i89o 
439 
FOR THE GIRLS. 
T HE plea for our Rural daughters in 
another column shows clearly, we 
think, that at least one of them—and a 
promising one—is interested in the R. N.-Y., 
and that she has found “ something for 
girls ” in it. This plea for the girls is one 
that must touch every heart that is inter¬ 
ested in our bright “ Y’s,” whether they be 
temperance Y’s or otherwise. It has come 
to be almost an axiom that the society or 
the venture of any sort which expects to 
have life in the future and to keep growing 
for any length of time, must interest and 
help and hold the Y’s—that is. primarily, 
the voung people. But in case of a weekly 
naper, it is not at all certain that this can 
best be done by having a special depart¬ 
ment such as our Rural daughter calls for. 
There are many difficulties in the way of 
the R. N.-Y.’s giving such a column as our 
girl friend desires. In the first place, there 
is always such a pressure of matter that 
clamors for admittance to those depart¬ 
ments which are pleased to consider them¬ 
selves the more important, that the con¬ 
stant study is rather to reduce than to en¬ 
large the number of departments. Besides 
this pressure internally, the home depart¬ 
ment is in constant danger of being 
“ squeezed ” by the other departments, and 
a division of it is scarcely to be thought of. 
If the lasses were, to have a column of their 
own, what could we say to the lads, who 
would then be justified in demanding 
one also ? One column would not give suf¬ 
ficient space to be very useful: and unless 
we could have a first-class department, it 
would be better to have none. Much of the 
matter which enters into the young folks’ 
columns of many otherwise first-class jour¬ 
nals is the merest twaddle, much worse 
than none at all, because either senseless 
or hurtful. Again, it may be said that 
the very best way, in the long run, to help 
the daughters, is by helping the mothers. 
Then there is this to be thought of: a 
children’s column is not what our friend 
wants, but one for girls in their teens, and 
beyond. It seems to us that girls of this 
age, if their mothers have taught them as 
they should in housewifely arts, and coun¬ 
seled them as to the best ways in which 
they should walk, are prepared to be inter¬ 
ested in anything which concerns the home. 
Our correspondent says truly that the 
RURAL columns have been well filled with 
matter helpful and interesting and stimu¬ 
lating to girls, and as things are ac present, 
it seems to us that we can help them in 
no more effective way than in following in 
the future a course similar to that which 
has been pursued in the past. As an example 
of the help which just such matter may be 
to our girls, a true instance in the life of 
one “Rural Daughter” may be given, 
though the R. N.-Y. can not claim the 
credit in this case, of having been the one 
to give the help. 
Some years ago, the wise and thoughtful 
woman who had charge of the department 
of home interests in a certain well-known 
paper, felt moved to write an article con¬ 
cerning a custom all too common in country 
places at that time, and one which is not 
even yet entirely fallen into disrepute, the 
custom which allowed a young man to 
place an arm around the waist of any girl 
with whom he might be driving; and which 
at least tacitly asented to, if it did not 
openly encourage the belief that the young 
man who had “seen a girl home” was en¬ 
titled to a kiss at parting. The article 
spoke of the evil results of such a practice; 
of the loss of self-respect which must in 
time fodow it, as well as the diminution 
of respect for girls in the very young 
men who only too readily availed them¬ 
selves of its privileges. It showed something 
of how such things are regarded among re¬ 
fined people, and asserted that no young 
lady worthy the name would receive from 
every chance escort caresses which should 
pertain only to an accepted lover. Strange as 
it may seem, these were new thoughts to 
this young girl; she took the good words 
to heart, and pondered over them, aud her 
innate refinement of feelingand her ripening 
common-sense agreed that their warning 
was sensible, timely, necessary. These new 
ideas were soon made her own; they became 
a weapon of protection to her; in the course 
of future events, they sax ed her from regrets 
innumerable, from insolent attentions, 
from interest in one who afterward proved 
to be disreputable; they also proved a link 
in the chain of events which culminated in 
her marriage to a worthy man whose atten¬ 
tion was first strongly drawn to her 
through a knowledge of her—as some of 
the girls thought—prudish ways. Much 
that has been best in her life she traces 
back to the earnest counsel,of this stranger, 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
who doubtless never knew of the favorable potato, and the whole deluged with the 
soil on which her chance seeds fell. We cream sauce. This is perhaps the best way 
would hardly like to inculcate the idea that to serve codfish for dinner. After dinner, 
the results would be so momentous in every what remains can be made into balls for 
case—at least that they would necessarily the next day’s breakfast, by mixing fish, 
lead to the same happy consummation: 
but the incident illustrates clearly the help 
which our girlsmay gain from the home de¬ 
partment of a good paper. 
