1136 
Ihe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
WOMAN AND HOME 
From Day to Day 
The Old Stone Wall 
Have you not seen, by moss o’ergrown, 
A long and lichened wall of stone 
Firm-fashioned in the elder years 
By hardy-handed pioneers 
Through labor honored though unknown? 
The cattle nigh it browse and gaze 
Across the peaceful pasture ways, 
And round the neighboring farmstead 
eaves 
The swallows gossip and the leaves 
Whisper their low and loving lays. 
It sees along the roadside pass 
The eager lad, the modest lass; 
It lists the rapture of the birds, 
The cricket’s sharp staccato words, 
The shy. sweet murmurs of the grass. 
The boughs above it bend and brood, 
And shelter it in tender mood; 
•Spring's glamor girdles it. and when 
Dies the last lyric of the wren 
Comes Autumn’s gold beatitude. 
Time touches it with soft increase 
Of beauty, bringing it release 
From fading mortal fate, and so 
It stands amid life’s ebb and flow 
Type of the infinitude of peace! 
-CLINTON 6COLLARU 
in New York Herald. 
X 
We would like a domestic recipe for 
making cottage cheese or pot cheese from 
buttermilk. We are told that in com¬ 
mercial practice the buttermilk is mixed 
with sweet skim-milk. How do our 
housekeepers make it? 
The Weekly News Letter of the De¬ 
partment of Agriculture states something 
we all know, but often neglect to put in 
practice, in the following: 
In planning a new home or in remodel¬ 
ing an old one it should alwaye bo borne 
in mind that the placing of the stove, 
sink, and work table can be done in such 
a way as to save the housekeeper many 
steps in the tasks of the kitchen. Time 
and energy will also be saved if the 
shelves, cupboards, and drawers are lo¬ 
cated near the place where the supplies 
or equipment which they are to contain 
are to be used, and they will be even more 
convenient if they are so planned that 
their contents may be easily and quickly 
removed and replaced. In selecting the 
equipment only that which is most con¬ 
venient and durable should be purchased. 
As in any well-regulated workshop, all 
equipment necessary for the convenience 
of the worker should be supplied, but that 
equipment should be installed first of all 
which will be used most often, and it 
should be of such a character and so lo¬ 
cated that it will result in the greatest 
saving of labor. 
Here is another item from the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, which should awak¬ 
en thought: 
Ilomp demonstration work, carried on 
by the State agricultural colleges co-oper¬ 
atively with the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, often has a far- 
reaching effect on the spiritual and moral 
values of community life. Some months 
ago the women of Calcium, Jefferson Co., 
N. Y., became interested in dress-form 
work, and asked the home demonstration 
agent to call a meeting for the purpose 
of organizing a class. No house could 
be found large enough- to accommodate 
all who wanted to come, so it was de¬ 
cided to gather in the old deserted church. 
The women cleaned, aired it, and organ¬ 
ized their club there. 
Somebody said, “Wouldn’t it be nice 
if we could have church services here 
again !” For 23 years there had been no 
resident pastor in Calcium. Many of the 
women present could remember back to 
the time when the church was one of 
three, all of which the community had 
failed to support. The idea of reopening 
the church was taken hold of promptly 
by the clothing club, which worked with 
the entire community, and in a very short 
time sufficient subscriptions were secured 
to maintain a new pastor, who was in¬ 
stalled forthwith. 
t\- 
Fuel, water and light are three com¬ 
mon necessities that have much to do with 
family comfort at all times; but their 
effect is especially felt in Winter. In¬ 
sufficient or poor fuel, water that must be 
carried, and inadequate lights are daily 
miseries to the housewife in Winter. 
There are still many so situated that they 
must continue to use oil lamps for light¬ 
ing. In such a case a reserve supply of 
wicks and chimneys, as well as an ample 
supply of oil, should be on hand before 
bad weather or severe cold settles in. A 
convenient lamp-filling bench, preferably 
covered with sheet metal, is a necessity. 
