1272 
November 9, 1918 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
WOMAN AND HOME 
From Day to Day 
Sunrise In Belgium 
From “The Belfry of Bruges.” 
In the market place of Bruges stands the 
belfry old and brown. 
Thrice consumed and thrice rebuilded, 
still it watches o’er the town. 
As the Summer morn was breaking, on 
that lofty tower I stood, 
And the world threw off its darknes.s, like 
the w'eeds of widow’hood. 
Not a sound rose from the city at that 
early morning hour, 
But I heard a heart of iron beating in the 
ancient tow'cr. 
I beheld the Flemish weavers, with 
Namur and .Tuliers bold. 
Marching homeward from the bloody bat¬ 
tle of the Spurs of Gold. 
Saw the fight at Minnewater. saw the 
White Hoods moving west, 
Saw the great Artevelde victorious scale 
the Golden Dragon’s Nest. 
And again the whi.skered Spaniard all the 
land with terror smote ; 
And again the wild alarum sounded from 
the tocsin’s throat; 
Till the bell of Ghent responded o’er la¬ 
goon and dike of sand: 
“I am Roland ! I am Roland ! There is 
victory in the land !” 
Then the sound of drums aroused me. 
The awakened city’s roar 
<^ha.sed the phantoms I had summoned^ 
back into their graves once more. 
Hours had passed away like minutes; 
and before I was aware, 
1 . 0 ! the shadow of the belfry crossed the 
sun illumined square. 
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
* 
The suggestion to economize coffee, as 
a means of saving tonnage, will be felt as 
a real hardship by many people who 
think that their day does not begin aright 
without the fragrant berry. Without 
touching on the hygienic side of coffee 
drinking, it is very evident that economy 
in its u.se will save transportation space 
to a considerable degree. Anyone w'ho 
feels able to use homemade substitutes 
will certainly help win the war. During 
the Civil War it was stern necessity that 
forced many families to use parched corn, 
rye and sweet potatoes as coffee substi¬ 
tutes. Since then hygienic considerations 
have made cereal coffees of various sorts 
a commercial industry, but their first 
origin was in the farm kitchen, w’here the 
hoiisekeeper experimented to secure a sub¬ 
stitute that was acceptable to family 
taste. Several of our correspondents have 
written us of their homemade cereal 
“coffee.” which had taken the place of 
the commercial article. 
* 
A CORRESPONDENT recently wrote us 
asking advice in spinning wmol. .Perhaps 
the high price of knitting yarn was re¬ 
sponsible for the query. No doubt there 
are still some women in isolated districts 
who have preserved the spinner’s art, but 
they are few, and a correspondence course 
in the use of the spinning-wheel seems 
hardly likely to take the place of actual 
experience. If our readers include any 
farm housewives who have kept up or 
revived the industry of spinning w’ool 
from their own sheep we should like to 
hear something of their experience. 
* 
Among the nourishing dishes for Win¬ 
ter weather there are morevarieties of 
vegetable chowders than many cooks re¬ 
alize. The general method of making 
them is the same; diced bacon or other 
fat heated until it bubbles, seasoning 
vegetables, such as onions, celery or 
green peppers cooked in the fat, then the 
main ingredients, with boiling water to 
cook in, and shortly before serving the 
addition of scalding milk and thickening, 
if desired. The result depends much on 
the cook’s skill: if the dish is not nicely 
seasoned it may be quite insipid: but 
properly made it is savory, nourishing 
and economical. Corn, tomatoes, salsify 
and Lima beans all make good chow'ders, 
with diced potatoes and the other usual 
ingredients. Nut butter may be used in¬ 
stead of bacon, and one may u.se skim- 
milk in place of whole milk, the substi¬ 
tute fat taking the place of cream. Sal¬ 
sify, cut in small pieces, makes a delicious 
chowder wdth an oyster flavor. Flaked 
salt codfish, boiled or freshened, or the 
“fish flakes” put up in cans, may be 
added to various vegetable chowders with 
sa\ory effect. Chowder made according 
to one’s favorite recipe for clams, but 
with fish flakes substituted, is excellent. 
* 
One of the suggestions made by the 
health officials, in methods of protection 
against influenza infection, is always to 
wash hands and face before a meal. 
