36o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 21, 
[ Woman and Home \ 
From Day to Day. 
SOWING AND REAPING. 
Sow with a generous hand. 
Pause not for toil oi< pain, 
Weary not through the heat of Summer, 
Weary not through the cold Spring rain. 
But wait till the Autumn comes 
For the sheaves of golden grain. 
Scatter the seed and fear not— 
A table will be spread. 
What matter if you are too weary 
To eat your hard-earned bread? 
Sow while the earth is broken. 
For the hungry must he fed. 
Sow while the seeds are lying 
In the warm earth's bosom deep, 
And your warm tears fall upon it; 
They will stir in their quiet sleep. 
And the green blades rise the quicker. 
Perchance, for the tears you weep. 
Then sow, for the hours are fleeting, 
And the seeds must fall to-day, 
And care not what hands shall reap it, 
Or if you shall have passed away 
Before the waving cornfields 
Shall gladden the sunny day. 
Sow and look onward, upward 
Where the starry light appears, 
Where, in spite of the coward's doubting, 
Or your own heart’s trembling fears, 
You shall reap in joy the harvest, 
You have sown to-day in tears. 
—Adelaide Anne I’roctor (1825-1864). 
* 
Little boleros, both with and without 
sleeves, form a part of most princess 
dresses, and this has extended their use 
to other costumes; trimming arranged 
in this way freshens up a last Summer’s 
gown quite effectively. In addition to 
lace these boleros are made of fine dotted 
swiss with insertions and edging of lace, 
having bell sleeves coming just to the 
elbow. Worn over a simple wash dress 
these little jackets are quite dressy. If 
the skirt is not made to give a princess 
effect a high girdle should be worn. 
* 
We are asked how to make the sweet- 
scented bath bags sold by dealers in toilet 
requisites. The filling calls for four 
pounds of fine oatmeal, two quarts of 
clean bran, l l /z pound powdered orris 
root, 1 Yz pound powdered castile soap, 
and three ounces sachet powder. Put in 
little muslin bags, and u$£ like a sponge. 
Omitting the orris and sachet powder, 
which give the perfume, the remaining 
ingredients, which are inexpensive, are 
very soothing to a rough or chapped skin, 
and will add much to comfort in bathing. 
* 
Some new tailor-made shirt waists re¬ 
cently noted offer a suggestion for the 
home dressmaker. The waist was made 
perfectly plain, like a pattern shown on 
page 143 (February 17 last) but with 
the addition of a little patch pocket on 
the left side. Instead of the high stock, 
the neck was finished with a round Dutch 
roll-over collar, a little open at the throat, 
with a colored tie knotted under it. The 
sleeves were full, coming to just below 
the elbow, and were finished with a plain 
turn-back cuff, d be materials used were 
madras and linen in hair-line stripes and 
checks. The effect was exceedingly good, 
and gave a useful suggestion for shirt¬ 
waist dresses. 
* 
A most interesting book we have been 
reading recently is “Extinct Animals,” by 
Prof. E. Ray Lankester, consisting of a 
series of illustrated lectures, originally 
delivered to young people in London; it 
tells about those early forms of life that 
we now know only through their fossil 
remains.| The average reader will find 
this book very helpful in giving an intel¬ 
ligent outline in paleontology, and it 
would be especially interesting in pre¬ 
paring one for a visit to the Museum of 
Natural History in Central Park, New 
York, where the huge dinosaur, 66 feet 
long, occupies the place of honor. The 
great bulk of these grotesque creatures, 
dwarfing all familiar animals of to-day, 
is all the more impressive when com¬ 
pared with their meagre brain. Perhaps 
that is why they are extinct—brain sur¬ 
vives brawn, and if we may judge by ap¬ 
pearances, the ichthyosaurus, the plesio¬ 
saurus and the titanotherium were not 
intellectual creatures. 