The present conductor of the R. N.-Y.’s 
home department was once a “Rural 
Daughter,” and is one who fills our young 
friend’s ideal of a leader in nearly every re¬ 
spect ; who would almost rather help the 
girls than any of the rest of the family, and 
who will try to do so in all possible ways. 
Tf the girls have grievances to present, let 
us hear them. Some one will surely have a 
good word for them. 
A PLEA FOR OUR RURAL 
DAUGHTERS. 
YOUNG girl remarked the other day, 
when asked if she had read a certain 
piece in The Rural New-Yorker: “No, 
I have not read it; father and the bovs 
read it, but there is nothing in it for 
girls.” 
It may be that many of our girls have 
much the same opinion, but it is a great 
mistake. The Rural has often said many 
good and interesting things to girls, many 
improving, helpful things, but because 
there is no column set apart for them to 
which they can go every week, and which 
they can claim as their own special depart¬ 
ment, it may be they feel that the Rural 
has no interest in them and, feeling thus, 
have missed many good things which have 
been written for them. True, there is the 
page devoted to “Woman’s Work,” and 
yet if we could wish anything different 
in The Rural New-Yorker, it would be 
that a little more space be given to farm 
girls, that with the moving into the new 
home there had been dedicated a column to 
“ Our Rural Daughters;” whatever might 
be written for that column, or selected for 
it, to be theirs : theirs to look forward to 
from week to week; theirs to read, to 
think about, to talk about. 
There are so many books and periodicals 
written for girls at the present day that it 
would seem unnecessary for more to be 
said; but few find their way to places 
where they are most needed, and much that 
is written fails to meet the demand. While 
human nature is much the same the world 
over, it must be admitted that farmers’ 
daughters have grievances and interests 
peculiar to themselves. There are those 
who would have us believe that the life 
of a country girl passes as sweetly as the 
song of birds that sing in the branches 
about the farm house; as free as the 
stream flowing near : and that it is as pure 
as the air she breathes. Alas ! manv a 
heart is not attuned to Nature. Our farm 
girls have many, many privileges—many 
which they do not appreciate—and yet 
they have some cause for complaint, and 
their share of troubles. Could not such 
a column do much to right these wrongs ? 
at least to give help and sympathy ? Sym¬ 
pathy, ah ! that is just it. How many need 
it ?—none more so than the girls in lonely, 
country places, and yet it seems that more 
is being written for almost every other 
class. Could we not have such a column 
conducted by some one country-born and 
bred, and yet having a knowledge of the 
world outside—some one who loves rural 
folk and ways ; who understands them ; 
their hopes, their disappointments, their 
aspirat ions ? What think our Rural Daugh¬ 
ters, and what thinks the Rural New- 
Yorker ? l. 
CODFISH WITH CREAM DRESSING. 
S salt fish, and especially codfish, 
must be depended on in many farm¬ 
ers’ families to help furnish a variety of 
solid food, it is well to know the most pal¬ 
atable ways of preparing it. One good 
cook furnishes the men with a fish dinner 
in this wise: A neat block from the thick 
part is dashed with cold water to free it 
from loose salt and possible dirt, and is 
placed over the fire, to simmer for a half- 
hour. It is then drained, the skin, which 
now separates easily, is removed, and the 
fish is returned to the stove in cold water, 
aud brought to the boiling point for a few 
minutes, but not boiled, when it is ready 
for the table. A drawu butter sauce is made 
by stirring equal quantities of flour and 
butter, well mixed, into hot water. This 
is made richer by the addition of as much 
sweet cream as can be afforded ; preferably 
it should be about half cream. When eaten, 
the flsh is shredded aud mixed with the 
potatoes and sauce together: these balls 
are a little better if the potatoes were 
mashed while hot, seasoned and beaten 
white and light as for use on the table 
alone. A little extract of celery and an 
egg beaten very light will add much to 
the flavor, and if quickly browned in plenty 
of hot fat, they will not often be refused, 
even by the city cousin, who is “boarding” 
in the family. Some one has said that cod¬ 
fish-balls are like the little girl of youthful 
memory; when good, very good indeed; 
when bad, horrid. I hope none of our 
Rural family are making them “ horrid.” 
