Ih* RURAL NEW.YORKER 
The Choice of Gifts 
If you can give really beautiful things, 
do s6f but remember that small, useful 
gifts are preferable to articles of medi¬ 
ocre beauty and interest, chosen because 
we "must give something.” To our more 
intimate friends, at least, we may give 
such things as will be really a help. Last 
Christmas I received from a cousin a 
patent dishcloth (called a "mitt”) of a 
kind which I had not seen ; particles of 
metal being woven with the cloth. She 
also sent a lovely little doily, hand-made, 
but this was so hidden in its tissue paper 
wrapping that I did not discover it. As I 
save such wrappings, with ribbon, etc., 
for next year’s use, it was not destroyed. 
My enthusiastic letter of thanks for the 
dishcloth led to inquiry, and the finding 
of the doily, but I still feel that of the 
two, could I have had but one, I should 
have preferred the introduction to the 
new kitchen help. A neighbor was equally 
delighted with a bag for sewing, so shaped 
as to fit at the end of her sewing machine. 
A dainty handmade book for addresses, 
given me years ago. is still one of my 
prized and useful possessions. G. A. T. 
Pillows for Comfort 
pasted from one eide of top to other. 
Older children fold and mark and young¬ 
est paste. Use to decorate Christmas 
tree. 
. A Christmas Present.—Make cardboard 
circle size of small plate. Place child’s 
hand outspread on circle and mark 
around with pencil. Then perforate y> 
in. a part the pencil-outlined hand with 
a hatpin, making perforations large. Use 
luster colored cotton to sew in and'out 
until hand is outlined; then back again 
to fill in spaces; sew with blunt-pointed 
darning needle. _ Tie blotter on back, 
r or younger child, mark and perforate 
a eircle for sewing. 
Wagon From Matchbox.—Cut small 
<1 in.) circles from lid. paste on sides. 
Cut cardboard horse and paste in shafts. 
L se in the much-loved farmyard of clothes 
pins. 
A box of kindergarten clay and a large¬ 
sized peg board with box (small) of 
colored pegs will be a most acceptable 
Christmas present for the children, and 
are obtainable in any city book store thar 
keeps kindergarten supplies or from deal¬ 
ers in school materials. 
LENA M. AGGERS. 
. 1897 
As the time is approaching for giving 
and receiving Christmas gifts let me say 
that pillows, big and little, fancy and 
plain, round, square or oblong, hard or 
soft, are among the finest gifts to be 
given or received, and the variety of fill¬ 
ing is only equaled by the variety of uses 
to which they may be put. I never 
realized bow many pillows could be used 
or would be needed in a case of illness 
until the past Summer, when a daughter 
Embroidery Designs 
yr.:::pr 
"*****Oi M , 
#„• 
jgm 
i 
MS. Designs-for embroidering blue birds 
in cross-stitch style. Two transfers of 
each are given. 20 cents. 
was smitten suddenly with tuberculosis in 
its incipient stage, and was obliged to 
remain in bed for nine weeks, mostly on 
the back, in order to allow the lungs free 
play and to renew and strengthen the dis¬ 
eased tissues. The many pillows of dif¬ 
ferent sizes, shapes, degrees of softness, 
etc., it required to ease her position and 
keep from forming bed sores cannot be 
imagined; little ones to tuck about, long, 
slim ones to relieve the strain on some 
tired place, large ones practically to make 
a new bed underneath the body, an oblong 
one on which to lay the ankles and re¬ 
lieve the pressure on the heel, and a 
variety for other and every purpose. I 
would rather have a pillow for Christmas 
than any other thing. Jessie. 
Ft. X.-Y.—A little pillow of feathers or 
down is a great comfort to an old person. 
“Jessie” refers to the hsc of a pillow to 
relieve pressure on the heel. A bedridden 
person often suffers from pain in the 
heel, to a degree hardly understood by 
those able to move around, and the lit¬ 
tle pillow relieves pressure and gives 
comfort. 
Springerles 
Will you reprint the recipe for spring- 
tries? h.d. w. 
Mix four whole eggs with one pound 
of pow'dered sugar. If granulated sugar 
is used sift five time*?. Stir 15 minutes 
or more (old-fashioned cooks stirred one 
hour, all one way ). Add a pound of 
flour in which is sifted a teaspoouful of 
baking powder or one .saltspoonful of 
carbonate of ammonia. Roll out one- 
fourth inch thick, and cut with the wooden 
molds used for this purpose. Let stand 
to dry over night. Grease the baking pan 
and sprinkle with aniseed, so that the 
seed will be on the bottom of the cakes. 
