768 
TUB RURAL NEW-YORKER 
May UO, 
Woman and the Home 
Training the Other Woman’s Child. 
They all sat round in friendly chat 
Discussing mostly this and that, 
And a hat. 
Until a neighbor’s wayward lad 
Was seen to act in ways quite bad; 
Oh, ’twas sad! 
One thought she knew what must be done 
With every child beneath the sun— 
She had none. 
And ere her yarn had been quite spun 
Another's theories were begun— 
She had one. 
The third was not so sure she knew, 
But thus and so she thought she'd do— 
She had two. 
The next one added, “Let me see; 
These things work out so differently.” 
She had three. 
The fifth drew on her wisdom store 
And said, “I’d have to think it o'er.” 
She had four. 
And then one sighed, “I don't contrive 
Fixt rules for boys, they're too alive." 
She had five. 
“I know it leaves one in a fix. 
This straightening of crooked sticks.” 
She had six. 
And one declared, “There’s no rule giv’n. 
But do your best and trust to heav’n!” 
She had sev'n. 
*—Alice Crowell Hoffman, in The Woman’s 
Home Companion. 
Her Biscuits. 
A lot of folks had come to dine. 
Offers of help she did decline. 
She thought she knew a great big lot, 
And went to make some biscuits hot 
She measured carefully cup on cup, 
And deftly mixed ingredients up. 
But when quite done they were as hard, 
As any pebble on the sward, 
Or any rock upon the beach. 
And yet our New-wed had her speech, 
And coolly stated with a smile, 
(Her dimples rippling all the while) 
“I merely just forgot the stuff, 
They use to make the mean things puff!” 
And so, forsooth we all agreed, 
She made a gracious mistress freed, 
Form every sort of irking blame, 
For any cooks had been the same. 
If she'd left out the lightning stuff, 
That goes to make all biscuits puff. 
—Hose Seelye-Miller. 
“Have an Apple.” 
[Dedicated to Editor of The R. N.-Y. in 
appreciation of his expression, “Have an 
apple.”] 
Most all of us, like peaches, pears, or 
cherries, 
Or plums, or figs, or dates; or some like 
berries; 
But the best of all to cat 
Having choice from sour to sweet 
Is an apple— “Have an apple'' 
It will make your day complete. 
When Smith, or Jones, or Brown, or 
Dusenberry 
Says, “Come boys, have a smile, let’s all 
be merry.” 
Be prepared to do this act 
Using courtesy and tact 
With the apple— “Have an apple.” 
It will please them for a fact. 
When Mary Jane cooks goodies for her 
Billie 
And her little folks, John Hennery and 
Tillie, 
Nothing gets their taste or eye 
More than dumpling or a pie 
Made of apple— “Have an apple.” 
And another bye and bye. 
When walking through the streets you want 
some pleasure, 
The kind of pleasure you will surely 
treasure. 
To some hungry looking boy 
Pass an apple. Note the joy 
On his face— “Have an apple.” 
Will not injure or annoy. 
That apples are king though of all fruits 
that grow, 
We all of us—everyone—surely must know ; 
For the greatest temptation 
That befell our relation 
Was when Eve said, “Have an apple.” 
Adam fell—expiation. 
That the slogan is old you need not be told. 
Now all who belong to The R. N.-Y. fold 
Cordially are invited 
To all make a united 
Apple cry— “Have an apple ”; 
And we’ll all be “de-e-light-ed.” 
O. 
M OTHER’S ROOM! There ought to 
be such a room in every farmhouse. 
Not a sleeping-room, but a place set 
apart for the women of the family to 
have for their own. The head of a busi- 
iv'ss must have his office where he can 
be alone if need be. Mother is the head 
of the house, and she should have her 
room fitted to suit herself. We have 
found a farm woman who has fitted up 
just such a room. She calls it her sew¬ 
ing-room. It is really home headquarters, 
and we are to have a full description 
of it. . 
* 
* 
W E are talking seriously of buying a 
small auto in partnership with our 
best friends. Father would take 
care of it; they have a place to keep it. 
Both families are honest and of very 
moderate means. We can get a small, 
new, reliable car for $.195. It is light¬ 
weight and not at all fancy; for in¬ 
stance, in place of the running-board it 
has a step like a buggy. I wonder if 
people ever did buy an auto in partner¬ 
ship. and what terms of agreement they 
entered into ? E. 
Our folks have tried about every sort 
of partnership or combination, and they 
can tell. To make a success of such a 
combination we should think the sparker 
between the two families should be dull 
and slow to act. Family explosions do 
not drive the car steadily, but blow up 
the connections. It will work best where 
there are no children in either family. 
