74 
THE RURA1. NEW-YORKER 
Woman and the Home 
From Day to Day 
AN ORCHARD IN WINTER. 
It was years ago, and no one knows, 
Just who planted the orchard rows, 
Bedded and firmed the tender feet 
Of the Twenty Ounce and Golden Sweet. 
And the straggling clan whose branches 
meet 
Over Pomona’s little aisles. 
A tumble-down wall and an old rail fence 
Guard the orchard with poor pretense; 
And pilferers, footed and winged, come 
there 
Even in Winter when boughs are bare, 
And the nuthatch hunts for his meager 
share, 
Peering and pecking, this way and that, 
First up, then down, like an acrobat. 
Deer stroll in from the mountain pass 
Gratefully nosing the buried treat 
Of fruit, frost bitten, and brown and 
sweet, 
P.rought to light by their trampling feet; 
And up where weathering crabapples 
cling, . 
The grosbeaks cavil and feast and sing. 
All Winter long to the Golden Sweet, 
And the Twenty Ounce and the trees that 
meet, 
Neglected and old in this wild retreat. 
Come bird and beast in their need akin, 
And make the old orchard their wayside 
inn. 
—Florence Boyce Davis in Youth’s Com¬ 
panion. 
* 
H OLIDAY pralines are a southern 
dainty made from nuts, the follow¬ 
ing simple recipe being recommended. 
Filberts, blanched and dried, hickories 
and pecans in halves, should go together, 
while a larger size is made with Brazil 
nuts, blanched, and halved English wal¬ 
nuts. Put one cup of sugar in a sauce¬ 
pan with ’three-fourths cup of water, 
boil till it threads from the spoon, and 
is almost ready to sugar. Then turn in 
the prepared nuts, stirring them quickly 
while the syrup sugars. Put them in a 
large sieve to cool, shaking off the loose 
sugar, and separating any that stick to¬ 
gether. When cold, pack in boxes lined 
with paraffin paper. 
* 
T HE Massachusetts State Board of 
Publication has issued a useful bul¬ 
letin on “Rural School Libraries at 
Small Cost.” It gives selected lists of 
approved books for primary, interme¬ 
diate and grammar grades. It includes 
selections for $5, $10, and $25, giving 
prices of individual books. A district 
school without a library of some sort is 
an imperfect educational institution, yet 
many are unaware of the ease with 
which a beginning may be made, wherever 
it is possible to obtain a small sum of 
money for the purpose. 
* 
W E st’ll meet people good and worthy, 
but limited in outlook, who think 
that it is “putting on airs” when young 
people try to practice the smaller graces 
of life. They have schooled themselves 
to do without trifles that add to comfort, 
or increase personal self-respect, and 
they cannot understand the feeling that 
makes others, and especially the young, 
find pleasure in these non-essentials. We 
always feel sorry for a household where 
there are these diverging views; it too 
often brings a constant friction destruc¬ 
tive to family peace. Our own sympath¬ 
ies go with the young people who seek 
to “make the best of themselves,” though 
we realize that the conservative elders 
have some right on their side too. Fool¬ 
ish extravagance, whether in dimes or in 
dollars, is never defensible, nor do we 
approve of attempts to “keep up appear¬ 
ances” at the expense of the real, honest 
things of life. But there are many trifles 
in daily living that are not extravagance 
in time or money, yet mighty aids in 
youthful self-respect. “Not being used to 
things” means much to sensitive youth. 
“Manners raakyth man,” says wise old 
William of Wykeham, and the time to ac¬ 
quire such knowledge is in youth, and 
among those of one’s own household. 
* 
T HE preliminary report on girls’ can¬ 
ing clubs, issued by the General Ed¬ 
ucation Board, is extremely encouraging. 
The movement was promoted by the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture jointly with the 
Board, the work being begun near Aiken, 
S. C. 
Each girl takes one-tenth of an acre 
and is taught how to select the seed, to 
plant, cultivate and perfect the growth 
of the tomato plant. Meanwhile port¬ 
able canning outfits have been provided 
to be set up out of doors, and trained 
teachers of domestic science instruct the 
local teachers. When the tomatoes are 
ripe the girls come together, now at one 
home, now at another, to can the pro¬ 
duct. The girls are taught the necessity 
of scrupulous cleanliness; they sterilize 
utensils and cans, seal and label, and 
indeed manufacture an easily marketable 
product. 
