1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
27 
Winter Cheer. 
Now that the melancholy days are come 
of searching winds and bare fields out¬ 
doors, we look for a larger share of our 
comfort in the house. The dread of Win¬ 
ter is instinctive, but not altogether ra¬ 
tional. With barns and cellar stuffed 
with provisions, and blazing fires, we 
may defy the elements. In some ways, the 
frigid season should be the best of all, 
for it brings the family together and 
gives the members time for social and in¬ 
tellectual pleasures impossible in Summer. 
Whether this is true or not, depends 
largely upon the mother or housekeeper. 
It is her duty to make the rooms at¬ 
tractive and fill them with an atmosphere, 
of love and happiness which no amount 
of zero weather can chill. Even though 
short of other supplies, the real home¬ 
maker will contrive to be long on cheer. 
One of her wise ways is to have all the 
light and sunshine possible in the house. 
Dr. Johnson says that it is worth a hun¬ 
dred pounds a year to have the habit of 
looking on the bright side. It is worth 
—not that, perhaps—but a large sum to 
have the living-room on the sunny side 
of the house. Many a good woman, in 
her devotion to her plants, fills the wide 
bay or pleasant south window from the 
very top down to the sill, so that scarcely 
a glint of sunlight can penetrate into the 
room. My neighbor boasts of 20 varieties 
of geraniums; if I had twice twenty, off 
they should go to the cellar. I would 
loop back the curtains and have a broad 
window seat piled with bright pillows. 
Grandpa’s easy chair would stand here, 
the children’s playthings have a corner, 
and all the family would gravitate to it 
in their leisure moments. A few plants 
on brackets at the sides do not obscure the 
light, but to give up the best windows of 
the living room to them is an injustice to 
ourselves. A window seat is easily made 
from a long, divan-shaped box. It should 
be at least 18 inches in width, and reach 
nearly to the sill. It may be padded with 
cotton and covered with cretonne, and, 
with a hinged cover, makes a handy recep¬ 
tacle for sewing work. 
One is rather at a loss for something 
to put into the vases after the flowers are 
gone. Empty vases are the forlornest of 
all forlorn objects, and are better put 
out of sight. The provident woman gath¬ 
ers graceful grasses and bittersweet ber¬ 
ries for Winter decoration. When the 
bouquets become dusty and faded, it is not 
necessary to throw them away. Lay them 
out in a good rainstorm, or give them 
a shower bath over the sink, and you will 
find that nearly all their beauty is restored. 
An experiment in which the children are 
always interested is made by placing some 
twigs of plum, peach, or any early flow¬ 
ering shrub in water and watching the 
leaves and blossoms expand. When all 
else fails, there are still the evergreens. 
Some branches of the cedar with its blu¬ 
ish berries, or sprays of hemlock, in the 
mantel vases, give a bit of greenery very 
restful to the eyes. 
The old houses built half a century ago 
or longer, abound in cracks and crevices 
which the wintry winds soon search out. 
Double windows and storm doors are al¬ 
most a necessity on the exposed side of 
the house. The best cure for a draughty 
floor is a second flooring laid over it. 
When this is impossible, a padding of 
old cotton quilts is a pretty good substi¬ 
tute. We put down plenty of newspapers, 
then the quilts, tacking them lightly to 
hold them in place, and stretch the carpet 
over them. They keep out the drafts 
which once made our sitting-room too 
breezy for comfort, and save wear on the 
carpet. 
A cosy seat to place by the open grate 
or stove is a straight-backed settle, mod¬ 
eled after those of “yc olden time.” It 
may be built at home by anyone who can 
wield a hammer and saw, and the cost 
is small. We think ours as pretty and 
artistic as those sold in the stores. It 
was made from an ordinary bench cost¬ 
ing 50 cents, and some light, matched 
pine boards. The whole of the inside, 
back and seat was thickly padded with 
cotton and covered with denim, printed in 
contrasting shades of green. The other 
surfaces were covered with the denim, 
stretched on smoothly, and fastened with 
brass-headed nails. The bench was fin¬ 
ished with a valance of the goods. The 
same settle would be very effective, up¬ 
holstered in Delft blue. It makes a nice 
article of furniture for the hall in Sum¬ 
mer. 
M. E. COLEGROVE. 
The Rural Patterns. 
Shirt waists made exactly after the 
model of a man’s outing shirt are among 
new models. This one is made of dark 
red French flannel, stitched with silk, and 
worn with a tie and belt of taffeta, but the 
model is suited to all simple materials and 
will find a welcome among all those who 
appreciate simple models. The waist con¬ 
sists of fronts and back with the yoke, 
which is applied over the back and extend¬ 
ed over the shoulder seams on to the fronts 
and which can be omitted whenever desir¬ 
able. At the front is a regulation box 
plait, and the patch pocket is stitched to 
the left side. As illustrated the waist 
blouses slightly at the back as well as at 
the front, but can be drawn down snugly 
whenever preferred. The sleeves are in 
straight style with straight cuffs and at the 
neck is a turn-over collar. The quantity 
of material required for the medium size is 
4 yards 21 inches wide, 3^4 yards 27 inches 
wide or 2*4 yards 44 inches wide. The 
pattern 4919 is cut in sizes for a 32, 34, 36, 
38, 40, 42 and 44 inch bust measure; price 
10 cents. 
