19W. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
547 
The Country Housewife’s Reign 
of Terror. 
“Summer on a farm always reminds 
me of a ‘reign of terror,’ ” said a slender 
little woman with a sigh, “I cannot help 
being jealous of my two town sisters who 
have such an easy time during the hot 
weather, and who usually enjoy a vaca¬ 
tion beside. My husband can afford this 
as well as theirs, but I cannot get help 
for love or money, so I simply drudge 
from day to day. I shall never consent to 
my daughter marrying a farmer!” 
There is a great deal of truth in what 
she said, and yet the woman who has 
been through one such Summer, and will 
look ahead, can do much to lighten the 
Summer drudgery. Most important of 
all, never let a bit of extra work drag over 
into the late Spring or Summer, if you 
can possibly help it. I am not an advo¬ 
cate of so-called early housecleaning, yet 
the long days of March when the farm 
work has not yet begun, find me cleaning 
closets, cupboards and bureau drawers, 
and examining and repairing the Summer 
clothing. If this work chances to be in 
an unwarmed part of the house an oil 
heater is my constant and agreeable com¬ 
panion. All necessary underclothing and 
household linen are made, and it is now 
possible to obtain the Spring styles and 
materials by the middle of March if one 
can complete the sewing at that time. 
Knowing that it is impossible to get help 
later, I take this opportunity to repaper 
rooms and do other repairing, while the 
husband has time to help. It is well to 
keep a large old carpet for such times, 
and by spreading it down carefully the 
papering can be done without disturbing 
the usual floor covering. With this 
done, I find the “cleaning,” when the 
weather is warm enough to warrant it, an 
easy matter. 
Simplify the furnishing for the Summer. 
Cover the upholstered furniture with linen 
slips, put away the dust-catching bric-a- 
brac, using some vases of flowers in its 
place. Furnish a piazza as comfortably as 
you can, and determine to stay there every 
possible minute of the Summer. Use a 
little forethought and common sense in pro¬ 
viding the clothing for yourself and the 
children. Make a couple of trim after¬ 
noon dresses for yourself of dark muslin 
with a drop skirt of mercerized material 
of the same color. These dresses are very 
dainty with white lace collars and cuffs, 
and may be worn a whole season without 
washing. If you think with longing of 
pretty light gowns, remember that you 
look much more attractive on the front 
porch in a dark dress than you do in the 
kitchen sweating over the endless light 
ones with their necessary accompaniment 
of white petticoats. The same is true of 
the children. Make the little daughter 
pretty sailor suits of plain dark blue ging¬ 
ham which washes so admirably and dark 
blue petticoats, with white guimpes; noth¬ 
ing can he prettier or more appropriate for 
the hard usage they will meet with, and 
the little girl will look nicer than she 
would in a light frock which is sure to be 
badly soiled. Of course there must be 
dainty frilly things for best, to satisfy the 
feminine yearning for the beautiful. 
The housewife should take it upon her¬ 
self to see that there is plenty of fruit 
and a good garden on the farm. These 
are not always easy to obtain, for the 
men are busy with what they consider 
“more important things,” but I know from 
experience that a great deal of persuasion, 
tact, and appreciation will bring the de¬ 
sired results. With these supplies at 
command, let simplicity be the keynote of 
the meal problem. The men are hungry 
for wholesome, substantial food, not for 
elaborate desserts and fancy dishes; have 
the necessary meat and potatoes and 
plenty of fresh vegetables, and for dessert 
a generous dish of fruit with sweet bread 
and butter, and everyone will be better 
satisfied. 
Last of all, I want to beg the country 
housewife to get a good oil or gasoline 
range that will do all her cooking. She 
cannot appreciate, until she has tried, the 
comfort of a cool kitchen in which to 
work. If you live in a locality where it 
is a great breach of propriety to expect 
the help to eat by themselves, you can 
have the table set in the kitchen during 
the busy season, if the great wood range 
is not in use, and much work is saved. 
For this kitchen table use white oilcloth; 
I know many people object to it, but it is 
much nicer in appearance than a colored 
tablecloth, and it is a great waste of 
energy to laboriously launder white linen 
when the first touch of the wet and dusty 
clothing of the haymakers leaves-a smudgy 
mark. With this arrangement, the dining 
room is ready for company, and the ap¬ 
pearance of a guest will not mean an hour 
or more of extra work. 
Live out of doors all you can; play 
with the children a little; be satisfied to 
live the simple life at least three months 
of the year; take a little rest in spite of 
the farm work! 
I am a country housewife, and I know 
whereof I speak. Alice m. ashton. 
Tomatoes Extraordinary. 
