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WOMAN  AND  HOME 
From  Day  to  Day 
Aladdin 
When  I  was  a  beggarly  boy, 
And  lived  in  a  cellar  damp, 
I  had  not  a  friend  nor  a  toy, 
1  But  I  had  Aladdin’s  lamp; 
When  I  could  not  sleep  for  the  cold, 
I  had  fire  enough  in  my  brain, 
And  builded,  with  roofs  of  gold, 
My  beautiful  castles  in  Spain ! 
Since  then  I  have  toiled  day  and  night, 
I  have  money  and  power  good  store 
But  I’d  give  all  my  lamps  of  silver  bright 
For  the  one  that  is  mine  no  more; 
Take,  Fortune,  whatever  you  choose, 
You  gave,  and  may  snatch  again  ; 
I  have  nothing  ’twould  pain  me  to  lose, 
For  I  own  no  more  castles  in  Spam. 
— James  Russell  Lowell. 
Ice  box  pudding  is  a  delicious  dessert 
made  without  cooking.  It  calls  for  IS 
lady  fingers,  four  eggs,  whites  and  yolks 
beaten  separately,  two  cakes  of  German 
sweet  chocolate,  melted,  two  teaspoons  of 
sugar,  and  a  little  vanilla.  Line  square 
mold  (a  one-loaf  bread  tin  is  good)  with 
paraffin  paper,  then  stand  lady  fingers, 
halved  around  the  sides  and  on  the  bot¬ 
tom.  While  the  chocolate  melts  beat  the 
eggs,  yolks  and  whites  separately,  beat¬ 
ing  the  sugar  and  vanilla  into  the  yolks. 
Then  beat  in  the  melted  chocolate 
which  will  make  it  very  stiff,  and  last  of 
all  stir  in  the  whites,  well  beaten.  Spread 
in  the  mold,  then  a  layer  of  lady  fingers, 
another  layer  of  filling,  making  three  lay¬ 
ers  in  all.  Put  the  pan  on  the  ice — not 
merely  in  the  icebox,  but  standing  di¬ 
rectly  on  the  ice.  Leave  for  24  hours. 
It  may  'be  quite  solid  sooner  than  this, 
and  it  also  keeps  until  the  next  day. 
When  served,  turn  out  of  the  mold,  re¬ 
move  the  paper,  and  serve  unsweetened 
whipped  cream  with  it.  Sugar  added  to 
the  cream  would  make  it  entirely  too 
sweet.  This  is  a  convenient  “company” 
dessert,  because  it  can  be  all  prepared 
the  morning  of  the  day  before  it  is 
needed,  when  the  housekeeper  has  less 
on  her  hands. 
Another  simple  dessert  is  cheese  cake, 
such  as  all  the  bakeries  sell.  Cheese  cakes 
are  made  by  adding  sugar,  eggs  and 
flavoring  to  fresh  curd,  such  as  is  used 
for  cottage  cheese.  Add  one  egg  to  one 
cup  of  curd,  beat  smooth,  and  beat  in 
half  a  cup  of  sugar,  and  a  piece  of  but¬ 
ter  the  size  of  a  walnut.  Flavor  with 
vanilla,  nutmeg,  or  any  other  spice. 
Line  a  pie  pan  or  deep  layer  cake  tin 
with  paste,  and  fill  with  the  mixture; 
bake  without  a  top  crust.  Sometimes 
currants  are  added.  If  one  has  cream  to 
add  to  the  mixture,  instead  of  butter,  it 
is  richer  in  flavor. 
5k 
Wiio  can  help  this  inquirer  with  the 
crochet  patterns  she  desires? 
Has  anyone  an  edge  crocheted  in  grape 
design?  i  would  like  another  for  a  table 
runner.  I  am  getting  along  in  years  and 
enjoy  crocheting.  Nothing  is  too  simple 
for  me  to  try,  and  I  try  all  the  more  dif¬ 
ficult  ones,  too. 
