19 i 2. 
103 
RANCH LIFE IN COLORADO. 
: 
On the plains of eastern Colorado it 
was a white, cold Christmas; crops were 
poor the past season, owing to lack of 
rain, but those living in the sand dis¬ 
tricts cut considerable hay, which 
brought good prices, although in many 
cases they had to draw it 20 miles or 
more. There were also streaks where 
rain came in time to save the corn. But 
there are many living on homesteads far 
from town who will see hard times. Be¬ 
fore Christmas one very cold stormy 
day a man passed our house with a few 
bales of hay in his wagon, a poor team 
of horses, and he seemed not properly 
clothed for the cold weather. No doubt 
the hay was to get some little gifts for 
the children away out on the homestead, 
and perhaps a sack of flour. The houses 
are usually of two rooms; a few have 
more, and occasionally one with room 
in plenty and modern conveniences, where 
ample of means are brought with them 
from the East. The farmer’s wife and 
children are deprived of many comforts, 
but as a rule they are brave and work 
every way to keep the home going until 
a crop can be raised. All the Summer 
and Fall up to the time when snow 
comes they pick “cow chips” to burn, 
going over the ranges, making little piles 
of them and then with horse and wagon 
or even hand sleds or wheelbarrows get¬ 
ting them to the house. They make a 
quick fire, but do not give out much 
beat. This dry air and sunshine dries 
the manure very soon. 
The cow and hen is much in evidence 
here on the plains, and keeps the wolf 
from the door many times. Twenty 
miles from town and railroad you will 
find the cream separator where butter 
is made and brought into town every 
Saturday if weather permits. These 
homesteads are far apart where they 
have 320 acres, often two and three 
miles from neighbors, but they seem to 
get together and have neighborhood 
gatherings nearly every week. They 
bundle up the babies and all go. Danc¬ 
ing, visiting and a simple lunch of coffee 
and cakes is the rule. “I don’t care so 
much for the dancing as I do to see 
some one and visit,” said a young 
mother. Then it is the isolation from 
friends and society is felt. I often see 
a woman pass our house driving an old 
plug of a team, sitting on a board in 
lumber wagon, a whip in one hand to 
keep the horses on the move, and a baby 
in her arms, a cream can in the wagon. 
I have often wondered how many miles 
she came and what her life must be. 
That cream meant much to her and hers 
no doubt. A nice little creamery is in 
town, and they pay cash for all cream 
brought in, which is a great help to the 
surrounding country. Schools are not 
frequent, and many children never go to 
school at an early age unless the par¬ 
ents move into town for the Winter, 
which many do. 
In many cases the cows run on the 
range and it is the chore of the boy, if 
there is one, to find them and get them 
home for milking. There is generally a 
pony or small horse that has a saddle 
on its back most of the day and perhaps 
far into the night. These tough wiry 
little beasts are a marvel of endurance, 
and their knowledge of how and what 
to do is wonderful. No one can make 
me believe horses do not think; some 
more than others, like us humans. A 
great quantity of mail comes into our 
post office. There are no rural routes 
and people get their mail 20 or more 
miles out. Packages of papers and 
magazines are sent to the high school 
and post office to be given to those who 
wish the reading. They are often old 
but good. We got a package which 
contained 11 Saturday Evening Posts 
and one Collier’s Weekly; some were 
1910 and others 1911 issues. People in 
town who take them send them in to 
be given away. A neighbor whose hus¬ 
band works in the railroad shops in 
Denver sends her every week a large 
package of all sorts of magazines and 
papers which are left in the cars and 
picked up by the porters and brakemen. 
The family read them and then send 
them out for others to read. Can you 
imagine the comfort and pleasure such 
a lot of" reading gives one so isolated 
away out on the plains in Winter time? 
