1914. 
THE F? URAL NEW-YORKER 
76© 
“Short Stories’’ 
All Sorts of Personal Experience With Food, Friends and Fixtures 
A Woman’s Bank. —Berlin, Germany, 
has a woman’s bank (Frauenbank) with 
membership limited to women. It does 
a general banking business and Burnishes 
legal advice regarding estates, taxes and 
investments for women. It has over 
1,000 members. The shares have a nom¬ 
inal value of 100 marks ($23.80) and each 
shareholder carries a liability of 200 
marks in addition to the cost of the share. 
Interest is paid, varying from 3% per 
cent, with three weeks notice to five per 
cent, with a year’s notice. 
Clover Tea. —Some one asks for a 
substitute for tea. To the real tea or 
coffee lover there are no substitutes, bitt 
my daughters and I have taken comfort 
in clover tea. It is to be had, I think, at 
the drug stores, or was some years ago, 
when it had a vogue, but trying to make 
it of your own Bed clover blooms has not 
been satisfactory to me. It is worth a 
trial. L. J. s. 
The Tramp Hen. —In your notes con¬ 
cerning the tramp hen let me advise those 
so troubled to bore a hole in several 
grains of corn, tie eight inches of wrap¬ 
ping twine to each grain. On the other 
end tie a tag with some appropriate 
scriptural motto. The hen devours the 
corn and does not devour the tag, but 
carries a message to its heathen owner. 
Norristown, Fa. g. 
Taking Lodgers. —For some of the 
village residents who would like a little 
money, maybe this experience would sug¬ 
gest something. Coming out of the post 
office one day in our old home, a village 
of about two thousand inhabitants, the 
assistant postmaster introduced me to a 
lady who was looking for a room and did 
not want to go to the hotel, patronized 
mostly by commercial travellers. This 
lady was looking up ancestors for a 
would-be member of the D. A. B. Sister 
was away, so I took the stranger in on 
that and another visit. She gladly paid 
a good price and proved very good com¬ 
pany. ‘ E. s. 
Boarding The Teacher. —Would this 
do for a common question : “What ails 
the teachers?” In a Connecticut village 
of somewhere about three thousand popu¬ 
lation, with up-to-date schools, five 
teachers are hesitating about signing 
their contracts until they are sure of 
having some place to live. One country 
school has been given up because there 
can be found no place for the teacher to 
board. The children are carried by barge 
to another district. Here teachers have 
been unable for years past to get board, 
have had to board four miles away, and 
come here by trolley. The reason as¬ 
signed is that most people work in the 
mills and rise early. The teachers would 
have company nights and use the parlor 
and keep the piano going until midnight 
nearly every night, and the household 
was kept awake. The school superin¬ 
tendent is finding, where possible, teachers 
who live near the schools; he believes 
that solves the trouble and gives a bet¬ 
ter and more interested teacher. k. 
A Woman’s 35-Cent Dollar. —We 
are old subscribers to your paper. It is 
the best of the many farm papers we get. 
I am interested in your talks on the 
farmer’s 35-cent dollar, and want to tell 
you of an experience I had last week. I 
have about 40 pounds of beeswax which 
I want to sell. I called hy telephone a 
wholesale druggist in Bradford, our near¬ 
est city, and asked the price of beeswax. 
"Fifty cents per pound. How much do 
you want?” he said. I answered, “None, 
but I have some to sell. What will you 
give me for it?” Twenty-eight cents was 
his answer. I then called another drug¬ 
gist who was selling it for GO cents, but 
would only give me 25 cents. And he put 
in the proviso that it must be pure bees¬ 
wax. I didn’t know you could make any 
other kind. At any rate I still have my 
beeswax. Wish some of the farm women 
would tell through your paper how they 
extract the wax from the comb. I find 
it a tedious job and well forth 50 cents 
per pound to do. j. a. g. 
Adopted Children. —The paragraph on 
page 1304 with reference to adopted 
children brings to my mind the experi¬ 
ence of a friend of my boyhood days. 
This man was a good farmer wli'o was 
blessed with a large family of good 
children. He gave them all a good 
chance to get an education, ul all fin¬ 
ished the course at the State Normal 
School, and I believe one or two went on 
through college. All found or made 
homes for themselves, and our friend 
and his wife were left alone on the farm. 
All this happened something like 15 
years ago. Not long after the youngest 
daughter was married the father was 
surprised on his return from a short 
absence to find that while he had been 
away his wife had adopted a little girl 
about 12 years of age. This girl proved to 
be very helpful and agreeable, and after 
a short trial the old people adopted her 
legally. The next Summer the foster 
mother took the little girl with her when 
she made a visit of several weeks at her 
old home in the East. When she re¬ 
turned she found it was her turn to be 
surprised, for during her absence her hus¬ 
band had adopted a girl and a boy (a 
brother and sister who had been left 
homeless). When I last saw my old 
friend, two or three years ago. he told 
me that all three adopted children were 
doing well, and that both he and his 
wife were nearly as fond of them as 
they were of their own children. 