5k 
Several  readers  request  recipes  for 
sweet  mixed  pickles  containing  cucum¬ 
bers,  cauliflowers,  and  string  beans  So 
far  we  have  not  found  one  that  included 
beans,  but  sweet  cucumber  pickles  and 
sweet  cauliflower  pickles  prepared  sep¬ 
arately  are  quite  familiar.  We  should 
like  to  receive  a  recipe  for  sweet  mixed 
picklss,  if  any  reader  can  supply  it. 
Popular  Pickles 
The  following  recipe  for  sour  cucumber 
pickles  was  sent  us  several  years  ago,  and 
we  think  it  unusually  good.  >  It  is  very 
simple,  and  the  pickles  are  crisp  and  well 
flavored:  Dissolve  one  pint  of  salt  in  one 
gallon  of  cold  vinegar.  Wash  small  cu¬ 
cumbers,  and  pour  boiling  water  over 
them.  Let  stand  10  minutes,  drain,  pack 
in  glass  jars,  pour  the  salted  vinegar 
over  them,  and  seal. 
One  of  our  friends  asks  us  to  repeat 
the  recipe  for  Thousand  Islands  pickles, 
which  was  printed  in  1917.  It  is  as  fol¬ 
lows:  One  quart  green  cucumbers,  sliced. 
Do  not  peel.  Measure  after  they  are 
sliced.  One  large  onion,  sliced ;  one  large 
pepper,  sliced ;  put  in  salt  water.  Let 
stand  three  hours,  then  drain.  Ileat  one 
pint  of  vinegar,  one-half  teaspoon  of  mus¬ 
tard  seed,  one  cup  light  brown  sugar. 
Let  this  come  to  a  boil,  then  add  cucum¬ 
ber,  onion  and  pepper.  After  adding 
these,  let  it  come  to  the  boil  again,  stir  in 
one-fourth  teaspoon  of  turmeric,  and  re¬ 
move  from  the  fire.  Put  in  jars  and  seal 
when  cold. 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
August  11,  1921 
Perhaps  some  other  reader  is  looking 
for  “mystery  pickle.”  We  have  been  asked 
to  repeat  this  every  season  since  it  was 
given,  several  years  ago  :  Run  one  peck 
of  green  tomatoes,  six  medium-sized  white 
onions  and  nine  small  peppers  through  a 
meat  chopper,  stir  in  one-lialf  pint  of  salt, 
and  let  the  mixture  stand  24  hours. 
Drain,  put  on  vinegar  enough  to  cover, 
and  cook  half  an  hour.  Add  one-half 
pint  of  vinegar,  one-half  pound  of  sugar, 
two  tablespoons  of  ground  mustard, 
mixed  with  a  little  vinegar,  two  table¬ 
spoons  of  celery  seed,  one  teaspoon  each 
allspice,  cinnamon  and  cloves,  and  a  half 
pint  of  grated  horseradish.  Bottle.  A 
pickle  of  this  kind,  moldel  into  a  little 
mound,  used  to  be  served  with  all  meats 
at  a  popular  New  York  chophouse,  and  as 
the  recipe  was  kept  secret,  the  restau¬ 
rant’s  patrons  called  it  “mystery  pickle.” 
Our  favorite  mustard  pickle  is  the  fol- 
The  Rural  Patterns 
In  ordering  alway*  give  number  of  pattern 
and  size  desired,  sending  price  with  order 
1934.  Misses’  one- 
piece  dress,  with 
front  and  back  pan¬ 
els,  long  or  short 
'sleeves,  and  with 
or  without  bands 
on  skirt.  Sizes  16, 
18  and  20  years. 
Size  18  years  re¬ 
quires  4%  yds.  40- 
in.  material.  20 
cents. 
1896.  Slip-on  bun¬ 
galow  apron,  with 
or  without  sash 
and  patch  pockets; 
f*or  ladies  and  mis¬ 
ses.  Sizes  36,  40 
and  44  in.  bust. 
Size  140  requires 
3%  yds.  32-in.  ma¬ 
terial,  with  %  yd. 
for  sash  and  bias 
binding.  25  cents. 
iqd  ^ 
1932.  Children’s 
rompers,  with  long 
or  short  kimono 
sleeves,  and  round 
or  square  neck. 
Sizes  1,  2,  4  and  6 
years.  Size  4  years 
requires  1%  yds. 