This is usually placed in an outer room, 
where it becomes very cold in Winter, 
and as handling lamps and kerosene is 
very chilling to the fingers, everything 
should be at hand, that the work may be 
done quickly. Cloths used in rubbing 
lamps should be put in a closed metal box 
The Rural Patterns 
In ordering always give number of pattern 
and size desired, sending price with order 
0741. Sleeveless over blouse, 1C and 18 
years. 9685. Blouse with round collar, 16 
and 18 years. 9053. Two-piece skirt, 16 
and 18 years. The 16-yoar size sleeveless 
over blouse will require 214 yards of ma¬ 
terial 27 inches wide, 1% yards 36, 1% 
yards 44. The 16-year size blouse will 
require 4 yards of material 27 inches wide, 
2Vs yards 36, 1% yards 44. The 16-year 
size skirt will require 2% yards 36 or 
44. Each pattern 20 cents. 
9857. Coat blouse with vestee, 16 and 
18 years. 9953. Two-piece skirt, 16 and 
IS years. The 16-year size coat will re¬ 
quire 2% yards of material 36 inches wide, 
2V; yards 44, 2% yards 54. The 16-year 
size skirt will require 2% yards 36 or 44 
inches wide. Each pattern 20 cents. 
and kept separate from other dustcloths. 
There should be a bag or other receptacle 
in which all scraps of tissue paper are 
kept, as they may he used to give the 
final polish to lamp chimneys. There 
should be one special tray for carrying 
'the lamps from living rooms to the 
place where they are trimmed. Above all. 
there should be lamps enough to light up 
the whole family. A happy family life is 
impossible if the less assertive members 
of the group arc crowded out to a spot 
where they cannot see to carry ou their 
preferred avocations. The pessimists 
tell us we are going to have a hard Win¬ 
ter; we ought to combat it with comfort. 
Notes from Oklahoma 
Our Summer, or teachers’ term of nor¬ 
mal school closed three weeks ago. and 
we are wedging in a little rest before the 
Fall term begins in September. Our town 
is noted for its fine educational advan¬ 
tages, healthful location, and access to a 
beautiful stream nearby, where swim¬ 
ming, bathing and fishing give pleasant 
pastime for the students; hence our 
school is crowded with students from all 
over this and many from other States at 
the Summer term. We kept girls, almost 
everyone does, and a jolly crowd they 
were. The house seemed so quiet for the 
first few days after school closed, and the 
girls went away ; but perhaps every one 
of them will be back next Summer, aud 
our pleasant acquaintance will be re¬ 
newed, for a ■while at least. 
We have had a most pleasant Summer 
this season, only a very few really hot 
days; nights always pleasant, and cool 
enough so that a light covering was 
needed before morning. The Summer 
drought, which is mentioned as a real 
part of Oklahoma, lias not been so severe 
as in other years; in fact, there has been 
very little lack of rain since early Spring, 
and as a result field crops, except wheat 
and oats, are all that could be desired, 
and corn, cotton, cane and sweet pota¬ 
toes promise bountiful yields. Late 
freezes did considerable damage to wheat, 
oats and Irish potatoes in the early 
Spring, and excessive rains during har¬ 
vest almost ruined the bulk of the grain 
crop. Thrashing is almost finished. 
Much of the grain has sprouted in the 
shock, and is unsalable, being fit only for 
feed. 
The late Spring freezes got practically 
all of the fruit, so that we housewives are 
not worrying with the canning, but rath¬ 
er are studying ways and means of get¬ 
ting along without the usual supply of 
canned fruits. There was a fair crop of 
blackberries and grapes, so we must de¬ 
pend on these for a supply; many house¬ 
wives, however, like myself, still have 
quite a lot of various canned fruits left 
over from the bountiful supply available 
two years ago, and with these will get 
along nicely. Then there will be to¬ 
matoes, and other common garden veg¬ 
etables, with which some cans may be 
filled. I for one have not found it prac¬ 
tical to put in the entire Summer trying 
to fill jars with all sorts of vegetables, 
but like a few jars of each to add variety 
during the Winter season. 
