©40 
August 16, 
Woman and the Home 
From Day to Day 
THE QUIET NIGHTS. 
Unmindful of my low desert 
Who turn e’en blessings to my hurt, 
God sends me graces o’er and o’er 
More than the sands on the seashore. 
Among the blessings He doth give. 
My starveling soul that she may live, 
I praise Him for my nights He kept 
And all the quiet sleep I slept, 
Since I was young who now grow old; 
For all those nights of heat, of cold, 
I slept the sweet hours through, nor 
heard 
Even the call of the first bird— 
Nights when the darkness covered me 
In a great peace like a great sea, 
With waves of sweetness, who should lie 
Wakeful for mine iniquity; 
Cool nights of fragrance, dripping sweet, 
After the sultriness of heat. 
Amid gray meadows drenched with dew, 
Sweet was the sleep my eyelids knew. 
—Katharine Tynan. 
* 
Pickled nasturtium seeds are used in 
salads and sauce as a substitute for 
capers, and as a garnish. Young and 
tender seeds should be gathered, with 
about half an inch of stem left on, then 
put to soak 4S hours in cold salted water, 
not brine. Drain, cover for about two 
hours with clear cold water, then pack 
in small bottles, and cover with scalding 
vinegar. Seal tight and keep in a cool 
dark place. 
* 
Poached eggs may be varied by sprink¬ 
ling a little grated cheese over them just 
before serving. Sometimes the eggs are 
put for a few minutes into the oven, un¬ 
til the cheese melts, but this may set the 
eggs a little too hard. Poached eggs on 
toast, sprinkled with grated cheese, and 
with a thick savory tomato sauce poured 
around them are very appetizing and nu¬ 
tritious. 
* 
Separate skirts are said to be coming 
more into favor again, and a number of 
models are offered for Fall use. Most 
of them have draped effects; some have 
panels in the back, occasionally laid in 
pleats. These skirts are narrow, but not 
so extreme as they have been; the mate¬ 
rials include familiar woolen goods, vel¬ 
vet and charmeuse. A separate skirt is 
a very great convenience; the vogue of 
the one-piece dress has kept it in the 
background for a time, but it is too use¬ 
ful to be given up. It is unwise to wear 
the skirt belonging to a jacket suit 
around the house, unless it is a well- 
worn suit soon to be retired. Nothing so 
quickly spoils the suit for outdoor use 
as the habit of giving the skirt this extra 
tfrear. It is sure to be in need of press¬ 
ing when one is specially anxious for the 
jacket suit to look well, and there is 
always the risk of spots and stains when 
worn about the house. There is real 
economy in the separate skirt. 
* 
The liquid preparations of collodion 
used to paint a skin over cuts and 
scratches are very useful, especially for 
healing a hangnail, but they are not 
always advisable. One of our friends 
scraped the skin off her elbow in a fall, 
which caused a bad bruise. The place 
was painted over with one of these sub¬ 
stances, giving an impervious surface. 
The injury began to suppurate, and as 
there was no opportunity for free dis¬ 
charge, a very painful condition resulted, 
causing a septic infection that induced 
great pain, and needed skilled medical 
attention. The doctor asserted that the 
impervious covering of the wound was 
the chief cause of the trouble, which, if 
merely bathed in an antiseptic lotion, and 
left uncovered, would have healed by the 
first intention. Medical science nowa¬ 
days takes nature into partnership, and 
gives air and sunlight an opportunity to 
aid; a radical change from the old idea 
that excluding the air was the first re¬ 
quisite for all injuries. 
* 
The New York Medical Journal says 
that “improvement in the general appear¬ 
ance has a profound psychic influence, 
not only directly through the stimulation 
of the sense of pride in appearance, but 
indirectly through the flattering com¬ 
ments which it arouses.” They there¬ 
fore urge old men especially to be careful 
in dress, and to use sensible hygienic 
THE NEW-YORKER 
precautions that will improve the ap¬ 
pearance, and thus increase efficiency. 
