956 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
WOMAN AND HOME 
From Day to Day 
Like a Dream 
Days of our childhood, when our little 
troubles 
Are soothed or banished by the love at 
home, 
When joys are of the hearth, which each 
one doubles 
Before the wayward feet have learned 
to roam ; 
Dear days, sweet days, gone from us they 
seem 
Like a dream, like a dream. 
Days of our youth, with all the world 
before us, 
And hope divinely beckoning us on, 
And love to lure, fateful as siren chorus 
On alien shores made radiant with 
dawn ; 
Sweet days, sad days, sad or sweet they 
seem 
Like a dream, like a dream. 
Days later grown, when the old home 
forsaken, 
In later scenes afar our home we build, 
When we have learned how kindred away 
be taken, 
And hollows iu our hearts are never 
filled; 
Sad days, strong days, passing still they 
seem 
Like a dream, like a dream. 
Days of our age, when flown from us for¬ 
ever 
Childhood and youth, and middle life 
are lost, 
And time streams far behind, like some 
dim river 
Whose waves oblivion are little tossed; 
Days when we sit and muse, must all 
things seem 
Like a dream? Like a dream! 
Days of our life, if love were not abiding 
A little still, from childhood to the 
grave, 
And with its light so much of darkness 
hiding, 
Our ashes might be strewn upon the 
wave, * 
And life eternal be in life’s lapsed stream 
Like a dream, of a dream. 
—ALMONT BARNES, 
in Donn Piatt’s Capital. 
* 
Canned elderberries are expected this 
year to help out the scant crop of other 
fruits in many localities. Unfortunately 
city automobiiists are also on the lookout 
for elderberries—not for pie-making, but 
as a means of evading national prohibi¬ 
tion. In past years many city people 
looked with scorn on the elderberry wine 
made by some old-fashioned country 
housekeepers, but they appear to have 
changed their minds, and the farmers’ 
elderberries are to go the way of many 
other items of rural property. 
't' 
The New York State Board of Health 
has issued a warning that poisonous dyes 
are used in coloring toy balloons. Some 
of these dyes are poisonous and capable 
of causing a severe inflammation when 
brought in contact with the skin while 
in a moist condition. “Children should 
be warned against the pastime of making 
miniature balloons from the ruptured 
rubber,” says a statement issued by the 
Health Department, “by sucking or 
blowing against small pieces of the bal¬ 
loons held tightly against the lips.” 
Balloons are one of the attractions to the 
children at all fairs and other gatherings, 
and while there is no reason to deprive 
them of this little pleasure, the warning 
should be remembered. 
* 
There is no time of the year when it 
is so hard to keep serene as iu the middle 
of Summer. Everyone on the farm is 
worn to the limit of endurance, and con¬ 
ditions are especially hard for the house¬ 
keeper. To retain poise, to avoid nag¬ 
ging. and to smooth the rough spots re¬ 
quires more than the average amount of 
philosophy, and it is aided wonderfully 
by a few minutes of absolute rest. If, 
when the Jelly is slow to stiffen, or the 
sweeping seems too much for human en¬ 
durance, one can sit for a moment in a 
cool dark spot and “go into the silence,” 
as some put it, one may emerge soothed 
and refreshed, for it is the combination of 
nerve strain ahd bodily fatigue that 
makes Summer troubles so hard to bear. 
And perhaps it would not be a bad plan 
in Summer, or indeed all the year round, 
to remember Mr. Meagles’ admonition to 
Tattycoram, and count 20 before making 
the snappish retort that is so readily 
prompted by an overtired body. 
* 
We were asked last season to give a 
recipe for tomato butter. The following 
is a Government recipe designed for 
sugarless days, but if desired sugar may 
be used in place of sorghum: 10 lbs. 
ripe tomatoes, six cups sorghum, ,'i lbs. 
apples, three cups vinegar, %-oz. stick 
cinnamon, V^-oz. whole cloves. 
ginger, oz . mace. Tie spices in a bag 
and boil all ingredients together about 
three .hours, or until thick, stirring fre¬ 
quently. Remove spice bag and seal. 
The Useful Elderberry 
Do you happen to have any recipes 
(simple or inexpensive ones) for the use 
of elderberries? I am entirely unac¬ 
quainted with them, but there is plenty 
here, and should like to use some. Also 
is there more than one kind? Some one 
told me there was a poison kind. How 
can they be told apart if this is true? 
