966 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
December Si), 
From Day to Day. 
SONG FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE. 
Stay yet, my friends, a moment stay— 
Stay till the good old year. 
So long companion of our way. 
Shakes hands and leaves us here. 
Oh, stay; oh, stay. 
One little hour, and then away ! 
The year whose hopes were high and strong 
Has now no hopes to wake, 
Yet one hour more of jest and song, 
For his familiar sake, 
Oh, stay; oh, stay, 
One grateful hour, and then away! 
The kindly year, his liberal hands 
Have lavished all his store. 
Apd shall we turn from where he stands. 
Because lie gives no more? 
Oh, stay; oh, stay, 
One grateful hour, and then away! 
Days brightly came and calmly went, 
While yet he was our guest, 
IIow cheerfully the week was spent! 
How ssveet the seventh day’s rest! 
Oh, stay; oh, stay, 
One golden hour, and then away! 
Dear friends were with us, some who sleep 
Beneath the coffin lid, 
What pleasant memories we keep 
Of all they said and did! 
Oh, stay, oh, stay. 
One tender hour, and then away! 
Even while we sing, he smiles his last, 
And leaves our sphere behind. 
The good old year is with the past; 
Oh, be the new as kind ! 
Oh, stay; oh, stay. 
One parting strain, and then away! 
—William Cullen Bryant. 
Boiled raspberry pudding is a favorite 
dessert. Open a can of canned or pre¬ 
served raspberries and drain off the 
liquor, saving it for sauce for the pud¬ 
ding. Make a rich biscuit dough; roll 
this into a sheet a half inch thick, spread 
thickly with the berries, sprinkle bits of 
butter over these and roll up the sheet of 
dough as you would a sheet of music. 
Put into a floured cloth and boil for three 
hours. Add to the raspberry liquor a 
little sugar and boil up once. Take the 
pudding from the cloth, lay on a dish and 
pour the steaming sauce over it. 
* 
We have been suffering from a scarcity 
of needles in the family workbasket, and 
as the little tomato pincushion that has 
done duty for several years showed 
signs of general debility, it was retired 
and a new one put in its place. The old 
cushion was carefully opened and from 
its interior we extracted 65 needles, so 
we no longer wonder where they all 
went to. We are quite ready to acknowl¬ 
edge that sticking needles in a pincushion 
is a wasteful practice; like some people, 
they haven’t head enough to prevent them 
from going too far. A fair-sized needle- 
book with flannel leaves will save much 
trouble. We also like the wooden recep¬ 
tacles for needles made in the shape of 
little barrels, with a separate cylinder for 
each size of needle, and a sliding cover; 
it is easy to slide out the size needed, and 
to replace it after use. 
* 
As we are all supposed to begin the 
new year with a stock of good resolu¬ 
tions, we may offer, as a seasonable ser¬ 
mon, an extract from a letter written by 
George Washington to his nephew, Bush- 
rod Washington, in 1783. It is suggestive 
of the advice old Polonius gives to his 
son; in either case there is a good work¬ 
ing rule for daily life: 
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with 
few; and let those few be well tried be¬ 
fore you give them your confidence. True 
friendship is a plant of slow growth, and 
must undergo and withstand the shocks 
of adversity before it is entitled to the 
appellation. Let your heart feel for the 
afflictions and distresses of every one, and 
let your hand give in proportion to your 
purse; remembering always the estimation 
of the widow’s mite, that it is not every¬ 
one that asketh that deserveth charity; 
all, however, are worthy of the inquiry, 
or the deserving may suffer. Do not con¬ 
ceive that fine clothes make fine men, any 
more than fine feathers make fine birds. 
A plain, genteel dress is more admired, 
and obtains more credit, than lace and 
embroidery, in the eyes of the judicious 
and sensible.” 