To many housewives tomatoes mean 
only a delightful salad possibility iq Sum¬ 
mer, and in Winter merely a savory cat¬ 
sup or pickle. Those who attempt to put 
them up at home simply can them in such 
a manner that they are only possible in 
soups or stews, the more delicate and de¬ 
sirable methods of preservation being 
comparatively unknown. The possibili¬ 
ties of the tomato, however, are many. 
In canning alone there is a right and a 
wrong way, one of the most satisfactory 
being to can them whole so that they 
may be served in Winter as salads, either 
with mayonnaise dressing, or as tomato 
cups containing a salad mixture. Beside 
these there is a long line of delicious pre¬ 
serves made from the tomato, many so 
dainty as scarcely to be recognized by 
those who know only the makeshift 
canned article. For those who wish to 
lengthen their list of delicacies I give 
formulas for some of the most satisfac¬ 
tory of tomato conserves, which cannot be 
found in the ordinary book of recipes. 
Clove Preserves.—To four pounds of 
yellow plum tomatoes, not too ripe, allow 
four pounds of sugar, three lemons and 
one-half ounce (or according to taste) 
of whole cloves. Peel the tomatoes with¬ 
out breaking, sprinkle sugar over and let 
them stand over night. In the morning 
pour off the syrup, add the cloves and 
let it boil until thick, then strain. Return 
to fire and add the chopped pulp of the 
lemons, rejecting the skin, and the toma¬ 
toes, and cook gently until the tomatoes 
look clear. Put into jars and seal. To 
give a quite different flavor substitute 
one-half ounce of ginger root for the 
cloves, and proceed as above. 
M'ock-Orange Marmalade.—Scald and 
peel large-sized yellow tomatoes. Cut 
downward over each seed section, press 
open and remove all seeds with the thumb, 
leaving the pulp comparatively whole. To 
two parts of the prepared tomatoes al¬ 
low one part of oranges, slicing thinly. 
Cover all with an equal quantity of sugar 
and let stand over night. In the morning 
pour off syrup and cook down about half, 
add the tomatoes and oranges and cook 
until the orange skins are transparent. 
Seal in jelly glasses. This is an original 
recipe, and is a delightful substitute for 
the genuine orange marmalade, though 
much cheaper. 
Amber Pickles.—Oioose small yellow 
pear tomatoes when just turning to ripen. 
Prick each tomato with a needle three 
times to prevent bursting in cooking, and 
soak half an hour in salted water. Take 
out and put in jars, after which make a 
syrup of one pint of vinegar, three quar¬ 
ters of a pound of C sugar and a pinch 
of salt, and put to boil in a porcelain 
kettle. Take one-half dozen cloves, same 
of whole allspice, one peppercorn, a piece 
of cinnamon, a splinter of mace and a 
chip of ginger root; tie all in a cheese 
cloth bag and boil ten minutes in the 
syrup. Remove spice bag and put the 
tomatoes in the kettle until they are 
heated through (do not let boil), take 
out with skimmer and put in jars. Boil 
syrup 20 minutes longer and pour hot over 
tomatoes. Next day pour off syrup, re¬ 
heat and pour over tomatoes, and seal in 
jars. 
Green Tomato Conserve.—For one peck 
of green tomatoes, slice six lemons with¬ 
out removing the skin, but taking out the 
seeds. Put to this quantity six pounds 
of sugar and boil until transparent and 
the syrup thick. Ginger root may be added 
if liked. 
Tomato Butter.—Cook ripe tomatoes, 
salt to taste and put them through a col¬ 
ander to remove the seeds. Have ready 
an equal quantity of sour apple sauce, 
well cooked; add it to the tomatoes, 
sweeten slightly and let it boil until the 
mixture begins to thicken. Be careful 
that it does not burn. Seal in jelly glasses. 
Excellent to serve with meats. 
Green Tomato Mangoes.—Select smooth 
tomatoes of good shape and showing no 
signs of ripening. Cut across one-fourth 
of the length below the stem and care¬ 
fully extract the seeds and pulp. Have 
ready a filling composed of two parts fine¬ 
ly chopped cabbage and one part onions, 
also chopped fine, and season to taste 
with celery and mustard seeds, pepper and 
sugar Fill the tomato shells as full as 
possible and tie the tops firmly on with 
strong cord. Let the mangoes lie over 
night in very strong brine, then soak them 
for 24 hours in weak vinegar. Pack in 
a stone jar, leaving plenty of space above 
them, and fill the jar with three parts 
vinegar to one part water, sweetened to 
the taste. These mangoes may be made 
either sweet or sour as preferred. A few 
pieces of horseradish root will season and 
preserve the vinegar. 
Why not 
have the best? 
