THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
973 
All Sorts 
The pumpkin in picture is of the crop 
of 1914, and at the time that the picture 
was taken, July 12, 1915, in as good a 
state of preservation as in October, 1914, 
when it was plucked from the vine. The 
pumpkin gives promise of being sound 
for many months yet, long past the time 
that the crop of 1915 will come on the 
market. It is of a kind that is much 
raised by the farmers of Pennsylvania, 
and attains a size of about 36 inches in 
circumference. This pumpkin was pur¬ 
chased by Mrs. R. Claspby, of Lewis- 
town, Pa., off a wagon on the street 
along with some long-neck pumpkins in 
A Well-preserved Pumpkin. 
October, 1914, the long-necked variety 
commenced to show signs of going to de¬ 
cay during the Winter and had to be 
used, but this one is just as sound as 
the day it was purchased. f. e. c. 
Pennsylvania. 
Two Housekeeping Notes. 
Inclosed you will find a clipping con¬ 
cerning care of range. I hope it will 
prove as useful to others as it has to me; 
it was taken from a .Tune number of 
“The Elmira Star-Gazette.” The stove 
First Lesson in Horsemanship. 
should be just warm enough to melt the 
paraffin wax. When a fire is started, 
after treatment, it will smoke a little but 
not as badly as some stove polishes I 
have used. 
To a good housekeeper nothing is more 
unsightly than a dull or red iron range. 
Much energy is wasted by these same 
housewives trying, yet not knowing how 
to correct the trouble. Here is a sug¬ 
gestion: Let the range cool (not get 
cold). Scrub it as you would boards, all 
over the top thoroughly, with hot water 
and soap; let it dry. Have a thick 
lamb’s wool mitten such as comes for the 
purpose; slip the hand in it. Rub par¬ 
affin wax over the range, then rub it in 
with the mitten. When there is an even 
coat, shake powdered stove blacking over 
it and rub it in with the same mitten. 
Behold a beautiful shiny range! Per¬ 
haps it will wear off’ soon. I)o not feel 
discouraged, for it will last much longer 
than when polished by the old method 
and no vigorous, tiresome polishing with 
brushes; no dust; to say nothing of hav¬ 
ing clean hands. This may be done after 
breakfast If the fire is used at noon or 
night just give it a rub with the rnitteu, 
not using any more paraffin or powder 
this time. In the absence of a mitten old 
underwear serves admirably. The range 
should only be scrubbed once before first 
applying paraffin. 
I read an article in R. N.-Y. of .Tune 26 
on canning, by Edna S. Knapp, and beg 
to differ with her on canning strawber¬ 
ries. I think allowing them to stand over 
night in sugar injures the flavor. My 
method is to get them in the cans quickly 
as possible after picking, using two cups 
of sugar and one of water to each full 
quart of hulled berries. Let syrup boil, 
add berries; soon as boiling can and seal. 
When cool keep in the dark. Above all 
use new rubber can rings; cans that seal 
securely, and sterilize all utensils. I 
wish you could sample some of mine that 
were put up a year ago. 
I am very much interested in the arti¬ 
cles concerning the fresh meat supply, 
that is one thing the farm tables usually 
lack during Summer. Please accept my 
best wishes for your paper, which is 
the best one I have read. 
(MRS.) ERMA I. BEMET. 
Pennsylvania. 
Preparing Tripe. 
Will you send me explicit directions 
for curing and preserving tripe? 
New Hampshire. c. a. k. 
Tripe should be well scraped, even 
after the first cleaning. After standing 
in salt water for several hours, wrap or 
roll it up and securely bind around with 
string or tape to keep in shape. Boil 
until tender, which will take four or five 
hours. After removing it may be placed 
in a crock and covered with spiced vine¬ 
gar or it may be sliced and either put in 
glass cans with the vinegar and sealed or 
kept in an open vessel. I prefer the cans 
as there is no danger of mold forming. 
K. C. W. 
Guiding the Boy. 
Recently I visited a former neighbor 
who I think, has quite successfully solved 
the problem of keeping boys interested in 
farming. Nearly four years ago James 
was one of my pupils. lie was but 14 
and was thought to be the originator of 
most of the mischief. People shook their 
heads and said. “John and Sarah are 
going to have trouble with that boy; I 
don’t want our children to associate with 
him.” To me James never seemed like 
a bad boy, but fun-loving and running 
over with energy, which he did not know 
how to apply. Those boys taught me a 
lesson which is not forgotten—to give 
each a part in teaching the lesson. We 
are apt to forget that boys have active 
brains as well as bodies. I did not in¬ 
tend to write that, as it is another bit 
of history, that class, but it is just what 
his parents did—made him a partner. 
That made him feel that he must do all 
he could for the farm and home. So he 
became intertested in the farm papers 
and going to nearby places to see people 
who had been successful in some line of 
farm work. 
One of the first things he decided was 
that they must have a silo filled before 
frost. After feeding from it one year his 
father said : “No more old dry cornstalks 
lying around; we had better build an¬ 
other and larger one.” His next decision 
was that there was money in purebred 
hogs. A consultation was held by the 
firm to study ways and means, also profit, 
and then how James whistled and ham¬ 
mered and sawed, and finally a place was 
fitted up and the hogs were ordered. At 
first they had some bad luck, but did not 
get discouraged. A few purebred cows 
were purchased, all of them clipped and 
the stable remodeled, and other improve¬ 
ments made that I might write about, 
but this is enough to show what a boy 
can do if he has the chance. 
It isn’t the place alone that is quite 
transformed, or James, but the parents 
as well. To see how they all work to¬ 
gether and to hear their animated con¬ 
versation you - would wonder who was 
most interested. Suppose instead of let¬ 
ting James use some of his pent-up 
energy in his own way (by their guid¬ 
ing), Ins father had said, “No, James, 
the way I have farmed is the best way, 
and what was good enough for your 
mother and me is good enough for you.” 
I know many a boy who would be inter¬ 
ested in agriculture if he could have “a 
little rope,” as a boy expressed it. 
s. s. M. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 333 W. 30th St., N. Y. City 
Indian Bead Work 
j^OTHING is more fascinating or more in vogue at this time than 
Indian Bead Work articles. We have procured an outfit for 
making these articles, which will be sent, delivery charges prepaid, for 
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C One of these may be the renewal of your own subscription for one year. ) 
This outfit consists of a Patented Loom for making articles, an instruc¬ 
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Every woman knows and appreciates the value of these home-made 
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Your neighbor needs The Rural New-Yorker. If he is not a reader 
get his subscription. If he is a subscriber get his renewal. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 333 W. 30th St., NEW YORK CITY 
