RURAL NEW... RKER 
901 
WOMAN AND HOME 
Ac we are contemplating a trin to the 
■Western coast in our car this Fall, we 
would like to hear from someone who has 
made the trip as to the best way to go. 
also any other detail which would be of 
benefit to ns. Knowing we would reach a 
large number of people through your 
paper. I would like you to print this, and 
would be glad to hear from some who 
could give us the desired information. 
E. R. ir. 
We have no doubt some of our readers 
have made this trip. They go every¬ 
where. and are always glad to give advice. 
Mr. Vaughn told us about his trip to 
Florida—now let some of the cross¬ 
country travelers tell us how they made 
out. 
Few people stop to realize how in the 
cities women are doing work formerly 
monopolized by men. The draft has 
combed young men out of many lines of 
industry and. as was the case in England, 
women have fallen into line. We see 
many of them as comluctors. “guards'’ 
and ticket takers on the street railroads. 
Some of the stronger women are acting as 
l)orters and janitors. In St. Louis colored 
women are said to do well as “salesmen.” 
The first woman bootblack appeared here 
recently. Such women are doing their 
work cheerfully and well, and there will 
soon be many more of them. On the farm 
women are succeeding at light work, such 
as hoeing, weeding, fruit picking and 
similar jobs. 
The national amendment for woman 
suffrage seems to have been abandoned 
for the present. It was passed by the 
House of Representatives, but in the 
I’nited States Senate one or two votes 
are needed to secure a two-thirds vote. 
The chief opposition comes from the 
Southern States, where there is evident 
protest against giving the ballot to col¬ 
ored women ! Senator .lames W. Wads¬ 
worth of New York occupies an unenvi¬ 
able position in this contest. New York 
citizens voted by a lai'ge majority to give 
women the ballot, and the Legislature 
reriuested the Senators to vote for the 
amendment. Yet Senator Wadsworth, in 
spite of all this, still opposes sufl'rage. 
Is he sent to the Senate to represent New 
York, or to represent his own sentiments? 
Let us make another plea for “mother's 
cow.” That is the cow on the dairy farm 
selected for the family milk supply. Too 
many of you know how hard it is for 
some farm families to obtain all the milk 
needed by the children. Every energy is 
strained to send milk away from the 
farm and fill the caiis. The result is the 
farm family hardly knows the taste of 
milk or cream. Nothing is right and 
everything is wrong about that plan, and 
the best way to change it is to have one 
good cow put aside for “family use.” Her 
milk should not be sold, but used entirely 
in the home. That is “mother’s cow." 
and she is a great institution. 
The New York Agricultural Depart¬ 
ment at Albany has issued a good bulletin 
with descriptions or pictures of over 700 
New York farms which are for sale or to 
rent. It is a good pamphlet. Hardly a 
week passes without several calls for in¬ 
formation about New York farms. Peo¬ 
ple from the West or South are inter¬ 
ested and there are still many “back-to- 
the-landers.” New York wants home- 
seekers to repopulate the unoccupied 
farms. Failures and faint hearts are not 
needed, but it wdll be possible to put a 
family bringing the elements of success on 
every vacant farm. The Agricultural De¬ 
partment will list farms for sale in this 
bulletin free of charge. No fee is asked 
by the State. Farmers who are inter¬ 
ested might write: 
F. .1. Carr, Division of Agriculture. Al¬ 
bany, N. Y. 
Coop teachers are scarce this year, and 
we learn of cases where women of middle 
age will take the local district school. 
They will be farmers’ wives or sisters who 
have old Normal diplomas and are en¬ 
abled. through the repeal of the township 
law. to take the district school. They 
will be like veterans coming back into the 
service after experience as mothers and 
housekeepers. They will have sdme sound 
theories to work out in the schoolroom, 
for life in the home has taught them the 
essential things about child training. We 
think some of these older women will 
make ideal teachers for the local district 
school. Those who consider teaching a 
profession or a dull grind of fixed rules 
may not onsider the plan with favor, but 
we can hardly think of a better training 
for our children than one of those farm 
mothers with ripe experience and old- 
fashioned methods. 
I was drafted into the Army a couple 
of weeks ago. The Army is not so bad. 
although it could be improved a whole 
lot. The thing I dislike is going around 
every morning about seven o’clock and 
picking up matches and cigarette stumps. 
