i89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
455 
IN DEFENSE OF THE OIL STOVE. 
VALUED contributor to The R. N.- 
Y., lately made such a sweeping 
charge against oil stoves as a nuisance 
that the Chief Cook is moved to come for¬ 
ward and defend them. According to her 
own story, the lady referred to has used one 
make of stove for the short period of six 
months. One who has had some slight ex¬ 
perience with at least three different kinds, 
and who has used one make constantlyfor all 
household cooking for seven years, may per¬ 
haps be pardoned for thinking she knows 
whereof she speaks. Although our friend 
who has resolved on “ no moreoil stoves ” ad¬ 
mits that the stove in question was a good 
heater, with little odor, and very easy to use, 
she condemns it utterly for the one fault 
of smoking the ceilinsrs, and concludes that 
this is a common fault of oil stoves. An 
oil-stove is but alampon a larger scale, and 
needs the same treatment: we all know that 
a lamp will emit odor if the burnersare not 
kept bright or if the wicks become clogged, 
or stand in gummy oil without use for any 
length of time. The same is true of the 
stoves. We know, too, that if a lamp wick is 
turned up high enough to smoke, it will 
smoke, and this is also true of the oil stove. 
But it is no more necessary for a good oil 
stove to smoke and blacken everything in 
the room where it stands, than it is for a 
lamp to smoke and blacken its chimneys so 
that it will give no light. 
It sometimes happens that the draft of 
the chimney is such that one evening’s 
use will render it opaque, while another 
chimney of different shape or length on 
the same lamp will draw well and remain 
reasonably clear for several evenings. It 
may be, then, that a difference in the chim¬ 
neys or the fixtures around the flame may 
make a difference, so that some makes of 
stove are worse than others in this respect: 
but there certainly are makes that do not 
have this evil habit, if they are properly 
trimmed and watched at first. When the 
stove is just lighted, as it heats, the draft 
increases, and if the wick be turned too 
high at first, it may be found five minutes 
later smoking fearfully. But in order to 
control this, wnich is in a minor measure a 
characteristic of lamps also, it is only neces¬ 
sary to turn the wick up carefully at first 
and to see that It is all right when the parts 
have become heated. 
A small white-kalsomined room in which 
an oil stove had stood for the past year 
(doing all the family cooking.^iaking, etc.), 
and which received no attention last 
spring, has just been put in the kalso- 
miner’s hands. Marks of flies were more 
prominent than traces of smoke, but when 
asked whether he often had to cover such 
dirty walls, the workman replied : “ Dirty! 
do you call them ? These are clean by the 
side of those in most kitchens. Some of 
them have to have three coats, while one 
will make these all right.” Rembembering 
the large kitchen In her girlhood’s borne, 
with its wood stove, where the ceiling re¬ 
ceived, as a rule, three coats of white-wash 
in the spring, and one or two in the fall, 
before it was considered respectably white, 
the Chief Cook considers the above disinter¬ 
ested testimony as speaking pretty well 
for the oil stove so far as smoking the 
walls is concerned. Two or three things 
are absolutely necessary in order that such 
stoves may prove satisfactory—that a good 
make should not be condemned for the 
faults of a bad one goes without saying; 
but all makes must be kept evenly 
trimmed, well-filled and clean. “Clean,” 
does uot mean simply free from dirt, but 
all the parts around the wicks must be kept 
bright. Ammonia and ashes will brighten 
the brass tubes beautifully, if they are 
washed and dried at once after the cleaning 
stuff has been applied. Sapolio is also easy 
to use for those who prefer it. 
In all families where there are young 
childreu or invalids, these stoves are inval¬ 
uable. With a single stove having two 
five-inch wicks, quite a large quantity of 
water can be heated in five minutes ; and a 
saving of time often means life or death in 
sudden illness. An invalid wife can do the 
work for a small family with comparative 
ease, with the help of a good oil stove, for 
the good man can fill the stove in the 
morning, and it will need no further at¬ 
tention in this respect, while the utensils 
used around it may be—indeed are pre¬ 
ferably—of tin or gramte-ware, which may 
be kept as clean as the table ware, with as 
little expenditure of strength. People of 
little common-sense, or those who are so 
careless as to light their fires with kero¬ 
sene, and to fill their lamps while burning, 
are not advised to use oil stoves: but those 
who are reasonibly careful and cleanly 
will find them safe and satisfactory. A 
single stove, which will cost in the 
neighborhood of $5 at retail, will soon re¬ 
pay its cost to use on summer ironing-days 
only. Oil costs less than wood, and a fore¬ 
noon’s ironing without the heat of a 
kitchen stove added to that of a sweltering 
day, is robbed of half its terrors. 