* 
When the shad moves north in the 
Spring try potting the fish; it will form 
a savory dish, with many of the bones 
dissolved. Cleanse the fish, then cut in 
neat pieces for serving. For five pounds 
of fish use two teaspoonfuls salt, two 
teaspoonfuls black pepper corns, two tea¬ 
spoonfuls whole allspice, two teaspoon¬ 
fuls of cloves, a few bay leaves; cinna¬ 
mon may be used if liked. Put a layer 
of fish in a stone baking jar, sprinkle 
with spices and salt, and a dash of ground 
white pepper, a few bits of butter. Con¬ 
tinue until jar is filled, cover with vine¬ 
gar diluted with one-third its quantity 
of water, cover the jar closely, and bake 
for six hours. Serve cold. A little 
sliced onion may be added to the spices 
if liked. Fresh-water fish of rather in¬ 
sipid flavor is excellent prepared in this 
old-fashioned way. In our district, when 
the shad begins to run freely up the 
rivers, the fish is often smoked as fol¬ 
lows : Scale, cut the fish up the back, 
clean, and take out the roe. Wipe the 
fish with a damp cloth, but do not wash 
it. To 20 pounds of fish allow one pint 
of salt, one pint of brown sugar, and one 
ounce of saltpetre. Mix these well to¬ 
gether. Rub the fish well inside and 
out with this mixture. Place one fish 
over another with a board on top, and 
on this place heavy weights to press 
them down. Allow them to remain so 
for 60 hours, then drain, wipe dry, stretch 
open, and fasten out flat with small 
pieces of stick. Smoke for five days like 
ham or bacon. White fish could no doubt 
be smoked in the same way, but we are 
not familiar with this; perhaps some our 
readers in the region of the Great Lakes 
could give us experience. 
Household Congress. 
Hard Soap. —Save all grease and fat 
from food, melt and strain it into a pail 
that holds just five pounds, clarify it with 
slices of raw potato and strain again. 
Take one can of potash and dissolve in 
one quart of cold water, add one-half 
cupful or more of pure powdered borax, 
then turn in gradually the warm grease 
stirring all the time, until it thickens to 
the consistency of thin sponge; pour out 
into pans two or three inches deep and 
when quite cool mark off into squares 
As it gets cold it turns white and makes 
an excellent toilet and laundry soap. 
MARY A. HOWE. 
Soft Soap. —One 10-cent can of lye; five 
pounds of fat, trimmings from meat drip¬ 
pings, etc., either cooked or raw; one but¬ 
ter tub—can be purchased from grocer for 
10 or 15 cents. It need not be cleaned, as 
the lye eats the fat off. A kettle (iron) 
large enough to hold a pail of water. Tut 
kettle on stove and fill half full of water. 
When water boils remove kettle from fire 
and put in sink; have can of lye opened, 
and pour in water carefully, until all is in. 
Use wooden stick or spoon for stirring. 
Stir until all is dissolved, then return ket¬ 
tle to fire, and add the fat. Stir fre¬ 
quently. Put the kettle at one side not 
over the fire, as when it begins to boil it 
will boil over quickly. Stir often, and 
have ready some cold water; in case it 
should boil up too fast add a little to stop 
the boiling. Watch carefully and stir 
often. Let it cook slowly about an hour. 
When it is thick and will form a jelly by 
testing a little on a saucer it is done. 
Place the butter tub in the cellar where it 
is to remain. Have ready two pails of 
boiling water; pour one into the tub, then 
pour in the soap and stir; then the second 
pail of water and leave to get cold. The 
next morning take off the top any fat 
which may not have dissolved, and save 
for next soap-making time. The soap will 
be like a stiff jelly, and is excellent for 
kitchen use. Keep the soap covered to 
keep it from drying out. MRS. C. h. l. 
Ati Iron Sink. 
If your iron sink springs a leak, do not 
despair and think you have got to buy a 
new one. If the holes are small ones 
they may be mended with wooden plugs. 
Whittle a piece of wood to a point and 
fit it into the hole in the sink, then take 
it out and cut it off so that when it is 
driven in from the top it will be on a level 
with the surface. The water running 
down the sink will swell the wood and 
make it tight. Such a bit of repairing has 
lasted five years or more and shows no 
sign of giving out. I find in caring for 
my iron sink that particular attention 
must be paid to it on washing day, as the 
suds removes every bit of grease and it 
will rust badly if it is not taken care of. 
