840 
THJS NEW-YORKER 
Woman and the Home 
From Day to Day 
DRIVING HOME THE COWS. 
Out of the clover and blue-eyed grass 
He turned them into the river lane; 
One after another he let them pass, 
And fastened the meadow bars again. 
Under the willows and over the hill 
He patiently followed their sober pace; 
The merry whistle for once was still, 
And something shadowed the sunny 
face. 
Only a boy ! and his father had said 
He never would let his youngest go; 
Two already were lying dead 
Under the feet of the trampling foe. 
But after the evening work was done, 
And the frogs were loud in the meadow 
swamp, 
Over his shoulder he slung his gun 
And stealthily followed the foot-path 
damp. 
Across the clover and through the wheat, 
With resolute heart and purpose grim, 
Though cold was the dew to the hurry¬ 
ing feet. 
And the blind bat’s flitting startled 
him. 
Thrice since then had the lane been 
white, 
And the orchards sweet with apple 
bloom ; 
And now, when the cows came home at 
night, 
The feeble father drove them home. 
For news had come to the lonely farm 
That three were lying where two had 
lain ; 
And the old man’s tremulous, palsied 
arm 
Could never lean on a son’s again. 
The Summer days grew cold and late, 
He went for the cows when the work 
was done; 
But down the lane, as he opened the 
gate, 
He saw them coming, one by one— 
Brindle, Ebony, Speckle and Bess, 
Shaking their horns in the evening 
wind; 
Cropping the buttercups out of the 
grass— 
But who was it following close behind? 
Loosely swung in the idle air 
The empty sleeve of army blue; 
And worn and pale, from the crisping 
hair 
Looked out a face that the father 
knew. 
For southern prisons will .sometimes 
yawn, 
And yield their dead unto life again; 
And the day that comes with a cloudy 
dawn 
In golden glory at last may wane. 
The great tears sprang to their meeting 
eyes; 
For the heart must speak when the 
lips are dumb, 
And under the silent evening skies 
Together they followed the cattle 
home. 
—Kate Putnam Osgood. 
* 
The New' York Public Library has 
quite an extensive library for the blind, 
and we are informed that local libraries 
in New York, New Jersey and Connecti¬ 
cut may borrow these books free of 
charge for the use of blind patrons. A 
small library can rarely afford books in 
the raised type, in view of their cost 
and the limited demand for them, and 
many of those who sit in darkness are 
denied the solace of reading because they 
have no means of procuring books in 
Braille or New York point. 
* 
This is the time to make or-ra-cur, 
one of the most delicious of preserves. It 
is many years since “Aunt Rachel,” a 
valued contributor no longer with us, 
sent this recipe, which has been repeated 
in our pages several times, and is still 
asked for by new readers. It calls for 
five pounds of red currants, stemmed, 
five pounds of sugar, juice and grated 
rind of three oranges, and one pound of 
raisins, stoned and chopped. Boil all 
together for 20 minutes, stirring and 
skimming carefully, then put away in 
jelly glasses. 
* 
Here is the New York Tribune’s re¬ 
cipe for making picnic or lawn party 
lemonade: Roll the lemons, and with a 
sharp knife peel the yellow part of the 
rinds; boil these rinds for twenty min¬ 
utes in sufficient water to cover them 
well. Strain into a jar through cheese¬ 
cloth, make a syrup by boiling this lemon 
water and granulated sugar together, us¬ 
ing one quart of the lemon water to 
every three and a half pounds of granu¬ 
lated sugar, boil until clear, and bottle. 
If you have not enough lemon water for 
the proportion of sugar needed use part 
clear water. Squeeze the lemons thor¬ 
oughly, using the pulp, and strain the 
juice and pulp through cheesecloth and 
bottle. To one measure of lemon juice 
add two measures of syrup and three 
measures of clear water; pour over block 
of ice in bowl. 
* 
The New York Commission for the 
Prevention of Blindness, investigating 
causes for loss of sight in this State, 
finds that during the past year four per¬ 
sons were killed and 14 blinded by drink¬ 
ing or by inhaling wood alcohol. An 
ordinance has been passed in this city 
compelling manufacturers of wood alco¬ 
hol to label the liquid “wood poison.” 