Three hundred and twenty-five girls 
were registered the first year, 3.000 the 
next, 23,550 in the year following; in 
1913 there were upward of 20.000 in 14 
different Slates. The expenses of the 
work are borne by the General Education 
Board and by contributions. In 1011 
$5,000 was appropriated for it, but that 
was increased to $75,000 in May last 
year. The States of Maryland, West 
Virginia, Virginia, North and South Car¬ 
olina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mis¬ 
sissippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, 
Oklahoma and Texas have furthered the 
clubs. The average profit made by girls 
reporting in 12 State's was $21.98; but 
not a few made sums far in excess. A 
Macon County, Mississippi, girl realized 
a net profit just under $100 on her 950 
cans of tomatoes. 
Seen in New York Shops. 
TOCKINGS in extra sizes are made 
with extra width and length of leg, 
which will give comfort to large women. 
They are from 35 cents a pair up in cot¬ 
ton and lisle. The extra room at the 
knee adds greatly to wearing qualities, 
as well as comfort. 
Very wonderful underwear is made of 
crepe de chine. One handsome model 
was a princess combination trimmed 
with insertions of fine pleating, the 
bloomers drawn in with elastic. This is 
a good model for longcloth or nainsook, 
being plain and practical. The hand¬ 
some French underwear is much plainer 
than the elaborate models, trimmed with 
imitation lace, that so many foolish 
women buy. Some plain, loose-fitting 
combinations of crepe de chine are mere¬ 
ly trimmed with hemstitching with a 
casing or hemstitched buttonholes, 
through which ribbon is run. 
One great change in ready-made gar¬ 
ments is the production of out sizes for 
extra large women. One fashionable 
maker of costumes and house dresses has 
them readymade up to 56 bust, and it is 
possible to buy suits and coats to fit 
anyone who is not really abnormal. As 
for the extra thin woman, she can always 
find satisfactory garments in the misses’ 
department, for misses’ coats are made 
up to 38-inch bust, and 41-iuch skirt, the 
advantage of the misses’ size being in the 
slim lines and smaller hip measure. 
Readymade maternity dresses are now 
made in many becoming and convenient 
styles, from simple figured challies at 
$4.75 up. A very handsome style was 
crepe de chine, with pleated tunic and 
draped yoke at $19.85. 
New straw hats are appearing for 
Southern wear. There are some attrac- 
tirne short-brimmed sailors, and also 
quaint little poke effects, turned up in 
the back. There seems to be a tendency 
to perch the hat much higher on the 
head, and many of the new models are 
quite small. 
Very mannish traveling wraps are 
made like a man’s greatcoat, a character¬ 
istic model being a full-length or three- 
quarter loose coat with one or more 
capes, the material being heavy shep¬ 
herd’s check or clan tartan. Similar coats 
are made in homespun and tweed. Such 
a coat, worn over a one-piece dress is 
more practical than a jacket suit for 
general wear, where a woman has to 
drive some distance whenever she goes 
out. 
Camisole sets are little ribbon or lace 
rosettes, joined by about six inches of 
narrow ribbon to trim the corset cover. 
A set noticed for a wearer in mourning, 
consisted of two little rosettes, alternate 
rings of black and white lace, made on a 
tiny foundation that held a little safety 
pin. The rosettes were joined by four 
narrow ribbons, alternately black and 
white. When pinned on the rosettes may 
be far enough apart so that the ribbons 
lie straight, or they may be brought near¬ 
er, festooning the connecting ribbon. An¬ 
other set of these ornaments is white lace 
rosettes, each with two or three artificial 
forget-me-nots in the center, connected by 
blue and white ribbon. 
The Rural Patterns. 
In ordering patterns, always give num¬ 
ber of pattern and size desired. Price 
of each pattern 10 cents. 
8499 Loose Blouse 
( or Misses and Small 
Women, 
’6 and 18 years. 
8511 Child’s Dress, 6 
mos. or 1 year 2 and 4 
years. 
JJ9S Dressing Jacket, 
34 to 44 bust. 
8506 Girl’s Costume, 
10 to 14 years. 
3497 l ow Belted Blouse 
34 to 44 bust. 
8509 Dress with Russian 
Tunic for Misses and 
Small Women, 
13 and 18 years. 
8515 Two-Piece Yoke 
Skirt, 
24 to 32 waist. 
Teaching a Little Girl at Home. 
B ECAUSE of the distance from school, 
the risk of exposure, and the uncer¬ 
tain health of my little girl, my physi¬ 
cian advised me strongly to keep her 
from school until she was eight years of 
age. I have followed his advice, but, 
through the eagerness of the child, I have 
been forced into a system of home teach¬ 
ing which I shall outline as briefly as 
possible. 