As to the quality of the work which these 
stoves do, it may be said that the baking is 
the only thing about which there seems to 
be some question. One instance may be 
mentioned where a family possessed of a 
good cook stove used the oil stove for bak¬ 
ing because it baked so much better. 
Many people think the tin ovens cannot 
bake well. This is far from being the case; 
hut for these there is at least one make 
which has a cast-iron oven much like an 
ordinary cook stove. The owner of one of 
these is an enthusiast on the subject of oil 
stoves. 
THE FAMILY TEMPER. 
HTS, in many cases, is as pronounced 
and characteristic a thing as any in¬ 
herited feature, form or manner. It seems 
a matter of course that the children of some 
households should be docile, sunny and 
gentle-mannered; and quite as inevitable 
that those of another home should be frac¬ 
tious, obstinate or revengeful. 
Sometimes a serene or a courageous spirit, 
an even and placid temper seem to descend 
from father to son as does the ancestral 
property. Sometimes, along with other 
things, we can see transmitted a suspicious, 
surly or otherwise ungenerous disposition. 
But, heredity aside—for it is not altogether 
a matter of inheritance—I often wonder 
who it is that decrees the family temper, not 
wittingly, of course, but,as we do very many 
decisive things, unconsciously. Sometimes 
I fancy it is the father whose bright frank¬ 
ness and cheery courage and tender-hearted¬ 
ness inspire all the household with a kin¬ 
dred spirit. Sometimes, alas! it is he whose 
moroseness or fault-finding reappears in the 
children. Sometimes it is the mother’s 
sweetness and serenity that leaven the 
rising household. Sometimes, I fear, her 
petulance or pettiness, her covetousness 
(even for her children) perpetuate them¬ 
selves in many unlovely traits, and chill and 
darken the home atmosphere. 
Whoever it is that sets the fashion of the 
household temper, great responsibility rests 
on that person, as it does, indeed, in some 
degree, on every one in this matter. We all 
add our bit of force to the ferment, if fer¬ 
ment there be, often or occasionally. We 
can hardly escape being often either peace¬ 
makers or peace-breakers. We know the 
fortitude that crowns the one; the other wins 
hisown punishment,though no anatnemabe 
uttered. Both good and ill-nature are contag¬ 
ious. Either can be cultivated. Ttcostsmore 
effort and self-sacrifice to maintain and ad¬ 
vance the former; but I think we shall find 
it well worth the trouble. 
There are many ways of doing it; each 
has her own recipe, and each doubtless 
finds her own rule fittest, at least in her 
case. But it might be profitable to com¬ 
pare the formulas for so desirable an addi¬ 
tion to the daily fare. I am far from 
understanding all the mysteries of the prep¬ 
aration and preservation of this sovereign 
grace of good-nature. Like the yeast of an 
inexperienced housekeeper, it is hard to 
keep on hand, while a dearth is soon felt. 
I am sometimes almost ready to say. with 
a little-known poet, that it is “the founda¬ 
tion of all the virtues.” Helen Hunt Jack- 
son says: “Men call fretting a minor 
fault; but I know of no vice—except 
drunkenness—which so destroys the com¬ 
fort of a household.” Certainly habitual 
good-nature, consideration and cheerful¬ 
ness add more than almost all other virtues 
to the daily peace and cheer of a home, and, 
most of all, they furnish a genial atmos¬ 
phere in which all other virtues and graces 
love to grow. 
I submit the following hints: It is a 
good plan, if one of the family is seen to be, 
for the time, fretful, blue, or “touchy,” 
for the others to be especially careful not to 
give offence, by word or deed. If there are 
but two, and they will but take turns with 
their tempers, all will be well. 
“It is the second word that makes the 
quarrel.” This'is not original with me, 
but is an excellent thing to bear in mind. 
The last word is to be shunned by all 
parties. Only he can be certain not to 
have it who is careful not to speak the 
first (ill-natured) one. 
“ A soft answer turneth away wrath.” 
