0OO 
Woman and the Home 
From Day to Day 
RAINY WEATHER. 
Up comes Bouncing Bet again, 
Pink and lusty in the lane. 
Tansy’s odor keener is 
Than all incense-mysteries. 
<)h, the trees— 
IIow they strain 
In the driven windy rain! 
All the marsh-grass bows its head, 
All the tide-ways blur and spread, 
And the bay 
Is as gray 
As the roof o’ the miller’s shed. 
Up the hill I run, together 
With the wet and windy weather. 
Hair in eyes and dripping cheek 
(Oh, how cool and soft and sleek 
Is the hand-touch of the rain!) 
Bet and I bounce up the lane. 
There the Dead Folk’s decent rows 
Flank me, and the church upstands 
With its high gray shoulders, close 
On the Dead Folk’s silent lands. 
Oh, the trees 
How they strain ! 
Writhe and reach and fear the rain! 
Bet and I bounce up the lane. 
All the houses’ eyes are shut. 
Still are they as Dead Folk. But 
Here a face, and there a bloom 
Nodding scarlet to the gloom 
Say the Dead alone do lie 
On the hill, against the sky. 
Oh, the wind, the driven rain ! 
How the silver poplars strain ! 
How the world seems wide and low 
As along the line 1 blow, 
All alone, and glad to be 
For a little. Beat on me, 
Wild wet weather! Strike me, wind! 
Flare my brown cape out behind— 
Winged as a gull I fly 
All alone beneath the sky. 
Oh, the trees, 
How they strain ! 
How they clamor and complain! 
Reckless in the sea-tinged rain, 
Bet and I bounce up the lane. 
—Fannie Stearns Davis, in the Atlantic. 
* 
Turkish paste or Turkish delight is a 
simply-made confection that is generally 
liked. Soak two level tablespoonfuls of 
powdered gelatine in half a cup of cold 
water until the water is absorbed. Then 
add two cupfuls of granulated sugar and 
boil gently for 20 minutes, taking care 
that it does not scorch. Remove from 
fire, flavor, and color if desired with veg¬ 
etable coloring; pour into a pan about 
an inch deep, that has been moistened 
first with cold water. When cold cut 
into squares, and dust with powdered 
sugar. 
* 
Reading that famous old classic, De 
Quincey’s “Confessions of an English 
Opium Eater,” we notice his eloquent de¬ 
scription of the horrors of toothache, 
“that terrific curse,” as he calls it. He 
speaks of it as an inevitable form of suf¬ 
fering, only to be relieved by opiates, and 
makes it the original cause of his drug- 
haunted years. We know now that a 
great part of such suffering can be en¬ 
tirely prevented, and the worst of it re¬ 
lieved, not by dangerous drugs, but by 
proper care of the teeth from infancy. 
Let us remember that the care must be¬ 
gin with the child’s life. The baby’s 
mouth must be kept clean; the tiny first 
teeth must have a soft brush, and if 
cavities come prematurely in the little 
first teeth they should have a soft filling. 
Close watch should be kept of the teeth 
after any childish ailment; such eruptive 
diseases as measles or scarlet fever often 
affect dental enamel seriously, but the 
trouble may be remedied very materially 
by the use of milk of magnesia as a 
mouth wash. The child’s food must in¬ 
clude a sufficient allowance of bone- 
formers to help out the teeth, and there 
should also be enough “chewable” food, 
such as crusts or hard crackers. A per¬ 
sistent use of soft food, and a deficiency 
of bone formers, with an excess of starch, 
give a child a wrong start in life, and 
often lay the foundations for both de¬ 
fective digestion and defective teeth. 
* 
Recently the first International Ex¬ 
hibition of the Moving Picture Arts was 
held in this city. One interesting point 
dwelt upon at this exhibition was the 
fact that moving pictures are taking the 
place of the saloon as “the poor man’s 
club.” Last year 3,600,000,000 people 
visited moving pictures in this country. 