It is no light trashy reading, but the 
leading magazines of the day,. As one 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
woman said. “I am glad to get them mentation, such as could bo producod only 
r , , .. , , i by veast. will soon sot in.. Such jeast is 
for the childrens sake; they pore over k ' no ^ n as « w iid yeast,” and all yeasts have 
them for hours, looking at the pictures been cultivated from it. The oldest method 
and making up stories about them, and growing yeast is, perhaps, that used b\ 
, T f .. . , j the Egyptians. A little wild yeast was ob- 
when I get time to read a little it does tained and se t in dough, a portion of which 
me good to get my mind in other direc- was saved from the baking; there it went 
tions and something to think about.” on developing-_as long as materials held 
& out. and thus the bit of dough or leaven 
These people could never pay the prices contained so much yeast that a little of it 
of Harper’s, Scribner’s, Review of Re- would leaven the whole loaf. It was such 
views, Centurv, etc., but coming as they leaven as this which the Israelites luul not 
, ,-r. , , . . j time to put into their bread when they 
do it is an uplift to a higher life, and were brought out of the land of Egypt. A 
the good will never be known. microscopical examination was recently 
V r nnv vontio* women have tatren home— made of some bread over foul thousand 
Alany young women nave taken nome- fom . hundrod ycars o]d> found in Egypt, 
steads here and are living on them. In w i t h other remains of a long-vanished pco- 
the Fall I often saw two of them pass pie. It was made of barley, and the dead 
on horseback onino- to town for mail yeast cells were plainly visible. A similar 
on norsenack going to town tor man, procpss of raigi ng bread with “leaven” is 
and I learned they lived 1- miles out. s tin carried on in some regions of Europe. 
In this district 320 acres can be home- The “wet yeast” or "potato yeast,” so com- 
steaded, and these women have a little S k ^ w ““S 
house or shack, as they call them, US- wild yeast wu cultivated in a decoction 
ually two rooms. A chicken house is of hops or potato and water, and some of 
erne nf the first “must beve« ” n well rmt the material thus obtained was mixed with 
one ot the first must naves, a well put the dough . The « barms » so much used in 
down and some fencing done. I wo Scotland are made by letting yeast grow 
women (sisters) school teachers came in malt extract and flour. Brewers’ and 
from Kansas a few weeks nan to visit distillers’ yeasts are taken from the vats in 
irom ivansas a row weeks ago to visit w i dc h malt extract has been fermenting. 
an uncle here, and were so pleased with Compressed yeast is made with yeast taken 
the country and clim&te that they each from distillers’ wort, washed in cold water. 
tnnk Vfl acre homesteads 12 nr more and further leaned by being passed 
took AU aue nomesteaas iz 01 more through silk or wire sieves or bv precipi- 
miles from town. It is in the sand dis- tation. It is then pressed, cut into cakes, 
trict, and they contemplate fencing it an <t done up ii tinfoil. When fresh it bc- 
nnd start,’no- in cattle Tt is a wild free comes firm, nwMst, and of a light, creamy 
ana stalling in cattle. It is a wild tree color throughout. On account of its mois- 
life. and one young in years with a little ture, it soon decomposes unless it is kept 
capital will make a success if water can in a c ° o1 place. Dry yeasts are prepared 
i : 0 by mixing fresh yeast with flour, meal, or 
be btained of a good quality, which is s ^ ;ai . c b ) pressing the mixture into little 
not always the case. It is often so hitter cakes, and then drying them. Without 
that stock will not drink it unless forced moisture the yeast cells must remain in¬ 
to and then nerhans it nnw their activc ’ ami well-made dry yeast should 
to. and tnen pernaps it causes tneit ko0 p f 01 . a ] on g time. The strength of any 
death. It is what they call here gyp and yeast depends on the care with which it is 
alkali; away from the vallevs it is not made and preserved. Ordinary liquid 
r .i . 1 , yeasts are likely to be full of the bacteria 
found so much. Mam have to draw which set up lactic or other fermentations 
water for household use for miles after in the bread and give it * disagreeable 
they have put down several wells and taste and odor. They are very susceptible 
cotild not get good water. The snow -ways be relied on. Compressed and dry 
that covers Colorado like a white yeasts, if carefully made, are more uniform 
in strength and composition than such 
liquid yeast. 