And silence is often the softest answer one 
can give. Silence is often the best cure for 
one’s own vexation, even if it be a “ nervous 
irritability.” 
Retreat is sometimes the most masterly 
of movements. Anything to avoid a quar¬ 
rel, so that principle be not compromised. 
And if retreat seem the best part of wisdom, 
let it be, if possible, before the wordy en¬ 
gagement begins. 
It is not often necessary to tell people 
disagreeable things, not nearly so often 
as some of us think. This is a fertile germ 
of dissension. 
Some fresh and worthy interest is often 
a good preventive of bickering. The habit 
of ill matured gossip seems allied to that of 
malicious fanlt-finding. 
It is best to stop while one can. One can 
“learn to be quiet.” 
Not all fretting is conscious of itself, or 
meant unkindly even when it cuts most 
keenly. One can become willingly patient 
in such instances. This sort is usually due 
to habit, or to over-strained nerves. But 
it is a habit that strengthens itself, and 
causes much pain. And it injures him or 
her who frets moat of all. 
Nothing really hurts us. however it may 
annoy or wound, save what results from 
our own fault, or begets in us a kindred 
fault. This ought to help us to be patient, 
i OLIVE E. DANA. 
FRUIT JUICES. 
RECENT admirable article in The 
RURAL on “ Preserving Small Fruits.” 
omitted one method much liked bv this 
household. It is to prepare fruit juices as 
if for jelly, sweeten to taste, boil one 
minute, and put away while hot, in small 
cans or in bottles If the latter are nsed. 
the corks must be sealed with wax. This 
preparation makes a palatable and health¬ 
ful tonic, especially useful for tired house 
wives and ailing people. It is not. to bp 
confounded with home-made fermented 
wines, for if properly made, and kept in 
air-tight vessels in a cool, dark place, it 
will not ferment more easily than will fruit 
canned entire. 
Juices put up in this wav. particularly 
those of the currant and cherry, without, 
sweetening, and used in combination with 
Spitzenburg apples in winter, make a deli¬ 
cious jelly, very acceptable at a time when 
the supply of summer-made jellies is nearly 
or quite exhausted. 
Our way—which we think a good one— 
of extracting the juice of fruit differs from 
that given, in that we add no water to the 
fruit, but put it dry into a closelv-covered 
stone jar, which is placed in a kettle of 
water, brought to the boiling point, and 
kept at that stage till the fruit is 
thoroughly steamed, it is then strained 
and measured in the same careful manner 
laid down by " Katherine B. J.” But juice 
so extracted, being undiluted with water, 
does not require more than eight minutes’ 
boiling to make firm jelly—less it the fruit 
has ripened in a dry time—before adding 
the heated sugar, and no boiling after, but 
it must be stirred a bit till the sugar is dis¬ 
solved. JUDY JONES. 
LAYING SIEGE TO “CARPET BUGS.” 
E take special pains to give place to 
this article just at this time, on 
account of its reference to the crop of larvjp 
which appear in July, or sometimes even as 
late as August. These are the ones which 
are likely to be overlooked until their de¬ 
structive work has been done. In order 
that all may know how some portions of the 
country have suffered from these pests, it 
may be said that in some parts of Connec¬ 
ticut they were so abundant last year as to 
be swept up in dust-pans. The great point 
is to kill the beetle early in the season, that 
eggs may not be laid for the later crop. A 
simple remedy which is said to be effective 
is to brush all infested places with kerosene 
oil, which is a good and cheap application 
for keeping down nearly every form of in¬ 
sect depredators.— eds. 
“ My first introduction to carpet bugs 
came about in this wise : in removing some 
pampas plumes from their resting-place at 
the back of a picture, about three years 
ago, I found them covered with brown, 
fuzzy bugs, which were strangers to me, 
so T promptly deposited plumes and bugs 
in the stove, taking the precaution to pre¬ 
serve a specimen of the latter, which was 
carried to W.L. Devereaux, the well-known 
entomologist, who said it was a carpet bug. 
I searched the room thoroughly, but found 
only two under the carpet. The floor was 
washed with boiling water, after which it 
received a second bath of hot water, in 
which were about two table-spoonfuls of 
turpentine. After the floor was dry, it was 
sprinkled around the edges with salt, and 
insect powder was sifted over that. The 
carpet was laid and the room was unoccu¬ 
pied till July, when the second crop of 
" bugs” usually appears. The carpet was 
then loosened at the edges and two or three 
bugs were found. Next spring every room 
in the house received the same treatment. 