As soon as the washing is done I wash 
out the sink, wipe it dry and rub it all 
over with a little mutton tallow. In Win¬ 
ter, when the sink is very cold, I pour 
down some boiling water, wipe it quickly 
and then the tallow will melt and rub on 
nicely. After this treatment, one washing 
a day will keep the sink in good condition 
till the next wash day. S. B. R. 
He that holds fast the golden mean, 
And lives contentedly between 
The little and the great, 
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor, 
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man’s door. 
—Cowper. (1731-1800). 
Freezers 
please both the Jack Sprat 
who likes cream, and the wife 
who likes sherbet, by making 
any 2 flavors at 1 freezing. 
Any other way of making two 
flavors means two freezings, with 
double ice and labor. 
Do it sitting down, an easily 
rocked lever eliminates all tire¬ 
some turning, a double dasher 
and divided can assure two 
highest quality frozen desserts 
without one tasting of other. 
Has, in addition, all the patented 
improvements embodied by its makers 
in their Lightning, Gem and Blizzard 
Freezers — durable pails bound with 
electric welded wire hoops, cans with 
drawn steel bottoms that cannot fall 
out and automatic scrapers. 
Ask your dealer to show you the 
American Twin Freezer. 
Booklet, “Frozen Sweets,’* 
by Mrs. Rorer, FREE. 
North Bros. Mfg. Co., Philadelphia 
Piano a Month 
FREE 
We will ship this 
piano to any re¬ 
sponsible person 
for 30 days’ trial, 
test, and comparison with any other piano 
at any price. If it pleases you, buy it; 
if not, the trial costs you nothing. This 
piano is a beautiful instrument, cased in 
finest oak, walnut or mahogany, and its 
design and finish are duplicated in few 
$600 pianos. Tone is superb, action the 
finest French repeating, 7 1-3 octaves. 
Our price is $165 cash. Can be bought 
by small monthly payments. 
GUARANTEED FOR FIVE YEARS. 
No piano for less money can be safely 
guaranteed for so long a time. We have 
been selling pianos for forty years, and our 
guarantee of quality goes with every piano. 
Your old piano or organ taken in ex¬ 
change at a liberal allowance. 
We sell this piano at a wholesale price 
—because direct from our factory. 
Ask your Bank about our responsibility. 
Write for illustrated piano book. It 
explains how we eliminate all risk from 
piano-buying by mail. 
C. J. HEPPE & SON, 
Oth and Thompson Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Every Boy 
Listen! 
We want to say a few 
plain, honest things to 
you, if you are between, 
say, twelve and sixteen 
years old 
Only one boy out of a 
great many boys ever 
amounts to anything of 
consequence. 
The other boys are 
proud of being rough. 
They think they will be 
“dudes” if they keep 
themselves cleanly 
washed and neatly 
dressed. They do not 
love clean, healthy out¬ 
door games and sport, 
and plenty of it. They 
like better to loaf on 
street corners and brag 
about what they will do 
when they are men. 
The“other boys” 
when they grow up to 
be men, will, nine times 
out of ten, be working 
fo<r some other man. 
They will be cheap men, 
who can only “make a 
living ” by hiring out to 
some other man. 
Our advice is; Take part of the 
time — not all, by any means — 
for something that will fit you to 
be that other man when you grow 
up. Start now to train yourself to 
be the man who hires men. Don’t 
grow up to be one of the hired 
men. 
We want you to work for The 
Saturday Evening Post and 
The Ladies’ Home Journal. 
The commissions are large, and 
so are the prizes. Some boys on 
our staff have won as much as 
$500. You can take your own 
time for it and still earn money 
easily. Other boys have done it; 
so can you. 
Write to us and we will tell you 
how some of them did it. Then 
you can do as they did and earn 
and win as much. 
Thz Curtis Publishing Company 
1686-E Cherry St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
TELEPHONE FACTS 
We publish a finely illustrated book that is 
full of telephone facts. It tells all about 
telephones for farms, the kind to use, 
how to organize a farm telephone company, how 
to build the lines and where to buy the best 
telephones. Free if you ask for Book 102-F. 
Stromberg-CerleenTel. Mfg. Co., Chicago, Rochester, N.T. 
LAWN FENCE 
Many designs, any 
heignt up to 6 ft. for 
Parks. Our price, freight 
fields 
• COPYRIGHTED 
REALLY DELIGHTFUL 