Many persons are not aware of the dan¬ 
gers of this spirit, but we cannot say too 
emphatically that it should never be pur¬ 
chased for domestic purposes, not even 
for outward application, as there is dan¬ 
ger in the fumes as well as the liquid 
itself. Wood alcohol has a groat and in¬ 
creasing place in mechanic arts, though 
even here certain precautions must be 
taken in its use, but its attendant dan¬ 
gers are too great for its introduction 
into the household. A momentary for¬ 
getfulness of its dangers may result in a 
lifetime of vain regret. 
* 
One of the prominent hair dealers to 
whom we applied for information about 
combings makes the sensible remark that 
combings are “sick hair.” There is some 
natural loss of hair at all times, but heavy 
and persistent loss means trouble, and 
is often the result of some debilitated 
condition of the body; in such cases mere 
local treatment of the scalp is not suffi¬ 
cient. The system must be built up, or 
the exciting cause removed. Falling 
hair often becomes excessive when there 
is some acute cause for mental worry or 
sorrow; it may follow some violent shock, 
and is often present in cases of neuras¬ 
thenia or nervous prostration. All these 
are cases where the cause must be treat¬ 
ed, and not merely the effect upon the 
hair. In ordinary cases of falling hair, 
careful brushing and massage will prove 
very beneficial. Every night careful, 
steady and prolonged brushing should be 
given. The old-fashioned prescription 
called for 200 strokes of the brush. In 
addition to this a tonic may be well 
rubbed in. We like bay rum and quinine, 
which may be bought ready prepared, or 
prepared at home or by a druggist, but 
we like to know what a hair tonic con¬ 
tains. Tincture of eantharides and spir¬ 
its of rosemary are used in many good 
tonics, and we also believe there is much 
virtue in old-fashioned sage tea. This 
is said, however, to darken the hair, so 
it should not be used on fair or golden 
locks. 
Rose Beads as a Home Industry. 
In recent issues of The R. N.-Y. I 
have been much interested in the articles 
on roses—especially about rose beads. 
Last Summer I started some beads just 
to see what they were like. When strung 
in a chain about 30 inches long with 
steel and pearl beads a lady offered me 
$5 for them. That was the starting 
point, and from then on I made them at 
intervals throughout the Summer and 
Fall. At the end of that time I had 
cleared within a few cents of $27. I 
charged $3 a string for a 15-inch chain, 
unless I put gilt beads with them, when 
I charged $3.50. That gives a large 
profit when one does not count the time 
spent. Some people preferred to string 
the beads themselves, and then I sold 
them for five cents apiece which is the 
price charged in California shops. 
I am writing this in hopes that some¬ 
one else living on a farm will try to 
make some pin-money, too. I had no 
trouble in selling them and I can hardly 
go away at all owing to being ill a great 
deal. I sold my beads just by showing 
them to my friends when they came call¬ 
ing. This year I am planning to make 
more beads than before, as 1 already 
have some orders. I might add, too, that 
from any greenhouse one can get the rose 
petals for nothing. (That has been my 
experience, at least.) I hope this will 
prove to the skeptical—and I was one 
last Summer—that a person can make 
pin-money even without leaving her 
home. c. n. 
The Rural Patterns. 
When ordering patterns always give 
number of pattern and measurement de¬ 
sired. 
The first group shows 7889 fancy 
blouse for misses and small women, 14, 
10 and IS years. 7887 fancy blouse, 34 
to 42 bust. 7834 tucked semi-princesse 
dress for misses and small women, 14, 
16 and 18 years. 7888 two-piece skirt, 
22 to 32 waist. 7507 four-piece skirt, 22 
to 32 waist. 
The second group includes 7806 middy 
blouse, 30 to 42 bust. 7S12A blouse coat 
in Balkan style, 34 to 40 bust. 7873 
semi-princesse gown, 34 to 44 bust. 7860 
gill’s dress, 10, 12 and 14 years. 437 em¬ 
broidery design. 7829 girl’s dress, 4 to 
8 years. Price of each pattern 10 cents. 
Pickled Beets. 
Would you kindly print a few recipes 
for pickling beets? u. s. 