MRS. E. II. G. 
Elderberries may be combined with 
gooseberries, green grapes or crab apples, 
equal parts, for table sauce or pie filling. 
Tart plums would also give piquancy to 
the elderberries, and one may often com¬ 
bine a small quantity of other fruit with 
the wild berries to advantage. 
Preserved Elderberries.—Seven pounds 
of stemmed elderberries, 3 lbs. granulated 
sugar, three lemons, sliced thin. Let 
ihe Rural Patterns 
In ordering always Rive number of pattern 
and size desired, sending price with order 
2oyr 
'053Z. 
y. 9517. Child’s 
V , Rompers, 2 to G 
years. The 4-year 
size will require 2 n i 
yds. of material 27 
9924. Two - piece in . wide, 1% yds. 30, 
Skirt. 24 to 32 waist. 
2047. Kimono jy, yds 44. 
Blouse, 34 to 42 
20 
bust. 
1033. Design for 
border or to be used 
for separate motifs, 
as illustrated. The 
medium size blouse 
will require 1% yds. 
of material 30, 40 or 
44 in. wide. The 
medium size skirt 
will require 3 yds. 
of material 30 or 44 
in. wide, 2% yds. 
44. Width at lower 
edge 1% yds. 20 
cents each. 
cents. 
9394. 
Child’ 
Rompers, 2 to 
ua. Attu—fa - Li *—, years The 4-yea 
9478. Child’s 
Rompers, 1 or 2 size will require 
years and 4 years. 
Tlie 1 or 2-year size yds. of material 2 
will require 2% yds. 
of material 27 in. iu. wide, 2% yds. 3< 
wide, 2 yds. 30, 1% 
yds. 44. 20 cents. 2 yds. 44. 20 cents 
the stemmed elderberries stand over 
night in salted warm water, then 
drain well. Make a syrup of the sugar, 
lemons and one pint of water, put elder¬ 
berries in the syrup. Cook 20 minutes 
from the time they begin to boil hard; 
bottle and seal. Some old-fashioned re¬ 
cipes use vinegar instead of lemon in the 
proportion of one pint of vinegar to 7 
lbs. of berries and 3 lbs. of sugar. When 
made into pies, flour is used to thicken 
the filling. 
Elderberry Jelly.—Use two quarts of 
red elderberries aud one quart of sour ap¬ 
ples cut in pieces. Add two cups of water 
and cook until fruit is soft. Put in jelly 
bag to drip. Measure the juice and re¬ 
turn to the kettle and boil 10 minutes. 
Add % cup of sugar to each cup of juice 
and boil again about 10 minutes, or until 
the mixture will jell. Pour into sterilized 
glasses, cool and seal in the usual man¬ 
ner. 
The following recipe is excellent for 
spiced blackberries, as well as elderber¬ 
ries : Seven pounds of elderberries, 3 lbs. 
sugar, one cup vinegar, spices, cinnamon, 
allspice, cloves, tablespoon of each, tied 
in a small bag and placed in the kettlo 
with the fruit. Let come to a boil, con¬ 
tinue with the cooking 10 minutes and 
seal. This preparation is used for pie 
filling. 
The familiar elderberry of our fields 
and lanes, botanically Sambueus Cana¬ 
densis, is entirely wholesome. The shrub 
known as poison elder, poison dogwood 
or poison sumach is entirely distinct. It 
grows in swamps, and bears drooping 
panicles of smooth white or leaden gray 
berries. No one would be tempted to 
gather the berries, which have an evil 
look. This plant is extremely poisonous 
to the touch ; far more so than its rela¬ 
tive, the ordinary poison ivy. 
Canning String Eeans 
Will you give a good method for can¬ 
ning string beans, so that they will re¬ 
tain their fresh, garden-picked flavor, in¬ 
stead of that insipid, flat, acid taste that 
almost convinces you that they are spoiled 
when you open a can ? There must be 
someone with a good recipe. i. v. n. 
What you describe as “insipid, flat, acid 
taste” in canned beans is the condition 
known technically as “flat sour.” This is 
not harmful, like canned goods which 
have developed the botulinus bacillus, 
and which cause poisoning, but the “flat 
sour” taste is very disagreeable. It re¬ 
sults from staleness of the product or 
error in the process. If the beans are 
fresh, the cans and covers sterilized, and 
every step in the process carefully car¬ 
ried out. this trouble should be avoided. 
