The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
787 
od by Lizzanne—she bathed her hands in 
soda and water. “It keeps them soft 
and white,” she explained. “And you 
want, my recipe for toilet soap. Gather 
all the bits of pure soap on the premises, 
white, castile, etc., boil together with a 
little lemon juice and glycerine and oat¬ 
meal. perfume or not, and when hardened 
you have a choice article.” 
“My clothes? Oh. I use soft water, 
of course. That’s the main whitener. 
But, kerosene in the water is a help, and 
cheap, too. The scent rinses and airs out. 
I don’t use it for flannels or colored 
goods, though.” LII.LIAN TROTT. 
Rural Schools in Vermont 
“The lowest ebb is the turn of the 
tide.” Perhaps the country school will 
come into its own again. Frankly now, 
can your children write or spell as well 
as you and your schoolmates could at the 
same age? Are they as proficient in 
arithmetic and geography? 
Let us look back .*10 years. Never was 
a truer picture painted than Whittier’s 
“School Days.” There was no truant 
law then; 24 weeks of school was the 
•rule. School was a privilege then, not 
an unwelcome necessity. The teacher 
was usually a girl from another part of 
the town, or an adjoining town, and un¬ 
derstood the needs of our country boys 
and girls. Perhaps one great drawback 
to many rural schools is the fact that the 
teachers are city girls, who antagonize 
unintentionally both parents and pupils 
by their air of superiority, forgetting they 
are as verdant in the country as these 
people who be in the city. Another thing 
the teachers of today forget is that a 
legal school day consists of two sessions, 
from 9 A. M. till 12 M. and 1 P. M. till 
4 P. M. Some teachers seldom teach the 
full hours while others drag the school 
day till 5 o’clock, and really do not ac¬ 
complish as much as in short hours busily 
employed. 
Nearly all farming communities in 
Northern States will agree that our school 
year is too lomr. that much of the money 
expended on Winter schools is worse than 
wasted. R. C. J.’s account of Winter 
berry-picking and canning time, and 
butchering. If these girls were not need¬ 
ed at home and felt they were not needed, 
housewives’ assistants are needed. I 
know several teachers who added to their 
incomes by sewing or fancy work during 
vacation. 
Most of us feel the teachers are paid 
more than they earn. The teachers here 
get from $10 to $15 per week and board 
for 50 hours of labor, for few rural 
school teachers require or receive much 
out-of-hours work. Rural teachers can 
do their own laundry and make many of 
the dress accessories in their spare time. 
The hot-lunch proposition seldom works 
out. well. It makes so much for the pu¬ 
pils to carry. Often one family will fur¬ 
nish little or nothing, and another will 
send something entirely unsuited for small 
children. Then, too, an hour will not 
cook, serve and wash dishes for a hot 
lunch. If for any reason a mother wants 
her child to have something hot, a dish 
of soup, chowder or cocoa is quickly 
heated. So far as training is concerned, 
nearly every country housewife can give 
the teacher pointers. I know they could 
me when I was teaching, and we can 
teach our own children if we can only 
have them home long enough. Years ago 
with shorter school years our teachers 
did not have to give up school on ac¬ 
count of nervous diseases, either. Teach¬ 
ing at best is a nerve-testing business, but 
with a change of work the nerves recover. 
Our own school has been very fortu¬ 
nate in having earnest teachers, but train¬ 
ing for the position was what they needed, 
and often I have repeated the words of 
old Nokomis: 
“Like a fire upon the hearthstone 
Is a neighbor’s homely daughter; 
Like the starlight or the moonlight 
Is the handsomest of strangers!” 
Two other things we as parents would 
like to impress upon the minds of teach¬ 
ers. The law of individual drinking cups 
should be respected. The superintendent 
or directors do not know that many 
teachers compel a pupil who furnishes his 
own cup to allow others to use it. Then, 
too, the law requires that the teacher 
superintend the recreation hour. Does 
she do it? Honestly, the teacher in a 
ono of tlie newest needleeraft ideas is a sewing scarf that replaces the work basket 
of other days. It is made with four large pockets, two at each end. to hold the many 
things that previously were to be found in the work basket. During the time when sewing is 
not being done, the scarf is used over the machine, with the pocket ends hanging down. 
When the sewing is about to begin, the scarf is placed over the hack of a chair, and there 
in the pockets is everything right handy. In No. 1565 we have illustrated one of these 
scarfs with a pretty design that embroiders up beautifully. The flowers are for French 
knots in pink, gold and lavender. The leaves are for lazy-dnisy stitch in green, the vines 
outline stiteli in green. The baskets are for outline stitch iu green. The material is white, 
and, with floss to complete embroidery, costs $1.50. 
schools is all too true. There arc days 
when neither teacher nor pupils can get 
there, and days when perhaps but 10 per 
cent of the pupils are there. On such 
days the teachers now will say. "We will 
omit arithmetic, geography, history and 
language today, as you would have to 
have the same lesson when your class¬ 
mates come.” They read, spell and spend 
most of the rest of the day playing games. 
Iu the old days, when a pupils was ab¬ 
sent, he had to make up his lessons in his 
pwn time. 
If farmers could have their way in most 
rural schools, there would be but 24 to 2S 
weeks of school, but both teacher and 
pupils would attend to business. Do you 
know how much arithmetic is taught iu 
your school in the eight grades? 
“Do you teach the metric system?” 
“No; it is not required.” 
“Gan this pupil estimate paint and pa¬ 
per for this room?” 
“No. We were told that very few pu¬ 
pils will be painters, etc., so we omit, 
that.” Probably there was not a pupil 
in that school but what would have his 
or her own work to do. and, remember, it 
is excellent mental drill anyway. 
