d.) 
France..... 3.04 (16)e fr.) 
French Colonies. . 4.08(29^ fr.) 
Agents will be supplied with canvassing outfit on 
application. 
Entered at the Post-office at New York City, N. Y.. 
as second class mall matter. 