In our own household we begin to can 
beans as soon as there are enough for a 
few cans above those needed for the 
t°ble; the work is thus done quickly and 
Gie beans are young and tender. We fol¬ 
low the regular cold pack, and the results 
are always excellent. 
Sterilize the jars and covers, after 
thorough washing, by boiling in large ket¬ 
tle 30 minutes, bringing water slowly to 
the boil. Be sure jars and covers are 
perfect. Use new rubber rings, that fit 
perfectly; put them to soak in hot water 
while the jars are sterilizing. Wash the 
beans, slice, and blanch in boiling water 
from three to five minutes. Cold-dip (we 
hold them uuder faucet in colander), 
drain and pack in jars quickly. Put one 
teaspoon of salt in the top of each quart 
jar, put on rubber, fill with boiling wa¬ 
ter and put on cover. If wire clamp, 
bring one wire over top of cover, with¬ 
out clamping down ; if screw top. give a 
turn or two. but do not screw tight. Stand 
on rack iu boiler, with water coming one 
inch over top of jars, and put forward 
on stove. Keep boiling continuously for 
two hours, counting from time the water 
boils hard. When processing is completed, 
tighten cover at once, and set away to 
cool. Never remove lid or open jar after 
processing before storing away. Keep 
in a cool, dark place. Vegetables retain 
a better color if the jars are wrapped in 
paper when stored. 
Knitting Man’s Sweater 
Last Winter I saw an advertisement of 
yarn from a firm in Maine, much cheaper 
than we could get here. It was a nice, 
even, factory yarn, nearly like our old- 
time homespun. At first I sent for 1 lb.; 
out of it I knitted the breadwinner a slip¬ 
over sweater, which lie found very com¬ 
fortable. and it will outwear three knit of 
the yarn I get locally. 
Materials for a man’s sweater : Gray 
homespun yarn, three-fold, was what I 
used. Ribbed work back and forth, Red 
Cross needles, No. 3. 
Cast on SO stitches, knit 2, purl 2, 1 
in. Knit plain, until work measures 2o 
in. Knit 28 stitches, bind off. 24 stitches 
loosely for neck; .slip remaining stitches 
on a large safety pin or cord. Now you 
have 2S stitches on your needle. 
Knit five ribs on this needle. At the 
neck side increase one stitch every time 
in the rib in the neck edge when you 
have knit from the shoulder to the neck 
edge until you have 12 stitches and 24 
ribs. Slip off these stitches, take up the 
stitches on the other side. Knit fhe other 
side as you did the first one. This forms 
the V neck. When you have 12 stitches 
on both sides of the V neck, knit all the 
stitches and continue to knit plain back 
and forth. The front will be closed, like 
the back. Continue to knit until the 
work measures 21 in. Knit 2, purl 2, for 
4 in. 
Sew up sides with an over-and-uuder 
stitch, leaving 9 in. for armhole. Finish 
with two rows of single crochet around 
neck and armholes, as the front is closed. 
Very warm and handy. mrs. j. n. b. 
Notes from Experience 
When a drab, slate or gray garment, 
from worsted coat to cotton gown, has 
faded, dip it in a dye made by steeping 
alder bark and “setting” it with pow¬ 
dered alum. Souse aud push and turn 
the cloth in the rather hot dye, to make 
sure that every fold and crease has been 
soaked through and through, then hang 
in the shade without wrinkling or wring¬ 
ing. When all the water has drained out, 
leaving the fabric stil very damp, press 
on wrong side with hot iron, if it is 
woolen, but irou iu the usual way if 
cotton. 
A housekeeper, entering the home of a 
sick woman prematurely worn out by bat¬ 
tling with inconveniences, said there were 
two changes she insisted upon from the 
start: The sink and work tables had to 
be raised to suit her height, for she as 
well as the patient had to bend over to 
make any use of them; and the kitchen or 
July 23, 1921 
“ell” must be raised to a level with the 
main part of the house. That one step 
up. from kitchen to dining room, had 
been thoughtlessly taken thousands of 
times every week by the woman, who at 
last succumbed to the over-exertion. A 
step down, and work benches too high, 
give just as great inconvenience. 
One of the flies in rural ointment is the 
distance between housewives, partly les¬ 
sened by telephone and automobile. A 
young wife, possessing neither of these 
blessings, was left much alone by reason 
of her husband’s work, and her nearest 
neighbor presented her a first-class dinner 
horn, telling her she would answer its 
summons. The bride lost her first child, 
and would have lost her life, but for her 
ability to crawl to the open window near¬ 
est her neighbor’s and blow the horn that 
always hung there. 