“Cussing” and smoking are the only bad 
habits the boys have, but the Y. M. C. A. 
is doing a lot to cut this out. c. V. L, 
This young man tells the same story 
that comes to us from others. Great ef¬ 
forts are being made to raise money for 
buying tobacco for the soldiers. More 
space in the papers and more energy is 
devoted to this plan for providing 
“smokes’’ than for any other war work 
bition amendment. Thus far the follow¬ 
ing have ratified the iunendment: 
SENATE. 
tivt 
Mississippi . . .. 
8— 2S to 5 
Virginia . 
la— 20 to s 
Kentucky . 
14— 2S to 5 
South Carolina 
17— 34 to G 
North Dakota . 
. . . '. .Ian. 
25— 43 to 2 
Maryland . 
1.3— IS to 7 
Montana . 
.Feb 
19— 35 to 2 
Texas . 
.Feb 
28— 15 to 7 
Delaware. 
..... Mar. 
18— 13 to 3 
South Dakota . . 
19— 43 to 0 
Mas.sachusetts .. 
2— 27 to 12 
Arizona ....... 
.May 
HOUSE. 
23—Unan. 
Mississippi . . . . 
8— 93 to 3 
Virginia . 
11— 84 to 13 
Kentucky . 
14— 07 to 11 
South Carolina 
.Jan. 
2.3— GG to 29 
North Dakota . 
24— 9G to 10 
Maryland . 
.Feb. 
8— 58 to 30 
Montana . 
.Feb. 
19— 77 to 8 
Texas . 
4— 72 to .30 
Delaware. 
.Mar. 
14— 27 to 0 
South Dakota . . 
.Mar. 
20— 8 ( to 0 
^Massachusetts .. 
20—145 to 91 
Arizona . 
24— 29 to 3 
A fUipidin of the Food Army tnid Ifer Foldiers 
outside of the Red Cross. The chief gain 
goes to the tobacco trust. 'I’he work is 
educating thousands of young fellows to 
become cigarette fiends. Perhaps we do 
not know what that means. We do, for 
just now one of our boys is making a life 
struggle to break the hateful tobacco 
habit—fastened upon him by just such 
influences as are now providing “smokes” 
for soldiers.” 
“.Vnotiieu reason is that we women are 
doing more this year than ever before, and 
of course it wouldn’t look well to be writ¬ 
ing for the paper when I ought to be 
feeding the pigs. They’re growing finely, 
anyway.” 
That is from a farm woman who tried 
to find time to answer a (piestion about 
fjirm matp'rs. Few i)eople realize how 
busy the farm workers are this year. 
■What with the labor (piestion. war work 
and the desire to increase food production 
the farm household is the busiest place 
outside of a beehive. 
Skvkkai. readers have asked what the 
States are doing with the national prohi¬ 
Uho(h‘ Island is. we think, the only 
State which has thus far refused to ratify. 
The Soldier’s Farewell 
It was about 20 minutes before the 
train would start. As we were idly 
watching the people coming and going, a 
little group arrived at the station and 
stood waiting for the train a little apart 
from the crowd. There was a stocky, 
athletic young fellow in khaki, a slender, 
bare-hend('d girl in black, and three very 
small children, consisting of a lively little 
girl of four or five, a solid little lad of 
three and a rollicking year-old baby in a 
go-cart. The children frisked and capered 
about, wheeling the baby to and fro and 
finding plenty of amusement in these un¬ 
usual circumstances. Rut the sober-faced 
man in the soldier clothes and by his side 
the pale little mother with drawn brows, 
could tell but one story — the young 
father was going to the war. AVhether 
bound for a training-camp or whether this 
was his last visit home before leaving for 
' France we did not know, but his soldieidy 
bearing and ease in uniform led us to be- 
li(‘ve that he was no beginner. The chil- 
dren’« neat but very plain clothing indi¬ 
car('(i moderate circumstances, 
black yarb of the mother suggested a re- 
ci'iit loss. 
