Oic RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1087 
[ WOMAN AND HOME 
The Vision Splendid 
Here—or hereafter—you shall see it 
ended, 
This mighty work to which your souls 
are set, 
If from beyond—then with the vision 
splendid 
You shall smile back, and never know 
regret. 
Be this your vision !—through you Life 
transfigured, 
T'plift, redeemed from its forlorn es¬ 
tate, 
Purged of the stains which once its soul 
disfigured. 
Healed and restored, and wholly con¬ 
secrate. 
Christ’s own rich blood for healing of 
the nations. 
Poured through His heart the message 
of repiveve; 
God's holy martyrs, built on His fiuinda- 
tions, 
Built with their lives and died that 
Life might live. 
Noav in their train your blood shall bring 
like healing. 
You, like the Saints, have freely given 
your all. 
And your high deaths God's )ini|)nses 
revealing, 
Sound through the ojndh His mighty 
Clarion Call. 
O not in va’n has been your gre.-it 
endeavox'. 
For by your dyings l.ife is born again. 
And greater love hatli no man tokened 
ever 
Than with bis life to purchase Life's 
high gain. 
,IOU\ OXKXXl.\M. 
* 
Till*: Pastoral Pfirson hits the mark 
this week in what he says about paying 
the pai’.son. Some of these people seem 
to think it iis a sin for the pai’son to take 
money. Y'et he and liis family must live 
and he has nuinbei-less calls for help. If 
ho came and helped hini.self to food and 
clothing wherever he foxind it there 
would be prompt and violent trouble. 
Pay the parson and pay him promptly. 
Keep the contract with him as you would 
any other. It would be far better to avoid 
the expensive flowers and fuss at wed¬ 
dings and funei'als and hand the money 
over to the parson! 
* 
Thkre are many men in Xew Y'ork 
State who have got far enough along on 
the I'oad to woman suffrage to say: “I 
have no great objection to women voting 
if they really want to vote. I object to 
pushing the ballot upon all women just 
because a few of them want it.” A little 
reasoning and reading of history ought 
to show anyone that this is a hollow ai-gu- 
ment, but suppose we take it for what it 
is. Practically 1,000,000 New York 
women have signed a statement that they 
desire the ballot and will use it if given 
them. What inoi-e do such men ask for? 
They are now met with an answer to 
their last argument. Of coui'se, thei’e are 
still men who for one reason or another 
think women ai'e incapable of voting in¬ 
telligently. They could not be sat’sfied 
until women ai’e given an actual trial at 
voting. But what excuse is thei’e left for 
men who have said they wanted to pro¬ 
tect those unfoi’tunate women who do not 
want the responsibilities of suffi'age? 
* 
The story of‘‘T',lly.'’ as told by Mrs. 
Stevens, ought to make many women 
thoughtful. Three othei’s of the women 
who entei’ed these “Favorite Hons” in the 
contest have developed a good little busi¬ 
ness on the record of their hen. There 
seems to be no doubt about the fact that 
“utility” poultry are to have the call in 
the future. There will always be fancy 
or show-room stock, but more and more 
the demand will be for ben.s of known 
laying pedigree, and the character of the 
bi'eeder will be worth as much as the pedi¬ 
gree of the hen. We thkiik the Avoinan 
who can develop ti choice flock of good 
bens and prove her .skill at one of the 
egg-laying contests xvill have a great busi¬ 
ness pi'oposition. Howevei-, that “Fa- 
voi'ite Hen” tiv'al went to show that many 
supposed fine flocks and hens will melt 
away in reputation at the trap-nest. For 
the trap-nest will not only trap fame, but 
it will also ti'ap the bluffing hens. 
♦ 
Ox a object is to make The B. N.-Y. 
a true moving picture of country life— 
just as it isi—plain and true. Naturally 
we ti’y to have the pleasant and happier 
side of farm Ufe predominate, yet we all 
know tTiei’c are shadows and troubles 
along the way. It is this desii'e to paint 
farm life as it is. which prompts us to 
print the article by Mr. Macdonald on 
page lOflC). This scene is laid in a Can¬ 
adian province and is no 'doubt a true 
))icture of local life. Is it true of your 
locality? Is it true that farmei's seem 
to be taking le.ss interest in their fam¬ 
ilies? Is it true that relations between 
man and wife .are growing leas coi’dial 
and confidential? We would like to hiive 
the tiaith about this. One I’easou for the 
existence of a paper like The It. N. Y, 
is that it gives a chance to know the 
truth about such things. Our own ob- 
.servation indicates a different story. We 
find many farm families who own cars, 
and it is epute common for them to 
take a family ride of 20 miles or more 
after the day's work is done. We have 
quite often seen the men hel|» the wom¬ 
en with housewoi'k, so that all could 
come along. In many humble homes 
both husband and wife may bo found 
with the. children enjoying an evening 
houi-. It is our observation that fai-m 
women are coming to be, on the whole, 
close companions au<l more direct h«‘lp- 
ers of their hu.sbands, aixd that they arc 
living broader and less restricted lives. 
