■Uhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
245 
Notes by a Farm Mother 
l.\ AN Oi.n Farmiioi sk. —Just yf'stor- 
<iny w*' r('c('iv(Ml a lotter from a doar 
sistor, tolling of tho distross causod in hor 
lioino city by the shortase of fuel, and 
hoping we have i)lentj' of wood' on hand. 
We haven't as much as we should, but 
will manage somehow. So. inste.ad of 
keeping a very hot lire all the time we 
try to keep just an even one. Hy keep¬ 
ing tlie stove clean, both under and over 
the oven, and the damper shut, we get 
far more heat. We clean the stovepipes 
every two weeks, and so gtiard against 
the i)ipe and chimney cat<'hing lire. lOarly 
this Winter I decided to dress the <‘hil- 
dren “double;” that is. in two suits of 
underwear and stockings, and worsted 
blouses and-dresses, instead of the thin 
cotton ones. To keejt the cold and damp¬ 
ness from their feet I <ait insoles to put 
in their shoes and the hoys’ rubbers from 
old felt hats. Not one of the children 
has had a cough so far this Winter, and 
I think the e.xtra layer of clothing has 
saved them from a chill—as our house is 
an “old-timer.” built before the <lay of 
building paper—and in windy weather 
the cold seems to pen*‘trate everywhere. 
The lirst two Winters we livtnl Inut* we 
all had colds and coughs most of the 
time, bt'sides severe .attacks of (a'oup and 
pneumonia twice. Many a night have I 
sat up till morning “steaming” a (a'oupy 
child. Making a big funnel of i)aper. )tut 
the ^mall end over the teakettle spout, 
and let the steam till up Iht^ little ttait 
you make by thiatwing a sheet or shawl 
over your head and baby. I’e careful not 
to let steam burn. Have ready a |)oultice 
nuule by spreading lard on a cloth and 
is enough. What a shame that fruit 
should spoil on the ground in one |»art of 
the State and be unknown at the other 
side. So it comes to pass that all sorts 
of make-believes are done up. Mock 
apple-butter without apples is very good. 
Here is the recipe: Hoil until tender a 
half dozen carrots sliced line. Drain and 
IH’Css through a colander, then add a little 
water, pinch of salt, -2 teasimons of cin¬ 
namon, % teaspoon of cloves, cup 
vinegar and 2 tablesj)oons of flour to 
thicken; sweeten to taste. Like baby 
robins, the children are always hungry— 
and even the homely carrot makes a tasty 
spia'ad for bread when spiced a bit. 
Makk-ovkks. —The«‘ wet and stormy 
days the children need fre(iuent <‘hanges 
of stockings. (Jood new ones are high- 
jtriced, while the cheap ones are not 
worth buying; so it pays to use up all 
the good stocking legs we have, (’ut off 
rovinding at bottom to make the toe. let 
them shape a new foot in the wealing-^ 
if too short add a i>ie<-e at to)). This is 
a quicker way of repairing and there are 
no big i)atches to hurt tlie foot. 
Dhyi.ng Stkainkr (’i-oths. —What a 
stormy week it's bi'en, not a <liiy that 
one could hang the wash out in ; no iilace 
but upstairs to dry tlumi. -Vnd the cotton 
milk strainers, how dry them'/ Well, 
we rinsed thimi, wa.sbed and .scalded and 
rinsed again ; foUbal them lightly in the 
granite dripping pan and put them in 
the oven. In a shoi't tiiqe tlu'.v wer(‘ dry 
and ready to put away. 
For and Auai.nht ToitAcro.— I echo 
the wish of IIoi)e Farm writer in re¬ 
gard to the boys using tobacco anil soft 
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The Rural New-Yorker i 
333 W. 30th St., New York i 
A Couple of Milch Coats Doing War Service 
NEXT WINTER 
Don't livo in ONE ROOM! 
Prepare now, for another 
winter. Make up your 
mind not to suiTer again, 
huddled together, floors 
cold, and hugging the 
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house as you do in 
summer. 
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.‘^priiikb' thick with grated initmi'g, ajiply 
tn chilli's throat. This is heroic treat¬ 
ment, but it never failed to loosen the 
<-roiip, blit as ebilil will persfiire freely, 
ail elothing must be changed, and chest 
and back well rubbed witli camphorated 
oil, and care taken that the little one 
does not get in a draught. Hut an easier 
way to break U|) a croupy cough is to 
have a supply of “croup tablets” on 
luind, one dissolved in hot water ami a 
teaspoonful of the liquid given every teu 
minutes will loosen it up. Your doctor 
will give you these little black tablets, 
and I know they are a sure means of 
relii'f. 
