if: 
230 
February 9, 1924 
WOMAN AND HOME 
From Day to Day 
The Plowman 
Clear the brown path, to meet his coul¬ 
ter’s gleam! 
Lo! On he comes, behind his smoking 
team, 
With toil’s bright dewdrops on his sun¬ 
burnt brow, 
The lord of earth, the hero of the plow ! 
First in the field before the reddening sun, 
Last in the shadows when the day is done, 
Line after line, along the bursting sod, 
Marks the broad acres where his feet have 
trod; 
Still, where he treads, the stubborn clods 
divide, 
The smooth, fresh furrow opens deep and 
wide; 
Matted and dense the tangled tuVf up¬ 
heaves, ' 
Mellow and dark the ridgy cornfield 
cleaves. 
These are the hands whose sturdy labor 
brings 
The peasant’s food, the golden pomp of 
kings; 
This is the page whose letters shall be 
seen 
Changed by the sun to words of living 
green; 
This is the scholar whose immortal pen 
Spells the first lesson hunger taught to 
men; 
These are the lines which heaven-com¬ 
manded Toil 
Shows on his deed—the charter of the 
soil! 
—Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
* 
We have commented more than once 
on the vulgarity of the alleged “comic 
sheets” issued by many of our news¬ 
papers. In our own household we have 
led children away from them, pointing 
out their ugliness as compared with the 
work of such artists as Kate Green- 
aivay, Arthur Rackham, and others, and 
have been repaid by a quickened sense 
of beauty, and marked refinement of 
taste. The following editorial from the 
Christian Science Monitor was noted 
with warm approval, and we think 
many mothers will read its wise and 
temperate words with a renewed desire 
to guide their children away from this 
prevalent vulgarity: 
We could wish that the public protest 
against the comics was not so occasional. 
A correspondence on the subject was 
begun recently in a New York paper, 
but it ended too promptly to make any 
impression, either on editors or on the 
public. The comics have become such a 
regular feature in American journalism 
that they are taken for granted and 
seem as inevitable on the page assigned 
them as are the editorials in their ap¬ 
pointed place. 
It is not to a drawing because it is 
comic that objection can be made. 
Draftsmen we call comic have been 
among the world’s distinguished artists. 
All depends upon the quality of both the 
drawing and the humor. The humor 
was grim in many medieval illustrators. 
It was coarse in eighteenth-century 
Englishmen like Gilray and Rowland¬ 
son. It ran to grotesque, and some¬ 
times trivial, exaggeration in so fine a 
draftsman as Daumier. It depended at 
times on the accompanying legend with 
Charles Keene. If it never failed in the 
real originator of the comics, Caran 
D’Aehe, neither did it ever run to vul¬ 
garity or sheer banality. It was always 
as gay as it was exuberant. And with 
all these masters of humor, and many of 
their contemporaries, their art was of 
no less importance than the jesting, the 
satire, the grimness to which it was de¬ 
voted. Ilad they not been artists, they 
would pot be remembered as they are 
today. 
But what of the humor, what of the 
drawing in the popular comics? The 
humor is almost always of the feeblest 
and the most infantile, often of the most 
demoralizing—the venerable mother-in- 
law jest, the antediluvian knockabout of 
the circus ring, the henpecked husband— 
all the old punny, silly, degrading jokes 
in full swing, rarely, if ever, touched by 
true humor or suggesting original 
thought. And the drawing is in keeping 
—no drawing at all in most of them. 
Put one of the favorites of the hour 
alongside a design by Daumier or Charles 
Keene and the degradation of the present 
fashion in comic drawing will be rea¬ 
lized. It is of small use to attempt the 
teaching of art to children in the schools 
or the training of the public in museums 
if this is the sort of food they are daily 
fed on at home. The eye, habituated to 
vulgarity and ugliness, becomes de¬ 
bauched, it can no longer see beauty, 
while the mind is dulled and stupefied. 
Better no comic drawings at all than 
many of the comics now published with 
such a lavish hand. 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Winter Bologna Sausage 
Ten pounds pork, 90 lbs. beef, 1 lb. 
brown sugar, 5 oz. black pepper, 1 oz. 
red pepper, 2 oz. mace* 1 oz. allspice, 2 oz. 
coriander seed, 5 oz. saltpeter, 3 pts salt. 
