1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1449 
In the Warm Heart of the West. 
Part II. 
“I don’t suppose there is a turkey 
within a thousand miles,” Mrs. Lonesome 
averred, a little wave of discouragement 
sweeping over her. 
"No, there isn’t, but there are other 
things just as good. There are prairie 
chickens, grouse, wild ducks and jack 
rabbits everywhere, and with a spare rib 
or two we can make out,” declared Mrs. 
Sweet. 
Each family was allotted to bring for 
the Christmas feast just that which was 
most convenient to bring, and the feast 
lacked nothing in quantity nor quality, 
although some of the seemingly essential 
Christmas things were lacking. There 
were pumpkin pies made without eggs, 
baked fresh on Christmas morning; there 
was Scotch short bread wonderful for 
richness and quality, a great cornmeal 
loaf was steamed over night on Mrs. 
Patterson’s kitchen range, potatoes 
cooked to flakiness and beaten to a cream 
and frothy whiteness were furnished by 
Mrs. Jamison, while various meats, cakes, 
puddings, etc., came flooding in from all 
directions. Each one had been allotted 
to bring a single viand. Instead of that, 
each brought several, and each one had 
let herself out to the full limit, to supply 
some one thing in which she especially 
excelled. The cost of the feast for each 
was really no more than a reasonable din¬ 
ner for her whole family would have been, 
and the joy of being together, of having 
the spirit of belonging, was more than 
all else. 
But this is getting ahead of things. 
The Christmas tree, wonderful in pro¬ 
portions, was decked out in an array 
never before dreamed of. in any human 
philosophy. Real candles blazed and 
spluttered amidst the festive branches 
of the tree, and the very fact of the 
alum-crystallized tumbleweeds was an in¬ 
surance against fire, for alum will not 
burn to a blaze, anywhere. To be sure 
only a part of the wonderful tumble¬ 
weeds, which were literally small trees 
in themselves, were crystallized, because 
the alum didn’t hold out, but the can¬ 
dles were located in amongst the crys¬ 
tals, and if they were few, they lit that 
magical tree to beauty, in the eyes of all 
beholders. The other tumbleweeds were 
taken frost damp and dipped in flour, 
and they presented the appearance of 
boar frost itself, caught and kept in spite 
of blazing fires. The supply of gifts was 
such that the tree could hardly hold a 
minor share of them, and the piles be¬ 
neath the tree were astounding in size, 
in shape and in the mystical wonder they 
held. Strings of popcorn were of course ’ 
draped about the tree, paper flowers 
glowed where they would do the most 
good, and one skilful worker had taken 
some blue clay which had been thrown 
up by well workers, and molded this into 
a very good angel shape indeed. It was 
a marvel of skill, all declared, and when 
this had been dried and rolled* in flour, 
with a gilt star in a crown, it was 
placed in the very top of the unique 
Christmas tree, where it spread its white 
wings in blessing to all. 
The gifts were homely, it is true, but 
never a “duty” gift held a hundredth 
part of the delight those simple home¬ 
made things did. Children rejoiced in 
new garments made from old. Little 
Timmy Smith was immediately dressed 
in the new trousers supplied by Mrs. 
Sweet, and sundry and divers other chil¬ 
dren gloried in the outgrown garments 
of sundry and divers other children. The 
old garments had been refurnished and 
made to look as spick and span as could 
be. Some were stiff with starch and 
ironed to immaculateness, while others 
were pressed into soft folds, that held a 
weight of love unspeakable. One inven¬ 
tive genius had colored beans and strung 
them into marvelous necklaces, and 
hardly a woman or girl there who was 
not beaded to beauty on that glowing 
Christmas Eve, out underneath the stars 
of the low hanging heaven of the plains! 
The Mother-to-be was furnished forth 
with a complete outfit, subtracted from 
things left over, from the stores of the 
Mothers- who-had-been. 
It was, altogether the homeliest Christ¬ 
mas that ever could have been, and yet 
it was the most joyful, for even the ones 
who were not "congenial,” who were 
“grouchy,” who were “beyond the pale,” 
were gathered into the lovewarmth of the 
West, and the Child born to that com¬ 
munity, the Child of Love, lives on 
through all the. changing years, and time 
and space has never separated the hearts 
joined in that holy bond of union forged 
by the harsh hand of hardship and loss, 
welded by the hammer of a Fate which 
had separated them from their own kin, 
on the anvil of the Christmas thought 
in the heart of one woman of the plains. 
Today the Christmas trees are shipped 
in by carloads, and the poorest may have 
a home tree, while cummunity Christmas 
trees bloom in beauty in the public 
squares in the plains cities, that all may 
share the Christmas spirit. Today the 
churches with light and music, with spar¬ 
kle of tinsel, and glamor of Christmas 
goodies, are open to all who will rest 
for a Christmas hour beneath their 
arches. Hands have hardened on the 
plains, eyes have dimmed, and many lives 
have gone on to a further and better 
growth beyond the pale of earthly hopes, 
but the warmth of the West, the heart 
of the Plains, still broods over all, for 
“Unto us a Child is born,” which has 
saved us from ourselves! 
ROSE SEELYE-MIIXEB. 
To Keep Cider Sweet. 