This spring neither moths nor carpet-bugs 
were found, but a few carpet worms re¬ 
sisted the treatment. These worms are 
about half an inch long and have a little 
tuft of hairs on the tail. The insects of 
which they are the larvae are a little more 
than a quarter of an inch long, dark-brown 
or black at each end, with a lighter band 
across the midfile. They are similar to 
those which are so fond of ham, if not just 
the same. The larvae do not seem in thr 
least sffected by the treatment which is so 
successful with moths and carpet bugs. 
They lie contentedly in a bed of salt and in¬ 
sect powder; and my only means of destruc¬ 
tion thus far is the fire, or a blow with the 
tack hammer. I added a large piece of 
alum to the boiling water to which the 
floors were treated this year, and hope that 
may prove effective. Has any one a suc¬ 
cessful way of treating them ? I am de¬ 
lighted with the Rural’s potato cutter, 
and wonder [ never thought of it myself. 
S. A. LITTLE. 
Pis'cetlaneousi Advertising. 
READERS of The R. N.-Y will please the 
advertisers and benefit the paper by always 
mentioning it when writing to advertisers. 
Each Season 
Has its own peculiar malady; but with the 
blood maintained in a state of uniform vigor 
and purity, by the use of Ayer's Sarsaparilla, 
the system readily adapts itself to changed 
conditions. Composed of the best alteratives 
and tonics, and being highly concentrated, 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla is the most effective and 
economical of all blood medicines. 
“ For some years, at the return of spring, 
I had serious trouble with my kidneys. I 
was unable to sleep nights, and suffered 
greatly with pains in the small of my hack. 
I was also afflicted with headache, loss of 
appetite, and indigestion. These symptoms 
were much worse last spring, especially the 
trouble with my back. A friend persuaded 
me to use Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. I began 
taking it, and my troubles all disappeared.” 
—Mrs. Genevra Belanger, 24 Bridge st, 
Springfield, Mass. 
Ayer’s Sarsaparilla 
PREPARED BY 
DR. J. C. AYER & CO., Lowell, Mass. 
Sold by Druggists. $1 six $5. Worth $5 a bottle. 
—jnj. GOLD MEDAL, PARIS. 1878 
^8 W. Baker Jf CG.’S 
Cocoa 
j s absolutely pure atul 
■r wt pC. i. 's soluble. 
jf/Tm, No Chemicals 
HB | III Ivlm arc used in its preparation. It has more 
111 I a I lull than three times the strength of Cocoa 
ill Jj [rib mixed with Starch, Arrowroot or Sugar, 
HI WI I Un and is therefore far more economical, 
nil | | | B11 costing less than one cent a cup. It is 
Mm III III III delicious, nourishing, strengthening, Ei- 
KjH jf I II ||l silY Digested, and admirably adapted 
for invalids as well as persons in health. 
Sold by Grocers everywhere. 
W. BAKER & CO.. Dorchester, Mass. 
FOR ORCHARDISTS 
AND ANY OTHERS WHO USE LADDERS. 
The MANAHAN LADDER HOOK 
Is a convenient device to be attached to the top of 
th*» ladder, lor the purpose of holding it In position 
when placed upon the roofs of buildings, when in use 
for picking fruit, pruning trees, etc. It combines 
strength with light weight and small cost, and being 
reversible Is entirely out of the way when closed. 
Regular Price, gil per Set; my Price, 50 
cent* per set by mail, post-paid, to close out a larger 
lot. Address 
X. K. FELLOWS, Box 4. Tenafly, N, J. 
will Send a Sample 
Iiuggy , Road Cart 
OR HARNESS 
toone person at each post-office 
who w 1 11 show to others who we 
may scud to see it. Many people 
will buy if they cm sep for 
themselves, tbe r efore we give 
a bargain to get samples of our 
work in a neighborhood. 
Will You Have One or All? 
Don't miss this bargain. y<-u may never 
have another We guarantee our work 
to be first class in every pariicular. 
Send 6 cents in stamps for catalogu s to -el, ft from, 
and gel testimonials 
from those who have had 
our bargains. 
UNION MACHINE CO,, 
Carriage Dept. So. 7, 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