Many children are allowed to be very 
careless in this particular, and too many 
adults do not realize that clean hands are 
not merely a point in social ethics, but a 
matter of hygiene as well. Many young 
men whose lives have been spent in rough 
surroundings have learned more about 
the hygienic necessity for clean hands in 
army camps than ever before. It is a 
thing that should be impressed on every 
child, and above all the boy should learn 
that clean hands and well-cared-for finger¬ 
nails are not merely a concession to the 
prejudices of society but an important 
point in physical well-being. Cleanliness, 
fresh air and abundant nourishment that 
does not overtax digestion are three great 
safeguards against many physical ills. 
More About Wathing Fluid 
Regarding that tested washing fluid, 
page 1196, the salts of tartar and sal am¬ 
moniac should be dissolved in the addi¬ 
tional gallon of cold water and added to 
the lye solution after that has got cold. 
The liberation of the ammonia will not 
be so violent and it will be retained in 
the solution, where it is intended to be, 
instead of being dissipated by the heat 
of the reaction and J:he hot lye. The price 
is about right for th.at formula, but as the 
.salts of tartar is now very high, a quar¬ 
ter pound of sal soda will be cheaper and 
better; also the addition of the same 
amount of borax will improve it The 
can of lye (“potash,” now mostly caustic 
soda) is the active element in the fluid. 
DRUGGIST. 
A Winter Week-End In a New York Farm¬ 
house 
The ringing of the alarm Friday morn¬ 
ing was not a welcome sound but we 
crawled out and dre.ssed, planning the 
day’s work as we did so. We expect a 
man to chop in the woods. The only meal 
he eats here is dinner, but I must* hurry 
with breakfast so that John will be ready 
to show him where to commence work. 
Fire built and teakettle over, I go'^to the 
bedrooms, air the beds and open all the 
windows. Our men prefer buckwheat 
cakes these cold mornings. These had 
been stirred the night before and as some¬ 
one may be interested I’ll tell how I 
make them. About 4 p. m. stai’t a small 
sponge wdth one-half yeast cake dissolved 
in one-half cup lukewarm w'ater and flour 
to make stiff. Set in a warm place to 
rise and just before retiring stir together 
two cups buckw’heat flour, one heaping 
tablespoon Indian meal and one heaping 
tablespoon wheat flovir. Heat sweet milk 
with hot water until lukewarm. Beat all 
together, add the sponge, beat thoroughly 
and place where it will not be chilled. 
In the morning save about one-fourth of 
the mixture to use the next night. To 
the remainder add one even teaspoon 
saleratus and buttermilk to make or de¬ 
sired consistency. Bake on a griddle. 
This process may be continued for a 
week in cold weather and then one starts 
again with fresh yeast. The night be¬ 
fore making new sponge I do not use as 
much flour, do not save out any yeast 
and bake all of the batter. 
Breakfast was ready in a short time, 
as I had Llamburg steak, run through the 
chopper the night before, gravy and 
syrup. The family soon finished their 
meal and I, who had been baking cakes, 
sat down to eat when William Dean ar¬ 
rived at the door. The thermometer said 
3 degrees below zero and William looked 
so cold that I poured a cup of coffee and 
asked him to sit down and warm up. 
After he leaves I make up my mind that 
if I ever can get the time I shall write 
a book with William for the hero. A 
farmer’s wife take time to write a book! 
Yes. Probably no publisher would do 
more than glance at it, but I would have 
the satisfaction of trying. Oh, for the 
education that would enable me to write 
clearly, leaving out the “crudities,” and 
to make others realize at least a part of 
the genuine goodness of the man. Those 
who read it, could I write as I would like 
to, would be inspired to “press on” and 
never let their troubles discourage them. 
Thinking of this, I clear the table, skim 
the milk, strain milk, bring in wood and 
water and carry out water, etc. We are 
fattening calves and it is either a feast 
or a famine of milk. While the calves 
are young I make considerable butter; as 
they grow older they take more milk 
and w'e have less, until just before they 
are sold w^e have just about enough for 
cooking. But we find that fattening 
calves pays better than butter-making 
and makes a great deal less work. The 
lamps and dishes attended to, I make the 
beds, sweep and dust two rooms, peel 
turnips and potatoes, all the time watch¬ 
ing some beef that is cooking on the 
stove, and then run down cellar for a few 
Gieenings. These are peeled and sliced 
into a buttered basin, a few bits of but¬ 
ter added, and one-half cup sugar, a pinch 
of salt, and a little nutmeg sprinkled 
over. Cover with a crust made with one 
and one-half cups flour, one and one-half 
teaspoons baking powder, one heaping 
tablespoon lard, salt and mixed with 
sweet milk. The basin, covered, is placed 
in a larger basin half full of water and 
set in the oven for an hour. For dinner 
we have beefsteak, our own slaughtering, 
and very tender it is, gravy, boiled pota¬ 
toes, mashed turnips, cucumber pickles, 
also home-grown, brown bread and but¬ 
ter, coffee and apple pudding with plain 
sauce. The pudding is very light; proof 
—not a crumh remains. Dishes to wash 
and butter to work and pack and then I 
take a “breathing spell” to look over the 
mail, change dress and plan supper wdiilc 
I darn stockings. 