A PROPOS of cider keeping, perhaps 
a little experience will be helpful. 
Two years ago, the writer visited a farm 
where cider was plenty. When I left 
the place a can of so-called boiled cider 
was given me for use in mince pies. Va¬ 
rious things prevented the use of this 
cider, until it had been kept two years. 
On opening the can, it was found to be 
perfectly sweet and tasted almost like 
fresh cider. The way this was preserved 
was merely to boil it down one-half, and 
can it hot as any fruit is canned. For 
drinking it is fine, and may be reduced 
as much as it was boiled down if de¬ 
sired. This cider preserved this way is 
not at all like the old-fashioned boiled 
cider, which was boiled until like a 
syrup, in fact the heavier boiled cider is 
much better for mince pies and such 
things, but the cider boiled down half 
with no preservatives added makes a de¬ 
licious drink, which seems to keep almost 
indefinitely. The cider must be used be¬ 
fore the slightest fermentation takes 
place, as a little fermentation is apt to 
prevent the keeping qualities, but cider 
fresh from the mill can be kept this way. 
R. S. M. 
Chutney Sauce. 
W ILL you kindly repeat formula for 
apple catsup given in your columns 
a short while ago? mrs. c. l. l. 
We gave a recipe for grape catsup re¬ 
cently, but do not recall any recipe for 
apple catsup, nor are we able to find this 
in our cook books. Chutney contains ap¬ 
ples; this is an old but highly es¬ 
teemed English recipe, adapted from an 
Indian formula; it is much appreciated 
by those who like a hot relish, as it is 
very peppery: 
Chutney.—Eight ounces of tart ap¬ 
ples, peeled and cored, eight ounces of 
peeled tomatoes, eight ounces brown su¬ 
gar, eight ounces salt, four ounces pow¬ 
dered ginger, four ounces red peppers, 
two ounces shallots (or onion), two 
ounces garlic. Pound all together in a 
mortar (or pass through a chopper set to 
cut fine) and then put all the materials 
together in a jar with 2*4 pints good 
vinegar. Place the jar in a warm place, I 
covered, for one month, stirring with a ! 
wooden spoon twice every day. At the 
end of the time pass the chutney through 
a sieve, and bottle, when it is ready for 
use. The intense heat of the peppers ! 
grows milder with keeping, and the chut¬ 
ney improves and becomes richer in J 
flavor. 
Everton Toffee. —Put one pound of 
powdered sugar and one teacupful of 
cold water into a saucepan; when the 
sugar is dissolved add a quarter of a 
pound of butter beaten to a cream. Keep 
stirring the mixture over the fire until 
it hardens when a little is dropped upon 
a buttered dish. Just before the toffee 
is done add a half teaspoonful of lemon 
flavoring, and pour into a shallow but¬ 
tered pan to cool. This is a popular 
English candy. 
Mena 
r j RoastBccfwithbrowngravy 
Brown Focal oes 
3 Macaroni an Gratin 
Baked Apples 
Cook yonr whole meal at one 
time in the 
“ W ear-Ever” — .—.. 
Aluminum Roaster 
and save labor and expense. . 
"Wear-Ever” heats more quickly and retains bea-t 
longer than other ware. Cannot rust, chip or scale. 
Replace utensil* that wear out 
with utensils that “Wear-Ever” 
Write for booklet, “The Wear-Ever Kitchen” which 
explains hmo to improve your cooking, 
WANTED- Men to demonstrate and sell “Wear- 
- ’ Ever” Specialties^ _ Only those who 
The Aluminum Codking- Utensil Co., Dept. 63 
New Kensington, Pa., or ( if you live in Canada), 
Northern Aluminum Co., Ltd., Toronto, Ontaria 
Send prepaid 1-qt. “Wear-Ever” Stewpan. Enclosed 
is 20c in stamps—money refunded if not satisfied. 
Name.... 
Address....... 
Water Power 
A small brook or spring 
will furnish free power to 
supply running water to 
your house and barn. With 
a larger stream you can 
make your own electric 
lights, saw wood, etc. Send 
for catalog. 
FITZ WATER WHEEL COMPANY 
enn & Eeorne Sts., Hanover, Pa. 
Running water when 
and where you want 
it with POSTER A 
High Duty Ram. M 
Power Specialty A 
’ 111 Trinity 
, Sen YorkH 
Get 
Tree 
Book 
You 
Can Hove 
Running 
Water 
Will there be a 
Victrola in your home 
this Christmas? 
You can search the whole world over 
and not find another gift that will bring 
so much pleasure to every member of 
the family. 
Any Victor dealer in any city in the world will gladly 
demonstrate the Victrola and play any music you wish 
to hear. Write today for illustrated catalogs. 
Victrola XVI, $200 
Mahogany or oak 
Victor Talking Machine Co., Camden, N. J., U. S. A, 
Berliner Gramophone Co. f Montreal, Canadian Distributors 
Always use Victor Machines with Victor Records and Victor Needles— 
the combination, There is no other way to get the unequaled Victor tone, 
New Victor Records demonstrated at al! dealers on the 28th cf each month 
Victrola VIII, $40 
Oak 
Victrola IV, $15 
Oak 
Victrola X, $75 
Mahogany or oak 