J. M. DREW. 
The Shut-in.— If you want to help 
a shut-in or invalid do not make her the 
repository of all your troubles. Don’t 
think that because she suffers she has a 
lot of sympathy to extend to you. In 
all probability she does have more sym¬ 
pathy for you. but the recital of your 
woes leaves her more or less depressed, 
especially as she thinks about them after 
you are gone. Therefore do leave her 
something cheery to turn over in her 
mind when she is alone. Having been 
more or less of an invalid for three years 
I speak from experience. If you can find 
that she is interested in any especial line 
remember her when you see items con¬ 
cerning it, and the little clippings mailed 
to her may do her much good, for they 
show your thought of her as well as help 
her on in her hobby. If possible show 
her the funny side of things. Cultivate 
the humorous view if you want to help 
others as well as yourself. c. B. 
Vermont. 
Care Of The Piano. —A piano is al¬ 
most as sensitive to heat and cold as an 
invalid. It should not be placed too near 
a fire, as the heat draws the wood. 
Neither should it be near an open win¬ 
dow as on a wet day the dampness is apt 
to rust the keys and wires and take the 
polish off the case. Always keep the 
piano closed when it is not in use. The 
keys should be dusted frequently with 
an old silk handkerchief and rubbed oc¬ 
casionally with a cloth moistened with 
methylated spirits. Ii ' they get very 
yellow rub with a very little lemon juice 
and whiting, and remove it with a damp 
cloth. But be very careful that none of 
the dust falls between the keys. If the 
case gets clouded and dull looking, give it 
a good polish with a very little furniture 
polish and rub with a chamois leather. 
In towns it is apt to get smoky. To re¬ 
move this wipe over with a cloth wrung 
out of vinegar and then polish. Don’t 
put your piano close to the -wall as it 
deadens the tone. To keep it in per¬ 
fect order it should be .tuned about every 
three months. A piano is never heard to 
the best advantage in a room -that is 
overcrowded with furniture and hung 
with many draperies. mbs. j. j. o’c. 
Burning Out Chimneys. —I see in 
The B. N.-Y. some inquiries about burn¬ 
ing out chimneys. I wish you would 
warn all readers against such a foolish 
thing, it is very dangerous and wasteful. 
They are taking long chances on burn¬ 
ing their property, also their neighbors, 
if there are any close by. Tell them to 
try the following, and report results. Be¬ 
rn ove pipe from stove ,and clean well, 
cover over top of chimney with boards, 
then take a revolver, and insert two or 
three blank cartridges; insert your hand 
into bottom hole in chimney and fire off 
the cartridges. The resulting concussion 
will bring down practically all the soot 
in chimney. Gather it all up and put in 
sack or barrel, and use it on your farm 
or garden. It is a most excellent fertil¬ 
izer. If any of the readers don’t happen 
to have a revolver borrow one from your 
neighbor, if he has one, if not go buy 
one, and while at it get as good a one 
as you can. It is a good thing to have 
handy, for such vermin as chicken 
thieves, skunks, tramps, etc. G. j. 
B. N.-Y.—In New York State you 
might be called on to secure a permit or 
license before you fired into the chimney. 
“Shooting up the soot” is a good one any¬ 
way. 
Keeping Smoked Meat. —In our fam¬ 
ily the problem of keeping smoked meat 
is a very simple one. As soon as con¬ 
venient, after smoking, we paint all 
smoked meat with whitewash, using sim¬ 
ply lime and water of about the consist¬ 
ency of paint. Two coats of the white¬ 
wash is put on, letting the first coat dry 
before the second is applied. After the 
last coat is dry we wrap the meat care¬ 
fully in paper sacks, flour sacks are good, 
and hang in the cellar or any convenient 
place until needed. We often keep the 
meat from Spring until late Fall, and 
have never lost any. It seems as fresh 
as when first smoked. Flies never bother 
it after whitewashing. This rule has 
been used in the family for many years, 
with entire success. l. s. 
A Hair Bestorer. —“Have you any 
faith in hair restorers?” asked Jack of 
his chum. “Do you really think that my 
hair would grow if I used some?” “O, 
I don’t know,” said Jim with a thought 
and a chuckle. “A 1 air restorer worked 
wonders with my brother Dick—I’ll tell 
you about it. A cousin of ours paid us 
a visit. She was ‘fat and 40,’ but a big 
kid. She was tremendously interested in 
hair restorers. How she did pity the 
chap that was bald! Well, Dick told 
her that his hair was too fine to grow, so 
when she had returned to her home he 
received a bottle of the magic fluid. Soon 
after, he sent her his picture, and there 
was a remarkable change in his appear¬ 
ance, for he certainly had a luxuriant 
growth of hair. Now. Maggie, our 
cousin, had always wanted to go into the 
hair restorer business, and she felt so en¬ 
couraged by this that she wrote to my 
brother and told him her plans. He was 
afraid that she would not succeed, so he 
wrote back and confessed that he had 
wanted, so much, to make her think that 
the hair restorer had done wonders, that 
he had had his picture taken with a wig 
on. She didn’t go into the hair restorer 
business, but she married him. Now, 
you are a bachelor. Perhaps a hair re¬ 
storer would have the same effect upon 
you as it had upon my brother Dick.” 