There is no doubt that personal appear¬ 
ance not only impresses others, but re¬ 
acts on the individual. A woman whose 
thronging duties seem to leave no time 
for pei-sonal adornment, or even for taste¬ 
ful neatness, not only feels herself to be 
a drudge, but conveys that impression to 
everyone about her. In one of his jungle 
stories, Kipling tells of a lonely English¬ 
man, isolated among woodsmen and hunt¬ 
ers, and many days’ journey from the 
nearest white face. He is absolutely cut 
off from all we call civilization, but he 
never omits changing to evening clothes 
for dinner, because he feels that if he 
does he. will begin to “let go,” and de¬ 
generate into semi-savagery. Many a 
woman, cut off from her friends by the 
exactions of endless toil on some lonely 
farm, displays just the same spirit, and 
puts on a clean white apron and a fresh 
cotton gown, no matter how scant her 
leisure, that she may at least hearten 
herself as well as her family by her trim 
neatness. Tidiness is a tonic, and any¬ 
one who says she has no time for it is 
losing something more important than 
she dreams. 
A Homemade Shower Bath. 
A shower bath in a corner of the barn 
will not only be a great comfort to the 
farm workers, but will also lessen work 
in the house. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 
270, issued by the National Department 
A HOMEMADE SHOWER BATH. 
of Agriculture, pictures the homemade 
shower bath shown in the accompanying 
figure. It calls for enough pipe to con¬ 
nect the main pipe of the stock tank, a 
stop-cock, a box supported on brackets, 
lined or not, as seems best, and a per¬ 
forated pipe for the shower. Either a 
rubber or slat mat is arranged to stand 
on, and there should be some outlet from 
the floor for the surplus water to drain 
away. Such a shower would be the 
height of luxury to tired and dusty work¬ 
ers, and will do much to relieve them 
from the serious charge of “tracking dirt 
into a clean kitchen.” 
The Lavender Crop. 
Lavender is not, as yet, cultivated on 
a commercial scale in any part of Amer¬ 
ica, although the demand for it is far 
above the supply. The plant possesses 
stimulant qualities and is widely used 
in medicine both as a tonic and nerve 
stimulant. The curative effect of laven¬ 
der salts is generally known. The dried 
stems and leaves burned in a room purify 
the air. It is a protection against 
moths. What a contrast in the perfume 
it would leave in your Winter clothing, 
and the common, yet awful, moth-ball 
smell! The oil of lavender is so widely 
required in the making of many other 
perfumes that its production for that 
alone would be profitable. For this oil, 
cut in early blossom, in clear weather, 
before the dew is off the blooms and 
distil at once. The source of the oil is 
from the blossom and seed, but every 
part of the plant is full of the delicious 
perfume, which is very lasting; in fact, 
it is doubtful if the fragrance would 
ever entirely leave the dried stems. Save 
every bit of stem, leaf, blossom and seed, 
as they can all be made of some use. 
Lavender is one of the easiest plants 
to raise with us here in Oregon, as it 
will grow readily from seeds, cuttings 
or divided roots. It is very responsive to 
little attention; in fact, a well-rooted 
lavender plant is seldom affected by any¬ 
thing detrimentally, cold, heat, too much 
or no water at all, will not destroy the J 
bush, but on the contrary it will live 
through the neglect of years and con¬ 
tinue giving a generous harvest of blos¬ 
soms. However, plenty of water when 
the plant begins to bloom, will produce 
longer stems and larger blossom spikes. 
It grows best in a dry, light, sandy soil 
and requires little or no fertilizer. 
Notwithstanding all the various uses 
to which lavender has been and may be 
applied, its general popularity as a per¬ 
fume, its extensive use as a medicine, the 
ease with which it is grown, yet it is 
scarce and high priced, so much so that 
seeds similar in shape and size are per¬ 
fumed and sold by druggists as the real 
article. It seems to me the growing of 
lavender, commercially, could be made 
a great money-making possibility for 
women. Several dozen good cuttings 
once rooted in a few feet of ground, and 
she could go about her regular w T ork 
while waiting for them to grow. Cut¬ 
tings started in the Spring will bloom 
some the following Summer. It gen¬ 
erally begins to bloom in July and is at 
its best until September. The plants 
will be fairly bristling with stems of 
blossoms, from one to two feet in length, 
with long silvery-gray leaves and long 
spikes of purple and lavender. Cut the 
first stems as soon as the flowers are 
well matured and a second crop will be 
produced. Many charming little toilet 
articles for sale or for girls may be 
fashioned from these stems. 