* 
sjs 5{* 
E have in our community a White 
Wyandotte hen that laid 91 eggs 
in that many consecutive days in 
her fourth year. Her owner values her 
at $100. She is named Pin Feather. 
Michigan. P. I,. W. 
Why not call her “pin money”? In a 
few years she would enable her owner to 
buy diamond pins. Her daughters would 
be sought after far and wide. There may 
be such birds in many a farm Hock— 
flowers that blush unseen and provide 
custards or fried eggs when the poultry 
world would chase after them if they 
were known. In last year’s poultry con¬ 
test at Storrs, Mrs. Haynes of Idaho 
entered six Wyandotte hens. They were 
carried on horseback and stage many 
miles before the express company could 
start them on a 3.000-mile journey. Yet 
these birds from the back mountains beat 
all the other Wyandottes in the show. 
$ 
v v 
T HE Women's Journal tells the story 
of how Colorado women influenced 
the Governor to put an end to civil war 
in their State: 
“They issued a call in the name of the 
womanhood of their State for a meeting 
at the Capitol. One thousand of them, with 
the cries of the slaughtered in their ears 
and aghast at the horror of ruthless 
State murder of their follow citizens, 
marched to the Capitol and demanded an 
audience with the Governor. lie refused 
to see them. They stood firm and re¬ 
peated their demand. The Governor hes¬ 
itated ; he did not want to see them; 
but they were voters; besides, there was 
something awe-inspiring in their spirit 
and numbers; they meant business. The 
Governor reluctantly admitted them.” 
These women, once admitted, stayed 
there until they saw a message calling 
for Federal aid filed. Most of these 
women went on duty at 10 o'clock in the 
forenoon, and at 10 o’clock at night 150 
still remained in the Governor’s office, 
not leaving until he had surrendered. 
“Votes for women” has no more deter¬ 
mined opponent than the New York Sun, 
yet this exhibition on the part of these 
Colorado women compells that paper to 
say : 
“We hope these determined women, 
who did a necessary job so thoroughly 
and well, will now see to it that the 
administration of their State does not 
fall into laxity and inefficiency again. 
They have shown that they can compel 
action in a crisis; let them now take 
counsel to prevent such a crisis from 
again arising. 
* 
* * 
W ILE you please write something em¬ 
phatic and persuasive on the de¬ 
sirability of men folks coming to 
meals on time when they can? So many 
farm women lose valuable time waiting 
unnecessarily. Last night the best father 
in the world was at the house when the 
water was put on to boil for tea. It 
takes 10 minutes; he knows it. But he 
wandered off to plant three short rows 
of potatoes, then conversed with the 
neighbor over the wire fence, and turned 
up half an hour late. On one farm, 
where the man of the house is especially 
bad about this, a wise young cook, in oil- 
stove weather, heats the blue-flame oven 
piping hot and sets it on the range, and 
is thus prepared with a place to keep 
food hot until the man deigns to appear. 
K. 
“Emphatic” is well enough, but with 
a well-trained man “persuasive” should 
not be necessary. Who trains the man 
into this habit? Does he ever have to 
wait for the women folks to get ready? 
Try a cold meal on him for once and see 
how it works. 
* 
❖ 5 > 
T HE Ohio Agricultural College states 
that Sharon Center, Ohio, is the 
smallest town in that State having a 
system of waterworks. From the side 
of a hill well above the general level of 
the village, a strong spring flows from 
the sandstone rock. The stream from 
this spring fills a four-inch pipe, and the 
flow does not vary perceptibly with the 
change of seasons. A large cement tank 
holding 900 barrels has been built farther 
up on the summit of the hill. A hy¬ 
draulic ram has been set a little below 
the outlet of the spring. From this 
water is forced into the tank. A service 
pipe leads from the tank to the town al¬ 
most a mile away. This water, coming 
as it does from the sandstone rock, is 
pure, and has the added advantage of 
being soft. There are many farms in 
Ohio where it would be possible to in¬ 
stall a hydraulic ram and service pipes 
to supply the house and barn with an 
abundant supply of fresh pure water. 
In many cases there is a nearby hill, 
high enough above the house, where a 
cement storage tank could be located, 
thus insuring a constant supply safe 
from frost. 
Advice to Young Writers. 