32-in.,  or  1%  yds. 
36-in.  material.  15 
cents. 
1880*.  .One-piece 
dress,  with  panel 
front,,  having  tux¬ 
edo  collar  to  waist 
or  to  hem-line,  and 
short  sleeves  with 
extensions;  for  la¬ 
dies  and  misses. 
Sizes  36,  38,  40,  42 
and  44  in.  bust. 
Size  38  requires  3% 
'yds.  40-in.  mater¬ 
ial.  25  cents. 
lowing,  which  is  excellent  in  flavor,  but 
mild.  Those  who  like  hot  pickles  should 
add  hot  peppers  to  it.  As  it  came  to  us 
originally  no  white  pepper  was  used,  but 
we  think  it  an  improvement.  One  quart 
little  cucumbers,  one  quart  small  onions, 
one  quart  green'  tomatoes,  cut  in  pieces, 
or  green  cherry  tomatoes  left  whole,  one 
quart  cauliflower  broken  up  into  florets, 
one  quart  small,  tender  string  beans,  four 
green  peppers.  Wash  the  cucumbers,  peel 
the  onions,  wash  the  cauliflower  in  strong 
salt  water  to  draw  out  any  concealed  in¬ 
sects,  remove  the  stems  from  tomatoes. 
Cut  the  peppers,  removing  stems  and 
seeds.  Soak  all  the  vegetables  over  night 
in  brine.  In  the  morning,  put  the  kettle 
containing  vegetables  and  brine  on  the 
stove  and  bring  to  the  scalding  point. 
Then  drain  off  the  brine  and  cover  the 
pickles  with  sauce  made  as  follows:  Mix 
together  one  cup  sugar,  one  cup  flour,  one 
teaspoon  ground  white  pepper,  one-half 
pound  ground  mustard.  Moisten  gradual¬ 
ly  with  two  quarts  vinegar,  first  stirring 
the  dry  materials  to  a  paste,  then  thin¬ 
ning  with  remainder  of  the  vinegar.  Pour 
over  the  pickles  in  the  kettle,  and  scald 
until  the  flour  thickens ;  then  put  in  jars. 
While  this  will  keep  in  large  jars  without 
sealing,  we  prefer  to  put  in  smaller  jars, 
as  there  seems  to  be  less  waste  in  using. 
Notes  From  Vermont 
Fern  picking  again.  Just  think  of  it. 
Is  Autumn  on  its  way?  But  the  picking 
of  ferns  is  beginning  about  five  weeks 
earlier  than  usual,  and  at  l%c.  per  bunch 
of  25.  The  price  is  usually  lVtC,  and 
then  is  raised  later.  But  workers  are 
scarce ;  in  fact,  there  was  never  such  a 
scarcity  of  laborers  here  as  there  is  now. 
Our  folks  are  helping  out  others  all 
they  can,  and  leaving  many  things  un¬ 
done  at  home,  while  I  am  renewing  my 
youth  by  going  for  a  ride  afternoons — 
but  on  a  horse  rake.  I  find  I  can  man¬ 
age  one  as  well  as  before  our  boys  were 
big  enough  for  such  work.  But  it  has 
been  hot  and  dry ;  however,  our  nights 
have  mostly  been  cool,  so  we  get  well  rest¬ 
ed  for  the  next  day.  The  hay  crop  as  a 
whole  is  light  in  our  section,  but  the  rain 
of  a  week  ago  sent  corn  and  potatoes 
hustling.  We  can  fairly  see  them  grow, 
but  pastures  are  poor,  and  cows  need 
extra  feed.  Ours  are  giving  more  milk 
since  the  rain. 
It  has  been  a  Summer  of  work  all 
right,  but  we  manage  a  little  fun  occa¬ 
sionally.  Twice  the  older  boys  and  Jack 
have  been  eeling.  Fred  never  has  liked 
eels  very  well,  so  I  have  baked  them,  and 
all  like  them  better.  Simply  put  the  eel 
in  a  long  baking  tin,  after  cutting  it  in 
three  or  four-inch  pieces,  and  put  a  little 
piece  of  iron  under  one  end,  that  the  su¬ 
perfluous  oil  may  drain  away. 