Rake in a moderate oven. 
Indoor Amusement for Little Children 
Paper Chains.—Cut paper y 2 to 1 in. 
wide. 4 to 5 in. long; paste one short edge 
over other; next run strip through pasted 
circle and paste as before. Use to dec¬ 
orate Christmas tree or playroom. 
Paper Lanterns.—Use paper size of 
writing paper, any color or kind A Vail 
paper sample book is fine. Fold long 
edges together, mark a line across long, 
open edge 1 in. from top. Then mark 
from folded edge to line strip y 2 to 1 in. 
wide. Cut on latter lines, unfold and 
paste short edges, one over the other. 
Finish at top with handle y 2 in. wide, 
Color Scheme for Rooms 
Would you give me some idea of a color 
scheme for our new home, for living room 
with colonnade and hall, open stairs, 
good-sized rooms and bright, natural hard 
woodwork, and floors, unstained or var¬ 
nished as yet? We have been living on 
floors; they are getting quite spotted and 
soiled (regardless of the fact we have 
rugs on them). What will be the easiest 
and test way to clean them for stain or 
varnish? j. b. s. 
Color schemes in decoration are so 
much a matter of personal taste that it 
is difficult for a stranger to advise, es¬ 
pecially when the general style of the 
house is unknown. Shades of brown ant 
yellow are always harmonious, and go 
well with natural wood. In selecting 
brown, the ugly chocolate tints must be 
avoided, preference being given to golden 
and chestnut or soft wood shades. The 
soft shades of green are also desirable, 
but we would avoid blue and rose if the 
wood is left’ its natural color. Many 
like leaf green for the dining-room, but 
if one has taste for blue china this is not 
desirable, while a dining-room in pumpkin 
yellow is always cheerful, and harmon¬ 
izes with any blue tableware. Even the 
cheapest willow pattern dishes look well 
in a yellow room, and suggest good taste. 
If the dining-room looks north or east, 
we would certainly have it yellow, while 
sunnier rooms may be green if liked. But 
there is always a better effect if halls and 
living rooms opening one into the other 
harmonize in coloring, without violent 
contrast, and the use of yellow and brown 
shades throughout would be desirable. 
If any of the bedrooms have woodwork 
painted white, blue and rose could be 
used there, the blues being used in the 
sunny southern rooms, the rose where 
exposure is north or east. 
1 he subject is a very interesting one. 
and_ we should be glad to hear from you 
again, if we can be of assistance. 
^ on can clean hard wood floors fairly 
well by rubbing with a little turpentine 
on a cloth, but if your floors are badly 
spotted it may be necessary to wash 
them.. In this case do not use potash, 
washing powder or a harsh soap. We 
do most of our cleaning with floor oil 
(there are many sorts on the market), 
but these are oiled hardwood floors. 
Are We Fair to Our Men? 
Uncle Sara has been investigating us 
farm women, some 3,274.790 of us. 
through his States Relation Service of 
the Bureau of Agriculture, and the result 
of such investigation is that we are in a 
very bad way. The fanners have all the 
big. new toys and labor-saving devices, 
wlii.e our condition is onlv a degree in 
advance of our grandmothers’. All of 
which goes_ to prove that the men are 
selfish and inconsiderate, and that we are 
long-suffering martyrs. 
At least, that is the idea conveved in 
about every article one reads on the sub¬ 
ject. and is decidedly the opinion of manv 
of the women themselves. But is it cor¬ 
rect ? 
The American man is known the world 
over as an indulgent husband and father 
whose women folks get what thev want 
or think they want. Is the American 
farmer an exception? Or, is it not a fact 
that few farm women know what they do 
want? How many of them, for instance, 
would not think they were being mis- 
treated if their kitchen was small and 
compact, instead of being the largest 
room in the house? A man should not be 
expected to study out his wife’s needs. 
He generally has problems of his own • 
but if she herself would make an intelli- 
g^ut study of the situation and offer prac¬ 
tical suggestions toward its betterment. 
1 doubt not she would meet with willing 
co-operation. If the farmers are pro¬ 
gressive and their wives are not, it is 
time for the wives to wake up and take 
notice, and cease blaming the men for 
conditions due probably to their owg lack 
of knowledge. mbs. f. t c 
Westclox 
Baby Ben will slip snugly even 
into small stockings 
B ABY BEN does his 
work with a smile — 
and gets you up the same 
way. Not so easy sometimes, 
either, on those cold, dark 
mornings when you’d a lot 
rather stay in bed for another 
little roll-over nap. 