1 WAS much interested in the talk 
about writing, on page 070. You 
are, in this, doing a great service to the 
hundreds of young men and women who 
think there is big money in writing for 
the press, and yet have nothing to say 
worth either writing or readiug. Only 
a few days ago a young man came to me 
with a story for criticism, say’ug that 
even ihis wife did not seem able to un¬ 
derstand it! I told him that I did not 
understand it either, and suggested that 
he send it to some magazine, mentioning 
two or three. He said he was afraid to 
do it, for fear they would steal it. dress 
it up in their own way, and thus deprive 
him of the rewards of his labor. I told 
him that might happen once in a very, very 
long while, but did not think there was 
much danger of it. He then wanted me to 
hand it to my oldest son and get his 
opinion, which might be better than mine. 
He went over the same story with my 
son, and when he told him there was 
nothing in it. he said: “Then writers are 
simply at the mercy of the editors.” 
“Certainly. The seller is always at the 
mercy of the buyer. Those clothing peo¬ 
ple down the street are at your mercy. 
If they don’t offer you the clothes you 
want, you don’t buy them ; that’s all.” my 
son replied. “What shall I do?” lie 
asked. “What are you doing now?” 
“Clerking in a store.” H. C. then said : 
“Write a story about clerking. There’s 
any amount of story material going to 
waste every day, if men only knew how 
to write it up.” 
You are about right in saying that 75 
per cent, of the people think in monosyl¬ 
lables. I have been amusing myself for 
some time past in figuring out the per 
cent, of polysyllables in articles, from 
whatever source, that appeal to me. I 
find they run from 20 to 25 per cent.; 
and it is only rarely I can stand to read 
one that runs much more than that. 
Another thing I have noticed is that the 
men whose writings appeal to me use 
mainly words of Anglo-Saxon derivation. 
Of course we can’t get along with less 
than 10 per cent., or perhaps 15 per cent., 
of foreign words that have become rooted 
and grounded in our language. I find I 
cannot read with patience any man who 
uses 40 to 45 per cent, of big words. The 
fact is I don’t read him long, but just 
quit. nENRY WALLACE. 
Iowa. 
Advertising for Teachers. 
T HE annual school meetings are held 
about May 5, and soon after that a 
cry will be heard that the rural trustees 
can’t find teachers. Yet it is a fact that 
every year the so-called “normal” schools 
and training classes are turning out 
quantities of young men and women li¬ 
censed to teach, but many of whom never 
afterward teach at all. When they come 
out, unless there is influence (chicanery) 
at work for them they are at sea. There 
is no opening for them unless they put a 
fee into the slot of a self-constituted 
teachers’ agency and take their risk for 
taking out a State office. The fee used 
to be two dollars, but now is probably 
more, and a commission on the salary 
obtained. The State provides no way 
for bringing together the teacher and the 
school. Many get discouraged and turn 
to something else, although each normal 
graduate will have cost, the State $900 
or more, and the individual has given 
three or four years of young life, and ex¬ 
penses of self-support. There is occa¬ 
sionally one who is not willing to buy 
a State office. There are plenty of well- 
qualified persons to be obtained if the 
right and easy means are employed. 
Now, are you not desirous enough to 
help the schools to be willing to put in 
your paper a little piece of advice to 
trustees, somewhat like enclosed, and see 
how it works: 
SCHOOL TRUSTEES, ATTENTION! 
When in need of a teacher just put an 
advertisement like this in your local pa¬ 
per, and see how long before you have 
one: 
WANTED—A teacher in District No. 
.. Town of ., 
County .. State of. 
Address, - -, Trustee, 
Post Office .. 
State . 
I knew of one trustee who had been 
harassed for three months to find a 
teacher and put in an advertisement and 
had a teacher in 48 hours. 
MARY E. SHEPARD. 
Salicylic Acid In Canning. —The 
Agricultural Department says that enor¬ 
mous quantities of salicylic acid arc sold 
in the South and Southwest for home 
canning. One grocer sold over 7,000 
four-ounce packages. Still more of this 
and boric acid are sold under fancy 
names at a high price. The “directions” 
tell us to fill the jar with fruit or vege¬ 
tables, cover with water and add a tea- 
spoonful of the powder. This stuff may 
prevent decay of the fruit, but it means 
a nasty and dangerous food. The De¬ 
partment states: “Salicylic acid is a 
medicine of the greatest value in acute 
articular rheumatism and certain other 
diseases. It is well known as a poison¬ 
ous substance, and one of the evils which 
may accompany its use is derangement of 
the digestion. It is therefore plain that 
its extensive use in food may lead to dis¬ 
turbance of digestion and health.” The 
good old Methodist hot treatment is the 
safest and best way to preserve fruit or 
vegetables. Never, never use drugs or 
dope. 