Sweet potatoes are just coming to the 
table; this crop thrives on our Oklahoma 
soil, and all that is necessary to produce 
a supply of fine tubers is to prepare the 
land, set the plants and give one or two 
light workings; many merely plant the 
slips and do not work at all. 
The frequent rains since the latter 
part of July have given us ideal condi¬ 
tions for the planting of late gardens and 
turnips. We have planted beans, tur¬ 
nips, cucumbers, radishes, etc. 
The late frosts got the wild nut crop, as 
well as most wild fruits; persimmons, 
Winter grapes and such will be scarce. 
Our woods contain many hickory, walnut 
and chinquapin trees, many sorts of wild 
grapevines, haws, etc., all of which pro¬ 
duce heavy crops of fruit wheu not killed 
by late freezing. There are still many 
thousands of acres of wild lands in our 
county, and in some .places we may travel 
many miles and see but few farms, but 
conditions are fast changing. People are 
coming from other sections, buying our 
cheap lands and building homes in these 
out-of-the-way places where they can 
raise stock and enjoy the pleasures of 
seclusion, of hills aud woods, babbling 
brooks, and live among the beauties of 
nature. 
Taken all in all, Oklahoma is a won¬ 
derful (State, possessing! many advan¬ 
tages for the person of small means who 
is trying to get ahead in the world, and 
who is unable to keep pace with condi¬ 
tions in the older States. We have quite 
a few Indians, and some negroes, but no 
negroes in the rural districts in this part 
of the State. mrs. lillie York. 
More About Canning Beans 
The worst fault I find with II. A. 
Dorr’s recipe for canning beans, page 
1040, is that nearly all the vitamines are 
thrown away. You doubtless all know 
that vitamines are the life aud health 
building part of food, that the scientists 
and people who know are beginning to 
study in regard to food. They are found 
chiefly in the fresh vegetables and “hon- 
est-to-goodness” butter aud fresh milk. 
If all the water is thrown away in which 
vegetables are cooked, the vitamines or 
health-giving part will be lacking. There¬ 
fore. cook all vegetables in as little water 
as possible, and when canning pack as 
tightly into jars as possible, so as to use 
as little water as is necessary to fill all 
air spaces. When ready to serve, heat 
in the water in which they were canned, 
and serve with a generous piece of butter. 
My rule for canning beans will be found 
on page 1040 of this valuable farm paper. 
For peas, pack exactly the same, aud cook 
September 17, 1921 
three hours; ripe tomatoes, 1>4 hours, 
aud pack in its own juice; no water. 
Here is a hint on canning that I think 
is not generally known : After jars are 
used a season or two they do not seal as 
tightly as they should. To remedy this 
remove the wire that goes over the" cover 
aud press the center of this wire against 
some hard edge ; sink or table will do, and 
at same time hold each side firmly, so it 
will not spread out as you bend the center 
down. It will be noticed that this wire 
gets somewhat round on top. and it should, 
be as flat as possible. This first wire 
should go up quite hard, especially for 
vegetables that are hard to keep. The 
covers should always be tight enough so 
that the contents will not boil out into 
the water in boiler. c. e. m. 
Dried Sweet Corn 
Sweet corn, put up in any manner for 
y niter use, to be fine, must be right in 
the milk, but not too B reen, or it will be 
tasteless. Dried corn is very nice, and if 
rightly managed will keep indefinitelv. 
Lather the corn early in the morning, or 
alter the extreme heat of the day is over; 
Dull oil the husks. With a coarse towel 
rub the ears round and round, to re¬ 
move all loose silk. Cut off the tops of 
the grains with a sharp knife. Scrape 
the remaining pulp or center of kernels 
with the back of knife, into the disli. 