This can be stuffed in beef casings or 
muslin bags. It fills 11 bags 22 in. long 
and about 2*4 or 3 in. wide. After stuff¬ 
ing hang in cellar for one day to settle ; 
smoke slowly for three weeks/ We always 
use this, and sausage may be chipped like 
drief beef. MRS. w. II. o. 
Unusual Candies 
Sour-cream Candy.—Three cups brown 
sugar, one cup sour cream. Cook till it 
just forms a soft ball in cold water. Add 
butter the size of a walnut and one tea¬ 
spoon vanilla ; beat hard till partly cool, 
add x /-2 lb. walnuts, chopped fine or one 
cup cocoanut, and pour into buttered tins. 
Cut in squares while warm. 
Peanut Blocks.—Two cups molasses, 
The Rural Patterns 
In ordering always give number of pattern 
and size desired, sending price with order 
1956. Girls’ two- 
piece dress, opening 
at shoulders, having 
round neck, short ki¬ 
mono sleeves with 
seams at shoulders, 
tucked waist, and 
with or without 
tucks in skirt. Sizes 
6 , 8, 10, 12 and 14 
years. Size 12 years 
requires 2% yds. 36- 
in. material. 20 
cents. 
1720. Tailored 
shirtwaist or sports 
shirt, with a pointed 
or convertible collar, 
and with or without 
yoke in back. For 
ladies and misses. 
Sizes 34, 36, 38, 40, 
42, 44 and 46 in. 
bust. Any size re¬ 
quires 2% yds. 36 to 
40-in. material. 20 
cents. 
1739 
1739. Misses’ dress, 
with or without 
shaped yoke, and 
with a long blouse 
having a two-piece 
gathered skirt with 
V-shaped insets at 
sides; short, three- 
quarter or long 
sleeves. Sizes 14, 
16, 18 and 20 years. 
Size 16 years re¬ 
quires 3% yds. 36- 
in. material. 20 
cents. 
2032. Apron, cut 
in one piece and hav¬ 
ing deep V-neck; 
back lapping or but¬ 
toning over front; 
patch pockets; for 
ladies and misses. 
Sizes 36, 40 and 44 
in. bust. Size 36 is 
suitable for 34 and 
36; size 40 for 38 
and 40; size 44 for 
42 and 44. Any size 
requires 3 yds. 32- 
in. material. 20 
cents. 
mallows on buttered pans, pour the hot 
fudge over them, and when partly cool 
dut into squares. 
Pralines. — Three cups brown sugar, 
one cup milk, butter size of an egg; cook 
to the soft-ball stage. When partly cool 
add one cup chopped peanuts or whole 
hickory nuts, one teaspoon vanilla and 
beat hard till it begins to grain. Pour 
into buttered tins and cut into squares. 
Fruit Surprises.—To the white of one 
egg add an equal quantity of water, flavor 
with almond extract, and add confection¬ 
er’s sugar to make a stiff dough. Roll 
rather thin on a well-floured board, cut 
into inch squares, and in each square en¬ 
close a stoned date, a large seeded raisin, 
or a piece of candied orange peel, and roll 
the cream into a ball or oblong. Dip half 
of these bonbons, when finished, into 
melted chocolate for added variety. 
Fig Fudge.—Make a plain white sugar 
fudge, using two cups white sugar, % cup 
milk, and boiling to the soft-ball stage. 
When done flavor with lemon and stir 
till it starts to grain. Have ready a but¬ 
tered tin well strewed with chopped figs. 
Pour the fudge over the fruit and cut 
into squares when cool. 
Variety Bonbons.—Make a stiff paste 
with the white of two eggs, an equal 
amount of water, and confectioner’s sugar 
to stiffen. Mix part of this fondant with 
melted chocolate, color another part with 
pink and flavor with rose, color a portion 
green and flavor with orange, leave the 
balance white and flavor with lemon or 
almond, and mix up another batch using 
an egg yolk and flavor with vanilla. 
1 * orm into any desired shapes and press 
different nut meats into the bonbons while 
soft. This is a nice way to make pink 
and white.wintergreens and peppermints, 
too, omitting the mats. mrs. e. m. a. 
one cup brown sugar, one tablespoon each 
butter and vinegar. Cook till it threads 
readily and pour into buttered tins spread 
generously with peanuts. Cut into 
blocks. 
Maple Cream. — Boil half as much 
water as maple syrup, without stirring, 
till it reaches the soft-ball stage. Add 
one teaspoon butter and stir till the mass 
is thick and waxy. Form into balls (with 
the fingers well greased or floured), and 
enclose eaeh ball between two walnut 
halves. 
