158 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Santa Claus in an Engine 
Tbe Hope Farm man loves children, 
and lias written many beautiful and ten¬ 
der things about them, so I am sure he 
will be interested in tbe clipping 1 en¬ 
close, taken from the Decatur, Ill., Dmlj/ 
Review of December 25. • J. c. N. 
Blue Mound, Ill. 
“Santa Claus chartered an Illinois Cen¬ 
tral crack passenger train Friday after¬ 
noon, and brought the train to a rumbling 
stop at a farmhouse, near the Illinois 
Central tracks, south of Effingham, as 
Illinois Central trainmen the division 
over realized that they were taking tin- 
spirit of Christmas into a home which 
Santa Claus and bis co-workers had neg¬ 
lected for more than six years. 
“When No. 1. southbound passenger 
train, came to an abrupt stop apparently 
in the middle of a cornfield, with only a 
lonely house in view, a precedent was set 
by Illinois Central officials and employees, 
and there came to light a Christmas story 
of truth, but as strange as fiction, and 
for that reason the period of time must 
start back IS years ago. 
“One cold night 18 years ago a man 
and woman traveling in a covered wagon 
stopped at the home of John Sprouse and 
his wife, near the village of I.aClede. 
and within a few yards of tin- Illinois 
Central right# of way. The couple re¬ 
quested that they be allowed to remain 
there for the night. That night a child 
was- born to the visitors. Mr. and Mrs. 
Sprouse, childless, convinced the couple 
that the child should be given a better 
home than they were able to provide with 
their covered wagon, and as a result the 
child—a girl—was adopted by Mr. and 
Mrs. Sprouse. 
“During the ensuing 12 years the 
Sprouses, proud of their ward, and she 
equally fond of her home, gave the girl 
all within their power, and she developed 
into a sweet little country miss. 
“But a few days after her twelfth 
birthday anniversary sin- was stricken 
with infantile paralysis. Coincident with 
tliis illness reverses came upon the 
Sprouses, and their lot was difficult. 
“The girl became an invalid. ITer con¬ 
dition was such that she could not be 
moved., and she was placed on a cot near 
a window, and the only view of the world 
she has had for six years has been 
through that window. 
“For six years the girl has never moved 
from the c-ot. Her foster parents were 
unable to obtain the necessary medical 
service necessary to aid her. They could 
only dream of a’ wheel chair, and the girl 
devoted her time to development of her 
writing ability, until at present she is 
considered an artist. But drawing pic¬ 
tures and printing words is monotonous. 
And then began a queer romance. 
“Trainmen whisking by the Sprouse 
farmhouse on their freight and passenger 
trains frequently noted a small hand wav¬ 
ing at them from a window of the farm¬ 
house. And they waved back. 
“Within a few months there was not 
one Illinois Central train that did not 
produce a waving hand as it flashed by 
the window. There is not a trainman on 
the Illinois division who has not at one 
time or other waved at the little arm and 
hand in the window. 
“This waving became a fixed habit, and 
trainmen wondered who was responsible, 
and they, through friends,_ investigated 
and found out it was the stricken adopted 
daughter of the Sprouse family. 
“Even at night, with the aid of a 
match, the girl has signaled all the Tegu¬ 
lar trains, and has always rdbeived a 
l-eplv to her signal. 
“Then Christmas drew near. From her 
cot the girl composed pretty poems and 
made gaily decorated Christmas cards, 
which are of such a nature, that it is al¬ 
most impossible to distinguish the differ¬ 
ence between them and the manufactured 
ones. One of her poems dealt with a 
girl lying on a cot. waving lighted matches 
at trainmen as their -trains passed in the 
night. _ T „ , . 
“And Friday came, and as No. 1 whis¬ 
tled for the town of LaClede, the invalid 
prepared to wave her hand«as usual. Her 
foster father, now almost -blind, and her 
foster mother, slowly recovering from a 
severe fall, sat at the heating stove, won¬ 
dering if everyone’s Christmas was to be 
the same as their daughter’s and their 
own. 
“Old No. 1, which daily for six years 
had passed the Sprouse -home, leaving a 
roar, a cloud of dust and smoke and steam 
in its wake, came to a halt, directly oppo¬ 
site the invalid’s window. 
“A delegation of Illionis Central em¬ 
ployes, trainmen, jumped from the bag¬ 
gage car. Then Santa ( laus unloaded 
his consignment to the farmhouse. 