* 
We have had a good many items about 
the habits of skunks, from time to 
time, but we were surprised lately to 
learn of a case where these industrious 
animals helped a man to dig his potato 
crop. According to the New York Tri¬ 
bune, two brothers are large potato grow¬ 
ers at Harris Hill, Me. The potato-field, 
some distance from the house, was seldom 
visited. A neighbor passing one morning 
saw a large quantity of potatoes lying on 
the ground, and informed the brothers of 
the fact. One of them hastened to the 
field, and to his astonishment discovered 
some 30 bushels exposed to view. They 
were gathered and properly disposed of, 
but another visit to the field on the fol¬ 
lowing morning revealed about eight 
bushels more lying in scattered heaps as 
before. Several morning visits to the 
field afterward showed like strange re¬ 
sults. Wondering who could have dug 
the potatoes, the brothers resolved upon 
a night-watch. They were rewarded by 
discovering that a family of skunks were 
the guilty parties, and investigation 
showed why. The ground beneath the 
hills of potatoes was colonized by families 
of huge white worms. To get at them 
the skunks were compelled to dig up the 
potatoes, which they did as thoroughly 
and deftly as a man with a hoe might 
have done it. Thereafter the brothers 
went out to the field every morning and 
garnered the results of the skunks’ labors 
with neither expense nor fatigue to them¬ 
selves. 
* 
Cornell now gives a Winter course in 
home economics, which will be found of 
great value to rural women. It was in¬ 
augurated last year, the second course be¬ 
ginning this year December 6. It is di¬ 
vided into three courses. Course 1 has to 
do with underlying scientific subjects, as 
food, sanitation, cookery. Course 2 con¬ 
siders household practice and art. Course 
3 is devoted to industries that may be 
added to the farm home. This latter 
course affords instruction in the garden, 
poultry husbandry and dairy, and may be 
taken by those whose home work demands 
it. It offers lectures on feeding, care and 
marketing of eggs and fowls, diseases of 
fowls; general horticulture, vegetable cul¬ 
ture, floriculture and ornamental garden¬ 
ing. This Winter course would be of 
wonderful value to the farm girl who only 
sees the drudgery of her daily work, and 
it would be a most inspiring vacation to 
the tired house-mother who needs to 
revive enthusiasm. Either one would 
come back to the farm with a greater 
love for country life, as well as a more 
intelligent knowledge of its requirements. 
If, however, it is impossible to go to 
Cornell for such a course, you can bring 
Cornell to the farm by taking up the 
Reading Course for Farmers’ Wives. 
This course, now in its fifth year, has a 
total membership of 20,513, and though 
many of the women frankly say they are 
too busy to fill out the discussion papers 
sent them, they follow the reading close¬ 
ly and derive much of value from it. 
While this course is intended, first, for 
the individual reader, it is also admirable 
for a neighborhood club, and in several 
cases farmers’ wives have banded to¬ 
gether for such study with great advan¬ 
tage. Such a course not only enlarges 
one’s mental outlook, but enlarges the 
personal horizon, too. Information regard¬ 
ing these courses may be obtained from 
Miss Martha Van Rensselaer, Supervisor 
Farmers’ Wives’ Reading Course, Cornell 
University, Ithaca, N. Y. 
Mrs. Spraker Talks. 
“Spice in Indian pudding!” Mrs. Spra¬ 
ker glared at me in silence for a long 
time, and I could seem to feel myself 
shrinking and becoming smaller. 
“How do you make yours?” I faltered. 
“I use four quarts of milk—skim will 
do—a pint of granulated meal, a pint and 
a half of New Orleans molasses and a 
pinch of salt.” 
“But what a big one that makes!” I ob- 
j ected. 
“It never goes begging,” she answered 
shortly. Then she unbent a little. “To 
tell the truth, I don’t like Indian pudding 
myself, but I kn.ow how to make it so 
other people like it. I always have bet¬ 
ter success with a big one, and in Win¬ 
ter it will keep a week, so I don't have 
it on the table every day, and they don’t 
get tired of it.” 
“Just how do you make it?” I asked. 
“I put two quarts of milk into a smooth 
iron kettle and when it is scalding hot 
I sift in the meal and salt, stirring it 
till it cooks up good and thick. Then I 
set it back on the stove and stir in the 
molasses and one quart of cold milk, 
then turn it all into the pudding dish and 
add the fourth quart of milk. Put your 
pudding in the oven and let it cook slowly 
all day. I always make mine when I am 
not going to do any other baking and 
when I have a coal fire. If it cooks too 
fast, I just open the oven door a crack. It 
wants to just bubble easy. At night I 
have my coal fire checked to last till 
morning, and I leave the pudding in 
with the oven door shut. In the morning 
I take it out and it is done. I think 
that comes pretty near being the way folks 
used to cook an Indian pudding in a brick 
oven.” susan b. robbins. 