When a poor man, who formerly might 
have spent his nickel for a single glass of 
THE RURAL N EW-YORKER 
August 2, 
beer and a few minutes’ conversation, 
can, for the same sum, see travel, adven¬ 
ture, humor and melodrama, it is not 
surprising that he chooses “the movies.” 
The good work already done in censoring 
crude or vulgar suggestions of crime may 
be extended much further. We think 
that anyone with a propaganda to bring 
before the people could not choose a bet¬ 
ter vehicle than moving pictures. One 
of our friends who thinks that Americans 
are beginning to lose their grip upon the 
real things of patriotism is trying to em¬ 
body his ideas for the betterment of the 
nation in moving pictures. We have 
wondered sometimes whether farm organ¬ 
izations could not use something of this 
kind to bring before them the life of their 
fellow-workers in this country and 
others. Why shouldn't all those official 
and unofficial uplifters who are now 
turning their energies to the farm use 
this vehicle to embody their ideas, or 
again, are there not plenty of ways in 
which the Grange could use it? It would 
be more interesting than many eloquent 
speeches that are “tried out” upon the 
farmers. 
Softening Hard Water. 
Is there some soap or compound that 
can be used in washing in hard water 
that would not injure the materials 
washed? I am using hard water just at 
present, and would like to find something 
that would make the washing of the 
dishes and clothes a little easier. 
L. E. s. 
“Hard” water, which is wasteful of 
soap and annoying to use, contains an 
excess of mineral salts, some of which 
form new chemical combinations when 
■oap is decomposed by the water. Much 
of the soap is thus rendered insoluble, 
and deposited on the surface of articles 
with which it is brought in contact. A 
chemical expert calculates that the waste 
of soap thus induced where such hard 
water is used might amount to between 
$5 and $10 annually, in a family of five 
persons. 
When the hardness is due to calcium 
carbonate it may be remedied by boiling, 
which precipitates the lime and drives off 
the carbon dioxide. The same result is 
obtained by adding sal-soda or ammonia 
to the water. This is called “temporary” 
hardness, but “permanent” hardness, 
caused by sulphates of lime and mag¬ 
nesia, is not removed by boiling or the 
addition^ of an alkali. It is, however, 
greatly improved by soda or caustic soda, 
especially if the soda is stirred in and 
allowed to stand, or added while boiling. 
In many places where the water is very 
hard it is the custom to use rain water 
for laundry and personal bathing, the 
hard well or city water being reserved for 
cooking and drinking, but where city 
water is very hard it is often treated at 
the water-works with slaked lime, before 
it is delivered to the consumer, this caus¬ 
ing the precipitation of some minerals, 
and thus “softening” the water. “Tempo¬ 
rary” hardness is often helped by draw¬ 
ing the water and letting it stand for 
several hours. We think some of 
the precautions suggested will be help¬ 
ful, though permanent hardness is one 
of the most objectionable features of any 
water supply. 
Five New Fudges. 
Since a happy experiment discovered 
fudge to a nation of sweet-lovers, many 
and delicious have been the variations of 
this popular candy. Simpler to make 
than the creams and more satisfying than 
the brittles, children everywhere love to 
experiment with new forms of this candy. 
Doubtless many will welcome the fol¬ 
lowing, which so far have been little 
known: 
Marshmallow Fudge.—Cook together 
two cupfuls granulated sugar, two ounces 
bitter chocolate and one-half cupful of 
sweet cream, or milk to which is added 
a teaspoonful of butter. When it forms 
a soft ball in cold water remove from 
fire, add one-half pound of the best 
marshmallows and beat briskly until it 
stiffens. Pour into buttered plates, and 
when cool mark into squares. 
Sea-foam Fudge.—Put two cupfuls of 
light brown sugar and one cupful of thin 
cream into a saucepan; boil together un¬ 
til it can be moulded into a ball in water, 
but not to the brittle stage. Have ready 
one egg-white beaten until stiff and dry, 
over which pour the boiling syrup, beat¬ 
ing constantly. Add any preferred fla¬ 
voring and continue beating until stiff. 
Drop on buttered plates in teaspoonful 
portions, giving each candy a pointed 
look. 