Does not this suggest a pleasant way 
for women to make money at home? It 
would be a healthful and fascinating as 
well as a paying occupation. By using 
ribbon beautiful boxes may be woven 
from the stems, which on account of 
their delightful fragrance are very 
dainty for gloves and handkerchiefs. It 
is much easier to w’eave while the stems 
are green and pliable, but if they become 
dry they can be made pliable again by 
soaking in warm (not hot) water for 
several hours. When taken out, wrap 
in a damp cloth and they will remain 
pliable for several days. Other things 
which may be fashioned from these stems 
are wands, fans, whisk-broom holders, 
napkin rings, and lamp shades, but any 
worker in lavender will be able to think 
out many other original, dainty and at¬ 
tractive articles. The blossoms and 
leaves may be used for pillows. The bits 
of stems, leaves, seeds and blossoms are 
excellent for sachet bags. Sturdy roots 
ready for setting cost 25 cents and up¬ 
ward. Seeds are five and 10 cents a 
packet; be sure to get yours from a re¬ 
liable firm. I can give directions for 
making some of the above articles if 
they are wanted, and no doubt some of 
The R. N.-Y. readers can give others 
for us. MRS. GEO. SHEPPARD. 
Hints for the Laundry. 
I washed a linen dress that was 
trimmed with large cloth-covered but¬ 
tons. So that the buttons, which were 
large moulds covered with cloth, would 
not break when wrung through the 
wringer, and also so that the dress could 
be laundered better and more easily, I 
removed the buttons from the dress. The 
buttons were light blue and I scrubbed 
them with eastile soap. Then, after 
rinsing, I placed them face downward 
onto a very heavy thickness of cloth, 
changing them very often to a dry place, 
and then reversed the buttons so that the 
backs would also dry. 
If buttons are small and are not re¬ 
moved for washing, or where the ball 
and socket fasteners, or hooks and eyes 
are used, a dress, or other garment laun¬ 
ders much more smoothly if a thickness 
of cloth is put underneath the fasteners, 
and the iron is then applied to this place. 
Great care should be taken in wash¬ 
ing delicately tinted waists or Summer 
dresses, to prevent fading. A handful 
of salt thrown into the rinsing water 
should be used to set blue, and I have 
also heard that alum used in the rinsing 
water will prevent green from fading. 
To color lace an ecru color, dip it into 
tea more or less strong, according to the 
depth of shade desired. 
E. MABEL MILLER. 
Who can see the brilliancy of character 
attained by individuals of our race with¬ 
out feeling that there is a pledge in this 
that what has been done already in the 
individual will yet be accomplished in the 
nation and the race?—F. W. Robertson. 
Mrs. Bigfarm — “Well, well, well ! 
Come in, Aunty Drudge, and 
let me thank you for telling me 
about Fels-Naptha Soap. I’m a 
different woman since I started 
using it. All the work gets 
done so easily, and I’m so 
rested and happy—and we’re 
saving^money by not having to 
hire extra help all the time. 
We’ll soon have enough to 
buy that piece of woodland.’’ 
Anty Drudge —“Just think of that ! 
I’m certainly glad to hear that 
Fels-Naptha Soap has proved 
to be such a help to you.’’ 
There’s noth¬ 
ing you use soap 
and water for that 
can’t be done 
better and easier 
with Fels-Naptha 
Soap and cool or 
lukewarm water. 
For washing 
fine laces or 
heavy ginghams, 
greasy pots and 
pans, m u d - 
tracked floors, 
dirty windows, Fels- 
Naptha Soap is the 
best thing to use. It 
saves your strength, 
because it works for 
you. It dissolves 
grease, makes stains 
and dirt disappear. 
The Red and Green Wrapper wtll tell 
you how to use it for hundreds of things 
about your home. 
Pels & Co., Philadelphia, 