Hot Cloths for Allaying Pain.—I 
saw in a paper the other day a contrivance 
for wringing cloths from hot water, when 
needed in sickness. I have a way I think 
so much better that I want you all to 
know about it. Just put the cloths in the 
steamer over boiling water; they heat 
through in a very few minutes, and all one 
has to do is to change them as needed; 
no blistered hands or inconvenience at all. 
California. mrs. j. r. s. 
Chicken baked in milk is a Yankee 
recipe. Dress and joint a chicken of four 
to six pounds, dust each piece with salt 
and pepper, and roll in flour. Put the 
chicken in a roasting pan or casserole that 
it will half fill, then pour over it enough 
sweet milk to cover the chicken com¬ 
pletely. Put a close-fitting lid on the 
baker, and put it in the oven, cooking the 
chicken until tender; it will take from 
two to 2'A hours. This requires but lit¬ 
tle attention while cooking, the meat is 
tender and juicy, and the gravy delicious. 
It is an excellent way to cook an elderly 
fowl; a young bird will of course cook 
in a shorter time. As it really gains in 
flavor by being warmed over, it can be 
cooked on Saturday for the Sunday din¬ 
ner. thus lessening work. 
A MATTER OF HEALTH 
feAKlfll? 
POWDER 
Absolutely Pure 
A Cream of Tartar Powder, 
free from alum or phoe- 
phatic acid 
HAS HO SUBSTITUTE 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
Catarrh—chronic 
cold—or any ail¬ 
ment that is due 
to a run down, 
overworked or over¬ 
strained system, is won¬ 
derfully benefited by 
Scoffs 
Emulsion* 
It contains Cod Liver 
Oil to build new blood, 
fat and muscle, and 
Hypopho'sphites to 
brace and tone up the 
nervous system. 
ALL DRUGGISTS; 
50c. AND $1.00. 
Hoarseness or loss of voice 
immediately relieved. Noth¬ 
ing excels this simple remedy 
Steel 
Range 
will work In your kitchen 
2 Years 
On Approval Trial 
Lei us save you from $5 to 
*26 on Knlines, Oak Heaters, 
Base Burners, Cast Cook 
Stoves, Hot Blast 
Heaters. All at about 
dealers’ prices. 
Send Us 
No Money 
until you have tried 
the stove. Don’t buy 
a stove or range of any kind 
until you have asked us to send 
you the Free Stove Book. Tells 
now to save money by buying 
in the United Factories way. 
The United Factories Co., Dept.S-31, Cleveland, 0 
CORNED BEEF 
We use only FRESH BEEF, and then nothing but 
the plates. WE GUARANTEE THE QUAUTY. 
Everybody orders again, as the CORNED BEEF is as 
werepresent. Write for prices—will answer promptly. 
GEO. NYE & COMPANY 
SPRINGFIELD, 3IASS. 
No More Hand Pumping 
No coal. No steam. No oil. No packing or labor. 
No Cost for Motive Power 
NIAGARA AUTOMATIC PUMP 
(Hydraulic ltam) 
works night and day on any brook, 
creek, riverorrunnlng water. 
Used and endorsed by Gov¬ 
ernments, railroads and 
public institutions, farmers, 
owners of factories, country 
homes and mines. Write to-| 
day for free booklet. 
Niagara Hydraulic Engine Co. 
140 NASSAU STKEEET, NEW YORK. 
Factory; Chester, Pa, 
WARREN'S 
iWALRUS 
’roofing 
Tough and tight as a walrus 
hide, and just as pliable and 
. , lasting. Summer sun. winter 
, ice, wcn’t affect it. It can’t rust and won’t 
crack. Anybody can lay it. Semi for sample. 
^Wajjj^nChemica^M^Co., 16Battery PI. NewYork 
INDRUROID 
ROOFINC 
Requires no Coating or 
Paint. 
Acid and Alkali Proof. 
Elastic and Pliable 
Always. 
Strong and Tough. 
Absolutely Waterproof. 
Climatic Changes Do Not 
Affect It. 
Practically Eire Proof. 
Can Be Used on Steep or 
Elat Surfaces. 
Any Workman Can Put 
It On. 
No Odor. 
Will not Shrink or Crack 
Light in Weight. 
Does not Taint Water. 
Write for samples, prices and 
circulars. 
H. F. WATSON CO. 
ERIE, PA. 
Chicago, Boston. 
Mention R.N.-Y. 