“A big. bright, comfortable wheel chair 
—a warm, woolly and beautiful bathrobe 
—a gay big Indian blanket with all its 
colors—a wonderful pair of house slip- 
ppi-s—and a purse with cash rolled out of 
the car, and No. 1 departed, as the dele¬ 
gation of trainmen conveyed to the little 
invalid the greatest Christmas of her life, 
of the life of her parents, and of the lives 
of the trainmen. 
“And then came No. 2. northbound pas¬ 
senger train And it stopped, and there 
was another delegation. This one was 
from the trainmen at Centralia, and they 
carried other things. 
“As Christmas Eve approached every 
trainman on the Illinois Central, and 
every employe from the office boys to the 
superintendents, smiled a smile of abso¬ 
lute content, as they thought of the girl 
whose arm will hereafter be waved from 
a wheel chair. 
“Besides the gifts a message was deliv¬ 
ered to her that she is to be given surgical 
attention.”’ 
Breeding Canary Birds 
T have male and female canary birds 
that I would like to mate. Can you tell 
me which month is best to put theuw in 
the breeding cage, and what to feed the 
young birds? A. S. 
New Jersey. 
I am glad to note a revival of interest 
in the breeding of these delightful little 
birds. I wish every lonely farm woman 
had a cheerful golden singer to add to 
Winter joy. Probably this revival of in¬ 
terest is due to two causes, the scarcity 
of birds produced by war times, when 
none were imported, and the fact that 
canaries may be easily raised at home. 
That is. if one loves birds, has a quiet 
corner for them, and the time and pa¬ 
tience needed. 
Breeding *>tock should not be too closely 
related. Professional breeders are almost 
always glad to exchange females with each 
other to avoid this danger. The _ male 
should be vigorous, and a good singer, 
four or five years of age, to get the best 
results. The female need not necessarily be 
from such good stock, nor over a year old. 
What I have said about the male is the 
highest professional standard. Amateurs 
raising a few birds at home need not be 
so particular; in fact, their birds may 
cannot move about. When you are sure 
no more eggs will be laid replace all in 
the nest. They should hatch in 14 days. 
Most males make excellent parents; if 
the male makes too much noise during 
incubation the female usually scolds him 
into silence. If he won't keep still, or 
attempts to injure the young, he should 
be removed at once. Keep the breeding 
room quiet and slightly darkened (throw 
a dark cloth over side of cage nearest 
window) if the mother prefers. Quiet at 
this period is imperative. You cannot breed 
without it. Change the sand tray daily ; 
give the necessary food, water and bath¬ 
ing facilities, and let your birds alone. 
Young birds normally leave the nest 
when 20 to 30 days old. They must stay 
with their parents until able to crack 
seeds for themselves. If the female is 
preparing for a second brood the young 
may be placed in nursery cage so the 
parents may feed them between the wires. 
The usual canary food is canary seed 
with a small quantity of rape, and some¬ 
times a little hemp. Hemp seed should 
be given as children get candy. A bit of 
apple or lettuce should be given fre¬ 
quently, though never so much ^ as the 
bird wants. A man of 27 years’ exper¬ 
ience says “A bit of lettuce as big as a 
silver half dollar once a week is enough 
to keep one bird in good condition.” Egg 
food should be given daily as soon as the 
birds are paired; but should be used only 
when fresh. Boil an egg half an hour, 
chop fine, rub «to a paste with a spoon, 
and mix with an equal bulk of cracker 
crumbs or unsalted bread crumbs. Some 
breeders add as much cayenne pepper as 
will go on a dime, but the Government 
bulletin does not approve this. Give the 
egg food 'at intervals of three or four 
days when the female is incubating. Af¬ 
ter the young batch the first day they 
may have the yolk of a hard-boiled egg. 
Add bread crumbs gradually, until the 
third day they are eating the regular egg 
Autumn on a New Jersey Farm 
The picture shown above was taken 
in Flanders, N. .T., and shows an Autumn 
scene in a cornfield on Glenbrook 1- arm. 