Some advise the use of “boneless” fish, 
but I never use it if I can get the other. It 
has some bones left in, so belies its name, 
and it is often dark on the surface, and 
flavored with the ill odor of the box in 
which it is packed. A good, thick, whole 
fish is much better, and it can be preserved, 
if necessary, for some time, by putting it 
into fruit cans in a not too damp place. I 
know one large family where the fish is 
bought ’ in quantity in spring from the 
packers at wholesale prices, and kept thus. 
MYRA T. 
PERFECT RYE AND INDIAN BREAD 
HE rpcipe for this old-fashioned favor¬ 
ite bread, which was asked for by a 
subscriber, has been given in brief form by 
several correspondents; but as the present 
writer enters into all the details that in¬ 
sured perfection, we give her letter entire. 
Nothing further, we think, will need to be 
said upon this subject for some time to 
come. 
“My mother used to make rye and Indian 
bread this way: At night, two three pint 
basins of Indian meal and one of rye meal 
or wheat canaille (I think Graham flour an 
improvement on either) were mixed to¬ 
gether. Added to the mixture was suffi¬ 
cient salt, a tea-spoonful of saleratus, and 
half a cup of molasses; it was then scalded 
with boiling milk or milk and water, ac¬ 
cording to the plentifulness of milk, and 
left to stand until morning, when it was 
put in cast-iron basins and*baked. 
The success of the loaf depended quite as 
much on the baking as on the making. It 
must not only be baked in an iron basin, 
but an empty one must be put as a cover over 
it: not infrequently an old-fashioned baking 
kettle with its iron cover was used. As 
“C. A. H.” says in Rural, of April 19, to 
be in perfection it must be baked in a brick 
oven ; but if rightly managed a stove oven 
will answer every purpose. 
As soon after breakfast as possible, the 
bread is put in the stove oven, already 
heated sufficiently to bake any bread, and 
kept at that heat for two hours, when the 
temperature was gradually lowered until 
there was only just enough heat to keep a 
very little warmth in the oven; greenwood 
is just the thing to keep up the right tem¬ 
perature. It was kept in that wav until 
bed-time, and left in the oven until morn¬ 
ing. when it graced the breakfast table, 
still warm, and with its crust nearly as 
tender as any part of the loaf. The dough 
should he middling soft, almost, but not 
quite running soft. 
As one can readily see.it was no “small 
chore ” to successfully make and bake a 
loaf of brown bread. With the present 
varieties of food and methods of preparing 
it, not many housekeepers have the requi¬ 
site patience to bake a loaf, nor would 
many of them think * the fun would pay 
for the trouble,’ and for a novice many 
trials would be required to produce a loaf 
that would satisfy the palates of to-dav. 
As two iron basins constituted a part of 
our house keeping outfit, they are still oc¬ 
casionally used during the winter season 
—often enough to prevent the art of mak¬ 
ing and baking a loaf of good old-fashioned 
brown bread from being lost by myself, 
and to enable my daughters to acquire it 
thoroughly. M. E. WATSON. 
Brooklyn, Pa. 
OUR THINKING-CAP. 
HE other day, when we were trying 
on our thin king-cap, several ques¬ 
tions occurred to us which it would take a 
philosopher to answer. Some of them 
were as follows: 
Of what advantage is it to be graduated 
at an ordinary academic school, especially 
if one intends to take a higher course in 
other schools P 
What class of articles in the women’s de¬ 
partments of the various periodicals is”of 
most value to women on the farm ? Do 
they derive most benefit from articles di¬ 
rectly connected with their daily occupa¬ 
tions, or from those which lead them away 
from these, and interest them in the world 
at large ? 