Are Ave right? 
♦ 
There is promise now of the largest 
potato crop ever known in this country 
—about 100.000,(KK) tibove the average. 
This vast amount of food must be utilized 
and that means complete disti-ibution and 
full use. Wheat bread pi-omises to be 
high, and it will be a great economy if 
potatoes can be used to partly substitute 
for wheat bread. How can this be done? 
In two ways. One is to mix potato with 
the flour in bi’ead-makiug. Many of our 
housewives do this regularly, and we 
have often told how they do it. Then po¬ 
tatoes can be used in pancakes so as to 
save cox.'siderable flour. The writer of 
this once ran a boarding house. Potatoes 
were cheap and so Avas milk, A\’hile flour 
and meat Avei-e expensive. The cook tried 
the plan of keeping milk and fried or 
bakt'd potatoes always on the table at 
every meal. It was “help yourself” freely 
to those di.shes and the boarders did so. 
They ate .so much of the cheap potatoes' 
that the bills for flour and meat AA’crc cut 
doAvn by oO per cent. 
* 
L.a.ST month a man presented a baby 
at a Western post office and tried to mail 
it by parcel post. The man wa.s a tx’avel- 
ing actor and wanted the baby sent on 
ahead of his regular trip. The postmaster 
I’efused to accept this sort of mail. He 
will send a queen bee, a cat, a child 
capable of caring for itself by mail, Avith 
proper postage attache<l, but the line is 
drawn at a baby. Thus Uncle Sam joins 
the ranks of the people Avho do not Avant 
xiftle childi’eu on the farm. 
* 
have recently ?:eceived two letters 
—wi-itten by different farm women—both 
discussing the war and their children. 
One letter is exceedingly bittei-—filled 
with profanity xis strong a.s aa’O ever saw 
put on paper. The writer violently de¬ 
clares that her boys .shall not be drafted; 
she assails President Wilson and army 
officers in the bittei*est terms be<*!uise all 
farm helpers are not exempt. In all our 
experience .we never read a moi’e violent 
tirade than this evidently intelligent 
Avoman puts ou papei*. Almost in the 
same mail comes a letter from a woman 
wliose only son has A-olunteered. She 
s.-iy-: she urged him to do so, because it is 
:i i>art of life to make sacidlices, and both 
the nation and the man ax’e made sti-onger 
:ind better for giving up the, best, 
they have. These letters are so different 
in spirit and tone that they make us Avon- 
dei'. Assuming that each mother has the 
same love for her sou, why .should one 
face a possible sejxaratiou Avith calm and 
lofty courage, Avhile the other has only 
violent and hateful abuse? 
Farm Prizes for Children 
The present “epidemic” of ofl'ering 
ixrizes for every conceiv.able activit^v of 
.school childi-en for something relating to 
farming has its good sides, and iKx.s.sibly 
some th.at ai’e otherwise. I’ossibly some¬ 
thing might be done better than it is be¬ 
ing done, and possibly not. It is insist- 
chI in most cases, if not in all, that the 
boy do all the work on the prize plot. 
Other conditions arc fixed as they need 
to be, and 1 fear in too many ca.ses the 
boy goes at the job of Aviuuing the prize 
in a someAvhat inefficient manner. Noav, 
the farmer is unusually efficient, hai-d as 
it is to get a village person to admit it. 
If the boy can use the methods of his 
fathei-, the machinery and horses, prefer¬ 
ably Avith some suggestions from the pa¬ 
rent, possibly in some cases in changing 
Avork Avith his father on a square deal as 
Avith any other man, it is to be presumed 
that greater efficiency in the woi-k Avill 
be accomplished. It is efficient woi'k 
that is wanted. The prize ought to be 
aAvarded on an efficiency basis. The bet¬ 
ter returns for a certain amount of Avork 
and expense, with an alloAvance for the 
quality of the land, should be the con¬ 
trolling factoi's. This i.s not intended to 
mark out the particular rules of the con¬ 
test, but to call attention to the effi¬ 
ciency factor in all such contests. I 
once Sciw the results of a prize milking 
conte.st. The Avinner Avas ii young man 
who had never milked a half dozen coavs 
in his life. In the conte.st it took him 
lu'arly a half hour to milk the cow. The 
rules were such that he met the condi¬ 
tions even in these cii’cumstances, and 
by the rules Avon the prize. I cannot 
see that it was efficaent work, and there- 
for(' the award of the prize was not to 
my liking. h. h. pYOX. 
