1240 
THE RURAIj NEW-YORKER 
December 30, 
Woman and the Home 
From Day to Day. 
THE DYING YEAR. 
The good Old Year hath run his race, 
And the latest hour draws near; 
The cold dew shines on his hoary face, 
And he hobbles along with a listless pace 
To the lonely and snow-covered resting' 
place 
In the Northern Hemisphere. 
See how his stiff joints faint and shrink 
As the cold breeze whistles by ; 
He hath a bitter cup to drink 
As he watches the sand in his hour glass 
sink. 
Standing alone on the icy brink 
Of the gulf of eternity. 
He reels—he slips—no power at hand 
To check him from tumbling o'er; 
The hour glass clicks with its latest sand, 
And each moment falls like the stroke of 
a brand 
Of one already too weak to stand; 
lie falls—he is seen no more. 
And lo ! in the east a star ascends 
A nd a burst of music comes; 
A young lord, followed by troops of friends, 
Down to the broad equator wends, 
While the star that travels above him bends 
O’er a sea of floating plumes. 
—Charles Graham Halpine. 
* 
As a variation from fried mush, try 
preparing it Italian fashion. Cut the 
cold mush into slices, as for frying, dot 
bits of butter over it, sprinkle it with 
grated cheese, and bake until a light 
brown. Serve grated cheese with it at 
table. 
* 
A Christmas pie of noble propor¬ 
tions is the one served at Howick Hall, 
Northumberland, England, when Lord 
Grey spends the festival at his ancestral 
home. The Howick Christmas pie is 
made according to a recipe some 150 
years old; it is a veritable giant among 
pies, being about nine feet in circum¬ 
ference, and weighing, it is said, about 
200 pounds. It is fitted into a wooden 
case upon four wheels, so that it can 
be wheeled about the table. According 
to the old recipe, the pie calls for sev¬ 
eral bushels of flour, 20 pounds of but¬ 
ter, four geese, two rabbits, six wild 
ducks, six woodcocks, a dozen snipe, 
three brace of partridges, two neats’ 
tongues, seven blackbirds, six pigeons 
and six curlews—certainly a noble dish 
to set before an earl. 
* 
We see some new and expensive hats 
trimmed with crocheted worsted flow¬ 
ers, made into wreaths, the material be¬ 
ing double zephyr. Roses and camellias 
made in this way have a fine wire run 
along the edge of the petal, so that it 
can be bent in any required shape. Small 
red zephyr pompons are used on chil¬ 
dren’s hats like wreaths of cherries, the 
little pompons being mounted on wire 
wound with brown zephyr. These 
worsted wreaths always remind us of 
old-fashioned tidies and wool mats, and 
it is a slight surprise to meet them in 
millinery. Buckles and other millinery 
ornaments are made of the zephyr 
worked over a foundation, and worsted 
embroideries are used in dress trim¬ 
mings. Where one has odd pieces of 
gimp or passementerie it is quite pos¬ 
sible to bring it up to date by working 
in some extra stitches of zephyr and em¬ 
broidery silk, thus introducing some de¬ 
sired color with good effect. 
* 
Corsage bouquets of artificial'flowers 
come in vogue every Winter, and while 
nothing equals nature in real charm, 
these imitation blossoms are very beau¬ 
tiful, and have the advantage of per¬ 
manence. They are expensive, being 
made up just as a florist would arrange 
the natural flowers, and tied with har¬ 
monizing ribbon. A bunch of violets 
costs from $1.50 to $2; a combination 
of violets with a spray of tuberoses in 
the center is $2.95. Gardenias cost from 
45 cents to $1.50, according to the size 
of the spray; an extra fine spray con¬ 
sisting of one fully open flower and a 
large bud, with an abundance of leaves, 
was $1.75. Orchids combined with lily 
of the valley make beautiful corsage 
bouquets, and are more expensive. Rib¬ 
bon flowers are also used for the cor¬ 
sage, to pin on the muff, and for hair 
ornaments, as well as in millinery. The 
little evening caps of lace, net or beaded 
and tinsel fabrics are often decorated 
with slender wreaths of tiny ribbon 
flowers. 