W hen all the ears have been treated, turn 
the back of the knife up. push the blade 
through the corn you have cut off. to 
take out. what silk the towel did not take 
off. You will be surprised to see how 
much you take out. Grease a bright pan 
with butter, turn in the corn, set pan and 
corn over a kettle of boiling water; keep 
(he water boiling hard all the time. With 
large spoon or strong knife stir the corn 
every half hour or so, from the sides and 
bottom of the pan. Break up all lumps 
that form, keeping the grains separate as 
much as you can. When the corn seems 
hard and dry, turn into a cotton sugar 
bag or other cotton sack, place a tin 
plate or paper on top of the warming 
closet. Put your sack of corn on plate or 
paper, leave it there for several days, 
shaking^ it thoroughly several times a 
day. W hen every grain is thoroughly dry 
and hard, slip corn, sack and all. into a 
clean paper sack, and be sure there are no 
breaks or holes in the sack, or ants or 
moths may get at the corn. Hang in a 
cool, dry place. When you wish to use. 
soak in warm water for a few hours. 
You will find it sweet and tender. It is 
well to keep a thin cloth or netting 
spread over the pan and sack while drving 
to protect it from dust or flies. 
Second Method.—Gather and prepare 
the corn as in first recipe; have ready a 
kettle of boiling water. Put the whole 
ears in the water, boil about 10 minutes 
to .set the milk. Do not boil too long, or 
the corn will be tough. Cut off top of 
grains, scrape out pulp with back of 
knife. Spread on buttered plates and dry 
in oven, or if one wishes to do a large 
mess, it can be spread on boards in the 
sun, or on the roof of the porch. Fasten 
the cloth under the corn, and screen that 
covers the corn, with heavy pieces of 
wood. The sheet should be folded over 
and covered or carried in the house to 
protect it from rain or dew. Wheu near¬ 
ly dry the corn should he finished off in 
the oven, and placed on top of drying 
oven until very dry. Put in small sacks 
of cloth. When cold, slip into paper sacks 
and hang in a dry place. The paper is 
to protect from ants or flies, as thev can 
damage the corn through the cloth. 
If you have a little boiled corn l.-ft 
after meals it can be picked off with a 
fork or the fingersi and dried on plates. 
MRS. J. H. B. 
Savory Nut Loaf 
A short time ago you published a 
recipe for nut loaf as a meat substitute. 
V\ e tried this one and liked it very much, 
but my paper was accidentally destroyed. 
MRS. M. P. 
No doubt the recipe you refer to is 
savory nut loaf, prepared as follows: 
One cup chopped walnut meats, four cups 
bread crumbs, one chopped hard-boiled 
egg, one beaten egg. one-half teaspoonful 
salt, one-half teaspoon sage, one medium¬ 
sized onion, grated, milk or water t- 
moisten. Mix all ingredients and mold 
into a loaf. Bake in a moderate oven 
half an hour. It may be served hot or 
cold. The same mixture may be made 
into croquettes instead of a loaf. 
Delicious Spice Cake 
One-lialf cup white sugar. cup brown 
sugar, y 2 teaspoon salt, y> cup strong 
coffee, three eggs, two cups flour, y, cup 
shortening, two teaspoons baking powder, 
one teaspoon cinnamon, *4 teaspoon mac - 
or nutmeg. Sift flour before measuring. 
Cream shortening and sugar together, add 
the eggs, well beaten, and the salt, baking 
powder, spices aud flour, sifted together 
alternately_ with the coffee. Mix well 
and turn into a pan well greased and 
floured. Bake iu a moderate oveu. This 
makes one small cake, ruth swingle. 
Once-raised Oatmeal Bread 
Pour one and one-half cups of boiling 
water over two cups of oatmeal and let 
cool. Add oue pint of warm water, on-- 
cup molasses, one-half yeast cake, one 
teaspoonful salt, add wheat flour until 
as stiff as can be stirred with a spoon, 
then let rise. Put iu pans and when 
light bake. MRS. n. g. m. 