The two citizens of New Jersey, as shown 
in this picture, are known as “Sunshine” 
and “Brincess.” although we are not told 
which name should be applied to either 
From their appearance, however, 
should judge that either the young 
heifer or the farmer’s girl might well be 
known as “Sunshine” from their quality, 
out 
one 
or “Princess” from their pedigree. It is 
a good picture, and gives something of an 
idea of the way the country rolls away 
in that part of New Jersey. Some of 
our Western •friends seem to think that 
New Jersey must be either a swamp 
or a dry, sandy desert. The fact is 
that the. good old State has thousands 
of farms well entitled to the name, as 
can be found between the Atlantic and 
Pacific. 
mate as the wild birds do. Only amateurs 
must be sure the male and female are not 
too closely related: brothers and sisters 
or first cousins should not be mated. 
The foregoing advice came from a man 
who had a lifetime experience raising 
birds overseas. The Government bulletin 
on canaries says: “Secure males that 
are good singers, and females from good 
stock.” 
The proper breeding season begins in 
March. The birds may show signs of 
its approach as early as January, but 
owing to our changing weather conditions 
it is best to postpone activities until 
March. When the male sings his courting 
song and the female responds loudly, the 
birds may be paired. Put them in the 
breeding cage, one on each side of the 
sliding wire partition. When the male 
feeds the female through the wires, with¬ 
draw the partition. Tie an earthenware 
nest pan to the side or back of the cage, 
midway between two perches and an inch 
above the perch level. Paste in a lining 
of felt, which can be soaked loose after¬ 
ward. When the female begms carrying 
feathers in her mouth, give her some nest¬ 
ing material, bite of string or cotton. If 
she seems to be serious, furnish enough 
for actual nest construction. Everything 
should be clean and free from dust. It. 
is usually the female that builds the neat, 
but my Sunny Jim produces a very de¬ 
cent one by himself if he can steal plenty 
of string, and so forth. 
The first egg should be laid in about 
two weeks; the number may vary from 
three to six. Each tiny egg should be 
lifted out in a teaspoon carefully, and 
placed in a dish of fine common! so it 
food, which they must have until they 
are ready to crack canary seed for them¬ 
selves. When the babies are five days 
old begin feeding bits of green food. 
When the young birds are removed from 
the cage do not place them with birds 
older or stronger. Watch them carefully, 
and any one that does not feed must be 
put -back with the parents for a time. 
Feed your birds wisely, keep them and 
their abode surgically clean, keep them 
out of draughts, never speak roughly in 
their hearing, and they should live to be 
canary Methuselahs. 
The best local way of marketing young 
birds seems to be to run advertisements 
at suitable times in the local papers. 
Females here bring $1.50; young males 
who begin to sing, $10: slightly better 
singers. $12 to $15. By taking the birds 
a few at a time to the pet shop in Boston 
a male will bring $20. 
Professional breeders keep a few males 
who are unusually good singers as 
“teachers” for their young birds. A me¬ 
chanical instrument is sometimes used to 
aid. Sunny Jim was brought up on 
snatches of Mozart, played over and over 
on the piano. lie happens to be an un¬ 
usual singer. epxa s. kxapp. 
Vegetarian Dishes 
Potato Pie.—-Slice four onions and add 
to eight potatoes peeled. Boil until ten¬ 
der. Drain. Place in baking dish. Add 
one teaspoon of parsley chopped, one-half 
cup of tomato paste, one tablespoon of 
butter, salt and pepper. Cover with pie 
crust and bake in moderate oven about 
one hour. 
Boston Boast.—Two pounds of baked 
January 29, 1921 
• 
beaus, mashed fine. Add three-quarters • 
of a pound of cheese, grated, and about 
one cup of bread crumbs. Form iuto 
roll, and bake in moderate oven. Baste 
occasionally with butter and hot water. 
Lentil Pudding.—Two teacups red len¬ 
tils. one-fourth pound cheese, a little pow¬ 
dered mace or grated nutmeg, pepper to 
taste. Pick over and wash the lentils and 
boil in six teacups of water till soft. Cut 
cheese small and mix thoroughly with the 
lentils until the whole is blended. Add 
the mace. Turn into a dish, scatter a 
few bread crumbs on the top. and place 
in oven to keep hot. This pudding when 
cold makes excellent sandwich mixture. 
Curried Macaroni.—Break two cups of 
macaroni into small pieces. Cook for .”>0 
minutes; drain. Slice one onion, fry in 
butter, add three tablespoons of curry 
powder and one cup of water and cook 
for 10 minutes. Put through a sieve, add 
the macaroni and cook slowly for 40 min¬ 
utes. Serve hot. 