We  have  been  interested  in  the  letters 
regarding  to  buy  or  not  to  buy  from  local 
merchants  or  the  mail  order  firms.  A 
neighbor  asked,  “Where  do  you  find  out 
about  all  your  bargains?”  Simply  keep¬ 
ing  our  eyes  open.  We  can  buy  most  of 
our  groceries  in  our  home  town  better 
than  anywhere  else.  Then  the  county 
paper  carries  advertisements  of  sales  in 
our  nearest  city  30  miles  away,  and  I 
find  any  order  filled  as  wrell  as  if  I  were 
there  personally.  We  usually  go  there 
two  or  three  times  during  the  Summer, 
both  to  buy  and  to  get  ideas. 
Som  of  us  like  to  talk  of  the  “good  old 
days,”  but  if  I  had  a  girl  I  should  be 
glad  she  lived  now  rather  than  when 
mother  or  I  were  girls.  A  fashion  mag¬ 
azine  of  50  years  ago  helped  me  to  the 
conclusion.  Then  the  gift  of  a  linen  skirt 
made  25  years  ago  freshened  my  memory 
of  my  girlhood  clothes.  This  skirt,  such 
as  we  all  wore  for  afternoons,  measured, 
when  the  hem  was  ripped  out,  43  in.  in 
length  and  15  ft.  7  in.  in  circumference. 
And  today  two  girls  called,  dressed  In 
bloomers  and  middies,  and  how  efficient 
they  looked.  To  be  sure,  that  linen  skirt 
furnished  material  for  Mayne’s  suit,  pants 
for  Errol’s  suit  and  material  for  two 
large  and  some  smaller  doilies.  Then  our 
dresses  were  usually  quite  elaborately 
trimmed,  making  ironing  more  work, 
while  really  the  prettiest  dress  I  saw  in 
town  was  a  heliotrope  and  white  ging¬ 
ham,  with  a  simple  cross-stitch  design  in 
black.  And  the  embroideries  were  so  sim¬ 
ple ;  some  dainty  scarfs  had  designs  in 
pale  shades,  the  leaves  being  lazy  daisy 
stitches,  the  flowers  having  French  knots 
for  petals.  ^  But  the  new  chinas !  Aren’t 
they  lovely?  I  didn’t  ask  the  price,  but 
just  turned  my  back. 
Yres,  young  people  still  marry,  dear  girls, 
even  if  they  cannot  buy  all  the  highest 
furniture  there  is  in  the  shop,  and  I  have 
seen  n  dainty  trousseau  and  later  some 
other  dainty  clothes  made  on  a  “mail 
order”  sewing  machine  that  cost  less  than 
$20.  Then  let  me  whisper  another 
secret ;  The  R.  N.-Y.  girls  will  not  “mar¬ 
ry  in  haste,”  and  as  you  and  your  John 
make  plans,  attend  auctions,  and  if  you 
two  feel  delicate  about  bidding,  your  par¬ 
ents  or  a  friend  will,  and  often  you  can 
secure  a  drop-leaf  table  and  chairs  which 
when  painted  will  make  a  pretty  set,  and 
look  in  these  same  catalogues  and  see  the 
price  and  incidentally  get  some  ideas. 
The  same  is  true  of  a  bedroom  set.  I  am 
about  to  fix  a  set  for  the  boys’  room, 
painting  it  pearl  gray. 
I  was  glad  of  the  article  “1Why  Farm¬ 
ers  Should  Attend  Church,”  but  it 
seemed  to  xniss  the  point  I  wished  to  im¬ 
press.  What  effort  is  your  church  mak¬ 
ing  to  influence  those  who  do  not  attend? 