There is cake on hand. I’ll stew 
some Spitzenburgs, cream the potatoes 
left from dinner and add brown and white 
bread and butter, milk and tea. I pro¬ 
ceed to do this, skim milk, strain milk, 
wash pails and after supper wash the 
dishes, mend some and then read a while. 
Bread mixing follows, then the cakes are 
stirred and the daily Bible reading takes 
place. The clocks wound and cat put 
out, we fall asleep with thankful hearts 
that inside and outside the living crea¬ 
tures are as comfortable as we know how 
to make them. Next morning the bread 
which spent the night on a warmed 
cushion in a chair, covered with a pan, 
a cloth and shawl, is light and goes into 
the tins while breakfast is cooking. The 
morning work over, two mince pies and 
one huckleberry pie are placed in the 
oven. While these are baking, potatoes 
and onions are peeled. When the pies are 
taken from the oven the bread is put in. 
Dinner, fried ham, milk gravy, potatoes, 
creamed onions, pickles, bread, butter, 
cofi’ee and huckleberi'y pie, is ready when 
the men come from the wood-lot with 
sharp appetites. The remains are gath¬ 
ered for the dog and cat. a cake placed 
in the oven and the dishes wa.shed while 
it bakes, I make myself more tidy, wrap 
up and start for the attic. A poor soul 
with five children needs garments that 
will bear making over. An overcoat that 
has b^n discarded and two jackets that 
our girl has outgrown w'ill perhaps help 
some, but the little boys need pants. We 
have relatives who send us their clothing 
for any use that we may wish to make of 
it, and feeling grateful for this, I open a 
chest and find a pair of trousers that be¬ 
longed to an uncle, a man six feet tall 
and four feet wide, or around. They are 
made of fine, heavy cloth and are large 
enough to cut into several pairs of small 
trousers These garments are made into 
a bundle, ready to send to our neighbor, 
and then I wrap well and go to the barn. 
There are some lambs and calves that I 
have not seen, and the horses and colts 
must have a few words and an apple 
apiece. Supper may be easily prepared. 
. V Del Dane, *‘The 
Old Stove 
Iwantyouto knowme. 
I ara smashing prices 
this year. lammak- 
I ing a country-wide 
f drive on Kalamazoo 
^ Stoves, Ranges, and 
Furnaces. That’s 
^hy 1 want to talk 
^ low prices. 
VSend Me Your Name 
r and get my book. 
I It tells the story. 
I Shows you the 
] latest thing in 
iKalam azoo S to ves, 
Ranges, Fur- 
naces. Gas 
Ranges, Oil 
^ Ranges and 
Kitchen Kabi- 
nets. 
V e r y o n s 
knows Kala- 
tnazoo qual- 
ity. But do 
IfYoa^you know 
how much 
money Kalama¬ 
zoo prices save you? 
I ■ell direct from my factoriea. I ship on 30 
days’ trial — cash or easy payment — un¬ 
limited. unconditional „ j j-ga 
sruarantee. 
Ask for CataloK 
No. 114 
KALAMAZOO 
STOVE CO. y 
Afanufacturarm Ivl 
Kalamazoo, Mich. H 
You’ll IV GIa«n 
Write to Del Dane 
A KalcxKvaz^ 
Direct to You 
MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS, by 
W. A.StockiuKi an excellent dairy 
book. For sale by Rural New - Yorker 
Warms Every 
Household Task 
Make any room in the house 
warm and cosy with a Per¬ 
fection Oil Heater. 
No heavy wood to carry, no 
litter to sweep up. No smoke 
nor smell. Just pure, inex¬ 
pensive SO-CO-NY Oil, giv¬ 
ing 8 hours of abundant 
warmth to the gallon. 
Sold by hardware and general stores. 
STANDARD OIL CO. OF 
NEW YORK 