Frosted Fudge.—Cook to the soft ball 
stage three cupfuls of sugar, one cupful 
of milk (or water) and two squares of 
chocolate. Remove from fire and add one 
tablespoonful of butter and one teaspoon¬ 
ful vanilla; beat until thick and creamy, 
and turn into a candy box, which has 
been lined with oiled paper. Set the box 
just inside the oven, or where it will 
keep warm. Now boil together two cup¬ 
fuls sugar (white) and one-half cupful 
milk. Remove and add one tablespoon¬ 
ful butter and beat until creamy. Pour 
this white candy over the chocolate mix¬ 
ture in the oven, and set aside to cool. 
Break down sides of candy box, and cut 
candy in. thick slices, dividing slices into 
squares as desired. 
Maple-cream Fudge.—To one cupful 
maple syrup allow one and one-half cup¬ 
fuls light brown sugar and half a cupful 
of sour cream. Boil gently. When done 
according to the usual test beat with a 
fork until cold. Nuts may be added if 
desired. 
Mexican Fudge.—Boil together two 
cups sugar (white or brown) and one cup 
milk to soft ball stage. Into another 
saucepan put one cupful sugar and allow 
to melt, cooking to the caramel stage; 
that is browned, but not burned. Add 
slowly to the other mixture, beating 
briskly until the caramel is dissolved. 
When creamy add one cupful chopped 
pecan meats (or a mixture of nuts will 
do). When cold cut in squares. 
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Cleansing Smoked Portieres; Trouble 
With Pickles. 
1. Is there any way of cleaning smoky 
chenille portieres? 2. How can I test 
vinegar for pickles? Last Fall the vine¬ 
gar was very strong. I weakened it as 
much as I dared, but soon a thick coat¬ 
ing of “mother” formed, which was re¬ 
moved. This was repeated three or four 
times, and the pickles began to grow soft. 
New vinegar was necessary with the 
same result of “mother” forming; how¬ 
ever, the pickles were saved. J. L. M. 
We are unable to help this inquirer as 
to the chenille curtains, and would like 
to hear from those who have had experi¬ 
ence. We once tried washing smoky and 
dusty portieres in warm soapsuds, but the 
colors ran badly. We think a vacuum 
cleaner should be used first, if possible, 
because the curtains are sure to be very 
dusty, and benzine, ether or chloroform 
would seem the proper cleansing medium. 
Who can tell us how to do this? 
2. It is always unwise to dilute vine¬ 
gar for pickles. Even when it seems 
very strong, it loses strength afterwards, 
because there is some dilution by the vege¬ 
table juices and some of the vinegar solids 
are removed by absorption. We do not 
think there is much likelihood of any do¬ 
mestic or commercial cider vinegar being 
too strong for pickles. The statement about 
the “mother” sounds as if it were on top 
of the pickles. If so it was evidently a 
mould growth rather than the true 
“mother of vinegar.” We think that if 
you leave the vinegar undiluted, and 
preferably scalded, you will have little 
trouble. 
Smoking Fish. 
Would you give me a recipe or formula 
for smoking or curing bluefish or weak- 
fish? L. M. n. 
We have never met with smoked blue- 
fish or weakfish; herrings, mackerel and 
haddock are the sorts commonly smoked 
along the Atlantic coast. Indeed, we 
should be very cautious in attempts to 
preserve bluefish, for it deteriorates in 
quality more rapidly than any other fish 
we know, and if stale may cause serious 
ptomaine poisoning. The following re¬ 
cipe for smoking herrings may be used 
for other fish: 
Scale and split fish, but do not remove 
heads. Remove gills and intestines. 
Make a brine of 20 parts salt to 100 
parts water, and add to it one-tenth 
ounce of acetate of soda to each quart. 
Soak the cleaned herrings in this brine 
for 30 minutes. Remove and flatten and 
hang in a current of dry air, drying them 
as quickly as possible. When dried well 
bang in a smoke-house until they are a 
bright golden color—from 12 to 14 hours. 
Store in a dry dark room, or pack in 
boxes in dry wood ashes. 
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