The blouse suit made with plain short 
trousers is always a favorite for small 
boys and always in style. The mode] 
shown is adapted to all the seasonable ma¬ 
terials, but, as illustrated, is made of navy 
blue serge stitched with silk, with shield 
of white, and has the usual chevrons on 
the shield and left sleeve. The suit con¬ 
sists of the blouse and trousers. The 
blouse is made with fronts and back, fin- 
4920 Boy’s Blouse Suit, 6 to 12 yrs. 
ished with the big collar, and is closed at 
the center front beneath the tie. The 
shield is separate and is attached perma¬ 
nently to the right side and hooked into 
place at the left, the collar closing at the 
back. The sleeves are full, laid in a single 
box plait and finished with straight cuffs. 
The trousers are snugly fitted and joined 
to waistbands which are closed at the 
sides. The quantity of material required 
for a boy of 10 years of age is 4^4 yards 
27 inches wide, 2J4 yards 44 inches wide or 
2^6 yards 52 inches wide, with y yards of 
any width for shield and collar. The pat¬ 
tern 4920 is cut in sizes for boys of 6, 8, 
10 and 12 years of age; price 10 cents. 
JtONEY 
JISiur 
BOYS 
This is only one of thousands of boys who are making money easily 
by selling 
THE SATURDAY 
EVENING POST 
after school hours. It doesn’t take much talking to make folks buy 
‘The Post —we’ve told people all over the country about it, and most 
everybody knows it. Some of our boys depend on street sales, but most 
of them get regular customers to whom they deliver The Post each week. 
A few hours’ easy work a week will give you plenty of pocket money. If 
some of our boys can make as much as $15 a week, why shouldn’t you be 
able to make at least a couple of dollars? Write us and we will send you 
our handsome booklet, “ Boys Who Make Money.” Along with it will come 
a complete outfit, including 10 copies of The Post —all free. When you 
have sold these copies at 5c each you will have money to buy more at whole¬ 
sale prices. We also give sweaters, watches, etc., free, when you have sold 
a certain number of copies. In addition 
$250 in Extra Cash Prizes 
each month to boys who increase their sales. 
The Curtis Publishing Company, 990 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Pin 
Better Fruit! 
'"x 
Learn from expert orchardists, 
berry-growers, spraying authori¬ 
ties and other practical men 
whose experience ranks them as . 
authorities In fruit culture. 
Such men are regular 
■fj'- . contributors to that 
“handsomest of / 
farm papers" 
Never dry or sleepy- 
awake. Du 
ST JOSEPH MISSOURI 
50c A YEAR 
-always “meaty” and wide 
Jurlng iU05 Special Editions will be 
devoted to ‘‘Spraying,” “Gardening,” “Small 
Fruits” and “Apples.” Our Bro. Jonathan 
series of 10 fruit booklets on “Orcharding, 
“Small Fruits.” etc., at 25c each, are dollar, 
makers for fruit-growers. Ask how to 
get them free. Send 25^ and names of 
10 persons interested in fruit¬ 
growing for a year’s trial. East¬ 
ern Edition for States east of Ohio. 
THE FRUIT -GROWER CO. 
9 5 I H. 7th, St. Joseph, Mo. 
BABY RAMBLER ROSE 
An Everblooming Dwarf Crimson .Rambler, 
Other novelties as well us a general list of nursery 
stock. Illustrated descriptive catalogue FREE. 
JOS. H. BLACK, SON & CO., Higlitstown, N.J. 
No 8moke House. Smoke meat with 
KRAUSER’S LIQUID EXTRACT OF SMOKE. 
Madefrom hickory wood. GtvesdellclouBtlavor. 
Cheaper, cleaner than old way. Send for cir¬ 
cular. E. Krauser & Bro., Milton, Pa. 
M0RE INC0ME 
' Without Speculation. 
$25 upward, with¬ 
drawable on 30 
days’ notice. 
Investments bear earn¬ 
ings from day received 
to day withdrawn. 
Supervised by New York 
Banking Department. 
R estricted loans on bond 
and mortgage to thrifty home 
buyers who pay all interest and 
part principal monthly. That is 
the way the funds of our clients 
are invested ; and 11 years’con¬ 
stant growth of assets, surplus 
and profits Indicates the meas¬ 
ure of success achieved. We re¬ 
invest your f p. c. funds at a 
rate paying YOU B p. c. per an¬ 
num for every day we have 
them,Increasing their earning 
power 23 p. c. Write for par¬ 
ticulars and testimonials. 
Assets, . $1,700,000 
Surplus and I’rofits, 
$ 100,000 
Industrial Savings k LoanCo. 
1134 Broadway, New York. 
Some people have the taking=cold habit 
The old cold goes; a new one quickly comes. It’s the story of 
a weak throat, weak lungs, a tendency to consumption. Ayer’s 
Cherry Pectoral breaks up the taking-cold habit. It strength- 
ens, soothes, heals. Consult your doctor about this, im®;: 
THE BEST COOKING RANGE 
MADE 
Sold for Cash 
or on Monthly 
Payments. 
$10 to $20 
Saved. 
Freight 
-- / Paid. 
_ Clapp’s 
|SIdeal Steel 
Range 
is not BO per cent better than others. My superior location on 
Lake Erie, where iron,steel, coal, freights and skilled labor are 
cheaper and best, enables me to furnish a TOP NOTCH Steel 
Range at a clean saving of $10 to $ 20 . Send for free catalogues 
of five distinct lines, BO styles and sizes, with or without reser¬ 
voir, for city, town or country use. 
CHESTER D Cl APP. 602 Summit S»„ Toledo, Ohio. 
(Practical Steel Range Man.) 