I think the fundamental principle has 
been the plan of answering as intelli¬ 
gently as possible all of the child’s rea¬ 
sonable questions, on any subject. It is 
my belief that the information and the 
impressions thus gained are the child’s 
permanent possession; for the inquiring 
mind is at that moment in a receptive 
mood. This plan is not so exasperating 
as one might think; for the child who 
receives an intelligent answer has some¬ 
thing to think about, and is not so apt to 
weary one with incessant, \iseless ques¬ 
tionings as is the child who seldom re¬ 
ceives considerate or satisfactory replies. 
This plan has ’ aught my little girl to 
tell the time, to count, to tell the days 
of the week, the months of the year; the 
letters on her blocks, the forming, with 
January 16, 
them, of the names of people, of horses, 
of places, the titles of books and of 
magazines; something of physiology, of 
geography, and of arithmetic; of nature; 
and of the preparation of some simple 
dishes. Thus, one day she became much 
interested in spelling out the printed 
form of a blank check, and of asking its 
use and the way it should be filled in. 
Then she filled it in for a million dollars, 
payable to her father, and calmly signed 
her name. Another time she came run¬ 
ning in, excitedly, describing a most 
beautiful bird with a scarlet head, and 
a body of black, striped with white. We 
went at once to look him up in our bird 
book, and I feel sure that she will always 
recognize the hairy woodpecker. 
In two other more definite ways is 
this little home school carried on. The 
first is by the reading or telling of verse 
and story. I read only the best, and only 
those suited to the temperament of the 
child. Thus, a nervous child will not 
be helped by hearing exciting or sad 
stories. When we go on an occasional 
ramble through the woods, we talk in 
the language of Hiawatha, and recall 
some bit of nature verse. 
Then we have one hour each day in 
actual desk work, during this, the sec¬ 
ond year. Her desk, her chair and mine 
are in a convenient place, which, at pres¬ 
ent. happens to be in a corner of the 
kitchen. That corner is well-lighted 
and ventilated. I insist upon a regular 
hour each day, that she shall come to 
me with face and hands clean, and that 
she shall keep her desk in order. I use 
the same text-books that are used in the 
schools. In that hour she has little les¬ 
sons in reading, writing, spelling, lan¬ 
guage and number work. Often two or 
three subjects may be combined; thus, 
a neatly written letter combines spelling, 
language, and writing. A variety of de¬ 
vices may be employed to retain the 
child’s interest. A spelling list, which 
is kept by the child herself, to which 
she adds, duly numbered, each new word 
she learns, is a thing of joy and pride, 
and a lesson in itself. 
This plan of home teaching seems so 
simple, and requires so little time, that 
one would naturally ask, “Does it ac¬ 
complish the same results as school room 
work?” I have been assured by teach¬ 
ers and friends that my plan is a suc¬ 
cess ; the physician whose advice led to 
the experiment, who is a man of edu¬ 
cation, has offered to send me as many 
pupils as I wish; friends among college 
trained women have asked me to teach 
their children. But I have not been sat¬ 
isfied with this approbation. I entered 
the child in a model school for a few 
weeks and went there two days to ob¬ 
serve. I noted that in actual recitation 
and work she was engaged 40 minutes; 
the remainder of the day was spent in 
games, and seat-work that taught the use 
of the hands. The class work was sim¬ 
ple and easy for her. I reached the con¬ 
clusion that, with the advantages of a 
country life, the plan of home teaching 
for the early grades is desirable. L. s. 
Apple Catsup ; Mush. 
O NE quart cooked and sifted apples; 
two medium-sized onions, chopped 
fine; one cup sugar; one teaspoon each 
pepper, cloves and mustard; two tea¬ 
spoons cinnamon; one tablespoonful of 
salt; one quart vinegar. Stir all to¬ 
gether, boil one hour. Seal very tight 
while hot. This is excellent. 
MRS. A. K. G. 
T HIS is fine. Peel and quarter one 
dozen tart apples, cook until soft, 
put through sieve. To one quart of sift¬ 
ed apples add one cupful of sugar, one 
teaspoonful of pepper, one teaspoon of 
cloves, one teaspoon of mustard, two 
tablespoons cinnamon, two large onions 
chopped fine; one tablespoon of salt, 
one pint of vinegar. Cook one hour and 
bottle. The following is my recipe for 
making mush: Put on the amount of 
water and let come to a boil. Take corn- 
meal and mix with cold water (add one 
large tablespoonful flour), stir it well. 
When water boils, put in cornmeal, let 
boil about 15 minutes. Grease pan, pour 
in cooked mush, then grease mush on 
top and it will never form a hard crust. 
If you make mush in this manner once 
you will never go back to the old-fash¬ 
ioned way of stirring dry meal into the 
water. mrs. w. b. v. 