It  seems  to  me  there  should  be  an  effort 
to  visit  newcomers,  and  at  least  let  them 
know  there  is  a  church  in  town.  One 
lady  told  me  she  lived  in  a  town  three 
miles  from  the  village  eight  years,  and 
no  pastor  nor  any  member  of  a  church 
called  to  ask  her  to  attend  church  until 
the  eighth  year  the  soliciting  committee 
called.  There  is  a  family  now  two  miles 
from  church  and  no  pastor  has  yet  called, 
although  the  family  moved  in  over  a  year . 
ago.  It  seems  to  me  if  a  church  is  to  do 
its  work  there  must  be  sociability  among 
its  members,  and  the  invitation  in  manner 
if  not  too  often  expressed  in  words, 
“Come  thou  with  us.”  In  many  places 
church  attendance  is  small,  but  an  old 
pastor  used  to  say,  “You  can  love  a  per¬ 
son  into  doing  anything.”  An  Old  Home 
Day  or  a  fair  with  farm  exhibits,  etc., 
helps  to  break  the  ice  and  helps  the  get- 
together  spirit.  There  is  inspiration  in 
a  community  sing,  but  don’t  believe 
everyone  wants  to  be  bad.  The  rural 
churches  can  and  will  be  filled  again,  but 
the  leaders  must  have  an  understanding 
heart,  like  the  “Aunt  Hannahs”  of  the 
days  of  old.  mother  bee. 
Notes  From  Oklahoma 
Summer  is  with  us  again,  and  with  it 
come  the  usual  Summer  duties,  such  as 
canning  fruits,  berries,  etc.,  as  well  as 
taking  care  of  surplus  garden  vegetables 
by  canning,  pickling  or  making  kraut. 
Then  out  on  the  farms  the  thrashers  are 
busy  thrashing  out  the  small  crops  of 
grain ;  the  low  price  of  both  wheat  and 
oats  the  past  season  has  cut  the  acreage 
of  both  down  until  farms  which  as  a  rule 
produce  several  hundred  bushels  of  small 
grain  will  only  thrash  enough  to  carry  the 
live  stock  through  the  iWinter.  Twenty 
years  ago  very  little  cotton  was  grown  in 
this  part  of  Oklahoma,  the  principal 
crops  being  wheat,  corn,  oats  and  hogs, 
but  the  cotton  belt  has  gradually  ex¬ 
tended  northward  until  now  our  farmers 
depend  almost  entirely  on  cotton  for  their 
money  crop.  However,  the  boll  weevil  is 
proving  disastrous  to  cotton  growing  all 
over  the  South  and  we  must  look  about 
for  some  other  crop  to  take  the  place  of 
the  fleecy  staple. 
The  present  Summer  has  been  a  very 
pleasant  one  here  in  Oklahoma  ;  very  few 
days  but  what  were  cool  and  nice,  with 
nights  always  pleasant.  A  daughter  who 
has  been  in  one  of  the  noted  Mayo  hos¬ 
pitals  at  Rochester,  Minn.,  for  the  last 
six  weeks,  taking  treatment  for  a  facial 
blemish  caused  from  an  illness  of  child¬ 
hood,  reports  the  temperature  as  being  so 
warm  as  to  be  very  unpleasant,  with 
nights  rather  sultry,  and  she  is  looking 
forward  to  the  time,  perhaps  the  latter 
part  of  August,  when  she  will  be  able  to 
return  to  our  more  pleasant  climate.  She 
describes  these  hospitals,  of  which  there 
are  several,  as  being  equipped  with  most 
wonderful  conveniences  as  well  as  the 
most  skilled  clinic  procurable,  and  that 
many  remarkable  cures  are  being  made, 
as  well  as  all  sorts  of  blemishes,  disfig¬ 
urements,  etc.,  being  removed. 
IWe  are  nearing  the  close  of  a  busy 
Summer  term  of  college.  The  enrollment 
w'as  something  over  1,200.  mostly  teach¬ 
ers,  but  a  few  hundred  high  school  pupils. 
Three  of  my  daughters,  one  son  and  a 
son-in-law  are  attending.  This  Summer 
school  is  something  of  a  rush  from  be¬ 
ginning  to  end.  Classes  open  at  seven  in 
the  morning,  which  calls  for  early  rising, 
and  classes  hold  until  half-past  twelve, 
which  makes  it  necessary  to  serve  dinner 
at  one  o’clock  or  later.  The  entire  after¬ 
noon  is  spent  in  study  and,  usually,  there 
is  some  school  function  to  attend  in  the 
evening,  so  that  there  isn’t  much  sleep 
for  the  housekeeper,  especially  if  she 
keeps  boarders,  as  most  of  us  do  during 
this  Summer  term.  Three  miles  out  is 
the  beautiful  Illinois  River,  where  the 
shores  are  lined  with  students  in  the 
afternoon,  for  bathing  is  a  popular  sport 
during  the  Summer  months.  The  Chau¬ 
tauqua  has  come  and  gone ;  surely  we 
appreciate  the  privilege  of  being  able  to 
hear  the  good  lectures,  splendid  music, 
etc.,  which  always  come  with  the  Chau¬ 
tauqua. 