Chocolate Chips.—Make a plain, pulled 
molasses taffy, pull it as thin as pos¬ 
sible — the thinner the better — and cut 
into inch or 2-incli strips. Have ready 
some melted chocolate. Dip the chips 
carefully into the chocolate, and, when 
well coated, dry on waxed paper or but¬ 
tered plates. 
Marshmallow Fudge.—Two cups sugar, 
cup cream, one square chocolate, one 
tablespoon butter, boil 10 minutes. Add 
lb. marshmallows and stir till partly 
dissolved. Spread another % lb. marsh- 
Early Instruction for Children 
Less than two years ago, a neighbor 
asked my advice as to whether she should 
send to school her five-year-old twins, a 
boy and a girl. The children wished it, 
the teacher wished it, and had invited 
them to walk with her to and from the 
school, which was not far distant from 
their home. The .mother saw no reason 
why she need hesitate, yet was troubled 
by the counsel of some who warned her 
^hat ,she “might be making a great mis¬ 
take.” I encouraged her by quoting the 
opinions of. some eminent instructors as 
to the. advisability of early instruction 
for children, and as she knew she could 
trust the teacher to see that the twins 
were not too closely confined within 
doors, the mother let them enter school 
in October, 1921, when they were five 
years and four months old. They missed 
only two weeks in that school year; in 
their second, only one week. 'Now at 
seven years of age, they are in the third 
grade. The girl’s standing at close of 
term was as follows: Arithmetic, 100; 
spelling, 98; physiology, 94; nature 
study, 93. The boy does not learn quite 
so rapidly as his sister, but keeps in the 
same grade. Both children are in vigor¬ 
ous health and have been from the first, 
very happy in their school life. 
Probably the instances in which a 
teacher could take into school pupils 
under age, without injustice to herself 
or the school, are not very many. Kinder¬ 
garten training (highly desirable) is out 
of reach of country children. Mothers, 
even if not too burdened, are often un¬ 
qualified to give children their first les¬ 
sons in the best way, which is to make 
study so easy and attractive as to be 
virtually a new kind of play. It no more 
follows that “a good mother” is always 
a good teacher, than that “a good father” 
is necessarily a good farmer. Children 
in general, it appears, must wait for 
teaching until they are six, an age limit 
which is fixed by law not because it is 
best for the child, but because it is neces¬ 
sary for the school. This is unfortunate. 
Mothers who can give their little ones 
earlier mental training, either at home 
or in kindergarten or school, should be 
thankful for the opportunity to insure to 
them, provided they are normal mentally, 
and in good health, a peculiar and lasting 
advantage. It has been found that the 
mind of a child which receives early 
instruction, sometimes beginning at two 
years old, develops a greater capacity 
for scholarship than it would otherwise 
have. The proper object of this teaching 
is not to crowd the infant’s mind with 
facts and thus “get an early start” with 
education, but simply to develop its power 
to learn, at the time when this can best 
be done. Nature herself indicates the 
need of instruction when she impels 
young children to ask innumerable ques¬ 
tions. Little minds ei’ave knowledge as 
little bodies crave food, and a haphazard 
diet is unsatisfying for either. 
The fact that study will put an un¬ 
wholesome strain upon a young child’s 
health, is based upon the idea that it is 
always laborious to learn. Children do 
not find it so, when interested. If proper¬ 
ly taught, lessons, at first, are play to 
them—the definition of play being “some¬ 
thing done voluntarily for pleasure.” It 
is a well-known physiological fact that 
play occasions far less fatigue than work, 
even when it requires as much or more 
energy. Moreover, lessons increase the 
variety of a child’s interests, rendering it 
less liable to that boredom from which 
children often suffer secretly—sometimes 
without much sympathy from their elders, 
who complain that they “are always 
wanting something new.” The fact is, 
they need something new, continually, 
and the more they find of wholesome in¬ 
terest in life, the better for health, con¬ 
duct, and disposition. 
Mothers may ask, “How shall I begin 
teaching a child to read? I do not know 
the best method.” Opinions differ on 
this subject, but I believe that teaching 
by “any old way” or any new wav, is 
vastly preferable to no teaching at all. 
It will serve the main purpose by en¬ 
couraging mental activity and making 
the mind receptive for later instruction. 