But Jack gave him a push and said. “My 
hair might grow gray, then.” j. c. mcb. 
The Agent. —I’m no dressmaker and 
we have no canary, but we do have funny 
experiences sometimes. I wonder how 
many people realize what a nuisance the 
average peddler and agent can be to a 
busy housewife? I have no objection to 
that way of making a living if anyone 
likes it. but it isn’t necessary to be' dis¬ 
agreeable about it. One very hot day 
when I hadn’t kept house very long one 
of our boys came in with his hair full 
of bees and a liberal supply of stings. I 
was baking bread and preparing dinner 
over a hot_ range, overheated and over¬ 
busy myself, the boy thoroughly terrified, 
and the moment a most inauspicious one 
for receiving calls, when a medicine agent 
arrived. He was carrying Dr. Somebody’s 
"Specific Cure-all for All the Ills of 
Life,” and insisted upon selling us some. 
As a matter of fact every member of our 
household—and there were a lot of us— 
was perfectly well except for those bee 
stings, and we told the gentleman that 
was our only affliction. He was sure, 
however, that we weren’t strong, some¬ 
thing must be wrong with us, our com¬ 
plexions indicated liver trouble and va¬ 
rious ills, and we must require his medi¬ 
cine. I was too busy trying to relieve the 
boy to give very respectful attention, but 
the price was high at first and came done 
by leaps and bounds, while the would-be 
seller assured us that our everlasting- 
never-ending future depended entirely 
upon the judicious use of his specific. 
When I could get in a word myself I re¬ 
minded him that we needed only a cure- 
all for stings, and if he hadn't that I 
feared that we could use nothing else. 
He still persisted in urging me to buy, 
telling me precisely how to take the stuff 
and adding, “And it would benefit your 
husband too,” Even in the hurry and 
flurry of the moment a vision of my hus¬ 
band. who was a picture of health, made 
the situation appear irresistibly funny to 
us all and I couldn’t resist the suggestion 
that if my taking the decoction would be 
a great benefit to my husband I might 
consider it. The man was almost too 
angry to speak and soon left, but by the 
time he reached the next neighbor his 
eloquence had returned and he was thor¬ 
oughly insulting. Somehow it seemed to 
us that a tactful and observing man could 
have seen that he had struck a very in¬ 
opportune time to adtertise his goods. 
M. 
That Is My Property! 
O N a recent Sunday there was a great disturbance in a fashionable 
New York church. A crowd of outsiders tried to interrupt the 
service, and were thrown out without gloves or ceremony. The 
police had hold of one man, and were prepared to give him what they 
called the “giant swing” when his wife rushed to his rescue and shouted: 
“ That Is My Property. I Do Not Want It Damaged!” 
That is a new idea in property rights. In old times it was under¬ 
stood that the wife was the property of the husband. Perhaps the new 
times will see a reversal of this principle! We have seen women go out and 
get wood or water or do chores while husband, son or brother sat idly 
by the fire. Perhaps she regarded these great citizens as her property, 
and did not want them damaged ! When she sets that form of human 
property at work carrying out her ideals in public life the world will be 
better and happier. 
Women Can Manage Their Own Property 
We know that from the last month’s experience. The men folks, 
aided by the women, have made The B. N.-Y. what it is by making it 
their mental property. Visitors tell us the paper is found on the desk of 
every important agricultural official and of every strong business man 
because they know it expresses the opinions and the sentiments of the 
great mass of working farmers. 
Now we want this magazine department of Woman and Home, in 
like manner, to represent fairly and sincerely the opinions and desires of 
the farm women. It is the property of such women, and they can make 
it represent them just as the men have made The B. N.-Y. such a power 
in public life. Since our April number appeared we have received 
Over 400 Letters From Farm Women 
discussing what had been printed or adding new experiences. Nothing 
could be finer or more hopeful than the way these sensible farm women 
come to help manage their property by suggestion or experience. We 
invite them to come and tell us their triumphs or their troubles. Every 
power that The B. N.-Y. possesses is at your service. This department 
is your property. Tell us how you want it put at work. 
We Want Boiled Down Human Nature 
Which means that we want short, condensed articles and stories 
which deal with true human experience. 
Bright Dialogues. We can use a number of short dialogues or 
conversations between two or more people. They should not be over 300 
words long. They may be real or imaginary, and may cover any subject 
from setting a hen to discussing a poem. Just tell us in a few words 
how two bright people would talk out the heart of some familiar subject. 
Step Savers. Tell us how you manage to get your work done in 
an orderly way with least labor. Suppose you had to go the rest of the 
way through life on a crutch and had to keep going. How would you 
do it? 
Send Us Anything you may think of out of your own experience 
or observation. We probably cannot print it unless it is short, true, 
good-natured, useful and of general interest. Do not hesitate to tell us 
just what you have in mind. That is the way to manage your property. 