The Victor costs no more than 
any other talking machine—is 1 
that news to you ? You know it 
is the best, and you know that| 
sooner or later you will want a 
VICTOR 
Why don’t you get a Victor 
now ? Your nearest dealer is 
glad to sell the Victor on the | 
pay-by-the-week plan. 
$10 to $100. Ask your | 
dealer, or write to us. 
The Victor Talking Machine Co 
Box 56 Camden R J 
Don’t Pay Two Prices 
for Stoves and Ranges 
Order direct from our Stove Fac¬ 
tory and save all dealers’ prof¬ 
its. HOOSIISR Stoves and 
Ranges are the “Best in the 
World;’’ Fuel savers and easy 
bakers. Sold on 30 days’ free 
trial. We pay the freight. Guar¬ 
anteed two years. Our large illus- 
“Hoosier” sw«i Rang. tn F ed catalog gives descriptions, 
prices, etc. Write for our catalog. 
H00S1ER STOVE CO., Factory, 159 State Street, Marion, Ind. 
CORNED BEEF 
We use only FRESH BEEF, and then nothing 
but the plates. WE GUARANTEE THE 
QUALITY. Every body orders again, as the 
CORNED BEEF is as we represent. Write for 
prices—will answer promptly. 
Tomato Mincemeat.—Chop fine four 
quarts of green tomatoes, drain off juice, 
cover with cold water and bring to a boil, 
scalding for 30 minutes, then drain. Re¬ 
peat till parboiled three times. Add two 
pounds brown sugar, one pound seeded 
raisins, one-half pound chopped citron, 
one large half cup chopped suet, one 
tablespoonful salt and one-half cup strong 
vinegar. Mix and cook until thick. 
When cold add one teaspoonful each of 
ground cinnamon and cloves, and one 
tablespoonful of grated nutmeg (or suit 
taste). Mix thoroughly, and keep in open 
jar. 
Canned Whole for Winter Salads.— 
Select firm, smooth fruit, not over ripe, 
and of a size to slip into the ordinary 
fruit jar. Peel without breaking and with 
as little scalding as possible. Have ready 
a preserving kettle full of water, which 
has been salted slightly, only enough to 
taste. Just before the water reaches the 
boiling point drop the tomatoes into it, 
one layer at a time and heat through. Do 
not allow the water to boil at any time. 
When thoroughly heated transfer toma¬ 
toes to the cans, being careful not to 
bruise them. Fill the cans with the hot, 
salted water, and screw the tops on quick¬ 
ly. Turn the cans over in a deep kettle 
of hot water until the rubbers are heated 
and set, which hermetically seals the cans. 
In using drain from the salt water, and 
serve exactly as fresh tomatoes. Catsups, 
Chili sauce and sweet and sour tomato 
pickles, while delicious in themselves, are 
so well known as not to warrant repeti¬ 
tion here. maude e. s. hymers. 
GEO. NYE & COMPANY 
Springfield, Mass. 
RRflKFN PflflKlF^— We offer an exceptional 
UnUIxLIl UUUlxlLo trade in good, clean, fresh 
broken cookiesof the same high quality that has made 
our products famous. Sold in boxes of 3U to35 lbs. at 
$1.50 per box, f. o. b. Worcester. Check or money 
order must accompany order. 
New England ltiscuit Co., Worcester, Mass. 
Best and cheapest. 
Send lor catalogue. 
BOOMER & BOSCHERT 
, PRESS CO., 
118 We»t Water St., 
8XUACUSB. S. X. 
tm 
Monarch 
Hydraulic 
Cider Press 
Great strength and ca. 
pacity; all sizes; also 
gasoline engines, 
steam engines, 
saw mills, thresh¬ 
ers. Catalog free. 
Monarch Machinery Co., Room 161.39 Cortlandt St.» Mas York. 
An Investment placed with this 
Company is free from any element of 
speculation. We loan money only on 
Ample Real Estate Security under New 
York Banking Department supervision. 
No Speculation 
5% Per Year 
Patrons of ten to fourteen 
years' standing will inform 
you as to our reeord and 
our manner of meeting ob¬ 
ligations. Write for their 
names— some probably in 
your own locality. 
INDUSTRIAL SAVINGS AND LOAN CO., 
5 Times Bldg., Broadway and 42nd Street, New York 
Assets $1,750,000 
4 % 
Simpson-Eddystone 
Shepherd Plaids 
Bright, cool and dainty-looking. 
Durable and fadgless; some designs 
with a new silk finish. Beautiful 
for Spring and Summer wear. 
Ask your dealer for Simp son-Eddy stone 
Shepherd Plaids 
EdbystoHE 
PRINTS The Eddystone Mfg. Co. (Sole Makers) Philadelphia. 
Three generations of Simpsons 
have made Simpson Prints. 