blanket will be a great help to the house¬ 
wife, as it can be melted. We have no _ 
frost on our windows, although it has Cercaline Pud ding.-Pour one quart of 
been 24 degrees below zero; the air is scalded milk on two cupfuls 0 f cerealine; 
so dry that one does not feel the cold add one _] ia if CU pful of molasses, one 
1a ”! m 0 (an1 P c j I T iate u ’'f.. In ^ cau " teaspoonful of salt and one and a half 
tiful Colorado s sunshine and life-giving tablespoon fills of butter. Pour into but 
oir iidc rDrnrDTrr.- r' TnTT'\Tcn'\T . ... ,,, . 
air. 
MRS. FREDERICK C. JOHNSON. 
An Oregon Reader on Old-Fashioned 
Yeast. 
You cannot make the genuine article 
unless you have a neighbor from whom 
you can get a “starter,” but the follow¬ 
ing is a very good substitute. Boil and 
mash thoroughly three medium-sized po¬ 
tatoes; add to this one heaping table¬ 
spoonful salt and two of sugar, three 
tablespoon fids of strong hop tea. a quart 
of warm water and a yeast cake pre¬ 
viously soaked. Keep in a glass jar with 
top laid on loosely in a place not too 
warm or too cold. In the evening be¬ 
fore you wish to make bread, for each 
quart of sponge needed cook and mash 
three medium-sized potatoes, add heap¬ 
ing tablespoon salt and two of sugar 
and one quart of warm water, also the 
quart of “starter;” set in a warm place 
over night. Notice that no flour is 
added. In the morning air bubbles 
should rise to the top when disturbed. 
Stir up well, take out about one quart 
to keep for “starter” next time. Pour 
the rest into pan of flour, stir and knead 
into loaf. Let stand till it rises to twice 
its own bulk, then form into loaves with 
very little kneading, let rise and bake. 
If kept warm all through the process 
you will have a sweet, nutty-flavored, 
light bread. 
The advantage of the genuine “old- 
fashioned starter” over this one is that 
it, with proper care will keep indefinitely, 
while this one will run out in a few 
weeks and you will have to “start” over 
again. A little hop tea added every 
third or fourth baking will help keep it 
longer. The oftener you bake the more 
active it will be. By the way, can any 
of The R. N.-Y. readers tell how the 
first “starter” was “started”? Out here 
in Oregon they say a woman brought it 
from Holland. But where did she get 
it? Well, although its origin is a mys¬ 
tery, there is no doubt about its making 
excellent bread with little work and 
worry, for it will stand considerable 
abuse and yet come out all right. Hope 
you can find a neighbor who can give 
you a real “starter,” but if not I hope 
you will succeed with the substitutes. 
If you were my neighbor I would gladly 
give you a “starter” from mine; I have 
used it nearly two years and had good 
success with it. mrs. geo. s. sheppard. 
R. N.-Y.—Regarding the origin of 
yeast or starter, the following quotation 
is from Farmers’ Bulletin 389, “Bread 
and Bread Making”: 
Yeast is literally as old as the hills. It 
must be present in the atmosphere, for if a 
dish of malt extract, originally free from 
yeast, be exposed to the air, alcoholic fer- 
tered pudding dish and bake one hour in 
a slow oven. Serve with cream. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
It. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
SURPRISED DOCTOR 
Illustrating the Effect of Food. 
The remarkable adaptability of Grape- 
Nuts food to stomachs so disordered 
that they will reject everything else, is 
illustrated by the case of a woman in 
Racine, Wis. 
“Two years ago,” she says, “I was 
attacked by a stomach trouble so seri¬ 
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take much of any sort of food. Even 
the various kinds prescribed by the 
doctor produced most acute pain. 
“We then got some Grape-Nuts food, 
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“When the doctor heard of it he told 
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“But to his surprise (and that of 
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till, after some weeks, my stomach, en- 
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“My nerves, which had become so 
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I appreciate most gratefully and thank¬ 
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to answer any letters inquiring as to 
my experience.” Name given by Pos¬ 
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