* 
At the country life conference re¬ 
cently held in Seattle, Wash., some ex¬ 
cellent things were said about the 
country church. Suggestions were made 
as to the methods by which the rural 
church could make a stronger impress 
upon the life of the community and be¬ 
come more helpful in its advancement. 
We think, however, we do not make our 
best progress by substituting the end 
for the means. Solidarity and brother¬ 
hood, an elevation of community ideals, 
do not come from turning the church 
into a social center, nor is the country 
pastor sure to meet the spiritual needs of 
his people merely because he has taken 
a short course in agriculture. There is 
something beyond all this—“the sub¬ 
stance of things hoped for, the evidence 
of things unseen.” We are still old- 
fashioned enough to think that there is 
a spiritual need underlying all the un¬ 
rest and dissatisfaction, and that the 
lack of real grip in many churches is 
not so much because the church is be¬ 
hind the times as because “the sheep 
look up and are not fed.” 
Christmas Doings of Our Neighbor¬ 
hood Club. 
It is really wonderful how much can 
be accomplished by cooperation, and our 
Neighborhood Club realizing there was 
something needed outside of our own 
individual homes, began to discuss 
ways and means of helping others. A 
Christmas tree calls for pretty show 
things, if given in public. We had no 
spare pennies for that. We decided to 
make a basket Christmas of it. Our 
merchant donated one dozen market 
baskets. We housewives ransacked our 
garrets for cast-off clothing; the best 
parts of all presentable material were 
cut out of worn garments, washed, 
sponged, pressed and some dyed. The 
material thus obtained was very good. 
First there was the Widow J., with a 
host of little fellows, shoeless, hatless 
and half-clad. Poor soul, she did her 
best, but bread was well nigh all she 
could keep, and that in no very gener¬ 
ous quantities. We all met together 
one evening and made a complete outfit 
for every member of the family, from 
undershirts cut down, to caps from the 
scraps of some old broadcloth and vel¬ 
vet coats. For Mrs. J. there were two 
whole suits; while not new, they were 
neatly mended, clean and ready for use. 
We wanted shoes but had not the means 
on hand to purchase them, so we de¬ 
cided to raise it. We divided the work, 
and one baked cakes, another pies, 
chicken, etc., for a supper. Our young¬ 
sters learned some new charades, reci¬ 
tations, and practiced until they consid¬ 
ered themselves perfect. We gave out 
the word for a supper, music and other 
entertainment, grown folks 25 cents, 
youngsters 10 cents, means to be used 
as the members of the Neighborhood 
Club desired. It was a success in every 
respect, and our profits were just even 
$35. 
Ten dollars went to Mrs. J. in shoes, 
Our next was a poor family, honest and 
hard-working, yet always living from 
hand to mouth, the children well nigh 
as needy as the others. We used the 
better portion of our odd stuff in fixing- 
up these, and added shoes to their out¬ 
fit, which left us with $12 and our 
dozen baskets full, with shoe boxes tied 
on every side. The younger members 
clamored to be heard as to the spend¬ 
ing of the last of our treasure. As 
their plan sounded feasible we older 
members gave way to them. Each one 
considered himself a self-appointed 
fairy to bring just what was most de¬ 
sired on Christmas night, to those who 
were not able to purchase for Santa 
Claus. Such quizzing, prying and peek¬ 
ing around! Such an odd assortment 
as the two buggies showed up on 
Christmas night, with a make-up Santa 
and black Dinah starting out! Books, 
pencils, candy, apples, oranges, dolls, 
gloves, shawls, express wagon, balls, 
marbles, horns, and for one wee girl 
a homemade crib to rock dolly in. The 
$12 was gone, also several large jars of 
cookies and a barrel of apples. Yet 
when our two Santas returned and told 
us, sometimes with laughter, and again 
with tears “they were ashamed of,” how 
our efforts were received, we felt amply 
repaid for all our labors. MRS. D. B. P. 
