THE RURAt NEW -YORKER 
185 
Some Masculine Opinions. 
T HREE neighbors were seated with 
my “men folks” last night about the 
bright open fire in our living-room. The 
•oung folks were busy in various ways. 
I was ostensibly reading, but in reality 
was listening to the conversation of the 
men. I like to hear men talk, especially 
when they are not talking to me. When 
they talk with each other they are apt 
to be frank about the women. It is good 
to have their honest opinions; for most 
of us are working in some way to make 
life brighter for some man. So I am 
going to pass on some of the things that 
I heard last night. 
Each callers had a word of apprecia¬ 
tion for the used fireplace. One man, 
whose sister kept his house, said: “I’ve 
wanted Sophie to let me open up that 
fireplace in our sitting-room every Win¬ 
ter since we’ve lived on that place. She 
won’t listen to it; says fireplaces make 
too much dirt.” 
We all knew of Sophie’s orderly hab¬ 
its, and could imagine her dismay at 
the idea. But Grandfather had known 
Sophie since she was a little girl. 
“You tell Sophie for me, John,” he 
said, “that that kind of dirt isn’t dirt 
at all. Tell her not to spend her life in 
a kitchen but to open up that sitting- 
room fireplace and find out what life 
really is.” 
Another man remarked that he 
thought farm women were gaining in that 
respect; that is, they were allowing 
themselves to become more comfortable 
housewives, and that the living-room in 
farmhouses was one proof of it. And, 
he maintained, it was the spirit that pro¬ 
vided these living-rooms that was going 
to keep more young folks on the farms. 
“In my young days,” he said, “the best 
room was one in which we boys didn’t 
feel at home.” 
Then these men gave some ideas of 
what constituted a comfortable house¬ 
wife, that is, one who is comfortable to 
live with. They agreed that she keeps a 
rocking chair in the kitchen. She screens 
her house in Summer; but she does not 
meet one at the door, brushing flies 
with a half-lifted apron, as he enters. 
She has an old broom, or a scraper at 
the back door, as a hint to the owner of 
muddy boots; but she does not cast a 
suspicious glance toward his feet as he 
comes into the house. Perhaps she has 
a few rugs scattered about to cover the 
worn places in the carpets; but she does 
not watch continually to see if anyone 
has turned up an edge. The best room 
of her house is not a show-case for occa¬ 
sional use; it is the family sitting-room. 
It does not contain what-nots, and bric- 
a-brac, and stale air; it is bright and cosy 
and filled with such things as the mem¬ 
bers of the family enjoy in their leisure 
hours. If you arrive, unbidden and un¬ 
expectedly, she welcomes you without bus¬ 
tle, and with no excuse for the family 
fare. Her family’s esteem means more 
to her than that of the passing guest, 
and she knows of no better way of show¬ 
ing her regard for you than to admit you 
for awhile into the family circle. 
As the men spoke, I thought: “Is it 
really essential that she be frugal?” 
And the answer came quickly, “To be 
sure.” That frugality made the differ¬ 
ence between indifferent, haphazard meth¬ 
ods and comfortable ones. “She looketh 
well unto the ways of her household. 
.She perceiveth that her merchan¬ 
dise is good,”—otherwise, she might not 
have attained the state of mind whereby 
she became comfortable to live with. But 
she gives of her spirit always. She makes 
no martyr of herself, nor demands mar¬ 
tyrdom in others. L. s. 
Sweet Pickles. 
I WOULD like a recipe for canning 
whole cucumbers as a sweet pickle 
and perhaps some of The R. N.-Y.’s 
readers might have one. I have tried 
several ways of doing them but cannot 
seem to get just what I want. 
I have made several vc„ „ A 
sell and to eat, but always used meat 
stock or milk. If Mrs. N. J., who wished 
to can soup, did not care to use either of 
those she could prepare the vegetables as 
for soup, cook in water and then add a 
good generous piece of butter, a. w. l. 
Pumpkin Recipes. 
C AN you tell me how to can pump¬ 
kins? I prefer using glass jars. 
MRS. c. 
Peel, remove seeds, and cook as if pre¬ 
paring for pies. Keep as dry as possible; 
steaming is really preferable to boiling. 
Then put through sieve, and fill solidly 
into glass jars. Put lids on, without 
screwing or fastening tight, stand jars in 
kettle just as though cooking any kind of 
canned fruit, setting them on slat bottom 
or boards, and putting in water three- 
fourths their depth. Bring water to a 
boil, and boil one hour. Some report 
success from a shorter boiling than this, 
but extra sterilization is a safeguard. 
Lift out jars; if the contents have set¬ 
tled down fill up with boiling water, and 
seal tight at once. Store in a cool, dark 
place. 
1 HAYE a recipe for pumpkin cakes 
that was handed down from my 
grandmother, that seems to me to an¬ 
swer the description of the pumpkin loaf 
and with a little alteration can be used 
as designated. Even if it is not what 
Medora Corbett wishes it is very good: 
Two cups of Indian meal, one scant cup 
of flour, iy 2 cups of boiled and sifted 
pumpkin, one cup of sugar or molasses, 
one egg, salt and spice to taste. Mix 
with sweet milk. If preferred mix with 
sour milk or buttermilk and use one tea¬ 
spoonful of soda. Bake on a hot griddle. 
By using less sweetening can be eaten 
with syrup. I bake it in a pan in the 
oven and eat with butter. Good with 
berries. mrs. f. a. s. 
I NOTICED an inquiry for a pumpkin 
loaf, wanted by a grandmother. Hav¬ 
ing been fortunate enough to belong to a 
Dutch family I was given many whole¬ 
some dishes as well as some unwholesome 
delicacies. I give the rule for cronshe or 
kronje, as I find it in grandmother’s 
cook-book. It may be what has been 
asked you, and if so it is a great pleasure 
to be able to further the good which I 
am constantly receiving from The R. 
N.Y. 
Pare and cut in small pieces half of a 
fair-sized pumpkin, put into a saucepan 
with plenty of salt and water to cover. 
Boil until tender enough to mash. It 
should be very moist or more water added 
while mashing. Return to fire and when 
boiling stir in enough yellow cornmeal to 
make it quite thick, then tie it in a pud¬ 
ding bag and hang in a kettle of boiling 
water, and keep boiling for two and a 
half to three hours. Remove from bag 
and serve hot with syrup, or slice cold 
and fry a crisp brown in butter and drip- 
K . A . D> 
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