Maybe it’s his littleness 
that gets him so many 
friends: folks chum up with 
Baby Ben on sight. But he’s 
a lot more than just cute! 
Otherwise his friendships 
wouldn’t last. 
He’s a good timekeeper and 
a dependable alarm — true 
to the Westclox reputation. 
Baby Ben will call you 
once with a long ring or 
he’ll coax you gently out 
of bed with intermittent 
calls—any way you say. 
He’s just about as big as 
a minute but he takes every 
minute seriously—as a good 
timekeeper should. 
That Westclox construc¬ 
tion inside his case is what 
helps him make good. The 
name,Westclox, on the dial 
and tag always means West¬ 
clox patented construction; 
and honest, faithful time¬ 
keeping. 
WESTERN CLOCK CO., LASALLE, ILLINOIS, U. S.A. 
Makers of tTntdoxt Big Ben, Baby Ben, Pocket Ben, Glo-Bcn, America,Sleep-Meter, jack o’Lantenj 
Factory: Peru,Illinois. In Canada: Western Clock Co., Ltd., Peterborough,Ont. 
A R E C O BLEND 
Coffee 
27 
c 
lb. 
I BEAN OR GROUND) 
This delicious household 
blend supplied to families 
direct from the wholesale 
roaster in 5-lb. lota or more at 
YOU SAVE RETAILER’S PROFIT 
SENT PARCEL POST PREPAID ON RECEIPT OF YOUR 
CHECK, MONEY ORDER OR CASH 
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Money Back 
“'^LIES COrF EE CO, 233-230 Washington St. 
Established SO Years New York City 
Gossip is a sort of 6moke that comes 
from the dirty tobacco pipes of those who 
diffuse it; it proves nothing but the bad 
taste of the smoker.—George Eliot 
FLAVOR HAMS WITH KRAUSERS’ 
Preparation for imparting a smoky flavor to meat. 
Mane from Hickory wood, Delicious flavor,eleaner, 
cheaper; no smoke house needed, .lust paint on. 
Qi at Drug Stores. Express prepaid for 81.23. 
v ‘ E. KRAUSER & BRO. Milton, Fa. 
“TURKISH TOWELS” 
Mill Seconds that are Good Value 
will send you POSTPAID FOR FOUR 
DOLLARS Our Special Bundle of Assorted 
Towels—Retail Value Five Dollars. 
Full Value Guaranteed 
Money Back If Dissatisfied 
STERLING TEXTILE MILLS Clinton, Mass. 
AGENTS WANTED 
tions tor Kcral New-Yorker in Ohio. Prefer 
men who have horse or auto. Address 
J. C. MULHOLLAND. General Delivery, Columbus, Ohio ^ 
|THE RURAL HEW YDRKER.333W.3Qlh St..NewYorhCity| 
SiggJSs 
This is the same Smoke Bouse 
used by Governor Co* of Ohio; 
by bis breeders and farmers 
all over the country. In use 
on Agricultural Experiment 
farms; pictured In a leading 
art icle by Country Gentleman, 
and recommended by Farm Pa¬ 
per Publishers all over the land. 
NOTICE—Get the Original 
National Giant Portable Smoke 
House. Beware' of Imita¬ 
tions or Experiments. 
Now in 
Use on 
'housands 
of Farms 
in U. S. 
and Canada 
Thousands of fanners m the U. S. and foreign 
countries will tell you that the National Giant 
Nmoke House saves half their meat bills—gives 
them better, sweeter meat, fish for their own table. 
The wonderful National Giant Smoke House is port¬ 
able; can be operated indoors or outdoors. Made in 3 sizes. Runs on 
sawdust and cobs and a little bark for seasoring. After smoking meats. 
S e *° r .sh>re house. Fly and bug proof. Keeps meat without sacking. 
r Worth its price many times over for this storage feature alone. 
bend ror FREE Book £ ontair * valuable Prize-winning recipes for curing and smoking Hams, 
, . . . uuua Bacon. Saurages and Fish at home Gives foil 
__ —-* ^ ---"“'mug curing ana SiuOK 
Ins] Nntinnnl Omni,, vi Bacon, Saurages and Fish at home. Gives full description o 
»nal National Giant smoke House. Quotes prices and gives other details. Write for it today 
be orig- 
- - —buu yiuer aetail8> write lor it today. 
jleJElevator^Mfg. Co. 358 McCinn St., Bloomington, 111. 