For very windy weather, a screen of 
open-mesh cotton, tacked to a frame made 
to fit inside the lower sash, may be moved 
about from window to window, as the 
wind shifts, and the habitant of the sleep¬ 
ing apartment may still have some modi¬ 
cum of fresh air, in the stillest gale. 
1.11, LI AN TROTT. 
Some Original Economies 
A room was satisfactorily repapered by 
using old rolls of wallpaper and putting 
it on wrong side out, finished with a neat 
border. Of course the backs of the paper 
were all the same shade. 
A floor was satisfactorily covered with 
felt roofing paper, painted - two coats, be¬ 
fore usiug. 
A pretty curtain for a door was made 
from an old hammock. 
A pretty tablecloth was made from an 
old homespun linen sheet. 
A couch cover was fashioned out of an 
old carpet which had been renovated. 
A handbag was made from the silk 
sleeve lining of an old coat. 
An upstairs window shade was made of 
oatmeal wallpaper, sash curtains of sugar 
hags, stenciled, and the curtain rod made 
out of picture wire. 
And the beauty of the above was that 
they never looked like their originals. 
patsy’s wife. 
Division of Income 
As regards a wife’s portion, I might 
be thought to have little to say, being an 
unmarried woman, but by telling of the 
way iu which my brother and I, who keep 
house together, manage our business af¬ 
fairs, I may furnish some helpful sug¬ 
gestions. Never having had a division of 
our father’s estate, we hold all property 
in common (my brother also is unmar¬ 
ried), and each draws at will from a com¬ 
mon fund, but neither makes a large pur¬ 
chase or takes an important business step 
without _ consulting the other. Being 
equally interested in our business, which 
is chiefly farming, and being members of 
the same church, with like ideas in regard 
to charity and public spirit, we have got¬ 
ten along very harmoniously for the seven 
years during which we have been thus 
associated. As tithers, we have one box 
in common for tenth money for religious 
and charitable purposes, and spend the 
greater part of this by common consent; 
yet neither in this nor in personal ex¬ 
penditures do we hold each other to ac¬ 
count for small amounts spent. 
It is said that of the four members of 
the original firm of Harper & Brothers 
each took from their profits what he 
thought right for himself and family, 
without keeping any account of money 
thus used. This system, with them, 
proved satisfactory through life. The 
answer to the problem of divisions of in¬ 
come is one which would solve also prac¬ 
tically all of the problems of life—sim¬ 
ply. character. Perhaps I should have 
stated—though it seems obvious—that 
the Harpers were earnestly Christian. 
_ G. A. T. 
Fried Cakes 
Here is a fine fried cake recipe; has 
always won first prize at fairs: One 
cup sugar, one egg (don’t beat), one-half 
cup sweet thin cream ; fill up cup with 
milk, pinch salt, nutmeg, one level tea¬ 
spoon baking soda, one rounding teaspoon 
cream tartar, both mixed in flour. Mix 
soft and use one-half lard and one-half 
compound ; have very hot to fry. Appe¬ 
tizing and good. m. l. h. 
Creamed Chicken in Puffs 
Stew a chicken in salt water until ten¬ 
der. Pick meat from bones, removing 
bits of skin. Chop fine with a cutter or 
food chopper. Add two cups of the gravy 
and thickening to bind the meat into 
thick paste. Season with salt, butter and 
pepper. Serve in freshly baked patty 
shells, made from crisp pastry dough. 
This, with wafers or thin slices of bread 
and pickles, is a dainty repast. 
MRS. c . c . M. 
Pear Conserve 
Herewith recipe for pear conserve, as 
per request of S. ,T. B.: Four pounds 
pears, two oranges, 2 lbs. sugar, two 
lemons. Add walnuts to suit taste. Boil 
until pears are tender and put iu hot 
glasses. mrs. h. \v. s. 
'Seeing a request for recipe for pear 
conserve, I send one that is very fine with 
lemon, oranges, sugar and walnut meats: 
Eight pounds pears, 4 lbs. sugar, three 
lemons, four oranges, one package raisins, 
Vi lh. walnut meats, a little water. Cook 
till thick. Put in jelly glasses and cover 
like jelly. mrs. e. c. w. 