Economical Cooking Recipes 
A Good Pastry Rule.—Sift three cups 
of flour, to which has been added one- 
fourth of a teaspoonful of cream tartar, 
one-eighth of a teaspoon of soda and one- 
fourth of a teaspoon of salt. Rub into 
the flour one cup of sweet lard. Moisten 
with cold water, stirring with a knife, 
and mixing lightly. 
Lemon Pie with Two Crusts.—Beat 
one egg to stiff froth, add one cup of 
sugar and one tablespoon of flour and 
beat until .smooth. Grate a little of the 
yellow rind of a lemon into the mixture, 
peel the lemon and remove all seeds and 
the pith, cut into thin slices and stir into 
the lemon and sugar mixture. Bake in 
two crusts in a quick oven. 
Lemon Tarts.—Make tart cases»by cut¬ 
ting out with a round cooky cutter. In 
half of the pieces make three small holes, 
using a clean thimble to cut them out. 
Fill the tarts by placing a spoonful of 
the filling on the whole piece and put the 
piece with the three holes in it on top. 
Made in this fashion the tarts look very 
pretty, whatever the filling may be. The 
filling for the tarts is made as follows: 
Put as much sugar into the juice of one 
lemon as it will dissolve, put the mixture 
into a double boiler and cook until the 
sugar is melted, then stir in one well- 
beaten egg and cook until it thickens. 
When it cools fill the tart cases. These 
tarts are nice for the picnic basket, as 
the lemon mixture can be packed in a 
glass jar and the tarts filled when the 
lunch is served. 
Mountain Dew Pudding.—Bake for 
one-half hour in a deep pudding dish the 
following mixture: One pint of milk, 
two crackers, rubbed fine, two tablespoons 
of sugar, the well-beaten yolks of two 
eggs and a little salt. Beat the whites of 
the eggs to a stiff froth, add three-fourths 
of a cup of sugar, beat until thick and 
smooth, turn on top of the pudding when 
it is done, and brown in the oven. After 
the pudding is taken from the oven little 
golden drops of syrup will ooze through 
the frosting, hence its name. 
Graham Wafers.—Cream one-third cup 
of butter or any good shortening with one 
cup of sugar, add one-half cup of warm 
water in which one «teaspoon of soda has 
been dissolved, add the white of an egg 
beaten to stiff froth just before stirring 
in the graham flour, in which two tea¬ 
spoons of cream of tartar and one-fourth 
of a teaspoon of salt has been thoroughly 
mixed. Mix quite stiff’ with the graham 
flour, roll thin, cut square and bake in 
a quick oven. If the yolk of the egg is 
used the wafers will not be as crisp, but 
it makes a more nourishing article of 
food. 
Steamed Graham Pudding.—Take one 
cup of white flour, one cup of graham 
flour, one cup of sweet milk, one-half cup 
of sugar, one teaspoon of soda, one-half 
cup molasses, one-half of a teaspoon of 
salt and one cup of raisins or currants. 
Mix well and steam for three hours in 
small cans. Serve warm, with whipped 
cream or any kind of pudding sauce. This 
pudding will keep several days, and can 
be warmed over by steaming for each 
meal. 
Rice Pudding Without Eggs.—Take 
one quart of rich milk, one-half cup of 
washed rice, one-half cup of sugar, one- 
half cup of raisins, a little nutmeg and 
salt, put into a pudding dish and heat 
slowly, stirring often until the pudding 
thickens. Bake in a slow oven. 
ROSETTA M.FLINT. 
Fried Chicken “Different” 
What family isn’t fond of fried Spring 
chicken? But does every housewife know 
that any chicken under two years old can 
be fried to a queen’s taste? First have a 
large iron skillet, cut up your chicken at 
all natural joints, and cut breast in two 
or three pieces if large. Have it thor¬ 
oughly washed and drained in a colander. 
Season each piece lightly with salt and 
pepper and roll each piece in a dish o' 
flour, being sure that every part is well 
floured. Lay the pieces in the cold .skillet; 
if they are overlapped it doesn’t matter. 
Nearly fill the skillet with warm water 
and put it in the oven. Have the oven 
steady enough to keep it cooking, but not 
too hot. When the pieces are a nice deli¬ 
cate brown take a fork and turn them. 
They may need turning twice. If the 
water cooks down add a little from time 
to time. If properly cooked each piece 
will be a goiden brown, tender enough to 
melt in you' 1 mouth, and there will be a 
whole bowlful of delicious gravy in the 
skillet, all ready to put on the fable. 
mrs. \v. n. 