If the child becomes interested, it will 
learn almost without help. A suggestive 
story is told of a father and mother who 
agreed to postpone teaching their little 
girl to read until they had given some 
consideration to methods. While they 
considered, the child noticed illustrated 
books in the hands of her small neigh¬ 
bors, looked at them, and asked questions. 
Day by day, she met the others on 
their return from school, and they re¬ 
sponded to her interest by proudly ex¬ 
plaining what they had learned, answer¬ 
ing all she asked. In time, the parents 
announced to their daughter that they 
were about to let her learn to read. 
“Why, I can read!” she declared; and 
to their astonishment, she could, almost 
as well as those of her age who had been 
under regular instruction. 
Years ago, a prudent mother thought 
her delicate little daughter too young to 
be taught to read, without possible in¬ 
jury to her health, but the father brought 
home a primer and a first reader. In 
his scant leisure, he held the child on 
his knee, taught her the alphabet and 
answered her questions. Before either 
parent realized it, she could read all in 
these books. The father bought more; 
having no playmates, the books were her 
favorite toys. She virtually learned to 
read at four years old. Thereafter she 
was never without a reasonable amount 
of suitable reading matter, but was un¬ 
able to attend school, because of its dis¬ 
tance, until she was nearly 12 years old. 
Her lessons at home had been irregular, 
and on entering school she was behind 
others of her age in all subjects but 
reading. The power to learn, however, 
which had been awakened in her when so 
young, overcame the disadvantage of the 
long delay, and she soon led her classes, 
never finding any subject hard. She has 
retained past the age of 50 the power to 
learn easily, and believes that this is no 
more due to any special gift, (if so 
much) than to having began study at the 
right period. 
I do not believe in. crowding children 
after they have began study, nor that it 
is a calamity for them to have to stay 
out of school for a time, when necessary. 
I doubt its being advantageous for a 
student to enter college at an exception¬ 
ally early age. I would urge only that 
little minds be given some elementary 
but systematic instruction in time to 
insure that unfolding of their powers 
which results from giving an adequate 
response to their first craving for knowl¬ 
edge. GRACE AGNES TIMMERMAN. 
Canning Meats 
I have canned poultry, both young and 
old, a number of times, and have always 
been well satisfied with it. We prefer the 
fowls to the broilers, or even the roasters, 
as there is more flavor to them when 
ready to use. I have canned them by 
the cold pack method, and also have tried 
cooking the fowl till ready to fall from 
the bones. It is then packed in jars and 
the liquor poured over it to within % in. 
of the top. Add one teaspoon of salt and 
seal for sterilizing. The jars should be 
sterilized before using, of course, and 
when filled placed in the boiler and al¬ 
lowed to boil 1% hours. The water in the 
boiler will be kind of greasy if the con¬ 
tents of the jars have been cooking. It 
is very necessary that the contents should 
boil so as to insure its keeping. I prefer 
this method of canning poultry to the cold 
pack method. The breast is hard to put 
in a jar if canned whole, and when open¬ 
ing the jar the meat will all be pulled off 
before you have succeeded in getting it 
out. For this reason I like this method 
best. The first and second joints, wings, 
gizzard and meat from back and breasts 
just fills a can. 
I can beef the same way. as I only can 
the boiling pieces, and if cooked first the 
extra fat and whatever bone there is can 
be left out. Pour the liquor over it when 
the jar is filled and add one teaspoon of 
salt^ and cook as the chicken. 
Veal I can by the cold pack method, as 
I usually can the whole of it, packing the 
raw slices in the jar and covering wdth 
boiling water and one teaspoon of salt; 
boil four hours. It was very satisfactory 
and made nice veal pie when hot weather 
came. mrs. eiavin chase. 
Further Canning Experience 
I read with interest the article on can¬ 
ning in The R. N.-Y. and note that Mrs. 
E.H.G., previously asked if a shorter boil¬ 
ing period than three hours will keep the 
meat. I will tell how I can meat, chick¬ 
en, rabbit and soups and stews. I have 
never canned pork, but assume that it 
can be done the same as the beef and 
chicken. Beef is boiled until almost 
done, as for a pot roast. Then bones 
are removed, and salt and pepper added 
to suit taste. I sometimes add celery 
seed when cooking. Pack the meat into 
pint or quart jars to about two-thirds 
full, and fill up jar with the broth. If 
glass top j&rs are used, do not fasten the 