“Do you have square and cube root, 
series, progression, or mensuration?” 
“No,” she could not do these herself 
without study, although a high school 
graduate, and had been at a normal 
school one year. Summed up, the arith¬ 
metic includes very little besides frac¬ 
tions. simple weights and measures and 
percentage. Wasn't your child’s grand¬ 
father taught more? 
Not long ago I read a notice something 
like this: “A class in penmanship has 
been formed for the high school students, 
"’hose penmanship was not easily read.” 
’’'' ai-f “ told if we shorten our school year 
we will lose many of our trained teachers, 
what does all the training amount to if 
it does not train them to teach? Not 
mug ago a letter written by a girl in 
.imnor high school road: “I have been 
offly sick i th tooth acke.” 
In the old days the teachers were, as 
say, our rural girls, and I believe there 
f r< ‘ as bright, sweet, capable girls on our 
• 1 ms today. Many of these could teach 
>e snorter vears, as they would be home 
° , P at the time when they were most 
redott sugaring and Spring cleaning, 
lingerie waist and silk stockings can 
scarcely he expected to be out of doors 
during the noon hour; but she might oc¬ 
casionally glance out of the window, and 
the first four grades should hardly be al¬ 
lowed to be out an hour or more and the 
teacher know nothing of the games, lan¬ 
guage or whereabouts of the children. 
The day is coming when the rural school 
will be again the “poor man’s college,” 
lint ice Imre {lot to do it on melees. 
MOT 11KR REE. 
French Mustard; Homemade Yeast 
Will you republish a recipe for French 
mustard? It was given in the Woman 
and Home Department a year or more 
ago. 
1 am sending my recipe for yeast, which 
works well for either white or rye bread. 
Take one medium-sized boiled potato, 
mashed, one dry yeast, cake, one pint 
hop water. It will make six loaves of 
bread. We mash up into a quart jar 
one boiled potato, then add the piut of 
hop water made by steeping for 15 min¬ 
utes, a good handful of hops. When 
cold add the dissolved yeast cake. Keep 
warm and shake frequently. Ready for 
use in about two days. MRS. L. T. B. 
Excellent homemade “French” mustard 
is made as follows: Stir a tablespoonful 
of olive oil into four tablespoonfuls of dry 
English mustard. Add a teaspoonful each 
of paprika, sugar and onion juice. Add 
enough scalding vinegar to make a smooth 
paste; beat well, then set bowl containing 
it in a pan of hot water; cover to keep in 
(lie strength, and cook 15 minutes. Rut 
away in corked jars or bottles; it will 
keep well. 
Chocolate Candy 
Three cups brown or white sugar, half 
cup grated chocolate, one teaspoon butter, 
oue cup cream. Mix all together, let 
come to a boil, stirring constantly to keep 
from burning. Let cook until hard when I 
tested in a cup of cold water. When done 
take off stove. Beat like heating eggs 
for Jive minutes. Rut one teaspoouful 
vanilla extract in after cooking, and beat 
all together. Pour in buttered tins and 
allow to cool. When nearly cold cut in 
blocks. This is delicious, but don’t let 
your candy cook too hard, .mhs.e.v, R. 
Westclox £ig£er> -just tell him when 
TV/TAYBE you swear at him some 
mornings when you’d give anything 
in the world for forty winks more! 
But, after all, you swear by him be¬ 
cause he’s only carrying out your own or¬ 
ders and calling you exactly when you 
say. 
And isn’t that what you want? A 
clock that takes time seriously; that lets 
you sleep right up to the last tick; and 
then keeps good time all day. 
Right there’s the reason why Westclox 
alarms have so many friends: they run 
and ring on time. Why shouldn’t they? 
Every Westclox has that same good con¬ 
struction that got Big Ben up in the 
world. 
Western Clock Co.—makers of Westclox 
La Salle and Peru, Ill., U. S. A. 
‘ EARN PIN MONEY at HOME” 
by crocheting; or knitting Bootees, 
Sacques, Hoods, Ladies’ Vests and 
Shawls, Steady work. We pay 
parcel-post charges both ways. 
Simon Asclier £sf Co., Inc. 
134th St. Sf 3rd Ave., New York City 
Feeds and Feeding now $2.75 
This standard book by Henry & Mor¬ 
rison lias been advanced to $2.75, at 
which price we can supply it. 
MAKE A JVOl.I.Ut AX llOCK. SELL M F.N BETS 
it patent patch for instantly mending leaks 
in nil u tonsil s. Sample p it e k a g <• free. 
COl.l.l'.TTK M FO. CO., 10* *, Amsterdam, \. Y. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 50th Street New York 
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Think what that means to you in 
good hard dollars with the great de- 
. , _ T mand for wheat at high prices. Many 
fanners in western Canada have paid for their land 
from a single crop. The same success may still be 
yours, for you can buy on easy terms. 
Farm Land at $15 fo $30 an Acre 
located near thriving towns, good markets, railways—land of a 
kmd which grows 20 to 45 bushals of whaat to th« acre, 
u. Krazin K lands at low prices convenient to your grain farm en¬ 
able you to reap the profits from stock raising and dairying. 
Learn the Facts About Western Canada 
—low taxation (none on improvements), healthful climate, good 
schools, churches, pleasant social relationships, a prosperous and 
industrious people. 
.■h U 8 t ra f ea literature, maps, description of farm opportunities in 
li'.mrtm n» M 4 f k i atohewan antl , A1 ° ertu - reduced railroud rates, etc., write 
Department of Immigration, Ottawa, Canada, or 
O. G. RUTLEDGE 301E. Genesee Street, 
V 1 LEULat, SYRACUSE, N. Y. 
Canadian Cavernmenl Agent. 