Is it true, as is sometimes said, that farm 
and country village people are greater 
sticklers for formal etiquette (card and 
otherwise) than are people who are more 
versed in worldly ways ? 
In what direction can we give the best 
help to the whole family : by helping the 
mothers, or the daughters ? 
Why is it that so many who send us ar¬ 
ticles for publication, seem to have no com¬ 
prehension as to the wants of our readers, 
and thus continue to send material that 
must of necessity be declined ? 
Are not many of our farmers’ daughters 
being given as good an education as the 
State affords ? Why then, do not the agri¬ 
cultural papers get more benefit from it, in 
the shape of articles written by those who 
understand ? Is it true, this cry that edu¬ 
cation takes our young men and maidens 
away from the farm ? If so, what is the 
reason ? 
What saving clause prevents it from be¬ 
ing “bad form” to wear low necked 
dresses on the street and at church, now 
that it seems to be growing fashionable to 
do so ? 
Will the gay crazy-quilt, made with a 
heavy expenditure of money, time and 
strength, be any real evidence to our pos¬ 
terity that we had progressed far beyond 
our ancestors with their bits of calico— 
monuments of economy—sewed and quilted 
in various weary ways with equal extrava¬ 
gance of time and strength P 
Is the woman who insists on her right to 
occupy any field of work which a man can 
fill, and at equal rates, willing to accept 
from man only her rights without de¬ 
ference to her being a woman ? 
Where did that eight-year-old boy who 
ordered his mother to “ get something to 
eat for pa and me quick,” get his example 
of authority ? Who wants to marry him 
when he is older ? 
Is there any practicable way to lessen the 
gulf which, there is no denying, exists be¬ 
tween the people of our farming commu 
nities and those in the villages and cities, 
the cause of which, the farmer thinks, is in 
the pride of his city cousin ? Pride ! Ts 
there any one on earth so steeped in pride 
as these same farmer folks who are so mor¬ 
bidly afraid of being looked down upon ? 
Why not stand erect, and be the one to do 
the looking down, if any is to be done ? 
Can any of our friends, by the light of 
observation and experience, furnish satis¬ 
factory answers to any or all these ques¬ 
tions ? We confess they are “ too many ” 
for us. 
A Quick Dessert. —An excellent hurried 
dessert, when company comes in unexpect¬ 
edly, is known as omelette aux confitures 
Soak a handful of bread-crumbs in a half 
tea-cupful of milk while you place the fry¬ 
ing-pan over the fire with a good lump of 
butter, and beat four eggs quite light. 
Quickly add the crumbs and milk to the 
eggs, and cook as an ordinary omelette. 
When just set, spread thickly with jelly 
(raspberry is best for this) fold, and serve 
at once with powdered sugar. 
PijsrrUanmtsi SgulveTtising. 
Readers of R. N.-Y. will please the ad¬ 
vertisers and benefit the paper by always 
mentioning it when writing to advertisers 
The Shah of Persia 
Though advanced in years, has hair of raven 
hue. Gray hairs are strictly prohibited in 
his dominions, and beuce the large ship¬ 
ments to that country of Ayer’s Hair Vigor, 
Oy the use of which the Shah’s subjects save 
not only their hair but their heads. Ayer's 
Hair Vigor restores the natural color of the 
hair. It should be on every toilet-table. 
“ Some time ago my hair began to fade and 
to fall out so badly that 1 thought I should 
be bald; but the use of Ayer’s Hair Vigor 
has restored the original color and made my 
hair strong, abundant, and healthy. It does 
not fall out any more.” — Addie Shaffer, 540 
Race st., Cincinnati, Ohio. 
“ My hair (which had partly turned gray) 
was restored to its youthful color and 
’beauty by the use of a few bott es of Ayer’s 
•Hair Vigor. 1 shall continue to use it, as 
.there is no better dressing for the hair.” — 
Gaido Gapp, Georgeana, Ala. 
Ayer’s Hair Vi^or ; 
PREPARED BY 
X)R. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass, 
Sold by all Druggists and Perfumers. 