.\initlier letter from a sister. How we 
do enjoy them. Away out here amid the 
snows, with none but ourselves for com¬ 
pany since Daddy has gone “beyond the 
sunset,” how gray the days would be if 
it wi'i'e not for these bright, newsy letters, 
and the honest K. N.-Y. Sister tells of 
the life insurance the soldier boys she 
knows are taking out. Wliat a line idea 
it is, and how happy the brave fellows 
must be to know that if they never re¬ 
turn tbo.se whom tlu'y love will be jiro- 
vided for. Now why doesn't I'licle Sam 
insist that a life insurance policy be taken 
out with every marriage license; make 
till* two go together, unless the couple 
can prove they already are insured'/ 
If this were done how many homes 
would be spared the horror of want in 
till* years to come. Money may bo the 
root of all evil, but it is a very necessary 
root; very few of ns can get on without 
it. Even' the littb' toddlers want some 
jiennies of their own, and the aged grand¬ 
father whose every want is sniiplied feels 
better if he has a f(‘W dollars in his 
jxicket. 
Jars ok E.mi’TINKS.s. —The fruit down 
cellar is going—there wasn't much of it 
at lirst—and we had hoped to lill all 
those :’.00 jars, ending up with apiile- 
bntter and tomato jam. Hnt apples! 
There were none in our vicinity, and the 
tomatoes failed to ripen, so there was no 
jam. 'J'here were no berries except the 
wild ones. I’eacbes wi're a dollar for a 
small basket, and at the price of sugar 
one did not feel able to buy many. I low 
true it is that we never “miss the water,” 
etc. And it’s true of other things iiLso. 
When we lived along Lake Erie's shore 
we always had an abundance of fruit of 
all kinds and we- thought all country 
people had the same—now we know 
there are some places where there never 
drinks. It mily dues them luuni by fos-- 
tering lialiils they can hai'illy shake off 
in later life, and it's a waste of muney 
that should go for a better pnrpo.se. 
As (i> I lie man who thinks it's ton great 
.sell'-dimial for him to give nit his tobacco, 
1 wonder if hi' has a hoy at the front, or 
in training. If his own hoy needed that 
tobacco to quiet his nerves, wonldn’t he 
give it lip for liim and never think ot 
till' cost'/ So it seems to me it’s only a 
(inestion of love aftt'r all ; if ire have no 
hoy to send let’s do all we can for those 
who must go—just as we would for onr 
own. If all did this the American hoys 
who have gone and those yet to go will 
want for nothing hnmau hearts can give. 
M. s. 
A Few War Economies 
To save my I'hililren's shoes for school, 
('ll*., and thus save on leather, which is 
glutting scarce. 1 make little homemade 
slippers, cut very simply. The sole I 
make out of felt from an old felt hat or 
the uppers of an old jiair of otherwise 
worn-out shoi's. If I use tin* laller, I 
put in an inner sole of some wooh'ii | 
goods for warmth. The upper iiiece I 
mak(* of any dark, heavy woolen or 
mixed goods, such as old trousers or 
overcoat cloth. They wear (|nite a while. 1 
and save on shoes as well as on mother’s 
nerves, for the children can run almost 
noiselessly in them. Seam up the heel 
and toe and then sew to .sole. Sometimes 
I make seam on the outside, particularly 
if cloth, is thick, and overcast with bright 
colored silkat(*eii. Hem aronnd the top 
and make an eyelet in each siih*, to in-' 
.sort a lialf shoestring in each s’lipper, to 
lie snugly to lit tin* ankle. 
Wonleii underwear is another thing 
that costs so mneh. Wt“ feel tin* need of 
getting all the good we can out of it. 
(let a good li(*avy quality of nnhleached 
canton llannel and lit a large iiiece, fleece 
side inside, on the parts that are grow¬ 
ing thin. This is vi'iy warm, and will 
wear as long as any part of the garftient, 
and thn.s .save taking off and pniting on 
patches, as is the case if old i-loth is 
n.sed. I can prolong the wear of a set 
of underwear two Winters more than 
usual by this method. Don’t just imt on 
little patches hut a large |iiece on knees 
ami seat of drawers and sleeves and 
shonlders of shirts. mks. n. .v. it. 
Vermont. 
Let Borax 
Do the Hard Work 
Vi 
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