For immediate use the beets are boiled 
until tender without peeling or breaking 
the skin, merely washing them and re¬ 
moving the tops, which, however, should 
not be cut level with the skin, about an 
inch in length being left on. This is so 
that the juice may be retained, to keep 
the dark red color. When tender the 
beets are peeled, left whole if small, but 
cut into slices if large; seasoned with 
pepper and salt, and covered with cold 
vinegar; horse-radish may be added if 
convenient, and this is considered to keep 
the beets free from mold or fermentation 
longer. Such beets are only meant for 
immediate consumption; they may be 
pickled for future use as follows: 
Select small new beets, and boil until 
tender; peel the skins off as soon as they 
are cool enough to handle, also cut off 
top and tail and pack in fruit jars; set 
July VI, 
aside and prepare your vinegar. It will 
not he necessary to heat the beets over 
again. Put as much vinegar over the 
fire as will be required to cover the beets; 
when this comes to a boil add a little 
sugar, according to taste. Let the vine¬ 
gar boil five minutes longer; pour over 
the beets piping hot and seal. A small 
piece of horseradish put into each jar 
will keep the white scum from forming 
on the top of the vinegar. 
Beet Sweet Pickle.—Boil till tender, 
then skin, and cut into slices or strips. 
Put in glass jars rather loosely, so that 
each piece will be surrounded by the 
pickle. To two quarts of vinegar add 
four pounds of brown sugar, and, when 
these are in the kettle, add a scant half¬ 
teaspoonful of pulverized alum. Use a 
porcelain-lined kettle for this liquid, and 
bring the contents to a boil. Skim care¬ 
fully, and then add to it a small cheese¬ 
cloth bag containing a teaspoonful each 
of whole peppercorns, allspice and cloves. 
Boil again, and add a little cayenne 
pepper and salt. Fill the jars to over¬ 
flowing with this liquid, and set aside 
over night. The next morning drain the 
beets, and bring the syrup again to a 
hard boil. Pour this again into the jars 
of beets, doing so while it is scalding hot. 
and filling each jar to overflowing. Seal 
immediately. 
Beets are also canned without vinegar 
as follows: Boil tender young beets as 
above; skin and pack into jars. Pour 
over them a syrup made of one cup of 
sugar in two quarts of water. The syrup 
is boiling hot when put over the beets, 
and the jars are sealed while very hot. 
►Some cook the beets again in steamer or 
kettle after the jars are filled, others seal 
at once. We think the processing would 
insure keeping. When the beets are used 
the syrup is poured off and they are pre¬ 
pared just like fresh beets. 
Polishing Brass. 
Will you tell me of something that is 
good to clean brass with, such as beds, 
lamps and so forth, that will not injure 
them in any way? g. m. 
There are many good brass polishes on 
the market, most of them composed in 
part at least of rotten-stone (tripoli) 
and oil. This old-fashioned combination 
is still the best thing to use, though sift¬ 
ed bath brick and water is also good. 
Oxalic acid (highly poisonous) is used 
also, and is excellent to clean badly dis¬ 
colored brass, but it must be rinsed or 
rubbed off completely, or green salts will 
form. Brass cleaned with acid tarnishes 
more quickly than when rotten-stone is 
used. Small spots may be removed with 
lemon juice or vinegar and salt; we use 
this to remove verdigris. An occasional 
rubbing with kerosene will brighten 
brass, and many use kerosene with sifted 
bath brick or rotten-stone. Brass bed¬ 
steads are often lacquered, and of course 
in this case they hold their brightness, 
and should only be rubbed with a soft 
cloth, or lukewarm soap and water, fol¬ 
lowed by drying, may be resorted to to 
remove fly specks or other disfigure¬ 
ments. 
More About Rose Beads. 
“When the roses bloom again” we are 
going to make rose beads from the petals. 
We made some last year and had them 
ready for Christmas gifts; they were 
very sweet. We gathered the rose petals 
all colors (the dark are best), the fresher 
the better, though I did not take the very 
newest blossoms. We gx'ound them 
through the food chopper about 20 times. 
We did not grind them all the first day. 
but ground until tired, then set them 
away in an old iron kettle until the next 
day. When we had finished grinding 
them we took the pulpy mass and fried 
it in vaseline a few moments. By this time 
they are real black. Put vaseline in to keep 
the mass soft enough to make into balls; 
the vaseline seems to make them blacker 
and shinier, so put in all you need. Roll 
them into balls as large again as you 
wish them, for they shrink. String them 
on hatpins or wire. I left mine in a 
covered box on the wires and pins all 
Summer, then strung them with gold 
beads alternately. 
HELEN SOUTH WORTH. 
Chap about to wed was nervous; 
To the young best man he cried: 
“Tell me, is it kisstomary 
For the groom to cuss the bride?” 
—Woman’s Home Companion. 