Another Dumb Waiter. 
In a recent issue some one asked for 
plans for a dumb waiter. The accom¬ 
panying crude drawing, Fig. 506, which, 
O 
A SIMPLE DUMB WAITER. Fig. 506 . 
by the way, is not drawn to a scale nor 
in exact proportion, will serve to illus¬ 
trate how our sliding cupboard from 
cellar to dining room is constructed. We 
put this in 10 years ago at a cost of 
about seven dollars, and it has proved 
to be the most satisfactory investment 
which we ever made. It comes up close 
to the dining table so that articles of 
food can be handed from the shelves di¬ 
rectly to the table, or back again after 
the meal is over. The cupboard itself 
is made of well-seasoned soft pine lum¬ 
ber, one inch thick. The top board, 
where the lifting ring is attached, is the 
upper flooring, which was carefully 
sawed out to make the opening through 
the floor, the lining being left to project 
about an inch (as shown at “1”) to 
form a jamb when the cupboard is 
shoved down level with the floor. The 
cupboard slides in four corner pieces 
fc c) made of inch strips nailed to¬ 
gether at right angles. A wire screen is 
tacked across the back of this frame 
and a screen door hung on the front 
side. The two sides of the cupboard 
(s s) are of course tight, so when it is 
in position jn the cellar the screens at 
front and back form a perfect protec¬ 
tion against flies and mice. Ten-inch 
pulleys are used (small pulleys work 
too hard) and are attached to the floor 
joints by set screws. The weights must 
be heavy enough merely to lift the cup¬ 
board when it is well loaded. If too 
heavy the cupboard will come up too 
swiftly, especially if the load is light, 
and will be hard to push down again. 
The ropes are attached at the bottom of 
the waiter, so that the two lower shelves 
cannot be raised to the level of the 
floor. We keep a few bricks in the bot¬ 
tom (b) to act as ballast when our pro¬ 
visions are low. All things considered, 
I think our dumb waiter is more satis¬ 
factory than one which could talk. 
c. s. M. 
DOLORES-CASH MERE 
Something new for Ladies’ and Misses’ Dresses. A 
high-grade goods at a iow price. Samples of 37 
different colors sent on receipt of 12c to cover labor 
9.ucl postage. Write to - ■ i % # y a ■■ 
day. A few openings for LIVE, AuClMTb 
Holbrook & White, 187(iW. 7th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 
R. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
Take Your Choice 
of these 
32 Special Books 
Let us show you free of all cost or obligation 
exactly how you can save money on everything 
you buy to eat or wear or use in any way. . 
Here are a number of the special books we 
Issue. In the entire list there may be but one 
or two or three that will interest you at this 
time. But by all means get that book or books 
in which you are interested. 
You owe it to yourself, to your family to at 
least investigate this big opportunity for saving. 
Check Over the List Now 
1 Paints 
5> Pianos 
3 Organs 
4 Trunks 
0 Roofing 
0 Vehicles 
7 Furniture 
8 Incubators 
9 Wall Paper 
10 Typewriters 
11 Grocery List 
12 Feed Cookers 
13 Tank Heaters 
14 Wire Fencing 
15 Carpets, Rugs 
16 Building Flans 
17 Baby Carriages 
18 Men’s Fur Coats 
19 Sewing Machines 
20 Gasoline Engines 
21 Cream Separators 
22 Building Material 
23 Stoves and Ranges 
24 Underwear Samples 
25 Antomobile Supplies 
26 Bicycles—Motorcycles 
27 Baby’s Dress and Toilet 
28 Women’s Tailored Suits 
30 Women's Fashion Book 
31 Raincoats—Mackintoshes 
33 Men’s Clothing 
34 Women’s Furs 
C._ J T«. Each of these books is nicely 
oena lO-Day: illustrated. The illustra¬ 
tions are true to life. The descriptions are abso¬ 
lutely accurate, and behind every articlo thero is an 
unconditional guarantee of satisfaction or money 
refunded. The titles of these various books tell you 
the nature of the contents. Pick out the book or 
books that interest you, write their number in the 
ooupon below and mail to us to-day. 