Apple Syrup 
()ue of the most economical things you 
Ciui haA’e in the house Avherc there aia> 
children is an unlimited quantity of good 
.syrup. The children eat it freely on 
bread or biscuit or cakes and it does 
them good. This is one of the things 
Avhich can be made on the farm whei'e 
there is :in (Orchard or a supply of Avastc 
apples. Too frequently these apple.s are 
made into hard cider, Avhich becomes a 
nuisance and a dangei*. The apple juice 
may be made into a good syrirp by adding 
lime and thoroughly boiling. The Agri¬ 
cultural Department gives the folloAV- 
ing plan : The lime unites Avith the acid 
so that it .settles to the bottom : 
Select fresh cider of good (juality and 
to every seven gallons of (dder add five 
ounces of ))o\vdered calcium carb«mate 
(lime) Avhich can be obtained from any 
druggist at slight cost. After adding the 
carbonate stir the mixtui-e well and heat 
to boiling in porceljiin-liued kettles not 
more th.an two-thirds full. Boil for about 
five minutes, then pour into two-quart 
jar.s, glass pitchers,^ or other glass con¬ 
tainers. Set these in pans of hot Avater 
to allow slow cooling. As soon as sedi¬ 
ment has settled out—this Avill take 24 
hours or moi’C—turn off clear liquid and 
acain heat to boiling in poi’celain-Iined 
kettles, this time but one-third full. 
Boil rapidly until liquid has reached 
about one-seventh of its original volume, 
and is of the consistency of thin syrup, 
then cool sloAvly as befoi-e. In a day or 
so, syrup should be perfectly clear and 
can then be bottled for futui'C xise. 
Signing Lease by Agent 
I h.ave rented .a faian for 1017, The wife 
of the laxidlord signed the contract as 
the landlord, told her to in my presence 
as he Av.as a poor wi*itex*. Is such a 
contract as legal as though the landlord 
signed it? c. D. s. 
Ncav Y’oi’k. 
A rental for a period of a year from 
the making thereof does not necessarily 
have to be in Avriting. But the safer 
way is to have it in Avriting and in this 
<'ase it would have been better if the 
landlord had signed the lease himself. He 
of course may make his wife his agent, 
but she should then sign as agent and 
that would be some evidence later on in 
ea.se it became necessai'y for you to 
proA'e agency. Again.st their combined 
evidence to the coutrai*y hoAv could you 
proA'e that he authorized her to sign his 
name, and the signature not being his, 
hoAV then coxild you prove it to be his 
act? To piwe the fact of signing in 
case it ever came in doubt is the rea¬ 
son for having witne.s.ses to signatures 
iix th<‘ majority of cases. 
Property in Wife’s Maiden Name 
What is the laAv in New .lersey con- 
eerning the folloAviug case? A married 
woman oavus a house and property pur¬ 
chased previous to her marriage, the deed 
being recorded in her maiden name. Over 
.‘>0 years have passed since the purchase. 
She has tAvo children grown and husband 
still living. Hoav should she go about to 
have this title changed; or if she should 
die before hxiviug it changed, leaving no 
will, hoAV Avould the propei*ty be disposed 
of? A. c. P. 
Ncav Jersey. 
She need not do anything about chang¬ 
ing hrr deed; it is all right as it is. and 
if she should die her property would be 
distributed tbe same as if it stood in hex- 
present name. If she left no aauU this 
real property Avoxxld go as follows: A 
life interest in one-third to the husband 
and the balance to the children. The 
pei-sonal propex-ty Avould go one-third to 
llie hxisband and the balance equally to 
the children. 
The Pig in His Pen 
price of food goe.s higher and higher; it gets the goat of 
iny fellow men, but the frau and I draw close to the fire and 
chnckle to think of the pig in his pen. Six months ago he Avas 
little but squeal, a cup of milk filled his tummy-tum-tum; now 
he eats a porringer of meal and his sides stick out like a drnm- 
drum-drnm. The nights are cold and the snow swirls down; 
J^ummer has grown old and white is her crown. The cellar is 
fidl, the bins running over; the moAvs are bulging with Red-top 
and cloA'er. Old Bill in his stall dreams of green fields; a small 
meed of milk Belinda still yields. All help what they can in 
saving onr yen, but the capsheaf of all is the pig in his pen. He 
leads a portly, carefree life, undisturbed by block or knife. 
J.ittle he knows that the butcher’s work can quickly change him 
from pig to pork. But ’tis cold enough now to keep some fresh 
meat, and the hankerin’ grows for a sparerib to eat. A roast of 
loin, too, onr pig will provide, and 
there’s many another choice tid-bit 
beside. Into meat of some kind every 
part of him goes, from the quirk in 
his tail to the ring in his nose. Salt 
pork, bacon,'ham, sausage and scrap- 
])le; they’ll slick to our ribs when 
tucked under onr bibs and Avith the 
cold Aveather we grapple. So here’s 
to the pig whose virtues loom big, the 
pig that all goes to food, the pig in his 
pen, that prime feeder of men, the pig 
that is all to the good. M. B, D. 