A  splendid  new  high  school  building  is 
being  erected  in  our  town ;  heretofore  we 
have  depended  on  the  college  to  care  for 
the  high  school  students,  but  the  ever-in¬ 
creasing  number  of  college  students  has 
made  the  erection  of  the  new  building 
necessary.  The  rapid  progress  made 
along  educational  lines  never  ceases  to  be 
a  revelation  to  me,  and  my  mind  often 
wanders  back  to  the  one-room  log  school- 
house,  with  a  door  in  each  side  and  an 
open  fireplace  in  one  end,  where  I  attend¬ 
ed  school  the  first  few  years  of  my  child¬ 
hood.  We  knew  nothing  of  grades  in 
those  days,  and  used  no  books  except  the 
blue^back  speller,  reader  and  arithmetic, 
but  those  books  were  learned  well,  be¬ 
cause  we  had  plenty  of  time  to  devote  to 
our  lessons,  instead  of  being  overloaded 
wfith  impracticable  studies,  as  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  today  are. 
Vacation  time»for  city  workers  is  now 
here,  and  many  cars  pass  through  town 
every  day  on  their  way  to  some  of  the 
fashionable  clubhouses  along  the  banks 
of  the  river.  August  is  the  rush  season 
at  these  places,  and  sometimes  the  build¬ 
ing,  and  cottages,  are  filled  to  the  limit 
with  persons  from  Tulsa,  Oklahoma  City 
and  other  large  towns,  who  are  desirous 
to  get  away  from  the  rush  of  the  oil 
towns  for  a  quiet  rest  among  the  hills. 
Then  there  are  many  working  girls  from 
the  cities  who  spend  their  vacation  at 
these  clubs,  and  get  rid  of  their  meager 
savings  in  a  short  time,  as  it  costs  heav¬ 
ily  to  stay  at  these  high-class  country 
hotels.  Practically  everyone  enjoys  a 
vacation  except  the  farmers ;  they  must 
depend  largely  on  change*  of  tasks  for 
recreation,  for  there  is  little  chance  to 
leave  the  farm  for  even  as  much  as  two 
weeks  without  serious  loss,  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  everlasting  vigilance  is  the 
price  of  success  on  the  farm.  There  is 
always  fruit  to  can.  vegetables  to  care 
for,  the  cows  and  chickens  to  look  after, 
so  that  it  seems  that  farm  vacations  are 
next  to  impossible  except  where  some 
members  of  the  family  can  remain  at 
home  to  keep  things  going.  I  find  it  much 
the  same  way  in  the  small  town,  and  my 
only  vacation  is  a  change  from  one  duty 
to  another.  However,  I  love  my  work, 
and  hardly  know  if  I  would  really  get 
much  enjoyment  from  a  camping  expedi¬ 
tion,  although  I  do  enjoy  traveling,  and 
hope  some  day  to  ‘be  able  to  see  some  of 
the  West,  but  until  the  children  are 
through  school  I  must  keep  vigil  at  home 
the  greater  part  of  the  time. 
MRS.  LILLIE  YORK. 
Crochet  Lace  With  Novelty  Braid 
Noveltyr  Braid  Insertion. — Cut  a  piece 
of  novelty  braid  or  turtle-back  braid  the 
desired  length.  Fasten  thread  in  first 
loop  on  braid.  Ch.  5,  1  d.  c.  in  next  loop, 
ch,  2.  1  d.  c.  in  next  loop.  Repeat  in  the 
four  loops  remaining.  Ch.  6,  hook  into 
the  side,  ch.  8,  fasten  in  side  of  next  tur- 
I 