Sign and Mail Coupon NOW! 
MONTGOMERY WARD & CO. 
19th and Campbell Streets 
KANSAS CITY 
Chicago Avenue Bridge 
CHICAGO 
Please send to my address below books Nos. 
absolutely free of cost. 
Name . 
Post Office. 
State..... 
Send coupon to the address nearest you 
(f Maple ff Evaporators ~ 
Oar “Maple Evaporator’* Is the most durable and most 
economical on '.he market, only selected materials being 
used In in construction. Heavy east-iron frame, rein¬ 
forced sheet steel jacket, extra heavy specially rolled tin 
or galvanised Iron pans. 
Easily erected, uses very little fuel either 
wood or coal, works smoothly and evap¬ 
orates quickly, producing very fine sugar 
and syrup. Hundreds in use giving 
splendid service. Moderate in cost. 
We carry a full line of sugar camp sup¬ 
plies. 
McLane- 
Schank 
Hard¬ 
ware Co. 
Linesville 
Pa. 
A Reliable Water Supply System 
~ Have ‘Tunning water when and where 
you want it.” Pumped from stream, pond 
or spring- No expense tor power; no trouble; 
no repairs. Install it yourself, or we will 
install for you a 
FOSTER HIGH-DUTY RAM 
aii«t guarantee to put it in to your en¬ 
tire satisfaction, for a fixed sum, 
agreed upon in advance. No trouble 
* Or expense to maintain. Write us. 
Power Specialty Company 
Ill Broadway, Now York ' 
T YOUR IDEAS 
$8,500 offered for one invention. 
Book “How to Obtain a Patent" and 
What to Invent" sent free, bend rough 
sketch for free report as to patentability. 
Patents advertised for sale at our ex¬ 
pense in Manufacturers. Journals. 
Patent Obtained or Fee Returned 
CHANDLEE & CHANDLEE, Patent Att’ys 
Established 1G Years 
999 F. Street, Washington, D. C. 
The FARMER’S SON’S 
GREAT OPPORTUNITY 
Why wait for the old farm to become your In¬ 
heritances Begin now to prepare lor 
your future prosperity and Inde¬ 
pendence. A great opportunity 
awaits you in Manitoba, Sas¬ 
katchewan or Alberta, where you 
can secure a Free Homestead or 
buy land at reasonable prices. 
NOW’S THE TIME 
—not a year from no w,when land 
will be higher. The profits se¬ 
cured from the abundant 
Cropsof Wheat.Oats and Har¬ 
ley, as well as cattle raising are causinga 
_ Bteady advance in price. Government re- 
_, turns show that the number of settlers 
in Western Canada from tlie U. S. 
during the last year was upwards of 
125,000 and {migration is con¬ 
stantly increasing. 
Many farmers have paid for their 
land out of proceeds of one crop. 
Free Homesteadsof 160 acres and 
pre-emption of 160 acres at $6.00 
\ an acre. Splendid climate, good 
schools, excellent railway facilities, 
low freight rates; wood, water and 
lumber easily obtained. 
For pamphlet"l,astBestWest.’’particulars 
as to locations & settlers’ rate apply Supt. 
Immig., Ottawa, Can., or Can.Gov. Agt. 
J. S. CRAWFORD 
301 E. GENESEE STREET 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
rtpiEViraraMwi 
I r^ l V * Productive soil, mild climate, fine water, good roaiL 
|#V ■ close markets, unsurpassed school and social advantages’ 
SO FT If Fit V of J u ' v , nto for tho latest issue of •• TIIE 
YEARLY RAINES LL <45 INCHES 