The couple conversed (piii'tly. though 
often interrupted by the littD oiu's in 
their play, the baby’s trying to slide out 
of his go-cart, or his little flapping hat 
slipping down over his eyes or off over the 
back of his head. So plainly those last 
words marked the expression on their 
faces that we hesitated to be watching 
them, though no .sound was heard, for 
there was the usual hurrying to and fro 
and loud talking of many people, the load¬ 
ing of baggage and the swish of escaping 
steam. 
The only time that the father and 
mother smiled was when little sister tried 
to pull up the baby’s sock and he kept 
hindering lu'r by kicking his sturdy legs 
up and down, his face dimpling with 
laughter. 
The last late passengers have entered 
the train and the soldier father bends over 
the happy baby and tenderly kisses it, 
next the sturdy boy so like himself and 
then the slender, dancing little girl. For 
a moment or two the father and mother 
exchange last words, he takes her in his 
arms and kisses her once, twice, thrice. 
“All aboard !” shouts a voice. He ki.sscs 
each of the little ones again, .seizes his 
bag and rushes for the train. She has 
forced a smile to her lips as she waves 
her hand in a last good-bye, but the drawn 
look about her eyes is yet more noticeable. 
We know the tears she is forcing back, 
for our own are blurring our eyes as the 
train pulls out. taking him to face war, 
sacrifice his life perhaps, leaving her to 
loneliiK'ss, the care of the little ones alone, 
illne.ss, worries and wearines.s, anxieties 
too dreadful to think of, alone, always 
alone. 
Should we fret at unaccustomed food, 
at fewer new clothes, at longer hours of 
work, we who make no such sacrifice? 
For the cau.se of freedom, we do our part 
gladly, eagerly, and long for ways in 
which we may ease the pain of those who 
send forth their nearest and dimrest with 
drawn brows but with a smile on their 
BERTITA E. DOREX 
Canning Milk in the Home 
In response to a call in The R. N.-Y. 
for a practical method of canning milk 
in the home. I submit my experiments 
and the results. Last Fall I canned about 
KM) quarts of milk by the one-period cold- 
pack method. Some I canned as soon as 
inilked. and some I skimmed after keep- 
hours, always being sure 
fliat it was perfectly sweet. Some of the 
cream I made into butter, and .some I 
canned separately. Not a can of either 
milk or cream that I have opened was 
spoiled, and I have only a few left. 
.\t first I let them boil three hours, but 
that turned the milk rather dark like 
('vaporatf'd milk. I diminished the time 
of boiling down to one and one-half hours 
which left the milk white and it kept 
just as well. I am canning some again 
this Summer, as we are intending to 
leave the_ farm, and shall experiment with 
it by taking a can out before the rest and 
placing it where it can proceed to spoil at 
once if it will, until I find the minimum 
time necessary. 
Of course the milk is, and tastes like, 
scalded milk. Rut for every use except, 
perhaps, drinking, it is perfectly satisfac¬ 
tory. The cream can be used for every 
purpose for which fre.sh cream is u.sed. A 
little milk sometimes needs to be addeti fiir 
whipped cream. If the process of whip¬ 
ping be continued a little, delicious butter 
will be obtained. e. g. c. 
* 
Typhoid Fever and Whisky 
One remarkable thing about the great 
war is the way science has mastered dis¬ 
ease. In all former wars diseases of the 
class of typhoid fever have proved more 
dangerous than “shot and shell.” In this 
war such diseases are quite rare—the re¬ 
sult being largely due to the care taken 
in providing pure water. During our 
Civil War this type of disease was V(‘ry 
prevalent, and a recent writer has this to 
say : 
“Another reason for the high typhoid 
rate in the T^nion army was the prac¬ 
tice of serving a ration of whisky. Many 
soldiers had the idea that the water was 
bad, but they argued that if whi.sky was 
plentifully added, the water w'ould be safe. 
The consequence was that much polluted 
water, mixed with whisky, was taken, ami 
typhoid eases of this origin became very 
numerous. The present rule in armies at 
the front and in the camps .shows both 
the development of medical science and 
supremacy of public sentiment.. No one 
would now think of luirifying water with 
whisky, nor would wliisky be considered a 
preventive against typhoid fever. On 
the contrary, it is known that frequent 
rations of whisky are conducive to typhoid 
fever, and the incidenci* of the disease is 
specially common among regular drink¬ 
ers.” 
